USA > Illinois > DeKalb County > Past and present of DeKalb County, Illinois, Volume I > Part 22
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DE KALB TOWNSHIP.
The first settlement in De Kalb Township was made on Section One. in what is now commonly known as Coltonville. Like the settlements of other loeailties, these pioneers came to the streams and woods to make their homes. The first settlers of the township were John B. Collins and Norman C. Moore. Collins settled on a farm later owned by Captain Burpee and Moore made a claim a mile or two north of him. The spring of 1835 is given as the date of their coming, but before the close of that year others had settled near the Pottawatomie Village, located on Section One. A man by the name of MeClellan made a claim to the south end of the grove. which was afterward sold to Russell Huntley. The central part of the
FIRST INDUSTRY IN DE KALB. "THE OLD MILL SITE."
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENUX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.
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Grove was claimed by James Cox and James Paisley, and the former located his rabin on the farm now owned by C. W. Marsh,
As has been stated in a previous chapter of the County History, in 1832 the army under General Whiteside, numbering abont twenty-two hundred, consisting of one regiment of regulars and the balance of volunteers, marched from Stilhan's Rum to the mouth of the Kishwaukee, thence fol- lowing the south side of that stream to the Potta- watomie village on section one, where they camped and found some of the plunder taken from Still- man's men by the savages. The Indians had been taken from this locality in about 1835, but many marks are found today of their village. When the white men first came to Coltonville they found a burying ground where many Indians had been buried, while a number of papooses were wrapped in bark and suspended among the branches of the trees. It has been stated that a company of United States mounted troops at about 1835 escorted the Indians from this village to Paw Paw grove in the southwest corner of the county, pre- paratory to removal, and it is also stated that this same company, while marching to their destination, camped on the site of the present village of De Kalb. "While here one of their number attempted to desert and he paid MeClellan a sum of money to secrete him ; but, being threatened by the officer in command. MeClellan gave him up again and he was tied to the rear of the army wagon and dragged on foot through the remainder of the route. The neighbors, indignant at MeClellan's treachery, threatened to lynch him and he was obliged to fly the country to secure safety."
In the autumn of 1835, Messrs. Jenks & Com- pany claimed the land known later as the Schry- ver farm. Here, a little later, they damed the creek, built a mill and projected a town in the vicinity. The streams were much larger then than now and it was thought that the water power would be of permanent value, but a dry summer or two convinced them of their mistake and they never completed their proposed village. The mill was sold and repaired and the dam enlarged and instead of using the overshot wheel they used the turbine. The same mill was used until the later forties, when it was abandoned and taken down. The site of the old mill is now owned by George Clark.
By way of explanation we will state that the timber land of De Kalb township naturally divided itself into three parts. The South Grove, or Hunt- ley's Grove, was separated from the Central Grove, later called Union Grove, by a gap extending cast and west over the present site of the Normal bridge. Another gap was found on the land owned by Phineas Stevens and extending westward, and for a long time these settlements were known by the names Huntley's Grove, Union Grove and Col- tonville. The latter became the more populous settlement and had a village that was aspiring to be the county seat and in fact the first court held in the county after its organization was held at that place.
Mr. Rufus Colton and Phineas Stevens came here at a very early date and, as both had means, immediately began to improve their village. In the later thirties there was a store, blacksmith shop and a post-office, the receipts of which in 1839 were $32.84, which were the largest receipts of any office in the county up to that date.
Mr. Phineas Stevens built a distillery, which was located on what is now the Henry Groves farm. This was operated for several years but did not prove a very paying investment. It was built of timber såwed at the old mill, which has just been mentioned.
Rufus Colton built a large hotel, the dedication of which has been mentioned in the County His- tory, and this was for many years the most pre- tentions building in the county.
A mail route ran from Sycamore, through Col- tonville, on to Dixon in 1836.
