Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume II, Part 3

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

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FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.

This crisis came with the French and Indian war, the issue of which committed the destiny of the West to the Anglo-Saxon civilization. By the treaty of Paris, in 1763, Great Britain obtained all the French territory east of the Mississippi, with the exception of the island of New Orleans. France ceded New Orleans and all of Louisiana west of the Mississippi to Spain. In all the great continent of America, France retained not a foot of ground.

GEORGE ROGERS CLARK.

The special claim made by Virginia to the Illinois territory was based upon the bold con- quest of this region by Colonel George Rogers Clark. In 1778 Colonel Clark conducted a series of brilliant campaigns against the mili- tary posts at Kaskaskia, Cahokia and Vin- cennes. These posts and those upon the lakes were in possession of the British, under the command of Henry Hamilton, whose head- quarters were at Detroit. From these posts the Indians were supplied with munitions, and were thus enabled to harass the settlements in Kentucky with their cruel guerrilla warfare. The French villages, the only settlements in the region, were seats of British power. If these

posts could be taken, and the capture of the British soldiers effected, the entire region would be won for the Old Dominion. This re- sult could only be effected by force; and the scheme appealed to the bold spirit of Colonel Clark. He presented the matter to Patrick Henry, who was then governor of Virginia. Henry's ardent soul quickly caught the flame, and he secretly rendered such assistance as came within his power. The outcome justified Colonel Clark's most sanguine expectations. His brilliant exploits constitute one of the most romantic chapters in pioneer history. The re- sults were very great, and doubtless prepared the way for the purchase of Louisiana. If Clark had failed to conquer and hold the Illi- nois and Vincennes, there is reason to believe that the Ohio River would have been the boun- dary between the American and the British possessions. The colonial charters furnished color of title; but the American claim actually rested on the conquest and occupation of the West by Colonel Clark and the backwoodsmen. Thus the West was won by the westward move- ment of the backwoodsmen during the Revolu- tion ; by the final success of the Continental armies in the East; and by the diplomacy of Franklin, Jay and Adams in the Treaty of Paris. Failure at any one of these points would have given the British the possession of the West.

Colonel Clark spent his last years alone in poverty, in a rude dwelling on Corn Island, until he went to the home of his sister. When Virginia sent him a sword he received the com- pliments of the committee in gloomy silence and then exclaimed: "When Virginia wanted a sword I gave her one. She sends me now a toy. I want bread." He thrust the sword into the ground, and broke it with his crutch. His grave is in Cave Hill cemetery at Louisville, marked by a little headstone bearing the letters, G. R. C. It is said that not half a dozen persons in the United States can point it out. Fortune was unkind to him, and republics seemed ungrateful; but history must pay its just tribute to his genius, his patriotism, and his prowess.

DERIVATION OF NAME ILLINOIS.

Virginia assumed the title to this extensive territory, first by right of her charter, and

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secondly by the conquest of her own arms. These claims, though challenged by the other states, were successfully maintained by the Old Dominion ; and the territory was at once organ- ized into a county called Illinois. This word is derived from the Algonquin word Inini, or Illini, which means a perfect and accomplished man. The Illinois were an Indian tribe of the Algonquin nation, who occupied a portion of the state which now bears their name.

FIRST GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS.

These events occurred during the administra- tion of Patrick Henry as governor of Virginia, and therefore. he may be said to have been the first governor of Illinois. By the treaty of Paris in 1783, which terminated the Revolution- ary war, the Illinois territory passed forever from the control of Great Britain. It was not clear, however, to whom the title was trans- ferred. During the war four states had made claims either to the whole or to parts of this domain. They were Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and Virginia. The first two colonies had received royal permission to extend from sea to sea. But Virginia was the lordly Old Dominion, which had actually conquered and held the disputed territory.

FIRST SEEDS OF NATIONAL UNITY.

At this juncture Maryland arose to the occa- sion in 1777, with a novel and practical sug- gestion. As a condition of ratifying the Articles of Confederation, Maryland insisted that the four claimant states should surrender their claims to the United States, and that the latter should create a domain which should be owned by the confederacy in common. In 1780 Con- gress recommended to the several states such cession of their several claims, and the creation of a national domain. Thus there were planted the fruitful seeds of national unity.

