USA > Illinois > Woodford County > The Woodford County history > Part 8
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The "Old Opera House" was in the hall above the lumber company building. All the high school plays were presented there, and it seemed that old stock train always came whistling and rumbling through just in the middle of an exciting scene. There were dances, basketball games, and box
socials held up there too. Once somebody fell down the back stairs and threatened to sue. There were some pretty gay times up there, but finally it was no longer safe to use. Kent's use it for storage space now.
Peterson's pond was quite an attraction years ago. Lots of skating was done there on winter evenings. The little boys liked to sneak out to Schroeder's pond in the summer time to try for a fish or float on a crude raft.
Village Officials of Benson in 1968
Mayor-Glen Peterson
Clerk-Walter Thomas
Treasurer-Darrel Kirby
Alderman-Ernest Gerdes, Lyle Heineke,
Herbert Koch, Bill Fischer, Roger Norman, and Don Schroeder
Attorney-James Riley
Township Officials in 1968
Supervisor-Lloyd Wagner
Assessor-Frank Wolf
Town Clerk-Wayne Patterson Road Commissioner-Albert Gerdes
Auditors-Don Punke, Eilert Johnson, and Ernest Gerdes Population according to 1960 census- Town-427 Township-923
Benson, Illinois
Now you have read some history of our little town
We don't claim any fame or great renown But we are proud of Illinois, our great state. Her sesquicentennial we will celebrate.
There were days of joy and days with tears, But Illinois has gone far in one hundred fifty years.
R. T.
Cruger Township History
by MR. AND MRS. IRVIN KENNELL.
Cruger Township includes 36 sections, except the East Half of Section 12 and the East Half of Section 19 which have become a part of Olio Township. It is known as Fractional Township 26 North, Range 2 West of the Third Principal Meridian.
Cruger Township was originally part of Olio Township and much of the history pertaining to Cruger also pertains to Olio. In the year 1870 the following officers were elected: George Boys, supervisor; R. N. Radford, collector; Jesse Meek, assessor; Peter Moyemont, town clerk; R. C. Stewart and Thomas Ellis, commissioners of high- ways; John McPeak and John Haufman, justices of peace; John and Lewis Myers. constables.
The township derived its name from the small station within its borders, known as Cruger Station. This little station, which was originally known as Cruger Village, was named after William Cruger who was. at that time, superintendent of the T.P.&.W. Railroad. The village was laid out by Mr. Akers of Peoria, who bought the land from Hiram Parker. The village plat was made by E. P. Pratt of Peoria.
Cruger Township is mostly good, level farming ground except for the eastern part bordering Olio Township, which is quite rolling with a good supply of maple, oak. hickory, walnut and eln trees. Walnut Creek Hows through this area, which made it most desirable for the early settlers to build their log cabins.
In the early 19th Century, Indians fre- quently roamed this part of Woodford County. In the year 1830, when an old Indian chief, Shabona, came to settle in what was then called Walnut Grove, the
carly settlers, fearing some treachery, drove him away. It was said that this made the old chief very angry.
It is possible that there were white set- tlers before the year 1827, but the earliest known settlers were the Daniel Meek fam- ily who settled in that year. Other families known to have lived in the area were James Martin, Robert and James Bird, Joseph Dillon, Moores, Nathan Owen, Thomas Do- weese, James Rayburn and John Stevenson. All of these were known to have lived here in IS30.
For many years Cruger Township was made up of a rural farm population. Since 1930, the farm population has steadily de- creased and the population of Cruger Sta- tion has also decreased. In spite of the de- crease in these areas the total mimber of people living in the township has increased since the development of several residential areas known as Eureka Knolls Subdivision ( 1939), Edgewood ( 1942), and Lakeview Acres ( 1966). There has also been develop- ment around Lake Eureka, as well as pri- vate homes built on small acreages through- out the Township. The latest census of Cruger Township ( 1960) was 535.
