USA > Illinois > Greene County > History of Greene county, Illinois: its past and present > Part 39
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June of 1838 has been rendered memorable for the most terrible and destructive hail storm ever witnessed in the entire history of this region,
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both for the violence with which it came and the size of the stones pre- cipitated. As indubitable proof of this, it is related that the most sub- stantial barn hereabouts, on what is known as the French farm, then owned by Michael Buchanan Esq., had its roof entirely broken in, cattle were greatly injured, swine, sheep and hens without number were killed, and many other injuries done by the sudden descent of these aerial missiles ; six of which weighed the next day seven pounds two ounces; while others were found by N. Dickerman and D. Edwards to be seventeen and eighteen inches in circumference-the whole closing up by rendering all the windows in our then little 'burg, in the direction in which the storm came, entirely lightless. It is now generally conceded that no storm of any form has ever made its appearance here, which for the time being, was so terrific and appalling as the Great Hail Storm of 1838.
In February following this avalanche from the heavens, Joseph Hart- sook, our first carpenter and cabinet-maker, originally from Virginia, makes his appearance here, with his family, and occupies for a season, a small residence on the northwest corner of the public square. To him are we indebted as the architect of many of the first structures in our slowly rising town, though aided in this work by Capt. George Berthlet, who operated with him successively as apprentice and journeyman. To furnish himself with lumber he constructs the first whip-saw machine ever run in this place, locating it on the site of Philip Bauer's shoe shop, which did good service in this direction for a considerable time. About the first dwelling Mr. H. erected was one for Dr. M. A. Cooper, the next year after his arrival here, 1840, now known as the " Pursley house."
Having thus started off the town in the way of improvement, he yields the sceptre of his profession to Messrs. Woolley, Speaks and Heaton, who were his immediate successors in this vocation, and, for the future, devotes his energies, practically at least, to law and politics, in both of which he seems to have attained a considerable celebrity. Though having many of the peculiarities common to his race, he possesses many of the virtues which characterize the good neighbor and useful citizen.
The next year, 1841, is noted in our annals as the one which fur- nished our town its first house of public worship. Hitherto our early friends had experienced no little inconvenience in this particular-hav- ing no fixed place in which to conduct this service, but alternating be- tween the private residences of George H. Cowden, George W. Allen and Joel Edwards, and the first log school house in the north part of town. During this year, however, this was remedied by the erection of what is now known as " The Old Methodist Church," upon a lot of ground donated for this purpose by George W. Allen, where it still stands as "God's first temple " here-a monument of the interest of our early fathers in this holy service. Limited in means at that early day, and having few of the facilities for such a purpose which we now have, all contributed, " as God had prospered them," of what each had-some giving lumber, some brick, some hardware, a few money, but more the labor of their hands. Thus, under the supervision of Ichabod Valen- tine, as master workman, the paternal grandfather of Mrs. Guthrie Secor, this modest structure went speedily up, and was opened for divine service during the winter of this year, when the venerable Dr. B. C. Wood, of
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Carrollton, preached the first sermon in it-a funeral discourse of Samuel Capps, who died upon his farm near Palmyra at that time, and was brought for interment to the burial ground at Rubicon.
Furnished with a church building, our Methodist friends concen- trated their scattered forces at this point, when the "Society " here had a membership rising of fifty. Here they domiciled till this, their early home, no longer met their increased necessities, when, in 1856, it gave place to their present brick edifice, to be noticed more at large in its proper connection.
In 1842, Capt. Josiah Caswell, originally a Green Mountaineer, located on the farm now occupied by Thomas Ford, north of James Allen's-a farm first entered by Mr. Charles Stout, the father of Mrs. Ephraim Barnett, in 1835, who transferred it to the Rev. Henry Stubble- field, from whom Capt. C. obtained it, to be transferred in turn after an interval of about eight years, to the Rev. William Nelson, in 1850. Leav- ing this, he resided some five or six years on a place southeast of town, where, having improved the Sulphur Spring property, he remained there till his decease on September 24, 1872, in the eighty-first year of his age, leaving behind him the priceless record of a good citizen, a devoted patriot and an humble Christian.
