USA > Illinois > Vermilion County > History of Vermilion County, Illinois : a tale of its evolution, settlement and progress for nearly a century, Volume I > Part 54
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The women who had the courage to leave their more comfortable homes in the east and come west to assist their husbands, their chosen companion for life, to carve out of this uninviting prairie a home, are certainly deserving of men- tion in this article. When the neighbors were few and far between and the husband was away on the business of making a living, it was indeed. lonesome
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for the wife who was left to look after the household affairs. One incident has been mentioned, the wife of Adam Bratton said that after she came to this country there was a period of three months that she did not see a solitary woman. Mr. Bratton settled in 1854 on the east half of the northwest quarter of 12-22-13. Many such incidents could no doubt be mentioned. There was also the danger of burning of the house and the buildings by the prairie fires. In the fall of the year when the fire would get started it took more than an or- dinary plow furrow or a trail across the prairie to stop it, and when once the fire was started the flames would leap a furrowed track many feet in width and gather velocity and go on. It was no uncommon thing for the settlers who had heen from home to discover when they came in sight of their little belong- ings that it was threatened with the dreadful prairie fires, and were forced some times to run their horses for miles in order to save their little accumula- tions.
Game was very abundant, deer, prairie chicken, duck and geese in the spring and fall. It was no uncommon thing even as late as '65 and '70 and even later than that for the men of the community to gather together and have a wolf drive and chase over the prairies. It was certainly a pretty sight to see a half dozen mounted men riding without a thing to impede their progress for miles over the prairies chasing the wolf. The prairie wolf was very cunning, and it was not uncommon for them to elude their pursuer and get away.
Butler township furnished its quota of men for the Civil war, among the number were the Liggett boys, the Ballard boys, and many others. Most of them mentioned were in the 125th Illinois, but there was no company organized distinctly from this township.
The writer recently visited the township calling upon the old settlers, and was much surprised to find that so few of the early settlers of the township or their descendents now owned or occupy the land in the township. O. O. Ross, now of Hoopeston, one of the early settlers in East Lynne and the first to open a bank, now owns a large acreage south and west of East Lynne. The village of East Lynne has not made any rapid growth, but has about held its own. N. R. Hall entered business in 1875 and seems to be the only one who has continuously been in business for that length of time now in the village. He still conducts the hardware store where he opened it many years ago. As has been elsewhere stated in this article, the old school building consisting of two rooms was added to, and is today a good school of four rooms. The Methodist church with J. W. Armstrong, pastor, is the only church in the village. There was formerly a Baptist church, but it has been abandoned for several years, and the ground upon which it stood reverted to the original owners. There are two grain elevators that are doing an excellent business, furnishing a market for the grain in a large area of the county. E. C. Kelly of the south side, runs a general store, as does also Mr. Cunningham. Dr. Berry is the only physician in the village and the proprietor of the drug store. The town has a very comfortable hotel conducted by the Misses Harris. The village has one bank known as the Bank of East Lynne. It is a private institution with T. G. Lux- ton, one of the old settlers, as president, and F. P. McCord, as cashier. The capital stock of this bank is $15,000.00, carries a surplus of $10,000.00 and the
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deposits aggregate about $75,000.00. The individual responsibility of the bank is rated at $150,000.00. The familiar names that were formerly on the places of business such as O. E. Wilson, Messrs. Aiken, Hall, French, Morey and Gardner are all gone. Arthur R. Hall, a prominent attorney of the city of Danville, is a son of F. M. Hall, who was in the grain business many years in this village.