In pursuance of this recommendation Con- necticut, Massachusetts, and New York sur- rendered their claims, which were more or less shadowy. The magnanimity of Virginia was genuine. The Old Dominion made a complete surrender of the magnificent territory of which she was in actual possession. In this conces- sion she was greatly influenced by Thomas Jefferson. October 20, 1783, the General

Assembly passed an act which authorized the delegates of the state in Congress to convey to the United States, on certain conditions, her entire territory northwest of the Ohio River. One of these conditions was that the ceded territory should be formed into states not less than 100, nor more than 150 miles square or as near thereto as circumstances would admit. Accordingly on March 1, 1784, Thomas Jeffer- son, Samuel Hardy, Arthur Lee and James Monroe, the delegates for the commonwealth in Congress, presented to the United States a deed of cession of the territory northwest of the Ohio River. By the Ordinance of 1787 Congress provided that not less than three nor more than five states should be formed from this territory, as soon as Virginia should alter her act of cession and consent to the same. Virginia, by her act of December 30, 1788, promptly ratified the Act of Congress of the preceding year, "anything to the contrary in the deed of cession of the said territory by this commonwealth to the United States notwith- standing." Thus was accomplished the transfer of this public domain to the United States.

DIVISION OF NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

By the Act of Congress of May 7, 1800, the Northwest Territory was divided. That portion east of a line drawn from the mouth of the Kentucky River to the British possessions, was called the Ohio Territory. The remainder, west of this line, was called Indiana Territory, and comprised the present states of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. William Henry Har- rison was appointed governor. Indiana Ter- ritory was divided by Act of Congress approved June 11, 1805, and that portion corresponding to the present southern portion of Michigan was set apart, under the name of Michigan Territory.

BIRTH OF ILLINOIS TERRITORY.

In 1800 the Indiana Territory was again divided. That portion lying west of the Wabash River and a line from that river due north to the British possessions, was constituted a sepa- rate government, under the name of Illinois. This area included the present states of Illinois, Wisconsin, and peninsular Michigan. The seat of government was fixed at Kaskaskia, where

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

a territorial legislature, which consisted of the governor and the judges, convened in June, 1809. Thus the machinery of the first grade of civil government was put in operation in Illinois Territory, In 1812 the Territory of Illinois was advanced to the second grade of territorial government. This organization con- tinned until Jannary, 1818, when the territorial legislature petitioned Congress for admission into the Union as a sovereign state. A bill for this purpose was presented in Congress in April, and throngh the infinence of Nathaniel Pope, the territorial delegate, the northern boundary was extended from the line indicated in the petition to latitude 42° 30'. The reason for the change of the northern bonndary line will be more fully explained in a subsequent chapter.

ILLINOIS ADMITTED TO STATEHOOD.

An Act of Congress of April 18, 1818, pro- vided for the admission of Illinois into the Union. In Angnst of the same year the Illinois convention adopted a constitution and ordi- nance accepting the terms of admission pre- scribed by Congress. The final act by which Illinois attained its present geographical and political status was a resolution of Congress, adopted December 3, 1818, which formally de- clared the admission of the state into the Union.

CHAPTER II.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

GEOLOGICAL DEPOSITS-GALENA, BLUE AND BUFF LIMESTONE-ST. PETER'S SANDSTONE-SURFACE GEOLOGY-THE LIMESTONES-ECONOMIC GEOLOGY -BUILDING STONE-GRAVEL-MOLDING SAND- LIME-CLAY-BUILDING SAND LITTLE MINERAL WEALTH IN COUNTY - TOPOGRAPHY - WELL WATERED-ROCK, PECATONICA, SUGAR AND KISH- WAUKEE RIVERS-KILLBUCK, KENT, KEITH AND KINNIKINICK CREEKS-DISTRIBUTION OF TIMBER -HISTORIC ROCK RIVER-MARGARET FULLER-

EAGLE'S NEST BLUFF-GANYMEDE'S SPRINGS- EARLY FLORA AND FAUNA-LACK OF ROADS A SERIOUS HANDICAP-INDIAN TRAILS ONLY NAR- ROW PATHS-FEW INDIANS LATER THAN 1834.

GEOLOGICAL DEPOSITS.

