USA > Illinois > McHenry County > History of McHenry County, Illinois : together with sketches of its cities, villages and towns : educational, religious, civil, military, and political history : portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, also a condensed History of Illinois > Part 13
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87
Joseph Duncan
1833-34 Zadock Casey.
1833-34
TWENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS.
Zadock Casey .1835-36
William L. May.
1835-36
John Reynolds. 1835-36
TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS.
Zadock Casey
.1837-38 William L. May
.1837-38
John Reynolds. 1837-38
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS.
Zadock Casey.
.1839-40 John T. Stuart.
.1839-40
John Reynolds .. 1839-40
TWENTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS.
Zadock Casey
.1841-42
John T. Stuart
1841-42
John Reynolds.
1841-42
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS.
Robert Smith 1843-44
Joseph P. Hoge . 1843-44
Orlando B. Finklin .1843-44
John J. Hardin. 1843-44
Stephen A. Douglas . 1843-44
John Wentworth
1843-44
John A. McClernand 1843-44
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS.
Robert Smith
1845-46
Joseph P. Hoge. . . 1845-46
Stephen A. Douglas.
. 1845-46
John A. McClernand. 1845-46
Orlando B. Finklin
1845-46
John Wentworth.
1845-46
John J. Hardin 1845
THIRTIETH CONGRESS.
John Wentworth
1847-48
Orlando B. Finklin 1847-48
Thomas J. Turner.
1847
Robert Smith. 1847-48
Abraham Lincoln.
1847-48
William A. Richardson
1847-48
John A. McClernand
1847-48
151
John A. McClernand 1849-50 Edward D. Baker 1849-50
John Wentworth .. .1849-50 William H. Bissell.
1849-50
Timothy R. Young. 1849-50
Thomas L. Harris 1849
William A. Richardson 1849-50
THIRTY-SECOND CONGRESS.
William A. Richardson 1851-52 Richard Yates. 1851-52
Thompson Campbell. .. 1851-52
Richard S. Maloney. 1851-52
Orlando B. Finklin. .1851-52
. Willis 1851-52
John Wentworth 1851-52
William H. Bissell.
1851-52
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS.
. William H. Bissell
1853-54
Thompson Campbell. 1853-54
John C. Allen
. 1853-54
James Knox. 1853-54
Willis.
1853-54
Jesse O. Norton. 1853-54
Elihu B. Washburne 1853-54
William A. Richardson
1863-54
Richard Yates. 1853-54
THIRTY-FOURTH CONGRESS.
Elihu B. Washburne 1855-56
Samuel S. Marshall 1855-56
Lyman Trumbull. 1855-56
J. L. D. Morrison 1855-56
James H. Woodworth
1855-56
John C. Allen. 1855-56
James Knox. . .
.1855-56
Jesse O. Norton. 1855-56
Thompson Campbell 1855-56
William A. Richardson 1855-56
THIRTY-FIFTH CONGRESS.
Elihu B. Wash burne 1857-58
Samuel S. Marshall 1857-58
Charles D. Hodges. 1857-58
Isaac N. Morris. 1857-58
William Kellogg 1857-58
Aaron Shaw .1857-58
Thompson Campbell. 1857-58
Robert Smith. 1857-58
John F. Farnsworth. 1857-58
Thomas L. Harris
.1857-58
Owen Lovejoy. 1857-58
THIRTY-SIXTH CONGRESS.
Elihu B. Wash burne. 1859-60
John F. Farnsworth 1859-60
John A. Logan. . ..
1859-60
Philip B. Fouke. 1859-60
Owen Lovejoy.
1859-60
Thomas L. Harris 1859-60
John A. McClernand.
1859-60
William Kellogg. 1859-60
Isaac N Morris
1859-60
James C. Robinson.
1859-60
THIRTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS.
Elihu B. Washburne 1861-62
Isaac N. Arnold. 1861-62
James C. Robinson.
1861-62
Philip B. Fouke
1861-62
John A. Logan
1861-62
William Kellogg .. 1861-62
Owen Lovejoy.
1861-62
Anthony L. Knapp 1861-62
John A. McClernand. 1861-62
William A. Richardson 1861-62
THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS.
Elihu B. Wash burne
1863-64
William J. Allen
1863-64
Jesse O. Norton.
1863-64
Isaac N. Arnold.
1863-64
James C. Robinson 1863-64
John R. Eden. 1863-64
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS.
G
152
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
Lewis W. Ross
1863-64 John F. Farnsworth. 1863-64
John T. Stuart.
