USA > Illinois > McLean County > The History of McLean County, Illinois; portraits of early settlers and prominent men > Part 18
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Stephenson
254,857
43.167
13,701
527.394
2.118
135.362
679.753
124,473
Vermilion.
360,251
53.078
31,122
44,806
202.201
421,361
110,793
Warren.
266.187
Wayne
147.352
146,794
9,314
15,520
45.015
23.686
2.082,578
30,534
1,149 878
316,726
St. Clair
231,117
74.908 12.375
2.783
132,417
180,231
.1,737
436.051
Pope
55,980
87.754
70,457
2.309
44,922
195.735
Putnamı
37.271
17,184
4.174
243,541
276.575
155,214 72.309
200
69.793 397.718
Scott
Shelby
310,179
68.470 5.978
13,897
26,382
9,245
1.051,544
Madison
257,032
89.450
13,675
475,252
JoDaviess.
156,517
82.076
45,779
558,367
519,120
71.770
Grundy ..
193,999
6,256
88,996
93,460
351,310
25.328
962,525
497.395
Ford
141.228
2,996
63.976
577,400
415
1,051,313
64,029
311,517
28.117
67,023
.250
3
Lee .. Livingston
Logan.
17,394 18,153
454,648 459,417
231.059
861,398
2.404
22.097
261.635
280,717
McHenry
452.889
152,251
Montgomery
3,99€
668,424
60.217
198,724
Moultrie.
Ogle
Peoria
334,892
Perry
161,419 67,886 16,511
Randolph
3,235
Knox
Lake
LaSalle
Lawrence
Marion
73,261
36,146
96,430
799,810
58,912
49.572
4,505
89.304
56,221
124,630
229,126 75.832
Total
42,658
SOLDIERS MONUMENT BLOOMINGTON
HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.
BY PROF. C. P. MERRIMAN.
In many respects, McLean County is one of the finest in the State, and, in some par- ticulars, it has no rival. We will here notice several of the causes that have produced this result.
It is now the largest county in the State, and there are but few acres of waste land in its whole surface. Being situated in the central portion of the State, it is free from the severities of winter which visit some of the northern counties, and equally free from the summer heats experienced in some of the southern ones, as well as from the malarial influences of the rivers in the western, southern and southeastern portion of it.
About one-ninth of its surface is covered with groves, most happily located in the southern, western and central portion, protecting its prairies from the rough visitations of violent winds, and furnishing grateful shade and shelter to stock in the changing sea- sons. In these groves may be found some of the finest timber-lands in the country, pro- ducing white oak, red oak, maple, hickory, black walnut, white ash, black ash, elm, butternut, buckeye, sassafras, and a variety of smaller growths common in the country.
In common with this portion of the Mississippi Valley, the surface inclination and the drainage of this county are toward the southwest. It is moderately rolling, compar- ing favorably with its adjoining counties, being free from extreme flatness, and from abrupt changes. Its summit elevation is about 220 feet above Lake Michigan, 545 feet above the water at the junction of the Ohio and the Mississippi at Cairo, and 795 above the ocean. That it is more elevated than the surrounding country is evident from the fact that it is well supplied with running water by the incipient streams that contribute to the formation of the Vermilion, Sugar Creek, the Mackinaw, the Kickapoo and the Sangamon River, running south, southwest, west, northwest and northeast. Good water is found in all parts of the county by digging, and in the north- eastern portion there are many natural springs of excellent water. Such are the physical features of its surface, and the happy location of its large and small groves that, in the leafy season of the year, it presents many scenes of quiet and picturesque beauty which are scarcely surpassed in any country.
While the most of its surface is available as arable land, much of it is, happily, adapted to stock-raising, and is largely devoted to that business. Belleflower, in the southeastern corner of the county, is probably the finest township of land in the State ; and, perhaps, the finest in any State. Much of its natural turf has been broken with a team of two horses, while in other portions of the county a team of four and even of six oxen has been required for the purpose. Its deep, rich soil is mixed with black sand,
A
190
HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.
rendering it sensitive to the influences of the sun, very easy of cultivation, and largely productive. Much of that portion of it that was sold as swamp lands at prices varying from $4.50 to $5.50 per acre, on being properly drained, proves to be the most valuable in the country, as at some feet below the rich surface there is a substratum of pebbles, which retains moisture in dry seasons, and receives the excess of water in wet seasons.
