BACKTRACKING
Knox County Early
History
Part VI: Townships
Continued
by Terry Hogan
In the Part V of this series, I reviewed about 1/2 of the
Knox County townships' and towns' early histories to some degree or
another. In this Part, the
remaining townships and towns are addressed. I had initially intended this to
be a single part, but when the typed version reached 12 pages, it become
obvious that an arbitrary break was necessary. Even with the break into two
parts, I must admit that the abbreviated discussion was hard to maintain as I
encountered interesting, although probably insignificant, stories that appeared
between the lines in the old county histories. I hope to be able to come back to some of these and treat
them as independent articles. As
always, I invite readers to write or email the Zephyr with suggestions for topics. Suggestions with information are even better.
Maquon Township-Maquon
and Rapatee
Maquon Township is located on the southern border of Knox
County, east of Chestnut Township.
The town of Maquon is located on the northern edge of the township,
along what was labeled in 1898 as the Peoria Branch of the CB&Q
railroad. There was, in early
times, a large Indian settlement near Maquon along the shore of the Spoon
River. The 1898 history of Knox County makes mention of remains of the Indian
village and burial grounds. The Spoon River flows diagonally through the
township, heading in a generally southwesterly direction. Early settlers in
Maquon Township included James Millan, William Darnell, William Parmer and Mark
and Thomas Thurman.
Maquon's history in the 1899 Knox County history appears to
have been more frank than some. It
notes that it had a distillery and a race track for several years before it had
a church or a school. The history notes that the village was 40 years old
"Ébefore Christian influence was
sufficient to establish a church". The town was surveyed by Parnach Owen in 1836. His name seems to appear frequently in
the early histories of Knox County towns and villages.
Rapatee had its origin with the construction of the Iowa
Central Railroad in 1883. It was laid out by Benjamin Adams in the southwest
quarter of Section 33. In 1899, it had a church, three stores, a blacksmith
shop, a wagon shop, two elevators and about 80 folks.
Haw Creek Township-
Gilson and Mechanicsburg
Haw Creek Township is located north of Maquon Township. The Spoon River passes through the
eastern portion of the township, running the full length, before entering
Maquon Township. Gilson is located
in the northwest portion of the township, again, being located along the
railroad, i.e. the Peoria Branch of the CB&Q that also passes through
Maquon. Haw Creek's first settlers
were Parnach Owens, his widowed mother and his two sisters. They arrived in
1829, but later moved to Knoxville, once the town was surveyed and
established. Parnach Owens is
reported to have done the surveying work for Knoxville's formation.
Mechanicsburg was the first village in Haw Creek. It grew up
along a road that connected Knoxville and Farmington. Its growth was natural, being an occasional stopping point
for stage coaches that traveled the road. From this start, a store, a wagon and
blacksmith shop, and a post office were established there on May 7, 1852.
Starting later than Mechanicsburg, Gilson was founded on
July 10, 1857 along the Peoria Branch of the CB&Q Railroad. It was laid out
by Linneus Richmond and James Gilson, accounting for the village name. Gilson grew and surpassed
Mechanicsburg. On March 5, 1857,
the post office was relocated to Gilson. And as the 1899 county history put it,
"Éand Mechanicsburg fell asleep". Mechanicsburg is not shown on the 1899
township map.
Persifer Township-
Dahinda and Appleton
Persifer Township is located north of Haw Creek Township and
due east of Knox Township. The
Spoon River makes a westerly loop into the east border of Haw Creek. Dahinda is located near the east line
of Persifer, near the Spoon River.
Dahinda sits on what was called the Santa Fe and California Railroad on
the 1899 county map.
Dahinda is reported to have been the site of an Indian
village. The poles of the wigwams
stood for years after the area was first settled by Europeans. The 1899 history
of the county also notes there were 25 or 20 Indian mounds nearby that yielded
human bones and arrow heads. A
branch of the old Galena Trail passes near Dahinda.
Appleton was laid out in the spring of 1888 by J. H.