1863-64
Charles W. Morris 1863-64
Owen Lovejoy
1863-64
Eben C. Ingersoll 1863-64
William R. Morrison 1863-64
Anthony L. Knapp 1863-64
John C. Allen. 1863-64
THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS.
Elihu B. Washburne 1865-66
Jonn F. Farnsworth 1865-66
Anthony B. Thornton 1865-66
Jehu Baker. 1865-66
John Wentworth
1865-66
Henry P. H. Brom well. 1865-66
Abner C. Hardin. 1865-66
Andrew Z. Kuykandall .1865-66
Eben C. Ingersoll
1865-66
Samuel S. Marshall.
1865-66
Barton C. Cook
1865-66
Samuel W. Moulton. 1865-66
Shelby M. Cullom. 1865-66
Lewis W. Ross 1865-66
FORTIETH CONGRESS.
Elihu B. Washburne 1867-68
John F. Farnsworth 1867-68
Abner C. Hardin. 1867-68
Jehu Baker. 1867-68
Eben C. Ingersoll
1867-68
Henry P. H. Bromwell 1867-68
Norman B. Judd.
1867-68
John A. Logan. 1867-68
Albert G. Burr.
1867-68
Samuel S. Marshall
1867-68
Burton C. Cook
1867-68
Green B. Raum. 1867-68
Shelby M. Cullom.
1867-68
Lewis W. Ross. 1867-68
FORTY-FIRST CONGRESS.
Norman B. Judd.
1869-70
Shelby M. Cullom. .1869-70
John F. Farnsworth.
.1869-70
Thomas W. McNeely 1869-70
H. C. Burchard,
1869-70
Albert G. Burr. 1869-70
John B. Hawley.
.1869-70
Samuel S. Marshall. 1869-70
Eben C. Ingersoll.
1869-70
John B. Hay.
1869-70
Burton C. Cook
1869-70
John M. Crebs. 1869-70
Jesse H. Moore
1869-70
John A. Logan. .1869-70
FORTY-SECOND CONGRESS.
Charles B. Farwell.
1871-72
James C. Robinson 1871-72
John F. Farnsworth
1871-72
Thomas W. McNeely 1871-72
Horatio C. Burchard.
1871-72
Edward Y. Rice. 1871-72
John B. Hawley
1871-72
Samuel S. Marshall. 1871-72
Bradford N. Stevens
1871-72
John B. Hay. 1871-72
Henry Snapp
1871-72
John M. Crebs. 1871-72
Jesse H. Moore 1871-72
John S. Beveredge. 1871-72
FORTY-THIRD CONGRESS.
John B. Rice
1873-74
Robert M. Knapp 1873-74
Jasper D. Ward ..
1873-74
James C. Robinson 1873-74
Charles B. Farwell
1873-74
John B. McNulta. 1873-74
Stephen A. Hurlbut
1873-74
Joseph G. Cannon 1873-74
Horatio C. Burchard
1873-74
John R. Eden. 1873-74
John B. Hawley
1873-74
James S. Martin. 1873-74
Franklin Corwin.
1873-74
William R. Morrison 1873 74
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 153
Greenbury L. Fort. 1873-74 Isaac Clements.
1878-74
Granville Barrere. 1873-74
Samuel S. Marshall.
1873-74
William H. Ray. 1873-74
FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS.
Bernard G. Caulfield 1875-76
Scott Wike. 1875-76
Carter H. Harrison. 1875-76
William M. Springer. .1875-76
Charles B. Farwell. 1875-76
Adlai E. Stevenson 1875-76
Stephen A. Hurlbut. 1875-76
Joseph G. Cannon 1875-76
Horatio C. Burchard
1875-76
John R. Eden. 1875-76
Thomas J. Henderson. 1875-76
W. A. J. Sparks. 1875-76
Alexander Campbell. 1875-76
William R. Morrison 1875-76
Greenbury L. Fort. 1875-76
William Hartzell. .1875-76
Richard H. Whiting 1875-76
William B. Anderson ..
.1875-76
John C. Bagby 1875-76
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS.
William Aldrich 1877-78
Robert M. Knapp .. 1877-78
Carter H. Harrison 1877-78
William M. Springer 1877-78
Lorenzo Brentano 1877-78
Thomas F. Tipton 1877-78
William Lathrop 1877-78
Joseph G. Cannon .1877-78
Horatio C. Burchard 1877-78
John R. Eden. 1877-78
Thomas J. Henderson .1877-78
Philip C. Hayes. 1877-78
Greenbury L. Fort. 1877-78
William Hartzell. 1877-78
Thomas A. Boyd. 1877-78
1877-78
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS.
