USA > Illinois > Kane County > The past and present of Kane County, Illinois : containing a history of the county a directory war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion statistics history of the Northwest etc., etc > Part 27
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In 1868, forty-three members removed, by letter, from the First M. E. Church to form the Galena Street Church, on the West Side. They now have a fine edifice and are in a prosperous condition. The German Evangelical
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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.
Society built, in 1858, on Watson street, on a lot donated by Benjamin Hackney. As their building was small and the society had prospered from the first, they purchased the old building on Main street, of the Universalist Society, after it had been abandoned by the original owners, and have held their services there ever since. On the 4th of November, 1860, the Free Methodists organized a society in Aurora. They occupied a hall on Broadway as a place of worship for three years; but in October, 1863, they dedicated a commodious brick church on Lincoln avenue. A parsonage was subsequently built, and the soci- ety is now prosperous. The present Presbyterian organization was started in 1858. In June, 1859, Rev. A. Hamilton took charge of the society as the first pastor. During the Fall and Winter of 1861, a small house of worship was built. Later they divided, and built a small brick church on the East Side.
The First Congregational Church was organized in the Presbyterian form, with seventeen members, June 10, 1838, but was changed in name and govern- ment July 1, 1848. Its substantial stone building, on the corner of Main and Park streets, was dedicated in January, 1857.
On the 1st of July, 1858, a colony of thirty, from the First Congregational Church, left its fold to form the New England Congregational Church. A house was built on Locust street, and Rev. George Hubbard, their first min- ister, commenced his labors therein in March, 1859.
Twenty-seven members from the First Baptist Church assembled on the 2d day of June, 1857, in the old Congregational Meeting House, and or- ganized the Second or Union Baptist Church. A call was forthwith extended to Rev. Lewis Raymond, of Sandusky, Ohio, and the pastorate was accepted by him. At the close of the first year, they numbered 110, and now form one of the permanent religious societies of the place. The old Congregational Church was purchased and enlarged by them.
The Episcopal Church is situated on South Lincoln avenue, No. 19. Rev. W. C. Hopkins is rector. It is an old organization, having been commenced on the 25th of May, 1850, under the superintendence of Rev. Henry Safford.
The German Lutherans first assembled, as a society, in Aurora, December 5, 1853. Rev. C. H. Buhre officiated as their first pastor. They struggled along until 1855 without a meeting house, holding their religious services, a part of the time, in the third story of a building then owned by Mr. Harroun, . afterward purchased by Thomas Russell; but in that year they put up the edifice still occupied by them, on the corner of First avenue and Jackson street, on land given them by Benjamin Hackney.
There is also a Swedish branch of the Lutheran Church, with the church building located at 29 Galena street.
Rev. J. Schaefer organized the German Methodist Church, in 1859, with only six members, as follows : Messrs. Bauman, Stoll, Eitelgeorge, Wissinger, Ziegler, Shoeberlien and Schmidt. In two years, the membership increased to
1
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thirty. The church building was erected during that time. It is located at 62 Fox street.
Aside from the above, there is the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which was organized in July, 1868, and the African Baptist Church, which was organized the year previous.
EDUCATION
has received no less attention than religion, and Aurora was the very first city in the State to adopt a system of public schools. Her first pioneer efforts in this direction have been already mentioned.
Late in the Fall of 1839, the earliest substantial school building was erected in the public square, on the East Side, at a cost of over $300, which was raised by private subscription. The building was put up under the manage- ment of Col. Brown, and it was also used for religious assemblies. The first pedagogue who occupied it was a Mr. Moffat. This house eventually became too small, and in 1847, when the number of children in the district was 346, it was thought time to have a new building, but, owing to successive delays in levying money, and various misunderstandings, the proposed house was not completed until 1851. In 1854, it was found to be too small, and an addition was made to it.
Later, a school house was built in the northern part of the city, and, in 1862, two smaller buildings were put upon the lot where the main building stood.
In 1863, another school house was demanded, and it was urged by many of the citizens that it should be an expensive one, sufficiently ample to supply the demands of a rapidly increasing population. In the Fall of 1864, it was decided that a new site should be purchased and a building of suitable dimen- sions erected. This building, which was of brick, 74x96 feet and four stories high, was dedicated, with appropriate public ceremonies, on the 5th day of September, 1866.
