USA > Illinois > Washington County > This is Washington County; its first 150 years, 1818-1968 > Part 6
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The first steam mill was built by James Turnbolt, com- pleted in 1815. It stood on a hill, east of the village, later passed into the hands of Jack McNail, and he removed it to Mascoutah. A man named Alexander brought in the first crude reaper in 1839. James Garvin purchased the first buggy. James Lyons erected the first brick dwelling in 1847,
making the bricks in his own kiln. The first saw mill went into operation in 1839. The first well dug in Okawville is now covered by the post office building.
The town of Okawville was laid out by James Garvin and James Davis in 1856. Prior to this time, the town was called Bridgeport. Among the men responsible for the growth of Okawville in the early days were Judge H. P. H. Morgan, Julius F. Zetzsche, Hy. Wlecke, Job Harryman, Herman Schulze, Green P. Harbin.
The community east of Plum Creek, now called Pinch, in the pioneer days was known as Okaw. At one time there were no less than seven bridges spanning the creek in the Okawville area.
Okawville once had three flour mills, plus a small custom mill. The Lammers mill was built about 1855. The Stone- wall Jackson mill was erected on the Morgan land in Pinch during the Civil War era. The Harbke-Wright mill was near the site of the Original Hotel. The Lammers mill was later abandoned, and the others burned.
Before the advent of wells, cisterns and city water, pioneer residents of Okawville washed their clothing at a "wash-hole" in Plum Creek, located near the present site of the Route 177 highway bridge.
Rudolph Plegge lived near the present site of the Original Hotel. When he dug a well, the high mineral con- tent of the water was noted. Dr. James McIlwain, Sr. had the water analyzed, and it was found to be very similiar to the famous Carlsbad waters of Europe. The small bath house that was started here at that time is a forerunner of the Original Mineral Springs hotel and bathhouse of today.
The Methodist Church was started during the Civil War years, and its unfinished walls were untouched until the war ended. Next came the St. Petri Evangelical Church, in 1861, followed by St. Barbara's Catholic Church and lastly by Immanuel Lutheran.
Oldest business building in Okawville, until its razing several years ago was the annex to the north of the Tschar- ner Mercantile Building, also a memory. The Blumenhorst Bakery building is conceded as the village's most ancient building today.
The Biedefelt hotel and store was located at the spot where the Washington Annex was later built (now the Washington Springs Nursing Home). The drug store and office of Dr. R. C. Poos stood just south of the present Old Rock Inn building. Dr. James Mellwain. Sr. and Dr. James Mellwain, Jr. had joint offices in what is now the Winkel- mann building; Dr. H. Schmidt had an office in what is now the Pettersen Electric Shop.
In 1871 the half-cent piece was still in circulation, as attested by an order made out to William Kugler for road work in the amount of $17.371%. In 1874. the town pur- chased a carload of "sidewalk lumber." attesting that the first walks were definitely not concrete. In 1876. S. C. Krebs charged the town one dollar for the use of his shop Continued
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for elcetion purposes. In 1877, the board of trustees made a motion to appropriate $25 to purchase suitable fire fight- ing equipment. Saloons for the first time were ordered to close on election day in 1877.
The Okawville of today is far removed from these pio- neer efforts. An admirable place to live, its low tax rate and freedom from financial difficulties attest to sound manage- ment. Its fine schools and churches are comparable to big city life, with an added friendliness found only in the small- er town. Government consists of a mayor and six aldermen, a police department, a fire department. The town is served by Illinois Power Company, the Illini State Telephone Co.,
a city-owned water system. and a modern sanitary sewerage disposal system. Interstate 61 will soon augment its present highway outlets.
Its fine organizations include the Okawville Commun- ity Club. chartered in 1937; Okawville American Legion Post 233. chartered May 1921; Okawville American Legion Auxiliary. chartered June 1926: Washington County Bar- racks WW I. chartered in 1951; Washington County Bar- racks Auxiliary, Jan. 1959: Okawville Lions Club. Sept. 1930; Okawville PTA, May 1956; Okawville Women's Club, chartered in 1926.
ST. ANTHONY'S CHURCH, LIVELY GROVE
The Catholic Parish of St. Anthony's at Lively Grove was started in 1868 at the time when its territory was under the Alton Diocese (Bishop Henry Junker), who was under the appointment of Pope Pius IX. The 1868 date is estab- lished by testimony of Rev. Wendelin Gillin.
Andrew Johnson was President of the United States. Only three years before, Abraham Lincoln had been assas- sinated.
