USA > Illinois > Iroquois County > History of Iroquois County > Part 8
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The Presbyterians held meetings as early as 1856, and the church was founded in 1857 with the edifice built in 1859. The Christian Church was organized in 1877; the Methodist Church in Del Rey was or- ganized in 1875. Other denominations who have had churches in the township include the United Brethren, Baptist, Episcopalian, Society of Friends, and Negro churches. Churches now holding regular services are the Methodist, Christian, First United Presbyterian, Trinity Lutheran, and two Pilgrim Holiness groups.
The 1960 census showed Onarga having 1397 residents. Two main highways, state routes 45 and 54, pass through the town. Interstate 57
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is under construction. The small settlement of Del Rey south of Onarga is unincorporated.
Grain farming, livestock production and the nurseries are the prin- cipal industries. In addition to many professions and businesses, the other industries include the Louis Melind Company which manufactures marking devices, the Ficklin Machine Company, the Electrical Com- ponents plant, the Gibson Transfer Company, and the home office of the Farmers Pioneer Mutual Insurance Company.
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Papineau Township
Papineau Township is located directly south of the Kankakee-Iro- quois County line. Beaver Creek runs through the center east to west. The ground in the township is rather sandy and was not as strong as found in the western and southern parts of the county. Now however, that the latest means of fertilization and caring for the ground have been obtained, it is very good land for growing corn, wheat, oats, and beans. In the late 1800's, there were two railroads running through the town- ship which made it fairly easy to insure a farmer's crops to market. This is one of the many reasons why the settlers had chosen to settle here. At that time, with the two railroads, the Chicago & Eastern, and the Cincin- nati, Lafayette, and Chicago, running through the the township, the farmers were certain to get the best price for their grain, with one rail- road running straight through to Chicago, and the other to Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and the East.
In the early 1840's, the first settlers were beginning to settle in the area then called Weygandt by the Dutch settlers for a huge family of Weygandts who lived here. The area around Weygandt was very nearly covered with trees, and in addition the land along the creek offered much needed protection against the violent winter winds. The trees were a ready source of lumber to build their log cabins, and the acorns and berries in the thick woods were quite adequate to feed the pigs and other animals the settlers raised.
Henry Jones, the settlement's earliest permanent settler, arrived around 1837. Although he produced a very large family, many in the family died, it is believed, as a result of the terrible scourge of cholera in 1855. Nearly one-half of the residents in the area were killed by this dread sick- ness, but Henry Jones' family suffered the greatest loss.
Located at a point just north of the creek, the first merchandise store for the settlement was established by George Roush. Here, he sold "dry goods" and "wet groceries," consisting of tobacco, gun powder, lead, flour and baking goods, and a variety of pills and liniments.
Another of the very first establishments in the settlement of Wey- gandt was the tavern called Democrat, named by "Long John" Wentworth, of Chicago, representative in Congress at that time. Allen Rakestraw owned this place for many years, and his brother William kept the post office there.
Around 1850, the French Canadians, still bitter over the battle of 1837 and 1838, which they lost to Britain, began to settle around the area of Weygandt. With them came many changes, one of the first being to change the name of the settlement, from Weygandt, which their French tongues could not pronounce, to the name Papineau, after their beloved French Canadian General who led them in their fight for freedom from the British in 1837 and 1838. It is said that these people idolized this gallant general who single handedly recruited an army of patriots to fight an impossible battle with the British. General Papineau was born
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15-500-1000
The Stadt Blankenburg Hotel in Papineau, Illinais. This building is now a family dwelling.
Main Street looking northeast in Papineau, Illinois
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October, 1786, and died September, 1871, after a lifetime of almost 90 years.
With the coming of the French Canadians in 1850, was a man named Noel LeVasseur, fur trader and government agent, who settled around Bourbonnais Grove. He was said to have been an extremely generous man, and without his never-ending help, many of the settlers in this area would not have made it. Many of the settlers lost their crops in the heavy rains and floods that were known to come every seven years, and LeVasseur was very good to these people.
