USA > Illinois > St Clair County > History of St. Clair County, Illinois. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 80
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The first railroad constructed in the state was built from Illinois- town to the bluff, a distance of about six miles. It was constructed in 1836, under the personal supervision and efforts of Governor Reynolds, Vital Jarrot and a few others. It was expressly built for the purpose of transporting coal from where it cropped out at the bluff (now Pittsburg) to the St. Louis market. This was an enterprise of no small dimensions at that day. They were obliged to bridge over two thousand feet across Big Lake, which was per- formed by driving down piles spliced together to the length of eighty feet, upon which the track rested. At times they employed one hundred hands, and so vigorously was the undertaking prose- cuted that it was completed in one year. Thomas Winstanley was the first engineer and conductor of the road ; that is, he drove the mules that hauled the cars over the route. It proved a non-paying investment, and in 1841 they sold out the concern to the St. Clair Railroad Company.
Captain Trendley built the first school-house in 1840, and the cost was $240. It was a small frame building, 14x16, and was situated on the public square. . William Singleton established the first church in 1845. It was of the Methodist denomination, and located on Brundy street, between Second and Third. It is yet standing, and is owned by the colored Baptists. The first blacksmith-shop was built by Francis Delorem in 1826, and was situated on what is now known as the Rock road. It was a very meagre and unpre- tentious affair, but answered the wants of the people at that time.
BLOODY ISLAND.
This island was made in about 1800. Its first appearance was a small sand-bar, below Bissel's Point, near the Illinois shore. At this angle in the course of the Mississippi, the force of the current gradually wore into the mainland, and left a corresponding deposit upon the bar extending southward. In course of time this bar developed into a considerable island, with half the river flowing between it and the Illinois shore. The first to inhabit it was a man by the name of Duncan, who built a small log house within its soli- tude, and lived there for some time afterwards. The exact date of his location is not known. The next to settle here was a Mr. Lindsey, in 1842, who built two or three little shanties, and kept a small dairy and garden. He named his place "Hoboken Garden." The island now constitutes the Third ward of the city. The early history of the island is stained with human blood ; hence the name, Bloody Island. For several years it was not definitely established to which shore the island belonged. It was therefore considered neutral ground, and was the favorite resort for settling differences
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
by mortal combat, according to the then prevailing code of honor. The first duel fought here was in 1817, between Col. Thomas H. Benton and Judge Charles Lucas. Col. Benton was the challeng- ing party. Their differences grew out of harsh invectives employed by them in the trial of a case in which they were opposing attorneys. This challenge Judge Lucas declined, on the plea that he would not respond in deadly combat for words uttered in a professional capacity. They, however, met afterwards, in the same year, when the duel was fought, and Lucas was the unfortunate victim.
In 1823, another duel occurred, between Thomas C. Rector and Joshua Barton, United States District Attorney. The trouble grew out of a newspaper attack made by Barton against Gen. Win. Rector, brother of Thomas C. Rector. They met June 30th, in the above-named year, when Barton fell and died shortly afterward. The most disastrous meeting was between Maj. Thomas Biddle and Hon. Spencer Pettis, both of St. Louis, and occurred the '27th of Aug., 1830. The trouble was engendered in the heated political can- vass of that year. Maj. Biddle was the challenged party, and hav- ing the choice of distance, named five paces, on account of his being shortsighted. At the giving of the word, they wheeled and fired simultaneously. They both fell mortally wounded. Capt. Trendley was an eye-witness to this sad affair, and helped to convey the body of Pettis to St. Charles county, Mo., where it was buried. The name, Bloody Island, having many unpleasant recollections con- nected with its memory, has long since been dropped, and is now simply known as "The Island."
THE FLOODS.
