USA > Illinois > Adams County > Quincy > Past and present of the city of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois > Part 34
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Bbls. Flour.
Bus'ls. Wheat.
Star Mills. 20,000
100.000
C'astle Mills
20,000
100.000
Eagle Mills
20,000
100,000
City Mills.
40,000
200.000
Alto Mills.
10.000
50,000
Total
110.000 550.000
The average price of flour during the year was $5.50 per barrel, making the total value of the milling business to have been $715.000. The wagon and plow manufacture had become very important and extensive and there were abont twenty establishments engaged in this business. One of these, that of Timothy Rogers, employ- ing from 35 to 40 hands all the year round. turned out 800 wagons valued at $60.000. and 1.200 plows worth $8.000. A notable and grow- ing business, then as now, was that of the stove foundries. The Phoenix Stove Works, which was the most extensive in the city, reported the making of 9.445 stoves of various patterns, an employment of 58 hands and sales for the year of $199.128.42. This with the other like con- verns aggregated the value of store manufac- ture at $175.128. The aggregate value of the lumber handled by the five lumber yard firms footed up to $251,350. measuring 8,950.000 feet of lumber, shingles 3.950,000, lath and timber 1.910.000. In this is not included the home manfactured Inmber. The pork packing was not as large as the year before. There was a small increase in the number of those engaged in the business. but a falling off in the number of hogs and value. The result of the winter's work '56-57 was 38.306 hogs packed. valued at $986.492.
Several disastrous fires occurred in the early part of the year, some of them in business and
central sections of the city, one at the north- east corner of the publie square, and one farther east on Ilampshire street. The loss was severe to some of the occupants but the gain was great to the city. The same enterprising impulse which many years before. when the old log courthouse caught fire, induced the happy spec- tators to throw on more kindling, was gratified to see the "old rookeries" go with the prospect of their being replaced by better structures. Another result of these fortunate misfortunes was to increase precautions against fire.
The leading local events of the year was the buikling, or rather the initiation of the build- ing of the Wabash railway eastward from Mt. Sterling. This project which has been alluded to earlier in these sketches. as being under way at the commencement of the year, was put into active shape before summer. The proposition was made. advocated through the press and presented on the 17th of May to the council, that the city should subscribe $200,000 to the stock of the railroad projected from Camp Point eastward to the Illinois river known as the Quincey and Mt. Sterling R. R. The council voted favorably and authorized the mayor to make subscription to the above amount, and ordered an election to be held on the 24th of May for authority to issue $200,- 000 twenty years' bonds. drawing eight per cent interest, to be applied to the construction of this road. The election was a one-sided af- fair. Fifteen hundred and sixty-two votes were cast, which was a very large representation for that time at a special election, and all but twenty-one of these were cast in favor of the subscription. Work was commenced imme- diately. Indeed it had been progressing to some extent before the city took action upon the mat- ter. The whole line was immediately put under contract with the condition and promise that it would be completed by December 1st, 1857. Its completion was not precisely on time. but came nearer thereto than most of the railroad constructions do. Before its final finish a speck of war arose on its line calling for the inter- position of muskets and bayonets, this being the fourth war in which Quincy was engaged. There had been the Black Hawk. the Mexican and Mormon wars and this next, the "Brown county war" had its fair share of heroic ad- venture of which hereafter. in its time and place.
There was a warm contest at the city elec- tion in April but the whigs were successful in electing John Wood as Mayor, over J. W. Singleton, by a majority of 44, in a total vote of 1.525, which it will be observed was very near the same number of votes cast at the
166
PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY.
special election on the railroad subscription six weeks later. The whigs also elected Henry S. Osborn and Robert S. Beimeson as aldermen in the First and Third wards over John Abbe and Il. Vogelpohl, and J. B. Merssman, demo- erat, was chosen in the Second ward over J. W. Brown. The control of the council was still democratie. An amusing stir was made later in the year by a petition being presented to the council, with a respectable number of signa- tures, asking that an examination should be made into the right of two of the aldermen to hold their seats. It was asserted that they were not American citizens. As the petition gave no names of the aldermen who were thus disqualified, the petition went to the wall and was not heard of again and we believe to this day it never has been certainly known who was pointed at by this paper.
