"10=23, ajiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiii iiiiimiiiimmiiiiiiiiiiiti Daring the first fifty years of life of Ver- milion County the TELEPHONE was unknown. During the second fifty years the TELE- PHONE was invented, perfected, and became a practical necessity in every home and office. Truly, the "first fifty years were the hard- est!" sni The Vermilion County Telephone Company 1876 :-: The Telephone's Fiftieth Year :-: 1926 Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip ILLINOIS HISTORICAL SURVEY "Our fathers in a wondrous age, Ere yet the earth was small, Insured to us a heritage, And doubted not at all That we, the children of their heart, Which then did beat so high, In later time should play like part For our posterity .... Dear-bought and clear, a thousand year Our father's title runs, Make we likewise their sacrifice, Defrauding not our sons!" . ;■■-: ■ ■-- ■ : .■■ - : ;, ;■ r , J * Vermilion County Memorial to Her World War Dead THE CENTENNIAL BOOK OFFICIAL PROGRAM OF THE CEREMONIES AND THE PAGEANT IN CELEBRATION OF THE CENTENNIAL OF VERMILION, FORTY-FOURTH COUNTY IN THE TWENTY- FIRST STATE CLINT CLAY TILTON EDITOR HELD IN DANVILLE— DANVILLE ON THE DIXIE IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS 1826-1926 An Applanation Ho! Ye Men and Women of Old Vermilion who dwelt 'neath the shadows of the giant oak and maple, and strode forth at break of Morn to battle with and finally conquer the rank growth of the Prairie, in the days when Illinois was Young ! We call to you to wake and listen to our words of praise and thanksgiving. We call to you who sleep in Jimmy Butler's "God's Acre"; to you whose final rest has been disturbed, when the Greed of Man desecrated the Burial Ground provided by Amos Williams and to you who wait the Final Call in a dozen other Grave Yards of the Early Days. To you who have solved Life's Mystery an eternity means naught, but we, who now dwell in the comfort that your sacrifice made possible, count the days and the weeks and the months and the years — and the Records of Man show that Old Vermilion now has reached the Century of her being. One Hundred Years ! A short span for the living, and it is only when one delves into the Records of the Stalwart Men and Women who came to the Prairies in the Days when Illinois was Young that we realize that we have reason to be boastful in this year of Twenty-six. Therefore, we, who now abide in the peace and plenty of the Old Vermilion of Nineteen Twenty-six have as- sembled together in Celebration to do you — the Trail Blazers and Conquerors of the Wilderness — the full honor that you merit. Pioneers of Old Vermilion! In this week, by Parade and Pageant, and the Words of Clever Talkers we will give full tribute to your efforts in the Early Day. Let the bugle call resound that the Men and Women of Old Vermilion may gather to do honor to our Sires ! WE, THE DESCENDENTS. Gknrral program TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1926 MORNING 6:00 — National Salute by Company "A". 8:30— Old Settler's Re-Union at Armory, l Under auspices of Half-Century Club) i Basket Dinner and Visitation at Noon) 9:30 — Band Concerts — Wabash Station Lawn, Federal Building, World War Memorial, Public Square. 10:30 — Addresses, Southeast corner of Public Square. Hon. Roy O. West, Secretary, National Republican Committee. Native of Georgetown, Illinois, now living in Chicago, Illinois. Hon. George T. Buckingham, Member law firm of DeFrees, Buckingham & Eaton, General Counsel for Illinois Power & Light Corporation in Chicago, Illinois. Native of Potomac, Illinois; now living in Chicago, Illinois. AFTERNOON 1:30 — Band Concerts. Inspection of historical relics in business house windows and D. A. R. museum at public library - . 3:00 — Pioneer and Fraternal Parade. Under the direction of Mr. Woods H. Martin. This parade will be composed of historic floats and the various fraternal orders and clubs in the county. Parades form on North Hazel Street, south on Hazel to North, east on North to Washington, south on Washington to Main, west on Main to Victory Bridgr, counter-march to Public Square, north on Vermilion to Williams Street. EVEN I NO 8:00 — Historical and Symbolical Pageant with a cast of seven hundred people at Illinois-Indiana Fair Grounds, Danville, Illinois. 10:30— Reveille. \9 w H» Gkurral Program WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1926 MORNING 6:00 — National Salute by Company "D". 9:30— Band Concerts. 10:30 — Addresses, southeast corner of Public Square. Judge E. R. E. Kimbrough, born in Edgar county, moved to Vermilion county before the Civil War. Now living in Danville, Illinois. Hon. Wayne C. Williams, Ex-Attorney General of Colorado, native of Sidell township, now living in Denver, Colorado. AFTERNOON 1 :30 — Dress Parade of Veterans of Four Wars. Under command of Colonel Hadley, Governor at the National Soldiers' Home. 3 :00 — Educational Parade. Under direction of Captain L. A. Tuggle, County Superintendent of Schools. Grade Schools and High Schools from the different Townships in the county participating. Twenty-two thousand nine hundred pupils enrolled in the schools of Vermilion county. 8:00 — Second Presentation of Historical and Symbolical Pageant at Illinois-Indiana Fair Grounds, Danville, Illinois. 10:30— Reveille. EVENING 8:00 — Historical and Symbolical Pageant with a cast of seven hundred people at Illinois-Indiana Fair Grounds, Danville, Illinois. 10:30— Reveille. Gkurral Program THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1926 MORNING 6:00 — National Salute by Company "I". (Capt. Beeleri. 9:30 — Band Concerts. 10:30 — Addresses, southeast corner of Public Square. Hon. John Walker, President of Illinois Federation of Labor. Now living in Springfield, Illinois. Hon. Edwin T. Meredith, Ex-Secretary of Agriculture of United States. Publisher and Managing Editor of "Successful Farming," a farm magazine having over a million circula- tion. Now living in Des Moines. Iowa. AFTERNOON 1:30 — Band Concerts. Visitors invited to inspect Lincoln Tablets at Feldkamp home, Gilbert Street: corner of First National Bank building; Hubbard Tablet, corner Palmer National Bank building. 3:00— Parade. Agriculture, Labor, Commerce and Manufacturing. Under the direction of Mr. E. Dean Huber. EVENING 8:00 — Last presentation of Historical and Symbolical Pageant at Illinois-Indiana Fair Grounds, Danville, Illinois. 10:30— Reveille. (Ulir (Jpurnt ann iEatba nf lienor THELMA BRANDON Miss Vance Township Photo by Wirschlng ELMA BLANKENBURG Miss C. & E. I. Photo by Wirsching JEANETTE SCHUMAN Mtss A. B.C. Photo by Wirsching AMELIA RAIMER Miss Kiwanis (Uir (purrn auft iHaifls of limmr MABEL A. GRAVES Miss Rotary CRETA STRICKLER Miss Rossville Photo by Wirsching JANE CHAPMAN Miss D. H. S. LEONA DREWS Miss B. & P. It". Pboto by Winching I'll. .t.. by Si-luill stuili.i ®l}t ((tern anu Maiba of Inner IRIS KINDER Miss Catlin Photo by Wirschlng BESS FRENCH Miss Pilot Photo by Wirschins MRS. RALPH ELLIOTT Miss Hoopeston Photo by Wirschlng FERN ATTEBURY Miss Love Photo by Bowman HISTORICAL AND SYMBOLICAL PAGEANT AS A TRIBUTE TO THE PIONEER. AND IN CELEBRATION OF THE CENTEN- NIAL OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS. By EARL C. DARFLER Pageant Director PROLOGUE ARRIVAL OF MISS VERMILION AND ATTENDANTS. MISS ROSS, MISS BUTLER, MISS GEORGETOWN, MISS McKENDREE, MISS LOVE, MISS DANVILLE, MISS GRANT, MISS MIDDLEFORK, MISS PILOT, MISS ELWOOD, MISS OAKWOOD, MISS VANCE, MISS JAMAICA, MISS SIDELL, MISS CARROLL, MISS CATLIN. ADDRESS OF WELCOME— By Miss Vermilion. "Fellow Citizens of Vermilion County and the United States: "In the name of the inhabitants of this goodly town, and in honor of our celebra- tion this evening, I bid you all a most cordial welcome. "Whether you were born within its ancient boundaries, interlacing your affections with those with whom you compose this incorporated brotherhood in the great family of the Union, or whether you have forsaken your home, in some foreign country, re- nouncing all allegiance unto it, and having adopted this as your earthly home, here to abide as one of its children seeking its peace and its welfare as long as God in His Providence shall continue you here, or whether you are a native of some other town, city or state and are here present to enjoy with us this celebration in the name of the County of Vermilion, in this city of Danville, I extend to each and all of you the endearing address of 'FELLOW CITIZENS,' and bid you welcome to Danville." ARRIVAL OF MISS COLUMBIA AND FORTY-EIGHT STATES. MISS VERMILION: "Welcome, welcome, Columbia, and you, her daughters, FAIR United States. Welcome to Danville and the Historical Pageant!" INTERLUDE I. Father Time: There time long since has reaped and change has wrought, Transfigured pages in the "Book of Thought" Where in recessional has passed away. Full many a pageant in world's wild play — Where king and count, philosopher and page, Have passed to death and dust from age to age, Where those pale pilgrims, who were counted blest, The shifting hour glass fulfilled of rest, — We take you back tonight upon the stage That you may read this old colonial page, And, as the leaves of centuries unfold, Find witches, kings and regicides enscrolled; Midst magistrates and Puritans therein, Perchance some jester find or harlequin, Should laughter fail, not so the living truth; That keeps its words, archaic or uncouth; Come back with us, for through its misty door, With silent step the past returns once more And, playing gentle ghosts, our cast behold; Witness these scenes and hear their story told. And whether friends, our play shall please or pall, We ask your kindly patience for us all. 12 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS Father Time: "I came, I know not whence, I go I know not whither. Eyes of things created never upon my coming looked, Nor shall it see my passing, First and last of all things I for I AM TIME." "Look ye upon the dawning of Creation called Universe, When out of the chaos, order is brought, You will see the birth of Sky, Flowers, Lands, And last— M A N, the RED MAN." EPISODE I. The Dawning of Creation. (Note: Just as everything is in perfect harmony with the Creation growing in its merry play, the voice of Man is heard. This breaks the still harmony of Nature and in gross confusion the Spirits run and hide under cover of the Forests. Symbolic dances of Nature.) The Coming of the Indian. (Note: This is a typical band of Indians who were found living in small villages and scattered in roving bands. Everywhere the early settlers came in contact with these people. Extremely improvident, they cultivated the soil very little and depended on the chase for a livelihood. Hunting and dancing constituted their pleasure. We depicit a savage dance.) INTERLUDE II. Father Time: The Powers of the Forest and the Powers of the River Which menace them always, had to be conquered and bent to their will, With danger encircling, by day and by night, Here lit their hearth fires to gleam through the years, Clear as a beacon light. EPISODE II. Spirit of the Wilderness. (Note: This is a symbolic dance representing the Spirit of the Wilderness in its most playful mood, with the Powers of the Forest and the Powers of the Rivers, and the Mist Maidens, merrily dancing in the Forest, when the coming of MAN disturbs their merry play.) The Pioneer Man. (Note: This is purely a symbolical episode showing how the Pioneers conquered the elements.) INTERLUDE III. Father Time: Witness here ye day of old, see their homes and tents unfold, Glad of heart the record read, of high courage, faithful deed, As men build their home and town, coming in from miles around: Years of Growth and Power to stand, A Goodly County in a mighty land. EPISODE III. The First Settlers of Vermilion County. SCENE I. In September, 1819, Joe Barron, Truman Blackman, Lambert Bona, Zariah Cicott, and four Indian guides came to the site of the Saline and located four miles west of Danville. Leaving here, they went to Fort Harrison where Truman Blackman, trick- ster, organized another company and returned a month later. They brought with them a kettle to test the water in which they found that two gallons of water made four ounces of salt. Truman Blackman, George Beckwith and Seymour Treat agreed to be equal partners. Peter Allen and George Beckwith were left in charge while the rest CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 13 returned to Fort Harrison. In November, Seymour Treat and family came up the Wa- bash and Vermilion rivers, carried their few belongings to the side of the hill where a cabin had been prepared. This was the beginning of the first settlement. INTERLUDE IV. Father Time: On bare, horizoned seas they deemed them lost, So many months wind driven and storm tossed, Across strange wastes each death long day, moved by, Strange stars relentless, nightly spared their sky; Yet moved they on these sturdy pioneers, And held them dauntless against besieging fears; Found their reward, as their old log book reads, "A right fair land," and meet for all their needs, A land with wealth of furs, and treasure trove — Small wonder that Vermilion Settlers throve. SCENE 2. The Salt Works. The capacity of the iron kettles used in the Salt works were 120 gallons. They were arranged in a double row, forty kettles in each row, with rock placed closely around each kettle. Heat was furnished by wood, although they had coal, but did not know that it could be burned. They averaged 180 bushels of salt a week and it was sold at SI. 50 a bushel. SCENE 3. Father Kingsbury's Church. Father Kingsbury was preaching one Sunday morning in 1832, when three refugees came rushing in, declaring the Indians were on their heels. Dan Beckwith with 31 men started out. Later, the Vermilion County rangers under Colonel Moore, with 350 men, left without order and were ordered home when they reached Joliet as it was found that the Indians were about 200 miles away. The Dance of Veils. INTERLUDE V. Father Time: Once on a time, our academic ways, Were trod in simpler guise. In other days Our fathers learned the hornbook and the rule, They toed the line or topped the dunce's stool, An Ancient dame presided as they read, And if they erred, her thimble rapped each head, Each little girl a sampler made, in time And wrought thereon her simple faith in rhyme, View not these artless ranks with laughing scorn, Here was the higher education born. SCENE 4. The First School. The first school taught in Vermilion County is said to have been in Elwood town- ship. It was a log school house one mile west of Vermilion station. Reuben Black, a lad of eighteen, came from Ohio, and in the winter of 1824-25 secured enough subscrip- tion pupils to make it worth his while to open a school. He taught one winter. John Mills sent four children, three sons, and one daughter. Joseph Jackson, an Englishman, sent two children, Ezekial Hollingsworth sent four children, Henry Canady sent one, John Haworth sent three, making fourteen in all. The branches taught were reading, spelling, writing, and some of the older pupils were taught arithmetic. So it was that these fourteen children, Ira, Millican, John and Rebecca Mills, Nathaniel and Mary Jackson, Jeremiah, Miles Mahunday, and John Hollingsworth, William Canaday, and Thomas, David and Elvin Haworth were the first children to go to school in Vermilion County. SCENE 5. The Bucket Brigade. In the early days the fire departments were composed of volunteer citizens, each supplying himself with two buckets and a burlap sack to fight the fires with. This scene depicts an early time fire fight. 14 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS INTERLUDE VI. Father Time: And so a county was born to live, And to this county a name we give VERMILION. So away with care, let every heart, With quickened fervor glow, While we brush the dust from by-gone years, And bid the records show, The honored deeds of those who lived many years ago. SCENE 6. The First Sale of Lots. The town was laid out by the county through its commissioners. Dan W. Beck- with, the county surveyor, was employed by the commissioners to run out 100 lots. The day of sale having come around, a large number of people were collected, bidding was lively. Harvey Luddington, acting as auctioneer, and Amos Williams, clerk. Forty- two lots were sold from which the county realized §922.87. The average price was $22.00 a lot. The buyers were Gerden S. Hubbard, Indian trader, George Haworth, first merchant, Alvin Gilbert, first tavern keeper, Eazekiah Cunningham, second mer- chant, Rev. Kingsbury, John Vance, salt works, Jim Clyman, white trapper. INTERLUDE VII. Lincoln Days. Father Time: Where the Virginia creeper softly falls, About the porticoes of Southern halls, Across the floor colonial couples pace, And take their graceful postures face to face, They turn on airy toe and turn on heel, And dance night long the gay ecstatic reel, A pigeon wing each lightfoot gallant turns, And for a space the polished floor he spurns, The village beauties, crimson flushed in face, More breathless grow, but still dance on apace. While through the hall, melodious, haunting thin, The wistful cadence of the violin, Makes mute the darkies gathered at the door, Who smile to watch the dancers on the floor, And each thinks only with his loyal pride, His mistress lovelier than all beside. This is the ballroom scene we show tonight, Which still resounds with music and delight. SCENE 7. An Old-Fashioned Dance. Judge Davis came in a buggy in 1858, and the lawyers, Abraham Lincoln, Spring- field; John Stewart, Stephen Logan, Springfield; Henry Whitney, Urbana; Oliver Fick- land, Charleston; Usher Linder, Charleston, came on horseback, and held court. This Episode represents an out door court of Judge Davis in the year of 1858. EPISODE IV. The World War. A pageant of dancers representing the Nations of the World War. United States, France, England, Italy, Holland, Belgium, China, Japan, etc. FINALE. Parade of Entire Company. Pageant under personal direction of Earl C. Darfler, of the Joe Bren Production Company, Chicago. CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 15 1876-1926 lilurlr Jlnr (Eatuum Who Is Celebrating the Semi-Centennial of His Residence In Danville lo CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY ILLINOIS %*^ "z^V^^ &rf£6i*>H&' fif^^+sj.. ~*^ , <***\ x///fff " e jL$-d.L-,, Jot) Ja»Qlt.*Am / Pc ,.^ %i^ Fac-simile of Original Subscription List to a Purse given to the Three Commissioners who selected Danville as the Seat of Justice of Vermilion County. The Original is in the Collection of the Wood- bury Family, Danville, Illinois. CENTENNIAL Book OF VICRMIl.toX COUNTY, ILLINOIS 17 Site (grnems nf (1Mb H mniltmt 1826-1926 By CLINT CLAY TILTON -LI- THE DARKNESS OF THE NIGHT THE History of a County that was more than two centuries in the mak- ing cannot be written in a day, nor can the wondrous story be told as it should be in the limits of a Souvenir Booklet. It is a Record of Romance, with tales of treachery, daring, suffering, poverty, self- denial, perseverance, patriotism and a con- cluding chapter, as it can be written in L926, when Vermilion County, as a County, has officially reached the century mark, with a proper happy ending. Thriving cities and towns, happy homes and busy, contented citizens. And, through it all the thread of Romance that makes the historic scroll a gripping one. There is Romance in the fact that over the land now embraced by Vermilion Coun- ty have floated the flags of three nations. First, there was the banner of Imperial France, by right of discovery and explor- ation; next the flag of the haughty Briton, by right of conquest, and then there rippled in the breezes' the emblem of our newly- confederated colonies, also by right of con- quest, for when George Rogers Clark and his little band of riflemen captured the British Fort at Post Vincennes in 177'J, all this territory became a part of the Com- monwealth of Virginia. And, according to some ancient Spanish records, discovered at St. Louis, a few years ago, it came dan- gerously near being under the emblem of a fourth nation, when a Spanish army, — the only one ever to invade United States soil, — came here in 1781 from St. Louis and battled with the Kickapoos, who at that time had a town on the site of the old Salt Works. Tis a story worth the telling. According to the old Spanish Records, this foolhardy adventure was apparently a faint echo from far across the sea of a great European quarrel, the war then being desperately waged by Spain against Eng- land. In this cause the isolated Spanish garrison at St. Louis, — the capital of New Spain, had boldly determined to bear their part by a foray against the British fort on the St. Joseph River, in the present state of Michigan. In January of that year, a small band of adventurers, sixty-five in number, under command of Don Eugenie Peurre, Don Carlos Tayon, second in rank, and Don Luis Chevalier, "a man well versed in the language of the Indians," set out to capture the fort over which floated the hated British banner. Sixty Indians from various tribes also were with the band. Four hundred miles and more of Indian- haunted plain and forest stretched between them and their destination, while at the end of the trail an enemy lurked behind fortress walls awaiting their approach, whose strength only could be conjectured. And they were heavily laden, too with provi- sions, ammunition and merchandise, with which they hoped to buy their way through the lands of the savage tribes then in close alliance with England. This march, while possibly in no way intended at the time of its conception to involve the struggling eastern colonies, led directly across Illinois territory, which already had been won to the American cause by Clark's Borden-men, and hence was an armed invasion. Since it was in the dead of winter the lit- tle band dared not attempt the more direct route to the point of attack, for no man might face the Grand Prairie in winter and hope to survive. Therefore, they followed the streams, to have the protection of the forests, and came in a northeasterly direc- tion, until the "Salines of the Vermilion" were reached. Here, according to the old records, the "army" remained three days, two of which were taken in parleying with the Indians in an effort to have them acknowledge the sovereignty of the Spanish king. In this they were unsuccessful, and on the third day a battle was fought, in which the Spaniards were worsted and forced to withdraw. Several cannon balls of foreign manufacture, found embedded in the bluff near the old "Works" some years ago, undoubtedly were evidences of this battle. IS CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS The little army retreated in a northeast- erly direction, finally reached their destin- ation and surprised and captured the Brit- ish fort, which they sacked and destroyed. Spring being at hand, they retired to the portage of the Kankakee river, where boats were built, and they floated down the Kan- kakee, the Illinois and the Mississippi rivers to St. Louis — and safety. In the annals of Old Vermilion an Epic, but in Europe, far across the sea, but a Gesture in the Drama in which the fighting strength of two proud nations was in the cast! But the Land of Vermilion, in the Chron- icles of the Whites, is older than that. If we are to believe the old mildewed records that repose in vaults in France and in Mon- treal, which have to do with the story of Old Kaskaskia and also Fort de Chartres more than two hundred years have elapsed since the territory that now comprises Vermilion County felt the tread of the White Man. The Vermilion river was known to the French in the Sixteenth century, and a knowledge of the "Salines of the Vermilions" is referred to in French records as early as 1706. It was then on the old Detroit-Kaskaskia Trail and was the half-way stop of the hardy French peasants who journeyed from Detroit, overland, to their new home-to-be at Kaskaskia on the Father of Waters. Much of romantic interest clusters about the memory of this old time track from Detroit to Kaskaskia across the wilderness. In those far-off days of French ascendency, when Fort de Chartres was the center of French power in the great Mississippi val- ley, and the commandant of the Illinois country ruled as a little king, this trail through the old Salt Works witnessed many a gay and glittering cavalcade. Here passed fair maids and merry matrons of France, not a few in the ruffled petticoat and high-heeled shoes of fashion; beside them gallant soldiers rode with bow and smile, their lace-trimmed uniforms gor- geous in the sunshine. Courtiers of the French court, friends of the great Louis, travelled these somber miles of wilderness, from Detroit, through Vermilion county, to the mighty Mississippi, and stopped and rested on this historic spot — the half-way rest of the Detroit-Kaskaskia trail — while many an adventurer, his sole wealth the glittering sword at his side, pressed for- ward hopefully to his fate in the West. Troops, travelstained and weary, rested here, on their way to battle against the English outposts to the North. Weird and uncanny the thought that this historic spot in Vermilion county had been a resting place for the weary soldiers of fortune even before the footprints of Boone had rested in the Land of Kentucky, and prior to the birth of William Henry Harri- son, "Hero of Tippecanoe," or Gurden Hub- bard, whose "Trace," which began at Chi- cago and ended on the Wabash river, oppo- site Vincennes, with its principal Post at Danville, has been given a place in the his- tory of Illinois. A Land of Romance, this County of Ver- milion, in the State of Illinois. Again in 1750 we have a reference to these "Salines" in Old Vermilion in the records in Montreal of the Jesuit Fathers, who, so say the writers, visited the "Sa- lines" in that year and found the "largest Indian village within a six-day journey" or about 120 miles. It was a village of the Kickapoos and extended from a point west of the old "Salines" to within six to eight miles of where the Vermilion empties into the Wabash. It occupied both sides of the FIRST TAVERN IN VERMILION COUNTY Erected by Major John W. Vance at the old "Salt Works" in 1825. CENTENNIAL Hook OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 19 river and the natives showed an advanced state of civilization, some of them having rude cabins instead of wigwams and there were small patches of pumpkins and corn enclosed with brush fences, which indicated individual ownership. Great fellows, those Jesuit Fathers, and it Is just possible that the "prayer sticks" used by Keannekeuk, "the Kickapoo Proph- et," born in this county in 17H7, — when he formulated his creed and established his church — Catholic in its weird ritual and Protestant in its tiresome sermons — may have been an echo handed down from the days when the holy fathers labored to save the souls of the heathens who dwelt on the banks of the Vermilion. AMOS WILLIAMS First County Clerk and one of the most influential citizens of early Vermilion County. More Romance, but withal a wonderful theme over which the Dreamer may ponder. A Jesuit fanatic, — a stolid Indian — and eighty years later here in Old Vermilion a new Religion, a new Creed and a Church. Fifty years and the dawn of a new century — and once more we have official records of the presence of the white man within the territory of Old Vermilion. This time it is in the form of an affidavit and is on file in the archives at Springfield It was made by Joseph Barron, for many years Governor Harrison's interpreter in his dealings with the Indians, and in it he avers that he visited the "Salines of the Vermilion" in 1801. and that at that time there was no evidence of recent occupancy of the region, and that the cabins were in decay and the corn fields were overgrown with weeds. He had heard of the salt springs in the tepees of the Redmen to the North and came on a tour of investigation. Romance? Yes — the Romance of Greed. And when Greed conies the Pioneer Settler cannot be far behind. It was in 1812, when Old Vermilion again felt the tread of the white man. This was when Col. Hopkin's Kentucky riflemen came through this section expecting to join and co-operate with Governor Edward's column, from Fort Russell, near Edwardsville, in an expedition against the Indians. Hop- kin's band started from Fort Harrison, on the Wabash, came north through Edgar and Vermilion counties, thence northwest through Champaign and Ford. Livings- ton was penetrated as far as the town of Strawn, where the sight of distant raging prairie fires caused the soldiers to mutiny and retreat. And two years later, according to the letter of Isaac Sodowsky, Polish refuge, who arrived in free America just in time to enlist and fight for his adopted home in the second war with England, he was cap- tured by the British and confined at De- troit, but escaped. In his journey from the prison pen to Kentucky, he passed through the prairie of Old Vermilion and was im- pressed with its beauties. The memory lingered and in 1828 he returned and pur- chased a farm. Here he reared a family and his bones now are dust in the old Butler Burial Ground, near Catlin. More Romance in the story of the Pole, who so loved Liberty that he left his home and sailed the sea to come to America and battle in our second war for the right of self-government, and the freedom of the seas. Four more years, 1818! Uncanny the thought for you who live in modern homes with electric lights, the telephone and daily mail, the radio and the newspaper, that in 1818, when Illinois was admitted to statehood, there was not a single white man within the boundaries of the present County of Vermilion, in the State of Illi- nois. But Pause, — and Look,— and Listen! The echo of the ax of the pioneer in Indiana comes on the breezes. The Trail Blazer soon will be treking into view. 'Tis 1818 — and Illinois is a State! 20 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS THE BREAKING OF THE DAWN WOMAN'S love of personal adorn- ment and man's craving for salt were the primary factors in the early settlement of Vermilion county. As the settlers gradually came westward from the towns and farms of the newly confed- erated colonies, situated along the Atlantic coast, it always was the blazed trail of the fur trader" that they followed. While it is easy to associate the conquering of the wilderness with the idea that it was in- spired by the religious zealot, anxious to carry the cross to the wigwam of the Indian, it always was the commercial ad- venturer who financed the operation and organized the caravans to bear the burdens of the priests. Close behind the cross, sometimes hiding in its shadow, came ruth- less men with guns, and packs of trinkets and gewgaws, intent solely on stripping the savage of his pelts, either by force of arms or through the ancient and honorable art of barter. Thus it was that the Illinois coun- try came to be known to the folks back East. As early as 1800 cadets in the employ of John Jacob Astor's American Fur Com- pany had trafficked with the Indians of the Wabash country, as this section was known. In 1819 Gurdon Hubbard, who later was to become one of the real factors in the build- ing of Danville, made his first trading trip to the site of our city, coming overland from the Bureau River post — now Henne- pin — of the American company. The trip was made in January, and was most profit- able. It is easy to imagine that there was great excitement in the Piankeshaw town, then located on the present site of Danville, those January days when the White Trad- ers were here exchanging brilliant-hued blankets, gaudy calico and glittering beads for the spoil of their Winter's trap. And then there was "fire water," too, that might be had in trade for the skin of the beaver. Truly a great day this, when the White Traders came to town. Tt is easy to vizual- ize the picture of the Indian belles flitting among the giant maple and oak trees that then covered the spot, vieing with one an- other in the display of their finery. But Time goes on apace. The Winter blasts give way to the breezes of Spring, followed by the warmth of Summer, — and then the shorter day and the twang in the air that gives to the maple foliage an Autumn tint tells the Red Denizens whose tepees dot this spot that Winter will come again. It is Autumn in Old Vermilion. To be exact, it is September 22, 1819, and there is excitement in the village. The White Men once again are in the neighborhood, but they have not come to trade, as they carried no packs, and have not sought their friendship. Some mystery here, and the Piankeshaws are worried, as also are their friends and brothers, the Kickapoos, whose village clutters the Flats on the Middle Fork, about five miles from its mouth. And their fears are well- founded, for the White Man has come to stay. It is the party of Joseph Barron, which included Truman Blackman, Lambert Bona and Zachariah Cicott, and four Shawnee Indians, who were employed as guides. They were seeking the "Salines of the Vermilion" with a view to their exploiting. They were successful in their quest, and the party returned to Fort Harrison. But not for long. Capt. Blackman seems to have been a bit treacherous, and without the knowledge or consent of Barron organ- ized a second expedition, consisting of him- self, his brother, Remember Blackman, George Beckwith, Seymour Treat, Peter Allen and Francis Whitcomb. And once again the "Salines" were located. This was on the 31st of October, 1819. They chose a spot that was barren of vegetation and here a well, three feet deep, was excavated, and saline water was pro- cured. This was boiled down in a kettle brought along for that purpose, and two gallons of water produced four ounces of clear salt. A deeper experimental well nearby was found to yield a much stronger brine. To these hardy adventurers it seemed that fortune was in their grasp. It was agreed by Blackman that Treat, Beckwith and Whitcomb should be equal partners in the venture, each to pay his portion of the expenses. Beckwith and Whitcomb were left in charge, and the others returned to Fort Harrison for a team, tools and provisions, with a view to operating on a larger scale. In the lat- ter part of November Treat returned, com- ing up the Wabash and Vermilion rivers in a pirogue, with necessary supplies and bringing his wife and children. A wife indeed, this Mrs. Treat, who was willing to follow her husband into a wil- derness where her nearest neighbor was at North Arm Prairie, forty miles away. With the aid of Beckwith and Whitcomb a rude cabin was hastily erected, and into this primitive shelter the family moved and began making it habitable to'face the terrors of an Illinois winter, harbingers of which already were at hand. Thus, on November 27, 1819, the first permanent CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS settler in Vermillion county moved into his home. In the meantime Blackmail had gone to Vandalia for the purpose of establishing the claim of the company to the Springs. But, ever a trickster, he made the appli- cation in his own name only. This, to- gether with complications regarding the title of the State to the land, caused delay, and it was not until 1822 that a lease for four years was given, and then only after a lengthy hearing before Old Governor Bond, who finally managed to satisfy all claimants. It was not, however, until 1824, when Major John \V. Vance came from Urbana, Ohio, and secured control that salt mak- ing became a real industry and the little settlement began to thrive. The major brought twenty-four large iron kettles by boat from Louisville, Kentucky, and soon afterward increased the number to eighty, with a weekly output of eighty bushels of salt of good quality. The kettles were placed in a double row in a furnace con- structed of stone near the springs, and the salt was produced by boiling the water, the degree of fineness depending on the rapid- ity of evaporation. Although an abundance of coal lay uncovered within 100 feet of the Works, wood was used as fuel and was the principal item of expense, as three men were kept busy felling trees and haul- ing timber to keep the furnace fires going. Two other helpers were employed in pump- ing and firing. The salt was of a good quality and found a ready sale at SI. 25 and SI. 50 a bushel, settlers coming on horse- back or with slow-going ox teams from all over the State to procure it. Under the management of Major Vance the settlement took on new life. Soon there were a dozen cabins, a Trading Post and the Vance Tavern, the first "hotel" to be opened to the public in Vermilion County. This was in 1825. Previous to its erection James Wooden had conducted a boarding house there, charging his regulars SI. 50 per week. The Tavern later was moved to a spot on the old Danville-Urbana road near St. Joseph, where Joseph Kelly conducted it for many years. Increased transportation facilities and the discovery of the Sciota salt fields in the Thirties caused business to slump, but the Works were operated in a small way until 1840, when Isaac Wolfe, the lessee, abandoned them. Of the earlier settlers at the Works none remained after 1831, except "Mother'' Bloss. whose chief distinction rested in the fact that she was the mother of Ruby Bloss, the first bride in the territory now known as Old Vermilion. The marriage to Cyrus Douglas occurred January 27, 1825, when this section was a part of Edgar County. They were married by 'Squire Seymour Treat, a justice of the peace of the latter county, at his home in Den- mark. Major Vance removed to a farm in Oakwood township, the Beckwith boys had moved to Danville, and Francis Whitcomb and James Wooden were citizens of But- ler's Point, where their old brick homes still stand. They were erected in 1845. Not even a single stone from the fur- nace remains to mark the location of the once thriving settlement. All is desolation, for the historic acres have been invaded by the greedy coal magnate with his mon- ster shovel, and once the black diamonds had been wrested from their hiding place, the evidences of the vandalism were left for Nature to cover with wildwood and tares. True it is that Sentiment seldom is allowed to retard Progress or stand be- tween Greed and the Dollar. The days were many and the days were long for the wife of Seymour Treat, that Winter of 'lil-20 at the Salt Works, but with the bursting of the buds in Spring came the cheering news that the Settlers were on the way and she soon would have neighbors with whom she might hold con- verse on those topics dear to the woman's heart. In the Spring Uncle Jimmie But- ler, a Vermonter, came from Clark County, Ohio, to Old Vermilion, and took up a claim near the present site of the town of Catlin. Here he erected a cabin, put in a crop, and that Fall returned to Ohio. The following Spring, he came back with his family and made permanent settlement. His cabin stood on the north side of the State road, and east of the branch that bears his name. The spot became known as Butler's Point and at the time Vermilion county was formed was the largest settle- ment, its only rivals being Higginsville and the Salt Works. Being a metropolis caused the citizens of the Point to put on airs, and when the "Seat of Justice" was to be located, so sure were they that the plum must come to them that no man could be found who would donate the land required by the commissioners. Even Old Uncle Jimmie Butler refused to give of his hold- ings for this purpose, and his record is one of sacrifice for public cause or private charity. He it was who gave the first God's Acre, and to make sure that his bones, and those of his good wife, and those of his good friend, John Vance and his helpmate, and others whom he loved, might rest un- disturbed he made the title to the land rest "in the bones of those who may find rest here." Poor, trusting Uncle Jimmie. 'Tis true the bones still rest undisturbed, but amid such surroundings! In the busy whirl of today there is no one to give a thought 22 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS to the old Butler Burial Ground, and the desolation of the spot would bring a tear. Weeds and tares and tangled vines, — with the headstones fallen— 'tis not a pleasant sight to see. It is located west of Catlin, near the railroad tracks, but the travel never stops nor do the passengers give thought to those pioneers who were here when Old Vermilion was in the making, and to whom we owe so much. It wasn't long before Mrs. Treat had neighbors. In 1820 Carroll township began to be crowded. In 1818 "Injun" John Myers and his bosom friend, Simon Cox, were there, and two years later witnessed the advent of Samuel Hogg, Samuel Mun- nell and William Swank in the township. John Haworth found a home in what is now known as Vermilion Grove the samt year. Henry Johnson has the honor of being the first in Georgetown, coming there that year. And in 1821 came the rush. The population of the territory now known as Vermilion numbered more than 200 set- tlers. It was in this year that we wel- comed Henry Canady from North Caro- lina, Benjamin Brooks of Indiana and George Williams of Ohio. This same year Kentucky sent us Thomas O'Neal, who found a home at Brook's Point, and Mary- land contributed Henry Martin, who finally found permanent rest in Georgetown. It was in 1822 that Asa Elliott came and made his home at Butler's Point. Here he had honors thrust upon him and had the distinction of being the first justice of the peace, and it was at his house that the Methodists organized the first Sunday school in the county. This was in 1835. And Asa was a Presbyterian, too, which shows that he wasn't narrow, — but neither was any one else in the days when Illinois was young and Grandfather was a boy. Great days, those of the early Twenties, right here in Old Vermilion — that is, if you are not a slave to modern conveniences. But Time goes on — and there are serious- minded men down in Vandalia who are wondering what will be the conditions around the "Salines of the Vermilion" in 1826. THE SUN COMES PEEPING O'ER THE HILLS IT Was A. D. 1825 and Discontent was rife in the territory now known as Old Vermilion. It was the Day of the Kicker and there was sad need of a Rotary Club or a Booster Band to straighten mat- ters. There were but few who failed to join in the chorus, and even they privately admitted that a change might help. It all grew out of the fact that more than six hundred settlers now dwelt around the neighborhoods of The Works, Butlers Point and Denmark and on the farms along the banks of the Vermilions, and there were three hundred more who lived nearer these points than they did Paris, which, as the "Seat of Justice" of Edgar County, for judicial purposes not only included this section, but also all territory as far North as Lake Michigan. It wasnt right. Why, not long ago, Marquis Snow had to walk all the way to Paris when he wanted his li- cense to marry "Uncle Jimmy" Butler's daughter, Annis. It was bad enough when Cy Douglas got his license, but Cy rode a horse. What was needed was a new county right here. This would mean that some of the leading citizens might get an occa- sional job on the grand jury and make an honest dollar, too. No Sir-ee, this section wasn't getting a fair deal. The wav things were going, there would be a thousand whites here by Spring. And besides, Paris never would be a town. Why, not long ago, the smartest man in the County had moved up here and now was settled in a cabin at Butler's Point. Amos Williams knew when to leave. And he had moved from Edgar. He knew the truth, because he had surveyed it for the government. And Amos was smart in other ways. He could figure and was the best writer in the whole State of Illinois. If Justice ever was meted out and County Rights given to this section Amos' ability with the quill would come in handy in keep- ing the records straight. And there was no excuse for delay down at Vandalia. This section had the popu- lation and the settlers had the title to the lands direct from the Government, who had secured it from the Indians in a fair manner. First, from the Piankeshaws by treaty in 1805, then from the Pottawato- mies by the Treaty of St. Mary's in 1818. then from the Kickapoos by the Treaty of Edwardsville, in 1819, and then that same year they made it doubly secure by a spe- cial treaty at Fort Harrison with "The Chiefs, Warriors and Head Men of the Tribe of Kickapoos of the Vermilion," and which had among others the signature of the Christian Indian, Keannekeuk, who was born right here and still lives in the town North of the "Works." Of course, a lot of the Kickapoos and Piankeshaws still lived around here, but that was because the settlers were good-natured, and not because they had any rights. CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, II. I. IN MS 23 Thus the pioneers continued to grumble until January -IK lsili>. when a courier ar- rived Hum the State Capital with the stir- ring news that "An Act Establishing Ver- milion County" had been approved two days before. Thus were the sturdy settlers appeased. Great thing for this section. Guess Old Ed Coles is a pretty good Governor after all. Let's send him a present of a sack of salt right fresh from John Vance's ••Works." Great Idea! This certainly is a County with a future! The boundaries of the new County, as defined by the Enabling Act, extended from the North boundary of Edgar County to what is now the South side of Grant and GURDON SALTSONSTALL HUBBARD Pioneer Indian Trader who gave his name to the "Hubbard Trace." Butler townships, but it included in itj area what is now the East half of Cham- paign county, and for judicial purposes all territory North as far as the Kankakee river. Chicago never was in Old Yi i- milion. In 1833 Champaign and Iroquois coun- ties were formed and we lost the territory to the West, but the Northern boundarj was extended six miles to include (Irani and Butler townships, and for judicial pur- poses we had jurisdiction over the land now known as Ford county, so named in honor of the Governor who ruled during the Mor- mon war, until 185;*. Champaign county was surveyed by Ma- jor Vance of the Salt Works and for this service there was an agreed lee id' S'.MIll.llll. But he never received it. The Major was a Dreamer, and although he was here in the days when family fortunes were in the making, and opportunity was not knock- ing, but pounding, he died poor. The only heritage he left his children was a record of public duty well performed. When his work was completed he agreed to waive his fee if permitted to christen the new county and give a name to it's "Seat of Justice." Thus came into being Urbana, Champaign County. Illinois, a counterpart of Cham- paign County, Ohio, where he had wooed and won Margaret Rutherford, his first wife, and whom he had left sleeping in a hillside near Urbana, in that county, when he moved nearer the Setting Sun in 1824. A Strong Man, that fellow Vance, and one worthy of the friendship of Jimmie Butler, Gurden Hubbard, "Doc" Fithian, Amos Williams, George Haworth, Hezekiah Cunningham, Sylvester Rutledge and a score of others, who came here when His- tory was in the making. The first Commissioner's Court, corre- sponding to what is now called the County Board of Supervisors, was held at the resi- dence of James Butler at Butler's Point, now Catlin, on March 6, 182G. It consisted of two members, James Butler and Achilles Morgan, chosen under the Enabling Act for the organization of the County. John B. Alexander, also a Commissioner, was not present. After the appointment of Amos Williams as Clerk, the court pro- ceeded to the election of Charles Martin as Constable. At the next meeting, also at Butler's home, on March 18, the county was divided into two Townships, the dividing line being the center of Town 18, the southern portion to be called Carroll and the other Ripley Township. William Reed was appointed assessor and the first grand jury was se- lected as follows: Jacob Brazelton, fore- man; John Haworth. Henry Canady, Bur- nett Starr. Robert Dixon, John Cassidav, James McClure, Alexander McDonald. Henrv Johnson, Henry Martin, William Haworth, Robert Trickle. Isaac M. How- ard, John Current, John Lamb, Francis Whitcomb, Amos Wooden, Cyrus Douglas. Harvey Luddington, George Beckwith and Jesse Gilbert, J. <>. Wattles. Judge. The Court was in session one day only; there was no petit iurv. and but two in- dictments, William E. Douglas and (',• Swisher, each for assault. 