St. Anthony's Parish began when the pastor of St. Libory, Rev. Henry Jansen, made a recommendation that the Low Germans who resided in the Lively Grove area since 1860 should build their own church as they were complain- ing about the road leading to St. Libory Catholic Church to which parish these Catholics went to church each Sunday.
Up to 1868. the Catholic families of Lively Grove went to church at St. Libory, and after the pastor there recom- mended that the 17 families of Lively Grove build their own church, they did just that. This was the start of the parish of Lively Grove; 1868 was the date when this first church was built.
With aid from the St. Libory parish, the Lively Grove people built their own small wooden church which lasted 20 years. They also built a small frame school for $400. After 20 years, they turned this wooden church into a school and Sister's residence combined. The Sisters of the Ruma Motherhouse taught in this parish from time to time up to 1963, when they left for other fields of work. The first school building had been removed from the scene at Lively Grove parish for some time.
The first Priest to have services in Lovely Grove was Rev. Jansen. pastor of St. Libory. who took care of the new parish for the first year of its existence. His assistant. Fr. Tuerk, also helped out from time to time for Sunday Mass during the first year.
During the span of one hundred years of this parish, there were consistently about 15 families listed. During this century, approximately five children were born in the parish each year.
The first pastor to reside here was Father Rosmueller, who came in 1869 and built the first pastoral residence. It was a small frame building. Constructed in 1869; it no
longer exists. The present pastor's residence was built in 1902 by Rev. W. Gillen.
The Catholic school, which everyone in the Lively Grove area remembers, was built in 1912 during the pastor- ate of Rev. Wendelin Gillen. A sisters' home was built also at this time. The school closed in 1963 and both this build- ing and the sisters' home were removed in 1965. The same year the new air-conditioned hall was constructed under the pastorship of Rev. Paul W. Stauder.
St. Anthony's Catholic Church at Lively Grove, and the twa linden trees that Father Gillen braught from Germany 65 years ago, and planted himself.
While all the old buiklings have since been removed, there still stands in front of the present church ( see photo) the two linden trees which Father Gillen planted there him- self. He brought these trees from Germany 65 years ago.
The present brick church which towers over the corn fields of Lively Grove was built in 1887 under the pastor- ship of Rev. Longinus Quitter. At this time the Alton Dio- Continued
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cese was divided into the Diocese of Springfield and the Diocese of Belleville. Lively Grove continued its history in the latter. Bishop John Janssen was the first Bishop of this diocese (incidently, not the same Father Jansen who was pastor at St. Libory and who recommended that Lively Grove have its own parish ).
St. Anthony's is now under the spiritual leadership of Bishop Albert R. Zuroweste of Belleville, with Rev. Paul W. Stauder its pastor since 1963.
During its century of existence, Lively Grove parish has been authorized by the following Popes in Rome: Pope Pius IX, who authorized the parish to begin in 1868; Pope Leo XIII, Pope St. Pius X, Pope Benedict XV, Pope Pius XI, Pope Pius XII, Pope John XXIII and the present Holy Father, Popc Paul.
The following priests have served Lively Grove: Rev. Henry Jansen, pastor of St. Libory, with his assistant, Rev. Tuerk; Rev. Rosmueller, Rev. A. Busch (buried in the ad- jacent cemetery ); Rev. Carl Roesner; Rev. Longinus Quit- ter (who built the present church and also is buried in the
cemetery; Rev. B. Reusch, Rev. Wendelin Gillen ( who built the present rectory ) ; Rev. Clemens Bellmann, Rev. Henry Alberg, Rev. John Jantzen, Rev. Bernard Kunkel, Rev. John Jantzen, Rev. Edwin Arentsen, Rev. Melvin Haas, and Rev. Paul W. Stauder, who built the new hall in 1965.
Many of the pioneers of this parish have gone to their eternal reward. Their remains lie buried in the cemetery beside the church. Many of these people with their own hands helped build the present church. I'm sure that when the first member of this small parish was buried in the cemetery, Sophie Maxander by name, whose tombstone stands as evidence of her death in 1870, little did the people of this community think that this parish would survive one hundred years. May all the souls of the pioneers rest in peace, and may the present living witnesses of this church and God's truth carry the torch farther so that we in our generation can say that we took our turn in history to bridge the gap between our forefathers and our successors and con- tinued the span of time for great things to come in the future for this community of Lively Grove.
