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 9
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It was at this juncture that Mr. John J. Mitchell, a warm friend and supporter of the Chicago and Alton interests, offered to build an independent road from Alton to East St. Louis, provided that the Chicago and Alton, on completion of the road, merge the franchises of the Alton and St. Louis charter, obtained in 1850, then owned and controlled by Mr. John J. Mitchell, with their own. The proposition was accepted, and during the winter of 1864 trains of the Chicago and Alton Railroad were running to East St. Louis, and terminating on valuable depot grounds, obtained by Mr. Mit- chell for the Chicago and Alton Railroad from the Wigging's Ferry Company. From this date forward this railroad company assumed an independent position in the metropolis of the Mississippi Valley, as the chief transportation line between St. Louis and Chicago. Four years later. viz. : in 1868, the Chicago and Alton Railroad Company secured control of the line from Bloomington to Godfrey, a distance of 180 miles, built under the charter of the St. Louis, Jacksonville and Chicago Railroad Company. The lease of this valuable property covers a period of nine hundred and ninety years, and the rental paid is 40 per cent. of gross earnings, with the understanding that such 40 per cent. shall in no case amount to a less sum annually than $240,000.
Subsequently in 1870-71, arrangements were made with the St. Louis, Jacksonville and Chicago Railroad Company for building a branch road from Roodhouse to Louisiana, on the Mississippi river, a distance of 38 miles, under an agreement, whereby the Chi- cago and Alton Railroad Company guaranteed the annual interest on bonds issued on construction of such branch. At the same time control was obtained of the charter and franchises of the Louisiana and Missouri River Railroad Company, which has been incorpora- ted by the legislature of the state of Missouri, to build a railroad from Louisiana to Kansas City, an estimated distance of 216 miles, together with a branch from Mexico to Cedar City, opposite Jeffer- son City, five miles in length. It is believed that in consideration of building this road in Missouri, the Chicago and Alton Railroad Company were to receive $80,000 per mile, $15,000 mortgage bonds, $10,000 preferred, and $5,000 ordinary stock of the Louisiana and Missouri River Railroad Company, and in addition such county and local aid, as has been donated in favor of the enterprise. The fifty miles of road from Louisiana to Mexico were opened for traffic in the winter of 1871-72, the line from Mexico to Fulton, 24} miles, March 6th, 1872, and the line from Fulton to Cedar City, 25} miles, in July of the same year. At the time when the Chicago and Alton Railroad Company assumed control of the road in Missouri, it was intended to build an independent line from Louisiana to Kansas
City, but when the road had reached Mexico, and when considera- ble grading had been done between that point and Glasgow, legal questions were raised as to the legality of certain county and town- ship aid which had been voted beyond the Missouri river at Glas- gow, and the courts held that the charter only contemplated a line between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and not crossing the river at various points, hence the subventions beyond Glasgow were illegal. The decision involved the suspension of the through line project, and arrangements were made with the St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern Railway Company for traffic arrangements, over its road from Mexico to Kansas City, and for running through pas- senger and sleeping cars on the line between Chicago and Kansas City, via Bloomington, Roodhouse, Louisiana and Mexico. It is almost needless to say that the advantages for through business thus obtained, have been abundantly utilized, to the pecuniary advan- tage of both railroad companies interested in the through line ; also that the Chicago and Alton Kansas City line has been one of the most popular for passenger traffic between the east and west. The rapid, and it might be truly said unparalleled development of Kan- sas, Colorado and South-western Missouri, during the past six years, convinced the managers of the Chicago and Alton Railroad of the necessity for owning and controlling an independent line from Mexico to Kansas City, and the views thus entertained assumed a practical shape during 1878, by the formation of an independent company, to build what is known as the Missouri Extension, from Mexico to Kansas City, it being understood that the extension, when built, should be leased in perpetuity by the Chicago and Alton Railroad Company, and thus become an integral part of that extended railroad system. The through line from Chicago to Kan- sas City, via Mexico and Glasgow, will not exceed 485 miles in length, and the distance will be about four miles shorter than that via Galesburg and the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ROAD.