William Aldrich. 1879-80
George R. Davis 1879-80
Hiram Barber. 1879-80
John C. Sherwin 1879-80
Joseph G. Cannon. 1879-80
R. M. A. Hawk 1879-80
Albert P. Forsythe. 879-80
W. A. J. Sparks. 1879-80
Philip C. Hayes 1879-80
Greenbury L. Fort. 1879-80
Thomas A. Boyd. 1879-80
R. W. Townshend.
1879-80
Benjamin F. Marsh. 1879-80
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS.
William Aldrich. 1881-'82
George R. Davis 1881-'82
Charles B. Farwell. 1881-'82
John C. Sherwin. 1881-'82
Robert M. A. Hawk 1881-'82
Thomas J. Henderson 1881-'82
William Cullen. 1881-82
Lewis E. Payson. 1881-'82
John H. Lewis. 1881- 82
Benjamin F. Marsh 1881-82
James W. Singleton 1881-'82
William M. Springer. 1881-'82
Dietrich C. Smith. .1881-'82
Joseph G. Cannon. 1881-'82
Samuel W. Moulton 1881-' 2
William A. J. Sparks .1881-'82
William R. Morrison .1881-'82
John R. Thomas 1881-'82
R. W. Townshend.
1881-'82
Richard W. Townshend.
1877-78
Benjamin F. Marsh
James W. Singleton. 1879-80
William M. Springer 1879-80
A. E. Stevenson. 1879-80
Thomas J. Henderson 1879-80
W. A. J. Sparks .. 1877-78
William R. Morrison 1877-78
William R. Morrison 1879-80
John R. Thomas 1879-80
154
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS.
Ransom W. Dunham 1883-'84
William H. Neece 1883-'84
John F. Finerty. .1883-'84
James M. Riggs. .1883-'84
George R. Davis. 1883-'84
William M. Springer .1883- 84
George E. Adams 1883-'84
Jonathan H. Rowell. 1883-'84
Reuben Ellwood 1883-'84
Joseph G. Cannon 1883-'84
Robert R. Hitt. 1883-'84
Aaron Shaw. 1883-'84
Thomas J. Henderson 1883-'84
Samuel W. Moulton .1883-'84
William Cullen 1883-'84
William R. Morrison 1883-'84
Lewis E. Payson. .1883-'84
Richard W. Townshend. 1883-'84
Nicholas E. Worthington. .1883-84
John R. Thomas. 1883-'84
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS.
Ransom W. Dunham 1885-'86
William H. Neece. 1885-'86
Francis Lawler
1895-'86
James M. Riggs. 1885-'86
J. H. Ward.
1885-'86
William M. Springer. .1885-'86
George E. Adams
1885-'86
Jonathan H. Rowell 1885-'86
Reuben Ellwood. .1885-'86
Joseph G. Cannon 1885-'86
Robert H. Hitt. 1885-'86
S. Z. Landes 1885-'86
Thomas J. Henderson 1885-'86
John R. Eden 1885-'86
Ralph Plumb. 1885-'86
William R. Morrison.
1885-'86
Lewis E. Payson.
1885-'86
Richard W. Townshend. 1885-'86
Nicholas E. Worthington. 1885-'86
John R. Thomas
1885-'86
e
A.9 E
A. 5 ₺
R S E.
R.7 E
Genoa R.8 E.
SOUTH FIN
5
5
Prairie P.O.i.
A.
RJ
9
LAKE
BUR-
NORTH
Hebron
13
+
cheese
N
2.3
E
IN
pow Spray Grove
30
29
26
34 3.2
36
84
32
ANO
VOR
-
Greenwoo
S
CHICA WEST
17
18)
GREENWOOD
U
N
H
M
19
20
Kishyankıce
MECOL LAK
8,90
fHen
3/
3%
34
36
9/
9.9
-3.3
36
3
DEÀ
A
INCODSTOCK /%
8
7
9
10
11
1%
18
1.5
18
17
16
16
13
S
24
20
2.
