Jefferson County, Illinois - Chapter 6 (2 of 2 so headed), 1883

"VXT^E have already noticed the sm'vey of V V the original town of Mount Vernon. It is dated July 10, 1819, and signed by William Hosick. The question is often asked why our corners aft'e not right angles. A sufficient answer is found in " Will's " statement of his beginning and first line: " The public square beginning at the northwest corner at a mulberry stake, running thence thirteen degrees east, agreeably to the magnetical direction ran by a compass made by Thomas Whitney, of Pihladelphia, No. 419, thirteen poles to another stake of the same description," etc. This was the west line. The survey and plat are acknowledged by Henry B. Maxey, John Jordan and William J. Tunstall, before Oliver Morris, Justice of the Peace. The fact that William Casey sold ninety rods off the west side of the quarter section on which the town stood to James Gray has been referred to. Gray sold a lot to theMethodist Church September 8, 1835. September 12, 1885, he also sold to John Johnson all the ground he owned east of the town and north of Bunyaa street, now Blocks 14 and 15. August 25, 1837, he sold a square acre in the northwest corner of his tract to Rhodam Allen, now Block 31 ; October 5, 1887, he sold to James Ross, Df. Adams and John Stanford all the ground he owned west of the town and south of Banyan street, now Block G; October 7, 1839, he sold to W. S. Van Cleve a strip in- eluding the ground where Merrill's livery stable stands, running as tar west as Mrs. Baltzell's and back to the alley. Downing Baugh bought all the ground Gray owned south of the town and east of Union street, now Blocks 3 and 4.

Some of these were at once laid out in lots. Adams, Ross & Stanford's Addition, of six lots with a twenty-one foot alley - "North west Alley" - on the west, was surveyed by Daniel P. Wilbanks, De^juty Surveyor, November 27, 1837. Baugh's Addition of thirty-two lots in two blocks was laid out by the same surveyor, April 20,1838, comprising the ground above named; the blocks were not numbered. The lots were numbered retroversely; acknowledgement taken by Noah Johnston. The title to the lots in this addition was pretty badly tangled for some time, but finally came out pretty straight in most cases.

By this time Gray had sold out most of his land around the town that was available for building lots. Very naturally the Village Trustees wished to see the town grow and branch oat in good shape; so they, and not Jimmy Gray, as some supjjose, but no doubt, at Gray'8 suggestion, employed John Storm, County Surveyor of White County, to come up and survey the town. Storm's survey was to include all the tracts just mentioned and what Gray had left and the original town. Fortunately, there was not a block in the whole menagerie, so he was free to num- ber his blocks any way; but wherever lots were immbered the numbers could not be changed. This explains the numbers running so irregularly in some parts of the town. The ninety rods off the west side of the quarter section made about ninety- four acres. The plat is dated September 18, 1840. The key corner stone was set at the southwest corner of Section 29, and the variation maintained 0 degrees. The blocks ran from 1 in the southwest corner to 35 in the northeast. Block 24 and several others in the north and east were not lotted; they were so far from town and so badly in the woods, Storm states in his certificate, that the survey was "made pm-suant to the request of the Trustees of said town." The survey and field notes fill thirty pages of the record, Book C, and J. R. Sattertield, Recorder, certifies that they were recorded from the Ist to the 27th of September, 1845.