No place in the United States has had more to contend with to prevent its growth and prosperity than the city of East St. Louis. Nothing but the natural advantages of being situated opposite the great city of St. Louis, and the indomitable perseverance of its inha- bitants, have kept it from perishing from the earth long ago. What with numerous floods and the encroachment of the river upon the banks, it has nearly yielded up its existence several times to the fates that be. The first flood that did damage to the little hamlet of Illinoistown occurred in 1826. The town was inundated to the depth of several feet, and the malarial fevers that followed nearly depopulated the village. It, however, struggled for existence, and up to 1844 had gradually increased to a town of cons derable thrift and importance, when the most vital stroke it ever received almost blotted it from existence. The flood which occurred in June of that year inundated the American Bottoms so that large steamers plied from bluff to bluff. But few of the houses of Illi- noistown were to be seen above the water, while no dry land was observable for miles toward the eastern bluff, except a few mounds and high knolls to the east and south of the village. So complete was the destruction that the town never recoverd from it until the general centralizing of the railroads at this point about fifteen years ago. It is said at the time of this flood that the steamer, called " Little Bee," plied between the city of St. Louis and the coal mines on the bluffs at Pittsburg, the captain of which, if living at this time, would be presented with a medal from the " Humane Society," for being the most tender-hearted man on the continent. When the rush of waters came, a sow and her brood took refuge on the top of a mound, situated not far from the farm now owned by Abra- ham Jones, south-east of the city. The captain of the Little Bee stopped his steamer at this point every day, and gave the refugees a bountiful supply of food for their wants. Thus were the lives of the porkers preserved until the flood receded. Mr Abraham Jones tells us of keeping a dairy at this time of eighty cows on Gov. Rey- nolds' farm, near the bluff, and marketing the milk in the city of
St. Louis. The flood came and he was cut off from his customers. He remedied this, however, by loading his cows on a flat boat, and conveying them to St. Louis, where he remained until the river was again within its banks. The floods of 1851-8, and 1862, did much demage to the town, and for a time nearly disheartened the people, the details of which would fill a volume. The erection of the dikes, which will be noticed in the proper place, have been auxiliary in protecting the city from subsequent overflows.
The outline of the city of East St. Louis is in the form of an ir- regular pentagon, and acquired its present limits in time and man- ner as follows: Illinoistown was laid out by McKnight and Brady, May 14, 1818. Reavis, in bis history of "The Future Great City," places the date as 1817 ; but the records at Belleville show that the former is the correct date. Illinois City was formerly a part of the Cahokia Commons, and was laid out by the Cahokians in the fall of 1818. John Hays, John Hay, and Francois Turcott were appointed commissioners to plat and name the new town by the inhabitants of Cahokia, which proceedings were legalized and confirmed by a special act of Congress in 1820. It became a part of the city in May, 1875. The towns of St. Clair and East St. Louis, the Ferry divisions, the Oebike and Kase addition, are also included within the city. limits. The city obtained its charter by a special act of the Legislature in the spring of 1865. The charter was prepared by J. B. Bowman and S. M. Lount, under the direc- tion of a committee of the town council. At the first election Hon. J. B. Bowman was elected Mayor. The following named officers were elected aldermen : First ward, Michael Murphy and John O'Connell ; Second ward, James S. Hazen and Henry Schall ; Third ward, Capt. John Trendley and J. B. Lovingston. Win. G. Kase was elected City judge.
As will be seen from the above, the city was divided into three wards. It is now divided into four wards, bounded as follows : The first ward includes all the territory extending east from Cahokia creek to the city limits, and south of Broadway. The Second ward lies between Broadway and Illinois avenue, and extends from Ca- hokia creek east to Tenth street. The Third ward includes all the territory lying between Cahokia creek and the middle of the Mis- sissippi, and the city limits north and south. The Fourth ward em- braces all the territory lying north of Illinois avenue and east of Cahokia creek to the city limits including Illinois City.
At this writing, March 21, 1881, the following are the city officers :
Maurice Joyce, mayor ; James Shanon, clerk ; John W. Ren- shaw, marshal. Aldermen : First Ward-John C. Prottsman and Earnest W. Wider. Second Ward-Thomas Hanifan and John J. McLean. Third Ward-Patrick H. O'Brien and Henry Sackmann. Fourth Ward -Levi Baugh, Jr., and James J. Rafter. These constitute the officers and members of the sixteenth Board of Al- dermen of the city since its incorporation.
