USA > Illinois > Cass County > History of Cass county, Illinois > Part 11
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"Forty-six years laden with sorrows and joys, bright anticipations and vanquished hopes, have added both age and dignity to our little town since it was first laid out. Many of the old citizens who were wont to dream pleasant dreams over what the town would some day be, are quietly sleeping their last sleep. The boys and girls of those early times are boys and girls no longer. They have taken the places of men and women in the ranks, and are earnestly endeavoring to do the work laid out for them. The reflections, however, of what they were in their youthful days, can be seen in the many bright and happy faces of the scholars who attend the public schools. During all these years, Vir- ginia has steadily gained in financial strength, and it is to-day not only one of the solidest but one of the most beautiful little towns in Central Illinois. Nature has freely laid her golden off rings at our feet, but only those found on th surface have as yet been utilized. Some day in the future, perhaps, we may muster sufficient courage to investigate the mysteries beneath our feet, and when the light of day is once permitted to shine upon them, a transformation of our little town will take place, equally as amazing as those accom- plished by Alladin and his wonderful lamp.
"The business enterprises of the little city now include nine grocery stores, eight dry goods stores, three drug stores, two hotels, five churches, two millinery stores, four black- smith shops, two merchant tailoring establish- ments, one first-class clothing house, two bar- ber shops, two livery stables, one flour mill, one brick yard, three boot and shoe shops, five saloons, one dairy, two hardware stores, two stove and tinware establishments, two wagon manufactories, one meat market, three banks, one bakery, two restaurants, two har- ness shops, two furniture stores, two under-
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takers, one lumber yard, two agricultural implement dealers, three grain dealers, one photograph gallery, three sewing machine agencies, two title abstract offices, nine law-
yers, six physicians, two jewelry establish- ments, one book store, two dentists, three painters, three contractors and builders, one marble shop, and two printing offices.
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A
CHAPTER IX.
VIRGINIA-ITS GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT AS A CITY-THE ERA OF RAILROADS-PRO- JECT OF BUILDING THE ILLINOIS RIVER RAILROAD-THE OHIO AND MISSISSIPPI,
ETC .- NEWSPAPERS OF VIRGINIA-FIRST PAPER ESTABLISHED IN THE TOWN-THE PRESENT CITY PRESS-COURT HOUSES AND THE COUNTY SEAT QUESTION-THE JAIL-MISCELLANEOUS, ETC., ETC.
TN the preceding chapter we have seen how Virginia grew and developed into a pros- perous town, and then into a lively little eity, governed by eity rules, laws and regulations, and with a rapidly increasing population is quietly gliding on in the full tide of "suceess- ful experiment." Her growth and develop- ment, unlike many towns and cities of the West, have been rather slow, but all the more sure for being slow, and it requires no prophet to foresee her prosperous future, if her business men keep their eyes open and continue to do their whole duty. "A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid," and one that contains a plentiful stock of business energy cannot fail to prosper.
The railroads have added very materially to the growth and prosperity of Virginia, as they must do to every community through which they pass. A brief sketch of the roads passing through the eity will not be out of place in this connection.
The Illinois River Railroad was agitated as early as 1850, but it was some years later before the project assumed a tangible form. In 1852, Gen. Ruggles of Mason County, was elected to the State Senate, from the distriet comprising the counties of Sangamon, Men- ard and Mason, and at the first session in 1853, he preferred and secured the enact- ment of the eharter under which the road was built. Under this charter Gen. Ruggles went to work and procured subscriptions amount- ing to over $100,000, and organized a com-
pany. At the first election, Judge William Thomas, of Morgan County, R. S. Thomas, of Cass County, J. M. Ruggles and Franeis Low, of Mason County, and Joshua Wag- gonseller, of Tazewell County, were elected Directors; R. S. Thomas was elected Presi- dent; M. H. L. Schooley was elected Secreta- ry; and Thomas Plasters, Treasurer. With some slight changes this directory continued until the road changed its name and owner- ship. Of this directory, the Havana Herald, of Sept. 11, 1857, said: "The election of direet- ors of the Illinois River Railroad took place at Cliandlerville, on Saturday of last week. A large number of persons were present on the occasion, and an amount of stock was represented equal to $350,000. Considerable interest was manifested among those present, in regard to who should be elected to the directory, and as to how they should be ap- pointed. But after the manifestation of con- siderable feeling in regard thereto, matters were finally arranged, as we presume, to the entire satisfaetion of all parties, and directors were eleeted. The selection of a more effi- cient Board of Directors could not have been made. They are the very best men to be found along the line of the road, and their selection will meet the approbation of a large majority of the citizens of the different coun- ties through which the road will pass, and give renewed confidence to the friends of this great improvement."
