HENNEPIN commemorates the name of the great discoverer and explorer
supposed to have been one of the first white men who set foot within its
limits. It embraces about forty-five sections of land within its boundaries,
or 29,800 acres, in round numbers, as indicated by a recent county map. The
Illinois River washes its borders for twelve miles or more, and its surface
is made up of wide-extended, fertile bottoms, wooded hills and productive
prairies.
Running through the Township is Coffee Creek, a
considerable stream which rises in Section 18, thence runs in devious
windings through Sections 11, 12, 15 and 16, to the Illinois River below the
city of Hennepin.
South of Florid, in the edge of a small prairie
united to Grand Prairie on the east, rises the stream known as "Nelson's
Run," which leads southwest through Section 2 to the river.
Further
south Cedar Creek flows through a broken, timbered country, and in the
northern part of the Township, Allfork Creek, an extremely tortuous stream
rising in the prairie south of Greenville, makes a detour into Hennepin
Township, in Section 36, and running west a mile and north another, enters
the Illinois.
East of the city is a fine prairie, covered with
fertile and highly cultivated farms. The southern portion is broken and
diversified with deep ravines, wide valleys, rugged hills, "hog-backs," and
small patches of barrens, or little sections of openings and prairies which
industrious Germans have long since transformed into fine farms, thrifty
orchards and large meadows.
There is, or rather was, an abundance of
excellent timber in this section of the County, but in many localities it
has been cut down and the ground become cultivated fields. Saw mills put up
here and there have been for years transforming the monarchs of the forest
into lumber.
There are small prairies here and there, one to the
east of Hennepin, another at Union Grove and Florid. Here the first settlers
built their houses, and a few still remain on farms taken up before the red
man had ceased to be the sole possessor. The soil is fertile and adapted to
raising grain, live stock or fruits, in all of which the township excels.
Hennepin, or rather the prairie on which the town stands, was anciently
called Prairie de Prue, iii honor of a French voyageur and trapper who once
had a cabin there. The circumstances which called the town into being have
been narrated elsewhere, and it need only be stated that under an act of the
Legislature a committee was sent to examine various localities with a view
to the location of a county seat, and select the one most appropriate and
best fulfilling the required conditions.
At this time a heavy belt
of timber ran along its front, extending back to the Court House and beyond,
so densely filled with underbrush as to shut out all view of the river, the
bank of which in front of the town rose abruptly forty or fifty feet high,
but has since been graded down to suit the demands of commerce. Properly the
town should date back to 1817, when Beaubien, a Frenchmen in the employ of
the American Fur Company, built a trading house one mile above the town, on
land now owned by A. T. Purviance. Thomas Hartzell at this time was trading
at some point below in opposition to the American Fur Company, but in 1824-5
he became their agent and removed here. Besides the old building first
referred to he had erected a substantial store of hewn logs, which he
continued to occupy until the location of Hennepin, when he removed there.
Across the ravine south of Hartzell a Frenchman named Antoine Bourbonais had
a cabin built somewhere about 1820.
The town was surveyed in 1831 by
Ira Ladd, Sr., on Congress land. Twelve blocks were laid off at first, and
eight afterward, to which several additions have since been made. Lots were
extensively advertised, and the first sales were made at prices ranging from
$11.68 to $87.86 each. (Ford's History). The first lot was sold to J. and W.
Durley, at that time trading with the Indians in a cabin built by James
Willis, opposite the mouth of Bureau Creek, one mile above Hennepin. They
proceeded at once to build on this lot, now the site of the Town Hall,
corner of Front and Court streets, and when finished, removed their stock
there.
Dunlavy & Stewart built a trading house at the same time,
preceding the Durleys a few days in commencing business.
J. S.
Simpson and a man named Gleason each built log cabins that fall, and Ira
Ladd, first Sheriff of the county.
In the spring of 1832, the first
hotel was built. It was a double log cabin, built by James S. Simpson, and
run by John H. Simpson. About this time Hartzell built a store and removed
here his stock of goods.
The old trading house deserves more special
notice. Its foundations are still seen adjoining the pleasant residence of
A. T. Purviance, and are a pleasing reminder of the days when the red man
held sway over this territory, and neither steamboats nor commerce, in the
modern acceptation of the term, existed on the river.
In 1832 came
the Black Hawk war, and Hennepin was made the headquarters and rallying
point of the rangers. When news of the outbreak arrived, there was great
consternation. Few of the settlers were armed, and no means of defense were
available.
In this predicament, Thomas Hartzell came forward and
offered to donate his log store for a block house. It was a noble act, and
bespeaks his character. Every man and team in the settlement was set at
work, and in two days the building was A taken down, the logs hauled to the
village, and a commodious block house, with embrasures for riflemen and an
upper story, constructed, in which the families of settlers took refuge
until the scare was over. It stood on Front street, and for a dozen years
was one of the landmarks of the town until the authorities ordered its
removal.
When the old building was torn down to be reconstructed
into a fort, the chimney was left standing. A Frenchman with a half-breed
wife occupied the Beaubein cabin, and she often repaired to the old chimney
to do her cooking. One day while thus engaged a high wind blew it down,
killing her instantly.
The first election in the new County was held
at the house of William Hawes, near Magnolia, and beside the Judges of
Election, but one voter appeared (Warner). Of course there were no "split
tickets," and Thomas Gallaher, George Ish and John M. Gay were declared
elected as County Commissioners, Ira Ladd as Sheriff, and Aaron Paine as
Coroner. James W. Willis was subsequently appointed Treasurer. Hooper Warren
filled the offices of Recorder, Clerk of the Circuit and County Courts, and
Justice of the Peace.
