History of Madison County, Illinois With biographical sketches, Part 93

Author: Brink, W.R. & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Edwardsville, Ill. : W. R. Brink & co.
Number of Pages: 698

USA > Illinois > Madison County > History of Madison County, Illinois With biographical sketches > Part 93

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

This town is twenty miles north of St. Louis, and sixty miles west from Vandalia. One of the finest bodies of tim- ber in the state surrounds it for several miles in extent. Bituminous coal of a good quality and in common use hy the blacksmiths, exists in abundance, and but a short dis- tance from the place. There are inexhaustible beds of lime- stone of a good quality for buildings, and easily quarried, and a species of sandstone, possessing a fine grain, which is quarried and dressed for monuments and architectural pur- poses. Here also is an abundance of that peculiar species of lime used for water-cement. The population of this place is rapidly increasing, and improvements are going on with great activity."

" Building lots sell from twenty te one hundred dollars, according to situation. The policy of the principal pro- prietors is to sell lots thus low, but on condition that good buildings shall be erected on them within one year, on penalty of a forfeiture. A large number of these lots were so'd a few mouths past, subject to these conditions. This is the finest place on the river for building and repairing steam- boats. Land is reserved for a large boat yard, and a steam- boat is contemplated to be built shortly to run between this place and St. Louis."

". With all these advantages Lower Alton is not without its disadvantages. As my object is to give an impartial statement relative to this place, I shall not pass over them. It is too much confined for a pleasant situation, being sur- roun led on the west and north with abrupt hills and bluff's.

380

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

As the business part of the town will necessarily be about the river and the landing, it will be a confined place. The sonth and southeast is open; but across the river, an exten- sive low bottom stretches up the Missonri and along the Mississippi. From these circumstances it will be more ex- posed to fall fevers than on an elevated and airy situation. St. Louis is within twenty miles-a place admirably located and of great business. It now draws a considerable portion of the trade of Illinois, and will be a powerful rival to com- pete with. These difficulties leave the future prospects of the rise of a great commercial eity shortly at this point, a li tle problematical at the present. Still it is a place that merits the attention of men of capital and business. Three or four mercantile honses are already established, are ereet- ing warehouses, and calculate upon doing a large business in trade with the interior. Eight or ten merchants in the wholesale and retail line, and a suitable number of mechanies and manufacturers, would soon determine the question of a commercial town. Mechanics of almost every trade are wanted here; coopers to supply not only the demand here, but the St. Louis market, in easks, barrels, and firkins. Another large tannery, with shoemaking; one slaughter house bere, now in opera ion, will furnish five hundred hides yearly. A soap and tallow ehandler. Cabinet-makers to supply the St. Louis market with furniture. Much of the supply of that market is now brought from Cincinnati. Stone and briek masons, plasterers, carpenters, and joiners are much needed. Hurdly any mechanic, needed in a rapidly increasing country, but might do well at Alton. We advi e, however, that none but sober, industrious, and enterprising men come to Alton, either Upper or Lower. The idle, profligate, and the intemperate will find the lead- ing men, and a large majority of the people, combined against them."

"Lower Alton in March last (1831) had thirty-two families and one linndred and seventy souls, to which there has been considerable increase. There were at that time one steam saw mill, one warehouse for packing beef and pork, one earpenter one wagon maker, one tannery, one cooper with six journeymen and three apprentices, two briekmakers, one brick mason, one stone mason, one black- smith, two shoemakers, one lawyer, one tavern and boarding- house, and one retail store There are now in addition, one penitentiary with warden's house and offices, mechanie shops, yard. and twenty-four cells for convicts, three or four wholesale and retail stores, one physician, one week-day and Sabbath-school, several mechanies' shops, and a plan under consideration to establish a seminary of learning in the immediate vicinity. A steam flouring mill is about be- ing built."