The next accession to our population was in 1844, when Norman C. Woolley, James Hall and Isaac R. Ostrom arrived here, the last locating upon land half a mile west of town, known as the John Pickett place, and owned at present by James Allen. But not confining his attention to farming exclusively, he soon erected the first circular saw-mill ever run here, where the garden of the Rives' place now is-a valuable ac- cession to the machinery then in operation at this point, furnishing as it did, a sufficiency of all the lumber that could be manufactured here, to meet the existing necessities in this direction.
Superadded to this, Messrs. Joseph Hartsook and Edwin Johnson put in operation during this same year, 1845, a turning lathe, and the first one too-a machine for the manufacture of bedsteads, etc., etc. Under the operation of these increased facilities for manufacture, our rather sluggish village wore the appearance of greater vitality. But the latter firm did not run their machine long ; for, within this same year they transferred their interest in it to Messrs. William Speaks and N. C. Woolley, who, as remarked above, succeeded Mr. Hartsook as carpenters and cabinet-makers, and who turned it to great practical utility in the prosecution of their business in these directions. As evidence of this, it may here be stated, that, besides doing a great variety of other work, the new firm built, or aided in building, most of the structures that went up here from 1846 to 1852-notably among which were Sheffield's first residence, the early palace of the town, Booker's house, F. J. Stock's, Wilhite's frame store, as also Edwin Woolley's old home, the Temperance Hall, the Methodist second parsonage, now occupied by Mr. Eckman, Mr. Wahl's residence, the old Seminary, S. P. Cameron's and D. S. Wil- son's residences, the Union Church alias the Town Hall, and Professor Wilder's dwelling-most of these being erected in the interval above re- ferred to. After continuing a few years, this firm dissolved, each going in the direction of his inclination and interests. As we have seen above, each had in 1848, provided himself a house : Speaks, the D. S. Wilson
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house, and Woolley, the one where Mr. Fisher now lives. As yet, Mr. W. had remained in the condition of "single blessedness ; " but Sarah had been vibrating between "Father Speaks'," on Apple Creek, and her brother William's here for some three or four years ; and he is not the man to allow so favorable an opportunity to pass unimproved ; more especially as always " having an eye to the main chance," he observed in her a fixed determination to see where "the shortening " was to come from. So in January of this year, we find the happy pair snugly in- stalled in their own cabin of two rooms ; one 14x14, and only three sides to it, with a puncheon floor ; the other 16x16, serving the varied pur- poses of sitting-room, dining-room, sleeping-room and parlor-all to be improved and enlarged, however, as circumstances should permit, until, in about 1850, it assumed the convenient and commodious form it now pre- sents. The turning lathe of the firm falling into his possession, he trans- ferred it from near Ostrom's corner, to what has long been known as " The Curiosity Shop and Headquarters " establishment, south of his dwelling-a structure he there erected for its reception, for a cabinet and carpenter's shop, a furniture store, a hardware house, and for every other imaginable business. Here, too, could be found every namable article of human industry. Indeed, after all creation itself had been ransacked in vain for any given article, it has long since passed into a maxim : "You will find it at Norman's."
Here he plied his varied vocations through many a long and weari- some year, with that tireless industry and such marked success as, in 1872, became tangible in the shape of that commodious and well con- structed brick on the south side of the Public Square, where he now con- ducts his hardware trade, well filled with every thing usually found in that department of business ; and in 1872, in the form of our second palatial residence on College Street, where his family now dwells-hav- ing improved and made very passable for this purpose about the most in- eligible lot within the limits of the corporation, for which, it is thought, he is richly entitled to a vote of thanks by the Common Council of the city.
Here we leave our neighbor with the single remark, that his career forcibly illustrates what well-directed industry will achieve, and more especially when practiced by one of the most inveterate Yankees.