One man that LeVasseur was known to have helped considerably was a man named Anthony Lottinville, who with his wife and seven children were aboard the ill-fated steamer, Atlantic, headed for Detroit, when it collided with another ship and sank in 1851. Only 120 people survived the collision, among them, Lottinville and his entire family. Lottinville's good fortune was evident only with his family, however, as everything he owned in the world went down with the ship. When the family arrived in Bourbonnais, Noel LeVasseur gave him the money to make a new start. Lottinville located himself on Section 22, range 12 on the creek.
Lottinville was a self-educated man, and since there was no school until ten years later, Lottinville taught his five sons at home. All of these men became leaders in the community, and their names are all mentioned in the records of the township. They had very good business sense and were very much an asset to the community of that time.
Another of the first settlers of Papineau, was a man named Joseph DeLude, who settled there in 1850. DeLude was certain that he could become rich with a sawmill which he wanted to build on the creek. He dammed the creek and built his sawmill but later sold it to Moses Lange- lier and returned to Bourbonnais.
The first school in Papineau was believed to have been started in 1861 and was taught by a Miss Dilly. The first doctor to establish himself near the settlement around 1871 was Dr. D. K. Cornell. Later he was believed to have owned a considerable amount of land around the area. The first coroner for the community was L. W. Critser.
The first church built around Papineau was the Methodist Church in 1867, a structure 30' by 50', built at a cost of $3,300. In 1873, however, the structure was leveled by a tornado and was replaced at a considerably smaller amount of $350.
When the Chicago, Danville, & Vincennes Railroad (now the C. & E. I.) was built, there was some question as to what the town would donate, but since there was no town plat and no organization, nothing was done by the village. Later, a tax was voted on to tax the railroad on land it occupied, and the vote was passed 47 to 0, but, there seems to have been quite a job in collecting it. A few years later it was voted by the people of Papineau to give the same railroad, $6,350 in bonds to maintain a permanent depot in the town; however, there is no record of
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Coliseum in Papineau, Illinois which is in use today.
4800 GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH. PAPINEAU. ILL
The German Lutheran Church in Papineau, Illinois which has been destroyed by fire.
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this being done and so the records show the bonds were liquidated.
In the fall of 1870, Rice, Lottinville, & Co. built a depot for the rail- road, north of Beaver Creek, erected a set of scales there and began buy- ing corn and livestock. The next spring, the new depot and business was moved to the new townsite.
In 1872, the Roman Catholic Church was built and the attending priests were Rev. Rouquier of Beaverville, and Rev. Lettellier of St. Anne. The church had no priest of its own, and when several years later, this church was nearly demolished by a severe gale, it was never restored, according to the records.
The village of Papineau was incorporated as a village in 1874. In the town's first election, Fabian Langdoc was president, Thomas Lottin- ville, A. P. Shipley, Octave Laplante, Ezra Savoie, and John Massey, trus- tees: C. P. Lottinville, Clerk; Joseph Laveaux, treasurer.
The first store erected in the newly incorporated village of Papineau was put up by Savoie & Barney and carried a general stock of goods. The next store was built by Hubert LePage. Soon he sold his store to Barney & Company. In 1874, Thomas Lottinville bought Savoie's interest in the store, and in 1876, Charles and Henry, his brothers, were taken in as partners, which venture proved to be a very successful partnership.
Today, the town of Papineau is very small, consisting of the post office, a general store and locker, a coliseum which years ago was famous for its square dances in the ballroom. There is still a grain elevator there, but an implement establishment which burned a few years ago, as well as a garage have never been restored. Also, there are a few individual businesses. There are around 300 people in the township, many of whom are descendants of the first settlers.
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Pigeon Grove Township
Pigeon Grove Township is bounded on the north by Ash Grove and on the south by Ford and Vermilion counties. Pigeon Grove was the last township in Iroquois County to be organized, in the year 1876.
It has always been a guess as to why this area was so long over- looked. It was not unknown because many different cattle raisers grazed their herds on the rich prairie grass and then drove them to Chicago or sent them by train to other places. The area lay between Fountain Creek Township and Loda Township. An Indian trail which was a much trav- eled route ran through it from Blue Grove to Spring Creek at Buckley, a distance of 25 miles. The Illinois Central Railroad, which was fin- ished through Illinois in September 1856, became interested in this area and helped to develop this township at this time.