Main Line-Chicago to Joliet, perpetual lease . . 37.20 miles
Joliet to East St. Louis, owned . . 243.50
Western Division-Dwight to Washington, owned . . 69.80
Branch to Lacon, owned 10.00
Chicago and Illinois River, leased 23.86
Coal Branch, owned, 3.98 66
Jacksonville Division-Bloomington to Godfrey, leased 150.60 66
Roodhouse to Louisiana, including bridge, owned . . 38.10 Louisiana and Missouri Railroad-perpetual lease . . 66
Louisiana to Mexico . 50.80 66
Mexico to Cedar City 50.00
Missouri Extension-perpetual lease .
Mexico and Glasgow, Marshall to Kansas City . 162.50
66
Total length of road owned and leased 840.30
Number of counties in the state of Illinois traversed by Chicago & Alton Railroad sixteen, 15.68 per cent. of the whole number of counties in the state.
True value of real and personal estate in said sixteen counties, 44.42 per cent. of the total value of real and personal estate in the state.
Number of acres of improved land in said sixteen counties, 23.25 per cent. of the whole improved property in the state.
Value of farms in said sixteen counties, 26.46 per cent. of the total value of improved farms in the state.
Estimated value of farm productions in said sixteen counties, 23.09 per cent. of the total estimated value of farm productions in the state.
36
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
Value of live stock in said sixteen counties, 24 per cent. of the total value of live stock in the state.
Number of counties in the state of Missouri traversed by Chicago & Alton Railroad, eight, 7 per cent. of the whole number of coun- ties in the state.
Population of said counties, about 16 per cent. of the total popu- lation of the state.
Assessed value of real and personal estate in eight counties, about 15 per cent. of the total assessed value of real and personal estate in the state.
True value of real and personal estate in said eight counties, 9.81 per cent. of the total true value of real and personal estate in the state.
Number of acres of improved land in said eight counties, 15 92 per cent. of the whole improved property in the state.
Value of farms in said eight counties, 14.88 per cent. of the total value of improved farms in the state.
Estimated value of farm productions in said eight counties, 13.50 per cent. of the total estimated value of farm productions in the state.
Value of live stock in said eight counties, 13.66 per cent. of the total value of live stock in the state.
In brief the Chicago and Alton Railroad Company has, by a judicious system of permanent improvement, and by the introduc- tion of all the modern appliances which tend to the preservation of life and property, placed itself in such a condition, materially and physically, that its financial future cannot be affected by the contingencies which severally affect other roads. Its success as one of the great highways of the west is an assured reality. It might be appropriately noted here that while much of this road's past suc- cess inay be attributed to its admirable geographical location, em- bracing a very rich section of the country for local traffic, and with termini on Lake Michigan and the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, equally as much is due to the stability and management during the past decade and a half, and to the fact that the property has never yet become the foot-ball of speculators. Nothing, perhaps, has a greater tendency to demoralize the working force on any rail- road, and, it might be said, impair its usefulness to the public, than the spasmodic changes in the control and management, which have characterized the history of most western railroads, and from these vicissitudes the Chicago and Alton Railroad has been happily exempt. The executive management and the entire directors have been practically the same for the past fifteen years, and where to recognized skill in operating there has been added the financiering and engineering ability of the president, and the solid unanimous support of wealthy stockholders, and directors distinguished for business ability, it is not surprising that the Chicago and Alton Railroad has maintained a firm position as an investment in the moneyed centers of the world, and has acquired a well-merited popularity with the traveling and shipping public.
Illinois Central Railroad .- This is one of the largest corporations in Illinois, and through its connections with the Vandalia, and the Cairo Short Line R. R., it properly becomes a part of the railroad syster« of St. Clair county and St. Louis. In September, 1850, Congress passed an act, and it was approved by President Fillmore, granting an aggregate of 2,595,053 acres to aid in building this road. The act granted the right of way, and gave alternate sec- tions of land for six miles on either side of the road. The grant of land was made directly to the State. On the 10th of February, 1851, the legislature of Illinois granted a charter to an eastern company, represented by Rantoul and others, to build it with a capital stock of $1,000,000. The legislature, in granting the char.