Robert McKnight was, confessedly, the first here who " worked in coals and fashioned with hammers," followed by Messrs. Renshaw, Wilkin- son and others ; yet Mr. Henry Cress seems to have been the first to deal effective blows in the service of His Vulcanic Majesty, and to have been most successful in this department of honorable and useful industry. Arriving here in August, 1846, he plies his vocation in connection with G. H. Kin- kaid, who had come the preceding January, in a shop upon the site of Scott Jones' paint shop, on the northwest corner of the South Public Square, till January, 1847, when they removed to their new shop, erected during this interval, now owned and carried on by our fellow citizen J. B. Broadmarkle-to be succeeded, at the old stand, by Messrs. Holliday and G. W. Drake. Continuing in company some two years, Mr. Kinkaid, thought he saw more money and less dirt behind the counter, retired to the dry goods business, between which and the anvil he alternated for many years, realizing, however, only the latter portion of his dream.
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As compensating for this disappointment, however, he had married Miss Martha Pursley and had settled down in a dwelling built by himself and now owned and occupied by Mr. Smith, southwest of the Methodist Church, where he continued to enjoy the sweets of domestic bliss for a considerable time.
Mr. Cress, on the contrary, with more penetration, it is thought, and with that practical sagacity for which he is still justly distinguished, per- ceiving the dollars to be near the anvil, continued the business at the old stand, taking in as partner Ephriam Barnett, who had served out his ap- prenticeship under the old firm. For ten long years they continued to do a successful business, in their own chosen calling, when the company was dissolved by the death of Mr. Barnett. Continuing the business till the condition of his eyes necessitated a change, Mr. C. exchanged the labors of the shop for those of the husbandman ; in which he, bringing the same perseverance to bear, seems to have been equally successful, though laboring under some disadvantages not necessarily connected with the vocation of farmer. 1
On retiring from the shop, Mr. Cress left the premises in the hands of John B. Broadmarkle, who has shown by its successful management for many years, the evident impress of his master, and who has also coupled with it a good assortment of general hardware goods-whereby he can now accommodate the community in whatever they need in both these departments of useful industry.
Michael Buchanan, Esq., was cotemporaneous with Mr. Cress here, having made his first appearance here in 1846, residing for a year or two in our " first hotel." This property, which was located on the site of the present Masonic Hall, he bought for $400, and sold to the Rev. William Saxton. Here our clerical friend did the honors of landlord for some years, keeping a generous table, with a good supply of old fashioned Meth- odist good cheer for all guests who patronized "The Saxton House." But finding, at length, that hotel life was neither so profitable nor pleas- ant as had been supposed, he retired to a farm some two miles east of town, leaving his town residence vacant, or occupied, with interruption, for some time, when, at length, it was burned to ashes, leaving the entire corner it occupied bare for the erection of the brick block built there- upon in the years 1867-68, known as the Odd Fellows and Masonic Hall, with commodious business rooms in the basement story.
Having disposed of his town property as above, Esquire B. returned to his farm, where he remained a year or two, when he sold it out to Mr. John French, and returned to town in 1851, during which year, he built for himself what is now known as the second Methodist parsonage, and occupied at present by the Rev. J. W. Eckman. Having lived here for a few years he exchanged it for the " old parsonage," receiving the differ- ence, with which he built the residence now owned and occupied by Benjamin Drake, on the north border of town. Here he continued to reside till he passed from our midst -a worthy citizen, an honest man, and, better than all, an humble Christain.
Passing over the years 1847-48, as furnishing nothing of special inter- est, we are brought to 1849, when Thomas Ford settled in the open prairie northwest of town, where he now resides. Limited in means and force, at first, his advance was not rapid ; but, as these both increased, he
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has now for a quarter of a century been showing our community what a genuine English farmer can accomplish, even under untoward circum- stances, viz: buy and pay for a good-sized farm every year, and have pocket change enough left for spending money at Christmas.
In 1850, David Liles, Esq., made his advent here ; and, beside dis- charging the duties of magistrate, he has followed a goodly variety of vocations in the general and local, and general politics in particular, dis- pensing the gospel of Democracy at his headquarters to all the faithful without charge.