24 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS It was at this session that the Commis- sioners appointed by the Governor to select the location of the "Seat of Justice" for the new County reported in favor of a location near the "Salt Works." This site did not meet with the approval of the ma- jority of the citizens and Major Vance was induced to refuse to waive his rights to the land under his lease from the State. A second commission, consisting of William Morgan, Zachariah Peters and John Kirk- patrick, all of Sangamon County, after viewing the Salt Works, Brook's Point, Denmark, Kyger's Mill and Butler's Point, decided to accept the offer of Dan Beck- with and Guy Smith of a tract of eighty acres, and the town of Danville — so named in honor of Dan Beckwith, — became the "Seat of Justice" of the County of Ver- milion, in the State of Illinois. This was January 31, 1827. In the meantime the Commissioners' Court was still functioning, and at their session June 5, 1826, an order for the pay- ment of SI was granted in favor of Charles Martin for his attendance at the March term of the Circuit Court as Constable. This was the first money granted and paid by the County. At this meeting the follow- ing property was made "subject to a tax of 1 per cent, viz: horses and cattle over the age of three years, watches, clocks, pleasure carriages and stock in trade." September 4, 1826, a new Commissioners' Court was organized, Achilles Morgan, Asa Elliott and James McClure having been elected. At the next meeting, still at the home of James Butler, "William Reed this day appeared in Court and produced his tax book, by which the levy for the year 1826 appears to be S205.59 in State paper, on which he claims a deduction for delin- quents of S7.03, and also TVs per cent for collecting (S14.89), leaving S183.07, which is equal to S91.83 in specie." Dan Beckwith, who had given twenty acres of the eighty which was donated as a site for the new town, was given the job of surveying the new metropolis-to-be. Amos Williams, he of the facile quill, was made his assistant. And down in the Dan- ville Public Library, in a room taken by the Daughters of the American Revolution as a Museum may be seen his original plat of Danville, as filed by him when the town was born. He had dreams that his Child would be a River Town, and all the cross streets from Main led to the Ver- milion, Amos Williams, who was his helper, shared in the delusion, and the old Williams home was perched on the bluff at the foot of Clark street, where it was hoped the steamboats from Louisville, from Pitts- burgh and from New Orleans would land their passengers and their freight. It was the first post office. A shrewd man was Amos and he never overlooked a chance to turn advance information into pennies. The plat of New Danville — the "Seat of Justice" of the County of Vermilion — was ready, and the Commissioners solemnly announced that the sale of lots would be held on April 10, 1827, and that it should be so advertised in the "Illinois Intelli- gencer," at Vandalia. And it came to pass that the Town of Danville was born on tnat date. Forty- two lots were sold for 8922.87, an average of S22 per lot. Harvey Luddington was the auctioneer. It was April 11, 1827, and such settlers as came to view the site of their purchases of the day before had small reason to re- joice. There was not a white habitation m sight. Even the Trading Post of Dan Beckwith, which was supposed to be within the confines of the new Town, was hidden by the bluff, at the foot of West Main street, which furnished the rear wall for the shack. But not for long did the site of the new "Seat of Justice" remain a bar- ren waste. The Boom had struck Danville! It was only a matter of days until the sound of the axeman could be heard as he hewed the timbers that were to make the Tavern to be operated by Solomon Gilbert, at the foot of West Main street, where the Memorial Monument now stands. He it was who has the distinction of being Dan- ville's first advertiser, for in September of that year, his sign, bearing the legend, "Gilbert Tavern," was swinging from a branch of a giant oak near his log hostelry, and there it swayed in the breezes for many a year after the Tavern had ceased to function, a Monument to a man who had faith in Danville. And down on the Public Square, on the site of the present Daniel building, other men were sweating in the handling of monster logs, which were used in the erec- tion of the largest and strongest building in the new town. This was where George Haworth was erecting his Monument of Faith — the two-story log building, which, it was understood, was to be the stockade if the Piankeshaws or Kickapoos ever went on the rampage. It was of two stories, the upper floor having loopholes for defense and a water supply was provided for by the sinking of a well inside its walls. When completed in the Fall of '27 George opened his stock of merchandise, which he had hauled overland from the boat landing at Perrysville, Indiana, for the inspection of the Whites, and Gurdon Hubbard util- ized the other end of the room for his In- dian Trading Post until such a time as his new Store — the first frame building to be erected in the County, the lumber a prod- CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 25 uct of Seymour Treat's new sawmill at Denmark, — could be completed on the pres- ent site of the Palmer Bank. Nearby, on the site now occupied by the Woodbury Drug Store Sheriff John Reed and his help- ers were busy erecting a cabin, which later was to be sold to the County, for use as a Court House. And even the County Com- missioners caught the building craze, and their first official act was the letting of a contract for the building of a "Stray Pound," on the present site of Phillips Laundry, with a provision that it should "be made in such a manner as to keep out hogs." Phillip Stanford was the builder and it cost the county S9.94. And Amos Williams was our first poundmaster. His official duties, however, did not interfere with the building of a cabin on the site now occupied by the Herendeen Bakery, where the first public school was held. And there were cabins at other spots around the Town. Danville was building on Faith — and in the early days there were none to shirk. 'Twas a busy time — those waning days of 1827 — here in Danville Town, and the fact that the Inhabitants failed to establish the Ferry across the Vermilion until the Spring "I' '28 may be excused. Then it was that the Commissioners granted to Samuel Gilbert a license to operate the same, and that he might not take advantage of his monopoly, established as lawful charges: For crossing man and horses, 12% cents; wagon and horse, 18% cents; wagon and two horses, or oxen, 2.~i cents. Persons go- ing to mill, half the above rates. Honest Men, those County Commission- ers, who believed in shielding the public. They not only protected the Ferry patrons, but their records for 182tj show that when Major John Vance applied for his license to operate a Tavern at "The Works," they established the following prices: Pint or half -pint whisky, 12 V 2 cents; quart of whisky, 25 cents; single horse feed, (i ' i cents; lodging, 6U cents; meal of victuals, ls : 4 cents; horse at corn and hay over night, 18 3 4 cents. The following year, it is gravely stated in their records, "one Whiteomb appeared and explained that if a pint of whisky was worth 12y 2 cents, a half -pint should cost but 6% cents." It was so ordered, and to encourage the buy- ing of larger quantities, the price of a quart was reduced to 18% cents. Great days, those of '27 here in Danville, when rattlesnakes abounded and malaria was a common ailment ! The waning days of 1827 were here, and much History had been written. The County of Vermilion was now a Unit of a Sovereign State and Danville was its Capital. THE SUN IS IN THE HEAVENS IT was Christmas Day, 1835, and the Town of Danville was eight years old. Ordinarily it would have been a festal day, lor the'erops of the Settlers had been bounteous and now were safely garnered. The Town was thriving, too, and housed six hundred and odd white inhabitants, while Old Vermilion, by the recently enume- rated census by the Government, had a white population of 8,103. There was no cause for complaint — yet Danville mourned. Dan Beckwith, in whose honor the town was christened, lay cold in death in his cabin in West Main Street. Pneumonia was the cause. Dr. L. Trabue, who had re- moved here from Butler's Point in '28, bat- tled bravely, but his efforts were unavail- ing. Dan, who had faced the perils of the wilderness, had courted death in Indian warfare and had endured the hardships and hazards of the primitive life of the border was now no more. And down in the cabin beside the body, sat a tear-stained woman, to whom the travail that is the penalty of motherhood soon must come, while bv her side were the two children who had already blessed their union. One of these, Little Hiram, was destined later to become a law pupil of the Great Lincoln, an able lawyer and the foremost authority in the matter of the early history of Illi- nois. He also wrote a "History of Ver- milion County" which ever has been a model for the Chroniclers of Tales of the Early Days. But to Dan had come the peace that must follow one who had lived the Golden Rule. And all Danville mourned. Jim Clyman, hunter and fisherman for sheer love of the kill, sometime partner of Dan in his Trad- ing Post in the "Hole in the Hill," and whose boast it was that razor never had touched his face nor shear snipped at his flowing hair, armed with pick and shovel, wended down to the Old Williams Burying Ground and dug a grave in the frozen soil. There were other willing hands to help, but Jim, with the Soul of a Poet, wanted in this way to pay last tribute to his Friend. And over in Leander Rutledge's furni- ture factory there was no thought of Christmas cheer as he and his three help- ers hastily fashioned the walnut coffin, using for the occasion the seasoned timber 26 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS he had been saving for the new furniture to be made for Dr. William Fithian, whose residence, built to house his Ohio bride of four years before, was the show place of the Town. Two days later the body was laid to rest in its snow lined grave, after religious services by gentle Father Kingsbury, who had come to Old Vermilion as a mission- ary among the Indians and had remained to carry on as pastor of the Presbyterian congregation, assisted by Rev. James McKain, pioneer Methodist, who braved the storms to come from his home in Blount. And there were others from the surround- ing towns and farms to do him honor. There were those in the mourning assem- blage whom Dan had aided in time of stress; there were those with whom he rode FATHER ENOCH KINGSBURY Early Presbyterian Missionary to the In- dians and Beloved Pastor of early Danville Presbyterian Church. when the Vermilion Rangers — fifty strong — under command of Achilles Morgan, has- tened to the aid of Chicago when the Win- nebagos threatened in '27; there were other comrades who were with him when he hurried on an hour's notice, toward the firing line, when the hatless refugee from Rock river burst in upon Rev. Kingsbury's services with a call for rescue from the tomahawks of Black Hawk and his Sacs in '32. Thirty-one there were in this little band, and Dan had been their Captain. And in the concourse were all the veterans of the davs of '27 and '28 — yes, all except one. Gurdon Hubbard, pioneer trader, was missing. He was now in Chicago, where he moved in '33, after his failure in the conduct of a "White Man's Store" when there was no need of the Trading Post after the Indians were removed to their reservation farther West in 1831 and '32. He had disposed of his building and stock to his brother-in-law, Dr. Fithian, and re- moved to the smaller town, where he lived long and prospered. There in the bleak clearing which was Danville's first ceme- tery, and is now the site of many homes, these sturdy men and women faced the icy blasts while Father Kingsbury breathed a prayer, and the frozen clods filled the crypt. Dan Beckwith is no more. His bones are dust, but his good sword still may be seen in the D. A. R. Museum, and the Town he fathered is still carrying on. Peace to his ashes. He builded better than he knew. At the time of Dan Beckwith's passir,, the Town had indeed made advancement. In 1828, Murphy & Cunningham had erected their two story store on the present site of the Martin block. The lower floor was used as their salesroom and the second story was a public hall and the scene of Rev. Kingsbury's sermons on Sunday. A government land office had been established in '31, and Samuel McRoberts, afterward United States Senator, had come to be Re- ceiver of Public Moneys. George Scar- borough & Brother had opened their em- porium that same year. The following year McDonall & Rolliston put up the first brick business room on the southwest corner of Main and Hazel streets, which for many years was occupied bv the brewery and drinking hall conducted by "Citizen" Smith, and during the winter following the Mexi- can war, was the loafing place of Gen. James Shields, noted for having challenged Abe Lincoln to a duel and also as the only man who ever was chosen as a United States Senator by three states — Illinois, Missouri and Minnesota. The demand for "hard liquor' also was well taken care of bv the distillery of W. D. Palmer and Peleg Cole, established in 1830 on the site now- occupied by the residence of Will Harts- horn, Sr., in North Vermilion Street, and the output was further increased in 1833, when Henrv Froman came to town and opened a still house on Brady's Branch. Froman also built the first flatboat to carry freight to New Orleans. This was in '34. The opening of the Government Land Office caused a demand for more hotels, and, in '32, Sam J. Russell began the erec- tion of what was afterwards known as the Pennsylvania House. It was completed in '35, on the site now occupied by Kresge's Ten Cent Store, and contained a ball room in addition to other apartments. Jesse Gil- bert b'lilt the McCormick Tavern in 1833, and this hostelry under the William Mc- CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 27 Cormick management, and later under that of R. A. Martin, was to have nation-wide fame as the headquarters of Lincoln, Judge Davis and other attorneys who traveled the Old Eighth Circuit. It stood just west of the present Hotel Lincoln. Dan had lived to realize his ambition. In 1833, the county, having sold the log court house to Hezekiah Cunningham, voted to build a new one. It was of brick, fifty feet square, two stories high, and stood on part of the site of the present building. The lower floor contained but one room and was used for court purooses, while the upper floor was divided into four rooms, for use of visiting jurors and others. The various county officials had their offices in different buildings around town, generally in their homes. Gurdon Hubbard was the contractor, Thomas Durham did the build- ing and the brick came from Norman Pal- mer's yard on the present site of John L. Tincher's residence in Logan Avenue. It was destroyed by fire in 1872. In 1828 Robert Trickle built a water power grist mill to the left at the end of Main street, which, on completion he sold to Solomon Gilbert, who two years later entered into competition with Seymour Treat at Denmark, by adding a saw mill. Yes, Dan Beckwith was with his fathers, but the Town continued to grow. Two years later — in 1837— when J. M. Peck, author of a "Gazetteer of Illinois," visited the Town he found seven hundred people, fourteen stores, three groceries, three tav- erns, five lawyers, six physicians and a printing office, which issued the "Danville Weekly Enquirer," our first newspaper. The Methodists, Baptists and Presbyte- rians each had congregations "and the schools were adequate and excellent." While Danville was making progress it was a matter of satisfaction that the rest of the County was keeping step. Rossville was now a thriving hamlet. Marysville, in Fremont (now Middlefork) township, was increasing; Higginsville, the original "boom" town, was still on the map; Myers- ville, with Peter Chrisman's mill, had as- pirations; Butler's Point was really put- ting on airs; Georgetown, where Ben Can- naday opened the first dry goods store, was growing, and Ridgefarm, largely settled by members of the Society of Friends, was a substantial settlement. Old Chillicotha, near which the Weavers, the Baums and the Sodowskys had settled, was enjoying a healthy growth, and even Grant town- ship, which boasted no towns, reported that many settlers were coming in since John Bean had the distinction of being the first in 1830. Eighteen Thirtv-seven and still making progress. John W. Vance was in the State Senate and Dr. William Fithian in the House. Internal improvement had become a mania with the lawmakers. We must have railroads! All that was necessary was to grant charters and authorize a bond issue. And thus the session merrily went on. But Vance and Fithian were hard headed. They apparently were opposed to this riot of expenditure — and the men who wanted the Illinois Central, the Alton and the Vandalia needed votes. They were will- ing to trade. Out of all this speculation came definite propositions. If Vance and Fithian would support their measures they would vote that the bond issue for the Northern Cross Railroad, running from the Illinois river to Danville, should be is- sued first, and furthermore, as soon as the bonds should be sold, work should begin from each end. Thus it was that the North- ern Cross came into being. The measure passed. The bonds were sold, and grading began. The road was completed from Meredosia to Springfield and the grading and installation of bridges from Danville to the Champaign county line was fin- ished before the crash came. The State tried the experiment of running trains on the completed line between Meredosia and Springfield until 1847, when it was sold to Nicholas H. Ridgely, for S21,100. Thus ended the experiment in Illinois of State Ownership of Railroads. Danville was without a railroad but the grading and the bridges were ready for the commercial ad- venturer. It was the year 1840, and the Census Man, appointed by the Government, said there were 9,303 people in Old Vermilion, and this, too, in spite of the exodus of some of the Mormon converts of Orson Pratt, in Newell and Blount townships, who followed their leader to Independence, Mo. The County Seat was beginning to be citi- fied. Some of the stores were putting up wooden awnings and others had hitch- racks in front for the accommodation of the country trade. The years kept rolling on. Eighteen Forty-five and there were rumors of a war cloud on the Mexican bor- der. The Whigs were against it. Dan Clapp in his "Danville Patriot" said so. He also printed over the signature of Isaac R. Moores, Postmaster, who had com- manded the Illinois Rangers when they served in the Vermilion Battalion in the Black Hawk War, that mail would arrive from Lafayette, on Tuesdays. Thursdays and Saturdays; from Decatur, Wednesdays and Saturdays; from Paris, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; from Chicago, on Saturdays; from Pittsburg, on Satur- days. And then in '46 came the War with Mex- ico. Vermilion County was against it — but 28 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS the Flag was under Are! Partisanship was forgotten. Ike Moores offered to resign his job and