USA > Illinois > Will County > The History of Will County, Illinois : containing a history of the county a directory of its real estate owners; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; general and local statistics.history of Illinois history of the Northwest > Part 44
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463
HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
The following history of the press of Wilmington has been kindly furn- ished by E. D. Conley, Esq., editor and proprietor of the Wilmington Advo- cate :
Wilmington's first newspaper, the Wilmington Herald, was established in this place in 1854 by D. H. Berdine. Whether misfortunes never come singly or not, that year marked the advent of the cholera in our midst, also. The Herald was a joint stock institution, gotten up by a number of citizens ; and the setting-up of the press and material was literally a nine-days wonder in the eyes of many villagers. Cholera swept off one of the printers-John J. Post- and sickness and disaster threatened the Herald's success. In less than a year afterward, R. W. Waterman, a large stockholder, obtained control of the office and placed it in charge of William H. Clark, of Michigan, who was to edit and publish the sheet (a six or seven column folio), at a salary of $15 per week. Clark watched his opportunity. The stock gradually merged in the hands of a few, and that few mortgaged it ; a snide " mortgage sale," made in the presence of a chosen few, was had, and the Herald passed into the hands of Clark, the consideration being $7.00 !. It run along three or four years, when Joseph Braden, of the Joliet True Democrat, came down to Wilmington with an old Ramage press to trade for the Herald press-a Foster; but the citizens got wind of it and mobbed the office. How the aggrieved and swindled original stockholders settled the matter, the writer does not remember; but it was patched up somehow and security given. In 1856, or thereabout, Clark removed from this place-office and all-to Kendall County, where he established the Ken- dall County Clarion. The present publisher of the Advocate was chief "devil" of the Herald office for some time, while J. H. Reubenau, now a C. & A. express-train conductor, was the principal typo when not engaged in stealing Waterman's dry wood.
W. R. Steel, Esq., established the Wilmington Independent here in 1861 ; so, if the Herald's coming brought with it cholera, the Independent, not to be outdone, brought the pomp and circumstances of war. The Independent became Republican in politics, and had quite a good circulation in the Kankakee Valley. It was purchased by Alexander McIntosh in 1861. It was run along until the Fall election in 1872, when it suspended publication and was sold under a mortgage. H. H. Parkinson, under a lease, run it a year longer, when the paper died, and the material was sold to parties abroad. In the meantime, June, 1870, the People's Advocate was started by Jacob H. Warner, at the instance of many who, in political issues, opposed the policy of the Independ- ent. When the Advocate was 35 weeks old-February 18, 1871-E. D. Conley, Esq., purchased a half interest and became its chief editor. But partnership proved a bad horse to ride, and dissolution in ownership followed. In May, 1872, Mr. Conley bought the office for $2,000 cash, and from that date to this . the Wilmington Advocate has been issued regularly, and is generally recognized as a fixed and solid institution.
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HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
Another Wilmington Herald and a paper known as the Wilmington Free Press have, within a few years, been issued in this city ; but both proved short lived.
At the present writing-September 20, 1878-the Wilmington Phoenix is published in this city, though principally edited and printed in Joliet.
REED TOWNSHIP.
This is now the smallest township in the county, containing only the west half of Congressional Town 32, Range 9 east of the Third Principal Meridian. For the fifteen years ending 1875, it was the largest, embracing within its limits all of that territory now constituting Custer. As now laid out, it con- tains eighteen sections, and is bounded as follows : On the north by Wilming- ton, on the east by Custer, on the south by Kankakee County and on the west by Grundy. The first name given to the township, by the Commissioners, was Clinton, which, however, was changed, at the first meeting of the Board of Supervisors, to Reid, in honor of one of the pioneers of this section. On the first maps and in the first reports, the orthography of the name is found as here indicated ; but on the later maps and reports it is spelled as indicated at the head of this article. For what reason this change has been made, or if made by common consent or practice-the later method being the more natu- ral way-we are unable to inform our readers.
