USA > Illinois > DuPage County > History of Du Page County, Illinois 1876 > Part 10
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The Baptist Society has a church building erected in
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HISTORY OF DU PAGE COUNTY.
1855. The Methodist Church effected an organization and erected a house of worship in 1854.
There are here a tannery and flouring mill, a hotel, and stores. The public school is attended by fifty scholars.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF NAPERVILLE.
The first inhabitant of this town was Capt. Joseph Naper, who came to this State from Ashtabula County, Ohio, in the winter of 1831. His family arrived in June of the same year, and occupied a log house near the present site of the grist mill. As the history of the first few years of the settlement of this town has already been given in the general view of the county, a repeti- tion of it is deemed unnecessary in this place.
The land in this town is generally level. The soil is productive, and equally favorable to grass and the cul- tivation of grain. The town abounds in limestone, and furnishes lime in considerable quantities for market in other towns. In the east part of the town, stone of an excellent quality for building purposes is found. Exten- sive sand beds have also been opened, which yield an abundance of sand of a superior quality, and material for brick and tile are also found in extensive beds.
Although the town is well watered, yet there are no streams of much note, excepting the DuPage river, which runs through it from north to south, on the east side. This stream affords several advantageous mill sites in its - course through the town.
The village of Naperville lies partly in the town of Lisle, being divided by the town line into two unequal parts-the greater lying in the town of Naperville. In
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THE TOWN OF NAPERVILLE.
our notice of the village, we include the territory lying within the corporation in both towns.
The first frame building erected here was by A. H. Howard, in the fall of 1833. It stood a few rods south of the present dwelling of Mr. John Horn. Among the buildings next put up, of this description, was the Pre- emption House, by Mr. George Laird, in 1835. This hotel was owned by, and under the management of Gen. E. B. Bill for several years ; during which time, no hotel west of Chicago enjoyed more extended and well- deserved patronage.
The road passing through the village from east to west was the great thoroughfare between Chicago and Galena, and the town presented the appearance of an unusually active and business-like place. At a very early date, it is said, the size of the town exceeded even that of Chi- cago! the latter city having but one log house, while Naperville had two.
The first mill constructed upon the river was a saw- mill, in 1835, which was torn down in 1840, to give place to the flouring mill which stands near the same site. This mill has two run of stones, and enjoys good advantages of water power.
The original town plat was laid out in the year 1835, by Capt. Naper. It embraced about 80 acres. Several additions have since been made.
The mercantile business, aside from agriculture, is the chief business of the town.
There are several large nurseries near the village, from which trees and shrubs are sent to all parts of the northwest.
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HISTORY OF DU PAGE COUNTY.
Stenger's brewery was established here in 1850. It has several times been enlarged, to meet the needs of a widely extended business.
Kleutch's brewery, (formerly Eggermann's), is also doing an extensive business.
At the brick and tile works of Martin & King, large quantities of these products are made, to supply both local and shipping demand.
The village of Naperville was incorporated by act of Legislature in the winter of 1857. The first election of officers for the corporation was held in May following. The names of the Board elected at that time were as fol- lows : President, Joseph Naper ; Trustees, H. H. Cody, George Martin, M. Hines and X. Eggerman ; Police Justice, H. F. Vallette ; Constable, A.C. Graves ; Assessor, A. W. Colt ; Clerk, C. M. Castle.
The first effort toward organizing a religious society was made by settlers in this and the adjoining town of Lisle, as early as 1833. A meeting was held in Lisle on the 13th of July, in that year, and a society organ- ized by Rev. Jeremiah Porter and Rev. N. C. Clark, missionaries for the county, and Rev. C. W. Babbitt, of Tazewell County. This meeting was called at the request of Isaac Clark, Pomeroy Goodrich, Israel Blodgett, Rob- ert Strong, Leister Peet, Henry H. Goodrich and Samuel Goodrich. Rev. N. C. Clark was the first pastor of the soci- ety. Meetings were held during the year at different places in the south part of the settlement, for three Sab- baths in succession, and the fourth in the school house at Naperville.
