USA > Illinois > Livingston County > The History of Livingston County, Illinois : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. > Part 19
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Any rate.
Arkansas
6
IO
Forfeiture of principal and interest.
California ...
10
Any rate.
Colorado
IO
Any rate.
Connecticut
7
7
Forfeiture of excess of interest.
Dakota
7
12
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Delaware.
6
6
Forfeiture of principal.
District of Columbia
6
IO
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Florida
8
Any rate.
Georgia
7
12
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Idaho ..
IO
24
Fine and imprisonment.
Illinois
6
IO
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Indiana.
6
IO
Forfeiture of excess of interest.
Iowa ...
8
12
Forfeiture of ex. of in. above 12 per cent.
Kentucky
6
8
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Louisiana.
5
6
Any rate. 6 Any rate.
Forfeiture of excess of interest.
Maryland
6
Michigan
7
IO
Forfeiture of ex. of in. above 7 per cent.
Minnesota .
7
12
No Usury Law in this State.
Mississippi
6
IO
Forfeiture of excess of interest.
Missouri.
6
IO
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Montana.
IO
Any rate.
Nebraska.
IO
12
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Nevada ..
IO
Any rate. 6
Forfeiture of thrice the excess and costs.
New Jersey.
7
7 Any rate.
New York.
7
7
Forfeiture of contract.
North Carolina.
6
8
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Ohio
6
Oregon ..
IO
Pennsylvania.
6
Any rate.
Quebec, Canada
6
Any rate.
Rhode Island
6
Any rate.
South Carolina
7
Any rate.
Tennessee.
6
10
Texas.
8
12
Utah
IO
Any rate. 6
Virginia.
6
6*
Washington Territory
IO
Any rate. 6*
West Virginia.
6
Wisconsin
7
10
Forfeiture of excess of interest. Forfeiture of entire interest.
Wyoming
12
Any rate.
Forfeiture of entire interest.
New Mexico
6
6
8
Forfeiture of excess above 6 per cent.
Ontario, Canada.
Any rate. 12
New Hampshire.
6
8
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Maine.
6
Massachusetts
6
IO
Forfeiture of entire interest.
Kansas.
Rate al-
Forfeiture of excess of interest. Forfeiture of excess of interest.
Vermont.
6
Forfeiture of excess of interest. Forfeiture of entire interest.
* Except in cases defined by statutes of the State.
219
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
STATE LAWS
RELATING TO LIMITATIONS OF ACTIONS: SHOWING LIMIT OF TIME IN WHICH ACTION MAY BE BROUGHT ON THE FOLLOWING :
STATES AND TERRITORIES.
Assault slander, &c.
Open Accts.
Notes.
Judg- ments.
Sealed and witnessed Instru- ments.
Alabama.
I
3
6
20
IO
Arkansas
I
3
5
IO
IO
California,
I
2
4
5
5
Colorado.
I
6
6
3
3
Connecticut.
3
6
6
20
17
Dakota
2
6
6
20
20
Delaware.
I
3
6
20
20
District of Columbia
I
3
3
12
I2
Florida
I
4
6
7
20
Georgia
2
2
4
5
5
I
5
IO
20
IO
Illinois.
2
6
20
20
20
Indiana
2
5
IO
20
IO
Iowa ..
I
3
5
5
I
2
15
15
15
Louisiana.
3
5
IO
20
Maine.
I
3
3
12
12
Maryland.
2
6
20
20
20
Massachusetts
6
6
6
IO
Minnesota
2
6
6
IO
6
Mississippi.
3
6
7
7
2
5
IO
20
IO
Montana
2
5
IO
IO
IO
Nebraska
4
5
5
IO
Nevada.
2
2
4
5
4
New Hampshire
2
6
6
20
20
New Jersey
2
6
6
20
16
New Mexico
6
6
20
20
North Carolina
3
3
3
10
IO
Ohio ..
2
6
6
20
20
Oregon.
1
6
6
20
20
Pennsylvania ..
I
5 6
6
20
20
South Carolina ..
2
6
6
20
20
Tennessee
I
6
6
IO
6
Texas
I
2
4
IO
5
Utah.
I
2
4
5
7
Vermont.
2
6
4
8
8
Virginia
I
5
5
IO
20
Washington Territory.
2
3
6
6
6
West Virginia
I
5
IO
IO
IO
Wisconsin.
2
6
6
20
20
Wyoming.
I
6
15
15
15
I
6
20
20
20
Michigan
I
Missouri.
