USA > Illinois > Woodford County > The Woodford County history > Part 22
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Occasionally, in walking over a newly- plowed field, or through the timber, one finds a crudely made bottle, an old square nail, or a piece of iron where a blacksmith shop used to be. But. what never fails to provide a thrill is to lean over and pick up an arrowhead. Then, one is suddenly re- minded of a race of people who were here
so long ago before the white man, and who loved this country and regarded it as their land. We are indebted to Wm. Zeller and Harry Spooner, because of their effort to keep alive the memory of Chief Black Partridge. On October 17, 1954, a monu- ment to the Indian chief was dedicated. It was crected in Partridge Township beside State Route 26, near the Midway Duck Inn and the historic deGuibert farm home site. Built of cobblestones in the rough and em- bedded in concrete, the monument bears a bronze tablet which has the following in- scription:
SITE OF BLACK PARTRIDGE VILLAGE
Here, in October, 1812, 300 Rangers under Governor Ninian Edwards, Col. W'm. Russell and Capt. Daniel Judy massacred 30 defenseless Potawatomi Indians, old men, women and chil- dren, and completely destroyed their rillage while the hunters were absent, and their chief. Muck-et-ep-o-kee, Black Partridge, hero of the Ft. Dear- born massacre, was on a mission of mercy to rescue Lt. Helm from Indians on the au Sable river.
This monument erected by Wm. L. Zeller, Spring Bay, and Harry L. Spooner of the Peoria Historical So- ciety, 1954.
--
Tom Hagan
Roanoke Township
by MRS. JUNE BARRA AND MRS. ELSIE FERRERO
The village of Roanoke was established and laid out in December 1872 after the completion of the C.P. & S.W. Railroad. The railroad diagonally passes through the village crossing Panther Creek near its southern boundary. It was surveyed and platted by Hiram Barney, Benjamin Kindig and D. T. Fauber, who were the original proprietors of the village. Lots were offered for sale and improvements were immedi- ately begun. Hiram Barney and others made an application in the Metamora County Courthouse on June 26, 1874, for an election to incorporate the town of Roanoke under General Law. The settle- ment had 300 inhabitants which met legal requirements for organization. John Franz, Abraham Fisher, and M. N. Gish were ap- pointed judges for this election in which a majority voted for village organization un- der General Law.
In the July term of Woodford County Court, it was therefore ordered by the court that the territory described in the pe- tition filed and presented as aforesaid, "to wit; the SW 14 of Section IX, the SE 14 of Section 15, the W 12 NW 14 of Section 23, the NE 14 of Section 22 in Township 27 North, Range One west of the 3rd PM in Woodford County, Illinois is contiguous. not exceeding two square miles in area, be declared incorporated as the village of Roanoke." It was further ordered that an election be held in the village on Saturday, the 15th day of August A.D. 1874 for the purpose of electing six trustees. Frank Jeter and P. A. Fisher acted as clerks and G. W. Reme, M. L. Mock. W. N. Gish acted as judges. Edgar L. Fetter was elected presi- dent; John O'Brien, village clerk; Eli Gude- man, J. E. Woltzen, and P. J. Husseman,
board of trustees; H. D. Hollenback, treas- urer; John Mueser, street commissioner; J. W. Fauber, policeman, with special police, B. L. Ilusseman and C. F. Challant.
The first structure in the village limits was built by Henry Franz. who later used it as a store. The first residence was built by Chris Gozinger in 1873. By ISTS the town had grown steadily and contained over a 100 buildings and 350 inhabitants. In ISSO the population was considerably over 300 and at the present time the popu- lation is approximately 2,000, although there was a decline during the depression years. In the mid 20's the population was 1,400; however, by the 30's the figure dropped to 1,000, where it stood till in the early 40's when the population was again on the rise.
