USA > Illinois > McLean County > Normal > History of Bloomington and Normal, in McLean County, Illinois > Part 11
USA > Illinois > McLean County > Bloomington > History of Bloomington and Normal, in McLean County, Illinois > Part 11
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TEMPERANCE.
Bloomington is entitled to the credit of being one of the first places in the West to organize a temperance society. The town was but little over one year old when the movement was made. Mr. A. C. Washburne, who organized the first Sabbath school here, took the first step in the great work. With the assistance of those friendly, he called a public meeting November 17, 1832, at 4 in the afternoon, at the schoolhouse. At the appointed hour, the small room was well filled with an interested assemblage. One of the two physicians of the place made rather an excited speech against the move- ment. He complimented Mr. Washburne by remarking that he had no great fear of the weak movement, now being made in itself considered; but there was something behind the curtain which he feared. He said the people "away down East " were sending their agents out West and all through the country to form Sunday schools and organize temperance societies, and these were all tied to the East as with a big, long cart- rope, and the Eastern people thought by these means to get control of the country, unite Church and State, and then woe to any who thought and acted different from them ! He was glad of the opportunity to express his views. A speech of this char- acter was not anticipated, and the temperance movement came near being strangled at its birth, as the public generally sympathized with the objections thus eloquently set forth. Mr. Washburne had prepared a constitution and by-laws for the McLean County Temperance Society, and also a temperance pledge. In his quiet, unobtrusive manner, he circulated this pledge, and obtained nine names; but there was too much excitement to organize, and this was not accomplished until December 15, 1832. Mr. Washburne was the first Secretary. Among the first to assist in the temperance movement were Benjamin Depew, David Trimmer, Solomon Dodge, and their wives.
The first temperance lecture was delivered February 3, 1833, by Rev. Neal John- son, of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. His text was, " Whether, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God." Ten more signatures were then obtained to the pledge, and the temperance bark was fairly launched in Blooming- ton, as the Society soon numbered two hundred members. This Society lived and prospered, doing a good work, until the time of the great Washingtonian movement, about the year 1840, which took its place, bringing to the temperance cause an army of new workers, carrying its banners higher up the walls, where they have ever waved triumphantly. Among those who gave vigorous assistance in the latter movement, we may mention Jesse W. and Kersey H. Fell, Dr. John F. Henry, Dr. W. C. Hobbs, A. J. Merriman and many others.
This Washingtonian temperance movement created great interest and accomplished a vast amount of good. It was successful in appealing to men by moral suasion, and is always referred to as that era of the temperance reform which has been entirely free from all objections.
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In the early part of 1812, this Washingtonian movement was at its full height and at this time there was formed a juvenile temperance society, which included nearly all the children in Bloomington It appeared to the adults as if the next generation world most certainly do away with the traffic in intoxicating drinks, in ismuch as, if the children stood firm, there would be none who would domand these indulgence. On the 4th day of July, 1842, the juveniles had a celebration and picnic at the grove, where is now the corner of Center and Wood streets, which was an occasion of great publie interest Among the boys of that day who took part, we have the names of JJohn L. Rontt, Robert A. Miller, John W. Allin, Charles Lander and John W. Haggard. The effect of this juvenile movement, added to the regular Washingtonian influence, lasted for several years, and carried the temperance banners high up on the walls of morality and reform ; but, in time, these lost their novelty, and society must be acted upon in a different manner, though, in the interim, the cause was greatly depressed.
About the year IS48, the Sons of Temperance, a seeret organization, with Dr. W C. Hobbs as the first Worthy Patriarch, commenced the great work which was kept up for a good many years. Among those who took a prominent part in this, were Rev. George W. Minier. Dr. E. Thomas, A. T. Briscoe and John M. Scott. Through the labors of the members of this order, a large number of drunkards were reformed, and in various directions the temperance movement was kept alive and in good hands. In the year 1850, there was not a saloon in the city of Bloomington, showing us they were up and doing.
