USA > Illinois > Montgomery County > Past and present of Montgomery County, Illinois > Part 63
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
nine sets of smooth and corrugated rolls, fifteen purifiers, six bolting chests and flour chests, packers and cleaning machine. It may be of interest to know that flour-making consists of about thirty operations. A barrel of flour is made every two and one-half minutes. The motive power is given by a three hundred horsepower engine. The grain elevator has a capacity of one hundred thousand bushels. There are six buildings belonging to the mill; and the out and the in business is equal to twelve carloads per day. Sixty-five men are em- ployed. The cost of the mill was two hundred thousand dollars. The mill went into operation November, 1881." You will note that this re- port of Mr. Coolidge in 1882. was just one year after the Planet Mill went into operation. Mr. Wing did not operate this mill for any great length of time, but sold it to the Koch- ler Milling Company, of St. Louis. This was decidedly the most extensive milling plant ever built in this section of the state, and the city of Litchfield might well feel proud of a mill whose product was exported beyond the seas. Unfortunately, the country was startled a few years ago by a terrific explosion, whose vibra- tions were felt as far east as Vandalia and north as far as Taylorville. People wondered if an earthquake shock had passed over this ¿cetion, and the writer well remembers, though eighteen miles away, that the shock was so great that glassware and china were toppled from their places and no doubt existed in the minds of any one in this section that we had experienced quite a severe shock from an earth- quake. Not long afterward we were apprised, however, that the Planet Mill at Litchfield had been destroyed by an explosion. There have been many rumors as to the cause of this explosion. Some have accounted it as a result of accumulating dust in the storage room. It demolished the mill completely. with the ex- ception of the tall stack that for several years thereafter stood as a monument of one of the leading industries of the city. The mill has never been rebuilt, and it is the judgment of many that as a financial investment it was not a success. At the time that the Planet Mill was built Montgomery county was a part of the great wheat helt of Illinois, but since
that time climatic changes have rendered it no longer possible to raise wheat in our coun- ty. Nearly twenty-five years have gone by since then, and in that space of nearly a quar- ter of a century agricultural products have changed, so that our chief staple to-day has changed from wheat to Indian corn and tinio- thy hay. That our people are more prosperous since they have left off trying to raise wheat is apparent to every observer. Stock-raising is now carried on very extensively. Horses, cat- tle, sheep and swine are shipped from our county in large numbers, and it is interesting to observe that in the past few years the dairy interests of the county have increased at least a thousandfold, and in addition to this side- line of the farmer he has another from which he draws profits equally as great. The poultry prodnet has become of such importance that no well-kept farm is without this department, being carefully and systematically looked after. These two items in the farmer's account are nearly as great, when taken in the aggregate. at the close of the year as were his former, wheat crops, and when we realize that these products are distributed throughout the year they give a more general prosperity to the com- munity than we had under what is known as "the wheat age" of the country. To take care of the enormous wheat erops of 1879, 1880 and 1882 required the expenditure of all the en- ergy and strength possessed by our farming people during the period of harvest, and, being a country boy of sufficient age to make a "hand" during that period, I remember the experiences of that time. Most of the wheat was bound by hand, and usually five binders were required to keep the wheat bound ahead of the machine. In entting a field of wheat it was enstomary to divide the distance around the field into four stations, and in this way five men were necessary to keep the wheat out of the way of the machine. In an early day. when the old hand rake was used, men bound abreast, and it required six or seven men to do the work that five could more easily do by binding in stations. Returning again to the report of Mr. Coolidge, he further says : "The foundry and machine shops of IT. II. Beech & Company were built in 1852 and operated as
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
