USA > Illinois > Bureau County > Reminiscences of Bureau county [Illinois] in two parts > Part 19
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REMINISCENCES OF BUREAU COUNTY.
west of town, on farms now occupied by Aaron and Oscar Knox. The same year Arthur Bryant and L. Reeves came to the country, and settled where they now live. The land on which they located was claimed by John B. Blake, but he was then east of the Illinois river engaged in teaching school for ten dollars per month, leaving his claim with Dr. N. Chamberlain, who sold it to the above named parties for twenty-five dollars. In the spring of 1833, Maj. N. Chamberlain made a claim south of town, on a farm now occupied by E. Douglas, and lived here for many years. In 1834, Aaron Mercer, Caleb Cook, Asher Doolittle, Elisha Wood and Mr. Tucker came here. The next year Col. A. Bryant, Solomon Burr, James and Alby Smith, But- ler Denham, David Robinson and the large families of Coltons and Winships, became residents of Princeton prairie.
CHENOWETH PRAIRIE AND LONE TREE SETTLEMENT.
The prairie lying between Senachwine and Main Bureau timber, was known in the early settlement of the county as Chenoweth prairie. The first claim was made in the fall of 1834 by Ferrill Dunn, on the farm now occupied by Alanson Benson. In the spring of 1835, Elder J. B. Chenoweth, Elisha Searl, H. Sheldon and P. Kirkpatrick, settled here. A few years after- ward, Elial and Noah Long, Harrison Shepard, Mr. Perkins, Dr. Swanzy, O. Milling, A. Brown, S. E.
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CHENOWETH PRAIRIE AND LONE TREE.
Morris, V. Aldrich and S. B. Titcomb, became residents of this locality.
South of Chenoweth prairie, on high ground, some distance from timber, once stood a lone tree, which became a noted land mark in the early settlement of the country. This tree was a white oak, with large spreading top, and could be seen for miles away -- a guide for travelers in the absence of roads. After having withstood the tempest, probably for centuries, at last it yielded to its power. During a violent gale in June, 1866, it fell to the ground, and is no more, but its memory will live long among the people of that locality. In 1841, a settlement was commenced here, and for many years it was known as the Lone Tree settlement. John and T. Kirkpatrick were the first to settle in this locality, and the next year they built a saw mill on Crow creek. In the spring of 1842, J. Larkins and Nelson Ballman made farms near the lone tree, and next year Alpheus Cook, J. Merritt and others, made farms north of it. Among the early settlers in the vicinity of the lone tree, were Henry, G. W. and Raleigh Rich, S. M. Clark, J. and S. Miller, and the large family of Andersons.
About two miles northwest of Lone Tree is the Locust Spring, another old land mark of former days. This spring was a great watering place for buffalo, and at the time of early settlement their trails were visible. extending in various directions across the prairie.
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- leading to and from the water. Along the Senachwine, above and below the spring, the ground for some ways "was almost covered with buffalo bones, evidently showing where a large herd had perished.
CHAPTER XIV.
SETTLEMENT OF GREEN RIVER.
For many years after settlements had been made in the eastern and central portions of the county, the land on Green river remained vacant, unoccupied, without a house or a cultivated field, and was visited only by hunters and trappers. Originally the country was known as Winnebago swamps, but it took the name of Green river about the time the settlement commenced. In October, 1836, Henry Thomas entered land at the narrows (now New Bedford), and for a number of years it was the only entered tract in that section of the country. In the spring of 1837, Cyrus Watson, the first settler on Green river, built a cabin on Thomas' land, believing it to be vacant. About this time a state road was laid from Princeton to Prophetstown, on Rock river, crossing Green river at this point, when Henry Thomas built a ferry boat, and for a number of years it was known as Thomas' ferry.
Among the first settlers on Green river, were Francis
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REMINISCENCES OF BUREAU COUNTY.
and William Adams, Samuel D. Brady, Milton Cain, Daniel Davis, Lewis Burroughs, Dwight Bingham, Norman and Justus Hall, Peter McDonald, Mr. Heath. George W. Spratt, T. and N. Hill, Joseph Caswell, J. N. Kise and Jacob Sells. The Yorktown settlement commenced in the year 1846, and among the first that settled there were W. and S. Dow, R. H. and S. W. Seldon, and the large family of McKinzies.
