USA > Illinois > Montgomery County > Past and present of Montgomery County, Illinois > Part 60
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containing sulphate of iron, others magnesia and others salts of various kinds. There is but little rock formation near the surface in any part of the county. Near Rocky Ford. on West Shoal. is the most pronounced formation to be found in any part of the county. If we should ever determine to build a system of hard roads, it is apparent that some other substance besides rock would have to be used in the construction, and it has occurred to the writer that the great beds of fire clay under- lying our coal measures might some day be utilized in making a species of paving brick suited to this purpose. While but few autos are in use outside the great cities, it has been demonstrated that as vehicles for carrying pur- poses they are practical machines, and the time is not far distant when these horseless carriages will be owned and operated by some of the wealthiest farmers. The demand for hard roads is noticeable in almost every section of the country, and state conventions have been called to devise some means by which this do- mand may be satisfied. The great cost at- taching to the construction of hard roads across our wide prairies is an item of expense that looks scary to the average farmer. In the con- struction of gravel roads in the vicinity of Charleston, Illinois, I find that the minimum cost has been in the neighborhood of one thou- sand dollars per mile. I have but little faith however, in the endurance of this class of hard roads, and parties in that neighborhood as- sured me that during the open muddy winter of 1902-3 that these sand-gravel surfaced roads were little better than the well graded dirt road. With an inexhaustible supply of material out of which to make paving brick and millions of tons of cheap coal wherewith to Imrn them, we are certainly in a position not only to make hard roads, but to make them of the best quality. Roads that when once constructed will last for hundreds of years, The American people in the matter of road building have been quite unlike the ancient Roman with whom they have so frequently heen compared. While the Roman republic took pride in building great highways, and it is to the credit of that people that many of these roads are yet in nse, the purpose of their con-
struction hardly justified the building. As the Roman highway provided a means for the rapid movement of her armies from one part of the empire to the other, the building of American roads should be for more laudable purposes. Returning to our subject of the geological structure of our county, we will notice the coal measures which within recent years has proven a source of wealth to our people. The first coal mine operated within our county was at Litchfield, Ilinois. The coal vein worked at that time was from three to four feet in thick- noss. The quality of the coal superior to that which has since been worked in the thicker vein lying somewhat below. The mine at Hillsboro has been in operation some fifteen years and produces a superior quality of coal. This has been the most successfully operated coal mine within the county. In the development of this mine the operators were very careful not to rob the pillars so as to occasion a "squeeze" in the work. The Kortkamp Brothers were in charge of this mine for a omuber of years and the character and credit of the work belongs to them. In strong contrast with the Hills- boro mine is that of the mine at Coffeen, where. I am toll by expert miners, that all the ad- vantages lay with the mine at Coffeen. A much softer fire clay beneath and less "clod" between the coal and the rock above, in other words, a better bottom and a better top. A vein of coal ranging from seven to eight feet in thickness, and superior in quality to any other coal in this section of the state. With all these advantages the management of this shaft, by a few farmer operators, almost wholly ruined the plant and bankrupted themselves. So anxious were the stockholders to secure early dividends upon their stock that immediate robbing of pillars commenced on the opening of the shaft. An observation would be apt in this connection that the "shoemaker would better stick lo his last." The men who as- sumed the management of the Coffeen mine were farmers who had been more than ordina- rily successful in their line. W. S. Barry and James B. MeDavid were both men of ability and each had succeeded in gaining a compe- toney as a farmer and stock-raiser. but in their management of the Coffeen mine, no more ab-
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solute failure could have been conceived. Not only did they bankrupt themselves, but many of their friends, who shared with them in the responsibility of their mining venture. The coal industry at Coffeen at the present writ- ing is under the direction of successful coal men from Pennsylvania. These operators have been able not only to put the mine on a basis of meeting its expenditures, but must cer- tainly have proven a paying venture, as the company are at the present time arranging to sink a new shaft at this place. The coal mine located at Paisley has been in a measure fairly successful. The coal is of good quality and the mine has been kept in good condition. Mr. George W. Paisley. the operator, has found that it pays well to employ superintendents who know what is best in operating and developing a mine. This mine has the largest output of any mine in our county. The new mine at Litchfield had somewhat of an experience in its earlier management like that at Coffeen, but fortu- nately for the mine and for the stockholders. the concern was thrown into the hands of a re- ceiver and J. D. Crabbe, one of the most suc- cessful coal operators in Illinois, was made receiver. Under his management, it was soon put on a paying basis and I am informed that very recently it sold at figures considerably above the capital stock. At Raymond is a coal mine of small capacity. The quality of the coal is good, but the vein is only about three fret in thickness. so that as a commercial mine, it can not hope to accomplish very great things. The per diem tonnage of the several mines of Montgomery county is in the neighborhood of three thousand tons, and the several mines em- ploy in the neighborhood of seven hundred men. Much talk of a new mine at Nokomis and Donnelson is heard. Prospecting has been made at each place, and veins of from six to seven feet have been discovered. Quite a number of years ago, when the old Litchfield mine was in operation, the observance of the accumulation of oil in the "sump" led some parties at Litchfield to make investigations in regard to petroleum deposits. A very heavy black oil was discovered and several wells were sunk. For quite a number of years this oil was sold to the trade for lubricating purposes.