The Baptist Church in Naperville was organized
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THE TOWN OF NAPERVILLE.
through the instrumentality of the Rev. Morgan Edwards, in 1843. At the time of its organization there were nine members. Immediate steps were taken to erect a house of worship. A building was commenced on the foundation of the present Congregational Church, but was removed to its present site. In 1844, the building was so far advanced that it was occupied by the Congregational and Baptist Societies, each on alternate Sabbaths. Rev. Riley B. Ashley became pastor of this church in January, 1844, and continued to supply the pulpit until January, 1846.
The German Evangelical Association has a large soci- ety in this place, which was formed in 1837, by a few members from Warren county, Pennsylvania. J. C. Gross, M. Weis, Adam Knapff, George Stroubler, John Rahm, Martin Escher, and Adam Schwigert were among the first members. Meetings were held in different parts of the town for several years, until a church was erected at Naperville, in 1842. This was used until 1857, when a new brick building was erected.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized in 1858, with twenty members. The church was erected at an early day, but in 1871 it was enlarged and improved. There are now sixty members.
The Methodist Society was formed in 1841, through the instrumentality of J. Granger, A. Kieth, Alexander Underwood, E. Rich, and H. C. Daniels. A church was built in 1849. The Society has been regularly sup- plied with pastors since 1841.
The Roman Catholics have a large Society here. Their church was organized in 1846, and a house of
11
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HISTORY OF DU PAGE COUNTY.
worship erected during the same year. The Society was formed under the labors of the Rev. Mr. Theroler, and the first members were Peter Shultz, Xavier Eggerman, D. Bapst, S. Dutter, and G. Ott. In 1852, the church building was enlarged. In 1864, a large stone church was built. This is now being enlarged and materially improved.
St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church was organized in October, 1838. Services were held in churches of other Societies until 1865, when the present church was erected, under the rectorship of Rev. Stephen T. Allen. A handsome rectory was subsequently built upon the church grounds. The parish has been favored in its choice of ministers, and the Society is in a prosperous condition. To the liberality of Miss Alitheo Gibbs, one of its earliest members, this church is largely indebted for its origin and for its support through the years of its infancy.
As has been mentioned in the general view, early attention was given by the settlers to provision for edu- cation. A log house was built in the fall of 1831, on land now owned by Mr. Samuel Boliman, and used for a school by Mr. Peet.
In 1835, a frame building for school purposes was erected near where the Congregational church now stands. It was used also as a church and as a town house, and two or three terms of the circuit court were held in it, before the court house was built. In 1853, a commo- dious stone building was erected in the west part of the village for an academy. After several years, however, the district purchased it-converting it into a free graded
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TOWN OF DOWNER'S GROVE.
school which has five departments. This building is pleas- antly situated, and is three stories high, constructed of durable and handsome stone, found in the vicinity.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF DOWNER'S GROVE.
This town is in thesoutheast corner of DuPage county, and embraces nearly one and one-third townships of land. It was first settled in 1832 by Pierce Downer, who emi- grated to Illinois from Jefferson County, New York.
There are four societies of Protestants and one of Roman Catholics in the town. The Methodist Episco- pal society was the first to establish preaching at the Grove, which was as early as 1839. Father Ged, as he was called-an itinerant preacher of that denomination- used to come across the prairies on foot from Barber's Corners, with undeviating regularity, to preach to the people here. The adverse changes of the weather made no difference with him, and wherever he had an appoint- ment, he was sure to meet it, in spite of heat or cold, wind or rain. Nothing but a sincere desire to do good could have induced him to undergo, voluntarily, the hard- ships to which his itinerancy subjected him. He suc- ceeded in forming a small society at the Grove, where preaching has been regularly sustained, and the infant church has grown to be quite numerous. This society has a good meeting house, which was built in 1852. We give some statistics relating to this church. The society was regularly organized in June 1851, by Rev. Mr. Grundy, with the following named members: P. Cotes, Mary C. Cotes, Nancy E. Cotes, Norman G. Hurd, Antoinette Hurd, Eliza Bakeman, Anne Page, Lester Hunt and Dorcas Hunt.
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HISTORY OF DU PAGE COUNTY.
The Methodists have another society and church, in that division of the south part of this township called Cass. The first effort toward organizing the church at Cass was made by the Rev. Elihu Springer, in 1834. This society erected a house of worship in 1870. The original members of this church were, Hart L. Cobb, Betsy Cobb, George Jackson, Louisa Hill and John Covely.