Lewis. Mills Vohris did the
surveying for Appleton. In
1899, Appleton supported freight and an express office, two stores, a grain
elevator, a blacksmith shop, a carpenter shop, a lumber yard and nine houses.
There is a story that the famous Indian Chief Shabona
(different spellings exist) had offered to show an early settler, William Morris,
the location of a silver mine. Morris, being less than enthusiastic for
accompanying an Indian into the wild, declined the offer.
This history of the township, itself, is pretty limited in
the 1878 county history, but it does provide some interesting descriptions of
an early settler cabin. It was, of
course, a log cabin, by the builder, Charles Benson, hollowed out a large
sycamore tree trunk that was 7 feet long and 3 feet in diameter. He used skids to move it and set
it on end, at the end of the cabin to act as the chimney for the
fireplace. The cabin floor was
made of "lin puncheons" and the cabin door was made from walnut
boards, attached to battens with wood pins, and the door was attached to the
cabin with wood hinges.
The Benson's had a child and a dog. The dog became the protector of the
child, keeping it safe from snakes, wolves, and other dangerous animals. When the baby tried to crawl too far
away, the dog would drag the child back to the cabin.
There is also the tale of Indian buried treasure along the
shore of Court Creek. As the story
goes, a wealthy Indian woman, with the aid of her son "Bill" buried a
brass kettle full of gold and silver. After she arrived at a new destination,
she sent Bill back to dig up and recover the kettle. He could not locate the burial site. In 1841, a farmer named Taylor,
was digging out a cellar. He found
three bars of copper, hand-forged, buried at about four feet below the surface.
Copley Township-Etherley and Victoria
Early settlers in Copley Township have been reported to be
Larkin Robinson, in 1837 and John McDowell in 1838. The Chapman (1878) history is pretty meager for Copley. There is no discussion as to the origin
of the township name or the origin of Etherley. Etherley is located on the southeastern township line, with
parts of the town in Copley and Victoria townships. It was the termination
point for the Galesburg and Great Eastern Railroad that ran from Wataga to
Victoria and to Etherley.
Victoria sits on the township line, also straddling Copley
and Victoria township lines and was the termination point of the other branch
of the Galesburg and Great Eastern Railroad. As noted elsewhere, Victoria, in Copley, was the birthplace
of Swedish Methodism in 1846.
Etherley was a relatively a recent village, being laid out
on August 10, 1894 by Samuel L. Charles. It was intended to become a mining
town as the area is rich in coal. In November 1894, the Galesburg, Etherley and
Great Eastern Railroad began running 12 miles east from Wataga to Etherley and
the coal reserves. A coal shaft
costing $30,000 was created in Etherley to tap the coal reserves. The company
ceased operations on September 7, 1895, but started up again with a new name -
"Galesburg and Great Eastern".
Edward J. Harms was the manager.
According to Bateman's history (1899) there was apparently some legal
issue that caused problems with these plans and interfered with the growth of
Etherley. Bateman's (1899) history
noted "It is believed, however,
that, under altered conditions, a thriving mining town will soon be built up to
develop the rich, unworked coal deposits which underlie nearly all the southern
part of Copley."
Walnut Grove Township-
Altona
Walnut Grove Township is located on the north boundary of
Knox County, north of Copley Township and east of Ontario Township. Not surprising and consistent with the
trend noted in this article, Altona is also located along a railroad. In this case, it is the CB&Q
railroad. As the railroad cuts
across the township from the southwest to the northeast, Altona is located
approximately in the center of the township. The origin of the township name is
not addressed in the 1878 history, although it is likely that the name is
self-evident. This is confirmed by the 1899 history that states it was named
for extensive groves of walnut trees growing near its center.
I am less eager to discuss the origins of the town name. The
town of Altona was once known as LaPier. However the CB&Q railroad insisted
that the name be changed to Altona, which was done. To add to the confusion, the name of the post office was
Walnut Grove, However, there was a movement to name the post office as Reno, in
honor of a famous general of the period. About that time, some never-do-goods
who were by the name of Reno were lynched in Indiana. Not wanting Reno to be possibly associated with this recent
hanging, the name was given up and the name of the village, railroad station
and post office all became Altona.