Among the members of the bar who attended
Court here were: Senator David Davis, who came from Bloomington on
horseback, and Judge John B. Caton, who came down from Chicago, riding an
Indian pony.
The first death in the Counties of Bureau, Putnam or
Marshall was in the family of Aaron Mitchell, who lost a child in August or
September, 1829. There being no lumber in the country, a puncheon coffin was
made by N. and S. Shepherd, and the child was interred near Captain Price's.
The first corpse buried in Hennepin Cemetery was that of Phillips,
shot by the Indians, June 4, 1831. No memorial stone marks the place, and
his grave is unknown.
Most of the early settlers were young men, and in those days a woman or a
baby was as much of a novelty and excited as lively an interest as ever they
did in "Roaring Camp." Some of the men, however, brought their wives, and
with them came their sisters, their cousins and their aunts, who speedily
found husbands; and we find among the early records the following marriages:
John Shepherd to Tennessee McComas, July 5, 1831; by George Ish,
County Judge.
Elisha Swan, of Lacon, was married to Zilpha Dent,
February 25, 1832; by Rev. Zadok Hall.
Livingston Roberts to
Margaret Dent, January 24, 1843; by Hooper Warren, Justice of the Peace.
Lemuel Russell to Sarah Ann Edwards, February 23, 1823; by Rev. Edward
Hale.
Wm. Munson to Rachel Hall, March 7, 1833, by John M. Gay,
Justice of the Peace.
Wm. S. Horn to Sylvia Hall, May 5, 1833; by
Rev. R. Horn.
The ladies whose names appear in the last two notices
were the Hall girls, whose thrilling experience with the Indians is given
elsewhere.
The early ministers of the township were Revs. John
McDonald, Elijah Epperson, Wm. Heath and Joel Arlington.
The first
farm opened in the township was that of James Willis, at Union Grove, in
1828, and his was the first dwelling house outside of the village of
Hennepin.
Elizabeth Shepherd was one of the first white women in
this locality, coming in 1829.
Austin Hannum is claimed as the first
white child born in the county. His parents lived in Magnolia.
Isabel Patterson, since Mrs. R. W. Bowman, was born in 1832, and Augustus
Shepherd in 1830.
In the Court House at Hennepin hangs a large frame with the portraits and
names of many old settlers, and the date of their coming to the County. It
will better preface what follows than aught else we can give:
1817
Thomas Hartzell.
1827 Thos. Gallaher, Jas. W. Willis.
1828
Stephen D. Willis, Smiley Shepherd.
1829 James G. Ross, Nelson
Shepherd, Elizabeth Shepherd.
1830 Harvey Leeper, Flora Zenor,
Augustus Shepherd, Wm. Patterson, L. E. Skeel, David Richey, Lucy Dick,
Olive Skeel, Wm. M. Ham, Anthony Turk. Samuel D. Laughlin, Catherine
Shepherd.
1831 Alvira Zenor, Lewis Durley, Lucy Durley, Mary
Stewart, Mary Shepherd, George Dent, Comfort Dent, Williamson Durley, H. K.
Zenor, Emeline Durley, E. G. Powers, Louisa Nash, John Gallaher, Aaron Gunn.
1832 John G. Ross (born here), Stephen W. Stewart, Nancy Skeel,
Sarah Stewart, John W. Stewart, B. F. Whittaker, J. W. Leech, Mary Leech,
Robert Leech, Mary A. Templeton, S. G. Leech, Sarah Brumfield, Thomas
Brumfield, Mary Ann Noys, John Brumfield, Aaron Barlow, John N. Laughlin.
1833 Bayliss Culter, Wm. H. Zenor, Elizabeth Durley, Joseph
Fairfield, Wm. E. Fail-field, Joseph Cassell, Augustus Cassell, Thomas
Coleman, Chas. Coleman, Oaks Turner, Wilson Everett, Jeremiah Everett, Alex.
Ross, Milton Robinson.
1834 Cyrus Shepherd, William Baxendale,
Thomas W. Shepherd, Guy W. Pool, Thomas Atwater (the first lawyer), H. J.
White, Washington Webb.
1836 Lyle Shepherd, Samuel Holmes, Sr.,
Alfred Turner, David Cryder.
SMILEY SHEPHERD, the oldest living person of Hennepin, visited this
country in August, 1828, on a prospecting tour. He bought a claim from James
Willis, at Magnolia, but sold it and selected the well-known farm east of
Hennepin, where he has ever since lived. Returning to Ohio in December,
1828, he married, and in June, 1829, settled permanently at Hennepin.
When he came to Hennepin in 1828, Hartzell, the Indian trader, was doing
a prosperous business. He was operating in his own name, and had several
Indians, squaws and half breeds around him. He was assisted by a young man
named Benny, who had charge of the business, buying and preparing the furs
for market, and supplying hunters and traders in other localities, shipping
his furs to Montreal.
The American Fur Company had three stations at
and near the mouth of Bureau Creek, under the management of Gurden S.
Hubbard, who generally made his headquarters at Chicago, but was often here
to look after the interests of the company.
WILLIAMSON DURLEY came to Hennepin August 8, 1831, and opened a store
along with his uncle, John Durley. They bought their goods at St. Louis,
brought them up on a boat to Pekin, and hauled them "by land" to their new
store in the village, which had been laid out in September, the goods
reaching here in October, 1831.
