The History of McLean County, Illinois; portraits of early settlers and prominent men, Part 56

Author: Le Baron, Wm., Jr. & Co., Chicago, Pub
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago : W. Le Baron, Jr.
Number of Pages: 1092

USA > Illinois > McLean County > The History of McLean County, Illinois; portraits of early settlers and prominent men > Part 56

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

SECRET SOCIETIES.

A charter to establish a Lodge of Masons at Lexington was granted to G. W. Knotts, D. Underwood, Frank Barney, W. Elbert, John Cassedy, W. M. Smith, H. Kittle, J. S. Millsap, Shelton Smith and Isaac Thomas, October, 1866. The lodge- room of the society is well furnished, and the society has prospered well. It numbers at present about fifty members. The present officers are : A. B. Davidson, W. M .; William Skelly, S. W .; Hugh Carnahan, J. W. ; W. H. Kannady, Sec .; Almarion Moon, Treas. ; Richard Stevenson, S. D .; H. C. Hays, J. D .; George Nutt, Tiler, and W. G. Ilays and A. Ogden, Stewards.

McLean Lodge, No. 206, I. O. O. F., was organized October, 1856, the charter being granted Brothers David W. Griffith, Edwin M. Murphy, Thornton Robertson, J. A. Hart and J. E. Murphy. For several years, especially during the war, the

496

HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.

prosperity of the Lodge was not marked, at times barely a sufficient number to maintain the organization. Since the war, the fraternity has increased quite rapidly. The present membership is about seventy. The officers are : Charles Stiller, N. G .; Ben- jamin Arbogast, V. G. ; F. P. Casey, Sec., and R. Stevenson, Treas. Meetings are held every Saturday evening.

At a later date, October, 1875, a higher Order of the fraternity was established, and known as Lexington Encampment, No. 161. The membership of this branch of the Order is about thirty, and the present officers are: William Valentine, C. P .; John Henline, S. W .; L. C. Clark, J. W., and R. Stevenson, Scribe and Treasurer. The meetings of the Encampment are held on the first and third Monday evenings of each month.

SCHOOLS.

The schools of Lexington are the just pride of all its citizens. They erected, in 1869, a fine brick building, at a cost of $8,500. Besides this, two primary school- houses are required to accommodate the school population of the town. The schools are well graded and governed, and the people of Lexington feel that they get full value for the large amount yearly expended for the purpose of educating their children. Prof. George Blount is Principal teacher and Superintendent.

PLEASANT HILL.

The village of Pleasant Hill (Selma Post Office) is on the northeast quarter of Section 21, Lexington Township, and is one of the oldest villages in the county. It is situated on a part of the Patten land, or, rather, the land of Aaron Foster, son-in-law of Mr. Patten, and actually covers a portion of Indian Town. Several of the graves of the ancient owners of this soil are within its limits.

In 1838, Isaac Smalley, then recently from Ohio, but who had lived a year in Will County, where he had taught school very acceptably, for he was a man of fair edu- cation, came to the Mackinaw to get cheaper land than he could find in Will County. In coming here he passed through Pontiac, which had then just been chosen as the county seat of the new county of Livingston. He and his party had to stay there two hours to get a chance to cross the river. They were nonplused for awhile, but finally got some logs which would float, and put some boards or rails on them and got their wagons onto it, and pulled this primitive raft across. When they arrived at Foster's, they were surprised to learn that they had made a visit to Pontiac, for they had not seen any town there.

The hill upon which he settled was such a nice natural site for building, that Mr. Smalley decided to lay out a town. For a time, he lived in a little house near by, but the next year put up the first framed house here, a neat story-and-a-half structure, which is now occupied by Mr. Rogers.

In 1840, M. R. Bullock, County Surveyor, laid out for Mr. Smalley sixteen blocks, each block divided into four lots. The conveyance of streets was acknowledged before 'Squire Spawr, then, as now, a resident of Lexington. Later, two additions were laid out, one on the west side of twelve blocks, in February, 1852, and one on the south side in June of the same year. (These last were in contemplation of the railroad, which they did not get. )

The name was given by Mrs. Milton Smith, a near neighbor of Mrs. Smalley's, in this way : Mrs. Smith said it seemed odd to date a letter from nowhere when she had

497

HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.

to write one to her old friends in Kentucky ; she must have a name to date from (she lived on a hill immediately east of Smalley's), so she told Mrs. Smalley that she called her place Poverty Hill, and as this one was a fairer one to look on, she would call that, "if she were her," Pleasant Hill. The name took, but when application was made to the Department for a post office, the officials there named it Selma.