The Rev. Dunlap arrived here in 1849 or 1850, and purchased what is now known as the " Hardin land," including the lot on which Bauer's shoe-shop stands, most of which lies east and northeast of town. This, however, was soon sold to M. Buchanan, who, in turn, transferred it to the Hardin family soon after for a merely nominal sum, it being consid- ered then of little value. But, as illustrating the rise of such unsightly land in our midst since that time, it may here be stated that this same tract has recently changed hands, at figures varying from $100 to $200 per acre. It may also be noted here that, in 1851, Messrs. Speaks & Hall bought 84 acres immediately east of town for $2.50 per acre, which now is selling for upwards of $100 ..
The house now owned and occupied by Ed. Boulton, was built at this time by H. Cress, as a residence for himself.
During the same year Lemuel Stubblefield purchased of Geo. H. Cowder the farm at present owned by Milton and Harvey, sen., and located thereupon at once.
In this and the following year, 1852, the first Institute of Instruc- tion, better known as "The Old Seminary," was erected upon the site it now occupies, through the energy and public spirit of the friends of education in our midst, prominent among whom were Richard M. Booker, N. C. Woolley, Geo. W. Allen, Wm. A. Secor, Geo. T. W. Sheffield, and others. This was built by voluntary subscription throughout the com- munity at a cost of near $2,500, though the contract with Messrs. Speaks & Kinkaid was only $2,200, the contractors losing by the operation. This institute was opened for students in the Fall of 1852, by the writer of this sketch, and continued under his supervision till the introduction of the public school system of Illinois-a term of five years, as a private institution, when it was taken possession of by the district school direc- tors, and run in their interest till it was substantially run down -a very questionable use, it is thought, of an institution built by private funds, and destined to have no connection with the public school system of the State.
Contemporaneously with the erection of the institute of instruction, was the building of what has, till recently, been known as " The Union Church," but now called " The Town Hall." This was built by the community at large, and deeded jointly to a small Baptist church organ- ized about two years before, and a Cumberland Presbyterian church, which came into being soon after the completion of this church edifice. Occupying it as circumstances seemed to favor, both for the worship of God and a great variety of other purposes for which it was never de- signed, for near twenty years, the house became very much dilapidated ; these organizations ceased to be, as living churches, and the building
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passed through their hands to those of a stock company for the meagre sum of $500-having cost about $2,000-Mr. Lawrie, the contractor, losing heavily in his contract of construction for $1,200 - its whole his- tory furnishing an instructive illustration of the folly of building company churches, and the greater folly of making them a gratuity to any church organization.
During the year 1853-54, it became increasingly evident that the first church built here in 1841 (Methodist), would no longer meet the necessities of those for whom it was erected, being neither sufficiently convenient nor commodious to meet the altered condition of the com- munity here. Accordingly, early in 1855, a plan was put on foot to build one which would both, better represent the advanced condition of our community in this direction, and, at the same time, meet the existing and prospective wants of those immediately interested. A structure costing $3,000 was supposed sufficient to "fill the bill " for this purpose. This amount was readily raised by subscription through the entire com- munity - all classes contributing to aid in the good work. But the work was far from being completed when a small error of $3,000 was discov- ered in what the structure would actually cost before completion !!! This necessitated another subscription - which, however, was far from being as successful as the first- thus leaving a heavy balance for the trustees to shoulder-a load they continued to carry till they finally threw off, themselves, the self-imposed burden. But though thus re- lieved from debt, and costing double the first estimate, it has failed to answer the expectations it had raised, for it has always seemed to be afflicted with some chronic ailment, which has only yielded to treatment by expending $3,000 more, to bring it to the sound, and, it is hoped, healthy condition which it gives every external indication at present of having at last reached. Our friends worshiping there, are to be con- gratulated, therefore, after such long and unpleasant experiences, that. they now have it " all right."