The land, for the most part, is a level plain or prairie. In some portions, more especially in the southern, it is covered with timber of a small growth. In this portion the surface is more broken, but cannot be considered hilly. It is not crossed by any stream of water, but all of that supply is obtained from wells. Good water abounds at a depth of from twenty to forty feet. The land is of a poor quality for agricultural purposes, the soil being quite thin, with a species of quicksand underlying.
In his history of New York, Washington Irving begins with the creation of the world, citing as a reason that as the first occupants of that island, the Knick- erbockers, were not only descendants of Noah, but also of Adam, therefore, the history could not be complete without an allusion to that primary event. So, in the history of Reed Township, we are forcibly reminded of a declaration of the Almighty, when he had completed the creation, that it was " all very good." Various constructions and explanations have been put upon this aver- ment of the Lord, seeing that so much of the world is evil, and that even Nature -especially to the uneducated-seems to be in many respects deficient in her purposes. No more striking illustration of this idea can be found than in the apparent waste of forces in the creation of the "dry land " spoken of in the tenth verse of the first chapter of Genesis. Especially is this notable in a locality deficient in productiveness, which is, at the same time, surrounded by territory of a most prolific character. And here, again, in this township, we
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HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
observe the wisdom of the Creator, and the verification of that declaration of His, that it is " all good," while the ignorance of man would condemn it. The surface of the township of Reed, to look upon, like the apples of Sodom, is all that is desirable; but like that deceptive fruit to the agriculturist, it is only a source of sorrow. For a number of years after the first settlement was made, and the first attempt made to induce the soil of Reed to return to the toiling laborer a compensation for his expenditure of strength and time, it was believed that this section was a failure, and numerous tracts were sold for taxes from year to year, and the epithet "land poor " seemed to apply with propriety to its owners. But behold the wisdom of the Creator ! In this region, which man so irreverently denounced. was stored by Him, for many thousand years, an article for the use of man's extremity, which renders this one of the most valuable tracts in the State. All hoarded up, eighty feet under the ground, and con- densed into a small space, is suddenly found the fuel with which to supply the deficiency that had always been felt existed in the prairie country ; and, all at once, the land which could have been bought "for a song " jumps to $100 per acre, and, within the space of ten years, a city of five thousand inhabitants buds and blossoms, as it were, by magic.
Owing to a scarcity of timber and a want of water, the township was one of the latest in the county to settle. Twenty years before, settlements had been made along the Des Planes and Kankakee. Not until the opening-up of the railroad could an emigrant be induced to lose sight of the belt of timber lying along the banks of the streams of water. When that event transpired, and fuel and other commodities were transported to a distance from their place of growth or manufacture, a life on the prairie began to appear possible, and this section began to develop. Prior to 1854, the date of the event named, probably not more than four or five families had shown the hardihood to venture so far from the original settlements. William Higgins, who came to this vicinity (being just a few rods west of the township line, in Grundy County) in 1850, says that when he arrived here, James Curmea had been living on Section 6 about six months. Curmea was a native of Ireland, had been peddling through the country, and, becoming tired of the business, settled at the point mentioned. He entered all of the section, and, though a large land-owner as regards real estate, he was poor, the soil proving to be of a very unfruitful nature. He lived on his land until 1865, when the discovery of coal in this section suddenly made him a rich man. His farm, which had cost him $1.25 per acre, and which, a few weeks before, could have been bought for $10, was considered worth $100; and shortly after, he actually sold it for the last price named. The tract now belongs to the Wilmington Company. Curmea took his money, removed to Morris and started a bank, in which business he is still engaged. P. Kilgore was "squatting" on Section 4. He was also from the Emerald Isle. In 1855, he sold out to Frank and Thomas O'Reilley, and removed to Kankakee. The O'Reilleys were also from Ireland. They
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HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
still reside in the township. William Smith was a Yankee, from the hills of Vermont. He could scarcely be called a " settler," as his business was that of hunting, and his home was wherever his dog and gun could be found. His range was from the head of the Kankakee to its mouth, but his headquarters were in this township. The report of his rifle years ago ceased to be beard, and then it was known that "Smith the hunter" was gone to a " happier hunt- ing-ground." Patrick and James Dwyer came in 1850. They are still here. William Sterrett and Timothy Keane are also old settlers, and still reside in the township. Dennis Glenny was a stone-cutter on the Illinois & Michigan Canal. He is another native of Erin. He came to the township in 1856, and still resides here. Besides those already named, there were but few who could lay claim to being permanent settlers ; and neither were there any additional settlements until the discovery of coal. Even now, there are, perhaps, not more than twenty families outside of the city limits.
