USA > Illinois > Will County > History of Will County, Illinois, Volume One > Part 27
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Forty-fourth Match, 1920 .- Place-Elmer Haag farm. Date -September 24. Attendance-15,000.
"Ben Davis, winner of the tractor championship in 1919, won from a large field again this year. William Thomas of Big Rock won the horse drawn contest. What was said to have been the largest crowd ever to witness the match was on hand, it being estimated that 15,000 people were present. Automo- biles were parked for long distances along the roads, and on the grounds. The city people swarmed into the dining tent for the famous chicken dinner, and bid eagerly at the auction of goods from the ladies fair.
Forty-fifth Match, 1921 .- Place-John Wolf and Rueben Hafenrichter farms. Date-September 1. Attendance-Esti- mated 18,000.
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"Larger crowds than ever before greeted the great field of plowmen, and enjoyed the displays of the ladies fair, grain ex- hibits and many other attractions which were prepared for them at this match.
"Arthur Shoger and Charles Hagerman won the tractor and horse drawn contests, respectively. In the post-graduate class no one appeared to challenge Arthur Stark and Frank Boardman, tractor and horsedrawn champions. Hagerman, in the horsedrawn class, was winner for the third time of the cup for that event, and it became his possession.
Forty-sixth Match, 1922. - Place-Walter Mueller farm. Date-September 7. Attendance-8,000.
"Unprecedented drought and intense heat made conditions for plowing about as bad as had ever been experienced and greatly reduced the attendance at this match. A conflict with the big day at the Sandwich Fair also kept many away.
"In the post-graduate class Tom Quantock was winner by a narrow margin over Charles Hagerman in the horse drawn class. No one appeared to challenge Arthur Stark in the trac- tor drawn post-graduate class.
Forty-seventh Match, 1923 .- Place-Frank Stewart farm. Date-September 12. Attendance-12,000.
"A duel between Charles Hagerman and Thomas Quantock, veterans and winners of former years in the horse drawn class, featured this match. Hagerman came out the winner in the big event by a 1 point margin, to even the score of the former year, when Quantock won by only half a point margin. Wil- liam Bermes, who won the local tractor class award last year, passed into the post-graduate class by winning that event again. Abner Thomas, from Big Rock, was unopposed in the post- graduate tractor class, and was declared winner.
"Some dissatisfaction with the methods of awarding the
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championship title to winners of the post-graduate horse- drawn class arose at this match. It was claimed that higher scores in other events should be considered. The matter was referred to the committee for their action.
"The usual interesting departmental exhibits were well patronized by the great crowd, larger than last year's.
Forty-eighth Match, 1924 .- Place-William Patterson and Joe Elliott farms. Date-September 20. Attendance-Over 10,000.
"Thomas Quantock returned to the winners class in the post-graduate division this year, leading Homer Lapp by a narrow margin in the horse-drawn event. Charles Hagerman did not plow in this class, going into the local tractor class.
"Plowing did not start until noon, on account of the wet ground caused by rain the previous day and night. The un- even texture of the soil, in high and low places of the same land, called for the best skill of the plowmen. That tractor plowing was more popular than horse plowing was revealed by the fact that there were 17 tractors and only 6 horse-drawn plows en- tered. In the local tractor class, Earl Matter won the event. No record is given of any contest in the winners class of tractor plowing.
Forty-ninth Match, 1925 .- Place-Hanley Thomas farm. Date-September 12. Attendance-Over 2,000.
"Rain early in the morning prevented the usual large at- tendance at the match. The ground was 'spotty', being hard and soft in spots, making uniform plowing difficult.
"Homer Lapp of Plainfield, won the championship from Thomas Quantock, the four time winner of previous years. Walter Erickson won in the local tractor class.
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Fiftieth Match, 1926 .- Place-Reuben Hafenrichter farm. Date-September 2. Attendance-10,000.
"Edward Reese, a Big Rock plowman, was winner in the championship horse drawn event at this match. He defeated Homer Lapp and Thomas Quantock, former winners. In the tractor class. Walter Erickson was the winner of the local class. The match was fortunate in being sandwiched between seasons of wet weather, which rendered any other date in the month impossible for such an event.
"Large numbers of city people were on hand to enjoy the splendid dinner served by the ladies, and to purchase the fine specimens exhibited at the ladies' fair. Aurora merchants in several large busses were present with the Aurora East High School Band.