When Mr. Patten came into the Indian town, he was not well received by the dnsky denizens ; but he was a man of resources, and soon got their confidence by the handiwork he did for them, and they moved their quarters instead of moving him.

Dr. Mahan built the next house-a log one-and commenced the practice of medi- cine here, which he continued for about ten years. The house has now been moved away.

Mr. Smalley was an energetic, prosperous man, well informed and a good business man. He built up his young town in the same spirit in which he did everything he undertook, drew business and settlers there, and for a while it outstripped its only rivals on the Mackinaw-Lexington and Clarksville, both of which had a small start in point of age.

Mr. Smalley was a true and consistent member of the Methodist Church, and was a local preacher of considerable power. He made every endeavor to secure the railroad through his town, but Gen. Gridley was interested in Lexington, and the Fells at Pontiac, and their influence was too much for whatever argument Pleasant Hill could offer.

In 1855, Smalley went to Springfield, at the earnest solicitation of some of the leading citizens of the county, to lobby against a contemplated division of the county, which had for its object the fixing of a county seat at Saybrook. While there, he was exposed, without knowing it, to the small-pox, and died soon after his return home.

His widow married Mr. Bratton, with whom she continues to live on the old place. Mr. Bratton is also a local preacher, or has been, for now, at upward of eighty years of age, he believes his labors are about ended, though he is still hale and vigorous. Mrs. B. still retains the old plats of Pleasant Hill, and some other papers which it would be of interest to the Historical Society to secure.

Mr. Smalley, about 1842, moved a house here from Clarksville, and two or three were brought here from Lexington, one of which was made into a schoolhouse.

Jacob Brown came here soon after, and commenced blacksmithing, which business, although now nearly ninety years of age, he continues to prosecute, shoeing his horse or two a day. He is now the oldest " living blacksmith " in the county.

Absalom Enoch was the first to sell goods here. He brought a few groceries and notions here early in the forties. There being no building which he could occupy, Mrs. Sinalley gave up her bedroom, which was soon shelved-off and stocked. This is given as a sample of her way of doing things. She frequently gave up a room to some new family for temporary living in, and has had three families in her house at a time.

When Enoch got a building for his store, he took in Aaron Foster as partner. Foster was an important personage here, full of business, good feeling and good judg- ment. He was Squire, Constable, Class-leader, and whatever else the people wanted. He went to Kansas and died. George Webster and David Curtiss bought out the store and carried on an extensive trade. W. D. Johnson finally bought the old store and moved it out to his farm for a barn.

498

HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.

There were three cabinet-shops here, carried on by Edwards & Jesswin, Joseph Patten, and Mr. Smith. Washington Edwards, now of Bloomington, kept tavern.

James H. Gaff, now Postmaster of Pontiac, and, recently, Sheriff of Livingston County, had a blacksmith-shop here, and, going away about 1860, sold to Pat Wilson, who still carries it on.

Another man, who has also been Postmaster of Pontiac, first made his mark here. Dr. John W. Yeomans practiced medicine here for some years at an carly day.

Dr. Goddard was for a long time the physician here, though he lived at Lexington. He is dead. Dr. Waters succeeded him.

Harrison Foster was first Postmaster, keeping the office in his little store.

There are now three churches, three stores, three blacksmith-shops and thirty dwellings in Pleasant Hill, and a graded school with two departments.

The first M. E. Church was built in 1845, by the Pattens, Foster and Mr. Smalley. The latter cut the logs, got the lumber sawed, seasoned it, and worked and prayed over the thing until it was done.

Mr. Cummings was among the first preachers. Stephen R. Begg, who recently celebrated his golden wedding at Plainfield, Will County, was also among the first. Rev. Henry Maynard rode this circuit when it was 400 miles around it. He came here to live, afterward, and carried on a tannery. He moved to Wisconsin, and lives there yet. Messrs. Pinkard, Gregg, Craig and Murch preached here, but the latter did not practice as well as preach, and they had to let him go. The old church was sold for barns, and a new one, 28x60, was built in 1865.