The value of property in the city by the assessment of 1856 was reported at $3,668,555. On this the tax levy was ordered of one-eighth of one per cent for schools and school purposes ; three-eights for meeting the railroad debt liabilities and one-half for ordinary expenses. and it was ordered also that there should be a sufficient levy made on property where the gas was in use to pay two-thirds of the expense of lighting the streets. The city debt and ex- penses so rapidly increasing on account of the large railroad subscriptions roused the atten- tion of the council to making some effort to pre- pare for growing future liabilities, and an order was passed authorizing the mayor to make a loan for the purpose of establishing a sinking fund, but either from not understanding how to make the arrangement or from some other good vanse the project languished ont of existence just as a dozen similar schemes have done in later years. A change was made in the regula- tion base or datum for calenlating grades, which in 1853 had been established at the bench mark figure of 20, 31-100 feet above low water mark. This figure was found defective for en- gineering reasons and by resolution the figure 100 was added. It stood thus for some years until perfected by the present plan. The name of Orange street was changed to Eighteenth and the council ordered that the streets east of this should be, when opened, called Twen- tieth and Twenty-fourth, thus, continning the plan of double bloeks which had begun at Twelfth street but contemplating the possible division of these blocks in the future, and the designation of the streets so made, by the odd numbers as Twenty-first and Twenty-third.
The first movement was now made towards giving systematic organization and appearance to the city police which from small beginnings
some years before had now grown into fair sized proportions. Originally and for some time it consisted solely of the city marshal; then a night patrol was added and at this time it was composed of eight men, a lieutenant, a night constable and six watchmen. Uniforms of course were not yet to be thought of, but the council ordered that members of the force should be furnished with a white star to be worn upon the lappel of the coat and also with a rattle, at the publie expense. It was a non- ber of years before any addition in the matter of giving designation and uniformity of ap- pearanee to the city police was made. A re- vision of the ordinances, this being the third since the organization of the city, was ordered and completed during the year. The annual amount of destruction from fire, before men- tioned, caused the council to largely increase the facilities for its suppression by adding to the machinery and resources of the fire de- partment, among which was the construction of three large cisterns near by three of the late- ly built churches. With these, it appears from the records, that the city now had seventeen publie cisterns which had been made during that number of years. These were absolutely essential and some of them were costly. It might be a curious search for any one thus disposed to try and ascertain how many of these old cisterns, so serviceable and needful in their day and constructed with so much of care and expense have been abandoned, or were destroyed even before the establishment of the waterworks system dispensed with their use. Some have been forgotten, or destroyed, with no remuneration to the city.
An advance was made in the character of city journalism. The five newspapers of the year before still lived and flourished, three of them English dailies. The Daily Republican, then much the most enterprising paper of the place was enlarged, and the Journal, a German paper, came out in February as a semi-weekly. It was a republican or anti-slavery journal, quite ably managed by Winters and Pfeiter. The other German paper, the Courier, was democratie. A very good directory of the city was prepared for this year by Root, the best that had yet appeared.
A publication was made at the close of the year, which attracted interest at the time for the reason that then the city was an owner in the Northern Cross Railroad and the people felt interested in the business progress of the enterprise, in which they had so heavily in- vested. It is also worth seeing as a contrast of the railroad business thirty-one years ago with that which is done at the present time.
167
PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY.
The Northern Cross Railroad, completed from Quiney to Galesburg at the commencement of the year 1856, reports for the last six months ending December 31st, 1856, that its receipts from passenger travel amounted to $74.125; trom freight to $133,878.12: from mails, etc., $7.219.32. making a total of $215,222.79. and that the expenses amounted to $108.643.48, leaving a net earned profit of $106,570.31.
