USA > Illinois > Winnebago County > Rockford > History of Rockford and Winnebago County, Illinois, from the first settlement in 1834 to the civil war > Part 22
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
Edward S. Hanchett, of Freeport, had charge of the con- struction of the dam when it was commenced. He abandoned the work, and he was succeeded by C. C. Coburn. Eighty acres of the best timber land were stripped of material to build the dam and repair the breaks. This brush dam was built to a level with the banks. A frame-work was then raised on the brush, to which plank was spiked. The work of graveling then began. The rock and gravel were obtained along the bank of the river from sixty to eighty rods above the dam. There were head- gates at either end, built high above the comb of the dam, with gates which opened like the gates of a lock on a canal, wide enough for the passage of steamboats. At each side of these gates were openings to admit the water to the races, which carried it to the mills below. As the water raised on the brush, the fish, coming down the river, would lodge on the dam during the night ; and in the morning the people would get sturgeon, pickerel, black bass and catfish. The dam was completed in the autumn of 1845. In its issue of September 24th the Forum said : "As we hear the roaring sound of the falling waters (which can now on a still morning be heard for several miles around) daily increasing in strength and power, as the sheet of water becomes thicker and heavier, as the dam is made closer and tighter, we cannot but realize more forcibly the immense influence which these hydraulie works are to exert upon our town and country if the dam remains firm and permanent."
The mill-race on the East side extended to Walnut street, and was twenty feet in width. At the head of the race Gregory, Phelps & Daniels had a sawmill. At the south side of State
224
HISTORY OF ROCKFORD AND WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
street was Nettleton's grist-mill, the first in Rockford, which was started in 1846. Just below, James B. Howell operated carding and fulling machinery. Wheeler & Lyon's sawmill was at Walnut street. The race on the West side was about fifteen rods in length. At the head Thomas D. Robertson and Charles I. Horsman built a sawmill. Just below, Orlando Clark had an iron foundry in a stone building. Itis significant that three of these six plants were sawmills. Pine lumber had not come into general use, and the only available material for frame dwellings were the trees of the adjacent forests.
April 28, 1846, the west end of the dam went out. About two hundred feet, including the bulkhead, were swept away, and more than an acre of ground was washed out. The Hydraulic Company immediately decided to repair the dam, and the work was completed during the year.
March 20, 1847, the dam gave away at the east end, and carried away the sawmill of Gregory, Phelps & Daniels. About one hundred and fifty feet of the dam were washed out at this time. This break was repaired by Mr. Nettleton. Phelps and Daniels sold their interest in the wrecked sawmill to Lewis B. Gregory and A. C. Spafford, who rebuilt it. The mills then had good water-power until June 1, 1851, when the entire dam went out, breaking away at the west bulkhead. Several changes on the East side then followed. Mr. Howell removed his carding machine to New Milford, where he remained until the next year, when he returned to Rockford, to the West side, just below the Bartlett flouring mills. Wheeler & Lyon's mill was removed across the race near Joseph Rodd's mill, and became a part of his plant.
In February, 1849, the legislature provided for the improve- ment of the navigation of Rock river, and for the production of hydraulic power, under a general law. It appears by an entry on the county records, that under this law the company filed a cer- tificate of incorporation April 13, 1849, before the abandonment of the enterprise. The organization of the present water-power company, two years later, will be considered in a later chapter.
The high water in 1844 throughout the northwest has a local interest, although this immediate vicinity was not flooded as was the central portion of the state. At and below St. Louis the Mississippi river was twenty miles wide, and flooded the American bottom from three to twenty feet deep. At St. Louis
225
NUNS RESCUED.
steamboats were loaded from the windows of the second story of the stores on the level. At Kaskaskia a steamboat ran out two miles from the main stream, laid the gang-plank from the deck to the window of a nunnery, and took theinmates aboard. About three hundred miles above Galena a steamer was grounded three miles from the channel of the Mississippi. The machinery was taken out, and preparations were made to burn the hull for the purpose of securing the iron, when the water arose and floated the boat into the channel. In the vicinity of Rockford the roads for most of the summer were impassable for anything but oxen. There has been no such season of continued high water in this locality since that time.
O
CHAPTER XLIV.
