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 61
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As before intimated, Samuel Goodspeed bought the interest of Booth. He ettled on the place in the Spring of 1855, where he has resided ever since. Mr. Goodspeed had lived in the county twenty years prior to his removal to Peotone Township, having settled in Plainfield in 1835. He has proved to be one of the most substantial citizens of this portion of the county, and has filled almost every position of honor and trust, and that to his own credit and the atisfaction of the people. He was Moderator of the first township meeting, n 1858, one of the first three School Trustees, in 1859, and has held various ther offices since.
John C. and James H. Cowing have been amongst the most substantial nhabitants of this vicinity. They had also been in the State some years, but were originally from New Hampshire. James H. Cowing has been dead about en years. John C. was one of the first three Commissioners of Highways, und is serving in that capacity at this time. 1
John Noland and Daniel Gleason, two Irishmen, and brothers-in-law, were here in 1855. They both removed from the township but a short time since. Noland still owns a farm here.
P. Armstrong, now of Peotone, came with Goodrich as a laborer, and entered some land, but gave it up and removed to the village. The next year, 1856, Arnold, Tobias and Cornelius Fahs, Moses Wright, Milton Smith and James F. Johnson made their advent. The Fahs brothers were from Mary- and, Wright from New York, and Smith and Johnson from}Michigan. Of the Fahses, only Tobias still resides here. Cornelius is dead, and Arnold removed o Chicago two or three years after his settlement here. After removing to Chicago, Arnold Fahs engaged in the lumber trade, from which he realized a arge fortune. He died at that place about two years ago. Moses,Wright was elected first Supervisor and first Assessor in 1858, and the next year returned to Michigan, from whence he had come. Milton Smith was an enterprising man. He died eight or nine years ago, and his family "removed to Iowa. James F. Johnson continued to reside here until a year ago, whenthe sold out and removed to Kansas.
George Reynolds and William W. Kelly settled here in $1857, the former coming from New York and the latter from Boston. Both Reynolds and Kelly have since removed to Chicago. The above, with Thomas Lockey, Smith Shaw and William P. Benn, are all that are now remembered who became permanent residents before 1858, at which date the village of Peotone com- menced to grow. From that date, for a number of years, the township settled rapidly. Indeed, at that date, nearly all of the land not held by the Illinois Central Railroad had been occupied by actual settlers or bought by speculators.
Z
620
HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
It was at that date that a move was made looking toward the separate organiza- tion of the eastern half of Wilton Precinct into a separate township. The usual formalities of signing and presenting a petition to the County Board hav- ing been observed, and an order from that body having been obtained, the first- annual township meeting was appointed for April 6, 1858. At this meeting, Samuel Goodspeed was elected Moderator, and George Reynolds, Clerk pro tem. The oath was administered to the officers in charge of the election by Richard Constable, a Justice of the Peace, of Wilton. The result of the ballot was the election of Moses Wright, Supervisor ; George Reynolds, Clerk ; Moses Wright, Assessor ; William W. Kelly, Collector; James H. Cowing, Overseer of the Poor ; Milton Smith, James F. Johnson and John C. Cowing, Commissioners of Highways ; Cornelius Fahs and Ralph Crawford, Justices. of the Peace; and James Fahs and James H. Cowing, Constables. At that date there were in the township 25 voters. Since then, the township has cast as many as 237 votes-an increase of nearly 1,000 per cent. The population was at that time about 125; the present population exceeds 1,200.
The present officers are: Michael Collins, Supervisor; William Young, Clerk ; William Crawford, Assessor ; Louis Gundlach, Collector ; John Meyer, Jr., John C. Cowing and Henry Gintert, Commissioners of Highways; F. C. Hasenmeyer and Henry Joint, Constables ; Louis Gundlach and David Morri- son, Justices of the Peace ; William Dunlap, Jonathan Dennis and D. L. Christian, School Trustees ; and Peter Conrad, Treasurer.