There are now five school houses on the East Side, as follows : The East Branch, a small wooden building, at the corner of New York and Smith streets ; the Indian Creek School, wood, two rooms ; the Brady School, corner of Supe- rior and Union streets, brick, two stories high, with eight rooms; the Young School, located at the corner of Fifth street and Center avenue, a brick build- ing, three stories high, having twelve rooms; and the Central School, brick, four stories high, and containing fifteen rooms, besides an office used by the Board of Education. Over two thousand pupils are enrolled, and thirty teach- ers are employed.
It would be interesting to note some of the peculiarities of the able system which has been adopted by W. B. Powell, the Superintendent, but our space will not admit of it.
It will be understood that the above-mentioned buildings are all on the East Side, and that the remainder of the city is under a separate management.
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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.
The first school on that side is said to have been opened in 1836, by Miss An- geline Atwater, afterward Mrs. N. B. Spalding, in an old log house on the bank of the river. There were only eight or ten pupils, but the building was not large enough to accommodate even that number. In 1839, a small frame building was constructed for a school house, on land then owned by Mr. R. Wilder.
The West Side steadily filled up, and again and again the cry was raised by the youngsters for more room, and as often a new school house was given them. In 1852, the school attendance was about one hundred and sixty. In 1867, it was 650. The district is now managed under the School Law of 1872, and it boasts sixteen school rooms, with facilities for accommodating 800 pupils.
It remains to notice but one other institution of education, viz., Jennings Seminary .*
As early as 1850, Rev. John Clark, an old and honored member of the Rock River M. E. Conference, advanced the idea of establishing a denomina- tional institution in Aurora, for the education of youth in all branches pertain- ing to a liberal education. His plan at first met with but little favor, but still he continued to advance it among the citizens of the town and elsewhere, with the utmost persistence, from year to year, until at length the attention of some of the leading citizens was obtained. Mr. Clark, however, did not live to see the accomplishment of his earnest desires, for, on the 11th of July, 1854, while in charge of a Chicago pastorate, he was called from this world to his final re- ward.
But other able men continued his work, and in February, 1855, a charter was obtained from the Legislature for the institution, requiring, however, that $25,000 should be subscribed, for the erection of the proposed building. In February, 1856, this sum had been promised, and the Trustees proceeded to take proposals for the work.
It would be uninteresting to trace the entire history of its progress, and the many threatened failures before the building was finished. It is sufficient to state that the year 1857 had passed before the magnificent pile which now rises on a beautiful knoll, on South Broadway, and overlooks the entire city, was completed.
The entire cost of house and grounds exceeded $70,000. The main build- ing is 125x40 feet, while a wing extends on the rear, 75x45 feet, and, aside from this, there is a side building, 40x30 feet. The roofs are fire-proof, and the main building is separated from the rear building by fire-proof par- titions.
G. W. Quereau was elected its first Principal, in October, 1858-although there had previously been a small school in a portion of the house-and sus- tained the duties of his position with eminent success until his resignation, in 1873. Rev. C. E. Mandeville was elected to fill the vacancy. The seminary
* Named from Mrs. E. Jennings, of Aurora, its most liberal patron.
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was closed a year ago for repairs, but was re-opened for the Fall term of the present year (1877) under the superintendence of Rev. M. E. Cady. The cur- riculum comprises an English course, an academic course, the college pre- paratory course, a scientific and commercial course, eclectic course and musical course.
None but the most accomplished and thorough teachers are employed, and Jennings Seminary ranks among the best denominational institutions in the West.
MANUFACTURES AND RAILROADS.
But to return to 1837, from which we digressed to trace the educational and religious history of Aurora. In that year, George McCollum built, on his pres- ent stand, a carriage and plow manufactory, which was subsequently operated in the exclusive manufacture of wagons and carriages, and is still in successful operation. From ten to fifteen men are employed. Mr. McCollum came from Susquehanna County, Pa., in 1836, and worked for King, the first blacksmith in the town, during a part of that year. A larger carriage shop was estab- lished fourteen years ago, on the East Side, by Brown & Meyer, who are now doing the most extensive business of the kind in the vicinity.
During the years 1839-43, inclusive, numerous settlers flocked to Aurora, among whom we notice the names of O. D. Day, Wyatt Carr, R. C. Mix, Charles Hoyt and the Hall brothers. Hoyt came from Cleveland, O., in the Spring of 1841, and having bought of Zaphua Lake the land along the west bank of the river, with an undivided half of the water power, built thereon a four-story grist-mill, 40x50 feet in dimensions, and carrying four sets of stones. R. C. Mix was the millwright. This, at the time, was the largest flouring mill on Fox River, and was a landmark all over the West. The flour made ranked with the best in the market, and Blackhawk Mill continued in successful opera- tion, with scarcely a day's interruption, until the morning of October 26, 1875, when the building was destroyed by fire. It was then owned by R. A. Alex- ander.