The Presbyterian Church was built in 1852. Milton Smith, John Smith and William Mahan were largely interested in securing the building of this edifice. There had been, for several years, an organization here, and regular preaching is now had. Preaching-service was, for a long time, at Milton Smith's house.

The United Brethren Church was built in 1858.

CHENOA TOWNSHIP.

When the Chicago & Mississippi Railroad (now the Chicago & Alton), in its prog- ress from Joliet, its starting point, southward toward the " future great" city, struck the northern boundary of McLean County, a few rods from the present city of Chenoa, there was nothing to distinguish the location from a thousand others, which the pioneer railroaders found during those years in this prairie State. It was down in the maps as Township 26, Range 4, east of the Third Principal Meridian, and that is all of its pre-rail- road history. Not a house is known to have been erected within its borders, not a tree was ever known to have grown, or a human being to have lived there. The building of this road and the location of the station here brought the first " settlers," and about all the " settling " they did, was to imbed the railroad ties from Michigan and Wisconsin into the prairie soil and settle it sufficiently for rails to lie on them. The building of the eastern extension of the Peoria & Oquawka (now Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw) Rail- road, crossing the Chicago & Mississippi at this point, seemed to mark this as an impor- tant " railroad center," so common "in the mind" of those who were watching the unparalleled railroad building of that fruitful decade. There were reasons which are

499

HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.

not now so plainly visible, why this point should appear to have very superior advantages as a railroad center. It was the only crossing on the line of this, the most important railroad in the State-a road passing in almost a direct line between the two great cities of the West, through the very center of the State, having among other important places, the State capital upon it-between Joliet and Springfield; and for many years no other east and west road cut it. The soil was known to be fertile and inexhaustibly rich ; every prospect was flattering. Farther on will appear some of the reasons that have prevented a full realization of the most sanguine hopes of the projectors and early settlers.

The township of Chenoa is a full Congressional township, being six miles square, and is all prairie, sufficiently rolling to be capable of easy drainage. The soil is rich and deep, adapted to raising corn, grass, small grains, fruits and all erops for which the State is so generally noted.

It is situated about one hundred miles from Chicago, and about twenty miles from Bloomington, the county seat of MeLean County, and about fifty miles from Peoria. Its settlement and agricultural development began in 1856, and for ten years it was very rapid. By 1870, very little of the land remained wild. At first, wheat was a very profitable crop, thirty to forty bushels to the aere being a very common yield ; this soon changed, however, and farmers readily adopted the notion that it was not exactly in the "wheat belt," and soon gave their attention largely to corn.

There is no stream of water running through the township, but the land is rolling enough to be capable of thorough draining. Early in the life of its farming enterprise, mole draining was practiced by many. This, of course, only proved a temporary relief, and it was followed by a system of open draining by the use of road graders and ditchers. This was cheap, and during times of superfluous water seemed to answer the purpose, but all these machines leave the excavated soil on the edge of the wide open ditch, and it there forms a dam against the free escape of the surface water behind. Some of the best farmers have found that ditches made with plow and scraper-the earth being deposited where "it will do the most good," that is, in low places, or so scattered that it will not form an embankment-were the only permanently useful ditches. Within the past year, tile-draining has became very popular; where so carefully done that there are no sags in the line of tiles, it is proving a success. Fencing has been generally done with the csage-orange hedge; few of the farmers went to the expense of putting up board fences. Hedging with osage-orange had become quite general before the farms of this township came into cultivation.

Very little of the land passed from the Government direct to the real tillers. When the pioneers began turning the sod, already nearly all except what was known as "swamp-land"-a very broad term where applied to the land of this country-was owned by those who were "holding for a rise." The Scott family and their partners were owners of many thousand acres, 3,000 of which still remain in their names.

