USA > Illinois > McLean County > History of McLean County, Illinois, Volume I > Part 7
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paved highways passed through Normal in 1923, one from the south- west to northeast, the other from north to south. The population of Normal is made up largely of families who originally moved to the place to educate their children and became permanent residents. The town has a modern business district and several small factories. Several paved streets connect it with Bloomington, making the two corporations prac- tically as one town, which some day they may become in name as well as in fact.
Old Town Township .- The belt of timber across the southern border gave its name to this township, the grove in turn taking its name from the old Indian town. The grove covered 6,620 acres, being 18 miles long and three miles wide. It was at the headwaters of the Kickapoo Creek. William Evans was the first settler within the township borders, coming in 1826. His farm buildings were destroyed by a tornado in September, 1827, and he gave up and moved to Blooming Grove. His land afterward became a part of the city of Bloomington and was quite valuable. John Bishop was a settler in Old Town in 1830 and William Bishop in 1832. John Hendryx and Lewis Case also came about that time. The first school was in Lewis Case's home, taught by Callista Stanton in 1838. The same house also sheltered the first church meeting. In 1853 the Methodists built a church at Benjaminville, which was later moved to the village of Holder and sold to the United Brethren. The Society of Friends formed the religious influence at Benjaminville. When the rail- road afterward known as the Lake Erie road was built, the village of Holder was laid out in 1871 by Charles W. Holder. It occupies ten acres in section 13. The hamlet of Gillum is located in the southwestern part of the township and is on the New York Central, or Nickel Plate rail- road. Pleasant Grove church and cemetery are located on section 26, and an older cemetery on section 22, not now in use.
Randolph Township .- Gardner Randolph was the first white man to settle in this immediate vicinity, and for him the grove where he settled was named, and in turn gave the name to the township formed. This was a favorite resort of the Indians before the white men came, and many relics of the red men have been found by Milo Custer and others in the vicinity of Randolph Grove. Gardner Randolph reached his stop- ping place in December, 1823, and set up a hut formed of brush, hay and
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the canvas cover of his wagon. Born in North Carolina, Randolph had first moved to Alabama, then to White County, Illinois, then to Sanga- mon County, thence to McLean. After this region was pretty well set- tled, he moved on to the west, locating in Kansas, and at last went on to California, where he died in 1866. It was a hard life indeed for the Randolph family the first year, as they had little to subsist upon, not even milk from a cow until the second year. Other settlers joined Ran- dolph in the grove in the following two years, the Stringfields, John Moure, Samuel Stewart, Thomas O. Rutledge and Jesse Funk. Gardner Randolph was a religious man, an adherent of the Methodist Church, but in politics opposed to the Abolitionists. John Moore came into promi- nence in the early years of the county, was elected to the legislature, became lieutenant governor of the state and later state treasurer. His grave is in one of the old cemeteries of Randolph neighborhood. Jesse Funk was a sturdy stockman. He raised hogs and drove them to Galena to market. In one of these trips in the winter of '31 he was caught en route with other men in the deep snow, but they finally got out alive. He was instrumental in retaining; the north tier of sections in township 2 for McLean County instead of giving them to DeWitt as was proposed when the latter county was organized. Jesse Funk was a county com- missioner 1844 to 1849. Capt. John Karr, a Revolutionary war soldier, came with his sons in 1835. The Rust family, the Nobles, Stewarts and . others were among the earlier settlers. Dr. Harrison Rust and Dr. A. E. Stewart were prominent citizens, soldiers, writers and farmers. Camp- bell Wakefield and Isaac Van Ordstrand were also early and prominent settlers. Randolph Township was famous for its mills in the early days, these using the water power of the Kickapoo Creek, which was sufficient to turn wheels about half the year. Probably the first water mill in the county was one built by Michael Dickerson, and later sold to William Hampton and Martin L. Bishop. James Hedrick put up a sawmill on the Kickapoo at the then young village of Lytleville. John Baldwin bought this mill and was really the founder of Lytleville, which was once a flour- ishing and ambitious village, but died out when Heyworth was started as a station on the new Illinois Central railroad, two miles away from the Lytleville site. G. Kimler and a Mr. French were other owners of early time saw mills on the Kickapoo. Rev. Ebenezer Rhodes conducted the first
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church in 1823. Jesse Walker, a missionary and Rev. John See, a Meth- odist, were also pioneer preachers.