The Harper and Sauder Implement Com- pany started business in 1946. In 1953 this company sold its business to Loren Leman who has operated it as the Leman Imple- ment Company. Eight people are employed in that business at the present time. Harper and Sauder opened another business in 1955, and now employ between 50 to 60 people. Dry Gas Station located south of Cruger was established by Samuel Leman and sold to Northern Propane Gas Co. in March 1961. They employ five or six pro-
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Woodford County History
Above picture is of the old warehouse and elevator taken about 1900. The elevator west of the County blacktop was built about 1904 and was about the same capacity as the older elevator. It was removed in 1940. The new elevator, which has replaced the west one, was built in 1965 and added to in 1967. The capacity of the present elevator is 1,000,000 bushels making it the largest in Woodford County.
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1 1
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Contract agreement for construction of Farmers Elevator at Cruger.
ple. In 1949, Concrete Products opened a small industry, making cattle feed bunks and septic tanks. They employ three men. Rivinius Inc. moved from Olio to Cruger. They employ 65 to 70 people. The first grain warehouse was built north of the tracks, east of the county blacktop by a Mr. King. About 1854, the grain warehouse was purchased by J. N. Harlan and John Metzer for the sum of $700.00 They spent $2,500.00 to enlarge the capacity to 30,000 bushels. This elevator is still in use. The old grain warehouse was torn down about 1910.
The first railroad in Cruger Township was completed to Cruger Station in 1854. It was known as Peoria and Oquawka Rail- road. The first railroad station was built in 1854 and the railroad took on the name Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw, known today as Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad, or more familiarly as the T.P. & W. The only other railroad through Cruger Township
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Cruger Township
The new elevator, which has replaced the west one, was built in 1965 and added to in 1967. The capacity of the present elevator is 1,000,000 bush- els making it the largest in Woodford County. It was built at a cost of $672,000.
was the Pekin and Southwestern Railroad, later purchased by the Atcheson, Topeka & Santa Fe.
The first public road through Cruger Township was laid out in 1836 by Daniel Travis and James McClure. It commenced at what was known as the Cruger bridge on Walnut Creek and extended to Wash- ington, Ill. Today Cruger Township is bor- dered on the east by Route 117. Route 24 passes the township from east to west along what was probably the first road.
The first justice of the peace in Cruger Township was Daniel Meek who was ap- pointed in 1829. The first physician was Dr. James Mitchell, who came in 1835. The first minister was Rov. Deyton Mitchell. He was a Presbyterian and was in the neighborhood about 1833 and 1834. Wil- liam Hoshor was the first school teacher. Hle taught in the year 1831.
Benjamin J. Radford came from Chris- tian County, Kentucky in 1834. He settled in what is now Cruger Township and re- mained here until his death in September 1857. Ile planted the first grove of locust trees in the county. One of his sons later became President of Eureka College and another son was editor and owner of the Eureka Journal.
Among the early settlers in Walnut Grove who were active in advancing Chris- tian worship were Barton Stone. Alexander and William Campbell. Their desire was to establish a church as nearly like the early New Testament Church as possible. The first meetings were held in homes, barns, schools, and in the groves. This type of worship continued until 18:17 when a frame building was erected in Olio Township. In 1857 when the membership increased to more than 200. they met in a schoolhouse in Cruger Village and decided to build a new church three miles northwest of Eureka. The building was completed the same year. This was originally known as the Mt. Zion Christian Church and it was a stabilizing influence in the community until 1920 when the population trend had shifted to Eureka and the attendance was too small to continue services. The membership moved back to Olio and built a new church which was later known as the Disciples of Christ.
A Methodist church was built in Cruger Village about 1850; it was moved to Eureka about 1865. Another Methodist church, located in the southeast corner of Cruger Township, was built in the carly 19th Century. It was closed in 1897.
William Hoshor, ( mentioned in the gen- eral history of Woodford County as one of the pioneer school teachers) taught the first school in what now is Cruger Town- ship. It was taught in 1831 in an old cabin which stood up near the head of Walnut Grove. His school lasted but a short time and soon after its suspension, John Woosley opened a school near the place where Hoshor had taught. The first structure built in the neighborhood for school purposes was erected in 1834, near the spot where the schools were taught. Three schools which were built about 1850 continued until the schools consolidated. They were the Ray School in the southern part of the township, which closed in 1949; the Cruger school in Cruger Village was closed in 1950, and the Mt. Zion School, near the Mt. Zion Church, was closed long before consolidation about 1915. There are no
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Woodford County History
schools in Cruger Township at this time.