In 1858, every township in Will County had established schools except Peotone. This was, previous to that date, entirely destitute of school accom- modations. There were a few children sent to the township of Wilton, where schools had been in operation for eight or ten years; but the distance was so great that only during the finest weather could they be made available. A year after the organization of the township, however, a movement was made toward putting in operation the means for establishing schools in the midst of the settlements within the bounds of Peotone Township. On the 28th of Feb- ruary, 1859, the voters of the township met at the house of J. F. Johnson and elected Samuel Goodspeed, A. H. Fahs and Tobias Fahs, School Trustees ; and by the Trustees, Ralph Crawford was elected Treasurer, which office he held for the next fourteen years. At the meeting just mentioned, the Trustees divided the township into four school districts. Two of these, the one in the Goodspeed neighborhood, and the other at the station, which was then attract- ing settlers, built houses and opened school the same year. The next year, the Third, and the next, the Fourth Districts established schools and built houses. Both of the first schoolhouses are still in use-the one for the pur- pose for which it was erected, the other, with some additions, doing duty as a church. .
By 1866, the number of districts was increased to six, and in all except one were school-buildings. At that time, which was seven years after the first
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HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
steps were taken to establish the system in the township, there were 453 per- sons under 21 years of age, 301 of whom were entitled to the benefits of the common-school system, being between the ages of 6 and 21 years. Of these, 248 were reported as having attended school the previous year. The people of the township were at that time making up for lost time, 248 persons out of 301 being a large proportion for a newly-formed township. Another seven years, we find, has increased the number of schools to 9, and the number of enrolled scholars to 366, out of 398, entitled to school privileges.
A few items taken from the report of the Treasurer to the County Su- perintendent of Schools for 1877, will doubtless prove interesting, especially as compared with the preceding figures :
Number of School Districts 9
Number of persons under 21. 791
Number of scholars enrolled 427
Number of persons between 6 and 12
613
Highest wages paid any teacher, per month
$
70 00
Whole amount paid teachers 2,280 00
Total expenditure for school purposes
3,380 00
Estimated value of school property. 10,000 00
In each district is to be found a comfortable schoolhouse, and, in several, are buildings that are a credit to the district. Nearly all are furnished with modern desks and apparatus, and we are credibly informed that the schools of this township are in a flourishing condition.
The people have provided well for the moral and religious instruction of them- selves and of all who care to avail themselves of these privileges. Besides the churches of the village, mentioned elsewhere, there are three handsome church- buildings. The United Presbyterian Church was organized in 1860 by Rev. R. W. French, who was subsequently called to the pastorate in 1861, at which time he moved to the neighborhood. The original members were Thomas Luther, David Gilkerson and James E. Shaw, with other members of their families, and a few other persons, to the number of eighteen.
In 1867, the building was erected at an outlay of $3,600. It is a very neat and comfortable house, 30x45 feet in size, and well furnished throughout. The membership numbers at present about fifty. It is not as strong as at a former period, quite a number having withdrawn to unite with the Presbyterian Church of the village, and several families having removed to Kansas. Rev. R. W. French has been the Pastor ever since the organization of the Church. Sunday school is kept open during the Summer.
Wesley M. E. Church, of West Peotone, was organized in 1868, and a building erected in 1870, at an expense of $3,000. The building is 32x48 feet, and is a very neat and comfortable structure. Rev. R. Wright was the first minister who officiated as such in the new building. The present membership of the Church is about thirty, with Rev. N. Crichter as Pastor. Sunday school is kept open throughout the year; of this, William Crawford is Superintendent.
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HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
St. John's German Evangelical Church, in the northern part of the town- ship, was organized in 1866 by Rev. F. Baeber, with sixteen families. Mr. Baeber preached here a year and a half. The whole establishment consists of four acres of land, a parsonage, schoolhouse and church edifice. The parson- age was the first building erected in 1868. In this church, services were held with varying frequency, until 1871, when the building of the chapel was com- pleted. In 1873, the schoolhouse was built. The buildings have cost-the parsonage, $1,500 ; the church, $3,000, and the schoolhouse $400. The con- gregation consists at present, of about fifty families, of whom Rev. D. Behrens is Pastor and teacher. The school is kept open six months in the year, the children attending the public schools a portion of the time.