organized a company, with Dr. Theodore Lemon as first lieutenant. But more troops were offered than the Govern- ment would accept, and Old Governor Ford refused to give them a chance to show their valor because Old Vermilion had been against him in the election. But why worry. It started as a "Democratic" War and it made "Old Rough and Ready" President. And all this time Dan Beckwith's Town was growing. The Pennsylvania Tavern had changed its name to the National Hotel and Othiel Gilbert was the host, L. R. Noel had a new hotel in East Main street and the McCor- mick Tavern was still doing business under the management of R. A. Martin; E. F. Palmer & Co. had the leading drug store, although Dr. James Sconce and his newly acquired partner, Dr. W. W. R. Wood- bury, in a room on the site where the Woodbury store still serves the public, was making a strong bid for patronage; W. I. Moore & Co., Jones & Culbertson and J. Peters were offering mixed stocks; and W. A. Bailey & Co. offered lower prices at their store down in Georgetown, on the Georgetown and Perrysville Plank Road, the first paved highway West of the Alle- ghanies. Truly, the man who had his home in Danville or his farm in Old Vermilion in 1850 had made a wise investment. It was Christmas Day, 1850. For fif- teen years the bones of Dan Beckwith, who gave his name to our "Seat of Justice," had been moldering in the grave, but Twenty Centuries had passed since the Son of the Creator of All gave His life on Calvary, — and all this time the waters had been rippling down the Vermilion, which gave the name to the County, in their race to the sea. DARK CLOUDS OBSCURE THE SUN NEW Years Day, 1850. The Govern- ment Census Man showed that the population of Old Vermilion in 1850 was 11,402, and from all parts of the County there were rosy reports of im- proved conditions of living. New roads were being laid out and the old ones made more passable. The fields were being fenced and the frame house was displacing the log cabin in many places. Most of the land had been taken up by actual settlers, and there were but few large tracts under single ownership, the exceptions being the Hoopes tract in Grant; the Mann estate in Ross, John Smith's (English) and John Goodwine's in Middlefork; the Daniel Fair- child holdings in Blount; the W. I. Moore farms in Pilot; the broad acres of John Sidell and Joseph M. Sullivant in Sidell, and the collective possessions of the Sodowsky brothers in Carroll. School houses now dotted the County in sufficient number for the actual needs of the Settlers, and for the most part were in charge of competent teachers, — a marked improvement over conditions in 1824, when Reuben Block wielded the birch in his little hut in Carroll township and Hiram Tich- ner gave meager instruction in the cabin situated midway between the Salt Works and Butler's Point, or three years later when Norton Beckwith taught his twelve pupils in George Haworth's smoke house in Danville. It was in 1850 that the Dan- ville Seminary was founded, the building being ei-ected in West Main street. At its inception contributions were solicited from all, but once it was established it was run as a closed corporation and none but tried and true Methodists were allowed either on the Board of Trustees or as Teachers. This caused bitterness, and two years later the Presbyterians organized a corporation and established the Union Seminary, the build- ing being erected on the present site of Judge E. R. E. Kimbrough's home. The rancor developed over the episode finally resulted in the famous slander suit insti- tuted by Dr. William Fithian against George W. Cassidy, in the trial of which Lincoln and Oliver L. Davis were attorneys for the former. It resulted in a verdict of 8556 in favor of the doctor, and the next Spring the Fighting Cassidy insisted on listing "Dr. Fithian's Character" as a tax- able asset, claiming he had bought it for $556. Best of all Churches began to dot the County in sufficient number to give the moral teaching necessary to the growing County. Many of these congregations sprung up in the country districts, in the building of which Father Enoch Kingsbury, Presbyterian; Rev. James Ashmore, Cum- berland Presbyterian; Rev. James McKain, and Rev. George W. Pate, Methodist, did yeoman service. The Baptists really were the pioneers in religious work in the Coun- ty, but it was not until later that they had much official strength. It was under Bap- tist auspices, in 1831, that Keannekeuk, "the Kickapoo Prophet," delivered his ser- mon to Danville, to a joint assemblage of CENTEX MA I. BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 29 his own congregation and the members of the local Baptist church. It was given in Kickapoo and translated, sentence by sen- tence, as delivered, by Guidon Hubbard, and written out by Sol Banta, the Town Lawyer. It afterwards was published in the Illinois Magazine at Vandalia. The Society of Friends, down in Elwood, had organized in that township as early as 1823, and the following year erected the best constructed cabin in Vermilion Grove as a place of worship. There was no regu- lar minister but George Haworth acted as leader. It was not until 1852 that the Catholics were organized. In that year Father Rhian came to Danville and held services in a building near the present site of the Big Four station. In 1858 they built the brick church that still is in ser- vice at the corner of Green and College streets. WARD HILL LAMON Local Law Partner of Abraham Lincoln and afterward his personal bodyguard dur- ing the war between the States. It was well for the future of Old Ver- milion that Education and Religious Train- ing were coming to the fore, as an anti- dote to the rancor and minor hatreds that were beginning to engender among the Settlers. In the earlier day, common needs had cemented them together, but with im- proved living the selfishness that is the heritage of all began to manifest itself in petty bickerings and open feuds. First, there was the matter of the change in the official management of the County. In 1850 Old Vermilion adopted the Township Organization and instead of electing three Commissioners to conduct the affairs, eight Supervisors, — one from each of the eight townships at that time, Ross, Middlcfork, Pilot, Newell, Elwood, Carroll, Georgetown and Danville — were elected as the Govern- ing Board. In the main the change was satisfactory, but there was a fighting mi- nority, and matters smoldered until 1857, when an election was held to vote on a proposition to divide the county. It lost — 252 to 36 votes, but in 1859, when the prop- osition came up to establish Ford County, this carried 287 to 48. The question of Slavery was another bone of contention. Old Vermilion was set- tled largely by pioneers from the South and from New England, and in that day it would have been hard to find two ele- ments less antagonistic. Politics were rife and Slavery and States Rights were the Issues. The establishment of Dan Clapp's "Patriot," — Whig to the core — and J. flol- lingsworth's "Citizen" — equally enthusias- tic for Jackson Democracy, — added to the discord. It was at this time that party or- ganizations were formed and the elections of 1850 were the last at which the County candidates ran on their merits. From that time they were found under the party label. Old Vermilion was pro-Whig and this may account in some measure for the pop- ularity of Abram Lincoln, who even before 1850 had attended Court here, coming along with Judge Stuart, Orlando Ficklin, Usher P. Linder, and a dozen more who regularly attended the sessions in Danville. They would come into Town, from Urbana, along in the afternoon, and put up at the Old McCormick Tavern, where a crowd was sure to be on hand to welcome them. In a letter Judge Davis testifies to Lincoln's pop- ularity, and says there were sessions of the Court here when the "Rail Splitter" would appear on one side or the other in every case on the docket. Doubtless that was the reason of his local partnership with Ward Hill Lamon — champion wrestler, ar- dent drinker, learned in law and a demon in physical combat — in the practice of his profession, in their office in the Barnum building, on the present site of the First National Bank. "Ward Hill Lamon: His Life Story!" What a theme for the pen of some man with the gentleness of Father Enoch Kings- bury, the wonderful command of descrip- tive words and poetic phrases of "Uncle Bill" Jewell and the cold power of analysis of "Uncle Joe" Mann! Ward Hill Lamon, the one man whom the Immortal Lincoln trusted more than any other, and who later was the chrony and boon companion in many a drinking bout of 'Gene Field, the "Poet of Childhood," and who spent the years of his young manhood as a member of the old Danville bar in the davs of Judge E. S. Terry, Judge Oliver Davis, 30 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS Colonel Oscar F. Harmon, who died a hero at Kennesaw Mountain; John J. Brown, who later was to be a leader of the Chicago bar; Judge John Pearson, who dared to flaunt the authority of the Supreme Court, because he believed himself in the right; Isaac P. Walker, who later was to be United States Senator from Michigan and Major R. W. Hanford, who had his baptism of fire in his three years army service and returned to add to his laurels as a lawyer. A Fine Old Scout — Ward Hill Lamon: A Good Lawyer, a Loyal Friend and a Gen- tleman Who Could Hold His Liquor! It was in October, 1857, that Danville came into its own and was assured of its future. This was when the first train, drawn by the engine christened "the Pion- eer," came tooting into town. This was an echo of the financial orgy of the Legislature of '37, when charters were issued to any who would apply and it was believed that bond issues might be authorized without thought of the day of reckoning when the obligations might come due. The Northern ;,»« (.-,> ..o- '' . v. c us ■■-. ■ 1 JUmK^n-& L&ca *:^....,, . . : . ,ji„, .. / x ' ' Fac-simile of Professional Card in Danville "Citizen" in 1851. Cross was the first Railroad chartered, and the original bond issue was exhausted be- fore the line could be completed. It was not till 1847, when private capital had been interested, that the line was completed into Springfield, and work began to extend the line on eastward, to connect up with the Toledo, Wabash & Western, which was building from the East. There was a holiday in Old Vermilion when the first train came steaming across the new Wabash Bridge and on into town, and the late James Knight, as Conductor, stepped from the only car. In November of that year the line was extended to the Makemson Timber, where connection was made with the Indiana road. This was the meeting point until 1858, when the Eastern road withdrew to the State line, and there- after the Great Western, as the road was known, extended their service to Illiana. This was the condition in 1861, when Lin- coln passed through Danville enroute to Washington, there to remain until an assas- sin's bullet had laid him low. The Presi- dential train did not stop in Danville, but many citizens had driven to State Line, and there bid their friend good bye. It was in 1851 that the business men of Danville first realized that the farming community must be reckoned with, and it was decided to hold a County Fair. The first session was held that year near the present site of the First Presbyterian Church and lasted one day. It was a suc- cess and next year the sessions were pro- longed till the second day— October, 1852 and were held in the river bottom near the present Memorial bridge. It was the biggest event in the history of the Town. Ward Hill Lamon exhibited a trick monkey and ran his trotting horse, under saddle, against his own record; Billy Rey- nolds' Brass Band— the first ever organized in the State — played their most popular airs, and the premiums paid aggregated §42.85, the highest being S5.00 for the best stallion, which was awarded to Har- vey Sodowsky. Alvan Gilbert was given S3.00 for the best bull — one which he had purchased from Governor Joseph Vance of Ohio — and Hiram Catlett of Salt Fork carried home S3.00 for the three best colts. Mrs. Cole secured 25 cents for the best linen stockings. At the close of the Fair, Sam Frazier bought the prize Gilbert bull for §50.00 — an unheard of price. The next year the Fair was removed to Butler's Point and continued to function until 1898. The organization was unique inasmuch as there were no stockholders. The exhibitors of each year elected the directors for the next exhibition. The Old Catlin Fair in its day was an institution and no one will ever know the scope of its influence. It was the Daddy of 'em all and it is just possible that Jim Milli- kin, one of its promoters — then a sheep raiser near Butler's Point — may have re- ceived the inspiration that later made him President of a Decatur Bank and gave him the funds with which to establish the Uni- versity that bears his name. The Old Catlin Fair is no more, but in the forty odd years of its functioning it served to give a place in live stock history to Jacob Oakwood, Sam Baum, Martin Moudy, Lou Green, Hy Catlett and Henry Puzey. The old track is overgrown with weeds, the buildings have disappeared, its sponsers are no more, but the memory lingers. It was 1858 and feeling ran high in Danville. The Lincoln-Douglas debates were being held and each contender had his champions in this Town. There were hot arguments regarding the merits of the two men in the Town of Danville — and CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 31 some of them were settled by a blow. Dan- ville was not on the list of the favored Towns, but did have an opportunity of hearing' the contenders. It was on Sep- tember 22 that Stephen A. Douglas, "the Little Giant," made his address from a stand near the present site of the Park that bears his name. While here he was the guest of his friend, Tommv Forbes, al- though Reason Hooton, who in 1852 had lacked but two votes of being the nominee for vice-president on the Democratic ticket; J. G. English, the banker; Peter Voorhees, a brother of Daniel of the Silver Tongue; William M. Payne, ex-Sheriff; William McCormick, of the Tavern, and other Dem- ocrats, had pleaded for the privilege. Lincoln, beloved of men, arrived that evening from Urbana, and was housed for the night in the home of his friend, Dr. William Fithian. At the twilight hour, loyal friends called to do him honor, but he had retired to an upper room. His tight boots refused to accommodate his swollen feet and he could not come down to meet them. As a compromise he stepped out on a balcony and gave words of greet- ing. Later he was a martyred President and the balcony is a shrine. Ladies of the D. A. R. have marked it with a Tablet of Bronze. Thus accidents sometimes become History. The following day he addressed the peo- ple from a flag-adorned stand and when two years later he was the candidate of a new party for the greatest office within the gift of the people Old Vermilion endorsed him by a majority of more than six hun- dred. But Douglas carried his home county of Sangamon. It was the vear 1860 and all was not well in Old Vermilion. The threat of battle wa» in the air. The South, to save her slaves, threatened secession. It all hinged on the election — and when the returns came in Lincoln had won — the Lincoln whom Old Vermilion knew and trusted, and the breech between the men from the Southland and those from rugged New England — former friends — was widened. There were threats and counter-threats, blows were struck in defense of opinion and clouds obscured the sunlight of happiness and content here in Old Vermilion. And then ;hots were fired on the Flag in Charleston harbor! No more was Old Vermilion a divided camp! Vermilion was for War, and the irk scarce was dry on Lincoln's call for Volunteers when Captain Samuel Frazier was ready with his com- pany. It was April 14, when the first shot was fired and on May 2, Company C, Twelfth Infantry, was marching to the front. The war was fought and won and the record of Old Vermilion is a glorious one. At its close the records showed that the County had exceeded her quota by seven, and that out of a population of 19,779 in 1860, she had furnished 2,596 soldiers, and with a credit for re-enlistments showed on the official records that she had fur- nished 3,669 men. And while the men were at the front, the Women of Old Vermilion labored in the fields. April 9, 1865. Lee had surrendered at Appomattox! The War was over — and the men of Old Vermilion were coming home! The Genesis of Old Vermilion was ended. She was a Sovereign County of a Sover- eign State of a United Country. The fu- ture could offer nought but evolution. THE SUN REACHES THE ZENITH NINETEEN Hundred Twenty-six: Six- ty-one years have passed since the Soldier Boys in Blue came back from the Southern Battlefields. Only a few of them are left, and even those who wore the khaki and marched away with Battery A in the days of '98 are slowing up. Time flies. Even the youngsters who crossed the sea when near the whole world clashed on foreign fields are showing the effects of the grind of War. But the Stars and Stripes still flutter in the breeze and the Grand Old U. S. A., of which Old Vermilion is a Unit, has her place in the Sun. Big changes here since Old Vermilion ceased her settlements in 1865 and began her in- tensive development. When the Boys in Blue came limping back from the Southland there were but fifteen Towns and Settlements of size in Old Vermilion, and their listing makes strange reading today. Let the Roll be called : Blue Grass, Marysville, Rossville, Myersville, Higginsville, Newtown, Den- mark, Danville, Tilton, Illiana, Catlin, Fairmount, Chillicothe, Ridgefarm, George- town. Of these Marysville is now the Vil- lage of Potomac and Old Chillicothe, after a span of life as Old Dallas, has ended as the Town of Indianola, Blue Grass, Myers- ville, Higginsville and Newtown now are but memories, and the waters of man- made Lake Vermilion ripple over the spot where Seymour Treat's cabin and saw mill stood in the center of Old Denmark. But the presence of a few ghost Town- sites does not spell desolation. To supply the needs of the dwellers on the bi'oad acres 32 CENTENNIAL BO JK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS of Old Vermilion and to satisfy the desires of those who wanted the community life there have come into active existence since 1867 the City of Hoopeston, the Towns of Rankin, East Lynn, Cheneyville, Arm- strong, Henning, Alvin, Bismarck, Fithian, Collison, Muncie, Oakwood, Westville, Si- dell, Allerton, Vermilion Grove, and the Hamlets of Reilly, Ellis, Jamesburg, Bel- gium, Grape Creek, Hastings, Humrick and Jamaica. Of the total land area of 589,440 acres within the county, 519,338 are under culti- vation, split up into 3,587 separate farms, of which 1,706 are operated by their own- ers and the remainder by tenants. The assessed value of this land alone is §24,- 444,471. The full value of this land, as determined by the Department of Com- merce, is §67,696,591, a fair increase from S589.440, which was the selling price in 1826. If the figures of the Department of Commerce are to be taken, then the modest sum of $11,335,610 must be added for the worth of the improvements, and in 1819 the wife of Seymour Treat considered herself a lucky woman when she moved into her new cabin, whose only cost was the labor of building. On these broad acres, in 192o, were produced 5,213.000 bushels of corn: 501,000 bushels of wheat, 4,112,0000 bushels of oats, 11,000 bushels of barley, 45,000 bushels of rye and 58,000 bushels of potatoes, while the commercial crop of ap- ples that year netted 1,000 barrels. Brave figures, these, but they are furnished by the government. This same year of 1925, the Government Statistics aver that within the county there were 19,860 horses, 2,160 mules, 12,900 milk cows, 15,750 other cattle, 16,307 sheep and 63,805 hogs. And in 1826 there were less than 200 horses and only 107 yoke of oxen in the County. Across these broad acres stretch seven trunk line railroads, with a trackage in the County of 393.4 miles, four of which center in Danville. Over the County, outside Town limits, 227 miles of paved roads make the operation of an auto a pleasure, and in 1925 12,657 of our citizens availed them- selves of the opportunity and held owner- ship in machines of various makes and ages. For this privilege they paid in taxes to the Countv on an assessed value of SI, 4 18,489. But why worry? One of the first acts of the Commissioners in 1826 was to levy a tax on "pleasure carriages." Education, too, has not been neglected. At present there are 247 district schools in the County, of which 73 are in towns and villages, and have more than one room; 174 are the old-time country schools. Throughout the County are scattered 19 High Schools, everyone of which is an accredited school at the University of Illi- nois, and 14 of these are organized under the Township High School law. Seven hun- dred thirty-six teachers are employed. The sum of 81,450,259.07, or more than one- third of our total tax receipts — 83,322,- 938.69 — is spent in their maintenance. The total enrollment in the Common Schools is 19,610 pupils, while 3,287 students availed themselves last year of the privilege of attending the various High's. Religious Teaching, too, has come in for its share of development since the days when Father Enoch Kingsbury walked from one settlement to another to give voice to the Word of God in some Settler's cabin to all those who cared to listen. In Dan- ville and the territory that comprises Old Vermilion, 133 denominational organiza- tions dot the landscape with their Houses of Worship, — a fair representation for a County with 89,947 population, of which 30,431 — men and women — voted at the election in 1924. It was in the Spring of 1836 that Mor- decai Mobley came into town with his fine span of horses and opened a branch of the State Bank of Illinois, in a cabin just east of the present site of the Palmer National Bank. It was after sundown of an Autumn day that he left. No one was a looser, be- cause the State guaranteed the funds. Mor- decai left because the local business did not justify his staying. Mr. Cullum, of New York, came next in 1852, and with Guy Merrill as cashier, opened the Stock Securi- ty Bank. This he sold in 1855 to Dan Clapp, who was a failure in '56. J. L. Tincher and J. G. English were his as- signees, and from this wreck they evolved their own private Bank, with its wildcat money, and made the first application which was received at Washington for a Charter under the National Bank Act in 1864. From this grew the First National Bank of Danville, the pioneer of the five in that city and the twenty-five that serve the daily needs of the other towns in the County. The parent bank began with a capital of 850,000. The combined assets of all the banks in Old Vermilion now aggregate §20.