In the fall of IS73. an event of much importance occurred in Woodford County, in which Roanoke played a central role. The citizens of the village and vicinity, fully realizing that this was the most cen- tral point in the county, and with its other advantages in mind, moved for the loca- tion of the county seat in this place. A pe- tition, with the requisite number of names, was accordingly presented to County Judge Meek, and an election was ordered to de- termine the question. The election was closely contested at every polling place in the county and a heavy vote polled. The returns, as canvassed by the county board, showed a decided majority for Roanoke. In the meantime, injunctions had been served on county officers restraining them from removing the county records from Meta- mora and in a contest of election, before Judge Burns, a majority of six votes was declared against removal. Under law, the
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matter could not be submitted to voters oftener than once in ten years. In 1884 Roanoke again petitioned for an election. A light vote was polled and the majority stood heavily against removal, 1,122 for and 2,441 against.
Township
Until about the year 1850, the prairie that is now Roanoke Township was in its virgin state. The first settlements in the township were made in the timber south- east of the present site of the village. We learn from records that about 1832, the first settler, Jacob Stephenson, formerly of Christian County, Kentucky, brought his family and settled in the grove. He built the first cabin in the township and was a blacksmith as well as farmer. Next early settlers came from Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and Indiana. Joseph Causey was a very early settler coming from Kentucky in about 1836. He moved away for about four years and then moved back to build the first blacksmith shop. In 1833, Joseph Wilkinson moved here from Indiana about the same time Joseph Wilson came from Tennessee. Elijah Marshall, who came from Vermont in 1848, was the first to build a frame house and barn. Many more names could be added to the list of early settlers and many of them have descendants living in Roanoke Township today. These brave pioneers were honest, industrious people whose needs were few and easily supplied.
The county was divided into townships in 1855. The name Roanoke was given to the township by John Gish, in honor of Roanoke, Virginia, his old home. April 3 of that year the first township elections were held. Those elected were: David S. Brown, supervisor; James Stephenson, clerk; John Gish, assessor; Benjamin San- born, collector; Samuel Stitt, Emerald Fisher, and Joseph Brubaker, highway commissioners; Charles Stoller and Joseph Gish, constables; Garmon Gish and John Franz, magistrates. Thirty votes were cast in this election, in comparison to around 400 of the 1,421 voters in the township who voted in the most recent township election.
Present officials are: Erwin Beenders, su- pervisor; Henry Priller, clerk; Roy Beer, road commissioner; Gene Micheletti, Mel- vin Rocke and Sam Ilasler, township audi- tors; Ilarley Aeschleman, assessor; B. Rem- mert, A. Amigoni and B. Woltzen, ceme- tery trustees.
As late as 1850 there were only a few houses in the township. In this pioneer period up until 1850, land sold at from $50 to $60 per acre, whereas it now sells for about $800 per acre. At the present time Roanoke serves an approximate area of 300 farms with an average acreage of 190 acres. Corn and soybeans are the main grain products and livestock consists chiefly of beef and dairy cattle, swine, and poultry.
Roanoke Township is geometrieally the center township of the county and is one of the richest farming territories in the state. It is bounded on the north by Linn. east by Greene, south by Olio and on the west by Metamora. It is known as Congres- sional Town 27 N., Range One W and contains six sections of fine land.
Municipal Government
The village of Roanoke is governed, as it has been since incorporation, by a board of six trustees and a president. All members are elected for four-year terms. Election of trustees is held every two years, with three being elected each time. A elerk is elected for a four-year term and a treasurer is ap- pointed. The present governing body of the village is: President, Robert Risser; trus- tees, Jaek Micheletti, Clyde Thommen, Joe Amigoni, Elmer Wehrli, Joe Barra and Melvin Ladendorf.
Among the services rendered by this group of men are poliee protection, fire protection, garbage disposal, zoning, water, streets, electricity and gas.
Police. Roanoke has seven-day police pro- tection, with calls answered at all times. It has two-way radio service in cooperation with the sheriff and state police. The first police protection offered the people of Roanoke consisted of a night watchman who patrolled the business distriet only from twilight to midnight each day. Ile re-
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ceived his compensation from contributions by the businessmen. Later, the village board supplemented his wages with a stated amount paid from the budget.
Fire. Roanoke Volunteer Fire Department was organized June 12. 1914 with Mayor E. E. Hussemann in charge of a meeting of interested businessmen and villagers. A committee was chosen from this group which selected 18 men to be members of the department. A second meeting was held the same week to draw up rules and by-laws. At this time two of the original members resigned without having served. Mayor Hussemann was subsequently elected fire chief, a position he held for many years.