This county may also challenge comparison with any one in the State as to the character of its inhabitants for energy, enterprise, public spirit, industry and liber- ality, especially of its early settlers. These qualities have chiefly contributed to place the county in its present highly prosperous and influential position. It has furnished many members of the State Legislature, Circuit Judges, Representatives to Congress, a State Superintendent of Instruction, a State Treasurer, a Territorial Governor, a Lieu- tenant Governor, a Judge of the Supreme Court of the State, and a Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, as well as several Generals, and numerous other officers of distinction ; but what is vastly better, it has furnished many thousands of excellent citizens, male and female, in all the walks of life.
This is not the appropriate place for a discussion of various theories on the origin of the prairies, yet a brief reference to the subject may not be improper to show why this section of the country is now, and will permanently remain, among the most desira- ble and important in the whole Union.
" One theory is that the soil resulted from the decomposition of vegetable matter under water, and that the attending conditions were incompatible with the growth of timber." Another theory is that the prairies are the results of the scarcity of moisture in the atmosphere of the interior of continents. It is well known that the quantity of water which annually falls in this country diminishes as the center of the continent is approached from the Atlantic and the Pacific, and that the amount of timber-lands diminishes in about the same ratio, resulting in a wide central waste. But be this as it may, the fact remains the same, that we are here located in the midst of happy surroundings, made up of lovely vales, gentle slopes, wide fields and grateful forest groves.
It is well known that the pioneers of Illinois suffered much less in opening up its soil than did those of Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, from malarious diseases. This is undoubtedly owing to the sparseness of forests and large groves. The changeableness of our climate, and the great difference of temperature between our winters and our summers, have been made the grounds of objection to this section of the country. But these very extremes contribute very largely to the productiveness of the country. Our rich, deep, heavy soil is mellowed up by the frosts of winter, and so quickened by the heats of summer as to produce a greater variety and richness of vegetable productions than any other country within the same extent of surface. This result is greatly attrib- utable to the effects of the very cold north winds from the regions of the great lakes, and the lot winds coming up the Mississippi Valley, about which some are disposed to complain.
Tradition says that our great staple production, Indian corn, was brought from the South, where it originally grew very tall and slim, but produced very little grain. But its excessive growth of stalk was checked by our cool climate, and yet its grain brought to perfection by our short hot summers, and the productiveness greatly increased. Owing
191
HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.
to the same influences, we can successfully produce here the hardy vegetables of a north- ern climate, and many of the delicious productions of a semi-tropical one Being thus located in the very center of the corn-producing region, as surely as effects follow causes, we are in the midst of animal development-having near us the greatest grain, beef and pork market in the world. This fortunate state of things is simply the result of natural and permanent causes. One of our geologists says, in speaking of our soil : "This splendid soil-forming deposit is destined to make Illinois the great center of American wealth and population. Perhaps no other country of the same extent on the face of the globe can boast a soil so ubiquitous in its distribution, and so universally pro- ductive. Enriched by all the minerals in the crust of the earth, it necessarily contains a great variety of constituents. Since plants differ so widely in the elements of which they are composed, this multiplicity of composition is the means of growing a great diversity of crops, and the amount produced is correspondingly large."
This paragraph, in a few words, states with much felicity the character of our soil, and suggests possible improvements in the direction of the introduction of new and valuable vegetables and fruits, of which we at present have no adequate idea. The soil is here, and the climate is here, and the necessary science and skill will develop this section of the West into the richest agricultural country in the world. Other countries have their specialties ; but here we can have in great perfection and in wonderful pro- fusion all the essentials and many of the luxuries of life.
When to these facts and considerations we add that this county is in the midst of the most magnificent coal-measures known to the world-extending over no less than thirty-seven thousand square miles-sufficient to supply fuel for economical and manu- facturing purposes for all time to come; that our railroad connections are excellent ; that our educational facilities, our social, moral and religious privileges are inferior to none in the country, we may well be proud of old McLean.