The Indian Boundary line passed immediately north of New Bedford, and north of which the land was not in market until 1844. The people who settled here were poor, without money to enter their lands, and for years it was held by claims or pre-emption right. There was an organized society formed on Green river, known as the "Settler's League," with a constitution and by- laws, the object of which was to prevent speculators and others from entering their lands. From this settler's league, originated the phrase "State of Green river."
George W. Spratt was the first justice of the peace elected on Green river, and the first suit before him was attended by almost every person in the settlement. Simon Kinney and Judge Ballou were at that time the only attorneys in the county, and they were employed in this case as opposing counsel. There was living in the settlement a half-breed, by the name of Green, with his two French sons-in-law, Battis and Shane, all of whom were hunters and trappers. Green was a party to this suit, and on account of color objections were
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LOST GROVE SETTLEMENT.
made to his family testifying at the trial. The question of color was argued by the counsel, and decided by the court, but the jury did not like the decision, and con- sequently reversed it.
Spratt's cabin contained only one room, and the jury, for deliberation, were taken into a cave, dug out of a sand knoll, and used for a root house. Although the question of color was settled by the justice, the jury regarded it their duty to decide the constitutionality of the black laws of Illinois. And here in this dark and loathsome root house, lighted only by a single candle, the first Green river jury decided that a man with a drop of negro or Indian blood in his veins, could not be believed under oath.
LOST GROVE SETTLEMENT.
Lost Grove, is a small belt of timber in the town of Westfield, and contains from one to two hundred acres of land. Like many other groves in the county, it has a history; a part of which will be of interest to the reader. In the spring of 1831, Mason Dimmick, claimed Lost Grove, and commenced a cabin at its southeast end, where the village of Arlington, now stands. Dimmick did not complete his cabin, nor occupy it, and a few years afterwards he abandoned his claim. In 1834 O. H. Hugh, claimed the grove, com- pleted the cabin which Dimmick, had commenced,
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moved into it, broke and fenced in a small field. Hugh being without neighbors, and as he thought, without any prospect of ever having any, became disatisfied with his location, and offered to sell his claim for twenty-five dollars. In the spring of 1835, Col. Austin Bryant, and Enoch Pratt, examined this claim for the purpose of buying it, but they thought the timber only sufficient for two farms, and they must necessarily be without meeting or schools. Mr. Hugh being unsuccessful in selling his claim, abandoned it and left the country ; his cabin went to decay and for five years no person lived at Lost Grove.
For twelve years after the settlement had commenced on Bureau, Lost Grove, and the country around it, remained vacant and unoccupied, the haunts and roving ground for deer and wolves. In the fall of 1835, Lost Grove was claimed by two young men named Blodgett and Lindley. While they were disputing about their respective rights, Benj. Briggs, a non-resident, entered it, and in 1840 he sold it to Michael Kennedy, who made a large farm here soon after.
In the summer of 1840, David Roth having a con- tract of grading on the old Illinois Central railroad, built a house on government land, two miles east of the grove, and sold it the next year to Martin Corley, who still occupies it. Others settled around the grove soon after, among whom were Daniel Cahill, Daniel Lyon, James Waugh, Peter Cassady, and others.
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SETTLEMENT IN THE WEST OF THE COUNTY.
Previous to the year 1834 no settlement had been made in the western part of this county, and for many years after that period the country remained uninhabited and unoccupied, except a few families who lived at some of the principal groves. In the spring of 1834, Thornton Cummings made a claim on the north side of French Grove, and J. G. Reed at Coal Grove, near the present site of Sheffield. Next year Paul Riley, Caleb and Eli Moore, and James Laughrey, made claims at French Grove. A. Fay, at Menominee Grove, and Benjamin Cole at Bulbona Grove. In the summer of 1836, John. Thomas and Moses Stevens, with their large families, became residents of this locality, and at the same time Jesse and George Emerson, Joseph Lyford, and others settled here. Soon after, Amos Whittemore, Franklin and Joseph Foster, John and C. P. Mason, S. Brainard and Peter Fifield became residents.