We do not profess to write a full history of the temperance work of Bloomington, as our space is too limited. The materials exist for an history of this matter that shall be of intense interest, and of great local, we may almost say of great national, impor- tance, as here in Bloomington have originated several highly important projects in the good cause, whose carrying-out became of national interest. Furthermore, while these materials of history exist, they are very difficult to obtain. The cause of temperance is like that of the Christian religion in this respect, that it is found in a great variety of shapes and methods ; in other words, it has taken upon itself the most remarkable forus in the way of organizations. But unlike Christianity, which is historically traced through the various sects and societies-the cause of temperance seems to run through the most wonderful changes. As soon as one particular form of labor has lost its inter- est to the public, the friends of temperance re-organize, and are found laboring in a dif- fiorent manner. Hence, we find it impossible to trace properly, in the short space allotted us, the history of the different forms and shapes in which the friends of temperance have been organized. We have mentioned a few of these, but we cannot dwell upon the Temple of Honor, an Order rather higher than the last-mentioned, or trace the history of all the various temperance societies intervening between the years 1832 and 1-79.
We should mention that when the Maine Law excitement swept over the land in 1454 and 1855, it found Bloomington people ready to take hold and do their share in the movement. Society here was stirred deeply, and every means possible was resorted to, in order to secure what the friends of the movement believed would be to the best interest of the cause. These efforts culminated in 1955, by the election of a full anti- license City Council, with Franklin Price for Mayor, A strong prohibitory ordinance was passed, and a tremendous effort to enforce it was made for several months Saloons were raided by the city officers; liquors poured into the streets, and a series of legal
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prosecutions ensued that were very expensive to the city, as well as vexatious and pro- voking to all concerned. In the end. the city government adopted the license system and adhered to it for many years. In all probability the anti-license ordinance would have been sustained. and Bloomington would have remained permanently on that side of the question. but for the immense increase in population which took place here during these days- from 1854 to 1856-when the new-comers were. many of them, persons who were little in sympathy with the people who had long been living here. and who had been laboring together in the temperance cause. About the year 1857, the order of Good Templars was organized, and again there was something of a revival of temperance effort. During the war, this order was allowed to disband, but before its close it again re-organized, and from the year 1865 to 1876, it was a tremendous power in Bloomington, and it is even yet in a good condition for future usefulness. At one time. there were several different lodges. at least three being in operation ; while at the same time, as in truth we may as well state, was the case from the time of the organization of the first secret temper- ance lodge in 1848-there were in existence powerful societies of a public nature. all laboring in the same good cause.
While Bloomington people were at work in the local temperance field. they did not forget that in this. as in the cause of Christianity. " the field is the world." and they took part in wider enterprises. We furnish from the pen of John W. Haggard. a history of our city's connection with the organization of the National Prohibition Party.
On the 12th of December, 1638. a mass State Convention met at Bloomington. for the pur- Dose of considering the status of the case. and. if possible. to adopt some additional and better modes of action than had heretofore been employed. This was one of the largest and most en- thusiastic temperance conventions ever held in Illinois. After discussing the question nearly a whole day, it was decided to go into political action. and they proceeded at once to appoint a State Central Committee, and provide all the machinery of a modern political party.
The National Prohibition Party was first organized at Chicago. September, 1869. On the 221 of February. 1872. the second National Convention met at Columbus. Ohio. and put in nomi- nation for President and Vice President. James Black. of Pennsylvania, and John Russell, of Michigan. The ticket received about seven thousand votes.
The third National Convention met May 1;, 18:3. at Cleveland, Ohio, and nominated Green Clay Smith, of Kentucky. and Gideon T Stewart. of Ohio. They received about thirty-five thousand votes. notwithstanding oll party lines were closely drawn, and the party lash more vigorously plied than for many years past, whereby thousands of Prohibitionists were led to be- lieve it their duty to vote one or the other ticket for the purpose of " saving the country."
In the fall of 18"", we had State tickets in eight or nine States, and polled about sixty thousand votes, showing a healthy steady growth from the beginning. The same ratio of increase will in ten years from this date give us control of the National Government and a majority of the States.