I
6
IO
IO
New York.
I
6
15
15
15
Ontario (U. Canada).
2
6
6
IO
20
Quebec (L. Canada).
5
30
30
Rhode Island.
2
4
5
20
20
Years.
Years.
Years.
Years.
Years.
Idaho.
Kansas
15
Kentucky
2
2
I
2
I
PRODUCTIONS OF AGRICULTURE, STATE OF ILLINOIS, BY COUNTIES .- 1870.
Improved Land.
Woodl'nd
Other In -1 improved
Spring Wheat.
Winter Wheat.
Rye.
Indian Corn.
Oats.
COUNTIES.
Number.
Number.
Number. 1.491.331
Bushels.
Bushels
Bushels
Bushels.
Bushels.
Total
19.399.952 5.061.578
19,370
16,191
947 616
20,989
1,452,905|
759,074
Alexander
13,836
17,761
1,915
700
368.625
6,240
1,064,052
Boone
137,307
29,886
2,658
241,042
599
35,871
466,985
579,127
Brown.
57,062
35,491
25.608
13,276
117.502
4,742
337.769
70,852
Bureau.
398,611
41,866
15.803
465,236
724
43,811
3,030.401
987,426
Calhoun
37,684
63.443
2,754
75
221,298
186
234.041
26.231
Carroll.
186,864
29,793
33,302
418.073
260
25.721
1,367 965
775,10C
Cass ..
92.902
33,493
6,604
12.165
127,054
2.772
1,146.950
168,784
Champaign
419,368
16,789
58,50
102 577
123.091
45.752
3,924,720
721,375
Christian
241,472
19,803
19,173
18.360
504,041
10,722
1,883,336
383,821
Clark
118.594
80,612
5,225
1,894
85.737
3,221
1,019,994
269.945
Clinton
150,177
48,868
8,722
500
610.888
1,619
813.257
446.324
Coles ..
208,337
45,214
3,274
2,651
154,485
8,825
2,133.111
315.954
Cook
348.824
19,635
17,337
144,296
4,904
20,171
570,427
581,964
136,255
Crawford.
75,342
40,334
5,604
550
84,697
14,798
403,075
171,880
Cumberland
334,502
17,722
6,551
398,059
190
21,018
1,023,849
1.087,074
DeKalb.
168,539
29,548
17,633
106,493
11,695
11 540
1,311,635
216,756
De Witt.
147,633
11,897
7,316
7,683
65,461
9,017
1,680,225
225,074
Douglas
J64,874
17,243
3.851
106,096
693
7,532
331.981
860,809
Du Page
265,458
66,803
14,282
13 283
247,360
37,508
2,107.615
290,679
Edgar.
58,912
56.330
26,206
77
195,716
19,759
620.347
386.073
Effingham.
187,196
93,460
63.976
42,571
1,008
11,577
565,671
154,589
Ford
141,228
2,996| 3,994
86,710
365
111.324
5.195
653.209
222,426
Fulton
228,132
123.823
4,076
193,669
223.930
131,711
1,508,763
27,164
Gallatin.
49,572
68,750
2.565
83,093
415
1,051,313
64,029
Greene ..
193.999
6,256
4,505
21,700
150
4,930
295,971
269.332
Hamilton.
88,996
93,878
3,343
129
92,347
11.672
735,252
203.464
Hancock
311.517
43.385
18.480
181,378
232,7501
133,533
1,510,401
26,991
Hardin
29.117
44,771
107
13
32.306
865
172.651
Henderson.
265,904
12,620
31,459
462,379
'445
35,76€
2.541,683
Henry
322.510
22.478
63.498
57,160
10,480
23,259
799,810
Iroquois.
78,548
87,642
5.991
890
329.036
524
611,951
149,931
Jasper
90,867
67,023
12,250
87.808
9.165
461,345
149,214
Jefferson
118,951
94,888
778
100.553
5,934
887,981
285,949
Jersey
94,147
51,427
1,363
282,758
555
7.185
1,286,326
874,016
Johnson.
57,820
3
79,141
92,191
2,467
343,298
Kane ..
240,120
34,646
399
188,826
325
23.6181
674,333
785,608
Kankakee.
312,18%
10,978
10,598
103,466
480
12,935
637.399
468,890
Kendall.
164.004
14,244
2,283
90,681
1,249
5,16: 113,547
2,708,319
787,952
Knox.
330,829
41,566
25.155
267,764
7,654
Lake.