- 235,460.00. In 1827 a man who could walk into Gurdon Hubbard's Trading Post with two beaver-skins was considered wealthy. When Grandad wanted a home it wasn't necessary to give a thought to the financial end of the undertaking. There was no cost except that the prospective home owner must provide a bountiful dinner, with liquid refreshments, and then speed the word that there was to be a log-raising. Fellow Settlers did the work and the host of the day just moved in. Changed condi- tions demand that real money must be at hand before work may begin on the home CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, [LLINOIS 53 of today. Local men have solved the prob- lem by the establishment of Building Asso- ciations, where worthy people may borrow, and repay in monthly installments, "the same as rent." Six Associations in the County Seat have enabled Danville to boast of being a City with more Home Owners, per capita, than any other Town in the State. The City of Hoopeston has two, and the Towns of Fairmount, Ridgefarm, Poto- mac, Georgetown, Oakwood, Rankin, Ross- ville and Sidell one each. The combined assets of the seventeen Associations in the County now amount to $23,288,450.61. In 1824, Fidelia, beloved daughter of Uncle Jimmy Butler, he of Butler's Point, was sick nigh unto death, and it was nec- essary for the grieving parent to ride post- haste to the little settlement on the Wabash at Perrysville and bring back good Dr. Reynolds, the only practitioner within a day's journey, to coax the roses back to the cheeks of the little sufferer. But that was in 1824. Today, in Old Vermilion, if Fidelia should be ailing Uncle Jimmie would have a choice of 119 men skilled in the science of healing herbs and curing drugs who could come on call of 'phone, and should the case be considered dangerous he would have the privilege of a room and the services of a skilled attendant at either the Lakeview or St. Elizabeth Hospital in the County Seat. A great step forward since the Thirties, when but three physicians were available when Death hovered around the cabins, and only the services of Grandma Lura Guy- man might be had when a little stranger was to add to the population. For twenty years, the Grand Old Dame carried on as the pioneer midwife and the night never was too stormy for her to mount her horse and ride across the prairies when she knew that she was soon to hear the wails of a new-born babe at her journey's end. One hundred years ago, Joseph Gundy, sometime of Pennsylvania, but recently of Vincennes, Indiana, brought his wife, Sally, to the new home near Myersville, in Xewell Township, which he had built the year be- fore. Their little cabin was as well fur- nished as that of any of the pioneers, but Sally's regret was that her only source of reading was the family Bible, which to her was an oft-told story. Books were scarce in Old Vermilion in those days and even in those times the Word of God was the World's Best Seller. The trouble with Sally was that she was born before her time. Had she lived here in 1926 for her daily read- ing she would have had a choice of two daily newspapers from Danville and a like number from Hoopeston, and had she cared only for a weekly digest of the happenings here in Old Vermilion, she could have a choice of weekly newspapers from Fair- mount, Fithian, Georgetown, Rankin, Ridgefarm, Rossville and Sidell. If she had gone in for books, she could have moved to Ridgefarm, Hoopeston or Danville, each of which cities now maintain a Free Public Library, the last named having 36,511 vol- umes subject to withdrawal. A far cry, this, from the days when the Bible was the one book to be found in the cabins of the Pioneers. In the Good Old Days each man was his own Press Agent, but Progress demands collective advertising. Along with the lux- uries of living in these days have come the Booster Clubs, the Ladies' Aids and the Chambers of Commerce, with their high- pressure Secretaries, who do the horn blowing for a community. This is 1926, and it is meet that the custom of the times should not be disregarded. Enter the Sec- retary, with his Budget of Facts: Vermilon County was the pioneer in the matter of paved highways, and Danville, the County Seat, is on the Dixie and the Pike's Peak Ocean-to-Ocean Highways. Hoopeston, in this County, is the great- est corn-canning center in the United States. Rossville, nearby, also has a Can- nery. The Western Brick Company, at Dan- ville, is the largest brick-making concern in the country. The Danville Brick Com- pany also is located there. The Hegeler Smelter has a nation-wide reputation. The Sugar Creek Creamery is one of the largest butter-making concerns in the coun- try, and is still expanding. Danville, the County Seat, needed an adequate water supply, and built a Lake three-fourths of a mile wide and six miles long. Danville has five Parks, comprising nine- ty-five acres, the finest Fair Ground plant in a hundred miles, a State Armory that cost S200,000, a Federal Building that cost S325,000, in the days when building costs were low; two Children's Homes, two Hos- pitals, a Tubercular Sanitarium, a Home for Aged Women, a Y. M. C. A., a Y. W. C. A., a National Soldiers Home, where 2,200 men who have fought for the Flag now live in comfort, a new Million Dollar High School ********** It was .Midnight in September, 1926. Down at the foot of Clark Street, in Dan- ville, in the County of Vermilion, and the State of Illinois, stood a group of men clad in the garb that one sees only in the quaint pictures of the Long Ago. But they wen Men — Real Men — just the sort one would seek in time of stress. Eight there were in the strange gathering there on the rive. bank, each be-whiskeied and armed with :i CF.XTEXXIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS the pistol and the hunting knife that the fashion of the day decreed. Each? Yes, all — save one. A closer view revealed that he was an Indian. He was Keannekeuk, the Christian Kickapoo, a man of Peace, and the others were Gurdon Hubbard, Amos Williams, Dan Beckwith, George Haworth, Sylvester Rutledge, Harvey Luddington and Solomon Gilbert. The White Men in the group were peering intently into the dark- ness, in the direction of Cayuga, where the Vermilion empties into the Wabash, but the Redman's gaze was roving o'er the landscape. He was seeking to locate the trees of oak and maple that in his boyhood had dotted the site of the tepees of his Friends and Brothers, the Piankeshaws. "Well, men," said Amos Williams, "we might as well go home. The Old Vermilion is falling and no steamboat could get up here now. But when the next freshet comes — " Oh, Hum! Must have been napping. These tales of the Pioneer Days certainly are gripping but the figures about condi- tions now do make one sleepy. Better go out and see that the car is safely locked in the garage, then come in and shut off the steam, cut out the radio, turn out the light and to bed. Want to get up early, finish the morning paper and do some tele- phoning before the mail man comes. Good night. CATLIN TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL One of the Nineteen High Schools in Vermilion County- Accredited at the University of Illinois. -and Everyone CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS .<5 THE LINCOLN CIRCUIT (By LOTTE E. JONES) \ t rmilion County is distinguished, in that it is on the Old Lincoln Circuit. The time between Abraham Lincoln's service as mem- ber of the Lower House of Congress and his election as President of the United States was largely spent by him in travel- ling the old Eighth Judicial Circuit, prac- ticing his profession. He was the only lawyer, other than Judge David Davis, who went to every court in the district in every session. The old Eighth Judicial District was com- posed of the counties of Sangamon, Menard, Mason, Tazewell, Woodford, McLean, Lo- gan, DeWitt, Piatt, Champaign, Vermilion, Edgar, Coles, Shelby, Moultrie, Macon and Christian. Twice each year, Abraham Lin- coln "rode the Circuit" in company with Associate Lawyers who were the most bril- liant men of the profession. In 1914, Judge J. O. Cunningham, who was the last one living of these associates of Lincoln on the Circuit, and who was greatly desirous of having the route fol- lowed in these travels preserved for pos- terity, interested the Illinois Society Daugh- ters of the American Revolution, and other Patriotic People, to express this patriotism by the noble work of placing suitable mark- ers along the Highway over which these men travelled. The Organization which is responsible for this marking is the Lincoln Circuit Marking Association, a corporation under the laws of the State of Illinois. This great Lincoln Memorial placed in the heart of the Nation expresses its sentiment through two mark- ers of different design. One is placed at each county seat, and a smaller one is placed where the highway crosses each county line. The marker at the county seats was designed by Henry Bacon, the artist of the Lincoln Memorial at Washing- ton, D. C. This marker is a shaft of grey granite supporting a bronze medallion head of Lincoln. The beautiful medallion is the work of the celebrated artist, George Lober, of New York City. There are nineteen of these markers of the county seat design. Logan County has two, because the county seat of that county was changed during the time Abraham Lin- coln "Rode the Circuit." Vermilion County has two, one being placed at the gateway of the John R. Thompson Farm as a gift from the children of John Riley Thompson, St., to commemorate the strong friendship between their father and Abraham Lincoln, as stated on the bronze tablet on the base of the shaft. The Lincoln Circuit Route passes in front of the Thompson Farm. The markers at the county lines are made of concrete and are designed as a "shrine on the way," bearing the bust of Lincoln. The names of the counties connected by this marker are on the marker facing each way. The county seat markers bear the Insignia of the Daughters of the American ReveJution on the bronze tablet at one cor- ner, and the monogram of the letters L. C. M. A. at the corresponding corner. This monogram is copyrighted, and can appear only on work erected by the Lincoln Circuit Marking Association. The markers at the county seats, with those at the county lines, hold and continue the circuit travelled by Lincoln and the other eminent members of the bar. One other feature of this Lincoln Memorial is the guidepost, placed at each cross road on the Circuit, on which is painted a white circle and the words "Lin- coln Circuit." Completed, this great Lin- coln Memorial lies as a necklace of jewels on the bosom of the Nation, a fitting ex- pression of loyalty. The Lincoln Circuit Marking Association has its home in Danville, the county seat of Vermilion County, where the annual meeting is always held. This meeting comes on the "first Tuesday after the sec- ond Monday in October." Any and every one who wants to hold to the memory and principles of the immortal Lincoln is wel- come at these meetings. The day following the meeting, all interested people join in a pilgrimage over the Circuit, starting from Danville, thus actually travelling in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln. Some of these who have worked the hardest, and to whom the greatest credit for the success of this Lincoln Circuit Marking is due, have died. There is Judge Cunningham, George P. Davis, and Judge Curran, and now our dear Jessie Palmer- Weber has been lost to us; she served the cause and interests of the Lincoln Circuit Marking Association with a never-to-be- forgotten devotion. With tears and sad- ness we make this record. The present officers of the Lincoln Circuit Marking Association are: Mr. Lincoln Weldon, President, Blooming- ton, 111.; Mrs. Eugene Chubbuck. Vice-Pres- ident, Peoria, 111.; Miss Georgia Osborn. Secretary, Springfield. 111.; Mr. Andrew Russel, Treasurer, Jacksonville, 111. Executive Committee — Dr. 0. L. Schmidt, Chicago, 111.; Miss Georgia Osborn, Spring- field. 111.; Mr. L. J. Freese, Eureka, 111.; Judge L. Y. Stringer, Lincoln, 111.; Miss Lotte E. Jones, Danville, 111., Chairman. 36 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS ? V" o/'J^'j*" X ; ' Cs - -^ i/i^r?, . ' ' ■ <-■■ : XN 'OL A./y^ , J^W , &U-. <■- /**. •#£• ' ■-'<" ; _•'■■■■■ J 4^/ ^ /*»••< -^«€ '"^'•■s«( & ;••■ <6 ■<<■<; i/.f-' / '--«- 5«V ""^ /<'"■«"' M- tut^&ffcie6-*£ ■'■■/)[/■'■ '■ - ' ■■ , .(itt/i/<-G. rod a ***.* ,//•>.' ■; it+J"-;- / • ; *^ -U^J f/ BU.jf4jn.<:{t**+ y £ ~ u - < - I**"- — ^ . jfn C itc^U. ~t ntv^po*. cj hr+- t*<.6si^-ty rllA. A*'<- 7-1.1 ffu /<>:■_ s „ «■><=. i • Fac-simile of letter of Chicago citizens thanking the Vermilion Coun- ty Rangers for coming to their aid during the Winnebago War in 1827. The original is in the collection of the Woodbury family, Danville, Illi- nois. ^ . -**"***.«. . m '» * •' .*. -' '••••' CENTENNIAL HnuK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 31 Bermtitmt (Emutty 3n War By JOHN H. LEWMAN — D- Vermilion County's militant record be- gan with the Winnebago war, and while there were no local casualities and none smelt powder, the outstanding fact is that the boys were willing. This was in L827, when Danville was but a few mouths old. The war really failed to materialize into much more than a scare, but there were rumors and the few white inhabitants of Fort Dearborn became alarmed for their safety, and prevailed on Gurdon Hubbard, who was in the village at the time, to come to Danville with an appeal for aid. This he accordingly did, making the trip in less than twenty hours. In doing this lie- killed one horse and exhausted another. He reached the home of Peleg Spencer, two miles from Danville, in the afternoon of July 15, 1827. While he rested, Spencer set out to rouse the settlers. He notified Alexander McDonald, who in turn carried the word to his brother-in-law, Hezekiah Cunningham. The latter was a captain in the Vermilion Battalion of the state militia, and rode all night to order his company to assemble at noon the next day at But- ler's Point. Other captains did the same, and at the appointed hour all had assem- bled, although many had to walk from eight to tin miles to keep the appointment. Vol- unteers were called for, and fifty men wert accepted. Officers for the campaign were elected, as follows: Captain, Achilles Mor- gan; first lieutenant. Major Bayles; sec- ond lieutenant, Col. Isaac R. Moores. Gur- don Hubbard was named as guide and "chief of spies." There is no complete ro ti r of the hand, but from old records it is known that among others were the fol- lowing privates: George M. Beckwith, John Beasley, Hezekiah Cunningham, Julian F.I lis. Seaman Cox. James Dixon, Asa Elliott, Francis Foley, William Foley, Ham- mers, Jacob Heater, Davis, Evan Mor- gan, John W. Vance, Isaac Goens, Johna- than Phelps, Joshua Parrish, William Reed, John Myers, John Saulsbury, J. kirk man, Anthony Swisher. George Swisher, Joseph Price, George Weir. John Vaughn, Xewton Wright, Abel Williams and Fran cis Whitcomb. Many of the volunteers lacked horses, and those who wore to re main at home furnished enough to mount all but five of the troop. The troop was then disbanded to meet at Danville the next day, each man to bring five days rations. On assembling the next day, through the generosity of Gurdon Hubbard each man was provided with a pint of whisky. But Abel Williams was the only man to take a supply of coffee, which proved a boon to the crusaders. On leaving Danville, they passed through Denmark, where Seymour Treat was building his saw mill. This with the exception of Hubbard's trading post near the present site of Watseka, was the only habitation seen by the company until Fort Dearborn was reached four days later. The inhabitants were overjoyed at their appearance and during the week they re- mained on duty there, the men were feasted to the best to be had. At the end of ten days a runner brought the news that the war was over and that the company might return. This they did, after being tendered a banquet, in which a full barrel each of gin, brandy and whisky was opened for the boys. The band made the return trip in three days, and later in 1852, each man received a govern- ment warrant for eighty acres of land under the bounty act because of his serv- ices. THE BLACK HAWK WAR. It was on a quiet Sabbath morning in July, 1832, when the tocsin of war was again sounded in Vermilion county. Rev. Enoch Kingsbury was in the midst of one of his three-hour sermons in the hall over Murphy & Cunningham's store, southwest corner of the public square, when the first of the refugees from the Fox river district where Black Hawk and his braves were on the rampage, burst in on the services and broke up the meeting. He was a badly scared man, and came into the settlement hatless, coatless and with only one moc- casin. He was certain the redskins were close on his trail, but later developments proved that none were nearer than 200 miles. Later in the day two more terror- stricken men arrived. The alarm was has- tily given, and a call made for volunteers. Thirty-one men responded. Dan Beckwith was elected captain and in less than two hours the band was on the march. They headed for Joliet. In the party were Dr. William Fithian, George Beckwith, Othneal Gilbert, Samuel Russell and Alvan Gilbert. They remained in the field for ten days, 38 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS A iFragmntt from DUemnrtj a Stroll of tlje IHmtoreu leak Many are the Names of the Sons of Old Vermilion who have given their lives for their Country and their Flag, and in every War there must be a First Sacrifice. In acknowledgement of a Debt and as a Tribute to ALL who sleep in a soldier's grave this Memorial is Written into the Printed Records of the Centennial of Vermilion County, in the State of Illinois. Lest we forget : Old Vermilion was in the field when Black Hawk and his warriors ravaged the Settlements in 1832. 3Jn ifflrmnrtam WILLIAM BROWN A Member of the Vermilion County Rangers. Killed and scalped by Indians while in service on the DuPage river. He was buried, unmarked but still remembered, where he fell- 3)n J&emnriam JOHN P. LAFFERTY A Member of Company C, Twelfth Regiment United States Infantry, died of Disease at Cairo, Illinois, July 20, 1861, the First Sacrifice of the War Between the States. Jht mtenrtam EDWARD ASHCRAFT A Member of Battery A, died of disease at Chattanooga, Tennes- see, July 3, 1898, the first of the two who gave their lives in the War to give Freedom to the Cubans. Utt Htptttoriam HARRY CARPENTER A Member of Battery A, who was the first to perish by act of the enemy, when the U. S. Transport Tuscania was torpedoed by a German sub-marine, February 5, 1918. And now, while Old Vermilion is celebrating the Deeds of the Pioneers of the Early Day, we give pause to pay Tribute to ALL who have Died in Defense of the Flag. God rest your souls, Heroes of Old Vermilion. ^ _ - •»•*■•' .. . - '» *•- ^ - - '»•-»» CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS jg when — having been unable to locate an en- emy they started on the return march. In the meantime, while Beckwith and his band were out, the Vermilion county mi- litia was concentrated at Danville, as Col. Isaac N. Moores had previously been or- dered by Governor John Reynolds to have the Vermilion County Battalion in readi- ness, in the event their services should be required. No orders having been received eight days after the departure of Beck- with's band, Col. Moores decided to take I lie field anyway. The band numbered 300, all mounted and half of them armed with "Harpers Ferry" rifles, the remainder with such guns as they could beg or borrow. Col. Moores was in command with Gurdon Hub- bard as lieutenant-colonel and John H. Murphy as aide. Morgan L. Payne was designated as captain of a "spy company." The first day's march took them to Hub- bard's trading post near the present town of Watseka, where the trader furnished four wagons, each with four horses and loaded with necessary supplies. The second day out, they met Beckwith's contingent returning. Most of this band, however, about-faced and accompanied the rangers toward the front. Beckwith, however, was forced to return to Danville, as he found that his business partner, John Reed, had closed their "store" and was with Moores' troops. On reaching Joliet, Capt. Payne and his command were dispatched thirty miles north on DuPage river with orders to erect a fortification, which was done. Col. Moores also began the erection of fortifica- tions at Joliet, when he was ordered to march to Ottawa where the command was discharged from service and returned home. The only casualty of the campaign oc- curred the day Payne began his blockhouse. William Brown, a member of his company and a boy were detailed to take a wagon and team and proceed about two miles from camp and gather a load of clapboards stored there by a settler. While on this de- tail, they were fired upon by five Indians. Brown was killed and scalped, but the boy returned in safety. The Indians ran the horses off, cut the harness to pieces, and partially wrecked the wagon, which later was repaired by Leander Rutledge and brought back to Danville. The horses, property of Peleg Spencer, were never re- covered. William Brown, the dead soldier, was the son of a widow living near Kyuer's Mill. His body was buried with military honors near the spot where he fell. Thirty days later Captain Payne's com- pany was relieved from duty and returned home. Later each member of the battalion was given land warrants for eighty acres as a bounty for this service. One of these was given John Howell, who entered eighty acres just north of \ oorhees street, this city, now the center of a fine residential district. Quiet prevailed in military circles in Old Vermilion until May, 1846, when President Polk declared war on Mexico. This clash had been brewing for some time, and was not a popular war among the Whigs of the county. But the United States was in war. and of course Vermilion must line up. There were but few shirkers, and they were not popular. The response of Vermilion to the call re suited in the recruiting of a company of in fantry, numbering ninety-six, and a cav- alry troop numbering eighty-seven. The latter, however, never assembled, as it was learned that no units of this branch would be accepted. The roster of the infantry company follows, and never before has been made public: Captain — Issac R. Moores. Lieutenants — Theodore Lemon, William A. Jones. Sergeants — A. C. Spencer, J. B. Alexan- der, H. Sodowsky, I. S. Swearingen. Corporals — Robert B. Lemon, William Trimmell, J. C. Marsh. Priv N. Thurman, A. Luckey, John Payne, Henry Jones, Jonathan Beesley, Hiram Coleman, Henry Smith. Adam Furow, George Swisher, J. F. Huffman, Win. Hamilton, Lucas Meneely, Abia Luckey, David Finley, G. W. Nelson, B. Runnien, A. G. Porter, G. W. Lewis, Ebenezer Foster. Wm. Sodowsky, I, even Vincent, John Norris, William Draper, Henry S. Forbes, James Stark, Joseph V. Davis, Ezra Snow, Benj. Young, John Lander, A. D. Gio John Sheets, Robert Buoy, Levi Patterson, Lewis Anderson, John Bennett, J. W. Chenoweth. ATES. John Olehey, George Wiley, I'. McCarroll, Edward Rouse, Thomas Pierce, John Peters, Wm. Robinson, Matthew Cole, William Noel, John Martin, A. Musgrave, L. L. Madden. 