Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume II, Part 15

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Rogers, Thomas H; Moffet, Hugh R; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Chicago : Muncell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 972

USA > Illinois > Winnebago County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume II > Part 15

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690

HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

United States and the Winnebagoes, grants of land were made to certain descendants of this tribe. Catherine Myott, a half-breed Indian woman, was one of the two who had received two sections each. Previous to this contest over the county seat, one of these two unlocated sec- tions had been sold to Henry Gratiot. By a deed executed August 25, 1835, Catherine Myott conveyed the other unlocated section to Nicholas Boilvin for $800. This was the first individual conveyauce of land in Winnebago County. This deed was filed for record in Cook County, September 3, 1835, and recorded by Daniel H. Whitney, recorder of Winnebago County, September 8, 1836. This instrumeut was the first filed for record in this county. The tract located for Mr. Boilvin, by virtue of the treaty of 1829, is the east half of section 14 and all that part of section 13 west of Rock River, in Rockford Township, and contains 637 acres. At the time Mr. Reed made the offer of his deed to the county commissioners, the property belonged to Nicholas Boilvin, of Chi- cago, Charles Reed, of Joliet, and Major Campbell.

As soon as the organization of the county began to be agitated, Boilvin and his associates determined to secure the location of the county seat on their site. The entire tract was platted September 14, 1836. It was known as Nicholas Boilvin's plat of the town of Winnebago, and the plat was filed for record September 17, 1836. Reed appeared as the principal manager. There were 251 blocks, and these were subdivided into 2,436 lots. The streets were unifornily 821% feet wide, and bore north and south, east and west. The lots were 491% feet front, and 113 feet 9 inches deep, except the lots in the water blocks, which ran back from Water street to low-water mark. The alleys were 20 feet wide. The town was christened Winnebago. Reed built a two-story house, to be used as a hotel and store, which stood until recently a few rods above Mrs. John H. Sherratt's residence. A free ferry was established; a lime-kiln and a blacksmith shop were built; and a road opened through the timber east from Winnebago, to meet the state road from Chicago to Galena, at a point on Beaver Creek. Nothing was left undone to secure the county seat ; but the deci- sion of the commissioners, like the law of the Medes and Persians, could not be changed.

Notwithstanding the fact that the special com-

missioners were given full power by the statute to locate the county seat, their selection was arbitrarily set aside by the commissioners' court. This rejection, however, was based upon a reason which would have been considered valid by any court. The question did not again come before the people until 1839. Pending the location of the county seat, the commissioners ordered that the circuit and county commis- sioners' courts should be held at the house of Mr. Haight.

FIRST SURVEYS IN COUNTY.

The first surveys in Winnebago Couuty were made early in 1836. Don Alonzo Spaulding, a pioneer of 1835, was the government surveyor. One of his associates was Hon. Charles B. Far- well, of Chicago, who in 1887 succeeded the late Geueral John A. Logau as a United States seuator from Illinois. In October, 1835, Mr. Spaulding began the extension of the third principal meridian, at a timber corner about two miles north of the point where this meridian crosses the Illinois River, on the western boundary line of LaSalle County. Mr. Spauld- ing extended the third principal meridian north to its intersection with the Wisconsin boundary line. He then returned on the line to the corner of townships 41 and 42 north, range 1 east, and commenced the stand-line running east along the southern boundary of townships 42 north, ranges 1, 2 and 3 east; and then surveyed the range and township lines in these ranges to the north line of the state. He subdivided townships 44 and 46, Rockford and Rocktou, before leaving the field in January, 1836. Mr. Spaulding resumed his surveys in the spring of that year, and subdivided townships 45, range 1 east, and townships 44, 45 and 46, ranges 2 and 3 east. In 1839, 1840, and 1841, under another contract, Mr. Spaulding subdivided, in ranges 10 and 11, east of the fourth principal meridian, from the northern line of the state southward nearly thirty miles. It will thus be seen that Mr. Spaulding surveyed the range and township lines in all of Winnebago County, and the western range of Boone; and sub- divided all of Winnebago except New Milford and Cherry Valley townships.

REORGANIZATION OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY.