There is no city of its size in the United States that has the rail- road facilities of East St. Louis. No less than eleven roads, by the conditions of their charters, terminate here, which are as follows: The Chicago and Alton ; Indianapolis and St. Louis ; Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific; Rockford, Rock Island and St. Louis, now known as the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy road : St. Louis, Vandalia and Terre Haute (Vandalia Line) ; Ohio and Mississippi; St. Louis, Alton and Terre Haute; (Cairo Short Line) ; Louisville and Nashville, formerly St. Louis and South Eastern railway ; Cairo and St. Louis ; East St. Louis and Carondelet ; Illinois and St. Louis; Union Railway and Transit Company. The latter was organized in East St. Louis in 1874, and a like organization was also effected in St. Louis under the laws of Mis-
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
souri. These, united, act as agents for the Illinois and St. Louis Bridge Company in transferring cars and merchandise from city to city. All of the above roads centre at the Relay depot, except the Cairo and St. Louis railway.
The city contains several miles of excellent paved streets; the following are macadamized entire : Dyke avenue, Front street, Broadway and Main streets, Collinsville, Missouri and Illi- nois avenues, and Market street. Fourth and Summit streets and St. Clair avenue are partly graded and macadamized. There has hecn some agitation upon the question of adopting a high-grade system of building and paving the city. The cost would necessarily place a heavy indebtedness upon the people, but the reward would undoubtedly more than recompense them for the outlay. The health and future prosperity of the city hang upon this improvement. We predict that it is only a question of time when the people will with one accord act upon this line of policy.
WIGGINS' FERRY AND THE BRIDGE.
Believing that no more complete history of the above could be given than that rendered by Dr. Isaac N. Piggott before the Literary and Historical Society of East St. Louis, in August, 1871, we take the liberty to give our readers an extract :
" From the commencement of the ferry, it was carried on under the immediate supervision of Piggott, until the 20th of February, 1799, when he died, leaving his wife the executrix of his will. She first rented the ferry to Dr. Wallis for the year 1801-2; then to --- Adams for the year 1803-4. This Adams was the husband of the distinguished Sarah Adams, of Duncan's Island notoriety. About this time the widow of Piggott married Jacob Collard, and removed from Illinois to St. Louis. Before leaving she leased the ferry to John Campbell, for ten years. This Campbell proved treacherous, and procured a license for a ferry in his own name during the time of the lease; and hence, for a short time, it was called "Campbell's Ferry." But after a lawsuit, Campbell and confederates were beaten, and the ferry re-established to the Piggott heirs, one of whom, assisted by men named Solomon, Blundy and Porter, operated the ferry until part of the heirs sold out to Mcknight & Brady. The other heirs of Piggott conveyed to Samuel Wiggins their share of the ferry. He soon succeeded in buying out his competitors, and thus obtained the whole ferry, which he afterwards superintended in person."
This was in 1818. The following spring Mr. Wiggins was authorized by an act of the legislature to establish a ferry on the Mississippi adjacent to his lands, near the town of Illinois. This act also provided that Samuel Wiggins should have the right to one mile of the shore extending along the river bank at this point.
Capt. Piggott's means of transportation was a rude affair, com- posed of canoes or " dug-outs," lashed together, over which was constructed a platform convenient for storage. The propelling power was by means of paddles or sweeps. Wiggins, however, soon improved upon this mode of conveyance, by building a fair- sized ferry-boat, and propelling it by horse-power, until 1828, when the first steam ferry-boat was launched upon the river, and called the "St. Clair." In 1832 another boat, the "Ibex," was put on the line," and on account of the increase of business, and therefore a demand for capital, Mr. Wiggins sold an interest in the ferry to several parties, thus forming a joint-stock company. In 1853 they obtained further privileges by an act of the legislature, and the business grew and prospered beyond the most sanguine expectation. To this enterprise is largely due the growth and prosperity of East St. Louis. Since the completion of the St. Louis and Illinois bridges the business of the ferry has necessarily diminished to some
extent, but at this time the possession of ferry stock is by no means a poor investment.
The construction of the bridge was commenced in the spring of 1869, and was completed in June, 1874. It was formally dedi- cated to the public on the 4th of July following. Its total length, including arches and abutments, is 2,046 feet, and is connected with the Union depot in St. Louis by means of a tunnel, 4,866 feet in length. The cost of the bridge and tunnel was nearly $13,000,000. The sum total of the weight of metal in its construction is upwards of 5,000 tons. On the top of the arches is a roadway for the con- venience of vehicles and foot-passengers, while underneath rolls the merchandise and human freight from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. For a more complete history of the bridge and the railroads see chapter on Internal improvements.