11. Stipp, J, Sodowsky, J. B. Trent; Milton Hess, William Parrish, Jefferson Clow, H. Broadwater. N. J. Norris, Ananias Buoy, Benj. Cassell, Shelton Cannon. Jesse Harris, Francis Kslev. William Hobbs, G. W. Smith. John Stark. James Price, Jos i oli Norris, C. McCorkle, ' cis Preston, T. Kidney, John Rice. Jo 'i>h \\ ilson, .1. l.i ard, 40 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS THE IMMORTAL LINCOLN "It was while he was attending court at Danville in November, 1859, that Lincoln definitely accepted the invi- tation to deliver the Cooper Union speech in New York that made him President" — Henry Whitney's Life of Lin- coln. • ' »#»■*» ;« »• •-•-; v-. -j ;»#-•-•- v . •-•' .* «.'••"**. CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS tl Stanley Olmsted, John W. Acre, Abraham Groom, S. K. Starr, Hugh McGlennen, John Rouse, W. M. Rutledge, David Cremer, George Stipp, G. Corbin, G. K. McGee, W. S. Hammett, A. Herring, E. Coleman, Moses Samuel, Musician. Their intentions were good, but their valor never was tested. But six regiments were taken from Illinois, and Old Vermil- ion, a Whig stronghold, was not favored. Despite protests Democratic Governor Ford refused to accept the company, and no Ver- milion county unit was found in the march to the City of Mexico. THE CIVIL WAR. The inevitable came. After all the years of argument and contention, the determina- tion of the great issue was left to the ar- bitrament of the sword. The South fired on the flag. The call to arms came. President Lin- coln called 75,000 volunteers to serve for three months to put down the rebellion, Vermilion County responded to the call. Captain Samuel E. Frazier organized a company, which was assigned to the l_'th Illinois Infantry. The complete roster follows : Captain — Samuel Frazier. Lieutenants — William Mann, Joseph Kirkland. Sergeants — William W. Fellows, Doc. C. Bandy, Leonard Myers, Charles Jackson. Corporals — Daniel M. Nixon, Henry Parks, Joseph M. Daueherty. Musicians — Abiel Dow. Cornelius W. Lindsay. Privates. William Abbott, Thos. L. Marshall, Anthony Bowman, Perry F. Miller, G. W. Bandy, Sam P. MacKav, R. Bloomfield, Hugh B. MacKay, S. Bloomfield, Francis Marsh, Kav. Bullock, Jacob Moore, Mahlen Buttler, Asbury McVicker, Thomas Bowie, Abel Wad Payne, E. D. Bennett, Asa A. Pavne, J. H. Chilcott, A. L. Richardson, John Cribbage. J. B. Richardson, James Claypool, John S. Snyder, Timothy Clawson, Oscar S. Stewart, Nicholas Carroll, Thomas Short, J. W. Douglas, George W. Smith. Joseph Dysert, Wm. It. Scott, James Dixon, Daniel Snyder, James B. Davis, David Smith. Jos. B. Dixon, David Sibbett, Lysander Doney, John Swannell, Othniel Gilbert, Geo. H. Hollett, R. W. Groves, Henry John, R. W. Handford, S. H. Johnson, William Hunt, David C. Jones, Wm. B. Harris, James Kelley, J. M. Hendricks, \V. L. Klepper, Ebenezer Harger, John P. Latl'ertv, William Hill, Moses E. Wright, Milton Lee, Joseph Shipner, Joshia Lee, G. M. Search, Elijah Lindsay, John L. Smith, ('has. Mercerian, J. I. Thompson, J. W. Medaris, Jesse Upperman, Wm. M. Myers, R. W. Welch. Wm. A. Myers, William Worley, Joseph Mondy, Hiram Zohn, But unfortunately three months did nut end the rebellion. Then came the call for 300,000 men to serve for three years or during the war. Soon the 25th Regiment, Illinois Volunteers; 35th Regiment, Illinois Volunteers; the 37th Regiment, Illinois Volunteers; the 4th Cavalry, 10th Cav- alry, the 73rd Regiment Illinois Volunteer.-, the 125th Regiment, Illinois Volunteers; the 149th Regiment Illinois Volunteers, were organized. Many companies in these regiments were furnished by Vermilion County. "Eighteen companies of infantry and one troop of cavalry went out from the County during the Civil War. Practically all the 125th Volunteers, which holds its annual reunion in Danville, were made up of Vermilion County troops, seven com- panies in all. These companies averaged about 100 men to the company. Four companies of the 135th Regiment were re- cruited in Vermilion County. Many vol- unteers from the County enlisted iii regi- ments organized in other counties in Illi- nois. Out of a population of 19,000 in Vermilion County more than 3,600 men en- listed and went to the front. Vermilion County escaped the draft. Catlin and Pilot Townships voted bond issues and paid a bounty to their soldiers. The following address to the 25th Illinois was delivered by the brigade commander at the expira- tion of its three years enlistment: "Soldiers of the Twenty-fifth Illinois Volunteers: As your term of three years' service has expired, and you are about to proceed to your state to be mustered out, it is fitting and proper that the colonel commanding should express to each and all his earnest thanks for the cheerful manhood with which, during the present campaign, you have submitted to every hardship, overcome every difficulty, and for the magnificent heroism with which you have met and vanquished the foe. Your deportment in camp has been worthy true soldiers, while your conduct in battle has excited the admiration of your companions in arms. Patriotic thousands and a noble state will give you a reception worthy of your sacrifice and your valor. You have done your duty. The men who rallied 42 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS under the starry emblem of our nationality at Pea Ridge, Corinth, Champion Hills, Stone River, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Noonday Creek, Pinetop Mountain, Chattahoochee, Peach Tree Creek and At- lanta, having made history for all time and coming generations to admire, your services will ever be gratefully appreciated. Offi- cers and soldiers farewell. May God guar- antee to each health, happiness and useful- ness in coming life, and may our country soon emerge from the gloom of blood thac now surrounds it and again enter upon a career of progress, peace and prosperity." These regiments, in which so many Ver- milion County men served, participated in many, of the great battles of the Civil War, and the eloquent address of the bri- gade commander might well and appropri- ately have been made to every command of which Vermilion County men were mem- bers. History may well and proudly record the patriotism of the people of Vermilion County during the great Civil War. No other County in the Union responded more loyally in support of the Union than did Vermilion. All honor to the Veterans of that great conflict, whose valor saved the nation. Salute the survivors, who fought and suffered that our nation might live: Blessed be the memory of those who have passed on. THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. Cuba was oppressed by Spain. The President of the United States, himself a veteran of the Civil War, decided to find out the facts. Hon. William J. Calhoun, a Civil War Veteran, was the man chosen. Doubtless his report to the President meant Peace or War. He made his report. War followed and Cuba was freed and Spain disappeared from the Western Hemisphere; let us hope forever. Vermilion County was represented in this war. October 10, 1875, Veterans of the Civil War organized Battery "A." Many- men, whose names are familiar to most of us, were among the organizers of this Bat- tery. The organizers of the Battery paid for their uniforms as there was no provi- sion under the law for equipping them. In the Fall, the members of the Battery de- cided to celebrate bv firing a cannon in the Public Square. All the windows in the neighborhood were broken. The Battery boys paid for all the broken windows, but no more cannons were fired in the Public Square. When the nation declared war against Spain, Oscar P. Yeager was the Captain of this splendid Battery. Through the efforts of Hon. Joseph G. Cannon, Bat- tery A was called into the service. It was the only artillery organization in the State that had the privilege and the honor so to be called. The Battery participated in the Porto Rican campaign. It was a splendid military organization. Vermilion County never exhibited more loyalty to our country than it did in the Spanish-American War. Nearly every man in the County of military age wanted to go into the military service. Many men from the County enlisted in other volun- teer regiments and in the regular army. A pacifist was unknown. Many men from this County served in the Philippine insur- rection and the Boxer rebellion. Some are still in the military service. When the World War came, Battery A was in splen- did condition, and was soon over seas. Its Captain, Curtis G. Redden, led the grand old Battery in France. His ability as an officer brought him merited promotion. After the Armistice, while still abroad in the military service, death struck him down. THE WORLD WAR. The following article appeared in The American Legion Review. It was written by Mr. John H. Harrison, a member of the State Council of Defense during the World War. The article is entitled "Ver- milion County in the World War, "and since it sets forth so succinctly and pithily the participation of Vermilion County in the World War, the article is reproduced here. "Vermilion County, Illinois, of which Danville is the seat, laid claim during the war to being the most patriotic county in America. The honor was disputed but once, and that was by a small town in the State of Washington. While that town equalled the record here, this Vermilion County as a whole still holds the unique honor. "The claim was based on the fact that this county was not touched by the first draft, because we had more volunteers in service than the draft called for. The rec- ord would have persisted throughout the war if the government's plan of giving credit for volunteers had prevailed in all draft calls. But Uncle Sam conceded that credit only in the first instance. When the first call for draft was issued the gov- ernment announced that the volunteers from a county already in service would be credited against the quota called for, and only enough drafted men would be taken to make up the quota. Vermilion County at that time had enough volunteers in the service to be 25 per cent more than the draft called for. Therefore the first draft did not take one man from Vermilion County. "Thereafter, when draft calls were made, quotas were assigned and taken regardless CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 13 of how many volunteers had already gone. The volunteer spirit continued in Vermil- ion County throughout the war, so that practically nobody would have been drafted had the credit "for volunteers been con- tinued. "Between five and six thousand men were sent to the training camps from Vermilion County during the war. Of this number, probably one-half went overseas and one- fourth saw active service in the front line trenches. "A total of 2,117 men were accepted at cam]) from this county through the three draft boards, located at Danville, Hoopes- ton, and Georgetown ; Danville sending 904; Hoopeston 591, and Georgetown 622. Three draft registrations were made dur- ing the war, Danville registering a total of 7,501, Hoopeston 5,468, and Georgetown ,~>..">77. The Hoopeston district extended down to Danville and the Georgetown dis- trict consisted of the rest of the county, the Danville district being composed of the City of Danville alone. "Various patriotic organizations began early to assist in winning shortly after the war was declared. In fact, two of these organizations in Danville got to work be- fore the various military organizations left the city. Camp Egbert, United Spanish War Veterans, composed of ex-service men who served during the Spanish-American war, undertook the task of furnishing the three organizations with a mess fund, knowing more than the civilians did just what the soldiers would need. Other or- ganizations assisted, and by means of tag days the mess funds were secured. Battery A was given its money, S465, at Ft. Sheri- dan on the eve of leaving for France; Company I received its fund, $345, at East Alton before going to the Texas training camp, and Company L was taken care of before it left Danville, receiving $345. "The Woman's Military Auxiliary, com- posed for the most part of mothers and sis- ters of the soldiers, was organized early in April, 1917, and was functioning as an or- ganized body when the boot fund was raised, to furnish hip boots for the Vermil- ion County soldiers going to France. This fund was started after a story appeared in a Chicago newspaper to the effect that Chicago citizens would equip their soldiers in the 149th artillery, to which the Dan- ville Battery belonged, with rubber boots. It was taken up by the newspapers of Dan- ville and subscriptions were received at their offices. The auxiliary also saw to it that each soldier who went from Danville was furnished with a kit consisting of brushes, towels, soap, etc. "Hip boots were furnished Battery A soldiers before they left New York for France, and they were of great benefit to the Danville boys that first winter in France, and probably a number of them now living owe their lives to the thought- fulness of the citizens of their home town, for the mud was deep and the rainy season was on when they arrived in France. "The Danville Battery received $1,160 for hip trench boots and they took the boots with them when they went overseas. Shortly after the boots were purchased, the government purchased the entire outpul from the various boot factories and assum- ed the task of equipping the American soldiers with trench boots. Danville citizens could purchase no more, so the money left in the fund was divided between the other two companies and distributed upon their return to Danville at the close of the war. "The war had not progressed far until Red Cross organizations were formed in every city, town and community. Various other organizations, every one bent on back- ing up the soldiers to the fullest extent, were also formed. Food was conserved that the soldiers might have the very best while winning the war. "The state council of defense, with its county organizations, the neighborhood committees, the High Twelve Club, Rotary Club, various lodge organizations, — all com- bined their efforts towards the one object — to win the war in the quickest possible time. Through the efforts of the neighborhood committee, loyalty pledges were sent to every person in the county above the age of 18. Out of a population of approximately 76,000, pledges were received from 44,129. Only 2,203 refused to sign. A little more than one-half or 23,384 persons, in Dan- ville signed, while in Danville Township, outside the city, there were 2,513. Grant township came next, with 4,026, and the Soldiers Home furnished 1,556 more. These pledges showed beyond a doubt that the people of Vermilion County were backing their soldiers. "Patriotic demonstrations were held in almost every community, flag raisings were popular everywhere and the Stars and Stripes floated from almost every public building and business house and from thou- sands of residences. "This sort of patriotism is a tradition with Vermilion County. It did not begin with the World War. It dates back to the tally Indian Wars, including the Black Hawk affair, down through the Mexican, Civil and Spanish-American wars. Ver- milion County has always been considered a patriotic county, furnishing its full quota of soldiers in evers conflict in which the United States has been engaged, so it was but natural that Danville and Vermilion 44 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS County should be in the forefront when the United States entered the great world conflict. "When the World War came there were four military organizations in the county: Battery A, 1st Illinois Field Artillery, Dan- ville; Company I, 5th Illinois Infantry, Danville; Company L, 8th Illinois In- fantry, colored; and Company B, 3rd Illi- nois Infantry, Hoopeston. All these organi- zations were immediately called into ac- tive service, Company I going to East Al- ton even before war was declared. All saw service overseas. "Vermilion County, Illinois, has just cause to be proud of her record in all matters that call for patriotic sacrifice in behalf of the country." STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS Who Delivered an Address in Danville, September 22, 1858. CENTENNIAL BOOK of VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 45 FCEANNEKEUK'S SERMON TO THE WHITE SETTLERS (From the Illinois Monthly Magazine, at Vandalia, Illinois. August, 1831) This discourse of Keannekeuk, an Indian chief of the Kickapoo tribe of Indians, was delivered at Danville, Illinois, July IT. 1831. The citizens of the town and its vicinity had assembled at a Baptist meeting, and this Indian, who with a part of his tribe was encamped in the neighbor!) 1. and in the habit of preaching to his tribe, was informed that the white people wished to hear his discourse. He requested G. I). Hubbard, Esq., who understands the lan- guage, to interpret Tor him. The congrega- tion went to the Indian encampment early in the day, and before preaching com- menced in the town. The chief caused mats to be spread upon the ground for his while audience to sit upon. His Indian brethren were also seated near him ; he then com- menced and addressed the assembly for al- most an hour. .Mi-. Hubbard repeated with great distinctness and perspicuity, each sentence, as spoken by the chief, and which was accurately written down at the time by Solomon Banta, Esq. It is proper to re- mark, that Keannekeuk was at one time give to intemperate. About four years since, he reformed, and is now esteemed a correct, pious and excellent man. He has acquired an astonishing influence over his red brethren and has induced all of his particular tribe, supposed to be near two hundred, and about one hundred Potawato- mies who have been inveterate drunkards, to abstain entirely from the use of ardent spirits. It is proper further to remark thai Keannekeuk is called a prophet among the Indians, but is not the old prophet, brother to Tecumseh, who is known to be not less odius among the Indians than among the white, nor is he related to him. Keanne- keuk appears to be about forty years of age; is over the ordinary size; and although an untutored savage, has much in his man- ner and personal appearance to make him interesting. He is much attached to the white, and has had his son at school, with a view to give him an education. The speech now presented for publication derives much of its interest from the fact that it is the discourse of an uneducated man of the forest, who is believed to have done more in his sphere of action in the cause of temperance, than any other man has effected, armed with all the power which is conferred by learning and talent. The fact of the influence attributed to Keannekeuk upon this subject is fully at- tested by gentlemen who are intimately acquainted with these Indians, and have known them for many years, and is, there- fore, entitled to the fullest confidence. "MY FRIENDS: Where are your thoughts today? Where were they r yester- day? Were they fixed upon doing good? or were you drunk, tattling, or did angei rest in your hearts? If you have done an;. of these things, your Great Father in hea- ven knows it. His eye is upon you. He al- ways sees you, and will always see you. He knows all your needs. He has know-ledge of the smallest transactions of your lives. Would you not be ashamed if your friends knew all your bad thoughts and actions? and are you not ashamed that your Great Father knows them, and that He marks them nicely? You would be ashamed of ap- pearing here to-day with bloated faces and swelled eyes, accasioned by drunkenness. You will one day have to go down to the earth ; what will you do then, if you have not followed your Great Father's advice, and kept His Commandments? He has given us a small path ; it is hard to be fol- lowed ; He tell you it leads to happiness. "Some of you are discouraged from fol- lowing this path, because it is difficult to find. You take the broad road that leads to misery. But j t ou ought not to be discour- aged; mind the book he has given for your instruction; attend to its commands, and obey them, and each step you take in this narrow path will be easier; the way will be- come smoother, and at the end, great will be the reward. The broad road some of you choose, is full of wide and deep pits; they are filled with fire for the punishment of all wicked and ill men. All professed drunk- ards, tattlers, liars, and meddling bodies are in the broad way; they can never be received into good places; their deeds are dark; they never see light. Parents who do not teach their children the difference be- tween good and evil, are in the bad road. Youi Great Father once came into this world. He came but once, and stayed but a short time; that is the reason the good path is so narrow. "The bad spirit is with you always; he is abroad upon the face id' the earth, and traveling in all places; that is the reason why the way that leads to misery is so broad. "The Great Father gave you a good book filled with commands. If you follow the commands, you will go into a good place and be happy forever; but if you do not 4(1 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF YKRMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS keep them you will go into a place prepared for the wicked, and suffer endless days and nights of grief. Some of you think you can indulge in drink once, and then you resolve to follow the good commands. But are you sure, if you do indulge once, you can refrain for the time to come? "Your Great Father sees all you do. Is it not almost certain that you will always be repeating bad deeds? You are all sin- ners; you can not be too much on yo ir guard, lest you tread out of the right way into the broad road. His eye notices the smallest thing, and if you wish to be good, your thoughts must be on your Great Father