In 1836, William Studley settled at the south end of Barren Grove, and soon after William and George Norton, U. P. Batlerill and James Tibbetts located near by. About the same time a settlement was made at Sugar Grove, and the north end of Barren Grove: among the early settlers were Curtiss Williams, Thomas Grattidge, John Clark, Dr. Hall, George Squires and E. D. Kemp.
The towns of Manlius and Gold were the last in the county to settle, and the land in them was principally vacant as late as 1850. Among the early settlers of these towns were Samuel Mathis, Sylvester Barber. 20
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Thomas Rinehart, Allen Lathrop, Charles McKune, James Martin, Dr. Moore, N. N. Hewitt, David Marple, George Detro, Jacob Waters and Joseph Johnston.
In the fall of 1834, J. G. Reed found a coal bank in Coal Grove, which was the first discovered within the limits of this county.
EARLY SETTLEMENT ON MAIN BUREAU.
In the spring of 1830, John L. and Justus Ament made claims on the east side of Main Bureau timber ; built cabins, and occupied them with their families. These were the first claims taken along Bureau timber, and they are occupied at present by James G. Forristall, and Mathew Taylor. In the fall of 1830, Sylvester Brigham and James G. Forristall made claims south of Ament's, the former where James Hensel now lives, and the latter on a farm now occupied by James Coddington. In 1833, James Garvin and D. Ellis made claims on the east side of the timber, and Green- berry Hall, and Abram Musick on the west side. In 1834, Elias Isaac, Robert Masters, Obadiah Britt, Thornton Wilson, and Robert Gerton settled on the east side of the timber, and about the same time Richard Masters, Marshall Mason, James Wilson, and John Elliott made claims on the west side. In 1835, Israel and J. H. Huffaker, John Wise, Thomas Cole, Abner Boyle and others settled on the east side of the timber.
JAMES G. FORRISTALL
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONO
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SETTLEMENT IN THE NORTH OF THE COUNTY.
As early as the spring of 1836, a settlement was commenced on what was afterwards known as the Dover prairie, and the first house was built by George Clark. on the farm now occupied by him. With the exception of a few houses in Princeton and vicinity, there was none built off from the timber, and from this time dates the settling of the prairies of Bureau county.
In the summer of 1836, Enos, Sidney and Oden Smith, and Alfred Clark entered land and made farms out on the prairie, near East Bureau creek. Soon afterwards others came in, among whom were Martin Zearing, S. Mohler, John Bellangee, Peletiah, and Nathan Rackley, Benj. Porter, George Wells, and C. G. Reed.
For many years the settlement on the west side of the creek was confined to a string of farms along the margin of the timber, and land adjoining these farms belonged to non-residents. In 1840, Robert Limerick entered land and made a farm near where the village of Limerick now stands, and for a number of years he was the only resident on that prairie.
SETTLEMENT IN THE NORTH PART OF THE COUNTY.
Although two cabins were built in the north part of the county at an early day, the settlement of that locality is of a recent date. The towns of Ohio and Walnut, which are among the best in the county, were mostly vacant in 1850, and from that time the settle- ment of them dates. It has already been stated that
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the Ament family settled at Red Oak Grove, in the spring of 1828; three years afterwards they sold their claim to James Magby, who occupied it a short time, when he abandoned it and left the country. In 1833, James Claypoll lived here, and in 1836 he sold his claim to Luther Denham, who occupied it for some years.
In the summer of 1836, a man named Martin claimed Walnut Grove, built a cabin; broke and fenced some prairie, but next year A. H. Janes and Greenberry Triplett jumped his claim and made farms here soon after, others settled around the grove, among whom were Truman Culver, Richard Brewer, Peter McKnitt, Thomas Sanders, Richard Langford, E. Kelly, and the large family of Wolf.