The political record of this year was novel and stirring all over the land. It was a transition period in American politics such as had never been known before. The repeal of the Missouri compromise two years before this dlate had loosened all party harness and caused to swing away from their old time moorings at the state and congressional elections nearly every northern democratie state, such as New Hampshire. Jowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and others that had until now from their earliest days unchangeably floated the demo- cratie Hag. and now on the broader arena of a presidential contest, these separations con- tinued and were nationalized into new and per- manent party formations. Almost the entire whig party in the northern and western sec- tions of the state, with large accessions from the democratic party which acted together in 1854 under the name of Anti-Nebraska, now took the name of republican. In the extreme southern and southeastern part, nearly all the old whigs became democrats. A portion of the whigs formed an organization known as the "American" or "Fillmore party," which after- ward merged into the republican, with which it usually voaleseed on local matters. In the Quiney congressional district, the defection from the democratic party was less than in some other sections of the state, and the polit- ical results showed but little change from former years. Elsewhere, many leading repre- sentative men, such as Trumbull, Palmer, Judd. Wentworth and others. seceded from their party with a large following, but in this district for reasons needless to name, no democrat of prominence beyond his county, left his party and lines lay nearly as before.
At the county fall election Buchanan, demo- crat, received for president 3,311 votes to 2,256 for Fremont and 662 for Fillmore. There was a union of the Fremont and Fillmore voter. on a portion of the state tieket and on the county officers. W. A. Richardson, who had resigned his seat in congress to run for governor. carried the city and county over W. H. Bessell by 1.208 majority. Hamilton, the democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, leading John Wood (who had been nominated for this office to fill the vacancy on the ticket caused by the resig-
nation of Francis Hoffman, who was ineligible) 694 votes. The local democratic ticket general- ly was successful by from 500 to 700 majority except in the case of I. N. Morris, democratic candidate for congress. who fell behind his ticket. leading Jackson Grimshaw 361 votes. while J. C. Davis, the candidate to fill the vacancy of Richardson's resignation, received a majority over Thos. C. Sharpe of 760. C. A. Warren was chosen for state's attorney over S. P. Delano ; Samnel Holmes and M. M. Bane for representatives over J. F. Battell and JJohn Tillson; T. W. MeFall, cirenit clerk, over H. V. Sullivan : John Cadogan, sheriff, over George Rhea : the successful parties, all democrats, re- ceiving majorities ranging from about 500 to 76 as above stated. The county vote on call- ing a convention to revise the constitution was 2,840 for to 1,923 against. This proposition was defeated in the state.
Quiney was not in its thirtieth year of ex- istence. Its growth, as shown at successive periods, rose from about 20 in the place and near neighborhood in 1825 to abont 350 in 1830: to 753 in 1835; 1,850 in 1840: 4,007 in 1845: 6,901 in 1850: 10,754 in 1855, and is sub- seqnent increase has been up to 14,362 in 1860. 24,052 in 1870, and 27,268 in 1880. The popula- tion of the county, including Quiney and also Hancock county, which was then attached to Adams, was 292 in 1825; of the county, Quincy included, 2,186 in 1830; 7,042 in 1835: 14,476 in 1840: 18,399 in 1845: 26,508 in 1850: 34,310 in 1855: and the population since, the city in- eluded, has been reported at 41,323 in 1860; 56,362 in 1870, and 59,148 in 1880. It will be noticed that prior to 1845. the county popula- tion increase was vastly more rapid than that of the city, since which period, the city has steadily been gaining, and it is probable that the census of 1890 will show more than half of the population of Adams county numbered as residents of Quincy.
There had been a long period of good naviga- tion, nearly nine months, with 1,280 arrivals of boats. exclusive of the daily Keokuk and St. Lonis packets. Seventy-five thousand was the estimated number of packages transported by river, and about 100,000 by rail.
The coal business, which had but commenced during the previous year, amounted to a re- cript of 15,000 tons. Manufactories reported increase in number and in extent of produe- tion. There were 8 furniture establishments employing 225 hands : 5 flour mills turning ont 105.400 barrels, valued at$685.100: 4 distilleries producing $432,656 worth of spirits: 25 cooper shops making near 140,000 barrels, hogsheads. ete., with an aggregate value of abont $130,000;
168
PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY.