We would not forget that when the life of our country was in danger, in 1861-65, Peotone Township, though but illy able to contribute largely to its support in men or means, having been so recently settled, did her part and made several noble sacrifices ; but, unfortunately, on account of a method which then prevailed, proper credits were never given, and many of their names appear in the Adjutant General's Reports as credited to other towns. The township of Peotone is described in the Congressional survey as Town 33 north, Range 12 east of the Third Principal Meridian. It is bounded on the north by Greengarden, on the east by Will, on the south by Kankakee County, and on west by Wilton Township. The township is not greatly diversified in soil or sur- face, but is mostly of a rich, deep soil and a slightly rolling surface, broken only by the two creeks which flow through it. There are no native groves of timber ; but on many of the older farms are to be seen fine little groves of soft maple, elm and poplar, planted by the early settlers. The products of the town- ship are those common to most parts of the county, and consist of corn, hay, oats and rye. Within the last year or two, considerable attention has been given to the dairy business, and the result has been the establishing by Messrs. Conrad & Son, of a cheese-factory, a half-mile west of the village of Peotone.
The factory was built this year, and business began August 5. The build- ings are commodious and well adapted to the purpose for which they are designed. The cost of buildings and machinery was $4,000. They began operations with the consumption of 2,000 pounds of milk per day. The capacity of the factory is 14,000 pounds, which limit, it is confidently thought, will be reached in a short time.
For some years, hay has been a reliable crop, and a large amount of both timothy and the native prairie hay has been cut and shipped. However, as the prairie was gradually fenced up and tilled the natural product decreased. Farmers have been giving more attention to stock than formerly, and a larger amount of this product has been consumed at home for the purpose of winter- ing cattle and sheep. In 1869, Oliver Lipincott built a hay-press at the vil- lage, for the purpose of preparing the hay for the city and Southern markets.
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HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
The press is still in operation, but, for reasons already assigned, the business of hay-pressing has somewhat fallen off. Formerly, considerable wheat was raised here, and, in 1858 to 1868, especially during the earlier years of that period, wheat was considered a staple crop; but of late years the crop has been a failure, and its cultivation has been almost entirely abandoned. In 1872, Messrs. Elling & Rathje erected a fine mill for the purpose of manufacturing this product into flour. The mill cost nearly $12,000, and is one of the finest of its kind in the conntry. It is built on the Holland plan, with four large fans, of fifty feet each in length, which furnish power equal to forty horses. Owing to the fact already mentioned, that but little wheat is now produced here to keep the mill at work, the grain is brought by railroad from Minnesota and other places, and ground here, for consumption by those who formerly raised the article.
VILLAGE OF PEOTONE.
In 1855, a year after the completion of the Illinois Central Railroad, the site of the village was bought from that Company, and, in 1856, it was laid out by David Goodwillie. For a couple of years, no one seemed disposed to embark in business here, as the settlements, prior to that time, had been made mostly in the western part ; and what little business was done was transacted at Twelve Mile Grove, in the adjoining township. Gradually the eastern portion of the township began to be settled, and a demand for postal and commercial privileges began to arise, which were no sooner demanded than they were supplied.
In 1858, John F. Pickering erected a house, in which he lived and also opened a small stock of goods. In the Spring of the next year, he erected the first real store-building. Thus opened, business of various kinds began to ap- pear; and, in the Summer of 1859, several families came to the village, bought lots and made some improvements. A post office, the first ever established in the township, was established about this time. In the Winter of 1859-60, as has been stated on another page, the first school was taught. The first teacher was W. W. Clark. Dr. Charles Stedman located here soon after, and was the first resident physician. A warehouse had been erected by Messrs. Harding & Comstock, in 1857 ; but this being the beginning of the "hard times " period, yet fresh in the minds of many of the early settlers, but little, by way of grain- buying, was done for several years. Partially owing to the same cause, the town improved but slowly until the midst of the war or near its close when money was plenty, and produce plenty and in great demand. Then, Messrs. Comstock, Gilkerson & Worden, and Messrs. Schroeder & Rathje, began buy- ing large quantities of grain ; and, in 1868, both firms erected elevators. This was, indeed, the beginning of the period of Peotone's solid growth. Prior to 1866, not more than fifteen houses were to be found here, one of which was the store. From that time forward, for about eight years, the town improved rapidly. New dwellings, stores, shops and churches went up. During that period of prosperity, three churches, a good schoolhouse, and most of the stores
624
HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
and other buildings now found in the lively little town were erected. Then began to be felt another period of hard times, consequent upon the panic of 1873, since which time Peotone, like most other places, has shown no signs of special activity. In 1869, the village was incorporated. The first election was held June 6, of the year named, and the following officers were selected : C. A. Westgate, President ; E. S. Smith, Emanuel Wirt, Joseph Imholtz and John F. Pickering, Trustees, and John F. Pickering, Clerk. The present officers are : Philip Sultzbaugh, President ; E. B. Cowing, Fred. Schroeder, N S. Beedy, Martin Collins and James Barnhardt, Trustees ; Martin Collins, Clerk ; James Barnhardt, Treasurer ; John Conrad, Police Magistrate, and Fred. Wahls, Constable.