Fifty-first Match, 1927 .- "Which is the 50th or Golden Anni- versary of the founding of the Wheatland Plowing Match. Place-W. Hanley Thomas farm. Date-September 17, 1927.
Program: Golden Anniversary of the Wheatland Plowing Match and Fair open to the United States. Was held at the Edgewood Farm of W. Hanley Thomas, 5 miles south of Naper- ville and 6 miles east of Wolf's Crossing, Saturday, September 17, 1927.
The object of the Match is to promote better agriculture.
Will Township was one of the last to settle, the wood and water question being until a recent date the great desideratum. Black Walnut Creek furnished stock-water to the farms lying adjacent, in the northwestern portion. Along this little stream the first settlements were made.
In 1852, the first actual settler made his appearance in this locality. All of the adjoining townships had already received some population; and two years previous, the township organi- zation act, which gave a corps of officers to each six miles
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square containing enough inhabitants for organization, had been passed, while this section contained not a single inhabit- ant-white, black or red.
John McKenzie, who is generally accredited with being the first settler, was a Scotchman, but had lived in the country some time before removing to this locality. He lived here six or seven years and then removed to Missouri. He was in that State at the breaking-out of the war, and engaged in the ser- vice of the Government as a spy. On one occasion he was cap- tured by the enemy and put in prison, to await trial by court martial; and had his case ever come to trial, he would doubtless have suffered the penalty of death, as the evidence against him was sufficiently conclusive.
James M. Gridley had been living in Crete and other places in this part of the State, since 1840. He came to this township in 1853, and built the second house. He has been one of the prominent men of the township, and one of its most solid citi- zens. Gridley was a native of New York. Joseph Baldwin was a native of Massachusetts, but had been to California and brought back a few hundred dollars of the "yellow metal." He remained here but a few years, when he removed to Missouri with the aforementioned Mckenzie. James Maxwell came out here in 1853, from New Jersey, and bought some land, but re- turned to his home in the East and lived until 1861.
In 1853, Henry Lyon came from Chicago, or rather from the Michigan & Illinois Canal, where he had been working, and settled on the land now owned and occupied by F. P. Lilley, to whom he sold out a year later, and returned to the more congenial pursuit of working on the Canal.
The next year, 1854, brought several good and enterprising families to this vicinity, among whom were H. N. Ingersoll, F. P. Lilley, Patrick McMahon and John B. Sollitt. The first of these, H. N. Ingersoll, had really been here the year before, and had purchased the land to which he moved in the Spring
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of 1854. Mr. Ingersoll was one of the substantial citizens of the township, and one of its most prominent men.
In 1855, William Constable, James Pickard, Robert Patter- son and R. O. Hutchins came, the first three from New York and the last from Vermont. William Constable has been a most successful man in business. R. O. Hutchins resided here but a few years. He had been a gunmaker, and on the break- ing-out of the war, in 1861, he returned to his native State and engaged in his old trade of making fire-arms for the Govern- ment. Mr. Hutchins was the first School Treasurer of Will Township, having been appointed to the office in 1856. Samuel Storer and Lorenzo Tobias, the former from New Hampshire and the latter from New York, came in 1856. Storer was one of the most important citizens that ever lived in the township. He was son-in-law of Gov. Windsor, of New Hampshire, hav- ing married his daughter. He was elected first Supervisor of the township, in 1859, and, the year following, was sent, as Representative of this district, to the Legislature of the State. The township lost one of its most promising citizens when he removed to California, which he did in 1862. Lorenzo Tobias was one of the two first Justices of the Peace elected in 1859.
During the period of the three years ending 1857, there were a few others who settled in this township, but whose stay was so short that it is not thought worth while to consume space with their mention. The same may be said with respect to the following year. The years 1857 and 1858 were almost a repetition of the hard times experienced in 1837, and emigra- tion to this vicinity received a check. From 1859, however, the rush of settlers to this part of the county was very rapid, and in a short time the whole township was fully occupied.
The townships of Will and Monee, previous to 1859, were embraced in a single precinct, which was called Carey. In the year last named, the two sections agreed to a separation, and petitions to that effect were accordingly presented to the Board
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of Supervisors, who ordered a division, with boundaries and names as indicated.