12 wagon shops with a manufacture of 1,265 wagons. besides plows, carts, etc. : 7 harness shops; 2 carriage factories: 4 machine shops and foundries: 6 planing mills which worked up 400,000 feet of lumber: 4 steam saw mills which sawed 470,000 feet of limber valued at $117,500; } large iron and copper factory, the business of which amounted to $12,400: 3 soap and candle factories whose transactions footed up to $41,000 : the brick business was extensive. 16 yards prodneing 16.070.000: one large stove foundry whose work alone was $99,128.04, and the total of manufacturing from these and a few other leading establishments was figured $2,318.952.45, and the number of hands aver- aging 900. This summary omitted very many of the smaller establishments, from which statis. ties were difficult to be procured.
The general sum of business had nearly doubled over that of the preceding year, not so much by the starting of new firms as by the expansion of business of those already existing. The grain trade was extensive, 1,227.000 bushels of wheat and Hour being shipped away, mak- ing Quiney in this line of trade next in the state to Chicago; there were also shipped or manufactured 417,661 barrels of flour. The ex- portation of pork was 17,962 barrels: bacon 1,648 hogsheads, and 9,500 packages of lard. There was a falling off in old staple business of pork packing here as generally in the west. Trade in dry goods and groceries was large and prosperous, five houses exclusively in the former line, did a business aggregating at $356 .- 410, and from twenty groceries sales were re- ported amounting to $540,000. The amount done in this line of trade was estimated at not less than three-quarters of a million. Lumber had become a very extensive business, amount- ing to a total in the year of 1,365,000 feet.
CHAPTER XXXV.
1857.
CITY LIMITS EXTENDED. FINANCIAL. IN DEBT. HOUSES NUMBERED. HOSPITAL GROUND
BOUGHT. SALOON LICENSE QUESTION. MANY BUILDINGS GO UP. RISE IN REAL ESTATE VALUES. FIRST BOARD OF TRADE. MONEY PANIC. FOREIGN IMMIGRATION INCREASES. COLLEGIATE INSTITUTION ATTEMPTED. BE- COMING A REAL CITY.
In the chapter of the preceding year (1856) has been given the successive population in- crease of the place from its settlement to 1880. This now. at the date above (1857 ). had grown from the handful of residents, in 1825, to abont 12,000. The expansion of the city in area had not run evenly with its increase of population. From 1825 to 1834 it was but a name where the
court met and the county commissioners as- sembled, being simply the county seat located on the fractional quarter seetion of about 157 acres that had been purchased by the county and was controlled like every part of the coun- tv. by the county commissioners. When in 1834 npon becoming a town and assuming an independent local government, the limits as fixed in its incorporation were the river on the west. and the present Jefferson, Twelfth and Vine streets on the south, east and north. This comprised an aereage of a trifle over 800 with a population of about 700. These boundaries were mehanged in 1840 when the town became a city and so continued until 1847, when what is known as Nevins' Addition, being the 120 acres lying between Twelfth, Broadway, Eigh- teenth and Jersey was attached. This addition was made under the provisions of a clause in the original charter of the city, that any land adjoining the city on being laid off into lots and blocks might be annexed. The population at this time was about 5,000. At the legislative session in January, 1857. the next material change was made by moving the north bound- ary line three-fourths of a mile farther to the present Locust street. and the same line pro- longed westward to the river; a half mile cast to Twenty-fourth street, and a half mile sonth to Harrison and on that line west to the river taking in some twenty-five hundred acres. This addition added but little to the population, as it was nearly all farm land or unsettled. The action met with bitter opposition from most of those living on or owning lands, thus sum- marily brought into the city. They complained that the legislative action was unfair since the subject of annexation had not been mentioned at the preceding election, that there was in- justice in placing them and their property under another jurisdiction without their having a voice and vote on the question, and especially that they and their property ought not to be subjected to the burden of the already large city debt for the creation of which they were not responsible. To this last objection the reply was made that their own property adjacent to the city had been vastly increased in valne by the expenditures and improvements made in the city from which the debts originated. The opposition, though it made much personal dis- comfort for our members at Springfield, was fruitless, and the annexation was made. The rity now had between 12.000 and 13.000 of population. Some ten years later about 120 acres more were added, lying south of Broad- way to near York and east from Twenty-fourth to Thirtieth street, since when the limits have been unchanged, comprising a total area of about 3,500 acres. With this extension of the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY.