20
?/ 1 22
$4
Kdefield
ENV
28
26
30
=
Marengo
94
31
33
36 CrystalHaly unda
30
37
3º
9:
hinte Klin
CRYSTAL
chry
10
River
TROTTING
SWAMP
74
Care
16
15
$.13
14
HOUSE
2.0
23
10
30
28
Hu
Gruve P.o
Monfley
35
36
$1
84
-36
96
31
3.f
34
31
36
HarAway P.O.t
26
15
30
Iaktier
CHICAGO
sheva
5 Crystallake
RAET +45
0
EY
7 43 N
20
NORTH WESTERN-
3.5
36
1.45 N
10 : 15
NORTH
LSU
19
23
stent PO
Sta:
2.0
30
136
30
19 :
FEJL
20
MOND
T. 16 N
den
3
1
RENG 14
7.44 ₼
49
36
HISTORY OF M HENRY COUNTY.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY AND DESCRIPTIVE.
THE IMPORTANCE OF LOCAL HISTORY .- SCOPE OF THE FOLLOWING PAGES .- GEOGRAPHY OF MOHENRY COUNTY .- ORIGINAL AREA OF THE COUNTY .- PRESENT EXTENT .- CLIMATIC FEATURES .- TOPOGRAPHY .- THEORIES CONCERNING PRAIRIES .- WATER COURSES OF THE COUNTY .- GEOLOGICAL FEATURES .- ABUNDANCE OF DRIFT FORMATION .- LIMITED EXPOSURE OF SILURIAN ROCKS .- CLAY AND PEAT.
All history is essentially local. No record of events, however important, can make a vivid or lasting impression upon a reader's mind if the locality of the occurrences is not given due prominence. By association the scenes of great events become sanctified and endeared in the hearts of a people. Who, for instance, can gaze unmoved upon the house which was the home or the birthplace of an illustrious man? Who can give expression to his emotions as he stands upon the ground where some decisive struggle for liberty took place ?
Even the most prosiac places, even the simplest of every-day occurrences, are sometimes elevated beyond their natural condition, becoming illustrious and important on account of the memories which surround them. And even within the narrow limits of a county, events, perhaps of little moment in themselves, are con- stantly transpiring, which growing venerable through age become invested with peculiar interest and are rightfully worthy of perpet- ual remembrance. A small community has its place in history as well as a large one. Every intelligent and public-spirited citizen feels a degree of pride in the achievements, the industrial growth, the religious, social, and intellectual progress of his county.
Thus it is that in almost every section of the Union efforts are now being made to perpetuate local history. No cause is more
(155)
156
HISTORY OF MO HENRY COUNTY.
worthy of popular attention. Centuries hence, when a history of the American people shall be written, the historian will gather his data largely from the facts which are now being collected and put in preservable form. But the greatest importance of local history lies in the interest which we may expect posterity to entertain for it. The work of the pioneers-humble in its details yet magnifi- cent in its results; the first rudely built church or school-house; the founding of a village; the inception of an industry-each mark an epoch in the history of any locality. The nationality and charac- teristics of the early settlers; their lives, adventures and hardships; the part performed by them in civil, judicial or military affairs- all these are topics in which their descendants can never cease to have an interest.
In the following pages it has been the writer's aim to treat upon the subjects above mentioned; also to embody an account of such events in the county's history as seemed worthy of record; to trace the growth of industries, wealth and population; in short, to pre- sent, in a fair and impartial manner, a history of McHenry County and its inhabitants. In order to preserve the names and the mein- ory of the heroic pioneers, and with a view toward giving honor to whom honor is dne, considerable space has been given to biographi- cal matter, in which will be found much that is interesting and valuable.
DESCRIPTIVE.
McHenry County is situated in the northeastern part of the State of Illinois. Its boundaries are: The State of Wisconsin on the northi; Lake County on the east, between McHenry County and Lake Michigan; Kane and DeKalb counties on the south, and Boone County on the west. McHenry County was formed in 1836 from a portion of Cook County and theu included the territory which now constitutes the two counties, McHenry and Lake. The superficial area of McHenry County is 612 square miles; of Lake County, 394.
The climate is characterized by severe cold in winter and fre- quent sudden changes. The heat of summer is rendered agreeable by refreshing breezes which blow almost constantly. The air is pure and bracing; the scenery, varied by lakes, streams, groves and prairies, is attractive and picturesque; there is abundance of pure water to be obtained from wells, streams and natural springs. Altogether, McHenry County offers to the summer tourist, or
157
HISTORY OF MC HENRY COUNTY.
health-seeker, many enticing features, and in this respect is unex- celled by any portion of the State.