Mr. Durley first visited this
locality in 1828, stopping on the way at Bailey's Point, La Salle County,
where himself and friends found shelter, with pel-mission to "board
themselves" in the cornfield. The corn was but partially ripe, and had to be
planed off the ears and then boiled. They found this fare and the
hospitality of the people so agreeable that they remained two days on these
terms. During their stay they explored the country thereabouts, returning to
their host each night, who on their departure refused to take pay for their
keeping, saying, "as he had freely given them the best he had, and didn't
want to be insulted."
At Covel Creek they found an Indian burial
ground, in which the departed were placed in a sitting posture, back to
back, between white oak poles fixed in the ground. Mr. Durley likewise
remembers one two miles south of Hennepin, where the corpses were similarly
arranged.
The mails in early days were irregular. A line extended
from Peoria to Galena, and a route was established about 1831 running from
Hennepin to Boyd's Grove. A few years later a stage line between Chicago and
Peoria was established, with a cross line to Hennepin, connecting at
Robert's Point. The next change was from Ottawa via Peru, Hennepin and Lacon
to Peoria, making three trips a week each way. ,
Mr. Durley's
recollections of the old pioneers are valuable. He remembers Thomas Hartzell
as a man of generous disposition, open-hearted and easily duped. He believed
all men honest like himself, and lost his property by going security for
others. About this time a wealthy relative in Pennsylvania died and
opportunely left him a considerable sum, which went in like manner. Again he
inherited property, and not long after removed to Waukegan, where he died.
DANIEL DIMMICK The Township of Dimmick, in La Salle County, takes its name from an early settler who formerly lived in this vicinity. He came to Peoria in 1828, to Princeton in 1829 or '30, and not long after to Putnam County, building a cabin in the timber near Hartzell's trading house. He is said to have made the first claim and broken the first prairie in Putnam County, and sold his "betterments" to George Mills. They are now a part of the farm of William Ham. Dimmick lived in great seclusion, avoiding society and companionship, and was chiefly intent on making money. It is said he never had a floor to his cabin, and never washed. His single tow shirt sufficed so long as it held together. He slept on a bundle of straw in the corner, and his coat was patched with an old saddle blanket. In 1833 he sent his son Elijah to Dixon to learn if it was safe to venture to the north side of the Illinois River, and if the Indians were really at peace with the whites, and the war over. On getting satisfactory answers, he packed up his household goods and moved over to the prairies and began his new and permanent home, where he built a fine residence in after years, and died much respected.
THE GALLAHER FAMILY played an important part in the early history of
Putnam, and deserves a more extended notice. The first representative,
Thomas Gallaher, Sr., came here in September, 1827, and settled on the
south-east quarter of Section 30, Town 32, Range 1 west, 3d principal
meridian, four miles south-east of Hennepin. He was accompanied here by his
wife and eight children, viz:
Thomas, Jr. - Born March 17, 1810;
afterward moved to Henry, and died August 17, 1854.
Eliza - Born
November 13, 1811; now Mrs. Ladd, wife of Ira Ladd, first Sheriff of Putnam
County. She is now a resident of New Orleans.
Mary - Born March 17,
1814; married B. Willis, and afterward went to Hannibal, Mo.
James -
Born April 13, 1816; lives at Sioux City, Iowa.
William - Born July
19, 1818; moved to Henry in 1851, where he now resides.
Nancy J. -
Born February 8, 1821; married Mr. Heath; died in September, 1848.
Samuel - Born April 18, 1823; died in August, 1879.
Margaret H. -
Born August 6, 1825; died May 27, 1874.
After arriving here, there
were born:
Robert K. - May 20, 1828, the "first white child , born
in Putnam County." Died March 4, 1845.
John McDonald - October 6,
1830; living on the old farm.
Nathaniel C. - August 12, 1833; died
of wounds received at Fort Donelson.
Elizabeth, Margaret and Robert,
born subsequently, remained on the old homestead until their death.
Thomas Gallaher, Sr., was born April 22, 1782, and died of cholera, while on
his way to Pennsylvania, June 5, 1852, aged 70 years.
His wife
(Elizabeth Kelly) was born March 17, 1792, and died April 23, 1878, aged 86
years.
Mr. Gallaher, after arriving here put up a cabin in the fall
of 1827, and in 1828 broke prairie for eighty acres of corn and wheat.
The cabin was eighteen feet square, with a "shake" roof, and a fireplace
so big that logs were hauled through the room by oxen to feed its capacious
mouth. His first crop was exceeding fine, and Major Elias Thompson and Wm.
Studyvin helped cut the wheat in 1829; wages, twenty-five cents per day.
In 1828 he built a hewn log cabin, fifteen feet square, the first of the
kind in this region of country.
These were the first houses in this
neighborhood of any description, and their ruins may yet be seen on the old
historic ground.
In the fall of 1827, after Gallaher had put up his
log dwelling, James Willis built a house on ground afterward enclosed within
the village plat of Florid. He left his family on this claim during the
winter of 1827-8, and went to Bond County, Ill., to close up some business
affairs. He had in his employ a likely colored boy who was a fugitive from
slavery, whom he left in charge. The boy worked faithfully all winter, but
when spring came and he found himself in debt, he concluded there was not so
much difference between freedom and slavery as he had supposed.
During the winter of 1827, there were no settlers south of Gallaher's, none
at Magnolia, Roberts' Point, Lacon, or Crow Creek; no one at all nearer than
the Dillon settlement, on Mackinaw River.