On the 5th of April, 1859, in accordance with the order of the Supervisors, the voters, inhabitants of the new township of Will, met at the schoolhouse in District No. 1, and organized by the election of township officers. H. N. Ingersoll was elected Moderator, and Robert Patterson was chosen Clerk pro tem. Nineteen votes were cast, of which a majority were polled for the following persons:
Samuel Storer, Supervisor; R. O. Hutchins, Clerk; H. P. Tobias, Assessor; F. P. Lilley, Collector; H. N. Ingersoll, Poor- master; John B. Sollitt, James M. Gridley and George W. Smith Commissioners of Highways; L. D. Tobias and George W. Smith, Justices of the Peace; and H. P. Wright and Robert Patterson, Constables.
While the township is not "dotted all over" with church edi- fices as it is with schoolhouses, we are led to believe, that the moral and religious natures have not been left uncultivated. It is true, there is but one church-building or church organiza- tion in its whole bounds but, being adjacent to towns on all sides where these accommodations abound, the township seems to need only the one already erected and standing near the center. The Presbyterian Church of Will Township was organized and the building erected about the same time, 1865. There had been some preaching by both Presbyterians and Methodists, and both denominations had some claims on the field; but it was agreed on all hands that more than one church could scarcely live, and that a union of forces was the better plan. Neither party was very tenacious; but when a party, who was not a member of either denomination, came forward and pro- posed that if the society to be formed should be Presbyterian, he would donate ten acres of land and $1,000 toward the erec- tion of a church edifice, it was decided to organize a Presby- terian Church. George W. Smith was the liberal donor, and
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not only did he fulfill his obligation, but added to it $500 more. The original members of the society were D. J. Board, H. N. Ingersoll, George W. Smith, Thomas F. Clark, Henry Neal and James Maxwell, with their families. Most of these afterward became members of the Church. The building was erected at a cost of $7,500 and is a credit to the society, the Church and the township. The first pastor of the church was Rev. E. J. Hill.
Wilmington Township .- The Kankakee River at Wilming- ton is one of the finest streams in the State or in the whole West. The water, pure and clear, flows over a solid limestone bed, and this, with a rapid descent, tends to purify the stream and the air, and render the surrounding country healthy in an eminent degree. Even the Indians, who preceded the white people, realized fully the advantages of this neighborhood, and the relics of these original owners of the soil are found here in abundance. Arrow and spear heads, stone axes, rude pot- tery and other articles found upon the banks of the Kankakee, in this township, attest that this must have been a favorite dwelling-place as well as hunting-ground. Not only so, but the fortifications, constructed of earth, on which now grow trees more than two hundred years old, and of which the later race of Indians have not a tradition, points to an earlier race of human beings, who not only made this their home, but de- fended it with all the skill and power at their command. Doubt: less, prior to 1836, white men lived in the township of Wilm- ington. Even before the Black Hawk war, some hunters may have made the banks of the Kankakee their headquarters. If such there were, their stay was but temporary, those inhabit- ing the section before 1832 retiring, on the rising of Black Hawk and his allies, to safer localities, and those coming in immediately after peace was restored making their stay so short as not to entitle them to the credit of permanent settlers.
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To Thomas Cox is justly due the honor of being the first permanent settler of this vicinity. In 1836, he laid claim to all of the land on which the city of Wilmington now stands, laid out the town, calling it Winchester, erect the first sawmill, built a house and disposed of a few town lots. He followed these improvements soon after with the addition of a corn- cracker to his saw-mill, and still later by the erection at the upper end of the race, near where Whitten's flour mill stands, of a grist-mill and carding machine. These improvements gave the town a wide reputation, and Cox's mills were patronized by many who lived more than fifty miles distant. The old pioneers of Kankakee, Grundy, Livingston and other counties are wont to tell how they took their corn and wheat to the mill at Wilm- ington, consuming, often, nearly a week in the trip. Having such a long distance to go, it became necessary to wait for the grinding of the grain before their return; and, as the mill was frequently crowded, they were often necessarily detained sev- eral days. The first mill was built without any bolting mach- inery; but, after a time, a bolt, made to turn by hand, was con- structed, and through this the patrons of the mill were allowed to sift their own flour. Prior to the erection of the mill, tradi- tion says there was an oak stump that stood near the site of Stewart & Henderson's store, which was slightly hollowed out in the top. A spring-pole was fixed in a suitable position, and to the end of the pole was tied a bar, into the end of which was fastened an iron wedge, constituting a heavy pestile. The stump was the mortar, into which was cast a small quantity of corn to be pounded and cracked for bread and mush. While undergoing the pounding process, hot water was sometimes poured on, and while this prevented the mashing of the grains, it facilitated the removal of the husk or bran, and a good article. of hominy was thereby provided. This primitive machine is said to have been well patronized, and furnished food for the early pioneers.