Rankin today is a prosperous village of one thousand inhabitants. It has three general stores, conducted by Henneberry & Morrow, successors to J. L. McCauley ; the Rankin Store Company, by William Bauer, manager; and the other Cuno Sidel, successor to Sidel & Bramer. There are a number of grocery stores and restaurants and one exclusive jewelry store. Rankin has an eight- room, brick, with basement, school building, with a four years' high school course, employing at the present five teachers. It is one of the good graded schools of the county. The present building was built in 1892. There was some opposition to this building, but as is usually the case right prevailed and an excellent building was the result. They have a library in the school worth probably $1,000.00. The school property is valued at $18,000.00. The school is held for a term of 81/2 months, and W. E. Waggoner is the present prin- cipal. In 1893 the L. E. & W. R. R. established just east of the village a round house and shop, which today has a pay roll of approximately $10,000.00 per inonth, giving employment to 80 or 100 men, which gives business enthusiasm to the village. Rankin has four churches. The Catholic church, with Rev. Father Healy of Loda as pastor, holding services every two weeks. The Meth- odist church, which was mentioned before as an off-spring of the Swartz chapel or class, has a very comfortable edifice and parsonage, and Rev. John Cusic giving one-half of his time to this church and the balance of his time to No. One chapel, is the pastor. The Presbyterian church which was originally a branch of the United Presbyterian church has a very active membership and Rev. C. J. Grimes is the present pastor. The Swedes have played a very important part in the development of the north and the northwest part of the township, and they have an established church with a very comfortable building known as the Swedish-Lutheran church. Rev. Peter Pierson is pastor. Rankin has two grain elevators that does a business of about 400,000 bushels of grain per annum each.
One of the early established financial institutions of the village is the bank known as the Rankin Whitham & Company Bankers, organized as a private bank with a capital stock of $25,000.00, deposits $150,000.00, with an individual responsibility of $1,000,000.00. This bank is one of the strong financial insti- tutions of the county and one in which the Butler township people may well be proud. The township boasts of one newspaper, which is located at Rankin, known as the Rankin Independent, having been a very influential factor in the community for more than twelve years with C. E. Groves as editor. M. C. Ellis manages and controls the present tile factory of the village. It has been a long established business. It is doubtful if there is another township in the county in which so few of the early settlers or the descendants of the early settlers now reside as in Butler. The title to the land in the township has practically all passed from the original owners to others. Notwithstanding this Butler town-
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ship has been wide-awake and its people have been active and energetic and are proud of the fact that the legalized saloon has never had a footing in its territory. There have been a few times when liquor was sold clandestinely, but they were permitted to stay but a short time until the active people of the com- munity drove them out. There has truly been a wonderful transformation from the vast and trackless prairie as it existed in the early fifties, and as it appears today dotted everywhere with beautiful groves, elegant farm homes, school houses, churches, railroad and good public roads, all the evidence of thrift and industry. It hardly seems possible that within so short a time, prac- tically a half century, such wonderful transformations could be brought about.
If any name has been omitted in this article, or any industry or business that should have been mentioned, it is an oversight and not the intent.
OAKWOOD TOWNSHIP.
Oakwood township lies on the western border of Vermilion County. Its greatest length is from east to west and is twelve miles. Its width north and south is six miles. It includes a part of six congressional towns and the whole territory consists of sixty-five and three-fourth square miles. The township has a diversified surface and soil. There is little of the soil that cannot be said to be deep, rich and very productive. The eastern part of the township used to be covered with a heavy growth of timber, but this has been cut until now there can hardly be said to be much timber left. Within the past ten or more years there has been much draining of the land in this township; indeed a note of warning has been sounded lest this draining into the streams becomes a menace to those who own land along the banks and suffer from the overflow of the same.
Stony creek flows one-half way across the township from the south. There is plenty of water for the township. On the eastern border is the Middle Fork of the Vermilion river ; on the south side is the Salt Fork ; through the center is Stony creek, which rises in the northwest corner of the township and flowing southeasterly empties into the Salt Fork.
Oakwood township is crossed by the Peoria division of the New York Central Railroad. Like the greater part of Vermilion County, Oakwood township is an agricultural section. It is traversed from east to west by the trolley of the Illinois Traction system, which follows the railroad within a few feet all the way across the township. Oakwood township is truly historic ground, it being where the salt springs were located, and where the first settlement of the county was made. The coal industry of Oakwood township has been of importance. This is fully considered in the chapter on coal and coal mining. Oakwood finds her early history in that of Pilot, Vance and Catlin or more explicitly: On the 2d day of October, George A. Fox, supervisor from Vance township, offered a reso- lution creating a new township from the territory of Vance, Catlin and Pilot, in accordance with the prayer of certain petitioners from said townships. At this time Mr. West was supervisor from Pilot and Mr. Church was supervisor from Catlin townships. The supervisors concluded to delay action until the March session of the next year in order that all persons connected with the proposed change could have opportunity to approve or disapprove of the meas-
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ure. Accordingly on the 9th of March, 1868, the petition presented at the meet- ing of the previous fall was again taken up, and Mr. Fox urged the passage of the resolution to create a new township. A great effort was made to have the matter again delayed, but it was without success. The prayer of the petitioners was granted and an election was ordered for the purpose of selecting township officers.