Mr. Hoyt had sold it, in 1856, to Squires & Whitford, and had erected, on the land now occupied by Hoyt & Brothers Manufacturing Company, a small shop for the manufacture of stave machinery. The building was subsequently used by Reeves & Carter, manufacturers of the Grouberg Reaper, and later by Carter & Pinney, as a general repair shop, and came into the possession of the present proprietors, sons of Charles Hoyt, in the Fall of 1868. Since then, having been much enlarged, it is devoted to the manufacture of all kinds of wood-working machinery-planers and matchers, chain-feed surfacers and re- sawers being a specialty. Over forty hands are usually employed.
In 1847-8, some of the enterprising business men of Aurora proposed to connect their town by railroad with the Galena & Chicago road, now known as the Galena Division of the Chicago & Northwestern. Hon. L. D. Brady, then
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a member of the Legislature, secured a charter for the Aurora Branch Railroad Company. In 1850, the road was commenced, and finished in the Fall of 1851, having cost, with an engine, two passenger and twelve freight cars, about $100,000. Stephen F. Gale, of Chicago, was its first President. In 1852, the charter was so amended that it empowered the company to extend the road "in a southwesterly direction, on the most practicable route, to a point fifteen miles north of LaSalle, and where such extension may intersect any railroad, built or to be built, northward from the town of LaSalle, in LaSalle County, and there to form a connection with any such railroad." The name was then changed to The Chicago & Aurora Railroad, and a conjunction. being formed with the Military Tract and Peoria & Oquawka roads, direct railroad communication was opened between Aurora and the Mississippi in 1855. Since this date, her railroad facilities have increased to a remarkable extent, tracks having been laid as follows: First, the main line extension, running _ direct between Aurora and Chicago, which, with the road running west, now forms the main line of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Road; then the Ottawa, Oswego & Fox River Valley Road, built by C. H. Force & Company, to which Aurora subscribed $60,000, the terminus of which is Streator; the Chicago & Iowa Road, running west to the Mississippi by way of Rochelle, and built by F. E. Hinckley, the citizens of Aurora taking $100,000 stock, and finally an extension of the Ottawa, Oswego & Fox River Valley Road, to Geneva, along the west side of the river. Occupying many acres of ground, ยท on the East Side, on Claim street and Lincoln avenue, are the extensive shops, tracks and depots of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. The shops alone give employment to over eight hundred hands. Volumes might be written describing these manufactories and the perfect and systematic order which is to be found in every department of them, but we have only the space to say that the various parts, both wood and iron, of locomotives and coaches are here constructed, and advise the reader to visit them himself. On the 18th day of May, 1873, the greater part of the works were destroyed by fire, involving a loss of a quarter of a million of dollars, but they were immediately rebuilt on a more extensive plan than before. The company is one of the most prosperous in the country. The general agent of its complex business at Aurora is Mr. Wm. H. Hawkins, one of the early settlers, who came to the town in 1837.
The Aurora Silver Plate Manufacturing Company also deserves mention as contributing essentially to the business prosperity of the city. It was organ- ized in 1869 by a joint stock company, under a charter from the Legislature. Its founders were Chas. L. Burphee, Daniel Volentine, Geo. W. Quereau, O. N. Shedd, D. W. Young, Chas. Wheaton, Samuel McCarty, J. G. Stolp, M. L. Baxter, Wm. Lawrence, Wm. J. Strong and James G. Barr. The capital, at the present time, is $100,000. They employ sixty-five hands. The build- ing, which is situated on the island, covers 20,000 square feet of floors, and their rolling mill is the only one of the kind found west of Cincinnati. The
ELGIN.
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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.
above, with the Aurora woolen-mills, mentioned on another page, completes the history of the great manufactories of Aurora. There are several other less noted establishments, but, although each are of importance to the city, and one, at least, employs a number of hands, we can scarcely be expected to notice in a history of the county.
DEATH OF JOSEPH MCCARTY.
Before the wonderful progress which we have recorded had been made, and ere the hum of machinery and the scream of the locomotive had resounded through the busy city, its founder, Joseph McCarty, was quietly sleeping in his grave. In 1839, while working in the field, he was suddenly attacked with hemorrhage of the lungs. All possible medical assistance was rendered, but from that day he steadily declined. Being advised to seek a more genial cli- mate, he took with him a friend, Mr. Enoch Terry, still living in the city, and proceeded to the South, where, after wandering in vain in search of health and strength, he died, near the center of the State of Alabama, at the age of thirty-one.