SOLDIER'S WIDOW'S HOME, WILMINGTON, ILL.
OLD CANAL, WILMINGTON, ILL.
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Peter Stewart was a native of Scotland. When but a boy he left his home to seek employment and an independence in a distant portion of the country. Without education, and with scarcely sufficient knowledge of the English language to make his wants known, he went to England and succeeded in obtain- ing work in Lord Anglesea's garden, as a common laborer. He was, however, under the superintendence of a scientific gar- dener, who was at the same time a practical civil engineer, and from him he acquired a thorough knowledge of both branches by hard study after the day's work was over. He, at the same time, became greatly interested in the study of botany, and finally became thoroughly versed in the science. By industry and economy he saved sufficient to pay his passage to America. At the time of his arrival in this country, the Erie Canal was being constructed, and this proved to be a favorable opening. His knowledge of engineering soon gave him a paying position on these works, and when the excavation of his part of the canal was done, he built the very first lock on the whole canal. He afterward obtained a number of large contracts for build- ing public works of various kinds, among which were the grad- ing of the Schenectady & Utica Railroad and the building of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. During this time he was not un- mindful of his less fortunate relatives, whom he had left in the old country; and when he had accumulated means suffic- ient to warrant, went back and brought over to the United States the balance of his father's family.
In 1835, partially to prospect in the interest of the Michigan & Illinois Canal enterprise, which was then receiving attention from both the State and General Government, and partially to look at the land in its proposed vicinity, he came to this neighborhood, selected a piece of land and returned to Amster- dam, N. Y., which had been his home, and the next Spring emi- grated to this place. Already he had performed the work of an ordinary life-time, but he was still a young man and his
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activity continued till his death; and to name all of the enter- prises both benevolent and business in which he had been en- gaged, would be to consume more space than the design of this work will permit. One of his first works, after coming, was that of inspector of masonry of the Michigan & Illinois Canal. He was a stanch Presbyterian, and contributed his means and influence to building up the society here, without stint.
James L. Young, familiarly called the "Senator," came to the township in 1837, and settled near the junction of the Kan- kakee and Des Planes Rivers, but subsequently removed to the village. He was a blacksmith, and swung the sledge until, like Cincinnatus, he was called by his fellow-citizens to take a more responsible position.
Hon. Archibald McIntyre was the first merchant in this vicinity. His store was located on the north side of the creek, in Stewart's Addition. He was a most successful business man, and accumulated a large property. As indicated by his title, he was a member of the Legislature, as representative from this district. He was a brother of the McIntyre of the cele- brated lottery firm of Yates & McIntyre, of Philadelphia. At the time of his death, he was President of the First National Bank of this city. He was a native of New York, and came to this place in 1837.
Dr. A. W. Bowen, though not one of the very earliest in- habitants of this place, deserves mention here, as he was in- terested here as early as 1838. The Doctor had been living in Joliet for four years when, at the date named, he purchased of Cox a half interest in the site of Wilmington; and soon after, by a division of interests, became sole proprietor of the north part of the original town.
Andrew Whitten came to this vicinity in 1840 from Canada, and engaged in the mercantile trade.
Franklin Mitchell was a native of Vermont, where he lived until 1836, when he came to Chicago. He stayed in Chicago
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a few months, when he removed to Joliet and resided four years. In 1840, he came to Wilmington to take charge of the Eagle Hotel, then the only one in the vilage. After remaining in charge of the house three years, he began the erection of the "Exchange," which he completed and occupied the next year. Mitchell, as a landlord, was a great success, and during his occupancy of the house, a space of twenty-one years, the Ex- change was counted one of the best hotels in the state.