The village of Heyworth was laid out by Campbell Wakefield Sept. 11, 1858, and incorporated in 1869. It is one of the most flourishing and up-to-date towns in the county, with modern homes, two banks, churches, a newspaper and other business enterprises. Heyworth has good churches. The Presbyterian congregation was organized in 1844 by Rev. Josiah Porter and has a good building and parsonage. Flourishing Methodist and Christian congregations are also in the town. Heyworth is supplied with modern grade and high schools. Heyworth's weekly newspaper is named the Heyworth Star. The paper is edited by P. A. Chapman. The town is a grain and stock shipping point. It has many good stores, two banks, elevators and lumber yards. The Illinois Central and the Illinois Traction System supply its transportation. An excellent school system includes a community high school, among the best in the county, with grade schools. A progressive Parent-Teacher association is at work. The churches of the city include the Christian, Presbyterian and Methodist. There are many lodges, numbering among them the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias, both of which own buildings of their own; the Mod- ern Woodmen and Royal Neighbors, Masons and Eastern Star, Pythian Sisters, Rebekahs, and Court of Honor. There is a large post of Amer- ican Legion.
Towanda Township .- Being a prairie district, Towanda was not set- tled as early as some of the townships having timber. There is only 460 acres of timber in the township and the rest of the land is rich prairie soil. Smith's grove, named for David Smith, who settled there in 1830, is in the center of the township, while in the north part is a strip of timber along Money Creek. John Trimmer and family were the first settlers, coming in 1826, following an Indian trail from the Wabash coun- try and settling at the grove. Frederick Rook came soon afterward, but later moved to Livingston County. William Halterman settled on the prairie in 1840. About 1837 Elbert Dickason and John Pennell erected a sawmill on Money Creek. David Trimmer had a blacksmith shop at the head of Money Creek timber as early as 1828. Jacob Spawr and Eliza Ann Trimmer were married on Dec. 3, 1826. Notices of the proposed
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wedding were posted, in lieu of getting a license from the county seat. W. C. Orendorff performed the wedding service. The postoffice of the township was at the home of William D. Moore, on the site of the present town of Towanda. The first preacher was John Dunham at Smith's Grove in 1832. Rev. Ebenezer Rhodes visited this section in his rounds. There are now Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist and Catholic churches in the township.
Peter Badeau and Jesse W. Fell laid out the village of Towanda on Dec. 7, 1854. Charles Roadnight, then treasurer of the Chicago & Alton road, established here a country place which became famous in its time for the elaborate expenditures which he lavished upon it. He tried to boom the town and built there a two-story building 50 by 100 feet, the upper part of which was designed for a public hall. But the structure fell to decay and finally burned down. A good flour mill was erected by Roadnight and Strothers, but did not long continue in use. Henry War- ner's mill met with a similar fate. William R. Duncan was one of the earliest breeders of fine cattle in this vicinity. Towanda at present is a village of some considerable prosperity in trading. It is located on the state paved road forming the direct line of travel between Chicago and St. Louis. The Chicago & Alton railroad runs through it and has a new station there.
Two other railroad stations are in the township, both Barnes and Merna being on the branch of the Illinois Central. Merna is the center of a large and prosperous farming district mainly composed of adherents of the Catholic church, and they have a large church at the town. There are two community halls and two elevators.
West Township .- It was first attempted to name this township Pot- tawatomie in honor of the Indian tribe of that name; then Kickapoo for that tribe, but at last the board of supervisors gave it the name of West in honor of Henry West, one of the early settlers and largest landowners. The first entry of lands from the government in the southeast part of the county was by Jonathan Cheney, this land being located near the old Indian town. Absalom Funk entered a large tract in the same vicinity, on which was the site of the supposed Indian fort. Henry West entered a tract of 2,500 acres in 1850, while John Weedman took up a large tract in the southeast part of the township. These two men early developed
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a large cattle business. The tract of timber on section 5 was named Weedman's Grove. Henry West was elected first supervisor when the township was organized in 1858 and continued for 20 years. During the civil war he distinguished himself by his activity in providing means for caring for the families of soldiers. Mr. West also prevented the sale of the school lands owned by the township, so that the school tract grew to 720 acres which yielded an income of $2,000 to $3,000 annually, which income was applied to school maintenance for many years, thereby re- ducing the school taxes of the township. He served the people well in his day and generation.