To show how valuable the timber land was at that date and how little the pioneers valued the prairie, we will give the following incident. Mr. Russell Huntley, representing a company of capi- talists who designed to build mills and carry on farming and if possible lay out a town. moved to the south end of the grove and bought the claim of Jesse Root. This was the period of wild-cat money and it was very plentiful and every one had some scheme to acquire wealth. Mr. Huntley bought all of the southern part of the grove, pay- ing for the same fifty-three hundred dollars. This purchase embraced about five hundred aeres of wood land and as much of the prairie as he chose to call his own. "As it seemed desirable, however. that each should know where his line was, he made
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an agreement with the Brady's of Brody's Grove, about ten miles west of him, that the division line between them should be half way between the two groves ; and he made a similar verbal arrangement with inhabitants of Shabbona Grove on the south."
In the summer of 1836, the first election held in the county was at the home of Captain Eli Barnes. on land now owned by Henry Groves. Voters came from all parts of the county. It was an election for justice of the peace and we must remember at this time that the available settlements of what is now DeKalb county were known as the Kishwaukee district and were a part of La Salle county. Stephen Mowry and Captain Collier were elected justices and received their commission from the governor, countersigned by a county officer from La Salle county. Mr. Samuel Miller of Squaw Grove, relates that ten dollars was sent down to him by one of the candidates to pay him for bringing up ten voters and that these voters carried his election. Mr. Boies says. in his history, that this was probably the first $10 spent to carry an election in this county. but not the last by thousands.
Hard times followed the period of wild-cat money and the people grew very poor and in 1843. when the land that has just been described came into market, Mr. Huntley offered large portions of it for $1.25 an acre. Some of this land is where the city of DeKalb now stands. For twenty years he kept an excellent tavern, built of logs, and in busy seasons of travel it was continually crowded by teamsters who came from as far west as the Mississippi river and were on their way to Chi- cago with grain. A good picture of this hotel will be found in another portion of the work. As it did not pay at all times to haul the grain to Chicago. thousands of bushels of wheat were fed to cattle withont threshing. The people of this locality did not thrive materially until the railroad was built in 1853.
Another settler who came into the county in 1835 and was prominently identified with the county history was Frederick Love, who settled in the timber on the land now owned by his grand- son, Frederick Love. Those who came in 1836 were Jacob, Joel and Alpheus Jenks, David Wal- rod, Samuel Thompson, Solomon Hollister and Levi Barber. with his two eldest sons. Harry and Lyman. Clark Barber came a few months later.
The older Barber made claim on section 15 and Clark L. Barber made his claim on land adjoining. Here he built a log house, the chimney being made of sticks plastered with mud. the roof of "shakes" split from oak timber, and the floor of puncheon. Clark Barber was married in May, 1839, to Mary M. Spring, and this house was their home in with their oldest daughter Louise, now Mrs. Jacob Crawford of DeKalb, was born in 1840. This old place was known far and near as the Barber farm.
W. R. Thompson also came in 1836 and pur- chased a farm on which was a little log house. It was surveyed afterwards as section one and was located on the opposite side of the Kishwaukee from Coltonville.
.The marriage of Russell Huntley and Selina 1. Goodell took place September 25th, 1838, and was the second marriage in the township, the first being that of Harry Barber and Rachel Spring, October 5th, 1834. and their daughter Amelia was born in 1838. Previous to this, however, a child, the first born in the township. came into the home of Mr. and Mrs. N. C. Moore.
The first death was that of the son of Ora A. Walker, in August. 1837, and three weeks later Mrs. Ruth Cartwright passed away.
The first physician was Dr. Bassett, who first came to Coltonville and later removed to Syca- more.
Rufus Colton kept the first store in what is now DeKalb township, the business being carried on at Coltonville as early as 1837.
The first revival of religion was held in a large barn on the Schryver farm in the summer of 1837 and was conducted by Jacob .Jenks.
The first attorney was Mr. A. R. Crothers, who located at Coltonville in 1837. By many he is said to have been the first lawyer to reside in the county.
The first election, after the vote to set DeKalb county apart as a separate organization, was held at the home of Frederick Love. The first regular commissioners' court was held at the home of Rufus Colton, and continued to be held at that place until the county seat was located at Syca- more. Frederick Love also kept a tavern and his home was large and spacious for that time and Mr. Love hoped that sometime the county seat might be located on his farm.