In 1869, the old school-building, which had been erected ten years before, was found to have outlived its usefulness, or rather its capacity was found too limited for its purpose. It was thought by some that additions to the old build- ing would be the better way to enlarge the school capacity ; but it was finally resolved to build anew from the ground, and dispose of the old building for other purposes. The house erected is a very fine one, for a place of this size, and cost about $7,000
The M. E. Church was the first to organize, and one of the two first to build. The organization was effected in 1858, by Rev. John Hitchins, and consisted at first of ten members. The building, which stands in the west part of the town, was erected in 1867, and cost the society $3,000. The parsonage, owned by the Church, cost $1,000. Rev. Henry Hill is present Pastor.
The German Evangelical Church was erected the same year, the society having been recently organized. In 1870, it was set off as an Independent Church, having formerly belonged to the Rockville Circuit. The building is a frame structure, and stands in the southeastern part of the village. Though to outward appearance a good building, it was poorly constructed, and must, at no distant date, be taken down and replaced by one of more substantial character. Rev. John Wellmar officiates as minister.
The Presbyterian Church was organized in 1871, by Rev. J. H. Trowbridge, with seventeen members. The building of the new schoolhouse a year or two before, and its recent occupancy, left the old schoolhouse vacant. This house had not been a stranger to the sound of the Gospel or the songs of praise. All of the denominations, during a period prior to the erection of their houses of worship, had made use of this building for Church and Sunday school purposes. So when the building was vacated by the school, the society purchased it and refitted it for their use. Rev. W. F. Wood is minister of this congregation. The parsonage is the best in the village. The German Lutheran Church is the best building of the four. It was built in 1875, and stands in the southwestern part of the village. The organization of the society had been accomplished four years before, by Rev. F. Baeber. The present Pastor is Rev. Christopher
.
625
HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
Wobus. In connection with all of the congregations are flourishing Sunday schools, and each minister is provided with a comfortable parsonage.
Peotone Lodge, No. 636, A., F. & A. M., was established October, 1869. The charter members were Samuel Jamison, Charles A. Westgate, John B. Sollitt, Charles Gates, David Gilmore, Benjamin Sellers, Rufus K. Reynolds, August Herbert, Henry Pape, W. F. Hutchinson, D. F. Mason, J. M. French, A. A. Manson, J. D. Downing, J. L. Miller, John M. Tobias and F. Elder.
The regular communications are held on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month. The present membership is thirty-seven. The present principal officers are C. A. Westgate, W. M. ; Charles Gates, S. W. ; R. G. Jorgenson, J. W. ; Thomas Collins, Sec., and Philip Sultzbaugh, Treas.
WILTON TOWNSHIP.
Of all of the interesting little nooks in Will County, Twelve-Mile Grove is, without doubt, the most romantic. Not only on account of location has it this peculiar aspect, but associated with it, were it in our power to unearth it, is an ancient history of a sufficiently wild flavor for a poem like to that of Hiawatha. Almost entirely secluded as they were from the rest of their race, with surroundings at once so beautiful and so well adapted to their style of life, we cannot but conceive that the wild people who dwelt here must in many respects have been peculiar. The little grove is said to have been one of the finest tracts of timber in Northern Illinois, and was full of deer, wild turkeys and other game, at the time of the earliest settlement by the whites. The fine little stream, a branch of Forked Creek, dividing the township diagonally into two almost exactly equal parts, flows over a rocky bed, along which the grove, on either side, lies. On every side lies the open prairie, and in approach- ing the timber one is reminded of the little clumps of timber described by Eastern travelers as appearing on the Great Desert, toward which their anxious eyes and weary limbs ever turn for refreshing shelter and drink for themselves and thirsty animals. Formerly this feature was much more apparent than now, the adjacent prairie having long since been occupied and planted here and there by the early settlers, not only with fruit-trees, but also with those of the forest, so that at present the whole township presents the appearance of a succession of little groves. The land of Wilton Town- ship is of varied quality and appearance, in some portions being very rich and productive, and in others quite the reverse ; in some portions being very flat, and in others undulating. In some parts of the township stone of a good quality is found, which answers a good purpose for foundations for buildings, though it has been utilized to a limited extent for other purposes.
