USA > Illinois > McLean County > The History of McLean County, Illinois; portraits of early settlers and prominent men > Part 50
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The University foundation was commenced in the fall of 1857, and over $30,000 expended thereon. A foundry was also commenced, owned principally by Mr. Fell, in company with Mr. Reeder, but the enterprise was a failure. Some of the castings used in the Normal building were made here, and also the iron work for Royce Block in Bloomington.
The financial crisis of the fall of 1857 eaused a discontinuance of work on the Nor- mal, and this of course acted as a damper upon the new town. During the year 1858, and also during 1859, but few residences were erected, among which we can mention that of Mrs. Robinson, in 1859. In the latter year, work on the Normal building was pushed with great vigor, and the town began to have good prospects again. During the following winter, plans were made for the erection of several residences, and they were completed in 1860. Among these we will mention those of President Hovey, Messrs. Hewett and Moore, who were of the Faculty, Albert North, Wesley Pearce, William Flynn and Mr. J. S. Stewart. By this time, the town made quite a pleasing appearance, several of the residences evideneing good taste. All of Normal was most distinctly visi- ble from almost any point, as the trees were then in their infancy.
When the Normal institution was opened at the new building, in the fall of 1860, there were not enough rooms in the village for all the students who wished board, and during the fall term many boarded at Bloomington. A new sidewalk was constructed to meet the walks in Bloomington, and it extended nearly to the corner of Main and Chestnut streets. When this old foot walk was new, there was some good walking done by Normal students of both sexes. All the boarding-houses in Normal were full to overflowing. There were only two houses with many rooms; these were kept by Mrs. J. H. Stewart and Mrs. Grinnell, the latter in what was called the Landon House.
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HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.
Normal built its first sidewalk in the fall of 1860, and it then began to take on the airs of a village, though it did not possess a post office. a telegraph office, or stores, for several years.
The first post office was opened about the year 1862, on the corner of Linden street and the C. & A. Railroad, in a building where there was also a store. The first Post- master was Robert E. Bower, and the first store was kept by a Mr. Phillips. The two railroads did not at first make Normal a full office, tickets having first been sold from this place on the Chicago & Alton road, April 4, 1864 ; William McCambridge, Jr., was the first agent who sold tickets and made all the regular official reports in 1864. Shortly after this time, he also became the first express agent ; he was also the first telegraph operator, in 1870.
The Chicago & Alton Company built a depot in 1864, which was burned at the time of the Normal Hotel fire, February 14, 1872. Very soon after the present station- house was erected. The freight-house on this road was constructed in 1866; and in 1871, the freight-house of the Central was built, which has since been destroyed by fire and replaced by another building which is a duplicate of the first.
In the chapters relating to the public schools, churches, and the State institutions, we have given the dates of the erection of the buildings used by each, and we will not here repeat those statements.
We should also mention that the village of Normal grew with wonderful rapidity from about the year 1864 to 1870. Since the latter date, improvements have been made quite slowly ; and at present, Normal, like all the towns in this part of the State, appears to be almost at a stand. It is, however, a beautiful village, noted all over the West for its fine appearance; for the intelligence and culture of its citizens ; and is very specially remarkable for the trees which are so strikingly beautiful. But as we have touched more fully upon each of these topics in other portions of this work, we will not here enlarge upon them.
Quite a large number of the best families living in Normal have become citizens since 1864, having come here for the express purpose of rearing their children in the most moral and best behaved community they could find with first-class educational advantages. Many of these families had accumulated enough property at farming or other business for a comfortable support, and have here built or purchased homes where they can attend to the education of their children. This element of society is a very important one, and, added to others that are equal in all respects, gives the town a good name and a permanency that it is hoped will grow with time until Normal will become a place of national reputation.
TREES.