In the spring of 1830, Dad Joe (Joseph Smith), located at Dad Joe Grove, and lived here for six years without neighbors. In 1836, T. S. Elston came in possession of this claim, and for many years it was occupied by different renters, who kept here a house of entertainment. In 1841, F. G. Buckan built a cabin on the north line of the county, and it was afterwards occupied by Mr. Abbot. In 1946, Wm. Cleveland built a cabin on high prairie, three miles south of Dad Joe Grove, but he abandoned it the next year. A year or two afterward John and Andrew Ross settled on the prairie, and soon afterwards others made farms in this vicinity, among whom were Squire Falvey, John Kasbeer, William Cowen, Stephen Wilson, Mr. Hun- ter, Daniel P. and Dwight Smith.
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EARLY SETTLEMENT OF PRINCETON.
Princeton is located on the school section, and was laid off by Roland Moseley, John P. Blake and John Musgrove, acting as school trustees. Its survey bears date September, 1832, and the sale of lots took place at Hennepin in May following. The lots were sold on credit, with six months interest, payable in advance. But a small portion of the school section was sold, and the average proceeds of the sale was about two dollars and fifty cents per acre.
The first building erected on the site of Princeton was a log cabin, built by S. Courtwright, in the fall of 1833, immediately north of the Congregational Church, and used by him as a blacksmith shop. The second building was a one story frame structure, twelve feet square, built by John M. Gay on the site of the "Tem- pleton Store," and was afterwards occupied by William Wells as a dwelling. The third house was a log cabin built by F. Haskill, on a lot now occupied by the resi- dence of Elijah Dee. On the 7th of June, 1834, Mr. Haskill opened a store in this cabin, which was the first store within the limits of this county, and the first article sold was a horse collar to Christopher Corss. In the fall of 1834, Stephen Triplett built on the east side of Main street a one story frame structure, sixteen by eighteen feet, with an earthern fire place and a stick chimney, on the front of which was a large sign of " Princeton Hotel." Afterwards Mr. Triplett built an addition on the front of his house, and for some years
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it was the principal hotel of the place. In the summer of 1835, Elijah Wiswall built a one story frame house on the corner now occupied by the "Converse Block," and for some years it was used for a dwelling.
In the fall of 1835, the Hampshire Colony Congre- gational Church was built on the public square, where the court house now stands. This was a two story frame structure, raised high above the ground on wooden blocks, and made an imposing appearance. This church, at the time it was built, attracted much attention from travelers, as it was far in advance of the settlement, and had no equal as a public building within a circle of fifty miles. Deacon Elisha Wood built this church under a contract for six hundred and fifty dollars, and for some time the inside remained unfinished, con- taining only a rough board pulpit and slab seats. This building is now standing on the south side of the public square, and occupied for a dwelling, it being the only original land mark of Princeton now remaining.
In the fall of 1837, the M. E. Church built a small frame building on First street, near the present residence of Mrs. C. L. Kelsey. In 1838, the Baptists built a small church, and soon after the Protestant Methodists erected a brick church on Third street.
Among the first mercantile firms of Princeton, were those of Daniel King and Justin H. Olds, D. G. Salis- bury and B. L. Smith ; the latter firm, with their two families, occupied a frame building on the site of the
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EARLY SETTLEMENT OF PRINCETON.
First National bank. In the front part of this building were dry goods and groceries, post office, county clerk and recorder's office, county judge and office of a justice of the peace .*
* For a further account of settlement, see "Sketches of Bureau County."
CHAPTER XV.
PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT.