But of all the parties interested, not a man but Jimmy Gray acknowledged the "act and deed." This raised grave doubts as to the legality of it. Hence an act of the Legislature was procured and approved February 21, 1843, declaring " That the survey of the town of Mount Vernon in Jefferson County, made by John Storms in the year 1840, and the plats and profiles made by him of said survey, are hereby legalized and shall be taken and received in all courts as prima facia evidence of the facts therein contained and set forth, and the beginnings, endings, boundaries and abuttals thereby established are hereby legalized and confirmed." Thus perfected. Storms' survey has remained almost unchanged. In February, 1865, by act of the Legislature, six feet were taken off the east side of Washington street from Main to Harrison, and added to the several lots, but in March, 1869, this was repealed. Block 24 was laid off into thirteen lots for J. F. Wataon by B. R. Cunningham, April 27, 1880. And Varnell opened an alley in Block 19, and S. H. Watson and others an alley through Block 26. Lots 7 and 8, Block 12, have been cut up by H. T. Pace's heirs, but no record made of it. It may be added that Storms' chain may have been just slightly too long, as many of his lines overrun a little. I may also add, as I am better at addition than multiplication, that Judge Pollock, April 14, 1881, carved four lots out of the parts of Blocks 28, 29, 30 and 31, lying west of the Salem road. He opened a street and an alley, biit failed to give them names, and A. Curt. Johnson has divided Block 5 into lots.

Casey's Addition soon followed Storms' survey. November 14, 1840, Zadok Casey had E. M. Grant, Deputy Surveyor, to lay out some lots on a triangular piece of ground just west of town, from the Nashville road to the Carlyle road. It had been a field. He moved his east fences back to a line west of where Judge Casey lives, and the town looked expansive. He built two cottages and a store, now on Main street, and invited improvement. But Jarvis Pierce had an idea that the improvement would take the opposite direction, and center about the academy; so he bought a strip ten rods wide, and about fifty rods fi-om north to south, in the northwest corner of the east half of the northwest quarter of Section 32, from James Gray, and laid out sixteen lots, with Seminary street twenty feet wide on the west side, and South street fifty feet wide on the south. This was done by A. M. Grant, Deputy Surveyor, May 18, 1841; and Pierce's Addition stretched from where Mr. Bruning lives toward the Sunny South. But Jarvis failed to pay for the ground; failed to sell lots, failed all over, and it all " went under." He and Albert Towle and Almon N.

Towle, his nephews, held Gray's bond for a deed, bui it did no (jood. In September of the same year, the same three men. with Joel Pace, laid oat South street, hoping this would help Pierce's Addition out. It ran from Union street east 639 feet, and was sixty-six feet wide. There was noth i ng but open jirairie south of it - nothing to hinder its being 630 feet wide. It was not surveyed, but it was recorde(1 twice. The first time they had it south of BlocKs 3, 4 and 5 of Baugh's Addition. But they found there were but two blocks in the addition,' and they next got it south of Baugh's and R<iss. Stanford & Adams' Additions. This wiis no better, but they let it go so - and I don't know that it ever came back. Our blood did not call for any more additions until after the Supreme Court came. Ca.^ey's Second Addition was the result. Gov. Casey moved his fences in again, and May 5, 1854, W. B. Anderson surveyed one tier of lots south of Bvinyan street two blocks north of them, a huge block for the Supreme Court, and three blocks north of that The lots ran from 1 to *25. On the plat of the huge block aforesaid was written "Block 1. donated to the State of Illinois." This was all the " Block" in it, and this is all the deed the State ever had for that. Fourth street, which ran north and south from the middle of the court house lot, was soon after vacated. The court house and the Presbyterian "Church soon brought this addition into notice.