a separate interest until 1876, when by sale they were consolidated with the car works. The original concern for years supplied the railroad repair shops with castings and was largely en- gaged in the manufacture of engines and mill machinery. The concern worked an average of fifty men. As early as 1856 a planing mill was running where is now Weigresse's lumber yard. In a few years it was dismantled and in 1867 Mr. Weigresse built his sash, door and blind factory, which was discontinued in 1876 and the machinery removed. L. Huffman had a brewery where the coal shaft is, and. finding the Imsiness ruinous, abandoned it. J. E. Gay had a carriage factory, working twenty hands. He had no capital and went into bankruptcy. The railroad shops were re- moved to Mattoon in 1820-11 and the spacious buildings stood tenantless and silent. Those who imagined that the permanent welfare of the city depended on retaining the shops he- gan to look for the signs of decay. The mys- tery of cause and effect is insoluble, but as a sequence the city's gift of fifty thousand dol- lars to the Decatur & East St. Louis Railroad was followed closely by the removal of the shops. and when that decision was made pub- lie the population had sunk to the lowest point touched in twenty years. It was learned that the shops could be obtained on a long lease for a low sum. They could quickly and cheaply be turned into car works, and the scheme was elaborated to organize a stock company to build railway cars and coaches. Parties from the east offered to conduct the business if Litch- field would supply the capital. The proposal was declined without thanks. In the winter of 18:1-42 the company was formed and in May the work was begun. A year later a fire from the cupola destroyed the foundry and machine shops. This portion of the works was rebuilt, and in a few years the company's patronizing roads were unable to meet their engagements and the company obtained an ex- tension on its paper and at the appointed dates honored all its obligations. The company was reorganized in 1846 with a diminished capital stock, but in effect with enlarged resources. and has been prosperous. Last year the pay- roll bore over four hundred names and the
monthly pay-sheet exceeded nineteen thousand dollars (1882). The coal mine and the car works employed nearly six hundred and fifty men and the monthly wages were thirty thou- sand dollars." At about the same time of the loss of the Planet Mill there crept in dissen- sions between the stockholders of the Litch- field Car Company who resided in the city of Litchfield and those who resided in St. Louis. These dissensions continued to grow until at last they resulted in the removal of the shops to Memphis, Tennessee. Some of the parties living at Litchfield built other shops at Mount Vernon, Illinois, and to these shops many of the laborers who had found employment at Litchfield left. either for Memphis or Mount Vernon. Following upon the heels of the loss of the Planet Mill. the additional disaster of losing the car shops brought to Litchfield the most extreme financial depression that the city had as yet known. Property values rapidly de- creased, and those having homes, but depend- ent upon their labor, disposed of their prop- erty at whatever figure they could get, and it is rather remarkable that values continued to depreciate until property could not be rented at any price because there was no em- ployment in which labor might engage for a livelihood. Those who had known the city in her more prosperous time were surprised on passing through her suburbs to find by far the greater number of the residence properties va- cant and with doors and windows nailed up to prevent the absolute destruction of the proper- ty by those who were perfectly willing to con- vert these houses into fuel or kindling wood. It is reported on good authority that many houses were actually destroyed during this pe- riod. But Litchfield has arison from her lethargy and her embarrassment and to-day presents, in striking contrast. a prosperous con- dition and bids fair to accomplish greater things than she has ever done before. Instead of depending upon certain lines of industry that gave employment to so many of her resi- dents, she has diversified those lines into many smaller concerns, and thus she is ro- lieved of a congested condition that so often occurs when a people is wholly dependent upon a single industry. Her glass works. employing
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
from sixty to eighty men ; her machine and re- pair shops, employing a similar number, and her various railroads, giving employment to several hundred of her laborers, and in addi- tion the new Radiator Works that will give employment to many more, have been a means effective in restoring to Litchfield a great de- gree of her former prosperity. Litchfield, with her many railroads, has advantages that must, sooner or later, be recognized by manu- facturing interests that seek a location that will enable them to have a wide distribution from a common center. The tendency of manufac- turing concerns is to get away from the large city, so as to be freed from the annoyances that hamper those engaged in large enterprises that require extended plants in the manufacture of their wares. The price of real estate in the neighborhood of large cities is another ele- ment taken into account when a manufactur- ing establishment of any consequence is to be located. This element alone is driving the factory away from the large city into the smaller towns, where transportation can be had with equal advantage, with less cost in the erection of a plant and less taxation. No small city in this section of the middle west can boast of superior advantages over Litchfield. We desire now to call attention to some few of the prominent characters whose efforts have done much in the building up of the city. D. C. Amsden, IT. IL. Beach, James W. Jefferys, David Davis, R. W. O'Bannon, D. R. Sparks. Warder Cummings, D. Van Deusen, S. M. Grubbs. J. P. Bayless and Dr. H. H. Hood are names familiar to all who make a study of the history of the city. While others have contributed as much, possibly. as those that we have named, yet these stand out so prominently that to call attention to them can not possibly offend others who are as deserving as these. Quite a list of younger men are to-day making history for Litchfield which shall be read with interest by others in years to come. Among those actively engaged in enterprise in Litchfield may be mentioned Carl Bartling. manager of the Hoffman estate; R. Cline, whose department store on Stato street is one of the largest establishments in the county, and Taylor's store, consisting of