Because of the keen business interests of the railroad, a plan was evolved which brought cattle raisers into a mutual agreement by which large herds of cattle were brought to Loda and Buckley, unloaded and allowed to graze on the railroad right of way until they were ready for market, then reloaded and sent into Chicago by I. C. Railroad. This plan worked for some time, and if the cattle invaded other property, there was no special fuss made about it. These cattle came from Texas and Okla- homa, or Indian Territory, as it was then called. This plan worked until a disease called Spanish Fever broke out among the Texas cattle. Many died and it spread to the cattle belonging to the farmers around this area. This loss of cattle greatly concerned the farmers, and legal help was employed. They were successful in stopping the shipment of cattle to this area by interstate legal intervention. Soon things settled down and local farmers pastured their cattle wherever it seemed most convenient.
Then a firm named Milk, Burchard and Taylor, from Indiana bought 1700 head of cattle in Louisiana. This state had not been excluded in the interstate legal battle which was supposed to be settled. The cattle were unloaded at Loda and grazed on the Illinois Central right of way as well as in the Pigeon Grove area. This time a disease called Milk Fever again attacked the cattle, and the local cattle began to die. There was con- sternation followed by fights and battles and legal proceedings. The local people hired Addison Goodell of Loda and John A. Koplin of Buckley to represent them. Mr. Milk came with Attorney T. P. Bonfield of Kan- kakee to represent him. There were many claims and Mr. Milk tried to pay them all. There were even claims where cattle never were owned. The "Cattle War" was a long tradition in that area and ended the impor- tation of foreign cattle and also ended a certain discontent and disagree- ment locally.
All this time Wm. Cissna, who came to this area in 1866 and who with his brother Stephen had bought 1200 acres of land in the Pigeon Grove area, was feeding about 700 cattle a year besides about 500 hogs. He was interested in the area and helped to organize this territory into a township. He gave his support but he never wanted any part of politics.
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In 1875 a petition was signed by 100 persons to organize a new township between Loda and Fountain Creek Townships. Supervisor Carey pre- sented the petition but it was turned down.
Another petition was filed asking that the new township be named Grange, but it too was turned down. Finally another petition with 130 names and one from Fountain Creek Township signed by 62 members re- quested the new township be named Pigeon Grove. William Flemming and Moses Stroup worked hard to get the petition granted and it was finally granted in 1876.
The first election was held in Zion school. William Flemming was the first supervisor; Clark Martin, clerk; J. W. Gosslee, assessor; Myron Cunningham, collector; J. W. Gosslee and Moses Stroup, justices of the peace.
The name of Pigeon Grove was given because of the many pigeons that inhabited the grove. There were hundreds of them and branches could be heard breaking with loads of them. The township was soon divided into farms, and in 1881 William Cissna who had been working to bring a branch railroad to this area tried the Illinois Central. They refused to consider his proposal. Then he with two businessmen and cattle raisers, William Clayton and William Goodwine went to the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad. They must have pleaded their case very effec-
Park House Hotel which was located north of the Cissna Park State Bank in Cissna Park.
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tively, for their request was granted. The branch was built in the north- east corner of the township, and on January 1, 1881, the silver spike was driven in.
The next day activities began, and William "Uncle Bill" Cissna pro- ceeded to build his town. The plat was made-a lot allowed for a park right in the center of town. The hotel with thirty rooms was started on the east corner of Second Street and Garfield Avenue. This was to be his home and he called it the Park House. He lived there until his death in 1897. Before this he had lived in the first house built in the grove. The lumber for the house was brought from Chicago by his brother, Stephen, who lived there. It is still standing in the small grove east of Route 49, south of the town and belongs to the Farney family.
The first building to be completed was a restaurant on the corner of Koplin Avenue and Third Street. Koplin Avenue was named for John A. Koplin of Buckley who was Mr. Cissna's banker.
The next building to be finished was the store building on the corner of Second and Garfield streets. This building was erected by Isaac Miller Hamilton and Tunis Young, both coming from Ash Grove Township. They ran a successful general store and after a few years decided to start a bank. With the help of Uncle Bill Cissna and his patronage the business became a big success. Other businesses started: Sylvester Rose erected a hardware store that still stands and is the Masonic Hall now; an elevator
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Pavilion in Village Park of Cissna Park in 1892.