The surface elevation very nearly approaches the highest in the State, a fact which furtlier accounts for the wholesomeness and salubrity of the climate. The county is somewhat unequally di- vided into prairies and woodlands, the former being in the excess. Good timber is abundant, and the people are supplied at home with all that is required for fuel and fences as well as much that is suita- ble for building purposes. Timber is fully as abundant now as when the country was first settled, improvement having caused the prairie fires, with their attendant destruction of forests, to cease, while the use of wood has scarcely kept pace with its growth. The prairies, stretching their broad and grassy surface between the groves, present an interesting natural phenomenon, and inasmuch as more than half of McHenry County is composed of them, the question of their origin cannot fail to interest the local reader. Much speculation has been made upon this subject, the results of which may be summed up in two distinct theories.
The first theory presupposes that the soil of the prairies was formed by the decomposition of vegetable matter under water, with attendant conditions unfavorable to the growth of timber. Those who hold this theory maintain that prairies are even now forming along the rivers and the shores of lakes. River channels are con- stantly changing, by reason of freshets. The heaviest particles transported by the water fall nearest the channel, and here repeated deposits first cause banks to be elevated above the floods. Trees spring up on these natural levies, serving to strengthen them and render them permanent. When an overflow takes place these bar- riers keep the subsiding water from returning to the river bed; and by frequent inundations the bottom-lands become slouglis or swamps. The water is usually shallow and stagnant, and is soon invaded by mosses and aquatic plants, which grow beneath the surface and contain in their fibers silica, alumina and lime, the constituents of clay. To these plants mollusks and other small aquatic animals attach themselves and find in them their sub- sistence. Hence a constant decomposition, both of animal and vegetable matter, ensues, and finally forms a stratum of clay, like that underlying prairies.
The marshy bottoms are thus gradually built up to the surface of the water; vegetable growth becomes more. abundant,' rushes, reeds and coarse grasses being added to the other forms of plant
158
HISTORY OF MO HENRY COUNTY.
life. These plants, rising above the water, absorb the carbonic acid gas of the air and convert it into woody fiber, which by decomposition first forms the clayey inold and afterward the black mold of the prairie. Such agencies, now operating in the ponds which skirt river-banks, originally formed all the prairies of the Mississippi Valley. According to geologists, the surface of the land was submerged toward the close of the drift period, and as it slowly emerged afterward, it was covered by extensive ponds of shallow water which finally became swamps, and then prairies. One remarkable feature about the prairies, namely, the absence of trees, is accounted for, first, by the formation of ulmic acid, which is favorable to the growth of plants, but retards that of trees; second, the roots of trees require air, which they cannot obtain when the surface is under water or covered by a compact sod; third, marshy flats offer no solid points to which the trees may attach themselves. But when the land becomes dry, and the sod.is broken by cultivation, almost all varieties of native woods grow and thrive upon the prairie. The uneven surface of some prairies is due to the erosive action of subsiding waters. The drainage, following the creeks and rivers, finally resulted in the formation of rolling prairies.
The foregoing theory is based upon a large and constant water supply; another theory, which is accepted by many, assumes a very different aqueous condition in accounting for the prairies. It is a well-known fact in physical geography that the chief continents of the globe are generally surrounded by belts of timber, while further inland are areas of treeless tracts, and centrally, extensive deserts. On the eastern coast of North America, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Hudson Bay, as well as on the Pacific slope of the continent, timber grows thickly and spontaneously. These two zones of timber approach each other at the north and south, and within them lie the great prairies of the Mississippi Valley. Farther west are those arid regions which have caused them to be desig- nated as " The Great American Desert." Other portions of the eartlı have likewise their areas of forests, treeless lands and barrens. In Africa, the Sahara; in Europe, the Steppes; in Asia, the rainless wastes; in South America, the Atacama, all serve to illustrate that the operation of physical laws such as have caused the diversifica- tion of the United States has been general in all countries.
Upon investigation it will be found that this alternation of woods, prairies and deserts corresponds with the variations in the
159
HISTORY OF MO HENRY COUNTY.
amount of rain-fall. The ocean is the great source of moisture, and the clouds are the vehicles which transport it over the land. Act- nal investigation has proved that most of the water taken from the ocean in the form of vapor or clouds is discharged upon the rim of the continent; that the amount of rain is less farther toward the interior, until, finally, almost total aridity is found. Upon apply- ing this theory to the American continent it will be found that in going from New York to San Francisco the amount of rain-fall very nearly coincides with the alternations of woodland, prairie and desert. At New York the average annual rain-fall is forty-two inches; the region extending thence to Ann Arbor, Mich., where the annual rain-fall is twenty-nine inches, is well timbered; thence to Galesburg, Ill., where the rain-fall is twenty-four inches, the country is prairie interspersed with occasional clumps of woodland; thence to Fort Laramie, having twenty inches rain-fall, the country rapidly changes to continuous prairie; thence to Fort Youma, hav- ing three inches, it becomes a desert; and thence to San Francisco, where the rain-fall is twenty-two inches, it changes to thick forests. Illinois lies within the region of alternate wood and prairie.