dry goods, clothing and ladies' and gents' fur- nishing goods, is also an extensive atfair of its kind; Milner's drug store, on the corner, and M. M. Milner, on the other side of the street, with Hood's drug store almost opposite, each carrying an extensive line of drugs. paints, perfumes, etc., furnish the city and surrounding community with everything needed in the drug line. Many small stocks of mer- chandise are found in various parts of the city, and these do quite an extensive local trade. Ilugh Snell, owner and manager of the Litch- field Opera House, also conducts a laundry in the rooms adjacent to the postoffice. The Wood brothers, Leroy and Tom, do quite an extensive real estate and collecting business. L. F. Wood, the senior member of the firm, has for many years been connected with various enter- prises of the town. Groner & Taylor also con- duct a real estate business and contribute their share to the business transactions of the city. We have mentioned Mr. Groner before, as he served the county as superintendent of schools for a period of four years. Mr. Taylor for quite a number of years resided at Walshville and served that township in various official ca- pacities. Mr. Taylor belongs to that class of men who have done much in the development of the county within the last thirty or forty years. Joseph Paisley is another of the young men of Litchfield who is contributing of his means and energy to rehabilitate the city. Joc Paisley is well known for the energy and en- terprise which he manifests in every under- taking to which he puts his hand. He is at present secretary of the Mutual Protective League, and to his efforts is due, more largely than that of any other, the success which this fraternal insurance company has achieved. C. B. Munday, engaged in the grain business, is also an important factor in the city's history. Mr. Munday, in connection with D. O. Settle- mier, has conducted an extensive grain business along the various lines that concentrato at Litchfield. They do a large export business. and besides their extensive grain investments find time to engage in other profitable lines. We are informed that to Mr. Munday Litch- field is indebted for the reorganization of the old M. M. Martin Bank into the new institution
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
which to-day is one of the strongest banking concerns in this section of the state. Hugh Hall, who conducts a cigar parlor just west of the bank, is a young man of force, and doubtless will leave his mark on the develop- ment of "New Litchfield." Nathan, the clothier, assisted by "Brownie" May, makes you feel at home when in the city, and that he will sell you the best quality of goods for the same money of any house in the city we will leave to them to say. Among the physicians who are doing an extensive practice at the present time are Dr. Colt. Dr. Sihler, Dr. Blackwelder, Dr. Williams, Dr. Johnson and Dr. Snell. Dr. Colt has an extensive practice at the St. Francis Hospital, and nothing that we can say here
will add to the reputation which he has ac- quired as a physician and surgeon in this com- munity. Dr. Sihler is also well known as a very successful physician He has an extensive practice and is certainly deserving of the con- fidence which the people repose in him. It is a pleasure for the writer to remark these kindly words about the doctor, as through a period of years he has found him a genial friend and wise counselor. Dr. Blackwelder is a mem- her of the Blackwelder family which has done so much for the city and surrounding country. He is a son of Uncle Alfred Blackwelder and a brother to William, David and Monroe Black- welder. Dr. Blackwelder has an extensive prac- tice and is highly esteemed by the people of Litchfield. Dr. Williams is also regarded as a very successful practitioner, and Dr. Johnson is noted for his scientific research, and the appliances with which his office is supplied would do credit to an ordinary sanitarium. In regard to the Blackwelder family Iwill remark that each of these brothers, William. David and Monroe, has served his township in the office of supervisor. They are at present all retired from their farms and are living in the city of Litehfield, surrounded with the comforts that come to those who. by toil, during the earlier years of life have provided for themselves a competency. It gives me pleasure to chronicle that these are among the sons of one of the pio noer fathers of the county. Another character that we shall notice is James B. Hutchinson, the nurseryman. Like the Blackwelders, he is
another son of one of the pioneers and has con- tributed more to the horticultural interests of the county than any other man, and possibly all others combined. Mr. Hutchinson is grow- ing old with the years, but in spirit he is as young as when I remember him in his meridian, and though the rays of the slanting sun are now casting a mellow light across his pathway. and though his day be nearing the close, it will be a pleasure to think of him as one who planted the trees that others might cat of their fruits.