In those days farm
laborers were not numerous, yet the prices for work were not extravagantly
high, as three bushels of meal, equal to three "bits," was considered a just
equivalent for cutting and splitting one hundred 11 -feet fence rails, and
eight dollars per month and board and washing were the wages for farm hands.
Prior to 1831, when Putnam was set apart as a county, with a tangible
boundary and a real organization, the ferry at Hennepin, or rather at and
above Hartzell's trading house, had been a private enterprise, and was
generally "run" by whomsoever came along, white, red, or mixed: The Indian
traders claimed to own the boats, and every one used them, such as they
were. At the first term of the County Commissioners' Court, that wise body
took the subject in hand and "Ordered that public notice be given of the
letting of the building of a ferry boat." Alexander Wilson put in the lowest
bid and got the job, for a sum not stated, to build the first boat capable
of carrying loaded wagons.
September 8, 1831, Ira Ladd, the Sheriff,
was appointed to take charge of the ferry boat when finished.
August
14, 1832, James Laughlin was appointed to take charge of the ferry boat till
next term; also to procure a skiff for the same.
September 3, 1832,
J. S. Simpson was allowed $11.00 for keeping the ferry.
B. M. Hays
was appointed to run the Hennepin ferry from December 17, 1832, one year. A
committee was appointed to watch him, see that he did his whole duty, and
say when the boat should or should not run in the season of ice, high water
and other dangers. This committee were R. Blanchard, John H. Simpson, Geo.
B. Willis, Williamson Durley and Nathan Skeel.
In March, 1833, John
H. Simpson, then ferryman, was instructed by the Court to allow footmen to
go free; and citizens upon horseback on muster, election and court days,
were not to be charged for themselves or their beasts.
The ferry
boat having been carried away by ice, Jonathan Wilson followed it down to
the island below Henry, captured and returned it, and the Court, March 3,
1836, allowed him $6.00 for that service.
The ferry, instead of
proving a blessing to the County of Putnam, was a constant source of
annoyance, and though its income some years was considerable, by reason of
accidents and the large proportion of patrons who managed to shirk payment,
it rarely made any profit for its managers. An embankment a mile or two in
length was needed on the west side, besides, expensive bridges. This
territory was in Bureau County, beyond the jurisdiction of the Commissioners
of Putnam County, and the people of Princeton could see no advantage in
improving a road or building embankments and bridges for the convenience of
a rival market at Hennepin. Things wore on for years until a goodly
settlement of tax-paying people had gathered in the bottom and prairies
beyond, who demanded a road to the river as an outlet for their products,
and at length the Commissioners of Bureau County consented to meet with
their equally exalted brethren of Putnam County, and jointly take action in
the all-important question of improving the bottoms and making a road and
suitable bridges across Bureau Creek and other water courses toward
Hennepin.
Accordingly these august bodies met at Hennepin, September
8, 1845, and after much deliberation leased the ferry for a term of eleven
years to one Hugh Feeny, who, at his own expense, was to make all necessary
improvements in the roadway, and in addition to the rents and profits of the
ferry was to have the sum of $275 in cash paid him, one-half of said sum by
each of the counties.
This arrangement lasted a couple of years,
when Feeny failed to keep his contract. We find the two high joint powers at
Hennepin again in session, declaring that Feeny had forfeited the contract,
and legal proceedings in the nature a quo warranto were instituted to make
him surrender the ferry. After tedious litigation, lasting until February,
1850, Feeny voluntarily abandoned the fight, and the ferry was placed in
charge of William Ray.
Subsequently an act of the State Legislature
was passed giving the entire ferry and rights of way in Bureau and Putnam
Counties to the exclusive control of the corporation of Hennepin, where they
now rest.
This enterprising firm were the pioneer stage proprietors of Central
Illinois. They controlled and operated most of the lines, with general
headquarters in Chicago. Their monopoly of the business covered a period of
about thirteen years, from 1838 or 1839, during which their headquarters in
Hennepin were with John Lyons, an old hotel keeper. At first they ran from
Peru to Magnolia, and on to Peoria, but afterward took in Hennepin on the
route, passing thence through Lacon and down the river.
One night in
the winter of 1839 the stage coach was lost upon the Hennepin Prairie. There
were two passengers inside, and the driver vainly sought to find his
destination. Afterward it was found he had traveled in a circle most of the
time.
Mr. Nicholls related how an old English "milord" was once his
guest, and the trouble the great man experienced. The hotel was a good-sized
log cabin, and had but a single sleeping room for the accommodation of
guests, who were expected to be reasonable and share their beds with
strangers. As nine o'clock came the traveler signified a desire to retire,
and asked to be lighted to his quarters. Nicholls showed him up, and stated
that one-half the bed would be occupied by another party. " Do you expect me
to sleep in this room with other men?" said "milord," almost gasping for
breath. Nicholls said he could either do that or sit up, as he preferred;
arid the old fellow sat in his chair all night, groaning over his aches and
cursing the "blarsted country."
The early settlers were pre-eminently a religious people, and one of the first things provided for was the preaching of the Gospel. There was no lack of earnest, devoted, self-sacrificing ministers, and in the absence of suitable places of worship, services were held at private houses or in the groves. These services were invariably well attended, and received earnest, respectful attention. The good these men did was not interred with their bones for most of them have gone to their reward, but it lives after them, and bears fruit to this day.
