THE Township of Magnolia contains nearly forty-three sections or square
miles of land, or 27,520 acres, made up of prairie and timber, its southern
and western portions broken with ravines and seamed with ridges. It is
drained by Clear Creek and Sandy, with their numerous branches, both flowing
into the Illinois. It is agreeably diversified with prairie and woodland,
its surface dotted with small groves resembling an extensive park platted by
the hand of nature, and much of it under the highest possible cultivation.
The southern and western portions are rough, and until recent years
unoccupied; but a large colony of thrifty Germans have taken possession, and
the rough hills and deep ravines are being cleared and made into pleasant,
inviting farms. This land was for many years held by speculators at high
prices, under the impression that the necessities of those living on the
prairies would compel its purchase. In time it was demonstrated that the
farmer required very little timber, and the speculators, after waiting
vainly for purchasers, concluded to accept what it was worth.
The
products are mainly agricultural, and much attention is devoted to the
raising of farm stock, particularly cattle. Formerly large quantities of
grain, principally corn, were sent to market, but most that is raised here
is now consumed at home.
The town has always been foremost in
religious and educational interests, and a more orderly, intelligent and
thinking community cannot be found than here exists.
The County of Putnam is wholly destitute of railroads, and this want of
the means of transit has led to several expensive schemes, thus far without
any result; prominent of which is the building of a line from Bureau
Junction through the Counties of Putnam, La Salle, Grundy, Will and
Kankakee. It was agitated in 1868-9, and meetings were held at different
points along the line in the spring and summer. Putnam County voted to
subscribe $125,000; Granville added $10,000; Round Grove, $15,000; Dwight
$30,000, Tonica $50,000. La Salle and Livingstone together gave $205,000,
Bureau $10,000, Kankakee $165,000, making a grand total of half a million
dollars. In Putnam County the first vote of $75,000 had been nearly
unanimous for the stock, but when the company demanded an increase of
$50,000 more, the people were not quite so eager. The question was submitted
to the voters February 8, 1870, and the result was: For the additional sum,
475 votes; against it, 350. February 26, 1870, the road made an assessment
of three per cent upon its capital stock, a sum that though small, was not
as cheerfully paid.
Magnolia had been deeply moved for and against
the project, and much bitterness of feeling resulted. Finally they voted to
subscribe, provided the company would build eight miles of the road in this
township, the work to be completed to the eastern terminus before the bonds
should be issued. This well guarded provision proved their safety. The road
was graded in many places in Putnam County, and large sums of money expended
in the work, but the company failed in making expected loans, and it was
never finished, its history being that of many other railways in the West,
where people subscribed bonds in advance of the completion of the
enterprise. The County, though deeply swindled, is paying her obligations in
full, thereby setting an example that wealthier corporations might copy with
profit.
Capt. Wm. Hawes was the first permanent white settler not only on this
prairie, but, with the exception of Thomas Hartzell, the first in Putnam or
Marshall Counties. He visited this section in the spring of 1821, while on
his way from Sangamon County to Galena. He was so pleased with the general
appearance of what is now Putnam County, its fertility of soil, fine timber,
pure water, high and dry elevation, and general advantageous surroundings,
that he resolved to mark the spot for his future home, and hitching his
horse to a tree, he cut his name thereon and slept beneath its friendly
branches. He went to Galena and remained until November, 1826, when he more
formally took possession of his claim and built an exceedingly primitive
house, sixteen feet square, of round poles. He split puncheons for the floor
and door, and carried rocks from the creek near by, on his back, for the
chimney. There was not a nail used in its construction, and like the
building of Solomon's temple, no sound of a hammer was heard, for he had
none. He lived there all winter, keeping "bach," subsisting mainly upon the
results of his skill as a hunter and some corn which he had brought with him
from the South, which he pounded into meal upon a stump and baked with fat
from venison and a little salt pork from his meagre larder. This cabin or
pole-shed stood near the afterward northern limits of Magnolia, in the edge
of the timber near the creek, upon the farm he still owns and occupies.
In the following spring he put up another and more substantial cabin
near the first, and the latter furnished him and his family a comfortable
home for many years.
In the spring of 1827 he cleared away a small
patch of ground from underbrush, and broke it up for a crop, using an
old-fashioned barshire plow, stocked by himself. He raised a good crop of
winter wheat, which yielded twenty to thirty bushels per acre, threshed it
out by tramping, and cleaned it in nature's fanning mill - the wind. He also
obtained a fair return of corn by cultivation, which found a ready sale
among the new-comers at twenty to twenty-five cents per bushel.