POSTMASTERS OF ROCKFORD .- ITS ONLY POSTMISTRESS.
TE HE early official records of the postoffice department at Washington are very meagre. There are no local records, as these are supposed to be kept at Washington. In 1890 Hon. Robert R. Hitt addressed a letter to Hon. John Wanamaker, who was then postmaster-general, asking for information upon this subject. That official replied that the records were incom- plete during the early history of the service, and he could only give the time of appointment and resignation of the first post- master. The later information has been obtained from the files of the Rockford newspapers in the public library. This is the only source from which the facts given in this chapter could be secured. The research involved considerable time and labor, and it is impossible to give the exact date upon which the com- missions were issued.
Daniel S. Haight was the first postmaster. His commission was dated August 31, 1837, and he served until May, 1841.
Mr. Haight was succeeded by Edward Warren, a brother of Mrs. Charles H. Spafford. Mr. Warren served until August, 1841.
Selden M. Church was the third postmaster, and served two years, when he was removed. The announcement of this change was made in three lines by the Rockford Forum. In the entire history of Rockford there is nothing more marked than the evolution of its newspapers from the most primitive sort to the present daily of metropolitan proportions.
In August, 1843, Charles H. Spafford was appointed post- master. There is a tradition that Mr. Church was quite active in obtaining the office; and, to balance the account, Mr. War- ren, who was not lacking in influence, used it in securing thé appointment for his brother-in-law. Mrs. Spafford recalls inter- esting reminiscences of those days. She says : "The postoffice business was not large at that time; there were no clerks. The mail came at night, and required the postmaster to get out at midnight or very early morning to change the mail. What seems more strange, the postoffice money was kept at the house
227
MELANCTHON SMITH.
in my dressing bureau. Mr. Spafford was accustomed to come home late in the evening, bringing a bag of money. In those times of burglaries all this occasioned me a good deal of anxiety, as I was alone so much of the time when Mr. Spafford was at the office; especially as houses were not securely built in those days. I was not sorry when the robber band that had been com- mitting the burglaries around, were secured and taken to Joliet."
In July, 1845, Charles I. Horsman received the appoint- ment. The postoffice was removed to the West side, nearly opposite the Winnebago House. The office has remained on the West side to this day.
B. G. Wheeler was appointed in May, 1849, and served four years.
In June, 1853, Charles I. Horsman received a second appointment, and served until 1857.
G. F. Hambright succeeded Mr. Horsman, in March, 1857, and held the office four years.
Melancthon Smith was commissioned by President Lincoln in 1861. Mr. Smith subsequently enlisted in the service of his country, and went to the front with the Forty-fifth Illinois reg- iment. He was first chosen captain of his company. The regi- ment was known as the Lead Mine Regiment, and went into camp at Galena. Upon the organization of the regiment he was chosen major, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant- colonel. Colonel Smith won distinction at Donelson and Shiloh. During his absence the postoffice was in charge of Mrs. Smith.
June 25, 1863, Colonel Smith was mortally wounded at the storming of a fort at Vicksburg by General Logan's division. He lingered three daysin a state of half-consciousness, and died Sunday morning, June 28th, in the thirty-sixth year of his age. His remains were brought to Rockford for burial. Funeral services were held July 11th, at the home of his father-in-law, John Edwards. His remains lay in state in front of the house. The discourse was delivered by Rev. F. M. Holland, pastor of the Unitarian church, of which Colonel Smith was a member.
Sunday afternoon, August 2d, Dr. H. M. Goodwin preached a memorial sermon in the Second Congregational church. Con- cerning Colonel Smith's Christian patriotism, Dr. Goodwin said : "The religious character of Colonel Smith partook of the sin- cerity and conscientiousness which pervaded all his life and actions. Religion was not something one side of his life and character, separated from it by a gulf of silence and mystery ;
228
HISTORY OF ROCKFORD AND WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
but it entered into the substance of his daily life, and formed the warp and woof of his whole character. It was a thing of principle, and not of feeling or belief merely. His religious con- victions were the result of personal thought and experience, and not a mere traditional belief; were formed and adhered to on the same principle which actuated all his other convictions- fidelity to his own reason and conscience. Before deciding to enter the army, he made the question a subject of devout and earnest prayer, and the decision when made was a religious con- secration to the service of his country, expecting never to return, but to die on the field of battle."