Greenfield had hitherto experienced the manifold evils of isolation, the potent cause of its tardy growth and want of general prosperity. Whilst compelled to witness the inspiring influence of the railroad upon the advance and rapid increase of neighboring towns, she was equally forced to see herself languish from want of connection with the outside world by means of this arterial communication with the centers of ac- tivity ; and such she saw was destined to be her condition until such connection should be established.
It may well, therefore, be conceived with what interest a proposition for the construction of a railroad from St. Louis, through this place to Rock Island, would be received by the community generally. This interest soon took shape in such action as rolled up a subscription of $100,000 in this part of the county in a very short period. With such a subscription, the road was speedily put under contract in many of its parts. The ground was first broken in 1857. At first it made compara- tively slow advance ; but during this and the following year, a goodly portion of it was graded and ready for the ties. Here, however, it was arrested. Owing to the great stringency in financial affairs through the country generally, and especially this being coupled, soon after, with the advent of the great Rebellion in 1861, it remained in undisturbed
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slumber till the year 1869, when it woke from its long repose greatly invigorated. From this period it went forward with great rapidity to an early completion. To this point it was so far finished that, in February of the following year, the first train greeted our hearing with its hoarse, but, to us, delightful music. We hailed its approach somewhat as we should an express coach from another planet. We were married to the outlying world by an indissoluble tie. By this we were placed upon the platform of progress enjoyed by others but denied to us.
From this period, therefore, dates the advance of our modest little home, until, under the inspiring influence of this mighty engine of power and progress, it presents the fair proportions, inviting comeliness, and healthful vigor we behold at this hour, giving cheerful promise that, in the maturity of its manhood, it is destined to become one of the most eligible suburbs of her who sits as Queen upon "The Father of Waters."
Our road has since been purchased by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Co., who " run " it in connection with theirs-thus furnishing us with a direct route to the Mistress of the Lakes-a desideratum long felt here.
In 1859 the first Presbyterian Church was organized here by the Rev. George C. Wood, of Jacksonville, who, for a brief period, was its stated supply, Hiram B. Ellis, Esq. and R. E. Wilder being its first ruling elders ; the former continuing such till his death, the latter holding the same position to the present time.
During the rebellion little transpired here requiring a notice in this brief sketch, except what was immediately connected with it, and will be noticed under the head of Patriotism in its proper place.
Passing on, therefore, to the year 1868, we record the erection of what is now known as the Greenfield Academy, now in its 36th session -a strictly private institution, moderately patronized till quite recently.
Our first banking house was established here Dec. 16, 1870, by Skilling, Sheffield & Co., being operated under the Odd Fellows' Hall till the construction of its present brick quarters, on the northeast corner of the public square. Within the last two years, the firm first conducting it has been changed, since which period it has been engineered and owned by Sheffield & Co. It is regarded as doing a fair, safe, and reliable business, with accommodating officers, and meeting all the busi- ness requirements of our community.
From the organization of the Presbyterian Church, in 1859, it had no place of worship of its own, and was obliged to make use of other buildings as circumstances should allow, especially the Academy, where it continued to worship for some two or three years. But in 1872, being generously aided by the community at large, it erected a very commodious and convenient brick edifice in the center of town, having a basement room above ground, for all the purposes of social worship, Sabbath schools, etc., and a very pleasant audience room in the second story for Sabbath service, both of which are now finished off in modern style, and furnish facilities for all church purposes, not inferior to those enjoyed by any communion in this, or any of the surrounding towns.
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS.
We shall speak first of the Methodists, as those who were the early pioneers of the Church at this point-a remark that will apply to them
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with peculiar force in respect to most of the first settlements of our en- tire country, thus manifesting to advantage their aggressive tendency, their self-denial, and their conformity to the Great Commission of their Master.
The first forms of worship here were those of this Communion. Conspicuous among these were Geo. W. Allen, Geo. A. Cowden, and Joel Edwards, at whose residences public worship on the Sabbath was conducted by the early Apostles of this faith, both local and those ap- pointed by Conference.
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