He
had no stock worth mentioning then, merely a cow and calf and two yokes of
oxen, but as soon as he was able, added horses and hogs to his possessions,
bringing them up from his old neighborhood near Springfield.
During
the first few years cows were worth $10.00 to $15.00 each, and pork from
three to ten per cwt., depending upon the wants of the settlers; but after
awhile hogs got wild and bred in the timber, and when any one wanted pork,
he simply shouldered his gun and went hunting, and pork ceased to have any
particular value until killed and dressed.
The settlers also soon
stocked up with sheep, and made their own clothing.
John Knox came
up with Captain Hawes in 1826, but did not remain here. Hawes sent the
latter back to look after affairs at home, with two yokes of oxen and a
wagon to bring up household goods.
James W. and Stephen D. Willis
and their families came in the spring of 1827, and broke ground on the
"Parsons" place, where they put up a cabin, and each raised a crop of corn.
John Knox returned in the spring of 1827, and put up a cabin where
Magnolia stands, and then with Captain Hawes and Stephen Willis returned for
their families. James Willis remained here to attend the farms and stock
during their absence. They returned early in the fall, when Knox took
possession of his new home, and Mrs. Hawes and Mrs. Willis respectively
found their future residences. Lewis Knox came here with his father this
fall, and made a beginning on what has since been known as the Price farm,
but afterward sold it to a Mr. Hammett, and left for Rock River, and then
went to California.
In the fall of 1827, the Willises sold their
claim to Smiley Shepherd, and went further north - James W. to where Florid
is located, and Stephen D. to the north-western limits of Union Grove, and
were followed by Shepherd, who sold to Cornelius Hunt, and established
himself on his well-known farm east of Hennepin.
In 1827, George H.
Shaw visited Magnolia and made a claim on Clear Creek; he spent the winter
of 1827-8, at Washington, Tazewell County, but returned in the spring, and
with his brother-in-law, C. S. Edwards, settled in what afterward became
Marshall County. E. B. Wilson also came in 1827 or '28, and made a claim.
In 1827 there was trouble expected with the Winnebagoes, but it blew
over. The country was full of Indians, and there was a feeling of feverish
unrest until General Cass came West and met them in council at the mouth of
Crow Creek, when a lasting treaty of peace was concluded.
A few
settlers came in during the year 1828, but none permanently except Hartwell
Haley, who made a claim near the west end of Ox Bow Prairie. Louis Knox made
a claim on Clear Creek, but afterward sold it and went to California.
In 1829 came George Hildebrant, Isaac Hildebrant, Asahel Hannum, David
Boyle, William Graves, Major Elias Thompson, George Hollenbeck, and Aaron
Payne, an eccentric preacher, who located at Payne's Point, and after the
Indian war went to Oregon. Dr. Fyffe located on Ox Bow, near Boyles;
Christopher Wagner, near Magnolia; Hiram Allen, east of Loyds', on the
creek; Wm. Kincaid, on Ox Bow, west of Haley's; Cornelius Hunt, south-east
of Magnolia, toward Sandy Creek; Isaac Springer also made some improvements
near the village this year.
In 1830 Lyman Horrom settled near
Caledonia; Joseph Ash, near Payne's Point; Reuben Ash in the same locality;
John Wilson, Aaron Whittaker, John Whittaker and Jonathan Wilson settled in
the same neighborhood; Joseph Funk, north of Caledonia; Aaron Bascomb, north
of Ox Bow, on the south bluff of the creek.
In the same year came
also John E. and George Dent and made claims on Ox Bow; likewise Ephraim
Smith and Lewis J. Beck, who settled near the Quaker meeting house. Mr.
Smith is the sole survivor of those named, and still resides upon the place
he entered.
In 1831 James S. Hunt came to Ox Bow and remained until
December, 1832, when he moved with his family to Sandy Creek, near the
Cumberland Church.
In 1832, few settlers came to the country, and
many who were here, alarmed at the prospect, abandoned their claims and
never returned. After the war was over, a few came in, among them Enoch
Dent, and settled on Ox Bow Prairie, two miles south-east of Magnolia; also
Isaac D. Glenn, Henry Hartenbower, L. T. and Henry Studyvin and John German.