207,779
21,072
24.399
168,914
221
5.870
517.353
699,069
LaSalle
533,724
48,117
2,356
271,181
2,193
48,808
3,077,028
131,386
322,212
12,071
7,409
450.79%
2,260
14,829
1,656,978
903,197
Lee ..
377.505
12,462
41,780
1,339
26,16:
1,182,69€
659,300
321,709
17,394
408
55,239
196,613
29,22:
2,214,468
454,648
Macon ..
205,259
18,153
7,343
160 550
1,207,181
3.685
2.127.549
Marion.
173,081
61,579
4.14%
173,652
14,517
1.034,057
362,604
Marshall.
166,057
28,260
2.946
106,129
900
49,182
2.648,726
272,660
Massac ..
25,151
33,390
30
72,316
544
133,126
McDonough
261,635
52,54+
14,035
273,871
36,146
52.401
1,362,490
McHenry.
230.566
53.293
57,998
401,790
29,264
1,145,005
McLean
494.978
40,36₺
49,087
211,801
10,955
39.824
3.723.379
911,127
Menard.
134,173
34,931
13,952
36,152
45,793
1.28:
1.973.880
235,091
Mercer.
222.809
45,977
22,588
13,203
40.778
2,054,962
Monroe.
92,810
83,369
666
651,767
1,425
543,718
Montgomery
276,682
47,804
8,495
59
744,891
3,29€
1,527,898
Morgan.
293,450
60,217
1,375
18,196
357,523
5,53€ 3,198,835
Moultrie.
144,220
24,783
13,112
17,128
196,436
6,670
1,753.141
316.883
43,643
14,913
497,038
5,580
157,504
1,787,066
170,729
48,666
2,516
92,361
31.843
99,50%
969,224
93,754
68,470
220
350,446
1,01₺
384,4461
Piatt.
94,454
5,978
13,897
26,382
39.762
9.248
1,029.725
233.785
128,953
9,302
130
25,303
1,399.188
Pope ..
55.980
87,754
Pulaski.
19.319
12.516
28,137
79t
7.707
1,031.022
3,235
510.081
204,634
Richland.
75,079
50,618
243,541
2.279
20,00
1.459,65%
Saline.
72,309
70,393
809
200
83.011
568 23,077
4,388,763
Sangamon
421,748
51,085
56,221
165.724
20,841
440,975
Scott
85,331
1,610
18
266.105
930 23.686
2,082.578
Shelby
310,179
74,908
9,314
15,526
452,015
30.534
St. Clair
231,117
2,016
2.550
1,562 621
1,008 135,362
1.615,679
960.620
Stephenson
254,857
43.167
13,701
527,394
2.118
Tazewell
229,126
45,268
14,846
132,417
59,027
679.753
360,251
53,078
31,122
44,806
249,558
52,476
2,818.027
Wabash
54.063
37,558
509
186,290
5,712
72,212
2,982,853
Washington.
177.592
55,852
1.931
266
164,689
8,665
1,179,291
White.
92.398
78.167
869
184,321
418
870.521
Whitesides.
289,809
21.823
37.310
457,455
264
31.658
2,162,943
880.838
Will ..
419.442
24,261
6,335
195,286
1,996
8,030
1.131,458
180,986
Williamson
128,448
116,949
1,618
176
170,787
6.228
655,710
Winnebago
241,373
37,238
15,237
408,606
2.468
137,985
1,237,406
868.903
Woodford
225,504
25,217|
23,135
178,139
108,307
20.426
2,154,185|
744,581
105,505
78,350
27,185
60
212,924
15,497
528
352,371
129,152
Edwards.
120,343
16.786
351,310
25.328
962.525
497,395
Franklin
80,749
93.242
29.653
577,400
69,062
96,430
1,712,901
140,954
34,705
14,243
161,112
558,367
519,120
71.770
JoDaviess
156.519
82,07₺
45,779
198,056
40,963
37.232
4,221,641
490,226
Macoupin
231.059
81,224 89,450
13,675
861,398
2.404
1,051,544
459,417 475,252 389,446
Mason
209,453
31,739
31,013
73,261
125,628
1,121
656,362
Lawrence .
87,828
72,738
3,273
264,134
Livingston
Madison ..
257,032
36,135
1,182,90%
22,097
280,717
910,397
152,251
668,424
198,724
263,992
338,760
Perry.
130,610
161,419
Pike
1.057,497 70,457
2.309
315,958
Putnam
37,271
17.184
4.174
450
150.268
3.401
482.594
Rock Island.