By the year 1846-the closing of the first decade of the existence of the settlement, and which period may properly be termed the pioneer period-quite a number of persons had selected this township and village as a place of residence. Among the number are remembered S. C. and J. C. Thompson, James Johnson, John L. Wilson, Henry and Robert Northam, John R. Jones, Henry Bowen, John and Robert Lyon, John G. Putnam, Jonathan Barnatt and Peter McIntosh. The two Thompsons were brothers, and were natives of Scotland. S. C. was a good blacksmith, and quite a successful man in business. During the gold excitement which followed the acquisition by the United States of the Pacific Coast, he went to California and stayed a couple of years. Soon after his return from the gold fields to this his adopted home, he died.
City of Wilmington .- The village of Wilmington was laid out in 1836, and as this and its immediate vicinity was the objective point toward which the early settlers naturally cast their eyes, the early history is necesasrily embraced in that of the township. However, in 1854, having attained a population required by law, it was deemed best by most of the leading citizens to organize the village as a separate corporation. It was argued that this would give the village authority to build sidewalks, abate nuisances, control the liquor traffic, and per- haps, obtain some revenue from the trade in the way of license, and numerous other advantages not enjoyed while merely con-
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stituting a portion of the township. Therefore, a notice, signed by "Many Citizens," requesting the residents and freeholders to meet at the schoolhouse on Saturday, the 24th day of June, to take into consideration the incorporation of the town, was posted in various public places by S. W. Munn ten days before the date specified in the notice. At the meeting, Peter Stewart was called to the chair, and James F. Alden was selected as clerk. The advantages of incorporation were then argued pro and con (mostly pro), after which a vote was taken, resulting in favor of organization 12 to 1. A day was then appointed for the election of a town board, and on the 3d day of July the election took place. Of the election, Peter Stewart and James F. Allen occupied the position designated at the primary meet- ing. Sixty-three votes were cast, and D. W. Smead, J. D. Hen- derson, Samuel C. Thompson, J. A. Seebor and James F. Alden were elected trustees; James L. Young was chosen clerk; An- thony Riker, street commissioner, and Fred Walrath, constable. Thus was the incorporation of the village fully accomplished, and under this organization it continued eleven years.
The early settlers of Wilmington, unlike the pioneers of most other localities, were religious people, and they had but constructed a habitation, which barely sheltered them from the inclemencies of the weather, before they began to take measures for the establishing of a house for the Lord. Like the ancient Israelites, they experienced no trouble in worship- ing God, even in the wilderness, and Peter Stewart's barn an- swered the purpose of a tabernacle. In this barn, services were held, and, in 1838, two years after the first settler made his appearance in the vicinity, in it was organized the Presby- terian Church.
At about the same date that the Presbyterian Church was organized, the Methodists began to hold religious services here, and a class was formed, though the society was not organized as a separate charge until 1868. In 1840, a small building, now
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used as a parsonage, was erected, and in this services were held until 1857, when their present fine edifice was built. The build- ing is a large, solid, stone structure, with basement, forty-five feet in width and ninety in length, and cost $15,000.
Wilton Township .- Of all of the interesting little nooks in Will County, Twelve-Mile Grove is, without doubt, the most ro- mantic. Not only on account of location has it this peculiar aspect, but associated with it, were it in our power to unearth it, is an ancient history of a sufficiently wild flavor for a poem like that of Hiawatha. Almost entirely secluded as they were from the rest of their race, with surroundings at once so beau- tiful and so well adapted to their style of life, we cannot but con- ceive that the wild people who dwelt here must in many respects have been peculiar. The little grove is said to have been one of the finest tracts of timber in Northern Illinois, and was full of deer, wild turkeys and other game, at the time of the earliest settlement by the whites. The fine little stream, a branch of Forked Creek, dividing the township diagonally into two al- most exactly equal parts, flows over a rocky bed, along which the grove, on the other side, lies. On every side lies the open prairie, and in approaching the timber one is reminded of the little clumps of timber described by Eastern travelers as ap- pearing on the Great Desert, toward which their anxious eyes and weary limbs ever turn for refreshing shelter and drink for themselves and thirsty animals. Formerly this feature was much more apparent than now, the adjacent prairie having long since been occupied and planted here and there by the early settlers, not only with fruit-trees, but also with those of the forest, so that at present, the whole township presents the appearance of a succession of little groves. The land of Wilton Township is of varied quality and appearance, in some portions being very rich and productive, and in others quite the reverse; in some portions being very flat, and in others undulating. In some parts of the township stone of a good
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