ter, and transferring to the corporation the lands, stipulated that seven per cent. of the gross earnings of the road should be paid semi- annually into the treasury of the state forever. This wise provision, in lieu of the liberal land grant, yields a handsome annual revenue to the state; also that in the event of war government transporta- tion should be furnished at a certain reduction from the prices regularly paid by the general government for such service. The proceeds of land sales have been regularly applied to the redemp- tion of construction bonds, and it is significant that while the original issue of mortgage bonds amounted to $22,000,000, that amount has been so reduced that in 1890 the whole issue will be retired, and the stockholders will own a road more than 700 miles in length, fully equipped, with no outstanding liability, other than the share of capital. It may be noted here, that when the general government donated lands to the states of Illinois, Mississippi, and Alabama, it was intended that through the aid derived from these lands a through artery of travel should be established between the Lakes and the Gulf-ports. Had the war not supervened, the pro- ject would then have been carried out in its entirety, and the North and South movement of traffic would have been fully developed, but the enforced delay in carrying out the original programme, was utilized in building up the state of Illinois, and in perfecting the track of this road. The resources of the company were taxed to their utmost capacity during the war, in furnishing transportation for the general government; but the interests of communities along the line were carefully watched, and a local business was built up, which in volume and value far exceeded the most sanguine expec- tation of the proprietary. Strict attention to local business has always been a marked characteristic of Illinois Central Railroad management, hence their lands have been eagerly sought after ; and they have the satisfaction of knowing that the value of the road is not dependent entirely upon its identification with the through business of the country, but on the contribution of local traffic, which shows a permanent and certain increase. On the opening of the Vandalia line, the Illinois Central made its first direct advance toward securing a representation in the traffic between Chicago and St. Louis. Two through trains were run daily, via Efingham. In 1870, on completion of the Belleville and Illinois Southern Rail- road to Du Quoin, the southern business of the Illinois Central Rail- road, originating in St. Louis, was transferred from Odin and Ash- ley, the former connections, to the Cairo Short Line. The following statistics in reference to the physical condition and equipment of the Illinois Central Roailroad will not be devoid of interest :
Main line, Cairo to La Salle, opened for business Jan. 8, 1855 . 308.99 miles Galena Branch, La Salle to Dunleith, opened June 12, 1855. . 146.73
Chicago Branch, Chicago to Centralia Junction, opened Sept. 26, 1856. 249.78
Springfield division, Gilman to Springfield, opened Sept., 1871. . 111,47
Total length of main Line and Branches 816.97
Aggregate length computed as single track . 833.68 miles.
Length of Sidings. 132.68
Total length of track owned in Illinois. 966.36
Railroad Lands .- Believing that there are many farmers of St. Clair county who desire a profitable investment, we would there- fore call the attention of all who are desirous of procuring more land or larger farms, to the large quantity of good farming land
37
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
the Illinois Central Railroad Company still offer for sale, along their line in Washington, Jefferson, Jacksun, Perry, Franklin and Williamson counties in this state.
Title .- The title to these lands offered for sale is as perfect as human agency can make it. It was originally donated by Act of Congress to the State of Illinois, and by an act of the State Legis- lature transferred to this company and its Trustees. No incum- brance of any kind whatever. To all who desire in good faith to examine any of these lands, the railroad company issue half rate tickets to and from the nearest points to the land, and if such ticket-holder buys even a forty acre tract, they will allow what he paid for such ticket as part payment on the purchase. These lands are productive, the climate healthy, and prices very low-usually from $4 to $8 per acre, on easy terms and a low rate of interest. These lands can be purchased on the following terms :
One-quarter cash, with five per cent. interest for one year in ad- vance on the residue; the balance payable in one, two and three years, with five per cent. interest in advance each year on the part remaining unpaid. For example, for forty acres of land at $5.00 per acre, the payments would be as follows :
Cash Payment, $50.00 principal, and $7.50 interest.
In one year,
50.00
5.00
In two years, 50.00
6.