Green's Addition came next. The tidal vrave had moved west - it now turns back to the east. Billy Casey had sold the east seventy acres of this quarter section to Stins. Anderson. March 1, 1836. Anderson had sold it to Edward Ridgway, April 4. 1850, and at length. October *20. 1856. Ridgway had sold it to Dr. W. Duff Green. When Storm made his survev. evervtbing east and north of where Fletcher Johnson now lives was iu the woods, except an awfully small and more awfully stumpy field on the hil) north of the Fairfield road, and a field not quite so small and stumpy soutli of it. But now those fields had growa v.-istly. and merely a few clumps of the blackjack woods were left. So Dr. Green. October 29. 1859, had Mr. L. J. Germain. Deputy Surveyor, under Mr. Grant, lay otit the entire seventy acres into blocks and lots. This added seventeen blocks to the town, in throe tiers running north and south, with Breckinridge and Spring streets between, and Green street separjiting all from the old town, Jesse J. Fly owned Block 7; H. D. Hinman most of Block 17; Block 9 was owned by Dr. Brown; Dr. Green reserved Block 12 for his home, and 15 and 16 included the s))rings, so that these blocks, as well as two and three, were not lotted. The street between 15 and 16 was soon after vacated. Fly had Block 7 divided into lots by a Mr. William S. Morgan. Deputy Surveyor. April 9. 1861, making eleven lots, except a strip at the northeast corner that he did not own. Indeed, he did not own near all the rest. Frank Parker coming in on the west and Benjamin Miller on the east. etc. Block 9 was subdivided by B. R. Cunningham. February 26, 1880, or rather he surveyed and platted its seven lots, for it was already divided among as many owners. The rest of this addition remains about as it was. Improvement progressed slowly until the railroad was built, when it swept over the whole addition like another tidal wave. Newby's Addition, surveyed by Germain June '20, 1860. also improved slowly for several years and experienced a like revival when the railroad was first built. Perhaps a sufficient clew to the location of this addition is furnished by the record, for it seems to have one corner at the intersection of

As soon as the railroad was an assured thing, several more additions were made. Samuel Iv. Caser came, bought out the Gov. Casey heirs, and October 9. 1S67, had a large square tract on the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 30 laid out into twenty-one lots. TJie southeast corner, or key corner, is north 68 degrees west 3.90 chains from the key corner of Storm's survey, vernier set at zero. This throws it 150 feet west of First street or the Brownsville road; Mills and Elm ai-e its principal streets. Gov. Casey had sold a lot at the corner of First and Bunyan to Dr. Short, and lots fronting on First to various persons from time to time, south of the Short lot and running back the same distance. After Samuel Casey had platted his square, as he called it, it was hard for the Assessor to pi-operly describe the lots between it and First street, as they hardly seemed to be still " parts of the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 30. Town 2 Range 3." So Samuel W. Jones, then Treasurer and Assessor, had the County Surveyor make a plat of those lots. Joel Pace owned one at the corner: N. C. Pace one west of that, and south of it were lots owned by Samuel Hawkins, T. H. Herdman, J. J. Garrison's heirs, J. J. Fly, J. F. Johnson and J. & J. Slevin. a bad place for jays. The surveyor's plat of these lots has no name on the record, but is generally known as the Williams Survey. It was made May 21, 186S. Then in the same year, August 3. S. K. Casey's Second Addition was surveyed. It lies entirely west and north of the Supreme Court Irjt, beginning sisty feet west and sixty feet north of the northwest corner of it. It consists of two tiers of large lots, its lots being numbered from 1 to 9. The town now reached as far west as the depot south of the railroad, and as far as the west line of Bell's and Goodale's lots, etc., north of the raih'oad.

The pendulum of improvement now swings to the east, and A. M. Strattan opens up Strattan's Addition. May 7, 1869. This is on the same tract with Green's Second, that is. the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 29, Town 2, Range 3. The Yearwoods ovmed eighteen rods off the east side, and Strattan had bought a strip west of theirs, 5.235 chains wide, and sold an acre off the south end to Fitch; on the rest he laid out his addition. But it is described as beginning at .a point fifteen feet south and 176 feet west of the northeast corner of the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 29, thus lapping over on to the Tearwoods 121 feet A recent deed from Dr. Green, however, corrects this error. This addition contains four lots. Rynd L. Sti'attan put a good house and iiarn on No. 1, now owned by Dawson, and the rest are unim - proved. In fact, the Sti-attans have sold two strips, fifty and twenty feet, off the east side of Lot No. -i, and what is left is two feet eight inches wide by 630 feet long.

