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 H [STORY 
 
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 Bloomington and Normal 
 
 IN 
 
 McLEAN COUNTY, ILLINOIS. 
 
 I DMPILKD \NI» A.SEANGED PROM I II I I ! r - I A I niORITU 
 
 BY J. H. BURNHAM. 
 
 OV ULiMiMINliTON. 
 
 BLOOM I NGTON 
 J. II. BURNHAM, I'l I'.l.isil 
 L879 
 
 L.L
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The history of Bloomington and Normal, herewith given, was written for the History 
 of McLean county, Illinois, published by LeBaron & Co., of Chicago, and appears in the 
 body of that work. Owing to the general design and arrangement of that publication, its 
 cost placed it out of the reach of many who wish to obtain the history of Bloomington and 
 Normal, and, at the request of friends, I have thought best to publish a small edition which 
 can be sold at a price that will place it in the hands of all who may desire a copy. 
 
 In this connection, 1 wish to remark that the preparation of this little work was, to the 
 historian, almost a labor of love. As he progressed in the work, his interest in everything 
 pertaining to the towns increased until he could scarcely lay aside the pen. He was aware of 
 the great responsibility resting upon the writer of the first historical sketch, but has 
 attempted conscientiously and fairly to arrange and present an impartial, authentic account 
 of the events of our half century of history. The imperfections of the present work are, per- 
 haps, more evident to its author than they possibly can be to the general reader, and such 
 as exist, he hopes will be regarded with all proper indulgence. 
 
 Great care was taken in verifying all statements — particularly those relating to the 
 earliest events. The writer visited Pekin and Vandalia, and carefully examined all records, 
 being, perhaps, the only person who has ever taken such pains to ascertain the facts of our 
 early history. Only those who have been actually engaged in an enterprise of this kind, can 
 properly estimate the difficulties and perplexities that must be encountered, and it is asking 
 too much to expect the general public will be satisfied with what has been accomplished. 
 Still, such as it is, we hereby present the little work, hoping our earnest efforts will be 
 appreciated, and that our contribution to history will prove acceptable. 
 
 It is with pleasure I return thanks to the many friends who have assisted in the 
 
 preparation of these chapters. 
 
 J. H. B.
 
 
 i:l<h>\i[.\(,|( i\ 
 
 The territorry now included in the township of Bloomington Lb a part of our 
 common oounty, and as such entitled to its Bhare in the interesl attaching to the 
 general history of our State and nation; bul when we take it npon ourselves to learn 
 the history of the sii miles square called Bloomington, we find it almost impossible to 
 divest general history from the local interesl of the tract of land under consideration 
 It would be pleasant to go back t" the time when all the country, north of the Ohio, 
 wae a French possession ; to glanoe at it- first American baptism, in the year 177- 
 when Gen. Clarke with his Virginians captured the whole region from the British, who 
 had taken it all from the French in 17» - >': ; to learn something of it- early hi a 
 
 portion of Virginia after Qen Cl.uk.' returned from his expedition, at which time the 
 whole hi i dependency of Virginia, called Ulinois Comity; to look at tin- same 
 
 nntry years later, when it was called the Northwest Territory, anil to follow its 
 fortunes a- the Territory of Indiana, then as tin' Territory of Illinois from 1809 down 
 to L818, when tin- State of Ulinois entered upon its independent career. In all thi 
 varying changes, the little Bpot of land we are now examining bad a territorial share, 
 hut was peopled only by wild anil Bavage Indians, who may have been intelligent enough 
 to know the French from the English, but who were not citizens of what, ver power for the 
 tim.' being was in possession of the land. It was not till l-_':i that the territory dow 
 known a- McLean County possessed a single white inhabitant; ami when, in that year, 
 the families of .John Bendrix ami John W. Dawson made a selection of sites for 
 homes, they were the first permanent settlers in the county, and were also the first in 
 Bloomington Township, of which we now propose to give an historical Bketch. We 
 have a right to Buppose that long previous to the date we have mentioned important 
 events transpired lure, in which white people took important pan-. It was herein 
 th region that (Jen Hopkins' army was embarrassed in 1813, in his fruitless 
 
 pedition from the Wabash toward the fort which was then standing at Peoria. It is 
 probable that many a party of French and friendly Indians have camped in our old 
 wood- when on their way from Lake Michigan to Cahokia and Kaskaskia. Possibly 
 the early Indian traders and hunters may have built trading-stations and occupied them 
 for long periods, at points wh< re our first settlers found partial clearings in the original 
 t' rests. But perhaps it is cot best t < ■ indulge oursi lv< - in much speculation or Bupp 
 tion on these topics, as we shall find our path obscure enough, following as we go the 
 best authenticated records that are now available. 
 
 BLOOMING '.r."\ B, in B"A1 Kl i I. COl MTT. 
 
 We find that the first white men who mad.- marks which have in any manner 
 entered into history were the Government land surveyors, who commenced the work of 
 dividing and subdividing the fertile acres of SfoLean County in the year 1821. T 
 tiual survey was not completed until October, 1823, when Blooming drove Township 
 was Burveyed by P. M. rlamtramaok. 
 
 Our township has been situated in allegiance to many different counties. In 1-17, 
 Ulinois being then a Territory, the oounty of Crawford was in power here. In L819
 
 a year after the State of Illinois had been admitted into the Union, Clark County had 
 jurisdiction, while, in 1821, Fayette County was organized, extending northeast as far 
 as the Illinois River, and to Fayette our first settlers owed allegiance. As under- 
 stood at the time, Fayette reached to the Wisconsin line. This was the meaning of the 
 act incorporating Fayette County, but as, by a previous law, Pike County included all 
 north of the Illinois River, Fayette County could not enforce its claim to its most north- 
 ern territory. 
 
 All this region of country now known as McLean County, east of the Third Prin- 
 cipal Meridian, was situated in the county of Fayette, and thus remained until the 
 development of the country several years later rendered it absolutely necessary that this 
 immense tract should be subdivided into several counties. We will attempt to give the 
 names of only a few of the first settlers of this township, mentioning some of the most 
 prominent, but may, through inadvertence, omit others equally deserving. In 1822, 
 John Hendrix and John W. Dawson, with their families, settled in the southern por- 
 tion of Blooming Grove. There was with them in the same year a single man of the 
 name of Segur, who, however, did not stay long in the settlement, he having sold his 
 claim in 1823 to Mr. William Orendorff. Mr. Dawson remained four years, when he 
 removed to near the site of the old Indian town in Old Town Timber. During these 
 four years, while his family lived at the Grove, there were no less than fifteen different 
 families who made their homes here, so that Blooming Grove very soon became a well- 
 settled community. Mr. Hendrix is entitled to the honor of being the first settler, as 
 Mr. Dawson's family did not arrive till after Mr. H. had been here some weeks. Of 
 the family of John W. Dawson, who came in 1822, we will here remark that two are 
 now living in the city of Bloomington, having moved from Old Town many years ago. 
 The oldest is Mrs. William Paist, whose first husband was Maj. Owen Cheney. She 
 was about ei°ht years old when her father moved to the Indian town. She was a great 
 favorite with the Indian squaws, who often carried her to their homes, keeping her for 
 days at a time, where the little girl was greatly pleased and interested. Mrs. P. does 
 not even yet appear aged — scarcely elderly. She takes a great interest in society, and 
 it seems hardly possible that this active lady has seen the full growth and development 
 of Blooming Grove, of Bloomington City and of McLean County. Her brother, 
 John Dawson, is the next oldest pioneer now living in our city. 
 
 Mr. John Hendrix is deserving of mention, having been a consistent, devoted Chris- 
 tian who planted early good seed that has borne many fold. He has been honored by 
 havin" - the. railroad station on the Central in the Orendorff neighborhood named after 
 him, as well as the post office, and the true spelling of the name should be Hendrix, it 
 being named for this good old pioneer. The first sermon in Blooming Grove was 
 preached at the house of Mr. Hendrix, by Rev. James String-field, in 1823. Mr. Hen- 
 drix labored in the settlement as a true Christian should, and very few who have lived 
 in this county have left such a noble record. Men like Mr. Hendrix and Mr. Dawson 
 should always be held in grateful recollection by our people, both of them having been 
 men of great worth. With their two families, they accomplished a great deal of good 
 in forming and molding the tone of society during the first two or three years of the 
 infant settlement. They labored iu every manner possible to induce the best class of 
 emigrants to settle as neighbors and used all the skill they possessed to persuade unde- 
 sirable persons to move on or look further for more congenial neighborhoods. The
 
 strict, almosl Puritanic, ways of the religious Mr. Hendru naturally bad the effect of 
 impressing new-comers who r tless and irreligious, with an aversion to his socii 
 
 and would as naturally attract pious men, like Rev. K Rhodes, who came in L823 <>r 
 1 B2 l, and the influence of :i!l these i arlj settlers was of lasting value. 
 
 The influence of a E w of the early pi sera in determining the class of Bettlers who 
 
 were attracted to cast their lot in the Bame community, has often been referred to, but 
 we find thai in thi F Blooming Grov< a great deal was accomplished in this direc- 
 
 tion, in tlit- firsi two or three years of it- development, and in this manner we account 
 for the fact that at the time of the location here of the county Beat, there was no settle- 
 ment of equal power and influence anywhere between Vandalia and the Wisconsin line. 
 
 In the year l s _':',. William Orendorffand wife arrived, with Mr. Thomas Orendorff, 
 
 then ;i young man of twenty-three. In 182 t, Mr. G Iheart and W. H. Hodge settled at 
 
 the Grove, and about the Bame time Mr. William Walker and family, and i nough others 
 to bring the whole number of families op to about fifteen by the end of die y< ar 1 32 t 
 There were do exceptions to the general good character attributed to all of the first 
 families, thus giving illustration to the old Baying in regard to "birds of a feather. ' 
 
 Our sketch, imperfect as it is, must not omit all mention of the llh< ><1.-.- family. 
 Ebenezer Rhodes came to the Grove in April, 1824. He was the tir- r minister who 
 settled at Blooming Grove, having been ordained in the Separate Baptists, befon com- 
 ing t<> Blooming Grove. Mr. Rhodes organized a Bmall church at his own house, con- 
 sisting at iir.-t of eight persons. This church held meetings at the house of John 
 Benson and that of Josiah Brown, at Dry Grove. There had been occasional preaching 
 before his arrival, but from this time forward he kept up regular ministrations. He 
 appear.- to have been a natural missionary, and labored in all the young settlements within 
 thirty or forty miles. No doubt he was induced to settle here by the pn - ooe of such 
 men as John Hendrix, and the prospect that Blooming Grove would be the first settle- 
 ment able to maintain a church and school; and we thus see the good effect of the high 
 character of the pioneers of 1 822, who attracted men like Mr. K bodes, who in turn 
 1 a Bimilar influence upon later arrivals. In addition to hisservice as pastor, Mr. 
 Rhodes was a man of mechanical knowledge — could make spinning-wheels, seats and chairs, 
 and, as early as the first year of his arrival. Bet up a hand-mill for grinding corn, and in 
 the next year built one that was run by horse-power. 
 
 It would be pleasant to follow this g 1 man in his various enterprise*, but space 
 
 forbi II" was the father of Capt. John U.S. Rhodes and Jeremiah Rhodes, both 
 
 of whom came here iii 1824, and who were among the besl of our pioneers. The latter 
 
 -till living, a hearty old gentleman, a connecting link between the past and the pn 
 em. lie remembers well the condition of the country in those early days. When his 
 father arrived, the huckapoo Indians were plentiful in this neighborhood. Their chief, 
 M i Sliee-ni. ordered the Rhodes family and others to the south Bide of the Sangamon 
 River, declaring thai he had never Bigned the treaty which gave the whites po session 
 of Blooming then called Keg Grove. It appears that the old chief was nek at the 
 time the treaty was signed, but had Bent his bod to treat with the white- and Bign the 
 article- Ma-Shee-na threatened to bum the houses of the families here, but finally 
 compromised !•;. allowing them to remain until fall. When one regards the treacherous 
 
 nature of the Indian-, it look- a- if the pioneer- of 1824 ran a great ri-k in ivmainii. 
 
 under the circumstances ; but the chief appear- to have been a prettj g 1 Bort of an
 
 6 
 
 Indian, worthy of the confidence reposed in him, and, in the end, the settlers either com- 
 pletely won his good-will or, as is quite probable, so increased in numbers as to overawe 
 the whole tribe. It has been a matter of some surprise to us that the name of this Indian 
 chief, which we spell as pronounced, Ma-Shee-na, has not been preserved in this settle- 
 ment. So far as we know, there is not in this neighborhood a single Indian name, with 
 the exception of Kickapoo, which is the name of the creek that flows through 
 Blooming Grove. 
 
 The Kickapoos, a few Delawares, and some Pottawatomies were very plenty from 
 1822 to 1829, and were generally very kind and friendly. The settlers became 
 acquainted with them, knew their names, and in some cases formed friendships as perma- 
 nent and kindly as many existing between the whites themselves. When the Indians 
 left they were missed, and their absence as much regretted by some, as if they had been 
 old friends. Most of them left before the end of 1829, though as late as the summer of 
 1832, there were enough in this region within one hundred miles of the Grove, to 
 cause grave apprehensions, this being the year of the Black Hawk war. 
 
 Very few Indian traditious have been preserved, owing, probably, to the fact that 
 the aborigines found by our early settlers were of a roving class, who came here from 
 the eastern part of the State, taking the places of other Indians who had preceded them. 
 Had our pioneers fallen in with Indians whose ancestors long resided here, we should 
 probably be able to gather some interesting Indian legends. The Grove was known as 
 Keg Grove until 1824, and, in fact, the old name clung to it at a much later period. It 
 is said that what are now called Sulphur Springs — formerly known as Hinshaw's Springs 
 — formed a common camping-place for hunters and travelers long before the first set- 
 tlers arrived. It was usual for parties to travel from the Wabash River to the fort at 
 what is now Peoria, or from Chicago to St. Louis. In either case, these springs were a 
 convenient stopping-place. 
 
 Tradition asserts that at one time a party of white men hid a keg of rum at this 
 point, probably intending to return for it in a short time. It was found by some Kiek- 
 apoo Indians, who, no doubt, then possessed the richest <: bonanza" of their whole lives. 
 The remarkable " find " was reported to the Indians all through this region, who named 
 this locality " Keg Grove." 
 
 The " first families " of our ancestors were not of the class who had any fancy for 
 a name which suggested drunken Indians, rum, whisky or anything of the kind, and 
 thev believed it for the interest of flie infant settlement that it should be rechristened, 
 and to Mrs. William OrendorfF is generally ascribed the credit of suggesting the name of 
 Blooming Grove, which proved a very suitable and acceptable name. This was about 
 the year 1824. 
 
 The first white female child born in McLean County was Elizabeth Ann Hendrix, 
 daughter of John Hendrix, born May 3, 1823. The first death occurred in the family 
 of Thomas OrendorfF, it being one of his children, who died in 1825. Mr. 0. laid out 
 a family burying-ground at that time, which has become an established cemetery — the 
 oldest in the county. The first white male child born in this county (now living) is 
 John Lewis OrendorfF, son of Mr. OrendorfF, who was born January 30, 1825. The 
 first school was taught by Miss Delila Mullen, in the house of John W. Dawson, in 
 1823, and it consisted at first of only five pupils. About the year 1825, a log school- 
 house was built, the firs!; in this county. The site is on what is now the Oliver Oren-
 
 InrfT farm I it 1 1 one of i few years, there was an ihoolhouse, on the 
 
 side of the < Jr. 
 
 In the year L 824, a class of Methodists was organized at the house of John Hen 
 iliix. and it was k . j.t ap until the year 1838 
 
 I'll ■■ fire! blacksmith :it the Grove was the !!■ •■ Mr Bee, who lived in thi I 
 
 neighbor] I. and was here as earl) - L826 He did little jobs of such work, though 
 
 he t Methodist minister and ;i fanner. 
 
 Thomas Orendorfl was born A.ugust I l L800, at Spartansburg, 9 •'. He oame to 
 
 in 1817, when this was a Territory, having been present ;it the birth of the 
 
 - te, as well as a prominent actor in it- subsequent development He lived in 
 
 ral different places, having moved from Sangamon County, 01., to Keg, now Bl ■• m 
 ing Grove, on the '_'<1 day of May, 1823. Thomas Orendorfl was then a single 
 man, and made his home with bis brother William, who accompanied him. Il> made 
 i claim near the Mason farm, about three miles south of the city of Bloomington. 
 
 October 5, 1824, be married M irj Malinda Walker, daughter of William Walker, 
 me of our most prominent pioneers. This was the first wedding in Blooming Grove. 
 The first in the county was the marriage of John Taylor t . Temperance Stringfield, at 
 Randolph's Grove in June, 1824 Rev, K. Rhodes married this couple, and at the 
 close nf the a remonj published a notice of the intended marriage of the young couple 
 it Blooming Grove He also posted written notices of their intention, and when 
 
 time arrived performed the ceremony. The newly-married pair moved into a cabin 
 • hi Mr Orendorff's claim, where they made their home for a number of years, until Mr. 
 Orendorff, in his anxiety to be near the open prairie, convenient to a good Btock-range, 
 moved to what was then called Little Grove, nearly a mile east of Blooming Grove, ti e 
 miles southeast of our city, where, with his venerable wife, be is still living, both being 
 
 in comparatively g 1 health. It is rare, indeed, that we can find a couple who have b< o 
 
 married fifty-five years, ami when we take into account the severe pi er life they have 
 
 ttnir g 1 fortune seems almost wonderful. 
 
 In Prof. Duis' ••<! 1 < M<1 Time- in .McLean County," we read "When Thomas 
 
 ni'l William Orendorff settled in McLean County, the old chief of the Backapoos Mr 
 now thinks these Indians were Delawares came with Machina afterward their 
 
 chief ami ordered them ti> leave. But the old chief Bpoke English in Buch a | r 
 
 manner that Thomas Orendorff told him to keep still and let Machina talk. Then 
 Machina drew himself up and said in his heavy voice: 'Too much come back, white 
 man. t' other side Sangamon. 1 Mr. Orendorff told Maohinathat the latter had Bold the 
 
 land to the white-; hut Maehina denied it. and the discussion Waxed warm, and the 
 
 chiefs went away, feeling verj much insulted. Mr. Orendorff's friends considered his. 
 
 life very much in danger, and he was advised bj Judge Latham, the Indian agent, to 
 
 the count) ; but he attended to hi.- hii-iin -- ami wa- not molested. At one tim 
 
 Indian called Turkej eam,- to Mr Orendorff, and gave him warning that Machina 
 
 would kill him; but no attempt was made to put such a threat into execution.' 1 Mr. 
 
 lorff still remembers man) incidents in relation to the Indian- He says at one 
 
 be was talking with Maehina about killing people. " JTon wouldn't kill a white 
 
 i would) . said Mr. O. N 'In- Indian. -I go hell and damnation," 
 
 indicating that be knew the penalty as taught 1>\ the missionaries Mr, Orendorff's 
 
 memory, as also that of his wife, is now somewhat defective; ind when we oonsider
 
 8 
 
 their early, anxious experiences with the Indians, their pioneer life, and their old age. 
 we only wonder at their being still alive and as comfortable as we now find them. 
 
 Mr. Orendorff was always one of the leading men of the infant settlement. 
 When the plans for a new county were fully matured, he was selected with Rev. James 
 Latta, to go to Vandalia to secure from the Legislature an act of incorporation. These 
 county projects were very numerous at that time, one of the principal matters before 
 the Legislature being the proper consideration of the many county and county-seat 
 projects presented from the newly-settled parts of the State. Our committee urged 
 their claims so successfully that the bill for the incorporation of McLean County was 
 passed by the house in the forenoon and by the Senate in the afternoon of the same 
 day. 
 
 Mr. Orendorff has held several offices, having been the first Coroner of Tazewell 
 County in 1827, when by virtue of his office he took the place of the County Assessor 
 who had failed to qualify, and he assessed the immense territory, making a trip on 
 horse-back to the settlements toward Ottawa and Hennepin, on the Illinois River. He 
 was appointed Assessor and Treasurer for McLean County at its organization, and often 
 acted in prominent positions. 
 
 We cannot help regarding Mr. Orendorff with a feeling of veneration akin to rev- 
 erence. Here is a man who came to Illinois when it was a Territory ; who has witnessed 
 the full development of our wonderful State ; who was one of the principal organizers 
 of McLean County ; who has seen the full growth of our city ; who represents the 
 pioneers of Blooming Grove, being with his wife among the last now living. 
 Bloomington should take delight in honoring these noble people, and should be proud 
 to acknowledge its appreciation of their life-long services. 
 
 This couple are the parents of eleven children. John Berry Orendorff, the oldest 
 who lives on the farm adjoining his father's, is one of the best known of the large con- 
 nection of Orendorffs. The others are all well known and all highly respected in their 
 several homes, which are in a number of different States. 
 
 Esquire William Orendorff's name will frequently appear in this history, as he was 
 one of the leading men of this settlement, in fact, of Central Illinois. He transacted 
 most of the public business of this precinct for several years. His children were four- 
 teen in number, of whom three are living in this county. Oliver H. P. and John 
 Lewis live in Blooming Grove, and are among the best known and most popular of our 
 citizens. They have a brother at Cheney's Grove. 
 
 The early settlers found here an abundance of game, consisting of deer, turkeys, 
 wolves and the smaller birds and animals. The immense prairies formed most admira- 
 ble pastures for deer, while the groves were the skulking-places of the large wolves that 
 were very plenty. Some of the pioneers were mighty hunters, while in every family a 
 gun was kept ready for the valuable game that might at any hour come within easy reach. 
 The venison of those early days was a very convenient substitute for the meat-markets 
 of modern times, and though not quite so sure to be found when wanted, was, in many 
 instances, almost as indispensable. 
 
 Deerskins, coonskins and wolf-robes were important articles of commerce, and in 
 the first stores kept a few years later by Allin, Covell and Gridley, these valuables were 
 the leading staples, forming, with beeswax and honey, the most common payment 
 from many a farmer who in after years sold his hogs and cattle by the hundred,
 
 though hi the time wi ar< now alluding to, from I~~l"_' to l v '_'T. there was do reliable 
 market for these articles Dearer than Vandalia, nr the trading-points on the Wabash in 
 Indiana 
 
 A roll statement of the tiials and difficulties encountered by our piom innot 
 
 given in this place, as we are simply ohronicling events ; l -u t ire might mention a 
 
 if the obstacles which they Buffered from more than any others. The w int of 
 
 _- 1 markets, or in fact, of any market at all, has been mentioned. The prairie fires 
 
 rs dreaded more than almost anything else in early times, these fires 
 would come rolling before the wind in the fall and spring, often sweeping away feno -. 
 farms or grain stacks, and causing Bevere I l enerally shared with 
 
 each other after Buch disasters, dividing crops with those who had been unfortunate, or 
 turning oul daj or night to fight fires, without the formality of an invitation. 
 
 But the Baddesl trouble of all was the malarial sickness of the early times. 
 Nearly every family was afflicted, disease and death being faced by all who ventured to 
 remain in this country in the earlj days when the prairie Bod was being broken and 
 Bubdued. After the prairie land was mostly improved, which brings as down as late as 
 1855, the health of the settlements grew better, and for the last twenty-five years there 
 baa been comparatively little malarial diseasi 
 
 During the period that elapsed from 1822 to 1827 Payette County had jurisdic- 
 tion over all the territory dow within the present limits of McLean County, and on 
 north as far as the I llin. .i-; River. Vandalia, the county seat, was over one hundred 
 miles distant. Blooming Grove could exert hut little influence in so large a district, 
 and its inhabitants urged the formation of a new county. For man} years, the only 
 official in all this region was Mr. William Orendorff, who was commissioned in 1^_'."». by 
 Gov. Coles, Justice of the Peace of Fayette County. Bis jurisdiction extended almost 
 indefinitely toward Wisconsin. The distance to Vandalia was bo great that very few of 
 
 ttlers i \. r visited tin- county seat, unless it was on business of the utmost impor- 
 tance. There was one important Stale election while our pioneers were residents of 
 Payette County — that of 1824. 
 
 At this election, there was great excitement on the slavery question. On its 
 result depended the calling of a convention which would make the introduction of 
 slavery possible, and by a ■lose vote it waa decided in favor of freedom. The sentiment 
 of Blooming Grove was unanimously for freedom The canvass of 1824, in the older 
 
 settled portion- of the State, was exceedingly hitter and animated : hut. in the Datura! 
 
 course of events, people in a neighborhood which had only been settled two years could 
 have had few opportunities for being acquainted with the politics of the 9 ol which 
 thev had jo r< cently become citizens. 
 
 The population of Illinois incr< Bsed from 55,000, in 1 820, to 1 57, 1 15 in I 830, an 
 addition in ten years of 200 per cent. Population was then most dense on the Ohio 
 
 r and along the Mississippi in Southern Illinois. All of Northern, Western, and 
 
 a portion of Central Illinois, was in the possession of the Indian-, of whom those in 
 
 northern part were hostile, or in a quasi-hostile condition. When our pioi 
 arrived here, the Indians intimated plainly that they preferred to have no white men 
 north of the Sangamon River. North of tin' Illinois River, the settlers ,|id not dare 
 to locate; and, from l s :i<» to 1830, the region of Central Illinois was almost debatable 
 ground, onlj occupied by the most daring and hardy pionei
 
 10 
 
 These pioneers flocked in rapidly, and took up the most desirable locations along 
 the edge of the timher, holding every inch of ground once occupied, going forward 
 with improvements and making homes for themselves and their families, giving this 
 settlement, in the course of the few years during which we have watched its development, 
 the name of being one of the best regulated of any in the State, and of possessing a 
 remarkably enterprising population. 
 
 Fayette County was evidently too large to be convenient, and, in 1826, it was 
 divided, Vermilion County having been erected in that year, including the territory 
 now under consideration. No wonder that this division was called for. when Vandalia, 
 the county seat of Fayette County, was distant over one hundred miles. No wonder 
 that the first couple married on the Mackinaw dispensed with a license, and in its stead 
 posted notices of their intention and called on a Justice to perform the ceremony with- 
 out the authority of the too great county of Fayette ! Blooming Grove, for one year 
 was in Vermilion County, though very little county business was transacted during that 
 year by citizens living in this locality. 
 
 Blooming Grove contained about six thousand acres of the very finest timber to be 
 found in the West. Nearly every acre was covered with tall, heavy trees, while the soil 
 was of unrivaled fertility. It has been remarked, frequently, that nowhere in this State 
 is there to be found such • a large body of rich timber-land, as the general character 
 of the soil, which is covered with a natural growth of trees, is not of the best for farm- 
 ing purposes. The sudden development of this beautiful grove is shown by the fact 
 that, in 1827, it was the happy home of no less than twenty families of industrious, 
 well-behaved settlers, most of whom were surrounded by all the actual comforts, even if 
 they lacked most of the luxuries, of life. 
 
 These families formed at Blooming Grove a very important settlement, and began 
 to be restive under the jurisdiction of Fayette County. In 1826, Vermilion County was 
 formed, and its territory seemed to include the eastern part of what is now McLean. Our 
 settlers, however, had little to do with either Fayette or Vermilion County, and it is 
 difficult to state the exact condition of affairs during this year. The records of the 
 State Department at Springfield show that the most of the territory of McLean County 
 was included in Vermilion County in the year 1826 ; but we find from a careful inspec- 
 tion of the official records of Fayette County that during the year 1826 this portion of 
 McLean was recognized as being within the limits of Fayette. The old settlers state 
 that their being included in Vermilion was some kind of a " fraud," and that they never 
 were properly citizens of the latter county. It is an historical fact that Fayette claimed 
 jurisdiction here down to the time of the organization of Tazewell County in 1827, and 
 also that our citizens recognized the demand, and hence we do not see much force 
 in Vermilion's " technical " claim. It appears that at the March term of the Fayette 
 County Commissioners' Court in 1826, it was "ordered that all that part of the county 
 north of Township Seventeen (17) shall compose an election district, to be known by the 
 name of the Orendorff Precinct, and the election therein to be held at the house of 
 William Orendorff, in said precinct ; and further, that William Orendorff, John Benson 
 and James Latta be appointed Judges of Election of the same precinct." An election 
 was held on the 7th of August, 1826, and, on September 4, at the County Court, the 
 proper fees were allowed these judges, and also to the clerks of the election — William 
 See and William H. Hodge " in State paper at two for one." William Orendorff was
 
 11 
 
 allowed hi- fees for returning the election to the oonnty seat at Vandalia 125 miles— 
 at the rate of 1" oente per mile, also " in State paper al two for on The record 
 
 this count; <!<> not show tha( our settlement had any count)! business until l v _.">. when 
 Joseph B. Herbert was appointed Road Supervisor, and these few entries which \\ 
 riven are all the items of business thai appeared to be of an) interest to the inhabitai 
 of Blooming Grove, who were so tar removed from the count) seat. Ii is interesting to 
 note bow large ;i district was comprised within the "Orendorfl Precinct organized by 
 the above-mentioned order of Payette County. It included t * i « - northern portion of the 
 present county of Macon, most of DeWitt, Piatt, McLean, and, in fact, a Btrip of 
 country of 1 1 » . - same width from east to west in I County, and extending north as 
 
 far as the Illinois River, or to the Wisconsin line, in Fayette County, was generally 
 understood at that time to include all the territory between its southern boundary and 
 the northern line of the State It would be of great interest could we give the list ol 
 voters who attended this first eleetion, but the papi rs have been lost or mislaid. 
 
 The records -how that James AJliu was one of the Fayette County Commissioners 
 from 1822 to l v '_'">. and judging from the frequenc) with which his name appears, he 
 
 must have 1 n a valuable member. He thus acquired influence and position, and 
 
 when he moved to Blooming < Irove at a later date, he was, of course, well known to our 
 leading citiz The books of the Circuit Clerk.- office al Vandalia do not Bhow that 
 
 a single ea-e of either criminal or civil action ever appeared there from this -• tt i mi nt, 
 
 neither do the n rds give any evidence of the recording of dei ds or mortg igt s. As 
 
 the land-sales had nol then taken place, there could, of course, be no use tor such 
 records. There are a few records of marriages, the last one being thai of Jacob SpawT 
 to Eliza Ann Trimmer, who wore " published," no license having been asked for, and tl 
 
 married by William Orendorff December 30, 1826. Blooming Grove, it appears, 
 
 became known at the county -eat in rather a vague and indefinite manner, hut was to,, 
 remote to receive much attention. L25 mile- being too far even tor those pioneer cUv 
 Fayette County was destined to lie subdivided, and in its division our territory was to 
 undergo several important changes >f jurisdiction. 
 
 In the year 1 827, 'he county of Tazewell was organized, and the career i t' Blooming 
 Grove while under it- control will form our next chapti 
 
 BLOOMING GROVE in TAZEWELL COUNT! 
 
 When the new county of Tazewell was organized, in 1827 Blooming Grove was 
 its most important settlement. We liml it- inhabitants had now no cause oi complaint, 
 they were among the most influential of the leading citizens. The records of Taze 
 I County -how that it- first County Commissioners' Court was held April 1". 1827, 
 at tin- house of Mr. William Orendorff. This Court consisted of .lain,- Latta, of 
 Blooming Grove ; Benjamin Briggs and G i • Hittle, from other parts of the count) 
 of the new county- tir.-t officials, John Benson was Treasurer Thomas Orendorff, 
 i roner; and W. II. Hodge, Sheriff — all of Blooming Grove The next meeting of 
 the Court wa- lii-ld at the house of Ephraim Stout, at Stout's Grove, and the tir.-t piece 
 
 of probate hiisiiie.-s transacted in the new county related to one of the residents of 
 
 Blooming I >i ■-. i M rs Benjamin ' Sox. 
 
 Among the pioneers of Blooming Grove, we find no one more worthy of men 
 tion than Mrs Benjamin Coz Her husband had oome here in 1825, had purchased
 
 12 
 
 of John W. Dawson an improved claim with a log cabin ; had returned to Ohio 
 for his family and died within a few weeks after his return. His widow, the mother of 
 eight children, determined on emigrating, and with this large family braved the dangers 
 of the long road, and arrived at Blooming Grove, September 23, 1826. When we consider 
 the difficulties which the stoutest men encountered at that day, the bravery of this lady 
 entitles her to the front rank among our pioneers. April 25, 1827, we find from the 
 Tazewell records, Mrs. Felina Cox, widow of Benjamin Cox, was appointed guardian of 
 Aurelius, Benjamin, Nancy and David Cox, with William Orendorffand William Walker 
 as securities in the sum of $1,800. Mrs. Cox came here when Indians were plenty; 
 when only the bravest men had courage to penetrate into this wilderness, and she 
 deserves to be mentioned among the heroines ot Illinois. 
 
 The first blacksmith on the south side of Blooming Grove was a man of the name 
 of Dow, who came in 1829. The neighbors turned out and built him a shop, rejoicing 
 at now being able to obtain blacksmithing near their homes. Mr. Dow only remained 
 a short time. The first stock of goods was kept by Mr. Black, in 1828 or 1829, at the 
 house of Mr. William Orendorff. The first shoemaker seems to have been Mr. Will- 
 iam OrendorfF, who frequently made and mended shoes for his neighbors, who would 
 gather corn or do some other farm work for him in payment. The first blacksmith and 
 carpenter work was accomplished in the same manner by the more ingenious of our 
 pioneers, as during those early times, the mother of invention, " necessity," was ever 
 present to stimulate all to deeds and works the actors hardly supposed themselves capa- 
 ble of performing. In fact, this statement is true even in these times, when our states- 
 men, our generals and our capitalists arise from the most humble surroundings, brought 
 to perfection by necessity, or in other words, by the genius of our free institutions. 
 
 Mr. William Orendorff was made Justice of the Peace in Tazewell County, and 
 filled the office for many years. Judging from the early records he married a large 
 number of young couples. He married the first couple that wedded in this region after 
 Tazewell was organized, Abram Hobbs to Elizabeth Evans, June 25, 1827; Miss Evans 
 was a daughter of the William Evans who afterward settled in what is now the city of 
 Bloomington. The same year, he married Amos Lundy to Susannah Copes, August 16, 
 and the next year, on the 1st of January, 1828, John Kinder to Mary Cox. The lat- 
 ter were residents of Blooming Grove, as were John Cox and Elizabeth Walker, who 
 were married March 18, 1828. October 23, 1828, James Hodge was married to Minerva 
 J. See. All these were married by Mr. Orendorff, who seems to have carried on a lively 
 business. Blooming Grove was gay with weddings in those times — as James Benson 
 married Polly Hinshaw, November 16, 1828; while January 1, 1829, Henry Miller married 
 Temperance Evans, daughter of William Evans. This last was a real Bloomington 
 wedding, the first, probably, that ever occurred within the present limits of the city of 
 Bloomington. The bride of that day, now Mrs. Jane Whitcomb, is still living at Old 
 Town, in this county. Three more weddings took place in the year 1829 — Richard 
 Grass to Elizabeth Maxwell, William Maxwell to Mrs. Elizabeth Hobbs, and James 
 Walker to Jane Brock. Within a little over two years, we thus find there were eight 
 or nine marriages of Blooming Grove couples, indicating a degree of enterprise that 
 has not been surpassed by any of the later inhabitants. 
 
 June 25, 1827, it was ordered that a new voting precinct, to be called Blooming 
 Grove, be formed of all that part of the county, east of Range 3, and north of Town
 
 18 
 
 22. Tliis voting preoincl was therefore thirty wx miles from easl lowest, and extended 
 from the smith line of Bloomington Township, to the northern line of Tazewell County 
 on the north. Tin' first election was held at the house of John Benson, and the first 
 Judges of Election were E Rhodes, Senrj Vansickle and William Orendorff. This 
 immense territory was erected into a road district, and Joseph B. Earbord was made 
 i: ad Supen isor. 
 
 The firal grand jurors from Blooming Grove Precinct were William Orendorff, 
 John II S. Rhodes, William Walker, L. Buret, Peter McCullough and William Gil- 
 rton, w 1 1 - . - . ■ names were drawn August 7. L827. Prom tlii- time until the year L831, 
 when the newcountj of McLean was organized, the residents of Blooming Grove trans 
 •d county business at Mackinaw, the county scat of Tazewell, only about twenty 
 miles away, and the transition From the far away county Beat at Vandalia was found m 
 convenient and agreeable. There was, in those day-, but little business to be attended 
 to, but it was promptly despatched. We find that the first road in this region was laid 
 out in 1827, from "the upper point of Kickapoo and Salt Creek, to the north* aer 
 
 of Blooming Grove, thence to the Dry Grove, thence to Mackinaw to the east end of 
 Main Btreet." This was the first legal road in Bloomington. 
 
 One ')!' the great difficulties of the pioneers, was the want of mills for making flour 
 
 and meal. Most of the stream- of this region are liable t . » go dry in summer, and W( IM 
 
 always a j r dependence ; but at this early time, very few good mills had been erected 
 
 in this vicinity. It was no uncommon thing for teams to go to mill all the way to 
 Attica, on the Wabash, in Indiana, distant 12(» miles, or to Perryville, 11<» miles. 
 They often went to the Sangamon, over 50 miles, to the Kankakee. 70 miles,. and to 
 Green's mill, on the Fox River, above Ottawa, over tit) miles. When Whistler's mill 
 was built on the Mackinaw, in Tazewell County, it was considered quite a convenient 
 tlthougfa over -!<> miles from Blooming Grove. Various were the expedients for dis- 
 pensing with these long trips. One of them was pounding corn in a piece of hard 
 wood, hollowed out on the principle of the pestle and mortar, and another was the her 
 
 mill. 'I'll, -e mills were erected in nearly every settlement ; i being made here, a hand 
 
 mill. l>y Bbenezer Rhodes, in 1824, and one in the winter of 1830, a hurst -mill, by 
 Isaac Baker. The mill-stones were common "nigger-head" -tunes, from the Burface of 
 the prairie, held in a frame in such a manner, that a horse traveling in a Circle would 
 
 them in motion. After the wheat was ground, the Bour was separated from the 
 bran by Bifting it through a bottom of two cloths, by which the flour was separated. It was 
 rather a wasteful method, and very slow, but it generally happened that the flour thus 
 obtained made g I bread. Possibly our modern u new process 1 flour, from the best Kan- 
 wheat, tastes I* ss Bweet to our palates thar did the home-made article of fifty years 
 Crushing corn, however, was the principal work of these mills. Small water- 
 mill- were constructed, wherever there was an opportunity ; mostly, however, at a later 
 day. There was even one on Sugar Creek, near the present city of Bloomington, built 
 by Samuel Lander, which did good Bervice foi Beveral year-, but later than the time of 
 which we are now Bpeaking. It atood but a Bhorl dist ince below the old Pekin road, 
 
 and the old dam is -till to !>■ se n. A mill was huilt on the Kicka] ami several on 
 
 the Mackinaw, hut the settlers, in 1829, longed for a reliable .-team-mill that would 
 
 never go dry. Ml these difficulties w re met, however, by a ol rfulness peculiar to 
 
 these pioneers. They were almost Burrounded by Indian-, of whose friendship tl
 
 14 
 
 were never sure, being, in fact, in one of the frontier counties of the State, Woodford 
 not yet being organized, the territory of Tazewell extending to the Illinois River, 
 north of which was the disputed ground, where, in 1831 and 1832. Black Hawk's 
 bands roamed and massacred at will, and the public mind was in constant alarm from 
 rumors of anticipated outbreaks. There were also bold and venturesome settlers scat- 
 tered along the groves and creeks of Woodford, at this time citizens of Tazewell, and 
 also a few in the Vermilion timber, in what is at the present time in Livingston County, 
 but who were, at this date, included in the county of Tazewell. We shall see, in a 
 short time, that at a later period Blooming Grove and its neighbors raised a company 
 of rangers for sixty days' service on the frontier of McLean, who, under Capt. J. H. 
 S. Rhodes, performed good service from the head of Mackinaw to the Vermilion, besides 
 hearing of more impoitant work in the Black Hawk war. 
 
 Our settlers were occupied in not only securing an education for their children, in 
 clearing and fencing farms, raising food and obtaining clothing, but they were compelled 
 to think of their defense against a common enemy, and we need not wonder that their 
 lives were anxious and laborious. We are surprised that they found time to participate 
 in the Presidential elections of 1824 and 1828, which took place during this period. 
 Tradition informs us that the voters were generally Jacksonians — even as late as 1832, only 
 six in the county having voted for Jackson's opponent. In 1824, the State gave two 
 electoral votes for Jackson, and one for Adams, and the indignation of citizens in this 
 part of the State knew no bounds when the election of Adams was proclaimed. In 1828, the 
 vote was for Jackson, with little opposition except on State and minor officers. Elections in 
 those days were different from what we have seen in later years. People voted for men, and 
 not as much for measures. Party lines hardly existed, or if they did, the State was so 
 strongly Democratic that opposition was confined to a choice of candidates. Nomina- 
 tions were not made by conventions until in later times. Men became candidates and 
 ran for office on their merits, and the result, perhaps, was about the same as now, 
 though the means for accomplishing it might differ. To vote against a candidate par- 
 took of the nature of a personal affront, and many of the contests were peculiarly 
 bitter and aggravating. Offices were sought for with as much avidity as at present. 
 In the formation of new counties men saw opportunities for new offices as tempting, 
 no doubt, for their honors as we have seen them in later times fo» their emoluments. 
 
 The center of population and influence was in the Orendorff neighborhood, about 
 four miles southeast of our city, where, at William Walker's house, Mr. Allin opened a 
 store late in 1829, where there was, as early as 1824, a log schoolhouse, and where, from 
 indications, it was thought, as early as in 1826, quite a village might one day be built. 
 Blooming Grove was, in 1827, well settled as a farming neighborhood. It was surrounded 
 on all sides by a belt of farms, some of them quite large, all of them valued highly by 
 their owners. These owners had most of them built comfortable log houses, had con- 
 structed many miles of rail fences, and had broken and cultivated a large area of prairie- 
 land. They were employed, as were all the pioneers of the day, in subduing nature, but 
 with it all they were social and happy, having a care for the morals and education of 
 their growing families, and making for the times one of the pleasantest settlements in the 
 new and growing State. There was in the neighborhood more than the usual amount of 
 warm-hearted friendship and neighborly affection. All were equal in social state and 
 dignity. Fashion was not then the inexorable goddess we are accustomed to meet in
 
 is 
 
 a — perhaps we may add -these degenerate days Our pioneers were proud 
 i,, be attired in lhimr--i.nn. woven by the busy housewife of th< 1 while such * 
 
 thins or buggj was unknown in Bloomiu Husbands wenl to 
 
 ohureb on foot ; their a le the h tarrying with them such of the children as 
 
 too young to make their way by walking. It' the g 1 wife was clad in ■ calii 
 
 durable texture and fast color she was as happy as the iiu<- ladies of to-day robed in 
 
 -kin-. The religion of the times favored a very rigid and dherenoe 
 
 to plain and unadorned attire, making, as it would almost look to as, rather a virtue of a 
 
 -itv. although a few years later, when the rapid accumulation "f wealth rendered 
 display a matter of easy accomplishment, we shall find large numbers of the pion 
 from motives of principle, refrainin refully from any vain Bhow or anneo Kiarj orna- 
 
 ment as they did in the primitive tim< a of which we are cow writin 
 
 neighbors, the Blooming Grove farmers bad the settlers in Randolph's Gi 
 
 ind Twin Groves and Funk- Grove, voting in the same precinct with most ol them 
 at first, while they knew all the inhabitants along the Mackinaw, from it- bead tn far 
 below the old town of Mackinaw, in Tazcwdl County, with which county, it must be 
 remembered, they were attaohi <l until a year after the period we are now discussing. The 
 families at < Ihenej 's ' Irove were also neighbors and friends, while people living in M 
 and Sangam in Cam tie- were almost as well known as those " around the Grove." \ mng 
 women then thought nothing of a walk of five or six miles to make calls, while for visit- 
 
 i ride of thirty miles over the prairie was as easj as one could wish. 
 
 The early pioneers, those who cam.- previous to October, L829, could not obtain 
 a legal title to their farms, as the General Government did not "Her the land here for 
 gale until October, 1829. Before this time all the land was held by "claims." The 
 settlers had an agreement among themselves by which they allowed a man to "claim" 
 about as much timber-land as he might a aerally not over 160 acres, upon which 
 
 he mighl build his cabin and make his other improvemi nts ; and woe unto the speculator 
 or new-oomi r who should attempt to " claim " land already occupied by a bona-fide settler. 
 I rove was nearly all taken by these claimants before tie- land came into market, 
 and some of the prairie adjoining was. of course, taken in the Bame manner. These 
 claims ware bought and sold, the purchaser coming into possession of the improvements 
 ther with whatever rights ware considered as appertaining thereto. Many quarrels 
 ensued from this Btate of affairs, though we do not find that Blooming Grove was the 
 
 of any difficulties of DUUCh note. 
 
 When the land -ale- e mi. ■ off in October, 1829, at Vandalia, there was a gathering 
 of pioneers from the townships offered for -ale, at which no speculator was allowed to 
 purchase until all settler- had made their selections; rather a high-handed proceeding, 
 
 would now appear, but one which was justified bj the condition of the infant 
 
 settlements. 
 
 The records at our Court Hon-- Bhow that John Hendrix entered the first ti 
 of land in the Grovi tober 9, 1826; but as he purchased the adjoining eightyon 
 tie 9th day of October, 1829, at which time the land all came into market, there is 
 a l m , that the first record is an error, and that he bought both pieces at the 
 
 same time in 
 
 A tract of eighty acres was entered on the 9th of 1829, in the nami 
 
 Beth and tsaac Baker. <m the next daj Ocl r 10, it appears that no less than
 
 16 
 
 eighteen of the pioneers of Blooming Grove entered their farms, indicating that a jolly 
 crowd went from here to Vandalia at that time. Within a short time after this, it 
 appears, nearly the whole settlement secured their homes. 
 
 Many of our pioneers borrowed money at the exorbitant rate of twenty-five per 
 cent interest, in order to secure their farms. Tbere was at that time no usury law in 
 the State. There were very few capitalists, money being very scarce indeed. Some of 
 the early settlers found it impossible to hold and pay for their farms at these rates, 
 although they paid such a low price for the land. 
 
 Quite a number of our pioneers borrowed money for their farms of Dr. R. H. Peebles, 
 of Vandalia, and his name appears frequently on our early records. He was regarded 
 as a man of wealth, having loaned money over a large area. We have stated that this 
 region was taken off from Fayette County, in 1826, and included in Vermilion County 
 for a time. In 1827, Tazewell County was formed, as we have mentioned, and, in 
 1829, its boundaries were re-arranged, and the eastern portion of Tazewell, including 
 Blooming Grove, was contained, nominally, within the limits of Vermilion from 1829 
 to 1831, but attached to Tazewell for county purposes. In the records of the County 
 Commissioners' proceedings at Pekin, this district is often spoken of as the " attached " 
 portion of Tazewell County. County lines were understood to be in a formative condi- 
 tion, and it was entirely uncertain where they would eventually be permanently estab- 
 lished, and hence one can realize that there was great interest felt in all schemes for the 
 formation of new counties. The territory under consideration was " in the market," so 
 to speak — ready for any project that might promise to benefit the interests of Blooming 
 Grove. For several years, there was quite a conflict between the interests of a portion 
 of the people living in what was then the " attached " portion of Tazewell and those in 
 the western part of the same county. The latter were not by any means united in their 
 interests, as Pekin was aspiring to become a county seat, while Mackinaw was striving 
 to retain the prize then held. 
 
 One of the last acts of the Tazewell County Court affecting the interests of 
 Blooming Grove Precinct was at the June term of 1830, when Judges of Election 
 were appointed. They were John Benson, John Hendrix and John Cox. The election 
 was ordered to be held at the house of William Evans. This being the year during 
 which the project was carried out for the formation of a new county, and, having taken 
 place after Mr. James Allin had opened his store at this point, it is altogether probable 
 that Mr. Allin favored the holding of this election at the house of Mr. Evans, in order 
 to enlighten the inhabitants of the Grove as to the eligibility of this locality as a site for 
 the county seat, although the mere fact of his store being here might have been the 
 main element of " centrality" that entered into the case. At all events, it is quite cer- 
 tain that this election at the house of Mr. Evans was the first public meeting of any 
 kind that was ever held in the city of Bloomington. 
 
 We are now approaching the time when the new county of McLean was organized, 
 and it is possible some of the actors may have been interested in the manufacture of new 
 offices, as much as others were in the location of new county seats, and the combination 
 of these inducements no doubt contributed to the formation of the county of McLean, 
 as well as to the location of its capital, which was to grow into the thriving city of 
 Bloomington. It will, of course, be remembered that Blooming Grove was in Fayette 
 County until 1827, when the northern portion of Fayette was organized into the county
 
 \ 
 
 17 
 
 of Tuewell, on the plea tint the in i f settlement rendered it impossible to hold 
 
 this region as a dependen hundred miles from the ooanl ia 
 
 Tl,. .lint v . Taxewell, had it- capital al Bfaokinawtown, only twenty mil* at, 
 
 •in. I henee our aettlers had no! the excuse of in Other i 
 
 Ii,,.\ ted for the tion of an mination of which 
 
 will show anty should be authorise i I ./■ iv< Count] is ii 
 
 tl,, n existed, - i from the Illinois River to the | r< sent line of [roquois County, 
 
 hborhood, on tl and to the [Uinois River on the ■•■ I north, an 
 
 immense territory . now o Phis 
 
 rapidly filling with industrious settlers, and it was Been thai d 
 carved out of this territory al no distant day. The problem for those interested hi 
 
 :; wring Grove was, to detach sufficient timber-land from Taxewell to form 
 
 I • Prairie was then reckoned as bo much wast* — little better than a desert 
 
 \ r considerable scheming, a petition was taken to Vandalia by Thon (| ndorffand 
 Mi James Latta, wb ed from the Legislature a law for the formation of a n 
 
 nitv. to I ailed McLean, which was detached from Taxewell at the — ion of 18 
 
 and 1831 
 
 The nami McLean was given in honor of John M I. in, who had been a Repre- 
 sentative in Congress, and was great] ited. He had also been twice a member of 
 the United 8l 5 aate, and died in thai office in 1830 ; and bis .Lath being a recent 
 
 nt. it was natural that a ii'-w county should !>'■ named for the magnanimous, noble 
 in. in. who never had an enemy in his life. The law provided that a Commission should 
 meet in the new county and proceed to locate it- county Beat, which was aeoomplisl 
 as we shall briefly relate; but we will first take a view of what was evident to those who 
 in the i vent- .>i the tii 
 We Bhould also mention that by this time there were a number of families along 
 the Mackinaw, a good many at White < >ak and Stout re, while Dry and Twin 
 Groves, Randolph's Grove, Old Town Timber, Buckles', Cheney's, and in faotall the 
 irere j ■• < ■ j .l»-«i with settlers; and in some places there was still left good tim- 
 ber-land unclaimed, which, in a short time, as was well undent I, would I is fully 
 
 cupied with families as were tl ther tracts of timber in the county. In ail this dis- 
 trict the only trading-place was the Btore of .lane- Allin. removed from the house of 
 William Walker to what is now Bloomington, and situated at what is now the southeast 
 corner of Grove and Bast streets. Of course, Mr. Allin did not Bupply all the goods 
 that were need, as sfaokinawtown contained Btores, while many goods wi re purohaf 
 at Springfield, at Peoria, and at towns on the Wabash and other places lint it n 
 foreseen that the new county seat would be a place of considerable importance, even to 
 supply the trade already « • x i - 1 i 1 1 lt . while with the increase of settlement expected, b i 
 
 raid become at some future time, extensive enough to Bustain considerable «.t a 
 town. 
 
 \1 Jam - Allin had opened his Btore al his new location in 1830, and made a 
 pin : land where the city of Bloomington now stands Bi fore the law organii 
 
 MoL in C mtj ras | iss i Mr. Allin formed his plan- t.. seoure the count] 
 tl„,u_.i . just how much mention he made of his designs. The fam 
 
 P snow came in the winter of 1830 and 1831, and was the means of preventing the 
 .lin_' of the ' n "ii th( I Mondayof 1
 
 18 
 
 days thereafter ; " but as soon as possible, as they say in their report, they made their 
 selection of the site for the permanent county seat of McLean County. 
 
 A location was shown the Commission in the Orendorff neighborhood. At this 
 time, in fact from 1823, William and Thomas Orendorff were the most substantial set- 
 tlers, or very nearly so, were very influential, and they were men who could, no doubt, 
 have secured the county seat near them, in what was then the oldest and best settled 
 part of the Grove, had they made the attempt. Mr. William Orendorff remarked that 
 he would not have his farm cut up by a little town, and made no effort, though impor- 
 tuned by some of his neighbors. Mr. James Allin was always grateful to Mr. Oren- 
 dorff for the stand he took. It was agreed by all parties that the name of the new 
 county seat should be Bloomington, and it was thus named in the act incorporating 
 McLean County. 
 
 Mrs. William Orendorfl, a lady of more than ordinary talent, better educated than 
 the majority of the early settlers, and, withal, a person of fine personal appearance, ap- 
 pears to be entitled to the honor of changing the name of Keg Grove to Blooming- 
 Grove, in 1824. From this, the transition to Bloomington seemed very natural and 
 proper, and the name met with very general approval all over the county. 
 
 The county seat of Monroe County, Ind., was named Bloomington April 10, 1818, 
 over twelve years before our town was laid out ; so we cannot claim to have originated 
 the name. There are now no less than thirteen Bloomingtons in as many different 
 States, but our city is much the largest and most important of all. 
 
 A post office was established here, named Blooming Grove, with Rev. William 
 See, Postmaster, on the 29th of January, 1829. Mr. See was the Methodist minister 
 of this circuit for several years. He lived in this settlement much of the time after 
 1824, though in 1831, at the time of the location of Bloomington, he was living in 
 .Randolph Grove. Mr. See improved the Price farm on the east side of the Grove, and 
 here the first post office was kept for a little over one year. 
 
 During the years between 1822 and 1831, all of Blooming Grove was either bought 
 or " claimed" by settlers, and it was occupied by a class of hard-working, intelligent 
 farmers, who were bent on clearing their land, making good homes for their families, with 
 little thought of the glorious future in store for their settlement. Let us take a clear, 
 unobstructed view of the condition of Blooming Grove Settlement as it existed in 
 1830, before McLean County was organized, when Bloomington had no existence, and 
 in so doing we shall prepare our way for a better understanding of what followed. We 
 have seen that the whole grove was occupied at the date we have selected. We find 
 there were fifty families of whom we have learned the names, and it is likely there may 
 have been a few others. The names of the heads of families are John Hendrix, Rev. 
 E. Rhodes, Jeremiah Rhodes, William Orendorff, Thomas Orendorff, Rev. James Latta, 
 Henry Little, John H. S. Rhodes* William Goodheart, William H. Hodge, William Lind- 
 ley, Mrs. Benjamin Cox, David Simmons, John Benson, James Benson, George 
 Hinshaw, Sr., William Chatham, Moses Dunlap, William Waldron, Anthony Alberry, 
 William Thomas, John Canady, James Canady, Oman Olney, Joseph Walker, Sr., 
 William Michaels, John Lindley, Joseph Bailey Harbord, Achilles Deatherage, William 
 Walker, Timothy M. Gates, William Lucas, John Cox, Dr. Isaac Baker, Maj. Seth 
 Baker, H. M. Harbord, Parr Rathbone, John Mullen, Michael Allington, Nathan Low, 
 John Benson, Jr. and Benjamin Depew.
 
 I'.' 
 
 01 single youi iving in Bloomin • i in 1830 and 1831 ire have 1 1 1 « - 
 
 namei of David C i \ u m Rhodes, Samuel Rl ph Walker, Jr., Wilson 
 
 l,u rbomae Solomon Walker, Hiram Harbord M - Baker, Elliot) Ba 
 
 William T T Benson Jesa B nson, William Olney, Sylvanus Olney, Franklin G 
 Timothj <i:it'v William Canad John Walker, Johnson Lu< .- John l» Baker, Jam 
 James K < Irendorfl 
 
 It i.- possible - ime of the above maj have been rather young to !»■ called men at 
 tli'- time in'li while it La likely there were a numb r of young men living in the 
 
 settlement whose names are not mentioned in the foregoing list 
 
 The following beads of families were living within what are now the city limits of 
 Bloomington before the town was laid out, in 1830, while it is probable a i'<-w others — 
 among them Pr. Baker and Rev. Mr. Latta Bhould also be included in this list ; hut we 
 have placed them in the list of those living in the Grove. In the whole settlement, thi 
 were fifty families Henrj Miller, .Inn— Tolliver, James Allin. John Greenman, W'ill- 
 i.nn Evans, John Maxwell, John Cimler and James Mason lived in what is no* th< 
 city <>f Bloomington. 
 
 i M young men then living in what is now the oity of Bloomington, we find Will- 
 iam Dimsajtt, William Bvans, Jr., Frank ESvans, William Durley, Merritl L Covell, W. 
 II All. ti. William Greeuman, Esek Greenman, Samuel Durley, John Durley and Sam 
 u. 1 I 
 
 A few of the latter were hardly grown men. The Guthries were not living here 
 
 till just after the sale of lota, in 1831, after which time, we find them in Ul ningt 
 
 tlement, though living at fust in what is now Major's Grove Adam Guthrie and 
 his brother Robert ES. were among the most active of our earl) resident 
 
 We have taken a great deal of pains to ascertain the names of all hr.nl- of fami- 
 - who were here in 1830 and 1831, before the sale of lots, and believe we have 
 obtained nearly a full li-t. < >f the names given as single men we '1" not feel quite as oertain, 
 though it probably includes the most of those living here at the time. We have men- 
 tioned butfew of those who were boys at that day, though it is evident there were a Ian 
 number of children in the fifty families here at Blooming Grove. It is probable that 
 the population of the lent on the 4th of July, 1831, was between two bundi 
 
 and fifty and three hundred — indicating a - >li<l basis for tin- new town of IN nington, 
 
 which was about to Btarl upon it- career of lame and prosperitj I '• ■ I bis time, main of the 
 farmers at the Gr ■■■ were in quite comfortable circumstances, and their growing ability 
 
 ,ik1 luxuries for their families formed a much better basis f'"r the 
 iblishment of a town than was dreamed of bj the most of the pi rs of tl 
 
 We have thus sketched, briefly, the 'outline of the early history of Blooming 
 and have 1 1 i • - . 1 to make it perfectly clear that it was a thrifty, well I, sub- 
 
 otial farmii I, "i' itself almost sufficiently important t>> found and build 
 
 a villa. Qsiderable futur importance; while its location was such that the sur- 
 
 roundin Blooming Grove, as a natural center Taking 
 
 thi- F the d for the locating here of the county 
 
 the new county, and can pro m this point with the bisl B mil 
 
 marking thai Blooming G of the precinct, afterward towns! 
 