but for some reason these wells have not been operated for some time. I am not in position to say whether the oil deposit did not exist in sufficient quantity to pay for the operating or whether influences existed that made it more profitable to shut the wells down. The gas flow from a well in the vicinity of Litchfield was reasonably strong, and for some months after its discovery exhibited at night quite a spectacular appearance when allowed to burn. From what has preceded, I am satisfied that in the near future attempts will be made to more fully prospect for oil and gas within the limits of our county. Several tile and brick factories have been operated in different parts of the county. A very fine quality of brick has been made for many years at Hillsboro, and the brickyards of Marshall and Seymour have furnished brick to build most of the brick structures throughout this section of the coun- try. These yards. I believe, are both now ont of use. but the brick and tile factory near the coal mine at Hillsboro, and a similar one at Litchfield, and another at Ohlman, supply the ever increasing trade in this class of building material. Some years ago it was thought much more expensive to build ont of brick, but the rapid increase in the value of all grades of Inmber has so increased the price of frame building that in the future business houses especially will be erected out of brick, and there will be no excuse for having a fire limit in our villages and towns. It will be only a matter of dollars and cents with the advantage in favor of brick structures. The agricultural products consist of corn, oats, wheat and rye, with timothy and clover hay produced in large quantities. During the period of 1825-85 was the great wheat decade, and during some of the years Montgomery county prodneed a million bushels of wheat. It was no unusual thing for fields of hundreds of acres to average thirty to thirty-five bushels per acre, and as some countries have their golden age, certainly it was at this period that we had a wheat age. The results of the rich harvests of 1819. 1880 and 1882 occasioned greater improvements among the farming classes in the way of nice homes, good barns, etc., than all the accumula- tions that had preceded it. Since 1885 clima-
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tic changes, chintz bugs or Hessian flies have made it almost impossible to grow a crop of wheat, and our farmers, after many failures, have turned their attention to other crops such as corn, oats and hay. Much of the hill land in the south part of the county has been seeded to pasture and stock raising has become one of the essential features of Montgomery county farming. In the northern part of the county, where the soil is deep and black, corn raising is the principal item of agriculture. The north half of our county lies within what is known as the corn helt, while the south half is diversified, fruit growing, stock raising and mining filling up the measure of her in- dustries. In the early history of the state, Montgomery county, with others, saw fit to ex- tend aid to certain railroads, if they should construct their line across her boundaries. In this way a county indebtedness of some fifty thousand dollars was assumed by the people. But this burden has long ago been lifted and we are free to express the opinion that the voters of forty years ago acted wisely in se- curing the road. Our county has been most fortunate at all times in having wise counsel- lors in its financial management. Our neat little court house, which is ample for all our needs, was built ont of the funds from the sale of swamp land that had been donated to the county by the general government. While some of our sister counties, notably: Macou- pin, to build her magnificent courthouse, al- most bankrupted her people, our county mist consider that theirs has been in a sense a gift from the general government. To this dispo- sition of our swamp land fund, we are indebted to the influence of such farsighted men as Judge Rountree and Judge E. Lane; and when we remember that the present structure was erected under the head of repairs, we are the more indebted to them for inviting criticism (which I am informed was given without stint) for the courage manifested in securing to the people this lasting tribute to their wisdom. No county, perhaps, within the state presents a better condition financially and otherwise than does Montgomery county to-day. With not a dollar of public debt, with all her public buildings in good repair, and with
a balance in her treasury, surely the county is in a position to look the fu- ture in the face with much hope and wide expectation. We have a county farm, where our more unfortunate poor are kept, and be it said to the credit of the over- seers, Edward Barringer, that in a spirit of kindness and much indulgence, he endeavors to make the stay of these unfortunates as com- fortable as conditions will allow. 1 might here remark that we have been very fortunate in securing the services of keepers of the poor farm for many years, men of broad sympathy. who are not apt to forget that in the whirli- gig of affairs the man of fortune to-day might become the pauper of to-morrow. These men, acting along the lines of the golden rule. have tried to do unto others as if they were the others. I shall mention in this connection John Stobb and "Buck" Williamson and the present inembent, Mr. Barringer.