Though Reed Township was organized in 1850, the portion now embraced in Custer contained, until 1865, nearly all the inhabitants; and, though Custer is but three years old in name, it, and not Reed, is the original township; so that in reality, what is now called by the name of Reed, is a new town with the old name. The division occurred three years ago, on the petition of citizens of the eastern portion of the township. As now constituted, the west eighteen sec- tions were organized April, 1875.
The present officers of the township are: John Young, Supervisor; John Bamrick, Clerk; Dennis Downey, Assessor ; David Francis, Collector ; Barney Higgins, Dennis La Hynes and Henry Roc, Commissioners of Highways; Nathan Goldfinger, Henry Hillman and Edwin Wakefield, Justices of the Peace; William J. Stewart, John Gaddis and J. Randick, Constables, and James Powers, School Treasurer.
CITY OF BRAIDWOOD.
In many respects, this city is peculiar, and in its growth certainly is a won- der; and, to any but inhabitants of the West, who are somewhat used to such phenomena as a large city springing from the ground in a decade, it would be considered a marvel. In 1865, where now stands the city of Braidwood, with its five thousand inhabitants, its seven churches, its three schools and its gigan- tic systems of mining machinery, was simply nothing but a sea of tall grass, or in the Winter a boundless field of snow, reaching out to meet the horizon, with scarcely a cabin intervening. As before stated, this locality was considered almost worthless, with only a few unthrifty farmers scattered through the neigh- borhood. In 1864, William Henneberry, while digging a well discovered the first coal. He had already sunk the well to a reasonable depth, but had failed to find water. Procuring a drill he continued his search, by boring to a greater depth. When about eighty feet below the surface, he came upon what proved to be a fine vein of coal. As soon as the fact became known, great excitement prevailed, and a shaft was sunk at a point known as Keeversville. This shaft
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HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
fully realized the expectations of its projectors, and but a short time intervened before works of simple character were erected for the purpose of raising the product.
Individual and small company enterprises were thenceforward organized with varying success. The parties originating the same usually having more enthusiasm than capital, their efforts generally proved comparative failures.
In 1865-66, J. D. Bennet, M. B. Killbourn, C. L. Whitcomb, Seth Turner and C. D. Wilbur leased some land, proposing to operate for coal. Wilbur was the State Geologist, and was a great enthusiast on the subject of coal desposits.
Their work was, however, but scarcely begun, when a company of gentle- man from Boston completed an organization for the same purpose, and Bennet and his company sold out to them. The Boston organization was what is now known as the Wilmington & Vermilion* Coal Company, J. M. Walker being President, and A. T. Hall, Treasurer. With ample means at their command, the success of the work was fully assured, and the Company has continued in successful operation ever since. Though the demand for the product is not so great as formerly, 700 men are in the employ of the Company at Braidwood. Of these, about one-half are colored. The colored portion of the miners work almost exclusively in a mine by themselves. In the Summer season, when the demand for coal is comparatively limited, the workmen are employed only about one-half the time. They receive in Summer, 85 cents per ton, and in the Winter, 90 cents. The average work of a day, per miner, is two and a half tons. Two shafts are operated by the Braidwood detachment, at which about 10,000 tons each are raised, the capacity of both shafts being about 30,000 tons per month. In addition to shafts, engines and other machinery, the Com- pany own 300 cars with which they transport the products of the mines to Chicago and other markets. They also run two general stores, at which the miners obtain most of the necessary articles of food and clothing. One of these stores is located near the offices of the Company, and the other in the central part of the business portion of the city. The managers of the Wilmington Company's works at this place are : Esaias Hall, Superintendent, and H. O. Alden and B. F. Washburn, Clerks.