An act of the legislature, approved' March 4, 1837, provided for the reorganization of Win-

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

nebago County, and the creation of Stephenson and Boone. The latter was named in honor of Col. Daniel Boone, the first white settler of Kentucky. By this act Winnebago County was reduced to one-half its original size. The reader may find it necessary, in tracing the boundary lines, to have before him maps of Winnebago and Boone counties; also some acquaintance with the township survey system. Confusion may arise if it is not remembered that the townships in Winnebago County, west of the third principal meridian, are numbered from a different base-line from those east of this meridian. It must also be borne in mind that the ranges west of the third principal meridian are numbered, not as ranges west of the third principal meridian, but as east of the fourth principal meridian.

The first section of this law creates Stephen- son County from the eastern portion of Jo Daviess and the western two ranges of Winne- bago, as the latter had been organized the pre- ceding year. The next section defines the new boundary of Winnebago. The line begins at the northeast corner of Stephenson, as formed by the preceding section; thence running east on the state line to the section line between sections 5 and 6, in township 46 north, range 3 east of the third principal meridian; thence south on said section line to the south boundary of township 43 north, range 3 east; thence west on said township line to the third principal meridian ; thence north on said meridian to the southeast corner of township 26 north, range 11 east of the fourth principal meridian ; thence west on said line to the range line between ranges 9 and 10 east of the fourth principal meridian; thence north to the place of begin- ning.

The third section of this law contemplated the boundaries of Boone as they now exist, except the mile-strip on the west. This law was seriously defective in defining the boundary lines. The intention of the legislature, how- ever, was obvious, and was accepted until two years later, when the act of March 2, 1839, cor- rected the errors, which may have been either verbal or typographical. This act also pro- posed to extend Boone County on the east to include the western range of townships in McHenry County, provided the voters in those townships should so elect. As Boone never extended farther east than at present, it may

be inferred that the settlers residing on the range in question voted against annexation to Boone. The writer was once told by the late Judge Lawrence, of Boone County, that about 1846 this question was again submitted to the voters of these western McHenry townships, and that an election was carried in favor of annexation to Boone, but that this expression of the popular will was defeated by a dishonest postmaster, who changed the election returns while they were in his office to suit his purpose.

THE MILE STRIP CONTEST.

By comparing the boundary lines of Winne- bago and Boone, as defined by the act of 1837, with an atlas of the counties, it will be observed that the eastern boundary of Winne- bago was exactly one mile east of its present Jine. Thus established, Boone was only eleven miles wide. The western tier of sections, which clearly belonged to Boone under the govern- inent survey, was denied her and given to Winnebago. This manifest injustice to Boone County was a thorn in the flesh of her citizens, and finally precipitated what is known as the "mile-strip contest," the most bitter controversy of those early days. The statement is twice made in Kett's "History of Boone County" that the assignment of this mile-strip to Winnebago in 1837 was a compromise to conciliate conflict- ing interests in this county. These "conflicting interests" might have been the ambitions of East and West Rockford for the county build- ings. The extra mile-strip may have been given to Winnebago, at the instance of clever manipulators, to increase the voting strength of that part of the county east of Rock River.

In 1843 the question of annexing this mile- strip to Boone County came before the legisla- ture. An enabling act, approved February 28th, provided that sections 6, 7, 18, 19, 30 and 31, in townships 43, 44, 45 and 46, range 3 east, should be annexed to Boone, if the voters on the mile- strip should so elect. The strip comprised what is now the western tier of sections in the town- ships of Manchester, Caledonia, Belvidere and Flora, in Boone County. An election was ordered to be held at the house of Samuel Keith, in the village of Newburg, Winnebago County, May 4, 1843. The citizens of Rockford were deeply interested in the result, although the county seat had recently been re-located

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

on the West side, and the voters the preceding year had expressed a preference for that side. They were not, of course, allowed to vote. Only those on the mile-strip had a voice in the mat- ter. The election called out ninety-five voters, fifty-one for annexation to Boone, and forty-four against it; a majority of seven in favor of Boone. This election added twenty-four sec- tions of valuable land to our eastern neighbor, and thus greatly increased her taxable property. Had this election been held several years earlier, the result might have been a factor in determin- ing the location of the county buildings. But under the circumstances, it had no such influ- ence. Additional facts upon this point are given in a later chapter devoted to the prolonged con- troversy over the county seat.