A Society of Congregationalists was organized in this town in March, 1837, by the Rev. N. C. Clark. The first members were G. E. Parmalee, John A. Richards, Dexter Stanley, Henry Puffer, Nancy Stanley, Susan S. Parmalee, Lucia Puffer, Elizabeth M. Puffer, and Hannah P. Puffer. A new organization was effected in 1864, and Rev. Mr. Chaffer became pastor. Services were held in the Methodist Church one year, and after- wards in a hall fitted for the purpose. The present house of worship was built in 1874.
The Baptist Church was organized under the labors of the Rev. Mr. Halt, in 1853, with about thirty mem- bers. Among the most active members in forming this Society were Edward Goodenough, Albin Lull, and Nor- man Gilbert. The same year in which it was organized the Society erected a church edifice, that was an honor to those who projected and carried out the enterprise.
The Roman Catholics have a church and Society at Cass, called the Church of St. Patrick. The church was erected in 1846.
There is another settlement at Lower Cass, in the south part of the town, on the Chicago and Joliet Road.
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THE VILLAGE OF DOWNER'S GROVE.
The first settlers here were Albin Lull, Dr. Bronson, Hart L. Cobb, Thomas Andrus, and H. Martin.
The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad was com- pleted through this town in 1861.
DOWNER'S GROVE VILLAGE.
The village of Downer's Grove dates properly from 1845, when a store and blacksmith shop were erected, the first by H. Carpenter, and the latter by N. A. Bel- den. Mr. I. P. Blodgett had previously followed the business of blacksmithing and plow-making, but the business which formed the nucleus of the village as it now is, was established in 1845.
Mr. Pierce Downer, who gave name to the township, and also the village, settled in the immediate vicinity in 1833. The first who settled in what is now the village was I. P. Blodgett, who came here in 1835, and Mr. Samuel Curtiss, who came in 1836. These two gentlemen planted the trees along Maple Avenue, which now, forty years since, do so much toward making the village attractive.
They were followed by Walter Blanchard, David Page, Gary E. Smith, besides those named, who all came prior to 1840.
The first frame house was built by either Gary Smith or Stephen Downer, early in the history of the place ; we could not ascertain the exact date.
The first school taught in what is now the village of Downer's Grove, was taught by Hiram Wilson, in the winter of 1836-7, who taught in a part of Mr. Blodgett's residence. He was followed by E. W. Curtis, Norman
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HISTORY OF DU PAGE COUNTY.
G. Hurd and George Carpenter, who made the most of the opportunities, until in 1846, when a school house was built, which served its purpose until within a few years.
Downer's Grove, like all American villages, has its recollections of the time when the country was in the possession of the Indians. It was for a time the favor- ite camping ground of a few scattering bands, and our pioneers had a personal acquaintance with them, for- tunately not specially unpleasant to the memory. Wau- bonsie, a chief of the Potawattomies, and one family, lived in the Grove a year or more after Mr. Downer came. They left, mainly, a reputation for being invet- erate beggars.
Downer's Grove was the most quiet of country places, until thirteen years ago, when the railroad was completed from Chicago to Aurora. Since that time, it has grown more rapidly in population and business ; but neither its business nor its real estate have ever been speculative, and its growth has been steady and solid, feeling scarcely any reaction in times of business depression, such a thing as a sale of property at a sacrifice or under pres- sure being almost unknown. It has five establishments engaged in general country merchandise ; one in lumber ; coal and agricultural implements; one hardware store ; two in the drug trade, and one in furniture; and a fair complement of shops, though no manufacturing business of any kind.
The village rejoices in a quiet, order-loving commun- ity, having a strong element of opposition to the sale of
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HISTORY OF HINSDALE.
intoxicating beverages, but not yet with a majority strong enough to carry out prohibitory measures.
Since the completion of the railroad, it has gradually become more and more a suburb of Chicago, having now quite a large number of men residing here who are doing business in that city. This in many ways helps forward its refinement, and stimulates our citizens to an ambition to keep pace with the times. There may be drawbacks to this in the tendency to indulge in the luxuries of city life beyond what can be afforded ; but, if our people do not yield to that temptation to any greater extent in the future than in the past, there will be no cause to regret our proximity to a great city.
HINSDALE.