Normal has obtained an enviable reputation for its beautiful trees and shrubbery. At the time of the locaton of the State Normal University, as we have stated, the town was a bare, wild-looking piece of prairie, enlivened occasionally by the smoke and noise of a few railroad trains, and then relapsing into desolate quiet. A beginning had been made, however, by Mr. Jesse W. Fell, in that great tree-planting enterprise in which he took such a loving interest. In the year 1856, he had planted a large number at North Bloomington, and at the very time of the visit of the State Board of Education to view the site for the Normal University, in 1857, his men were busy at tree-planting on the public highways. The fact of the start thus already made, together with the
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HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.
interest then awakened in the matter of ornamental shrubbery, by such men as Cyrus R. Overman, O. M. Coleman, W. H. Mann and F. K. Phoenix, all living in the town- ship, and all enthusiastic trec-planters, went far to convince the members of that Board that the young institution would fall into good hands, and its future be watched by careful men, if it should be located at this point; and the more than twenty thousand beautiful trees at Normal, with the successful twenty-two years' growth of the Normal University, bear united witness to the foresight of the mien of 1857. The zeal and enthusiasm of Mr. Fell in the subject of trees on our public highways, found vent before he had fairly commenced his labors, by giving names of trees to the streets of North Bloomington, at the time of recording its plat in the Circuit Clerk's office.
Proceeding from west to cast, we find Maple, Walnut, Oak, Linden and Elm streets ; from Sycamore, going south, we come successively to Poplar, Cypress, Willow, Locust, Cherry, Mulberry and Ash streets. Is not this an atmosphere of verdure ? How could the new town help growing as the trees grew, fresh, graceful, ever increasing with each annual effort ?
The planting of shade-trees in double rows in such a manner that the sidewalks are overhung by the two rows, is a novel feature-one that is duplicated in but few places in the land. It is said that Germantown, Penn., has similarly shaded sidewalks. This is the distinguishing feature of Normal. The number of these trees planted adja- cent to sidewalks is in the neighborhood of six thousand. There are a little over nine miles of streets thus shaded. There have been planted, in the streets, within the lots, upon the grounds belonging to the State at the two institutions, and in private parks, the larger part of the whole under the direct care and supervision of Mr. Fell, over thirty-five thousand trees, including shade, shelter and fruit trees. These trees now range in height from twenty to fifty feet, and give the town in summer the appearance of being one vast, ornamented park, with a few houses in sight, the church-spires, even, being then visible only at a distance of a few blocks. Well may Normal be proud of these shade-trees, which are monuments to the memory of those who planned and exc. euted the immense work of transplanting, guarding and training these beautiful objects.
Our work is not complete without an appropriate tribute to Mr. Jesse W. Fell, to whom, more than to any other person, Normal is indebted for its existence, for its beautiful trees and for the most of real public worth and value that it contains. We are recording public events and speaking for a thankful, proud and generous. public heart. We are well aware that Mr. Fell enjoins silence on the part of public chroniclers ; that he modestly prefers no panegyric to his name and fame, but we insist upon making, here in this, albeit, weak, formal manner, a general acknowledgment of the public appreciation of the life-long labors of Jesse W. Fell. We will accept his disclaimer of his selfish motives in bringing together at Normal as many good influences as possible, but we must insist that we are thankful to acknowledge he had the nobility of heart to conceive, and the manhood and ability to carry into effect, no plans except those which were good ones; no projects but those whose success should inure to the happiness and welfare of his fellow-men. Happy the man who had the head and heart to realize that his own self-interest would be best subserved by engaging himself and others in enterprises like those which have been consummated at Normal. Thankful we are also that Mr. Fell took delight in planting trees ; that in this occupation he was
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HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.
happy and at home ; and that in other respects he planned and managed in the interests of public education, sobriety, morality and humanity.
If we may be permitted, we wish to call attention to the magnificent park which surrounds Mr. Fell's residence. Here he gave scope to his passion for artistic shrub- bery, his love for elegant groups of beautiful trees, his fancy for such ornamentation as comes from the most skillful arrangement of all the different trees that will grow in this latitude. This park is a lasting monument to its originator, and is a possession shared by the public almost equally with its owner.
CHURCHES.