After Colonel Smith's death the local politicians supported David T. Dixon as the logical candidate for his successor in the postoffice. A petition, however, was numerously signed by the citizens, asking for the appointment of Mrs. Smith. Melancthon Starr, who was a cousin of Colonel Smith, went to Washington and presented the matter to President Lincoln. The president endorsed her application, and sent a letter to the postmaster- general, of which the following is a copy :
"EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, July 24, 1863 .- Hon. Postmaster-General: Yesterday little indorsements of mine went to you in two cases of postmasterships soughtfor widows whose husbands have fallen in the battles of this war. These cases occurring on the same day brought me to reflect more attentively than I had before done, as to what is fairly due from us here in the dispensing of patronage toward the men who, by fighting our battles, bear the chief burden of saving our country. My conclusion is, that other claims and qualifica- tions being equal, they have the better right, and this is espec- ially applicable to the disabled soldier and the deceased soldier's family. Your obedient servant, A. LINCOLN."
Mrs. Smith accordingly received the appointment, and completed the term. Mrs. Smith became the wife of General A. L. Chetlain, of Chicago. She is a sister of Mrs. Julia A. Clem- ens, of Rockford.
Mrs. Smith was succeeded by Hon. Anson S. Miller, who assumed the duties April 1, 1865. He retained the office until 1871, when Charles H. Spafford was appointed. The succession . to date is as follows: Abraham E. Smith, Thomas G. Lawler, John D. Waterman, Thomas G. Lawler, John D. Waterman, Thomas G. Lawler. Colonel Lawler and Mr. Waterman have continued their official see-saw for twenty years.
CHAPTER XLV.
ORGANIZATION OF THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH.
T "HE Unitarian church did not at first include all the adhe- rents of a liberal Christian faith. At a meeting held in the brick schoolhouse, in East Rockford, April 24, 1841, a Univer- salist church was organized by the election of Daniel S. Haight, Ezra Dorman, and Thomas Thatcher as trustees. This election was recorded in the recorder's office, as provided by law. It is not probable that the official records of this church have been preserved. It is known, however, that preaching services were held at the court house on the East side, and at the school- house a portion of the time during the next ensuing few months.
In 1841 the Universalists were sufficiently strong to consider the erection of a house of worship. In those days the citizens regarded any church, of whatever name, as a factor in promot- ing the general welfare of the village. Hence the name of a generous, public-spirited citizen would be found among the contributors to the support of liberal and orthodox churches alike. The original subscription list for the Universalist church, which is still extant, is an interesting document. Mr. Haight gave a lot which he valued at one hundred dollars; the same amount in carpenter's and joiner's work; "forty-two sleepers in my wood-lot near Rockford, seventeen feet long, at three cents per foot, twenty-one dollars and forty-two cents; " and fifty dollars in money. Almost the entire subscriptions are in work or material. William Worthington subscribed ten dollars in blacksmith's work; Charles Latimer, twenty dollars, how paid is not stated ; A. M. Catlin, in produce or building mate- rial, twenty-five dollars; J. M. Wight, one thousand feet of lumber at Stokes & Jewett's mill, twelve dollars.
On Thursday, July 22, 1841, the corner-stone of the Univer- salist church was laid on a site near the East side public square. The large assemblage included people of other denominations. Prayer was offered by Rev. Mr. Van Alstine, and a discourse was delivered by Rev. Seth Barnes. This structure was never completed. A stranger, in passing the unfinished building,
230
HISTORY OF ROCKFORD AND WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
inquired of Dr. George Haskell concerning its purpose. The Doctor replied that it was an "insurance policy against hell-fire." All the original supporters of this project are gone ; and not even tradition has given the cause for its sudden abandonment. Thus the Unitarian church became the one liberal household of faith.
Strong Universalist churches are rare. These apostles of the "wider hope" have never become a vigorous ecclesiastical body. A few years ago a clergyman of that denomination contributed to one of the reviews an article entitled Confessions of a Universalist. He took an optimistic view of the future of his church; yet he considered with remarkable fairness its apparent limitations. A brief extract from this article is very suggestive. The gentleman said : "We have also suffered, and do suffer, from the presence of a class of easy-going optimists, whose general idea of this life appears to be that a good-natured Creator is coaxing his rabbit-multitudes of creatures easily along toward an infinite cabbage-garden of a heaven, where they will all eat cabbages forever ! These amiable persons mistake their con- stitutional impurturbability for the serene repose of faith, and are therefore immovable by any instrumentality less powerful than dynamite. A meeting-house full of them can be made as enthusiastic as a half-acre of damp toadstools."