A complete organization exists in the following States, to wit : Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan. Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. with several others yet to follow this year.
That Gol will hasten the day when the liquor traffic shall be overthrown, is the prayer of every consistent temperance man and woman in the land.
On the 16th of March, 1874, the Woman's Temperance League was organized in Bloomington. Mrs Jennie F. Willing was first President, Miss Mary Dean, Secretary, and Mrs. M. D. Marquis. Treasurer. The above-named organization co-operating with the Good Templars. and with all temperance bodies in Bloomington, obtained a vote of the
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people at the city election, in April, instructing the City Council nit to grant any liegen- In sell intoxicating liquore
This action was taken by the Woman's Temperano Logue after careful thought and prayerful deliberation They marshalel their forces and managed the Gunpsizw with great ability, even to sending delegations of representative ladies to each sering place in the different wards. The majority for " no license" was 159. The election took place on the 20th of April. 1-74. One half of the newly-elected Ald rin were opposed to liseuse, but as one-half the Council held over from the election of 1973 and this portion were mostly in favor of license, the Council contained a majority of the latter class Its " prohibition " ordinance, voted in accordance with the wish of the people, was not such an ordinance as the real friends of temperance desirel. It lett dealers at liberty to sell under the State law in quantities of one gallon. A weik offert was made to enforce this " gallon " ordinance, and. after a few months, the city return ! to the old system of license. Even as it was, the statistics of the Police Department show that for this year the number of arrests for drunkenness was 30 per cent less than in the following year
In the latter part of the summer of 1574. a call went out from Bloomington for a meeting of the temperance women of Illinois, and the result was that in October the State Woman's Christian Temperance Union was organized here. Our ladies who were engaged in the narrow field of Bloomington did not forget that there was a larger sphere of labor, and they assisted in organizing a more comprehensive Society. The Woman's Temperance League here now became a sub-organization of the State Society, which soon had a foot-hold in most of the prominent towns in this State. The Woman - Christian Temperance Union of Bloomington is the mainspring of the Temperane. work in Bloomington, and keeps a watchful, steadfast, prayerful guard over the cause Its present President is Mrs. Crego; its Vice President is Mr. G. H Read: Mr- Merchant is its Secretary, and Mrs. James Winslow is Treasurer.
In 1875, this Society organized a very large number of the children of the city into the Star Temperance Union, and, in all, nearly two thousand boys and girls have become members. These all take the triple obligation-abjuring intoxicants and tobago. and refraining from profanity. The strength of this society is such that, as in Is 42. it seems as if the next generation might be a temperate people. The first President of this Society was Mrs. G. H. Read, and Dr. Sitherwood now holds that position. From this Society there is now a uniformed company of boys, called Temperance Cadets, who make a beautiful appearance.
In May, 1575, occurred at Bloomington a Good Templar' Meeting of the Grand Lage of the World. It was an event long to be remembered. There were in attend- ance delegates from thirty three States of the Union, and several of the provinces of the Canadian Dominion were represented. There were a number of delegites from England, New Zealand, Bermuda and other foreign countries. This meeting mliete. plainly that the temperance people of Bloomington have a worldwide reputation In was in session on the 20th, 27th and 25th days of May.
We must repeat our observation as to the impossibility of obtaining or publishing a full history of the different organizations of the temperance movement. Weare even in danger of overlooking the fact that among our Irish citizens there are several power ful temperance organizations The Father Mathew Total Abstinence and Bonesgent
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Society, and the St. Patrick Total Abstinence and Benevolent Society, are both strong organizations, and are doing, perhaps, as much good as any others in our city.
We will close our sketch with a brief mention of the " Washingtonian Club," which was organized May 25, 1876. This Club is a very remarkable institution. Its success in rescuing drunkards and moderate drinkers from their impending fate, has endeared it to the hearts of our citizens. The society leaped into life and power with wonderful rapidity. In the fall of 1876, it rented the auditorium of the old Methodist Church, and there it holds weekly meetings, frequent social gatherings, and constantly meets for Sabbath-afternoon lectures. It has saved hundreds of the victims of intemperance, and has accomplished a wonderful amount of good. As far as the human eye can see, this organization is entitled to stand at the head of all agencies for good now in opera- tion in Bloomington, not excepting our churches or other organizations.