The Eureka Mining Company commenced operations in 1865. At first the enterprise was known as the Rhodes Coal Company, with D. P. Rhodes as President or Manager ; but subsequently a new organization was formed by A. B. Meeker, D. P. Rhodes, W. L. Brown, C. B. Brown, George L. Dunlap and Perry H. Smith. Of these, Meeker was President, and W. L. Brown was Secretary and Treasurer. With the exception of C. B. Brown, withdrawn, and H. Pratt, who has been introduced as Secretary, the primary organization remains intact. William Maltaby, the present Superintendent of the mines, has performed the duties of that position since the organization of the Company.
* The Company also operate mines at Streator, on the Vermilion River.
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HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
The Company employ, at their two shafts, 425 men, about 300 of whom are at work all of the time, the remainder waiting their turn for employment, which is given to all from two to four days each week. About 130,000 tons of coal are raised per year, the capacity of the shafts being over 200,000. The total expenses of the Company amount to about $18,000 per month. Not only are the minutiæ of the operations of the two companies about the same, but they, with the companies in adjacent townships, unite their interests, divid- ing profits after all necessary expenses are paid.
James Braidwood has, perhaps, done more than any single individual to develop the coal industry in this region than any other man ; especially was this the case in its early history. He came from Scotland to America, in 1863, and to this vicinity, in 1865, and assisted in sinking most of the early shafts. In 1872, he, in company with some others, sunk the Braidwood shaft. Sub- sequently, the works were burned, and, in 1876. he started, on his own resources, the shaft now known as the Braidwood shaft. He is not connected with the pool, but employs his men and sells his coal at prices independent of all corporations, most of his product being disposed of to the Bridgeport Rolling Mills at Chicago. He employs about eighty men, who receive 85 cents per ton for mining. The amount of coal raised at this shaft is 130 tons per day. The capital invested is $20,000.
The appearance of the city is remarkable in some respects. The companies who own the land have always sold lots with a clause in the deed, reserving the right to mine the coal that lay beneath. In consequence, we find a whole city, built entirely of wood. With the exception of a small brick schoolhouse, which antedates the coal discovery, and a bakery rebuilt a year or two ago on land which had already been undermined and had settled, there are no stone or brick buildings ; but the light balloon frames, which a settling of the earth would not injure, are universal. The vein of coal here is from three to three and a half feet in thickness ; and, after a lead has been worked and abandoned, the roof falls in, and a corresponding depression soon after makes its appearance on the surface of the ground. The settling is quite gradual, and is usually completed within a year. In time, doubtless, the site of the city will all have been worked over; and, after some sweeping fire which sooner or later comes to every wooden town, a more substantial class of buildings will take the place of the frame struct- ures, and the city will put on a more presentable appearance. During the first year or two, people came in and retired so rapidly that it is hard to say who were here first. Many who came in to work in the mines left as suddenly as they came, and not even their names are remembered. Some who came to carry on trade made their stay quite brief, and are not entitled to notice as permanent settlers of the town. Others who worked here for some years, yet having fam- ilies, relatives or friends at other points, never considered this their home. Among those who came to the place, at the beginning, was William Maltaby, Superintendent of Mines for the Eureka Company. Mr. Maltaby is a native of
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HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
England, where he worked at mining before coming to this country. In 1863, he came to this vicinity on a kind of prospecting expedition, and moved to the place in 1866, to superintend the Company's works. He has been in their em- ploy ever since. John Young is a Scotchman. He came to the neighborhood in 1867, and worked at the mines. He has, by industry and economy, accumu- lated considerable means, and is now engaged in merchandise. His residence in this city, and his intercourse with his fellow-citizens, have made him quite popular. He is the present Supervisor of Reed Township. Daniel McLaugh- lin came in 1869. He was also a native of Scotland, and a miner. He is present Mayor of the city, having been elected to that office in 1877. Hon. L. H. Goodrich was the first Mayor of the city, being elected in 1873. Mr. Goodrich was formerly from New York City, but had lived, before his removal to this place, a number of years in Gardner. From the latter place, he was elected as Representative to the Twenty- ninth General Assembly of the State, and re-elected to the Thir- tieth. He was also, for six successive years, chosen from that township as Supervisor, and, for eight years, Justice of the Peace. He is at present in the mercantile trade. Esaias Hall is from Vermont, and removed to this place in 1866, to superintend the mines of the Wilmington Company. He is still in their employ in the same capacity. Robert Huston is from New York City. He came to this place in 1870, and engaged in the mercantile trade. John H. Ward is a native of Ireland. He came to Wilmington and resided for a num- ber of years. In 1866, he removed to this locality, where he has since resided. Within five years of the laying-out of the town, which occurred in 1865, among those who have become permanent residents and at the same time are recognized as leading citizens, are E. W. Felton, David Paden, William Jack, B. F. Sweet, John Broadbent, Edward Davidson, Duncan Rankin, John James, William Chalmers, John Barnett, John Cox, B. W. Reese, W. H. McFarlane, Meshach Dando and Robert Paden. The first house within what is now the site of Braidwood was the little brick schoolhouse, already referred to.