History sometimes moves in mysterious ways, particularly in the
evolution of town names.
The short history does tell a tale of the presence of a
large number of Mormons that settled in the township, based upon direction from
their prophet, Joseph Smith. Not
uncommon for the period, the Mormons were not warmly received by the other
inhabitants, and with time, the Mormons left their proper and the temple and
relocated to Hancock County, where one can presume, they encountered additional
resistance to their presence.
Seemingly ironic, a band of Indians came through the
township in 1836 and 1837 and camped for some period near the residence of John
Thompson. After a period of time,
the band moved on but one pair of elderly Indians stayed behind and lived as
neighbors to the Thompsons. They were well received and were reported to be
good neighbors.
According to the local history, one of the first lawsuits in
the township involved the legal question of who owned a tree. The two
contestants had come to blows on the subject. The case was heard before a jury, in a local log cabin. The jury deliberated in a small wood
rail pen, to determine the merits of the arguments and who owned the tree. The names and the decision, or the
significance of the tree (if any), were not given in the history so this story
remains unfinished.
Salem Township- Uniontown, Yates
City and Summit/Douglas.
Salem Township is located in the southeast corner of Knox
County. Summit and Yates City were
located along the Peoria Branch of the CB&Q Railroad, as shown in the 1898
county map. Only Uniontown was not
served by a railroad. Early
settlers to the township included Solomon Sherwood, Henry Dalton, Alexander
Taylor, Felix Thurman, Avery Dalton, Benona Hawkins, John Darnell, Sala
Blakeslee, William Kent, John Thurman, and John Haskins (Chapman, 1878). Salem
boasts of having the most miles of railroad track of any township in Knox
County, excluding Galesburg.
Mr. Blakeslee planted ten chestnut trees on his farm from
seeds in 1846. By about 1878, these chestnut trees were reported to be about 2
feet in diameter. I suppose it is
unlikely that they survived the Chestnut blight that was to follow. In any event, it is another example of
how Knox County was changed with settlement and the establishment of farms.
Blakeslee was also credited with being the first to bring timothy seed to Salem
Township in 1834.
Douglas used to be Summit. It was laid out on October 17,
1856 by William Ware. It was surveyed E. T. Byram. Its birth was a product of the creation of the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad. In 1899, it was speculated to have
about 250 folks residing there.
Uniontown is claimed to be the oldest village in the
township. It was laid out by Moses Shinn on June 4, 1839 and it was surveyed,
platted, and recorded by George A. Charles on June 6, 1839. The village looked to have an exciting
future as the first survey for the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad came its
way. But when all was done, the railroad
built about two miles north of Uniontown, based on another survey conducted in
1856. The village declined rapidly
after this change and in 1869, the legislature vacated the plat.
Yates City claimed to be the "metropolis" of the
township. It was located along the
CB&Q railroad line and conducted a flourishing business that was somewhat
hindered by the construction of the Santa Fe line through Truro Township, about
12 miles north in 1887-1889. The 1899 Knox County history notes that with the
Santa Fe line coming through, trade had been reduced, but Yates City was still
doing a large business in general
merchandise, grain, and stock.
Elba Township
Elba Township is located on the east boundary of Knox
County, north of Salem Township. The origin and originator of the township name
are not given in the history. According to the 1898 map, Elba had no railroad
within the township. It is assumed that it had the least miles of railroad
track of any township in the county, although it might have been tied with
Victoria. It also had no towns or
villages shown on the 1899 Knox County map, but it did show a town called
"Eugene" in Section 2 in Chapman's 1878 map of Knox County. It looks as though the Spoon River
touches the northwest corner of the township. The first settlers arrived in the
1835-1836 period and included John King (or Thomas King - a disagreement
appears in the histories of the township), Darius Miller and his brother; John
Thurman, Jacob Kighlinger, L. A. Jones, and J. H. Nicolson. A post office was established in the
southern part of the township in 1870.