155,214
31,239
20,755
19,932
89,304
247,655
Schuyler.
96,195
62,477 44,633
2.783
124,630
1,149 878
Stark ..
1,423 121|
2,062,053
Union.
75,832
83,606
5,300
180,231
1,737
421.361
110,793
Warren.
266.187
27 294
14,583
672,486
2,576
836.115
404,432
Wayne
147,352
146,794
10,486
44,992
22:
195,735
16,511
86,519
414,487
Randolph
140.764
162.274
2 025
276,575 69,793 397,718
119.359
752.771
13.462 637.812 316.726
138,129
12,375 76,591
476.851
505,841 124,473
436.051
Vermilion
601.054 533,398
Ogle. .
334,892
Peoria.
9,115
120,20€
Logan ..
57,585
830
195 118
7,308
614.582
212.628
Clay
146.922
102,201
5,420
42,658
30
244,220
21,627
461,097
Bond.
145,045
42,613|
10.133.207 |19 995. 198 2 456.578 129.921.395 42.780.851
Adams
287,926|
112,576
261,390
512
509,491
175,408
Grundy.
579,599
229,286 668,367
430,746
Jackson
74,525
772,408
681,267
1,509,642
452,889
141,540
67,886
334,2591.
531,51₺
21,294
72,410
202.201
119,653
1,868.682
1.170
270
289,291
122,703
Fayette.
1,584,225
Jozefen Floulver PONTIAC
-
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
A PERIOD of time which would be considered remote in the records of the civilization of Central Illinois, would be regarded as recent in the annals of the Eastern or Southern States; and in the history of a county which, less than fifty years ago, was inhabited only by the aborigines, it will not be expected that an undue flavor of antiquity will pervade the pages ; still, the pages of few histories, either ancient or modern, furnish more instructive lessons than are to be found in the record of the pluck, perseverance and success of the early set- tlers of this county.
The facts pertaining to the early settlement of the county have been gleaned from the few old pioneers who still survive; and the writer desires especially to . acknowledge his indebtedness to Hon. Woodford G. McDowell, who came to the Territory and settled in what is now Livingston County, forty-six years ago, for much valuable information, without which it would have been impossible to record some of the most interesting facts and incidents in the history of the county.
Of the colony which settled in Avoca Township, in the year 1832, Judge McDowell, his brother; John and James, and a sister, Mrs. Joel Tucker, still survive and are living in this county. It is fortunate for the historian that the colony reckoned the McDowell brothers among its numbers ; for they were not only fully competent to do so, but did take a deep interest in preserving the more interesting details of the progress and development of the county.
The work of writing this history has been begun none too soon ; as, by far, the greater number of the early settlers have passed away ; and age and decrep- itude are clouding the memories of some who remain ; and, had the work been deferred for a few years, a considerable portion of the history would have been lost.
This work is not written for the purpose of recording panegyrics on any. man or set of men; and, if an individual receives prominent mention, it is because his history is interwoven with the history of the county, in such a manner as to render it necessary.
So far as writing up the official and political portion of the work is con- cerned, care has been taken to follow the official records, so far as there were records to follow ; but, beyond that, the writer has been forced to hunt his facts wherever he could find them throughout the county.
A
224
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
SETTLEMENT AND POPULATION, AND WHENCE DERIVED.
Livingston County contains 1.035 square miles of territory, extending west from the north part of Grand Prairie, and having most of the characteristics of that district ; and it was among the last counties of the State to attract immi- gration.
For many years after the first settlers located, our broad prairies failed to induce general settlement, as immigrants seemed to prefer the more rolling lands of the northern and western counties, or the timbered regions farther south. It was not until the building of the Illinois Central Railroad, which passed through many miles of similar country, and brought its peculiar characteristics into favorable notice, and the construction of the Chicago & Mississippi Road. which passed directly through the county, that immigrants generally began to discover the value of the lands of this hitherto neglected region.
Much of the land donated by the Government to the State, and, by the State transferred to the Central Railroad Company, lay in this county, and was put upon the market. This land rapidly found purchasers and occupants ; and the building of these roads, together with the construction of the Toledo, Peoria Warsaw Road, made it possible for producers to market their grain, and greatly enhanced the value of the land; and the real settlement of the county dates from this era.