Whatever railroad facilities the township has, it had when the settlers arrived, and they never have been called on to "bond the town " in aid of railroad corporations. Thus it has been able to keep out of debt, and the only debt the tax-payers will be called on to pay, is the debt of School District No. 1, about $2,300, which compared with that of many Western towns, is light. This keeping out of debt has its counter- part in keeping out of political office. There is really no connection between the two,

500

HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.

but it is true that while Chenoa has been in unison with the prevailing political party of the county during its existence, she has been practically left in the cold. Whether the fault of the "ring " as some would have it, or whether it is because her enterprising citizens have been too busy looking after their home interests, it is a fact that no citizen of Chenoa has ever been placed in important positions of county trusts, or in represent- ative halls. Perhaps this is not rightly a matter of complaint, but in a county which for years has enjoyed the reputation of furnishing more officials, State, county and national, than any county of its population in the West, it seems a little strange that this and the two other townships, which with it forms the "north tier," have never been called on to furnish any.

The principal crop raised is corn, and being a prairie township without shade and running water, few men have made a business of feeding cattle. Of late years many men have been able to feed their corn to hogs, and the exportation of live hogs has very gradually increased. The majority of the farmers are men of small means, and owning or renting small farms, a few only have tried cutting "wide swaths," and the result of such cases has not been such as to awaken a desire on the part of others to imitate them. The earlier population found its way here largely from the States of Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New York, with a few from New England. Latterly, there has been a considerable influx of those born in foreign countries, principally Ireland and Germany ; many of these own good farms, and some work places; the usual method of renting has been for a share of the grain.

EARLY INCIDENTS.

The land upon which the city of Chenoa was built lay in Sections 1, 2, 11 and 12 of the township; Section 2 belonged, as did several thousand acres in this and Living- ston counties, to the family of which Matthew T. Scott, who lived in Kentucky, was a member, and some partners ; while he was not the owner of all of it, he had such legal papers as gave him power to contract, sell and do whatever he chose for the general benefit of himself and his co-owners. The junction of the railroads, which was to be the center of the town, was on Section 2, about 60 rods west of its eastern boundary ; along this boundary lay Section 1, which, or a part of it, was in the name of W. M. Hamilton, between whom and Scott an early friendship had changed into rivalry

and animosity. Scott claimed that he had furnished Hamilton the money to buy the land before he left Kentucky, and that Hamilton had taken the title in his own instead of Scott's name. The land of Section 1 lay so near the business center of the future city that the rivalry which must follow was seen at once by Scott, and he took measures to prevent it. When he laid off his plat for record, he made it lay on the west side of the railroad keeping his own plat as far away from the Hamilton land as he could. When he made a public sale of lots, he sold those on the west side of the railroad, and offered every inducement to comers on that part of his town. For a long time, he refused to plat and open the strip of land between the original town and Hamil- ton's land, and declared he would build a wall between them so high that the purchasers of Hamilton's lots could not get into town. The wall was, of course, only this strip, about 30 rods wide, upon which it was trespass to enter to get to Chenoa. Hamilton being thus prevented from laying out an " addition to Chenoa," called his plat " East Chenoa," and thus it appears upon record. Scott was very liberal in his promises to

501

HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.

those desiring lots, and in a hand-bill offering a public sale of lots, he proposed to give suitable lots for churches, schoolhouse, cemetery, etc., free, as such were wanted. That he failed to make good these promises was due, perhaps in part, to subsequent events over which he had not control ; as a matter of history these promises were not fulfilled. Soon after, he entered upon the undertaking of making a town here. Humphries, the young man to whom the land, in part, belonged, died in New Mexico, and the legality of the arrangement by which Scott was operating was clouded by the refusal of his father to agree to anything. No lots could be sold ; no titles conveyed, and a general insecurity pervaded all business undertakings. Hamilton would have been more than human had he failed to take advantage of this state of things and pressed the sale of his lots until in a short time East Chenoa became the most popular for residences.