In 1833 James Shields settled on Ox Bow and began his improvements,
buying the claim of Elias Thompson, who moved to Henry. Isaac Ash came also,
and George Griffith, Robert Dugan, Isaac Parsons and William and Joseph
Hoyle. The latter moved into a cabin built by a Mr. Gunn, who afterward
moved to La Salle. It was quite primitive in character, and having been
built during the Indian war excitement, had port holes in the sides for
defense. It was sixteen feet square, had a "shake" roof and the old
fashioned chimney, with dried clay hearth. Mrs. Hoyle was a Quakeress, and,
like her "friends" noted for extreme neatness and tidy surroundings; so
about the first thing she undertook was to polish up with soap and water
that clay hearth, not doubting but she could make it clean and white, until
it assumed the consistency of a sort of mortar bed, when she perceived her
error and abandoned the job with disgust.
In 1834 came John Goddard,
D. P. Fyffe and Thomas Patterson, the latter buying the Knox claim and
laying out the village of Magnolia.
In 1835 came John Lewis,
somewhat noted for his energetic devotion to the cause of the negro, and
settled north of Captain Hawes' farm. John Hall settled in Magnolia the same
year, and built here one of the first houses in the village. Alexander
Bowman also came this same season.
In 1835 Dr. J. B. Ashley, George
W. Ditman, Amos Harvey and Janus and William Ramage came to Magnolia.
William Lewis, the noted Abolitionist, removed from his farm near Hennepin
and settled near his brother, John Lewis. Sarah Baker settled this year on
Ox Bow Prairie.
In 1837 William and Sarah Wireman, and the family of
Benjamin Lundy, followed by himself three years afterwards, were added to
the "Quaker settlement," now gaining rapidly in numbers and influence.
In 1838 came Joel Hawes, who lived a while on the farm of his brother,
Captain Hawes, and subsequently bought a claim from Elisha Swan, north of
and near Magnolia, where he has ever since resided. William Dixon settled on
what is known as the Thomas Filson place, which was sold to the latter in
1848.
In 1840 came William Swaney, and settled north of Clear Creek,
on his present farm, and Joseph Mills located on the prairie to the
eastward, in the center of the "Quaker settlement."
NOTE. We have
given the above names and dates as nearly as could be ascertained, though it
is not claimed they are correct. Most of the parties named have either moved
elsewhere or paid the debt of nature, and dates of their arrival and
settlement can only be approximated. Ed.
Magnolia is situated in the extreme south-east corner of the County,
thirteen miles from Hennepin. It is the oldest settled town in Putnam. In
the fall of 1826, claims were made within a mile north of the site, by Capt.
Wm. Hawes, James W. Willis and Stephen D. Willis, who are believed to have
been the first to penetrate that part of the wilderness with the intention
of settling. The next year John Knox arrived, and located upon the site of
Magnolia.
The first public school house was put up in a field used
as a brick yard, and was a small log structure, erected in 1836, and Andrew
Burns, brother of Judge Burns, was the first teacher. Thomas Patterson, the
founder of the town, which he hoped to see grow into a populous city, built
this humble edifice, and dedicated it to science. Though it never became the
initiative of a Yale or Dartmouth College, it grew to be a large public
school, graded and improved as the times progressed, and now affords the
rising generation all the advantages of a general education.
The
first public house was kept by John Knox, though every house those days
entertained travelers, for the rules of hospitality forbade to turn a
stranger from the door. "Knox's Tavern " (a double log house) was afterward
the stopping place for Frink & Walker's stages, and became famous along the
line for its comforts and conveniences.
John McKisson and Thomas
Patterson were the first merchants, and the yard-stick owned by the latter
is still in the possession of Captain Hawes, who preserves it as a memento
of old times. Elisha Swan also was a trader here for a time.
For
some years after Magnolia was settled the post office was at Robert's Point,
and Geo. Ditman had to go thither for his mail as late as 1836.
The
first preacher was old Jesse Walker, who visited the future village in 1828.
He had a trading post at Ottawa, and obtained goods at St. Louis, which he
brought up in a keel boat. He preached occasionally here and at
Hollenback's, as well as other places in this section. He was a curious,
bluff old man, and rather shrewd in business. His favorite byword or heavy
anathema was " I snum!"
At one time the town gave promise of large
future growth, but the building up of other centres of business attracted
people elsewhere, and much of its glory has departed.