This frank acknowledgement should be balanced by a rec- ognition of the moral worth of the leaders of the old school of Universalism. They were men of strong character and genuine spirituality. They believed that every man, by divine and gracious help, must work out his own salvation. They recog- nized, in the tragic severity of the retributive laws, the Creator's tribute of respect to the possibilities of his creature. With sol- emn joy they learned by the return of their deeds upon their heads, that they were under moral discipline. Conversely, these men believed that, as darkness can resolve itself into light, so will the evil be dissolved in the good; that the eternal streams of goodness will wash away the evil; that the hand of Omnip- otence is able to press the tears of repentance from the heart, though it seem hard as steel. Thus, under the name of Univer- salism, have been brought together the two poles of a careless optimism, and a sublime faith in the beneficent severity of the moral order of the world.
CHAPTER XLVI.
FIRST BRIDGE .- FIRST FOUNDRY AND MACHINE SHOP.
EN years elapsed from the first settlement of the village before Rock river was spanned by a bridge at Rockford. A bill had passed the legislature, approved February 27, 1843, authorizing Daniel S. Haight, George Haskell, S. D. Preston, Charles I. Horsman, and their associates to build a bridge. When completed in a manner so as not to obstruct the naviga- tion of the river, and accepted by the county commissioners' court, it was to be a public highway, and kept in repair by the county. But nothing was done until nearly one year later, when the construction of the county buildings on the West side emphasized this need to the citizens of the East side, where the courts had been held. The entire people felt that a bridge must be built, although few had means enough to conduct their own business successfully. Citizens of the West side, including the country west of the village, had built the court house and jail without a dollar's expense to their neigobors on the east side of the river. But the progressive citizens were willing to assume another burden. At a meeting held in December, 1843, a com- mittee consisting of E. H. Potter, D. Howell, Willard Wheeler, C. I. Horsman and G. A. Sanford, were appointed tosolicit sub- scriptions. A persistent effort throughout the county secured pledges to warrant the construction of an oak lattice bridge. All the money raised at this time was by subscription. The most liberal contributors were Frink, Walker & Co., the stage proprietors. January 22, 1844, the committee let the contract to Derastus Harper. This gentleman was a competent work- man. He subsequently went to Chicago, became the city engi- neer, and designed the first pivot bridge across the Chicago river. The lumber was cut from trees on government land on Pecatonica river, rafted down the Rock, and sawed at Mr. Kent's mill. The covering for the lattice was basswood boards, cut from logs in Mr. Blake's grove, and sawed at Kent's mill. C. I. Horsman and William G. Ferguson drew the logs. By August or September, Mr. Harper had sufficient material on
232
HISTORY OF ROCKFORD AND WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
hand to commence laying the bridge. This was done nearly in the rear of the Masonic Temple site, on the piece of level bottom. The bridge was of three strings of lattice-work, made from oak planks, fastened with oak pins. There was no iron in the struct- ure, except the nails that held the half-inch basswood boards which covered the lattice when the structure was completed. There were stone abutments on either shore. Christmas night, 1844, the lattice was in place a distance of about seventy feet from the west shore, supported by temporary trestles. Ice formed about the trestles from the west shore. The water arose and lifted the entire structure, including the trestles, when it toppled over with a crash. The pride and fond anticipations of the village went out with it. Such discouragement is seldom depicted on the faces of the entire community. All shared in the disappointment; but the energies of the citizens were not easily foiled. A united effort was made in a short time, and promises were again secured. The abutments, piers and one section were left, and some of the material was saved which had floated down stream. The fallen lattice was taken from the water, and each plank numbered with red chalk; and excepting a few that were splintered, they were again placed in proper order. After the ice went out in March, 1845, the structure was again raised, without accident. Cheerfulness and hope- fulness assumed full sway; and after many discouragements the bridge was open for travel, July 4, 1845. It was a time of great rejoicing. The public-spirited citizens of Rockford felt that Independence Day had been properly celebrated. When the last plank had been laid, E. H. Potter mounted a horse, and was the first man to ride across the bridge. It was estimated that two thousand people crossed the bridge that day. There were two roadways, separated by the centre lattice, which pro- jected about five feet above the planking.