Stone Church ... A Thumbnail Sketch
Today, Stone Church is a small, unincorporated com- munity of less than a dozen houses, centered about its modern E. & R. Church. Once there was a large store, a creamery, a blacksmith. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Jasper started a general merchandise store there in 1877, moving into a building owned by the Zerse Brothers. They conducted the store for 55 consecutive years, surely a record of note. Be-
Today, Stone Church community is centered about its modern church, replacing an old sandstone building that burned.
fore the rural mail service, a post office was also operated in the store. Mr. William Fox, who operated the creamery, also brought the mail from the L & N trains at Venedy Sta- tion to the Jasper store for distribution.
This hamlet in southwest Washington County was first known as Elkhorn Prairie. Later the name was changed to Petersburg, a short-lived appellation because a town was already claiming that name, farther upstate. The final change gave the community the name, Stone Church. Its first church building, which was later gutted by fire, was of native stone, erected in 1858, so the new name was fitting to say the least.
Despite its physical smallness, the Stone Church com- munity had a native son who won world-wide prominence, the late General Walter Krueger, who commanded the Sixth Army in the Pacific during World War II, and won the Distinguished Service Cross for his enviable record. Mrs. Fred Runge ( the late Annie Jasper ) recalled that General Krueger came to the Stone Church community as a boy, with his mother, a sister and a brother, from Germany. The family lived there for about eight years, and he was con- firmed in the local church, after which they moved to Indiana. Krueger and General Douglas MacArthur were bosom friends of more than 40 years' standing.
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CROPS - PAST AND PRESENT
As always, throughout the timbered sections of the Midwest, the first crop was corn, food for man and beast. Often it was planted between stumps by hand, the source of meal, hominy. the grains parched, and the green ear for corn-on-the-cob.
As clearings expanded and more horsepower, or ox- power, was available. wheat was grown for a cash crop. But first there had to be a market, often as far distant as 75 miles, reached by wagon trails only.
Conditioning the land for crops continued. As more animal power and simple tools were available, the pioneers in this county also grew cotton, hemp, and finally oats for livestock feed. Between 1840 and the Civil War, horse- drawn tools were greatly developed. The first mowers or reapers and sulky plows showed up and farming was no longer merely for subsistence but became an industry. After the Civil War, even bigger and better horse drawn imple- ments appeared. More prairie was put under cultivation. Cotton disappeared, oats became very important for in- creasing horsepower fuel; then rye and syrup sorghum as well as cowpeas first appeared on the scene.
From then until about 1930, the three big crops in Washington County were soft red winter wheat. oats and corn, but livestock hay was important too. Cotton and hemp entirely disappeared, rye remained minor. The hay was first wild grass. then came timothy. redtop, red clover and cowpeas.
In this period there were two fruits grown quite ex- tensively, apples and pears. Both fruits were dried, made into cider and butter. The wheat varieties included Red Sea. Turkey Red and later Fultz. In corn, the dent replaced the flint and it was often strawberry. Reid's yellow dent, Bloody butcher, Boone county white. Oats was black, white or red. From 1900, dairying grew in importance each year. Both corn and sunflowers were grown for silage, and alfalfa first appeared as a hay crop. Dairying reached its peak in the 1930s.
This period also marked the first big effort at fruit growing, winter apples. peaches and strawberries, all of which grew in importance until about 1925, when a gradual decline started.
These years also marked the introduction of the soy- bean as a hay crop only. Liming the soil was started by a few experimenting farmers, and the first tractors appeared. Cowpeas outdistanced some of the minor hay crops. Ex- tensively grown in the county were New Era, Whippoorwill and the Clay varieties. Another crop that had quite a vogue from about 1880 to 1900 was the castor bean, grown mostly for its oil.
The introduction of Missouri Beardless barley led to a rapid increase of that crop in the 1930s for stock feed. Today very little is grown. The coming of better tractors
and implements, and the combine as well, soon got rid of the horse as a work animal, and with it went the oats crops. The cowpea declined, and although this county developed a special market for seed along the Atlantic coast, that too declined and by 1915 a cowpea field was a rarity. Timothy hay also disappeared with the horse, leaving red clover and alfalfa as the hays for dairying.
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Harvesting wheat in the county fifty years ago.
After 1930, hybrid yellow dent corn replaced all other corn. Sorgo became fairly important for silage, augmenting corn. Sunflowers as a silage crop and poultry feed practical- ly disappeared as a farm crop. After the second world war dwarf milo maize, a grain sorghum that can be combined, became an important crop for livestock feed, hut is now on the decline. Mung Beans, grown quite extensively in several townships, has also declined. ( In case you don't recognize the name, this is the type of bean so important in Chinese cookery, the bean sprout ). Syrup sorghum in the county practically disappeared after 1950. This also is true of oats, cowpeas, hay soybeans, timothy and rye.