Not much needs here to be said of the geology of this county. Its features, in this respect, are so similar to those of much of the surrounding country, and now so well known to the general reader, that we shall notice only a very few of them.
Speaking in reference to this county, the State Geologist says : "The soil is gener- ally a rich, brown mold, varying somewhat, in different localities, in the proportion of clay, etc., which it contains, some portions being more argillaceous than others. In the timber, however, the soil is of somewhat different character; the lighter colored and more argillaceous subsoil, appearing at or near the surface. The geological forma- tions appearing at the surface, consist almost entirely of the Drift and later formations. The underlying rock, as far as can be ascertained, consists entirely of the different beds of the coal-measure series.
The two shafts at Bloomington afford us the most satisfactory section of any of the excavations in the district, enabling us to identify the two seams of coal which they penetrate, with Nos. 4 and 6 of the general Illinois River section. The following sec- tion, made up from records afforded by both shafts, illustrates well the variation of the strata of the middle coal-measures in this region. This section commences at the base of the Drift, and its upper portion, from 1 to 4 inclusive, was afforded by the Blooming- ton Coal Company's shaft, and the remainder by that of the McLean County Coal- Mining Company, which has struck a lower coal at the depth of 513 feet 8 inches below the surface.
192
HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.
Feet. Inches.
Feet. Inches.
1. Clay shale
16
15.
Slate
3
2. Sandstone
32
16.
Fire-clay
4
6
3. Clay shale.
1
17.
Sand Rock
20
6
4. Coal No. 6
4
18.
Soapstone 62
5
5. Fire-clay
13
19.
Black Slate
2
7
6.
Limestone
2
7
20.
Fire-clay
1
7
7. Fire-clay
10
21.
Sulphurous rock
1
2
8. Clay shale
8
22.
Gray slate
11
1
9. Fire-clay 15
23.
Shale
1
2
10. Shale. 5
6
24.
Hard lime rock
2
1
11. Soft blue slate 22
25.
Gray slate
S
12. Black slate
5
26.
Soapstone
6
8
13. Coal No. 4.
4
6
27.
Coal
3
8
14. Fire-clay .. 10
In the northern and eastern portions of McLean County, we have only the records of several borings, which afford but few particulars as to the character of the underly ing beds.
INDIANS.
When this section of the State began to be settled by the white people, the Kicka- poo and the Pottawatomie Indians were in possession of the country between the Wabash and the Illinois Rivers. The two tribes seemed to be so promiscuously inter- mixed with each other, and with the fragments of some other tribes, as scarcely to be distinguishable, on the part of the early settlers. Although they had confessedly dis- posed of their title to the country to the United States Government, they manifested some hostility of feeling when the pioneers came to take actual possession of their former hunting-grounds, and of the homes of themselves and of their fathers. They seemed to feel that their leaving the country was yielding to an inevitable necessity, brought upon them by the unwelcome encroachments of the white man, rather than complying with the terms of a voluntary cession of the territory. The old Kickapoo chief, Machina, even threatened unpleasant consequences to the first installment of set- tlers in this county if they did not leave. But there were no evil results. In fact, the intercourse between these Indians and the early settlers, was, in this section of the country, of the most friendly character, as a general thing. They would sometimes steal necessaries from those whom they hated ; but the lives and the property of those who treated them kindly, and with whom they were on friendly terms, were as safe as among any other people. If they wanted a pig, or something of the kind, from a white neighbor, they were told to help themselves, and, on the other hand, if a friendly house- wife wanted some game for food, it would soon be forthcoming from the red man. There is no record, nor yet tradition, that any white person was ever killed by the Indians within the limits of this county, unless, perchance during the war of 1812.
These Indians had their headquarters near Old Town Timber, near the center of the county, their fort covering several acres, surrounded by a palisade and an embankment on each side of it. Pleasant Hill, another of their stations, a few miles north, was with them a favorite place for the cultivation of the few vegetables which they raised. In the summer, many of them liked to stay about the southeast end of Blooming Grove, the scene of the earliest settlements in this county.