Preparations for building a steam flouring mill were made during the autumn of 1831 by William Manning. This was the first important manufacturing establishment in Alton, and the projet of building it excited mneh interest among the citizens of the town, and especially among the farmers of the surrounding country, who were anxious to be relieved from the slow and wearisome process of having their griet ground at the old band mills. Work was em-

menced at the mill in September, 1831, but it was not com- pleted and placed in running order till the year 1833. Lewis J. Clawson built the stone work and masonry. A man known as Boss Lee was the first contractor for getting out the frame, but afterward William Hayden superin- tended the construction of this part of the building. When the frame was ready to be "raised," invitations to attend the raising were sent to all the settlements for several miles round, and on the appointed day not less than one hundred and fifty men were present, gathered from enriosity to see the progress of so great a work, and to lend a helping hand. In raising the first " bent," the following poles broke and down came the massive timbers, fortunately withont seriously injuring any of the men. After a few days, during which the damages resulting from this aceident were repaired, a still larger number of persons assembled to complete the task. A whole day of hard labor was occupied hur getting into position three "bents," or abont one half of the two lower stories. It was then found necessary to proeure an outfit of building rigging with which, and some ten or twelve men, the work of raising was completed. During the latter part of the year 1831, Stephen Griggs became associated in the enterprise with Mr. Manning. A stock company was afterward organized, called the "Alton Mann- factoring Company," which was chartered by the legislature on the first of February, 1833. In this Mr. Manning was a large stockholder. The other charter members were David R., Stephen, Nathaniel, John, and Thomas Griggs, William Manning, Winthrop S. Gilman, Jonathan T. Hud- son, Elijah Lincoln, William Miller, Nathaniel R. Cobb, and Aaron D. Weld. The capital was fixed at fifty thou- sand dollars, with leave to extend to one hundred thousand.

The building was four stories in height, with a basement of stone. It stood on the site of the present water-works. When built, the bluff, which has since been removed, ad- joined it. It was intended to have a side track of the rail- road (it was supposed that Alton would have railroad con- nection with other parts of the state at an early day) extend along the summit of the bluff to a door in the upper part of the mill, from which the ear loads of grain could be ear- ried by spouts to any part of the mill desired.

The mill remained under the management of the st company for some years, and though it was in chars skillful millers and mechanics, and was run with ecor the profits were only nominal. It was afterward leased . varions parties, among whom were a Mr. Olney, George and Joseph Brown, and MeElroy, Tibby & Co. Messrs. S. & P. Wise made important improvements, and ran it with success for some years. The stock of the old incorporation finally passed into the bands of J. J. & W. Mitchell, who added a distillery and for some time carried on a large milling and distillery business. F. J. Shooler was successor to the Mitchells, and was the last occupant, The ground on which the mill stood about the year 1863, passed into the possession of the city, and the mill was taken down and removed.

Jacob C. Bruner, was postmaster in 1832, and for some years subsequent to that date. William Barrett began the dry goods business in June, 1832. The first newspaper, the

381

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

Alton Spectator, was established in January, 1832, by Ed- ward Breath and Orlean M. Adams.

In the "Gazetteer of Illinois," published by Mr. l'eck in 1834, we find much of the matter concerning Alton pre- viously printed in the "Guide for Emigrants." The author, however, stated in addition that "the corporate bounds extend two miles along the river, and half a mile back. The town plot is laid out by the proprietors upon a liberal scale. There are five squares reserved for public pur- poses and a large reservation is made on the river for a pub- lic landing and promenade. Market street is 150 feet wide, other streets are one hundred, eighty, and sixty, according to the situation and public accommodation. Lower Alton now contains (July, 1834), sixteen stores, several of which do a large wholesale business, two public houses, and several private boarding-houses, mechanics of various kinds, an extensive steam flouring mill with four run of stones, owned by an incorporated company, and which cost $25,000; a steam saw mill in operation and another projected ; a boat yard contemplated, and a dock for the repair of steamboats, and about one thousand inhabitants. There is also a print- ing office which publishes weekly the Alton Spectator, a post-office, two lawyers, three physicians, one settled minister of the gospel, and preaching by Presbyterians, Episcopal Methodists, Protestant Methodists, and Baptists, each of which have churches organized. The public buildings are the penitentiary. It has the warden's house, guard house, twenty-four cells, and a portion of the wall erected, and the other parts of the work are in progress. A large stone meeting-house, with a handsome spire, has been erected, and will soon be finished for the Presbyterian church ; the I'rotestant Methodists have erected a small but neat stone chapel ; and the Baptist church have just commenced build- ing a convenient house of worship. A week-day school, under good regulation, and a large Sabbath-school, are taught here.