During the year of 1828, there were only five families living with the limits of Bureau county, whose names are as follows : Henry Thomas, Reason B. Hall, John Dixon, Bulbona, and Ament family. In 1830, there were nine families; in 1831, sixteen families ; in 1832, thirty-one families, besides a number of single men, who had built cabins and were living in them. The names and location of these thirty-one families were as follows: Town of La Moille, Daniel Dimmick ; Dover, John L. Ament; Princeton, Elijah Epperson, Dr. N. Chamberlin, Eli and Elijah Smith, John Musgrove, Roland Moseley, Mrs. E. Smith, Robert Clark, and Joel Doolittle; Arispie, Michael Kitterman, Curtiss Williams, and Dave Jones; Selby, John Hall, William Hoskins, John Clarke, and Amos Leonard; Wyanet. Abram Oblist, and Bulbona; Bureau, Henry and Ezekiel Thomas, Abram Stratton, and John M. Gay ; Ohio, Dad Joe; Walnut, James Magby ; Milo, Charles
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PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT.
S. Boyd; Leepertown, Timothy Perkins, and Leonard Roth; Hall, William Tompkins, and Sampson Cole.
As late as the spring of 1836, there was no one living in the town of Fairfield, Manlius, Mineral, Neponset, Macon, Gold, Wheatland, Greenville, nor Westfield. There was but one family in Milo, one in Walnut, one in Ohio, four in Berlin, five in Bureau, five in Concord, and six in Clarion.
The dwellings throughout the county were log cabins, mostly built in the edge of the timber by the side of a spring. There was but one meeting house; two or three log school houses; only two surveyed roads, and not a stream bridged. At that time there were but five families living on the west side of Main Bureau timber, and two west of West Bureau, north of town sixteen. There was not a resident on Green river. nor in the west part of the county, except a few families at French, Bulbona, and Coal Groves. A few houses were clustered around Princeton, and with the exception of these, not a dwelling could be seen on the prairies of this county. All the land then under cultivation was a small field here and there adjoining the timber, and the prairies throughout the county were in a state of nature, a part of which had not yet been surveyed. Most of the early settlers believed that they would always remain vacant, and unoccupied, being valuable only for grazing land, for horses and cattle. At a house raising two miles north of Princeton, in the summer of 1835, where many of the settlers were collected. 21
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one of their number, Elisha Wood, a Deacon of the Congregational church, expressed an opinion, that the time would come, when all the prairie between Main and East Bureau would be brought under cultivation. This opinion appeared to those present so ridiculous, and it was so much criticised, that the deacon qualified his statement by saying such a thing was possible.
The traveler who crossed these prairies while in a state of nature, can scarcely realize the fact that they are now all under cultivation, fenced into fields, and dotted over with dwellings and barns. The wheat and corn fields of the present occupy the place of wild prairie, covered with grass and flowers of forty years ago. In less than a half of a century, it has been changed from a wild, uninhabited region, where the howl of wolves and yells of savages were heard, to a well im- proved and highly cultivated country, the homes of enterprising farmers, whose products feed people in foreign countries. As it were by magic, fine villages have sprung up here and there on the prairie, with their tall spires glittering in the sun beams, and the musical peals of the church and school bells are heard throughout the country. The shrill whistle of engines are heard as they fly swiftly across the prairies, conveying commerce from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The rude log cabins, with their puncheon floor, clapboard door and stick chimney, have been superseded by fine dwellings, containing the comforts and conveniences of civiliza- tion. The settlement of the country has exceeded
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PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT.
the expectations of the most sanguine, as no one supposed that the prairies of Bureau county would be settled in so short a time.
In the summer of 1836, Deacon Alby Smith, who lived southeast of Princeton, on a farm now occupied by John Kinnan, was a candidate for the legislature. Some of the early settlers called Deacon Smith a visionary Yankee, and not a man of good judgment, because he had made a farm out on the prairie, while locations were still plenty adjoining timber. It was also alleged that the Deacon had expressed an opinion that the time would come when the prairies throughout the state would all be brought under cultivation, with railroads across them. People thought a man enter- taining such wild, visionary views, was not fit to represent them in the legislature, consequently he was dropped, and Thomas Atwater, of Hennepin, was elected in his place.
During the summer of 1836, there was great emigra- tion to the western country, and settlements were commenced throughout the north part of the state. So soon as grass afforded feed for cattle, the white- topped wagons of emigrants were seen crossing the prairies, and with them were miners with ox teams, called suckers, who went north in the spring and south in the fall.