The pioneers of the "Society of Friends," or Quakers, who settled in
Putnam County, were the brothers Joseph and William Hoyle, Englishmen by
birth, who made claims and built their humble cabins near the head of Clear
Creek, in the spring of 1833. They were accompanied by George Griffith, an
old neighbor in Eastern Ohio. These three families made their homes near
together, and formed the nucleus of the "Quaker settlement," now an
important portion of the community of the Township. Jehu Lewis and his
family moved to the neighborhood in 1836, from Tazewell County.
In
1837 Sarah - or "Grandmother" - Wireman and her two daughters, with her son
William and his family, came from Eastern Pennsylvania. William Lewis and
his family, and Elijah Kirk and family had previously arrived and made
themselves homes.
In 1839 Joseph Mills visited this locality on a
prospecting tour, and was so well pleased with the surroundings that he
bought a small tract of land, determined to make it his future home. His
report was so favorable that his son Henry was induced to emigrate in the
fall of that year. In the spring of 1840, Joseph Mills and his family,
including Joshua his son, now a resident of the settlement, returned to
their new home, accompanied by Eli Raley and his daughter Elizabeth.
The first "open meeting" was held at the cabin of Grandmother Wireman,
soon after it was built, in the fall of 1837, where the settlers met to
worship. This meeting was followed by others at long intervals, until their
increasing numbers made the narrow limits of the cabin too small and in 1840
they changed to a small log school house standing on the north branch of
Clear Creek. This was built in 1838, though first used in 1840.
In
1840 William Swaney came, with the intention of making this his future home.
The first death among the members was that of Edith, wife of Wm.
Hoyle, in 1840.
The first marriage in the Friends' settlement was
that of Isaac Griffith and Eliza Lundy, daughter of Benjamin Lundy, in
March, 1841. The wedding ceremony was performed at the house of Mr. Joseph
Hoyle. Marriages among the members of the Society of "Friends" are conducted
in a peculiar manner. The groom in the presence of the congregation promises
to "love, cherish, and protect," and the bride to "love, honor, and obey."
The parties then sign a paper attesting the fact, to which those present
attach their signatures as witnesses, which is deposited among the archives,
and the ceremony is finished. No parade or display is allowed, and wedding
presents are not encouraged. It is a plain, solemn performance and when
finished, the couple go about their business.
The new Society was
not recognized by the general organization of the "Friends" until November
4, 1841, when A. Knight and others came from Indiana as a committee, and
called a formal meeting for worship and preparation, and commenced their
monthly meetings. Wm. Lewis was chosen the first clerk of the Society.
They had in the meantime begun the erection of a brick church, or
meeting house, but it was not finished and occupied until the spring of
1842.
The old log school house, where the Society met and worshipped
previous to this, has long since passed away, but our illustration
represents it very correctly.
During those years the country was
rapidly filling up, the members were prosperous, and numerous additions were
made to the Society.
Up to this date they had no regular leader Miss
Rebecca Fell had a certificate as minister according to the rules of the
sect, but she lived some distance away and could not attend. Joseph Mills
was felt to be entirely competent to fill the place, but had never been
"recommended," as it is termed.
In 1843, in "the first month," as
they term it (Jannary), Wm. M. Price was married to Miss Sarah Wireman,
according to the customs of the Society, but the ceremony was so much at
variance with the customs of other religious denominations that some
proposed to prosecute the couple for living together in unlawful wedlock. So
prone are some people to mind business not their own! These over-zealous
law-abiding citizens consulted lawyers and read the statutes in vain, for
the laws duly scanned declared that a public notice to the world in a public
meeting, five weeks prior to the day of the intended marriage, constituted a
sufficient notification to make the marriage binding.
In the year
1845, Joseph Edwards and Ann, his wife, came to the settlement, she being
the second "recorded minister" for this Society; i. e.: One whose
qualifications have been duly approved by the Society, and therefore allowed
to act in the capacity of a minister. She was very eloquent and justly
appreciated, but her failing health compelled her to desist after a short
season of labor, and not long after she died.
The organization,
though still not numerous in members, continued to grow and prosper, while
laboring under many disadvantages, being peculiarly organized. It was
constituted a branch of the Blue River, (Ind.) quarterly meeting, to which
it was required to report every three months. This parent body met
alternately at Terre Haute and at New Albany, in Indiana, 300 miles away.