2.50
In three years, 50.00
$200.00
$15.00
Or, the same land may be bought for $180.00, all cash, as we deduct ten per cent. when all cash is paid. Full information on all points relating to any particular locality or tract, will be furnished on application, either in person or by letter, to
P. DAGGY, Land Commissioner, Room 11, No. 78 Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Ill.
A Railroad was built by the Illinois Coal Company, operating at Caseyville, from that point to Brooklyn, a short distance north of East St. Louis, which was completed in February, 1851. It was supplied with T rails. In three years the company failed; the road and fixtures were sold to the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad Company. The rails were taken up and used in the construction of that road. The old road bed can still be traced.
St. Louis Bridge .*- Spanning the Mississippi from East St. Louis, Ill. to St. Louis, Mo., is the great railway and roadway bridge. The initial step toward commencing this celebrated structure was, An act passed by the Missouri legislature in 1864, incorporating the "St. Louis and Illinois Bridge Company." This act was approved February 5, 1864. 'An amended act was passed and approved February 20, 1865. About the same time the legislature of Illinois passed an act authorizing the incorporators under the Missouri act, under certain stipulations, to build a bridge to the Illinois shore near the dyke. An act of Congress was also passed and approved July 25, 1866, authorizing the construction of certain bridges, one of which was to be built at St. Louis. Having thus secured the necessary legislation, the projectors directed special attention to the work itself. Preliminary steps were taken, soundings made, plans proposed, and estimates considered. May Ist, 1867, the company was organized ; and contracts for the masonry were soon after let, and the first stone was laid on the western abutment pier, Jan. 25th, 1868, and the pier had been built above the water-level by the spring of 1868. Captain James B. Eads, chief engineer of the work.
* For data on the St. Louis Bridge we are indebted to Dr. William Taussig, General Manager. And to an article by L. U. Reavis, on Railway and River System of St. Louis.
The four piers of the bridge are as follows in their height above, and depth below, low-water mark, respectively :
W. abut. Pier, 22 ft. bel. low-water mark, 130 ft. ab. low-water mark.
West
78 "
¥ 186 ¥
East " 92 ¥
200
66
East abut. " 102
210
66 66
In the construction of the masonry, 12,000 cubic yards of gray granite from Portland, Maine, were used. 12,000 cubic yards of sandstone from the St. Genevieve quarries in Missouri are used in the approaches, and two thousand cubic yards of granite from the quarries at Pilot Knob, Mo., were used in the base course of the approaches.
Superstructure .- The superstructure is made of chrome steel, and every possible test was made long in advance of its use, so as to prove that its tensile strength corresponded with the general re- quirement of the whole structure. In placing the spans in position, Mr. Flad, the chief assistant of Captain Eads, introduced a system of hog-chains reaching over immense wooden structures on the top of the piers. These were let down and made fast to the growing spans, and as each part grew from the pier towards the centre in open space, chaios were applied from time to time to support the great weight of the growing arch. By the method of working with hog-chains, Mr. Flad was enabled to dispense with the old cumber- some way of scaffolding below to support the span, as it was being built out from the pier. The superstructure contains 2,200 tons of steel, and 3,400 tons of iron. The tons of metal aggregate 5,600 tons.
The bridge proper consists of three spans or arches; the centre being 520 feet, and the others 502 feet each. The arches, or spans and abutments, make 2,046 feet, including the approaches on each side of the river; the total length of the bridge is 6,220 feet, or more than one mile. The bridge is connected with the yard of the Union Depot, St. Louis, by means of a tunnel 4,866 feet in length, and double tracked through the whole distance.
The cost of the bridge and tunnel, at the time of its being thrown open to the public in June, 1874, had been between $12,000,000 and $13,000,000. It was amid great parade dedicated to the tra- veling public, July 4th, 1874. It may be mentioned here, that on the top of the arches a road is constructed for vehicles, animals and street cars ; there are also suitable paths for pedestrians. Thus we have given a brief sketch of probably the greatest bridge in the world; the building of which was one of the great enginecring tri- umphs of the age.
CHAPTER IV.
GEOLOGY.