The great emigration to this county made it necessary for provison to be brought up the river, to supply the demand. In 1838, there was a surplus of grain and
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pork, but it found a ready market among the new settlement on Rock river. About this time people commenced hauling produce to Chicago, and returning with lumber or goods. From 1840 to 1852, large quantities of produce was shipped down the river to St. Louis, and during part of that time wheat was only worth twenty-five cents per bushel, and pork, net, one dollar and fifty cents per cwt.
From 1837 to 1850, the settlement of this county was very slow, but at the latter period railroads were projected, when people came here from various parts of the world, and settled on the prairies. About this time the old plan of fencing with rails was abandoned, and board, wire and hedge fence introduced. In the first settlement of the country, wooden mouldboard plows were in use, afterwards the cast mouldboards, but in 1845 the steel plow took their place. In the summer of 1837, Flavel Thurston, of West Bureau, introduced the small breaking plow, and it is believed that he was the first man in the state to break prairie with a span of horses .*
MISCELLANEOUS.
POST OFFICE .-- In 1829, Henry Thomas obtained a grant for a post office, named Bureau, and for a number
* It was not intended in this work to give a history of the agricultu- ral and commercial resources of the county, nor of the settlement of towns and villages; but should another volume be required, these things can be added.
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MISCELLANEOUS.
of years all the mail for the settlement west of the river came through it. In the winter of 1831-32, Elijah Smith was appointed postmaster for the settlement on Princeton prairie, and his office was called Greenfield. In 1833, the name of this office was changed to Prince- ton, and Dr. N. Chamberlain appointed postmaster. This office was supplied once a week with mail from Thomas' office, and was generally carried by William O. Chamberlain. When the streams were high, not fordable, the mail carrier would go on foot, crossing the Bureaus on trees which had been fallen for that purpose. The mail package consisted of a few letters and papers, which were carried in the coat pocket of the carrier.
Dr. Chamberlain, living one and one-half miles south of town, made it inconvenient for people to obtain their mail, and in the fall of 1834 John M. Gay having opened a store in town, was appointed postmaster.
FIRE ON THE PRAIRIE .- Before the settlement of the country, annual fires swept over the prairies -- the grand and yet terrific appearance of which will long be remembered by the early settlers. Sometimes fires would travel one hundred miles or more, regardless of intervening timber and streams. During the fall and winter, when the weather was dry, lights from these fires could be seen almost every night, frequently in various directions at the same time. The reflection on the horizon was such as to make these lights visible for
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REMINISCENCES OF BUREAU COUNTY.
fifty or sixty miles, and on a dark night they would supply the place of the moon.
In November, 1836, a fire started on Spoon river (Stark county), about 10 o'clock in the morning, and with a strong southwest wind, it traveled about ten miles per hour, passing between West Bureau and Green river, having a front of eight miles in width, and its roaring could be heard for many miles distant. Before sundown, this fire had burned to the banks of Rock river, where Rockford now stands, passing over a country of about sixty miles in extent.
PHYSICIANS .- For the first three years after the settle- ment had commenced on Bureau, there was no physi- cian nearer than Peoria. In the summer of 1831, Dr. N. Chamberlain settled on Bureau, and for a number of years he was the only physician in the country. When the settlement was commenced on Rock river, Dr. Chamberlain extended his practice into that country, and visited patients in that region as late as 1837. At a later period, Dr. William O. Chamberlain and Dr. Swanzy were the principal physicians of this county. The former was known everywhere as Dr. Bill, and for twenty-five years he had an extensive practice in various parts of the country. The latter, Dr. Swanzy, stood high in his profession, and was frequently called as counsel in other sections of the country.