The geology of Winnebago County is simple in character. There is first the nsnal qnat- ernary deposits, which consist of sand, clays, gravels, boniders, snbsoils and allnvinm. Then follow the three well-known divisions of the Trenton limestone, which ontcrop along the streams and hills, and show themselves in rail- road cuts, wells and quarries in different parts of the county. These divisions are the Galena, Blne and Buff limestones of the western geolo- gists. A perpendicular section, as near as could be constructed, exhibited the following strata : Quaternary deposits, average depth about 15 feet; Galena limestone, 96 feet ; Blne limestone, 35 feet ; Bnff limestone, 45 feet. These measurements of the liniestones were made at actual worked outcrops. At the time Volnme V of the Geological Survey was published no evidence of the St. Peter's sandstone had been discovered, although it was then believed that it came near the surface at Beloit and Rockton. In 1885, however, when Rockford began boring artesian wells, the St. Peter's sandstone was discovered. Its upper surface was irregular, varying from 170 to 200 feet below the surface of the ground. This strata varies from 200 to 250 feet in thickness. James Shaw gave it as his opinion that the Trenton limestones were at the time of his survey the only ones that had been exposed or excavated in the county.

SURFACE GEOLOGY.

The surface geology comprises allnvial de- posits, loess, and the drift proper. The usnal allnvial bottoms exist along the Rock, Peca- tonica and Sngar rivers. These are from one to five miles wide. On the latter two the de- posit is deep, black, and rich, and supports in places a heavy growth of timber. The deposit along Rock River is not so rich, and is com- posed more of sands and clays, with occasional strips of better soil. A number of the bluffs along Rock River are composed in part of loess clays, in which no fluviatile shells were noticed. This formation is of qnite limited extent. The

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

drift proper is very largely developed. It is still well preserved. This is especially true of the Galena limestone. The quarries at Argyle, Rockford and at other- points north and south of Harlem supply material for railroad masonry. The Buff also furnishes stone of good quality for ordinary mason work, and is easily quar- composed of loose detrital matter, which is often of considerable thickness, brought from long distances, and deposited over large areas of the county. This material is thought to have been brought from the metamorphic regions of the North by the action of water. The rail- . ried and worked. At present there is only one road track from Beloit to Caledonia cuts at intervals through long, undulating swells of land. These swells are pure, unmodified, un- stratified drift. Other railroads exhibit the same beds along their tracks, though in a less marked degree. Every township in the county has these gravel beds, and their underlying associate deposits of clay and sand.

THE LIMESTONES.

Two-thirds of Winnebago County is under- laid by the Galena limestone. It is a heavy- bedded, yellowish, dolomitic limestone, com- pact and irregular. There are several notable quarries and outcrops. The first heavy outcrop of the Galena limestone on Rock River in this county is about three miles above Rockford. All the cuts on the Galena division of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, which runs across the southern part of the county, show the lead- bearing rocks. One of the heaviest outcrops is east of Harlem station, on the railroad run- ning from Rockford to Caledonia. The strata are massive and solid, and furnish splendid material for railroad masonry.

The Blue limestone succeeds the Galena in the descending order. It is largely developed in the northern and northwestern portions of the county. It is a thin-bedded, bluish-gray limestone. The first two cuts east of Shirland, made by the Western Union in its excavations for a track, are perhaps the best exposures of the Blue limestone.

Only a limited portion of the county is under- laid by the Buff limestone. The chief outcrop of this formation is at the village of Rockton, where it is 45 feet in thickness.

ECONOMIC GEOLOGY.

· The county is not without resources in eco- nomic geology. The three formations of the Trenton rocks, previously noted, furnish build- ing stone of good quality. Age does not affect it, and buildings erected sixty years ago are