Sweet clover was introduced as a honey plant in the 1900s. In the 1920s it came into great prominence as a "plow under" soil improvement crop. Lespedeza was grown a great deal for both soil improvement and hay but has about passed from the scene. Two pasture grasses have achieved some use sinee 1915. fescue and bromegrass. As of this year ( 1967) the three big erops are hybrid yellow dent corn, light colored oil soybeans and soft winter wheat. New and improved varieties are now much more frequently brought into general use for some specific reason, and cer- tain varieties often pass from the scene in a few years. All other crops have either disappeared entirely, or have become very minor in either acreage or value.
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Zion E. and R. Church, built for $25,000, still re- mains one of the outstanding edifices in the county.
ADDIEVILLE NAMED AFTER WOMAN
The village of Addieville, centrally located in Wash- ington County, on the L & N railroad and state route 15, was named after a woman, Mrs. Addie Morrison, whose hus- band donated the land upon which the town was built.
Addieville is a residential community, its well kept homes and good streets is a mark of its German heritage. Population-wise, the village has seen little fluctuation. The 1930 census showed 283 people; the 1940, 272; the 1950, the same; the 1960, 231.
Its local school, now being expanded, is a consolida- tion, comprises the former districts: Grattendick 46, Half Acre 68; part of Black Jack 69; east part of Zetzsche 63; east part of Helbig 64, now all incorporated into the parent district 47.
Life in the community centers about its spacious church, Zion E. and R. and its companion church hall, used for various parish activities. Rev. Kenneth Kramer is resident pastor.
The Gaebe Elevator has been a landmark at Addieville since 1883, founded by the late Henry and John H. Gaebe. Senior citizens still remember the popular Bouquet brand of flour made here, widely sold up and down the L & N. Making of flour was discontinued in 1945.
Ben H. Gaebe is mayor of the community.
The memory of the late John Meyer, Sr., Washington County's last Civil War veteran, still lingers in the minds of many Addievillians. Meyer was noted for his auto driving facility, even past the age of 90. Dr. L. P. Schroeder was a
doctor at Addieville for more than forty years. Another well remembered physician, Dr. H. Schmidt, later moved to Okawville.
One of the photos illustrating this article shows the L & N depot at Addieville, long a landmark. But by the time this book sees print, the depot will get the axe, according to present plans of the railroad.
Addieville's L&N depot, shown here with the silas of the Gaebe Elevator in the background, is soon to get the axe.
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A HOYLETON MAN'S BID FOR FAME
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The late Emil Mottert of Hoyleton, with a violin he made of toothpicks, and a saxophone of corn stalks. Both instruments are now in the Ripley Museum in Florida.
The late Emil Mottert of Hoyleton, pictured here, won national acclaim in a very unusual way. Mr. Mottert ran a shoe repair shop, was a hobbyist of great patience and skill. In his spare time, he made musical instruments out of outlandish material. For instance, the violin pictured here. was made of tooth- picks. Thousands of ordinary toothpicks. all glued into a solid. The saxophone was made of cornstalks. Mottert also made various other instruments of equally "different" materials, a bass fiddle from a bull's hide, a mandolin from a gourd, and a flute from a pig's windpipe.
His fame spread to Hollywood. Paramount News sent a camera and sound crew to Hoyleton, to photo- graph Mottert playing his unusual instruments. Later, the newsreel, in color, had a "world premiere" at the Main Theatre at Okawville.
Later. the world-renowned Robert Ripley of "Believe It or Not" fame, accepted Mr. Mottert's un- usual musical instruments for permanent exhibition in the Ripley Museum in Florida.
UNIVERSITY OF LIBRARY
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Only Indian Atrocity in County
The Massacre at Lively Spring
People travel far to visit historic shrines, monu- ments and memorials. traverse a dozen states to stand at the foot of a mountain, a canyon, or a waterfall, yet paradoxically, only a very few people of Washington County have seen the memorial that for years has marked the site of the massacre of the John Lively family near Covington.
Lively Spring, much the same today as it was back in 1810 when it was used by the Lively-Huggins family for their water supply.
There is a reason for the above statement. All through the years, since the monument was erected 30 years ago, only an indistinct foot-trail led to the spot, a condition the Washington County Historical Society hopes to amend shortly.