The counties and principal towns through
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which the road was surveyed, subscribed liberally toward building it. Morgan County voted $50,000 stock; Cass, $100,000; Mason, $100,000-$50,000 at two different times; Ha- vana, the county-seat of Mason, voted $15,000; Bath, in Mason County, 810,000, while other cities did well in the same substantial manner. W. G. Wheaton of Peoria, was the first en- gineer employed, but soon developed a dis- position to locate depots and speculate in town lots, which led to a disruption with the directory, and finally resulted in his discharge from the employment of the company, and the selection of another engineer.
The contract was let in May, 1857, for grad- ing, bridging and furnishing cross-ties be- tween Pekin and Jacksonville, a distance of about seventy miles. Allen and McGrady, of Indiana, became the contractors, and the work began at Bath in September, 1857, and was pushed forward rapidly until completed from Pekin to Virginia, which was accomplished in 1859. The section from Pekin to Peoria was finished in 1864, and from Virginia to Jacksonville in 1869; thus completing an un- broken line from Peoria to Jacksonville. For a local road it has always done a heavy busi- ness. During the late civil war, the road changed hands, by reason of a foreclosure of first mortgage, and the name was changed to that of Peoria, Pekin and Jacksonville Rail- road, and for years, was operated for that com- pany, by John Allen and J. F. Kelsey, who gave very general satisfaction in their man- agement. In 1878, the road went into the hands of a receiver, Mr. John Allen, and some- time after, the controlling interest passed to the Wabash Railway, since which time it has remained a feeder to that great system.
It is a matter of wonder to all strangers who visit Virginia, and a source of consider- able profanity to the majority of commercial travelers, that the depot of this road, was lo- cated almost as near to Springfield as it is to
Virginia, and " thereby hangs a tale." One, however, which we shall not attempt to " un- fold," further than that its being partly at least, caused by the war then existing between the east and west ends of the city, by little under-currents of feeling, local prejudices, and, in fact, wheels within wheels, which together, resulted in the road being located beyond the eastern limits of the city. It is of considerable inconvenience to the citizens of the town and to visitors, and the project now agitated to some extent, of building a union depot, would be hailed by all with unbounded pleasure. However, what is a loss to the citizens and traveling public is a gain to others-the bus men.
The Springfield division of the Ohio & Mis- sissippi Railroad crosses the Peoria, Pekin & Jacksonville road at this place. It was char- tered as the Springfield & Illinois Southeast- ern, and was built through this section in 1871- 72. Cass County manifested her interest in the enterprise by voting $50,000 stock, for which bonds were issued of $1,000 cach. Twelve of these bonds have been paid. The road be- came involved, and after the usual amount of wire-pulling it was sold, and purchased by the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad, March 1, 1875, since which time, it has been known as the " Springfield Division of the Ohio & Mississip- pi." While it is not kept in the best condition, yet it has been of great advantage to Virginia in giving her a more direct outlet to Eastern markets, and connections at Springfield with several first-class roads. These two roads have made Virginia what she is, and afford her ample means of transportation and travel.
The Press .- No art save that of printing can reproduce the original emanations of genius in unlimited number, and as long as time shall last. Statues, monuments, paint- ings, molder and fade, and with them the names of those they were intended to me- morialize; but the volume of to-day may be re-
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printed ten thousand years hence, if the world shall endure so long, and the last copy will be, for all praetieal purposes, as available as the first. In this age of refinement and civilization, of education and letters; an age in which a Henry Clay rises from the humble " Mill-boy of the Slashes " to the greatest statesman the world ever saw, and an Abra- ham Lincoln steps up by regular gradation from a gawky rail-splitter to President of the United States; in this age of advancement we say, a town of any importanee at all, without a newspaper, would indeed be phenomenal. It is to be regretted, however, that many see- tions of the country pay so little attention to their newspapers, and contribute so little to their support. Said Daniel Webster: "I eare not how unpretending a newspaper may be every issue contains something that is worth the subscription price." In Ohio it is a State law that every newspaper published in the county, shall be kept on file in the office of the County Auditor, and at the end of each year be bound in volumes at the publie ex- pense. This is a good move, and should be followed in the other States. There is no other way so correet of preserving the country's history as through the medium of the press. The very advertisements eventually become historical facts, and sometimes of the greatest value. The press of to-day, it can not be dis- puted, is the ruling element, not only in the politieal, but in the social world.