In 1845 the legislature passed an act which provided as follows: "That it shall be lawful for the county commissioners' court of the county of Boone, by an order to be entered upon the records of said court, to require the recorder of the county of Winnebago, and the clerk of the commissioners' court of said county, to transcribe into a book, to be provided for that purpose by the county commissioners' court of the said county of Boone, all records of said offices relating to the following described terri- tory of land, to-wit: Sections six, seven, eighteen, nineteen, thirty and thirty-one, in each of the townships of forty-three, forty-four, forty- five and forty-six, in range three east of the third principal meridian." This act referred to the mile-strip; and its provisions were faith- fully executed. The county commissioners of Boone provided the necessary books, and required the clerk and recorder of Winnebago County to transcribe therein all records and orders relating to the strip. When completed, this transcript was regularly certified and for- warded to the proper official in Boone, and placed among the recorded proceedings of its court. This transaction completed the record of the transfer for that county.

FIRST TAX LEVY.

The first tax levy was ordered by the county commissioners' court, at its March term, 1837. One-half per cent. tax was levied on town lots, horses and mares, neat cattle above three years old, watches, carriages, and wagons, and a tax one-fourth per cent. on stock in t trade. of

Through some technicality, this levy was declared illegal, and a second levy was made. At that time farm lands were not taxable. They were not placed upon the market at the land offices until two years later, and for three years thereafter they were exempt from taxa- tion. It was not until 1842-43 that any county revenue was obtained from this source. The revenue required to meet the expense of the county until the lands became taxable was derived from assessments against personal property. Under this order the total amount levied was $562.5912. Of this sum, $298.291/2 were assessed upon personal property ; and $264.30 on lots in the town of Winnebago, owned by non-residents. At that time the assessment was made by the county treasurer, and the taxes were collected by the sheriff. R. J. Cross, the treasurer, consumed fifteen days in making this assessment. His compensation was $30, . or $2 per day. He was also allowed $9.28, for receiving and disbursing the taxes when col- lected. This commission was two per cent. on $464, the amount actually collected.

The revenue law of February, 1839, changed the manner of assessing and collecting taxes. The county commissioners' courts were author- ized to appoint one or more assessors, not exceeding one for each justice's district ; also a suitable person for collector. The Whig county convention of 1840 made nominations for county assessor and collector ; but they must have been only as timely suggestions to the commission- ers' court. An act of February, 1841, restricted the commissioners' courts to the appointment of one assessor for the county. From 1838 to 1844, Goodyear A. Sanford collected all the taxes of the county, which aggregated from $237 to $640 per annum during those years. These collec- tions were made in part by virtue of his office of deputy sheriff, and the balance by special appointment. This system was superseded a few years later by the township organization law.

COUNTY SEAT CHOSEN.

The attempt in 1836 to locate the county seat had proven a failure. The county business had been transacted in the meantime in various places in the village. The proprietors of Win- nebago did not consider the refusal of their deed of cession to the county as a finality. On

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COURT HOUSE. ROCKFORD, 1878

OLD LOG CABIN, BLACK HAWK PARK, ROCKFORD

1192

COURT HOUSE, ROCKFORD, 1844

SECOND NATIONAL. DA. 4

.&C NO VA IONAL AL

OLD SECOND NATIONAL BANK, ROCKFORD

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

that very day began the famous controversy over the location of the county seat, which was continued for seven years with great spirit, and not a little bitterness on all sides. The pro- prietors of Winnebago had expended consid- erable money in their town plat, and they were anxious to have the county buildings commenced at once, and thus settle the question. A favorable decision would insure increased value and ready sale of their town lots. On the other hand, the county commissioners opposed the site of Winnebago, and placed every obstacle in the way of such location. Various propositions were made by the proprietors during this and the succeeding year to induce the commissioners to take some action that would secure them in the location that had been previously made. All these overtures were either refused or evaded. The persistent refusal of the county commis- sioners led to state legislation.