In 1842, Theodore Lake laid out the village of West Aurora. To illus- trate the rapidity with which real estate arose about that time, we may cite a single case of its transfer. Benjamin Hackney bought a farm on the East Side in 1844, for which he paid $2,500, and after dividing it into town lots, sold it for $50,000.
NEWSPAPERS.
The newspaper history of Aurora has been quite interesting. The first publication was a Democratic sheet called " The People's Platform," issued by Isaac Marlett about 1846, but soon removed to St. Charles, then a more impor- tant town than Aurora. " The Weekly Beacon " first appeared June 1, 1847, and was then edited by the Hall Brothers, M. V. and B. F., the former a Whig, the latter a Democrat. It was accordingly conducted on neutral princi- ples, and at one time had two departments, in which the politics of both of the respective parties were advocated. B. F. Hall finally disposed of his share in the concern, when it became a Whig paper. In 1853-4, James W. and Dud- ley Randall purchased it, and soon after removed the office to the East Side. It then passed through various hands in rapid succession, as follows : William Goldy, a good job printer ; the late N. S. Greenwood, of Waterman, DeKalb Co., an intelligent farmer; George Brewster, a Chicago editor ; until, on the 6th of September, 1856, " The Daily Beacon " appeared, with Hon. A. C. Gibson as editor. The editorship was next assumed by Mr. Brewster, who was followed by one Day, and Day by Augustus Harman, who continued its publica- tion until the consolidation of the Beacon and Guardian, July, 1857, when J. W. Randall and Simon Whitely became proprietors of the Republican Union, as the newspaper was named. This joint proprietorship lasted but a
E
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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.
single month, when Mr. Whitely took the materials of the old Guardian, a Democratic sheet which had been established by him in 1852, to his old quar- ters and resumed separate publication under the title of the Republican. The creditors of Mr. Randall took possession of the old Beacon office, and it was: sold to pay debts. In September, 1857, Augustus Harman, who had been editor, and O. B. Knickerbocker, who had been the compositor for J. W. Ran- dall, came into possession of the Beacon material and revived its publication. They continued in partnership until June, 1848, when Mr. Harman retired, and, with Miss Ellen Beard, who afterward became Mrs. Harman, commenced the publication of the Reformer. On the 1st of January, 1859, Mr. George S. Bangs formed a partnership with Mr. Knickerbocker, and the Beacon was enlarged. This proprietorship continued until March, 1866, when Bangs sold his interest to Knickerbocker, and, in October of the same year, J. H. Hodder purchased an interest in the paper, and it has been issued since that date under the proprietorship of Knickerbocker & Hodder. For the history of the Bea- con we are indebted to its editor. The Aurora Herald was established in 1866, by Thomas E. Hill, and is one of the permanent institutions of the city. Its present proprietor, Pierce Burton, purchased it in 1871. The Aurora Daily News was first issued on the 18th of March, 1874, by Messrs. Sieg- mund & Faye. On the 1st of February, 1876, Mr. W. B. Hawkins, formerly editor of the Indianapolis Courier, purchased a half interest in the establish- ment. It is the only daily paper published in the city. The Aurora Volks- freund was established in the Winter of 1868, by Peter Klein, its present editor and publisher, and is the only German paper published in the Fox River Val- ley. Klein & Siegmund were the first proprietors, but in the Summer of 1871, Mr. Klein bought out Mr. Siegmund. It is a handsome sheet, and seems des- tined to become eminently successful.
FLOOD.
The year 1847 witnessed the greatest flood which has devasted the banks of Fox River since their first settlement. A sudden thaw late in the Winter broke up the ice while it was still thick, and Stolp's Island was completely submerged, while the saw-mill, Eagle Mills, Moore & Howe's wagon factory and the sash factory of Reader & Merrill were all more or less damaged. The total loss was estimated at $100,000.
ORGANIZATION AND INCORPORATION.