This society is an old one, dating back to 1833, when the first class was
formed. The record of the first proceedings, if any was made, has been lost,
and such history as can be gathered of the organization thereof depends upon
the recollection of one or two persons who helped at its inception. In July
or August of the year named, a few of the earnest Methodists of Hennepin and
vicinity bethought them that as their numbers were nearly large enough to
form a church society, it would be well to take initiative steps in that
direction. After some preliminary conversation a small meeting was held at
the house of Dr. Ritchie, in the village, and the first class was enrolled,
consisting of the following members: Hiram P. White and wife, Dr. David
Ritchie and wife, Miss Betsey Carpenter, afterward Mrs. Hays, Mrs. Sarah
Bloomfield, and perhaps one or two other persons whose names have been
forgotten. Another meeting was held at the same place in November, 1833, and
further steps taken toward forwarding the work. About this time Linas B.
Skeel was added to the list as the first convert, and Mrs. Olive Skeel and
Mrs. Emeline Durley also added their names to the membership.
For
some time after they had no meeting house nor any convenient place of
worship, and met from time to time at the dwellings of the brothers.
In 1834, Rev. Zadok Hall, the first minister, on February 16, at Dr.
Ritchie's, preached a sermon, taking his text from Matt, ix., 12. Rev. Wm.
Arlington came the same season at a later date, and also Rev. John St.
Clair, as Presiding Elder.
Rev. Father Walker, from Ottawa,
occasionally came here to look after the infant flock, as also did Rev.
Jesse Hale and Wm. Royal, all Indian missionary preachers.
During
the year 1834 there was a revival of considerable strength, and many new
converts were made and the Society largely increased in numbers and
influence.
In 1835, Rev. A. E. Phelps officiated, and Rev. Asa
McMurtry in 1836. Mr. Phelps contributed his personal efforts largely toward
building the old church. The latter part of 1836, Hennepin and Pekin
circuits were divided and changed to Hennepin and Washington circuits. In
1837, Rev. Win. CondifF was the preacher, and died at the close of
the year, at Caledonia.
In 1838, Rev. Zadok Hall and Rev. Mr. Moffit
were sent here to the work, and were aided by Rev. S. W. D. Chase, of
Bloomington, who with them made excellent progress in procuring new members.
Among the other reverend gentlemen who appeared at Hennepin from
time to time from 1829 to 1835, was Rev. Mr. Cook, a Presbyterian, father of
Hon. B. C. Cook, formerly of Ottawa, now of Chicago. Rev. Mr. Hays was a
local preacher of Hennepin and vicinity for many years, and among the first
who came to this locality. He put up the first frame house on Henry prairie,
and one of the first frame houses in the village.
In 1839, Rev. John
Morris came and officiated occasionally, and Rev. John appeared and took
charge of the Church about 1840.
The first records commence in the
Trustees' book, June 14, 1836.
Efforts had been made to raise money
to build a meeting house, but with ill success, and we find them in 1837
adopting an order to refund the small sums of money which had been raised
for that purpose.
At a meeting of the Lacon and Hennepin Conference,
February 25, 1839, Joseph Caterlin, David Markley, Thomas Forney, Jacob Gr.
Forney, Hiram P. White, Linus B. Skeel and J. P. Hays were appointed
Trustees of the Hennepin Church, the first Board regularly chosen for this
Society.
March 2, 1839, the Trustees "met at Hennepin for the
purpose of attempting to build a church." They figured out a plan for a
modest frame meeting house, twenty-six by thirty-six feet. A subscription
paper was circulated and the cash returns were such as to warrant the
immediate prosecution of the work. The house was accordingly built and
occupied the same fall and for years after, and now stands, used as a
private dwelling, a few rods to the rear of the larger and more pretentious
structure. The old house, however, was for some time under a cloud of debt,
which for a long time the young and struggling pioneer church could not
lift. At length they succeeded in removing this incubus, and on the 1 3th of
August, 1842, the Trustees met and adopted a resolution, "That all persons
having claims against the Church present the same forthwith, by Saturday
following, for full settlement." This seems to have been done, and the
church dedicated on the next Sabbath, by Elder A. E. Phelps.
In
1858, the congregation having outgrown the capacity of the old building,
proceeded to erect the present church edifice, a handsome structure of two
stories, forty feet by sixty, divided below into lecture and class rooms,
and above a finely decorated, finished and furnished church room, which bids
fair to afford ample accommodations for the people for many years to come.
It cost $10,000, has two good organs, and is well seated, having comfortable
pews for 450 to 500 persons. It was dedicated November 29, 1866, by Rev.
Joseph Cummings, of Lacon. Before being finished the basement was completed,
and services held therein by Rev. A. C. Price.
A neat parsonage
stands near by in the same lot with the church, costing about $600.
In 1879, the Presiding Elder was J. D. Smith; Pastor, J. M. Murphy;
Recording Steward, L. E. Skeel.
The Society numbers about
seventy-five in good standing, and the chui'ch and parsonage are free from
debt.
As early as 1845 the Catholic people of Hennepin and vicinity began to
hold public religious exercises, and the Brothers of the Lazarus Society of
La Salle sent different priests there to minister to the spiritual wants of
the communicants of the Church. The first remembered priest who visited this
place was an Italian, Rev. Father ___, who also occasionally conducted
services in Henry.