 B • oraingt< n, I of historical evi nts afti c the 
 
 years 1830 and 1831
 
 20 
 
 JAMES U.I.IV 
 
 While we cannot pretend, in a work of this kind, to give much pereonal hial 
 we will mention that the Bon. James Allin was born . human 13, 1788, in North Car- 
 olina. After several emigrations, he found himself, in 1 > - 1 . at Vandalia, then the 
 count v seat of Payette County, which included a portion of the territory now in 
 McLean County. Mr. Allin was one of those far-seeing, shrewd business men, who 
 plainly saw that the rapid increase of population in the new Stat.- of Illinois would 
 result in the formation of oew counties and the location of new towns, and he early 
 conceived the idea ol being interested in some one or more of the future towns or oities 
 of Central Illinois. 
 
 In November, 1829, he came to Blooming Grove with a Btock of g 1- which he 
 
 commenced selling at the house of William Walker, near Mr. Orendorff's, in the south part 
 of the Grove. During the following winter and spring, he was forming plans for future 
 action. He learned beforecoming here from Vandalia that schemes were being matured 
 for the formation of a new county from the eastern part of Tazewell, and on his arrival, 
 he was of great assistance to the Orendorfls, Mr. W. II. Hodge, Mr. Janus Latta and 
 others, who were in the movement. 
 
 Mr. William Lindley, who is now living on the south side of Blooming Grove, states 
 that early in 1830 Mr. Allin offered to buy his claim, which covered Mr. Lindley's pres- 
 ent farm, stating that lie wished to start a town. Mr. L. told him his land was too flat 
 and wet for that purpose, but if he would come with him to the north side of the 
 Grove, he would -how him the best town site in the country. Mr. Allin came, and 
 they found that Mr. William Evans, who had a "claim" on 160 acres, wished to sell, and 
 a bargain was soon arranged. This Mr. Evans was not related to the other William Evans 
 who built the first house in Bloomington. He soon moved away to Missouri, or some- 
 where else, and disappeared from our history. Mr. Allin built a house, which is still 
 standing as a part of the family residence of Dr. Stipp, where he opened a store in one 
 end of the building in March, 1830; and during this year he went forward with his 
 plans for the formation of the county and the location of the county seat. David Sim- 
 mons eatne here in November, 1830, and at that time Mr. Allin told him there would 
 be a town where we now see Bloomington. The Legislature had not passed the aot for 
 the incorporation of McLean Count] ; bul Mr. Allin was confident of the outcome of 
 the plans which were being matured. During the following Bession of the Legislature, 
 Mr. Thomas Orendorff and Rev. dame- Latta went to Vandalia with a petition for a 
 new county. Before they Btarted, Mr. Allin rendered them valuable assistance by 
 gestions as to how they Bhould operate for the passage of the bill for the new county. 
 lb- had lived several years at the capital, and understood how these matters were man- 
 : in legislative halls. When the act passed, it named three men to locate the oounty 
 Beat, who were the parties Mr. Allin desired ; and when they met here the] approved 
 of the Bite, and reported in favor of locating the county Boat "at the north Bide of 
 the Blooming Grove." 
 
 Mr James Allin donated twenty-two and one half acres of land, to be divided into 
 
 ind sold for the benefit of McLean County. Of course he owned land adjoining 
 that would be advanced in value, and he also intended to go on \\ith his -tore and gen- 
 eral business. In advancing hie own interests he also benefited the public, and he has 
 always justly taken rank as a benefactor of die community, having been very popular to
 
 21 
 
 the day of his death. Mr. Allin was a far-seeing, shrewd business man, and was, in 
 fact, a model speculator. He selected the prettiest location for a town that could possi- 
 bly be found in the county. Blooming Grove and the prairie were adjoining each 
 other; his donated land, or the "original town," was just on the northern edge of the 
 gmve, bounded by North, East and West streets, with Front street on its southern bor- 
 der. Three streets, Main, Center and Madison, ran through from north to south ; 
 while Front, Washington and Jefferson crossed from east to west. Front street was 
 mar the edge of the timber, a few noble trees of which are standing to-day in the front 
 yards of the residences owned by Dr. Stipp, Mrs. W. H. Hanna, Gen. Gridley and 
 Absalom Funk. The Court House scpuare is in the center of the "original town," as 
 Mr. Allin'a donation is called. It is a remarkable fact that in Dr. Stipp's front yard, 
 the place where trade was first carried on in Bloomington, where our early pioneers 
 must have often tied their horses to young trees which are now of moderate size, may 
 still be seen the nearest approach to our virgin forest of any to be found near the heart 
 of the city, and that here the natural sod or turf has never been disturbed by the march 
 of improvement, as is proved by the annual blooming of the little " Spring Beauty," 
 which is found nowhere else in the vicinity except in Gen. Gridley's grounds. 
 
 With the noble trees of Blooming Grove in its rear, and the rolling prairie in the 
 front on the north, the " original town " was a remarkable tract of land. From the 
 square, the natural surface fell off in every direction, giving the best of drainage, while 
 for <juite a distance outside of the town the ground still continued to slope nicely, form- 
 ing the best natural grades that could possibly be desired. 
 
 Mr. Allin had noticed that the roads of that day, which were many of them on the 
 lines of the old Indian trails — the most natural modes of communication to be found in 
 a new country — all centered at Bloomington. He remarked that the route from Chicago 
 to St. Louis, here crossed the road from Columbus, Ohio, to Iowa and the West. Prob- 
 ably, he was thinking of the day when railroads would traverse these lines, and Bloom- 
 ington be the railroad center it has since become through efforts inaugurated partly by 
 Mr. Allin himself within two or three years of the founding of the new town. Inas- 
 much as railroads were at that date pushing on through Pennsylvania and Maryland, 
 and the people already began to talk of turning the great national road, then building 
 through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, into a railroad to be built and owned by the Govern- 
 ment, it is highly probable, indeed almost certain, that Mr. Allin had formed plans for 
 railroad lines that should have their crossings, if not their termini, here. We find that 
 during the Internal Improvement craze in 1836, only five years after the location of 
 Bloomington, railroads were projected from Chicago to Alton, from Cairo to Galena, 
 which have since been constructed and passed through here; while there was still another 
 projected road to run from Bloomington to Pekin ; and, as Mr. Allin was one of the 
 best thinkers of this part of the country, he may have thought of these lines when he 
 first conceived of the location of the county seat at the north side of Blooming Grove. 
 
 In all the vicissitudes through which the new town passed, Mr. Allin never lost 
 his faith in Bloomington. He seemed aware of the possibilities of the town, and was 
 buoyed by an undoubting faith in its future destiny. He was assisted by such men as 
 Messrs. Gridley, Fell and Davis, men of deep, broad views, who arc entitled to rank 
 with the foremost thinkers of the West — who are referred to as men of the greatest 
 foresight ; but of these men, he was, at least, the peer, their equal in enterprise and
 
 22 
 
 activity, and their superior in faith and hope. In the mind of Mr. James Allin,. 
 Bloomington was to grow into one of the prettiest and most thriving cities of the State ; 
 and no temporary discouragement could shake his belief in its glorious future. 
 
 To show that Mr. Allin's early efforts have been appreciated by those who have 
 reaped some of the rewards of his labors, we will refer to June 30, 1854, at the open- 
 ing of the Pike House. This hotel was then thought to be a most magnificent struct- 
 ure, and which, built of wood, on the exact site of the present Phoenix Hotel, costing 
 $25,000, was really a creditable institution. There was a gathering of our leading cit- 
 izens on this occasion, when Mr. James Allin gave this toast : " My favorite daughter 
 — Bloomington — a puny child and the object of intense parental solicitude, now spring- 
 ing up into a blooming and vigorous womanhood ; the idol of her father and the belle 
 of the commonwealth." 
 
 In response to this, Mr. William Wallace gave. " The venerable founder of Bloom- 
 ington — James Allin — a man never appalled by difficulty, and who never lost sight of 
 the splendid future of our flourishing city in the dark hour of her trial." We are 
 thus enabled to perceive that Mr. Allin was appreciated fully by those who lived and 
 labored with him in the great work of founding and building the city. 
 
 He left no scheme untried that promised to benefit Bloomington, and in most of 
 his projects he received the active and efficient aid of A. Gridley, Jesse W. Fell, J. 
 E. McClun, M. L. Covell, David Davis, and others, who soon became citizens of 
 Bloomington. There was built up a public spirit — a sort of buoyant hopefulness and 
 cheerfulness — that is characteristic of Bloomington, and a willingness to work for one 
 common object, that has been the means of securing our city many very important 
 advantages, among which may be mentioned the railroad-shops, five railroads, and the 
 Normal and Soldiers' Home in our sister-town of Normal, all of which were the direct 
 outgrowth of the far-sighted, harmonious working of our leading prominent citizens of 
 the past and present. Long may their successors follow in the footsteps of their illus- 
 trious predecessors, ever showing a vigorous harmony in laboring for the public good. 
 Mr. Allin's efforts ceased not until late in life when he gently passed over the dark river 
 May 5, 1869. He attended an Old Settlers' meeting in 1866, at which time the Bloom- 
 ington Pantagraph, then edited by the author of this sketch, spoke of him as follows : 
 
 " Mr. Allin's health is poor, and he has never recovered from a fall on the ice 
 which severely injured him about four years ago. He walks on crutches, and was 
 assisted up-stairs by two men. He was complimented by the speakers as the man 
 whose superior foresight pointed out Bloomington as the site of a future city when all 
 around was an uncultivated wilderness. According to what Gov. Moore and Mr. Grid- 
 ley said, Mr. Allin in his younger days was very much such a man as we occasionally 
 hear of now in frontier places. He used every honorable endeavor to induce emigrants 
 to locate in this county. If they wished to settle in the new town, Mr. Allen would 
 sell them lots at a low price if they had money, and would sell them at a lower figure 
 if they had a little money, or would give lots outright if they had no money, always 
 stipulating that improvements should be made. 
 
 " It was such unremitting care and exertions, which, in the course of a few years 
 gave this settlement a start that made it out of the question for any neighboring town 
 to compete with it, and made it eventually a point to be aimed at by railroads which 
 have now made Bloomington one of the thriftiest and best business places in the State.
 
 I • inii-t I Ml \llin tO ' in in v old Pri< ' 
 
 not one of wlioin bean the slightest grud nsi him, and t-> liateo to racb 
 
 in. tit and -i| pi life-long public spiril With .ill hi- opportuni- 
 
 - for bnildiog ap ■<■ large fortui Mi \ in'a finable lands slipped from hi- hold in 
 on< ner, to parties who oould not or would i mnoh for theii 
 
 until, when propei t" be really valuable, he had little 1 * - 1 > t" sell. He, ho* 
 
 miri I i mo Portable competency, so thai hi- old age ia pleasantly passing in the mi 
 ofa community li toh pride in drawing together. A m uping man would 
 
 h.i\. so hi lil i- d to sell pi i have been dri ly and :i less 
 
 honorable man, if U<- had made more money, would have had fewer friends in his 
 Bloomington owes .1 debt to Mr. Ulin winch it can never re] 
 
 u \ll- A.N l> Ki HI IBS OF W LBS 
 
 Tli.- pi( if Blooming G • could muster about fifteen able-bodied men is 
 
 rly aa 1826, and formed the nucleus of a military company, ever ready for sen 
 dnst the Indians, m<l for mutual protection if needed. The [ndians were friendly, 
 but scarcely trusted, hence wisdom and prudence required constant watchfulness The 
 danger arose from the fact that the Winnebago [ndians, in the northern part of lllin 
 
 ti'l hostile, and might at any time embroil the friendly Kick rod 
 
 Delawa I ■ it r:il Illinois. In 1827 occurred what is called tl>< i Winnebago v< 
 
 when the company at Blooming Grove, under Capt. J. II 8. Rhodes, can at, with 
 
 other troops that responded to the call of Gov. Reynolds, and, to th,> number of fifteen, 
 
 ntasfai iP« ria; but the difficulty was adjusted without their aid The Blaolc Hawk 
 
 wir and it- many incidents will be treated more :it length in other j>< -rt i . »n - ••f this 
 
 rk. 
 
 During the years L844, 1845 and 1846, t ho people of [llinois were 
 enraged by the actions of the Mormons, who, to the number of 15,000, occupied 
 \ invoo, making that the largest city in the State, controlled it by their 
 and, for <|tiit.- a ].>ri' "i. kept the whole • ■ C >unty under the power of their 
 ament The Governor twice call i quell the disturbances, and, 
 one time, the Mormons displayed such po that the residents of 
 Bloomington began to make plans for volunteering to assist th< - but, fortunately, 
 
 do call for many troops from this Bide of the Dlinois River. 
 But when President Polk, in May, 1846, issued a proclamation calling for volun- 
 rs for the Mexican war. which was then raging, fixing the quota of Qlin ur 
 
 giments, the patriotism and warlike spirit of Bloomington were at onoe arousi 1 \ ol- 
 anteen fi - .« -k. t -r I here from ill quarters, and, with those who enlisted from this village, '""k 
 a prominent part in the events of thi Mi tican war Their exploits will be found gi 
 more at length in the history of M !■ in County, whei B lomington'a share will 
 included in the county's record The war for the Doion will be mentioned bat 
 briefly in this work, it being more recent than the events this I k was intended to 
 
 in n raoitTim -u:\ 
 
 \\'. I tiers of Blooming Grove found Kiokapoo Indians 
 
 here, who, under their chief, Ma shoe na, were always friendly t" the whites Though 
 at fir- 1 th tome threatening language, rhoj □ mmitted an) disturban
 
 24 
 
 As late as 1831, these Indians had mostly left, though they appeared occasionally , 
 traversing the country in all directions. One family seems to have been living in 
 Bloomington after the location of the county seat. 
 
 McLean was a frontier county up to 1840, as the settlement of the State was pro- 
 gressing from the south toward the north, where the Winnebago Indians and others 
 were less friendly than those in this region. The streams flowing to the Illinois in what 
 is now Woodford and Marshall County, had a few settlers, while portions of Livingston, 
 included in McLean till 1837, were beginning to have a few pioneers along the groves 
 and bodies of timber skirting the Vermilion River, Rook's Creek and other streams. 
 Not a single settler was ever killed by Indians in McLean County, so far as we have 
 been able to learn, a fact that is quite remarkable when we consider the ordinary fatality 
 of the frontier settlements through the United States. 
 
 But while our settlers were thus fortunate, they did not pass unheeded the calls 
 from others less happily situated. When the Black Hawk war broke out in 1832, 
 Bloomington and the surrounding country sent a whole company of volunteers, under 
 command of Capt. Merritt L. Covell. A. Gridley was First Lieutenant, M. Baldwin, 
 Second Lieutenant, and there were in all fifty-six men. Each man furnished his own 
 horse', gun, clothing and accouterments. These troops took part in what was known as 
 Stillman's defeat, above Dixon, in what is at present Ogle County. But one man was 
 killed from this company — Joseph Draper. A full report of all that happened on this 
 expedition is published elsewhere in this work, aud we will be content with a statement 
 of facts in relation to the Indian troubles which have not been before presented to the 
 public, but which have been gathered recently from survivors, and are here given for 
 the first time. 
 
 When the troops from Tazewell and McLean Counties had returned to Ottawa and 
 were there building a fort for the protection of the settlers, supplies arrived from Pekin 
 and points on the Illinois River. Word was received that the people at Bloomington 
 were talking of building a fort, and that there was general alarm along the Mackinaw 
 and through the whole region from which the troops had enlisted. It was thought that 
 the Kickapoos might have been tampered with by emissaries from Black Hawk, whose 
 great success on the Rock River had, of course, emboldened him greatly. And no 
 wonder that our volunteers were excited. They had left home, a short time before, 
 fully persuaded that their own wives and little ones were sate ; and now to learn that 
 there was danger in their rear, they were tremendously agitated. All the best horses 
 and guns of the settlements, with the most resolute warriors, were thus absent from the 
 point of danger, and the case looked desperate. Rumor, perhaps, slightly exaggerated 
 the trouble; but, even at this time, with a full knowledge of the actual risk from the 
 treacherous Indian nature, it looks as if these men had the best of reasons for their 
 actions. Thirteen of them, headed by David Simmons, who is now living in Blooming- 
 ton, determined to return home and guard the settlers, although their time of enlist- 
 ment had not expired, and they ran the risk of being called deserters. Besides Mr. 
 Simmons, we have the names of Bailey Coflee, Clem. Oatman, Isaac Murphy and James 
 K. Orendorff. On the second day after their start from Ottawa, they arrived at Bloom- 
 ington, where they were met by the whole population and received with a perfect ovation 
 of gratitude and thankfulness. Those men afterward all received honorable discharges, 
 their action having been considered right and proper, even if a little unmilitary. In a
 
 1, w days, tli- balance <■!' the company returned from Ottawa, and, in th< mean lis 
 authority bad been given t'"r raisii impanj ofra d the frontiers of 
 
 \\ |. m County for sixty tl \ fort wasbuill Dear thi nd of Mackinaw Timb 
 
 .it Mi Henlim i, where the settlers living in what i- now Lawndale, Lexington and 
 M : Ci ■ in the habit of aaeembling foi The company of rangers made 
 
 tlii- fori their headquarters, and patrolled the region north, Indian G R I k, 
 
 \ rmilion Timber, and aU places where the inhabitants were nnprotected Capl John 
 II S Elh i • u i- the commander, though Capt. Covell is given bj some authoril 
 the chief officei \ inteers also turned out who were not attached to the oompao 
 and Capl Covell, fresh from [ndian warfare, may have taken bis turn at this service 
 without having been mustered. A -hurt time after this, ■ whole battali m id< ap 
 
 in thi- region for military drill, and of this regiment Capt. Covell was made Colonel, 
 and he was after that made a Qeneral of militia. Owen Chenej waa i Major in this 
 
 ■!t. and A Qridley, Adjutant Gridley was, at a later day, chosen Brigadier 
 era] of militia, and his title baa properly followed him to this d 
 
 c pany of rangers did _ rvice in guarding the frontier from Ottan 
 
 the Mackinaw, though even at the time, opinions of the best informed were divided 
 tu tli.- real danger to be apprehended from the Indian-. Probably, in this case, the thorough 
 preparations mad. by oui energetic frontier soldiers prevented a general mac ind 
 
 thus advanced the public inti nd k.j.t the settlements from suffering and dista -- 
 
 Even as it was, quite a large number abandoned th. ir homes, preferring to I"- "ti I 
 
 le of a doubtful question, some of whom never returned to the county. Thi 
 were about fifty men in this company . mosl of whom were raised in Bloomington, Stout - 
 < rrove, ami ( Hd Town Timber. 
 
 Bj the latter end of summer, all danger of Indian troubles had vanished is Black 
 Hawk was captured, hi- hand- broken up, and peao ir frontier — never t" 
 
 disturbed by hostili [ndians, though of wars and rumors of wars our pen must again 
 make mention. 
 
 BLOOHINQTON IN 1831. 
 
 Bloomington has the name <>l being the best built city in Lllinois, and it boai 
 cultivated, as agreeable and as brilliant as any in the W est In the matter of 
 buildings — business blocks, especially — it is undeniably the superior of anything in the 
 
 te outside of Chicago; but as to it- soda] oharms the question may not be so suscep- 
 tible of demonstration. We who live hi our claim-, leaving oth 
 (.. settle tln-ir accuracj We are content to reside in Bloomington, resting well satisfied 
 with our surroundings, which, we ma) remark, are such as foster the social ideaswe 1 i 
 mentioned. We oan Bee that there are sound philosophical reasons for our boasts in the 
 matter We know that it i- reasonable to indulge these feelings, when 
 
 consider that Bloomington, for fifty years has absorbed from thi E 
 
 the North and the South. We can see here representatives of the best societ 
 least f liffereni - titivated sons ami daughters of a d I 
 
 n , i tli.ir homes here, bringing with them manners and cus- 
 
 ton rious as their differing nationalities Hon natural that there should grow 
 
 up ■ a ii culled from the best of the different standards? How 
 
 form thus a model for futun Hen w< find the oourtlj Southerner the 
 
 I oei and the thrift \ \ ■ \ \ ik.i meeting in oue Bocial family, and the
 
 26 
 
 result would naturally be what we claim — a new society mor<? pleasant than either, with 
 the best social ethics of all, mingled in one common fountain from which flow the ele- 
 ments of the best society in the land. Fifty years of this mingling process may be too 
 short to perfectly illustrate its capabilities ; but in the course of time there can be no 
 doubt Bloomington will be able to exhibit its best effects. Our " best society " is even 
 now undergoing the transformation which is to make it in the future one of the most 
 enjoyable communities in the land. Our space is altogether too limited to illustrate 
 further what we have hinted at ; but the careful reader will perceive before we are through 
 that we indicate a great variety of sources from which may proceed this cosmopolitan 
 good society to which we have made reference. 
 
 On the 4th day of July of 1831, there was at Bloomington an auction sale of the 
 town lots which had been donated to the county, when William Orendorff acted as auc- 
 tioneer. This sale was quite satisfactory, and from its proceeds the first county build- ■ 
 ings were erected. We will assume that Bloomington's baptism occurred at that date. 
 On the 4th day of July, 1881, we shall call Bloomington just fifty years old, and we 
 hereby make a motion in favor of holding a grand celebration^on that fiftieth anniver- 
 sary. How the assembled multitude, July 4, 1831, would have stared could they have 
 seen at that early day, what we gaze at daily unmoved — the elegant Court House that 
 now graces the public square ? Suppose Mr. Allin had been able on that occasion to 
 visit our Court House dome and view its present surroundings, what a sight would meet 
 his wondering eyes? Or, suppose one of us could then have stood where we should 
 obtain a full view of the sights that were visible, what surprise and delight we should 
 manifest? We should have seen, as before stated, the beautiful town site, smooth and 
 free from buildings, as staked off by Dr. Baker, into lots, blocks and streets, covered 
 with waving grass and dotted with beautiful prairie flowers of many hues, all in the full 
 beauty of the early summer. To the south, in front, would be the bright, green wall of 
 tall waving trees — Blooming Grove — the finest piece of timber in Central Illinois, 
 slightly marred and cut by the axes of the first settlers — Evans, Allin, Dimmitt, Tolli- 
 ver and Maxwell — whose cabins could some of them be seen from the town site ; while 
 Mr. Allin's store and residence combined, which still stands as a part of the dwelling of 
 Dr. Stipp, would be the most prominent object in the foreground. We should hear the 
 bystanders all talking of the new county of McLean — of its new county seat — and 
 wondering what the future might have in store for their adopted homes — or, possibly 
 remarking upon the influx of emigrants that were stopping in their rich and promising 
 district. We learn that emigration was pouring into McLean with the most wonderful 
 rapidity, and that this stream increased until the year 183fi. From all we can now 
 ascertain, it appears that in 1831 the population of McLean must have been nearly two 
 thousand. At the election the previous year, 385 votes were polled in its territory, and 
 in 1835, the county contained 5,000 people. A short time after the sale of lots in 
 1831, there were about one dozen families residing within the present city limits of 
 Bloomington, which, added to those we have before mentioned as being established in 
 the township of Bloomington — but living in Blooming Grove — made a population of 
 perhaps three hundred persons. 
 
 Those who were living in the present city limits of Bloomington during the year 
 1831 are the following: Rev. James Latta, Dr. David Wheeler, Dr. Isaac Baker, 
 William Evans, Henry Miller, David Trimmer, Solomon Dodge, James Allin, John
 
 27 
 
 Kimli i M G iin. in. J J ihn Maxwell, aod id the fall, Benjamin Hain 
 
 .ill heads of families, and there m.i\ hav< been i I tile 
 
 M i M W< Bhonld also inolude the famil ee of A. L) nd R 
 
 ithrie, living there. In addition, of single men, ther '■'• i McKu Will- 
 
 iani Dimmitt, William Evans, Ji , Samuel, William and John Durley, \ C Wash- 
 burne, \ Gridley ml ^ I « ■ r r i 1 1 L. Covel. This indicafc pnlation of aboul eighty 
 
 within the present city limit* during the first year of the t the new town. 
 
 and we find it well its forward 
 
 I •.. >'• Bret - ". by whal is now well known of the character of the 
 
 v pioneers, Bloomington was fortunate enough t" | 
 There wer< >f the temporary "floating,' 'moving," in ble emigrants 
 
 d found in new towns M irly every one who arrived cam 
 tlt.it -| II for the young village B oingl ; I continued an attractive pla 
 
 LDgers down to the present time, and is well Bpoken "t' all over thi 3l N 
 
 doubt the oityowes much of its past and present prosperity to the fact of always having 
 
 • 1 reputation, an illustration showing that a g I name is better th 
 
 riches. In the year 1831, verj little could be said of the business of Bloomington 
 
 Thi lining here, 1 i 1 1 1 « - more. The new county of McLean had bi in- 
 
 i. its machinery Bet in motion ; the town of Bloomington had been platted, lots Bold, 
 
 few houses built, ind Beveral families established ; but there was little that could be 
 
 called ;i town. The future contained great possibilities for the new place, even if the 
 
 1 the realization of but very little. 
 
 < >f the early settlers, we will mention a few, though w< that our -pare will 
 
 not permit notice of others equally worthy. Mr. William Evans came to thi> county 
 in 1825, and settled southeast of Bloomington. The great hurricane of June 27, Ifi 
 broke down his timber and appeared to have ruined his corn crop. Mr. William Oren- 
 
 him ti - of young corn, which, with the unexpected g 1 yield of his 
 
 i. made Mr Evans a fair crop, and enabled him to harvest 100 bushel rn, 
 
 tin- wli.it he had agreed to give Cheney Thomas for his ••'■hum to a trad of 
 
 land where the city of Bloomington is now built. In 1828, Mi built his l"_ r 
 
 cabin, on a piece of ground between Grove and Olive streets the present residence 
 
 of J 8 Rouah. II" afterward built I house at the same location, and here he 
 
 •it hu days in peace and happiness, made wealthy by the advance in the value of bis 
 
 do II" died in 1868, at tl ii ninety-two j M E i a man of 
 
 1 habit ' tli" best men of the good old times. He was the first settler in 1 1 1 . - 
 
 territory now known as the city of B mington. 
 
 Mr William Dimmitt owned a tract adjoining Mi Evans, and was one of the 
 
 pioneers of Bloomington Though several houses were built before his improvements 
 
 re madi oame one of the best known of our old residents, I rering 
 
 lit' • one place. His 1 ith i- eerj recent, and we will quote from 1 1 1 . - 
 
 January 21, 1 -7:'. an article in regard t" thi* piont i 
 
 Mr William Dimmitt, one of the pi f Blooming tied at the north 
 
 in 1827, "ii thi land where he died, February 19, 1879, having 
 
 made hi* home here foui the town of Bloomingt* iblished II" 
 
 was born in Virginia, and moved, when a boy, to Alleghany Co Maryland, in 17 
 
 His father i_rli-h hi* mother American born, In 1825, Mi Dimmiti removed
 
 28 
 
 to Illinois; remained the first summer at Danville, and came to McLean County in 
 1826. He made a claim at the west end of Old Town Timber, in 1826 ; but when 
 the hurricane of June 27, 1827, leveled the best part of his trees to the ground, he 
 became discouraged, abandoned the place, and made arrangements to move to another 
 location. Mr. William Evans had purchased (of Cheney Thomas, according to some 
 accounts) a claim where the city of Bloomington stands, including, in part, what is now 
 the territory running from the cemetery north as far as Dr. Wakefield's. Mr. Dimmitt 
 bought a claim in 1828, next adjoining this on the east, being, in part, land lying 
 between the Illinois Central Railroad and Mr. Evans'. He became a farmer, though, 
 as he was not married until 1833, he had no house on his land for some years. Dur- 
 ing the first few years he worked, as did the pioneers, at whatever was to be done, but 
 could make little headway until the year 1829, when he went to the lead-mines at Elizabeth, 
 Jo Daviess Co., 111., where he was remarkably fortunate, and returned with $600 — a 
 large sum of money for those times. The lead-mines, then, were to an early settler 
 what California has been in later days. It was where Isaac Funk sold the cattle of this 
 region, and where he and others took droves of hogs for the miners. With this sum of 
 money Mr. Dimmitt was able to pay for his farm — 130 acres — and he was at once in 
 good circumstances. His land became quite valuable, as soon as the county seat was 
 located at Bloomington, a few months after the Deep Snow of 1831, but he never was in 
 any hurry to accept of the offers of that early time. In 1848, he made an addition tu 
 the city, followed by others, until, in all, he has made six additions. He always kept 
 track of the advance in the value of real estate, rarely selling before it was prudent or 
 wise, and has been considered one of our wealthy citizens. His homestead has never 
 been sold or transferred since it was patented to Mr. Dimmitt by the United States Gov- 
 ernment, and it is the only tract in Bloomington of which this can be said. Mr. Dim- 
 mitt went with the Bloomington volunteers to the Black Hawk war in 1832, and on 
 the expiration of the thirty-days service, the last of which was performed at Ottawa, 
 in building a log fort for the protection of the settlers, he came home to Bloomington. 
 He enlisted in the company raised immediately after his return for frontier service in 
 McLean County, served the sixty days of its enlistment, going to Vermilion River, in 
 what is now Livingston County, to Rook's Creek and Indian Grove, it being then all a 
 part of McLean, and spent a good deal of time near the east end of Mackinaw timber, 
 where, at Mr. Henline's, there was a rough fort for the safety of the pioneers in that 
 neighborhood. 
 
 " Bloomington's oldest pioneer has thus passed away, and his mantle has fallen upon 
 the one that next arrived in our corporation, though we are just now unable to state who it 
 may be. Mr. Dimmitt has enjoyed that distinction since the death of Mr. Evans, sev- 
 eral years ago. He was always a good citizen, quiet in his manner, never ostentatious, 
 and has acted well his part in life. 
 
 " He married Mary Ervine forty-six years ago; and together with his wife, saw as 
 much of real pioneer life as any of our early settlers. During the whole of this long 
 and eventful life, death has not once entered his family, as all the children are now living 
 still in this or neighboring States. He leaves a widow and a large circle of children, 
 grandchildren, connections and friends to mourn his loss.*' 
 
 W. H. Hodge was the first school-teacher in the village, living at the time two 
 miles south, on his farm. The schoolhouse stood near the crossing of Main and Olive
 
 \1 . II it active citiien, havin r.il of the most important 
 
 * in this and Tazewell County at different times An I Washburne arrived 
 
 in 1831, and opened a school here in I 1 of that year, in a I m 1 1« I i : the 
 
 ■ M iin uni 1 1 M W one of the mo 
 
 Christians of the pi I ' the firel • lie McL 
 
 :■ • i.-t \- . in 1834, and always an ean in the r his M He 
 
 ■, ho, in i the tit st 1 J ( ihuroh. The 
 
 \\ t !i«.»li— t sermon ed in Bloomii en at the 
 
 John Cm 1831 ; l"it f the villa 
 
 will -irv to state it was in Blooming G >ut the 'li'. 
 
 bave hitherto given. We have seen that the first Moth rmon in 
 
 Blooming G • was delivered '■ & '■ James Stringfield, in 1823 Prob 
 
 rmons were preached in the Grove bj x l bodisl circuit-riders, between 1 823 and 
 l-:;i There maj bave been a church organized, though w<- oan find no record of one 
 
 till 1 v ::l'. In l-> Bloomin G I B nington were united in one circuit, from 
 
 h the inference is plain that a church organisation existed | 
 
 r- that between* the time of the location of the count] in the ■ 
 
 part of the year 1831, and the time of the sale, July L, then thering- 
 
 ther of | pie who intended to cast their l<>t in the new town, and after thai 
 
 nd of the year, there were quite a number of new-comers. There 
 one blacksmith here 1 1 1 « - tir-t _v«-:ir. David Trimmer, and one wheelwright, Henrj 
 Miller, who m-in-law of William Evans. Mr. Miller also made and repaired 
 
 spinning- wheels ; be had the first turning lathe, though this last was ae 
 
 first Btore lias already 1" en mentioned as having bi • d •' imi - Ulna's, in what is 
 
 new I»r. Slit idence. Here, at the place designated in the act organizing McLean 
 
 County, in one end of the house, the first Circuit Court was held bj Jud 9 D. Lock* 
 
 M i Allin had, Bhortly after, a -t >r<- on the northeast corner of Main ami Pront 
 
 ', ', Grid on the opposite corner, where is now the M I 
 
 I ik There was soon a business house <'n each of the other corners, and 
 
 e this locality became the center of trade and influence. It was manj years before 
 
 .nr. other part nf the city was of any importance in ■ commercial point of view, and 
 
 this will be known as the historic center of Bloomington. It is also the geographical 
 
 - the first charter specifies that Bloomington -hall extend three-quarters of < 
 
 mile north, south, east and west of the northwest corner of Front and Main stn 
 
 I it v limits I d extended several times Binoe; but tli -•■ ext> osions hai 
 irregularly, '>r. rather, unequally on the different Bides, bo that this corner is not, 
 
 strictly, tic geographical center of the Bloomington of to-day. On the northeast corner 
 of Front and Main was built the first brie in this city. It n ted in I - 
 \] ad is still a very Bur structure. 
 I>r Baker and Dr. Wheeler are mentioned as physicians in 1831 Th 
 . in tin- Hi f business, in 1832, bj Di John Anderson, and - i after, Dr. 
 
 I I added t" the numb 
 
 |; . .1 - I . • . who had li becaiw lent 
 
 S3] li— in I, in the fall of this year, to fence and 
 
 hilt' a mile from th which was then thought a reck- 
 
 f suppli This is now known as the Durlej Addition.
 
 30 
 
 October 8, 1831, Ashael Gridley, then a young man twenty-one years old, arrived in 
 Bloomington and commenced the career of activity which has rendered his name a household 
 word all over Central Illinois. He commenced improvements in the fall of this year, at the 
 corner of Main and Front streets, where his fine bank building now stands. The lots 
 at the corners of these streets were the choice ones of the new town. Mr. Gridley paid 
 $51 for his lot, which had been bid off by some one at the July sale for $60. His home 
 at this time (he being unmarried) was with the family of James Allin. Here, we 
 may assume, commenced an active acquaintance and friendship between the two active 
 men, who, for the next thirty years or more, took such a prominent part in the fortunes 
 of this thriving young town, as well as in those of the whole county. From the very first 
 year of its existence, he has been one of the foremost in all enterprises that promised 
 the good of Bloomington. Being of an active, sanguine temperament, quick to per- 
 ceive, he has generally been a leader in all undertakings — giving liberally of his means, 
 arguing with the doubtful, pushing forward the slow and timid, carrying every one 
 onward with his magnetic enthusiasm until success should crown the effort. Blooming- 
 ton owes this gentleman a debt of gratitude that should be remembered to its latest 
 generations. Our history mentions his labors in several of the city's undertakings, but 
 there have been hundreds of instances illustrating what we have mentioned, that live 
 only in the recollections of his associates, of which we have simply gathered a very few 
 of the most prominent. 
 
 Gen. Gridley has been fortunate in his business ventures and now possesses a hand- 
 some estate. Some of it is on Front street, the scene of his early labors, quite a portion in 
 large farms in Central Illinois, and more of it is in various moneyed investments. He is 
 now the oldest pioneer who has lived consecutively in the city of Bloomington since the 
 year of its first settlement. He was in mercantile business here until after 1840, when 
 he studied law and at once entered upon a large practice. In the good times following 
 the building of the Illinois Central, he dealt largely in real estate ; while at about the 
 same time, in 1853, he started the McLean County Bank, of which he was President 
 and afterward sole owner for years, though he has now taken his son Edward into the 
 firm. Banking has been his leading business for the last twenty-six years, though his 
 activity has been so great that he has been interested in an almost infinite number of 
 other enterprises. He is now in his seventieth year, and is in good health. He is the 
 oldest resident of the city, having lived here continuously for forty-eight years. 
 
 There were several residents of the town, in the year 1831, who did not remain 
 long, whose names have not been preserved. Drs. Baker and Wheeler, and Robert 
 Guthrie, will be mentioned elsewhere, as will Merritt L. Covell, at this time a young 
 man who soon entered upon an active career. William, Samuel and John Durley 
 arrived during the year 1831 or 1832, and became active citizens of the town, and their 
 family name is preserved in the fine public hall built a few years ago by Judge Davis, 
 and also in the name of the addition known as "The Durley." The Durley farm 
 was for years thought to be just a little too far north and east to ever become a part of 
 the city. John Maxwell and James Tolliver lived in the southwest part of the city, 
 where their land is in part now known as the Tolliver Addition to the city of Blooming- 
 ton. John Greenman lived in the part of the city now covered in part by the Masons Addi- 
 tion ; and John Kimler's farm was southeast, and was in part the present Judge McClun 
 farm, just within the city limits.
 
 81 
 
 I • k lly kiniwii by that name 
 
 1831, before th< We ha town thai the town was named in the 
 
 aot inoorporating Ml I i months before the Bale ol nd ■ 
 
 month i>r mora before the Commissioners located the oonnl "at the aorth • 
 
 nf the Blooming Qrovi 3 the location wa- madi ken to i 
 
 tin- name of t] I t V ■ > 1 1 1 Blooming Grove to Rloomington, which 
 
 occurred in May, 1831, when J Allin wa- appointed Postmaster, and the offioe 
 
 •(.. 1 1 . « I in hi- store. Th. : the town properly datei from the location of 
 
 the conn though it was named on paper some time i Its fii 
 
 enoe having been on paper only, we have thought best, in this history, to assume thai 
 the town now city of Bloomington enl ilrlj upon it- career Julj I 1831, at 
 
 which time the public sale of lota occurred, after which Bloomington bad nol only ■ 
 name, bui also ■ definite location. 
 
 Jamet Aliin made the first addition to Bloomington in August, 1831. It was by 
 the sale <•! l«'t* in this addition thai Mr. Allin realised some return for the donati 
 tw< 1 1 1 \ - 1 w • . ami one-hal which he made to the c lunty. This addition oonsisl 
 
 part of the property lying south of Fourth street 
 
 \'<\ thi end of the year 1831, public attention had become attracted to the new 
 town, which had no competitor nearer than theold town of Mackinaw, and it became 
 evident thai bew was to grow up a village of some importance, though at this early 
 day iin one knew whether the boundaries of tin- new county of M t> in w re to remain 
 
 what was to be the future of the settlement Prom the very 
 first, however, Mr. James Allin, ai I by such men as th.- Orendorffs, A Grridley, 
 James Latta, W. 11. Bodge, John Benson, and many others, k.-j.t vigilant watch over 
 the young county, and in the end proved themselves aide to preserve its boundaries in 
 such shape thai Bloomington continued its chief central town, until, in the • 
 its, it v rell established as to fear nothing. 
 
 The period from 1831 to 1836 was one of greal prosperity f I tral Ellin 
 Settlers were pouring in rapidly from the Bias n and Southern 3 I 
 
 emigration from Kentucky and Tennessee, made up mostly of those who desired to 
 
 their families awaj from the blighting and deadening influent [llinois 
 
 aing thai the result of the contest on the rery ■ I 
 
 ivorsble than the most enthusiastic adi lorn bad predi 
 
 ( thin ami In. liana, howev< r. furnished the most liberal Bhare of thi men to Bloom- 
 
 n and McL< an County, though there were a few genuine Yankees, and quite a num- 
 • kiinwii as •' Fork Stale Vank The sudden influx of settlers creal 
 
 borne demand for the products of the countr) and stimulated the trade of our merch 
 
 a np t" 1 B36, the tiiu. of the great financial crash, the times continue .1 to gro^ 
 
 ter and better, until the mania for land speculation became prevalent, followed by the 
 
 ifa and crash of 1837, of which the full effect foi evil was not I for 
 
 It would aj pear that the times then 
 
 until, in 1842, there wa- t. rriblo di.-tr.-s. \Y<- who h through the flush times 
 
 from and who 1 .ntlv 
 
 financial strinj form some idea of the condition of affa 
 
 thin vY< ni : in mind thu we now have rai ind a 
 
 rhile in thosi no marl than Chicago and St
 
 32 
 
 Louis ; and when we add to this the fact of our possession of a currency that is abso- 
 lutely perfect, and compare it with no currency at all, we shall begin to realize the con- 
 dition of our early settlers. The financial question is treated to some extent elsewhere 
 in this book, and we shall, therefore, omit further mention of it in this connection. 
 
 From 1831 to 1836, the growth of Bloomington was rapid, yet at the latter date 
 there were only 450 inhabitants, showing it was still quite a small village. We learn 
 that as late as 1840 there were not over six or eight stores, though improvements were 
 going on slowly all the time. We must remember that down to this date there were 
 few who had attempted to settle on the prairie ; the groves were still the only desirable 
 locations. Farming as we have since seen it was hardly thought of, and, as a matter of 
 oourse, there was less business in proportion for merchants than we see at the present 
 time. The habits of the people were simple. The increase in wealth had not yet 
 brought about general extravagance, and the careful habits of the early settlers continued 
 with gradual change down to the discovery of gold in California. From 1849 to 1855, 
 there was a most wonderful development of the county, and consequent growth of the 
 town ; but all this was unfelt at the time we are studying, and we can still consider it 
 a portion of the good old times of McLean County. 
 
 It has been a matter of surprise that the people of the present day take so little inter- 
 est in the improvements that have been made in farming implements and farming pro- 
 cesses. It was not till after 1842 that plows had been made that would do good work 
 •on the black, fine, prairie soils of this country. Plows were made of cast-iron before 
 1835 ; but such could only be used on gravelly or sandy soils. They would not " scour " 
 or keep free from clogging when tried here ; and, for many years, farmers and manu- 
 facturers were studying how to make a plow that would " scour " in prairie soil. Vari- 
 ous styles of wooden plows, also iron and wood combined, were tried and abandoned, 
 until in the end the cast-steel plow of the present day was brought partly to perfection, 
 and added vastly to the capabilities of our agriculturists. Wheat was laboriously reaped 
 by hand with a sickle, or cut with a cradle ; threshed by hand or horse power ; win- 
 nowed by hand ; and, when ready for market, could not be sold except for home con- 
 sumption. The seed-drill, the harvester, the mowing-machine, the steam-thresher, were 
 things of the future. Corn was planted by hand and cultivated by " single shovel " 
 horse-plows as rude as the plows that prepared the grounds for planting. Thus, plant- 
 ing corn by hand, tilling it slowly and laboriously, our great staple was cultivated with 
 difficulty ; and, when raised, it could only be marketed in the shape of beef or pork ; 
 hogs and cattle were driven to Cincinnati, Chicago, Galena or St. Louis, and the long 
 journey rendered it advisable to fatten stock with some qualifications for speed, or, rather, 
 ability to travel with little loss of flesh. The fine breeds of hogs and cattle for which 
 McLean County is now famed, would then have been worthless for driving. This 
 region was pre-eminently a stock country. The large herds of swine were nearly wild, 
 running at large in the groves, fattening partially on nuts and acorns, finished off late 
 in the fall with as little corn as might answer the purpose ; not made too fat, for fear of 
 injury in driving to market. Immense herds of cattle roamed at will over the prairies, 
 often obtaining their entire living during the winter by browsing on what they could 
 find in the woods or " timber " as it must be called in this region. This prairie was 
 owned by the Government until after the mania for land speculation from 1834 to 
 1836, when much of that near the timber was purchased ; but owners of cattle
 
 seldom troubled themselves to buy more than enough for tlnir cultivation "ti :i small 
 
 Ii will readilj I that aoder this Btate of affairs, farmera realised t>ut littli 
 
 their labor, which tl nded upon the cultivated portion of their lands, and that 
 
 the profit was chiefly in stock-raising, which, by th< 
 
 prioes of j>- -rk and t> verj Ion \\\<-r these articles had I" market 
 
 under all the difficult! ribed, there was generally a small return for thi 
 
 Hence it will \><- realised thai merchants and mechanics, living in the towns and villa- 
 
 old hav< 1 but a Bmall remuni ration from an agricultural ] pie so situated, and 
 
 no rowth could have been looke > t"i" in :i town which, like Bloomingt n, w i- not 
 
 a primary market for agricultural products Bloomington was a | 
 th.- capital of a tine county, and ■■! trade with 1 1 » . - Burrounding count 
 
 in i was growing with it- growth, but it only contained a population of 1,61 1 aa lit' 
 351, and not till the advent of railroads did the place put on tli important 
 
 <-it_v. 
 
 In common with other historians, we find it difficult to chronicle in th.-ir 
 
 et order, and must follow the t lir<-a>l wherever it leads leaving the reader to 'l>< a 
 ttion of the weaving We have broughl our narrative down to about the year 18 
 i, perhaps, a reference to the items contained in a copy of the Bloomington < >' 
 dated November 17. 1838, Vol. 2, No. 35 which is before a — maj I"- of inter 
 
 being from the oldest copy of the journal that can 1 btained. 
 
 [ts editor * w Fell, anil the office was on the corner of Madison and ' Irove 
 
 streets. It- advertisemt were put up neatly, and denote typographical 
 
 ability. Nothing larger than two-line black-faced primer is t" be found. 
 
 The law firm of Davis & Colton was composed of David Davis and Wells Colton. 
 They offered " to att< nd to all professional business confided to tluir care in the <'>uir 
 
 Pi MI. in, Macon, Tasewell, Putnam and Livings They would have their 
 
 hands full to-day over bo much territory, Burely. 
 
 Di John V. Henry "has returned home" where from is not stated), "and offers 
 lii- professional to In- friends." 
 
 ' ■! ,v W< • ! wanted 10,000 pounds of dried hides at liberal prioi 
 The annual commencement of "Illinois Seminary" wa- held on September L9. 
 Illinois Seminary" -till stands, but i- deserted and Borry-looking, near the C .v \ 
 sho] 
 
 The estate of John rlimler, deceased, was in the hands of Coffej I admin- 
 istrators, for sale or settlement 
 
 Dions, in covered wagons, with property worth $3,000, i route \'<>v Mia 
 
 sourL 
 
 The death of Thomae II Haines, M I 1 ccurred "on the r : r< 1 instant, in the 
 ;;7th year "t* his age, and was extensively li'lt and most deeply deplored in th< 
 mnnity." 
 
 William P Brown was Postmastei Mail matter arrived and departed I 
 
 . in the week. 
 W II M Pall ive Dotice that the n< l. iturc would be petitioned to form 
 by slicing off a portion of Ml, in, M. >n and Champai I 
 \V. presume tl ounty thus formed a is DeWitt.
 
 31 
 
 Seth Baker, President, published a village ordinance notifying that " each able- 
 bodied white male resident in the incorporated town of Bloomington, between the ages 
 of twenty-one and fifty years, shall be required to do and perform four days labor in the 
 year 1838." 
 
 The Central Railroad was building south, and had reached Peru. It was many 
 years before it was able to cross the Illinois River. 
 
 Benjamin Walker offered $100 reward for two dark-brown horses that had been 
 stolen from the stable of James Allin, Esq., in Bloomington. 
 
 The stage ran through from Danville to Pekin in " less than three days." The 
 fare one way was $10. " No disappointments unless the roads be impassable." Imagine 
 a stage on a road in Illinois in a winter like that of 1877-78 ! 
 
 0. Covel was the only insurance agent. 
 
 James Allin, J. W. Fell and A. Gridley offered property in Decatur worth $600 
 to $1,000, to any one who would start a saw-mill there. 
 
 Edgar Conklin was a land agent at the town of Le Roy. 
 
 Armstrong & Palmer, S. Baker & Co., Covel & Weed and James Allin were the 
 leading dry goods merchants. 
 
 The " Bloomington Hotel " was advertised for rent by A. Gridley. The building 
 was one of the " finest." It contained thirty beds. As an inducement, the advertise- 
 ment went on to say, '' Bloomington is the flourishing county seat of one of the first 
 counties on the line of the stage route from Danville to Pekin." This hotel was after- 
 ward known as the American House, and was moved away a few years since to make 
 room for the fine buildings erected by Stevenson Bros, and Gen. Gridley, on East Front 
 street. 
 
 The county of Livingston was taken off of McLean in 1837, and entered upon 
 its independent career; and Woodford was organized in 1840, partly from McLean and 
 the rest from Tazewell County. These changes took but little business from Bloom- 
 ington, however, as the territory named was very sparsely settled at the time of their 
 organization. 
 
 Previous to 1840, several of the most prominent and deserving of our present 
 citizens, with others who are now dead, became residents of Bloomington ; but, for the 
 period of time since the first sale of lots, we cannot take space to mention more tban a 
 few of the best known, and must, from the circumstances of the case, be excused for 
 leaving out names equally worthy with those we mention. The field is altogether too 
 large for the thorough cultivation it in truth deserves. Among those who arrived at. 
 this time, some of whom, perhaps, settled on farms in the neighborhood, were Jesse W. 
 Fell, James B. Price, George Price, John Price, Dr. John F. Henry, Bailey H. Coffee, 
 Ortugal Covel, William Gillespie, Wells Colton, Joshua H. Harlan, Welcome P. Brown. 
 Andrew Dodd, G. B. Larrison, George S. Markley, John Magoun, John E. McClun, 
 Peter Withers, J. C. Harbord, E. Platte, David Davis, William T. Major, Dr. L. S. 
 Major, Dr. John M. Major, James Depew, W. H. Temple, Hon. James Miller, Thomas 
 Williams, William Thomas, Samuel Lander, K. H. Fell, Andrew M. Scoggin, Abra- 
 ham Brokaw, William F. Flagg, John W. Billings, John T. Gunnell, William O. Viney, 
 James T. Walton, Joshua R. Fell, Henry Richardson, Jonathan Glimpse, George 
 Dietrich, Lewis Bunn, William G. Thompson, Allan Withers, Joel Depew, M. H. 
 Hawks, W. C. Hobbs, James Depew, and others. Col. McCollough, Dr. S. W. Noble,
 
 85 
 
 B l» Baker, Chastine Major, \ Stansberry, and several other prominent citizena 1 i \« •* 1 
 m various towna in M L I ounty in early days, and afterward moved into Blooming 
 ington. Tli' ir namea will properly appear in 1 1 1 - - different township histnrii - 
 
 Mr - 1 W. Pell arrived in Bloom ington in 1832. He waa thi first lawyer in 
 Bloomington who had a regular diploma, though there were othera who praotioed law 
 :i( about the aame time 
 
 Mr. Pell was one of the mosl active and enterprising of the active men of the 
 town. Witli Mr Jamea Allin and Mr. Qridlej he readily aasoeiated, and the 
 three, in ili«' words of one of our oldest citizens, formed a trio thai could no! be equaled. 
 In ever} enterprise that promised the good of our city, Mr. Pell was ever one of the 
 foremost, and if the full history of our oity were written bj a careful historian, it a 
 be shown that to him is due aa much credit as to anj oitisen of the place. His name 
 will occur all through our history, though in 1855 he becanx . f North 
 
 Bloomington, Boon after called Normal. The history of Normal will give special men- 
 tion of Mr J W. Pell, though during the twenty-five yean of his residenoe there 
 he has taken :i warn interest in Bloomington'a projects, having often been one of the 
 it active and efficient in carrying forward our mosl important interests. 
 It was during the time that elapsed from 1830 to L840, that Bloomington took an 
 humble plaoe in a history that has now become quite enviable. We have seen thai at 
 its start very few advantages over other towns that were projeoted, and its 
 
 pros] Bted mainly in the brains of a raw enterprising men, who attracted around 
 
 them other men of the same character, of whom we have enumerated Ron f the mosl 
 
 energetic and mosl effective in building a town at this point, where men were com- 
 pelled to fight against the Bpirit of the age, against the popular ideas of the times. It 
 ■ mphatically a " town-building " age. I 'aper towne were located, projected, bought, 
 sold, wholesaled, retailed, peddled, all over the entire land. The veriest dunce in the 
 ,,.| t.-ll exactly what was required to build a town. as the newspapera were full of 
 the current ideas. It was demonstrated that in order to build a town there must be 
 timber, stone, water-power, coal and navigable waters, or the contemplated town most 
 
 dily give ap its chat Southern [Uinoia was full of towns of this character 
 
 sessit qualification required. The Lllinois River from its mouth !•> above 
 
 Ottawa, was lined with these promising towns, or paper oitii 
 
 B omington had barelj enough timber for fuel, none t- • r manufacturing pa 
 h 1 1 do stone, no coal, no navigation, and, worse than all, had no water t i der> ad on for 
 ordinary drinking purpose - Bloomington had no chance against towns like l'> ru, < )U 
 
 ir Jolii t. which were looked nj a~ Bure to become large oitii b. The idea of building 
 
 od town here waa ridiculed and scouted, and the men who were cmjai'ed in the 
 often more discouraged than the present generation can realise. 
 But we show in these pages how these men overcame all obstacles, and how, in the 
 
 :. it looks to those who only Bee the results, as it' the <itv 
 could scarcely help growing "t itself The foundations for its su 
 laid in these <-ar bj the cementing and forming of that Bplendid public 
 
 ; it of whioh iften write in thi se pap 
 
 During! I il churches wei ind their houses of worship 
 
 built; quite a number of fran ind one g 1 brick it the northeast 
 
 : Main and Pronl I i oodly number of n - ral of these
 
 36 
 
 last are still standing, among them the Allin residence, built in 1838, by W. H. Allin, 
 just west of the present Baptist Church. The town must have looked quite small, as 
 its total population, in 1840, did not much exceed 600. Its churches as then built 
 were diminutive, its residences and stores small, and there were few indications of the fine 
 structures which, within twenty years were to grace its streets. 
 
 Three churches were built during this period — the Methodist, Baptist and the First 
 Presbyterian — the latter the first brick church in Bloomington. Probably the city 
 had a larger proportion of professing Christians in 1840, than at any later period 
 of its history. The first brick Court House, built at a cost of $8,500, was erected in 1836. 
 It was a famous building for the times, and was used until 1868. 
 
 Several additions were made to the city, town lots having been the principal 
 article of export, so to speak, in 1836, and from that time to 1840 they were a drug in 
 the market. Many of these lots were sold at the East during the era of speculation, 
 and, when the bubble burst, their owners allowed their investments to vanish, and the 
 lots were sold for taxes. The various industries dependent upon agriculture, like black- 
 smithing and wagon-making, were, however, well under way by the year 1840, and the 
 town was beginning to grow in business importance more than in wealth and population. 
 
 1840 to 1850. 
 
 During this period, Bloomington made a substantial advance, notwithstand- 
 ing the scarcity of money. At the beginning, in 1840, the whole country, East 
 as well as West, was in the agonies of financial distress. This city suffered the 
 most, perhaps, in the years 1841 and 1842, though it is likely that subsequently people 
 had become so accustomed to the hard times that they made fewer complaints. Lands 
 and town lots were almost valueless ; in many cases rich, improved farmingdands 
 would sell for less than SI. 25 per acre. People who did not own land felt they 
 were fortunate — not being obliged to pay taxes. The most valuable property was 
 our heavy timbered land. This, it was believed, had a real value, but wild prairie, a 
 few miles distant from timber, was thought to be almost worthless. A large quantity 
 of prairie had been entered during the flush times, from 1834 to 1836, and was now 
 abandoned by the speculators who were generally compelled to go into bankruptcy. 
 
 The times improved gradually, though even in 1849, when the gold excitement 
 broke out, money was exceedingly scarce, and large numbers left this region who felt tha^ 
 their chances for obtaining a competency were almost infinitesimal. Still, in spite of 
 hard times, population increased. The great distress prevailing in the Eastern States 
 forced families to emigrate, and many arrived, who came simply hoping to make a bare 
 living, not looking for the rich rewards they ultimately obtained. We find that from 
 1845 to 1850, the population of Bloomington increased from 800 to 1,611, showing a 
 vigor that one would scarcely expect from the general condition of the country at large. 
 The recovery of the country from the terrible prostration which occurred in 1836 was 
 very gradual, but towns situated in the midst of as rich a country as there is surround- 
 ing Bloomington, and inhabited by people of such energy and perseverance, recovered 
 more rapidly than others, and by the end of this period our city — then a village — was 
 once moi^e on the high road to prosperity. As early as 1848, there was a movement 
 toward the establishment of a college, there were several good high schools or academies 
 in operation, and there was talk of starting a city government, as the town or village
 
 T 
 
 i Dilation then • was Found t" bo almost entirely inoperal u l S5ii 
 
 in irk ill. commencement of an era of enu ■■.■ ! it this time thai 
 
 railroad-building began tnd among the man) projects for making i {!• >< >m 
 
 ington i railroad oenter, il thai the Illinois Central, and. perhaps .1 other 
 
 railroads would reach this oitj in the oourse of the nexl fj In leu than thi 
 
 re in operation. 
 Prom 1 8 l*_* t « • 1 8 i : I numbers of the new, improved plows were introdnoed 
 
 plows thai would i or U"rk freelj in the rich prairie soil, and bj the year I860, 
 
 re used to some extent, and farmers oould Bee theii wai dearly. The da\ of 
 
 toilsomi banddabor was about to give plaoe t<> the corn-planter, the wer and tl 
 
 and the oourage thus given to our farm< upon the towns and 
 
 cities situated in rioh agricultural districts Tin — - causes bad greal influenoe upon the 
 uili and w< Ifare of Bloomington. This city bad the bonor, as earl) is 1841 or 1842 
 to manufacture improved plows -those thai would "scour." The) were made in la 
 numbers bj Bunn, Ellsworth & Brokaw. 
 