Some years ago the city of Litchfield estab- lished her city court and thus gave much re- lief to our circuit court. Colonel Amos Oller was elected to the judgeship of the city court of Litchfield. He presided over that court with dignity and fairness and won for himself a reputation of a fearless and upright judge. Judge Oller was succeeded in office by Paul MeWilliams, a young attorney of force and ability. Judge MeWilliams, when elected. was the youngest judge officiating in that capacity within the state. Mr. McWilliams has Inlly met the expectations of his friends, while those who opposed him because of his youth. ac- knowledge their surprise in the soundness of his decisions and the dignity with which he presides on the bench. Judge MeWilliams has increased in popularity with the people of Litchfield, and a sense of the responsibilities of the position which he holds has added a decided judicial cast of mind. We believe in Judge Mc Williams' future and, in our forecast, place him in a most honored position. We shall now take up a short sketch of each of the townships in their order, and in doing so we must be brief as we find the space allotted to us is rapidly being filled.
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HILLSBORO TOWNSHIP AND CITY.
As Hillsboro township is the more important in the early settlement of the county, we will give it first place in the sketches. which we desire to present in these pages. Ax has been previously stated, the first settlement within the township was made at Hillsboro in 181%, or nearly ninety years ago. The children born in that frontier settlement within the first dec- ade, if living to-day, would be aged men and women. Among the early pioneers we have mentioned a goodly number in our article relative to the county in general, but we prom- ised to extend the list when we came to make up the record of the townships and we desire to name in addition to those previously men- tioned, Benjamin Rose, William and Charles Linxwiler. George H. Anderson, Robert Mann, Mark Rutledge, William Knight, John Bos- tiek. James Grantham, James Wiley, William, John and Charles Cannon. C. B. Blockberger. Solomon Harkey. Joseph Miller. John S. Hay- ward. Charles Holmes. Jacob Wilson, John Slater, Alexander Scott. Wesley Seymour. John Dickerson. Ira Boone. William Brewer, Thomas Sturvetant, Alfred Durant, John Meisenheimer, Ned Gossage, E. B. Hubble and James Blackman. While these do not give a complete list of the earlier settlers of Hills- boro, yet the records which I have examined make special note of them. A record of the old Dutch families in New York has enabled some very fertile and resourceful historian to establish class distinctions by reference to this list of first families. We hardly believe that any attempt will be made to construct a Four Hundred for Hillsboro out of the references which we make of the pioneer ancestors of the very respected citizens of our county seat. Nevertheless, it will be a matter of pride to be able to number one's ancestry among those hardy pioneers whose energy and industry carved out of the wilderness this noble heritage which we possess. I will remark here that in the preparation of this work I have frequently been asked, "who constitute the pioneers"? This question is somewhat difficult to answer by reason of the fact that many of our indus- fries were rather late in their development. so that a pioneer in agricultural lines might not
necessarily have belonged to the same decade as a pioneer in some manufacturing industry. 1 will instance that the old woolen mills that stood in the south part of town would date as a pioneer institution of its class. I think that we are safe in classing all who came to our county in the first two or three decades of its history as early settlers, or those who canle within the period of t816 to 1850. | find in the Gazeteer of Illinois, published in 1834. this reference to the town of Hillsboro: "That it is the seat of justice of Montgomery county, is situated twenty-eight miles northwest from Vandalia. It has six stores, four taverns, three blacksmiths. three carpenters, one cabinet- maker, two physicians, two tanneries, one shoe- maker, two tailors, one tinner, a postoffice, land agency office by John Tilson, Jun .. Esq., fifty families and about two hundred and fifty in- habitants. It is situated in an elevated region near Middle Fork and Shoal Creek. The Presbyterian society in this place has built a neat brick edifice in the modern style for a house of worship. Hillsboro is a healthy and Hourishing town. The principal roads from Vandalia to Springfield and another from Shel- byville to Alton pass through this place." I further note that the vote of Montgomery county, cast in 1834. was four hundred and seventy-five, and that the population of the county was four thousand four hundred and thirty-eight. And, again in the table of county officers for