The newspaper history of Virginia dates back to 1847, when the Chronicle was estab- lished. It was an ultra Whig paper, and was originally started by a Mr. Tilden, an own cousin, it is said, of the Sage of Gramercy Park, Samuel J. Tilden, of New York. Mark W. Dellaha became the editor and proprie- tor, and conducted the paper until 1852, when he sold out to parties who removed the paper from the town. Mr. Dellaha was a lawyer of considerable prominence and ability, and
a fine orator. After selling out the Chronicle he removed to Kansas, in 1853, and estab- lished the first paper at Leavenworth, pub- lished in the State. Subsequently he became Judge of the United States District Court of Kansas.
The Cass County Times was the next paper established in Virginia, and sprang into exist- ence about the year 1855, through the energy and enterprise of Richard S. Thomas, one of the most pushing, and live, wide-awake busi- ness men in the town. Mr. Thomas conducted the Times as a neutral paper until the cam- paign of 1860, when it raised the standard of the Republican party, as led by Abraham Lincoln in the contest for the presidency. Thomas disposed of the editorial management of the Times to Prof. MeDowell, by whom it was operated until the close of the year 1860, or beginning of 1861, when it was sold to Mr. Naylor, and the office removed to Pekin, a move which resulted in establishing the Taze- well Republican.
During the - hotly contested and exciting campaign of 1860, a company was formed which started the Cass County Union, a Douglas paper, edited by Lafayette Briggs, who published it until the fall of 1864. It had beeome the property of Jacob Dunnaway, who sold it to a gentleman, and it was moved to Beardstown, but was shortly after again re- moved, and this time to El Paso. Virginia was now without a paper, and remained so un- til 1867, when a Republican paper was estab- lished by John S. Harper and N. S. Pur- vianee. It was shortly after purchased by L. S. Allard, who changed it, or commenced the publication of the Cass County Courier. While these changes were taking place, the Democrats again established a county organ, with a Mr. Friend as editor; it finally fell in- to the hands of J. J. Bunce, who published for a time the Jeffersonian; but later moved the office to Chandlerville. The Courier was
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
published by L. S. Allard, until in February, 18 2, when he leased the office to his son, H. C. Allard and W. M. Summers, by whom the name of the paper was changed to the Guzette, and operated by the firm about one year. Mr. Allard then retired and Mr. Sum- mers became editor and proprietor of the pa- per. The Gazette under the management of Mr. Summers, at once took rank with the best conducted newspapers of the State, be- ing bold and fearless in its advocacy of what its editor deemed right and just. Every issue of the paper was eagerly read by an increas- ing list of subscribers, and while many may not have agreed with the editor in his policy, or endorsed his methods of treatingmen and measures, all admitted his earnestness, and ad- mired the bold and manly course he pursued in treating of local issues andcounty affairs.
In the memorable contest over the removal of the county seat, the Gazette was a staunch and able advocate of the Virginia interest, and in the county elections pending the contest, to his efforts, more than to any other one man, may be ascribed the successful issue of the "People's movement," which placed in most of the county offices men who were pronounced for Virginia. To say that Mr. Summers was without enemies would be to assert that which is not borne out by the facts. A man of so pronounced a character, so bold in speech, so strong a hater, and so carnest a friend, must needs have enemies, and they lost no oppor- tunity to heap abuse upon him. Through all the Gazette continued to prosper, and became widely known as a fearless, able and out- spoken paper. In February, 1876, Mr. Sum- mers's health failed. He had suffered the previous year with disease of the lungs, and was unable at all times to attend to the duties of his office. After vainly seeking health in the cooling breezes of the north, he was com- pelled to retire from the Gazette, which was purchased by Messrs. Brownlee & Allard, who
assumed charge February 25, 1876. Mr. Summers died in Petersburg, Ill., in Novem- ber following.