This section of the country was evidently a great favorite with the Indians. Here game of all kinds was abundant, wild fruits were plenty and excellent, the climate was
193
HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.
genial, the range for their ponies was inexhaustible, the groves and the streams were conveniently frequent, and the scenery was unsurpassable in its quiet beauty. Here were the graves of their fathers, and here were the scenes of their own exploits and their homes. But they seemed to feel that they were a doomed people, and to antici- pate their fate. Some of them were very intelligent people; and in their intimate inter- course with friendly whites, they would sometimes indulge in sad rehearsals of the many wrongs which their tribes had suffered from the hands of the white man, as they had been successively crowded from one portion of the country to another, westward, ever westward !
The Indians remained in this section of the country until the Black Hawk war ; and during that conflict, they seemed to flit about, equally desirous of avoiding contact with the whites and the Indians engaged therein. These Indians afterward emigrated to Northwestern Iowa, to fade from the memory of the early settlers in this State, and, eventually, from the face of the earth.
In reference to them, we may adapt the lines of the poet, and say :
" Full many a one was born to die unseen, And waste his fierceness on the desert air."
ORIGIN.
In 1781, Virginia eeded to the United States the territory northwest of the Ohio River, which was deeded to the United States in 1784, the deed being signed on the part of Virginia by her illustrious citizens, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Hardy, Arthur Lee and James Monroe. In 1787, Congress passed an act establishing the North- western Territory and authorizing the organization of a territorial government, the Terri- tory embracing all northwest of the Ohio River to which Virginia held any claim. In 1789, Congress passed another act, putting the government of said Territory in opera- tion. In 1800, by another act of Congress, the said Territory was divided ; the western portion of it, embracing all west of a line beginning at the Ohio, opposite the mouth of the Kentucky River, and running thence to Fort Recovery; and thence north until inter- secting the territorial line between the United States and Canada, which was to be called the Territory of Indiana.
Again, in 1809, Congress passed an act dividing Indiana Territory into two separate governments, and constituting the portion of it lying west of the Wabash River and a direct line drawn from the said Wabash River and Post Vincennes, due north to the territorial line between the United States and Canada, a Territory, thus separated, and to be called Illinois. In 1818, an act of Congress enabled the people of Illinois to form a Constitution and a State Government, the State being admitted into the Union the same year, and the boundaries being thus defined : Beginning at the mouth of the Wabash River; thence up the same, and with the line of Indiana to the northwest corner of said State ; thence east with the line of the same State to the middle of Lake Michigan; thence north, along the middle of said lake, to north latitude forty-two degrees and thirty minutes ; thence west to the middle of the Mississippi River; and thence down along the middle of that river to its confluence with the Ohio River; and thence up the latter river along its northwestern shore to the beginning.
Under the territorial government, the State was divided into fourteen counties, as follows : Bond, Madison, St. Clair, Monroe, Randolph, Jackson, Johnson, Popc, Gallatin, White, Edwards, Crawford, Union, Washington and Franklin. In 1809, the
194
HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.
territory now embraced in McLean County was included in St. Clair County ; the Ter- ritory of Illinois being divided into two counties, Randolph and St. Clair, the former embracing all the southern portion of the Territory, and the latter all the northern por- tion. In 1812, McLean County was embraced in Madison County. In 1814, McLean formed part of the counties of Madison and Edwards ; that portion of it lying west of the Third Principal Meridian being in Madison ; and that portion lying east of it being in Edwards. In 1817, it formed part of Bond and Crawford Counties ; that portion of it lying west of said Meridian being in Bond County ; and that east of it in Crawford. In 1819, McLean County formed part of Clark and Bond Counties; that portion of it west of the Meridian being in Bond, and the eastern portion in Clark. In 1821, the portion of McLean County west of the Meridian was included in Sangamon County, and the eastern portion in Fayette County. In 1826, Vermilion County was created, and all that portion of what is now McLean County, formerly part of Fayette, was attached to Vermilion for county purposes ; the western portion remaining in Sangamon. In 1827, that portion of McLean west of the Meridian belonged to Tazewell County ; the eastern portion remaining in Vermilion. ] In 1829, the boundaries of Tazewell County were re-adjusted. but McLean remained as before, divided between Tazewell and Vermilion.