In October 1914, after equipment had been modernized, the firemen built a hose house on the triangle of land formed by the junction of Hussemann, Jefferson, and Davidson streets. This building cost $675. the funds being raised by a Labor Day celebration and firemen's ball. The building was 20'x20', 9' high with a 30' bell tower at one corner.
The present firehouse was completed in 1948 at a cost of $14,000. It is a block build- ing. 4S'x64. containing a large truck ga- rage, storage, kitchen and restrooms. This building was remodelled by adding a large meeting room. The company today ( 1968) boasts 25 members, two fire trucks, equip- ment truck, a trained first aid squad and a resuscitator.
At the general election held Nov. 7. 1950. Roanoke citizens voted on and passed a tax at .20 percent for fire protection.
A rural fire protection association was formed in 1951, and this group owns a 1000-gallon truck with 500-gallon pump.
Streets. In a special election held May 21, 1940, Roanoke voters favored a bond issue for street improvements in the amount of $9,000. The total cost of the improvements which included blacktopping, curbing and gutters was estimated at SSS,000. The WPA and other federal agencies provided some $49.000 of this amount.
Before this time, the village streets which
were dirt surfaced received road oil, usually once a year, which homeowners paid for. A few of the streets were gravelled, and the main street received pavement when Route 116 was built through the town.
At the time of the first bond issue, some 44 blocks of streets were improved. This project took approximately two years. On June 10, 1947, a $25,000 bond issue was voted on, and passed, for blacktopping an additional eight blocks of streets; it also included extension of some water mains. On October 26, 1950, a bond issue for the blacktopping of 32 additional blocks was voted down.
In 1953, through the generosity of the Ulrich Manufacturing Company and with the approval of the street and alley com- mittee. Roanoke received street signs and posts for mounting the signs. The Lion's Club and Roanoke Businessmen's Associa- tion assumed responsibility of installation of the eighty odd sign posts necessary, and by 1954 the job was completed.
The village, at this writing, boasts black- topping with curb and guttering on all but a few blocks of streets.
Realizing that the farms are an impor- tant part of our community's economy, the township began a program in 1955 in which all county roads would be black- topped. It also blacktopped other arterial roads, until today, all but about 15 miles of Roanoke Township's rural roads have been resurfaced.
Water. At a special election. November 25, 1912, voters approved a waterworks. By the middle of 1914, water mains were laid. a 125-foot tower tank built, and a pumphouse established. The tower tank had a 40.000 gallon capacity. It was 1923 before all mains were completed. Roanoke is fortunate in having an apparently un- limited supply of good quality water. Two 10-inch wells, one 38 feet and one 12 feet deep, extend into an IS-foot gravel bed. Water rises in the wells to within six feet of the surface, under constant pumping. The pumps are electrically operated. but can be run by an auxiliary diesel-powered generator if the need arises. In 19-10 a filter-
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ing plant was installed to remove rust and odor from the water. In 1948 a water soft- ener plant was constructed. Along with this, new pumps were added so that 300 gallons per minute could be pumped as compared to 185 gallons per minute before.
In 1962 a 200,000 gallon tank was erected on land previously purchased by the vil- lage, lying adjacent to the pumping station. This replaced the old tank which had be- come obsolete.
At present, the village boasts an ade- quate, modern water facility with approxi- mately 650 homes being serviced and 5,- 000,000 gallons being pumped per month. Water rates are $2.25 for 2,000 gallon mini- mum, as compared to 70ยข for a 2,000 gallon minimum when the plant was first installed.
In 1964 an election on a sewerage bond issue was held but was defeated. However, in 1966 at another election, the issue passed with a large majority. Construction on this lagoon type system should be started in 1968 if plans materialize according to schedule.
Zoning. In August 1950, a committee of ten people, representing business, churches, schools and all walks of village life, was appointed by the mayor to tackle the prob- lem of planning and zoning. They were helped in their efforts by people from the University of Illinois. At the prompting of the village board, a zoning ordinance was written by this group. However, it was never quite completed, and in 1953, the mayor and the village attorney suggested that this ordinance be completed and passed on by the board.