" Landed property in and near the town has risen in value two and three hundred per cent. within three years. Eligi- ble lots have been recently sold for several hundred dollars, and lots on the bluff's back have exceeded one hundred dol- lars. The facilities for business of various kinds will draw men of capital and enterprise to this place. The building and repair of steamboats may be made an extensive business, and no place on the western waters offers equal advantages. With this object in view a foundry for casting and making all kinds of machinery is contemplated. Large quantities of provisions will be packed here, and business of every de- scription must increase to an indefinite extent."

Among the institutions which the active and enterprising business men of that day considered essential to the prosperity of the town was a good hotel, and on the 12th of February, 1835, the Alton Hotel Company was incorporated with a capital stock of twenty thousand dollars. The company designed erecting a large and fine building which would be creditable to the city. The work was begun, but when the financial crisis of 1837 came, like many other promising enterprises throughout the state, the project was abandoned. Portions of the foundation remained for long years after-

ward. The building was to extend from State street east to Belle. about two hundred feet, and from Fourth northward nearly one hundred feet.

The year 1836 was one of prosperity, and in the incor- poration of several large companies we have the evidence that the business men of Alton were looking confidently forward to the rapid growth of the place, and its increased importance as a manufacturing and commercial centre. On the 16th of January, 1836, the " Alton Shot and Lead Manufacturing Company " was granted a charter. The capital stock was fifty thousand dollars. Jonathan A Town- send, Benjamin I. Gilman, Isaac Prickett, Caleb Stone, Isaac Negus, and Sherman W. Robbins were the members of the Company. On the 18th of January, 1836, the " Illinois Exporting Company" was incorporated, with power to carry on the manufacture of flour, wool, hemp, and other agricul- tural products, and to erect the necessary mills and machi- nery. The capital stock of the company was placed at one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Neither of these incor- porations were able to put their projects into actual opera- tion.

The Alton Branch of the State Bank of Illinois was esta- blished in 1833, with Benjamin Godfrey president, and Stephen Briggs cashier. A branch of the Shawneetown Bank, with D. T. Wheeler as cashier, was established the subsequent year. On the 7th of February, 1836, the " Al- ton Marine and Fire Insurance Company " obtained a charter, and organized with a capital stock of twenty thou- sand dollars, exclusive of premiums, notes, and profits aris- ing from business. Benjamin I. Gilman was president, and E Marsh secretary of the company.

EFFORTS TO BUILD UP ALTON .- PROJECTED RAILROADS.

When Vandalia was made the capital of the state, in 1819, it was stipulated that the scat of government should remain there twenty years, but at the expiration of that period some other point might be selected. In 1834 the Legislature voted on the question of the future capital, and chose Alton. Afterward, however, in consideration of other advantages conferred by the Legislature, Alton yielded this honor, and in 1837 it was resolved to make Springfield the seat of government.

A new state bank was chartered in 1835, with a capital stock of $1,500,000, with power to increase to $2,500,000. The principal bank was at Springfield, with branches at other points. Godfrey, Gilman & Co., of Alton, were largely concerned in negotiating for sums of money in the East to invest in the stock, and when the bank was organized were among the parties prominent in its control. The resources of the bank were freely given in furtherance of the ambi- tious scheme, then entertained by the public men of Illinois, of building up Alton as a commercial rival of St. Louis. To this end Godfrey, Gilman & Co. were loaned $800,000, with which to divert to Alton the immense trade of the lead mines about Galena, of which St. Louis was then in control. Godfrey, Gilman & Co. bought largely of lead, and by reason of the competition, the price of that commodity ad- vanced directly from 50 to 75 per cent., but after holding

382

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

the lead a long time in store in the East for a corresponding advance in the market there, sale had finally to be made at a ruinous sacrifice. To Stone, Manning & Co., and Słoo & Co., several hundred thousand dollars were like- wise advanced to operate in produce, and with the same dis- astrous results. To their movement is greatly due the re- markable, but transient, prosperity of Alton from 1835 to 1837.

About this period the people of Illinois entertained vast schemes of internal improvements, to be made at the cost of the state. Of these expected improvements Alton secured the lion's share, though with the understanding that she should relinquish her claim to be the capital of the state. The Internal Improvement Act was passed in February, 1837, and by it Alton was made the terminus of three great lines of railroad.