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MUSEUM OF MRS. I. L. ELLWOOD.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOM, LEN X TILDEN FOL YOATIONS.
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Another early marriage was that of Cornelia Spring to Lyman Barber in 1838. Thus we have three brothers married to three sisters, which trans- ferred the hardships of pioneer life into pleasure.
The first school in the township was held at Coltonville, in a house erected for that purpose in the summer of 1838. Miss Barber taught the summer term and a Mr. Lawrence the winter term. Dr. E. P. Wright also taught a term here. The Honorable Thomas Ford, afterwards governor of Illinois, was the presiding judge who held the first term of court in DeKalb county. Mr. George Clark, at present a resident of DeKalb, is our an- thority for stating that the first school-house erect- ed in DeKalb township for school purposes still stands on the farm owned by Charles Adee in Coltonville. It stood just east of the honse erected by Mr. Colton and has now been moved about fifteen rods to the southwest and is at present a granary.
As late as 1839 Mr. Calvin S. Colton located near his brother Rufus in Coltonville, and he states that as many as fifty bodies of papooses were suspended in a horizontal position among the branches of the trees, for it was the custom of the Indians to dispose of bodies of dead children by covering them with bark and suspending them from the branches of the trees.
In early days fruit was scarce but many of the pioneers, coming from New York state where trees were plentiful, adopted the custom of their native state and set ont orchards. The first was set out by Eli Barnes in 1839 and in the following year one was started by William R. Thompson. We have no record left of an orchard being planted be- fore that time.
Wanton Barber came to DeKalb in 1840 and has for a number of years been the oldest resident of that town, still residing within its borders.
Few settlers came in 1840 and 1841, but in the spring of 1842 a native of New Hampshire, Joseph F. Glidden, came to DeKalb and pur- chased of Russell Huntley 400 acres of land just west of the Grove, on which he erected a log cabin, where for several years he kept an excellent tav- ern. Besides farming and acting as landlord Mr. Glidden drove a stage and carried the mail. Joseph W. and Steven H. Glidden bought adjoin- ing tracts of land and for several years the three brothers were in company in the farming business.
Joseph W. did considerable literary work and arti- eles from his pen are found in many DeKalb homes to this day. He died on the old home farm. The people of DeKalb still remember Steven as a great lover of horses, always having a great number of racers on his farm. He died in 1876. Joseph F., the first to come here, has been of so much benefit to this town that it is with feelings akin to reverence that the people of DeKalb speak of him. It was he who invented barbed wire, fur- nished a home for the Normal school and has done a number of minor good deeds.
The settlement in 1844 was enjoying quite rapid growth. James Duffy and his sons came in this year and located on the prairie one and one-half miles south of the Phineas Stevens farm, and in 1849 they bought the old Duffy homestead two and one-half miles south of the present city of DeKalb.
Myron HI. Dermeter lived in a little shanty on the Batheriek claim. This and the Duffy's were the only buildings standing ont from the timber between Huntley's tavern and Shabbona Grove. H. B. Gurler, who came here in 1856, says that hut two trees were then growing between those two places.
In 1844, Jared and Clark Carter, father and son, came here and camped for a while. In 1845 they worked the old Whitmore farm, in 1846 the old Love farm and in 1849 they purchased a claim of Asa Palmer, having a little log cabin and into this the family moved. This is the old Carter homestead, located three and one-half miles south- west of DeKalb.
John Breckhart was another pioneer of 1844. Ile bought a little log house in the timber, just south of the Bemus store on First street.
Christopher and Wilson Love came in this year and they. like others, made their first stopping place near Frederick Love's and have since been instrumental in the permanent growth of De- Kalb.
This same year L. B. King, a Baptist minister. located here. He was the only circuit preacher of this denomination in this section and held meet- ings in the old Huntley tavern. He was the father of W. B. and Charles King.
The log tavern conducted by Russell Huntley had done good service and in 1845 was replaced by a little frame hotel, known as the Eagle Hotel, which, though extensively added to and repaired,
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has gone down through the generations as the Eagle Ilotel, which still stands but has been re- moved to another part of the city. It was on the site now occupied by the First National bank. The hotel was not large and many of the teamsters and travelers were obliged to sleep in the stable.