By an act of the General Assembly, approved March 2, 1839, the question was submitted to a popular vote. It was made the duty of the clerk of the county commissioners' court to give notice of an election to be held on the first Monday in May, 1839. The law provided that if it should appear that within one hundred of a majority of all the votes cast were in favor of the town of Winnebago, that town should remain the permanent county seat, but if any other place, after the first election, should receive a majority of all the votes given, such place should be the seat of justice. If more than two places received votes, and no one place received a majority, there should be an election held on the first Monday of each suc- ceeding month, dropping off at each election, the place receiving the smallest number of votes, until some one place should receive a majority of all the votes polled. These provisions gave Winnebago a decided advantage; but even then the town was unable to win the prize. At the election six aspirants received votes, as fol- lows: Rockford, 320; Winnebago, 75: Roscoe. 2; Willow Creek, 5; Pecatonica, 1; Scipio, 1. Total vote cast, 404, of which Rockford had a majority over all of 236.

The prospective village of Winnebago reached the highest point of all its greatness on the day when its ambitious claims were rejected by the county commissioners' court. Like Cardi- nal Wolsey, it fell like a bright exhalation in the evening. From that time it began to decline.

In April, 1844, many of the lots were sold by the sheriff to satisfy delinquent taxes; and in 1847 the plat was vacated by a special act of the legislature. Some years later Mrs. Campbell, widow of Major Campbell, by her attorney, appeared in Rockford, and made a claim for dower interest, on the ground that when her husband took the benefit of the bank- rupt law, he assigned his interest in the Winne- bago village property without her consent. Some were intimidated into paying these claims ; and others successfully contested them.

Charles Reed was an excellent judge of land, and traveled from Fox River to Apple River, selecting and making claims. Mr. Reed was a native of Virginia. He served in the war of 1812, and was taken prisoner at Detroit, when Hull surrendered. He again enlisted, and was in the battle of the Thames, when Tecumseh was killed. Mr. Reed first settled in Illinois at Joliet; was one of the commissioners to locate the county seat of Ogle County in 1836 and was influential in securing the passage of the act for the organization of Winnebago County. From Winnebago village he removed to Rock- ton, where he died August 26, 1863, at the age of seventy-nine years. Mr. Reed was highly esteemed as a citizen, neighbor and friend.

FIRST PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

In pursuance of the popular vote in favor of Rockford, the county commissioners, on June 8, 1839, selected the public square on the east side of the river as the site for the courthouse. Anson Barnum and Daniel S. Haight were authorized to accept stone and other building material. A large quantity of brick and lumber was contributed by the citizens. This material remained on the public square for a long time, because the county had no money to continue the work. At a special session held June 17, the court selected the southeast corner of block 9 as a site for a jail. This is the site now occupied by the Rockford Gas Light and Coke Company. No jail, however, was built upon that location.

At the session of September 28, 1841, a propo- sition was submitted to the commissioners' court, to furnish a suitable jail and quarters for the county offices in West Rockford until permanent buildings could be constructed. This proposal was signed by Messrs. George Haskell,

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

Charles I. Horsman, Abiram Morgan, John W. Taylor, David D. Alling, Nathaniel Loomis, Ephraim Wyman, Horatio Nelson, Derastus Harper and Isaiah Lyon. Upon executing a bond in the penal sum of $1,000 this proposi- tion was accepted. On December 11, 1841, these gentlemen reported to the commissioners' court that the building for the county offices was ready for use, and the same was accepted by the court. This was a frame structure on the southwest corner of Main and Chestnut streets, opposite the Hotel Nelson. This building was occupied by the court until a courthouse was built, and about 189S was torn down to make room for a brick block. The donors, at this December session, were given an extension of five months to complete the jail. This was a log structure, about 12 feet square, with plank door, and window barred with irons set into the logs above and below. It stood east of the present courthouse, in the same block. When- ever a desperate character was confined therein it was necessary to station a guard. Previous to the erection of this primitive prison, the nearest jail was at Galena. When I. N. Cun- ningham was sheriff, he owned a substantially built house a short distance from town, and his brother William once prevented a prisoner from escaping at night by fastening one end of a chain to his ankle and the other to the ankle of the prisoner, and both were secured to the strong puncheon floor. The old log jail did duty after a fashion until the brick jail was completed.