Wilton Township formerly embraced the township of Peotone, but was sep- arated from it by order of the Board of Supervisors in 1858. . The township, .as now constituted, embraces all of Town 33 north, Range 11 east of the Third
626
HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
Principal Meridian, and is bounded on the north, east and west by the respect- ive townships of Manhattan, Peotone and Florence, and on the south by Kan- kakee County.
As before intimated, the township, or rather that portion still known as Twelve- Mile Grove, was occupied by a small tribe of Indians. The grove was reserved. by act of Congress, ratifying a treaty with these people, for their sole use and benefit; but, though they were not concerned in any way in the Black Hawk disturbance, or any other unfriendly or hostile act toward the whites, they removed from here the same year that saw the exodus of the hostile tribes. They simply abandoned their lands here, not because of any encroachments by the whites, nor because of their inability to hold the title to the land, for the Government would doubtless have protected them in their rights, but, perhaps, because they did not like the idea of being separated so far from others of their race.
From the best information in our possession, Joseph Lawton, one of the owners of the land, was a half-breed ; and, from him and others of the tribe of Ce-nag-e-wine, the land comprising the grove was bought, by James M. Kibbin, William T. Nelson and A. M. Wiley, ten or twelve years after the Indians had deserted it. A considerable portion of the land in the township was granted. to the Illinois Central Railroad Company, and, from that Company, bought by such settlers as came in after 1853. Samuel Hocum, who is usually accredited with being the first settler at the Grove, really affiliated with the Indians, and, when they left here to reside at Council Bluffs, followed their fortunes thither. Hocum, whatever his character may have been, was, in one characteristic which distinguishes the civilized white from the uncivilized red man, of civilized pro- clivities, in that he lived in a house. It is said that he built the first cabin erected by white men in the township, and that it stood at the east end of the grove, on the farm now owned by Chauncey Clinton. The exodus of the Ho- cums, the Lawtons and the other Indians, took place about 1835, at which date Abram Huyck came to the township and settled on Section 36, since and still called Huyck's Grove. For two years, the Huyck family were the only inhab- itants of the township, and Twelve-Mile Grove was deserted. Abram Huyck died about fifteen years ago, and the family removed to other parts.
When the whites first began to settle here, many traces of the former occu- pants of the grove were yet visible. Among the most interesting of these, as. illustrating their methods of sepulture, were the tombs of three Indians, sup- posed, from the profusion of their decorations, to be chiefs. The sepulcher, or whatever it might be called, consisted of a little pen, built up of small sticks, laid one upon the other, to the height of about four feet, being from four to five feet square. The whole was covered with sticks, weighed down with heavy stones. And therein, on a kind of stool, sat the three " poor Loes," looking lonesome and ghastly enough. The cracks between the sticks composing the pens were sufficiently wide to admit of inspection, while being at the same time too small to allow of.
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HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
their being disturbed by wild animals. In this position, these ghastly remains- sat in all of their feathers, beads and jewelry, with the flesh decaying from their bones, for a number of years, till at length a foolish lad, who lived in the neighborhood, upset their charnel-houses, scattering their bones about the sur- rounding country.
In 1837, three families from Canada came in and settled at the grove. These were Franklin Chamberlin, Oliver Chamberlin and James Adams. The Chamberlins were father and son. The Chamberlins built the first frame house. The timbers were "got out," hewed and prepared from the grove, and the boards were brought from Wilmington, where a saw-mill had recently been built. Adams occupied the Hocum cabin. The Chamberlins remained here until 1845, when they removed to Black Oak, near Chicago, where they still reside.
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