ROUNTREE TOWNSHIP.
Rountree township is composed almost whol- ly of prairie land. The only watercourse of any importance within the township is the Middle fork of Shoal creek, which flows in a southwesterly direction through the entire township, having its origin in section 1, north- east part of the township, and its outlet in the southwest quarter of section 32. Fawn creek, a small stream, flows through the eastern sec- tion of the township. The soil is a rich black loam, and in the more northern part of the township it belongs to what was once known as swamp land. This class of soil is the most productive that we have in our county. Since these bog lands have been thoroughly tiled and open-drained they are the most fertile to be found in any country. It is the same class of land that is to be found in what is known as the corn belt of the state. The only hin- drance or drawback that can be found to these flat sections of country is the monotony of scenery and the deep black mud during the rainy seasons of the year. E do not know but that since this section of the country has been thoroughly drained and the malarial conditions removed the health of our population in the north part of the county is just as good as we have it in the hill country of the southern part of Montgomery. Rountree township received its name in honor of Judge Hiram Rountree, of Hillsboro, and in the language of Mr. Barry we may repeat : "The name is a fitting tribute to the memory of that most excellent man who did as much if not more than any other per-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
son toward the development of the county." It is rather remarkable that John Nusman, who was the first settler in the city of Hillsboro. should have removed to this wild and unin- habited section. It is impossible at this day and in our age to understand the impelling motive that stirred the pioneer to be forever- lastingly moving on and on. Mr. Nusman, in 1830, made a settlement in the south part of the township in section 32. llere he cleared away a small patch and planted it to corn, and some of his descendants relate that from the door of his cabin he could keep his family supplied with all kinds of wild game: that deer were attracted to his home ont of curiosity; and that often droves of these timid animals were within gunshot of the house. The wild turkey roosted in great numbers in the trees near by. Near Mr. Nusman's residence was a camping place of the Kickapoo Indians, who annually visited this section for the purpose of hunting. They were friendly to Mr. Nus- man and seemed to take great interest in his family. It is related that he carried on a con- siderable trade with these red men of the for- est. Mr. Nusman remained on this place until the year 1852, at which time he died. Henry Nusman, at last account, was the owner of his father's old homestead. John Dryer, in 1833. came from Tennessee and entered a farm 10 section 30. Like all other pioneer settlers, he was compelled to undergo many privations. The fact that he had pushed out away from other settlements made the building of his home the more difficult. It is reported that. he lived for some time in a temporary lodge made of poles, fashioned somewhat after the tepee of the Indians. Several years passed by before other settlements were made in this township, but in 1840 William Hetlley entered a tract of land in the south part of the town- ship. which he sold to Wiley Lipe in 1844. In 1842 Wilson Carriker made a settlement near- by, and in 1844 John Riderour and William Tanner located in this settlement. Mr. Tan- ner afterward purchased a tract of land in the northern part of the township and improved a home on which he lived until 1822. Mr. Ride- nour improved the farm upon which Martin
Lingle lives. George Carriker, Alfred Carriker, Allen Lipe and Noah Lipe were also early set- tlers of Rountree township. The first school ever taught in this township was by Wesley King, who was regarded as one of the ablest teachers in his day. Noah Lipe built the first schoolhouse erected in Rountree township, for which he received the munificent sum of sey- enty-five dollars. This house was built in 1846 and Wesley King was the teacher through a period of six consecutive years. The first marriage of which we have any record was that of Peter Cress to Katherine Nusman, which took place in the autumn of 1836. The first justice of the peace was Henry Friedmeyer, who was appointed in the year 1845 and served continuously for a period of twelve years. The first minister to deliver a series of gospel ser- mons within the boundaries of Rountree town- ship was the celebrated eccentric, Peter Cart- wright. Through his efforts an organization was effected in 18-13 and maintained its iden- tity until 1814. when it was abandoned by part of its members uniting with Montgomery church and part with Burks chapel. The ok! church building has long since disappeared, and no trace remains of the first church edifice erected in this township. Among those who have come into prominence during later years is the late Jacob Weller. The lale William H. Peck, George W. Watson, Maryfield