Mr. Allard, of the firm of Brownlee & Allard, was, together with Mr. Summers, a founder of the Gazette. Mr. Allard retired in Sep- tember, 1876, and Mr. Brownlee continued alone until August 17, 1877, when T. L. Mat- thews and W. H. Thacker became proprietors. Mr. Matthews bought out Thacker, January 18, 1878, and January 3, 1879, H. C. Allard again became interested in the paper. During the campaign of 1880, C. M. Tinney, the present editor, had editorial control, while Mr. Allard was in Fort Smith, Ark., conducting the New Era, owned by Hon. V. Dell, then United States Marshal of the Western District of Ar- kansas. April 29, 1881, Mr. Tinney bought the Gazette, and assumed full control of it, which position he has ever since maintained. Under his management, the Gazette has lost nothing of its former high standing as an able and influential newspaper, but continues to im- prove in character and excellence. It ranks among the very best papers in Central and Southern Illinois, and is the leading Repub- lican paper in this section. Mr. Tinney is an able and efficient writer, and a live, and wide-awake newspaper man, deserving of liberal support from the town and county.
The Virginia Enquirer is a weekly paper, published in Virginia. It is the official organ of the Democratic party in Cass County, and an able and earnest exponent of the principles of the Jacksonian Democracy.
The Enquirer was started by John S. Harper and J. J. Bunce, in the spring of 1874, and the first number was issued about the first of August in that year. After an existence of about two months, Mr. Bunce sold his half interest to J. H. Remtsen. A few weeks later Mr. Remtsen disposed of his interest to Jolin S. Harper. After running the paper seven or eight months, Mr. Harper sold the establish- ยท
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
ment to a Democratic Stock Company, and the management of the paper was entrusted to C. A. Crandall and Thomas Thompson. In the winter of 1876, the Stock Company dis- posed of the property to William T. Dowdall, of the Peoria Democrat. In March, 1877, John Frank, the present proprietor, purchased the paper from Mr. Dowdall, and issued his first number on the nineteenth of that month. Mr. Frank gave the paper a new dress, put in new job material, and otherwise increased the facilities of the office. As time rolled on, the business grew and prospered, and he was com- pelled from time to time to enlarge the paper. The subscription-list is, at this time, five times as large as it was when Mr. Frank took pos- session. The paper is a large seven column quarto, whose advertising columns are crowded with advertisements from the best houses in central Illinois. It is a live local sheet, and ranks among the sterling Democratic papers of the State. Mr. Frank has labored hard to bring it up to its present standard, and the success that has attended his efforts, is no more than he deserves.
The people of Virginia and the surround- ing community, have two as able local newspapers in the Enquirer and Gazette as are to be found in any county in the State. They should feel proud of their city press, and support it as it deserves to be supported.
Court Houses .- Virginia has twice been the seat of justice of Cass County. The county was organized in 1837, and Beardstown was made the seat of justice, but, as we learn from Judge Shaw's Centennial address, failed to comply with the act of the legislature re- quiring the sum of ten thousand dollars to be paid in to the county treasury for the erec- tion of public buildings, and the County Commissioners, under a provision of the act, located the county seat at Virginia. The fol- lowing act was passed by the legislature and approved March 2, 1839:
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the county seat of Cass County shall be and remain at Virginia, and the courts of said county shall hereafter be held at that place; and the several county officers who are required to keep their offices at the county seat, are re- quired to remove their respective offices, and all bonds, documents, books and papers pertain- ing to the same to Virginia on or before the first day of May next, and thereafter hold and keep their offices at that place, etc., etc., etc.
Thus the county seat was moved to Vir- ginia in an early period of the county's exist- ence, and also in an early period of the exist- ence of Virginia, which had been laid but a year or two before. Fifteen acres of land were donated by Dr. Hall, the proprietor of Vir- ginia, for the purpose of erecting public build- ings. A public square had been laid out, be- ing that in the west end of the town, upon which the public school building now stands. Upon this square a court house was erected at a cost of near $2,000. It was a two-story brick, and served as a temple of justice until the county saat was moved back to Beards- town in 1843-44. The vote was taken in September of 1843, resulting in the " perma- nent location of the county seat at Boards- town," but which proved to be otherwise than " permanent." It was not, however, until the famous election in 1822, that the ques- tion of the county seat was settled, perhaps, forever, by again moving it, or re-locating it at Virginia. There is little fear of its ever being moved back to Beardstown, and, in- deed, looking at the matter from a disinter- ested standpoint, we can really see no reason why it should not remiin where it now is. It is near the geographical centre of the county, has two railroads crossing almost at right angles, an excellent court house and jail, all of which considered, will no doubt conspire to keep it at Virginia henceforth.
