Adams County, Illinois - Chapter 3, 1879

Chapter 3

First Court House - County Commissioners' Court - Town Rates - Rules OF County Commissioners' Court - Lead Mines Excitement - Suckers - School and Temperance - First Stock of Goods - First Ferry Rates - Main Street Opened in Quincy - Fiscal^ - First County Jail - First Preaching - Brick Made - Deep Snow.

The county had been organized, the County Commissioners' Court and other county functionaries had entered upon the discharge of their official duties. Courts had already been iield in the county, at such places as could be best j^rocured for such purposes, but no building had been erected for these purposes, and the heads of the county had no permanent place of abode, officially speaking, and one must needs be built for the future use and convenience of the county government. Proceedings for this purpose were commenced in the year 1825.

On Friday, December 16, 1825, the County Court instructed the sheriff of Adams county to offer to the lowest bidder the building of the body of a court-house of the following dimensions, to- wit: To be twenty-two feet long and eighteen feet wide in the clear; to be built of hewn logs, seven inches thick; to face not less than ten inches; to be laid as close together as they are in Mr. Rose's house, with Stone to be placed under the corners, and the middle of each sill not less than eight inches high, and to be two stories high, the lower story to be eight feet high and the upper story five feet, with nine joists and eight sleepers; the building to be covered with oak clapboards, to be four feet long, and laid close together, and three boards thick, to be completed by the 15th of March, 1826. At the same time, the sheriff was instructed to let to the lowest bidder the following work, to be done on said court house: Four twelve-light windows, two in the front and two in the rear, in lower story, and four six-light windows in the upper story, to be placed in the same manner, made to slide sideways, and one door in the front of the lower story, tliree feet wide, six and one-half feet high, with the necessar}' door and window casings, to be completed by the 15th of May, 1826; two floors of planks, one and one-quarter inches thick, or hewn puncheons. The center of the upper story to be made of sawed planks, boards, or clapboards, and two flight of steps, to be made in a plain, substantial manner. The upper floor, if made of puncheons, to be hewed on both sides; a good, stone chimney, with a fire-place in the upper story, the back of which to be two and one-half feet wide, and one in the lower story to be three and one-half feet wide at back, and hearth to each fireplace of brick or stone, the whole to be done in a workman-like manner. The work of placing the logs was let to John Soule, for scYcntj-nine dollars. The other contractors were: Williard Kej^es, windows and doors, twenty-five dollars; John Soule, stairways, thirty-two dollars; Levi Hadley, chimneys, etc., forty-nine dollars and fifty cents. This building stood as one of the land-marks of Quincy, and was the scene of many a victory and defeat for our worthy legal gentlemen, many of whom have become famous as lawyers, orators and statesmen, the length and breadth of our great country. The building was convenient in those days for public uses, and of very general utility, being used for church, school-house, exhibition, lecture and political purposes. The upper story was used as a clerk's ofiice, lawyer's oflice, Mr. Browning having had his office there for a time, and finally for a carpenter shop, and we presume that while cases were being tried down stairs, casings were being made up stairs. It finally closed its history, being destroyed by fire about the year 1836, when tiie brick court-house on Fifth street, between Main and Hampshire streets, was commenced. It was in the year 1S26 that the first law-office was opened, when Judge Logan came to Quincy to practice, and, in vulgar parlance, " hung out his shingle." In the same year, the first hotel opened in Quincy was started by Hufus Brown, on the lot where the Quincy House now stands.

The County Commissioners' Court had full power to grant licenses, etc., and during the year of 1826, Rufus Brown applied for and received a license to keep a hotel, the license being placed at the exorbitant sum of one dollar and clerk's fees. The Court also at the March term, 1826, established the following rates by which tavern-keepers were to be governed in making their charges::

" Ordered that the following be adopted as a rule of this court: That this court always give their opinion in'writing on any case of controversy, and that there shall be no argument after tlie decision of the court is given. The court shall on all such cases of controversy consult together privately or otherioise^ as a majority of them shall think proper; and further, that either number of the court shall have the privilege of entering his protest as a matter of record to any opinion given by a majority of this court."

In 1823 CoL James Johnson, a brother of Richard M., who killed Tecumseh, leased from the United States government the lead mines in and around Galena, and, having been very successful, the movement attracted the attention of every enterprising man in Western Illinois and of course Adams county shared in the general excitement, and quite a number of the citizens started for the scene full of the hope that their fortunes, would soon be made. The excitement was, however, but temporary, and soon it was discovered that there was considerable humbug about the chances for making fortunes, but for several years numbers of persons would go up to the mines in the spring - work during the summer season. and upon the approach of autumn return to their homes, and on this account they were, and probably all Illinoisans weie first called " Suckers."" During the year of 1829 Levi Hadley, the first sheriff appointed for Adams county, while on his way to Galena, fell from a steamboat and was drowned.

School And Temperance

As early as 1827 the people commenced to evince an interest in educational matters, and Jabez Porter opened a school in Quincy, using the old log court-house as his school-room. It is also a matter of record that in the same year the first grocery was established in Quincy - a business which, although changed in name still flourishes, but is being vigorously assailed at present by its opponents of the red and blue ribbon brotherhood, who had the example set them of banding together to fight in the cause of subduing alcoholic appetite as early as the year 1830, when the first temperance organization was effected in the county at Quincy with twelve members; but the writer, from the best information he is able to obtain, believes that the president of the organization became intoxicated, and the interest of the members in the cause somewhat abated.