 \\ . K. Plagg and J. W. Swing are entitled to greal credit for tin ir reaper which 
 they broughl early as 1848 and 1849. Thej were among r 1 1 ♦ - 
 
 most inventors of improved reapers and manufactured a large number. Mr. Fla 
 n after built bis fine factory and carried on quite a large business. In r> a|>< r- a* 
 well a> plows, Bloomington 's manufacturers soon had an enviable reputation. 
 
 During the latter part of this decade, the "Gold Fever," "r California emigration, 
 took awaj a large number of Bloomington's most energetic and active young nun. who, 
 with ilnir expensive outfits, made a severe drain npon the town. Their places hi 
 
 re filled, and soon the village was going ahead as well as a! any time in its history 
 Between 1840 and 1 S50, Bloomington experimented with a to* n or village government, 
 having bad a Board of Trustees with Borne of the powers of a citj government. The 
 i' -ult of the effort was, thai public Bentiment crystallised into Buch a condition, thai 
 when the city charter w;<- adopted in 1351, it found the waj prepared for the Bteadj 
 and reliable municipal government that has prevailed For twenty-eight years, 
 
 1850 ro I860. 
 
 In tip beginning of this decade there was an advance in prosperity, and bj 
 tin 1852 this whole region was moved bj a sudden impulse, to which all 
 
 previous improvement was Blow indeed. this time, the Illinois Central Rail- 
 
 building in good earnest . its route was established . Bloomington 
 I". int on its tine, and became headquarters for the contractors who were making the 
 i while the Chicago a. Alton was commenced in the fall of the same year. 
 
 M j -■ 1853 Illinois Central oars wen running from La Salle t" Bloom 
 
 ••■tl . and in the autumn of tin- same year, the other line was in op ration from this 
 plai : :lirl'!. I!"tli roads were Boon after extended, bo that i«n main lines w< 
 
 n, havii built rapidly, and Bloomingtoniana were hard Ij read) to believe thai 
 
 these <-vi<i future growth and development oould I"- real It was ;it this time 
 
 our city began to maki Bouses and stores wen rapidly built ; n 
 
 Iditions laid out ; money became plenty, and prospei tied on < 
 
 The growth of the county kept pao with the town, and fbrtum - wi 
 tw". by thi ii the vain.- of real estate The population "t the (ritj a
 
 38 
 
 1,611 in 1850, and rose to 5,000 in 1855, 7,000 in 1858, and was about 8,000 at the 
 time of the Federal census in 1860. 
 
 During this decade, Blooniington was ornamented by the beautiful residence of 
 Gen. Gridley, built at a cost of $40,000, in 1859; and also the Gov. Matteson house, 
 at the northeast corner of Jefferson and Lee streets ; the ltoadnight house, northwest 
 corner Lee and Locust ; Col. Boyd's, Gen. Orme's, and several other fine residences. 
 The "old Methodist Church" was erected in 1850. Thomas Williams was the con- 
 tractor. The Baptist Church was built in 1857 ; A. H. Gage, architect and contractor. 
 The Second Presbyterian Church and several other church-buildings date from about 
 this time. The elegant National Bank building was erected in 1860. The Ashley 
 House was built in 1857, as far as putting on the roof. The enterprise stopped till 
 1862, when Mr. Thomas Ashley, Sr., finished the building. Those fine stores called Phoe- 
 nix Block, on the south side of the square, and the north half of those buildings on 
 the west, and three on the north side, now known as the Metropolitan Block, were all 
 finished previous to 1860, as also Royce Block, and a fine block on Main street, south 
 of the latter, burned, however, together with the Nicolls House, in a great fire in the 
 winter of 1862. The west side of Main street, from Front to Washington, was built up 
 before 1857, including the McLean County Bank, as was the large block of six fine 
 stores on the south side of Front street, between Main and Center. Other improve- 
 ments of importance also date from this period. The old Wesleyan College building, 
 the Fourth Ward Public School, Major's Female College, Conover's Female Seminary, 
 and the Normal, were all either completed or well under way before the year 1860. It 
 was during this period that the Chicago & Alton shops were also started (they employed 
 180 men in 1857), and the large manufacturing establishment of Flagg's (now the chair- 
 factory), with other important shops, began to give Bloomington the air of a manufact- 
 uring as well as that of a commercial and educational center, and it was now fairly 
 started on its career of usefulness and importance. 
 
 During the ten years under consideration, the population of Bloomington under- 
 went a remarkable change. Instead of a purely American community, as in 1850, the 
 year 1860 found here a large sprinkling, in all, perhaps, two thousand or more, of for- 
 eigners, who had come to stay. The building of the two railroads had brought hither 
 a large number of Irish workmen, and their presence induced the settlement of many 
 of the best class of Irish, men of education and means, who cast in their lot with their 
 countrymen, forming in the aggregate a very valuable element of the total population 
 of the city. 
 
 The increase of Germans was also very large, particularly in the years 1854 to 
 1858. They were a hard-working, well-behaved class, who. with their successors, have 
 now become numerous, and who, for general good-conduct, industry and good-citizen- 
 ship are not surpassed by any nationality in Bloomington. At the rate they are now 
 increasing, and allowing that they continue to accumulate money for fifty years as they have 
 during the past twenty, the Germans will predominate in numbers, wealth and influence. 
 
 It was between 1853 and 1858 that the great speculation occurred in town lots 
 and farm property. The rapid building of the town created a demand for lots that 
 astonished all the old residents. Even men like the old leaders, Messrs. Allin, Fell, 
 Gridley and Davis, could not keep their ideas up with the improvements going on all 
 around them.
 
 When the Chi' and machine-sho] in 1853, they 
 
 . f.ir -ut of town that people going there from where thi \- ; • II ■;- • 
 
 the priiri'- most of the di though it waa hardly 
 
 t) ir the whole is filled with h nd buildings In the year 
 
 ",.;, thei i buildii '" thdm in 
 
 • of improvi daring that sii 
 
 : i quart* r of a million. Daring the rout yean from 1854 t<> 1858 our city ma 
 
 ot stridi - ' additi ■ laid oat and large sums of moi 
 
 de of li 
 
 The panic of 185* B i in l>ut temporarily, although many ol 
 
 men were overwhelmed in ruin. The failure of the crop of winter 
 
 - - was fell m >ur city people were now land 
 
 nlaton <>r gentleman farmers, cultivating farms by oonti bfa tenai I the 
 
 ill added largely to the general die We e-hall find, bov that, in the conn 
 
 j t the city had ind waa i_'iin growings r > . ■ 1 *. . r» * 
 
 in it.- history 
 
 l- 1870 
 
 \ the beginning of tli" time now un 1 nr consider ition, the businees of tli nntry 
 
 fair condition, but was threatened with overthrow and prostration by the civil 
 .-. then - I in by most, though it- effects being felt, imperceptibly, 
 
 at -till effectually hindering improvement. In a -ln>rt time the efforts of all 
 re directed t" saving whal was then p I, with little though! of further aceumu- 
 
 ion; but the results of strife and commotion were, after all, not unfavorable to growth 
 tre find that as early a- 1862 the city was well under way in 
 of prosperity. At the close of the war in 1865, buildings were springing u|> on every 
 band. The y< reus Liberty Block, the "1,1 P • <>•':. Block, 8chi 
 
 Block, and ..tlnr buildings completed . and before the year 181 can chronicle the 
 
 mpletion of -• ■m>- more m the north and several on the wesl Bide of the Public 
 
 Square, with other impn - We also note the completion of the immens 
 
 ops, the fine ne* Court Souse, the High School, the Pint, Third and Fifth 
 Ward school-buildings tl I C ngregational Church, the fine resident I 1 -lit 
 
 Harwo d, B K William-. Laurence Weldon, W. I' I' Peter Whitmer, and otl 
 
 equally well worthy of mention. The rapid growth of tl ity in tin' northern ind 
 
 northeastern directioi bout this time. The population of the pi rly 
 
 or quite doubled in these ten years, it being about fifteen thousand, by the Unit 
 
 1 1870, while the value of building! I, reckoned of course, on the 
 
 inflated ba 12,000,000 In this period, we must credit the building of the 
 
 [ndian B omington A Western, the Jacksonville branch of the Chi S Mton, 
 
 and the commencement of the I. I rett< \ Bloomingt n Railr ids all of which con 
 tributed largely to the wonderful prosperity of the thriving citj \t the close of this 
 riod, the Chicago A Uton shops were burn tober 31 i and. in order 
 
 ure their rebuilding at Bloomington, the <it\ voted '0 in bonds to remunei 
 
 the company fbr land purchased for the enlarged sho] s, and the city al ral 
 
 HtrectK .md alleys desired. This issue of bonds could not I"- legal until a Bpecial 
 the I.- risl '• btained. Thu ne, but the bill wa Palmer, 
 
 m the groand of unconstitutionalitj Bloomington lobby of thirty or fi
 
 40 
 
 influential men to Springfield, who presented their case to the Legislature so well that the 
 bill was passed over the Governor's veto. These bonds have since been paid, principal and 
 interest, though if opposition had been made, there is no doubt the constituion would have 
 prevented the collection of the taxes. The securing of these shops, the passage of the 
 law and the ultimate payment of this money, make a chapter of history that exhibits 
 the pluck and determination of Bloomington better than almost any other event since 
 its settlement. 
 
 The increase of wealth during the ten years from 1860 to 1870 was entirely withouf 
 precedent in the history of Bloomington. Business of all kinds prospered ; there were 
 few business failures, and our citizens generally believed the road to fortune was open 
 and plain before them, with no devious windings, no pit-falls, no danger of failure. A 
 different state of affairs, however, will be pictured in the next chapter. 
 
 1870 to 1879. 
 
 When the war closed, most people looked for a sudden fall in values, and a rapid 
 return to the old paths of plodding industry, but, to their surprise, the career of pros- 
 perity lasted until the panic of 1873, and, as a consequence, Bloomington still continued 
 to add to its borders, to beautify its churches, its residences, and in various directions 
 put on the airs of a metropolitan city. Even when the panic of 1873 had demonstrated 
 that the country at large had received a check, Bloomington continued to build and 
 enlarge, to embark in enterprises, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge that for a time, at 
 least, the city must wait for the further growth of the country in its rear. Building did 
 not stop till 1877, and even then could scarcely be said to be at an end. In the early 
 years of this decade, the elegant Wesleyan College, the beautiful Minerva Block, Roush 
 & Humphrey's and Oberkoetter's fine wholesale blocks, Ives Block, the two Swan Blocks, 
 Davis Block, containing Durley Hall, the tasteful People's Bank, Livingston Block, the 
 stone front on the east side of the square, Washington Block, and many other fine 
 stores, were finished. The new Post Office Building, corner of Front and Center, one of 
 the best blocks in the city, was built in 1876, by L. Ferre. It is a building remarkably 
 well adapted to the purpose designed. 
 
 The many brick stores on West Chestnut street were erected during the early part 
 of this decade, it being evident from the building of the immense machine-shops that 
 there would be a permanent demand for these structures. During these ten years, the 
 city built over a mile of Nicolson (wooden) pavement, commenced its system of sewers 
 and built its Water Works and City Hall. 
 
 To this period, we credit, also, the elegant new Methodist Church, the Episcopal 
 Church, the large Catholic Church, and several small churches. A large number of fine 
 private houses date from 1870 to 1879. Among these we will mention that of Judge 
 David Davis, in 1871, costing over $50,000, and that of Dr. C. Wakefield, in 1873, cost- 
 ing $25,000, and several others of great value and beautv. 
 
 Population has increased from 15,000 to an honest 18,000, though we flatter our- 
 selves that a certain director}' census taken in 1873 — under a contract giving no pay 
 unless there might be found 20,000 souls — is a reliable indication that our population 
 exceeded the desired figure by 100 at that time. 
 
 Although Bloomington merchants did some wholesaling previous to 1870, the 
 growth of this branch of our commerce has been wonderful in the last ten years. There
 
 II 
 
 are now forty wholesale firms, employii n, sellin 
 
 ..ii diffi n di Si ites, who are missionaries to mii»nu the whole world of tin- a. Ivan 
 
 he derived from trade «i'l' the thriving oit) of Bloomington 
 "1* l» i - wholeaale business and the successful enterprise of several of otu manufacture 
 taken togethci givi evidenoi of I'm up- prosperity, when "better times" shall 
 
 ( tur scene is now drawing t" a olose We have pictured Bloomingtoo feebly, l>ui 
 
 we have tricl to indicate thai in it- da) of "small beginnings i( was i town of anusual 
 
 r, and contained :i vast amount of " i We b i a it arise from 
 
 i In- crash of 1836, before the country :ii large had n I. and found it well on its 
 
 to renewed prosperity \>m^ before the eroaken conoeived suoh an outcome could 
 
 isible W< saw Bl nington prostrate again in 1857, and before long it again 
 
 i with the olick of thi mason's trowel and echoed t" the hammer of the busy 
 in. r We Ins. traced th I of the third financial crisis, and found our city 
 
 - like the whole nation, Kasl and West — prostrated in ■ degree, but not hop* 
 Unlike the previous occasions of disaster, the history of the present has the strong r 
 of the brightly. dawning prosperity upon a permanent basis of financial honesty and 
 national l'"'"1 faith. 
 
 for the " good time coming Bloomington has its sails all 
 It i- read) for the fair wind. It- storehouses, it- manufactories, its radiating nul- 
 ls, it- energetic merchants, it- cautious capitalist — all are here on the spot, capable 
 
 the name and tame of our g 1 <it_\ I r lengths, to higher flights 
 
 than ever known before. Th< generation <>t' active young men now on the r 
 
 about to tak«- their places there, are, a majority of them, born Bloomingtonians Let 
 them study the proud record of the achievements of their lathers, and i that, 
 
 come what will, the Bloomington of the future shall at least be the equal of the Bloom- 
 ington of the past 
 
 i.i \ OBIDLEI • KK< OL1 BOTIONS 
 
 Th. following -: n. in. hi ua- given by Gen. Gridle) to a short-hand n 
 conversation, and written out b) the reporter subsequently. It does not pretend to !><■ 
 anything more than a slight sketch of prominent facts, given as an interview 
 
 I i une to this county the 8th day of October, 1831. This count] was • • 
 ised bj an act of tb< I. alature during then d in the winter of 1830 and l-".l 
 
 This citj was hud out in June, 1831, by the then Count) Commissioners John Cheney, 
 . Timothy l» Boblit, of Mi_' Grove now in !>•• Witt County . and 
 i: II Q The lii-t sale of lots was on the Itli da) of July, 
 
 l^.;i The) were sold b) th<- t ' » ■ 1 1 n t \ Commissioi The proceeds of that 
 
 amounted to about - .hi.-h was osed to build a Court II . Thi land in th< 
 
 original town of Bloomington was donated b) James Allin to the county l^r that 
 Tl mnt) before that time was a pan of Tazewell County. There ■• 
 a dozen families in Bloomington when 1 came h Ph Col. 
 
 ': Baker, Dr. Wheeler, James Allin, David Trimmer, Robert Guthrie, Wi 
 McK --'ti. and there wen i few others. Mr McKisson was not married at that 
 tiuj.-, but married shortly after I recoiled "l<l John Dawson. When I arrived in this 
 
 ii miles east of Bloomington, on the Indian Camp. I 
 don't know "t an) Indians being there at that turn II- a is a man of strong
 
 42 
 
 principle, natural good sense and a thoroughly honest man, with a strong will, of great 
 kindness. Integrity and hospitality to strangers were the general characteristics of 
 the early settlers of this county, treating a stranger as well as an acquaintance with 
 the greatest kindness. Of the early settlers of this county, I never knew of but one 
 family that were inclined to be dishonest. Some of them are here now, and some of 
 them went away. John Dawson had early acquired a good deal of property, and was 
 considered quite a wealthy man, but he lost a good deal and gave security for a good 
 many. 
 
 "Old Dr. Baker came to McLean County in 1830 ; he was a very excellent man ; 
 he never practiced medicine. He was Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners 
 and Clerk of the Probate Court ; was Postmaster several years. He was a kind, gen- 
 erous-hearted man, giving information with regard to real estate and business matters 
 generally, within his knowledge, without compensation. He died about six years ago. 
 
 " There were no Indians around here when I came, except a few Pottawatomies, 
 who had their homes up in Indian Grove, in Livingston County. 
 
 "In the spring of 1832, we raised a company for the Black Hawk war. Mr. L. 
 Covel was the Captain and I was First Lieutenant and Baldwin was Second Lieuten- 
 ant. The company consisted of fifty-six mustered men, each man furnishing his own 
 horse and equipage. Leaving here in June, we were attached to Stillman's Battalion at 
 Peoria. Arrived at Dixon, on Rock River, a few days later, and there learned that 
 Black Hawk was about thirty miles up the river. We were to await, at Dixon, the 
 arrival of the main army. The volunteers in Stillman's Battalion numbered just 206 
 men. The men were very anxious to go and clean out the Indians, and not wait for 
 the regulars. So we went on and came up with the Indians, six or seven hundred 
 strong, a little way on the other side of what is now called Stillman's Run. I cannot 
 say much about the fight, but this, and that is, we got most beautifully whipped in the 
 fight with the Indians. We only lost one man from this county, and his name is Joseph 
 Draper ; he was in our company. After the fight, we returned to Dixon, thirty miles 
 distant, the best way we could. 
 
 " Soon after the battle, we were sent back to this county and mustered out of serv- 
 ice. Soon after this, another company was formed and mustered into the service. That 
 company was commanded by Capt. John H. S. Rhodes, who was killed on the I., B. & 
 W. Railroad, about two years ago. 
 
 FINANCIAL CRISIS OP 1837. 
 
 "The great financial crisis was in 1837, but it was beginning to be felt in 1830. 
 It was caused by the Government of the United States withdrawing its deposits from 
 the banks, and also by the wild speculations in real estate at that time, and consequently 
 the establishment of State banks, and wild-cat banks sprang up in every direction in 
 their stead. 
 
 " The greatest number of wild-cat banks sprang up in Michigan. They started so 
 many in that State that they found difficulty in getting names for them all. To give 
 you an idea of the number of banks at that time, if you had $1,000 in bills, there 
 would be in that $1,000 the bills of over two hundred different banks. The Michigan 
 money at that time went by the name of red-dog, as the bills were most of them printed 
 on red.
 
 I he real ilation, which was one of the T "ur financial trouble 
 
 in 1836 and 1837, was mostly in starting up towns and speculating in town loti I irn 
 
 r thai time brought as high i \ft.r the orasfa came, tl il<l 
 
 not I > i- i [went t<> Philadelphia in 1836, and sold aboul or 
 
 - 1,000 worth of lots, and tl after the panio, could i"- bought at an) 
 
 j>ri.-.' , and 1 1 1 « - purchasers of a '_'""d man) of the I d at thai time, and, in fact, 
 
 th. majoril r thoughl it worth while t > pay the taxes on tbem, Tin- li in 
 
 Allin A: Gridli lition would nol bring - 16 and the parties in tl, I 
 
 ]<-t them go for taxi 
 
 During the time of tin' real estate speculations, i _r.'at m iny towns were laid 
 .nit ;ill over the country ; in fact, m laying out towns or wanted 
 
 \ I many of these towns n< me to anything, and then again, them 
 
 did well. At thai time, Mr J< -• Pell laid nut Clinton, and I think lie can !"• proud 
 
 • if thai town, t "• • r i r is i b 1. thriving city. Tin' people living around I'. G 
 
 !• Win County, wanted a town, and as the settlement was around th< of the 
 
 Grove, they all wanted a town right in the center, bo it would !"• easy of md t.> 
 
 ■ them all. We bad a sale there and it was a very good one. I '1.. nol remember 
 just what th.' lots <li<l bring apiece, bul I think the Bale amounted t" $600 "i- $700 
 
 \- i town, it was a failure, lik.' a good many ..tl 
 
 ■In 1 836, Gen Bartholomew laid out a little town ami called it Clarksville, not 
 far from Lexington; bul that town, like the one in Big Grov< M 
 
 wn ami myself laid out Lexington, Bixteen mil.'- north of Bloomington ; that 
 ...1 location ami they have a tin.' town th 
 
 1 rell and myself, about the same time, laid out LeRoy; 'hit i> sixi 
 mil. B nington, and that was also a buo© 
 
 TIIK i:\NKUI I'I'i'V LAW 
 
 The bankruptcy law of 1M" took effect in the Bpring of 1841, ami .-.>~t a man 
 |25 to : r : person that had done an) kind of businesf 
 
 - entirely used up 
 
 \'l the bankruptcy business was done at Springfield, in tin- court tl 'i'l I 
 
 had fifty-one cases in that court from this Bection of the countr) Every man that 
 had been engaged in business here took the benefit ■»!' tin- law. 
 
 ■• Tin- assignee's labors were light a- th small, ami sometimes they 
 
 re nothing, a- everybody was broken up, and book accounts were of no value whatei 
 
 In tl; se days, when we run a mill by horse-power, th.' I dked on a i. 
 
 round platform, ami th. horse kepi on walking hut never gol any farther. Mr. 
 
 9 '1111.111 I 1 i notion int.. his bead that l.\ putting a wagon heavil) loaded with 
 
 of th.' horses, it would answer th.- same purp - So he fixed up his 
 
 mill, ami on a certain day hi notice that all would be ready i" start On that 
 
 flocked from far and widi the wonderful newmotive power. Well, he 
 
 thing ready, and yelled oul to hi- brother to out the string which held the 
 
 •m- to 'In- side of the building, an 1 t.> his utter amazement th.- mill -t 
 
 still a- when th. wagon was tied up. TheadventuA failure
 
 44 
 
 LAWYERS. 
 
 " Jesse W. Fell was the first lawyer, Welcome P. Brown was the second and Judge 
 David Davis was the third. George S. Markley was the fourth, and then came Albert 
 Dodd and myself. Albert Dodd was drowned in the Mackinaw while coming home from 
 a political convention in 1840. The first Court House was a small frame building, and 
 set in the middle of the square, in the same spot where our present magnificent Court 
 House now stands. It was only a one-story structure, and was built at a cost of 
 $300. The first Court was held in a part of Dr. Stipp's house. Judge Lockwood 
 presided. The Court was not in session over five minutes — there was no business to be 
 done. 
 
 " John H. Pugh, John T. Stuart and several others that have taken prominent 
 parts in our history, were in attendance at that Court. The new brick Court House was 
 built in 1836. Mr. Munsell, of Paris, Edgar County, was the contractor. Judge S- 
 D. Lockwood was the first Judge. Judge Treat succeeded him. Judge Logan was here 
 for a short time, perhaps for two terms of Court. Judge David Davis succeeded him. 
 The district comprised at that time about sixteen counties. After Judge Davis was 
 appointed on the Supreme Bench by President Lincoln, Judge John M. Scott was 
 elected in his place, and he was our Circuit Judge until he was elected to the Supreme 
 Court of this State, and he was succeeded by Judge Thomas F. Tipton, and he was 
 followed by Judge Otis T. Reeves, who is still our Judge for this district. 
 
 " Col. Baker practiced here, and was one of the most eloquent speakers I ever 
 heard. Judge Davis practiced law, before his election to the Judgeship, in partnership 
 with Wells Colton, who afterward moved to St. Louis and was killed there in the great 
 fire of 1849. He had a great deal of ability, and had an excellent legal mind, and 
 would have been a very prominent man in the legal profession if he had lived. Gen. 
 Covel came to Bloomington in May, 1831. He was Postmaster for a time, and Clerk 
 of the Circuit Court for many years. He went to Washington to take a position under 
 Polk, in about 1845, and died while there. He was an upright and honest man. 
 
 " Col. E. D. Baker was the finest speaker there was at the bar. He was truly an 
 eloquent man. While he was in partnership with me, he never examined any case or 
 prepared any himself, and, in the financial part, he never looked at the books, but came 
 to me and took it for granted that everything was all right. I remember one case that 
 we were very much interested in (and one of his prominent traits was his great fondness 
 for ladies' society), and we desired him to make a careful examination of the papers. 
 In the evening, we had a gathering at our house. I put the papers in my pocket, and, 
 during the evening, I had him come out in another room to look over the papers. He 
 took them, put them in his pocket without examining them, and, to my surprise, he 
 knew as much about them as though he had given them a careful and thorough exam- 
 ination ; but that was one of the peculiar characteristics of the man, and I never saw 
 a man that could equal him in summing up a case. 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 
 
 " Abraham Lincoln was one of the first lawyers that practiced at this bar. When 
 Mr. Lincoln had a good case, he was invincible ; when he had a poor case, or one in 
 which he thought he had not justice on his side, I would rather be against him than 
 any man I know. When he had an idea that he was in the wrong, he could not take
 
 Mine inl I ' il.l win nine i-xts mit nt' i.ti ..l' that kind when Mr. Lincoln 
 
 on the other side. 
 
 -1 I I'll in \ DOUGLAS 
 
 this Cowl Be aevei amounted to much u a lav that is to say, he 
 
 r took rank with Lincoln and Baker. Doug District Attorney for this I 1 
 
 t rift When he came here he alwaj I with me, and always, ap to the time of 
 
 leath, we a ads. As a man, he p is honorable and just. As 
 
 nt Attorney be was d and I don'l believe he convicted om at of 
 
 U ii thai he wan int< resU >1 in. 
 
 I was elected to the Legislature in 1840. Welcome I' Brown wasm) opponent. 
 In thai ninin.ral.l-- campaign, we gol ap i monster procession and wenl from hei 
 
 We had .1 large canoe, hewn oul of a tn e, and pal on w heels, and in it 
 twelve of the soldiers of the war <>f 1812. The canoe was drawn by twelvi 
 
 stopped in all the towns on the way — Mackinaw, Tremonl and others and held 
 tings there, and the) a. od ones, too Everybod) turned oul I don'l know 
 
 of any of these soldiers nop living. 
 
 I UK II I IN.. I- I h N I l: \| K ULRO ID. 
 
 \t the time of fixing the location of the Illinois Central Railroad, in 1851, I 
 in the Senate. There I mel Robert Rantoul, and, bj an arrangement with him, I 
 red the locatii d of 1 1 1 . - road within five miles of the line of Town 22, Rang 
 which brought it t.. within two miles of Bloomington, and on the same lim I 1 catur 
 and Clinton. The) had t.. build fifty mil.- of the road within two years from the time 
 they obtained the charter, and they hnilt that fifty miles from La Salle to Bloomington 
 There was 1 great pressure brought to bear. Thej first contemplated building the r.>a<i 
 firom Cairo ap the Wabash, then to Galena; then again, the) were \\..rk..l upon by 
 another element t.. run the r<>a.l by another line, taking in Peoria and Springfield ; the 
 strong point in favor of the last proposed route was that they would hav< ing trade 
 
 much sooner than by any other line they could run. It was true they would n 
 
 much land, but the increase in trade, at the outside, would m.>r.' than pay for r 1 ■ . - differei 
 
 in the amount of land. At the time the Illinois Central Railroad came into Blooming- 
 ton, we had a population of 2,500 inhabitants. The Chicago \ Alton Railroad was 
 built from Springfield to Bloomington in 1854. The name of the road at that time 
 < Ihicago & Mississippi Railroad. 
 
 BANKING 
 
 ■I commenced banking in Bit ington in March, 1853. The charter for the 
 
 McL .11 Count) Hank was obtained in March, 1853, and was to run twentj ti 
 M , partners at the time were -I Young Scammon and •! \ Bui b, but, before the end 
 oftn I owned the entire stock. Mj deposits for the first five years were about 
 
 $200,000 The next thing in that line was a kiml of broker's ..fli.-.'. started by John 
 
 1 11. 1 th.ir place of business was where Phosnii Block 1 
 
 But the next regular hank that m blished 1 • tb< I. Bank south- 
 
 corner ..f C nter and Jeffi rson streets, in the yt ar 1 857. In the first place, I had 
 
 Mi iri State bonds but thej commenced to decline and I exobanged them for Illinois 
 
 bonds and John II. Smith held on to lii- and lost bj it. If be had 
 
 • I them when I did, it would have I n bt tter for bim. The amount of bank 
 
 capita] 11 here in Bloomington now is about gSiio.oiHl After tin 3 Bank
 
 46 
 
 broke, we had wild-cat banks, and plenty of them. We had some gold and silver, but 
 coin did not circulate very much at that time. Out of one hundred banks, ninety of 
 them were wild-cat. All that many of these banks had to depend on to keep them 
 running was their deposits. They would take their bank-bills and place them in the 
 hands of brokers to pay out, and they would leave their bonds as security ; so, in 
 reality, they got nothing, and the brokers made all the money there was made. There 
 was a man by the name of Jones who owned twelve different wild-cat banks. 
 
 JESSE W. PELL. 
 
 " He came to Bloomington a year later than I did, in the year 1832. He gave 
 his attention to the practice of the law about two years after he came here, after which 
 time he engaged largely in land operations, becoming interested in lands in the county 
 of McLean, and also in the county of Cook, in the immediate neighborhood of Chicago. 
 If he had continued in the legal profession and used the same energy that he did in his 
 other public enterprises, he would have made his mark among the legal talent of the 
 State and country. A man of indomitable will, thorough business qualifications, fine 
 intellect, worthy of any trust, and whom I have known now forty years and known him 
 intimately, and he stands without a blemish or blot on his character as a citizen and 
 friend. ASHAEL GRIDLEY." 
 
 TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION. 
 
 From the time when Blooming Grove was a part of Fayette County, till some time 
 after the laying-out of the town of Bloomington, the local government was in the hands 
 of County Commissioners, aided slightly by what were called precinct organizations. 
 The voting was done by precincts, and a Justice of the Peace and a Constable voted for 
 in each, after the year 1827 — and these, with some other little affairs, were attended to 
 at the elections — but the main business was done at the county seat by the Commission- 
 ers. The first precincts were formed in Fayette County in 1826. In 1831, in 
 McLean County, Blooming Grove Precinct was almost one-quarter as large as the 
 county is now. It then contained over six townships, but it was afterward made smaller. 
 Voting was always done in Bloomington, after 1829, even after the organization of the 
 village. Then when the city was formed it was the same — all State and county elections 
 being held under the precinct government. Under the township organization, in 1858, 
 and ever since, it has continued in the same manner down to the present time. 
 
 In 1857, township organization was adopted in McLean County, and the new town 
 governments were set in motion April 6, 1858. The new system was inaugurated by 
 the election of the following Board, many of whom are historic characters, whose 
 names often occur in our annals : Supervisor, John E. McClun ; Assistant Supervisor, 
 David Simons ; Collector, John L. Routt, recently Governor of Colorado ; Assessor, 
 W. H. Hodge. Mr. John N. Larrimore was Town Clerk, and filled the office more than 
 twelve years. The Justices were Z. Lawrence, S. B. Brown, M. H. Hawks, S. Johnson 
 and Henry S. Herr. The Constables were John W. Allin, John W. Haggard, Alexan- 
 der Steele, James Taffee and Norvel Dixon. This system of town government has con- 
 tinued with very little change, down to the present time. The township of Bloomington 
 now elects six members of the County Board of Supervisors. For the year 1879, these 
 are Peter Whitmer, Supervisor ; Assistants, George P. Davis, Duncan M. Funk, W. T. 
 M. Miller, A. Brokaw and Isaac Lash. In 1850, the total population of Bloomington 
 Township was 1,554 ; in 1860, it was 6,930 ; in 1870, it was 14,590, of whom 3,898,
 
 IT 
 
 nere, and then were 235 ooloi I township, outside of the oitj 
 
 limits, bad, in 1870, 1,829 inhabitants. 
 
 township is sis mi ind includes di irlj • ' what 
 
 iiM-i 1 \ Blooming Grove The city of B mington includes only about four ~. |iinr< mi 
 of Bloomington Township, and it takes in also about • o< square mile from thi ■'\\> 
 
 of Normal benoe, we find the name Bloomington applies I of land — 
 
 about thirty-seven square miles in all, bul baa a different meaning when ty, 
 
 from what it has when the township is intended t«> be understood . a faet thai can 
 oonsidi rable trouble at mir different elections. 
 
 The valuation of Bloomington Township, as equalised by the Count} Board in Jufoj 
 1 - . 196 This ia probably one-half of the actual value, assessments being 
 
 now made in about that proportion. This valuation includes onlj the city and town 
 sliip as found lying within the Biz-miles-square territorial township. 
 
 The County School Superintendent's report for 1878, shows a total ■ • f " : i « i 1 children 
 enrolled in the public schools of this township outside of the city. Of children of 
 » hool age, und< r twenty-one years old,thereare761. The total expenditures for the schi 
 for the Bame p< riod w< re 1 1 106. The township school fund amounts to 16,26 I. Th< 
 are nine district schools, and the sohoolhouses are valued at 910,000. Thomas •! Bunn 
 is Township School Treasurer. Taxes are very light in the township, bul very hea 
 in all that portion which lies within the city corporation ; and, from all we can Irani. 
 those living outside of the city limit> arc very well contented with township 
 inisation, which, while it includes also the city, allows the city Board of Education t" 
 manage the schools, and the city government to control the police and other matb 
 
 row N <»u \ ii. I \>.i OEG LNIZATION. 
 
 Ii has been impossible to learn the history of the first organisation of the corpora 
 tion of Bloomington. The original town site, bounded by North, Bast, Weal ana 
 Front >t r« • i in 1-:)1 by an addition platted by James Allin ; and oth 
 
 additions, to the number of over fifty, have been made from time t" time. 
 
 A- earlj - 1838, 1 1 1< r. - was a town, or, more properly, a vil rganisation of all 
 
 the territory included in the original town and its additions, with a Board of Trust* 
 President and a Clerk. Seth Hiker was President in 1838. There was an ad of the 
 
 - - relating to the government of the "town of Bloomington," 
 and this act was afterward amended, with a proviso that it Bhould 1"- voted upon bj tl 
 
 pie of Bloomington. This was done, and a Board of Trustees elected, who took 
 their ol n the 1-t day of July, 1843. A full record of their procoedin 
 
 kept 1.. Mi : • I. I I, who was the Clerk, an. 1 from this date we find compl 
 
 our Citj Clerk's office Bailej II. Coffey, fid H. Hawks, John Blagoun, 
 .1 T Walton and William Gillespie were the Ti Matthew II. Hawks n 
 
 choc :i President; Wells Coll made Attorney, Joshua H. Harlan, Treasurer, and 
 
 William McCullough, Constable. It ap bat a ■ at 
 
 Ilia! during tie- ;.■ BX 1 " 13 tl,. p Was •■iii;. 
 
 Tl, ; indicate that our "city fathers" did not know how t<> run a town "n tern 
 
 principles much better than t! 
 Wi find th do City Hall in th< ■ vember £0, 1844, the I 
 
 ■ at th< A .1 Merriman; I' mbei 24, another d it the
 
 48 
 
 store of M. H. Hawks, while, May 14 of the next year, the meetings were held at the 
 County Court House. In the year 1845, the total amount of taxes to be collected for 
 the year was only $82. 
 
 In 1847, the Western Whig was the official organ. In 1848, we find the Trust- 
 ees were John Foster, John N. Ewing, W. G. Thompson, George W. Minier and C. 
 P. Merriman. The latter gentleman was chosen President, and A. J. Merriman, Clerk 
 and Treasurer. Mr. George W. Minier, then teacher of a seminary or select school, 
 now living at Minier, Tazewell Co., 111., was village President in 1848, and John 
 M. Scott, now Justice of the Supreme Court of this State, was the Clerk. An election 
 was held March 5, 1850, "for or against" incorporation as a city. There were 164 
 votes for the city charter, and 26 votes against. This might be taken as indicating a 
 small population, not over one thousand, but there must have been a light vote, as we 
 learn that at a census taken in 1850, by William McCullough,- the total number of 
 inhabitants was 1,611. 
 
 CITY ORGANIZATION. 
 
 After the varying experience of precinct and town or village governments, the 
 rapid growth of Bloomington required for its proper development a full and complete 
 city government with all its powers and capabilities, and in 1850 the change occurred. 
 Rev. David I. Perry was the first Mayor, and the first Aldermen were Jay N. Ward, 
 Bailey H. Coffey, William Gillespie and E. Thomas. John M. Scott was City Clerk 
 and Attorney. The succession of Mayor and Aldermen has continued without inter- 
 ruption from that day to the present. Improvements were made gradually at first, 
 consisting of sidewalks and better streets, followed soon by fire-engines, street-lamps, 
 police and the numerous conveniences of a city life. The city of Bloomington pursued 
 at first a very conservative, economical course. Until after 1866, there was no debt. 
 All improvements were paid for out of current taxation. Its present debt of $120,000 
 is mainly in 8-per-cent bonds, two-thirds of it being the cost of the Water Works. The 
 school debt is managed by the government called the Board of Education, which is 
 independent of the City Council. 
 
 From what we can learn of the history of our city government, it appears to have 
 been constantly growing in the confidence and respect of the public, and its offices were 
 generally filled with honorable gentlemen. 
 
 The following persons were elected Mayor in the year placed opposite their names : 
 
 David I. Perry 1850 
 
 Charles P. Merriman 1851 
 
 John H. Wickizer 1852 
 
 William Wallace 1853 
 
 John W. Evans 1854 
 
 Franklin Price 1855 
 
 Franklin Price 1856 
 
 A. J. Merriman 1857 
 
 A. J. Merriman 1858 
 
 John M. Stilwell 1859 
 
 H. S. Herr 1860 
 
 George W. Parke 1861 
 
 George W. Parke 1862 
 
 A. J. Merriman 1863 
 
 Joel Depew 1864 
 
 E. H. Rood 1865 
 
 E. H. Rood 1866 
 
 E. H. Rood 1867 
 
 John M. Stilwell 1868 
 
 John M. Stilwell 1869 
 
 T. J. Bunn 1870 
 
 B. F. Funk 1871 
 
 B. F. Funk 1872 
 
 B. F. Funk 1873 
 
 B. F. Funk 1874 
 
 B. F. Funk 1875 
 
 E. B. Steere 1876 
 
 T. J. Bunn 1877 
 
 John Reed 1878 
 
 E. B. Steere 1879
 
 1 1 
 
 The present memben of the Citj Coanoi] :ir. In -t Ward Nelson < 
 term expiree 1881; Jonah Richardson, term expiree 1880 !* nd Ward -William 
 c ndon, term expiree 1881; L. Seibert, term expiree 1880. Third Ward William 
 \\ g ii. i . mi expiree 1881 . Enoch -I Moon term Fourth V\ 
 
 Peter Rockwell, term expiree 1881; William Maddux, term expin Fifth 
 
 i Daniel H< irty, term expiree 1881; Patrick K - cth Wm 
 
 John W. Evane term expu i . Prank White, term expiree 1880. The following 
 
 are the present appointed" officers of the citj Peter Rockwell, Acting M 
 B hi., - Attorney; Samuel W. Waddle, Clerk; Charles W Robinson, Treasurer ; 
 Merchant, Engineer and Commieeioner ol 3id I i ^.ndrus, ■ Com- 
 
 tuissiouei M rion \ Chuse, Chief Engineer Fire Department and Superintendent 
 i Works; John Dawson, Health Commissioner; Matt C. Smith, Oil Inspector; 
 William Clarke City Weigher; William Riebe, Cit; : d; A.dam Guthrie, Jamee 
 \ rs ; Sebastian rlohman, J. B. Chipman, Collectors Jamee Stone, 
 
 ial Collector; Elliott S. Miller, Marshal J. P Butler, Captain of Night Police; 
 .1 . E. 1!' ut'" \ S int of Police. 
 
 The growth of Bloomington is plainly shown by the following tabli 
 
 taken by Allan Wither* 18 
 
 1836, • ■• Allan Withers ISO 
 
 1846, •• .1. B. Parke 800 
 
 0, • •• William MoCullough 1,611 
 
 1865 •• •• i: B Mitchell 5,0 
 
 1860, •• •• John D B, 
 
 1865 • • n II. Pike 10,000 
 
 1868, •■ Holland 14,980 
 
 1870, • Holland 17,019 
 
 1878, •• CityCounoil 20,100 
 
 Th< citj records have been kept with great care and aoouracj from the time when 
 His II. hi.. i John M. Scott, was Clerk, in I860, to the present, when .Mr. Samuel W. 
 
 . lie takes care of the books. As our work is more t<> preserve that portion of our 
 history which is not to be round readily accessible, we shall leave future historians most 
 of the mine of information that is in the city records, untouched and intact. We 
 might refer t.> the perfect organization of our City Government, every part <>f whioh, 
 like a jpnrii.ni of some machine, ie adjusted accurately to its neighbor, so that its oj 
 done are performed with scarcely ajar. The annual eleotion brings into notice a littl.- 
 racket an. I noise, which is all the ■•iti/.-n- generally ever hear of their municipal 
 eminent. A.nd yet, the doings of .>ur city police and magistrates are of themselvi 
 immense importance, while the fire department, the engineering service, and the annual 
 
 ndituree on pavements, sewers water works and Btreets, taken together, are of vastly 
 
 [ucnce than a large majority of the matti i led in 1 1 » i — history . but, as 
 
 abovi I, the records of th eotlj preserved and that 
 
 we have ili<»u_'lii best to confine our labors mainly <*" tracing ap and recording incidents 
 
 that mLlit otherwise I 
 
 ~. ii... .i - 
 
 \ sketch of the I "1 the schools "I Bloomington ie incomplete 
 
 makes a reference to '' I work of the past through the voluntary channel! 
 
 nd n minai 
 
 D
 
 50 
 
 It seems that when there were but three or four families in Blooming Grove, a 
 school was started in 1823, by John W. Dawson in his own house, taught for two termg 
 by Miss Delilah Mullen — the first teacher in McLean County. This private school was 
 followed by a larger one, taught by W. H. Hodge in a schoolhouse built by subscription 
 in the Orendorff neighborhood, and for many years the greater part, in most cases the 
 whole, of the teacher's wages in this State was paid by subscription. W. H. Hodge 
 taught at the Grove several winters, and there were also at different times other teachers 
 at the same place. He opened a school in Bloomington village in 1831 ; taught two 
 weeks, and his term was finished by A. C. Washburne. For years after this, there was 
 a combination of " free schools " and " pay schools." The public money formed the 
 basis, and it was used under certain conditions, either in a wholly free school, or in one 
 where those who were able and willing paid a subscription to help the good cause along. 
 
 These free schools were comparatively unimportant, however, until a later date, the 
 best schooling being obtained for many years from subscription schools. Mr. A. C. 
 Washburne's school was kept up until 1834, when Mr. L. Foster's school became the 
 leading institution, sometimes called " High School," often " The Seminary." Mr. 
 Foster built a schoolhouse of his own, and is entitled to a high position among our early 
 educators. Foster's Seminary is still standing in this city. It was built on Taylor 
 street, second door west of Dr. Hill's residence. Rev. George W. Minier followed Mr. 
 F. in 1847, and he was succeeded by Dr. Finley, of Jacksonville. Prof. D. Wilkins 
 was here in 1852, organized a Board of Trustees, and gave the institution a high-sounding 
 name — " The Central Illinois Female Seminary." For several years the school was 
 • quite well attended, young ladies being here from various towns and cities in the State. 
 Prof. Wilkins purchased the Seminary, and was teaching there as late as 1857. 
 
 Miss Parsons kept a good school about this time, for the training of young ladies ; 
 and there were at various dates other good private institutions of learning. 
 
 Rev. R. Conover's Bloomington Female Seminary, a Presbyterian institution, was 
 for a long time a power in Central Illinois. It was started on Grove street (where the 
 building now stands as a residence) in 1856, and continued in existence sixteen years. 
 It often contained as high as ninety pupils, and during its life gave instruction to over 
 one thousand young ladies. It was an institution of quite a high order, and would proba- 
 bly have been sustained permanently, but for the greater efficiency of the modern pub- 
 lic schools as compared with those of the past. 
 
 In 1856, William T. Major built a fine building in the north part of town, which 
 was used for several years as a Female Seminary of the Christian denomination, and was 
 a flourishing institution. With praiseworthy liberality this noble man afterward pre- 
 sented the whole building and its ample grounds to the Christian denomination, on the 
 sole condition of its being managed as a college. The attempt was made ; but from 
 some cause, probably because of the rapid increase of such institutions, the college was 
 not a success, and it reverted to Mr. Major or his heirs. It would be impossible to 
 mention all the worthy schools and seminaries that have done good work in Blooming- 
 ton, but we must give all of them much credit for what they have accomplished. At 
 present, there are several small private schools. The largest one, the Academy of St. 
 Joseph, taught by the Sisters of St. Domiuic, under the charge of the Catholic Church, 
 is on a permanent basis, as are also the several schools maintained by our German 
 citizens.
 
 51 
 
 There an th G rman schools; one at the corner of West and Pronl Btn 
 
 ind two ni the southern part of the city. 
 
 Por several years is to 1857, th< public schools bad grown t" I f • 
 
 siderable importanoe, bul they were still in their infancy. Tbej formed five different 
 
 sol I districts within the city limits, containing aboal 1 1 1 r< •« • hundred pupils, and the 
 
 schools might be classed as "bad and indifferent," hard!) rising to the grade of " good." 
 On the Bth d ^pril, l v o7. these districts were all consolidated, and placed in 
 
 charge of the nen Board "t' Education, and from that day the pr of "ur public 
 
 schools has been rapid and permanent 
 
 The first charter t" establish and regulate f public schools in the eity of 
 
 B tomington was granted by the Legislature of the State, February 22 1857. This 
 charter called for a biennial election in the city, by the qualified electors, of a Board of 
 Education to consist of seven members. The charter provided for such an election to 
 beld "ii the first Monday in April, A l>. 1857. 
 
 \- the result of the election, the following-named gentlemen wen declared by the 
 City Council to constitute 1 1 1 . - first Board oftheoity: C. P. Merriman B <> War- 
 riner, O. T. !!■ - E B Roe, Eliel Barber, Samuel Gallagher and Henry Richardson. 
 
 The need of new sol Ihouses was from the very first a matter of consideration by t he 
 
 Board, and at their meeting held April 11. 1^.>7. it was voted" to build four m 
 Bohoolhouses in different pan- of th.- city, for th.- accommodation < • t" schools, -.. mini, 
 funds sufficient can 1 btained 
 
 The first estimate of the Board to th.' City Council called for 110,000, wit), 
 which t.. erect a nevi school-building, and $2,000 in addition to tin- general school fund 
 to defray the expenses of maintaining the schools of the city. \- i result of the 
 request for this estimate, the following communication was sent to the Hoard by the 
 < krancil : 
 
 Whkri \-. Tin- Board "t Education having made a report io tlii- Council, demanding > levj 
 i five-mill tai t"r -'lino! purposes, ami it being the opinion of tin- Council thai -ail 1, 
 burdensome and oppressive tax upon the people al tin- present time; therefor 
 Retolved, That it is ourbounden duty i" respectfully decline an ordei 
 
 \- a result of this, the Beard of Education employed Abraham Lincoln t,. take 
 the in •>■• --ar\ Bteps to procure from the Circuit Court a writ of mandamus to compel 
 the Council t" levy the tax as required of them by Section 8 of the School Law. The 
 whole matter seems to have been amicably settled, however, bj the Board presenting a 
 
 memorial to the Council requesting them '" ret Bider the action. 
 
 In the year 1858, the first permanent Bchool-building was completed, called for 
 i- the High School Building It is in the Fourth Ward, and its - ■ 
 
 little o 1 1' was thought to be a fine structure for the times though enlarged 
 
 considerably in 1870. The high sohool started in 1857 was taught for th. first year in 
 Wilkin- Seminary, bj -l \. Johnson, and it opened in the new building in 
 
 ght by B. P Clark. The next year, it was under the charge of II M Kellogg, who 
 met his death in l^til in one of the \ icksburg battles, at which time b< n - I in 
 of a company in the Thirty-third Regiment Illinois Vulunu-i'rs The progress ..f th. 
 
 high scl 1 h n onward and upward until the present time. It i- now in a 
 
 fine building erected in I ost of i 13 The tii-t graduating 
 
 ted of two members in 1864, while that of 1877 contained over thirty An art 
 
 ir LUNOa 
 
 » RY
 
 52 
 
 of the Legislature, accepted by vote of the people in 1865, and another act passed in 
 1866, greatly strengthened the Board of Education, and increased the public interest. 
 
 The total enrollment of pupils in the public school in the year 1878 was 3,395. 
 The number of children ascertained to be in the whole city in the year 1879, under the 
 age of twenty-one years, was 7,187. Number of teachers in the public school, 63. Total 
 disbursement for schools for the year ending April 1, 1879, was $65,314. The cost 
 of the school-buildings, apparatus, furniture and grounds has been over $228,000, 
 worth now, probably, a little more than the present outstanding school debt, which is in 
 the neighborhood of $100,000. The present Board of Education consists of Jacob 
 Jacoby, A. E. Stevenson. F. M. Funk, E. H. Rood, T. J. Bunn, J. H. Rowell and 
 Miss Georgiana Trotter. Miss Sarah E. Raymond is Superintendent. The first Super- 
 intendent was D. Wilkins, 1857 to 1859; in 1859, Gilbert Thayer; in 1860, Ira J. 
 Bloomfield ; 1861, no superintendent ; 1862, C. P. Merriman ; 1863, J. H. Burnham ; 
 1864, John Monroe; 1865 to 1867, John F. Gowdy; 1867 and 1868, A. H. Thomp- 
 son ; 1868 to 1872, S. M. Etter ; 1872 to 1874, S. D. Gaylord; 1874 to the present 
 time, Miss Sarah E. Raymond. 
 
 Besides the large school edifices called respectively, First, Third, Fourth, Fifth 
 Ward and the High School buildings, there are several of less value in different places, 
 making in all provision for most of the children who need schooling. Bloomington 
 expends a very large sum of money for public education, and it behooves her citizens to 
 look well to the management of the ample fund annuallv disbursed. The city stands 
 upon record as being one of the first in this State to admit a lady as a member of its 
 Board of Education, Miss Georgiana Trotter having been elected four years ago. Miss 
 Raymond, the efficient Superintendent of our city schools, was one of the first ladies in 
 Illinois to fill such a position. Our churches, our public schools and our higher 
 institutions of learning are all well worthy of the pride of our citizens. 
 
 CHURCHES THAT HAVE DISSOLVED. 
 
 There have been almost innumerable attempts made in Bloomington to establish 
 churches and religious societies by the different sects represented in the United States. 
 People have arrived here from all the regions under the sun, apparently, and, on their 
 arrival, have commenced looking around for the religious denomination to which they 
 were most attached. It would be, indeed, interesting could we furnish a full list of the 
 different churches that have attempted to obtain a foot-hold. Even the Mormons have 
 been represented, and at one time published a weekly newspaper here, printed at the 
 Pantagraph office, edited by Mr. Haldeman, who has since moved to the State of Mis- 
 souri. This journal was an organ of the Latter-Day Saints, or sect opposed to the Salt 
 Lake Mormons! It is impossible to obtain a full history, even of those churches now 
 in existence here, and we do not pretend to anything more than a mere outline or sketch, 
 and shall be well satisfied if we have made a few footsteps that shall lead in the direc- 
 tion we should like to travel. We will take a little space for mention of churches that 
 have been formed and afterward given up their organizations, as these have had a share 
 in the great work of Christianizing our community. 
 
 While the Presbyterian Church is the home of the large element known as the 
 Orthodox Congregationalists, there was a time when a flourishing church of that denomi- 
 nation was in existence. As early as 1842, the Congregationalists had built a church
 
 at the norths rnerof Washington and Madison streets, and from thai time t" ' 
 
 quite powerful in the city. In 1858, they bail) a new church at the northet 
 Wesl and Washington, irhiob, nnder the pastoral care of Rev. L.Taylor ry flour 
 
 ishing. In the hard times following, thej were unable to paj a mortgage on their pro| • 
 and l"«t their house of worship, which was purchased in 1865 by 1 1 * « - Episcopalian 
 
 The Congregationalism again i ized in 1 873, worshiped in a public hall, but, 
 
 after tw< trial, again ip the undertaking. 
 
 era! years, the Refon 1 Presbyteriana owned a church on Front 
 
 where is now the residence of Mr I I! Crum; but, owing to the removal from the 
 <iiv of quite a rtion of their membership, and for other their organisa- 
 
 tion disapp M' -I over ten j • its ago. 
 
 The Universalists had a church-building on Fronl street, and kept up their society 
 pal years, during which quite a number of our m. .-t prominent citizens were 
 members of the organization. Rev. I'. .1 Brigjis waa the minister in charge for some 
 time, and is Mill lisin- in Bloomington. Man) of its members went into the I pee 
 1 itional Church, and others have become connected with different ohnrchi 
 
 moved from the city. 
 
 For several years, the Methodists kept up an organized church called the Wesl 
 Chargi Tli' \ had a pleasant house of worship at the south rnerof Washington 
 
 and West streets. After several years' trial, during a part of which time the Church 
 
 very flourishing, it was discovered that the interests of 1 1 » • - denomination n 
 
 Bubserved by onlj on 'ganization, and the building was sold, t" be taken down and 
 
 N Rutland, on the Illinois Central Railroad. 
 
 In the year 1868, there was a church society that worshiped in Phoenix Hall, 
 under the charge of Rev. Dr. Reed, :i very excellent minister of the Southern Meth- 
 odist Church ; but the project of erecting a building was abandoned. 
 
 I first Christian Church was erected on Bast Btreet, in the rear of Major's 
 Hall, and for a time after the present church was erected, there were two Christian 
 Churches in the city, both of which appeared quite powerful. About the year I 
 
 the two became merged in the present ohuroh, and the old one was Bold to 
 the German Lutherans, and now stands at tin- corner of Madison and Olive streets. 
 
 ( »nr sketch merely dint- at a few of the attempts that have been made to organize 
 different churches in Bloomington. In fact, we have no doubt these sectarian efforts 
 could be numbered bj scor< b, and, if all were hunted np and catalogued, a 
 interesting chapter would !»■ the result We have referred t<> a few in order to bring 
 prominently before our readers th.' tact that strenuous efforts 1 n mad.- to culti- 
 
 the religious field. Of the ■_' 1 seed planted in the pa ire proud U 
 
 the evidences of the proper maturing of a fair proportion. 
 
 I III &< III 9. 
 
 It U impossible to n a tolerably correct Bketch of the different church 
 
 this city. In man;. the history of these institutions has not been pn and 
 
 then there hav< been such suspensions, consolidations, divisions and 
 
 - that we d« spair of doing justice to tin- great subject. We give meri l\ i 
 
 fragments, beseeching thi charit) ami good-will of all who have ever attempted work of 
 
 this ohara The founders of HI nington left do effort untried to affect favorably
 
 54 
 
 the morals and religion of this community. From their little means, needed so much 
 for daily wants and improvements, they freely gave liberally toward building and sup- 
 porting churches. They were inspired with zeal in the cause of the Master, were aided 
 by the most active and self-denying ministry, and could see a promise of better days 
 when the town should become more fully peopled with families of wealth and culture. 
 Each denomination made great efforts for supremacy. All were equally active, and at 
 this time we see the good results of the hard labors of the early Christians. 
 