From this society influences for good have radiated in all directions. Other clubs have been formed in this State, organized upon a similar basis, and under the same name. The Bloomington club is known as the Washingtonian Club No. 1. Mr. A. B. Camp- bell, one of its prominent members, has devoted the past two years to lecturing and laboring throughout this State. He is a powerful speaker, and has acquired a very envi- able name.
Our Club has increased so that it is one of the largest in the world. Its member- ship is now 5,460. The President is Joseph O. Pullen ; First Vice President, M. McIntire ; Second Vice President, J. H. Sprague ; Treasurer, G. H. Read ; Secretary, B. W. Mason. Its Trustees are William W. Ives, Henry M. Waite, Arthur J. Means and N. N. Winslow. Its Chaplain is R. A. Curtis. Its first President was Dr. George S. Smith ; Vice President, Mrs. C. H. Waite; William Munger, Secretary ; Mrs. Hattie Allin, Assistant Secretary ; John Magoun, Treasurer. Mr. Magoun gave the organization of this Club his hearty co-operation and assistance; and, but for his aid, it might not have become established. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union are entitled to much of the credit for the inauguration of this movement, over which they have kept a watchful care ever since its organization.
In all the years that have passed since the organization of the McLean County Temperance Society at the little log schoolhouse in 1832, the cause of temperance has passed through most wonderful changes. Whenever a particular form of organization has lost its charm; when the novelty has left it, we find the movement has taken another shape, and the great cause has on the whole gone forward and upward better than ever before. This historical record should be an incentive to all who are now engaged in the work. From it they can see their way clear to labor unceasingly in the good cause-confident of final success.
NURSERIES.
As early as 1848, fruit trees were sold in Bloomington by Robert Fell, and about the same time by Nelson Buck. There may have been something done before this on a small scale, but it was not until after this that Bloomington became widely advertised as a tree-growing point. Dr. Schroder was perhaps the first to make his busines known to the outside world, more particularly in the line of grapes, which were not cultivated in this neighborhood with much success, until he made the public aware that the climate would admit of the production of the grape. Dr. Schroder was one of the
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earliest to advertise Bloomington as a nursery town, and his circulars, advertisements articles in newspapers, and his enthusiasm at horticultural and pomological conventions contributed largely to make known the fact that Bloomington was the center of the business. He deserves to be classed among the foremost in this branch of Blooming- ton'- development.
In the year 1854, Mr. F. K. Phoenix, then from Delavan, Wis., made a beginning of the famous nurseries that have so long been a credit to his energy and an advertise- ment to Bloomington. . He saw that the completion of the two new railroads then building would give Bloomington shipping facilities that rendered it an important point for the business. He embarked his means and carried on his transactions on a gigantic scale. At times he employed over two hundred men ; and during the height of his business, from 1866 to 1870, his sales were immense. He had as many as six hundred acres under cultivation, and engaged in the sale of nursery stock, both at wholesale and retail, including seeds, plants, trees, and everything that could be desired in this line of business. Other nurseries were owned here by different parties, amounting, in the aggregate, to almost as much more, and Bloomington became known all over the United States as the " Rochester of the West." Probably no one single business has carried the name of Bloomington to as many homes, as did that of Mr. Phoenix, advertised in nearly all the publications of the land.
Orders were received here from all the countries where the English language is spoken, and often from other parts of the world. It was a heavy loss to Bloomington and Normal, and a source of public regret, when this business began to fall off in 1873 to 1879, and it is feared we shall never see it as flourishing again. The rapid increase of nurseries in Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, explains the changed state of affairs. The Phoenix nurseries, Dr. H. Schroeder's, F. A. Baller's, J. D. Robinson's, and several other- are still engaged in the business, which is even yet one of considerable importance. What has been stated in relation to the Phoenix nurseries, applies to Normal Township. as they are in that town; but from having been called the Bloomington nurseries so long. it seemed best to speak of them in the history of the latter corporation.