BLACKSMITHING .- For a number of years after the
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MISCELLANEOUS.
settlement had commenced on Bureau, there was no blacksmith shop in the country, and people were obliged to go fifty or sixty miles in order to have work done. On different occasions Dad Joe, sent his plow irons to Peoria, sixty-five miles distance, in the boat or the stage coach to get them sharpened. Burton Ayres. at the mouth of little Vermillion (now La Salle), carried on blacksmithing, and was patronized by some of the Bureau settlers. In the summer of 1833, John H. Bryant, in order to get the irons of his breaking plow repaired, carried them on a horse before him to Laughlin's smith shop, six miles east of Hennepin. The first blacksmith shop within the limits of this county, was built in Princeton, by S. D. Courtwright, in the fall of 1833, and the next spring Abram Musick started one four miles north of Princeton.
In the summer of 1831, James G. Forristall, and George Hinsdale were under the necessity of having irons made for a breaking plow, and to obtain them, they made a trip to Peoria. At the mouth of Bureau creek they went on board of an Indian canoe, one occupying the bow, and the other the stern, and in this way they paddled it down to Peoria. On arriving at Peoria they found the shop closed, and the blacksmith off on a visit. Again they boarded their craft and went down to Pekin, twelve miles further, where they succeeded in getting their work done, and returned the same way they came, after being nine days in making the trip. Each night while on the road they tied their
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REMINISCENCES OF BUREAU COUNTY.
canoe to a tree at the shore, and slept in it. The whole distance traveled in going to and from the blacksmith shop, was one hundred and sixty-five miles.
TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION .- Took effect in 1850, when the county commissioner's court was superseded by the board of supervisors. At that time the county was divided into nine precincts, which were named as follows: Princeton, Tiskilwa, Dover, La Moille, French Grove, Green River, Hall, Brush Creek, and Hazle- wood.
During the late rebellion, Bureau county furnished 3,626 soldiers, and paid $650,000 in bounties to the same. A few years previous, in 1860, the board of supervisors appropriated $18,000 to remodel the court house. This appropriation was much criticised by the people, many believing this large debt was ruinous to the welfare of the county, but a few years afterwards a half a million of dollars was appropriated for soldiers bounties and paid without a murmer.
The politics of this county originally was Whig; it is now Republican, by a large majority.
The present population of the county is supposed to be about 35,000, about one-fourth of whom are foreigners.
MILLS OF BUREAU COUNTY .- There has been built in this county, at different periods, forty-seven water mills-thirty-one of which were saw, and sixteen
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MISCELLANEOUS.
flouring. Of these mills thirty were built on Main Bureau, four on West Bureau, two on East Bureau, one on Master's fork of Main Bureau, one on Spring creek, one on Crow creek, two on Coal creek, one on Green river, two on Brush creek, two on Negro creek, and one ran by a spring, at the head of Spring lake. Of these mills only fifteen are now running.
ILLINOIS AND MISSISSIPPI CANAL .- In the spring of 1836, a project was agitated for constructing a canal, to connect the Illinois with the Mississippi river, and Dr. A. Langworthy employed R. R. Pearce, to make a survey of the route, as far as Green river. In the summer of 1866, another survey of this proposed canal was made, with a feeder to be taken out of Rock river, and intersect the canal near Devil's Grove. Again, in 1870, the general government in accordance with an act of congress, made a survey of this rout, for the purpose of making it a ship canal.
RAILROADS .- In 1839 a survey of the old Illinois Central railroad was made through this county, and the work on it commenced. This road entered the county in section twenty-five, Westfield, and left it in section two, La Moille, passing north of Lost Grove, and through the south end of Perkins' Grove, making a straight line through the county. After the grading was partly done through the county, the enterprise was abandoned.
22
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REMINISCENCES OF BUREAU COUNTY.
In the year 1853, the Chicago and Rock Island rail- road was built, and its length in this county is thirty- eight miles. The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad was built in 1854, with a length in this county of forty-two miles. The Peoria and Bureau Valley railroad was built in 1855, and its length in this county is about five miles. The Rushville and Buda railroad was built in 1870, and seven miles of its length is in this county. The Mendota and Prophetstown railroad was commenced in 1856, completed in 1870, and it has a length in this county of twenty-seven miles. The Kankakee and Pacific railroad was built in 1871, and three miles of its length is in this county.
NOV 18 1931
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