Perhaps no other public improvement in Rockford ever so tested the courage and financial strength of the community. The burden fell heavily upon the committee. The contract with Mr. Harper was for five thousand and five hundred dollars. A financial statement made July 15, 1845, showed that only two thousand eight hundred and forty-seven dollars and ninety cents had been collected. The committee had borrowed five hundred dollars on their personal credit, for which they were paying twelve per cent. There was also a balance due Mr. Harper of one thousand two hundred and ninety-seven dollars.
MANDEVILLE HOUSE Built in 1837 by Richard Montague. Still standing
BRINCKERHOFF HOUSE Built by George W. Brinckerhoff in 1838, on the northwest corner of Main and Green streets. Still standing
233
BRIDGE TAX LEVY.
The bridge served its day and generation very well, but it was subject to many calamities. The dam broke three times after the bridge was completed. When the west end broke in April, 1846, the pressure of the water on the upper side of the centre and principal pier removed the foundation on that side, and settled the bridge in the center on the up-stream side nearly to the water, and gave it the appearance of being twisted nearly one-fourth around. The bridge stood in this position for some months, when a contract was made with William Ward to raise it into position. The bridge sustained some injury when the eastern portion of the dam broke in April, 1847. On the 25th of February preceding, a law of the legislature had been approved, providing for a special tax to be levied upon the tax- able property of Rockford precinct, for the purpose of repairing and maintaining the bridge, and for the payment of the debt incurred in its construction. Newton Crawford, Bela Shaw, Ephraim Wyman and Daniel McKenney were appointed bridge commissioners by the act, and vested with power to declare the amount of tax to be levied, which was not to exceed fifty cents on one hundred dollars. These commissioners were appointed by the act, until their successors should be elected annually at the Augustelection. When the dam went out the third time, in June, 1851, the bridge withstood the rush of waters, although it was wrenched from its position. It reminded one of a cow-path or a rail-fence, and had a very insecure look. Though twisted from end to end, it kept its place very tenaciously until it was replaced by the covered bridge in the winter of 1852-53. Its memory should be treated with respect. It enabled people to attend their own respective churches, for nearly everybody went in those days-Congregationalists on the West side, and the Methodists on the East side. Postoffice and county build- ings were accessible to all. It proved a bond of union between the two sides.
The first foundry and machine shop was built in the autumn of 1843, or early in the spring of the following year. It stood on the site of Jeremiah Davis' residence, on North Second street. The proprietors were Peter H. and William Watson. Their father's family came from Canada, and settled on a farm in the Enoch neighborhood in Guilford. Peter Watson was at one time assistant secretary of war during the civil conflict, and at a later period was president of the New York and Erierailroad.
234
HISTORY OF ROCKFORD AND WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
The foundry was running in the spring of 1844. The proprie- tors obtained a contract for large pumps and pipes for raising water from the lead mines at Galena. March 11, 1845, William Watson sold his interest in the business to his brother, and engaged in the manufacture of fanning-mills. Peter H. contin- ued the foundry until August, 1845. His successors in the busi- ness at this stand were in turn : R. F. Reynolds, D. K. Lyon, John Stevens, H. H. Silsby, Laomi Peake, and James L. Fountain. The last named proprietor removed the material and patterns to New Milford about 1852. The last year Mr. Silsby conducted the business, in 1849, it was prosperous. People came a dis- tance of forty miles to get their work done. Mr. Silsby was often required to work nights in order to keep up with his orders. James Worsley was the expert moulder during all these years, and he was master of his trade. He was afterward in the employ of Clark & Utter until his retirement from the business by reason of old age.
Orlando Clark, who has been erroneously credited with building thefirst foundry, came from Beloit in 1847, and estab- lished himself in business on the West side race, where he remained until 1851, when he went into business with Mr. Utter on the new water-power. Mr. Clark built the residence in South Rockford which is now the home of Judge John C. Garver.
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.