In 1845, the village of East Aurora was organized. Her first board of officers were elected to hold office until 1847, and were Daniel Eastman, Presi- dent ; Daniel McCarty, Perseus Brown, Luke Wheelock and P. J. Wagner, Trustees. In 1854, West Aurora was incorporated under the general law, and elected Myron V. Hall, President ; D. B. Waterman, B. Street, George Mc- Collum and A. Richardson, Trustees. A charter was obtained, incorporating
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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.
both sides under one city government, during the session of the Legislature for 1856-7, and the first election under the new order was held the first Tuesday of the following March, resulting as follows: For Mayor, B. F. Hall ; for Aldermen, J. D. Clark, W. V. Plum, Holmes Miller, J. B. Stolp, William Gardner, R. C. Mix, L. Cottrell and S. L. Jackson. The present Mayor is F. L. Bartlett.
COURT HOUSE.
A portion of land on the island was deeded by J. G. Stolp for a Court House, and the ground was broken for the foundation in July, 1859. It was not until 1865 that it was sufficiently completed for the reception of the post office, and during that year the portion of the work which still remained unfin- ished was performed. Most of the work was done in 1864. The building is an imposing stone structure, and was erected at a cost of over $69,000. It contains the post office, court room, a public hall, jail, library room and several other well-finished apartments, rented as offices, and is an honor to the city and a source of commendable pride to its citizens. In 1868, the old wooden
BRIDGES
were removed-one to Montgomery, the other to North Aurora, where they now span the river ; and in the following year the beautiful and substantial iron ones now crossing the stream at Aurora were put up by the town.
MEMORIAL BUILDING.
Shortly after the war, the ladies of Aurora, by various means, commenced raising funds for the erection of a soldiers' monument. Years passed, and successive additions were made to the amount in the hands of their treasurer, until, in 1876, it was resolved to put the original design into execution, or in some other manner devote their savings to the perpetuation of the memory of the brave sons of the town who had given their lives in the defense of their country. Accordingly, architectural designs were obtained, and a small but beautiful stone memorial building was raised upon the island just east of the Court House, at a cost of about four thousand dollars, where it now stands, an appropriate mausoleum. It is intended to use it as a library building, when completed, and the Grand Army of the Republic proposes to place a statue upon the pedestal, upon its summit, which will cost $1,000 or more.
POSITION, RESOURCES, ETC.
Aurora is beautifully situated, at a favorable point for commerce and manu- factures, on the gently undulating hills which slope from either bank of Fox River, at a point about forty-five miles from its mouth. It covers an extent of two and a half miles north and south by two and a fourth miles east and west. Its water power is extensive and unfailing ; it possesses excellent quarries of
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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.
building stone, in positions easily accessible ; and, in general, its natural ad- vantages are unsurpassed. Its population, by the census of 1870, was 11,162, since which time it has materially increased, and may safely be estimated at the present time (1876) at upward of thirteen thousand. The assessed valua- tion of its property, in connection with that of the township, was $4,394,431, and it contains, aside from the institutions which we have enumerated, palatial residences and business blocks, hotels, mills, shops, a fire company, a police force, various orders, and all the organizations and advantages usually found in a city of its size and importance.
BATAVIA TOWNSHIP
forms the southern portion of Town 39 north, Range 8 east of the Third Prin- cipal Meridian. It is bounded on the north by Geneva, east by Winfield, Du Page County ; south by Aurora, and west by Blackberry, and is crossed from north to south by Fox River, and by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the Fox River Valley and a branch of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroads. Its surface is well watered by small tributaries of the Fox, and diversified, like that of the entire tier of towns along the valley of the river, with low hills, rolling prairies, and occasional patches of woodland.
SETTLEMENT.
To Batavia and the village in the heart of it belongs the honor of the first settlement in the county-that of Christopher Payne, in the Summer and Fall of 1833, a further account of which will be found in the sketch of the village. His claim was on the east side of the river, and his house within the village limits. Some doubt has arisen about Payne's settlement being the first, sev- eral of the old settlers, and among them E. S. Town, Esq., declaring that Payne himself had told them that he had entered the county in June, 1833, and had there found Daniel S. Haight living upon a claim upon the present site of Geneva, afterward owned by James Herrington. But Capt. C. B. Dodson, than whom there can be no higher authority, explains this apparent anachronism by the assurance that Payne had repeatedly told him that he had broken land near the head of Big Woods, in the Summer of 1832, but had made no regular claim at that time, and had left the county and remained at Naperville until the Indian war had ceased. In September of the following year, his family settled at Batavia. Haight, meantime, had left the county, but subsequently returned and was on his claim in the Spring of 1834. As a house was ready, in September, 1833, to receive Payne's family, it is tolerably certain that he had taken up his claim early in the Summer. From these facts, and the general belief of early settlers, we shall agree with previous writers upon the subject, and consider Payne's settlement the first in Kane County.
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