always; He takes pleasure when he sees you thoughts are placed on Him. If you would all be good you would all travel one road, and there would be but one road, and your Great Father would be with you always. But this can not be; every one knows when he is doing good, and if he is always conscious of doing good, he will be received by the Great Father; therefore guard with care every step you take in your life. One step a day in the narrow road is better than fifteen steps a day in the road to ruin. The door of heaven is always open, and the Great Father is glad to re- ceive his children; those who go there will have happiness without end — will see their Great Father, and live with him, and neve- be without Him. If young folks would but hold as fast to the good book as old and crippled people do to their canes which sup- port them there would be no danger of disobeying its commands. Every day you obey Him the better it is for you, and tbi easier it is for you to follow the good path. You must always notice well where you step, for fear you may be tempted out of the right path." When you see assemblies of amusement, you ought to reflect that to enter those mav lead you to do things con- trary to your Great Fathers will. "He has said he will help those who keep His commands; therefore you must always notice your hearts; the heart is the foun- tain from which good or evil thoughts flow. You are not mere forms, incapable of knewledge, but the Great Father has so made you that you may get a knowledge within' yourselves, and if you are good, you will always see Him; if you place your thoughts upon Him, He will never desert you; but they who do not place their thoughts upon" Him will be deserted — they travel the broad road and fall into the pit; their lot is fixed — they can not touch, nor see good; they will be endless darkness— they never can see their friends, their father, mother, brothers or sisters; their friends will be always grieving for them — they go where none but fools go, such as drunkards, liars, tattlers, and those who treat old people ill ; they never can taste good; nothing can mitigate their sorrow and the torment they suffer. What will become of those wicked men who slight the commands of their Great Father? He gave them a book containing instructions to en- lighten them. Who made that book? The Great Father made it for their good; long ago he made it, that their and our hearts might be strong, and that by reading it you might see Him, and that you might not lose yourselves; a long time ago He gave th's to instruct His children, — and can there yet be such fools as will not receive in- struction from so good a Father? "The Great Father, by His Son, once came upon earth; many people saw Him; He came in the form of a man, and stayed a short time on the earth with His children. He is to come once more, when the wicked will not be noticed by Him — a great many hundreds will be lost; then we will see who had obeyed His book, and kept His com- mands. If your hearts are fixed on your Great Father, He will be pleased; but if they are not, where will you be going? No supplication will then avail — you will have no opportunity to kneel to Him — the time is past, He will not allow it; your friends can not intercede, fear will overwhelm you, you will wish to make new resolutions to obey Him, but you can not, you will go to the burning pits. "Your Great Father has implanted in your hearts a knowledge of good and evil, and shown you how to obey Him; if you do not, the time will come when you will not see yourselves as you are — you will be lost in darkness — all your former wickedness will prey upon you. Friends, you all see my brothers (pointing to his Indian breth- ren) they do not drink strong liquors as they once did; they do not shake their fists at you and abuse you; they do not quarrel with each other. Their thoughts are upoi their Great Father; they are not liars and tattlers, fond of ridiculiing old folks and children, as they used to be; their conduct toward their children is different. For a long time they have refrained from the bad practices of stealing and drunkenness; their Great Father will receive them into His own place, where they will be happy; they will never hunger nor thirst; they will see their children around them; their Great Father loves their hearts, for they are strong. Why, then, should they not love Him? He tells them He loves them: He gives them an opportunity to know Him; the Great Father has instilled into them a knowledge of good and evil by His works; He has not instructed them by books. He loves His children both red and white. I have done." < a o w l-H Q fa O s > H >-< W Q s CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS Ollir OMrial ^misors -L> FOR THE COUNTY OF VERMILION Fred R. Lloyd, Chairman Biount C. E. Vandervort Butler Scott Johnston Carroll J. A. McMillan Catlin Fred R. Lloyd Danville W. F. Baum Danville John L. Bracewell Danville Thomas J. Cossey Danville John W. Dale Danville Walter V. Dysert Danville J. E. Epler Danville Henry Hulce Danville C. G. Jamison Danville - . .Frank A. Johnson Danville Fred J. Lovell Danville Frank P. Meyer Danville ... George W. Mm ire Danville Wm. F. Sheets Danville B. H. Snyder Danville Harley Tarpley Danville . J. W. Telling Danville . . . . Robert I. Pettigrew Elwood John Fletcher, Sr. Georgetown... G. E. Blayney Georgetown .... William Mover Georgetown... J. T. Pitchford Grant Charles E. Cox Grant Isaac E. Merritt Grant Dan R. Miller Jamaica Earl M. Brown Love Olen Henderson McKendree A. W. Haworth Middlefork . . . .Elmer J. Wise Newell E. D. Brown Oakwood F. L. Endicott Pilot Chas. G. Juvinall Ross U. G. Fairchilds Sidell Wade A. Holton Vance A. W. Cast -□- FOR THE CITY OF DANVILLE Claude P. Madden, Chairman Henry J. Schroeder Joseph Schatz Harry W. Moore Elmer Martin Edward Harmel Robert Hart Clyde Meharry John W. Robb Merle Watt Otis Jones Ora W. Servies D. L. Whiteford Grant Hiatt Arch Johnson CENTENNIAL IN >< n< OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 49 Ufrmiluut (SJmuttii (Unttrumal (Erlrbntttmt -D- OFPICIALS J< iin G. Hartshorn, President. M. |. Wolfokd, Treasurer. A i i an T. Gordi in, V, retary. — D- EXECUTiVE COMMITTEE FOR THE COUNTV Thomas J. Cossey, Danville Henrv Hulce, Danville Fred Lloyd, G1///11 Frank Meyer, Danville Fred Lovell, Danville William P. Sheets, Danville FOR THE CITY Henry J. Schroeder, Danville i H i Jones, Danville ( >. W. Servies, Danville Elmer Martin, Danville J. W. Robb, Danville — O- OTHER COMMITTEES HISTORICAL: John H. Lewman, Chairman. Hon. Joseph G. Cannon, Senator M. B. Bailey, Miss Lotte Jones, Miss Flo Woodbury. OFFICIAL SOUVENIR BOOK: A. F. Barker, Chairman, Norman Dale, Ezekiel Epstein. PAGEANT: THOMAS J. COSSEY, Chairman. Joseph J. Smith, Guy Supple, D. R. Swaim, Harry J. Brown, Don Wilson. FINANCE: Henry J. Si HROEDER, Chairman. Stanley Myers, Joseph Uhlein. LABOR UNIONS: Frank J. Levin, Chairman. AGRICULTURE: Otis Keri her, Chairman. DECORATIONS: Frank P. Meyer, Chairman. MUSIC: G. Haven Stephens, Chairman. SPEAKERS: James A. Meek-, Chairman. QUEEN CONTEST: Fred Lloyd, Chairman, W. P. Sheets, Henry Hulce, John H. Harrison, Mrs. Melvin L. Coutant, Mr-. L. H. Dunham, Mrs. S. R. Driskell, Mrs. E. G. C. Williams. PARADE: K. C. ROTTGER, Chairman. \V i II. Martin, Capt. L. A. Tuggle, E. Dean Huber. CONCESSIONS: Otis Jones, Chairman. RELICS: GEORGE REARICK, Chairman. Member- of Half-Century Club. cover DESIGN: Harlan Steely Jr., Roy Schoenbeck. 50 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS VERMILION COUNTY'S SECOND COURT HOUSE AND JAIL Built by Gurdon Hubbard in 1833. Burned in 1873. LITERATORS OF VERMILION COUNTY Vermilion County has produced but four people who have attained renoun in the World of Letters, and by strange co-inci- dence each of these was an authority on Early Illinois history. First of all was the late Hiram Beckwith, whose "History of the Northwest" never has had an equal and whose "History of Vermilion County" is regarded by students as the most complete history of an Illinois county ever printed. Miss Lotte E. Jones, of Danville, whose "Decisive Dates in Illinois History" still is a text-book, and whose "History of Ver- milion County," ably filled the gap between that of the Beckwith book and the Twen- tieth century. Mrs. Mary Hartwell Catherwood, of Hoopeston, whose romances of the early Jesuits and French explorers still have a ready sale, had delved deeply into the story of early Illinois and was regarded as an authority. Joseph Kirkland, of Danville, after his removal to Chicago, was the author of two historical novels, one of which had for its hero the grandfather of a prominent Dan- villean, and whose "History of Chicago" is considered second only to that of A. T. Andreas. Added to this may be mentioned the name of Guy T. Robinson, Danville newspaper- man, who is a student of Early Illinois, and who has added many real contributions to Vermilion County history through the col- umns of the newspapers, which, it is hoped, may some day be collected and issued in book form. — C. C. T. ^ •• • •' .- - . - *#•*•*»■••'- *»V4» * "_v :**v«» v.'v. ••-•■•w '#-*-•' .%.■.«/ •.v^.:»,; # >;*\\ CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 51 To the Memory of Amos Williams He first located at Butler's Point where the first Circuit Court was held in this County. He assisted in surveying the County and laying off the County Seat, and drew all the Plats. He built the first house in the city in which he has lived ever since — on Clark street. He was elected County Clerk, Clerk of the Commissioners Court, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Judge of Probate Court, County Re- corder, Register of Saline Lands, Master in Chancery, Post Master, and Notary Public. All these offices he held uninterruptedly from the organization of this County till 1843, and some of them till 1849, a period of 23 years. As a County officer, he was remarkably faithful and attentive to his business, scrupu- lously exact and correct in his transactions, kind and obliging to all who sought instruction. Hence he was deservedly and universally popular among the people, and for many years it was the prevailing opinion that no one was qualified to do County business well, but Amos Williams. No charge was ever brought against him for either the want of competency or fidelity in the discharge of any of the duties of his offices. The influence of his correct business habits will be felt in this and other Counties long after he is forgotten. "Peace to his ashes." (Copied from Vermilion County Republican, G. Price, Editor, November, 1857.) 52 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS HOTEL WOLFORD DANVILLE, ILLINOIS -^ " .-.Wh f-r rP FFi OPEN NOVEMBER, 1926 HOTELS HELP COMMUNITIES GROW *~ --*- -#•-«» .v-.'» •-** - ---•»••-«• »vw»» ••'.»-;*-•* *:r\*.»_^;* ^*v» ^:* *: 4 .\» CENTENNIAL Book OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 53 r The home of your old friends, tried and true Tea Table-Early Dinner-Mother's Pride FOOD PRODUCTS EARLY DINNER COFFEE "You Can't Mistake the Flavor" Roasted and Packed by Peyton-Palmer Co. DANVILLE, ILL. 54 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS J. I.. Tincher. President C. P. Nelson, Cashier E. R. E. Kimbkocgh, Vice President C. E. Olmsted. Assistant Cashier B. C. English. 1 ;. < President W. J. Bamm. Assistant Cashier J. E. Whitman. Assistant Cashier First National Bank of DANVILLE, ILL. nn nnn nn ESTABLISHED 1857 nn nnn nn Capital ------- S300.000.00 Surplus and Undivided Profits - S200.000.00 nn nnn nn DIRECTORS E. R. E. Kimbrough D. W. Bell J. L. Tincher James A. aIeeks B- C. English C. P. Nelson E. G. Stephens CENTENNIAL \i(» >K OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 55 SECOND NATIONAL BANK DANVILLE, ILLINOIS Capital and Surplus $500,000 Established in 1873 56 I ENTENNIAL ECCK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS The Palmer National Bank DANVILLE, ILL. Capital - - - - $300,000.00 Surplus - - - - $150,000.00 nnn We receive the accounts of Banks, Bankers, Corporations, Firms and Individuals on favorable terms and will be pleased to meet or cor- respond with those who contemplate making changes or opening new accounts. nnn TRUST DEPARTMENT This Bank is authorized to act in the following capacities: Executor, Trustee, Conservator, Guardian, Receiver or any other Trust Capacity. nnn OFFICERS M. J. Wolford, President C- A. White, Asst- Cashier Thos. Conron, Vice-President J. E. McMillan, Asst. Cashier J. E. Walker, Cashier Stanley Mires, Asst. Cashier DIRECTORS M. J. Wolford C. W. Bandy Thos. Conron C. K. Palmer D. M. Fowler W. C. Rankin CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS Keeping Step with the Tears nnn From the quill pen and bound book to the bookkeep- ing machine and loose leaf ledger — From the old cash till to the automatic money changer — From the old time bank to the modern financial institution with its departments to serve every banking need, its heavy concrete vaults guarded by non-burnable steel doors, time locks and electric burglar alarm systems — Part of the progress banks have made during the decades. This bank has endeavored to keep pace with the business and personal needs of the people of Ver- milion County and in its new bank home offers un- surpassed banking facilities to its community. nnn Commercial Trust and Savings Bank BAUM BUILDING 41-43 N. Vermilion St. "A Real Bank in a Live Town." 58 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS American Bank & Trust Co. Danville, Illinois □ nnn n Capital, Surplus and Profits, over $300,000 n nnn n OFFICERS A. M. BUSHNELL, President W. M. ACTON, Vice-President JAMES A. FOSTER, Cashier L. O. FROMAN, Ass't Cashier E. H. BLEVEANS, Ass't Cashier CENTENNIAL ROOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 3Ft&FittjT SnwBtmmt $c Buttfting Asportation 137 N. VERMILION ST. All Through the Years — the Essentials of Sound Investments SAFETY OF PRINCIPAL ASSURANCE OF INCOME (6', for 43 Years) — Convertible 1884 J. W. WEBSTER, Sec'y. 1926 59 -.4. 60 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS Danville Benefit & Building Association THE OLDEST ASSOCIATION IN DANVILLE Organized March 1, 1877 ASSETS $6,174,507.91 Pre-paid stock $50.00 per share for sale now. Six per cent compound interest paid. No monthly dues. New series Sept. 4th. MUM M. J. WOLFORD, Secretary No. 6 E. Main Street— Telephone 345 ri-NTENMAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 61 ? "V -^ 62 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS THE FUTURE Won't take care of itself Save part of your income NOW Vermilion County Building Association 141 N. Vermilion St. H. C. ADAMS, Sec'y CENTENNIAL BOOK I V VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 63 COLOR IN GOOD TASTE Is the keynote of modern building Our special blends of fine face brick — "PASTEL" "PATRICIAN" "COMMUNITY" "TUXEDO" "COLEUS" "HEATHER MIX" The Danville Brick Co. DANVILLE, ILLINOIS ;> ^'-> y~\* .,'-> 64 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 48 Years of Age Never Lost a Cent for an Investor 6% COMPOUND INTEREST Paid to All Investors Alike Withdrawals Paid on Demand Equitable Building Association E. R. PARTLOW, Secy 25 West Main St. Danville, 111. J CENTENNIAL H< >< >K OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 65 Jin iKrmnrtam -O- JAMES BUTLER Vermilion County's First Dirt Farmer He came here in the Spring of 1820, and planted a crop in Catlin Township — the first cultivated field in the Vermilion Prairies. -□- VERMILION COUNTY FARM BUREAU, Chamber of Commerce Building. 66 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS Welcome Danville Guests AN OCCASION like this, when Danville plays host to thousands of men, women and children, gives us a peculiar opportunity to express the Spirit which actuates our store. We would show our sincere welcome to all — by extending to each and every one, every accommodation in our power during your stay in the city. In getting acquainted with the Straus and Louis Company, you will prob- ably wish to know something of the ideals, purposes, and the policies back of this store. Our governing ideal is so to conduct this store that it will deserve, win and hold the ever-increasing confidence, good will, and patronage of the public. We believe that to hold your trade we must give you a better service than you can get elsewhere — better in having the very goods you want — safe- guarding quality and keeping the prices to the lowest level at which quality can be bought. Better in style and value — better in convenience — better in promptness, and general satisfaction. This we frankly undertake to do, and this we claim to offer you. As you get better acquainted with this store and its ways of doing business we believe you will discover that you can always trust on sight every piece of merchandise we offer, every statement we make, every promise we give, and every price we name. We want you to feel that this is "your store," that it has developed in re- sponse to the demands of your needs. To these ends we pledge the per- petual efforts of our organization. You are invited to make this store your HEADQUARTERS whenever you are in Danville. LOOK to Straus and Louis for the first showing of a new fashion for women, misses and children — a new color — a new fabric — a new accessorie — look to Straus and Louis for fashion-rightness. COA/PAAA^ "Thirty-one Years of Faithful Service" FIRST IN FASHION— FIRST IN VARIETY— FIRST IN VALUE CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS Open for Business 67 -+ nnnnnnn nnn n C "WATCH US GROW" my RAMER & NORTON -The Store (or All Ihe People" DANVILLE. ILLINOIS "Famous For Silks 99 nnnnnnn nnn n Everything New 68 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 1826 1926 A Hearty Welcome to Tou and Tour Friends Centennial visitors will find a warm welcome at K. & S., new friends as well as old. Centrally located it provides an excellent meeting place for you and your friends, while in the store many modern facilities are entirely at your serv- ice. K. & S. is more than a mere department store — it is a public institution, proud of Danville as its home and of the City's 100 years of forward progress. K. The best Friend you ever had- A good friend is one that is with you all the time and where will you rind better clothes than a FRUHAUF SUIT or OVERCOAT? Let's get together Fellows! Genuinely hand tailored Fruhauf Clothes, S45 to $60. Deutsch Bros, special designed 2 Pant Suits at $35. Knox-Dobbs and imported Hats from $5 to $10. "The Shop Distinctive " Wheaiy Wardrobe Trunks Shirts made to measure CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS Always in the Lead — Where the Styles Come from LADIES APPAREL AT POPULAR PRICES HEADQUARTERS FOR ROSAINE HOSIERY At $1.35 and 81.69 All Colors, All Sizes — Guaranteed ^yalCloakCq WOMEN S GOOD CLOTHES' Vermilion St., DANVILLE. Illinois HILLCREST Danville's Most Beautiful Subdivision DALE & MASSIE EXCLUSIVE AGENTS 501-2-.3 BAUM BLDG. TELEPHONE 1195 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS The Store That Shows The New Things First 20 NORTH VERMILION ST. DANVILLE, ILL. THREE FLOORS— READY-TO-WEAR FOR MADAME AND MADAMOISELLE First Floor Dresses Salon — Second Floor Coats and Millinery Salon Down Stairs, Inexpensive Dept. Something for Nothing — Usually Gets Nothing — pay the price of quality RINGS OF RARE EXCELLENCE Blue White and Perfect! Visible Value in finest color and material perfection. Priced right, by weight, by quality, and comparison. We urge you to look! FRED FRAME Watch Inspector 109 East Main St.. Danville, Illinois & E. I., C. C. C. & St. L., N. Y. C, P. & E , Waba: h. I. T. S. (J*^- »■» _ •»-•'%•_ - »• •"•".». .» " • • \».t». '-."■. »*.••..:• • .* CENTENNIAL B< >< >K OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 77 Bahls-Storm & Shaffer Fine Footwear For Men, Women and Children 110 N. VERMILION ST. Danville, Illinois Ries Strauss Co. 16-18 North Vermilion Street Here's Our Feature Hat With Silk Bound Edge It has style and quality you can bank on — it's correct in every detail, and has the appearance of hats that cost much more. Silk Lined nnn Pricedat / $ 5 00 Ries Strauss Co. ah colors 78 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY", ILLINOIS Compliments of Economy Shoe Co. FRED SPIVEY, Mgr. — and — Boord Bros. Clothing Co. DANVILLE, ILLINOIS IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIillllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Thos. Conron Hardware Co. "Sellers of Good Goods" DANVILLE, ILLINOIS IllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllMIIIIIIIIIIIIII CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 79 r THE STORE OF BETTER VALUES 120 E. Main DANVILLE, ILL. Shoes, Clothing and Furnishings Hacker's Fair HEADQUARTERS FOR ALMOST EVERYTHING 207-209 E. Main St. DANVILLE. ILL. 80 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS CHAS. T. DUDENHOFER J. ROSS SMITH DUDENHOFER a*SB BOTTLING CO. MANUFACTURERS AND DISTRIBUTORS OF The Best In Bottled Beverages 110-112 South St. Telephone 644 Danville, 111. Refresh Yourself, Drink Delicious and Refreshing Congratulations — and — MANY HAPPY RETURNS — of— THIS AUSPICIOUS OCCASION EXCLUSIVE BUT NOT EXPENSIVE Outfitters for Men, Women and Boys THE BELL ^Danville I ENTENNIAL Book' OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 81 GAMMEL & LEWMAN Grocers and Bakers Telephones 956 and 957 124 N. Vermilion St. Danville, Illinois *• .book :lion county, ill: CIGARS BILLIARDS LESEURE BROS. 44 N. Vermilion St. — 24 E. Main St. DANVILLE. ILLINOIS SODA LUNCH SEPTEMBER 2-. a AND 30. 1 - [> rose three dates hold a separate slab in the tablets of your - form an epoch in the history of GRAND OLD VERMILION COUNTY. ,f The GREAT VERMILION COUNTS CEN- TENNIAI* Danville, as the hub of the county extends a general invitation to the world to attend this GREAT CENTENNIAL. This ■ >ne of the spokes of the Hub, extends to the world a special invitation. We want you to know us intimately. We want the Strang-. our midst to consider this store a home for them alv Owing to our very central location we shall maintain an LNFOR- :ON BU7 - "e centennial at front of our new shoe ._ Bon St E DREAD you and your friends may obtain information r your en; yment of our County and our C I FRANK P. MEYER Exclusive Shoes 22 N. Vermilion - DANVILLE. ILLINOIS *• • *» ^ . _ •» • •' .*.».»* »».».».. 7EXXIAL BO %urM)ME ShouldCome > FIRST For half a century we have been supplying good furniture to Vermilion County residents. We help you turn houses into homes. We have >fied your grandparents — let - - rve you. SANDUSKY Furniture Stoi e FURNITURE OF QUALITY S7-39 N. Vermilion St. Danville. 