One, known as the Southern Cross-road, was to extend from Alton to Mt. Carmel, by way of Edwardsville, Carlyle, Salem, Fairfield, and Albion. From Mt. Carmel it was expected a line would be built through Indiana to New Albany, and there become connected with the great railroad chartered and surveyed from the Ohio river to Charleston, South Carolina Another was designed to run from Alton to Shawneetown, to diverge from the Southern Cross-road at Edwardsville, and thence pass through Le- banon, Nashville, Pinckneyville, Frankfort, and Equality. At Lebanon this road was to be intersected hy one running from Belleville to the Southern Cross-road. The third road was projected to run from Alton, by way of Hillsboro, to a central railroad to extend north and south through the state. For this last $600,000 was appropriated, and like liberal sums to the other lines.

Less than three years witnessed the collapse of the great internal improvement system, leaving an incubus of debt upon the state, and it was not till twelve years afterwards that the locomotive reached Alton.

ALTON IN 1837.

At the beginning of the year 1837, Alton had twenty wholesale stores, thirty-two retail stores and groceries, four hotels, two of which had commodious accommodations ; four large pork-packing houses, and the shops of numerous me- chanics. The professions were represented by eight lawyers, seven physicians, and seven clergymen. Four newspapers were published, the Alton SSpectator, the Alton Telegraph, the Alton Observer, and the Illinois Temperance Journal. A large temperance society held monthly meetings, and a ly- ceum met once a week for the literary improvement of its members. There were two schools. Five churches had been organized, the Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist Episco- pal, Methodist Protestant, and Protestant Episcopal, all of which, with the exception of the last, had erected conve- nient houses of worship.

There were two banks, one a branch of the State Bank of Illinois, and the other a branch of the Bank of Illinois at Shawneetown. The value of the pork packed and prepared for the market rau up into hundreds of thousands of dol_

lars; and other products were shipped from the place in large quantities. In four years the value of real estate had risen more than a thousand per cent.

The best locations near the river sold at from three hun- dred to four hundred dollars per front foot. Lots in more retired situations, for private residences, commanded from twenty-five to one hundred dollars per foot. The rent of stores was from four hundred to fifteen hundred dollars, and of dwelling-houses from two hundred to six hundred dollars. Some of the large wholesale houses di.l a business amount- ing annually to from a quarter to a half million of dollars. Seven or tight steamboats were owned, either in whole or in part, by citizens of the towu; arrivals and departures oc- curred every day, and the river landing was a place of bustle and activity. Alton commanded a large proportion of the trade of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers, and of the interior country for the distance of a hundred miles. The National Road, the great highway between the Atlan- tic seaboard and the " Far West," already located as far as Vandalia, was expected to cross the Mississippi at Alton, according to the formal request to Congress of the State Legislature; while the liberal system of internal improve- ments devised by the State of Illinois contemplated making Alton an important railway terminus, and thus securing to her the commercial supremacy of the Upper Mississippi Valley.

A traveler, who visited Alton in 1837, thus gives his impressions of the place :

" The far-famed village of Alton, situated upon the Illinois shore, a few miles above the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri, soon rose before us in the distance. When its multiformi declivities shall have been smoothed away by the hand of enterprise and covered with handsome edifices, it will, doubtless, present a fine appearance from the water ; as it now remains, its aspect is rugged enough. The penitentiary, a huge structure of stone, is rather too prominent a fea- ture in the scene. Indeed, it is the first object which strikes the atten- tion, and reminds one of a gray, old baronial castle of fendat days more than of anything else. The churches, of which there are several, and the extensive warehouses along the shore, have an imposing aspect, and offer more agreeable associations As we drew near to Alton, the fireman of our steamer deemed proper, in testimonial of the dignity of our arrival, to let off a certain rusty old swivel, which chanced to be on board ; and to have witnessed the marvelous fashion in which this manœuvre was executed by our worthies, would have pardoned a smile on the visage of Heraclitus himself. One lanky- limbed genius held a huge dipper of gunpowder ; another, seizing npon the extremity of a hawser, and, scvering a generous fragment, made nse thereof for wadding; a third rammed home the charge with that fearful weapon wherewith he poked the furnace; while a fourth, honest wight,-all preparation being complete,-advanced with a shovel of glowing coals, which, poured upon the touch-hole, the old piece was briefly delivered of its charge, and the woods, and shores, and welkiu rang again to the roar. If we made not our entrance into Alton with 'pomp and circumstance,' it was surely the fault of any one but our worthy fireman.