The largest cemetery in the Township is near the site of the old Mt. Zion Church. It is well kept but seldom used for burial purposes since the Disciples of Christ have their burial place in Eureka. The Methodist burial place is located at the northeast cor- nor of the Kaufman Park Golf Course west of Eureka. It has not been used for burial in many years.
In 1922 a golf course was built on 48 acres of land on Route 24 west of Walnut Creek. This land was later donated by Ben Kaufman, placed under jurisdiction of a board of trustees, and is presently known as the Kaufman Park Golf Course. This beautiful nine-hole course is enjoyed, not only by the local residents, but by many others throughout the Central Illinois area. On April 17, 1941, the Eureka City Council approved construction of a dam for creat- ing what is now known as Eureka Lake. The following year, construction of the dam was completed and heavy rains soon
filled the lake. This lake is located in Cruger Township about one mile south- west of Eureka and now covers about 35 acres. Eureka Lake Park is one of the most scenic areas in Central Illinois.
The only community organization was known as the Cruger Community Club and was organized in 1930 and the meetings were held in Cruger Township Hall. Meet- ings were held once each month and the club was active until 1935 when some of the most enthusiastic supporters moved away. The Cruger Unit of the Homemakers extension association was organized in 1930. The present membership of nineteen ladies meets once a month in the homes of the members. Originally the occupation in the township was agricultural. Since 1940 the trend has very definitely changed to industrial workers and business men. Many of the people living in the subdi- visions within the township work in Peoria or in the industries and businesses within the township or in Eureka.
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Tom 41.41
El Paso Township
by MRS. ETHEL EFT
EL PASO TOWNSHIP lies in the southeast corner of Woodford County. The township measures six miles north to south and only four miles east to west.
The four southern sections were partially covered with woods, being in the timber belt along the Mackinaw River, but the rest of the township was prairie, covered with grass which frequently grew eight or ten feet tall and became a raging inferno when set on fire during a summer storm.
Two small ereeks flowed cast, joined, and then flowed southward into the Macki- naw River. Another short branch flowed south, draining the southwest corner of the township. Dotted over the prairie were a number of ponds, some having water only during the spring, while others seldom dried up completely. They provided excel- lent breeding places for the mosquitoes ro- sponsible for the "chills and fever" which plagued the early pioneers.
Stage and post roads were well estab- lished in the 1830's.
Thomas and Permelia Radcliff Dixon set- tled in Kansas Township about IS29 and operated a water-powered "corn cracker" grist mill on the Mackinaw River near the ford which still bears his name. He pur- chased several parcels of land in that area before moving in 1833 to El Paso Town- ship. The house was located south of the present Harold Kring home. Because they did not patent the land (purchased from the government ) until April 16. 1841, there has been some confusion as to the identity of the first residents of the township.
John and David Hibbs and their wives patented land in Section 28 in 1835, as had another brother, William. John and Hannah
Hibbs and David and Susan Hibbs located in this section in 1839.
Caleb and Elizabeth Horn settled about 1842, in the triangle between the stage route between Bloomington and Hennepin. Here they operated a post office known as Roxan, though no one seems to know the source of the name.
By IS53 at least 17 families had settled in the township. Most of the homes were small, though few were built of logs. Some of the lumber was hauled from as far away as Pekin, while others were built from lumber sawed in mills along the Mackinaw or in Greene Township.
Township Organized
In April 1855, El Paso Township was organized, with W. W. Sears the first super- visor. In the spring election of 1891 the question of reorganizing under the general law carried by a large majority, and El Paso's double representation on the county board (one from the township and another from the city) ended.
Civic Development. "An Act to Incorporate the Town of El Paso," was approved and published in the acts of the Illinois General Assembly, dated February 22, 1861. It was published the same year in Illinois Private Laws, pages 625-30, and is the earliest known reference to El Paso.
The act provided for a president and four trustees, to be elected annually; gave the boundaries of the town, duties of of- ficers; provided for taxes, elections, ordi- nances, roads, labor, and education.
Only two references to activities of this early village government have been lo- cated. An ordinance was published in the
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY
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Woodford County History
September 9, 1865 issue of the El Paso True Patriot, regarding certain sidewalks. It was signed by J. D. Park, president, and P. Boyles, clerk of the village board of trus- tees. The November 25, 1865 issue of the same paper carried ordinances signed by Park as president and J. Fishburn as clerk. Several issues of the El Paso Journal of later dates mention W. R. Willis as being the first justice of the peace.