Among the other earlier missionaries of this
faith were Rev. Fathers Gregory and Anthony, the latter in 1848, both coming
at intervals depending upon circumstances, such as deaths or the sickness of
some Catholic who desired the last sacrament. When here upon such occasions,
the people would be notified, an altar improvised in some one of the more
commodious dwellings, and mass duly celebrated; and now and then a priest
would come from Peoria, or even St. Louis, to minister to the spiritual
wants of the faithful and look after the temporal affairs of the Church.
There was no successful attempt to have regular services oftener than
once a month, until about June, 1852, when sufficient money was raised for
the erection of a church building. It was a plain frame structure,
twenty-four by forty feet. This furnished ample room for the congregation
till about 1866, when an addition was put up, making the building
twenty-four by sixty feet, with fifteen feet ceiling. The cost of both was
about $2,500, and the organ, altars, seats and lamps about $1,000 more.
About seventy-five families now constitute its regular membership.
Those who next to the priests took the lead of the Church were Anthony
Failing, Chas. Trerweiler, Henry Reavey and Peter Feltes. The first resident
priest was Rev. Father Deifenbrock, who came about 1867.
In September, 1874, Miss Ella DeVoe, of Hennepin, wrote to Rev. Wm. E.
Catlin, detailing the needs of a church at this place, and set forth the
prospects of effecting an organization in such an eloquent manner as to
induce that gentleman to come and co-operate in the movement. He arrived
October 17, and on the following Sabbath preached by invitation in the M. E.
Church, and at the Court House on Sunday, October 25.
At a meeting
for consultation immediately after the Sabbath morning service, it was
decided to not then take any steps toward the formation of a society, but a
prayer-meeting was appointed for the next Wednesday evening, and the
following paper presented:
We, the undersigned, believing that
another Evangelical Church in this community would be for its spiritual and
temporal good, have thought it best for the present to associate ourselves
together for the purpose of holding public and social worship at such times
and places as shall appear best, hoping in that way, with God's blessing, to
develop such an interest as may in time warrant a more perfect organization.
To this endeavor we pledge ourselves, and invite the hearty co-operation of
all who are like-minded.
This was circulated, but did not receive a
single signature!
Weekly prayer-meetings were kept up and well
attended, but Mr. Catlin, discouraged with the propect, finally left the
place. The next appeal was to John E. Roy, a Home Missionary, who came
December 12, began and pursued his labors with great industry, and soon
accomplished the desired end.
The numbers increased from two to
fifteen, when the Church was organized with the following membership: Aug.
Shepherd, Mrs. Ellen Shepherd, David Field, James Adams, Miss R. Ellis and
Mrs. Lucy Ham by letters from the Congregational Church, Granville; Martin
Nash, letter from the Presbyterian Church of Granville; Miss Ella DeVoe,
letter from the Congregational Church of Forrest; T. J. Nicholl, certificate
from Episcopal Church; Mrs. Ellen Nicholl, same; Chas. M. Shepherd, letter
from the Presbyterian Church, Memphis, Term.; Miss Clara Lamm, Miss Emma
Connelly, Mrs. Elizabeth Durley and P. B. Durley, on profession.
The
officers chosen were: David Field and James Field, Deacons; Williamson
Durley, Aug. Shepherd and T. J. Nicholl, Trustees; Miss Ella DeVoe, Clerk;
P. B. Durley, Treasurer.
A council was called, and the Church
organized December 22, 1874. Rev. A. J. Bailey was at once called as pastor,
and began his labors January 24, 1875, the Church in the meantime having
been supplied by Rev. F. Bascom. Services were held in a room at the public
school building, the exclusive use of which was offered the Society by the
School Board.
A Sunday School class was organized December 27, 1874.
April 5, 1875, a business meeting was called for the purpose of considering
the building of a church edifice. A building committee was appointed, and by
the united efforts of the Society ground was broken May 16, 1875, and
liberal aid obtained from the citizens generally. The Congregational Union
contributed $450 in aid of the building, which was completed and dedicated
December 22, 1875, just one year from the date of the organization. The
building and site cost $4,317.90. In 1878, a 1,050 pound bell was hung, at a
total expense of $330.53.
Forty persons had united with the Church
up to April, 1878, in addition to the original fifteen, but a few deaths and
dismissals had made the membership forty-six persons.
This religious
Society, called the "Congregational Church of Christ of Hennepin," is
organized on the "Declaration of Faith" adopted by the National Council of
the Congregational Churches held at Boston in June, 1865, on the spot where
the first meeting-house of the Pilgrims stood.
This Church, in a
series of resolutions adopted soon after its organization, and circulated in
a history of the Society published in pamphlet form, declared that,
WHEREAS, There is a tendency to the desecration of the Lord's day, by
turning it from its proper use to a day of social visiting, a time for
unusual feasting, for walking the streets and driving for pleasure, and in
many other ways destroying its sacredness and hindering its usefulness for
religious edification; therefore,
Resolved, That we do earnestly
protest against this prevailing sin, and call on Christians and all others
to honor the Lord by a proper observance of His day; and we do earnestly
entreat all to " Remember the Sabbath day" by reading the Scriptures, by
appropriate religious exercises at home, by meditation and prayer, by
attending the ordinances of God's house, and by observing the day in every
way as the Scriptures direct.
Another resolution recommends daily
family worship, another denounces intemperance, and a fourth is as follows:
Resolved, That any deviation in business, society or politics, from
the strict principles of integrity, as taught in the Scriptures, we deem a
sufficient cause for censure.
The first school in Hennepin was taught by Thomas Gallaher in 1833, in a
log house almost diagonally opposite the present flouring mill site, on the
lot now occupied by the public Hall.