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was built across from the depot. It was the first one and was built by James Busey. Business was on the way.
In the meantime the township was being settled. Owing to the proximity of the Lake Erie and Western Railroad that ran from Peoria to Tipton, Indiana, travel was convenient and brought from the Peoria area, Morton, and Gridley a clan of immigrants from Germany, France, Switzerland and Ireland. Many of them were Mennonites and brought their customs with them. Land was cheap and the new comers were frugal and knew how to work. Their limited European way of life had trained them to be frugal. The ponds were drained. A tile factory built in 1884 by George Songer made tile from a clay pit on the west end of the village. It was a big business: twenty men were employed, rolling the mud into tiles and then burning them in kilns for 48 hours. There was a great demand for them, and often wagons would be lined up a half mile to get their turn at a load. Eventually the clay was exhausted and another pit was dug south of the tile plant. This was exhausted and after the factory burned down, Mr. Songer who had been the first mayor and a very respected citizen, moved to Hoopeston with his family. Later they went to Texas and made tile there.
Cattle raising still continued, and flax, oats, and corn were the prin- cipal crops. Flax was soon discontinued because it took too much strength
BANK.
Main Street in Cissna Park, Illinois in 1899. The man in the buggy is the late Dr. W. R. Roberts.
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....
tlf
The Songer Tile Factory in Cissna Park around 1892.
from the soil. Schools were built. Cissna Park built a two-room school, followed later by a brick school, and in 1940 by a Community high school.
The Young and Hamilton Bank remained in business. Mr. Hamilton studied Law under Attorney Free P. Morris of Watseka and became an attorney. Later he was State Representative. When Mr. Cissna died, Isaac Miller Hamilton was appointed his executor with his bond set at $500,000. Since there were no bonding companies then, he went through the district to get all the signatures he could on his bond, and thirty- seven farmers signed it.
In 1904 the Young and Hamilton bank sold to the Amsler Brothers, Clyde and Art, of Broadlands. They were here only a short time when they sold the bank to E. L. Weise of Broadlands. He brought with him Sam O. Brown as cashier. Mr. Brown, Supervisor of the township for a number of years, was influential in bringing State Highway 49 through the village. The bank closed during the depression but was brought back into business by the Fredericks, a family of Paxton. Other supervisors were Joe Burt, Dr. W. R. Roberts, Albert Zbinden, and Aaron Bauer since 1945.
The township has many rich farms. The buildings are well kept, the land is well taken care of, and although it was the last to be organized, its resources are tops in the county. Land that was bought from the govern- ment for $2 an acre now sells up to $700 per acre. The revenue gained from sales tax always rates above any other town of the same size anywhere.
The railroad still carries out much of the grain as well as trucks. Livestock is being raised to a greater extent than it was twenty-five years ago, and many of the smaller farms are being merged into larger ones.
Churches play an important part in the community's welfare. The 102
Apostolic Christian Church, which is the largest located in Fountain Creek township, holds a membership of over 400 members, and the ma- jority of rural people have built this church. The Union Church has stood on the corner of Church and Third Streets since 1891 and is inter- denominational. Other churches include the Methodist Church on the corner of Fourth and Koplin, the Lutheran Church on Fourth Street, and the Christian Apostolic on Garfield.
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Prairie Green Township
Prairie Green Township is located in the southeast corner of Iroquois County. No creeks or rivers transverse this township; the north fork of the Vermilion River cuts off the southeast corner, and just north of this fork is a ridge. The water on the south flows south toward the Wabash River.
The early settlers chose this high ground to take up residence, the first settlers coming in the early 1850's. Robert Finch came and settled in the southeast part of the township in 1853. Also at about the same time, Abner Mitchell, Kendall Shankland, R. Adsit, and Mr. Pixley settled.
Prairie Green was at first a part of Crab Apple Township, now Stock- land. The legal division took place in the winter of 1858. Kendall Shank- land, Robert Finch, H. C. Smith, and a few others were the leading men in obtaining the independence of Crab Apple and forming Prairie Green.