In the year 1854, J. B. Lenney, who seems to have no rivalry in the claim to being the father of the town, living in Pennsylvania, made up his mind that there was a good opening in this locality, having several friends living along the Mackinaw, who had posted him in regard to the railroad crossing. He sent his brother-in-law, John Bush, Jr., now a farmer residing in this township, forward to get up a building that could be used for a shop and store, so as to commence business in the following spring. Young Bush, on arriving in the county, was persuaded by his friends in Lexington not to build, for they thought that Lenney, on his arrival, would prefer to make his home along the Mackinaw timber, instead of on the open prairie, where no sane man at that day thought of living. This year, Michael Herr, a Pennsylvanian, who owned land just across the county line, had built some farmhouses, and Bush found shelter in one of them for the first winter on this prairie. In 1855, Lenney came, and, in company with Bush, put up the building long known as the Farmers' Store, one block west of the C. & A. R. R., and about 200 fect south of the T., P. & W. This building served as residence, cabinet-shop and store, if the little collection of candy, clothes-pins, tobacco, saleratus, sugar, etc., which was temptingly displayed in the front window, might be called such. This was the first building erected on the site of the present thriving, active, prosperous city of Chenoa, if we except the two little half-sod, half-board dug- outs which answered the purpose of depot, freight-house and home for the section hands. To say that Lenney exhibited the pride of Solomon viewing the Temple, as he stood at the railroad track, scanning this " Farmers' Store," which he had built, would be probably exaggeration. All he lacked now of being a "successful Western mer- chant," was the goods and the customers. The former he knew where to get, but the latter he must get " on time." This building was put up before the town was laid out, and Scott promised to give them the lot which it should prove to be on when the sur- vey was made.

They " paced off" the land and calculated the distance to an expected corner lot, but when the survey was made, the building was found to be in the street, and as the proprietor of the town had not proposed to give them a whole street, they were obliged to buy a lot and move the store. The next year, Mr. Lenney bought a lot of Hamil- ton, in East Chenoa, and put him up a residence. At the time this store was built, the only customers to be looked to for traffic were 'Squire Payne, John St. John and Bishop Young, who were over in the edge of Livingston County, to the northeast ; Mr. Riley, who had broken the sod two miles southwest, and two or three hands who " worked on the railway." The road now known as the Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw,

502

HISTORY OF MCLEAN COUNTY.

had not yet reached this point, and as Mr. Lenney drove over the country to Peoria, not a human being was seen, not a furrow had been struck, till he reached Washington in Tazewell County. The Pennsylvanian then thought he had got as far away from civilization as it was possible to get in this State.

In 1855, John Bush, Sr., built what was known as the " Bush House," near the Farmers' Store. It was used as a residence and boarding-house.

In 1856, Chenoa and the country around it began to fill up. Lenney took in a partner, George Bettinger, from Kentucky, who put in a stock of goods and remained in trade here nearly ten years. He was a lawyer by profession, and politically was tinct- ured with the prejudices common to his nativity, and returned to his native State during or soon after the war, and resumed his practice. He was a man of fine business and social qualities, and is kindly remembered by the older settlers.

The " National Hotel," the first public house in the city, was built in 1856 by John M. Bryant and his son-in-law, W. H. Levers, who came from Pennsylvania. The- block upon which it was built cost $375. Even at that early day, the hotel business was quite active The only all-rail route for Peoria and points west of there to Spring- field and St. Louis was by way of Chenoa, and the travel was considerable. This con- tinued, practically, so far as Springfield was concerned, till several years after the close of the war.

Samuel Henry built a store about the same time, and R. C. Sallee, who, during nearly the whole of the life of this city, has been an active business man here, and whose fortune and life were thoroughly devoted to the best interests of the place, came here from Ohio and put up a store. All these were built west of the railroad. Mr. Sallee remained here, thoroughly identified with the growth of the town, until repeated fires swept away the accumulations of an active and successful life, when he removed to Missouri.

J. P. MeKnight, from Ohio, built a store the following year, and John McMahan put up a house three blocks west of the " National," which stood until the terrible tornado of May 13, 1858, literally wiped it out of existence, scattering its material as it did that of many of the smaller houses. This storm of wind was the most severe ever known here, and is one of the "incidents " which will never fade from the memory of those who were then living here.

In 1857, Dr. Stevenson, the first practicing physician, built a drug store back of the " Bush House," fronting on the railroad. He was a good doctor, but his "eye to business " seems to have been rather askew when he selected his location. Dr. R. W. McMahan studied medicine with him and practiced here for several years.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

The History of McLean County, Illinois; portraits of early settlers and prominent men, Part 56

Author: Le Baron, Wm., Jr. & Co., Chicago, Pub Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Chicago : W. Le Baron, Jr. Number of Pages: 1092

Author: Le Baron, Wm., Jr. & Co., Chicago, Pub
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago : W. Le Baron, Jr.
Number of Pages: 1092