In 1835, school was kept in the
old Simpson Tavern, in the room used sometimes as a hall.
In 1836
there was a school in the old Presbyterian meeting house. In 1837 another
was held in the old Court House.
Calvin Dickey in 1842 conducted a
private school in a log cabin near where Mrs. Reed now lives.
In
1843 a frame school house was erected on High street, and soon after moved
further up to near and east of the present public school building, where a
school was taught until the new house was completed.
All these
schools were run on the subscription plan. The free public schools began in
1845, in the building put up by subscription as an academy, that scheme
having been abandoned and the property turned over to the district.
School houses were poorly constructed, and the rooms were shared by others
than those seeking to climb the hill of science. One person tells us of
finding a huge rattlesnake coiled beneath the benches, and occasionally a
skunk would get under the floor and make it decidedly "warm" for the inmates
while he remained. Mice were frequent visitors, and one of the pupils, now a
staid and dignified business man, remembers how he and a chum used to place
a boy's cap on the floor, with a stick to hold one edge up and a string to
pull the stick out when the unsuspecting mouse went under to eat a bit of
bread temptingly displayed, and how they caught the mouse and then a
wholesome flogging at the hands of the irate pedagogue.
October 3, 1849, the Masons of Hennepin obtained a charter and organized
Lodge No. 70. The first members, as named in that instrument, were John
Pulsifer, Thomas Hartzell, Ben. R. Wardlaw, Wm. D. Mann, Nathaniel
Applegate, John Folger, John Hall, Abram Phillips, Brown Searls and E. Mott.
The officers were: Abram Phillips, M.; John Searls, S. W.; John Pulsifer, J.
W.
The first lodge rooms were in Hartenbower's house, north-west of
the Court House. They now occupy rooms in Mrs. Flora Zenor's building. A
Chapter is connected with this Lodge, organized in 1879.
The
fraternity are in a good financial condition, and keep their Society in an
active and sound state, numbering among its members many of the leading
citizens of the community.
Hennepin Lodge No. 118, I. O. O. F., was installed March 24, 1853. The
charter members were: Oakes Turner, Thomas H. Bradway, N. Pickering, John S.
Margison and Wm. H. Smith. The first officers of the Lodge were: O. Turner,
N. G.; J. S. Margison, V. G.; Wm. Eddy, Secretary; N. G. Pickering,
Treasurer.
The persons initiated the evening of the installation of
the Lodge were: A. H. Turner, L. E. Skeel, Wm. Allen, Wm. Eddy, S. B.
Wharton and Willard White.
The Society is in a prosperous condition,
and numbers among its members many of the prominent citizens of the town.
This is not only the oldest Agricultural Society in Central Illinois, but
the first formed in the entire West. The initiatory steps were taken to
organize it, February 23, 1846, at Lowell, LaSalle County. J. S. Builock was
Chairman of the meeting, and Elmer Baldwin, Secretary. After some general
debate and informal talk among the four or five farmers assembled, a
resolution was adopted "To form a society out of the friends of the movement
living in that part of La Salle County south of the Illinois River, and so
much of the counties of Putnam and Marshall as may choose to unite."
Elmer Baldwin, R. C. Elliot and L. L. Bullock, of La Salle, Ralph Ware,
of Putnam, and Wm. M. Clarkson, of Marshall, were appointed a committee to
draft a constitution and report.
March 18 another meeting was had at
the same place, where a constitution was reported by the committee, and
adopted. The first officers were then elected, and were: Elmer Baldwin,
President; Ralph Ware, Wm. M. Clarkson and John T. Little, Vice Presidents;
Dr. J. S. Bullock, Treasurer; Oakes Turner, Corresponding Secretary; L. L.
Bullock, Recording Secretary.
They adjourned to meet at Granville
the first Tuesday of June, when Mr. Baldwin was appointed to deliver an
address. At this meeting and subsequent 6nes within a short time, one
hundred and seventy persons were induced to sign the Constitution and pay
into the treasury fifty cents, which constituted the membership fee. At this
meeting arrangements were made for discussing important topics connected
with fanning, stock-raising, fruit-growing and the like, the question to be
agreed upon at the previous meeting.
These meetings were to be held
every three months, at some place easy of access within the boundaries of
the Society.
At the first meeting at Granville the subject was, "The
best mode of cultivating corn." At this meeting also an annual fair was
decided upon, to be held at Lowell, on the first Tuesday of October.
These discussions took a wide range as to subjects, bringing within
their scope everything relative to the farming interest, and at an early
day, almost from the first meeting, people attended from a distance, coming
on horseback many miles at inclement seasons of the year; and the ladies,
too, became regular attendants at these gatherings, looking forward to their
recurrence with pleasing anticipation. They were really profitable to the
thinking fanner, and should be a feature of every agricultural society.
The meetings for debates were fixed for the first Tuesdays of December,
March, June and September each year, the place to be chosen at the previous
quarterly meeting; also, every member was requested to keep a memorandum of
each crop planted, how tended, harvested, and the results, and report.
The Fair of 1846 was abandoned, in consequence of the great amount of
sickness then prevailing throughout the country. The quarterly meetings,
however, were regularly held at Lowell, Caledonia, Point Republic, Cedar
Point, Granville and Magnolia in turn, and leading members delivered
addresses and read essays, while oral discussions were freely indulged in.
Though the general Fair was not held, a local exhibition was gotten
up at the farm of Wm. Groom, October 3, 1847, and held under the auspices of
the Society, but the record makes no mention of any premiums having been
awarded.