In February 1953, a zoning ordinance patterned after that which was being used in Peoria Heights, was drawn up and passed by the village board. A zoning board of five was appointed by the mayor. One original member, Jerry Sauder, still serves. An enforcing officer was appointed later and the zoning group was ordered to elect their own chairman and secretary. This board acts on all requests for rezon- ing, issues permits for new building and the remodelling of old ones, etc. The board
functioned capably when several subdi- visions were added to the village. Sinee the middle 1940's four of these have been annexed-to the north, northwest, west and southwest of the original village. These properties were owned and handled by E. Tassart, Legel Brothers, E. Bertschi, and J. Pioletti and E. Moser.
In August 1966, the village board brought the zoning ordinance up to date, also providing for a planning commission should the time ever come to use this part of the ordinance. At the September meet- ing of the board, the mayor was granted permission to appoint a planning commis- sion which he did: it is made up of eight citizens representing various interests, the village board president, one other member of the village board and the village at- torney. The group has no official power, but makes a comprehensive plan for long range and immediate improvements for the village. In 196S they were striving to get needed medical services for the community -either clinic type service or individual doctors to come to Roanoke to practice.
Library. On April 15, 1950, seven town- ships in the county, of which Roanoke was one, voted on whether or not to be in a li- brary district. The election was in favor of this issue, but two precincts failed to meet voting regulations, thus invalidating the election. However, in April 195S at a special election for the purpose, Roanoke voters approved joining the library district. At that time, the Roanoke schools received the services of a bookmobile which eame once a month.
In August 1959, the old firehouse was remodeled to house the library. The Prairie District supplied all shelves and books. A librarian was hired and the library is open nine hours per week. There is an average annual eirculation of over 8,000 books. The library district bookmobile also serves the sehools as it has sinee the beginning of our membership in the Prairie Library District. A summer reading club is also promoted.
In 1966, expanded services for the com- munity were provided when the Prairie
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Library District became part of the Illinois Valley Library system.
Park. On Friday June 28. 1957, the Roan- okc voters approved establishment of a park district by a vote of 198 to 177. At the same time, voters selected a five-man board for the purpose of planning and administer- ing the district. This board has the power to levy taxes, the maximum of which, by law can be 1 10 of a cent per $100 of assessed valuation.
In December 1957, an option was taken on 14 acres of land owned by Ed Moser, for the park site. This property is west of the Bertschi addition. An agreement was also worked out with adjacent landowners for purchase of more land.
In due time, grading of the grounds, grass planting, and blacktopped roads were provided. A campaign to get 514 trees donated to the park at $5 each was a suc- cess. These were planted in 1959. The park has several picnic areas with shelters con- taining cooking facilities, picnic tables, benches, and restrooms. There are tennis and volley ball courts, basketball facilities and playground equipment. In 196S a cam- paign was underway to construct a large community building from donations by Roanoke community citizens.
Electricity and Gas. It is believed Roan- oke first received electric power from the Eureka plant. Date of the beginning of this service cannot be determined. but it is presumed to have been sometime during the 13 year period 1878-1891 for which no records of township history can be found. In July 1912, the Peoria Electric Company extended its service lines from Washington to Eureka and on July 28. the local system was connected and circuits were cut in, giving more power and allowing lines to be extended where there had heretofore been none. At one time, the old Snyder mill had been used as an electric plant.
At the time that Central Illinois Light Company took over, June 1913, a repre- sentative of the company told the village board, while presenting his contract for use of electricity for the year, that rates would
be much lower if the village had orna- mental post strect lamps. The village board accepted the contract with exception of the street lamp clause. It was some time before Roanoke had street lights. In 1949, the Chamber of Commerce, through concen- trated effort. put through a campaign for street lights in the business district, along Highway 116. and at street intersections where there had previously been none. This was done by donations. At a special village council meeting in November 1956, revamping of Roanoke's street lighting system was discussed. At the January 1957 meeting, the Board approved plans for more and larger street lights along Route 116 from the eastern to the western city limits. New strect lights were added in residential areas, and now mercury vapor lights are provided for a large part of the town.
On November 21. 1955, at a special meeting, the village board approved Cen- tral Illinois Light Company's proposed franchise for use of natural gas in the vil- lage. Within two years the pipes were laid and service started. At this writing, the ma- jority of the homes in the village use nat- ural gas for cooking, water heating, and area heating purposes.