EOLOGISTS have studied closely tlie strata be- neath the earth's surface, and evolved thereby knowledge that is rapidly taking its place among the exact sciences. Upheavals of na- ture have, here and there, arranged these strata like the leaves of a book inclined at an angle of forty-five degrees, to be read by close obser- vers, who have thereon indulged much specu- lation regarding the age of the earth, and attempted to assign to natural causes, reaching through almost in-
38
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
calculable stretches of time, their presence. These observations have been rewarded by a general acceptance of a classification of these strata, such as appears in text books of Geology of to-day. Here, in St Clair county, researches have not reached beyond the Carboniferous system, nor is it likely that records reaching back further in point of time will ever be made, since even this system has not been probed to its depths, most of the coal being taken out of the upper seams. West of Belleville a lower stratum has been penetrated, but being only about twenty inches in thickness it was abandoned. There are represented in Illinois, the Quaternary, Tertiary, Carboniferous, Devonian and Silurian systems. Bencath them may, and if generally accepted theories be true, must be for- mations of those systems, antedating these. Nature's terrible throes by earthquake, or volcanic action, have spared the empire state of the valley, so that her prairies spread out in beautiful repose unin- terrupted by unsightly masses of representatives of a long past age.
The economical value of the Quatenary, or uppermost stratum, is greater than that of all other formations combined, thus evidenc- ing the wisdom of the Creator in his preparation of the earth for the habitation of man. It comprises the drift and all the deposits above it, of whatever quality the soil may be. In scientific terms it includes the Alluvium, Bottom Prairie, Bluff, Drift of various thicknesses, which crop out here and there upon the surface. All those deposits which have been formed since the inauguration of the present order of things might be appropriately classified under the head Alhumen, as it embraces soils, pebbles and sand, clays, vegetable mold, all of which are found in St. Clair county. Soils are a well known mixture of various comminuted and decom- posed mineral substances, combined and mingled with decayed vegetable and animal remains, and composing those ingredients so well adapted to the nourishment of the vegetable kingdom. They are formed by the action of water, in form of rain or dew, by at- mospheric changes of heat and cold, by decay of vegetable and animal matter. Those of this county are very deep and exceedingly productive. The vegetable kingdom has contributed largely to their formation. In the American Bottom, as it is termed, which has an area in this county of about 53.760 acres, the soil is a sandy loam, exceedingly fertile. Much of it has been, from time to time, deposited by recession of waters of swollen rivers. It has been borne on by the irresistible currents of the Missouri, from the far off plains of Nebraska, known to early Geographers as the Great American desert, and here deposited. Its depth varies greatly from a merely perceptible stratum to'a thickness of ten or more feet. That consequent upon the flood of 1844 is very con- spicuous. When the onrushing fury of the waters was checked by a growth of tall weeds, young willows or sycamores, the depth from that single flood was as great as ten feet. After such a flood, upon subsidence of the waters, lagoons, sloughs and lakes are left. The sand in these waters, by virtue of its specific gravity first finds its level, and above it clay intermixed with decomposed organic mat- ter, forms a thin layer, and thus after each flood new strata of sand and clay are left until the general level is attained by the new for- mat ons. When vegetable life finds subsistence, the annual growth adds its complement of humus, and thus this marvellous soil is cre- ated. In course of time, by a continuation of these processes, these alluvial plains support a rank vegetable growth.
Adjacent to and overlooking this bottom land, are the bluffs, filled in places with fossil shells, indicating there having been at one time the boundary lines of a great inland lake. Then again are the prairies forming the greater part of the surface of the county ; their formation is a subject that has provoked much scien- tific discussion. Prof. A. H. Worthen, State Geologist of Illinois,
asserts that they, with their peculiar surface soil, owe their origin to the same causes that are at present operating to form prairies, though on a less extensive scale. The black, rich soil is doubtless, he says, due to the growth and decay of successive crops of vege- tation, which in the geological ages of the past, under a far higher temperature and more favorable atmospheric conditions than now exist, grew to an extent unknown since the appearance of man upon the earth. These prodigious crops of plants and grasses were from year to year submerged, and becoming decomposed, contri- buted their annual accumulations to the surface of the country. By the continuation of this process fur untold centuries, and by the subsequent recession of the waters that once covered the entire Mis- sissippi valley, a black, mucky soil was formed, and the whole re- gion cinerged as vast swamps or swales interspersed with hills and valleys, mountains and table lands. These by gradual growth become outlined in prairies.
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