111. g4 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS Complete Home Furnishers -COURTESY- PENRY Furniture Co. 433-35-37 E. Main St. DANVILLE, ILL. ill See Us for Home Outfits CENTENNIAL Book' OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS Your Home Should Come First EVERY man's home is his castle — a place where he enjoys life to its fullest! In spite of the hurry and hustle of modern living — in spite of the things which often keeps one away from home — there is an ever growing consciousness that few things in life are worth more than a good home. Let us add the beauty and comfort of good furniture to your home. ^ t ^ t ^.^ Olson & Martens Opposite Postoffii ' DANVILLK, ILLINOIS 86 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS Rhodes Burford Co, House Furnishings sUss^S 103-105-107 E. Main Danville, Illinois Bredehoft & Ball WHOLESALE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES □nnn Danville, Illinois (Etmtjilimcnta of lakum JniUtstnj — D- INTER-STATE BAKING CO. HERENDEEN BAKINCx CO. WM. WINTHER & SONS MUELLER-SPITZ BAKING CO. ATHENS BAKERY ALBERT LEINS BAKERY LINNE BAKING CO. 88 CENTENNIAL[BOOK OF VERMILION' COUNTY, ILLINOIS WEBSTER GROCER CO, WHOLESALE GROCERS North St. & Washington Ave. DANVILLE, ILL. nn Distributors of Larabee's "Best, Piilsbury's Best and Golden Seal Flour nn MARVEL BRAND FOOD PRODUCTS THOMSON & TAYLOR COFFEE WHITE HOUSE COFFEE AND TEA CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 89 One Hundred Years have proven there is — NUN BETTER city than — DANVILLE We are proud of its progress. We are also proud of our NUN BETTER FOODS for there is — NUN BETTER. Wholesome Foods build healthy people, and thereby a progressive, healthy city. Use NUN BETTER as a guarantee of Health. Prosperity and Happiness. □ □□ Danville Wholesale Grocery Co. ■i».*v. 90 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY. ILLINOIS "ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME" Can be Enjoyed at the Hotel Lincoln NOTED FOR ITS HOME-LIKE ATMOSPHERE, QUIET, COMFORT AND REFINEMENT. nnnn nn Dining Room and Coffee Shop Unexcelled Cuisine and Service Moderate Charges nnnn nn JOHN J. GRIER CO., J. P. MURPHY. Owners and Operators Manager NATIONALLY KNOWN GRIER SERVICE ,~* ••-•-•r- fc v.\-w4*:r^>v*\vr27^^^ CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 2 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS "Success Starts in the Kitchen" THE Buckler - Moore Cafeteria 46 N. VERMILION ST. nn 100 years ago the business of feeding the man away from home had hardly passed "ye olde Tavern" stage, where the guest would spend several hours eating, drinking and swapping stories with the inn-keeper and other guests. Time was not important. The fast-moving age in which we find ourselves to-day, however, demands that we fill each min- ute with sixty busy seconds. Eating places, to meet the new demands have taken the form of the modern cafeteria where the SERVICE IS QUICK and EFFICIENT, where GOOD FOOD, WELL COOKED is TEMPTINGLY AR- RANGED BEFORE THE EYES, and where PRICES ARE REASONABLE. Such a place is THE BUCKLER-MOORE CAFETERIA 46 N. Vermilion St. WHEN IN MATTOON, ILL.. EAT AT THE BUCKLER-MOORE. ;».-'»^.v.>v«»;v^vi-4»^v..*'*«^,:.-*»'r.».i^*r»»w,:' v **; CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS An Efficient Laundry Service Since J 882 nn FORTY-FOUR years ago, a little room on West Main Street and 5 employees. To-day, a mam- moth laundry and dry cleaning plant with 120 employees ! Such has been the growth of the business es- tablished by John A. Phillips back in 1882. A steady growth, based upon service has made possible this business, which has passed from father to sons, and which each year is expending and increasing its num- ber of employees. No finer laundry in the state can be found than our splendid new plant at 21 South Vermilion Street. OUR DRY CLEANING SERVICE is growing along with our laundry, because we have exacting standards of service that please even the most particular persons. You are invited at any time to visit our plants. nn PHILLIPS Laundry and Dry Cleaning Co. 21-23-25 S. Vermilion Telephone 211-242-243 94 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS Kept Danville Clean For Years— Eight years ago the Model Laundry and the Star Laundry "joined hands" after some 18 or 20 years as separate units, battling to keep Dan- ville and the County clean — Today, its the same story told with modern equipment, a story of clean conscientious service. Telephones 175—676 J. W. SMALLEY, Pres. & Mgr. J. A. O'BRIEN, Vice Pres. & Treas. LOUIS J. O'BRIEN, Sec'y Telephones 177 and 141 L. F. Miller & Son ESTABLISHED 1893 Wholesale Fruits and Produce WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTORS Nucoa Nut Margarine Pet Brand Oranges and Lemons, Capidome, Grape Fruit Coning Bros. Apples 115 N. Washington Ave. DANVILLE, ILL. ■ •-•- .. _ _ ■••••«»^viv«rv.v.v w »'f»Vfc."*.*» • •*.* ■ •-"» •:•-.* •'.'•"•'**.'•. CENTENNIAL H< » IK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 95 i;ii;iiii|:!ii:i,;iiiiiiiiiiiiiii!;iiiii;iiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinii. mniuiHiiuiBDiniirauHHnnaiiiiii!ii • BROS ^ LUMBER CO. The Hub of the Lumber Business nn nnnn nn A PIONEER INDUSTRY OF DANVILLE FOUNDED ON QUALITY, THE GOLDEN THREAD OF SATISFACTION. nn nnnn nn THE HOME OF GOOD Ll'MP.ER & MILL WORK OF QUALITY 98 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF YERMILlo.X COUNTY, ILLINOIS THE FIRST TELEPHONE IN VERMILION COUNTY WAS PLACED IN THE H00T0N LUMBER YARD Knu The telephone has been improved, but we continue to furnish the same excellent quality of building material which has gone into countless homes since this yard was established in 1872. C. B. HOOTON THE MAIN ONE MAIN ONE ■ »#•••»% .:•-•♦ • •m.i.iZfS*?* vv- r »x*^:* CENTENNIAL H< » >K OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 99 Compliments of F. L. HILL LUMBER LUMBER «16 N. Walnut Street CO. Telephones: 7 and 8 DANVILLE, ILL. 100 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS DANVILLE LUMBER CO. By "SPLINTERS" 434-44 Gilbert All Telphones 800 YEAGER & SONS BUILDERS ... ••-•-•<••-.>- /-.'vw-v-v.v-'^'wv."- **■•■•*:» . •-*♦ • •'.• t #/* •:*" i v»v- r » V4 *:» CENTENNIAL U< » IK OF VERMILION COUNTY, II.I.IX (IS Kil Largest in Eastern Illinois A MODERN ELECTRIC PLANING MILL AND STEAM DRY KILN ELLIOTT LUMBER CO All Kinds of Building Materials WEST END SUBWAY— DANVILLE 102 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS E. C. LAMM & CO. PLANING MILL IVholesale and Retail Lumber SINCE 1857 Greetings from -* THE PIONEERS OF THE INDUSTRY nn E. C. LAMN & CO. 201 South Vermilion Street, DANVILLE, ILL. QUALITY LUMBER & MILLWORK fVebber and Turn ell Jewelers and Opticians 117 North Vermilion Street DANVILLE, ILL. ..-••r»v--.'r.v//j'#vo;"J7*v4»;v./'**\ h ../ # *»\»r CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, [LLINOIS 103 Marlatt Battery Manufacturing Company H'^P "V-\p vovvTyr*»'v. ***■•*.% ..*.*• **':%:t>z^r\v»:*;.; #v *\ , « CENTENNIAL U< » IK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILIKolS 105 USE Allith-Prouty GARAGE DOOR HARDWARE And Your Doors Will Operate Freely and Close Weather Tieht WE CAN HANG ON ANY KIND OF DOORS AND ALWAYS GUARANTEE Satisfaction in Hardware 106 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS OFFICE, SHOW ROOM and WAREHOUSE located at 619-705 N. Jackson St. &H£$S3£ Our progress has been steady for fifteen years. The Inland Supply Company was organized in June, 1911, with quarters on E. Harrison St. In 1913, moved to E. Van Buren St., which location served us till 1924, when we built the above plant. In 1921 our main offices were moved to Chicago where we have also made a steady growth. In May, 1926, we opened a branch warehouse at Champaign, which is operated under the jurisdiction of the Danville office. OUR BUSINESS IS WHOLESALE ONLY OF PLUMB- ING AND HEATING SUPPLIES. SELLING TO THE ESTABLISHED PLUMBING TRADE IN ILLINOIS, IN- DIANA. IOWA AND WISCONSIN. st!H! still INLAND SUPPLY COMPANY DANVILLE CHICAGO CHAMPAIGN /#r*v"-vv4» •'.V» T *VJ.*J7' V *^ -rrw v«:#.".»*:»\%n.«; CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, [LLINOIS 107 *4 ■ n ■ 'iM i:" : i;ii ' ■ .:"! .!■!■ .MM ; I! i! : - i.r ': ':| 'i; Ml i.M ;.i >■ ^i : i: mi in i . :■ ■:: i- mm .mi ■■!! mi !M! M'i .it ::l' i: ■ i; ,,; i:. !IIIIII!IIIIII!IIIIIIIII!IIU!I!IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!I!H I lllllllllllllllllllllll Milllllllllll' Danville Posting Service and Haskell Sign System mum PROMINENT AND WELL KNOWN DANVILLE FIRM WITH BUSINESS OFFICES AT 17 WEST HARRISON STREET MAINTAINS A POLICY IN THEIR OUTDOOR ADVERTISING WHICH ADDS TO THE GROWTH OF THE COMMUN- ITY AND TO THE ARTISTIC APPEARANCE OF OUR SURROUNDINGS— A PROGRESSIVE FIRM WHICH HOLDS THE COOPERATION AND GOOD WILL OF THE PUBLIC AND AIDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DANVILLE AND VICINITY THROUGH THE ESSENTIAL SERV- ICE THEY RENDER. :M u::- in;' -hi! :l mm . 'I i . ■ . i I ■ :i- m :-| l i immim f M: mI =" I in. iiiMn i ;n 1 1 ■. i i i r ;!i...n: mm in n- :!i- i; lllllllllillllllllllllllilllllllllllllll!llllllllllllllll!lllllllllll!IIIIIN|!|U HI- CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS We Welcome You— Lunches F. M. MISCH 124 E. Main St. DANVILLE. ILL. Sodas WM. C. SCHULTZ. JR. Branch Office and Factory Twin City Roofing Company Champaign, 111. HENRY BIRELINE COMPANY, [Inc.] Roofing and Sheet Metal Contractors 615 N. HAZEL ST.— BIG "4" R. R. DANVILLE, ILLINOIS CORNICES — Galvanized Iron or Copper Metallic Skylights Ventilators ROOFING— Slate, Tin, Tile, Copper, Felt, Gravel and Ready Roofing Metal Ceilings and Side Walls Warm Air Furnaces, Cast or Steel Growers of Florida Fancy Paper Shell Pecans ORDERS TAKEN WHOLESALE AND RETAIL .. . - •• • *v^v- r**-4i*\r^ .'••'*v^.\^*v*v^.v7*~*-»\v.:#."» * :•'.%_# •;• •*'*%.» ^'•'•'* X .V H. T. LEVERENZ C. C. LEVERENZ DANVILLE, ILL. nn nnn nn Best Grades Eastern Kentucky, Indiana White Ash and Illinois Coal The Bee Line Mf g. Co Factories — Veedersburs, Ind., Danville. 111. MANUFACTURERS OF Pants, Overalls & Coats SOLD EVERYWHERE 110 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS What you must buy on faith Beauty of silver, gold and platium, of precious gems, you can judge for your- self. But of their quality your only as- surance is faith in those from whom you buy. Years of honest dealing have earned us a reputation for trustworthi- ness, winning us many patrons and, among other things, the distinction of being one of the few jewelers privileged to sell Gruen Watches. ;\i^r McKee and Overstreet JEWELERS AND OPTICIANS Formerly Fisher & McKee 19 N. Vermilion St. THE HALLMARK STORE MEMBER GRUEN WATCH GUILD % v./* • :*\v.v.''«~*»^v^^** v^7^«r^^^ Charles F. Ehlers, Pres. & Mgr. Charles M. Woodbury, Vice Pres. Flora M. Woodbury, Sec'y & Treas. WOODBURY DRUG CO. Established 1846, Incorporated 1903 nm 80 Years in the Same Business, 66 Years in One Room The Same Ground, the Same Room, the Same Firm DANVILLE, ILL. 1846 | |J926 80 YEARS OLD In the Fall of 1846— the Woodbury Book Co. started in business in Vermilion County, which is now celebrating its 100th anniversary. -* We want to take this opportunity to THANK THE PEOPI.K OF THE COMMUNITY for its generous patronage during all these years, which has made it possible for us to have one of the finest and best Book and Stationery Stores in Illinois. We trust that we will warrant a continuance of your support, WOODBURY BOOK CO. 125 North Vermilion Street T846| |"l927T 112 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS OTTO R. SCHULTZ HARDWARE CO. HARDWARE, PAINTS, CHINAWARE, TOYS 155 Vermilion St. Danville, Illinois nnnn □□ T. C. ALEXANDER (Cleve) SPORTING GOODS AND SUPPLIES 155 N. Vermilion St. Danville, 111. OPPOSITE FISCHER THEATRE GULICK DRUG CO. T. A. GULICK, R. PH., PRES. C. M. KARNS, SECY. 105 N. Vermilion St. DANVILLE, ILL. Telephone 129 // Its Advertised 1l"c Stock It. Why not try us first. A complete Stock of Drugs, Foun- tain Pens, Hot Water Bottles, Stationery, Drug Sundries and Burdsal Paint. GULICK DRUG CO. nnnn nn Our Chocolate Sundaes Are the Talk of the Town Whitmans Candies, Choice Perfumes, Shaeffers Pens, Kodaks and Films Developing and Printing MORTON'S ONE-HOUR DRYING AUTO ENAMEL DANVILLE DRUG CO. THE SAN TOX STORE 15 E. Main St. Telephone 97 ^ •••%*:. v-:'#'*~«»t'^^# w ^ CENTENNIAL Hi 'OK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 113 *- PLASTER DRUG CO. DANVILLE'S BEST DRUG STORE Save time — Try us first. Our Stock Is Complete in Every Detail. □ 108 VERMILION STREET I DANVILLE, ILLINOIS. Davey's Men's Wear Home of Adler Collegian Clothes n Here's hoping that we are all here one hundred years from now. 17 N. VERMILION ST. DANVILLE, ILL. 114 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION" COUNTY, ILLINOIS BL_— ^1 "Everything In Music" Has Been Benjamin's Slogan for Over a Half Century Benjamin's Temple of Music ESTABLISHED 1876 -4 Headquarters For All Centennial Visitors Smoot Drug Co. DANVILLE, ILL. VERMILION & HARRISON STS. TELEPHONE 93 ^^•w:v-^wr7JT»v*\^iViV ; , .v' , »'«\» !...•» « •■.iif7': , ^ , .*:.v:. w *\; CENTENNIAL B< >< >K < >F VERMILION COUNTY. ILLINOIS US for 55 Years Our Location Has Been a HARDWARE STORE DOWLING HARDWARE CO 35 Vermilion St. Meet Your Friends at Feldkamp Candy Co. 36 N. Vermilion nnn Excellent Noon Lunches 116 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS INTER- STATE WATER CO. DANVILLE, ILLINOIS . CENTENNIAL R()()K OF VERMILION COUNTY. ILLINOIS 117 118 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS Memorial Arts Co. 409-411 E. MAIN Telephone 96 DANVILLE, ILLINOIS Mausoleums, Monuments and Markers "MARK EVERY GRAVE" CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 119 nn< Compliments of F. W. WOOLWORTH CO. 5 and 10c STORE 8-10 N. Vermilion St. K □< Compliments of S. S. KRESGE CO 25c to $1 Store, 12-14 N. Vermilion St. 5 and 10c Store. 26 N. Vermilion St. -* -* 120 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS Pi&ly.Wi^ly Hint Hi 51 N. Vermilion 807 N. Vermilion Madison Square 203 Oakwood Ave. 205 East Main 110 Park Street Saves Thrifty Housewives Many Dollars Danville Artificial Ice Co. GEO. M. WRIGHT Established 1895 nnn Manufacturers and Distributors of Ice TELEPHONE 401 Office: 733 E. Cleveland St. +..- -'•-.• • •-• •*-... .--'••*Vw.-'*»**v...'» •■•*:»--•»*■*•.» . •/* *■*■.* .w.w? CENTENNIAL H< >< >K OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 121 ^4. [in Black Servant Coal Company General Offices 310 Adams Building DANVILLE, ILLINOIS Mines Located at Elkville, Illinois W. G. HARTSHORN, JR., Pres. Telephone 2352 and 2353 1111111111111111111111111111111 liililiiilliniiiiiiiii 122 CENTENNIAL BOOK OP VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS The Commercial-News Danville, Illinois ESTABLISHED 1866 J. H. HARRISON, Editor W. J. PARRETT. Manae-pr > *. .... :•'•••-%■ ;_;»#-•-*» '- »#•'•» v- ■ •#*■•• -. . ^ »# *■*» ■ ' ' T v/i\^ ' CENTENNIAL lini.K i >|- VI- KM I l.K ).\ CofNTV, ILLINOIS 123 DANVILLE AUBURN AUTO CO. CADILLAC— AUBURN— OAKLAND— PONTIAC 141-143 North Walnut St. Telephone Main 588-589 OLDEST AUTO DEALER IN THIS SECTION OF COUNTY M.\t.\t Compliments of BARKMAN CHEVROLET SALES CO. 107 W. NORTH ST. The Greatest Buick Ever Built Quiet at Every Point on Speedometer Shown in 16 Models DAUBS-VISKNISKKI MOTOR CO. BUICK SALES AND SERVICE 222-24 W. Main Street DANVILLE, ILL. LINCOLN FORD FORDSON BARKER MOTOR CAR CO. Authorized Ford Dealers Open Evenings 225 W. Main St. 124 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS David Bros, and Potter Grain Merchants JOHN CHRISMAN, Manager The Peoples State Bank COLLISON, ILLINOIS Davis & Davis Department Store Farm Machinery The Collison Garage Tires, Accessories, Gas and Oil GENE M. CAMPBELL, Mgr. R. 0. Vinson Farmer and Banker T. H. French Highway Commissioner and Farmer Chas. G. Juvinall & Son Live Stock Feeders and Shippers C. W. Laflen Farmer and Feeder *-.» . . '• •'*»;^v-. 1 '*-«** , ».v *-.'*"»'4».^"-"- »*'*'«». k - ■•#■*■*" v ~ m »# *■*■ ' i v.%\\*7 CENTENNIAL H< x iK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 125 THE E. B. COLLINS COMPANY Wholesale Al'TO AND RADIO SUPPLIES 214-216 W \l\l\ TELEPHONE MAIN 6 DANVILLE, ILL AUTO BATTERY & ELECTRIC CO. D. R. SWAIM AUTOMOTIVE IGNITION TELEPHONE 994 HAZEL AND HARRISON STS. DANVILLE, ILL. DODGE BROTHERS Motor Cars and Trucks Sales Service BYRON BILDERBACK 118 N VERMILION DANVILLE, ILL AMACK MOTOR COMPANY STUDEBAKER AUTOMOBILES ■ m 104-106 N. HAZEL fELEPHONE 929 DANVILLE, II. I. 126 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS Danville Motor Car Co. 317 North Vermilion Street Danville, Illinois HUDSON. ESSEX, MARMON H. L. Snyder, Manager Humrichouse Tire Shop AUTO TIRES, TUBES AND SUPPLIES Corner North and Hazel Sts. Danville, Illinois Howard-Martin Tire Co., Inc. 114-118 N. Hazel St. We carry complete line Replacement Parts for all Model Cars New Low Prices WILLYS OVERLAND Fine Motor Cars TAYLOR MOTOR CO. 252 West Main St. »>,t* •;*\.Y..** *-*\v^7**s**^vj .'*V4» ■■■./* *-*\» .:./***■.» . - •# *-*\ k .v_v.%\v7. CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS 127 FIRST NATIONAL BANK CATLIN, ILLINOIS OFFICERS: DIRECTORS: R. PUZEY, President R. PUZEY \V. S. KEENEY, Vice-President W. S. KEENEY H. E. DOUGLAS, Cashier H. E. DOUGLAS (.'. X. MICHAEL, Asst. Cashier CHAS. V. TILTON MAE CHURCH, Asst. Cashier I. G. GUYMON A. JONES' SONS "CATLIN'S PIONEER STORE" 75 Years of Service TELEPHONE 35 CATLIN, ILLINOIS Compliments of BROWN BROS. HARDWARE, LUMBER, IMPLEMENTS AND AUTOMOBILES BISMARCK, ILL. B. B. TAYLOR, President WILLIAM DOLAN, Secretary TAYLOR-ENGLISH COAL CO. MAIN OFFICE. CATLIN, ILL. Mines on Wabash R. R. Daily Capacity, 2,000 Tons The Coal That Gives Service 128 CENTENNIAL BOOK OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS Vote for CLAUDE P. MADDEN For Sheriff of Vermilion County ELECTION NOVEMBER 2ND, 1926 You All Know Me ■ l * l > , ^:vj^v4t':vj^^^J^v^ ' v^f*V>^ , *^.M^AV^^ ^y^^ 1826 Lest We Forget 1926 HISTORICAL AND SYMBOLICAL PAGEANT In Celebration of the CENTENNIAL OF VERMILION COUNTY, ILLINOIS ILLINOIS-INDIANA FAIRGROUNDS, DANVILLE, ILLINOIS SEPTEMBER 28, 29, 30, 1926 (By Earl Darfler) Cast of Characters PRINCIPALS FATHER TIME HARMON EASTON MISS COLUMBIA MRS. EARL TAYLOR MISS VERMILION COUNTY, QUEEN OF THE CENTENNIAL AND HER MAIDS OF HONOR. ARRIVAL OF THE QUEEN AND HER MAIDS OF HONOR: .MISS C. & E. I... ___Elma Blankenburg MISS BLOUNT .Mildred Wyman MISS PILOT Bess Fiench MISS CATLIN Iris Kinder MISS ROTARY Mabel Graves MISS KIWANIS Amelia Rainier MISS A. B. C Jeanette Schuman .MISS B. & P. W LeonaDrews MISS D. H. S Harriet Chapman .MISS GRANT Mrs. Ralph Elliott MISS BUTLER Margaret Liggett MISS MIDDLEFORK Laura Luckey MISS ROSS Creta Strickler MISS NEWELL Grace Young MISS OAKWOOD ___Uavon Thompson MISS VANCE Thelma Brandon MISS JAMAICA Juanita Linville MISS SIDELl, .Louise Burroughs MISS CARROLL Jean Coggshall MISS GEORGETOWN Catherine Rucker MISS ELWOOD -Uidrey Castle MISS McKENDREE .Mrs. Pleas Maworth MISS LOVE FernAttebury (Arrival of Miss Columbia and the Forty-Eight States: MISS COLUMBIA MRS. EARL TAYLOR HER COURT OF FORTY-EIGHT STATES- Lois Wick Marie Lane Maiie Jewell Emma Hitchens Helen Freimeyer Hazel Pavey Rose Switzer Rose Shepherd Ethel KiiiK Winifred Jones Helen Carter Oma Suitt Etna Smith Helen Smith Gladys Coit Edith Pavey Ethel Stansberry Julia Campbell Reva Clair Hoff Lucy Hickman Nellie Spencer Nora Olmsted Dorothea Packard Gladys Brooks Olive Adams Ora Phillips Edna Walters Marian Dull Nelle Burt Anna Smith Fanny Stockdale Ida Southworth Sophia Dillon Exxa Bennett Miriam Moore Clara Schultz From the Business and Professional Women's Club. Kate Schultz Madge Cadwallader Mabel Redden Mae Converse Welmina Moran Anna Schull Verna Burnette Marie Burnette Jennie Schull Cecile A. Alles Margaret White Mrs. Morris Thompson Danville. Illinois. Zella Hackman Gwendolyn O'Neal Ruth Osborne Virginia Miller "THE DAWNING OF CREATION" MIST MAIDENS Wintress Dalby Kathlyn Frazier Mae McEwan Dorothy Hall Ava Ashby Helen Hannah Eleanor Hulgren Constance Patton Vera Nickolson Betty Anne Stewart Marion Fearherley Ruth Marie Chaney Beverly Yarborough Dorothy Laker Beverly Morgan Jane Morrison Barbara Current FLOWERS Betty Lou Miller Betty Louise Baum Arlena Swisher Miriam Johnson Nancy Knight Lewis Sara Ruth Sonner Madeline Stewart Barbara Morgan Small jlirls from Roselawn District. Muriel Chanev Burl Wallace Mary Redden Mary Myrtle Jones Catherine Jane Jackson TABLEAU "THE COMING OF THE INDIANS" CAST OF CHARACTERS CHIEF KEANNEKEUK A. S. White GUIDES Paul Billingsley, A. F. Tidrow HALF BREEDS George L. Queck, John C. Miller, Jess Jenkins GUARDS Harry Burks, B. L. Stewart BRAVES Byron Mowery, Frank Gray, Sr., William Toler war dancers- Ross Bentley Elvin Schaffer Robert Miller Frank Gray", Jr. Harold Robertson L. V. Jackson Freeman Cronk MEMBERS OF THE TRIBE L. V. Jackson O. N. Blaisdell H. Bigger E. Bushong Paul Billingsley Z. M. Brown W. H. Toller Harry Blaisdell George Queek ' Freeman Cronk Frank Gray, Jr. Howard Hickman Ross Bentlev Bert Gillim Harry Gray E. A. Dyas N. C. Bates' H. Morgan Frank Gray, Sr. John Cole J. C. Miller O. Graham Ralph LaBaw J. T. West A. F. Tidrow Dick Mantle B. M. Hursh Clyde Meharry Robert Miller B. O. Bonesteel John Hursh SQUAWS Mrs. Vinnie Jenkins Delia Alber Mary Mantle Ruth Vandiner Mrs. Mabel Sears Mary Breman Evelyn Cramer Deane Tidrow Miss Harry Hickman Mamie Walsh Jennie Miller INDIAN CHILDREN Robert Tidrow Mary Walsh John Walsh Ralph Bentley PAPOOSE Louise Ann Hickman Furnished by IniDroved Order of Redmen Lodge of Danville, Illinois. " "THE SPIRIT OF THE WILDERNESS" Portrayed by Darleen Walder THE SETTLEMENT OF VERMILION COUNTY JOE BARRON, General William Henry Harrison's Interpreter H. L. Hogland TRUMAN BLACKMAN Robert Puzey LAMBERT BONA James Siddell ZARIAH CICOTT vv- J £ e1 ^ Tay lor INDIAN GUIDES — E. C. Pate, Frank Taylor, Jean Wolfe, R. Duncan INDIAN HALF-BREEDS H. C. Clark, Herman Byerly, Russell Jones REMEMBER BLACKMAN whit Taylor GEORGE BECKWITH Chas. Boggess SEYMOUR TREAT Dr. Stansbury MRS. SEYMOUR TREAT Mrs. Dr. Stansbury CHILDREN OF THE TREATS Mildred and June Stansbury PIONEER WOMEN— Mrs. Whit Taylor, Mrs. Wm. Dolan, Mrs. E. A. Church, Mrs. Chas. Boggess, Mrs. H. C. Clark, Mrs. Joel Taylor, Mrs. Herman Byerly, Mrs. John Smoot, Mrs. F. H. Meneley. tt CRIPPLED WOMAN Mrs. H. E. Douglas CHILDREN— John Clark, Marcilla Dolan, Wm. Dolan, Jr., John Allen Douglas, Hazel Kirkhart, Velma June Byerly, Jack Jones, Lowell Taylor, Elizabeth and Barbara Boggess, Leone Bentley, Ruth Burroughs, Elizabeth Carnes, Alta Reynolds, Vanolda and Wayne Clark. GUARDS R°y Bentley, W. H. Jones, Kenneth France Cast furnished by Catlin Township. THE "WORKS" TAKE ON NEW LIFE CAST OF CHARACTERS CYRUS DOUGLAS H E - Douglas MARCUS SNOW Henry Klayer MOTHER BLOSS Mrs. Fred L Joy