The residents of Normal Township attended the different churches in Blooming- ton until several years after the village had been started. The first religious services in the village were held in the University building in the winter of 1860-61. This was the first year of its occupancy, and during this winter there were Sabbath-afternoon union services, the different pastors of Bloomington being employed in regular rotation. This continued for some time and gave good satisfaction until the village had grown large enough to begin to have enough permanent inhabitants to form churches of the leading denominations, when the Congregationalists and Methodists took steps to organ- ize their respective churches, followed soon after by the Baptists, Presbyterians and Christians. There are a large number of families in Normal who are connected with churches in Bloomington, and who help swell the numbers included in the churches of that city. In this particular, as in several others, we find it very difficult to separate the interests of the two communities.
The First Baptist Church of Normal was organized July 13, 1866, with thirty members. Rev. John H. Kent, from Holyoke, Mass., was the first Pastor. They built a small frame chapel, 26x40 feet, which they occupied for about three years, when this, from the rapid increase of membership, became too small for them. In 1871, they erected a fine brick house, 40x70 feet, costing $15,000, which they now occupy. The number of members that have united with them since their organization is 286. . The present number is 158. The Church is now in a prosperous condition. They have a large Sabbath school, which is well sustained, besides a mission school at the West Side, which is on the increase. Their present Pastor is Rev. S. B. Gilbert.
The Christian Church was organized in April, 1873. The first Pastor was Rev. S. M. Connor. There were only about twenty members at that date, while at present there are one hundred and forty. Its present Pastor is N. A. Walker. Its church-building was erected in 1873, and is a very comfortable and creditable structure. Its Elders are H. G. Fisher, John Gregory and Isaiah Dillon.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized 'September, 1865. Rev. C. D. James was the first Pastor. The church-building was begun in 1866, and, in the fol- lowing winter, the basement was ready for occupancy. The church was dedicated Janu - ary 7, 1868. The membership at the time of organization was 32; present number, 175. The present Pastor is the Rev. George M. Irvin, who was appointed in 1878. The building is of brick, of fine design, with one tower 60 feet high, and another 119, and is one of the ornaments of Normal. Its cost was over $16,000. The Sabbath school is very flourishing, there being nearly two hundred in attendance. The Society was transferred to the Central Illinois Conference in 1872.
451
HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.
The Presbyterian Church of Normal was organized by the Presbytery of Bloom- ington July 3. 1868, with only ten members. The church is at the corner of Linden and Cherry streets. It was built in 1871 at a cost of about $2,500. It was dedicated February 17, 1872. At present it has about seventy members and maintains a good Sabbath school. Its first Pastor was the Rev. S. Hart, who remained until May, 1872, when his place was supplied by Rev. Dr. S. Wilson, who officiated three years. Rev. W. L. Boyd is the present Pastor.
The first church-building erected by the Congregational Church was dedicated June 23, 1867. The Church had been organized several years previously-some time in the spring of 1865-having met for some time in the University building. Its first church was a very beautiful structure, having cost with the parsonage adjoining over $15,000. It was destroyed by fire May 30, 1873. The total loss on buildings and furniture was $18,000; insured for $7,700. This fire was a very severe blow to the Church, but, on the 12th of September, 1879, it dedicated a new structure. The Church contains at present about ninety members. Its Pastor is the Rev. Albert Etheridge. It is probable that no other church in Bloomington or Normal has ever survived as heavy a loss as this one has experienced.
NORMAL PUBLIC SCHOOL.