In 1830, McLean County was created with the following boundaries : Beginning at the southwest corner of Township 21 north, Range 1 west of the Third Principal Meridian ; thence north between Ranges 1 and 2 west of said Meridian, to the north- west corner of Township 28 north ; thence east between Ranges 28 and 29, to the northeast corner of Township 28, Range 6 east of the Third Principal Meridian ; thence south between Ranges 6 and 7 east of said Meridian, to the southeast corner of Town- ship 21 north, Range 6 east of the Third Principal Meridian ; thence west to the place of beginning. This territory lay wholly within the counties of Tazewell and Vermilion ; the latter not within the county proper, but lands attached for county purposes. The original boundaries of MeLean County, as will be seen by the above description, com- prised eight townships north and south, and seven ranges east and west, being in extent 42 by 48 miles, and in regular form-a perfect rectangle-containing fifty-six townships.
In 1837, Livingston County was created, and 9} townships were taken from the northeast corner of McLean. In 1839, De Witt County was created, taking 43 townships from the south end of McLean ; and in 1841, Woodford County was created, taking, in a zigzag direction, from west to northeast about 9 townships from the north- west corner of MeLean, and reducing it to its present shape and dimensions, but still leaving it the largest county in the State.
REPRESENTATION.
At the time MeLean County was organized, Tazewell and McLean were together entitled to one Representative and one Senator in the State Legislature ; and the Clerks of the County Commissioners' Courts of the two counties were required to meet at Bloomington to compare the election returns of Senator and Representative. At the same time, the counties of Peoria, Jo Daviess, Putnam, La Salle and Cook were enti- tled to one Senator and one Representative. This indicates a remarkable change in the relative population in the middle and the northern portion of the State, though the increase here has itself been remarkable for its steadiness and rapidity.
195
HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.
AN ACT CREATING MCLEAN COUNTY.
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That all that tract of country lying within the following bound- aries, to wit : Beginning at the southwest corner of township numbered twenty-one north, of range numbered one, west of the third principal meridian, thence north between ranges numbered one and two, west of said meridian, to the northwest corner of town- ship numbered twenty-eight north; thence east, between townships numbered twenty- eight and twenty-nine, to the northeast corner of township numbered twenty-eight, of range numbered six, east of the third principal meridian ; thence south, between ranges numbered six and seven, east of said meridian, to the southeast corner of township numbered twenty-one north, of range numbered six, east of said meridian ; thence west to the place of beginning, shall constitute a new county, to be called McLean.
SEC. 2. For the purpose of fixing the permanent seat of justice of said county, the following-named persons are appointed Commissioners, viz. : Lemuel Lee, of Fay- ette County ; Isaac Pugh and Elisha Freeman, of Macon County, which Commis- sioners, or a majority of them, shall meet at the house of James Allen, in said county, on the second Monday of February next, or within five days thereafter, and, being first duly sworn by some Justice of the Peace of the State, faithfully and impartially to take into view the convenience of the people, the situation of the present settlement, with a strict view to the population and settlements which will hereafter be made, and the eligibility of the place, shall proceed to explore and carefully examine the country, determine on and designate the place for the permanent seat of justice of the same ; provided, that the proprietor or proprietors of the land shall give and convey, by deed of general warranty, for the purpose of erecting public buildings, a quantity of land, in a square form, or not more than twice as long as wide, not less than twenty acres ; but should the proprietor or proprietors of the land refuse or neglect to make the donation aforesaid, then said Commissioners shall fix the said county seat (having in view the interest of the county) upon the land of some person who will make the donation aforesaid. If the Commissioners shall be of opinion that the proper place for the seat of justice is, or ought to be, on lands belonging to Government, they shall so report, and the County Commissioners shall purchase one-half quarter section, the tract set forth, in their name, for the use of said county. The Commissioners aforesaid, so soon as they decide on a place, shall make a clear report to the County Commissioners' Court, and the same shall be recorded at length in their record-book. The land donated, or purchased, shall be laid out into lots and sold by the County Commissioners to the best advantage, and the proceeds applied to the erection of public buildings and such other purposes as the Commissioners shall direct, and good and sufficient deeds shall be made for the lots sold.
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