limits, there was an increase made in the num- ber of wards from three to six, thus making the council to consist of twelve aldermen, twice the former number. The manner of selecting officers in the new charter was left as before : the mayor, marshal and aldermen, being chosen by popular election, and the other offi- cials elected by the council. Two years later, in 1859, a law was passed making most of the city officers elective by the people. At the first election held under the new charter in April. a large vote was polled, the democratic ticket sneceeding by a large majority. Sylvester Thayer receiving 1,032 votes to 698 for Charles A. Savage. The democrats elected as allermien, Thomas JJasper and M. MeVay, in the first and third wards, over J. C. Bernard and G. M. Brown, and in the fifth J. B. Hicks and A. J. Lubbe over U. S. Penfield and C. Meyer, and in the sixth, S. M. Bartlett and John Schell over F. Flachs and James Woodruff, while in the second ward J. B. Brown was chosen over Levi Palmer, and in the fourth B. F. Berrian and A. Kellar over J. Noglepohl and W. E. Wilson, the republicans carrying this new ward. This was the first appearance of the republican party at a city election. By a requirement of the law the aldermen in the new wards, the fourth, fifth and sixth, where two had been chosen drew lots for the one year and the two year term, when Messrs. Kellar, Lubbe and Schell drew the short term and their three associates held over for two years.
The city organization was completed in the ronneil by the re-election of A. W. Blakesly as clerk and all the other democratie officials of the last year.
An unusual amount of important and perma- nent business came under the consideration of the council and was concluded during the year. The financial situation of the city was far from being satisfactory. Its bonded indebtedness within the past few years had greatly increased, amounting now, exclusive of railroad subserip- tions, to over $200,000, and with the railroad debt to three times this amount, some of it overdue, and all rapidly maturing, while a large amount of vouchers were outstanding and eir- enlating at a heavy discount. Other projects which must add largely to this debt, were being popularly proposed and the city credit from these canses was not by any means in a com- mendable shape. The revenue was unequaltothe great increase of current expenses. The fiscal statement for the year ending March 31, favor- ably prepared as all such statements are, shows up the situation. As therein reported. the re- ceipts from all sources amounted to $82,627. while the expenditures totalized at $93.823.34-
$11,096.34 of which was in unpaid city vouchers. There was owing to the school fund $11,359.89, which as reported by a committee of the council, "had been used for other pur- poses" by the city (a mild expression synony- mous with misappropriation ) and now, to tem- porarily meet this demand, a ten year ten per cent bond for the above stated amount was ordered to be issued. In this connection it may be mentioned that the perversion of the school moneys did not cease for several years and was finally adjusted. when the delinquent amount had reached to about $24,000 by the conneil ceding to the school board all such title as it possessed to realty occupied and used or to be used for educational purposes within the city. This comprehended the Franklin, Jefferson and Webster school honses, and adjacent grounds. This was a fortunate arrangement for the school interests but somewhat sacrificial to the rity which by its incorrect and perhaps it might be called illegal manipulation of school affairs was compelled finally to pay up at a much heavier cost than would have been in the pur- snance of a more proper and prudent course. The carelessness in these matters was shown by the fact that about this time it was found that the treasurer's record account of the city with the schools, was missing, and an estimated balance of $3,300, these being the last figures remembered, was agreed upon as due the school fund from the city. The three schools above named were the only ones in existence at this time and were in prosperons shape, well man- aged and attended. They employed 14 teachers and reported an annual attendance of about 1,000 pupils. The cost of carrying on the schools for the year ending June 30, 1857. was reported at $5,957.82.
There had been an attempt made at economy during the past year. The street improvements, generally the largest expense item, was rela- tively less than usual but other demands in- eident to a young and rapidly growing city, such as police, panpers, salaries, fire depart- ment and contingent, swelled the total to former figures. And then piled on these, were the cost of bonds taken up, some $35,000 and railroad bond interest $14,000, which made an easy account for the deficit of nearly $12,000. in the year's business. Additional to all this. was the $5.000 of matured bonds unpaid. and nearly $40.000 maturing this year with an al- most equal amonnt which would become due in each of the half dozen following years. The outlook was not encouraging, and the city was just beginning to realize the weight of its debt. It had assumed burdens without proper pro- vision for carrying them. These burdens
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