We have mentioned that the first school in Normal was probably the one taught in 1855, in a small building situated a little southeast of the residence of Mr. Jesse W. Fell, upon what is known on the plat of North Bloomington as Seminary Block. There were about fifteen children in this school. Its first teacher was Miss Brown, who is still living in Normal. She is a sister of Mrs. Walker. Mr. P. C. W. Lyman was the next teacher, followed by a very young man named William O. Davis, who is now proprietor of the Bloomington Pantagraph. When the Normal institution was opened at Nor- mal in the fall of 1860, the children of what was known as District No. 2, embracing a portion of what is now the corporation and school district of Normal were all admitted to the Model School of the Normal, an arrangement having been effected by which the public funds of the district were used to defray, in part, the expenses of the Model Department. We quote the following from President Edwards' decennial address, delivered at Normal June 27, 1872 :
The Grammar School, as a separate department, was organized in September, 1866. Pre- vions to that time, the Model School was entirely under the supervision of the Principal of the High School. All this time, too, the school had included all the children of school age, in Dis- trict No. 2 of the town of Normal. But as the village increased, and the number of children multiplied, the rooms at the University became too small for their accommodation. Accordingly, a schoolhouse was built by the district, and, in April, 1867, the grammar and intermediate grades of the Model School were removed to the new building. While these grades were yet in the University Building, Mr. E. P. Burlingham, then of Genesco, was appointed to conduct the grammar grade. But the first Principal in the new building was Mr. John W. Cook. He con- tinued in the position for two years, and was succeeded in September, 1868, by Mr. Joseph Carter. Under these two gentlemen, the grammar school became a popular and efficient insti- tution-well graded, thoroughly organized and marked by a vigorous and positive power. At the beginning of Mr. Carter's principalship, the arrangement by which the children of school- age belonging to District No. 2 of the town of Normal had been taught in the Model School was annulled by a vote of the Board of Education of the State of Illinois, and the University ceased to exercise control over the new building erected by the district. For the last two years, the grammar grade has been conducted by Mr. B. W. Baker, a representative of Southern Illinois, and a graduate of the University in the year 1870.
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HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.
This school has been held, since the date given, by Mr. Edwards, in the new brick school-building, which is such evidence of the good taste and refinement of the inhab- itants of Normal. Its cost was $16,000. The Normal public school, in 1879, num- bered 650 pupils. Nine teachers are employed in the different grades. Its Principal is A. C. Butler.
INCORPORATED COMPANIES.
The Bloomington and Normal Street Railway Company, was organized in the spring of 1867. Before the selection of its route there was a good deal of excitement. At one time, when the Legislature was voting upon the charter of the proposed line, there was a prospect that the State Industrial College would be located at Normal. Had the location been made, the College was to have been placed just north of the Chicago & Alton Railroad, on the west side of Main street. This would have fixed the street railroad upon Main street or some one not far off. When the time came for organiza- tion and location, there was quite a strife for the line a few blocks east of the street selected, as well as for the Main street route. The road was organized under a special charter. It was finished in the fall of 1867. At first "dummy " engines were run between Normal and the city limits of Bloomington, but after about two years' trial these engines were sold and the more reliable mule was substituted. The road is still owned by a corporation, but as Mr. Asa H. Moore possesses nearly the whole of the stock, he can be reported as being practically the full Board of Officers. We under- stand there is no great profit in the property, but Mr. Moore keeps it in good shape for the public accommodation.
The Bloomington Stove Company's shops are in the limits of the town of Normal, and a large portion of the Chicago & Alton Company's repair-shops, as well as their rolling-mill, but these matters will properly be treated in the city of Bloomington.
The Empire Machine-Shops in the south part of the township, were organized at first as a company, but have now become private property, and are managed by W. F. Flagg, whose money in the first place mostly built and operated the whole concern.
RESURVEY OF NORMAL.
From the earliest settlement of Normal Township, there were grave troubles aris- ing from the location of section and half-section corners. The lines of the different farms and the proper position of roads could scarcely be permanently placed, as each new surveyor would find errors in the previous survey. The trouble seemed to be that only the outside or township lines were ever properly fixed by the Government Bur- veyors. They perhaps drove stakes to indicate the section and half-section lines, but placed no stones at these corners. There being no trees and no permanent corners, in the course of a few years the fires had destroyed all boundaries. The first settlers did the best they could, and lines and corners were established in various ways, causing never-ending confusion. Some sections would over-run, others fall short of the proper amount. Finally, in June, 1861, in locating the schoolhouse in the Overman district, such grave errors in existing lines were demonstrated that, in the course of a few years the owners of property came to the conclusion that they would abide by a resurvey, to be made under provisions of an act of the Legislature. This act was obtained in the winter of 1864 and 1865. It provided a commission of three-A. T. Risley, of Macon County ; John McGrew, of De Witt, and Z. A. Enos, of Sangamon. This commission,
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HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.
in the fall of 1865, assisted by George P. Ela, of Bloomington, proceeded to survey and re-establish the lines of the whole township, placing them as near where they had been before as was practicable, and the result has been tolerably satisfactory. Each owner was made a party to the case by advertisement, before the survey commenced, causing the publication of an immense list of names. The cost-about $3,000-was paid by the owners of the land. Appeals might be taken from this commission to the courts. All such as were carried to the Supreme Court, were settled by a decision which sustained the law.