 The pioneer of Christianity in this locality, was, of course, the Methodist Church. 
 Mr. John Hendrix, who came to Blooming Grove in 1822, was a consistent, devoted 
 Methodist, and for a long time his house was the preachiug-place of the neighborhood. 
 It appears he invited Rev. James Stringfield, who was visiting at Randolph Grove, from 
 Kentucky, and this gentleman preached the first sermon in the limits of the town 
 of Bloomington, in 1823, at Mr. Hendrix's cabin. Some think that Rev. Jesse 
 Walker, the regular supply of the Peoria Circuit, should be entitled to the honor of 
 preaching the first sermon, he having preached at Mr. Hendrix's house in 1824. Bloom- 
 ing Grove was made a preaching-place, in Peoria Mission, as early as 1824, during 
 which year, at the house of John Hendrix, the first Methodist class was formed, which 
 contained about ten members. This class was the Methodist Church of Blooming 
 Grove, for several years. In 1831, preaching was commenced in the then new village 
 of Bloomington, at the schoolhouse at the corner of Olive and Main streets, where the 
 marble-shop now stands. Rev. William Crissey preached here in November, having 
 previously delivered at least one sermon in the limits of Bloomington, which was on the 
 9th of October. 1831. There appears to have been a class organized here in Bloom- 
 ington about the close of 1831, and until the year 1837, Bloomington and Blooming 
 orrove were two distinct charges, when, under Rev. S. W. D. Chase, they were united. 
 The two charges united in building a church at the southeast corner of Olive and Main 
 streets, in 1836, when a plain building, 32x44 feet was built, under the charge of Rev. 
 Zadoc Hall. Methodism grew and prospered at this location, until the year 1851, when 
 the brick church, corner of Washington and East streets, was finished. This was a very 
 large church for the times. Thomas Williams was contractor. This was occupied by 
 the denomination from that date until 1875. About 1870, it bec:tme apparent that this 
 building was altogether inadequate for the accommodation of the rapidly-increasing con- 
 gregation, and plans were made for the construction of the present church-building. 
 On September 29, 1873, the corner-stone was laid with imposing ceremonies, under the 
 direction of Bishop Wiley, of St. Louis. In October, 1875, the basement auditorium 
 was completed, and appropriate dedication exercises were conducted by prominent minis- 
 ters from this and other States, in the presence of an immense congregation. As an 
 example of Methodist liberality, 89,000 were raised by subscription in less than two 
 hours, at these exercises. This magnificent church-edifice, as it now stands, completed, 
 is one of the beauties of Bloomington ; it is a model of architectural symmetry and beauty. 
 The main auditorium is a spacious room, easy of access, with seating capacity for 1,250. 
 It is handsomely decorated with appropriate designs. The basement auditorium is con- 
 veniently arranged, neatly finished and has seating capacity for 700. In addition to 
 these, there are classrooms and various other apartments for the accommodation of the 
 communicants. The society has recently purchased and placed in position an immense 
 organ. It is the largest in the State, outside of Chicago. The total valuation of the
 
 church building ind !"• u| The total member ■ 
 
 ship 1 1- ; Mr. Mel 
 
 Th< I nivereitj Methodist Churol uised October 7. I si . I ■ -lii|p> 
 
 in the chapel of th< I niv< n i Bm m, with capucit} for 800, "r with t h<- 
 
 lery, wkioh can I" used if needed, an audi 1,500 rhere 
 
 n 250 church-membera Rei J \. Kumler is th< Pastor in cl This 
 
 Church mvenieuoe to the laj population in the north pari of th 
 
 v to tli<- students of the c 
 The German Metl Church is well established; i- situated on Cei 
 
 . M rket it was orgauiied in 1854, bj Dr .1 Schmidt, of Quincy, 111 
 one of the earliest of any of the German organizations of Bloomington. K 
 II Thomas is Pastor, and there an 1 10 members 
 
 'I'll. \ Methodist Church is on North Centei (tvi uized in 
 
 1847, bj Rev. 1' II Ward, and contains 100 membera. It- ftral ohurch-edifice was 
 built in 1848, and, in 1859, it was removed to the Bide of the lot sod has rince I 
 
 \ nen church was l.nilt in that rear, which was considerably 
 enlarged in 1871. I'- jabout$3,000 R C.S.J j is the Pastor in cli 
 
 The Firei Pi sbyterian Church was organised January 26, I *•.;:;. bj th< B I 
 viu \\ Babbett. It- house of worship was qoI I until about 1840, when the 
 
 lion between the Old and New Schools occurred. This Church was attached to the Old 
 
 Scl I, though it \sa- not until L855 thai :i New School Church was formally organized. 
 
 Church has been th<- parent of Orthodox Congregationalism and I 
 
 byterianism in Bloomington. At least three different churches have sprung from this 
 
 organisation, though only one has become permanent During the pastorate of the 
 
 II R I'm- an addition was made to the old building, and its Beating capacity 
 
 increased t.. about ti\<- hundred When the <M<1 and New Schools were united a few 
 
 First Church took the title to which it was entitled by seniority. P 
 many years, it was known i- the Old-School Presbyterian Church of Bloomington, and 
 - i pioneer in deed aid in truth'. The R i J, B. Thayer Lb the present Pastor of 
 the huroh. 
 
 The First Church, inally built, was quite small. In 1855, the rapid growth 
 
 ..t the city mad< i mon churches, and on the 11th of January, 1855, the 
 
 - bool or Second Presbyterian Church •• mized, in Major's Hall, oornei 
 
 d and E This hall was at that time in the third story, sinoe rem 
 
 and ai'l pleasant. R Ufred Eddy was th Past ir 1 1 . • r« • . the con- 
 
 itiou worshiped until about the time the building was used by thi 9 \ irmal 
 I niversity, in tin- fall of 1857 In 1850, the Church comi I tlnir new hous 
 
 ship, whioh was finished in \*~>1. It.- total cost has 
 the recent addition, which has increased its seating capacitj Tlii- Church 
 
 • rtunate in it- I had but four different ministers in th 
 
 of the twenty-four years of it- life. Originally of tl N School, it has non 
 the Secund Presbyterian Tin- L'liurcli : . lair proportion of th 
 
 tion, talent :m>l wealth of the oit) and may be called established I P tor i* 
 
 the Ret .1 W Dinsm 
 
 Third Presbyteriai died the North Church, * \|.m' 
 
 L875 Their fa worship is on I >-■ L N l in, ind
 
 56 
 
 comfortable and tasteful building. The value of church property, including I. millings 
 
 and LTnuinIs is nearly SIu.hihi. Tlie inenibership is between seventy and one hundred. 
 
 The Baptist is one of the pioneer churches, haying been organised in L837. About 
 this time, their first church-building was erected upon tw<» lots donated by James Allin. 
 at the northeasl corner of North and West star - iflerward, moved toMadisoD betw< 
 Fronl and Grove, where the church used it several year-. In 1 857, the large building 
 at the corner of Madison and Jefferson, now occupied by the society, was commenced, 
 ami bo far completed as to be used in part in the year 1858. The old church on Smith 
 Madison was sold to the German Turners, who now use it as a hall. The present mem- 
 bership of the Baptist Church is about 550, and during its existence, over 1,600 persons 
 have been members. The pastors of this church have taken a leading place in the his- 
 tory of Bloomington, and one of them, Rev. H. J. Eddy, was Chaplain of the Thirty- 
 third Regiment Illinois Volunteers. The membership has always been among our best 
 inhabitants, and their zeal and devotion to the cause of their Master have been remark- 
 able. At one time this Church maintained two mission Sabbath schools, one of which, 
 the West Mission, has now developed into a German Baptist Church, with a settled 
 pastor. It i> located at 1,302 West Locust street. Rev. Henry Wernicke is the Pastor; 
 it contains thirty-three members. The South Mission is on Boone street, between 
 Hardin and Fremont, and is sustained by the Baptist Church. The present Pastor of 
 the Baptist Church is Rev. 0. B. Stone. This Church assisted in the organization of 
 Mount Pisgah Baptist Church | colored ), which was started in 1866. Its first Pastor 
 was the Rev. Thomas Reasoner. Its place of worship is on South Lee street, where it p - 
 a comfortable church, erected in 18n'9. Rev. Mr. Harrison i- it- present Pastor, 
 ami there are between ninety and one hundred member- 
 
 The Christian Church, comprising the followers of Alexander Campbell, with others 
 of similar views, is also a pioneer, having been organized in 1839; and, like its prede- 
 cessors, the Baptist and Presbyterian, was organized in the old Foster Seminary on Hast 
 Olive street. Its first house of worship was built in the hard times of 1841, on Fast 
 street, in the rear of Major's Block. William T. Major was its first Pastor. About the 
 year ls5ti.the present Christian Church building, at the coiner of West and Jefferson, was 
 erected: and, for a time, there were two rigorous Christian Churches existing in ibis city. 
 Before the year 18G4, the two churches were united; the old church was sold to 
 tin Lutherans; removed by them to the corner of olive and .Madison ; and the united 
 Christian Church has become one of the most powerful in the city. It is one of the 
 leading churches of this denomination in the West. It is now under char.;, of Dr. A I. 
 Bobbs. olive Mission, corner of South Grove and Vine streets, is in charge oft hi- Church. 
 Outside of the city there are two churches of tin- denomination. Grass} Rid 
 Christian Church, organized 1854, i> near the south lit f the township, under the 
 
 charge of Rev Mr I Jerry, who also has the care .if t he church at Shirley. The GraSBJ 
 Ridge Church has about seventy member-. Blooming Grove Christian Church ha 
 
 neat building, erected in 1-7:;. at a cost of about $1,300. It is in the Coi and Oren- 
 dorfl neighborhood, the true historic center of Bloomington, at the east aide of Blooming 
 (irove. Its members number about one hundred. 
 
 The Free Congregational Church was organized August 14, 1859. Among its 
 fust members we find the names of Jesse W Fell, K. II. Fell, C. Wakefield, E. Bar- 
 ber, Robert Thompson, W. Perry, F. K Phoenix, II. N. Pearse, Jesse Bishop, B.
 
 57 
 
 M. Prince. C. P. Merriman, John L. Routt, M. Pike, 0. Barnard, Francis Barnard. 
 William Rowley and others. These gentlemen were willing to unite in a declaration 
 of views which committed the new society to the platform of Liberal Christianity. 
 Though cot strictly a Unitarian Church, it comes, perhaps, nearer to that denomination 
 than any other. The church-building is owned by stockholders in rather a different 
 manner from the method which is most common. Rev. Charles G-. Ames, of Minne- 
 apolis, Minn., was the first minister. He was a man of great force and power. He 
 has been succeeded generally by able men. Probably about four hundred people attend 
 this Church. The church-edifice was erected about the year 1806; it will seat 
 nearlyfive hundred persons. Its present Pastor is the Rev. J. S. Thompson. 
 St. .Matthew's Episcopal Church was organized July 31,1853. In 1857, a lot was 
 purchased at the southeast corner of Prairie and Jefferson streets, and plans were 
 adopted for a church, but the financial crisis of that year was the reason for abandoning 
 the enterprise and the lot was sold. After worshiping in different halls, the parish 
 purchased in 1865, the old Congregational Church, corner of West and Washington. 
 In July, 1874, the Vestry purchased the lot at the northwest corner of Jefferson and 
 Prairie streets, where, in the year 1870, the present fine structure was erected. The 
 building will cost when completed, about $20,000. There are about one hundred and 
 sixty communicants of the Church, and the congregation will number about four hun- 
 dred. The church is large enough to seat about six hundred persons. 
 
 The German Lutheran (Trinity) Church is at the corner of Olive and Madison. 
 About one hundred and twenty-five families — all of them among the most worthy and 
 industrious of our citizens — attend upon the ministrations of the Pastor, Rev. E. 
 Riedel. A day school has been connected with this Church much of the time since 
 its organization in 1858. 
 
 The Swedish Lutheran Church is newly established, having erected its house 
 of worship at 804 West Olive street, in the summer of 1877. Its Pastor is the Rev. 
 P. J. Brodine. The regular membership is about eighty. The Church was organized 
 December 8, 1872. with thirty-eight members. It joined the Augustan Synod in 1873. 
 
 The Roman Catholic Church was organized in 1855 by Father Bernard O'Hara 
 It was called Holy Trinity — now the Church of the Immaculate Conception. At first 
 it purchased and used the old M. E. Church, corner Olive and Main streets, but it very 
 rapidly outgrew its accommodations. 
 
 In 1869, a new building was being erected at the site of the present cathedral, 
 when a gust of wind, nearly equal to a tornado, leveled the structure to the earth. Its 
 walls were up and the roof on, and the damage was over $20,000. Undaunted, the 
 congregation persevered with the work on a much more expensive plan, and now have 
 the satisfaction of worshiping in an elegant building, which, when finished, with its 
 208-feet-liigh spire and everything as designed by the architect, it will be one of the 
 most beautiful ornaments of which Bloomington can boast. 
 
 The new cathedral is a magnificent piece of architecture, in the Romanesque style. 
 [te dimensions are 213 feet in length and 80 feet in width. The estimated cost, when 
 fully completed, is about $150,000. It will be one of the finest cathedrals in all Illi- 
 nois. For several years back, the society has occupied the basement auditorium as a 
 temporary place of worship, but, within the past year, the outer walls have been com- 
 pleted and the roof placed in position, thus inclosing the main audience-room. This is
 
 58 
 
 a spacious apartment, 213 feet in length, 80 feet in width, and 52 from the floor to the 
 ceiling. It is provided with a large octagonal chancel and two large galleries. It will 
 have ample seating accommodation for 2,500 persons. Father McDermott is in charge 
 of the Church. The total number of members of this Church, with their families, is 
 not far from six thousand. 
 
 The German Catholic Church was built about the year 1871. It is situated on 
 North Water street, which is in the southwest part of the city. W. J. Revis is 
 in charge. This is a growing Church. It is known as St. Mary's German Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 BLOOMINGTON SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 At the time Bloomington was first settled, Sabbath schools were a new thing all 
 over the country. Like the temperance movement, it was not quite clear whether they 
 were to be an educational improvement mainly, or to partake of a moral as well as of a 
 religious character. The conservatism of the community naturally arrayed itself against 
 Sabbath schools, as against everything that was new and novel, and the labors of the 
 originators of these institutions were, at times, severe as well as unappreciated. We 
 have requested a statement on this subject, which was kindly furnished by that veteran 
 in the good cause, Mr. A. C. Washburne : 
 
 " April 8, 1832, I went to the schoolhouse (a log cabin) to attend Sabbath school, 
 agreeable to an appointment made by Mr. Latta, a local preacher of the Methodist order. 
 But few were present. A question arose as to the manner of conducting the school. 
 Previous to this, for a short time, a gentleman of intelligence, but not a professor of 
 religion, had met a few children on the Sabbath, and instructed them in reading and 
 singing. Some desired a school of a more decided, religious character, while others pre- 
 ferred the present arrangement. A meeting was appointed for Monday night to settle 
 this question. 
 
 " April 9. Meeting was held, agreeable to notice, and, as a result, I was appointed 
 Superintendent, and the entire management of the school placed in my hands. 
 
 "April 15. Commenced a Sabbath school upon strictly religious, but not secta- 
 rian, principles. For some months I had no assistance, and the attendance of pupils 
 was from twenty to thirty. At length, I obtained the assistance of two young ladies, 
 Misses Durley and Kinder, who did efficient work in the school. To show the state of 
 society at that time, permit me to say that the employment of these ladies in the school 
 caused considerable low gossip in town, although they belonged to respectable families, 
 and were of irreproachable character. 
 
 u I continued this school until the spring of 1833, when, about to visit the East, I 
 left it in charge of Mr. McGeoh, a Presbyterian clergyman, who had recently located in 
 Bloomington. I returned in the fall of the same year and found the school broken up, 
 Mr. McGeoh having died in my absence. Very soon I made arrangements to revive 
 the school, and have it meet at our residence, as the most convenient place for the win- 
 ter. With the assistance of my wife, we had what was, to me, a very interesting 
 school. 
 
 '' When I returned from the East, I brought out a second-hand library, and the 
 books were read with avidity. One bright-eyed little girl took a book, and, on return- 
 ing it, was asked if she had read it through. She replied, ' yes ; I read it through a 
 Jbtap of times.'
 
 Iii thi spring • 1 834, the Rei I. Poster tod wife located in Bloomington, and 
 I -.<• the Behool int" their l> inda. Daring the summ< r- of .w;i\ 
 
 • ufthe time. In the spring of I -•"••>. I « in chosen Superintendent, 
 
 ohargeofthi >>-Iim,,| for tn Daring this time, the ami colored ramih having 
 
 children of suitabli ttend school, Bottled in town I invited them into thi 
 
 school, which caused quite :i little exoitemenl I could gel no one to teach them 
 therefore 1 'li<l it myself, giving ;ill the time to them I could spare from other >1 
 
 Prejudice against them was so hi'_'l> that some left the sol 1. bul I >1" not think it sua 
 
 tained any greai !■ 
 
 ••In the spring of L838 M B rbour was chosen Superintendent. In ! 
 
 Methodists organized a denominational school, which drew large numbers from the 
 
 other, whieh hail up to this time been called a nnion sol I. although managed mostly 
 
 by Presbyterians. Prom tlii- time forward, the old organization took on a denomi- 
 national character, and, with Blight interruptions, has I ntinued to the pn 
 time— 187 l so that the Sabbath school of the old First Presbyterian Church maj right- 
 fully claim direct lineal descent from the first Sabbath school organized in Bloomington 
 Thus, from a vet} small beginning it has grown, I trust, to a healthful, 
 ing, institution for the promotion of religious Icnowledj 
 
 ■a c VVASHB1 i;m 
 Prom and after this time, or from 1839, all the churcl itablish their 
 
 own Sabbath sohools, and the history of each individual church may be assumi 
 include the history of its own Sabbath school without doing much violence to bis 
 hence w< shall not pursue the subji 
 
 • i mi 1 1. km a 
 
 We ha i elsewhere that the first cemetery laid oat in the township of Bl 
 
 ington, is the one in the Orendorff neighborfa I, started in 1 1 • . - year 1825 This is 
 
 oldest cemetery in the county. 
 
 Shortly after the town, now cityj of 1>1 lington, was established, a cem< U rj 
 
 opened on the north Bide of the ample grounds now known aa the Bloomington Cem- 
 etery. Here we find that the first burial was thai oi M Remington, about the 
 
 This tract is included within 1 1 1 « - same inolosure with the Bloomington Cem 
 etery, and contains some land owned by the <itv and used a- a public burying-ground 
 As the t..wn grew and it became evident it would !»• a place of considerable size, efforts 
 
 made in 1866 t" establish .i oemeterj on a larger and more appropriate scale, and 
 result proves ti taste, wisdom and judgment of those interest 
 
 The Bloomington Cemetery Lssociation « oized April 1. 1857. David 
 
 l.-'j. was elected President, and I. G S oretarj and Treasurer, which |"-i 
 
 ti>>n the latter gentleman has ably filled and i- filling t" the entire satisfaction of all , 
 while the former gentleman held the presidenoj until he removed from the city, when 
 Judgi (| T. K< to thai position. The Cemeten grounds in 
 
 isl • • 1 1 * i I I !■ in i and oontain fortj si n - and an - ifl i ntlj rem 
 
 the bosinesa center ami ev< rj daj lit- nder * 1 » « - | >l:»< -.- a tittin_- abode of the 
 
 chosen it i beautiful one It- rolling ground is pit ising and is intei 
 \\itli a natui 'li of trees and shrubs making it> landscape Immuu uh-u i j..i->.<I tin 
 
 the pur| igned It utiful, secluded retreat, well adapted
 
 60 
 
 for the reception of the dead, where monuments to their memory are preserved and 
 cherished as a solace to the living. Many monuments and other valuable improvements 
 are being made, which add beauty to and adorn the grounds, making it really a city 
 of the dead. 
 
 The Catholic Cemetery is under the care of the Church. It is situated on West 
 Washington street, near the city limits. This Cemetery, like the other, is fast filling up 
 with tasteful monuments, which indicate a degree of civilization and culture greatly to 
 be commended. 
 
 The Jewish Cemetery was laid out in 1874. It contains one acre of gronnd, near 
 city limits, on the Springfield road. The President of the Association is M. Heilbrun, 
 who first proposed the idea of a cemetery. 
 
 FRANKLIN PARK. 
 
 Bloomington has reason to be proud of the beautiful square called Franklin Park, 
 which is in the northern part of the city. It was donated in 1856, by David Davis, 
 W. T. Flagg and William H. Allin, who were owners of the land included in the Dur- 
 ley Addition. They presented it to the city to be perpetually used as a public park. 
 At that time, there were no residences in its vicinity, and the idea of the public ever 
 obtaining any benefit from a park in that desolate region was the theme of much ridi- 
 cule on the part of the wits of the time. The rapid growth of the city in its northern 
 portion has proved the wisdom and far-sightedness of the donors of Franklin Park. In 
 the spring of 1 858, the City Council appropriated money for planting trees, and the 
 work was mostly superintended by Milo Chatfield, then Alderman. The trees were 
 mere poles, and their wretched appearance again started the flood-gates of ridicule. 
 These trees have now become a beautiful forest, and the place begins to be prized by 
 our citizens, and will, no doubt, soon be improved with walks, drives, seats, iron fences, 
 statues and fountains. 
 
 It can already boast of one of the noblest ornaments of McLean County, the Sol- 
 diers' Monument, which was erected by vote of the people of the entire county. The 
 vote was taken in 1866, and the monument was dedicated June 17, 1869. In some 
 parts of the county, votes were cast against the proposition, on the ground that it was 
 supposed the monument was to be placed in the Bloomington Cemetery, but there never 
 was any intention of such a location. 
 
 The monument was designed and built by J. S. Haldeman, of this city. The 
 following is a detailed sketch of its size and general appearance : The lower base is 
 built of Lemont limestone, thirteen feet in diameter ; the marble base on the top of 
 this is finished with a heavy carved molding, on which stand four octagonal disks, in 
 the shape of a cross. On these disks are the names of about seven hundred soldiers 
 that died in the service. On the top of these disks is an elaborately molded cap, with 
 the inscription, " McLean County's Honored Sons ; Fallen, But Not Forgotten," 
 engraved in large letters. On this cap, and directly over each of the four disks, stands 
 a statue of a soldier, representing first, Infantry, second, Cavalry, third, Zouave, fourth, 
 Marine. These statues surround a large octagonal disk, with heavy relief covering. 
 On the four corners there are flags, accoutrements, etc. Above this disk is a second 
 disk surrounded with a finely-carved festoon of laurel. From this disk starts the main 
 shaft, which is eighteen feet high, tapering gradually to the top, and surmounted with a
 
 ' 
 
 &* 
 
 
 
 J 
 
 SOLDIERS MONUMENT 
 
 BLOOM IVC.TOH
 
 and i life size figure of ■ colonel resting "ii bis sword, holding in !ii- right bind i 
 6eld-glass, and facing the south. The whole height of the monument is forty-nine t 
 firom the ^r. mn. I to the top of the colonel's head Ii 
 
 &AILROA1 
 
 \V. bavi dread) alluded to the raol that Blooniinj of the • 
 
 stem of the [nternal Improvement schenn of I II I 
 
 as then pi • might pass i way t" tl> r n l"ii_- distance to 'I 
 
 .mi city, but men lik<- A Gridley, Jess W I ■'• II. I>a\i.l Davis J. K McClun, and 
 others were watching the project, determined that the line should touch B m. 
 
 if I e influence. Circumstances favored Gen Gridley, who was in thi 3 
 
 - tiate in 1 ~~> 1 . and he secured the line where Bloomington most wished it to be I 
 
 Our oitisens began t<> feel, in I860, when legislation and the pr< tding 
 
 made it probable the road might I"- built in a few years, that it n is tritaUy important 
 obtain tli>' line The Senatorial contest in this district, in the fall of 1850, was botl) 
 ited between \. Gridlev and John rV. Ewing- the former a Whig, and the latt 
 
 :i Democrat. Both men were in favor of Bl nington's becoming m point on tin- road, 
 
 though tli live political parties affected to doubt the soundness of each « • 1 1 1 
 
 candidates Mr Gridlej was elected from th< counties of McLean, Tazewell, I. 
 M n-, .ii ami DeWitt, by 249 majority. During the session of the Legislature of 1850 
 and L851, tin- Dlinois Central charter was passed. The only points located in the 
 irter are the termini, and a point not far from the southeast corner of Blooming 
 ton Township. After a - intest with rival routes, Mr. Gridlej 1 the iti- 
 
 t i < > t ■ of tlii— ..in- intermediate point, whioh gave Decatur, Clinton anil l>! nington the 
 
 r.-ail with little further trouble. 
 
 \\ . oopj from the Western Intelligencer a letter of great interest 
 
 Senate Cbambbb, February 6, 1861. 
 this moment, by a rote of 28 t'> 2, has passed the Centra] Railroad Mil. Tin- 
 nii made on the Central road, between the southern terminus of the canal and < 
 that the ro id shall rueted w ithin five mil<-- of the northeast corner of Township 21 north, 
 
 : the Third Principal Meridian. This provision Bloon ington, 
 
 Clinton an i I » . ■ I all question, an ostruotion of thi 
 
 through the il aties of MoLean, DeWitt and Mi in I- great difficulty has I n in 
 
 determining the points to whiob the road should be constructed; and inasmuch as there baa 
 
 • n but one poini fixed in the whole State except the termini i by the act i I 
 
 I think i lit* citicent that bj tin- provisions of il>i- bill tfa 
 
 to them. 
 Bj ■ the map, as the road wil the nori . 21, 
 
 • ■ that Bloomington is ii four mi 
 
 i to La Salle, or t be termination 
 
 • mi- will -. --ii Monday, the I Till . I 
 
 tiding il l%il- 
 
 r- ■ ■ . ■ • . i which event I 
 
 hi ..f the Company, that the 
 
 ■ ■ -.. I • ■ |h' 
 
 I • ..-11 knowing tin sin 
 
 r hchall 
 
 \ •■! \ '. Kl hi l i
 
 When the engineers came to locate the line of the Illinois Central, a public meet- 
 ing was bald, offering the righl of way to the company providing t certain line was 
 adopted, it being almost the exact route whict was afterward followed. There wa- a 
 plan to take tin road about three miles east of Bloomington, hut it was defeated. Tin 
 line was located a- it was bnilt and its building commenced in 1861. During the year 
 1*52. work was e. u j,,._r mi along in this portion of the State, and, it being the first rail- 
 road ever built hen-, it of course attracted a great deal "(attention. At one time, these 
 scheme for locating the railroad-shops here, but for the reason that the company 
 itself did not own land enough at this point to reap a harvest from the sale of town 
 lots, it preferred to build a town of its own at Wapella. The oars ran from La Salle 
 to Bloomington May -'.>, 1853. It is stated by those who were living at the time, that 
 no event has ever created such profound excitement as did the arrival of the first rail- 
 road train from La Salle on the Illinois Central Railroad. Bloomington and the sur- 
 rounding country turned out en masse, waiting at the depot for the new-fangled machine 
 that dispensed with the aid of horses. There were large numbers present who had 
 never seen an engine before, and to all, even those to whom it was no novelty, the event 
 was one of the deepest significance. Bloomington, after nearly twenty years of watch- 
 ing, working and waiting, had now a railroad, and was about to enter upon an active 
 career. To the minds of all who were present on that occasion, it was the dawning of 
 a new era of prosperity for our city, and the result of twenty-six years of railroad 
 advantages is sufficient proof that the spectators of that event were correct in their 
 anticipations. 
 
 About this time — 1850 to 1853 — several other railroad projects were before our 
 people. One was the " Peoria, Bloomington & La Fayette" and another the " Bloom- 
 ington & Wabash Valley." The former really became the Peoria A: Logansport 
 through El Paso and Chenoa, after Bloomington people had been rather tricked out of 
 the line by the actions of Peoria. The names of the gentlemen who were mentioned 
 in the act of incorporation of the "Bloomington & Wabash Valley " road are given 
 below, and we insert as a remark of our own. that the most of these same men have 
 been found aiding every road that Bloomington possesses to-day: David Davis, John 
 Moore. Isaac Punk, John E. McClun, James Miller. .Jesse W. Pell, A. Gridley, K. 
 II Pell, E. II. Didlake, J. II. Robinson, R.O. Warriner,A. Withers. John W. Swing, 
 
 W P. Plagg, W. II. Temple, W. II. Holmes and W. T. Major. 
 
 These two roads mentioned, however, have substantially been secured by the 
 Indianapolis and La Payette routes, which have lately been built on nearly the same 
 line- as were projected in these early times. These years -1850 to 1853— were fruit- 
 ful in "projects" for railroads, and, in fact, fruitful in results. October 15, 1853, by 
 a vote of 340 to 5, the city of Bloomington voted to take stock to the amount of 
 
 $50,000 in the " Bloomington \' Wabash" road, but for some reason the project failed 
 at that time, to be revived again under another charter at a later date. Its line has 
 
 sine.- been occupied substantially, by the present Indianapolis & Bloomington road. 
 u bose later history is given below. 
 
 The ■■ Alton \ Sangamon," or "Chicago \ Mississippi" Railroad, alluded to by 
 (Jen. ( iridley above, succeeded in getting its charter extended to Bloomington, and 
 wry soon our citizens began to hear of the location of the Springfield & Bloomington 
 
 Railroad. Surveys were made, the line put under contract, and in due course of time
 
 63 
 
 — October 16. 1853 — the cars were running from Springfield to Bloomington. For 
 several months, trains connected with the Illinois Central at the Junction which is now 
 Normal, and passengers from Springfield could reach Chicago via Bloomington and 
 La Salle. At that time, the line which is now the Chicago & Alton, advertised in a 
 Bloomington paper to take passengers to New York in " only sixty hours." 
 
 This new road came quietly, compared with the Illinois Central ; the latter had 
 been talked of ever since 1836, and the former was comparatively unknown to the gen- 
 eral public until its contractors were at work all along the line. When it arrived, it 
 almost took the town by surprise. As the road reached Bloomington late in the fall, it 
 was not able to finish its northern end until the following summer ; and the Joliet & Bloom- 
 ino-ton Extension — as it was called — was readv for use during the summer of 1854. 
 The portion nearest Bloomington was built first, and was so far along that an excursion- 
 train ran to Lexington on the 4th of July, 1854. The Joliet & Chicago Railroad had 
 been built previously, and we believe the Chicago & Alton Railroad, from Chicago to 
 East St. Louis, has been built under at least five different charters, each authorizing 
 only a portion of the present line. 
 
 When the Illinois Central depot was located at the eastern side of town, the idea 
 of locating the other at or outside of the western edge was advocated by Jesse Fell and 
 others, and though not popular at first, it was soon thought that if the two depots 
 were thus situated, the town would be spread out wide and in the end might be 
 benefited. 
 
 By donations of land and assistance in other ways, these gentlemen also secured 
 the building of the railroad machine-shops in 1852 and 1853, which, in the end, have 
 become so highly important to the prosperity of Bloomington, which owes a debt of 
 gratitude to these far-seeing gentlemen. The location of the shops made Bloomington 
 a convenient point for the starting of the Jacksonville branch in 1867, and then the 
 building of this branch made it comparatively easy for Bloomington to obtain the 
 rebuilding of the machine-shops after the fire in 1867, when, but for the fact of the 
 junction here, we should have been compelled to pay much more than 855,000 in com- 
 petition with Chicago, Lincoln, Springfield and Joliet. When the Jacksonville branch 
 was built in 1867, Bloomington was obliged to vote $75,000 in aid, which was given, 
 half by the city and the balance by the township of Bloomington. Nearly three hun- 
 dred votes were cast against this proposition, but the majority in its favor was several 
 hundred, our voters seeing so plainly the advantages of the road that they did not dare 
 risk its loss by an adverse vote. It is almost certain that the line would have run 
 directly north from Delavan to Washington, had Bloomington and the towns interven- 
 ing voted the project down. 
 
 It had now become the ambition of Bloomington to be a great railroad center, and 
 it needed no argument to convince the public in 1867, that our interests would be sub- 
 served by building any road that might be projected. The plan for a railroad from 
 Pekin through Bloomington, Le Roy, Urbana and Danville, had been proposed as early 
 as 1836, and at about that time twelve miles were graded east from Pekin. This was a 
 failure, owing to the crash that involved all these enterprises before 1840, and the pro- 
 ject was nearly dormant until 1866, though it was revived in 1854, and again in 1856, 
 a meeting having been held January 24, 1856, at Mackinaw, to aid the matter, and 
 another a little later, on the east end of the line, which was then called the Danville &
 
 64 
 
 Bloomington Railroad. A charter in aid of the east and west line was obtained Feb- 
 ruary 11, 1857, and during the year, meetings were held at various places between 
 Pekin and Danville. A proposition to grant $100,000 from the proceeds of alternate 
 sections of McLean County's swamp-land, was voted down in this county November 5, 
 1857, the vote standing 1,570 opposed and 1,166 in favor. The crisis of 1857, no 
 doubt affected the whole project unfavorably, as we find nothing definite was 
 accomplished until after the beginning of 1866. During that year, a meet- 
 ing was held at Urbana, another, a little later, in Bloomington, and others 
 at Le Roy, where, August 27, 1866, an organization was effected, and the work was 
 pushed ahead, though Bloomington did not voce in aid of the plan until the spring of 
 1867, when, at a special election, a vote was taken on the question of giving $100,000 
 in township bonds to this line and as much to the La Fayette, Bloomington & Missis- 
 sippi Railroad. Both propositions were carried with less than a dozen votes opposed. 
 There never was any opposition to this road, or to the other. Every one saw plainly the 
 value of both lines; but while it was doubtful which line might be first voted upon, 
 there was a little danger that the jealousy existing between the special friends of each 
 might endanger both. Dr. E. Conkling is entitled to a good deal of credit for assisting 
 this enterprise, aided by such men as Judge McClun, J. W. Fell, A. Gridley and others, 
 who have always favored every railroad. The vote to issue bonds to the amount of 
 $100,000 in aid of the La Fayette, Bloomington & Mississippi Railroad, and an equal 
 amount to the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western, then called the Danville, Urbana, 
 Pekin & Bloomington Railroad, was taken at a special town meeting, June 3, 1867, and 
 resulted in a vote of 904 for and 6 against the former road, and 913 for and 6 against 
 the last-named route. 
 
 The unanimity of this vote is sufficient proof of the state of public sentiment at 
 that time ; though now we are paying the cost of these improvements, some feel as if they 
 are too expensive. Still, were the vote taken over again to-day, there is no doubt a 
 good majority would favor the same projects that were voted on June 3, 1867. 
 
 The La Fayette, Bloomington & Mississippi Railroad, running directly east is a 
 favorite line. It was built between 1869 and 1872, and is the result of the energy and 
 " push" of A. Gridley, A. B. Ives, J. H. Cheney, J. E. McClun, O. T. Reeves, Charles 
 M. Holder, and a few others. These gentlemen labored incessantly to secure the road, 
 and at one time its success was so doubtful that probably had either one of them ceased 
 his efforts, the road would not have been finished. It runs from Bloomington to La 
 Fayette, Ind., where it connects with the La Fayette, Muncie & Bloomington Railroad, 
 and affords the shortest line from Bloomington to Buffalo and Eastern points. Its 
 grades are easy, and it is rarely obstructed by snow. The original company is now 
 dissolved, and the line is operated by a Receiver. Its Treasurer is Mr. J. H. Cheney, of 
 this city, who represents Bloomington's interests in this line, or, rather, is the only 
 official of the road who is a Bloomingtonian. 
 
 The Indianapolis & Bloomington road was finished May 1, 1870, and the La 
 Fayette road in 1872 ; giving our city railroad routes diverging in eight different 
 directions, like the spokes of a wheel from the hub, and enabling our merchants to ship 
 goods at as favorable rates as competing cities. A retrospective story of what has been 
 accomplished since just after the "deep snow " in 1831 — the Commissioners located a 
 county seat at " the north end of the Blooming Grove" — would read like a fable, did we
 
 nut have th«' evidence of men -till living who have Been all these wmnlfrful diaii^r* a* 
 they have occurred from yew t<> year Blooming Grove -from having been ■ desolate 
 wilderness in 1821, unknown bands of predator) Indians, whos. tr.iil- 
 
 each oth< r :it tlii> point, li lucational, ■ moral and rel 
 
 ami railroad center. In the natural coarse "t" events, more schools and colleges 
 
 will oenter here; more commercial and mannfaotoring enterprises will have their I 
 
 quarters at this city, and other railroads will oenter here or c led with "ur pr 
 
 roads in such a manner as to become practically Bloomington 1 During the 
 
 1878, the Chicago A Alton Railroad has buill an extension from Mexii M 162 
 miles to K m~. i- <'it\. which will add immense!) to the business of the line, of which 
 •i will reap man) solid advantages through it- machine shops, whose capacity 
 m ill thereb) be still further developed. 
 
 In the near future, Bloomington may Bee a railroad running northeast to intercept 
 the niinou Central's new line al Chatsworth, a northwestern line to connect Washington 
 and Peoria with Bloomington, and a line to the southeast to connect with the Rantoul 
 narrow-gauge road. Other roads now unprotected will yet oenter here Mas our 
 citizens, in the future as in the past, lend a helping hand to wl when well 
 
 sidered by our ablest citizens, promis Ivai iui best inl 
 
 OUB PEL! QB kPHfi 
 
 In Angust, 1853, Son. John l>. Caton, the pioneer of the Western Union T 
 graph Lines, came to this city. Be told Gen. Gridlc) that if Bloomington would take 
 $1,000 of Btock lii- company would give our city a telegraph "Mice on the line then 
 
 building from Chicago to Springfield. It does not appear to hai scurred to our <iti- 
 
 lens that the telegraph business of the place would of itself justify the company in 
 og an office open, and bo they to ik hold with tli.ir usual energy and subscribed the 
 amount As ■ part of the bistor) of the telegraph, we give the list of Bubseribi i 
 
 C P. Merriman,$100; W. H. Allin (60 \ Gridlej | I M. Wells, $50; B.H. Painter 
 Parke, |50 W. P Flagg, (50; J. W. Ewing, $60; J W. Qnderwood .\ I 
 rhompson, |60 ; Ba | Paiat & Elder, $50 ; B II P« |50; John 
 
 P. O'Brien, $50 0; G B Larriaon and A. C. Washbnrne, $60 ; Ifagoun, 
 
 Mill. • I Wi.ki/.r ltd Ma* 
 
 The pol -""ii her< . the w ire was in place, and on the - Itli of January, 1 85 l 
 
 an office was opened in Bloomington. The files of the Pantograph show that paper's 
 first message, which was from the fUitu J irnal office at Springfield, as follow 
 
 hoi i k i d, January 28, I 
 C. I' U ■• M i'. the immunicaiion by telegraph, so auspi 
 
 tinue f • 8. Pbascu 
 
 M ittht n I. Steele was the first telegraph operator at the B tnington office, which 
 in 1854, in what was known as M Block, on Front Street. II 
 
 followed in 1866, by Arthur T. McElhiney, who is the present manager of the Bloom' 
 
 ii office, thus making a quarter of a centurj with only two different officials in 
 charge of what is a very important office. The Pantagraph and t.'nal Ci>m]>ain 
 a local-line from Bloomington to Normal, to the coal-shaft, and to various 
 
 making nine mi u] which then are, at least, thirt) private instruments 
 
 ui'l .i oumbi r of tclephon
 
 66 
 
 There are important offices at the headquarters of the C. & A. R. R. Company, at 
 its shops in Bloomington, where a large force of operators constantly direct the running 
 of trains, while the other railroads have one or more telegraphers constantly on duty ; 
 so that, in all, twenty operators are employed in this city, on regular salaries, not to men- 
 tion those who use the wire as an incident of their daily business, as is the case with 
 the patrons of the Pantagraph and Coal Company's line, as well as several of the other 
 patrons of the different lines, who have instruments of their own. 
 
 NEWSPAPERS. 
 
 The Bloomington Observer (weekly) was the first newspaper published in Bloom- 
 ington or in the county, and was established January 14, 1837, by Messrs. James 
 Allin, Jesse W. Fell and A. Gridley, and was edited by William Hill, afterward, for a 
 short time, by Mr. Fell. In 1838, the Observer espoused the side of the Whig party 
 in politics. The name was changed, not long afterward, to the Western Whig, and it 
 was conducted by Charles P. Merriman. In 1852, the name was again changed to the 
 Bloomington Intelligencer, the paper again passing under the management of Mr. Jesse 
 Fell, who sold out in a year or two after, to Mr. Charles P. Merriman, and the sheet was 
 baptized anew as the Pantagraph. The Daily Pantagraph was started June 19,. 
 1854. It was sold, in 1856, by him to William E. Foote, who published it until 
 1861, E. J. Lewis being the editor. It is now owned and published by William 0. 
 Davis. 
 
 This paper has become well established, being one of the best known in the West. 
 The peculiarity of its name has attracted much attention, many critics and scholars 
 appearing to confound it with the word " pentagraph," which is thus defined by Web- 
 ster : " Pentagraph, see pantagraph." Under head of " pantagraph," he says, " a math- 
 ematical instrument for copying ; written, also, pantograph, and, less correctly, penta- 
 graph." Mr. Charles P. Merriman, a fine Greek scholar, gives the following as the 
 meaning of the word ; and as his explanation is satisfactory to the best classical stu- 
 dents, we insert it here, in hope it will thus go into permanent history, and set the ques- 
 tion at rest. Mr. Merriman was the originator of the word, as well as the founder of 
 the Pantagraph: 
 
 " ' Panta ' is the neuter accusative plural of the Greek adjunct pas, and ' graph ' 
 is from the Greek verb grapho, here used in the imperative mode ; the name ' Panta- 
 graph ' — write all things — is a perpetual injunction upon its editors to dip their pens 
 fearlessly into all matters of human interest." 
 
 Other journals have been established at various times and flourished for a brief 
 period, to give place, in turn, to others ; but none of them have survived any length of 
 time. Among them may be mentioned the Evening Argus, National Flag, afterward 
 the Illinois Statesman, Illinois Central Democrat, Bloomington Times, Ant i- Monopolist, 
 McLean County Democrat, Bloomington Republican, Illinois Schoolmaster, the 
 Advance, and others of less repute. 
 
 The fire of editorial controversy, it may be assumed, waxed high at times, as we 
 find in an old number of the Intelligencer a brief item, to the effect that an article had 
 appeared in the Flag containing a long array of abusive epithets against the editor of 
 the former sheet, of which " dastardly whelp," " scoundrel," etc., were a great deal the 
 mildest. " This, of course, brought on a personal encounter," continues the " responsible ' '
 
 1 ' "• 
 
 editor, bul adds the gratify in thai either of as 
 
 ived an inja 
 
 The bistorj oi the tips and downs of aewspap* r life r. oeived an addition in the sudden 
 
 <1< >mise of the Bloomington which came to an untimely end it the hands of tin- 
 
 Ninetj fourth Regiment Illinois Volunteers a McLean Count) regiment. The paper 
 
 • . x>me "I" to m 1 1 1 ; 1 1 1 y "t" the citizens, l>y reason ol its Southern proclivities 
 
 and i of sympathy for the States in rebellion, and the i v it. m. q| I,. 
 
 lead the Boldiere, abetted by prominent oUisens, to destroy the office and 
 a hen tin paper has sol been re> i 
 i re are now two dailj papers, th< faf g Pantograph and th< Evening 
 I Weekly Leader was started bj Scibird A Wan - N ivember 1"'. L 868. and the 
 ruary 22, 1870, and is now owned bj M B Leland, publisher. Beside 
 
 it) can boasl several weekly | the /' itu A s <, / ■ 
 
 and the fl of II Itneu. The Bl ningt Journal Qerman anded 
 
 \ Schmidt; present proprietor II Meyei It is ■ paper of muofa influence, as i- 
 also the fcfcZi i County Deutsch* P f which John Koester is editor and pr>>- 
 
 pri( ' 
 
 i III. ::l OOMINOTON LIBRAR1 
 
 'I'll, institution now known as the Bloomington Library \- iation is one of the 
 terving iii the city. Ii has become endeared to the public by the unMt work it 
 mplished, by its valuable collection of I ks, and by its promise of future bene- 
 fit to posterity. It- early history is of muofa interest The first trace die 
 well-written communication in the Pantograph of Maj 21, 1854 signed G. I- K.. urging 
 the formation of a library and reading-room. Bloomington'e halcyon days were in 
 1854 At thai time, it boasted 1,000 inhabitants, 1 _' churches and -• its in them l'..r 
 nearlj the total population. Possibly, this was more of a boast than ;i reality, b i 
 our city bas grown, our church accommodations have not kepi pace, though in the mat 
 it-r<">ni in the public schools, we have reversed the situation compared with 
 B .i are merely wished to remark that those who were al the 
 helm in 1854 to 1858 planned hugely for the public good. They built ohurohes, they 
 reformed "ur public Bchools, they endowed <>r founded colleges, and they <li'l nol t 
 
 tli>- needofa public library. We are reaping the harvest from theg 1 seed then sown, 
 
 and in ii" "ii-- department were the early laborers more faithful than in that now nn 
 
 [deration. The need of a library, and the condition of public opinion in relation 
 
 thereto, stimulated the ladies of "ur oitj to make an effort, which has resulted in the 
 
 foundation of "ur Bloomington Library. Among those particularly worth] of mention 
 
 M i: \ i: oo* Mr- Gr. \V Parke, and Bfist Hannah M Snow. 
 
 i ladies obtained quite a number <>t' subscriptions from persons who were willii 
 
 _'.| of October, 1856 i publio meeting was called al M - Hall, 
 for the purpose of organizing the " Ladies Library \' this meeting, whioh was well 
 attended, the ladies riptions to the amount of s il7 A committa «.i- 
 
 appointed to draft a constitution and by laws, to report al i future meeting. This com- 
 mitter was Rei r N Ewii Dr W •' Bobbs, David Davis, Vf. II AUlin and John 
 i M I in lifter one or two preliminary meetings the permanent organisation of the 
 
 Ladies Library \ n, of the City of Bl ningl thi I 
 
 :i.in Clnir. i ■ ah r 13, 1 -
 
 68 
 
 The ladies alone were eligible to office during the first six or eight years. The 
 first officers were : President, Mrs. S. B. Brown ; Vice President, Miss A. Warriner ; 
 Secretary, Miss Caldwell ; Corresponding Secretary, Miss H. Parsons ; Treasurer, Miss 
 Rebecca A. Rogers ; Librarian, Miss Hannah M. Snow. The first Board of Managers 
 was composed of the following ladies : Mrs. D. Davis, Mrs. P. N. Ewing, Mrs. T. Pardee, 
 Mrs. H. Spencer and Mrs. W. H. Allin. 
 
 On the 28th of February, 1857, the Library was opened in a room on Center street. 
 At the next meeting, Judge Davis offered a room on Main street free of rent, which 
 offer was very thankfully accepted. The Library remained in this room for six or seven 
 years, rent free, and, during all this time, it was taken care of and fostered by the 
 ladies with a zeal and enthusiasm that gained it a high position among the worthy 
 institutions of Bloomington. Its growth was gradual but sure. The catalogue from 
 the beginning has always exhibited a large selection of valuable books, and it has been 
 one of the educational institutions of our city. 
 
 In the year 1867, it was thought best to organize under an act of the Legislature, 
 which was obtained February 23, 1867. The Library changed its name to the " Bloom- 
 ington Library Association," and gentlemen were made eligible to office, but its main 
 features were unchanged. By the act of incorporation, the Association is able to own 
 real estate, manage an endowment fund, to go onward and forward in the good cause, 
 and take such rank and position as the public or its wealthy members may in the future 
 see fit to award. Probably the time will come when this Association will possess a per- 
 manent building of its own, and an endowment fund which will render it self-sustaining. 
 The first officers under the new organization were elected March 2, 1867. David 
 Davis was President ; E. M. Prince, Vice President ; Sarah D. Robinson, Recording 
 Secretary : W. H. Stennett, Corresponding Secretary, and W. M. Hatch, Treasurer. 
 The Board of Managers were composed of ladies and gentlemen as follows : Mrs. 
 Maria Everly, B. F. Hoopes, I. J. Bloomfield and Mrs. J. A. Jackman. The Trustees 
 were John Magoun, George W. Parke and John M. Scott. 
 
 The Library has always been one of Bloomington's favorite institutions, and it has 
 now become very valuable. 
 
 The last report of the Librarian, presented at the annual meeting on the 1st day 
 of March, 1879, shows that there are in the Library 7,464 volumes. During the year, 
 books were used equal to taking out 26,000 different volumes. The Reading-room has 
 been well patronized, giving the public access to about 150 periodicals. This evidences 
 the great value of the Library and Reading-room, and its managers should go forward 
 in the good work, trusting to the future for further additions and the permanent endow- 
 ment so earnestly desired. The present officers are : Dr. C. R. Parke, President ; Dr. 
 H. Conkling, Vice President ; B. F. Hoopes, Treasurer ; Charles L. Capen, Corre- 
 sponding Secretary; Lewis E. Ijams, Recording Secretary; Mrs. H. R. G-alliner, 
 Librarian. The Board of Managers consists of Mrs. Charles Shackleford, Miss Sarah 
 E. Raymond, Messrs. Peter Folsom, S. R. Brodix and J. H. Burnham. 
 
 WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY. 
 
 In the year 1850, a number of the leading citizens of Bloomington began to 
 agitate the question of founding a university complete in all its departments. Illinois 
 was plainly growing in importance and no portion advancing more rapidly in all the
 
 elem< ; ing m b, than th< 
 
 of lln- 
 tional ud .>ul'l be of the Brel ordoi T ipli^li 1 1 » i — end, the 
 
 tir-t H >ard of Triwl under I 
 
 D \ l> IE 
 
 It w.t- . thai the University should be placed under tl)'- tnunagrmenl of the 
 
 Methodist Church. This p f making il . institu- 
 
 tion, in never be rendered bul i( was fell thai thi i 
 
 should 1><- placed in careful bands and und< ind since tl. ^l 
 
 Ctiu - in the all the 
 
 ■i .1- a. |] ireful ii menl and influi i the 
 
 i 
 
 ill ill 
 
 A A. 
 
 
 iM-im\ i\iMK«in 
 
 I niv. ! mfided. It was. intended thi influeuoi Bhould I 
 
 Christian cl bul thai students of all denominations should find a home within 
 
 its balk. This ides has I n faithfully carried out In the winter of 1850 and 1851, 
 
 nixed under the intendenc) of II R A.ndrus \ M.. in the 
 
 ■ nl of th M • Church. 
 
 [mmediaU mi for the erection of a suitable building, which, 
 
 iii:m\ discoum ; I and school opened in it in 18!)™ In July, 
 
 l-."il at thi annual meeting of thi Board of Trustei K J bn Den D.D 
 
 I Nil President Phi 1 1 r-t Annual < lomn hi M on 
 
 the 7th of July 1 ■ i tli> tii
 
 70 
 
 Rev. John Dempster having removed to Evanston, Rev. C. W. Sears, a former 
 professor in the institution, was chosen President and a part of the new building occu- 
 pied; but, shortly afterward, owing to the uncertain condition of State finances and the 
 stringency of the times, the institution was for a time closed. Its friends, however, 
 did not despair, and, after securing the services of Rev. Charles W. C. Munsell as 
 financial agent, at once set about raising the necessary funds to complete the building, 
 liquidate the debt and re-open the school. 
 
 The institution was re-opened by the Trustees, who elected Rev. 0. S. Munsell, 
 A. M., as President. In the year 1866, the Methodist Church in America celebrated 
 its first centennial anniversary, and including the amount of $10,000 given by the 
 family of Isaac Funk as the first installment for the endowment of the Isaac Funk 
 Professorship of Agriculture, the friends of the University subscribed over $70,000 for 
 endowment. The steady increase of students now made a second building necessary, 
 and the Trustees proceeded at once to obtain subscriptions and erect an appropriate 
 building, and, as a result of these labors, a fine building was erected, which is capable 
 of accommodating 500 students. 
 
 This structure was so far completed, that graduating exercises were held here in 
 June, 1872, though it was not occupied by the classes for daily recitation till the spring 
 of 1873. The upper portion of this building is not yet fully finished, nor has the entire 
 cost of the University building been met, there being a debt upon the same which the 
 Board of Trustees will doubtless soon attempt to liquidate. 
 
 The new college building is beautifully located in the northern portion of the city, 
 surrounded by an area of nearly ten acres of luxuriant greensward, dotted here and 
 there with clumps of forest and ornamental trees, making all in all a most picturesque 
 effect. The main building is a splendid example of architectural beauty and symmetry, 
 of imposing dimensions, 70x140 feet, five stories in height, and erected at a cost of nearly 
 $70,000. It is pronounced by competent authority as unsurpassed by any similar struct- 
 ure in this State in point of external elegance and internal convenience. It is the finest 
 looking building in Bloomington. The first floor is divided into eight large recitation- 
 rooms, arranged and furnished after the usual style of such apartments. The second 
 floor is occupied by the library, which contains a large and carefully selected list of val- 
 uable volumes. This apartment is also used as a recitation-room. The museum contains 
 a varied and interesting collection of specimens of minerals, insects, birds, reptiles, etc. 
 Rare and valuable additions are constantly being made to the already extensive list. The 
 entire eastern half of the second and third floors is occupied by Amie Chapel. This is 
 so arranged that it may be converted into one of the largest auditoriums in the city, by 
 removing a temporary partition, thus throwing open the galleries, giving a seating capac- 
 ity of 1.200. Regular Sabbath services are conducted in this chapel by the University 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. The halls of the Munsellian and Belle Lettres Literary 
 Societies occupy the third floors. The halls are equal in size and similarly furnished, 
 in a neat and appropriate manner ; their walls are hung with pictures of society mem- 
 bers, the Faculty, graduates, etc. The fourth floor and basement are as yet unfinished. 
 The old college, which stands just north of the main building, is brought into requisi- 
 tion as a boarding-hall for young men, with accommodations for forty. The commo- 
 dious old Major College building, further west, has been rented, remodeled and furnished 
 for a dormitory and dining-hall for tke accommodation of young lady students. This
 
 71 
 
 institution is prosperous under th< th< Women's Educational A- a, whioh 
 
 i- working in harmony frith the University. 
 
 In L873, K- -. S Munsell having resigned, K ■ Samuel Fallows, l> l> was 
 elected President ami entered upon the disch hi- duties in January, 1-7 1 
 
 The TiuBtees non added ■ Law Department and elected a Lav Faculty, which 
 entered immediately upon their duties, and, al the Annual Commencement of 1875 w is 
 iduated the first olasa in the department of law. 
 
 \i the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees in 1874, bhej idopted the i 
 similar to the London University Non-resident Students and I' Exam 
 
 inations which bad, during the year, been matured by the Facultj and were now for the 
 first time laid before the Board for adoption 
 
 M * .niK lOI.I.KOI 
 
 The announcing of ■ definite course of study in both undergraduate and post 
 luate work for non-resident students, publishing of plans for examinations, and bold- 
 • i iminations and conferring degi ly on examinations, mark an era in the 
 
 rj of the University in advance of all other universities of the West The a] 
 ii of the plan has been shown by the increasing Dumben Dtlemen eminent in 
 
 scholarship and lit. ran reputation, who annually avail themselves of the opportunity 
 thus offered, and, after a thorough examination, I eived from the University the 
 
 highest honors known to any univeraitj on this continent. The year of 1870 was ran 
 i memorabli on iccount of the admission of women. The question, after some dis 
 *ed in the Faculty The resolution to open thi to ladies passed the 
 
 I ikI.iI by the patronisii I that during the
 
 72 
 
 first college term of the same year a large number enrolled their names and entered the 
 several classes. The number has steadily increased and now many women are num- 
 bered among the graduates at the Annual Commencements. 
 
 LITERARY SOCIETIES. 
 
 Three literary societies have, since their first organization, been well attended, and 
 have each attained a good reputation for oratory and elocution. These societies, at a 
 cost of some $4,000, have fitted up and furnished their halls with the finest carpets and 
 appropriate furniture. 
 
 COURSES OF STUDY. 
 
 Two courses of study are pursued — the classical and scientific. These require after 
 entering the college the same length of time for completion, namely, four years. 
 
 In 1875, after the resignation of Rev. Samuel Fallows, D. D., the Board of Trust- 
 ees called to the chair of the presidency, Rev. W. H. H. Adams, D. D. 
 
 During the year 1874, a society was organized and chartered by the women, under 
 the name of the Women's Educational Association of the Wesleyan University. The 
 object is to aid young women striving for an education, and second, to endow a chair of 
 the same name in the University. The results of this organization are the opening of a. 
 commodious hall on the Mt. Holyoke plan, and the securing of a considerable amount 
 for endowment. During the year 1875, a gift of 810,000 was made by Hugh Meharry, 
 Esq., of Indiana, to apply on the endowment of the President's chair. 
 
 The growth of the University has been steady, and now its halls are crowded with 
 students, and its honors sought by numbers of the first scholars of the land, whilst the 
 boundless resources of Central Illinois and the growing liberality of a generous and. 
 wealthy people afford great promise for the future that the growing wants of the Uni- 
 versity will receive ample aid ; and, on the broad foundation which has been wisely laid, 
 will be built up and sustained a university of the highest standing in all the depart- 
 ments of art and science. 
 
 At this time, the Illinois Wesleyan University has, in its several departments, 
 the following Faculty : 
 
 LITERARY DEPARTMENT. 
 
 W. H. H. Adams, D. D., President and Professor of Ethics and Metaphysics. 
 
 H. C. DeMotte, Ph. D., Vice President and Professor of Mathematics. 
 
 G. R. Crow, A. M., Professor of Latin Language and Literature. 
 
 J. B. Taylor, A. M., Professor of Natural Science and German. 
 
 Sue M. D. Fry, A. M , Professor of English Language. 
 
 R. R. Brown, A. M., Professor of Natural History and Physics. 
 
 S. Van Pelt, A. M., Professor of Elocution. 
 
 C. M. Moss, A. M., Professor of Greek and Hebrew. 
 
 COLLEGE OF L VW. 
 
 R. M. Benjamin, A. M., Dean, Elementary Law. 
 
 O. T. Reeves, LL. D., Torts and Equity. 
 
 O. W. Aldrich, LL. D., Contracts and Real Property. 
 
 L. Weldon, Pleadings. 
 
 A. G. Karr, LL. B., Evidence and Criminal Law.
 
 p \ Park D in. 
 
 Flora MM i 1 1 . inn.. n\ 
 
 I .!.( B Humphi \ I lulture. 
 
 I l'i . •. to I niveraity is oow oom| I of teachers of largi ei) 
 
 many of whom have occupied their chairs !'■: i • lu-ir 
 
 ripe scholarship. The University, under their direction, has reached n d< 
 of influei Uimportan ely anticipated bj ii- early founders and patrons. 
 