The history of the county naturally divides itself into three epochs : First, the occupation by the Indians, from the discovery of the prairie country by the French, to the first white settlement, in the Fall of 1829. Second, from the first settlement of the whites to the building of the railroads, in 1854. Third, from that period to the present time. But, before the subject is treated in this order, a short statement of the derivation of our population will be given, and, also, the topography and geology of the county will receive attention.
The earlier settlers came, principally, from Indiana and Ohio, with only a few from the States further east and south, while a large portion of those who, during the third epoch, reduced the virgin soil to cultivation, were immigrants from foreign lands, or from the older and more populous counties of this State. These last mentioned were attracted hither by cheaper lands and by a wider range of pasturage. Nearly all of these were men of small pecuniary means, but possessed of courage, industry and thrift, and found themselves benefited by their change of locality. The older counties of La Salle, Bureau, Peoria, Knox, Fulton, Tazewell and Woodford have sent us not a few of their young and active men. Many of our most esteemed and worthy citizens are natives of Ireland, Germany, Norway and Demark. England has contributed her share, and many freedmen are settled in the county.
But it is not to immigration alone, active and constant as it has been, that our great and rapid increase of population is to be attributed. There are no statistics to show the number of births in the county previous to the present year, and speculation must be left to others than the historian. Fortunately, however,
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
the law which requires the registration of births and deaths has been in force long enough to give a few figures. Registration commenced in December, 1877, but it was not until late in January, 1878, that the full statistics could be ob- tained.
In four months, 318 births have been recorded, and it is believed that many others have occurred which, for various reasons, have not been reported. But this would make the number of births in this county (which contains a popula- tion of 40,000) about one thousand per year, or two and one half per cent. per annum. The number of deaths registered during the same period is seventy- six, showing that the natural increase does not vary much from two per cent. during the year. The number of marriage licenses issued during this period is 140.
TOPOGRAPHY.
The county is bounded on the north by La Salle and Grundy Counties; on the cast by Kankakee and Ford; on the south by Ford and McLean; on the west by McLean, Woodford and La Salle Counties. It embraces Ranges from 3 to 8, east of the Third Principal Meridian; and Townships from 25 to 30, north of the base line of the State, being thirty-six miles from east to west, and twenty-four from north to south, with an addition of eighteen by nine and three- fourths miles, lying south of the eastern half of the county. It contains twenty- seven full Congressional Townships, namely: Reading, Newtown, Sunbury, Nevada, Dwight, Round Grove, Long Point, Amity, Esmen, Odell, Union, Broughton, Nebraska, Rook's Creek, Pontiac, Owego, Saunemin, Sullivan, Waldo, Pike, Eppard's Point, Avoca, Pleasant Ridge, Charlotte, Indian Grove, Forrest and Chatsworth; and three fractional townships, to wit, Belle Prairie, Fayette and Germantown.
In size, it is the fourth largest county in the State, being exceeded only by La Salle, McLean and Iroquois. It is principally prairie land; but timber is found along the Vermilion River and its branches, and also in some fine groves of native timber, in various parts of the county. Round Grove, near the north- eastern corner, originally contained 80 acres ; Oliver's Grove about 800 acres, situated near the southeastern corner; Indian Grove, near the southwestern corner, about 800 acres; and Babcock's Grove embraces 100 acres, standing on high ground near the center of the county; Packwood's Grove, near this point, contains 20 acres ; and Five Mile Grove, near the head of the north branch of the Vermilion, closes the list. Each of these, with the exception of Round Grove, which is on a branch of the Mazon, stands at the head of a small stream' which, on leaving the timber, flows through the open prairie and empties into the Vermilion.
The timber land does not exceed six per cent. of the area. The different varieties of oak, clm, maple and walnut predominate, while ash, cottonwood, white- wood and some other varieties are not uncommon, and a few cedars are found on the banks of the Vermilion.
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
The Vermilion River has its rise in the extreme southeastern portion of the county, and has the following tributaries : South Branch, Indian Creek, Turtle Creek, Wolf Creek, Rook's Creek, Mud Creek, Long Point and Scattering Point Creeks, most of which have their rise in the county. All of these streams are living water, fed by springs, affording ample water for stock, and splendid drainage for all parts of the county.
The Vermilion and the larger branches are well stocked with fish, of which the pickerel, bass and cat-fish are the predominant varieties. The Vermilion affords water-power for a few mills, the best point being at Pontiac, where Thomas Williams' fine grist-mill and saw-mill are located.