Still further, some scientists maintain that the treeless tracts are due to the nature of the soil. It is highly probable that cach of the forces named in these theories may have had something to do with the formation of the prairies.
The surface of MeHenry County is varied, consisting of prairies, both level and undulating, wooded ridges, and hills of considerable elevation. The configuration is such that artificial drainage is rendered comparatively easy, while nature has provided ample water-courses. The Fox River, rising in Wisconsin, flows south, in Lake and McHenry counties, keeping near the county line. This is a noble stream, the largest in this section. It ultimately joins the Illinois River. The Fox River enters McHenry County about eight miles from the Wisconsin State line, flowing out of Pistaqua Lake* in township 46, range 9 east; thence its course is in McHenry County until it reaches the line dividing townships 43 and 44, where it crosses into Lake County. A little over two iniles further south the river bends westward into McHenry County in which it continues until the southern line of the county is reached at Algonquin. The Nippersink, a tributary of the Fox, rises in McHenry County and traverses the northeastern part of the county. This county is also the source of the Kishwaukee
*This lake lies in both counties, and is but an expansion of the river.
160
HISTORY OF MC HENRY COUNTY.
River, its chief tributaries arising in the central and western part of the county. The stream flows westward into Rock River. Other small streams are tributaries to those above named.
Small lakes, or ponds, are quite abundant in this county. They vary in character, some being surrounded by a firm shore, others bordered by marshes and low, wet land, thickly covered by grasses and weeds. Some of them have an extraordinary depth compared with their size. There are also numerous slouglis of varied extent. These wet prairies usually have a peaty soil of variable depth.
GEOLOGICAL FEATURES.
The geological formations found in this county consist princi- pally of the drift. The bed-rock, which is rarely exposed, belongs chiefly to the Niagara group (Upper Silurian). Along the western border of the county, in a narrow strip running north and south, the underlying formation belongs to the Cincinnati group. The drift deposits, consisting of clay and hard-pan, with occasional beds of sand and gravel, and boulders frequently scattered throughout the mass, cover the whole surface of the county an average depth of at least seventy feet. The mighty agencies of nature at work during the glacial period ground away and transformed all of the original formations above the Silurian rocks, and buried these rocks themselves deep beneath a mass of debris of heterogeneous character.
There are no good opportunities afforded for observing sections of the drift in the county. There being no natural exposures, ex- cavations for wells afford about the only data accessible, and this is meager. Wells are seldom sunk to a depth of over forty feet, and in that distance little is found except blue clay, or hard-pan, with an occasional pocket or irregular seam of quicksand or gravel. Boulders are found both upon the surface and in excavations. They are of varying size and of all sorts of material, such as granite, syenite, trap, greenstone, limestone and sandstone. Near the Fox River the ridges contain large quantities of rolled limestone boulders, evidently derived from the Niagara rocks of Wisconsin. The mass of the drift, however, appears to be clay and hard-pan, with occasional boulders. Logs of wood and other vegetable re- mains have frequently been found beneath the surface at distances of from fifteen to fifty feet.
With the exception of the narrow belt along the western line of
$1
6
161
HISTORY OF MO HENRY COUNTY.
the county, already referred to as belonging to the Cincinnati group, the underlying formation probably belongs wholly to the Niagara group. The ontcrops, however, are so few as to render absolute knowledge of the formation impossible. In the north- eastern corner of section 17, township 44, range 9, nearly on the county line between Lake and McHenry, the limnestonc is exposed in an excavation by the roadside. It is unstratified and contains no well-preserved fossils. At the Sand Hills on the Kishwaukee, in the sonthwest part of section 21, township 44, range 6, a bed of limestone was found in an excavation, fourteen feet below the sur- face. This, it is probable, belongs also to the Niagara group.
The exposures of the Cincinnati formation are limited to one locality, about two miles east of Gardeu Prairie station, on the Galena division of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, about a quarter of a mile south of the main wagon-road between that station and Marengo. This rock has been quite extensively quar- ried here. It is a buff limestone, thinly bedded, and containing considerable chert in some parts of the quarry. Frequently it has a slight bluish tinge. Fossils are scarce and imperfect.
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.