 During the year 1878, an :in department Ided Mrs Prol Moss was placed in 
 
 l lepartment, though the lasl added, i- Kteadil) growing i 1 
 
 iiu| i 
 
 w;- 
 
 ■ >l.l> « KM .» \ \N 1 NM t IIM1 > 
 
 Another department, that of medicine, u about \<> be added to the institution, 
 making it more thoroughly deserving the name of University. During the month ol 
 
 April, 1-7 ■ medical col which Geo A Gridlej was el 
 
 President of thi B rd I isti President Hewitl of Normal, Vice President ; 
 
 W II II Idams, of ill. ^ - Dr. T. F Worrall, Treasurer 
 
 ■•• I"- uttai lied to ill. VVesleyan on a similar ("«•<■( i n ^ to that of the Law 
 I Tl r term will be during the monthi Woven I' 
 
 and ; :_v Tl ilv \s ill occupy I tie d tubl ol 
 
 as of the d Litution. The followinj P Ipril 24
 
 74 
 
 1879, and will, probably, the most of them, accept of the positions : Theory and Prac- 
 tice of Surgery — W. Hill, M. D. ; Theory and Practice of Medicine — W. A. Elder, 
 M. D. ; Anatomy— J. L. White, M. D. ; Physiology— T. F. Worrall, M. D. ; Materia 
 Medica and Therapeutics— J. Little, M. D. ; Obstetrics — C. T. Orner, M. D. ; Mental 
 and Nervous Diseases — A. T. Barnes, M. D. ; Diseases of Women and Children — R. 
 Wunderlich, M. D. ; Demonstrator of Anatomy — A. H. Luce, M. D. ; Chemistry — C. 
 ■Owen, A. M. ; Emeritus Professors — A. H. Luce, M. D., George W. Stipp, M. D. 
 
 TEMPERANCE. 
 
 Bloomington is entitled to the credit of being one of the first places in the West to 
 organize a temperance society. The town was but little over one year old when the 
 movement was made. Mr. A. C. Washburne, who organized the first Sabbath school 
 here, took the first step in the great work. With the assistance of those friendly, he 
 called a public meeting November 17, 1832, at 4 in the afternoon, at the schoolhouse. 
 At the appointed hour, the small room was well filled with an interested assemblage. 
 One of the two physicians of the place made rather an excited speech against the move- 
 ment. He complimented Mr. Washburne by remarking that he had no great fear of 
 the weak movement now being made in itself considered ; but there was something 
 behind the curtain which he feared. He said the people " away down East" were 
 sending their agents out West and all through the country to form Sunday schools and 
 organize temperance societies, and these were all tied to the East as with a big, long cart- 
 rope, and the Eastern people thought by these means to get control of the country, 
 unite Church and State, and then woe to any who thought and acted different from 
 them ! He was glad of the opportunity to express his views. A speech of this char- 
 acter was not anticipated, and the temperance movement came near being strangled at 
 its birth, as the public generally sympathized with the objections thus eloquently set 
 forth. Mr. Washburne had prepared a constitution and by-laws for the McLean County 
 'Temperance Society, and also a temperance pledge. In his quiet, unobtrusive manner, 
 he circulated this pledge, and obtained nine names ; but there was too much excitement 
 to organize, and this was not accomplished until December 15, 1832. Mr. Washburne 
 was the first Secretary. Among the first to assist in the temperance movement were 
 Benjamin Depew, David Trimmer, Solomon Dodge, and their wives. 
 
 The first temperance lecture was delivered February 3, 1833, by Rev. Neal John- 
 son, of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. His text was, " Whether, therefore, ye 
 eat or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God." Ten more signatures were 
 then obtained to the pledge, and the temperance bark was fairly launched in Blooming- 
 ton, as the Society soon numbered two hundred members. This Society lived and 
 prospered, doing a good work, until the time of the great Washingtonian movement, 
 about the year 1840, which took its place, bringing to the temperance cause an army of 
 new workers, carrying its banners higher up the walls, where they have ever waved 
 triumphantly. Among those who gave vigorous assistance in the latter movement, 
 we may mention Jesse W. and Kersey H. Fell, Dr. John F. Henry, Dr. W. C. Hobbs, 
 A. J. Merriman and many others. 
 
 This Washingtonian temperance movement created great interest and accomplished 
 a vast amount of good. It was successful in appealing to men by moral suasion, and is 
 always referred to as that era of the temperance reform which has been entirely free 
 from all objections.
 
 Iii the earl] pari .>f 1842, (In- Washingtonian movement I ill h<-\. 
 
 inl.it this time there was formi I i juvenile temperan which inoluded 
 
 ohildran in Bloomington I' ippeared to the adults i- if then ild 
 
 rtainh '1 i awaj vritfa the traffic in intoxicating -Iriuk - in ismuoh as, if the < - 1 * i I Iren 
 Rrm, there wonld be none who would demand these indulg i On tl I" 
 
 July, 1842, the juveniles had a oelebration and picnic at th where u the 
 
 oorner of Center snd W which was an m of great public inl 
 
 tanong the boys of thai day who took part, we have the name* J : .'> I. I 
 I: berl \. Miller, John W. Allin. Charles Lander and John W Haggard. The sfl 
 r I » i — juvenile movement, added to the regular Washingtonian influence, lasted t'"r 
 irs, and oarried the temperanoe banners l>i_'li ap on the walla of morality :» n«J 
 r.t". Tin . but, in time, these lost their noveltj iety musl be ipon in i 
 
 different manner, though, in the interim, the cause «t is gr< itly depi 
 
 \ .ut the year 1848, the Sons ol Temperan organisation, with Dr. W 
 
 C Hobbe as the firs! Worth) Patriarch, oommen I th work which was kepi op 
 
 for i lii.u i \ years. Among tli — who took :i prominent part in this, wen R 
 
 u Minier, I'r K. Thomas, \ T. Brisooe ind John M Scot! Through the 
 labors of the members of this order, a large Dumber of drunkards were reformed, and 
 
 in various directions the temperanoe movement was kept alive :ui'l in g 1 hands. In 
 
 the year 1850, tl. - not :i saloon in the city of Bloomington, showing us tl 
 
 w< re up and 'l"iu_' 
 
 w i do not profess to write a full bistorj of the tempi ranoe work of Bloomington, 
 i- onr spaoe is too limited. The materials exist for an history of this matter that shall 
 ) t' intense interest, and of great local, we may almi of great national, impor- 
 
 tance, as here in Bloomington have originated Beveral highly important projects in the 
 _ '1 cause, wl rrying-out became of national interest. Furthermore, while tl 
 
 materials of history exist, they are very difficult to obtain. The cause of temperanot is 
 lik.- that of the Christian r.-liLri- 't> in this respect, that it is found in variety ■ •( 
 
 shapes :i n • 1 methods; in other words, it has taken upon itself the most remarkable forms 
 in th< wai of organisations Hut unlike Christianity, which is historically trai 
 through the varii ■ and societii — the cause of temperanoe seems to run through 
 
 the most wonderful changes \- — n as one particular form of labor has lost its inl 
 
 • the public, the friends of temperanoe re organise, and are found laboring in a dif- 
 ferent manner Hence, we find it impossible to trace properly, in the short 
 
 the history of the different forms and in whioh the friends of temperanoe 
 
 have I ganised We have mentioned a few of these, but we cannot dwell upon 
 
 the Temple of Honor, an Order rather higher than the last-menti id, or trios the 
 
 history of all the various temperanoe societies intervening between tb< - I and 181 
 
 We should mention that when tl Law excitement swept over the land in 
 
 i tnd 1855, it found Bloomington people read) to take hold and do their shai 
 tl, Society irred deeply, and ev< r. 
 
 nr>- what the friends of the movement believed would bt to the I 
 
 interest of thi These efforts culminated in 1855, bj tl lection of a full anti 
 
 li. . i Council, with Franklin Price foi M r. A sti 
 
 --.•■I. anil i m tni-ii'l"U« • fl'ort to enforce it \ v months - »ns 
 
 wp- raided bi the oiti officers; 1 i< j w ir- poured into the street*, and a
 
 prosecutions ensued that wax wary rxpensive to the city, as well as vexatious and pro- 
 voking to all concerned. In the end. the city government adopted the license system and 
 adhered to it for many years. In all probability the anti-license ordinance would have been 
 sustained, and Bloomington would have remained permanently on that side of the question. 
 :br the immense increase in population which took place here during these day; — 
 from 1554 tc 185 — when the new-comers were, many of them, p-ersons who were little 
 mpathy with the people who had long been living here, and who had been laboring 
 • _r:her in the temperance cause. About the year 1S57. the order of Good Templars 
 rga : nd again t: - :aething of a revival of temperance effort. During 
 
 the war. this or: allowed to disband, but before its close it again re-organized, and 
 
 from the year 1865 1 >" - tremendous power in Bloomington, and it is even 
 
 yet in a _ for future usefulness. At one time, there were several different 
 
 lodges, at least three being in operation : while at the same time, as in truth we may as 
 well star - - he case from the time of the organization of the first se:ret temper- 
 ance lodge in 15-tS — there were in existence powerful societies : a public nature, all 
 laboring in the same good cause. 
 
 While Bloomington people were at work in the local temperance field, they did not 
 get that in this, as in thecau-r : Christianity. " the field is the world." and they took 
 part in wider enter] ;> - We furnish from the pen of John W. Haggard, a hi- 
 our city's connection with the organization of the National Prohibition Party. 
 
 _ f Deeembe 1868 -- -kate Convention met at Bloomington. for the pur- 
 
 pose of eonsiderir _ i aus of the case. and, if possible, to adopt some additional and better 
 modes of action than had heretofore been employed. This was one of the largest and most en- 
 
 - ever held in Illinois. After discussing the question nearly a 
 into political action, and they proceeded at once to appoint a 
 S lie Central Committee, and provide all the machinery of a modern political par:j 
 
 Z he _■ ::onal Prohibition Party was first organized at Chicago. September, 18 n the 
 
 1872, the second National Convention met at Columbus. Ohio, and put in nomi- 
 nation for P: and Vice President. James Black, of Pennsylvania, and John Russell, of 
 jiigan. The ticket received about seven thousand to:-- 
 7 be third '• uional Convention met May 17 1876, at Cleveland. Ohio, and nominated Green 
 Clay -:..;i of Kentucky, and G 8 e wart, of Ohio. They received about thirty-five 
 thousand t withstanding old party lines were closely drawn, and the party lash more 
 Tigoroosly plied than for many years past, whereby thousands of Prohibitionists were led to be- 
 lieTe it their duty to Tote one or the other for the purpose of " saving the country. 
 
 In the fall..: 1877 we had State tickets in eight or nine States, and polled about six ty 
 thousand Totes, showing a healthj steady growth from the beginning. The same ratio of increase 
 in ten years from this date giTe us control of the National GoTernment and a majority of the 
 - 
 
 . in the following States, to wit: Maine, New Hampshire. 
 
 Massachusetts. Connecticut, Rhode Island. New York, New Jersey, Maryland. Pennsylvania, 
 Keatnca Michigan. Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska. Kansas and Missouri, 
 
 with several others yet to follow this year. 
 
 Tha - -.-. the day when the liquor traffic shall be OTerthrown, is the prayer of 
 
 j consistent temperance man and woman in the land. 
 
 On the 16th of March, lr.74. the Woman - T-inperanee Leagu- ■ - :_.nized in 
 
 Mr- Jennie F. Willing was first Presidec." Mi-- Mary Dea r . B ary. 
 
 and Mrs. M. D. Marqui- T: -isurer. The above-named organization co-operating with 
 
 the Good Templars, and with all temperance bodies in Bloomington. obtained a vote of the
 
 This artioi: 
 and pravi'rtul deliberation I "'. •■•■ tn 
 
 • in the different w.ir.l-. The majorit) I 
 20tl Ipril. 1874. 
 
 I held • - 
 
 lv in favor of license, the Council 
 prohibit • 
 
 li an ordinance as th 
 kt libert under the State law in <iu 
 
 force tl a montl 
 
 t<« the «>]il system nf li ■ - l 
 
 show that for tlii— year the number of an lrunk< i 
 
 in the fbh\ ur 
 
 In the latter part ol the mmmi r .<t' 1874, ■ tit from 
 
 the temperance women of [Hit i the result « (J the 
 
 Woman's Christian Tern] Union iniied hen Our 
 
 in the narrow field of Bloomington <li<l not forget tl 
 of lalmr. ami tl - sted in organizing ■ mi i rehensh S 
 
 T( n.- □ of the S S • . which 
 
 ■ hold in most of the prominent towns in thi- S 
 Christian Tempei • Dt B mingi n is tl spring of the 
 
 k in Bloomington. and k.< • itchful, 
 
 - nt President is Mrs Creg it- V r ice I'r - - Mrs. G. 1! 
 
 Merchant - and Mr- James Winslow is 1 
 
 In 1875, this S number of the ohildren of the 
 
 into t S r Temperance Union, and, in all, nearij two thousand I 
 me meml rs, riple obligation — abjuring intoi 
 
 and refraining from profanity. The strength nt* tlii- - such that, a- in l v i 
 
 - as if th. n might be a tempera) The fit 
 
 tin-.- Mrs. G. H. R I Dr. Sithem holds tl ion Prom 
 
 - now a uniformed company of boys ! ■ 
 
 tutiful appearam 
 In Ma\ 1875 Hired at 
 " World It w 
 
 di thirty-thi 5 he Union, and - 
 
 Canadian D I. Th 
 
 Kngl ind, "N md, Bcrmud ind oth 
 
 hat the tempei B lington han It 
 
 i«l 28th M 
 
 vsihility 
 
 a full 
 
 king tl -ur Iri-li i iti/. :i- t 
 
 Jul temi '■
 
 78 
 
 (r 
 
 Society, and the St. Patrick Total Abstinence and Benevolent Society, are both stron 
 organizations, and are doing, perhaps, as much good as any others in our city. 
 
 We will close our sketch with a brief mention of the " Washingtonian Club," 
 which was organized May 25, 1876. This Club is a very remarkable institution. Its- 
 success in rescuing drunkards and moderate drinkers from their impending fate, has 
 endeared it to the hearts of our citizens. The society leaped into life and power with 
 wonderful rapidity. In the fall of 1876, it rented the auditorium of the old Methodist 
 Church, and there it holds weekly meetings, frequent social gatherings, and constantly meets 
 lor Sabbath-afternoon lectures. It has saved hundreds of the victims of intemperance, 
 and has accomplished a wonderful amount of good. As far as the human eye can see, 
 this organization is entitled to stand at the head of all agencies for good now in opera- 
 tion in Bloomington, not excepting our churches or other organizations. 
 
 From this society influences for good have radiated in all directions. Other clubs 
 have been formed in this State, organized upon a similar basis, and under the same name. 
 The Bloomington club is known as the Washingtonian Club No. 1. Mr. A. B. Camp- 
 bell, one of its prominent members, has devoted the past two years to lecturing and 
 laboring throughout this State. He is a powerful speaker, and has acquired a very envi- 
 able name. 
 
 Our Club has increased so that it is one of the largest in the world. Its member- 
 ship is now 5,460. The President is Joseph 0. Pullen ; First Vice President, M. 
 Mclntire ; Second Vice President, J. H. Sprague ; Treasurer, G-. H. Read ; Secretary, 
 B. W. Mason. Its Trustees are William W. Ives, Henry M. Waite, Arthur J. Means 
 and N. N. Winslow. Its Chaplain is R. A. Curtis. Its first President was Dr. George 
 S. Smith ; Vice President, Mrs. C H. Waite ; William Munger, Secretary ; Mrs. 
 Hattie Allin, Assistant Secretary ; John Magoun, Treasurer. Mr. Magoun gave the 
 organization of this Club his hearty co-operation and assistance ; and, but for his aid, it 
 might not have become established. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union are 
 entitled to much of the credit for the inauguration of this movement, over which they 
 have kept a watchful care ever since its organization. 
 
 In all the years that have passed since the organization of the McLean County 
 Temperance Society at the little log schoolhouse in 1832, the cause of temperance has 
 passed through most wonderful changes. Whenever a particular form of organization 
 has lost its charm ; when the novelty has left it, we find the movement has taken 
 another shape, and the great cause has on the whole gone forward and upward better 
 than ever before. This historical record should be an incentive to all who are now 
 engaged in the work. From it they can see their way clear to labor unceasingly in the 
 good cause — confident of final success. 
 
 NURSERIES. 
 
 As early as 1848, fruit trees were sold in Bloomington by Robert Fell, and about 
 the same time by Nelson Buck. There may have been something done before this on a 
 small scale, but it was not until after this that Bloomington became widely advertised 
 as a tree-growing point. Dr. Schroeder was perhaps the first to make his busines 
 known to the outside world, more particularly in the line of grapes, which were not 
 cultivated in this neighborhood with much success, until he made the public aware that 
 the climate would admit of the production of the grape. Dr. Schroeder was one of the
 
 earliest to advertise Bloomiogton as a nureery town, and his circulars, sements 
 
 articles in newspa] I his enthusiasm it horticultural and pomological conventions 
 
 itributed largely t" make known the fact thai Bloomington was the center "t th( 
 Im-iii. — II' il.'vrvo tn he classed imon^ the foremost in this branch of Blooming 
 t.ni - development. 
 
 In tin year 1854, Mr. V K PhoBnix, then from Delavan, Wis., made a beginning 
 nf tin- famous nureeries that have bo long been ;i credit in his energj and an adverti 
 in, hi to Bloomington. II'- saw that tin- completion of tin- two new railroads th< 
 building would give Bloomington shipping facilities that rendered it an important point 
 for tin- busini ss Be embarked his means and carried on bis transactions on ■ gigantic 
 At times he employed over two hundred nun: and during the height of his 
 business, from 1866 t" 1870, hi- Bales were imm< II'- had as many a- -:x hundi 
 
 res under cultivation, and engaged in the Bale of nurserj Btock, > * ■ • 1 1 1 at wholesale ami 
 ill. including Bet ds, plants, trees, and everything that could I"- desired in tin- line of 
 business. Other nurseries were owned here by different parties, amounting, in ih- 
 gate, tu almost as muoh more, and Bloomington became known all over tin- United 
 is the • Rochester of tin- West." Probably no one single busini bs Ii is carried 
 tli. name of Bloomington t" a- many homes as did that of Mr. Phmnix, advertised in 
 cearh all tin- publications of tin- land. 
 
 '' ceived here from all tin- countries where tin- English language is 
 
 spoken, and often from other part- of the world. It was a heavy loss t" Bloomington 
 
 ami Normal, ami a BOUTCe of public regret, when thi- business began t'. fall off in 1'. 
 
 i 1-7'.'. ami it is feared we -hall never Bee it as flourishing again. Tin- rapid incre 
 of nurseries in towa, Kansas ami Missouri, explains tin- changed state of affairs. Tin 
 I'lnt'iiix nurseries, Dr. II Schrceder's, P. A. Bailer's, J. D, Robinson's, and Beveralothi 
 an -till engaged in the business, which is even yet one of considerable importan 
 What has been Btated in relation to the PhoenLi nurseries, applies to Normal Township, 
 re in that town ; but from having been called the Bloomington nui jo long 
 
 I hot in sjnuk uf thrin iii the history of the latter corporation. 
 
 . o \i. 
 
 The tir-t blacksmith's coal used in Bloomington was teamed from Danville, Peoria, 
 or tome distant point. No one dreamed of finding coal under our -"il until scientific 
 legists conceived the idi a from their knowledge of the formation of the crust of the 
 rth, taken in connection with what science taught from the appearance of the coal- 
 bearing strata, at places where coal was mined on the Burface, as at Danville and pis 
 along the Illinois River For a longtime, science made but little headway in convin- 
 cing <>ur citisens when to look fox coal, and train-loads of the article arrived from 
 Duquoin from Peoria and La Salle Lecturers on geology, among whom was Pi if C. 
 W ilber, for manj years in charge of the museum at the Normal University, continued 
 t" teach the publio, ami the newspapers aiding them, it was finally decided to bore foi 
 The first attempt was made in 1863, in a field west of the Chicago & Alton 
 B Lilroad shops, where dwelling houses fa • been constructed. The <'it_y Council 
 
 |2 '"i". and quite a Bum n 1 by private iption, all under the Buperin- 
 
 tenden I Eli IB rbei The men who did the boring could ran a machine of that 
 •!. hut could ti"t ti-ll what their au I through V lown over fit
 
 80 
 
 hundred feet, the most they could report was having passed through a black shale slate, 
 and in which it could not be possible coal existed. The trouble seemed to be that their 
 auger mixed the coal, sand, clay and other material most inextricably, and there was no 
 such thing as ascertaining what was discovered. Of course our citizens were dis- 
 couraged by the result, and coal was still imported at enormous figures. There were 
 many of our people who were firmly of the opinion that uoal would be found by boring 
 with suitable tools, and another effort was made in 1866, this time entirely by private 
 subscription. The following is a copy of the subscription paper : 
 
 Bloomikgton, 111., May 28, 1866. 
 We, the undersigned, agree to pay on demand, to John Magoun and C. W. Holder, or order, 
 the sums set opposite our respective names, for the purpose of prospecting and boring for coal 
 in or near the city of Bloomington, said work to be commenced within ninety days from this 
 date. The amount so collected and paid to John Magoun and C. W. Holder to be by them dis- 
 bursed for the securing of the above object. If coal is found in paying quantities, the 
 company formed for mining purposes shall re-imburse the subscribers by giving them stock, 
 money, or coal as they elect. If coal is not found in paying quantities, the money shall be lost 
 by the respective subscribers. 
 
 There were many other subscribers who gave money, amounting to $1,700, of 
 which about $1,200 was paid. Boring was commenced at once, near the present city 
 well. 
 
 November 15, 1866, when at the depth of 160 feet, the drill was lost, all attempts 
 to recover it having proved fruitless ; and it is an historical fact that the auger still 
 remains in that " bore." The money was expended ; the tools lost ; the public gener- 
 ally took a very desponding view of the situation ; coal continued to be shipped into 
 Bloomington at the rate of 20,000 tons per year, and the coal-mine owners at points 
 then supplying Bloomington were in great spirits. 
 
 But a few energetic young men, whose names deserve to be written among the 
 benefactors of our city, who had been watching the operations with careful attention, 
 conceived the idea that, with proper care on the part of those who managed the auger, 
 after the experience gained in the two former attempts, success would be almost certain, 
 and they boldly undertook the third trial, in the face of an almost despairing public senti- 
 ment, asking no aid from any and using their own money. Their operations were con- 
 ducted with great care, at an expense of $1,300, and the result was that coal of a good 
 quality was discovered, at a depth of 302 feet, on the 27th day of February, 1867. 
 These gentlemen were Thomas J. Bunn, Judson L. Spaulding, Dr. H. C. Luce and 
 James L. Ridelhuber. 
 
 History compels us to add that they never made any money out of the North 
 Shaft Coal Company, which they organized in June, 1867 — another reason why their 
 names should be held in grateful remembrance. 
 
 Before this coal company had been long in existence, a second was formed, in 1807, 
 and a shaft put down near the crossing of the Chicago & Alton and the L, B. & W. R. 
 R., where the McLean County Coal Company is in successful operation. Their shaft 
 is now 540 feet in depth, and they employ 200 men. During the past winter, this 
 company has furnished coal of a good quality, at the shaft, at the wonderfully low price 
 of $1.50 per ton. This company is an immense advantage to Bloomington and to all the 
 surrounding country, and should be encouraged in every possible manner. It is one of 
 our most worthy enterprises, being, in fact, the employer of a larger number of men
 
 -1 
 
 than any company in the pla ipt one, to Bay nothing of the great advantages it 
 
 - in keeping the price of ooal down to raoh remarkably low figures 
 ('"nlil our first settlers have imagined the day would ever oome when ooal would 
 bo mined ander their feet, and Bold at snob prices, they would bave had vastly m 
 faith in the Future of this rich oountry, of which the worst that oould then I"- said ■ 
 that it contained little fuel, and that on that aooount it would sustain but a Bmall popu- 
 lation. This company raises as muoh as five hundred tons in twenty-four hours 
 extra occasions, though its average daily out-put is about two hundred tons. During 
 the year, its sales amount to over sixty thousand tons,and its pay-rolls in the winl 
 bod often ex - i 0,000 per month 
 
 WATER. 
 
 For many years after the settlement of Bloomington, do one supposed the town 
 could ever obtain a supply of water for public purposes. Rival cities with a visible 
 supply of muddy river-water, have delighted in taunting Bloomington with it- con- 
 dition in this respect. Various were the expedients devised and talked of for obtaining 
 ■ supply of water sufficient to meet the public demand. One engineer, eminent in his 
 profession, with a national reputation, proposed the most feasible scheme that 
 devised, which was nothing less than a pipe all the way from the Mackinaw River to the 
 high ground north of Normal, where a reservoir could be made that would force the 
 water all over the city of Bloomington. Another project was to "impound" the water 
 of the low ground northeast of the city, by building a dam and thus retaining the Bur- 
 iter in a pond that might answer all purposes, .similar to the Jacksonville plan. 
 This would, of course, render the neighborhood of the pond unhealthy; would be 
 very expensive and would not insure good drinking-water. The dry year of 1854 
 caused preal distress tor water in this part of the State, and Bloomington people r 
 very much exercised with fears that the location and building of their rapidly-grow- 
 ing city might after all. have been a serious mistake. We find thai a public 
 meeting was called July "_':;. L854, when Mr. .1. \V. Fell offered the following resolutions 
 which were unanimously adopted after a discussion, in which the mover, Judgi D 
 Dr. Fr. — and others, participated. 
 
 Rftohfd, That a oommittee of five be appointed, whose duty it shall be — having previ 
 associated with them one or more persons of practical skill in hydraulics and civil engineering 
 
 to institute an examination on the following propositions, to wit : 1st. The practicability 
 obtaining at Sugar Creek, or al any other point or points, in or near the city, an adequate sup- 
 ply of pure water at all seasons of the year, and for all want- of the community. 2d. The I 
 method of elevating the same should a supply be deemed advisable) t.> a reservoir of sufficient 
 wjity to be Located on the public square, or al some ether suitable point in the central pari 
 of the city, whenoe it may be drawn off to meet the want- of the community. Sd. The proba- 
 ble attending the execution of such a Bystem of hydraulics ; and lastly, the best m t 
 of defraying the expenses incident to suofa an undertaking : and the probable length of time 
 iplisbment. 
 
 . That in the execution of the duties intrusted ti mmittee, they be author- 
 
 Ice whatever surveys and examinations may be i •• ; and that the Mayor and 
 
 City Council be respectfully req nrith them and provide the ui <n- 
 
 the expense attending the same. 
 8 i rhat t iM committee be requested Lo proceed with all practicable dispatch in the 
 
 soution of tie iei that they report the result of their examinations
 
 82 
 
 City Council or to a public meeting hereafter to be called by them, or both, as they in their dis- 
 cretion may deem most expedient. 
 
 Resolved, That we recommend our City Council to build six or more cisterns at suitable 
 points in Bloomington, to hold 200 or 250 barrels each : provided, the city does not adopt the 
 hydraulic system of obtaining water. 
 
 The Chair appointed the following persons as committee : Jesse W. Fell, J. W. 
 Ewing, F. K. Phoenix, James Allin, Sr., and William Wallace. 
 
 It will thus be seen that the question of proper water supply has long been before 
 the public. Tn the twenty years intervening between this public meeting and the final 
 solution of the problem, a great variety of projects have been discussed. 
 
 It appears that in digging the coal-shaft which was first sunk, the one northwest of 
 the city, a vein of water was encountered of great volume — so powerful that the first 
 attempt was abandoned — and a success only made after moving a few rods and procuring 
 very heavy pumping machinery. This discovery led the Chicago & Alton Railroad Com- 
 pany, in 1869, to dig in the vicinity a well which struck the same vein, and proved suf- 
 ficient to supply the immense amount of water needed for that large corporation. From 
 this time the attention of our citizens generally was turned to that point, and public 
 opinion finally settled on the advisability of attempting to obtain the city supply by 
 digging a well, and experimenting still further with that wonderful underground 
 reservoir. 
 
 In the summer and fall of 1874, at the end of a series of four very dry seasons^ 
 the City Council made the attempt. It proved remarkably successful. The water, 
 found at a depth of only forty feet, was sufficient to keep three powerful engines busy r 
 whose united efforts threw a solid six-inch stream, which removed the water as fast as 
 it flowed into the well. On Christmas Day, 1874, the whole population that wished, 
 examined the fountain— the well having been finished the day before. As a sample of 
 what had been discovered, the engines were kept at work, throwing the water in a stream 
 which, as it flowed off, was equal to a good-sized brook. There was but one opinion, 
 and that was that the fountain was large enough to justify the erection of a system of 
 water works ; and in the summer of 1875, the stand-pipe was erected, 200 feet high, 
 an engine and pump placed in position at the well, two miles and a half of pipe laid in 
 the streets, and a full sytem of water works inaugurated, which has since been enlarged 
 by additional pipes and more machinery. The total cost of the whole, up to April 30 T 
 1878, has been $86,944.83. This includes about eight miles of water-mains, the 
 engines and machinery, the stand-pipe, four drinking-fountains, seventy hydrants and 
 everything connected with the Water Department. 
 
 The water is of a medicinal nature, rather heavily charged with mineral deposits, 
 but is very healthy and much liked by those who have been using it for any length of 
 time. Its value to the city can only be reckoned by millions. 
 
 The Water Board consists of Peter Rockwell, J. W. Trotter and John W. Evans. 
 M. X. Chuse is Superintendent. 
 
 The present city well is on the same tract where the first coal-shaft was attempted, 
 which enterprise in reality demonstrated the existence of our valuable supply of water. 
 
 MANUFACTURES. 
 
 In tracing the early history of manufacturing, we shall be quite brief. We will 
 mention that the first machinery of which we read, appears to have been a " dog
 
 poe Miller, the first wheelwright, in the man 
 
 wli •■ U He was h rein I- 11. ind probabl) n I this maehin II 
 
 athe in Bloomington ear 1835 3eth Bal 
 
 owned the first saw-mill. Hi- machinery wan propelled by oxen i I mill This 
 
 mu^t li 1832 - Solomon Dodgi ran the first oorn mill about this 
 
 time, also impelled by the patient ox. Perhaps we should exoep( the " oorn-cracker," 
 
 . • ■, Dr Baker in the winter of 1830 and 1831, at the time of the Deep 9 
 This mill was on his farm in Bloomii in running ord 
 
 date There were also other "hand" corn-mills, as well ai horse-mills in Bloomii 
 (Jr rlier than either of the above-mentioned It- •. E Rhod 
 
 i- said t<> haTe had ■ " hand corn-mill ly as l^_'l. and, by th r of 1831 
 
 and 1832 tl fter the Deep Snow -there? reraJ "horse-mills "at the Qiw 
 
 It wonld be pleasant if we were able to follow the improvement! thai hare taken 
 p . • in the last fifty i return to the spinning-wheels of Bloomin G tnd 
 
 exhibit them with the finest machinery in our modern looms impare the bom 
 
 made ha and w len plow of the pioneer with the j>- »li—li*-«l implements turn.- 1 onl 
 
 if. by Brokaw and Walton, or to bring the old ox-oart and i . «n into oom- 
 
 parison with Ferre's phaetons and Matern's buggies. I4ut we must pass to i hat 
 examination of what we find, leaving oomparia ins to the reader. 
 
 The Ch I Alton R tilroad ' lompaoj 'a shops are our most w irthy manufactories 
 
 and Bhall be first examined. But \'<>r these, one-fifth of Blooming population 
 
 business to-day The company generally pays out eaoh month the 
 0,000 to about 700 men., No wonder that Springfield offered to exohanj 
 thi B Capitol for this single manufactory I The establishment is full ind complete 
 — will tun erything needed, from a locomotive of the heavi finely- 
 
 finished an'l elegantly-upholstered Bleeping-car, while anything in use by the company, 
 be it t pump, :ui engine, a oar or a wind-mill, can be repaired bj the ingenious workmen 
 with the fine machinery of the different departments. When, in the autumn of 185 
 
 the tir-t train of can on tlii- road entered Bloomington from the South, tl nterprise 
 
 - infancy There had been do less than fimr separate oompaniea own: 
 line from Ohi - its, and there was little- to indicate the future enormous 
 
 proportions <>f tin- Chic <! Louis Railroad. The [llinoia Central, which had 
 
 n the topic of con a in [llinoia t '• >r more than fifteen years, waa looked u] 
 
 the only r.iilr. >:i< I of importance. Bloomington bad made an <-tlnrt to secure what 
 the remarkably valuable machine and repair shops of that company, 
 1 bad seen itself, in 1852, beaten by the insignificant town of Wapella. I 
 tendon of men lik-- Jamea A I! in. Jesse W Fell, A Qridley, W II Mlin David 
 
 men of ■! sound judgment waa at once turned to the little " Alton 
 
 1 aa the ne* line waa at first called, then the "Chicago & M 
 
 Railroad," and th rmined the railroad-shops, hoping that in 
 
 the future it i row into a large establishment. They t""k -• this i ad early 
 
 in 185 m making a donation to the company for thi> purpose, and tl 
 
 lo the - ■ Tl ful and a tr i<-t "t* land of 
 
 be railroad company for railroad pur| This land 
 
 mnded on I by the track, >»n the north bj the township line, on tl 
 
 tic ii lin i il. ir in -haj i [t il bis spot that final >h
 
 84 
 
 were built, but it bas been greatly enlarged. On the east side of the track, the piece 
 of land bounded on tbe west by the track, on the east by Catharine street, and south by 
 Chestnut street, the site of the old passenger depot, was also donated, the whole having 
 been paid for by the gentlemen named above, with others, and deeded to the company 
 by W. H. Allin with full warrantee deeds, for the sum of S3. In all there were 
 over seven acres. 
 
 During the years 1853 and 1854, the shops needed for the little railroad company 
 were built, and a beginning made in the great enterprise of which we are now so proud. 
 These were added to from time to time, so that, in the year 1858, nearly two hundred 
 men were employed in the different departments. As the business of the road 
 increased — the different pieces of the road being consolidated into one corporation — the 
 shops were enlarged four times, until at the time of the fire, November 2, 1867, nearly 
 as many men were employed as there are now. These buildings were not well arranged, 
 however, and that event compelled the company to face the j>robleni of permanent con- 
 struction. Plans were prepared carefully during the winter following the fire, for the 
 best system that could be devised, taking into account what was then needed, and con- 
 sidering the probable increase of business of the present road and the possible growth 
 from future consolidations with other railroads, and the result is seen in the splendid 
 shops now finished. 
 
 At the time of their construction, there were no railroad shops west of Altoona, 
 Penn., that surpassed these in Bloomington ; but in the last few years it is possible 
 they may have been equaled. The ground upon which the old shops stood at the time 
 of the fire was not large enough for the needs of the present establishment, and before 
 the new works were commenced the company obtained quite an addition, and secured 
 from the city the closing of streets and alleys that were in the way. The conditions of 
 rebuilding here in Bloomington, in preference to removing the shops to Springfield, 
 Joliet or Chicago, were, that the additional ground should be furnished and those streets 
 and alleys vacated by the city. This was agreed to by the City Council ; but before 
 the matter could be consummated legally, considerable time must elapse, and hence there 
 was doubt whether the city might be able to accomplish all that was desired. In order 
 to insure this, a guarantee was signed by nearly all the leading citizens of Blooming- 
 ton, agreeing that all should be done as desired. 
 
 The space occupied by the company for shops and tracks is equal to forty acres. 
 Here we find more than a dozen very large buildings, in which are carried on the 
 immense operations of the company. Among the principal shops we will mention : 
 
 The Car-Shop 263 by 80 feet. 
 
 Planing " 200 by 75 " 
 
 Paint " 170 by 75 " 
 
 Dry-House 63 by 19 " 
 
 Foundry 180 by 60 " 
 
 L 50 by 40 " 
 
 Blacksmith-Shop 200 by 75 " 
 
 Boiler-Shop 160 by 60 " 
 
 Machine-Shop 260 by 100 " 
 
 Machine-Shop Addition 50 by 45 " 
 
 " " " 80 by 45 " 
 
 Old Machine-Shop 270 by 40 " 
 
 Rolling-Mili (wood) 132 by 57 " 
 
 Old Roundhouse 240 feet in diameter. 
 
 New Roundhouse 240 '• " 
 
 Storehouse 120 by 60 feet.

 
 g 
 
 \ ;li.-. buildings, except the rolling-mill and the nl<i machine-shops, are t >n i 1 1 <<f 
 ;. i Btone, have iron-trussi 1 with slate, and leveral of 1 1 1 « - larg 
 
 r u. stories high. Beside the above, then >1 smaller buildings, the pattern-shop, 
 
 • nndrj snd n vera! others Taken ;ill in all, it is seldom we find inch i magnifl 
 ,'. oolleotioD of manufacturing establishments as are here grouped together upon the 
 and in land belonging to the company. These shops are filled with 
 
 the finest and mosl substantial machinery that can be Pound. One can form some id 
 of this from the -imj>li' statement that in the blacksmith shop there are lit'i\ I ad 
 
 it st4 un trip-hammers, the latl _-lit to fifteen hundred pounds Several 
 
 the largest and most powerful Bteam engines in the West are in constant use to pi 
 pel the ponderous machinery of the different departmei the pumping-engine, 
 
 which forces water from the company - magnificent well, is s large engine These dif- 
 
 nt structures were over two years in building, having been finished nearly as tl 
 now stand, about the beginning of the yeaT 1870. When the machine shop is rebuilt 
 to correspond with those now in use, the appearance of the whole will !"• superior t" 
 anything ol the kiml in the State. 
 
 II. tl company are able to build locomotives and cars, or to repair the same 
 doing ;ill portions of the complicated work, and they employ some of the most ingenious 
 and skillful mechanics that <-:m be found. The presence here, in Bloomington, of the 
 large number of intelligent mechanics, foremen and superintendents required, lia- :i 
 very elevating and beneficial effect upon 1 1 • « ■ city Bloomin a boast of thi 
 
 shops and of their occupants, thej being the most important and valuable of anything in 
 the t la*'-. Their sise and industry entitles the city to be classed as a manufacturing 
 
 ■ i Here :ir.- employed t'r>>ni sis hundred to nine hundred men, the number vary 
 ing with the condition of the company's business 
 
 Among the company's officers who have been prominent^ identified with 1 1 » » - mate- 
 rial development of HI nington in the past, we may mention Hon Hamilton Spencer, 
 
 I. , 1860 ; Charles Roadnight, Treasurer in 1858 ; Mr R Parki ^gent in 1864 ; 
 
 A - 1 II M 8uj rintendent for several years .1 A Jackmao, Superintendent of 
 
 Machinery from 1864 to 1879; Rufus Reniff, Superintendent of Car-shops from 1861 
 Matthew I. 9 Drain- Dispatcher ; William Hughes and \. Moulton, 
 
 of the I r. »n Departments; Vaughan, present Assistant Superintendent, and there are 
 qually deserving of mention. 
 
 Ii has always been the policy of the oompany to retain ■_■ I men in any position 
 
 v are fitted fS r, ;iti-l th< re are a I:itl:<- numb r of the officers Bnd employ* - who ha 
 urly twenty years Taken as a olass, the railroad employ much 
 
 ■ rior t'> tli' ■ in. chanios of the country, and their presence in Bl mington in 
 such large numbers adds largely to the characb r of our populatii n 
 
 The Railroad Company it monthly a \ sum of money, which enl 
 
 once into circulation, giving lit'<- and reliable activity t" the retail trade of Bloomin 
 
 t'.n and furnishing constant proof of the value of thi> imm< iblishm< i I I he 
 
 policy of the companj toward mir <itv i- quite liberal, it- maim that tlnir 
 
 int. h to ma i a matt 
 
 poration $ eral illustrations of thi will have b< n in tl 
 
 the most important l>«- i n l: it- liberality in assisting in macadamising thi from the
 
 86 
 
 freight depot to the Court House square, and also, in 1878, in assisting the city in the 
 pavement of Washington street. 
 
 The whole policy of the company, under the management of President Blackstoue 
 and Manager McMullin, has been liberal, one evidence of which is seen in the share the 
 company is taking in the great work of underdraining the farms of Central Illinois. 
 This tile-drainage improvement marks a new era in the development of this country 
 almost equal to the invention of the harvester, and this railroad has been carrying tile 
 for farmers' drains at the simple cost of carriage, or at less than cost, thus being willing 
 to perform its share in one of the most important of our modern agricultural improve- 
 ments. 
 
 The Chicago & Alton Railroad Company ranks among the foremost corporations in 
 the country in its care of its rolling-stock, and has been one of the readiest to adopt 
 new improvements. Could the full history of these shops be written, as at some future 
 time we hope it will be, we should all be astonished at the record of valuable inventions 
 that would be presented. We might mention Renin & Buttolph's Patent Ventilator, 
 President Blackstone's Car-coupler, and many others, but must leave this subject with 
 one more reference — that of the Pullman Palace-Car. In 1859, George M. Pullman 
 arranged berths in two cars for the use of this company, and, in 1863, he manufactured 
 here the first two palace cars ever made. They cost $18,000 each. It is said that the 
 frame-work of the first sleeping-car Pullman ever made is now lying by the side of the 
 railroad in Bloomingtoh. 
 
 We might add that the total cost of these magnificent shops is in the neighborhood 
 of $1,000,000, and that they are owned by one of the wealthiest corporations in the 
 Northwest. The Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railroad now owns or leases 876 miles of road, 
 having built, in the year 1878, 162 miles, giving it a completed line from Chicago to 
 Kansas City. The repairs of this immense road, with its several branches, being mostly 
 concentrated at this one point, demand an amount of labor that will be more likely to 
 increase than diminish. 
 
 The agricultural development of this region has received great benefit from the 
 railroad, the reaper and the plow — the last being an implement of more importance than 
 the present generation can realize possible. The railroad and the reaper are understood 
 by all, but the advantages of our modern self-polishing plows are imperfectly realized, 
 except by our old settlers. The new-comers, down to about 1845, brought plows with 
 them, and various styles were in use, but none of them would work well in our fine 
 prairie soil, and the cultivation of the land was toilsome and imperfect. It was impos- 
 sible to plow but a few rods without a stop for the purpose of clearing the implement from 
 the accumulation of soil. Cast iron, wrought iron or wood were almost alike — worthless 
 — and for many years our farmers despaired of ever seeing the right plow for this soil. 
 
 Lewis Bunn was one of the first blacksmiths here, and made plows as early as 
 the year 1833. He tried to make the best plow that could be devised. In the year 
 1838, he made a lot of the " Sprouse " pattern, which had a boiler-iron mold-board, 
 placed at such an angle, that the heavy friction of the soil would u scour" them better 
 than any previously in use. These plows had the handles and wood-work much like a 
 "shovel" plow, and did not run steady — were "jerky" and severe on a team. The 
 next year they were improved by a different attachment of the beam. Mr. Abraham 
 Brokaw made the wood-work of these plows for several years. In 1840, Mr. Bunn
 
 made the Rathb a< i i in impro\ -the mold-board a 
 
 bat the implement was m i ■ 1 \ The m 1 in 
 
 . I ' . er Ellsworth was M r thi- 
 
 time, and U>*reth< r the} 1 1 1 1 • 1 ■ ■ !!Ou uf tl tliliciin- pl<m manufacturing 
 
 tin' tin 
 I ii 1842, the firm made the I or " P hioli 
 
 i board ground, bul do! polished. Tl 
 
 3 farther impr tad by the year l-ii and 1845 thi 
 
 demand Farm listances Par tl time the 
 
 arm rented a large paatare in whioh teams were kept while waiting their turn- \- 
 time, it was fully demonstrated thai plowi < ©old be made that would work freely in 
 any soil, and the result wai a very decided improvement in the cultivation of pre 
 
 Bunn, Ellsworth and Bi tributed lar ■ the 
 
 \ in the ye ir 1 B59, these three men wen! into partnership together, and 
 tinae I several 
 
 It was doI till 1857 thai these steel mold-boards ilished perfectly, and - 
 
 thai date the improvements in plows have been of comparatively little im| 
 \ it the year 1845, is th< when practicable plows oral oame into 
 
 to be found upon all oar farms have been abl irtain. 
 
 The pl< j of Abraham Brokaw, at the corner of Main and Market, are am 
 
 tides! in Central [Uinois. Mr B. has been in the business nearly fori and 
 
 toquired s splendid reputation Be employs from twenty to forty men John T 
 Walton, who started in business in 1857, employs over twenty men in the busj 
 sad makes • large variety ol the different plows and culti quired by the W< 
 
 and Southern trade. His business is carried on in th'- fine block fronting on Washing- 
 ten street, josl f tfa People's Bank. 
 
 Th« unaller plow-shops in the city, the several repair and . to be 
 
 found in a town like Bloomington, with machinists, boiler-makers and other iron-work- 
 who ample e number of men. 
 
 There are several large wood-working establishments, of whioh some of the n 
 important are those of J W I v. ins, and the ind can I. I 
 
 I. Mi':. 9 I iiiil othi 
 
 One of the most important manul .■.iuin_ri-.ii i- I'r. (' Wak 
 
 11 as one of the most interesting Dr. Wakefield s| 
 - in this place at 7 having 1 hool teacher in th< Orend 
 
 trict He then lived in De Wit! County until 1850, when be m 
 Di Zera \ I. who died in 1848, had remark 
 
 in dem ml over i 
 ■ Witt ( lountj . His i 
 in 184H many | and i demand M'l''. v whiol 
 
 I'r C Wakefield moved from De Witt County and . in BI 
 
 II'. 
 
 I'r W built the Brut thi . brick with 
 
 ind di • II- 
 
 .. In>
 
 88 
 
 business, until it is now a large and very convenient establishment. Here he manufact- 
 ures a variety of medicines, mostly fever and ague specifics, balsams, cough-sirups, pills, 
 etc., in all, about ten different remedies, and a number of essences and other prepara- 
 tions. In their preparation, great care is taken to secure the purest and best ingredients, 
 and the result is that his medicines rank with the best that are offered to the public. 
 They are sold largely in the States of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and 
 Iowa, while there is a good demand in all the Western and Southwestern States. He 
 has a team, with a fine wagon, in six of these States, and thus keeps a watch over the 
 territory through salaried agents, while he has over six thousand local agents, mostly drug- 
 gists and dealers, who sell his medicines on commission. He employs from twenty-five 
 to fifty hands, according to the season. He has four printing-presses, run by steam- 
 power, by which he prepares his advertising matter. In 1860, he got up 100,000 
 almanacs for his agents to circulate, and he now sends out 1,500,000 annually. He 
 consumes nearly fifty tons of printing-paper each year. 
 
 " Wakefield's Almanac " is thus one of the best known of any of Bloomington's pub- 
 lications. At the present time, this carries the name and fame of Bloomington over a 
 wider area than any other medium. It is printed in the English, German, Nor- 
 wegian and Swedish languages. 
 
 This business is conducted in a straightforward, honorable manner, and is one of 
 the instrumentalities by which our city is always favorably spoken of abroad. Such 
 men as Dr. Wakefield are the ones who have built up the reputation of Bloomington ; 
 and we are glad to see they are honored at home. He has always been one of our most 
 liberal citizens, being among the foremost in all public enterprises. The amount of 
 capital employed in the business, including the building, presses, engine, the stock of 
 medicines on hand here, and the very large amount in the stores of his 6,000 agents i& 
 over $150,000. 
 
 There are several manufactures of light articles such as brushes and overalls, and 
 there are the usual variety of miscellaneous artificers to be found in our best Western 
 cities. It is probable that, in the line of these light manufactures, Bloomington will in 
 time become quite an important point. 
 
 In past times, our distilling interest was quite important, but the building, which 
 stood on the bank of Sugar Creek, west of the fair ground, was destroyed by fire 
 several years ago and has not been rebuilt. 
 
 The Bloomington Pork-Packing Company, now consisting of Van Schoick, Win- 
 slow & Tryner, have been established since 1872. During the past season, they have 
 packed over 13,000 hogs, and given employment to over forty men. They have very 
 materially advanced the interests of Bloomington. This establishment is one of the 
 most important in Central Illinois. 
 
 We should also mention our breweries, which employ a large number of men. 
 The tile-factory of N. B. Heafer & Co., situated in Bloomington Township, a mile 
 southeast of the city, is one of our most important manufactories, and is rapidly extend- 
 ing its business. It is one of the very few in the West with first-class facilities for dry- 
 ing tile in the winter. 
 
 Besides the establishments enumerated above, there are a large number equally 
 deserving of mention, but space forbids. There are also a very large number of small 
 shops and establishments that employ in the aggregate many men, including the usual
 
 Tvietj of industries to be Pound in auj city situated like this in ■ fine agricull 
 
 tritt Taken altogether, we have quite large manufacturing inl in Bloonington, 
 
 which Been like)) i with the growth of the West. Oui 
 
 be found, Water ie • i-il\ obtained, ami we possess an iridiistrimi* an iple. 
 
 ral of our manufacturing establishnents are spoken of in our chaj 
 •• I Dcorporab d ( !otnpanic8." 
 
 Ml! 
 
 The first milli in this locality were the old horse-mills, "corn-ci thej 
 
 Jled, followed or accompanied by the " n head hone-mills, for grii 
 
 a ly, which, when rifted, made i kind of flour, the "best to I"- had," ind 
 
 i as ch« erfullj as possible. • > I flour was made onlj at distant water-mills, and 
 
 Mr Janes Allin and hi-< aasoci < f > - in the ! B VI and 
 
 d steam flour-mill. A wind-mill, owned by Gridli Covel, 
 
 !i< i ot Oak and Market, is mentioned as among the early institution' 
 Eloomington 8 »w mills were built here at >. r i i • - 1 c 
 
 went th< wa\ of all saw-mills, upward in snoke. Steam :n-i mills were ool much more 
 fbrtunan J being burned from firsl to last kmong those burned, we will men- 
 
 tion M mill, on South Main Btreet, and one owned bj ES. R which burned in 
 
 18G4, situated just east of the Dlinois Central Depot. Bloomington can now I.... 
 
 - any in the W< si The total capacity of all our flour-mills is about three 
 hundred and tit'tv barrels per day. 
 
 FIRES 
 
 October 16, 1855, occurred a large fire, where Phcenix Block and other buildings 
 now stand. It -wept over nearlj the whole Bquare bounded \>\ Front, Main. \\ 
 
 ington and Cent The loss was estimated at from $8 I, I. The 
 
 Moliean County Bank and the building adjoining, subsequently used by Dietrioh A 
 Brad i hardware store, both nearly new buildings at that tine, were the only 
 
 of importance that escaped The four-storj building now called I'hn-nix Block 
 from the ashes verj speedilj September v . 1856 afire occurred on I 
 which d< ity to the value ol >0 In September, 1871, a large tire 
 
 consumed buildings on the east ride of Main Btreet, north ol North -• V";-' 
 
 m t<> tin- value of $60,000 October 31, 1867. the Chi* go & Alton R 
 Shops burned, a loss to tne < lonpanj of at least $100,000 During the year 1-77. the 
 eit\ s entire loss bj fin - - 35 . insun 
 
 PI iti.h i'i 
 
 The follow tement of the debt oi B mingi n 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 hould be dedui is unk 
 
 f back i n hich 
 
 •\ tin stntcmi nt th.it the 
 
 I 84 00 i -urn that i- h to I.. s,,,i,, u li.tt •
 
 90 
 
 but not so large as a " larger debt," to use Abraham Lincoln's homely illustration. 
 May 1, 1867, the actual debt of Bloomington, exclusive of school debt, was only $6,497, 
 but the votes for railroad aid taken in 1867, of themselves, added over $200,000 to the 
 township and city debt in that year. 
 
 SEWERS. 
 
 When Bloomington was laid out, the low ground now known as the North Slough 
 was properly named, it being wet and marshy, as was also the South Slough, now called 
 Pone Hollow; but these were at the time, so far from the village plat as to be thought 
 valuable for drainage, and were considered a long distance out of town. But the city 
 spread itself in all directions, soon overleaped these obstacles, and than went back and 
 occupied the low land, now become dry ground, through which meandered a little stream, 
 with a deep bed and high banks. These water-courses have cut so deep that they have 
 been sufficient to carry off the water without overflow, ever since the wet season of 1858. 
 The land adjacent has been closely occupied by residences and manufactories for many 
 years. The city has now commenced to build a sewer through each of these tracts. 
 The northern one is now completed from Main street, nearly to its western outlet at the 
 main branch, and the southern one has been commenced. When these are finished, our 
 whole city will be of equal value for building purposes. 
 
 PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 
 
 The Court House will be spoken of in the history of the county, and we will 
 merely mention here that it is one of the best in the State, was commenced in 1868, 
 and cost entire, furniture, sewer, heating apparatus, iron-fence, sidewalk and all, in the 
 neighborhood of $400,000. Prices were then very high, and it is probable the same 
 would now cost about $250,000. The Jail is at the corner of Market and Center 
 streets, and was erected in 1857. It should at once be replaced by a more suitable 
 structure. The city owns two steam fire-engine houses, which answer all purposes, but 
 are not particularly ornamental. During the year 1878, the new City Hall was erected at 
 the corner of North and East streets ; total cost, building and lot, was about $14,000. 
 It is a fine-looking structure, considering its small cost, and will be used as a City Hall 
 and City Prison. The public school-buildings will be described elsewhere. They are 
 the most important of the public buildings owned by the city. The Wesleyan Univer- 
 sity, which may be considered as a public building, is really the most beautiful structure 
 in Bloomington. 
 
 INCORPORATED COMPANIES. 
 
 Bloomington has never organized as large a number of incorporated companies as 
 many Western towns have done in the past. There have been several failures, and there 
 are several companies now in existence ; but, as a rule, our citizens have not depended 
 on " by-laws " and " charters " for aid. There was a Bloomington Fire Insurance Com- 
 pany, which comprised our best citizens, and was honorably and fairly conducted ; but, 
 after doing business from 1867 down to 1870, it honorably withdrew from the field. 
 We ought to mention the Bloomington & Normal Railroad Company, which has been 
 of great benefit to the two cities connected, but never a paying venture to the company. 
 The line was built in 1867, and its total cost has been about $60,000. 
 
 The Bloomington Manufacturing Company, which purchased Flagg's factory in 
 1865, after a successful general business, was succeeded in August, 1873, by the
 
 mington Furniture Manufacturing Compaoj I' impany ' five 
 
 men in its ah >pa, and furnishes amp r one hundred men women and 
 
 children in this oily who take materiala to their hornet; while i 
 more t" different reform itory inatitutiona t" keep ; The 
 
 work itofthi . is the oaning of th rhioh thia 
 
 linn 1 1 1 . v - . ii patterns. Ii manul r thirty-fit 
 
 chairs per annum, oonsuming about two hundred and fifty thotu black 
 
 nut lamber, maoh ofwhioh oomee from the » of McLean Cou ■ il is 
 
 rhia oompany ia of gr< i the laborin • mington, 
 
 among whom it disburse* aboul 1100 per day Thoogh the wag uude 
 
 wurk. teems small, it mnsl he remembered thai m iel of 1 1 1 imploycd h ive no other 
 
 >f employment open, and would otherwise remain idle. Thi Pi sident "i the 
 oompanj is Peter Wnitmer 9 etary and Manager, I P I I, who haa been in office 
 
 1873. The Directora ire P. Whitmer, K II Pell, E. B 3i B l 
 
 II pes, P. Polsom, C Wakefi Id and I R ECrum. This company has 
 from the start, an 1 appears to demonstrate Bloomington'a ability to carry on manul 
 uring at :i i >r. »f i t 
 
 The People's Bank is another ful company, which haa built one of the fii 
 
 buildings in the city. It 1 1 all the financial storms ofth n<l is 
 
 -i r« »n<_r in the oonfidei f th<- community. Peter Wnitmer i- the President, and 
 
 William Ollis, Cashier, 
 
 Th. National Bank of Bloomington was organised soon after the pas the 
 
 national banking act, on the 23d of January 1865, and has been in operation 
 
 [t is th jor of the Bank of Bloomington, whioh was organised in 1857 
 
 an institution with ;i proud record, having withal 1 the ih in 1861, and 
 
 maintained ite w>t--> at par with gold It- present President i- D. M. Punk . Cashier, 
 K I: Among the stockholders of this hank in the past we find the nam 
 
 Punk, David Davis, .1 II Robinson, W. W. Orme and othera well known in 
 Bloomington history. Mr. Thorpe haa been it- Cashi unoe its organisation as 
 
 a national hank Capital >t..rk of the hank, $150,000 . surplus ami undivided profits, 
 1195,000, making the entire banking capital - 
 
 National B Bank was started in the summer of 1878 Capil 
 Prank Hoblitt; VI President, Jacob Punk I \ I- 11 ; 'litt. 
 
 These three banks are incorporated, while th Ml. I ak, and that of 
 
 T. .1 Bunn \ ' hank- mt partnerships. The entire banking oapit 
 
 the rity i- estimated at nearly $1,000,000 
 
 We can idd to these the Bloomington S Company, which w •! in 
 
 the m il institutions of tl »iden( 
 
 ia Dwight II Superintendent, W P Bi : r the 
 
 the most appi ne hundred and fifWn 'Ii': 
 
 tnpany haa in its employ from thirty 
 I '- pari of the city, in th 
 
 M kchine Works are ilso within the limits of the town 
 I 
 The B in ami ( 'ok-- ( !om| . 
 
 and by tl
 
 92 
 
 from the Illinois Central to the Chicago & Alton Depot, the latter then being near the 
 machine-shops, north of the crossing of Chestnut street. There were also a few lamps 
 around the public square. In 1867, the gas works at the corner of Market and Oak 
 streets were abandoned, and entirely new ones built at the present location. Gen. A. 
 Gridley had then become sole owner. He constructed very permanent buildings, 
 extended the gas mains in every direction, and used every honorable means to induce 
 the City Council to establish lamps on all well-settled streets. There are now about 
 twenty miles of streets upon which there are gas-mains, and the city possesses about four 
 hundred street lamps. Bloomington is a remarkably well lighted city. 
 
 CALIFORNIA EMIGRANTS. 
 