We glean the following history relating to the construction of
THE DIKES
from Reavis' History of East St. Louis : Before the advent of the great flood of 1844, the channel of the Mississippi opposite the city of St. Louis, though uncertain and troubled with shifting bars, was never seriously threatened with destruction. Thereafter bars formed from the head of Bloody Island, then a little further north than now, to the Missouri shore, almost entirely closing the channel washing the St. Louis shore. The whole current of the river, and the only available and safe channel between St. Louis and the town of Illinois, was between the Island and the town of Illinois, Under the greatest of difficulties only, and by circuitous routes, could boats at all land at the St. Louis levee. Navigation then being the chief, if not the only means of communication between commercial points and from a common centre, as St. Louis then was growing to be, was the mainstay of the importance, present and prospective, of that city. Realizing this fact, public meetings were held, at which the terrible fate of St. Louis was the subject of consideration.
In 1847 ordinances were passed by the city council of St. Louis, appropriating money, and directing work to be undertaken on the Illinois shore, as the only means of salvation. Nothing less than a permanent dike across the then principal channel of the Missis- sippi to the east of Bloody Island, promised sure relief. This, of course, meant destruction to the harbor of the town of Illinois, and its ferry landings on the main shore. Alton, then a rival of St. Louis, calculated that what was to the disadvantage of St. Louis was ipso facto a benefit to Alton. The feeble complaints of the Town of Illinois were fanned into a flame of fearful excitement. The laborers upon the dike about being built by St. Louis across the easteru channel of the river, were driven away by force. Cannons were planted upon the banks, the state militia turned out, and thus state sovereignty and Alton policy were victorious, for a time, at least.
In 1848, an injunction was sworn out in the St. Clair Circuit Court, enjoining the authorities of St. Louis against any attempt to re-open like projects. Early in 1849, the legislature of Illinois was waited upon by a large delegation from St. Louis, and after due consideration, becoming a question of such magnitude and im- portance, by a joint resolution, it granted to the city of St. Louis for the fullest possible relief, all the authority necessary for the construction of cross and wing-dikes upon the Illinois shore oppo- site, so as to thoroughly protect and secure its harbor, with this provise, that St. Louis should construct upon some of these dikes, road ways, especially upon the main dike acro s to the to-be-closed channel of the Mississippi from the Illinois main shore to and across Bloody Island.
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
Under this enactment, the work pushed rapidly to completion, so that in the spring of 1851, the main dike was finished except the road upon the embankment. It was built of rock throughout, and for a large part of the way, in the channel to be closed, in more than forty feet of water; but strong as it was, the fearful flood of that year swept the most of it away In the fall, however, another dike was projected which was situated a fourth of a mile north and nearly parallel with the former dike. This was finished in 1856, and cost $175,000. It is still standing as a monument to the perseverance and genius of its builders. Thus the channel on the east side of the river was diverted from it course, and the pier of St. Louis re-established. Other dikes have since been con- structed, and the city is now comparatively safe from future inun- dations.
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
The East St. Louis Fire Company, No. 1, was organized in December 1872. Its first officers were as follows : William O'Neill, president ; Charles Hauss, vice-president ; James W. Kirk, secre- tary ; John V. Tefft, treasurer ; Benedict Franz, captain ; Adolphe Donard, first engineer ; John Easton, second engineer. The com- pany was furnished with the largest kind of Babcock engine, on trucks, and was supplied with 500 feet of hose.
Island Fire Company, No. 1, was organized November 25th, 1874. The officers elected in 1875 were : Nicolas Colgan, presi- dent ; Wm. L. Johnson, vice-president ; Maurice F. Tissier, secre- tary ; Geo. W. Shields, assistant-secretary ; Adolphus Lovingston, treasurer ; Henry Sackmann, captain ; John Keiflin, lieutenant. We are informed that since 1878, these companies have partially disbanded.
PRIZE-FIGHTING.
This was quelled in 1873, through the united efforts of the city and county authorities. Much is due to the prompt efforts of Captain Renshaw, chief of police, Ex-Mayor Bowman, Michael Walsh, and the then sheriff of the county. The warrants were sworn out by Captain Renshaw, the ringleaders were arrested, and the whole gang bound over to await the action of the Grand Jury. This wholesale onslaught and determined action on the part of the authorities, had the effect of breaking up the clan, since which time there have been no attempts to revive the prize-ring once so formidable in this part of the West.