quarry of the Blue limestone in Rockford. Sands and clays for economic purposes are found almost everywhere along the banks of the rivers, and may be obtained from thickly strewn drift deposits. For some years a fine molding sand was obtained north of School street in Rockford, but this supply is now exhausted. About two miles northeast of the city there is a large surface of molding sand, which has been used by all the foundries in Rockford for the past ten years. There is also a quantity of molding sand in the vicinity of Rockton. Lime of excellent quality is obtained in large quan- tities in and around Rockford. Near Brown's Creek there is a bed of white clay ; and good red brick is obtained from the clay in other parts of the county. There is also a supply of good building sand. Limestone for rubble masonry abounds in almost unlimited quantity about Rockford. Large footing stone is obtained, but nothing for ornamental purposes. There is no available sandstone in the county. There is a general uniformity with the geological for- mation of the Rock River valley. Bog iron exists around many of the springs, but this deposit has no economic value. The ground is impregnated with iron, which is soluble in water, so that it disintegrates lime mortar in the foundations to the extent that it is neces- sary to use cement in place of lime for founda- tions. The county possesses very little mineral wealth. The deposits of peat are not of great value. The peat is not available for fuel, and can only be used as a fertilizer. Copper in its pure state has occasionally been found; but there is no deposit of the metal.

TOPOGRAPHY.

The topography of the county, may be briefly noted. It is well watered with fine streams. Rock River enters the county about six miles from its northeast corner, at Beloit, runs nearly due south to Rockford, then bends gradually to the west and enters Ogle County. It affords water-power at Beloit, Rockton and Rockford.

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

Pecatonica River enters the county from the west, eight miles from its southwestern corner, and flows in a general easterly and northerly course about twenty miles, and empties its turbid waters into Rock River near the village of Rockton. Sugar River enters the county from the northwest, and flows into the Peca- tonica near the village of Harrison. Other streams are Kishwaukee River, and Killbuck, Kent's, Keith's, and Kinnikinick creeks. The Indian names of these streams have their sig- nificance. Pecatonica means the "crooked

stream," or "muddy water." Sinissippi, the Indian name of Rock River, signifies "the rocky river." Kishwaukee means "clear waters." The name Winnebago is translated "fish-eater."

DISTRIBUTION OF TIMBER.

A considerable portion of the county was. covered with timber of various qualities. There was much scattering timber and brush-land in the northwestern portion along Sugar River and its tributaries, and on portions of the northern bank of the Pecatonica. This area is interspersed with occasional swampy tracts. In the southern portion of the county, along and near the Kishwaukee creeks, the face of the country is rough, hilly, brushy, and was covered with an occasional growth of timber. A few miles below Rockford, along the northern bank of Rock River, and extending north and west from the same, there is a tract of barrens covered with brushwood, and a light growth of white oak and other timber. The other portions of the county are chiefly prairie, inter- spersed with small and beautiful groves. For agricultural purposes the county is not con- sidered equal to Stephenson on the west, nor "Little Boone," its eastern neighbor.

Much of the country around Rockford was originally prairie. The first settlers found the west side of what is now the city largely wooded, reaching south below Knowlton street, and north as far as Fisher avenue, and extend- ing west beyond the creek, and to the high ground of South Rockford, and up the south branch; also on the east side from near State, south to Keith's Creek, and east to creek and to Sixth street. North of State, on the flat, was wood and brush up as far as the brewery. John H. Thurston gives this vivid description of the east side of the river as it appeared in

the spring of his arrival: "The season of 1837 opened early, and as the earth became clothed in green, it presented the most beau- tiful landscape I have ever seen. Innumer- able flowers dotted the scene in every direction. What is now the Second ward was covered with tall, thrifty white oak timber. The fires had killed most of the underbrush, and it was a magnificent park from Kishwaukee street west to the river, and from Walnut street south to the bluffs at Keith's Creek."

Geological Survey of Illinois, Volume V, fur- nishes the most complete information concern- ing the geology and topography of Winnebago County, a work published by the authority of the legislature of the state. The article de- voted to this county was contributed by James Shaw, and many of the facts given in this chap- ter were taken therefrom.

HISTORIC ROCK RIVER.

Rock River is a historic waterway, and pre- sents a great variety of picturesque scenery. Southey's apostrophe may be addressed to her : "Thou art beautiful, queen of the valley ! thou art beautiful." The Rock has practically two heads: the smaller, in a rustic stream which flows from the north into swamp-girted Lake Koshkonong; the larger, in the four lakes at Madison, the charming capital of Wisconsin, which empty their waters into the Avon-like Catfish or Yahara, which in turn pours into the Rock below Lake Koshkonong. The river at Rockford, before it was dammed, was 9 or 10 feet below its present level, and about 4 rods narrower, with clear gravel bed, and no mud or swamp about its shores. The water was very clear and pure before the cultivation of the land on its banks had caused the wash of soil by the rains. There is an interesting historic spot on the river some miles below Rockford. Margaret Fuller visited Oregon in 1843. There she found new themes for her muse. At the river-side there is a fine spring whose waters are cool and unfailing. On the bluff above it today are growing gnarled and twisted cedars. In the branches of one there was an eagle's nest. Beneath its shade Margaret Fuller wrote her poem, "Ganymede to his Eagle." The spring still sends forth its pure stream, and hundreds of people visit the spot. Under the shadow of the trees which falls upon the pool, they read