About this time a controversy arose concern- ing the precise meaning of the statute under which the election of May. 1839. had been held. That portion of the third section of the law . enclosed in parentheses was ambiguous. The point at issue was whether the law actually authorized an election to select a seat of jus- tice, or merely to decide the general question of removal. On May 10, 1842, the commission- ers' court requested the bar of the city to sub- mit opinions in writing concerning the legal effect of the popular vote. Opinions were pre- pared by Anson S. Miller, Francis Burnap, Thomas D. Robertson, James M. Wight and Jason Marsh. Mr. Miller's opinion was quite elaborate. The attorneys were unanimous in the opinion that the county seat had been changed from Winnebago to Rockford. in ac- cordance with the evident intent of the law.

At the session of July, 1842, the commissioners' court authorized the judges of election in the several precincts- to take the sense of the vot- ers at the August election on the question whether the county buildings should be perma- nently located in East or West Rockford. Sev- eral precincts did not vote on the question; but the general result was favorable to the West side, inasmuch as the temporary location of the county offices on that side had already given it a degree of prestige. This vote had no legal effect, however, because the law had given the commissioners' court full power in the prem- ises, but it did have a certain persuasive influ- ence.

PERMANENT BUILDING SITE SELECTED.

In April, 1843, Daniel S. Haight, E. H. Potter, Hollis H. Holmes, Laomi Peake, Daniel Howell and John A. Brown, of the East side, submitted a proposition to the county commissioners to build a courthouse and jail, to cost $4,000. This proposal was considered, but complications pre- vented its acceptance. A few days later, April 22d, citizens of West Rockford made a similar proposition. On condition that the commission- ers select the site on the West side, the citizens agreed to erect such buildings as the county commissioners should direct, and according to such plan and finish as the commissioners should furnish for a courthouse, county offices and jail, the said buildings to be commenced before the first day of June next, and the jail to be finished before the first day of January, 1844. The remainder of the said buildings were to be finished by the first day of Novem- ber, 1844. The donors were to perfect and convey to the county a good title to the land on which the said buildings should stand, to the amount of two and a half acres. This proposition was signed by George Haskell, Charles I. Horsman, H. W. Loomis, M. Burner, Charles Hall, Thomas D. Robertson, George W. Dewey, David D. Alling, H. R. Maynard, Alden Thomas, S. Skinner, George Barrows. John Fisher, Derastus Harper, Daniel Dow. Noth- ing had been done on the East side toward erecting county buildings with the material which had been contributed; and the proposi- tion from the West side citizens was accepted, with five conditions. These were: first, that security be given to the acceptance of the com-

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

missioners or any two of them, in term time or vacation within twenty days; second, that the security be a bond for $20,000, and the build- ings be worth not less than $6,000; third, that said bond be placed in the hands of the clerk of the court within three days from its accept- auce; fourth, that the subscribers to the prop- osition, or a majority of them, enter into a contract in writing within twenty days to erect the buildings as offered in their proposition ; fiftlı, that the contract be placed in the hands of the clerk of the court within three days from its approval, The commissioners ordered that block 25 in West Rockford be the site of the buildings.

Thus closed a contest which had continued for seven years. An opinion prevails to this day that the cession of the mile-strip to Boone County insured the location of the county build- ings on the west side of the river; and that the voters on the strip, if they had remained in this county, would have held the balance oť power, which would have been exercised in the election of two commissioners from the east side of the river. The official records are clearly against this tradition. The county seat was permanently located in April, 1843; whereas, the election on the mile-strip did not occur until the following month.

It is quite certain, however, that the cession of the mile-strip had been regarded with favor for years by the citizens of the western part of the county. The citizens on the strip peti- tioned the legislature to be annexed to Boone ; and as early as December 24, 1840, a bill was introduced in the senate, for a change in the boundary line of Boone County. The bill came before the house January 13, 1841; was subse- quently amended and referred to a select com- mittee, but was lost. Had it passed that ses- sion, it would doubtless have had its influence in the contest over the county seat. But the bill did not become a law until two years later. In the meantime the question had been settled in a different manner.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume II, Part 15

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Rogers, Thomas H; Moffet, Hugh R; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn Publication date: 1903 Publisher: Chicago : Muncell Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 972

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Rogers, Thomas H; Moffet, Hugh R; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Chicago : Muncell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 972