The second regular Fair was appointed to be held at
Granville, October 6, 1848, and premiums were offered, probably badges and
honorable mention, as no amount of premiums is stated.
At the Third
Annual Fair, which was held at Lowell, one hundred dollars was voted for
prizes, and "two solicitors" were chosen to circulate among the people to
raise the funds therefor. "The Executive Committee were also notified that
they place on their show bills a request that there be no horse racing in or
near the show ground!"
All future fairs were to last two days;
evidence that the last fair had been too extensive to be satisfactorily
viewed in one day.
Granville was honored with the Fourth Fair. Upon
this occasion the Society adopted a resolution as follows:
Resolved,
That this meeting recommend that all male animals be not allowed to run at
large.
They also considered it wise to advertise the coming
exhibition, and to this end directed the committee to procure one hundred
show bills and one hundred premium cards, and the committee were directed if
possible to procure a "derometer!"
The membership fee in 1850 was
raised to $1.50 per annum, and the next fair appointed at Hennepin.
The Fifth Annual Fair, the first at Hennepin, was duly held, and was rather
more expensive than any of its predecessors, but seems to have been
proportionately successful. The musicians cost $5.00, and the doorkeeper $2.
The exhibitors of fruits donated their samples to the Society, which goods
being sold at auction, netted as follows:
C. R. & N. Overman,
Canton, Fulton County, $1.50.
Arthur Bryant, Bureau, 60 cents.
Underbill & Co., LaSalle, 65 cents.
A. R. Whiting, Lee County,
$1.10.
Cyrus Bryant, Bureau, 65 cents.
McWhorter & Co.,
Mercer County, $1.22.
L. P. Pennington, Whiteside County, $ 1.20.
H. N. Shooler, Putnam County, 70 cents.
This indicates that
the Fair was widely known and well patronized.
The Treasurer's'
report for 1851 exhibited: Admissions $74.00. Expenses - music $5.00;
printer $22.25; premiums in full, $15.50; and cash above all expenses,
$144.80.
This Society is entitled to the credit of first suggesting
to the Government a Bureau or Department of Agriculture. In June, 1851, the
subject came up and was fully discussed by the Institute, and the result of
this debate was a petition, signed by the leading farmers of Putnam,
Marshall and La Salle Counties, which was forwarded to our Representatives
at Washington, in which was set forth the importance to the country of
agriculture, the basis of all pursuits, and urging upon Congress to protect,
foster and encourage it. Thus the matter came before that body from a
respectable source, and was not only heard, but acted upon, and resulted in
forming the Department of Agriculture, as stated.
The Fairs were
held at Peru one or two years, but the disadvantage of moving about without
permanent buildings or grounds; the growth of the Society, and the
importance and increasing size of its annual exhibitions made a permanent
location necessary, and the Society settled upon Hennepin as central and
sufficiently accessible from all directions for the purpose.
Fairs
are held here every year, but of late years the exhibitions of this veteran
Society are overshadowed by the greater magnitude of the neighboring fairs
at Princeton, Wenona and Ottawa.
The pioneer mill for grinding any kind of grain in all this region of
country was put up by Thos. Gallaher, Sr., in the fall of 1828. The burrs
were "nigger-heads," or dark granite boulders found upon the prairies, such
as geologists tell us belong to the "drift" period, and were brought here
from high northern latitudes some hundreds of centuries ago. Mr. Gallaher
dressed these firm-grained rocks himself, drilled holes in them and wrought
upon them at odd spells for a long time, exhausting a large stock of
patience upon their stubborn and ragged outlines before he could reduce them
to a fit shape and finish for his purpose. The mill was built on a hill or
slight elevation in Section 30, one mile south of Florid. The building was
of logs, sixteen feet square. A shaft was set up outside, and holes mortised
in it for arms. A raw-hide band was stretched around, connecting the shaft
with the upper stone, and with two or four horses was made to revolve, and
thus turned the stones. In this primitive manner a couple of bushels of corn
could be ground in an hour. One of tdese old burrs was sold to a Mr.
Trusten, who removed it to Sandy Creek, where it was used for a time, and
afterward fell into the hands of Mr. Bowers, and now is a step in front of
Merrill's store in the village of Magnolia. At first the corn-meal, bran and
all were delivered to the customer, but a year or so after a sieve was
added, when he also began to make wheat flour, improvising some sort of
bolting apparatus.
Two years thereafter Mr. Gallaher employed Mr.
Shugart to make cog-wheel gearing, which greatly accelerated the speed, and
a bolt was also put in. With four horses two on each sweep, he could now
grind and bolt about three bushels per hour. At this time there was no
flouring mill nearer than Salt Creek, Sangamon County, eighty miles away.
About 1832, Hollenback built a mill near Magnolia, the second in the
County, greatly relieving the pressure on the Gallaher mill, which up to
that time had done all the grinding for the settlers for many miles around.
Gallaher's mill continued to run until about 1836.
In 1831,
Simeon Crozier erected a water power mill on Cedar Creek, which attracted
some little custom from the north-eastern corner of Granville Township.
A mill located at Vermilionville ground much of the wheat for the
farmers of this region, and sometimes they patronized John Green's mills, at
Dayton, four miles above Ottawa, on Fox River.
Extracted 14 Jul 2017 by Norma Hass from Records of the Olden Time, 1880, by Spencer Ellsworth, pages 155-176.
| Bureau |  |
LaSalle |
| Marshall |