 Few of the rising generation have any idea of the excitement that ran through 
 the country at the time of the "gold fever" of 1849 and 1850. For a long series of 
 years — more than twelve — the nation had been passing through a period of the most 
 terrible financial depression. Money had become almost an unknown quantity, and 
 people had about settled into despondency, when suddenly the wonderful stories of the 
 gold discoveries in California flashed through the land. As soon as the truth was ascer- 
 tained, and it was known that immense quantities of gold had been found, and it was 
 seen that a new empire was to be founded on the Pacific Coast, the rush of adventure- 
 ous spirits was sudden and enormous. Bloomington — always ready to make a move 
 as quick as any other part of the world — sent a large company in the summer of 1849 r 
 who, with teams and outfits mostly gathered here, went the whole distance overland — a 
 toilsome, tedious journey of several months duration. 
 
 Among those who went in 1849, we have the names of Col. J. H. Wickizer, Levi 
 Hite, Asa Lillie, Solomon D. Baker, Joseph Duncan, Hiram Baker, Samuel Ashton, J. 
 Jackson, John M. Loving, Daniel B. Robinson, John Grreenman, S. A. Adams and 
 John Walker. Out of this number there are now living here in Bloomington, Col. J. 
 H. Wickizer, John M. Loving and John Walker. S. A. Adams lives in Missouri ; S. 
 D. Baker in Virginia City, and Joseph Duncan in San Francisco ; John Greenman, 
 Capt. D. B. Robinson, Hiram Baker and Levi Hite are dead. 
 
 On the first of March, 1850, a very large company left Bloomington for Califor- 
 nia, made up in part from the adjoining towns. At St. Joseph, Mo., they organized 
 in military shape for protection against Indians ; there were about twenty-five wagons, 
 and nearly one hundred men. Hugh Taylor was chosen Captain. The company had 
 tolerably good luck until they nearly reached the gold-fields, when some of them were 
 destitute, and their teams were badly worn down ; but on the whole it was a successful 
 journey. 
 
 From Bloomington there were John D. Clark, Green B. Larrison, Lyman Ferre, 
 Carey Barney, M. W. Packard, Hugh Taylor, William Hodge, J. R. Murphy, E. Parke, 
 Robert Barnett, Robert L. Baker, John Owen, Isaac Strain, Dr. G. Elkins, William 
 Elkins, W. P. Withers, T. S. Howard, Jesse Isgrig, W. Isgrig, Elijah Ellis, Lee Allin, 
 
 F. M. Rockhold, E. Henry. Of these, there are now living in Bloomington or vicinity, 
 
 G. B. Larrison, Lyman Ferre, M. W. Packard, Isaac Strain, J. R. Murphy, Lee Allin 
 and Robert Barnett. Capt. W. P. Withers lives in Missouri ; T. S. Howard in Iowa, 
 and Carey Barney in California. It is a remarkable fact that but two or three of the 
 whole number made even a moderate fortune in California ; but the most of those who*
 
 I to Bloomington have fa iful Thes 'I"- plains cu 
 
 1 4-1 1 of -Mm- remarkable adventun 
 
 EM M LRK LBLI u i. \ i urn. 
 
 n ho Bad enough of intereel in tl of thi 
 
 themes for <"ii\.' meel casual acqu irill >l" \\<-\\ t" read tl 
 
 r, and forever after refrain from the common unmeaning n d drop 
 
 in regard t" th< urkable weather Deep S 
 
 Suddi n I :n"l thi G H which tli. ind 
 
 in bold relief ;i- the most wonderful phenomena of tit.- timi 
 The great hurricam came on the 27th day of Jane, 182*1 
 
 on the l'-'ili of June. It -truck < Mil Town Timber with fearful severity . and 
 levi timber. There were then do settlers on th< ; 
 
 - or cities to be leveled, no ohuroh-spiree to be demolished, or thi 
 and damage would !"• larg 9 ime injury is reoorded in Blooming Grove, when 
 • timber were leveled. 
 The mil of 1830 or 1831 was remarkably mild. Tol . 
 
 have been killed until December 2, which, if correct, indicates ;i wonderful state of 
 affairs, as this plant is <>ii< of the moel tender raised in this latitude 
 
 D ocurred the heaviest rail of snow ever known in the w 
 
 The first snow was nearly tin leep, and there were more than a dosen storms sub- 
 
 sequently. The full depth appears t" have been about forty inches on ;i level, and tlii-> 
 when several Bnows had fallen and become so compacted thai in manj the or 
 
 would bear a man. The deer broke through, and wolves ohased and caught them 
 frequently, ;i verj unusual oircumsl It was impossible for tin' pioneers t" travel, 
 
 i families caught without provisions suffered severely. In some settlements the supply 
 of <-,,rn and li;i\ •'. imall tliit cattle Btarved, it being impossible to d ny 
 
 distance. Much of the stock was kept :>li\'- by felling trees, and the stock subsisted on 
 the branches Most families lived on meal obtained by pounding corn by band. Thi 
 re i few of the settlers who were caught awaj from home, and who nearly lost tlnir 
 - in the toilsome homeward journeys. 
 The pioneers in Blooming 1 1 ■ i i < 1 not suffer much, but were compelled t'> k 
 in.] -i of the time. B m n Grove was then old enough u> furnish plenty 
 
 provisions for such a but those living in detached settlements particularly new 
 
 men in small communities, suffered severely. When the anon went off, after about 
 ks of intense oold the streams were remarkably high, considerably higher, in all 
 probability, than they have ever been sinoe thai i rent I til ibable thai a similar winter 
 
 immense Buffering. Our prairie towns could not obt 
 flour and . is in su< h ;i oast the railroads would be totally unable t" k< i p ■ \ 
 
 for bus 
 
 \ fen extracts fi no lated in Prof Dui Old 1 - in 
 
 "^ I I I will illustrate the hardshi] bj the I 1 1 i 
 
 Guthrii ment, page 1U2, we quote the following 
 
 ■w. 
 
 : I !l 
 
 \ in, who I in -
 
 94 
 
 families again for five weeks. They were obliged to leave their goods, wagons and Mr. Guthrie's" 
 oxen about fifteen miles the other side of Springfield, and came through with Mr. Trimmer's 
 horses to break the way. During this time, their families were in a state of anxious suspense, 
 and were obliged to live on boiled corn ; indeed, during the whole winter, they had very little 
 to eat except pounded meal. During that winter, Mr. Guthrie sent his children to school, 
 though they had to work their way for a mile through snow that reached nearly to their necks ; 
 but when it became packed, they walked over the crust. 
 
 From the same work, page 219, we quote the words of one of our pioneers, who 
 is now living in the city: 
 
 Jonathan Maxson states that during the winter of the deep snow (1830), he and his 
 brother went out where it did not drift nor blow away and took a careful measurement of the 
 depth of the snow with a stick and found it four feet deep. During the early part of that terri- 
 ble winter, deer were very numerous, but when the deep snow came they were starved and were 
 hunted by famished wolves and by settlers with snow-shoes until they were almost exterminated. 
 Shortly after the snow fell, Mr. 'Jesse Hiatt killed a very large deer, which he was unable to 
 carry home. He buried it in the snow and covered it with his coat to keep the wolves away. 
 But the snow afterward fell so deep that he was unable to visit the spot for two weeks. At last, 
 he put a harness on one of his horses and went to drag it home. On his return with the deer, he- 
 killed three others and attached them also to his horse ; but the load was so hard to drag that he 
 did not return until late at night, when he found the frightened neighbors collected at his house, 
 about to start on a search for him. They had collected on horseback with trumpets and horns 
 and various things with which to make unearthly noises, and were, no doubt, disappointed to 
 find that there was no occasion for their fearful shrieks. The remainder of the night was spent 
 in dressing the deer. 
 
 Some of their neighbors caught deer alive by putting on snow-shoes and running them 
 down; but, toward the latter part of the winter, they were so poor and emaciated that they were 
 hardly worth catching. 
 
 The fall of meteors November 14, 1836, though not exactly coming under this head, 
 will be mentioned here. It was a wonderful sight. The heavens were full of shooting 
 stars and meteoric phenomena, which, when witnessed by people living in scattered 
 settlements, may well have caused a feeling of awe, wonder and astonishment. 
 
 December 14, 1836, occurred a very sudden change of weather. From a mild, 
 thawy condition of the atmosphere, with the thermometer standing about forty degrees 
 above, the change was almost instantaneous to twenty degrees below zero. The wind 
 came from the northwest, with a howl and a roar, a perfect moving wall of cold, with its 
 edges apparently square and perpendicular. It traveled at the rate of about thirty 
 miles per hour. People were caught on the prairies at various distances from shelter, 
 and quite a number of persons perished, some of them but a short distance from home. 
 Cattle, hogs, and even wild animals were frozen to death. It is evident, from the accounts 
 we have of the effects of the cold, that the thermometer fell much more than twenty 
 degrees below zero, but we have no records of the degree of cold experienced. In mod- 
 ern times, we have read of changes almost as remarkable, in Iowa and Minnesota, but 
 none that will compare with this for suddenness. The people living in those States call 
 these storms "blizzards," a term not invented in 1836. Our sudden freeze must have 
 thrown a chill over the frontier such as we can hardly imagine. 
 
 June 23, 1837, a fall of snow surprised our pioneers. It was heavy enough to 
 make the green-leaved trees look white, but no damage resulted. 
 
 November 7, 1842, there was another remarkable, sudden freeze, but, while start- 
 ling in itself, it was not to be compared with its predecessor in 1836.
 
 'I'll.- year 184 I i- known to Western In-' 
 all Miiiiiuiir, Hills in A md cro| •, li;_«lit indeed Traveling 
 
 ,v i i 1 swimmin 
 
 ■ t' bridges. Tlii- was the yew irhen the riv. . high .■.• 3l I ad when 
 
 tin- 1. 1«1 town of Kaskaskia was u< ii ;■ ruined bj the overflow. Th nr pioneers 
 
 who remained at home 'li'l nol suffer particularly from the ann 
 
 ml mini and moistun 
 
 One da j in 1 848, the thermos ro, and the da} 
 
 . thirty bel 
 
 Tlu- rammer "t l-.'ii will long be rememliereij a.- t h« •■ <\r\ - almoel 
 
 ;l- that >'l' l-ll will I- spoken 'if t'.ir it- opposite characteristic. ('r.-.-k wenl 
 
 entirety drj dried uj» all over the oity . water was purchased l>_v many people, 
 
 vi one time it began to be feared that Bloomington would nol be able i" obtain u 
 supply. People traveling through the country often suffered with their team 
 thej could obtain water, and cattle ran wild with thir-;. rushing t.. the Mackinaw add 
 
 :n- thai were nol exhausted, lik-- di f demons, Borne of '>ur citizens eon- 
 
 s' the idea ■ ■(' artesian wells, and efforts were made in thai direction, bul noi 
 them irag» menl 
 
 January '■•. 1856, was remarkably cold, the thermometer being twenty-eight 
 Then iveral intensely cold days during the winter, - 
 
 them having followed soon after warm weather, and thus causing the death of apple 
 and peach trees all through this region. All the peach-trees were killed down to tin ir 
 -.. and many whole orchards of apple-trees were entirely, others partially, ruined 
 
 The summer of 1858, was another wet season — nearly a* bad a< that of 1844 
 Ml. inty suffered r< rely during that summer, as wheal and corn both wen 
 
 injured. Wheal was killed the winter previous, and as at this time, the whole oountj 
 raising winter wheat — induced by the bigh prioes <>t' the Crimea war— it happened thai 
 it financial i by the unfavorable yield of both wheat ami corn. 
 
 .lute 7, 18{ I spell formed ioe in Sloomington one-eighth ol 
 
 inch thick. The frost cut all the oorn i" the ground and killeil the young 1 
 hickory and other f I irn crop was sup] — I to be ruined, but, fortu- 
 
 table that late-planted emu matured finely. The lai 
 and earliest of tie- crop was the most injured, that which bad just come oul of the 
 ground at tie- time uf the frosl nr that whioh was "iiU two inches high, came np from 
 the i it forward at on 9 ime of the early oorn was -i.\ inch* - high 
 
 atel was, nt course ruined Most of the . rn that was hit to nature ean 
 
 r than that which was replanted, and there » r crop. 
 
 the 'in- in which there ws ! i in the 
 
 summer. In A royed much of the corn, and in : her. 
 
 her ruined most of thai whioh hs I escap< I in A I ' ■ to this 
 
 the war demand th urn ran up I 18 ■ bushel in Bloomii th. 
 
 i 
 
 January 1 ble snowatorm. The wind bl< a i | 
 
 ile - une time a h lit -n. iw filled the 
 
 • impossible. Tie thermom 
 duni •:• rm and it oontin ittla and -!.•
 
 96 
 
 up to the fury of the storm, drifted away before the wind and large numbers of sheep 
 lost their lives. The railroads were blockaded, the Chicago & Alton trains not being 
 able to pass from Springfield to Bloomington for three days, nor from Bloomington to 
 Joliet for eight or nine days. 
 
 The great sleet of January 13, 1871, was an event that should be noted. The 
 forest trees around Bloomington and the shrubbery in private yards were irreparably 
 injured. The sleet was equivalent to more than an inch of rain. Telegraph poles 
 were broken, and in many cases all the large limbs broke from trees. Nearly one-third 
 of the foliage-bearing branches were thus crushed ; whole trees fell down and the dam- 
 age to our fruit and shade trees is still plainly visible. 
 
 In the winter of 1873, during an intensely cold spell, when the thermometer had 
 fallen about twenty degrees below zero, the wind changed in the night to the south, and, 
 for a few hours, there was most a remarkably low temperature, with a high south 
 wind. At one time, the thermometer was from twenty-six to thirty-two degrees below 
 zero, according to the instrument and its exposure. 
 
 The winter of 1877 and 1878, will long be remembered on account of its extreme 
 mildness. At no time was the ice in the vicinity of Bloomington over three inches in 
 thickness. The entire winter was about as mild as average April weather. Rains 
 were frequent, often very heavy, and, before the 1st of January, the roads were impassa- 
 ble, and remained so from about January 1 to the middle of March. Business of all 
 kinds was nearly suspended, and a general gloom pervaded the community. 
 
 The following winter was just the reverse. Snow fell early in December, followed 
 by fifteen inches of level snow on the 13th of December, which remained for nearly 
 six weeks. The sleighing was the best ever known, and was enjoyed to the fullest 
 extent. Washington street was, by general consent, given up to the fast-stepping 
 horses for which Bloomington is so famous, and was crowded with gay and happy 
 parties every afternoon — often as many as fifty-five teams being visible at one time. 
 Near the close of the sleighing season, on the 11th of January, 1879, there was a grand 
 sleighing carnival, or free ride, for all the children of the city, participated in by nearly 
 three thousand. It was a sight long to be remembered. There were over two hundred 
 sleighs, of all sorts and sizes, many of them gayly decorated with flags and streamers. 
 Thousands of spectators lined the streets, and the excitement and enthusiasm were both 
 novel and pleasant. 
 
 Our list will close with the mention of the five cold mornings in January, 1879. 
 January 2, the thermometer was twenty degrees below zero; on the 3d, twenty-eight; 
 on the 4th, seventeen ; on the 5th, twenty ; and on the 6th, ten degrees below — mak- 
 ing, probably, five of the coldest days ever known in such close connection. 
 
 EVENTS DURING THE WAR. 
 
 Bloomington is entitled to rank with the most patriotic cities in the land. It can 
 show a proud record from the time when its citizens volunteered to aid the settlers of 
 the exposed northern frontiers of Illinois to the last day of the civil war. Its list of 
 heroes must be included in the county's record, as there is no way of fairly separating 
 the city from the county ; but it is proper that we mention some of the stirring events 
 that took place in the city itself. 
 
 When Fort Sumter was fired on, and the President's call for volunteers appeared, 
 in April, 1861, our city was not behind the rest of the land in its readiness to respond,
 
 iblicm eting was hold i irheng| iheswer raadetl Len fthe 
 
 patriotic feeling* of the people The entl for the old tl i p ind 
 
 Cheers, -^h' «ut -, and \ oall< I for and in an 
 
 incredibly short tin impanj was raised for ill thre< month* died i'.»r, 
 
 v 111 ide up .>(' young men rrom this citj In three >.r four 
 
 ; Springfield, u pi II irvej . and il I 
 
 \ n as tin- ...in]. anv was full I other companies n 
 
 Por .1 f- lied m in would volunt i 
 
 oompan drilling daily, made up from ill as II id tl 
 
 Jce all the I Sered, then is no d »ubl tfa it a) It 
 
 in n would have enlisted al once, in the month of M ty, from Bloomington alone. The 
 that the firs) company, under Capt. Harvej lefl town, and also the day of their 
 return from I ire memorable evenl On both occasions, tb literally 
 
 crowded with s| The firel was a time of the deepesi and mosl poignant afflic- 
 
 tion; the lasl m of joy :i "' gratitude These two 
 
 and mi during the nezl few bul never were equaled in intensity of feel 
 
 ing exoepl on the days of the leaving and returning of the entire M< I. I itinty 
 regiment— the Ninety-fourth Illinois Volunteers — which lefl An. and 
 
 returned A 
 
 \ tg lsI 26, 1861, about three hundred of the men of the Thirty-third Qlinois 
 tnent lefi ilii- city and county t< >r Springfield, and again was ill taking and 
 
 patri in our streets. This regiment included one company A of students 
 
 rrom Normal, and one company made up largely from Bloomington. The latter 
 Company C, of which E B B ■ was Captain. Roe edited the Democrats S 
 at the time. He was soon promoted; and his place was filled by Capt. V. .1 Lewis, who 
 enlisted in the company as a private soldier. Lewis edited the Pantograph al the time 
 the war broke out, served with great credit until the olose of the war, and again edited 
 the same pap< r for five or biz years after his return. 
 
 the war became an old story, that the departure of trc* 
 .nd more an individual matter, left by the public mainly to those inter 
 — the departing soldier and his intimate friends and relatives; but at the dot 
 ichmenl that returned was welcomed most enthusiastically. 
 The excitement caused bj thi iction, in August, 1862, ol thi Bloomii 
 
 Timet, a -li.it with Southern sympathies too strong for this latitude, was mosl inu 
 The soldiers of the Nin iment performed this job, aid. d by uncontrol 
 
 spirits who were willing to assist when sure that the blame or \ i tuld be 
 
 the departing volui 
 On the 2d "I September, 1862, ■ dispatch was i i from Springfield at about 
 
 midnight, calling for 200 men, instantly, to guard a large detachment ol 
 
 1 imp Butler The fire-bells were rung; the public responded; the f the 
 
 the l [U»red numl I in a few hours, and ■ littl.- after 
 
 li,;lit mad.- their ii iting th aishmuul at the 
 
 j.atr le with which our volunteered old men boys and cripple* 
 
 <.ii tlii in d I' ippeai 
 
 hi maki tempi t 
 
 if prompt and iction, t.> cull together,
 
 98 
 
 suddenly, a force that should overawe the prisoners who had been carelessly left with 
 too small a guard. 
 
 During the early part of the year 1862, several soldiers' funerals took place at 
 Bloomington, stirring the city to its very heart. Among the most noted, we may men- 
 tion that of Lieut. Joseph Gr. Howell, who had enlisted at the first call in 1861, resign- 
 ing his place as Principal of the Model School at Normal. He was a noble young man, 
 with troops of warm friends. He was killed at Fort Donelson. Capt. Harvey, killed 
 a little later, at Pittsburg LandiDg, was honored with a public funeral, and the city was 
 plunged in grief once more. We should also mention Col. Hogg's and Col. William) 
 McCullough's funerals, and others. 
 
 Immense sums were given in aid of the families of soldiers in the early part of 
 the war ; but later, the public sympathy was mainly directed through the Sanitary Com- 
 mission, to the assistance of those in the field. In 1864, as much as $10,000 was sent 
 in money in one donation, of which Isaac Funk gave $5,000. There was a constant 
 stream of charity pouring in this direction, whose dimensions in the aggregate must 
 have been magnificent. 
 
 At the Presidential election, in 1864, there was tremendous excitement. Many of 
 the soldiers were at home ; some discharged for disability, others by expiration of three 
 years' enlistment, and many were at home on furlough. These were well aware that 
 during the whole time of their absence there had been a "fire in the rear; " and from 
 a variety of causes, great feeling was manifested. At that time, the whole township of 
 Bloomington, polling 1,774 votes, had one voting place — the old jail-building, on 
 the northwest corner of the Court House square. The election, after all, was one of 
 the quietest on record, though probably one-third of the voters carried pistols, ready for 
 any outbreak that might occur. The Judges of the election were A. B. Ives, John 
 Dawson and J. H. Burnham. In spite of the rapidity with which they were obliged 
 to decide all cases of challenged votes, their decisions were acquiesced in by the leading 
 men of both parties most cheerfully, and their feat of taking votes at the rate of three 
 per minute, at a time of such a hot contest, can scarcely be paralleled. Mr. Lincoln 
 had a majority of about six hundred in the township of Bloomington. 
 
 During the winter of 1864, Company K of the Twenty-sixth Illinois Regiment 
 of which Gen. I. J. Bloomfield was the Captain, returned to this county on " veteran 
 furlough," and were kindly welcomed by the citizens of Bloomington. 
 
 On the 14th of March, 1864, the entire Thirty-third Regiment Illinois Volunteers 
 arrived at Bloomington on their "veteran furlough," on their way from Texas to their 
 different homes in Illinois. 
 
 There were over four hundred of these heroes, of whom quite a number were from 
 Bloomington. The citizens gave them a warm-hearted reception at Royce Hall, which 
 was unlooked for by the veterans, and was a fitting tribute to the brave men who so 
 nobly continued in the service of the country. This class of soldiers, entitled to more 
 praise than any other, have generally been treated like ordinary volunteers. Now the 
 fact is, they really stand the highest in the list of the nation's defenders. Their vol- 
 unteering in the face of danger, after three years' service, was convincing proof to the 
 rebels that they never could succeed in their undertaking. 
 
 The day before the Presidential election, in 1864, large bodies of suspicious look- 
 ing men came from Southern Illinois to this city, and changed cars for Chicago. James
 
 Allin, Jr., then Postmaster, telegraphed the circumntai John Wcntwortl 
 
 .■ilitT-. and the result a the m< d wi the) reached the oit) It 
 
 I transpin 1 th il the) I in 'I. is plot 
 
 prisoner! Camp 1) I the dispatch from III ington was on< of the indica- 
 
 - thai ] - -in. tliiiiL' anuaual was. being attempted. 
 
 In the earl) part of the war, il seemed thai the volunteers paid little attention t<> 
 tilliiiL' the muster r- *1 1 - ind it often happened thai oearlj :i whole company 
 
 i be credited t" Bloomington, when, in fact, it led in the count) ;it I 
 
 •lii-. all who lived in tlm-.' <>r four of the idjacenl townships who-.' poel •ili<-.- 
 .iiMi it liliHuniti^ton, were generall) credit) lidents, and the resull 
 
 thai the more than filled When the first 'lr.it' was threatened in 
 
 M I I inty, in 1864, it was discovered thai Bl tin i read) made 
 
 deal «'t" bad feeling resulted. By i liberal county bounty, and the 
 eral co-operation of the oitiiens of both city and county, the firal draft a ided. 
 
 February or March, 1865, the lasl 'Inil't barely touched a few districts in M I. n 
 Most of the towns, :i- well as the wards in Bloomington raised lib 
 riptions, which, in addition to the count) bounty, proved effectual. In Blooming 
 ton, out ■'! many thousand dollars raised, quite a large proportion, in Bono 
 
 the wards, was returned to the Bubscritx rs. 
 
 The oews of peace, or rather the surrender of Gren. Lee, the capture of Jeff Davis 
 and tin- surrender of Gen .!"• Johnston — the whole equivalent t . . a declaration of 
 caused intense satisfaction and extravagant rejoicing in the same manner as 
 Union victories bad done previously. The usual way was for a few men t" run around 
 the public square, call for ;i collection, buy some powder, which lv - Butl< r would burn 
 in his cannon, while the boys would join in a 9 imetimes we fii 
 
 lit 1 1. ii. or the news would turn out to I"- unimportant, but we kept up the | 
 
 lice till tin- news of 1 1 1 « - last surrender 
 
 In tin.- \ jociated Press dispatches usuall) arrived at the Pantograph 
 
 office a little before ooon, and any *er) special oews was printed speedil) on -1 ij-- • -f 
 and sold by b < *n the morning after the assassination of P 
 
 dent Lincoln, -I II Buroham, editor of the l'»l oington Pantograph) wai 
 
 Chicago. II' saw the news in the morning paper there, and knew ;it once that the 
 /' uph could doI possibly have the dispatch. He went t" the telegraph office 
 
 aed, and sent the first «i i—i *-*< *-li of 1 1 ■ - - morning, telling bis pa] r lii- 
 
 "Wn signature, in al '\ words, the t. nil •!. n. w~. This was known on thi 
 
 ■ B mington :it about '.' ■ > \1< ><k . and it caused intense grief and astonishment. M 
 Lincoln was known and l"\''l in Bloomington as well as any whet q the world, and 
 
 lycd the publii 
 tli. the sad event \ man of the oame of John rlinsey, I 
 
 at il * r Mi Lincoln's death, and thouj 
 
 applaud< ' applaud the assassin When tin- n . the 
 
 • he w In b) frei I the 
 
 i ut the offender t" bo li H in -ml 
 
 ■ 
 n Inch th and w hil< thu 
 
 Mr il hotel,
 
 100 
 
 been passed out in disguise at the rear, and he was driven rapidly toward Peoria. In a 
 few hours after his escape, the crowd became glad it had not taken human life. 
 
 FREEMASONS. 
 
 As it takes many people to make a world, so various methods for doing good have 
 been organized, and will be carried on till the end of time. One of the oldest, and, 
 perhaps, one of the most permanent, of the different orders or societies that we can men- 
 tion, is that of Freemasonry. This Order was established in Bloomington at an early 
 day. In 1847, Peoria Lodge recommended the application for a new lodge in Bloom- 
 ington. The first meeting of Bloomington Lodge, No. 43, was March 1, 1847. Its 
 first Master was John Foster. The first member admitted was W. C. Hobbs, who 
 became the second Master, and, afterward, was Master of the Grand Lodge, being the 
 only member from Bloomington who has ever attained this distinction. Dr. Hobbs was 
 one of the leading citizens of Bloomington from this time down to the time of his 
 death, February 10, 1861. He was, perhaps, the most genial, the kindest-hearted, 
 most generally useful man who has ever lived in Bloomington. The Masters of this 
 Lodge who followed Dr. Hobbs were E. Thomas, M. C. Baker, John M. Scott, Good- 
 man Ferre and others. The Masonic Order has always included a large proportion of 
 leading citizens, making it one of our " institutions " of merit, and it has accomplished 
 a vast amount of good. There are three lodges, all meeting on different nights in one 
 hall, which, since 1877, has been in the upper part of the fine building at the corner of 
 Center and Front streets, where may be found one of the most completely fitted lodge- 
 rooms in the State. Besides the three lodges of inferior degrees, there are two or 
 more of the higher, made up mostly of those who belong to the lower lodges, of which 
 we will mention the Chapter of Rojal Arch Masons and the Commandery of Knights 
 Templar. Bloomington Chapter, No. 26, Royal Arch March Masons, was organized 
 March 19, 1855. Its leading oflicers are : High Priest, J. Brewster; Treasurer, Good- 
 man Ferre, and its Secretary is John D. Fowle. 
 
 De Molay Commandery, No. 24, was constituted October 22, 1867. Its officers are 
 Charles F.Webb, Eminent Commander; James Clark, Generalissimo; William M. 
 Stevenson, Captain General; Jabez Brewster, Treasurer, and J. D. Fowle, Recorder. 
 These Knights are well drilled, and make a fine appearance when seen in public. 
 
 Bloomington Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, held its first meeting, as we have 
 stated above, March 1, 1847. Its present officers are W. R. Bascom, Master; Thomas 
 W. Stevenson, Senior Warden; Michael Gee, Junior Warden; N. N. Winslow, Treas- 
 urer ; Charles Strehorn, Secretary. The Lodge has about two hundred members. 
 
 Wade Barney Lodge was organized August 8, 1866. and now contains 123 mem- 
 bers. Its Master is L. L. Burr ; Senior Warden, C. W. Kirk ; Junior Warden, A. M. 
 Goodfellow; Treasurer, J. E. Eastman; Secretary, C. J. Northrop. 
 
 Mozart Lodge, No. 656, is composed of Germans, and contains about forty mem- 
 bers. It was organized in October, 1870. This Lodge transacts all business in the 
 German language. 
 
 Closely allied with Masonry is the Order of the Eastern Star, composed of Free- 
 masons, their wives and daughters. Bloomington Chapter, No. 4, was organized Janu- 
 ary 1, 1870. Worthy Patron, W. C. Stevenson ; Worthy Matron, Mrs. A. Kettle ; 
 Treasurer, Mrs. W. Stevenson; Secretary, Mrs. E. C. Roberts. There are 110 members.
 
 [01 
 
 IN l>V If M'l \ 1 oltl'l It "I «»!■!■ I M I <»U - 
 
 There is pi rhapc do m - I matio charity than is dispensed through the fade 
 i • adenl < hxler of < kid Fellows This societj i- peculiarly fortunate in Bloom ington, baling 
 been established at an earlj day, and it- first memben being men of high moral aims 
 tlnii have followed in the waj tir-t marked oul bj the original memben 
 
 n i kept the ancient landmarks well insight, and haveattaini I proficiencj 
 
 in all the proper work of the Order. 
 
 Reraembrai I. I No. 77, ganiied October 20, 1851 Amongitach 
 
 tiiiil the names of II 8 Herr and William Nightwine John M ~- 
 was initiated the same night the Lodge was instituted, and hai irith the above-named 
 continued :t member until the present time. 
 
 3 eral <>f thoe most prominent in the Grand Lodge of this jurisdiction have been 
 members of Remembrance Lodge, among whom we will mention U.S. Herr and Th 
 I Mitchell, both of whoni have been Grand Officers Mr Mitchell has been deb 
 to the National < rrand I. rhere he was one of the most active and efficient re] 
 
 The present Noble Grand of Remembrance Lodge is C. 8. 8 Vint Grand, 
 
 C M R - Recording Secretary, A.moe Kemp; Permanent Secretary, L B Ell< 
 
 it Thompson, i- Tn rarer i position he has filled for twenty years. Evergreen 
 Oitj I. i_ \ 265, was instituted September 30. 1858. It- present number of mem- 
 is 100. It- Noble Grand is G T. Heritagi Vice Grand, E. Huhn; Record- 
 
 • ir\ I !'• Augustus; Permanent Secretary, II J. Hi Treasure] I 
 
 kwell. 
 
 (Jhland Lodge, No. 305, was organised July 1. L863, It- charter is in the I 
 inin lang ind it- meetings are all conducted in German, and its membership made 
 
 op of that nationality \. Schlegel is Noble Grand; Fred. Kersten, Vice Grand; II 
 M ■ I! ording Seoretarj . rV D. Penner, Financial Secretary and William A 
 l easurer; Representative to Grand Lodge, Charles Lamp. 
 
 Ml. .n Encampment, No 29 organized April 11. 1-."..". It tains at 
 
 nt about seventy ti\. members. This Lodge is made up from members of the other 
 g a higher degree of the same Order. William McComb is C P 
 T II:, .11 P.; Charles Lamp, 8 W a C Atkins, Scribe B Thompson I' 
 urer. Remembrance Lodge owns ■ bmdness house, next to the northeast corni r of Main 
 
 and Washington streets It was purchased in 1878, at a cost of nearlj $10,( This 
 
 purol - made from the permanent funds of the Lodge and shows a financial stand- 
 
 amended The amount of funds on hand in the different ' 
 r amou I 000. This monej \i one to !"• u-<-<1 in <-:i.-«- the 
 
 annual dues .^liall not be equal to id. demands of it- members wl lay happen to be 
 
 tick or disabled, and in I i nattering degrei of prospt i I 
 
 M nyoftht of Odd Fellows, with their husbands, are members of th< Order 
 
 of tli I 1 !; Bethlehem Li No. 32, was incorporated November 11. 
 
 h a lodg a existence previously. It- Noble Grand is Oliver B< 
 
 Grand, Mi N< i Tayl r; Mr- K B Sallett is Recording Secretary Mi W. 
 
 I» llall'tt i- the Permanent Secretary; tli> Treaaurer ii Mrs William .1 Sarrill. 
 
 five memben
 
 102 
 
 Abraham Lincoln Lodge, No. 85, of the Degree of Rebecca, meets at the hall in 
 Liberty Block. These Rebecca Lodges are mainly for social purposes, though there are 
 some obligations and duties imposed upon the members. 
 
 VARIOUS SECRET SOCIETIES. 
 
 One of the most important of our secret organizations is the Knights of Pythias, 
 which meets at 112 and 114 South Main street, in Liberty Block. It contains 109 
 members. Richard Osborne, P. C. ; M. B. Jeter, C. C ; J. E. Espey, V. C. ; CD. 
 Myers, Prelate ; William Van Schoich, M. of E., and Frank Johnson, Jr., M. of F. 
 Its Trustees are J. W. Fifer, J. W. Trotter and Dr. C. R. Karr. Whenever this 
 society appears in public in uniform, it invariably attracts great attention, the appear- 
 ance of its members being highly indicative of discipline and good fellowship. 
 
 The "Universal Brotherhood" organized Lodge No. 4 in Bloomington, February 
 3, 1878, about which time representatives from all over the United States met here to 
 perfect their organization. This institution is of a fraternal nature, and its main feat- 
 ure is insurance, its policies being at the members' option, in sums varying from $500 
 to $5,000. The Order in this State has been incorporated as the "Grand Command- 
 ery of the Universal Brotherhood of the World." The officers of No. 4, are R. F. 
 McCabe, Illustrious Commander ; W. G. Nichols, Captain General ; A. O. Grigsby, 
 Chief of Records; W. H. Phillips, Registration Chief; H. N. Cutshaw, Chief of 
 Exchequer ; J. A. Beason, Master of Ceremonies. 
 
 The Knights of Honor organized in July, 1878, with fourteen charter members. 
 It is mainly for mutual life insurance, though it has social features. The Grand Lodge 
 of the State controls 110 subordinate lodges. Assessments are made so that upon the 
 death of a brother, his heirs obtain $2,000. The Grand Lodge of Illinois, of which 
 J. C. S. Miller, a Bloomingtonian, is Grand Dictator, meets here in June, 1879. The 
 Bloomington organization is known as Independent Lodge K. of H., No. 706. Its 
 officers are: Past Dictators, Frank White, I. N. Littel, E. D. Miller; Dictator, C. A. 
 Brooks ; Vice Dictator, B. G. Cash ; Asst. Dictator, S. B. Cooper ; Treasurer, E. D. 
 Miller ; Reporter, C. E. Baker ; Financial Reporter, C. L. Camp ; Medical Examiner, 
 Dr. IN. B. Cole; Chaplain, W. R. Bascom ; Guide, M. Plumley ; Guardian, George 
 Harman ; Sentinel, Adam Hess. 
 
 The Ancient Order of United Workmen is a secret benevolent society with an 
 insurance feature that highly commends itself. Upon the death of any member any- 
 where in the State, the assessments realize enough to pay $2,000 to the family of the 
 deceased. The Bloomington Lodge was organized April 17, 1877. Its number is 63. 
 Its officers for the past six months were J. D. Dodge, Past Master ; F. M. Fowler, 
 Master Workman ; T. W. Pelton, General Foreman ; Julius Johnson, Overseer ; J. L. 
 Beath, Receiver ; James Lonney, Financier; F. W. Coe, Recorder; D. Hemmele, 
 Guide ; G. B. Bossie, Inside Watchman ; J. S. Izaat, Outside Watchman. There are 
 about ninety members and the Order is in a flourishing condition. 
 
 The Independent Order' B'nai B'rith has one Lodge, Abraham Lincoln, No. 190. 
 E. Ganz, is President; M. Lange, Vice President; W. Greisheim, Secretary; M. Heil- 
 brun, Financial Secretary. This Order equals the Masons or Odd Fellows in the 
 thoroughness and completeness of its organized charity. The Bloomington lodge was 
 started October 27, 1872, with twenty-two members and now contains thrity-three.
 
 The \ Accepted York M 
 
 I. | ■ \ i - tuber ! - I -'■ l -I \ 1 1 1 M /. T. 
 
 ioi Warden .1 Ward Junioi Warden R II' R Allin 
 
 > 
 
 Bloouiincton i iharital tions than aim 
 
 oth e in this S whi h li i\ 
 
 Dumber thai work publicly, thougb in an form I I I menti 
 
 the German Benevolent \ iation, which was formed May 1. 1857 I 
 membership of ur, and hat become one of 1 1 1* - old its kind in th< 9 
 
 Her i~ Pr« C. Haker, A nt, and William l» P 
 
 tO Hibernians of Bloomington was chartered April 20, 1-7 1 
 
 : contains al this time aboul Bixty members Michael Martin is President: Jan 
 1 \ President; William Nihi I Dai II . _ ■. - ry. 
 
 The Hibernian Benevolent Societj was incorporated March, 1869 I - nty 
 
 members, G Burns • Pi John Sullivan, 8r., Treasurer, ind Dennis 
 
 Mai ■ - r \ These beneficial organizations have been Bupplem by the 
 
 th i Mathev* T tal Abstinence and ! ; - rid the Si Patri It T tal 
 
 \ itineno and Bern Solent Soci< i 
 
 It i> qoite difficult, in a city like Bloomington, t.. learn <>t' all the different 
 aizationa, ' hir modern lit'. -■■ ms tn be adapted t" all these trari 
 lily formed, and often ni"r.- easily dissolved. We know <>t" the 
 Brotherhood, and of the (firemen's ai 
 II as of several trades-unions and otl ieties, but < >u r II not 
 
 l'ul>li>h all the particulars which we might easily obtain. There are otl 
 for instance, the German Free-School Society, with aehoolhouae and 
 
 lot at the oorner of West and Front - well worthy of more particular mention . 
 
 I>ut we lia, i thi space allotted t«' these matters, and I 
 
 - it i-. descended to m »re particulars than "ur readers will care to examine 
 
 [MPOR1 \M '.i km an OROANIZ \ I [ONfl 
 
 The tit mans in Bloomington in anj rable numl 
 
 l-."ii t 1858, and we find that during then some of "ur beet German 
 
 sations : r origin. Among thi trill mention the Turners, who com 
 
 ii. toad \ 1858 Thej have 1- me of the most ties in 
 
 ft They now npj the building whioh was, previous t" IS5G, tin Ba 
 
 ti-t Church . Km tlii- i- too small and inoonvenient for 1 1 » « - Turners, wh ncj 
 
 their plans for the erection building thai wQl I"- ■ credit t" 
 
 tli i an ornament t.. the city. Their abilitj to • it the project has I- 
 
 l.ti lightly impaired l»v the hard times through which we ing, and wl 
 
 the ? nothing The present offi< • r- 
 
 • I; Turnv< follows President, William Gerkeu ; \ 
 
 Pi Brohm B irdit - larj P. Horei maon ' onding - 
 
 1 TrimpU
 
 104 
 
 October 12, 1874, saw the first organization of the Bloomington Maennerchor r 
 which now contains a membership of 120. This number includes several hon- 
 orary members, the active, or singing members, being about one-half of the whole 
 society. The success of the organization has been quite remarkable. It now contains 
 some of the best voices in the West, well trained, and ready to take a high position in 
 the musical world. This society contains a large proportion of the best educated of 
 the Germans in Bloomington, and it represents the wealth, culture and refinement of 
 the German nation as well as any single organization in Central Illinois. Its officers 
 are: Peter Gratz, President ; Carl Wehrstedt, Vice President; Henry Behr, Secre- 
 tary; George H. Mueller, Financial Secretary, and Jacob Jacoby, Treasurer ; H. P. 
 Seibel is Musical Director, and Arnold Rigger is Librarian. Prof. H. Von Eisner, who 
 died in July, 1878, was, for some time, musical director, and is spoken of by the mem- 
 bers as having been a fine musician, to whom the society is under obligations for quite a 
 large portion of its present efficiency. 
 
 OUR HIGHEST OFFICIALS. 
 
 Bloomington was not very ambitious for high political honors in its younger days. It 
 never aspired to fill high offices in the State or nation ; was content to be well governed 
 at home, and to take care of as many of the county and legislative offices as possible? 
 ever ready to help elect good men from other portions of the State to its highest offices. 
 Even when John Moore, of Randolph's Grove, was made Lieutenant Governor in 1840, 
 it did not seem to rouse our other politicians to any degree of individual ambition. 
 There was a spasm at the time Owen Lovejoy was nominated for Congress in 1856, 
 McLean being then in the same district with Bureau County, but nothing came of it, 
 and our voters swallowed their pride, and assisted Mr. Lovejoy to the position he 
 desired. Up to 1870, no citizen of McLean County had ever been elected to Congress. 
 
 In 1856, James Miller, of Bloomington, was chosen State Treasurer, being the first 
 Bloomingtonian to fill a high State office. Mr. Miller was one of our most respected 
 citizens, and has left his mark upon our city, very particularly in the Methodist Church, 
 of which he was a consistent, liberal and enthusiastic member. In 1874, Samuel M. 
 Elter, who had for some time been City School Superintendent here, was elected State 
 Superintendent of Public Instruction. 
 
 In 1872, Gen. John McNulta, whose brilliant record as Colonel of the Ninety- 
 fourth Illinois Regiment is set forth in its proper place, was elected to Congress from the 
 district composed of the counties of McLean, DeWitt, Logan, Tazewell and Mason, 
 being the first of our citizens ever elected to Congress. He was followed in 1874 by A. 
 E. Stevenson, who is our present member, having been again elected in November, 
 1878. 
 
 Judge Thomas F. Tipton, another Bloomingtonian, was chosen to Congress in 
 1876. Our city is now rather noted for its willingness to furnish Congressmen, or, in 
 fact, candidates for almost any position. We believe Bloomington has always had the 
 Judge of this judicial district ever since it was first filled by David Davis in 1848. He 
 was succeeded in 1862 by John M. Scott, who was promoted from the Circuit to the 
 Supreme Bench in 1870. Thomas F. Tipton was our Judge from the latter date until 
 he was sent to Washington, as noted before, and Owen T. Reeves was then chosen to fill 
 the vacancy. Our judges have been distinguished for their ability and impartiality.
 
 II n John M Scotl was elected to th< Suprem I • neh "t Illinois in June, 1-7" 
 II bad I ii Circuit Judge here from I8l II- had alao filled 
 
 •■ii\ and county, having been, when ;i young man, Cit) Clerk and < \" 
 previous to lii- i lecti in as Circuit Judge, he bad in I 352, filled the position of Jud| 
 Probate, and bad held other appointments ll< i ighl office but has been 01 
 
 those careful, competent, well-balanced men who an ■■■ that, when met with, the 
 
 public insist upon elevating them to offices of honor and trust. Ju I - • i- :i i 
 [llinoisao, having been born near Belleville, St Clair County, in 1- II 
 
 honored with the above-mentioned offices, while at the same time he has conferred 
 ini\ upon everj om he has filled, being a cultured gentleman whom peopli 
 
 proud in refer t<> as ;i model official. Per two yean of the nine during which I" 
 has been upon the Supn me Bench, b< I bief Justice of the Bupn m< Court of the 
 
 f Illinois 
 
 Jud D rid Davis, om of the oldest and foremost of Ml oington's pion< 
 
 gentleman who I u highlj promoted different :ii times, and we will refer to him by 
 
 ■ (juotation from the carefully-prepared article in "The { '< I Old Times in M I 
 
 County," bj Prof Duis, which does him justice in better terms than we oan command 
 
 I i • light nf Bloomiogton David Davis II- ■•■ 
 
 County, M<l . on the 9th of March, 1816. H< •' Kenyon College, Ohio, on the 1 1 1 ■ of 
 
 and oommeneed Lbs atudv of law at Lenox, Mi-- . in October following, In the 
 of Judge Henry W. Bishop. Aftei studying there for tu be west to the 
 
 I, where he remained until the full of i v 16, when he removed to Pekin, 
 well Co., 111. after practicing law for one year In Pekin, he removed to Bloomington, winch 
 ..■r iine< bis home. Here hi led to the law business of Mi lease \\ Pell, 
 
 ■ une much interested in operations in tte He took possession ol Mr Pell's old 
 
 which was one door east of what is no* Mr Da 1 in the 
 
 ry outset. He a i great oral »r, d ry Buenl talker, but he . 
 
 elear-minded man, and Boon took a front rank in bis ohosen protest 
 
 On the 18th of October, 1838, Ju>lge Davis married Miss Sarah Walker, at Lenox, M 
 hter of Judge w tlker, of that State. Judge Davis I hildren livii 
 
 daughter. The former ia living with hie familj m In t. R40, 
 
 Mr. Davis a of the wi it Gov. Moore, but 
 
 jful fin- Senatorial District then eml lie counties irie, 
 
 i. Piatt, De Witt, McLean and Livingston In 1844, Mr Da to the 
 
 mbly, but declined l In 1847, hi 
 
 iber •'! the Constitutional Convention; and, in 1848, w a bj th< . without 
 
 .. tu be Judge oi the Eighth Judicial Circuit, embracing loui tei 
 . posil : i which Judgi l 1 eminently Blted It ha if him, thai bis 
 
 ing eharacteristii a of equity, and this, combined with a strong will, quick 
 
 and ■ .rest judgment, mads h as universal His di 
 
 seldom appe tied from and n 
 
 The Eighth Judicial Circuit, which ei first, fourteen 
 
 ut rarely equaled a ng the same number ol the 
 
 leader ••! the it, following him cl< rere Lincoln, Btu 
 
 ••I Thornton, Hon B Pioklin, Judge Bmen 
 
 I others, soma of n bom 
 in bistorj Lincoln i in their tr i the 
 
 i at the 
 ps which bave made bin Mr D Mr 
 
 n i'\ in- oelebrai i fol- 
 
 j r in the tin
 
 1' 
 
 The is one of memorable interest in Illinois. Some tefore this, many 
 
 prominent citizens of the State resolved i" pren Abraham Lincoln aa a oandidate for President 
 of the United States, and during this year the excitement was bo intense that nearly all 
 business was at ■ standstill, because the lawyers and judges devoted all of their time to the 
 campaign. Judge Davis was, by Tar, the most active ami influential of Mr. Lincoln's support- 
 ex, anl his labor* were almost herculean. Perhaps some idea may he given of the labors of 
 Judge Davis by giving an extract from a letter written l>y Mr. Jesse W. Fell to a late distin- 
 guished 8< t the United States, in regard to a question by the latter as to the part taken 
 
 by Mr. Fell in the campaign of 1860. The question was suggested by an autobiography of 
 Abraham Lincoln, of which Mr. Fell was the proprietor, recently published by Osgood & C 
 Boston. The following is the extract : 
 
 " Before responding to your inquiries, allow me to say, you give me much more credit than 
 I am entitled to for the part I took in bringing before the American people the name of Abra- 
 ham Lincoln as a candidate tor tin- Presidency. Your original impres>inn~ were originally cor- 
 rect. To Judge l>a\is more than to any other man, living or dead, the American peoplt 
 indebted lor that extraordinary piece of good-fortune — the nomination and consequent election 
 of that man who combined in his person, in so high a degree, the elements necessary to a suc- 
 cessful administration of the Government through the late most critical period in our national 
 history. It is quite possible Mr. Lincoln's fitness, or, rather, availability, as a candidate for that 
 position may have occurred to me before it did to the Judge; but at an early date, as early. I 
 think, as 1858, it had his earnest approval; and, I need not say, his vastly superior influence 
 gave to his opinion on this subject a weight and character which my private and humble opin- 
 ion could not command. It is well known that Judge Davis, though not a delegate, was one of 
 the leading men at the Decatur State Convention, in May, 1860, which elected delegates to the 
 Chicago National Convention ; that be was there selected as one of the Senatorial delegates to the 
 latter body; that, for more than a week prior to the nomination, he had. in connection with 
 Other friends of Mr. Lincoln, opened the ' Lincoln Headquarters,' at the Tremont House, Chi- 
 cago, where, and throughout the city, wherever delegates were to be found, he labored day in 1 
 night, almost sleeplessly, throughout that long and dramatically-interesting contest, working 
 with a zeal, assiduity and skill never surpassed, if ever equaled ; and that when those herculean 
 labors culminated in the choice of his trusted and most confidential friend, his feelings so over- 
 powered him that, not only then but for hours after, in grasping the bands of congratulating 
 friends, be wept like a child. Whilst it is undoubtedly true that without the hearty and vigor- 
 ous co-operation of quite a number of equally eminent men, the prestige attached to the names 
 of Seward and others could not have been broken and this nomination secured, no one as famil- 
 iar as I was with what was then and there enacted, can doubt for a moment the pre-eminent part 
 there played by the Judge. Among Lincoln hosts he was emphatically the great central figure 
 the great motor of the hour. ' Render unto Caesar the things that are Cajsar's.' ' 
 
 In 1861, Judge Davis, Judge Holt and Mr. Campbell were chosen by Lincoln to investigate 
 
 the management of Quartermaster Mekinstry. who held his office under Gen, Fremont. The 
 investigation was thorough and laid bare the corruption and mismanagement of affairs in St. 
 Loui«. 
 
 In lsi;-J, Judge Davis was appointed by Abraham Lincoln one of the Associate Justiot 
 the Supreme Court of the United States. This appointment was not made by any persona] 
 solicitation of Judge Davis, but simply on account of Mr". Lincoln's knowledge of the man and 
 by the effort of friends. At the time of his appointment, he was well known in Illinois as a man 
 of great judicial learning and the best of judgment, but his reputation had not gone beyond his 
 State, U he had never filled a position where his decisions would be published. Hut, when lie 
 came to the Supreme Bench of the Tinted States, his reputation IS I jurist went beyond the 
 
 sanguine expectations of bis friends. \ writer in the Imt teas I iw Timet, in discussing 
 the character ol Judge Davis, saj . •• Judge Davis Is ■ natural lawyer, ■ character so truly great 
 that to doubt him would be impossible. Ili> mind is all equity and as vigorous as it is kind, 
 }le is progressive, and yet oautious : a people's judge, and yet a lawyer. His opinion in the
 
 107 
 
 Milligan case has attracted more attention from the people at large than any derision since that 
 of Judge Taney in the Dred Scott case. Judge Davis lays ilown some fundamental principles 
 of constitutional law which will stand as landmarks for ages after he shall have been gathered 
 to his fathers. Judge Davis has been remarkably successful as a dealer in real estate, and in 
 all of his purchases and sales has shown the very best of judgment. His first purchase of real 
 estate was made in Chicago; but as he was associated with others and the disposition of the 
 property was in a great measure beyond his control, the speculation was not fortunate. Never- 
 theless, he had great faith in the future of Chicago, although it then numbered but a few 
 hundred inhabitants, and he purchased an eighty-acre tract of land about three miles from the 
 harbor. It now sells by the foot, so far as it is ottered for sale. It is to this fortunate invest- 
 ment that he is indebted in part for the ample fortune he possesses. 
 
 His policy in dealing in real estate has been to purchase property in the suburbs of a 
 growing town in order that it might become valuable with the increase of the place in size and 
 prosperity. He was always careful to buy land intrinsically valuable, considering what it would 
 produce, so that in any event his speculation would be a safe one. As is well known, Judge 
 Davis is a man of great public spirit, but thinks public matters should be managed as other 
 business matters are, on a good financial basis. He has been charged with being indifferent in 
 the matter of subscribing to build railroads. His theory with regard to railroads is that they 
 should be built where it will pay to build them as an investment, and that the idea of voting aid 
 from towns, counties and States, or donating lands along the line of the proposed road is wrong 
 in principle. 
 
 He believes that capitalists are always sharp enough to see where it will pay to invest their 
 money and are ready to build railroads which will return a fair profit to the investors. He 
 thinks that the voting of aid by towns and counties and making land-grants result in many 
 cases in building roads which will not pay running expenses, and in others of putting roads in 
 the hands of unprincipled managers who care nothing whatever for the people who have helped 
 them and the towns that have voted them aid. Under these circumstances, he has always been 
 very conservative and cool about assisting railroads, and some fault has been found with him 
 for so doing, but many of those who have blamed him in times past, are now very much of his 
 way of thinking. Bloomington and Normal have been very much benefited by their State insti- 
 tutions — the Normal School and the Soldiers' Orphans' Home. The location of these institu- 
 tions here was due in a great measure to Judge Davis, who donated forty acres of land to the 
 Normal School and sixty acres to the Orphans' Home. The former donation was worth at the 
 time when given, $4,000 and the latter $12,000. It will be remembered that great exertions 
 were made to have these institutions taken elsewhere, and Judge Davis' example and influence 
 did very much to prevent their transfer. So far as matters of charity are concerned it is not 
 usually safe to speak definitely of any one. People who have the greatest reputation for charity 
 usually only deserve part of the credit they receive, as a suspicion is sometimes aroused that 
 their charities are performed to be seen of men. Judge Davis does not indulge in ostentatious 
 charity, but his friends assert that very few can be found anywhere so liberal, even when judged 
 by the proper standard — ability to give. 
 
 Judge Davis was, at one time, enabled to do some service to the city of Bloomington by 
 saving to it the machine-shops of the Chicago & Alton Railroad. These shops secure a monthly 
 disbursement of $50,000, and the matter is of the greatest importance to Bloomington. When 
 they were burned down, Judge Davis was holding court in Chicago ; he there learned that it was 
 the intention of various parties to make an effort to transfer the machine-shops to another point. 
 He immediately gave notice to the citizens of Bloomington, who took active measures to save 
 them. 
 
 There was more danger of the shops going to Chicago than the public in Bloom- 
 ington generally imagined, but Judge Davis understood the real state of affairs better 
 than any one else, and Bloomington is deeply indebted to him for his services on this 
 occasion.
 
 108 
 
 For the benefit of future historians, we will explain Judge Davis' connection with 
 the famous Cincinnati Convention of May 2, 1872. There were in the Republican 
 party a large number of men who were very much opposed to the renomination of 
 President Grant. Some of these were disappointed office-seekers, but the majority of 
 those who were in the foreground of the movement were men who were of the purest 
 motives, looking for " civil-service reform." It was thought that if a Republican could 
 be agreed upon at Cincinnati who was likely to carry a large number of votes from his 
 own party, he would be nominated by the regular Democratic Convention and elected 
 President ; while it was seen that the nomination of a regular Democrat, with no sup- 
 porters except from his own party, would insure his defeat. From Judge Davis' inde- 
 pendent position, he having been known for years as a Republican, having been one of 
 Abraham Lincoln's warmest friends, being the executor of Mr. L.'s estate, being well 
 known all over the country for his high standing as a Judge in the Supreme Court of 
 the United States, there is little doubt that, had he been nominated at Cincinnati, he 
 might have proved much stronger than Horace Greeley, who was the choice of that 
 Convention, and was accepted by the Democrats at their National Convention soon after. 
 When it was seen that a strong effort would be made at Cincinnati to secure the nomi- 
 nation for Judge Davis, his personal friends in Bloomington rallied with wonderful 
 enthusiasm. A special train of eight passenger-coaches left this city for Cincinnati,, 
 carrying nearly three hundred Bloomingtonians, who were full of zeal for their candi- 
 date. Probably Bloomington never experienced such a peculiar excitement as during 
 the few days that preceded this excursion, and the time that elapsed till May 3, when 
 the result at Cincinnati became known. Judge Davis' friends were fully persuaded 
 that he would be nominated, and that, in that event, he would be the next President. 
 His life-long friends were rejoiced at the prospect of such good-fortune, while the citi- 
 zens generally, whether personally or politically friendly or not, were pleased at the 
 prominence that would be given to Bloomington in case of his success. 
 
 The Bloomingtonians at Cincinnati, strengthened by the other delegations from 
 Illinois, infused great enthusiasm into the movement, and, on the first ballot, Judge 
 Davis carried a large vote in the Convention. He was not regarded as sufficiently 
 known all over the Union, and Horace Greeley was the fortunate, or, as the event 
 proved, unfortunate, nominee. 
 
 But this event was not needed to prove the strong hold Judge Davis has upon the 
 affections of his neighbors, who well know the many instances in which he has assisted 
 the home of his adoption in nearly all plans that have been inaugurated, for the public 
 good. During his whole career in this place, he has been one of the foremost in nearly 
 every public enterprise, so that particular enumeration here is entirely unnecessary. 
 
 In the winter of 1877 and 1878, at the Senatorial election, when the Legisla- 
 ture was called upon to choose a successor to Gen. John A. Logan, there was a long 
 contest before a choice was effected. The Republican party in the Legislature lacked 
 several of a majority. The balance of power between the Democrats and Republicans 
 was held by five or six Senators and Representatives who were called Independents, 
 though sympathizing more with the Democrats than with the supporters of Gen. Logan, 
 who had been voted for by the Republicans for several days in succession. The Repub- 
 licans balloted for other persons — Judge C. B. Lawrence among others. Finally, the 
 Independents proposed Judge David Davis, whose political sentiments were almost
 
 unknown, though hi ightly to th< D md t-- 
 
 maoh in >\ mpathy with the [ndependenU A w ballot*, the whole strength 
 
 of ill' Den i >n\ , wiili one or ! a | led t-- the ■■ I 
 
 I ».i\ id Davis to the United »5 
 
 : wiili tin' till da) of March, 1878 
 
 lli> high standing 4a J the ti ipreme Court of tk I 
 
 in connection with hia well-l which fault on politi 
 
 qui re 1 1 i hi .in enviable position in th< 3 be wields an influi 
 
 e proud. Be baa oontinued im| fill the 
 
 political position he was expected i up) thai of an [ndependeut, with 
 
 to the side of the D Bloomington, is well as the wh 
 
 lllincii-. may well feel honored in beinj d in the Unit 
 
 David Davis 
 
 POl ITICAI in- 1 ■ • it ^ 
 
 (tnr <it\ has always claimed thai the great Republican part) of the nation ba 
 birth at Major's Sail in 1856. \t the ri-i\ of being attacked for oar audacil will 
 
 und to declare tbia a spurious claim In the fall of 1854 th< the 
 
 n Mil all over the country fought it- battles under different nami 
 
 3 - \ - lea Democrats, the Whig or American party; though in M - 
 
 <-li Soilers ind A.nti-Nebraska Democrats bad declared themselves I 
 
 Republicans. The election of Speaker in Congress in the winter of 1855 and 1 - 
 
 suited in the choii t' N 1' Banks, who bad 1 n elected as a Republi in and 
 
 American, in 1854 It is, however, a fad that a convention called as th Lnti 
 \ braska Stat I i ention " assembled in Major's Hall, in Bloomington, M 
 which nominated William II. Biasell for Governor, which was a most enthusiast] 
 ition, was addressed b) Abraham Lincoln, and was practically the first Republican 
 1 invention ever held in the State of Dlinois. 
 I. ■ is examine a letter signed "Anti-Nebraska," published \ 
 B in Pa oh : I am in favor of issuing a call for a S Conven- 
 
 tion i bj Whigs, D ind persons of all other t I faiths. Let all 
 
 opposed to tin- • ther upon equal r, and whei 
 
 them organize and I plana bj which t-> carry the State \- to the name under 
 
 which we might organize and fight, I should care but little. Th< on I <1 in 
 
 ■ Republicans, is, perhaps, as unobjectionable a- any other. 
 