West township is distinguished by having within its borders two of the most notable Indian relics of the county. These are the sites of an old Indian town and also that of an Indian fort. The late Capt. John H. Burnham was most active in seeking to trace to authentic records some of the facts concerning this town and fort. The town was deserted be- fore the white settlers came, after the Kickapoos had suffered from a scourge of smallpox, and they moved to the grove further north, which became known as Old Town timber, and so remains to this day. Accord- ing to researches of Captain Burnham and the late Hiram W. Beckwith of Danville, there were traditions that the Indians here had been attacked by white troops and driven away. By some it was said to have been a detachment sent by General Harrison from Indiana, but in other quarters it was said to have been a squad of state rangers who attacked the Indian camp and drove them off. A survey was made in 1880 of the site of the old Indian town and fort by the McLean County Historical Society. It was figured that the fort consisted of some kind of trenches and para- pets surmounted by stakes driven into the ground, but which were after- ward pulled up and used for fuel. In 1906, at the instigation of Hon. Simeon West, son of Henry West, the Historical Society took steps to erect a marker for the site of the old fort. Accordingly, on a plot of ground two rods square, donated by its owner, George W. Funk, a granite monument costing $100 was erected, on which was inscribed: "Site of Ancient Kickapoo Fort. Erected by the McLean County Historical So- ciety." This was mostly paid for by Mr. West and George P. Davis, president of the society, in order to preserve from oblivion this most valuable historic relic.
West Township assisted by public subscription in building two lines
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of railroad. One was the I. B. & W., later called the Big Four and now the Nickel-Plate, to which West Township gave $20,000 and which crossed the southwest corner of the township. It was built in 1870. The largest town on the road that is near to West Township is Farmer City, in De- Witt County. Another road to which West contributed in 1878 was a narrow gauge, which was afterward purchased by the Illinois Central and standardized. The station of Glenavon, in Bellflower Township, is nearest to West on this line. A branch of the Illinois Central was built across the southeast corner of the township in 1872, without aid from the public. Weedman is the station on this line in West Township. Sabine is near the center of the township on the former narrow gauge line.
Hon. Simeon H. West, son of the first settler of that name, was long a member of the supervisors, and in 1883-85 was a member of the Legis- lature. He owned hundreds of acres of land which he inherited from his father. In later years he moved to Leroy and built a fine home. His act of most public interest was his donation of 20 acres of timber land to the county to be perpetually used for park purposes. This is in section 6 and was donated in 1906. It has been suitably marked and named West Park.
White Oak Township .- This, the smallest township in McLean County, contains only about one-half the ordinary area of a congressional township. Its peculiar shape is due to the politics of two families, the Benson and the Carlocks. When Woodford County was formed, the Carlocks wanted to be in that county, because it was Democratic, while the Bensons wanted to be in the Whig county of McLean. Consequently the line was drawn half way between the Benson and the Carlock farms. Only one-half of White Oak Grove is in this township, the remainder being in Woodford County. Smith Denman was the first settler, in Sept., 1829. He was followed next year by Elisha Dixon, John Brown, Samuel and Robert Phillips, and a little later by John, James and William Benson. The father of the Bensons was a soldier of Tippecanoe under General Har- rison, who had come to Blooming Grove in 1823. He afterward became the first treasurer of Tazewell County. The sons served in the Black Hawk war, and the grandsons in the Civil War. Oak Grove was one of the towns of McLean County which was destined to arise, flourish for a time, then die out. It was situated in White Oak Township, and there a town hall was built, a postoffice established, several stores and shops opened. But when the Lake Erie Railroad was built and a station placed
PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING, LEXINGTON, ILLINOIS,
SCHOOL BUILDING, CHENO.1, ILLINOIS.
OF THE
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at Carlock, Oak Grove dwindled away. White Oak Grove was a resort of the Indians, and a camping place was at Indian Point, west of the Car- lock farm. There was an Indian trail leading from Blooming Grove along the high lands past Dry Grove and Twin Grove to White Oak Grove, thence west to Peoria. Another trail came from the Wabash country on the east by the north side of Cheney's Grove, thence by Money Creek passing near where Hudson now stands, to Indian Point. The village of Carlock was laid out Jan. 5, 1888, by John P. Carlock, after the building of the Lake Erie Railroad had left the town of Oak Grove sidetracked off the line of the road. Most of the buildings of Oak Grove were removed to Carlock. The latter has grown slowly since it was founded. It has modern business buildings for a town of its size, churches, elevators, good schools and a newspaper. It is located on one of the trunk line's hard roads built by the state in the years 1922-24.