Civil Defense. During World War II, Roanoke participated in the County Civil Defense program, which had air raid wardens, one for each town, block captains and other help for quick warning in case of air raids or disaster.
In 1950 at the request of the governor of Illinois, Roanoke joined with a county wide civil defense and disaster association which expected all protection organizations, po- licemen, firemen, doctors, along with truck- ing companies, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, etc. to help in case of disaster. For some reason, this group became inactive.
In 1958, new plans were made by the village to prepare to meet disasters, with Roanoke joining the Woodford County Civil Defense organization again in 1961. In cooperation with this group, fire com- panies agreed to train auxiliary firemen,
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the Roanoke schools sponsored a class in education for survival, and authorized the use of space in the high school building for supply storage. The schools planned improved evacuation methods and held drills. The emergency operating center for the Civil Defense group is at the Roanoke high school with radio booths, bulletin boards, and other necessary items. The vil- lage council approved an emergency warn- ing system with horns, manually operated (in case of power failure), mounted in three strategic areas for complete warning coverage for the entire town. This group is among the most active in the village and meets regularly for drills and briefings. They also take their stations and posts dur- ing any bad storm or tornado warning.
Cemetery. The Roanoke Cemetery is lo- cated at the northeast edge of the village on land originally donated by D. W. Fauber. The cemetery was regulated and run by the village board for many years. A committee was chosen as part of the regular village board organization. In 1929, there was some talk of ways and means for providing perpetual care for the ceme- tery, but nothing materialized from this. When the cemetery grew larger, the vil- lage did not have funds for maintenance and could not levy tax money for this. The village then deeded the land to the town- ship. In 1950 the Roanoke Cemetery As- sociation was established by referendum vote for perpetual maintenance of the cemetery. The association purchased four and one-half acres adjacent to the grounds from S. C. Zimmerman. This is financed by public taxation of the township. Of the original officers serving on this board, Alex Amigoni is still a member.
Miscellaneous. One of the services ren- dered by the village board is garbage dis- posal. Roanoke has twice weekly garbage pickup, with modern garbage trucks.
The board also contributes to the sum- mer recreation program, as it has since it began. This includes Little League, swim- ming lessons, and supervised activity at the park.
Churches
In 1875, there were six organized churches in Roanoke with a membership of 500. At the present time we have six organized churches with a membership of nearly 2,000.
The organization of the Christian (or Campbellite) Church dates back to 1846. Rev. Abner Peeler, a pioneer in religious work, preached in school houses, private homes and in the open air in the grove. Their first church was completed in 1873 with James Kirk as pastor. It was dis- banded about 1926. The building was sold at auction on October 15, 1937 to Joe Amigoni who in turn sold it to J. H. Lock of Kappa.
The Baptist Church was organized in 1865 with 32 members. Rev. Sumner Rob- inson was first pastor. They erected a church the next year. Soon the congrega- tion was disbanded for lack of members.
In 1852 the German Baptists (or Dunk- ards) organized their society. Their first building was built in 1856 near the Greene Township line. The first two ministers were James and George Gish. The first building was built at a cost of $60 and later the auditorium added, costing $1,500. A Sun- day school was organized in 1873. This church is now known as the Panther Creek Church of the Brethren.
In 1848 the Methodist Church began holding services in this area. Services were held in the members' homes till 1867. At that time the area was designated as a stop on the newly formed El Paso Circuit, and services were held in the Bunch Grove School. In 1872, Mr. and Mrs. Ritchie gave the church some property on which a church could be built just south of their home. A new church was built on this property near what was then the west edge of town. It was a one room building. They had to set up folding chairs for services and had a stove for heating. Roanoke be- came the head of the Secor Circuit in ISSI and the Rev. Thomas Moots was the first pastor to reside in Roanoke. From IS98 until 1908 the Eureka Methodist Church
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was affiliated with Roanoke. In 1910, Eureka terminated its affiliation; then Benson and Roanoke shared the same pastor. In 1920 there were about 100 mem- bers; today there are 238. In 1932 Benson got its own minister and ended a 22-year association with Roanoke. Roanoke then joined the Peoria District in 1933 and still remains in that district.
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