Then the pendulum swings back to the west, and S. K. Casey's Third .Addition is thrown open. It was surveyed by John A. Garber, civil engineer. January 25, 1870. It includes seven blocks, on both sides of the railroad, north of Bunyan street or the Ashley road, and lies just within the western limits of the city, extending to Bogan street. It is there, and seems to be well fastened down with stakes and things, but it's hard to tell how it got there, for Garber located it on the northwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 30. Town 2. Range 3, about where the big pond is. Then it swung back to the east - the pendulum - and Varnell's First Addition was the result. Varnell owned the south half of the northwest quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 29, and November 24, 1870, he laid out about half of it along the Fairfield road - or Main street - into lots, in three blocks. It is ninety feet seven inches, widest at the east end.

The improvement now swings round to the south. First, Green's Second Addition, January 4, 1871, took in or let out all he had left of the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 29. The Doctor seldom did things by littles - don't think he ever gave a quit-claim deed, but always a warranty. ) There are nine blocks, only the first four being laid out in lots; all the rest fronted on the Fair Ground road. But the demand for lots was such that September 18, 1871, he divided Block 5 and the south part of Block 6 into lots. This is Green's Division, etc. He had sold 300 feet off the north end of Block 6 to the Lowrys. This Second Addition is bounded on the east by Lee avenue and the east line of the tract, on the west by Park avenue, and divided in the middle by Lee avenue. Next, Augixst 10, 1871, George S. Winslow throws over seventy-five acres of lots into the market in Winslow' s Addition. It occupied the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter and all of the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter, except four and one -half acres ofi" the south side of Section 32. Its avenues ran east and west, Casey, Opdyke, Castleton, Walnut and Newby; its streets, Temple, Water and Summer, north and south. It had 224 lots and no blocks. Lot No. 222, including the machine shop grounds. But afterward, December 22, 1S77, Lots 1 to 166 were vacated, except Lot No. 128, being all of the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 32, except one lot. Still swinging

It is more definitely located than his first, beffinnino- at the northwest corner of the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 32, running north 140 feet, east 714 feet, south 492 feet, west 714 feet, and north 322 feet. All lies south of the shops, at the extreme south end of town Then, November 14, 1871, John Liebundgut lays out an addition, west of Winslow's, on ten acres north of the railroad, bought of Joel Face. This addition lies on both sides of the south end of Washington street. It vas part of the northwest quarter of the noj jwest quarter of Section 32, extending south 407 feet and west 633 feet, from the northeast corner.

But there is still a demand 1 Jots in the east; so, August 8, 1872, De 's Addition begins. John Yearwood had, I'ebruary 18, 1865, sold thirty-one rods eight links off the south end of his five acres, eighteen rods wide, to Joe; the next October Joe sold it to Bob, and in June, 1868. Bob sold the west half of it to Eussel Dewy. Dewy, then, April 20, 1870, bought fifty feet off the east side of Lot 4, Strattan's Addition, to give hira an outlet to Main street. He then laid out his addition, as above stated. This addition, according to the recorded survey, has these impossible boundaries: Beginning 255 feet south and nine rods west of the northeast corner of the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 29, Town 2, Range 3, running south 301 feet, west 19Si feet, north 595 feet, east fifty feet, south 234 feet, east ISSi feet, to beginning. There are nine lots, 1 and 2 reaching for Main street, the rest lying east and west. Then, April 22, 1873, Varnell lays out his Second Addition, covering the rest of his twenty-acre tract. There is one tier of lots in three blocks, reaching across the northiX'r west quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 29. This and Dewey's were surveyed by B. C. Wells. With these additions the disposition to go east seems to have been exhausted, and the movement has since been in the opposite direction.