This river has thus been noticed by a local writer :
THE VERMILION. Vermilion is no classic stream, She is not named in song or story ; No mighty deed or poet's dream Have placed her on the page of glory ; And yet her banks are just as fair
As those of classic rivers are. The Rubicon with all its fame, When sifted down is but a sham ; Vermilion is a longer name, And quite as wide above the dam,
And as for Cæsar riding through it-
Why, any half-baked fool could do it.
Some men go out to see the Nile, Because they think 'tis great and manly ; And one stayed out there such a while, He had to be looked up by Stanley. It really did him no more good Than paddling up Vermilion would. Burns sang the praise of Bonnie Doon, Because a song he must deliver ;
Had he lived here he would as soon Have sung thy praise, Vermilion River. Buck's springs would then as famous be
As the castle of Montgomery. Flow on, Vermilion, gently flow, And turn the wheels of Williams' mill;
Still on thy way rejoicing go- A river is a river still. And all the rivers known to fame Are made of water just the samc.
The soil is principally the deep, black alluvial, common in this State. The surface is gently undulating, with broader stretches of level land than are found in the northern and western counties. The lands lying south, southwest and northwest of the center of the county are, for the most part, level, while north, cast and southeast of the center, the land is more rolling, yet not so uneven as to receive any ill effects from washing, while under the plow.
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
The chief advantage which land of this character has over a more rolling and broken surface is that, for many years to come, there can be no perceptible loss in its fertility, from washing while under cultivation.
GEOLOGY.
The geological formations are not unlike those common to the Grand Prairie district, with the important difference that, in this county, coal and stone are found in abundance.
For some years after the first settlement, and during the second epoch, the people lived in ignorance of the vast coal fields of the county. All residents then lived in or upon the skirts of the timber, and no fuel was needed, other than the forest supplied. It is true that the outcroppings of coal along the banks of the river, in the northwestern part of the county, were discovered and commented upon ; but the pioneer had no means of utilizing it, and considered it of no value.
About the year 1860, Henry L. Marsh, who owned a large tract of land near Fairbury, had his attention called to the fact that the rapidly increasing popu- lation must necessarily require a more abundant supply and a cheaper fuel. There was not timber enough in the county to supply it for ten years, at the rate it was being consumed ; and, from his knowledge of coal formation, Marsh believed that it could here be obtained, by going to a sufficient depth.
At that day, coal mining, by deep, perpendicular shafts, was unknown in this bituminous district. La Salle, Peoria and Morris were sending out the few tons they were called upon to supply, and Coalville supplied a meager local trade.
The Wilmington coal fields were not yet discovered, and Streator, which now, from its various shafts, sends up its thousands of tons per day, was unknown to the worthy man whose name it bears; and for a decade after Marsh's pioneer labors, the place was known only by the name of " Hard- scrabble." To a man of less force, will-power and energy than Marsh, the idea of mining coal on the open prairie of Livingston County would have remained an idea, or it might have grown into a desire ; but he was made of the right material to push a gigantic enterprise to completion. He at once set about an investigation of the facts in the case, and, under his investigation, the possibilities steadily grew into a reality. The story of his struggles with adverse fortune, his heavy losses, his trials and failures, and his final success, would make an interesting and instruct- ive chapter of history. Water, at various depths, so flooded his work and damaged it in various ways, that his friends and backers deemed the scheme · impracticable ; but he was not discouraged, and, in the last extremity, he com- pleted an invention of his own, by which the difficulty was overcome. At a depth of 180 feet, he struck a paying vein of excellent coal. The success attending Marsh's efforts incited others to like enterprises, and, in 1865, a shaft was sunk at Pontiac, another shaft at Fairbury in 1868, one near Streator in
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
1872, one at Cornell in 1875, and one at Cayuga in 1878. · Cayuga, which is distant five miles from the river, is, thus far, the farthest point from the Ver- milion at which a paying vein of coal has been reached in the county. The efforts to find coal at Odell and Dwight have thus far proved failures. The mining at Coalville is carried on by horizontal entries, and is not so expensive to the operators. The capital invested in coal mining in Livingston will not fall short of a quarter of a million dollars, and, thus far, the enterprise has proved far more profitable to purchasers than to the proprietors of the mines. Ledges of limestone, suitable for building purposes, are found along the banks of the Vermilion; and at Pontiac and in the vicinity, inexhaustible quar- ries of calcareo-silicious stone are found. In sinking the coal shafts at Fair- bury, a fine dark sandstone of peculiar color and quality was discovered. This stone is easily dressed, and is a superior stone for building purposes.
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