Truitt, Martin Lingle, Henry Warnsing, Fred Heims. B. B. Bowles, George Sims, Henry Hitching. William N. Shore and the Englehart brothers. These present a part of a long list of those who have successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits in this township. Mr. Truitt served Rountree township for many years on the board of supervisors and is a brother to the late J. M. Tritt, of Hillsboro. He belongs to one of the pioneer families of Montgomery county. Mr. Truitt is well known and well liked. He is in the closing years of a life spent in useful- ness, and as the shadows lengthen the satistar- tion of knowing that his best efforts have been given to what his hands have found to do is reward sufficient for any good man. Ilenry Warnsing is another notable character of this township. and he is known in all parts of
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Montgomery county. Mr. Warnsing has made quite a reputation as a public cryer at sales in nearly every township. He has had some little experience in politics, and although a Democrat he has been elected to township offices in the strongest Republican precinct of the county. This evidences the popularity and esteem in which Mr. Warnsing is held by his neighbors. Noah Lipe and Wiley Lipe were for many years two of the most prominent figures in the social and industrial life of this township, and each of them has been classed among the forceful, energetic citizens of our county. Each in his day acquired a compo- tency and has left to his children quite an es- tate and the legacy of a good name. George Watson lived near the center of the township and was a son-in-law of William H. Peck. For many years Mr. Watson was engaged in farm- ing on a large scale. Hle afterward removed to Raymond and thence to Chicago, where, we un- derstand. Mrs. Peck and one of her daughters have since died. George Watson was a good citizen and Montgomery county can ill afford to lose such men. ITis large interests here, however, may call him back to spend his declin- ing years among his old friends and neigh- bors.
AUDUBON TOWNSHIP.
The southern part of this township is broken and somewhat rough, but the western and northern portion is prairie land, though some- what undulating. The first settler is said to have been Thomas Hill, but near the same time Basil Hill and Joseph Davis located near him. This settlement was made in the central part of the township. The next year James Card made a settlement on the mound in what has been known for many years as Card's grove. In 1834 a colony of emigrants from Massachu- setts made a settlement in this township. Among these were Isaac Hinkley, Robert Little, Otis Little and William Pike. These colonists laid out the town of "Old Audubon." and it is said by some that they had hoped in the mak- ing of a new county to secure the county seat. In this they were disappointed. and the location
of the Indianapolis & St. Louis Railroad spoiled all their plans and disappointed their hopes. Evidences still remain of this old town, yet for many years no attempt has been made to carry on any business at that place. Rich- ard Crow, however, has for many years carried on country merchandising at a point about one mile east of the old townsite. Mr. Crow, now a man of sixty years of age, was born and reared in the neighborhood. He tells me that these energetic eastern people had arranged to present a building to the new county for court purposes, and that they had provided. at the four corners of their intended city, quadrangu- Jar tracts of land which were to be used as public parks. Again we have illustration of "the best laid plans of men and mice gang aft aglea." In the northern part of Audubon it is claimed that Thomas Price made a settle- ment in 1831, and that his son, John Henry Price, was the first child born in the township. The Virdens made a settlement in North Audu- bon in about 1832, and George Cottingham in 1835, and in 1836 he was followed by his brother. William Cottingham. Baily Osborn and William Craig. In 1843 Shipton Estes. William Orear. James Smith and William T. Slater settled in the northeast corner of South Audubon. "I find it stated by T. J. Riley, in an article on Audubon township, that at an carly date a number of wealthy settlers came in from Massachusetts and entered large tracts of land. They built magnificent residences and farmed extensively, but after remaining a short time grew discouraged and sold out, disposing of their land at a price ranging from thirty cents to sixty cents per acre. The fine houses built by them partially remain, and though they have gone very much to decay they still bear signs of their former grandeur. A part of one of these farms is that known at present at the 'Old Blue Farm?" The first school taught in this township was kept by Charles Turner, and the first church was organized by the Rev. Mr. Huntington, of the Unitarian de- nomination, and a house of worship was built in 1839. The denomination would indicate that it was to accommodate the New England settlers, for Unitarianism was almost wholly
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