May 14, 1874, Fry's Addition of twentytwo lots is surveyed, with First street on the east and Franklin street on the we.st. This street, of course, was named in honor of Franklin S. Casey, Z. A. Fry's father-in-law. This addition occupies the east part of the south half of the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 31. April 26, 1875, John J. Casey's Addition was surveyed by S. C. Polk. John had inherited six acres west of S. K. Casey's First Addition and of Fifth street, extending fi'om the Ashley road siiuth w the south line of Section 30, and about six and one-third chains in width. This he laid out into five lots, one west of Edge wood street and four east of it. in a few years. Buck Casey bought the foui' east lots, and February 25, 1878, had them cut up into twenty-six lots, under the name of William B. Casey's Subdivision. December I. 1876, Noah Johnston's Addition was surveyed. It differs from all other additious, It has no streati, no alleys, and each lot is totally unlike the rest in both shape and dimensions. It is an irregular triangle, bounded by the section line between Sections 29 and 30 an the east and the Carlyle road on the southwest. There are four lots; No. 1 is a small wedge, while No. 4 has 600 feet front on the road and the same on its north or northwest line, and over 700 on the east. No. 4 is the Major's home, and his " cabin" ha-; been there fifty years. William T. Pace's Addition, January 20, 1877, is the last "Harvey Pace's meadow," in the northwest quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 32, was a well-known held for many a long year. When its owner died, his heirs, in making a division of his estate, found it convenient to convey this tract to William T. Pace, a grandson, and have him cut it up into lots and re-convey to each as might be agreeable. It contains six blocks, three on each side of Casey street, with two east and west avenues - the northern Pace avenue; the southern, Virginia.

xis a result of all these surveys, Mount Vernon has about 500 acres now laid out into 875 lots, of which about 490 are improved and 385 unimproved.

Municipal Government. - The effort to incorporate Mount Vernon was made in 1837. At that time the statute required a population of 150 to entitle towns to be incorporated, 80 an act was passed to enable Mount Vernon, Mount Salem and Carlyle to incorporate without the requisite population under the general law. But the records of the town are now lost and few of its officers remain. The government continued for nearly ten years before it faded out and had to be renewed. Theu it ran on for nearly twenty years longer before it had to be sent to the renovator again. See below. It generally appeared in feeble health, but in 1853, when Capt. Newby tried the experiment of starting a saloon on South Union street without its authority, he found it was still alive. At the end of six months, he had to move out. John Johnson, William Edwards, A. Melcher and D. Baugh were members of the old board for years; we understand there were not many third termers in the later board.

May 2, 1804, a meeting of the citizens was held to decide whether or not they would be incorporated under the general law. R. W. Lyon was President and A. N. Pace Secretary of the meeting. A vote was taken and was unanimously in favor of the propo.-iitiou - 82 to 0. On the 17th of the same month, an election for Trustees was held, and among nearly twenty candidates, the five who received the highest votes were T. B. Tanner, 83; Thomas H. Hobbs, 64; Harvey T. Pace, 64; J. J. Holloman, 62; J. R. Satterlield, 61. John H. Pace receivod 60 votes for Police Magistrate, D. C. "Warren, with 24. being the nest highest man. The Trustees were sworn in by J. S. Bogan June 13, 1864, and the board was ready for busine.ss. Most of this, however, was routine business, and not much to note, except the annual struggle on the license question, which we may consider under the head of temperance movements.

In 1872, Mount Vernon became a city under the general law respecting cities and villages. The last Board of Trustees was "Walter E. Carlin, President; John N. Satterfield, Clerk; and James D. Johnson, Russell Dewy, Newton C. Pace and William E. Jackson, Trustees. The following is a list of the Mayors and Aldermen under the city government:

1872 - J. M. Pace, Mayor; T. Hansacker, T. H. Hobbs, A. Smart, J. J. Bambrook, Aldermen. W. D. Watson succeeded Smart in the fall. Four wards and four Aldermen.

1873 - N. C. Pace, Mayor; H. W. Seimer, R. Dewey, C. A. Loomis, J. R. Allen, S. S. Porter and J. J. Bambrook, Aldermen. Three wards and six Aldermen.

1874 - N. C. Pace, Mayor; James Guthrie, H. "W. Seimer, J. Taylor, C. A. Loomis, Silas Downer and H. Davisson, Aldermen. J. Bambrook succeeded Downer, moved out of city.