The first council room was located in the Strathman Building on East Front Street, which burned in 1882. The next was in the Eagle Block at the corner of Front and Central streets, which burned in 1894. Some city records were lost in both fires, but the book which contains the minutes of the City Council following El Paso's organization as a city in 1867, is still in existence.
When El Paso organized under a special charter on March 9, 1867, it was composed of two wards, all the territory east of the Illinois Central Railroad being in the First Ward; that west of the railroad, the Second Ward. When El Paso discarded its special charter in 1891 and organized under the General Law, the Third Ward was all the area south of the T.P. & W. Railroad, with the I.C. Railroad the division between the First and Second wards, as previously.
Railroads
The Illinois Central Railroad was built in 1852-1853 from LaSalle to Bloomington, largely with grants of land in alternating sections. Town sites were surveyed along the route and named by the railroad of- ficials. The section between Dunleith ( now East Dubuque) and Bloomington was originally designated as the Sixth Division. Kappa received its name from the 10th letter of the Greek alphabet because it was No. 10 station, counting south from Dun- leith.
A section house, a residence for the rail- road agent, and a depot were built in 1852, and several residences and a railroad ware- house had been added before the first train came through on May 23, 1853. Sometime that year or early in 1854 the post office,
known as Roxan, was moved into the vil- lage and William Jones became the first postmaster, with the office in his general store. Ile called the place Montrose, but the railroad continued to use the name of Kappa, so Jones finally agreed, and the early name remains to the present.
A number of people began to see the advantages of extending the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad east from Peoria to the state line to provide a link with the east, the Illinois legislature authorizing such a line "on the most eligible route-not more than twenty miles north or south of a line -through LaFayette, Indiana."
George L. Gibson and James H. Wathen, Washington, Illinois businessmen, learned that preliminary surveys would take the road through Panola, though other pro- moters were presenting claims for other routes. They acquired an unentered half section of land in Section 5, from four Virginia veterans of the War of 1812, to whom the government had granted the land as a reward for their army service. On April 20, 1854, their original town plan was ready for filing, but it was not done until May 6, 1857, because they did not wish to reveal their plans to the other contenders for the railroad's location.
After numerous difficulties and delays, work on the railroad was resumed in the summer of 1855 and the last rails were the junction with the Illinois Central Railroad on April 1, 1856. So far as can be learned, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Hazlett and a small building which had been used by workmen while the road was under con- struction. were the only evidence of a set- tlement near the junction.
The first train which arrived at the june- tion brought the lumber that was used by the Jenkins brothers for construction of a general store, which was located on the corner of Front and Cherry streets a block east of the junction. The streets had been surveyed and named by the promoters prior to completion of the railroad.
In the spring of 1854 a name was se- leeted for the town, after considerable dis- cussion, and rejection of an offer of $250
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El Paso Township
from George Bestor, president of the Peoria & Oquawka Railroad, for the privilege of naming the town for himself. Gibson and Wathen could not agree on a name and finally drew straws to decide the issue. Gibson won and named the town El Paso. after the Spanish term meaning "the pass".
The first railroad station in the new town was located west of the Illinois Central Railroad just south of present Route 24. and it is believed that Ben Hazlett was the first station agent. After a short time, Bestor brought in a refugee from Europe, who was familiarly known as "The Count," and he operated the restaurant. He argued with everyone about the name of the new community which he always referred to as Illinois Junction, refusing to recognize El Paso, even after the road was extended eastward to the state line. This extension was completed on December 31, 1859.
In 1863 the new depot and restaurant was completed at the railroad crossing, a block north of the first depot, and the busi- ness was transferred to the new location. This almost entirely destroyed The Count's business. In April 1869 he was found dead on the floor of the restaurant, without a cent in his pockets or cash register. No one knew of a friend or relative so the county paid the cost of his burial on the William Jenkins family lot in Evergreen cemetery.