This was the beginning of the present village of DeKalb. The first store kept in what is now the city of DeKalb was by Mr. Goodell and B. Ruby. who was a physician. Dr. F. B. Wright was the first practicing physician in the village. James Goodell and Caroline Batherick were the first to be married in the village.
Huntley's Grove settlement did not grow until the survey of the railroad and a year later. when the first train pulled into the village. may really be said to be the beginning of DeKalb as a city of life and industry. Jacob Haish states that he boarded the train near what is now Maple Park and told the conductor he wished to go to Hunt- ley's Grove. Keeping watch along the road he saw but little signs of the village and finally was told by the conductor that he had arrived at his destination. Ile states at that time there was a store, a blacksmith shop and a few residences.
There was no established cemetery in DeKalb county in its early days and it was the custom of the people to bury their dead on their own home places and Mr. Goodell's little boy was buried under the north end or very near where the Chron- iele building now stands. Various other prom- inent places about the town mark the resting places of the pioneers, and others were buried where it was most convenient and safe. were taken up in later days and interred in cemeteries.
Early in 1850, Mr. Basil Ruby built a little frame house divided into two apartments : one end he and his family used for a dwelling and the other for a drug and notion store. It was located a few feet east of the present Ruby residence. The building now stands, having been moved to the east side of First street. a little to the south of its original location. Small as these buildings were. they were sufficient for mercantile and residence purposes. The pride of the town in early days was a two-story building erected by Alvah Cart- wright. It was plastered inside and ont with mor- tar and then traced and painted to resemble brick. This beautiful structure of pioneer days stood
near the west end of the Holmes livery stable of today and in it a general store was conducted.
Buildings for church services were not avail- able in early days and the religious meetings were held in homes. The first meeting in DeKalb was at the residence of Dr. Basil Ruby in 1850. The preacher was from Syeamore and came at the invi- tation of Dr. Ruby. Two years later a class was organized at the home of Rev. Mr. Brown and from this small beginning the Methodists formed one of the largest organizations of any religious society in the city.
The school, which takes perhaps as dear a place as the church in the hearts of the people who have made DeKalb county, was naturally an institution of carly days. In 1850 the first school-house was built. It was 14x14 and the seats were made of split logs with holes bored in them and sticks driv- en in for legs. The first teacher was Jonathan Stone. He was killed by lightning in 1852. Elder Gam- ble, a Baptist minister. also preached in this lit- tle school-house, which was built in the timber on the site of the present Bemis residence on South First street.
DeKalb was organized in 1850 as a township. It was first called Orange and included parts of Malta and Afton townships. In 1851, Ezekiel Whitehead settled in that portion of the town and began the settlement of what is now Malta. In 1851 the village of DeKalb had 29 people. A tailor shop was opened in this year by John P. Jones and was located in the upper part of Goodell's store. One of the old-time lawyers was Eli B. Gilbert, who moved to DeKalb from Syca- more in 1852 and bought of Lewis Huntley a piece of ground on which was a little house used as a corn-crib. Mr. Gilbert was elected first jus- tice of the peace in 1853 and built a building with the slabs nailed upright in the corner of his lot. The law was administered to the citizens in that office until 1860. when Mr. Gilbert built a two- story frame house on Main street. now owned by Mrs. Owen Beaubean. The upper story was used as a justice office until Mr. Gilbert's death in August. 1895. The old homestead is still occupied by Mrs. Gilbert. The first butcher shop was opened in 1852 by John Till. and the first tin shop in the same year by Peter Johnson. Peter Johnson was the first Scandinavian to come into DeKalb county.
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The right of way was given the North Western road and in many instances the people gave splen- did donations aside from the free right of way.
For many years this little town was called Buena Vista, in honor of one of the principal battles of the War with Mexico, which was then fresh in the minds of the people. The battle of Buena Vista was fought February 22d and 23d between 20,000 Mexicans under Santa Ana and a force of little more than 5,000 under Gen. Zach Taylor. In that battle Jefferson Davis, R. E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Albert Sydney Johnson, General Bragg and a host of others who became prominent in the Civil war took part.