" The site of Alton, at the confluence of three large and navigable streams (allusion is here made to the Mississippi, Missouri and Illi- nois .- ED.); its extensive back country of great fertility ; the vast bodies of heavy timber on every side ; its noble quarries of stone ; ils inexhaustible beds of bituminous coal, only one mile distant, and its commodious landing, all scem to indicate the design of Nature that

383

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

here should arise a populons and wealthy town. The place has been laid off by its proprietors in liberal style ; five squares have been re- served for public purposes, with a promenade and landing, and the corporate bounds extend two miles along the river, and half a mile into the territory. Yet Alton, with all its local and artificial advan- tages, is obnoxious to objections. Its situation, in one section abrupt and precipitous, while in another depressed and confined, and the ex. tensive alluvion lying between the two great rivers oppo-ite, it is be- lieved, will always render it more or less unhealthy ; and its unenvi- able proximity to St. Louis will never cease to retard its commercial advantages. Until within six years past, it could boast but few houses and little business. Its population now amounts to several thousands, and its edifices for business, private residence, or public convenience, are large and elegant structures. Its stone churches present an impos- ing aspect to the visitor. The streets are from forty to eighty feet in width, and extensive operations are in progress to render the place as nniform as its site will admit. AA contract has been recently entered upon to construct a culvert over the Little Piasa Creek, which passes through the centre of the town, upon which are to be extended streets. The expense is estimated at sixty thousand dollars. The creek issues from a celebrated fountain among the bluffs, called 'Cove Spring.' Alton is not a little celebrated for its liberal contribution to the moral improvements of the day. To mention but a solitary instance : a gen- tleman of the place recently made a donation of ten thousand dollars for the endowment of a female seminary at Monticello, a village five miles to the north; and measures are in progress for carrying it into immediate execution. Two railroads are shortly to be con- structed from Alton ; one to Springfield, seventy miles distant, and the other to Mount Carmel, on the Wabash. The stock of each has been mostly subscribed, and they cannot fail, when completed, to add much to the importance of the place. Alton is also a proposed terminus of two of the state railroads, and of the Cumberland (or National) road.

" In the evening, when the sultriness of the day was over, passing through the principal street of the town, Iascended that singular range of bluffs which, commencing at that point, extend along the river, and to which, on a former occasion, I have briefly alluded. The ascent is arduous, but the glorious view from the summit richly repays the visitor for his toil. The withering atmosphere of the depressed, sun- burnt village at my feet was delightfully exchanged for the invigorat- ing breezes of the hills, as the fresh evening wind came wandering up from the waters. It was the sunset hour. The golden slanting beams of departing day were reflected from the undulating bosom of the river, as its bright waters, stretched away among the western forests, or from a sea of molten, glittering silver. On the left, directly at your feet, reposes the village of Alton, overhung by hills, with the gloomy, castellated walls of the penitentiary lifting up their dusky outline upon its skirts, presenting to the eye a perfect panorama as you look down upon the tortuous streets, the extensive warehouses of stone, and the range of steamers, alive with bustle, along the landing. Be- youd the village extends a deep forest, while a little to the south sweep off the waters of the river, bespangled with green islands, until, gratefully expanding itself, a noble bend withdraws it from the view. It is at this point that the Missouri disgorges its turbid, heavy mass of waters into the clear floods of the Upper Mississippi, hitherto uncheckered by a stain. At the base of the bluffs upon which you stand, at an elevation of a hundred and fifty feet, rushes with violence along the crags the current of the stream ; while beyond, upon the opposite plain, is beheld the log hut of the emigrant, couched beneath the enormous sycamores and sending up its undulating thread of blue, enrling smoke through the lofty branches. A lumber steam-mill is also here to be seen. Beyond these objects, the eye wanders over an interminable carpet of forest-tops, stretching away till they form a wavy line of dense foliage circling the western horizon. By the aid of a glass a range of hills, blue in the distance, is perceived, outlined against the sky ; they are the bluffs skirting the beautiful valley of the Missouri."-The Far West ; or, A Tour Beyond the Mountains, by ED- MUND T. FLAGG.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Madison County, Illinois With biographical sketches, Part 93

Author: Brink, W.R. & Co Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Edwardsville, Ill. : W. R. Brink & co. Number of Pages: 698

Author: Brink, W.R. & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Edwardsville, Ill. : W. R. Brink & co.
Number of Pages: 698