the year 1834, that the name of Hiram Rountree alone appears as circuit clerk, probate judge and magistrate, but in looking over this table I find that in the more than sixty counties that were organized at that time the same condition appears in eleven other instances, that is, where one man seems to hold all the county offices, and in this list is the county of Cook with R. I. Ham- ilton virtually the public administrator. John Reynolds was the governor of the state at this time and our United States senators were Elisha K. Kane of Kaskaskia and John M. Rob- inson of Carmi. The state was divided into but three congressional districts and the newly elected representatives whose terms were to connnence are given as follows: the first dis- triet was represented by JJohn Reynolds, Bell-
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ville: the second district by Zadok Casey of Mount Vernon ; and the third district by Wil- liam L. May of Springfield. These items of interest given in councetion with the settle- ment of Hillsboro are, that the reader may be able to arrive at the more correct conclusion by association with these points in our state history. While the village of Hillsboro con- tained but two hundred and fifty inhabitants in 1834. it contained the elements of citizenship that were soon to make it an educational center for the people of this section of the state; de- cordingly in 1836 with John Tilson as moving spirit the Hillsboro Academy was projected and Professor Isaac Wetherill, with his wife as associate in the female department, was select- ed to superintend and instruct in this new in- stitution of learning which had sprung up in the wilderness. Professor Edward Wyman and Miss E. F. Hadley were selected as assis- tants to Professor Wetherill, Miss Hadley. however, having charge of the department of music. To this institution of learning many of the boys and girls who received academic in- struction in our county for the succeeding forty years are indebted to the "Old Academy." The course of instruction provided was both classical and scientific. In fact, providing a basis for a course in any of the eastern insti- tutions of learning. For many years the pride of Hillsboro was its academy, for it brought a most desirable class to reside hore that their children might have the advantages of a higher education. With the inauguration of a "higher" course of instruction in connection with the public schools dates the decline of the smaller academies and colleges in the west. and the academy at Hillsboro was no exception, but was compelled, for lack of patronage, to close its doors some twenty-five or thirty years ago. We will mention. however, that the old structure was used for high school purposes by the city schools for some few years later. By way of criticism upon somebody, and I am at loss to be able to fix responsi- bility, I call attention to the desperation of the old college building, by using it as a horse barn and pig sty and that in a most publie place, where every passerby who enters Hillsboro by the Vandalia road
must view this old building put to shame. Far better had the torch been applied when the period of its usefulness was over. Then might the students who once cherished memo- ries of the quaint yet noble structure, as it stood among the maple trees in the south part of the city, still feel reverence for our Alma Mater. Its massive columns, giving it the ap- pearance of some ancient seat of learning, made us believe that really we had been to college. The female department or Ladies' High School, which, by the way, was the first of its kind in the state, did not prove as suc- cessful as had been anticipated. A few years later the attempt to seggregate the students was abandoned and co-education of the sexes was adopted and proved eminently satisfac- tory. The building formerly used as the fe- male department is now occupied by the Hills- boro Journal as an office and press room. If the academy proper could have been preserved as a museum or lyceum building, more credit might attach to those responsible for its re- moval from its ancient grounds and its present desecration. AApart from the city of Hills- boro the home of Joseph MeAdams was the most prominent, because of the first courts of the county having been held there. This place is about three miles to the southwest of Hills- boro. But few representatives of Joseph Me- Adams' family remain in the county, and I am informed that of the twelve chil- dren of the elder MeAdams, not one is living to-day. Alexander McWilliams set- tled about four miles west of Hillsboro, and not a few of his descendants are liv- ing in the county at the present. John Me- Williams, one of the early business men of Litchfield, was a son of Alexander McWilliams. William Cannon, who settled in Hillsboro township some four miles south of the city of Hillsboro in the year 1824, has possibly left as many descendants as any of the carlier set- tlers of the county. His sons were "Chuck." James, Sam, John and Martin, all dead bnt the last, and all left several children each. His daughters are Christena Edwards, Susan Green. Betsey Stevens, Permilla Grisham, Sarah Vick- ory. Norah Edwards. Mandy McCalister and Mariah Hoffman and Martha Ponce. all living