Yates Township lies in the extreme northeast part of the county. The T. P. & W. Railroad crosses the township. Chenoa and Lexington are the nearest trading towns in McLean County for the Yates Township people. Owing to the lack of timber, Yates was not settled early, the first entries of lands being in 1855-6. It was part of Chenoa Township from its organization in 1858 until 1862. This was first called Union Township owing to the sentiments of its people, but there were others of the same name in the state, and the name was changed to Yates in honor of the Civil War governor of Illinois. Yates Township had a great influx of population just after the Civil War, and after the prairie land was properly drained it became some of the most fertile in the county. Yates Township is one of the two townships in the county which still owns school lands, there being 240 acres unsold of the original assign- ment, while West Township has 720 acres. The township school fund is $50,000, being next to West. David Ogle, an early settler, donated to the township school fund $5,800, and later a further sum of $2,000, sub- ject only to a small life annuity.
The village of Weston, on the T. P. & W. railroad, is the only station in the township. It was laid out in 1868 by Nelson Buck, county sur- veyor of Livingston County. Two elevators handle great quantities of grain. Weston has never been incorporated as a village, though several attempts were made. There are Methodist and Christian churches in the township, and also one called the Zion church.
CHAPTER VI.
CITY OF BLOOMINGTON.
COUNTY SEAT-LOCATED AND NAMED BY ACT OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY-SALE OF LOTS-INCORPORATION OF TOWN-OFFICIALS-PARKS-FIRE DEPARTMENT -WATER WORKS-PAVEMENT-SEWERS-ELECTRIC LIGHT-FORMS OF GOV- ERNMENT.
Bloomington was a paper city. That is, it existed on paper before it existed in fact. When a committee from the settlement at Blooming Grove went to Vandalia in 1830 with a petition for the formation of a new county out of the east part of Tazewell County, the Legislature granted the petition and chose the name for the county and for the county seat. The county was named McLean in honor of Hon. John Mc- Lean, one of the great men of Illinois at that time, who had just recently died. The county seat was given the name of Bloomington, partly as an easy adaptation of the name of Blooming Grove, and perhaps following the names of other Bloomingtons in one or two other states.
The act of the general assembly provided that the county seat should be located on land donated for the purpose, not less than 20 acres. Of this donated tract sufficient land should be reserved for the county build- ing, the remainder to be platted into lots and sold and the proceeds used for county purposes. In the previous year, on Oct. 27, 1829, James Allin, who came here from Sangamon County, had entered from the govern- ment the east half of the southwest quarter of section 4 in township 23 north, range 2 east of the third principal meridian, containing 80 acres. The 80 acres north was entered by Robert H. Peebles on Aug. 11, 1830. Allin later acquired the Peebles land, probably under a prior contract. Lemuel Lee and Isaac C. Pugh were appointed by the Legislature to
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choose the site for the county seat of McLean County, but they were deterred by the "deep snow" of the month, December, 1830, and did not make the trip to this county to decide on the location until some time in the spring, and their report was first acted upon at the May meeting of the county commissioners in 1831. The report of the commissioners was that the county seat should be located "on the land of James Allin on the north end of the Blooming Grove, for which we have his obligation for the donation of 221/2 acres of land." On the same date Dr. Isaac Baker, the first county surveyor and county clerk, was appointed to advertise a sale of lots on the following July 4th. At the next meeting, June 7, he was employed to plat the land. This original plat of Bloomington is on record on the first page of the book of deed records in the court house.