In considering the villages in Oakwood township the first named is to be Newtown.
This village was laid out by Benjamin Coddington, and the plat of it was filed June 15, 1838. The first man to locate in this township was Stephen Grif- fith. The plat of Newtown was simple. It was located on a cross road and the streets were but two, called Main street and High street. These streets were the roads which crossed at this point. Newtown at present does not in the least suggest the possibility of being an abandoned town. It is a bright, well painted little village which presents the appearance of having attained its de- sire and in no way disappointed that other more favored villages have because of railroads and other advantages made long strides in its advance. Newtown had a future at one time but that is so far in the past that it would never be guessed at present.
Conkeytown is another old village which had outlived its usefulness. The old mill which was a landmark for so long a time is gone and likewise many other well known buildings. Mr. Conkey came to this section in 1851 and oper- ated a general country store. He came from Eugene, Indiana. Mr. Denman set up a blacksmith shop and Mr. Conkey had a post office. Conkeytown was a village of promise but its glory is gone, the village has long since been merged into a farm and every year less and less of the old town remains. Muncie is a village on the railroad fourteen miles west of Danville. This village was surveyed by Mr. Alexander Bowman and its plat recorded in September, 1875. The station at Muncie was first opened in 1876. William Lynch was the first agent. Since Dr. Fithian owned much land through Oakwood township when the railroad first went through a station was made on his farm and given his name. So it was Dr. Fithian had Mr. Guy, the county surveyor, lay out a vil- lage and plat the same which was filed in 1870. This plat was a perfect square, containing eight full and eight fractional blocks, lying on both sides of the railroad. This village was either more favorably located or was more extensively advertised than the other stations on the road, for it has been more prosperous. It has been a great point for buying and shipping of stock and grain.
Oakwood station was laid out in 1870, but has never been the active village that Fithian has proved to be. This place has been a good shipping point for the coal interests on the Salt Fork, but this interest has been so very uncer- tain during recent years that no village can grow on the many strikes.
Sidell township occupies the southwestern corner of Vermilion County hav- ing Edgar and Champaign counties respectively for the western and southern boundaries and Vance to the north and Catlin to the east. Until 1867 Sidell formed a portion of Carroll township, for political purposes. The name of Sidell was given to the township in honor of John Sidell who owned much prop- erty in the township. The valley of the Little Vermilion river runs nearly
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through the center of the township having the ridges or strips of high land which bounds this valley on the northern and southern boundaries of Sidell township. This beautiful valley has more the appearance of a basin here and encloses some of the richest farming land in Illinois. The prairie flies which in- fested these prairies were a dreadful pest. In August a man was obliged to do all his traveling with a team in the night.
There were a few scattering settlers in this section before 1850, but there was nothing like general cultivation of this portion of Vermilion County until 1855 or '60. It was in 1853 that Michael Sullivant entered forty-seven thousand acres lying in a body in Sidell township and Champaign County. The portion lying in Sidell township went into the hands of his son Joseph, and he kept it as a stock farm so long as he was able. This tract afterward became the famous Allerton farm. One of the farms of Sidell township is the one yet known as the Allen farm. This farm was a sheep farm while yet Mr. Sullivant was running his estate, and the way the sheep were managed together with the other arrange- ments of the affairs of this farm makes it even yet pointed out as a famous place.
JAMAICA TOWNSHIP.
These fifteen divisions of Vermilion County remained all there were until 1890 when Jamaica township was formed. This new township was made from Catlin, Sidell and Vance townships. The division came long after any im- portant history of the section was enacted, and all that has transpired since has been of but passing interest.
LOVE TOWNSHIP.
Love township was created at a more recent time yet than any other. It was March 4, 1902, that J. W. Payne made statement that the citizens of the eastern part of Elwood township desired to be set apart in a precinct of their own, claiming that they could not have satisfactory political privileges under the old division. The result of this was the creation of a new township that was at first called Vermilion and later, Love township. This name was given the township last formed which occupies the extreme southeast corner of the county, in honor of Judge Love, who at that time was judge of Vermilion County.
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