With the construction of the C., B. & Q. R. R. from Aurora to Chicago, via Naperville, we date the birth of the village of Hinsdale, on the line of the said road, in the north-east corner of the township of Downer's Grove, in this county.
Its founder, Wm. Robbins, Esq., always having an · eye to business, seeing the natural advantages of the situation for a suburban town, located as it is on beauti- ful rolling prairie-the highest land between Chicago and the Mississippi river on this line of road-only fifteen miles from the business center of Chicago, made an entensive purchase, and platted the town in 1866, and located his home, " Woodside," on a lovely spot by the side of the grove, in the south-east part of the town, and overlooking the village, where he erected of stone one of the finest residences in the county.
The liberal spirit characterizing his management of
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HISTORY OF DU PAGE COUNTY.
this property, as well as the liberal inducements offered by the officials of the C., B. & Q. R. R. Co., soon attracted the attention of enterprising men of Chicago and surrounding country, who, availing themselves of the opportunity of securing beautiful locations for future homes, purchased sites and commenced improvements, preparatory to removing their families to this place. Among the earlier settlers may be mentioned the names of Messrs. Alfred Walker, O. J. Stough, Anson Ayers, and David Roth, as being large real estate owners, who have made extensive additions to the town plat. Prom- inent railroad officials and other representative men in leading branches of industry in Chicago, located their homes here, and by the erection of fine residences, by the liberal planting of shade and ornamental trees and shrubs, literally transforming the prairie into a grove, and by making ample provisions for the necessi- ties of a community by the establishment of good schools, churches, and other necessary public accommodations, soon brought the town into prominence.
The village of Hinsdale was incorporated under the general law in 1872, and comprises about two square miles of territory, with large additions on all sides ..
The judicious policy of the Board of Trustees, in the expenditure of public funds since that time, has provided good streets, sidewalks, and other public improvements, with little of the burdens of taxation complained of in many other localities.
Hinsdale is emphatically a suburban town of Chicago and depending largely upon that city for the general suc- cess of its inhabitants, yet the various branches of busi-
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A WOLF HUNT.
ness necessary for supplying the wants of an enlightened and refined society, are carried on here by experienced tradesmen, who, notwithstanding the general financial distress throughout the country, are in a prosperous condition.
We doubt that a better regulated general store can be found anywhere than is kept by Messrs. Fox Brothers.
We would have failed to perform our duty to Hins- dale, did we omit to mention, in this connection, “High- lands," (which, by the way, would have been a very appropriate name for the village,) located within its cor- porate limits, contiguous to the line of Cook County, and is the beautiful site of the residences of Messrs. Reed & Son, of the Temple of Music, Chicago, who, by their enterprise and public spirit, have made this one of the loveliest retreats to be found in the vicinity of Chicago. Taken all in all, the natural advantage, including the beautiful undulation of the surface, producing natural drainage and consequent healthfulness of location ; the degree of improvement already attained, the railroad facil- ities, the character and public spirit of the inhabitants, Hinsdale may be ranked among the most desirable loca- tions for a residence, anywhere within easy distance of the great metropolis of the west, and we bespeak for Hinsdale a future which her rivals may well strive to emulate.
A WOLF HUNT.
The following description was written many years ago, by Judge Blanchard, one of the Downer's Grove "boys."
" Until within a few years, this part of the country was infested with wolves, which were a source of great
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HISTORY OF DU PAGE COUNTY.
annoyance to the whole community. The farmers, how- ever, were the principal sufferers by their depredations ; for sometimes whole flocks were destroyed and scattered by them in a single night. To rid the country of these mischievous animals, it was the custom for all who were . able to 'bear arms,' to rally once every year for a wolf hunt, which was usually a scene of much amusement, and oftentimes of the most intense excitement. These expeditions were conducted in various ways. The gen- eral hunt, which was perhaps the most common, was conducted upon the following plan :
" Notice of the time of starting, the extent of country to be traveled over, and the place of meeting, which was usually at the common centre of the circle of territory to be traversed, was first given to all the participants in the hunt. At an early hour on the morning of the day appointed, the hunters assembled and chose a captain for each company, whose duty it was to station members of the company at short intervals upon the circumference of the circle alluded to, and then the game was com- pletely surrounded. At a given time the line of hunters began their march, and when they had approached near enough to the centre to close in and form a solid line, they halted and remained stationary, while the captains advanced with their sharp shooters to ascertain whether any game had been surrounded. If an unlucky wolf or deer had been drawn into the snare, upon making his appearance before the lines, he was sure to be riddled by rifle balls. We have been informed by one who fre- quently participated in hunts of this kind, that he had known of sixty wolves and as many deer being killed in one day. This mode of hunting the deer seemed alto- gether too cruel and cowardly in the eyes of some, but no scruples were entertained in thus exterminating the mis- chievous, thieving wolves. To see the harmless deer penned up with no chance of escape, darting about bewildered, with eyes almost starting from their sockets,
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A WOLF HUNT.