Stock Of Goods

During the same year, Asher Anderson arrived from Maryland with a stock of goods, took out a license and opened the first store for the sale of dry goods, &c., in the county of Adams. Williard Keyes was recommended to the Governor as a suitable person for the office of Justice of the Peace, and on June 5th, of the same year, Lewis C. K. Hamilton, in the open court, entered as a matter of record the emancipation of a certain negro boy named "Buck," and gave bonds as required by law for the maintenance of the said boy. ^ .

The Court also granted Ira Pierce a right to keep a ferry across the Mississippi river at Quincy, and established the following rates of ferj-yage:

Main Street Opened

On Tuesday, June 5th, 1827, the County Commissioners' Court appropriated $20 to open Main street from the river to the public square, and Rufus Brown was appointed to superintend the work.

Fiscal

On Monday, March 7th, 1827, the County Commissioners' Court gave notice that they would let, to the lowest bidder, a contract for building a county jail of the following dimensions, viz: The logs to be sixteen feet long each way, to face fourteen inches square, to be let down well at the corners, and close upon one another, with a good dovetail notch at the corners, and to be floored with timber of the same size both above and below, and to be seven and one-half feet between the floors in the lower story, and tlie halls of the upper story to be four and one-half feet high, and to be covered with good shingles well nailed on; the said shingles to be eighteen inches long, the gable ends to be well studded and boarded up, and to have a door in one end six feet high and three feet wide, to be made of two-inch plank, to be hung with good iron hinges, and furnished with a substantial, strong lock for the size of the door; with one window in the lower hall, one foot square, secured by iron grates of inch diameter, well let into the timber at each end, and to be two inches apart from center to center; with a flight of steps to lead to the outside door, and a trap door to corarauiiicate witli lower story, to be three feet by two feet, and made of oak plank two inches thick and composed of two thicknesses, well fastened together with iron spikes, and the lo<^s where the door is made to be well dowelled together with two-inch pins. The work to be done in a good, substantial manner, as a jail should be. The timber to be all of oak. Said jail to be located on lot 6, block 11, immediately adjoining the '"stray pen," and fronting on Main street, near 5th street, where now is Kelly & Rogers block. Ephraim Green, being the lowest bidder, obtained the contract to build the jail, he having bid tlie sum of $150.50.

First Preaching

The people of the county do not seem to have taken much interest in religious matters until, in the year 1828, we lind that the Rev. J. Porter, a Methodist minister, delivered a sermon in tlie town of Quincy, which will be properly referred to in a subsequent chapter of this work. During this year Messrs. Tillson & Holmes opened the second store in Adams county, in a building on the northwest corner of Hampshire and 5th streets, which they occupied until the following year, when they moved into the first frame building ei'ected in Quincy, and long known as tlie "Old Post Office Corner," on the corner of 4th and Main streets. It was during this year, also, that the manufacturing of brick was first inaugurated, and the first bricks made may now be seen in the south side of the building, on the corner of 4th and Main streets, known as the Tillson block. In 1830, Asher Anderson erected the first brick house in the county, in Quincy, near the corner of 3d and Main streets.

Deep Snow

This year, 1830, is memorable and famous in the annals of the county as being tlie year of the " Deep Snow," and is an event which is impressed so vividly upon the minds of all the old settlers as never to be forgotten, and, in fact, many of them appear to date everything of public importance that has transpired during their lives from that time; and it is thus they say, "before the big snow," or, "after the big snow." It commenced snowing about the last of December and snowed for several days and nights without interruption, reaching an av^erage depth of four feet, and in many places drifting to the depth of eigliteen and twenty feet. It caused the people to undergo many privations, and great suffering was experienced by the settlers. The settlers relied for their daily food upon the Indian corn which they were enabled to raise, together with wild game, which was abundant at that time. Plenty of the former was raised to supply the wants until the next season's crop, but when the snow fell very little had been gathered, and those without at the time were compelled to rely on their neighbors who had been more fortunate, for help, which, in those days of. pioneers, was readily given, and rather regarded as a neighborly obligation than a duty. Game could not be had. The great depth of snow was a barrier to all travel, and it may be well imagined that the sufferings of the people were very great indeed. It is related that Mr. Lockey, who lived, at that time, two miles above Naples, on the Illinois river, went a mile and a half from home on the morning the snow began to fall, to haul in some corn; but when he reached the farm on which the corn was to be obtained it began to snow, and stormed so hard it was almost impossible for any one to see or get about. He remained there until night for the storm to abate, but it continued with increased fury, and by night was over eighteen inches deep, and still falling. Mr. L. brought his oxen with him to draw in the corn, and, thinking he must go home to his wife and their two little children, he concluded the best mode of travel was to climb on the back of his most gentle ox and ride him home; but here he met with a new diflBculty; the ox's back was covered with snow and slippery, and despite every plan and the most determined efforts he could not succeed; as a final desperate resort he decided to wind the tail of the gentle ox firmly around his hand, and endeavor to follow them home, trusting to their instincts to guide the wa.j. He started, but before they went many rods he found it impossible to keep his feet and travel after them, so he held his grip and allowed them to drag him the entire distance home. When he arrived his clothes were filled with snow, but he was warm, and by changing his clothing experienced no serious damage from being dragged a mile and a half through two feet of snow.

The snow lay on the ground until about the first of April, and we have little doubt but that many a weary one during that long winter sighed for the comforts of the " old home." Still, notwithstandino- its g-reat dreariness and the great sufferings of the people, none became disheartened, for we find the sturdy settlers of Adams, in the spring of 1831, as determined as ever to carve out for themselves a home and fortune in this truly beautiful country.