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

the marble tablet set in the solid rock above, which bears this inscription : "Ganymede's Springs, named by Margaret Fuller (Countess d' Ossoli), who named this bluff Eagle's Nest, and beneath the cedars on its crest wrote 'Gany- mede to his Eagle,' July 4, 1843."

The level at the intersection of State and Madison streets, Rockford, East side, was about 10 feet higher than at present. At the inter- section of State with First the level was about 10 feet lower than it is today. Between these two points the ground was 6 feet above its present level. From the river bank to Madison was therefore quite a steep ascent. West of the river, the ground was low, as it now appears at the knitting factories, and so continued nearly to Main street, as it yet remains in some places. South of the depot of the Chicago & North- western Railroad, on the West side, and from 10 rods west of Main street, the land was low, only a little above the creek, with the excep- tion of the ridge near the creek. When the dam was built this area was called the pond. This depression has been filled, and the site is mainly devoted to railroad purposes. The bluffs at the college grounds descended steep to the water's edge, unbroken and unworn. They were covered with grass, brush and trees on the top and sides. There were many red cedars, some of which were large and gnarled. The whole formed a pleasant and romantic spot.

FLORA AND FAUNA.

Wild flowers were abundant, both on the prai- ries and in the woods, and were of great variety and beauty. Hickorynuts, butternuts, black walnuts and hazelnuts were plenty. In fruits, there were crab apples, wild plums, thorn ap- ples, grapes, blackberries, raspberries and straw- berries. Game was plentiful. Deer, squirrel, woodchuck, wild geese, ducks, crane, heron, plover, snipe, prairie hens, partridges, quail, loon, gull, and pigeons abounded, and the timber sheltered wolves, wildcat, otter, coon and musk- rat. Mr. Thurston says : "Having never shot a game bird previous to my arrival in Rockford, the vast quantity of feathered game which I saw migrating northward in the spring of 1837

excited my unbounded surprise and admira- tion." Fish of the varieties now found in this locality was abundant .. Wild honey was ob- tained in considerable quantity. The small birds then found still remain, except those taken for game. Snakes were quite numerous. The rattlesnake and the massasauga were poi- sonous, and the blowing adder and a variety of water snake were also so considered. Today a snake is rarely seen, except in woodland and on river bottoms.

At first there were no roads, and the first track would be followed until a road was worn or a change made. The crossing of streams and sloughs was difficult. East of the city, and running nearly parallel with the river, was a wagon road made by the army wagons and trains at the time the troops under Major Smith passed on their way to the battle of Bad Axe, in Wisconsin, in 1832, where Black Hawk was defeated. This road, however, did not run on the line needed by the settlers, and it was soon obliterated. The Indian trails were of little use. The red men always went single file, so that their trails were but narrow paths, and of no special value to the settlers. These trails were easily traceable as late as 1840, and pos- sibly later.

Few antiquities, save arrows and hammers, were found, and the early race left little to mark its occupation of this region. Only a small number of Indian graves were found, and these did not indicate careful burial. Some traces of burying on scaffolds and in trees were supposed to remain; but little information can be obtained upon this point. The headless Big Thunder skeleton sat in his stockade on the courthouse mound in Belvidere as late as the autumn of 1838. But neither his renown as a warrior and chief, nor common reverence for the dead, protected his bones or marked their grave. The most of the Indians departed from this neighborhood in 1834. There were a few Pottawatomies in the vicinity of Rockton. Rock River was apparently the dividing line between the Pottawatomies and the Winnebagoes. The latter were removed to their western reserva- tion. Those who occasionally returned, singly or in small companies, to revisit their former home, were harmless to the settlers.

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume II, Part 3

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