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except Mrs. Huffman. "Unele Billy" Cannon, as he was known, has through these children descendants reaching into the hundreds. About the time of the settlement of William Cannon, his brother-in-law, Horace Mansfield, made a settlement in the same neighborhood. Mr. Mansfield was the father of the late George Mansfield and of Mrs. John Price, also long since dead. Each of these left several children, among whom is C. C. Mansfield, banker at Donnellson, Illinois. Mrs. Fred Holmes and the late Frank Mansfield, of Hillsboro, Illi- nois, Mrs. Price left quite a family of chil- dren. among whom are John. Thoma -. Isaac. Joseph, James, George and Clement. most of whom have removed to other states. while James, a merchant at Donnellson, and Isaac and Joseph living on farms in Grisham township, are the only ones remaining in the home neighborhood. John Crabtree, Sr., sot- tled not far from the MeAdams' settlement, and here built and operated one of the first mills in the country. This antique horse mill later gave way to what was known as the Old Pepper mill. This latter was run by a water wheel, but the volume of water being small necessarily made the process of grinding ex- tremely slow, and it is related that when a grist was brought the patrons would camp in the neighborhood for days together until his turn was reached. This slow process gave the name Pepperbox to the mill. One of the first saw mills to be operated in this township was put up by Mr. Blockberger, near the city of Hillsboro. These earlier industries have long since given way to the most modern equip- ment. The Glenn Brothers' flouring mill was for many years one of the best in this section of the state, and some of the best equipped saw mills have eut into boards the virgin forest that covered the larger part of Hillsboro town- ship. When we reflect that much timber of superior quality was heaped into piles of logs that formed the settlers clearing and reduced to ashes, we are made to feel that there was wanton destruction of much timber that ought to have been preserved, but the settler wa- excusable in this, that he found the prairie ¿od more difficult to prepare for cultivation than the soil of the timbered portions of the
county. Consequently, moving along the lines of least resistance, we find all the earlier set- tlements made in the woodland near springs or streams of living water. Many reasons are found why this was the more inviting section for settlement. The "clearing" furnished rails sufficient for the fencing of the little field, and it was not necessary to have a wagon to hanl the rails to the lines where the fence was to be built, but these were made near where they were to he used and thus much extra labor avoided. These patches were not cultivated for any number of years for the class of culti- vation soon impoverished the soil, and these fields were turned out as waste and other patches were cleared for tillage. It is a re- markable fact that many of these small fields have since been reclaimed. and by present methods restored to former fertility. It may be of interest to the reader to know that in breaking the soil oftentimes the prong of a forked stick capped by a piece of steel or iron offered the only means of preparing the soil for planting. Somewhat later this gave way to the bull tongne, and this to the bar-share, and this later to plows of the present form and fashion. There are to be found yet within the county some few examples of the old-fashioned plows. The wooden mold board, with a few strips of iron, has been preserved by Daniel Cress. of Fillmore township, and on his farm may be seen many of the implements used by his father fifty or sixty years ago. At or near the time of the settlement of the Harkeys and the Brewers, at Hillsboro, the father of Amos and Alf Sawyer settled on the farm just cast of town, near the Vandalia road. Mr. Sawyer was a valuable acquisition to the neighborhood of Hillsboro. Being an castern. man and schooled to industry and economy, his example was not lost on his neighbors, many of whom had come from the slave states of the south. The paralyzing effect of slavery upon the en- orgies of the white race of the south was not so marked as it became later. yet the easy. happy-go-lucky of the southern settler was no- ticeable even at this time, and so this injection of a little eastern spirit and enterprise was most fortunate for our people. The popula- tion of our county is largely made up of a
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