COAL.
The first blacksmith's coal used in Bloomington was teamed from Danville, Peoria, or some distant point. No one dreamed of finding coal under our soil until scientific geologists conceived the idea from their knowledge of the formation of the crust of the earth, taken in connection with what science taught from the appearance of the coal- bearing strata, at places where coal was mined on the surface, as at Danville and places along the Illinois River. For a long time, science made but little headway in convin- cing our citizens where to look for coal, and train-loads of the article arrived from Duquoin from Peoria and La Salle. Lecturers on geology, among whom was Prof. C. Wilber, for many years in charge of the museum at the Normal University, continued to teach the public, and the newspapers aiding them, it was finally decided to bore for coal. The first attempt was made in 1863, in a field west of the Chicago & Alton Railroad shops, where dwelling-houses have since been constructed. The City Council spent $2,000, and quite a sum was raised by private subscription, all under the superin- tendence of Eliel Barber. The men who did the horing could run a machine of that Fort, but could not tell what their auger passed through. After going down over five
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hundred feet, the most they could report was having passed through a black shale slate, and in which it could not be possible coal existed. The trouble seemed to be that their auger mixed the coal, sand, clay and other material most inextricably, and there was no such thing as ascertaining what was discovered. Of course our citizens were dis- couraged by the result, and coal was still imported at enormous figures. There were many of our people who were firmly of the opinion that coal would be found by boring with suitable tools, and another effort was made in 1866, this time entirely by private subscription. The following is a copy of the subscription paper :
BLOOMINGTON, Ill., May 28, 1866.
We, the undersigned, agree to pay on demand, to John Magoun and C. W. Holder, or order, the sums set opposite our respective names, for the purpose of prospecting and boring for coal in or near the city of Bloomington, said work to be commenced within ninety days from this date. The amount so collected and paid to John Magoun and C. W. Holder to be by them dis- bursed for the securing of the above object. If coal is found in paying quantities, the company formed for mining purposes shall re-imburse the subscribers by giving them stock. money, or coal as they elect. If coal is not found in paying quantities, the money shall be lost by the respective subscribers.
There were many other subscribers who gave money, amounting to $1,700, of which about $1,200 was paid. Boring was commenced at onee, near the present city well.
November 15, 1866, when at the depth of 160 feet, the drill was lost, all attempts to recover it having proved fruitless ; and it is an historical fact that the auger still remains in that " bore." The money was expended ; the tools lost; the public gener- ally took a very desponding view of the situation ; coal continued to be shipped into Bloomington at the rate of 20,000 tons per year, and the coal-mine owners at points then supplying Bloomington were in great spirits.
But a few energetic young men, whose names deserve to be written among the benefactors of our city, who had been watching the operations with careful attention, conceived the idea that, with proper care on the part of those who managed the auger, after the experience gained in the two former attempts, success would be almost certain, and they boldly undertook the third trial, in the face of an almost despairing public senti- ment, asking no aid from any and using their own money. Their operations were con- ducted with great care, at an expense of $1,300, and the result was that coal of a good quality was discovered, at a depth of 302 feet, on the 27th day of February, 1867. These gentlemen were Thomas J. Bunn, Judson L. Spaulding, Dr. H. C. Luce and James L. Ridelhuber.
History compels us to add that they never made any money out of the North Shaft Coal Company, which they organized in June, 1867-another reason why their names should be held in grateful remembrance.
Before this coal company had been long in existence, a second was formed, in 1867, and a shaft put down near the crossing of the Chicago & Alton and the I., B. & W. R. R., where the McLean County Coal Company is in successful operation. Their shaft is now 540 feet in depth, and they employ 200 men. During the past winter, this company has furnished coal of a good quality, at the shaft, at the wonderfully low price of $1.50 per ton. This company is an immense advantage to Bloomington and to all the surrounding country, and should be encouraged in every possible manner. It is one of our most worthy enterprises, being, in fact, the employer of a larger number of men
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