Intrigued by the mystery surrounding "Count Ludwig Clopicki", the late C. C. Kingdon began piecing together bits of in- formation from a variety of sources. The story, in capsule form, is engraved on the memorial stone which was placed on Clo- picki's grave by the El Paso Kiwanis Club in 1954. The inscription reads: "In memory of Ludwig Clopicki-1789-1869-Baron and Major, who, sacrificing all in Poland's lost struggle for independence in 1830, was exiled to the United States and became a pioneer El Paso businessman in 1854."
The first two houses were built on Front Street. just east of the Jenkins Bros. general store. Thomas McClennan began a house on the corner which was completed by William C. Bayne. David Ilibbs, who had built a cabin in 1835, built a house just
west of Bayne's. Both burned in a fire which destroyed George W. Fridley's ele- vator on May 1, 1890. The elevator was built in IS6S and rebuilt on the same site following the fire. It has been remodeled and is now operated by the El Paso Milling Company. Fridley's elevator was the first in the town. The Jenkins brothers had pur- chased grain at their general store, but it always had to be loaded from the farmers' wagons directly into the freight cars, so the elevator was a great improvement.
The town's promoters did not move to El Paso until 1857. Both had been in busi- ness in Washington, Ilinois, but Gibson had moved to Henry, Ilinois shortly before they joined forces in developing El Paso. "Major" Wathen (a courtesy title, he did not have a service record) built his home in 1858. It has been enlarged and some interior remodeling done, and is now The Elms Restaurant, owned and operated by Leland Morgan.
The Denman house on Route 51, one- half mile south of town, was built by Wil- liam Denman in 1856. It is now the home of the Robert O. Mayne family, and is the oldest farm home in the area in continuous use since its building.
George Gibson built his fine residence at the east end of First Street, in an arca which he later annexed to the original town. He was born in Pennsylvania, Oc- tober 2. ISIS, and came to Ilinois with his parents in 1831. Ile married Miss Matilda Heath in Ohio June 1, 1843.
In late 1856 Handley King built his home at the corner of First and Pine streets and his aunt, a Mrs. Cooper, taught the first school there. There were 20 pupils, inchid- ing Jennie Fishburn, who later became a teacher in the community.
Harry H. Ilewitt was the first public school teacher. The school was built in 1857 and soon became so crowded that Jennie Fishburn volunteered to assist. Sev- eral rooms were added as required, and for several years small buildings located on the alley west of the present United Church of Christ were pressed into service as classrooms. Several "select" schools were
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Woodford County History
also functioning during this period, with a more varied curriculum than the public school, the tuition based on the subjects studied.
The Presbyterian and Methodist churches were organized in 1857, the Baptist in 1858, and the Congregational Church built on Second Street north of Jefferson Park in 1859. El Paso's first hotel, the Union House, was built in late 1856 by John and Eli Ben- nett. Dr. Samuel L. Kerr and Dr. Alanson V. Stockwell both had offices in El Paso be- fore 1860. All this before the town was organized.
The building which replaced the Eagle Block after the fire of 1894 was only two stories, instead of three, and the City Council met on the second floor. Omer North, John 11. Welch and William J. Render were the building committee; Peter Donner, mayor; H. J. Tegtmeyer, clerk; and C. M. Parmalee, treasurer, at the time. Their report showed the cost of the build- ing was $5,955.33, which was close to the $6,000 worth of bonds which had been sold to finance the project.
A wooden building on the Illinois Central right-of-way, on the north side of First Street at Central, was El Paso's first jail. James F. Keys is the only marshal whose identity is known, who served before 1875. The second jail was of brick and was al- ways called the "calaboose," it provided quarters for transients for some time after the city hall was built in 1907. It was sold to R. L. Beshers for $145, plus paving as- sessments, and he removed it.
Police officers were elected when the city was under special charter, W. T. Tucker. elected in 1875, being the first of which we have record. Elmer (Wing) Taylor was appointed in December, 1911, and served until January 1, 1948 (only a short time before his death on January 17), the long- est period served by any of our police of- ficers. The present officers are William Price, chief; Theodore Fultz, assistant. El Paso police covered their town on foot un- til December, 1949, when the council pur- chased an automobile for poliee use.
Joseph G. Baker and florace 11. Baker are the only father and son to serve as El Paso mayors. The latter was the youngest man ever elected to the office, being just 26. Clyde Tegard is the only mayor born in El Paso. J. B. Michels served for eight years as mayor (though not consecutive terms), the longest period of any mayor.
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