Lively Spring, the site of the massacre, is located east of Covington, north of Crooked Creek. Roughly the spot is almost due east from the Covington quarry.
Forget the present for a moment and let us grow reminiscent. Picture a hilly woodland of scrub oak and elm, ash and hickory, with a good-sized creek mean- dering through the valley. Even today it is as isolated as it was in 1810, when upon the slope facing the spring, a new settler's mud-chinked cabin greeted the morning sun.
Historians differ on the Lively story and much must be left to the imagination. But here is the gist of the much-told tale.
Two brothers-in-law, John Lively and David Hug- gins, residing in Randolph county, decided in 1810 they would move eastward to find better grazing for their expanding herds of livestock. They were hardy pioneers, industrious and unafraid.
The place decided upon was near Crooked Creek, about two miles above the spot where the creek emp- ties into the Kaskaskia river. The country was rolling timberland. interspersed with grassy prairies. A nearby spring provided ample drinking water. Here they built their log homes and barns, planted their small fields and began the busy life of a pioneer homesteader.
Always there was the fear of an Indian uprising, but both Lively and Huggins were unafraid, relying on their guns and dogs. Nearby was an Indian trace, over which roving bands traveled north and south, but the Continued
THIS AL-BAS -
JOHN INEI
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MASSACRE
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The marker, erected in 1937.
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Gary Stricker of Okawville looks at the five crude stones that mark the graves.
two pioneers disregarded any signs of danger at the time.
In the spring of 1813 it became evident that trouble with Indians was inevitable. For a time they were afforded protection by a small company of Rang- ers. but after a time this proved to be inadequate, and both Lively and Huggins began to disenss plans to move back to Randolph county.
Remember, at this time these two families were the only settlers within the county. At last Huggins decided to leave, but Lively said he would stay. despite the fact that the nearest settlers were at Shoal Creek, to the northeast, and Hill's Station, to the south. With Lively and his wife was a hired man. plus the four children. two sons and two daughters.
After the Iluggins family left. Lively lived un- molested at the spring. He had a corral into which he nightly drove his livestock. In July. the stock began to grow restless, and Lively realized prowling Indians were the cause. He decided to move out at once and sent the hired man and one son to round up the live- stock.
The hired man and the boy had gone only a short distance when they heard the sound of shots and yells of Indians. From the edge of the forest they saw the carnage taking place, the burning of the buildings. the
death of the family. The hired man and the one Lively boy made their escape. finally getting help from the rangers, who returned to the spot. buried the bodies. and pursued the Indians to a place called Buckingham Branch, where they were supposedly killed.
With the Indian trouble seemingly over. David Huggins and his family returned to the spring in 1816. and lived out their days there. He left a large family.
As long as people can remember, the site of the massacre has been known as Lively Spring. The cabin sites are here, several marked graves, an old Indian wash pond, and the spring. still gushing forth clear water.
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Historians differ, too, as to which tribe killed the Lively family. The Illini were five tribes in a federa- tion, the Tamaroa, the Michigamies, Kaskaskias, Peor- ias and Cahokias. The red men frequenting this sec- tion were also known as the Meadow Indians. The Sacs and Foxes, farther to the north, were marauding redskins, and it is possible that a war party of this nation dipped this far south to test the mettle of its warriors.
The tablet marking the site of the massacre was designed by the late Oren Brandis of Nashville. Funds were raised by publie subscription. Recently Nashville Boy Scouts cleaned the site. an act that is commend- able.
The old Indian wash pond, north of the site, in use by the Indians long before the white men came.
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RELIC OF ANOTHER DEFENSE PROGRAM
Arthur Lehde of Beaucoup, writing in the Nashville Journal, at the time that newspaper was so ably edited by Joseph B. Campbell, has this to say about the old Phillips blockhouse, southeast of Nashville:
The blockhouse itself, back in 1954, when it was still in- tact. One of two wells was under the porch. Notice both the gun loopholes and the ventilation openings in the walls.
Half-hidden in the high weeds surrounding a vacant farm house two miles south and west of Beaucoup, there remains a mute reminder of the defense program of more than a century ago - a thick-walled grayish-tan stone block- house. Since late in the first quarter of the nineteenth cen- tury, its 37 shoulder-high loopholes have stared - their gaze transfixed in stone - across the surrounding countryside as if seeking the whereabouts of some lurking red-skinned savage. It was this blockhouse that, approximately 120 years ago, made it possible for the earliest white settlers to estab- lish their homes in what was then a hostile Indian country.
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