 V NTI-N ] I 
 
 Here we have proof that as earl) as August, 1854, the name of the new | 
 i been applied in Massachu 
 There was it Potter ( »unt) Penn., Jul) I. 1854, when the II 
 
 .1 ihua R. Giddings md othi inizcd ; ; it into the " Republican " 
 
 I lings of this m r.l -.1 in the /' ( 
 
 •■_\ Willi mi Perry, Esq if t 
 the in- ■ ind w<-ll rem Mr. Giddings spoke of th on ■-!' tl 
 
 Dg inaugurated all I 
 
 in whs M . ind Pen i 
 
 if that (hi Ki publican part) -li: 
 
 I I . icld in 
 
 Kane C in t 1854
 
 110 
 
 It is on record that during this month a County Convention in La Salle County, 
 111., adopted the same name. Furthermore, Hon. Washington Bushnell, of Ottawa, 111., 
 sent to Mr. A. B. Ives, of this city, printed notices for calling a Republican County 
 Convention here on the 9th of September, 1854. These notices were posted by Mr. 
 Ives. The idea of such a convention was derided by our leading politicians, who 
 regarded this movement as a sort of disguised abolitionism. This convention was held 
 at our old Court House, its proceedings attracting very little attention. The Pantagraph, 
 then a Whig paper, contained an able editorial arguing against the formation of a new 
 party, which is almost the only evidence we find in its files that any movement was in 
 contemplation. It did not even deign to give a regular editorial report of the County 
 Convention, which is thus reported in the Weekly Pantagraph of September 13, 1854: 
 
 REPUBLICAN. 
 
 At a meeting of the voters of McLean County, held pursuant to notice, at the Court House 
 in Bloomington, on Saturday, the 9th day of September, for the purpose of appointing delegates 
 to the District Convention to be held at Springfield, on motion, Dr. J. R. Freese was called to 
 the chair, and A. B. Ives was appointed Secretary. On motion, the following delegates were 
 chosen, to wit : Dr. R. 0. Warinner, Dr. J. R. Freese, Oliver Graves, A. B. Ives, Bloomington ; 
 N. N. Jones, Hudson : VV. F. M. Amy, North Bloomington. 
 
 On motion of Dr. J. R. Freese. it was 
 
 Resolved, That our delegates be instructed to have added to the platform of the new party 
 (if one is formed) the Anti-Liquor plank. 
 
 Resolved, That the delegates have power to fill vacancies, and that the proceedings of this 
 
 meeting be published in the Daily Pantagraph. 
 
 J. R. FREESE, Chairman. 
 
 A. B. IVES, Secretary. 
 
 The State Convention to which these delegates were appointed, met at Springfield, 
 October 5, 1854. It was attended by only twenty-six delegates, who were mostly 
 Abolitionists, Owen Lovejoy, Ichabod Codding and Erastus Wright having been the 
 moving spirits. On the 5th of October, it nominated John E. McClun, of McLean, as 
 a candidate for State Treasurer. In a short time, the name of James Miller, of Bloom- 
 ington, was substituted for that of Judge McClun, but the latter gentleman is entitled 
 to the honor of having been the first Republican nominee in Illinois for a State office. 
 This Convention is not generally considered as the first Republican State Convention, 
 its numbers having been insignificant and its organization imperfect, but it is historically 
 the earliest on record. 
 
 This is the same State Convention recommended in the Pantagraplis communica- 
 tion of the date of August 9, 1854, and we have now plainly shown the chain of title 
 from its beginning to its ending, proving that Bloomington assisted the general move- 
 ment for a new party, but that our city originated very little that was new in this 
 direction. 
 
 Very few of the delegates appointed at the Republican meeting at the Court 
 House September 9, 1854, attended the State Convention of which we have spoken, 
 but they were present at the Congressional Convention held at Major's Hall September 12. 
 This district, at that time, was made up of Bureau, La Salle, Will, Kendall, Kankakee, 
 Iroquois, Putnam, Woodford, McLean, Livingston, Champaign and Vermilion Counties. 
 Among the delegates were some of the class known as Republicans, or Abolitionists, 
 while others were " Anti- Nebraska" Whigs and Democrats. The Convention was
 
 • Bloom in Abolition 
 
 • i enough t"< »r .ill pui In th( n 
 
 of the Convention, the R< | ublic in • It menl th< n conaidi r< d about th< 
 
 liiidiii-i- obtained the organization, and the C mitti I rention 
 
 adopted a lull set of Elepublioan resolutions, which were thought to 
 j,|, i which were intended t<> be too radical t'..r the support of Jei 
 
 ii Norton, wl th< \m: N ska and also Old-Line Wl nomi- 
 
 nation. To th< surprise of ill, Mr Norton planted himself aquan Ii ib- 
 
 lican platform 
 
 The Bupportera of the opposing oand M r. C Coffin, who was also a Whig, 
 
 withdrew from Major's Ball and assembled :it the Pike Sous* T 
 in. nt in Bloomington; committees conferred between the two wings of the Convention, 
 and, si 11 o'clock al night, the seceders returned from the E*ike 1 1 • >u-.-. participated in 
 the meeting, and the Hon. Ji sse N irton, of Joliet, wss oomio i Republican. 
 
 This Convention was large and enthusiastic, and was the real parent of the Republican 
 •v in McLean County, although many of the Whigs of that day would not aoknowl- 
 „•• themselvi - as members of the new party. 
 
 The platform of this Convention was strongly "Anti-Nebraska, 1 of course, was 
 ,|ii ■ ictory t" the Abolitionists, and, though not as radical u en demanded 
 
 by the latter class, it was ible t" the " Anti-Nebraska Whigs and Demi 
 
 and by ;i union of these three parties the Elepublican party was formed. In the plat- 
 form, the " new party," referred to in the Court 1 1 < <u~.- meeting of September 9 
 named the Elepublican party. This was probably the first convention of any note of 
 tin- new part) held anywhere in the West, though, as we have mentioned abovi N P. 
 Banks and others wer< chosen to Congress as Republicans from Massachusetts .it the 
 -.mi.- election. The fact seems t ■ . be that all over the country, wherever the r;i'li<;il 
 
 \w \ jka" men were powerful, there attempts were msde during th<- fall 
 l-v">l. to organize a new party; and the meeting held in Bloomington was not held in 
 of others in different Stat - 
 resolutions of thi I ention were not printed in the Weekly Pantograph, 
 then a Whig paper, which is the only til.- of newspapers of that date to which we ha 
 port of the < lonvention is as follow - 
 
 III li \.\ luMIMh.V 
 
 I Convention in session in this plao Her rather a stirring time, 
 
 ami |*:». — iti-_r througl - indicative of the elements of which it 
 
 : late hour last night by nominatin H - 1 0. Nortoi Oi 
 
 ansible men, honest in their an I N skat atiments, tl 1 to 
 
 in. in in. in who could 1 lected. Mr. Norton - do* what he I i 
 
 W bi h. he may well I by i ! 
 
 'I'll. W M '•'• The Ri publicans heir 
 
 \| : - Hall resolutions, which hi bad indorsed, voted for him is i H pub 
 
 • \ 
 Att 1 ..- Ja II w i ■. »rth, of t 'li. : • i 
 
 li from the • 'hie igo / 
 
 1 -.'■ i .III'.. ] •
 
 112 
 
 (Nebraska Democrat), 695 ; Mayo (Anti-Nebraska Democrat), 70 ; Blackwell ( Whig), 
 249." In the summary of Congressmen elected, we find Norton classed as a Whig, 
 Woodworth as a Republican, while in one district an Anti-Nebraska Democrat was 
 chosen. All this in 1854 proves that there was a Republican party at that time. The 
 Republican party carried the State of Massachusetts at the election in 1855. When 
 N. P. Banks reached Washington, in the fall of 1855, he and others were willing to 
 be called Republicans, and when the long contest over his election as Speaker ended, in 
 January, 1856, he was known all over the Union as a Republican. In the light oi 
 these facts, it is ridiculous for Bloomington to claim that the Republican party had its 
 origin and birthplace here. If there is any historical honor connected with the mat- 
 ter, it attaches itself to the meeting held in our Court House September 9, 1854, 
 whose proceedings we have given above. However, the Republican State Convention 
 held at Major's Hall, May 29, 1856, was of the greatest historical importance, as we 
 shall see. 
 
 This Convention was largely attended by delegates from all the principal counties, 
 ai d was a most remarkable gathering. John M. Palmer presided, and Abraham Lin- 
 €oIn made his celebrated speech. The "Anti-Nebraska" Whigs and Democrats, with 
 the Abolitionists, and those who, in 1854, were willing to be called Republicans, who 
 in this State were not numerous, with a large number of the Americans, coalesced will- 
 ingly into one party and took upon themselves boldly the name of " Republican," which 
 had now since the election of Speaker Banks, became a name of national importance. 
 The enthusiasm of the convention was most tremendous, and here was started the 
 movement which resulted in the perfect organization of the Republican party of Illi- 
 nois. The nominees of this Convention were elected. Hon. William H. Bissell was 
 elected Governor, and James Miller, of Bloomington, State Treasurer, while the speech 
 of Mr. Lincoln resulted in his election to the Presidency. 
 
 Ward H. Lamon, a resident of Bloomington from 1857 to 1861 when he became 
 Marshal of the District of Columbia, in his life of Abraham Lincoln, says : " Mr. Hern- 
 don drew up a paper to be signed by men of his class in politics, calling a County Con- 
 vention to elect delegates to the State Convention at Bloomington. ' Mr. Lincoln was 
 then backward,' rsays Mr. Herndon, ' dodgey,' so and so. I was determined to make 
 him take a stand, if he would not do it willingly, which he might have done, as 
 he was naturally inclined Abolitionward. Lincoln was absent when the call was signed 
 and circulated here. I signed Mr. Lincoln's name without authority — had it published 
 in the Journal. John T. Stuart was keeping his eye on Lincoln, with the view of 
 keeping him on his side, the totally dead conservative side. Mr. Stuart saw the pub- 
 lished call, and grew mad ; rushed into my office, seemed mad, horrified, and said to me, 
 'Sir, did Mr. Lincoln sign that abolition call which is published this morning?" I 
 answered, ' Mr. Lincoln did not sign that call.' ' Did Lincoln authorize you to sign it ? ' 
 said Mr. Stuart. 'No, he never authorized me to sign it.' 'Then do you know that 
 you have ruined Mr. Lincoln? ' 'I did not know that I had ruined Mr. Lincoln — did 
 not intend to do so — thought he was a made man by it — that the time had come when 
 conservatism was a crime and a blunder.' ' You, then, take the responsibility of your 
 acts, do you ? ' 'I do, most emphatically.' However, I instantly sat down and wrote 
 to Mr. Lincoln, who was then in Pekin, or Tremont, possibly at court. He received 
 my letter, and instantly replied, either by letter or telegraph, most likely by letter, that
 
 II 
 
 irhut I had Kad 
 
 li-Iikc in- n .it Bloomi i 
 
 \ ■ i '• ■ I . [J n the 
 
 . tlie faith and • -i in the work mall. I 
 
 m, although (I-- must important one il d the 
 
 We m Mr. Hern Ion iu 
 
 Mr. I. in baptit d and joined our church II- i 
 
 I ha\ M i Lim 
 
 judgment , thai the B 
 ii and up to this moment, he hadsimpl) mon 
 
 n a hat are called 1 1 - • 1 1 i 1 1 _■ i 
 
 ti ii of the radical nnd the eternal right Now h \\l\ ba| 
 
 he had the fervorol I flame broke out , enthusiasm unu 
 
 to him blazed up; I glow wit h an iospiration ; he felt justii 
 
 alive to the righi sympathies, remarkably deep for him, b u th, and he - 
 
 re the throne of the Eternal Right, in the presence of 1 and then ami 1 
 
 . his p mitential an I G This 
 
 rial, filled with fervor not unmixed with a divine enthusiasm ; his head breathing 
 
 out through hid tender heart its truths if right, and it- I of the \i I and 
 
 This Bp< was full of fire, and energy, and force; it w 
 pathos, il was enthusiasm; it wasjusti lity, truth, right and I 
 
 by the divine fit soul maddened by the a it was hard, heavy, kn 
 
 1. 1 attempted ! at fifteen minul I with me then, 
 
 t-> take notes, but at the end of that time I threw pen and paper to tin I 
 
 only in the inspiration of the hour, [f Mr. Lincoln • I four inch* usu- 
 
 ally, at Bloomington be was seven feet, and inspired at that From tha the day 
 
 of his death he stood firm on the right. 11-- fell hie jb, had hie great 
 
 d it. k- pi it. taught it to others, and in his fidelity bore witi it to bis death, 
 
 . finally scaled it with his precious bio 
 It is univen Imitted thai this ech was the m ing Mr. 
 
 •In iiitu the prominent • icupied, and which resulted in 1. 
 
 tion to the Presidency. 
 
 This Convention thoroughly organised the Republican part) of lllm lis, and, from 
 -ult-. I. in-- a landmark in the historj of Bloomington — aim el as pr mineni 
 
 as it' it had been, as mans Beeni t-> Buppose, the first movement of the kind in the 
 VY< 
 
 ipitulate — we find thai : mber 9, 1854, the first Republican County 
 C->n McLean Count) was held at the Court Bouse; on the 13th of i 
 
 5 1, there waa ■ n m irkable convention of R< publicans of 1 1 » ( dis- 
 
 trict at M Hall, while on the 29th of May, 1856, thi Republican is 
 
 tion, l-iii really the first in imp in N i - Hall, r< sultiug 
 
 in the ) <-! tli- 
 
 d of Hon. Owen L ' I ' ! 'Boll 
 
 13 th is chapter . J 
 
 \ . .it ii-- nun • 
 
 1 ation a is, in 1 
 
 11
 
 x 
 
 114 
 
 Republican gathering, though the name of the new party was at this time used rather 
 sparingly. Its candidates were Owen Lovejoy, Leonard Swett, of this city, and Hon. 
 Jesse O. Norton, then our Representative in Congress. Mr. Lovejoy was the nominee 
 of the Convention. His nomination was exceedingly distasteful to the more conserva- 
 tive old Whig element, especially in McLean and the southern part of the district. 
 This element formed a considerable portion of the new party, then beginning to crys- 
 tallize. " Abolitionist " was the most opprobrious of epithets known, and the Whigs 
 had received too many hard blows from Mr. Lovejoy — long known as an Abolitionist — 
 to accept him as their standard-bearer. Consequently, a large number of the delegates 
 withdrew from the Convention, and signed a call for a '"bolting" convention^ to be held at 
 Bloomington, July 16. This call was signed by Gen. Gridley, Isaac Funk, Dr. H. 
 Noble, John J. Price and David Cheney, from this county, as well as by delegates from 
 several other counties. 
 
 On the 16th of July, the Convention met in the Court House at Bloomington, 
 Isaac Funk being Chairman, and nominated T. Lyle Dickey, now Judge of the 
 Supreme Court, as candidate for Congress. In the evening, there was a mass-meeting 
 at the west side of the Court House, in the public square. Churchill Coffin, Esq., of 
 Peru, opened the meeting with a rather heavy speech. He was followed by Judge 
 Dickey, in an argumentative speech, in which he wholly failed to arouse the 
 meeting, although he roundly denounced the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. 
 Gen. Gridley was the next speaker, and he aroused the enthusiasm of his hearers, for he 
 paid his respects to Mr. Lovejoy, the " Abolitionist," in his usual vigorous style, and 
 caused several interruptions from some of the highly-excited auditors. At the conclu- 
 sion of this speech, Mr. Lovejoy was called for, and, in response, took the stand. He 
 had spent his life in the advocacy of an unpopular cause, many times speaking before 
 unfriendly and hostile audiences. This gathering had been collected by his enemies, 
 and to hear himself denounced. He had been declared an enemy to his country, and a 
 man wholly unfit to be voted for by the members of the new party. He quickly 
 proved himself an unrivaled public speaker, and, in a few minutes, he had the audi- 
 ence completely with him. He showed his hearers that, even if he had been an 
 Abolitionist, he was entirely in sympathy with the newly-awakened Northern conscience 
 which had now organized the new Republican party. He stated his position upon the 
 Fugitive Slave Law, and asserted that every man of his audience regarded the law in 
 the same light. His speech was a masterly effort — the greatest of his life — and had an 
 electric effect upon the immense assembly. Since then, Bloomingtou audiences have 
 heard Lincoln, Douglas, Corwin and Blaine, but never as effective a speech as that of 
 Mr. Lovejoy that night. It was full of wit, declamation and pathos, and was as 
 eloquent a speech as ever was listened to by our citizens. It killed the " bolting " convention, 
 which was never heard of afterward. Nearly all who participated in it became ardent 
 supporters of Mr. Lovejoy, and developed at once into the best of Republicans, and 
 many of them were ever afterward Mr. L.'s earnest personal friends. To his great 
 success at this meeting, thereby placing the Republicans on an advanced ground, is 
 largely due the Republican majority in McLean County in later years, although the 
 magnetism and popularity of Mr. Lincoln no doubt contributed toward bringing about 
 the same result.
 
 115 
 
 NORM \l. TOW NSHIP 
 
 ELM \i i m\ CR81 1 ^ . 
 
 The location of th< - N rmal Qoivereit] N <l> Blooroiogton Ma) 7. 1857 
 tn:irk »1 of history thai i- n<>t only important to Normal Township, bul also in 
 to the city of Bloomington and M I. in Count] kt the time indi 
 I Normal a Norl '•'• ogton, or " The Junction," the lis d now 
 
 called Normal, do! having be< n named until after the location of the Dnivereil 
 ezisl town dating from April •'.. 1858 The early history of the Normal 
 tution, its location, its firsl yean of straggling effort, its rigoroni ohildfa I belong 
 
 ilAI. I M 
 
 to B aoingl a and this sketch i- calculated to honor thai city as it is \ 
 
 ■ lit upon Normal. \ - •• pi eed with our account, we shall reach a p I 
 when the newly-built vi Jity N irmal, with s definite future and t 
 
 own, after whioh timi tsand doings shall be credited to the proper 
 
 »"ur alously ss il hrii nda ire 
 
 •mit any particular mention of the 
 first settlers in Normal Township, and insert that information in another chapter by 
 
 We migl thai in 1857, the cupied by farn 
 
 the vi having b en platted and :i few houses built, bat t" ;ill 
 
 tical intents, the entire township was simply an agricultural district. 
 
 Illinois Central an I \ Mton Railroads were 6 nisi I in run 
 
 ion of tin' I 'in . n train having I
 
 116 
 
 run on the 4th day of July, 1854, from Bloomington to Lexington. The cars of the 
 Illiuois Central passed this point without stopping, from May 23, 1853, to the time of 
 the completion of the other line. It was thought in 1852 that there would be a rail- 
 road crossing near this place, and after the definite location of the Chicago & Alton line 
 through the western part of Bloomington in 1853, the point for the junction was fixed. 
 North Bloomington was projected and platted in the early part of 1854. There was a sale 
 of lots on the 15th of June, 1851, at which about thirty lots sold at prices ranging 
 between $30 and $50, and public attention was thus attracted to the new town of North 
 Bloomington. The sale took place under the auspices of W. F. M. Amy & Co., but it 
 was understood that Mr. Jesse W. Fell was the moving spirit in the new enterprise. 
 
 In 1855, a large addition was made to North Bloomiugton by a company composed 
 of Jesse W. Fell, B. B. Landon. L. B. Case, C. W. Holder and L. C. Blakesly. The 
 place had all the prospects common to a railroad "crossing" or "junction," which were 
 never very brilliant, when it is considered that the important town of Bloomington, 
 with two depots, was only two miles away. Here, at the point of greatest natural 
 beauty, Mr. Jesse W. Fell commenced, in 1855, his family residence, and finished it 
 the next year, when he made it his permanent home. 
 
 In the enterprise of building a new town at the "Junction," he had taken into 
 partnership, about this time, the several gentlemen whose names we have given; and in 
 the course of a few years thereafter, acquired from them nearly the whole of their 
 interests in the town site. 
 
 Mr. Fell, from the first, had plans for bringing to North Bloomington something- 
 more than the ordinary business of a common railroad crossing. He intended to spare 
 no effort to build here a town that should have for its characteristics, sobriety, morality, 
 good society, and all the elements for an educational center. Previous to the passage 
 of the act to establish a Normal University, which dates from February 18, 1857, 
 Mr. Fell was laboring with some prospects of success, to establish at North Blooming- 
 ton a college or seminary of learning, and was in correspondence with Hon. Horace 
 Mann and others in regard to the matter. Had he succeeded, the institution was to 
 have been located upon Seminary Block, shown on the plat of North Bloomington, as 
 the block next east of Mr. Fell's residence. This particular piece of ground at that 
 time, before the trees and shrubbery had made their appearance, commanded a fine 
 view of all the land in the neighborhood, being a part of that beautifully-rounded, 
 elevated prairie upon which Mr. Fell built his family residence. In fact, the whole 
 tract was one of striking beauty, long before North Bloomington was projected, in 
 the days when, for more than a mile in either direction, not a house or improvement 
 of any kind was visible. As long ago as in 1833, when on his way to what is now the 
 township of Money Creek, in company with Mr. Kimler, one of the early Settlers of 
 Bloomin 0- Grove, Mr. Fell rode over the beautiful elevation which his residence uow 
 occupies. The public highway then passed in that vicinity. It was early in the morn- 
 ing, and as they surveyed the beautiful prairie landscape, Mr. Fell remarked, what a 
 fine location this would be, at some day, for a residence. His companion replied, that 
 it was not probable any one would ever be fool enough to build at such a great distance 
 from the timber, echoing thereby the common sentiment of the early settlers. Over 
 twenty years after, Mr. Fell built his family residence at that point, and com. 
 menced to plant trees, which in a little more than another twenty years, have made
 
 Ill 
 
 nt tl i r i ■ • r i the m r pari and in Central Illi 
 
 ind fa the prairie lai ioto • b< autiful vi 
 
 • \ in u land it idorning the whole We question it the 
 
 iv of niir rapidly growing 3 in furnish ■ parallel, i town built entirely on ths 
 
 prairie, and, in e <>t" time, to be covered with nn r.- I ir_'. tn 
 
 ihown in most cities of oldei !■ they were l>uilt on land originally 
 
 . - i • -• 1 by those grand 1 1 1 • • t j F the foreel which the early settlers delighted in 
 
 issihlo. 
 
 Mi I 1 1 k i remarkable Btep toward bringing t.. the new town a desirable 
 of residents, bj providing in :«. 1 1 deeds t" purchasers of lots in V rth Bloomington, thai 
 intoxicating liquors should never be sold on 1 1 ■ • - premises; arid tlii' stringent prohibition 
 
 ift< rward r. I iwn charter, which was intended t" !><• i ntirely prohibil 
 
 This charter needed amendments, however, in 1867, to make it as fully operative as the 
 inhabitants desired, and a petition was circulated asking the Legislatui to make such 
 chanj hould perpetually restrain the town or eity authorities from ever licensing 
 
 the sale ol intoxicating liqui re h is a remarkable fact thai this petition ws I by 
 
 in hi ami woman, and everj child over sev< d old, in ■ town which th< n con- 
 
 tained 1 B(M) inhabitants This incident, though rather out of the proper historii al order, is 
 ralnabli thus discover that the foundations for the gathei ther of a very 
 
 superior class of citizens, were earlj laid broad and deep, and thi quenl oharacter 
 
 of Normal can I"- traced quite plainly t" those early efforts. North Bloomington, in 
 1X57, was barely started -rarely known — called indiscriminately by its proper name, 
 or the ■ Junction ; " s town site without a town, and with no special i for its exist- 
 
 ence 'I'li-i as inhabitant previous to 1855; this a is Mr McCambridge, wl 
 
 a at the cr f the railroads, where, as agent, he attended t-> all tin- 
 
 interests of the r^iilr- ^n 1 lint - tig at that point. Mr. Pell red into bis residence in 
 
 1856, and, during thai year the new town was augmented by the arrival of L R I 
 and family, and a few others, but no great growth tn.,k place till after the events of the 
 
 l 357 
 
 Por the information of some <>t our younger readers, we will state thai from 1848 
 t" 1856. the subject of free schools received a large share ol attention in 1 1 1 i r n ■ i ~ . Settlers 
 tr"iii - where tl re well established, were rapidly pouring in, and tlnir 
 
 influei imbined with the spirit "t" the times resulted in a wonderful impulse being 
 
 given to th< f education. < me <\'n the passage of the act of tli<- 
 
 slature for the establishment of a State Normal University, which passed February 
 1* 1857 Tin- project bad been warmly advocated for nvei J by tie- teachers 
 
 "I'tl. 9 ami all friends of education. As originally |>a.ssr<l, tin- a<t i-nritrinp 
 
 thai an agricultural or industrial college Bhould be attach* d, and we find thai 1 1 • » - fri> nds 
 of these particul ilties were among tl nest laborers for the new institution. 
 
 of the i vli_\ it was called a university, the wa) was thus] I 
 
 for fatui cement Among the most earned ind 
 
 other directions, we might mention the nob IP J B Pun Jackson 
 
 villi- M then of Ottawa, III., now of \ w York 
 
 . that time, 1 r in 
 
 .ml enterpri N l • --a. Im- "- \. w Vork and New J her 
 
 i norm i N >ne of tli<-m w< i t" tin* d< man 1- of
 
 118 
 
 the times. Still, their success had been such as to warrant the public in expecting that 
 institutions for the education and training of teachers of our common schools would aid 
 the cause of education to a desirable degree. Some of the ablest friends of this new 
 project for the proper education of the teachers of the public schools lived in McLean 
 County, among whom we might mention W. F. M. Amy, Jesse W. Fell, Prof. D. Wil- 
 kins and J. H. Wickizer, the latter being member of the Legislature from thia 
 district. 
 
 The public mind was ripe for the proper appreciation of the needs, designs and 
 scope of such a school, although even its own advocates differed somewhat as to the 
 course of study and plans for its development. 
 
 The act of the Legislature provided for a university, although what was established 
 is in fact a normal school. The intention was to gather around the new institution the 
 different colleges — classical, agricultural, industrial, law, medical, and the other depart- 
 ments of a university — until in the end the State should have here a grand university, 
 equal to any in the land. The full design has not been carried out, but there are many 
 who still have hopes that the future may yet see its realization. 
 
 The law provided a Board of Education of the State of Illinois, with power to 
 carry into effect its purposes. This Board consisted of N. W. Edwards, of Springfield ; 
 W. H. Wells, of Chicago ; John R. Eden, Moultrie County ; A. R. Shannon, White 
 County ; Simeon Wright, Lee County ; W. Sloan, Pope County ; George Bunsen, St. 
 Clair County ; George P. Rex, Pike County ; Charles E. Hovey, Peoria ; Daniel Wil- 
 kins, Bloomington ; C. B. Denio, Galena ; F. Mosely, Chicago ; S. W. Moulton, Shelby 
 County, and J. Gillespie, Jasper County. This Board had full power, and it was made 
 their duty, " to fix the permanent location of said Normal University at the place where 
 the most favorable inducements are offered for that purpose, provided that such location 
 shall not be difficult of access, or detrimental to the welfare and prosperity of said Nor- 
 mal University." 
 
 This body of gentlemen soon organized, and it appointed a committee to receive 
 proposals for the location of the Normal University, which committee published notices 
 in several newspapers, stating that the Board would, on a certain specified day, open 
 at Peoria all bids that might be made. 
 
 Several cities and towns entered into competition for what was understood to be a 
 valuable prize. That the value of the new institution was thoroughly appreciated by 
 the inhabitants of Bloomington is shown by the following extract from the Bloomington 
 Pantograph of April 8, 1857, then edited by E. J. Lewis: 
 
 The advantages to be conferred by such an institution upon the place of its location are too 
 obvious to need enlarging upon. Richly endowed from a Government fund, collecting within 
 its walls every year the flower of the youth of every part of the State, and organized with a full 
 corps of the ablest instructors, the Normal University will doubtless take rank among the noblest 
 institutions of learning in the country, and give to the town which contains it a degree of prom- 
 inence at home and abroad scarcely second to that enjoyed by the State capital itself. 
 
 In the light of subsequent events, how prophetic is this statement ! 
 
 Mr. Fell and his co-workers did not rely on appeals made through the public press. 
 On the contrary, they were willing that the competing points should labor under the 
 impression that Bloomington was not thoroughly aroused. These gentlemen labored 
 incessantly with individuals ; argued, pictured, pleaded, taught, both by precept and
 
 119 
 
 pie l the fashion 1 > \ giving libei cripi ions, and 
 
 thai th< \ brought the amount of donations in land and money np u - (0 from pri- 
 
 individuala. They bad previously ■ •* >t .i i u • • 1 a pledge Prom 1 1 * * - men ilio 
 
 County Commission i j* ( url \. J Merriman, of B mington, M - 
 
 sanl Hill, ami II Buck, oi L Ro) «l>" formed the Count) I lima, 
 
 that the) would appropriate from th< | iwamp-landi funds an tin 
 
 equal to that bu I by individuals. This made the total offer $100,< , and it 
 
 thought amplj sufficient to secure the location. 
 
 In order to be full of what Peoria— -the principal competitor -waa doing, 
 
 one of the d live of our part) went to that city, quietly and rather in d 
 
 dropped into ■ back teal of a meeting of the Count) B< ird held in aid of the pr< 
 mixed with the crowd in the and in various waja learned almi 
 
 ia wss preparing to offer [ta liberality alarmed bim; he returned to Bloomin 
 and aroused his friends to Btill further efforts. Mr. Pell and other gentlemen 
 
 i their subscriptions until they reached $2 10, or 170,000 in ill The 
 
 County Court v. lily called together again, the county's part increa &20,000, 
 
 and when the final effort waa completed, at about the last day, in the afternoon, thp 
 total offer amounted to $1 11,000, made up of $70,000 from the first pr< I tin* 
 
 : Mi I. an County's swamp-land, and 171,000 in money, lands and town 1 »ts from 
 individn 
 
 But (If imounl was kept a profound Becret Mr. Pell and a very few others 
 
 aware of the total, as it waa highly important that competing points should remain 
 in ignorance until too late for them to make additional aubscriptioi 
 
 < >n tin- Ttli of May, L857, the State Board of Education met at Peoria to open 
 the bids and decide npon the location. The first offer was that of Batavia. Thia l»id 
 embraced $15,000 in money and the, land and buildings of the Batavia Ensi 
 There were between twenty and twenty-two acres of land, and a building seventy by 
 fifty feet, three stories high, the whole estimated at $30,000, makii via's bid, in 
 
 effect, $45,000. The citizens pledged themselves to raise $25,000, in order to ] 
 debt of $10,000 now resting on the buildings, and to give the ram of $15,000 for the 
 Normal I Diversity direct. There were several propositions from Bloomingt 
 
 i The tract nf L60 acres at the junction was Lhe favorite, and the particu 
 Ian of that proposition w< 
 
 Qai . ;ii subscription $ i 3* 
 
 Local for Junction site '2 
 
 j:. 
 
 88,000 
 
 McLean County subscription 70, i 
 
 |] 11,726. 
 
 There were offered also, b) K II Pell, thirty ol Sugar I | 
 
 -J ■ i « 1 _ - I 1 near lii> residence; by William Plagg, ten acres, on the oorth 
 
 hill above the « - i i y ; by Thomas, Foung & S< irs, forty acres northeast of town; I>_t 
 K II Pell and John Nicolls, eighty acres, two and a half miles east of thi 
 <>f these "ii condition the University be located upon them By 1 1 » • - oil 
 
 1 iid tli.- Tru-iri-> ni' ih. W i.shington Academy 
 > in cash, and the lot 130 b) 120 feet, with brick build 1 1
 
 120 
 
 by 62 feet, and three stories high, of said Academy, in said town ; real estate at 
 $20,000, making the bid $21,000. Peoria offered, in money : 
 
 Individual subscription $25,032. 
 
 City Corporation 10,000. 
 
 County Board of Supervisors 15,000. 
 
 There were several offers of land for sites. Phelps, Conklin & Brady offered 15 
 acres, of which appraisements were unsettled, the first rating it at $18,000, the second 
 at $30,000 ; the twenty-acre site was valued at $20,000 ; 120 acres two miles from the 
 Court House, at $18,000 ; 200 acres three and a half miles from the Court House, at- 
 $20,000, and there were two minor offers. Taking the highset valuation of the princi- 
 pal site, the total bid of Peoria was $80,032. 
 
 The bid of McLean County was so far ahead of Peoria, the next competitor, that 
 the Board of Education located the Normal University in accordance with the condi- 
 tions of the subscription, on the 160 acres of fine rolling land within three-quarters of 
 a mile from the junction of the Illinois Central and Chicago & Alton Bailroads. 
 
 Great must have been the rejoicing at Bloomington on receipt of the glad news of 
 success, after a contest of such intensity ; but we, who look back over twenty years, can 
 scarcely imagine the interest of the occasion. 
 
 The Board of Education made the location upon the condition that the full amount 
 of the McLean County subscription of $70,000 should be legally guaranteed within 
 sixty days, in default of which, the location was to be made at Peoria. They employed 
 Abraham Lincoln to draw up a form of bond or guaranty to be signed by responsible 
 citizens of Bloomington. This guaranty is a matter of such historical interest that we 
 produce it entire, with the list of guarantors, prefacing this with the remark that this 
 bond was thought to be necessary on account of the danger that a future County Court- 
 might reconsider the appropriation, and the further doubt whether the swamp-lands 
 would be sold for cash soon enough to meet contracts for the building about to be 
 erected. 
 
 GUARANTY. 
 
 Whereas, on the 15th day of May, 1857, the Executive Committee of the Board of Educa- 
 tion of the State of Illinois passed a resolution in the words and figures following, to wit : 
 
 " Resolved, That we require of the citizens of Bloomington a guaranty that the sum of 
 $ 14.000 be paid on the 1st day of August next, and the further sum of $14,000 on the 1st day of 
 November next, and the further sum of $14,000 on the 1st day of February next, and the further 
 sum of $14,000 on the 1st day of May next, and the remaining sum of $14,000 on the 1st day of 
 August, 1858, if called for by the Board, to enable them to erect the building of the Normal 
 University, on the McLean County subscription." 
 
 Now, therefore, we, the undersigned, in consideration that the said McLean County subscrip- 
 tion be accepted by said Board of Education, and the said Normal University be located at the 
 place and in accordance with the conditions indicated in and by said McLean County subscrip- 
 tion, do hereby guarantee, each, to the extent of the sum set opposite his name, and no further> 
 the payment to said Board of Education the several sums specified in said resolution, and to be 
 made at the times therein required. And in case of any actual default, we are to share with 
 each other, pro rata, according to the several sums set opposite our names. 
 
 May 15, 1857. 
 
 K. H Fell $5,000 
 
 Jesse W. Fell 5,000 
 
 J. E. McClun 5,000 
 
 A. B. Shaffer 5,000 
 
 A. Gridley 5,000 
 
 George Bruener $1,000 
 
 R. R. Landon 5,000 
 
 R. Leach 500 
 
 W. McCullough 3,000 
 
 H. Rounds 5,000
 
 121 
 
 ■ Park 55.000 II .1 I 
 
 .1 11 : "< " /. 1 . 
 
 \ .1 Merriman 1,000 John M 
 
 Jc.llll 1<HM. |. 
 
 W I '.'HI Jl 
 
 \ u 2, \ W M wre 
 
 B 1: 1. 1 500 <> Ellsworth 
 
 R I - <«' I. Inn. 11 
 
 
 
 • u > ei 2, / v 11 
 
 .1. II 1: d I Kenyoi - 
 
 William F. Plagg Brier 
 
 Orerman 1.000 \ Johnstone 
 
 William] 1.000 1: Thorn] Co 1,000 
 
 I' l» Haggard I.'nmi 
 
 • •11 Young ' 
 
 W. 1 1 . 
 
 C Baker 
 
 I w Lander 
 
 John l 
 
 Iph 1,000 
 
 . I'ayne Slening 1.<hm» 
 
 M Pike... I. E. H. Rood 1,000 
 
 - B Hanoe I John J. Prioe 
 
 I W Holder 2,000 Joseph Ludington I 
 
 B P M rehouse 1,000 0. Rugg 1,000 
 
 I.I \ B. Heafei 
 
 Charles Roadnighl Ki iher 
 
 ii I-'.. 8,000 s, Galagher 
 
 William W. Orme 5,000 Birch 8 Brothers 1,000 
 
 w n task & Company ■ 00 1 2,000 
 
 m I M yor 
 
 1>. L Crist..... 2 000 
 
 Thei 
 
 Btipp 
 
 u 11 Temple 
 
 8,01 
 
 James Bronson 
 
 \| Philips l.'x»u 
 
 I Humphreys 1,000 
 
 Wakefield.... i 
 
 . u rati 
 
 J, Warner 
 
 v Ward 5 
 
 Hartn 
 
 Bdward D Ben imin 1,000 James L Rice 1 .<*><» 
 
 I n Bakewell. 6,000 W P. Withers 1,000 
 
 It H. 8ehroeder 1,000 .1 Adams 1.000 
 
 II M. I 
 
 I _ii ii .mi \ was never enforced, as il was found thai sod f the lands \^r.- 
 
 sold for cash, others on credit and the proceeds used in tin- building, and it : » i ~ « » hap- 
 
 - no trouble abonl the county appropriation, as it was 1 firmed bj the 
 
 rt in tli-- -j.riiiu of 1858 This nen court consisted of a I s ■ •:» r- 1 of Supervi 
 tip- •-• >n Mt v having adopted township organization al 1 1 1 . - fall election in 1857 This 
 inty, however, was made in ur- •< »■ 1 faith, was of -_ r r«-:i t value al the time, and is one 
 the important steps taken to secure the Normal Dnn 
 (t will also be interesting to read the lisl of subscribers, which we The 
 
 following 1- a li-t of subscriptions thai were nearly all given with the single cooditioa 
 that the institution >h< >ul<l !»• located al some poinl within one mil"' of tl rat«- 
 
 liuiius of BloomingtOD 
 
 • W. Pell, i it irelre months 
 
 mywhei • hi. 
 
 ui'l 1 welve monl I 
 lonlhs. 
 William W. On . ■■ months. 
 
 1 w i- i • ihf t>iii : 
 
 K. II. f re in nit 
 
 Pari 
 
 ■ 
 R. II. La oaths
 
 122 
 
 George Dietrich, $50, payable in six and twelve months. 
 Leonard Swett, $100, payable in six and twelve months. 
 W. Thomas, $100, payable in six and twelve months. 
 A. & 0. Barnard, $100, payable in six and twelve months. 
 J. E. McClun, $-300, in real estate at cash prices. 
 Isaac Mitchell, $-30, payable in six and twelve months. 
 William E. Foote, $100, pavable in six and twelve months. 
 James P. Keen, $100, payable in six and twelve months. 
 S. B. Hance, $100, payable in six and twelve months. 
 Hance & Taylor, $100, payable in six and twelve months. 
 •Corydon Weed, $100, payable in six and twelve months. 
 John R. Smith, $50, payable in six and twelve months. 
 R. Y. Stockton, $50, payable in six and twelve months. 
 O. Ellsworth, $100, payable in six and twelve months. 
 Lewis Bunn, $100, payable in eight and twelve months. 
 
 E. Thorp, Smith & Co., $100, payable in six and twelve months. 
 John Magoun, $100, payable in six and twelve months. 
 
 C. P. Merriman, $50, payable in six and twelve months. 
 
 F. K. Phoenix, $100, payable in one and two years. 
 F. Price, $100, payable in one and two years. 
 
 E. Thomas, $200, payable in one and two years. 
 Denton Young, $100, payable in one and two years. 
 W. W. Taylor, $200, payable in one and two years. 
 K. P. Taylor, $150, payable in one and two years 
 
 K. H. Fell, $100, payable in good notes, to be made payable in one and two years from the 
 1st of June next, provided the said institution is located within two miles of the corporate limits 
 ■of the city of Bloomington. 
 
 Jesse W. Fell, $500, payable by the conveyance of 100 acres of land, of average value, 
 in Range 4 west, of Jackson County, 111., on completion of building. 
 
 The list which follows is made up principally of those who limited their subscrip- 
 tion to a location within three-fourths of a mile of the junction of the Illinois Central 
 and Chicago & Alton Railroads. These individuals owned land in North Bloom- 
 ington, or adjoining, or near by, and hence had, most of them, a direct interest in the 
 location. Several of these made smaller unconditional subscriptions. C. W. Holder, 
 for instance, would give $200, wherever the institution might be located, and $800 
 more provided North Bloomington were the fortunate point. The most of this, with 
 that in the preceding list, was limited, practically, to the site which was chosen, it being 
 within one mile of the corporate limits of Bloomington, and also within three-fourths of 
 a. mile of the crossing of the two railroads : 
 
 Jesse W. Fell, $2,000 (including a subscription of $500 already madel, payable in one, two, 
 three, four and five years : Provided, not less than $10,000 more can be added to this subscription, 
 and not less than eighty acres of land ; the first $500 to be expended in making a good side or 
 foot walk to the Junction from University. 
 
 Swett & Orme, $1,500 (including a subscription of $200 already made), payable in one and 
 two years : Provided, not less than $10,000 more can be had to this subscription, and not less 
 than eighty acres of land. 
 
 C. W. Holder, $1,000 (including a subscription of $200 already made), payable in one and 
 two years : Provided, not less than $10,000 more can be had to this subscription, and not less 
 than eighty acres of land. 
 
 F. K. Phoenix, $1,500 (including a subscription of $100 already made), payable one-half 
 in nursery stock or ornamental planting on said site, and the balance in one and two years.
 
 12 
 
 B B London, |1 inclu 
 
 I Pi f f 1«hi 
 
 m 
 R ■ 
 
 A > . • f 
 
 lan-1 i in N'T' ind in M Kb. 
 
 m, £ 7< k » inoludi d 
 
 Ham Hill, £400 
 II, Coin 
 within • land in V>rtli Bloomington. 
 
 I» KV11, • . ■■ in one 
 
 wiili! h end of iny home flurn 
 
 m 1 1 1 _v option. 
 
 I !•'■■ ■■• ■- Ji • yable in one and 
 
 Bliliu 1 mi i wo ye in 
 
 William II - includin i ibe I . 
 
 m. I two yean 
 
 Tl in- Jon • in one an I • by the 
 
 within one • land in the northwest oorneT of my farm, at my opti 
 
 til two yean : ) 
 to the northeast quarter "t" Section 22, Township -I north R 
 \\ . \\ I . - j idle in one and its, including ription alreadj 
 
 K I' Paylor, B500, payable in one and two years, inoluding 
 of |160. 
 
 i B Walkc payable in one and I looaied on the Ann proper! 
 
 rman .v Mum. (1,200, payable in one, two and ilir>>. ry -t..rk, 
 
 imental planting, firs! and second ye 1 balani nd and third 
 
 yen- 
 
 l. I - le in "ii" 1 and t« in cash, or disco •■ within 
 
 by tl and in North Bloomington, and ■ (joining on tin- norl 
 
 iption 
 K II. Fell, | be doe in th n from the l-i of June a< 
 
 iblein one and ti from the Is) "t" June next. 
 
 u II . Aliin, 11,100 ipletion of the building, by the oonTi I ihr 
 
 following lots i 1 : Lot ".. B1ook2; Lot 1 I, I 14 and l B 
 
 sad Lot 9, Block 24 dl ol Western Addition I ton 
 
 William 1 m the completion "f the building 
 
 N 0n< I ' ' I ■ • i '. I taining fort] 
 
 (160, payable in . equal installments 
 
 '■'• I le, "ii ili«- oompli the 1 rity Building, by the 
 
 teyanre of 1,4 I 
 
 the Third Principal Meridian, and to 1 f 
 
 • 
 The Ik- v t |j -:lv made of those who subscribed on oondition thai the inetito- 
 
 ri'Mi should b nae point within three miles of tli>- ite limits of Bloom- 
 
 • .ii 
 Dielric ible in nine months ind 
 
 P ii i & bid ike, $1<^ n nine months sad balaai n. 
 
 B r m i»lf pay i i meat]
 
 124 
 
 D. L. Crist, $100, within one mile of Bloomington, one-half in six months, balance in 
 twelve months, and §100 more if located within one-half mile of Junction. 
 
 A. C. Washburn, $50. 
 
 Harwood & Rugg, §200, one-half payable in nine months and balance in fifteen, if located 
 one-half mile from Junction. 
 
 John Denman, §100, on condition that said school is located within one and one-half miles 
 of Bloomington. 
 
 E. K. Crothers, $50, one-half in nine months and balance in one year. 
 R. E. Woodson, $50, one-half in six months and balance in one year. 
 
 Thomas Carlile, §200, one-half in six months and balance in twelve months if located 
 "within one mile of the corporate limits. 
 C. Weed, §500. 
 
 Samuel Watson, §200, in one and two years. 
 O' Donald & Warner, §300, in one and two years. 
 C. W. Lander, §50. 
 E. Barber & Co., §50. 
 R. B. Harris, §25. 
 A. Steel, §25. 
 
 E. Martin, §100, in one and two years. 
 T. J. Karr, §25. 
 
 C. Wakefield, §50, in one and two years. 
 Giles A. Smith & Graham, $50, in one and two years. 
 Samuel Colvin, §25. 
 
 John McMillan, §25, in one and two years. 
 A. J. Nason, §25, in one and two years. 
 J. Bronson, §25, in one and two years. 
 A. Sutton, §25, in one and two years. 
 J. W. Lichenthaler, $25, in one and two years. 
 J. B. Crouch, §25, in one and two years. 
 K. Thompson, §25, in one and two years. 
 J. W. Moore, §50, in one and two years. 
 Orin Small, §100, in one and two years. 
 James Grover, §100, in four yearly payments. 
 E. M. Phillips, §100, in four yearly payments. 
 
 The subscriptions in this last list, as well as those in the first and second classes, 
 were, by the terms of their subscription, included among the donations to the Normal 
 University. 
 
 In addition to the above, we find that Joseph Payne and Meshack Pike donated 
 the site where the institution was located, consisting of about sixty acres, with enough 
 more on the west to make their gift about eighty acres, the whole valued at about 
 $22,000. Mr. E. W. Bakewell and Judge David Davis, each gave forty acres, valued, 
 altogether, at $16,000. The whole of the last-mentioned eighty acres, and some of the 
 other, is west of Main street, and is the land designed to be used by the agricultural 
 department of the institution. 
 
 The list we have given speaks for itself. It is a record of liberality, which, at the 
 time it was made, was unparalleled, and caused great comment all over the country. 
 We should not forget that the most valuable part of the subscription -that which really 
 was of the most solid importance — was the county subscription. This was voted by the 
 County Commissioners — Judge A. J. Merriman, of Bloomington, and his Associates, 
 Hon. Milton Smith, of Pleasant Hill, and Hon. H. Buck, of Le Roy, in a quiet, 
 almost private session, with no opportunity to consult their constituents.
 
 IS 
 
 III t Ik- I •l.lli-ll H 
 
 |: - follow ii 
 
 \. .1 Mori in. in Swamp- Land < '..nun i McL n I 
 
 • !ounty i Joun in n* 'li- 
 luii 
 
 I ' I; i 
 
 win. ii-. up 'ii which bi 'i the i 
 
 \ - ■ I 
 
 g - i iioo !. The : 
 
 a I, : urjj iud T. H. S • the sum ■ >! - 
 
 tub« r 1 . 1 -">- Tli' ool i " as laid fc I 357. 1 >:, 
 
 i' impn II .1 I Jddj , of th 
 
 Church yer. Prof I' Wilkin- read :i letter fi 
 
 M :i appropriate to the occasion. W. II. Powell State S 
 
 i in thi chool laws ami of i 
 
 . 
 Mr. Jem VV I' 'i posited a list of all 1 1 » « - contributors to the the 
 
 i.il. and hoped t" Bee the institution develop in'" a complex 3 I with 
 
 i model farm and agricultural colli 
 
 I'r lv I! Roe, thi editor of the lUinou /•' ipt 1 all the III nil 
 
 re "I' th<- urn.-, ami mail.- a very appropriate b. Judge \ J. Merriman, of 
 
 County ( ''iiirt. placed tin- upper Btooe in position when the ceremony 
 
 imount of work bad been done upon the Btone foun- 
 dation of the lower story, and about $30,000 was expend • the work was bus 
 
 . I'm! tin- winter -• a- .11 
 
 The financial crisis of 1857, which commenced in the month of September, 
 the means ol ng a discontinuance of the work on the building. The county lands 
 
 •■<iulJ n. ish . many ol tin- subscribers were crip] I it was thought 
 
 by tin- State I it a feu years, till money matters might !•■ isier, 
 
 ami hence tin- buildings w< re not fully completed until the '-^rlv part of 1861. l»nrin^ 
 
 ' an 1 1800, work was pushed with Bufficii nt vi_>..r to Bee tin- building iuelused in the 
 
 winter of 1859, and far enough advanced bo that the gradoatin tin- first 
 
 - were held at tin- new building in June, 1860. 
 
 Tempoi mi had been secured by tin- Stat. Board at Major's Hall, in HI. ...in 
 
 ii. where, on tin- "»tli day of October, 1857, Charles K II Principal, and Ira 
 
 M stant, opened the Normal Scl I with 29 pupils, wl 1 
 
 • luriii-.'i! ir to a total of 127 Major's Hall continued to until 
 
 the fall term of I860 when the Normal build i ipied 
 
 otire institution of the room* ..1 nil late in the 
 
 winter, at which time tin- Stat.- made an appropriation I ; rhich 
 
 nmulated against the Board Ed The building <"-t more than the 
 
 sum ' : upon, at "I n I in the 
 
 appropri im I nd furnishing I 
 
 rti..n 'it this Its in 
 
 t 1861 r other r. . -» in Im i In 
 
 irere fully paid I
 
 126 
 
 the building, with all the incidental expenses, and the amount asked for books and 
 furniture up to 1863, was about 8200,000 ; but had the building been completed near 
 the time it was started, the total cost would probably not have exceeded §100,000, 
 reckoning simply the cost of the building. It should be stated that McLean County 
 honorably met its subscription according to its terms, and that nearly all the private 
 individuals paid, though, as before stated, the State Board of Education did not enforce 
 the subscriptions at the time most of them were payable. 
 
 The Normal building is located about two miles north of the McLean County 
 Court House, on an elevated plateau, commanding a splendid view of Bloomington and 
 the surrounding country. At the time of its erection, the adjacent lands were princi- 
 pally utilized for agricultural purposes; but since that time, the beautiful suburban vil- 
 lage of Normal, with its elegant villas, lovely parks, classic church-spires and wealth of 
 flowers and shade-trees, has clustered around it, making as fine a combination of nat- 
 ural and artificial landscapes as can be found in the entire West. 
 
 The building is admirably arranged for collegiate use. Its dimensions are 1G0 feet 
 in length ; the end wings are 100 feet in width, and the central portions, 80 feet. The 
 distance from the basement to the extreme height of the tower is 140 feet. The base- 
 ment is divided into apartments, used, respectively, as a chemical and zoological labora- 
 tory, scientific lecture-room and dissecting-rooms. These are furnished with the neces- 
 saries for thorough, practical tests and demonstrations in the various branches. The remain- 
 der of the basement is occupied by the janitor's rooms and the heating apparatus, hot 
 air and steam being both utilized. Here, also, may be found reels of hose, connected 
 with the reservoir, located near the roof, which furnish sufficient water-pressure to 
 extinguish any ordinary outbreak of fire. 
 
 The first floor is exactly symmetrical in its divisions, the adjacent sides and oppo- 
 site ends corresponding precisely with each other in the size of the apartments. The 
 north side is divided into four recitation-rooms, occupied by the grammar and high 
 schools. The corner rooms on the south side are large, convenient dressing-rooms. 
 The primary department serves as a training-school for teachers. Here, the pupils of 
 the normal department witness the theoretical, practical and disciplinary work of teach- 
 ing, demonstrated by Prof. Metcalf and his assistants. Pupils are required to take 
 charge of primary classes, affording them an excellent opportunity to put into practice 
 the theories imbibed by observation. The reception-room, in the central front, is a neat 
 apartment, carpeted with Brussels and furnished with upholstered chairs and sofas, the 
 walls hung' with portraits, and, on one side, adorned with an elegant gilt-framed mirror. 
 
 Amending to the second floor, we find the assembly-rooms occupying the entire 
 width of the building, with seats and desks for 270 pupils. The remainder of this 
 floor is divided into eight recitation-rooms, the library and reading-rooms. The library 
 contains about one thousand two hundred volumes of choice, standard reference-books. 
 The reading-room contains files of prominent literary and news journals. 
 
 The third floor contains five couipartincuts — the museum, Normal Hall and the 
 two society-rooms, the latter occupying the west end ; they are 30x50 feet each, and 
 seat 250 persons. They are similarly furnished, each with a well-selected library, a. 
 piano and oilier appropriate articles, all of which are the property of the societies. The 
 Pliadelphian and Wrightoniana hold their regular literary exercises once a week. The 
 Normal Ball is 80 feet square and 20 feet in width, with a seating capacity of about
 
 127 
 
 800 persons. The museum occupies the east end, and contains a very valuable collec- 
 tion, of great interest to the student as well as interesting to visitors, and is valued at 
 nearly $100,000. 
 
 Charles E. Hovey was the first President, from 1857 to 1861, followed by Perkins 
 Bass, for the years 1861 and 1862. Richard Edwards became President in 1862, and 
 filled the position with great ability until 1876, when Mr. E. C. Hewitt, who had been 
 an assistant in the institution from 1858 / was selected by the State Hoard of Educa- 
 tion, and has been President to the present time. 
 
 The following gentlemen and ladies constitute the present Normal Faculty : Edwin 
 C. Hewett, LL. D., President, Professor of Mental Science and Didactics ; Thomas 
 Metcalf, A. M., Principal of the Training Department ; Albert Stetson, A. M., Pro- 
 fessor of Language and Reading ; John W. Cook, Professor of Mathematics ; Henry 
 McCormick, Professor of History and Geography ; Stephen A. Forbes, Director of Sci- 
 entific Laboratory ; Minor L. Seymour, Professor of Natural Science ; Lester A. Bur- 
 rington, A. M., Professor of Latin aud Greek and Principal of the High School ; Mrs. 
 Martha D. L. Haynie, Professor of Modern Languages ; Miss Armada G. Paddock, 
 First Assistant, Training Department ; Charles DeGarmo, Second Assistant, Training 
 Department ; Miss Rosalie Miller, Teacher of Drawing ; Miss Bandusia Wakefield, 
 First Assistant Normal School ; Miss Flora Pennell, Second Assistant Normal School. 
 
 During the year ending June, 1878, the number of students in the normal proper 
 was 447 ; and in the high, grammar and primary schools connected with the institu- 
 tion, there were 235. 
 
 Since the Normal University first started, nearly four hundred pupils have taken 
 the full three-years course and graduated, while nearly seven thousand different students 
 have availed themselves of its advantages. The institution has done a creator work 
 with those pupils who have attended a portion of the course than with the limited num- 
 ber whose means enabled them to avail themselves of the entire curriculum. 
 
 When the Normal Building was ready for occupancy, in the fall of 1860, the vil- 
 lage of Normal comprised only about thirty houses, and a large number of the students 
 resided in Bloomington during the first two years; but by the fall of 1S62, there were 
 enough tenements to accommodate all who desired board at Normal. From this time 
 forward, the number of permanent residents in Normal rapidly increased, and probably 
 the year 1863 maybe taken as the time when the village had become in reality, distinct 
 and separate from Bloomington, with definite aims of its own. Houses went up on 
 every side, retail stores, began to be started, and Normal was a town of 1,000 inhab- 
 itants as early as 1865. 
 
 The total expenses of the Normal Dapartment from July 1, 1877, to February 1, 
 1879, were $42,092, the whole of which wero paid by the State. The total receipts from 
 the Model Department for the same time, $5.776 ; expenses, $5,635. The expenses of 
 running this school are met by the tuiiion fees charged to the pupils, only about thirty 
 of the smallest being admitted free. These last are needed in order that the pupils in the 
 Normal Department may acquire experience in the training of children. The Normal 
 University has taken a high rank among similar institutions, and has a firm hold upon 
 the hearts of the leading educators of the State. Its graduates have acquitted them- 
 selves with honor, some of them having been chosen to fill leading positions in normal 
 schools in other States. Its Influence is felt not only in every part of Illiuois, but
 
 128 
 
 throughout the entire West. It is an institution of which the State may well be 
 proud, and is an honor to the community in which it is located. 
 