The first grist-mill was built in the year 1853 by a man named Brooks. It was erected on what is now Seventh street on the ground where the C. & N. W. in after years had their yards for loading stock.
In 1853, a second frame school-house was built on the present site of the Congregational church. A lot was purchased for $15 and the building was 24x42. There was not money enough to com- plete the building and two or three dances were held in it, the money thus raised being devoted to the cause of education.
In 1854, the Methodists and Baptists erected little places of worship. The first Methodist church stood on the present site of W. H. Fay's residence. Two years after its erection it was sold to the Adventists and in 1879 the large brick edifice, known as the First Methodist church, was erected at a cost of $10,000, and in 1885 the Baptists replaced their wooden church by a fine brick build- ing.
As the early buildings of the village of DeKalb were largely of wood they would naturally form food for a destructive fire, and in 1876 a large por- tion of the city was burned to the ground. This was a blessing in disguise and Phoenixlike, on their ashes have arisen many substantial brick build- ings of the city. One of them was the Haish three-story brick building called the Bee Hive block, in which was the Barb City bank.
In 1854, a great small-pox plagne raged the county and nearly depopulated DeKalb. Mrs. Norris Sweet died November 14th and Mr. Sweet and Russell Huntley together selected the spot where she was to be buried. It was upon an open prairie but is now known as the beautiful Ever-
green cemetery, and a person has only to consult the headstones to see how many dead of our old settlers are sleeping in this silent city. That same year the ladies of DeKalb met and organized the DeKalb Center Sewing society, having for its object the procuring of means for the purchase and care of grounds for burial purposes. They pur- chased about four and one-half acres, the same as stated above. This is the oldest cemetery in the township.
The pioneer lodges of the place are the Ma- sonic and Odd Fellows and the first DeKalb band were all organized in 1854. The first murder which blots DeKalb's fair history occurred in 1854. It was a drunken row and occurred in a frame shanty on the present site of Benjamin White's residence. Three or four Irishmen who had been laboring on the railroad had been drinking whisky and got in a dispute. One of their number grabbed a chair on which was a tub of water filled with clothes an hit his companion over the head, break- ing his neck.
The school building erected in 1861 was built of brick and at that time was considered one of the fine school buildings in this part of the state.
The village was incorporated under the general aet of 1856 and in 1861 by special charter, which made the Board of Trustees a member of the Board of Supervisors. William Allen was the first to fill the position.
The hardware store which I. L. Ellwood oper- ated was the first exclusive store of its kind in DeKalb. It was run by Ellwood and J. D. Lott and was a two-story frame building, joining the Cartwright and Hayden store. In 1869 Mr. Ell- wood built a two-story brick building now occupied by Mrs. John Burt, and the frame store was moved across the street. It was later occupied and owned by Harry White, who used it as a meat-shop.
In 1860 a Catholic church was built, which was occupied over forty years. The present edifice was built at a cost of about $25.000 and is the largest church building in the county. The parish comprises the largest church organization in the county.
In 1858 the Swedish Lutherans erected a church edifice and organized a society. This has grown to be a society of 600 members and has a new modern church edifice. Aside from the Swedish Lutheran church there have been organized the
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Swedish Congregational, Swedish Baptist and a Mission church, which are separated from the main body of Lutherans.
In 1860 an agricultural fair was established and ground bought of J. F. Glidden, which was used as a race track and ball park and is now a part of the Normal School grounds. At one of these fairs, at a later period, occurred the tragic death of Michael MeMann. He was assisting Professor Donnelson, who was making a balloon ascension. The balloon was inflated and the or- der given to let go, when in some way McMann was caught by the rope and drawn up by the leg. The onlookers were fascinated as well as horri- fied by the sight ; when up many hundred feet, by what seemed an almost. wonderful act, he pulled himself up to the basket, but only for a moment. when his hold relaxed and he came down to the ground, making several revolutions in his descent and striking on his head and shoulders. Almost every hone in his body was broken.
The great political meeting of 1860 has been al- luded to in the history of the county. That meet- ing, notwithstanding that the county has double the population that it had in 1860. remains the largest assembly ever gathered in the county.
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