The first dwelling erected is said to have been built by Paddy Nary, a miner in the employ of one of the first mining companies. Daniel Small built the first house designed to be used as a store, and J. D. Bennet put in the first stock of merchandise. The store-building has since served the purpose of schoolhouse and church. Andrew Benney is credited with the building of the first hotel. Benney was a miner, and built the hotel for the accommodation, more especially, of employes of the mines. He is now a resident of Missouri. Dwellings, shops and stores followed so fast and in such numbers that to name them or their projectors and builders would require more space than the design of this work would permit. Many of the miners have bought lots, which usually consist of a half and in some cases an acre or more of ground, and built them comfortable little homes.
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HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
In 1873, Braidwood presented the unusual example of a community organ- izing a city government without previously having incorporated as a village. In 1872, the State Legislature passed a general act for the government of all towns having a population of 2,000 and upward, and conferring upon them the style and charters of cities. Upon this basis, it was found that Braidwood had already attained that number, and steps were accordingly taken to carry into effect the provisions of the law. A primary meeting was held, and, in accord- ance with the sentiments there expressed, an election was decided upon to take place the 21st of April, 1873. The result was the election of E. W. Felton, David Paden, William Jack, B. F. Sweet, John Cox and B. W. Reese, as Aldermen ; L. H. Goodrich, Mayor; William Chalmers, City Clerk ; John Barnett, Street Commissioner ; William H. McFarlane, Police Magistrate, and Robert Paden, Marshal.
In 1877, Daniel Mclaughlin succeeded L. H. Goodrich as Mayor.
The present officers of the city are: John McIntyre, John Cox, Frank Lofty, John Crelly, Richard Mulrooney, Nicholas Keon, Richard Phillips and John Broadbent, Aldermen ; Daniel Mclaughlin, Mayor ; William H. Steen, Clerk ; John S. Keir, Treasurer ; Patrick Muldowney, Marshal; William Mooney, Attorney ; and Meshach Dando, Police Magistrate. Of the Aldermen chosen at the first election in 1873, John Cox has retained his place in the Council ever since. The voting population of the city is fully 1,000, though 940 votes is the highest number yet polled at any election.
Society in most mining districts is usually considered below par, but not only does present observation prove quite contrary, but the history of the town and its benevolent, Christian and educational institutions show conclusively that, in this instance, the moral and religious features compare very favorably with other towns of like age and size.
Braidwood has five churches-the Presbyterian, Methodist Episcopal, Cath- olic, Congregational and Primitive Methodist -all occupying good comfortable buildings, besides which the Mormons, the Colored Methodists and Colored Baptists hold religious services and contemplate the erection of houses of wor- ship.
The M. E. Church held religious services here as early as 1867. Rev. A. C. Price was the first preacher, and ministered to the congregation at the date named. The first services were held in the old schoolhouse, and a class was formed with William Anderson and wife, William Davids and father and mother, Samuel Bales and wife and John Runsey and wife ; and these, with a few others, soon after organized the Church. About two years later, the society, having increased in numbers and wealth, built their present house of worship. It is a frame building, capable of seating two hundred and fifty persons, and cost the society $2,000. The Church has been quite prosperous, and the membership at this date is 150, of which the Rev. John Rogers is Pastor. In connection with the Church is a flourishing Sunday school of 150 members, under the
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