 SOLDIERS' ORPHANS 1 SOME. 
 
 While our civil war was raging, manj plans were discussed for the future car 
 the disabled Boldiers, and for the orphan children of those who might lose their lives in 
 the countr - As early as January 19, 1864, there was a meeting at the Court 
 
 Hone in II." imington, at which quite a number of citizens and several officers and sol- 
 diers who happened to be at home on furlough, were present. A motion was offered by 
 I. McNulta, of the Ninety fourth Hlinois, proposing a resolution to appoint a commit- 
 tee to memorialize the Legislature in regard to preparing a home for soldiers' orphans. 
 This motion w tided by Lieut. Col. Roe, of the Thirty-third Illinois Regiment, and 
 
 it was carried unanimously. Other parties in different portions of the State, about the 
 same time, re-echoed the sentiments of this meeting, and the movement here Btarted re- 
 sulted in the | of an act of the Legislature, February 7. 1865, without a dissenting 
 70te, which is "• An act to establish a home for children of deceased soldier-. This law 
 was not found quite operative, and. during the winter of 1867, it was further amended. 
 The new law provided for a Commission to locate the home, and for trustees who Bhould 
 manage the same. It appropriated the sum of $70,000 toward erecting :i suitable 
 building. Gov. ( Iglesby added to this the sum of $30,000, which was in his care, known 
 as the " Deserters' Fund. This money had been left in the hands of the Governor by 
 men who had enlisted for bounties, and after enlistment had deserted or died, and left no 
 heirs, and it seemed best to appropriate it to some worthy object. The citizens id' Normal 
 under the lead of M r. J. --e \V. Fell, organized a movement in April, to secure, if possible, 
 the location of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home. The Commission for its location consisted 
 of Dr. II. C. Johns, of Decatur. Col. W. Niles, of Belleville. Maj. John M. Beardsley, 
 of Rock Island, Col. J. H. Mayborne, of Geneva, and Col. T. A Marshall, of Charleston. 
 Roek Island offered lm> acres of land, valued at Sill. 000; cash. $5,000; total. 
 $15,000. Decatur ottered 11 acres of land, [rvington, Washington County, offered 
 •III acres. Springfield's offer was I'll acre- of land, valued at $20,000; cash. $40,000; 
 total. $60,000. The location offered by Springfield was not desirable, and when it was 
 
 compared with the offer of Normal, the Commission, on the 3d of May. lHi". unani- 
 mously voted to locate the Soldiers Orphans' Some at Normal. As a matter of histor- 
 ical reference, we give the list of donors : 
 
 1». Davis, 80 acres, valued at $12, » w. <;. Parr $200 
 
 J. W. Fell, -. acres, value 1 al 10,000 S. A. Overman 300 
 
 K. II. K.ll, s. E.21, 15, 1, valued at... 2.000 M. D. Seward 200 
 
 u. H. Mann, land valued a( 1. James Kelley 100 
 
 II. P. Taylor, 20 acres valued at 2.41111 Thomas S. Under hill 150 
 
 w. \. Pennell 1,000 B.Smith 120 
 
 J. s. Walkt-r, land valued at 876 C. D. Jamea •""" 
 
 .V Dixon, V N E. 12, 25, A. valued 1,000 Joshua Brown 150 
 
 F. K. Pheeniz, 20 acres, valued at 2,500 Tl as Bates 100 
 
 O. M. Dolman, payable in ^i\ and <J. Dietrioh 1,000 
 
 eighteen months 250 Thomas Fell 100 
 
 L. A. Hovey, payable in six and twelve W. w. Bright 125 
 
 months 500 8 .) Reeder 
 
 L. Dillon, five acres, » tied al I 1 "' J. E Mc lun 600 
 
 W. II. .Ml i 11 1,000 Chicago & Uton Railroad in freights at 
 
 John Worden 200 tariff rates 10,000 
 
 Jackson Hulrill 200 
 
 C. <;. MoClure 1,1 Total $50,220 
 
 J. P.. Gaston »««>
 
 129 
 
 Mr. Jesse W. Fell's offer was finally made at $10,0u0, nearly all cash, the balance 
 in materials, thus making it to him a very costly donation. Judge Davis' gift of land, 
 afterward, at the request of the Board, modified to sixty-five acres, could, at the 
 time, probably have been sold for the full amount at which it was valued in the list. As 
 will be seen, nearly all of the donors were Normal citizens, and this liberality toward an 
 institution, which does not, from its nature, call for the building of many residences or 
 bring to the village much business, is truly most remarkable, and shows that the inhab- 
 itants of the place appreciate the pecuniary value of educational institution-. 
 
 The Board of Trustees, as soon as possible, let the contract for the Home building, 
 and, on the 17th of June, 18G9, it was dedicated to the use designed. The cost of the 
 structure is placed in the books of the institution at $125,000. It is 1 10 
 feet long, eighty feet wide, and four stories high. In the east end of the 
 basement story are the girls' playrooms, bathroom and storeroom, and the place 
 where the girls' clothing is manufactured. In the west end, we find the boys' 
 playroom, bathroom and storeroom, while between the two departments is the largo 
 dining-hall. On the next floor is the reception parlor, with the officers' rooms 
 in thu front, while at the east end is the library and reading-room, which contains a fine 
 library of 1,300 volumes. In this end, we find also the nursery for very small chil- 
 dren. In the western portion of this floor are two large dormitories, which contain 
 beds for about fifty children, and there are smaller dormitories and other rooms for 
 various purposes. On the third floor, we find the large chapel in front, in which is a 
 fine pipe organ. There are also dormitories on this floor. On the upper floor is one 
 very large dormitory in front, others in the ends, with hospital accommodations, both 
 for boys and girls. The whole building is warmed with steam, is lighted with gasoline 
 gas made on the premises, is furnished with iron fire-escape ladders, and with ropes and 
 all appliances for fire purposes. In the rear are the kitchen, laundry and boiler-house, 
 erected in 1872, at a cost of $6,000. Here we find the most approved arrangements 
 for cooking and heating, and for taking care of the children. The schoolhouse stands a few 
 rods east of the main building, and was built in 1872 at a cost of $15,000. It has six 
 schoolrooms, where 7 teachers take care of the 312 pupils now in the institution. The 
 State may well be proud of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home. It is under the care of a 
 Board of three Trustees, who are Gem John I. Rinaker, of Carlinville ; Gen. J. C. 
 Black, of Danville, and Duncan M. Funk, of Bloomington. Dr. J. L. White is Phy- 
 sician ; Clark N. Gill, Secretary, and Isaac N. Philips, Treasurer, all of Bloomington. 
 Mrs. Virginia C. Ohr is Superintendent. She commenced her labors in this institution 
 June 1, 1869, a short time previous to the dedication of the building. Before this, she 
 had been at Springfield for eighteen months in charge of about ninety orphans, who 
 were brought to Normal in June. There had been about ninety children in Blooming- 
 ington for the same time at temporary homes — one on North Main street, west of the 
 Wesleyan University, and the other at the corner of Prairie and North streets. 
 The annual expenditures of the State in behalf of soldiers' orphans at this institution 
 have been from $30,000 to $45,000 per annum. This noble charity is but a small por- 
 tion of the country's debt to the brave men who risked their lives in the defense of the 
 country. It is accomplishing a groat work, and is one of the State institutions which 
 seems to have little difficulty in securing appropriations.
 
 130 
 
 EARLY 6ET1 LEMENT. 
 
 The township of Norma] contains only one small tract of timber-land, the whole of 
 the balance being among the richest and finest prairie to be found in the State. There 
 are do swamps of any magnitude, and no la mis. Sugar Creek and its branches 
 
 become noticeable in times of high-water, overflowing wide tracts along the ban!, 
 most of which, however, are seldom covered with water long enough to render it liable 
 to be included in the category of waste land, as it produces abundant crops in spite of 
 its occasional submersion. The timber-land referred to is at the extreme southern 
 edge of the township of Normal. 
 
 Here, of course, along the borders of Little Grove, now called Major's Grove, we 
 shall find the early settlement of the town, though at first included in the precinct of 
 Bloomington, and being at a later day, down to the present time, a part of the corporation 
 of Bloomington, it will be really difficult to include its history with that of Normal. 
 Still, as our work deals with these matter- territorially, we will give a sketch of the 
 early settlement of Major's Grove, as well as a slight mention of the more recent devel- 
 opment of the prairie portion of the township. 
 
 The first entry of Government land in the Grove was made by Robert II. Peebles 
 August 11, 1830. Peebles seems to have been the first genuine land speculator of 
 this region, as his name appears frequently in the earlier entries. He lived at Vandalia, 
 111., and loaned money to the pioneers. His entry was the east half of the southeast 
 quarter of Section '■'>- — eighty acres. This tract includes the present Water Works and 
 stove-foundry. Achilles Deathcrage appears to have been the first settler in the Grove, 
 about the year 1831. His residence was in the central or western portion, while, a 
 li: tie later in the same year, Robert Guthrie occupied a log cabin in the eastern part, 
 and lived there for some time. 
 
 Most of the Grove was purchased, in 1835, by Rev. W. T. Major, and it has since 
 been called Major's Grove. Here he built a residence, and at a later date, in 1855 and 
 IS5G, he erected the fine educational building, since called Major's College. Its cost was 
 over S1G,000, and its value, with the land, was §2(1,000. This was occupied as a young 
 ladies' seminary for several years, though at first intended to be a female orphan school. 
 At times, it was well filled with students from Bloomington and Central Illinois, having 
 been occupied as late as 1S07. Mr. Major was one of the leading members of the 
 Christian d< nomination. He gave liberally to schools and colleges of that Church, and 
 finally decided to present it this fine building. A full Board of Trustees was appointed, 
 and an effort made to operate the College as a denominational institution, but it was not 
 very successful, owing, mainly, to the fact that 'he Christian Church was interested in 
 several other Western colleges. This magnificent gift from one of the noblest Christian 
 gentlemen of the age, is almost without a parallel. The College building i> still stand- 
 ing, a monument to his memory. 
 
 It seems that there is nothing of very special public interest connected with the 
 early settlement of Normal Township. Down to the adoption of township organization 
 in 1858, the residents of the townships were attached to ihe precinct of Bloomington, 
 and its early history is almost inseparable from that of the latter town. The prairie- 
 land was gradually purchased and occupied, until, by the year 1850, there wen- a good 
 many farms under cultivation. There was, howewr, rather a rapid demand for the
 
 131 
 
 lands during the speculative era of 1836. Tn that year, John Woods and N. E. Hall 
 entered the whole of Section 4; P. S. Loughborough entered Section 9; John Grigg, 
 the whole of Section 15 ; James Allin purchased Section 17; and A. Gridley bought. 
 Section 20. The year previous, 1835, saw the entry of Section 21, by James Allin, 
 and Section 27 by Dr. John F. Henry. This rapid entry, did not, however, indicate 
 immediate settlement, as most of these tracts were purchased on "speculation," and 
 were not improved for many years. Some of these tracts were afterward sold for taxes. 
 
 All that portion of Normal Township included within the limits of the city of 
 Bloomington was settled and improved, of course, with the city, and its history is 
 included in that of the city proper ; just outside of this territory we shall find its his- 
 tory is also nearly identical. As we go further north, the land was early improved, the 
 settlements extending northward quite gradually from the center to the northern edge, 
 where in the northern half there was considerable Government land as late as in 1850, 
 when the Illinois Central charter granted all such tracts to that corporation. Between 
 1850 and 1856, nearly all this northern portion was purchased by farmers, and improve- 
 ments made thereon, though a few tracts were unbroken as late as 1 862. Several thou- 
 sand acres of Normal land were purchased at a very early day by Judge David Davis, 
 and he still owns 2,000 acres in this township. Normal was quite well settled in 1858, 
 nearly every section of land being under cultivation, unless we except the Judge Davis 
 tract, near the center of the town, and few other portions which were used as a com- 
 mon herding ground. As late as 1857, the Bloomington city cows made daily journeys 
 to the free pasturage offered by these open ranges. Normal farming land is all good, 
 and nearly every acre of it is held at high prices. 
 
 One of the early settlers of Normal was Mr. Elihu Rogers, whose home was on 
 North Main street, where his widow now resides. He was engaged in business many 
 years in Bloomington, and was always liberal-hearted, a leader in all good enterprises. 
 He was one of the principal organizers of the Second Presbyterian Church in Bloom- 
 ington ; he contributed several thousand dollars toward the new church in 1856. Mrs. 
 Rogers built the best business block in the village of Normal, in 1877. 
 
 Charles E. Fell's nursery was started quite early — some time before 1859. It is 
 one of the best collections of small fruit in Central Illinois. 
 
 Cyrus R. Overman's nursery was noted all over the West, from 1857 to 1864. 
 He was in company with Capt. W. II. Mann, and together they carried on a very large 
 business northeast of the Normal University. Mr. Overman was well known as a 
 writer on horticultural subjects, and was in every way worthy of the affection and 
 esteem in which he was held by his friends all over the State. At his death a few 
 years ago, the members of the State Horticultural Society erected a beautiful monu- 
 ment to his memory in the Bloomington Cemetery. 
 
 The world-renowned nurseries of Mr. F. K. Phoenix were also in Normal Town- 
 ship. These are described elsewhere in this work. A.t one time the different nursery- 
 men in Normal Township cultivated over one thousand acres of land in trees and small 
 fruit. Even now, notwithstanding the falling-off in the trade, there is probably no town 
 in this State that has as much ground devoted to nurseries as has Normal. Several of 
 these are devoted almost wholly to raspberries, blackberries and small fruits. Among 
 " those who are interested both in trees and fruit, in addition to the ones mentioned, aro 
 II. K. Vickroy and others.
 
 132 
 
 TOWNSHIP 0RGAKIZA1 ION. 
 
 Wr have before mentioned that the townehip organization of McLean County 
 dates from the spring of 1858. Previous to thai time, Normal was a portion of the 
 precinct of Bloomington, and voted with it on all State, national and county matters. 
 The city of Bloomington, even then, extended into the township of Normal, and all the 
 inhabitants of the city voted then, as now, at ward elections, and on municip il questions. 
 1)1.11 the final adoption of township organization, the Biz miles square north of Bloom- 
 ington was named, very appropriately, Normal. 
 
 The firs! town-meeting was held April 6, L858. William <i. Thompson was el© 
 Supervisor, and John J. North. Town Clerk ; <). M. Colman ami W P. Cooledge were 
 
 ii Justices <it' the Peace. The first Commissioners of Highways were John 
 McLean, W. M. Hall ami Robert Larrimore. William Hill was \- ssor, and I 
 Wnitmer, Tax Collector. The lamented Cyrus R. Overman was Supervisor in 1 
 Mr. < >. M. Colman was Supervisor in 1866 and 1867. 
 
 In 187!», the Supervisor was K. B. Chaplin, with T. ('. Funk as his Assist- 
 ant. The Collector was Jerome Chipman, the A or, J. B. Sargent, ami the 
 
 Town Clerk, W. P. McMurray. The town vote is about 1,000, when all 
 brought out. The usual number of voters is from 7>M) to '-'MO. The total 
 population of the- township, meaning thereby all who live in the six miles square, 
 musl be nearly 6,000. No township census has been taken since \S~\). The 
 number of voters is large enough to indicate thai 6,000 is not far from what the 
 census of lSSti will exhibit. That portion of the township lying in the corporatii n of 
 Normal contains a population of 2,720, and that lying in Bloomington is always counted 
 with Bloomington in such a manner that it can with difficulty he separated. The 
 United States census, which follows the township lines and includes all the agricultural 
 people living in neither of the two municipal corporations, as well as those in the latter, 
 will not be published until after l.SXll. 
 
 The township of Normal, like nearly all our McLean County townships, moves 
 along in a very quiet manner. It has incurred no debt; it meddles not with the 
 schools, with the State institutions, nor with Normal village. Its citizens meet and 
 transact what little business there is, keep their taxes down as low as possible, elect 
 their officials, and then go home and wait till it is time to repeat the same operation. 
 In I860, the population of Normal Township was 660. In 1870, the population of the 
 same territory was 1,372. 
 
 Y 1 1.LAUE ORGAN I X AT [ON. 
 
 To provide for the proper government of the rapidly-growing village, the inhabit- 
 ants voted September 30, 1865, under the general law to incorporate as a town. The 
 
 Trustee- elected Were L A. Ho'.eV. Wesley lVaice l>. I'. Fyffij, John A llockwood 
 
 and 8. J. Reeder. 
 
 October -. the Trustees organized by choosing Weslej Pearce, President, and S 
 .1. Reeder, < !lerk. 
 
 The firsl election under the charter of 1867 was held March 18 of that year, 
 resulting in the choice as Trustees of W. A. Pennell, L A. Hovey, S. J. Reeder, 
 William Wilde and James Loer. 
 
 < in the -1st day of March the Trustees met, and they .-elected L. A. Hovey for 
 President, and S. J. Reeder as Clerk. The territory included in the town corporation
 
 133 
 
 of Normal is two miles square, and the center is near the northwest corner of the 
 Normal building. Normal "School District" comprises the same territory, and, in 1867, 
 the members of its " Board of Education" were chosen by the Town Trustees. On the 
 21st day of March. lSl'.T. the Trustees elected the first Board of Education, consisting 
 of W. B. Smith. 0. M. Colman, T. S. Underbill and J. A. Sewall. Previous to this 
 time, the children of the district had attended the Model School, which is attached to 
 the Normal. All the property in Normal School District, except the University, or 
 other property properly exempt, is taxable for school purposes ; while for corporation 
 purposes, farming or horticultural lands, in ten-acre tracts or larger, are not taxed unless 
 laid out in town lots, or used as residences. 
 
 The present Board of Town Trustees is: B. F. Carpenter, President; H. G. 
 Fisher, H. K. Vickroy, R. B. Chaplin and J. Chipman. As before stated, this Board 
 has no power to license the sale of intoxicating liquors, and as a result it has little need 
 of police or police magistrates. There are now 2,720 people within the corporation by 
 actual count ; and we question if there can be found in the State a village of equal 
 size with so large a number of moral and religious and well-behaved persons. The 
 village is just what it was hoped it would become, when, in 1857, the State Board of 
 Education selected this as the site of the future training-place for the common-school 
 teachers of Illinois. Away from the temptations of a populous city, in the midst of a 
 population made up largely of people who have made Normal their homes for the sake 
 of its educational and social advantages, the State Normal University is admitted by 
 the general public to be most happily located, while the citizens of the village are justly 
 proud of the institution, which has become a model to be patterned after by all those 
 States which are seeking to elevate the standard of education within their borders. 
 
 To illustrate the energy and the appreciation of educational institutions manifested 
 by the citizens of Normal, we will mention the gallant fight it made in 1 807 for the loca- 
 tion of the State Industrial College. The citizens of Normal Township voted §100,000 
 of ten per cent bonds ; and besides were ready individually to pledge quite a large sum. 
 The total offer for the location of the college was : 
 
 McLean County 10-per-cent bonds !?200,000 
 
 Bloomington City 10-per-cent bonds 100,000 
 
 Normal Township 10-per-cent bonds 100,000 
 
 Chicago & Alton Railroad Subscription (freight) 50 0O0 
 
 David Davis, cash 25,000 
 
 Jesse W. Fell, cash 15,000 
 
 Citizens of Normal and Bloomington, 140-acre tract for site 40,000 
 
 Total $530,000 
 
 The magnitude and liberality of this offer, viewed in the light of the present value 
 of money, seems almost marvelous, and yet there is little doubt that had Normal been 
 successful, the Industrial College, added to the Normal University, together with other 
 institutions which would naturally have been attracted thither, the investment, large as 
 it seems, would have been worth all it would have cost. This is also an illustration of 
 the harmony of feeling existing between Normal, Bloomington and the people of the 
 county at large, a proof that we are really one in interest and feeling. In fact, so thor- 
 oughly are the inhabitants of Bloomington and Normal convinced that their welfare i 
 almost identical, that quite a movement has been made for their formal union under one
 
 13-4 
 
 ernment. There are man; weight; reasons for such a anion, and it lb very prob- 
 able that some future historian may tell the story of its accomplishment At present, 
 one of the chief objections on the part of Normal is the sale of liquor at retail — now 
 utterly prohibited in their villagi — )>ut which would probably be allowed if the two plae - 
 w< re in one municipality, 
 
 NORMAL. 
 
 As i matter of course, we find the early settlement of the village of Normal cannot 
 antedate the location of the town unless we include as residents those farmers whose land 
 
 went to make up the two-miles Bquare of the place itself. We have made no effort to 
 trace the actual settlement of any of these firm-, taking it for granted that several fam- 
 ilies were living here previous to the location of the town site of " North Blooming- 
 ton" in the early part ol 1854. The cars ran on the Illinois Central Railroad through 
 Normal in May. 1853, hut, by the latter part of that year, the line of the present Chi- 
 ■ A Alton road was sufficiently well established to indicate where it would cross the 
 Central, fixing thus the point where a town might be built, if suitable efforts should be 
 made. We have elsewhere stated the facts in relation to the establishment here of the 
 young village of North Bloomington in 1854, and of it- change of name to Normal 
 in 1858. 
 
 When the Normal Sehool was in Major's Hall, in Bloomington, from October, 1 B57, 
 to June, 1 SOU, the village of Normal was rather a dull place. As stated below, there 
 were perhaps nearly twenty families living here during this time, but there was no 
 visible reason for the existence of the town, which had the appearance of being on hand 
 before' it was needed. The present business portion, where the blocks of stores are now 
 heated, was in 1858 a beautiful grass plat, remarkably smooth, looking in some respects 
 like a village green in an Eastern town. In the month of dune, is.'iS. the Normal stu- 
 dents had an excursion to view the site of the future seat of learning, and on their 
 return the young men had & game of ball on the green grass where now we see the 
 business part id* the town, and the site was one of the best that could possibly be ima 
 ined for that purpose. The writer has a distinct and vivid remembrance of the BCene, 
 and to his mind the view was one of the most charming ever met. He watched 
 the game as a spectator, and remembers wondering whether the town would ever grow 
 enough to encroach upon what was then called by the students the "ball-ground." 
 This -pot was covered Only with grass as late as 18G3. 
 
 While the game was going on, the railroad ears rushed past, barely stopping at the 
 crossing, having rarely any business at this point. In fact, so careful were the railroads 
 not to make any foolish stops in those days, that even when the material began to 
 arrive for tin' Normal building, in the fall of 1857, there were no conveniences here for 
 receiving freight, and the State Hoard of Education actually passed a resolution 
 requesting the companies to put in side tracks here for th.ir convenience, which was 
 
 done, as requested, by the Chicago & Mississippi Railroad, in a very short time thereafter. 
 
 'flu first family to settle here ly virtue of the demands of the town, was that of 
 Nil-. William Mo( ' ambrid ge, who o am i as agent of the nilro.id- in L854, to look after 
 their interests al the crossing. His family lived for a time in the rude depot-building, 
 
 which stood in the north angle of the railroad " junction." as a crossing was often called 
 in those days. Sometimes the place was called by its proper name, oflener " Blooming- 
 
 ton Junction." Mr. MoCambridge's neighbors were the dunks, Bakewells, Colemans,
 
 135 
 
 Hills. Joshua Fell's family, W. F. M. Amy, the Taylors and a few others, who lived 
 on 'farming-lands which were wholly or partly within the present village limits. Mr. Amy 
 was living on a farm just west of the University building, west of .Main street. lie 
 was a remarkable man. He was a minister, a lecturer, an educator, a politician, a news- 
 paper writer, was in short, ready fur almost anything that might turn up in a new 
 country. Though living on a farm, tradition asserts that farming was almost the only 
 business he did not understand. His name frequently occurs in the history of Bloom- 
 ington and Normal until the year 1856, when he was made the Secretary of the Kansas 
 Free State Emigrant Aid Society, and after that date his fame became national. His 
 services there, as well as here, were of great assistance to the cause of humanity. Mr. 
 Amy was one of Normal's projectors and early benefactors, and is always mentioned 
 with respect. He became Governor of the Territory of New Mexico, and filled the 
 position very creditably for several years. He has since been an Indian agent. 
 
 Mr. .Jesse W. Fell's residence was finished in 185G, when his family moved into 
 the new house, finding in the vicinity only the family of Mr. McCambridge. During 
 the next year, 1857, the Normal University was located, and from that time the settle- 
 ment went forward rapidly. By the close of that season, we learn of the following 
 families, in addition to those before mentioned as residents of North Bloomington : 
 Loran R. Case, Addison Reeder, James Maley, Stephen Dike, John J. North, John R. 
 Dodge, James Carleton, John Carleton, Mrs. Taylor, William Junk and Joseph Walker. 
 The Landon House, now occupied by the family of Mr. C. R. .Parke, was started in 
 1856. and finished in 1857. 
 
 The University foundation was commenced in the fall of 1857, and over $30,000 
 expended thereon. A foundry was also commenced, owned principally by Mr. Fell, in 
 company with Mr. Reeder, but the enterprise was a failure. Some of the castings used 
 in the Normal building were made here, and also the iron work for Royce Block in 
 Bloomington. 
 
 The financial crisis of the fall of 1857 caused a discontinuance of work on the Nor- 
 mal, and this of course acted as a damper upon the new town. During the year 1858, 
 and also during 1859, but few residences were erected, among which we can mention 
 that of Mrs. Robinson, in 1859. In the latter year, work on the Normal building was 
 pushed with great vigor, and the town began to have good prospects again. During the 
 following winter, plans were made for the erection of several residences, and they were 
 completed in 1860. Among. these we will mention those of President Hovey, Messrs. 
 Hewett and Moore, who were of the Faculty, Albert North, Wesley Pearce, William 
 Flynn and Mr. J. S. Stewart, By this time, the town made quite a pleasing appearance, 
 several of the residences evidencing good taste. All of Normal was most distinctly visi- 
 ble from almost any point, as the trees were then in their infancy. 
 
 When the Normal institution was opened at the new building, in the fall of 1860, 
 there were not enough rooms in the village for all the students who wished board, and 
 during the fall term many boarded at Bloomington. A new sidewalk was constructed 
 to meet the walks in Bloomington, and it extended nearly to the comer of Main and 
 Chestnut streets. When this old foot walk was new, there was some good walking done 
 by Normal students of both sexes. All the boarding-houses in Normal were full to 
 overflowing. There were only two houses with many rooms; these were kept by Mrs- 
 J. H. Stewart and Mrs. Grinnell, the latter in what was called the Landon House.
 
 136 
 
 Normal built it;* first sidewalk in the fall of I860. ;in<l it then began to take on the 
 air.- of a village, though it .lid not a post office, a telegraph office, or stores, for 
 
 several y< irs 
 
 The first post office was opened about the year 1862, on the corner of Linden street 
 
 and the C. A A. Railroad, in B building where there was also a store. The first Post- 
 master was Robert B Bower, and the first store was kept by a Mr. Phillips. The two 
 railroads did not at first make Normal a full office, tickets haying first been sold from this 
 place on the Chicago A Alton road, April l. 1864 ; William McCambridge, Jr., wasthe 
 fir.-t agent who Bold tickets and made all the regular official reports in 1804. Shortly 
 after tins time, he also became the first express agent . he was also the first telegraph 
 operator, in 1870. 
 
 The Chicago & Alton Company built a depot in 1864, which was burned at the 
 time of the Normal Hotel tire, February 14. 1872. Very soon after the present station- 
 house was erected. The freight-house on this road was constructed in 1866; and in 
 1871, the freight-house of the Central was built, which has since been destroyed by fire 
 and replaced by another building which is a duplicate of the first. 
 
 In the chapters relating to the public schools, churches, and the State institutions, 
 we have given the dates of the erection of the buildings used by each, and we will not 
 her.- repeat those statements. 
 
 We should also mention that the village of Normal grew with wonderful rapidity 
 from about the year 1864 to 1870. Since the latter date, improvements have been made 
 quite slowly ; and at present, Normal, like all the towns in this part of the State, appears 
 to be almost at a stand. It is, however, a beautiful village, noted all over the West for 
 its fine appearance; for the intelligence and culture of its citizens; and is very specially 
 remarkable for the trees which are so strikingly beautiful. But as we have touched 
 imre fully upon each of these topics in other portions of this work, we will not here 
 enlarge upon them. 
 
 Quite a large number of the best families living in Normal have become citizens 
 
 since 1S04, having come here for the express purpose of rearing their children in the 
 
 in. st moral and best behaved community they could find with first-class educational 
 
 advantages. Many of these families had accumulated enough property at farming or 
 
 other business for a comfortable support, and have here built or purchased homes where 
 
 they can attend to the education of their children. This element of society is a v.iy 
 
 important one, and, added to others that are equal in all respects, gives the town a good 
 
 name and a permanency that it is hoped will grow with time until Normal will beoonu 
 
 a place of national reputation. 
 
 tk I 
 
 Normal has obtained an enviable reputation for its beautiful trees and shrubbery. 
 At the time of tie- looaton of the State Normal I 'niversity, as we have stated, the town 
 
 i Oar.', wild-looking piece of prairie, enlivened occasionally by the smoke and noise 
 of a few railroad trains, ami then relapsing into desolate quiet A beginning had been 
 made, however, by Mr. Jesse W. bell, in that great tree-planting enterprise in which he 
 took such a loving interest. In the year 1856, he had planted a large number at North 
 
 Bl Mu-toii, and al the very time of the visit of the State Hoard of Education bo 
 
 view the site for the Normal University, in 1857, his men were busy at tree-planting 
 
 on the public highways. The fact of the start thus already made, together with the
 
 137 
 
 interest then awakened in the matter of ornamental shrubbery, by such men as Cyrus 
 R. Overman, 0. M. Coleman, W. H. Mann and F. K. Phoenix, all living in the town- 
 ship, and all enthusiastic tree-planters, went far to convince the members of that Board 
 that the young institution would fall into good hands, and its future be watched by 
 careful men, if it should be located at this point; and the more than twenty thousand 
 beautiful trees at Normal, with the successful twenty-two years' growth of the Normal 
 University, bear united witness to the foresight of the tuen of 1857. The zeal and 
 enthusiasm of Mr. Fell in the subject of trees on our public highways, found vent before 
 he had fairly commenced his labors, by giving names of trees to the streets of North 
 Bluomington, at the time of recording its plat in the Circuit Clerk's office. 
 
 Proceeding from west to east, we find Maple, Walnut, Oak, Linden and Elm 
 streets ; from Sycamore, going south, we come successively to Poplar, Cypress, Willow, 
 Locust, Cherry, Mulberry and Ash streets. Is not this an atmosphere of verdure? 
 How could the new town help growing as the trees grew, fresh, graceful, ever increasing 
 with each annual effort ? 
 
 The planting of shade-trees in double rows in such a manner that the sidewalks 
 are overhung by the two rows, is a novel feature — one that is duplicated in but few 
 places in the land. It is said that Germantown, Penn., has similarly shaded sidewalks. 
 This is the distinguishing feature of Normal. The number of these trees planted adja- 
 cent to sidewalks is in the neighborhood of six thousand. There are a little over nine 
 miles of streets thus shaded. There have been planted, in the streets, within the lots, 
 upon the grounds belonging to the State at the two institutions, and in private parks, 
 the larger part of the whole under the direct care and supervision of Mr. Fell, over 
 thirty-five thousand trees, including shade, shelter and fruit trees. These trees now 
 range in height from twenty to fifty feet, and give the town in summer the appearance 
 of being one vast, ornamented park, with a few houses in sight, the church-spires, even, 
 being then visible only at a distance of a few blocks. Well may Normal be proud of 
 these shade-trees, which are monuments to the memory of those who planned and exe- 
 cuted the immense work of transplanting, guarding and training these beautiful 
 objects. 
 
 Our work is not complete without an appropriate tribute to Mr. Jesse W. Fell, to 
 whom, more than to any other person, Normal is indebted for its existence, for its 
 beautiful trees and for the most of real public worth and value that it contains. We 
 are recording public events and speaking for a thankful, proud and generous public 
 heart. We are well aware that Mr. Fell enjoins silence on the part of public chroniclers ; 
 that he modestly prefers no panegyric to his name and fame, but we insist upon making, 
 here in this, albeit, weak, formal manner, a general acknowledgment of the public 
 appreciation of the life-long labors of Jesse W. Fell. We will accept his disclaimer of 
 his selfish motives in bringing together at Normal as many good influences as possible, 
 but we must insist that we are thankful to acknowledge he had the nobility of 
 heart to conceive, and the manhood and ability to carry into effect, no plans except 
 those which were good ones ; no projects but those whose success should inure to the 
 happiness and welfare of his fellow-men. Happy the man who had the head and heart 
 to realize that his own self-interest would be best subserved by engaging himself and 
 others in enterprises like those which have been consummated at Normal. Thankful 
 we are also that Mr. Fell took delight in planting trees ; that in this occupation he was
 
 138 
 
 happy and at home ; and thai in other respects he planned an i managed in the interests 
 of public education, Bobriety, morality and humanity. 
 
 If we may be permitted, we wish to <■:» 1 1 attention to the magnificent park which 
 surrounds Mr. Fell's residence. Here he his passion for artistic shrub- 
 
 . . his love for elegant groups of beautiful trees, his fancy for such ornamentation as 
 comes from the most skillful arrangement of all the different trees that will grow in 
 this latitude. This park is a lasting monumenl to its originator, and is a possession 
 -hand by the public almost equally with its owner. 
 
 CHI ft! Ml.-. 
 
 Til.' residents of Normal Township attended the different churches in Blooming- 
 ton until several years after the village had Keen started. The first religious services in 
 the village were held in the University building in the winter of 1860—61. This was 
 the first year of its occupancy, and during this winter there were Sabbath-afternoon 
 union services, the different pa-tors of Bloomington being employed in regular rotation. 
 This continued to]- -Mine time and gave good satisfaction until the village bad srrown 
 large enough to begin to have enough permanent inhabitants to form churches of the 
 leading denominations, when the Congregationalists and Methodists took steps to organ- 
 ize their respective churches, followed soon alter by the Baptists, Presbyterians and 
 Christians. There are a huge number of families in Normal who are connected with 
 churches in Bloomington, and who help swell the numbers included in the churche- of 
 that city. In this particular, as in several others, we find it very difficult to separate 
 the interests of the two communities. 
 
 The First Baptist Church of Normal was organized .July L3, 1866, with thirty 
 members. Rev. John B. Kent, from Holyoke, Mass., was the first Pastor. They 
 built a small frame chapel, 26x40 feet, which they occupied for about three years, when 
 this, from the rapid increase of membership, became too small for them. In 1871, they 
 • rec ted a fine brick house, 10x70 feet, costing 815,000, which they now occupy. The 
 number of members that have united with them since their organisation is 286. The 
 
 nt number is 158. The Church is now in a prosperous condition. They have a 
 large Sabbath school, which is well sustained, besides a mis-ion school at the West 
 Side, which is on the increase. Their present Pa-tor is Rev. S. B. Gilbert. 
 
 The Christian Church was organized in April, 1873. The firsl Pastor was Rev. S. M. 
 ( 'minor. There were only about twenty members at that date, while at present there are one 
 
 hundred and forty. Its present PastorisN. A.Walker. Its church-building was erected 
 in 1873, and is a very comfortable and creditable structure. Its Elders are II. il 
 Fiaher, John Gregory and Isaiah Dillon. 
 
 The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized 'September, 1865. Rev. C. D. 
 James was the first Pastor. The church-building was begun in 1 866, and, in the fol- 
 lowing winter, the basement was ready for occupancy. The church was dedicated Janu- 
 ary 7. L868. The membership at the time of organization was 32; present number, 
 17.). The present Pastor is the Rev. George M. [rvin, who was appointed in 1878. 
 
 The building i- of brick, of fine design, with one tower til) feel high, and another 11!), 
 ami is one of the ornaments of Normal. Its cost was over $lti,000. The Sabbath 
 school is very flourishing, there being nearly two hundred in attendance. The Society 
 wa» transferred to the Central Illinois Conference in 1S72.
 
 139 
 
 The Presbyterian Church of Normal was organized by the Presbytery of Bh i 
 
 iDgton July 3. 1868, with only ten members. The church is at the corner of Linden 
 and Cherry streets. It was built in 1871 at a cost of about 82,500. It was dedicated 
 February 17, 1872. At present it has about seventy members and maintains a good 
 Sabbath school. Its first Pastor was the Rev. 8. Hart, who remained until May, 1872, 
 when his place was supplied by Rev. Dr. S. Wilson, who officiated three years. Rev. 
 W. L. Boyd is the present Pastor. 
 
 The first church-building erected by the Congregational Church was dedicated 
 June 23, 1807. The Church had been organized several years previously — sometime in 
 the spring of 1805 — having met for some time in the University building. Its first 
 church was a very beautiful structure, having cost with the parsonage adjoining over 
 $15,000. It was destroyed by fire May 30, 1873. The total loss on buildings and 
 furniture was $18,000; insured for $7,700. This fire was a very severe blow to the 
 ( 'hurch, but, on the 12th of September, 1879, it dedicated a new structure. The Church 
 contains at present about ninety members. Its Pastor is the Rev. Albert Etheridge. 
 It is probable that no other church in Bloomington or Normal has ever survived as 
 heavy a loss as this one has experienced. 
 
 NORMAL PUBLIC SCHOOL. 
 
 We have mentioned that the first school in Normal was probably the one taught in 
 1855, in a small building situated a little southeast of the residence of Mr. Jesse W< 
 Fell, upon what is known on the plat of North Bloomington as Seminary Block. There 
 were about fifteeu children in this school. Its first teacher was Miss Brown, who is still 
 living in Normal. She is a sister of Mrs. Walker. Mr. P. C. W. Lyman was the next 
 teacher, followed by a very young man named William O. Davis, who is now proprietor 
 of the Bloomington Pantagraph. When the Normal institution was opened at Nor- 
 mal in the fall of 1800, the children of what was known as District No. 2, embracing a 
 portion of what is now the corporation and school district of Normal were all admitted 
 to the Model School of the Normal, an arrangement having been effected by which the 
 public funds of the district were used to defray, in part, the expenses of the Model 
 Department. We quote the following from President Edwards' decennial address, 
 delivered at Normal June 27, 1872 : 
 
 The Grammar School, as a separate department, was organized in September, lS'SO. Pre- 
 vious to that lime, the Model School was entirely under the supervision of the Principal of the 
 High School. All this time, too, the school had included all the children of school age, in Dis- 
 trict No. 2 of the town of Normal. But as the village increased, and the number of children 
 multiplied, the* rooms at the University became too small for their accommodation. Accordingly. 
 a schoolhouse was built by the district, and, in April, 1867, the grammar and intermediate 
 grades of the Model School were removed to the new building. While these grades were yet in 
 the University Building, Mr. E. P. Burlingharn, then of Geneseo, was appointed to conduct the 
 grammar grade. But the first Principal in the new building was Mr. John W. Conk. He con- 
 tinued in the position for two years, and was succeeded in September, 1868, by Mr. Joseph 
 Caiter. Under these two gentlemen, the grammar school became a popular and efficient insti- 
 tution — well graded, thoroughly organized and marked by a vigorous and positive power. At 
 the beginning of Mr. Carter's principalship, the arrangement by which the children of school- 
 age belonging to District No. 2 of the town of Normal had been taught in the Model School was 
 annulled by a vote of the Board of Education of the State of Illinois, and the University ceased 
 to exercise control over the new building erected by the district. For the last two years, the 
 grammar grade has been conducted by Mr. B. W. Baker, a representative of Southern Illinois, 
 and a graduate of the University in the year 1870.
 
 14" 
 
 This school h:ts been held, since the date given, by Mr. Edwards, in the new brick 
 school-building, which is Mich evidence of the good taste and refinement of the inhab- 
 itants of Normal, [ts cost was $16,000. The Normal public school, in L879, num- 
 bered G.")U pnpils. Nine teachers arc employed in the different grades. Its Principal 
 i- A. ('. Butler. 
 
 [Ml ORPOBA1 RD I OMPANI1 - 
 
 The Bloomington and Normal Street Railway Company, was organised in the 
 spring of l v »>7. Before the selection of its route there was a good deal nf excitement 
 At one time, when the Legislature was voting upon the charter of the proposed line, 
 there was a prospect that the State Industrial College would be located at Normal. Had 
 the location been made, the College was to have been placed just north of the Chi 
 \ Alum Railroad, on the west side of Main street This would have fixed the street 
 railroad upon Main street or some one not far off. When the time came for organisa- 
 tion and location, there was quite a strife for the Hue a few blocks east of the street 
 
 bed, as well as for the Main street route. The road was organized under a special 
 charter. It was finished in the fall of 1867. At first ''dummy" engines were run 
 between Normal and the city limits of Bloomington, but after about two years 1 trial 
 these engines were sold and the more reliable mule was substituted. The road is -till 
 owned by a corporation, but as Mr. Asa II. Moore possesses nearly the whole of the 
 stock, he can be reported as being practically the full Board of Officers. We under- 
 stand there is no great profit in the property, but Mr. Moore keeps it in good shape tor 
 the public accommodation. 
 
 The Bloomington Stove Company's shops are in the limits of the town of Normal, 
 and a large portion of the Chicago & Alton Company's repair-shops, as well as their 
 rolling-mill, but these matters will properly be treated in the city of Bloomington. 
 
 The Empire Machine-Shops in the south part of the township, were organised at 
 first as a company, but have now become private property, and arc managed by W. K. 
 Flagg, whose money in the first place mostly built and operated the whole concern. 
 
 RESl R\ KY OF NORMAL. 
 
 From the earliest settlement of Normal Township, there were grave troubles aris- 
 ing from the location of section and half-section corners. The lines of the different 
 latins and the proper position of roads could scarcely be permanently placed, as each 
 new surveyor would find errors in the previous survey. The trouble seemed to be that 
 only the out>ide or township lines were ever properly fixed by the Government Sur- 
 veyors. They perhaps drove stakes to indicate the section and half-section lines, but 
 placed 00 -tone- at these corners. There being notices and no permanent corners, in 
 the course of a few years the fires had destroyed all boundaries. The first settlers did 
 the best they could, and lines and corners were established in various ways, causing 
 never-ending confusion. Some sections would over-run, others fall short of the proper 
 amount. Finally, in dune. 1861, in locating the Bohoolhouse in the Overman district, 
 such grave errors in existing lines were demonstrated that, in the course of a few years 
 the owners of property came to the conclusion that they would abide by a resurvey, to 
 be made nnder provisions of an act of the Legislature. This act was obtained in the 
 winter of 1864 and 1865. It provided a commission nf three — A. T. Risley, of Macon 
 County; John McGrew,ofDe Witt, and Z A Boos, of Sangamon. This commission,
 
 141 
 
 in the tall of 1865. assisted by George J'. Ela, of Bloomington, proceeded to survey 
 
 and re-establish the lines of the whole township, placing them as near where they had 
 
 been before as was practicable, and the result has been tolerably satisfactory. Bach 
 
 owner was made a party to the case by advertisement, before the survey commenced, 
 
 causing the publication of an immense list of names. The cost — about $3,000 — was 
 
 paid by the owners of the land. Appeals might be taken from this commission to the 
 
 courts. All such as were carried to the Supreme Court, were Bettled by a decision 
 
 which sustained the law. 
 
 [NCIDENT8. 
 
 When the Illinois ('(Mitral Railroad was constructed, the bridge over the south 
 branch of Sugar Creek, not far north of the Empire Machine Works, was built of brick, 
 in the shape of an arch, on the top of which was a high embankment. The long con 
 tinned rains of the spring- of 1858, softened this mass of earth, and it rested with a 
 heavy pressure upon the brick arch underneath, which must have been of faulty 
 construction, as it was designed to carry the load with safety. One night, in the month 
 of .May or June, the brick-work fell, allowing the embankment thereon to drop into the 
 creek. This, of course, created a dam, and, as a large amount of water was flowing at 
 the time, it soon rose nearly as high as the impediment, which was probably at least 
 fifteen feet. This water backed up and overflowed the farms east, rising in some cases 
 into houses, frightening the sleeping inmates nearly to death. As soon as the pressure 
 became sufficient, the water broke through the embankment, carrying onward with 
 resistless fury large masses of masonry and earth, in some cases, lumps that would 
 weigh half a ton, being moved a quarter of a mile. No lives were lost. 
 
 In 1867, the Normal Hotel, situated near the depot, was built by W. A. Pennell, 
 .Jesse W. Fell and others, and cost, furnished, about $25,000. It was well kept, was a 
 great favorite, and in every respect a credit to Normal. It burned in the winter of 
 1872, and its loss has been severely felt by Normal. The insurance on the property was 
 about §10,000, and much of it has been in litigation ever since the fire. The depot was 
 destroyed at the same time, its burning being, in fact, the cause of the hotel fire. A 
 foundry was built at Normal at the time of the erection of the Normal School building, 
 which furnished some of the iron-work for that institution, but the enterprise failed, and 
 entailed a loss of about $4,000, the most of which Mr. Fell sustained. 
 
 Another foundry, with a stove and furnace manufactory combined, built here in the 
 spring of 1877, was only able to survive a few short weeks. 
 
 Normal is abundantly supplied with good water, not yet utilized, but known to 
 exist in large quantities under ground. The well at the Orphans' Home is one of the 
 best in the State. It is 112 feet deep, and furnishes an abundant supply. The well ia 
 tubed with iron, and the tube is three feet in diameter. An engine lifts the water to 
 i lie surface, where another forces it to the Home, and the engine there pumps so much 
 a- is needed to the tank in the upper part of the building, and also performs other work. 
 
 Normal is well known all over the West as the home of the Dillons, who have 
 imported so many valuable Norman horses fiom France. Their stables are well built, 
 and are at any time worth a visit, often containing single horses that sell at from $1,000 
 to $4,1100 Their stock is known in market as "Normans" or " Peroheron Normans,'' 
 from Percheron and Normandy, in France, where the Dillons make annual trips to 
 select the best animals that can be purchased.
 
 142 
 
 THE WAH FOR THK UNION. 
 
 Normal labors ander the great disadvantage of having lost a large portion of its mili" 
 
 Etlory, from its proximity to Bloomiogton, which city has appropriated to itself with- 
 out effort, by the natural force of circumstances, much of the military credit of Norma). 
 
 Whenever regiments, companies or Bquads of Boldters were being made up in 
 Bloomington, Normal and the adjoining towns helped swell the rank-, n gardless of the 
 little matter of credit. Many of the volunteers obtained their mail at Bloomington, 
 
 having been no post office at Normal until the war was well under way, and, from this 
 fact, gave Bloomiogton as their home when the muster-rolls were being compiled, and 
 hence the poor showing made at first by the new town of Normal. The fact remains, 
 however, that its residents were fully as patriotic as those of Bloomington, and when 
 the result of the loose method of crediting was discovered, in 1804 and 1865, and it was 
 seen that the township would need to bestir itself to furni>h its quota of volunteers, 
 the most vigorous efforts were made, with greal success. The township raised l>_\ sub- 
 scription a large sum of money, and it was given to volunteers who would accept of the 
 
 county bounty, with an additional sum from Normal, often as much as $50, and. 
 by earnest work, the town'.-, quota was always raised, and no draft was ever necessary. 
 Had the matter of credit been thought of in 18G1, Normal could very readily have 
 secured the large number of its citizens who were credited to Bloomington, and would 
 have shown a surplus over all calls. 
 
 The history of the famous Normal, or Thirty-third Illinois, Regiment, should be 
 touched upon in this article, as it is of interest to our narrative. In April, 18G1, when 
 the war commenced, Joseph G. Howell, who was then Principal of the Model School at 
 Normal, volunteered, with four or five of the students of the University. 
 
 Howell was killed at Fort Donelson. On his departure from Normal, with several 
 of the students mentioned, there was a probability that nearly all of the remainder 
 would enlist before the end of the spring term. Had this happened, they would have 
 been scattered through different commands, of little assistance to cadi other, and would 
 have made no record for the institution of which they were members. 
 
 Mr. Hovey, the President, in order to hold the school together awhile longer, pro- 
 cured a drillmaster — Cupt. White — and a military company was formed for daily prac- 
 tice and drill. 
 
 By the end of the term, duly 1, 1861, this company had become well disciplined, 
 and had formed plans for enlisting in a body as soon as an opportunity should be found. 
 
 About the middle of July, Mr. Hovey went to Washington, and offered to raise a 
 
 whole regiment of BtudentS, teacher.- and educational men. His offer received no 
 atti tition for B6V< ral days; but while ho was waiting for an answer, Bull Run spoke in 
 eching tones for volunteers, and the day alter that disastrous battle, his regiment 
 was gladly accepted by the Secretary of War. 
 
 Mr. Hovey returned to Normal, now Colonel, and proceeded to organise the 
 regiment. He called on the educational men of the State with such success that 
 by the first of September his regiment was at Springfield with nearly its lull comple- 
 ment of men. Company A, its first company, was made up originally from those Nor- 
 mal students who had been drilling lor nearly three months previously, and c ained 
 
 most of the Btudents \\ ho volunteered at that time, although Beveral oth< ra took positions 
 in this or in other regiments, [ra Moore, one of the teachers, raised a company
 
 143 
 
 for the regiment, mainly of men from McLean County. Moses I. Morgan, Aaron 
 Gove and C. J. Gill, students, together raised in Du Page, La Salle and Shirk Counties 
 a full company, of which they became the commissioned officers. The officers of the 
 students' company (A I were: L. H. Totter — one of the teachers — Captain ; J. II. Burn- 
 ham, who graduated July 4, 1861, First Lieutenant; and G. Hyde Norton, of the 
 next graduating class, Second Lieutenant ; about fifty enlisted from this institution in 
 the year 1861. 
 
 Charles E. Uovey, the first President of the Normal University, went into the 
 army as Colonel of the Thirty-third Regiment of Illinois Volunteers, known in the 
 history of this State as the " Normal Regiment.", fie was one of the bravest and best 
 of the ooble officers of the volunteer service; he was commended fur his skill and good 
 behavior in the battle of Frederick town, Mo., which took place October 21, 1861. In 
 the battle of "Cache River," or "Cotton Plant." in Arkansas, July 7, 18G2, Col. 
 Uovey greatly distinguished himself by his courage in the face of defeat, when he 
 rallied the retreating soldiers under a galling fire, though wounded in the breast himself, 
 re-arranged the shattered lines and brought victory out of what came near being a disas- 
 trous defeat. For this good conduct lie was appointed Brigadier General by the Presi- 
 dent, his commission dating from September 5, 18G2. He was soon assigned to the 
 command of Gen. Sherman, who placed him in charge of his advance brigade, a posi- 
 tion he filled until April, 1SG3. Gen. Sherman gave him the highest praise for his 
 efficiency. When Congress assembled in the winter of 18G2 and 18G3, it was not pre- 
 pared to confirm the appointment of all of President Lincoln's Brigadier Generals, and 
 limited the number of confirmations to one hundred. The President had sent in two 
 names from McLean County — those of Gen. Uovey and Gen. W. W. Orme, and when 
 he was obliged to revise his list, bringing it from about one hundred and fifty to the 
 proper number, he felt compelled, on account of the policy of equal territorial distribu- 
 tion, to drop the name of Gen. Uovey, which he did very reluctantly. This threw that 
 gentleman suddenly out of his position in April, 1863, and he left the army just as he 
 was on the threshold of a remarkably brilliant career. In 18G8, Congress granted him 
 tardy jiutice by the compliment of a brevet Major Generalship. 
 
 Several of the residents of the village — students — enlisted and never returned, or 
 came home to linger a few years and die. William A. Pearce and his cousin, Alvin T. 
 Lewis, were both killed in battle, while Lieut. James B. Fyffe died in 1871. Edward 
 J. Lewis, editor of the Bloomington I'antagraph in 1861, assisted in forming the 
 Thirty-third Regiment, enlisted as a private soldier, and afterward became Captain in 
 C Company. He is now Postmaster at Normal. Col. E. R. Roe, Gen. C. E. Lippin- 
 cott and Col. I. S. Elliott were all members of this brave old regiment, which partici- 
 pated in the battles before Vieksburg, Mobile, and other historical battles. Normal has 
 always claimed an interest in the welfare of the Thirty-third Regiment which was known 
 for years as the Normal Regiment ; and its Company A of students, though represent- 
 ing thirty different counties in this State, contained so many Normal residents, and was 
 so essentially a product of the institution, that its memory will ever be cherished hire. 
 In 18G2, several of the Normal students enlisted in the Ninety-fourth Regiment, which 
 was raised in McLean County. These were mostly in Capt. W. II. Mann's company. 
 Mr. M. was a nurseryman, in company with the lamented Overman, and his command 
 contained more Noimal men than any other that enlisted.
 
 144 
 
 Misii:u.A\i:nrs. 
 
 aasons were organised February 20, L871. The preeenl number of 
 meni twenty-six. The officers for 1879 are: J. 8. Lackey, Master; AT. Dick- 
 
 erson, Senior Warden; J. M James, Junior Warden ; A. C. Taylor, Treasurer; S. 
 K Vickroy, Secretary; F. R. Baker, Senior Deacon ; J. 8. Garrett Junior Deacon; 
 James Worden and G ge W. Davidson, Stewards; A. S. Eursey, Tiler. There are 
 quite a number of gentlemen in Normal who are members of a ime one '>r more of the 
 differ nl societies in tin- neighboring city of Bloomington. 
 
 We find, that though Normal does nol pretend to be a commeroiaf or manufactur- 
 ing point, it transacts considerable business. Its grain-dealers purchase considerable 
 quantities of produce, and its retail stores include the several branches found in towns 
 of in Bize, consisting of drug, hardware, dry good.- and grocery Bfcoree; there are, 
 besidi s, other retail dealers. For several years after the village was started, i' was 
 thought all the different branches of miscellaneous business would be patronized in 
 Bloomington, leaving no opening for home talent ; bul after a time, the greater conven- 
 ience of Normal stores was bo plainly demonstrated, that those dealer- who first started 
 business in the village found ready patronage, and their places of business were followed 
 by the opening of others, all of which are now permanently established. 
 
 In tie' manufacturing line, Normal's experience has been rather a severe on 
 there can scarcely be said to be a successful manufactory in the village. There i- a 
 woolen-factory, capable of employi:!^ from ten to thirty operatives, but it has never been 
 
 run to its full capacity. It is now operated on a small scale, making excellent g 1- 
 
 and doing a fair business, but has not the trade that might be expected of a factory 
 situated between two such towns as Normal and Bloomington. A large paper-mill was 
 built about six years ago, which, for a time, turned out large quantities of a good qual- 
 ity "l printing paper. For some months the St. Louis Republican) the Bloomington 
 Pantograph, and other journals used its paper, but the owners failed after about two 
 vear-' trial, and the mill is now idle. 
 
 The Normal Stock yards are ipiite an institution. They are .situated on the east 
 Bide of the Chicago, Alton dt St. Louis Railroad. They can comfortably feed and 
 water over a thousand cattle at once, and are a great convenience to such shippen 
 wish to resl their Btook here before taking them to the Chicago market. 
 
 We hope Normal will, in the future, retain its pre-eminence as an educational cen- 
 ter, and thai it will -nine day Bee the establishment of other colleges or seminaries. If 
 it can secure these, and can retain its present intelligent population, there is little doubt 
 that it will become known as one of the best towns in the West; that its future may 
 become all that its pasl has led us to look for, is the earnest wish of the citizen 
 M' Lean < Sounty.
 
 INDEX 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Bloomington 3 
 
 Blooming Grove in Fayette County 3 
 
 Blooming' Grove in Tazewell County 11 
 
 James Allin 20 
 
 Wars and Rumors of Wars 23 
 
 The Frontier Serviee 23 
 
 Bloomington In 1831 25 
 
 1KU to 1840 32 
 
 1840 to 1850 36 
 
 1850 to 1880 37 
 
 1860 to 1870 30 
 
 1870 to 187!» 40 
 
 Gen. Gridlcy's Recollections 41 
 
 Township Organization 46 
 
 Town or Village Organization 47 
 
 city Organization 48 
 
 Schoools 49 
 
 Churches that have Dissolved 52 
 
 Churches 53 
 
 Bloomington Sabbath Schools 58 
 
 Cemeteries 59 
 
 Franklin Park 60 
 
 Railroads 61 
 
 Our Telegraph 65 
 
 Newspapers 66 
 
 The Bloomington Library 67 
 
 Wesleyan University 68 
 
 Temperance 74 
 
 Nurseries 78 
 
 • '•ill 79 
 
 Water 81 
 
 Manufactories 82 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 . .. 89 
 
 Mills 
 
 Fires 89 
 
 Public Debt 89 
 
 Sewers mi 
 
 Public Buildings 90 
 
 Incorporated Companies 90 
 
 California Emigrants 92 
 
 Remarkable Weather 98 
 
 Events During the War 96 
 
 Free Masons 100 
 
 Independent Order of Odd Fellows 101 
 
 Various Secret Societies 102 
 
 Benevolent Societies 103 
 
 Important German Organizations 103 
 
 Our Highest Officials 104 
 
 Political History 109 
 
 Normal Township 115 
 
 Norma] University 115 
 
 Soldiers' Orphans' Home 128 
 
 Early Settlement 130 
 
 Township Organization 132 
 
 Village Organization 132 
 
 Normal Village 184 
 
 Trees 136 
 
 Churches 138 
 
 Normal Public School 130 
 
 incorporated Companies 140 
 
 Re-Surrey of Normal 140 
 
 Incidents Ml 
 
 The War lor the Union 142 
 
 Miscellaneous 144
 
 
 SHB55H!S5?5E^
 
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