INCIDENTS.
When the Illinois Central Railroad was constructed, the bridge over the south branch of Sugar Creek, not far north of the Empire Machine Works, was built of brick, in the shape of an arch, on the top of which was a high embankment. The long con- tinued rains of the spring of 1858, softened this mass of earth, and it rested with a heavy pressure upon the brick arch underneath, which must have been of faulty construction, as it was designed to carry the load with safety. One night, in the month of May or June, the brick-work fell, allowing the embankment thereon to drop into the creek. This, of course, created a dam, and, as a large amount of water was flowing at the time, it soon rose nearly as high as the impediment, which was probably at least fifteen feet. This water backed up and overflowed the farms east, rising in some cases into houses, frightening the sleeping inmates nearly to death. As soon as the pressure became sufficient, the water broke through the embankment, carrying onward with resistless fury large masses of masonry and earth, in some cases, lumps that would weigh half a ton, being moved a quarter of a mile. No lives were lost.
In 1867, the Normal Hotel, situated near the depot, was built by W. A. Pennell, Jesse W. Fell and others, and cost, furnished, about $25,000. It was well kept, was a great favorite, and in every respect a credit to Normal. It burned in the winter of 1872, and its loss has been severely felt by Normal. The insurance on the property was about $10,000, and much of it has been in litigation ever since the fire. The depot was destroyed at the same time, its burning being, in fact, the cause of the hotel fire. A foundry was built at Normal at the time of the erection of the Normal School building, which furnished some of the iron-work for that institution, but the enterprise failed, and entailed a loss of about $4,000, the most of which Mr. Fell sustained.
Another foundry, with a stove and furnace manufactory combined, built here in the spring of 1877, was only able to survive a few short weeks.
Normal is abundantly supplied with good water, not yet utilized, but known to exist in large quantities under ground. The well at the Orphans' Home is one of the best in the State. It is 112 feet deep, and furnishes an abundant supply. The well is tubed with iron, and the tube is three feet in diameter. An engine lifts the water to the surface, where another forces it to the Home, and the engine there pumps so much as is needed to the tank in the upper part of the building, and also performs other work.
Normal is well known all over the West as the home of the Dillons, who have imported so many valuable Norman horses from France. Their stables are well built, and are at any time worth a visit, often containing single horses that sell at from $1,000 to $4,000 Their stock is known in market as " Normans " or " Percheron Normans," from Percheron and Normandy, in France, where the Dillons make annual trips to select the best animals that can be purchased.
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HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.
THE WAR FOR THE UNION.
Normal labors under the great disadvantage of having lost a large portion of its mili" tary glory, from its proximity to Bloomington, which city has appropriated to itself with- out effort, by the natural force of circumstances, much of the military credit of Normal.
Whenever regiments, companies or squads of soldiers were being made up in Bloomington, Normal and the adjoining towns helped swell the ranks, regardless of the little matter of credit. Many of the volunteers obtained their mail at Bloomington, there having been no post office at Normal until the war was well under way, and, from this fact, gave Bloomington as their home when the muster-rolls were being compiled, and hence the poor showing made at first by the new town of Normal. The faet remains, however, that its residents were fully as patriotic as those of Bloomington, and when the result of the loose method of crediting was discovered, in 1864 and 1865, and it was seen that the township would need to bestir itself to furnish its quota of volunteers, the most vigorous efforts were made, with great success. The township raised by sub- scription a large sum of money, and it was given to volunteers who would accept of the large county bounty, with an additional sum from Normal, often as much as $50, and, by earnest work, the town's quota was always raised, and no draft was ever necessary. Had the matter of credit been thought of in 1861, Normal could very readily have secured the large number of its citizens who were credited to Bloomington, and would have shown a surplus over all calls.
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