The distance was so great that these reports could not be sent oftener than
once or twice a year.
In the course of time other meetings sprung up
within a radius of from sixty to one hundred and ten miles, and the Society
here applied for permission to have their quarterly extended to yearly
meetings, to be held at the brick church on Clear Creek, which was granted,
and much advantage was derived from the change.
In the course of
time the "Friends" in the West were so strengthened in numbers as to enable
them to have two general quarterly meetings - two in Indiana and two in
Illinois. This continued until 1874, when the Putnam Society embraced all
the "Friends" in both States, with Clear Creek Church as the central point.
A body of Friends in Iowa also united with this Society, giving it an
extensive scope of territory, forming as united, "The Illinois Yearly
Meeting of Friends," a general gathering of which was held here in the
"ninth month" (September) 1875, and worked under the auspices of the
Baltimore and Indiana yearly meetings, the Illinois section and the Indiana
and Iowa Friends all constituting a branch of the Baltimore yearly meetings.
The assemblage above referred to was largely attended, and at its yearly
convocations are seen representatives from all the societies in the West.
In 1869 they built a large and convenient meeting house on the
prairie northeast of Magnolia, for the yearly assemblies, costing $5,500.
The total membership of the yearly meetings, composed of a few Friends in
Indiana and those of Illinois and Iowa, numbers thirteen hundred people.
In 1878 they adopted a new discipline for the government of the Church,
which has become vastly popular among the members everywhere. "It looks upon
Christ as the rock and foundation stone, upon which all who worship the
Father in Spirit and truth may stand. To Him all can come and partake of the
waters of life freely, 'without money and without price.’"
The local
Society in 1880 numbered 187 persons, and is in a prosperous condition. The
Friends comprise the best citizens of the County, and are noted for their
industry, good order, honesty and hospitality. Cleanliness is recognized as
next to Godliness, and in their persons and habits and about their dwellings
this excellent virtue is a notable, unvarying and unexceptional rule. They
are clean in person and pure in language. As a community, they are
law-abiding, honest and peaceful, and cherish sentiments of love and charity
toward every animate object.
The oldest school house in the Township, if not in the County, was built
in the fall and winter of 1830, and stood on Clear Creek, about one mile
above the Camp Ground.
It was of hewn logs, sixteen feet square,
with a hole for a window, made by sawing out a log. Its roof was covered
with sticks, and C. S. Edwards, the pioneer pedagogue, opened school therein
January 6th, 1831, and taught till February, 1832. When he began his labors
the school house was unfinished, and there was neither a floor nor a
permanent door. The school, during Mr. Edwards' connection and for many
years after, was supported on the "pay" or subscription plan. The patrons of
this first school, or perhaps during the year between the dates given, were:
Aaron Whittaker, Thornton Wilson, __ Studdyvin, Aaron Payne, David Boyle,
Hartwell Haley, George Hiltabrant, Wm. Graves and Ashael Hannum. The average
attendance at this very primitive school was about fifteen to twenty in
winter, and from ten to twelve in summer.
During the war Jeremiah Strawn protected his cabins by a strong stockade,
in which dwelt his own family, Mrs. E. Armstrong's family, Aaron Payne and
Andrew Whittaker and their families. It made quite a little community, and
all the available space in the cabin was occupied at night, the floors being
covered with sleeping humanity, large and small. During the day the men
worked outside, with guns ready for use.
One Saturday afternoon some
malicious person rode past the fort and screamed, "Indians! Indians!" The
women were nearly frantic by the time the men returned, and Mr. Strawn and
Mr. Payne rode back to Magnolia and thence to Hennepin, finding no Indians.
The news of impending war was brought to the settlement by Elisha
Swan, who advised the settlers to volunteer for public defense or they would
be drafted. Some did neither, but left for the southward some to return
after the war, and others to remain permanently away. But the majority at
once shouldered their guns and reported ready for duty.
They armed
themselves, and each man had a uniform peculiar to his own notions of war.
Some wore coon-skin caps, others wore straw hats of home manufacture, while
a few boasted no rim at all. Guns were of various sizes and different
lengths, generally however, much longer than the modern style. These home
guards were on duty about six weeks, and but few, if any of them, saw an
Indian during the entire campaign, though each received a land warrant from
the Government for his services.
Extracted 14 Apr 2017 by Norma Hass from Records of the Olden Time, 1880, by Spencer Ellsworth, pages 208-217.
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