STREET RAILWAY.
The permit for the construction of this railway was obtained by city ordinance in 1872. The company was duly organized with Harry Elliott as president, and Thomas Winstanley, manager. By the conditions of the charter the company was authorized to build the road with single or double tracks, and all necessary switches for the convenience of the road. The first line of rail extended from Bowman's Dike, near the levee, to the corner of Missouri and Collinsville Avenues. Its terminus is now at the approach of the National Stock Yards on St. Clair Avenue. It contains upwards of two miles of track, and cost, including rolling stock, etc, about $20,000. It is at this writing under the special management of Mr. Winstanley, who, by giving the enterprise his main attention, is labouring to make it a convenience to the public and a profit to the company.
EAST ST. LOUIS PUBLIC LIBRARY.
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This noble enterprise was created under a city ordinance. July 16, 1872. It was organized August 13, 1872, and opened to the public February 5, 1874.
The following is gleaned from the published report, made by
R. Lec Barrowman in 1876: The total number of persons enrolled and furnished with cards is 495, which are in constant daily use. The total number of volumes on hands are 4,437 ; of this number 433 are in the German language, 3 in the French, 9 in the Spanish, and 1 in the Hebrew. The number purchased was 1,409. The number of books donated was 67, pamphlets, 37. The percentage of the circulation is as follows : Novels, 69; historical and miscel- laneous, 20 ; juveniles, 11.
The library also contains eighty-nine American newspapers and pe- riodicals, among which are (dailies) Philadelphia, Times, Baltimore Sun, (Boston Post, Chicago Times, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, New York Herald, Cincinnati Enquirer, etc. ; (weeklies) Apple- ton's Journal, Irish World, Danbury News, and many others ; (monthlies) Aldine, Atlantic Monthly, Harper's and Scribner's Magazines, and twenty-seven other first-class journals.
There are fourteen British publications, and nine German, among which we find the following : London Times (daily), Dublin Nation, Blackwood's Magazine, London Quarterly Review, Edin- burgh Review, St. Louis Westliche Daily Post, Berliner Kladderadatsch, and the Ueber Land und Meer.
The whole number of visitors attending the rooms were 30,954, making an average daily attendance of 86. The attendance on Sunday was upon an average twenty-five per cent. more than upon other days of the week, although open only from 2 P.M. to 10 P.M. The number of books loaned out in the time was 12,924 volumes, making a daily average of 36 volumes.
Mr. Barrowman in the closing of his report gives the following gratifying information : " An extra and successful effort has been made to bring within the influence of the Library, the many boys and youth who stroll about our streets during evening hours. Let me here state the result. They were first kindly invited to come to the Library, and by supplying them with such books and papers as they took an interest in, they were thus induced to continue and renew their visits. There were some unruly ones among them, but by reproof, and expelling some of the worst, the others have re- mained, and at present are as well behaved as any that attend the library and give promise of becoming useful and bright members of society." And we will add, may the Reading Rooms of East St. Louis ever exist and grow in importance and influence to the last generation.
CEMETERIES.
The first interment made within what is now the city limits, was on survey No. 116, in the First ward, where the Pittsburg railway crosses said survey. This was abandoned after the flood of 1844, on account of the liability to overflow. Many a ghastly skeleton, by that flood, was washed from its resting place, to meet the gaze, perhaps, of the friends that had but a short time ago followed it to its lonely abode. To make secure from further disasters of the kind the inhabitants selected for their burial place the old Indian mound, then situated between what is now Collinsville avenue and Fourth street, and at the foot of Ohio avenue. It is said that the Indians had used it for centuries, so far as any one knew to the contrary, for a place of burying their dead. The mound was about four hundred feet in diameter at the base, and forty feet in altitude from summit to base. At that time (1844) and for years afterward it was covered mostly with heavy oak timber. In 1871-2, it was removed and the earth utilized to fill up a slough in the Second ward, and to make the ground at the south-east round-house. Nothing but a vacant lot now marks the spot. When the earthi was removed, human bones and many kinds of shells were found to the depth of thirty feet. These were no doubt the remains and trinkets of a pre-historic
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