and then to see them slaughtered in the manner described, appeared cruel in the extreme. £ The mode of hunting wolves adopted by the settlers at Downer's Grove, was different from that described, and obviated the appear- ance of cruelty in slaying the deer.
"The wolf hunt was a source of amusement in this town for years, and whenever a wolf dared to show his head above the prairie grass, the boys were instantly in pursuit of him. The pursuers usually went on horse- back, carrying in the hand a short club, and the captain of the company was the one who had the swiftest horse. The plan of action was to spread out in every direction and scour the prairie until the game was started, when by a peculiar yell, the whole company was called together and the chase commenced. Every horse was now put to his utmost speed, and, with his rider, would go flying over the prairie like the wind. It is utterly impossible to describe the wild excitement that attended the wolf chase. Generally a race of from three to five miles would bring Mr. Wolf down; then, the day's sport would be ended, and the party would return home in a sort of triumphal procession, bearing the fallen hero. Such reckless, headlong riding was attended with much haz- ard, and although no serious accident ever happened to the riders, yet it is surmised that the horses might have suffered from ring-bones and spavins induced by undue speed.
"At one of the last of these hunts a circumstance occurred which may be classed with the serio-comic, as it first assumed a serious phase, and then, as circumstan- ces changed, became thoroughly ludicrous. On a cold, blustering morning in January, 1846, the boys started out for a hunt. Wolves were becoming scarce, and the party wandered off some five or six miles, to the north of what was then known as the Duzenberry claim. The new settlers had commenced fencing their lands, and at several places before coming to this claim the
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HISTORY OF DU PAGE COUNTY.
party had been obliged to dismount and remove the obstruction, but here they found a ditch fence, which terminated at a great distance on the open prairie, and was built upon the supposition that the cattle could not, or would not go around it, consequently there was no fence on the back side.
"The snow had drifted very deep on the side of this fence opposite to the party, and although their horses had been trained to jumping, yet an attempt to leap it would only land both horse and rider floundering in a deep snow bank.
" While holding a consultation to decide upon some method of surmounting the barrier, a wolf started from a thicket and crossed the path only a few rods from them. Every man instantly wheeled into line, and as quick as thought darted on after the affrighted animal. In the language of one of the company, 'the wolf was a large, gaunt old chap, and promised to give us a long pull and a strong pull.' Gard had a fine smart little pony, that would run like the wind, and he led the company. The chase led us far out into the prairie, and before long we found ourselves running inside of the fences of the Duzenberry claim, in a southerly direction, and would soon have to clear one of the ditch fences. There were fifteen horsemen spread out in a line, every man plying the whip and spur, and every horse at the top of his
speed. We came to the fence, which the wolf cleared about two rods in advance of Gard, and as he came up, his horse seeming to partake of the general excitement, made a bold leap, clearing the ditch in fine style ; but unfortunately landing in a snow bank, the horse stum- bled and fell, plunging entirely out of sight-at the same time throwing Gard over his head and burying him beneath the snow. To the party in the rear it appeared as though the earth had swallowed both horse and rider, as the fence and snow partially concealed the scene from their view. Not a rider attempted to check
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A WOLF HUNT.
the headlong speed of his horse until he had cleared the fence. Some of the foremost horses made a second leap, which carried them completely over the prostrate horse of the first rider. The first thought was for Gard. The general exclamation was, 'He is dead !' and an awful gloom sat upon the countenances of all. While thus solemnly ruminating upon his almost inevitable fate, the party were not a little astounded at beholding him rise, Phoenix-like, from his bed of snow, among the flounder- ing horses.
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