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
The present court house is a modern brick structure, erected on the new public square of Virginia, " Washington Fountain Square," in anticipation of the removal of the county seat back here. It cost about $25,000, and was built by the business men and citizens of the town, and presented to the county for a court house. The removal of the county seat was, in a manner, caused by this liber- ality of the citizens, as its removal involved the county in no expense. The court house is a substantial and elegant building, con- taining the county offices, court room, jury rooms, etc., and stands in the center of a beautifully shaded square. But few counties in the State have a better court house for the money it cost, than the one that now decks the public square of Virginia.
The jail building was erected in Virginia in 1876, and is a substantial building, costing about $15,000. It is a safe depository for criminals and evil-doers, and is finished off in the strongest manner possible. To it is at- tached a sheriff or jailer's residence, which is quite a comely building. The prison part of the building is of stone, containing eight cells ; the sheriff's residence is of brick, with stone trimmings, which sets it off in handsome style.
Virginia has never been troubled very se- riously with fires. It is an axiom of military law, that " in time of peace prepare for war," and no one can say just when some mischiev- ious cow will take it into her head to kick over a coal-oil lamp. There are many wooden buildings in town that would burn like -, well, just like houses. For instance, if a fire was to break out some day -- windy day or night, on the east side of the square, and get
five minutes the start, it would take some- thing more than the little machine pointed out to us the other day as Virginia's fire ap- paratus, and which might be taken, at a caus- ual glance, for a wheelbarrow or a delivery hand cart, to extinguish it. A few public wells or cisterns, and a good fire engine, may sometime save the town from a destructive conflagration.
It has ever been a custom of mankind to care for the dead. Loving hands lay them away to their last rest, with faces looking up- ward and eastward; because, from the ele- vated Orient, the Archangel will come to summon them to judgment. In an early period of Virginia's history, a cemetery was laid out west of the town, upon land donated by Dr. Hall; this was used until the laying out of the present cemetery, when most of the bodies were taken up and moved to the new burial grounds. Walnut Ridge, the present city cemetery, was surveyed and laid out July 8, 1873, and the plat made by J. S. Lynch, county surveyor. The cemetery was established under an act of the legislature, authorizing cities and towns to buy, hold and improve cemeteries as public property, under restrictions adopted by city councils. Thus Walnut Ridge Cemetery was purchased and improved. It is a beautiful location for a burying ground, and with plenty of time and money spent upon its improvement, it can be made a place of surpassing loveliness. Already there are many beautiful lots laid out with taste, and ornamented with flowers and shrubbery, while neat stones and monu- ments, rising here and there, symbolize the affection of surviving friends for their loved and lost ones.
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
CHAPTER X.
VIRGINIA-RELIGIOUS HISTORY-FIRST CHURCHES AND PREACHERS-THE DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS AND THEIR TEMPLES OF WORSHIP-SUNDAY SCHOOLS, ETC .- EDUCATIONAL-THE EARLY SCHOOLS OF VIRGINIA-PIONEER TEACHERS- THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS -- C. P. COLLEGE-WAR HISTORY -- SECRET AND BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS, ETC., ETC.
C YHRISTIAN truth is the superstructure on
which every society which approximates perfection, must rest. Said an old minister of the Gospel : "It used to make my heart sick in the early years of my ministry to dismiss members of my charge to churches in distant regions, and have brothers and sisters and neighbors leave us for the new settlement in the opening Territories. But as I have grown older and followed these cmigrants to their new homes, and have found them far more useful in church and State than they ever could have been in the regions they have left behind, where others held the places of influence -as I have scen them giving a healthy and vigorous tone to society, while the separation causes a pang of sorrow, the good accomplished more than compensates for the pleasure lost." It was to such emi- grants as those mentioned in the foregoing extract, that Illinois is indebted, for the Christian civilization she to-day enjoys. The good seed brought hither by these humble pioneers, have produced an hundred fold.
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