It was known as "Spoon River" but later changed to "Elba
Centre".
Turo Township- Turo and
Williamsfield
Turo Township sits north of Elba Township and east of
Persifer Township. It sits along the east county line. Turo has the Spoon River passing though
the center of the township from east to west and in 1898, it had the Santa Fe
and California Railroad also passing through the center of the township,
through the town of Williamsfield.
The first settler for the township was John Dill, according the Chapman
(1878). A ferry was opened on the
Spoon River in Section 30, in 1834. It was established by John Coleman.
The Chapman history of Turo Township tells two interesting
tales. The first is that the first known European death in the township was the
postman on his first run of his route. In 1834, Malon Winans was making his
first delivery of mail, but drowned as he attempted to swim the Spoon River
with the mail bag strapped to his back.
The second story has to do with the unusual Indian burial
grounds in Section 31 that were uncovered by early settlers. The remains were "buried" in
the forks of trees at a height of 10 to 15 feet above ground. Chapman reports,
"Logs had been split in halves and
excavated for coffins; the forks of the trees were cut away with their
tomahawks sufficiently to let them in, and the rude coffins there rested with
their skeleton contents, until about
1836 the whites took them down and buried them in the earth."
Williamsfield had a late arrival. Like most towns, it grew at the edge of the railroad. In this case, it was the Santa Fe that
didn't cross the township until 1888. Williamsfield was laid out by E. B.
Purceil. Economic interests in Galesburg promoted Williamsfield and the town
rapidly grew. By 1899, it
supported about 500 residents.
Victoria Township-
Victoria and Etherley
Victoria
Township is located north of Turo Township and directly east of Copley
Township. It shares Victoria and
Etherley with Copley as the two towns straddle the township line. Both towns are termination points for
the old Galesburg and Great Eastern Railroad that originated in Wataga in
Sparta Township. It was named for Queen Victoria. It has an abundance of coal, which was hauled by the
railroad. The early settlers of the 1835 to 1838 period included Edward Brown,
John Essex, Mr. Frazier, John Smith, William Overlander, Moses Robinson, Moody
Robinson, Archibald Robinson, Charles Bostic, John Arnold, Passons Aldrige, H.
Shurtliff, and Conrad Smith (Chapman 1878).
Victoria was one of the few towns in Knox County that did
not have a railroad, but did acquire one relatively recently (1899). Victoria was laid out on May 11,
1849. It was originally platted in
Victoria Township, but in time, it spread across the township line into Copley
Township. This portion of
Victoria (in Copley) became the site of the first Swedish Methodist,
established on December 15, 1846 by Rev. J. J. Hedstrom, the founder of Swedish
Methodism.
Lynn Township
Lynn Township shows no villages in the 1899 map but does
show Mllroy, located in Section 33 in the Chapman 1878 map. Lynn Township is
located in the northeast corner of Knox County, the 1898 map shows two CB&Q
railroad lines just passing through the northwest and northeast corners of the
township. Millroy would have been
located about as far way from these railroad tracks as possible and still have
been in Lynn Township. The Chapman history points out that Lynn Township is the
only township in Knox County without benefit of church, town or post office.
Before Millroy was Millroy, it was called Centerville, but was platted as
Millroy. Whatever its name, it
failed to flourish.
References
Bateman, Newton, et al. 1899. Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and Knox County. Munsell
Publishing Company. Chicago. 968 pages.
Chapman, Chas. 1878. History
of Knox County, Illinois. Chicago. 718 pages (reprinted version by Knox
County Genealogical Society, Galesburg, IL).
Mitchell, A. 1837 Illinois
in 1837; A sketch descriptive of the
situation, boundaries, face of the country, prominent districts, prairies,
rivers, minerals, animals, agricultural productions, public lands, plans of
internal improvement, manufactures etc. Philadelphia. 143 pages.
1-31-06