The auction sale of lots was duly held on the advertised date, and the lots were bid off at small prices. Milo Custer, the local historian, made a careful study of records and compiled a list of buyers of these lots on the first sale, from which the following appears, giving the name of buyers and the prices paid: Bailey H. Coffey, lot 10, $15; Joseph B. Harbert, lots 7, 9 and 53, $20; William Harbert, lots 11, 12 and 47, $50; John W. Harbert, lot 8, $15; M. L. Covell, lots 4, 5, 29, 30, and 37, $80; Rev. James Latta, lots 1, 2, and 3, $15; Ebenezer Rhodes, lots 22 and 23, $20; Jona- than Cheney, lots 17, 19, 21, 24, 31, 56, and 57, $80; John Maxwell, lot 20, $10; Jesse Havens, lots 15 and 16, price unknown; James K. Orendorff, lot 18, $29; David Trimmer, lots 13 and 14, $10; David Wheeler, lots 27 and 28, $10; Bailey Kimler, lots 25 and 26, $10; Cheney Thomas, lot 34, $20; Asahel Gridley, lot 33, $50; William K. Robertson, lot 35, $30; Na- than Low, lots 36 and 62, $40; Orman Robertson, lot 32, price unknown; James Latta, lot 39, $16; Alvin Barnett, lot 46, $20; Frederick Trimmer, lot 48, $10; Samuel Durley, lots 45 and 52, $50; Jesse Frankeberger, lot 44, $30; John W. Dawson, lot 43, $30; Seth Baker, lot 58, price unknown; Caleb Kimler, lot 59, $22; Asahel Gridley, lot 60, $52; Samuel, John and William Durley, lot 55, $50; Lewis Bunn, lot 54, price unknown; Absalom Funk, lot 51, price unknown; Amasa C. Washburn, lot 50, $11.50; John Kimler, lot 49, price unknown.
The three lots fronting south on Washington Street between Center and Main, together with the center lot fronting on Jefferson Street in the same block, were reserved as the site for the court house. The north- west and the northeast corner lots of this block were sold to M. L. Covell
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.
and James Latta, respectively. However, at a subsequent date the two lots, were deeded back to the county commissioners, so that the whole block afterwards became the property of the county. There were twelve blocks of six lots each in the original plat.
For seven years after the embryo village was laid out, there was no sort of legal government other than that of the voting precinct and the county government of three commissioners. Some of the names of the early commissioners were Seth Baker, Jonathan Cheney, Timothy B. Hob- lit, Jesse Havens, Andrew McMillan, Joseph Bartholomew, William C. Johnson, William Orendorff, James R. Dawson, Nathan Low, William Con- away, Israel W. Hall and Henry I. Clark.
The legal incorporation of the town of Bloomington took place in 1843, when a majority of its citizens voted for incorporation. The gov- ernment was transferred from the county commissioners to a board of trustees. Matthew H. Hawks was the first president according to records that have been preserved, Merrit L. Covell the first clerk, Wells Colton attorney, and William McCullough constable. The board of trustees, aside from the president, were Bailey H. Coffey, John Magoun, James T. Walton and William Gillespie. All these names have become historic in the annals of Bloomington. Bailey H. Coffey became second president, and the board was made up of Abram Brokaw, Samuel D. Luce, Goodman Ferre and William H. Allin. The later members of the board by years were: 1846-Goodman Ferre, president; A. Brokaw, J. E. McClun, Will- iam Platt. 1847-Bailey Coffey, president; Joshua Harlan, Charles P. Merriman, William McKisson, Hugh Taylor. 1848-C. P. Merriman, pres- ident; John Foster, William G. Thompson, John W. Ewing, George W. Minier. 1849-G. W. Minier, president; John Foster, W. G. Thompson, Ezekiel Thomas, John W. Ewing.
By the time the village of Bloomington had lived a corporate life of four years, its population was 800, that is in the year 1845. It doubled in the next ten years and in 1850 was 1,600, while by the year 1855 it had reached 5,000. This growth was remarkable, when it is considered that it was a time of general business depression, and also that the Mexican War had taken place in the period mentioned.
The era of permanent and steady progress was coincident with the building of railroads to the thriving new town. In 1850, the legislature legalized the incorporation of the Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, now the
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Chicago & Alton; also the Illinois Central Railroad. These two pioneer steam transportation lines crossed at Bloomington, or more exactly at North Bloomington, now Normal. This fact assured the young city of a future expansion and substantial growth. There was a spirit of progress and enterprise among the people of that date which boded much success in future plans for the enlargement of the city. Chief among the reasons for confidence of the public was the leadership of such men as David Davis, Asahel Gridley and Jesse W. Fell, all of whom worked and planned for the great future which they confidently believed would be Bloom- ington's.
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