The very first settlers in the county settled near the streams and timbers. Few pioneers were brave enough to squat out on the prairies because many thought then that the prairies would never be completely settled. The few that came found that deer were so plentiful that they were never without venison. The settlers that lived here would mount a horse bareback and indulge in the invigorating sports of chasing wolves or running down a deer.
In 1857 John Greer began to break sod in the southwest corner, although he did not live there until some years afterward. Breaking sod in those days was a good business for the favored few who owned a "breaking" plow. Designed for five or six oxen, the breaker was a large plow cutting a furrow from twenty inches to two feet. The depth was regulated by a lever, and considerable skill was needed when starting the first furrow, often a half mile or more in length.
As soon as the first grass began to appear in the spring, the season for plowing began and did not end until July. Such large farmers as Finch and Shankland had one or more of these breaking plows running. After doing their own work, they would break for their neighbors, charg- ing three to four dollars per acre.
The teams were allowed to feed on the grasses they were plowing under, usually being "coralled" after dark to prevent straying. No one had the idea that the prairie sod could be plowed with horses This was the reason that the prairies were not settled more rapidly at first. As soon as it was discovered that two or three horses with a ten or twelve-inch plow could turn nearly as much as an ox team, the prairies were soon dot- ted with little shanties and neat cottages and the era of real improvement began.
The first road was the old Attica road, running in a northwest di- rection toward Milford. This road had to go around ponds, sloughs, and marshes; therefore, the road ran along the higher ground.
John Greer owned about 1000 acres in this township, When he died,
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in honor of his son, he willed the money for the erection of Greer college in Hoopeston as well as an endowment of land to maintain it. In addi- tion, he left money for the erection of Greer Hall at the cross road of the township. A sum of money was left, the interest of which was to main- tain the building. Greer Hall was erected in 1893. This was the voting precinct until a few years ago when it was torn down and replaced by a consolidated grade school. A fire station, erected across the road from it, is used as the township building.
There have never been any stores or post office in the limits of Prairie Green. A railroad transversing the township north and south in the center of the township, was built in the early 1900's. Formerly the Wabash Railroad, it is now known as the Milwaukee Road.
Among the early settlers were J. Crawford Pugh, a blacksmith, and a miller whose mill was located in the east part of the township near the Finch Place. Horse power was used to grind corn. He conceived the idea of making a huge wheel to be turned by the wind. He gathered all the men available to raise it. It was successful for a while, but, because of the uncertainty of the wind, it was a failure. He also kept a small stock of groceries. The place acquired the quaint name of Goose Nibble.
Much flax was raised in the early days. In 1870 Samuel Hazel, who owned a lot of land in the southwest corner of the township, raised 1000 bushels of flax seed. Upon delivery of the flax to Danville, he received two dollars a bushel. Agriculture and stock raising have always been the chief industries in the township.
While speaking of industries in this area, mention must be made of a broom factory of Robert Finch in the southeast part of the township. His son, Fremont, was superintendent of the working force. The low price of broom corn induced Mr. Finch to try manufacturing. Out of his crop in 1879 he made about 350 dozen brooms. An expert broom maker, he made his own machine.
Prairie Green township in the early days was in the front rank among educational interests of the county. In 1858 the township was or- ganized into four districts. Prairie Green and Lamont School buildings were built soon afterward. RoundTop a few years later. RoundTop be- came more famous than all the others as here so many organizations were organized. Also the First Church of Christ and the Methodist Churches had their first meetings. RoundTop stood where the William Gurley home now stands. It got its name because at a distance the roof had a round appearance. The building was octagonal in shape as was the roof.
The Prairie Green Qaudrille Band, organized in 1879, consisted of 12 instruments; three first violins, two second violins, three German flutes, two flageolets, and two violcellos. The leader was R. G. Cowan; treasurer, H. W. Cowan; and secretary, R. N. Benholm.
Later in the 1870's, there were seven school districts. RoundTop was replaced with Maple Grove about a mile northeast. There were also Victor, Prairie Green, Villow Brook. College Center, (nicknamed Frog
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