Jefferson County, Illinois - Chapter 11 (2 of 2 so headed), 1883

SPRING GARDEN TOWNSHIP - GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND TOPOGRAPHY - SETTLEMENT OF THE WHITES - THEIR EARLY TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS - ROADS, MILLS, ETC. - SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES - TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS - SPRING GARDEN VILLAGEITS GROWTH, DEVELOPxMENT, ETC., ETC.

NO age fully understands itself or the place it occupies in the great s(jcular movement of human history. If we would catch the " increasing purposes " which run through the ages, we mtist learn to look at them in the widely separated epochs which mark the decline and fall, the rise and growth of political empire. Though today be a yesterday and though the morrow shall be as to-day, it still remains to be seen that the subtle elements of historical change and development are constantly at work with a transforming power which is the more or less eflScient in its results because it is invisible in its operation. If we wotild clearly discern the fact of human progress in knowledere and virtue, we must look at the file leaders of humanity not as they mark time in the pauses and breathing spells of the daily march, but as they set up the trophies which signalize the tiu-ning points of human destiny, whether it be some decisive battle which saves Europe from the domination of the Persian civilization, as at Marathon, or a transfer of the world's scepter from Pa^an to Christian hands, as typified by the conversion of Constantine. And in like manner, if we would clearly perceive the progress that has been made by the separate nations of the world now competing with each other for the prizes of place and power, we must contemplate their history in its periodic times and not in its daily revolutions.

At this distance of time from the feeble [ beginning of the progress and development Y of this county, a point has been reached from which a survey may be made of the steps that have so far been taken. Although we may look back with pride at the progress we have made, yet our retrospection must necessarily be tempered with some grief for the loss of those who bore an honorable part in the great work of subduing the wilderness and transforming it into the " spring garden " of loveliness. They made history, little reeking who might come after them to write and read it. The greatest honor that we can pay them is to perpetuate their names upon the pages of the history they themselves made.

Spring Garden Township is situated in the south tier of townships in the county, and takes in quite a little corner of Moore's Prairie, as fine a body of land as lies out of doors. Many excellent farms are seen in this section, and corn, oats and wheat are the principal crops. Some fruit is raised and if more attention was paid to it than there is, it would be much better for the farming community. It has been very satisfactorily demonstrated in late years that wheat in Southern Illinois is an uncertain crop, and the farmers sooner or later must see the advantage of stock-raising and fruit-growing in this region. Spring Garden is bounded on the north by Dodds Township, on the east by Moore's Prairie Township, on the south by Franklin County, on the west by Elk Prairie Township, and is designated in the Government survey as Township -t south, Range 3 east, of the Third Principal Meridian. In the woodland portion the timber is that similar to other portions of the county. The streams are Casey's Fork of Big Muddy, Atchison's Creek, Gun Creek, Poplar Branch, etc. Casey's Fork runs south and touches the west side of the township; Atchison's Creek flows west through the west part and empties into Casey's Fork, while Gun Creek and Poplar Branch have their source in the northeast and east portions of the township and pass out thi'ough Section 33 on the south line.

The settlement of Spring Garden Township dates back sixty -five years or more. Among the early settlers we may mention the Smiths, some of the Atchisons, James Pritchett, Thomas Hopj)er, John D. Vaughn, Wiley Prigmore, Uriah Compton, John Hull, Nathaniel Wyatt, E. Crane, James McCann,

The Smiths and Hopper are supposBd to have settled here as early as 1S16, but they were probably not here quite so early as that. Of the Smiths there was Isaac Smith and one or two sons, one of whom was named Abram. Hopper was the father of Abram Smith's wife, and they were all from Tennessee. He settled on Section 1 and died there. Abram Smith had a large family of children, some of whom are still living. His father, Isaac Smith, was an Old-School Baptist preacher. He organized a church of that faith very early in a log cabin on Benjamin Smith's farm. Solomon Goddard and Noble Anderson were also preachers. The latter was quite an eccentric character.

Uriah Compton settled at the old springs called the Compton Springs, and from which the township finally received its name. He was a very early settler and improved the springs, making them quite a resort. Wiley Prigmore was an early hatter, when hats were manufactm-ed at home instead of being bought at the stores. Pritchett settled on Section 1 and was from Tennessee. He was a carpenter, and has a son, George Pritchett, still living here. Two of Barton Atchison's sous were among the early settlers. Wyatt settled near the Compton Springs, and is represented as a very excellent man. Morgan was a good farmer and died in the township. Hull settled near Crane's mill and acted in the capacity of miller for Crane, who owned a horse mill. Hull was a large man and an Irishman, and, like the majority of his race, was extremely fond of a " dhrap of the craythur," and when a little " tight," was quite as fond of a tight. McCann was from Tennessee, and came first to Montgomery County, and from there went to Madison County; then came here and settled in this township. Softly came early. He was a plain but successful farmer; was a candidate once for the Legislature, but an unsuccessful one. He was as strong as Sampson, somewhat addicted to drink, and when under the influence of liquor was quarrelsome and always ready for a tight. Alexander was a very early settler; he was a cripple and went on crutches. Finally he moved into Franklin Count}-. Kirk had a large family, and many of them are still living.

The Sweetons and Harmon were early settlers, but of them we know little beyond the fact of their settlement. Parrett settled about one mile from Spring Garden. He was a strict, close, but honest man, and a member of the old " Hardshell " Baptist Church. William Davis and William Braden were early ministers of the Baptist Church, as well as early settlers of the township.

Of a little later date came a numljer of settlers, among whom we may mention John D. Vaughn, who came about 1830 or 1832. He came from Madison County here, but was originally from Tennessee, and settled on Section 22. He died eventually in Dodds Township, and is buried at the Arnold Graveyard in that township. He had twelve children, and ten of them grew up and raised families of their own. Many descendants are still living here. Mr. Vaughn was a a liberal-spirited man, full of energj- and enterprise, and did much to better the condition of the neighborhood in which he lived.

He engaged in a general mercantile business, and would exchange goods for pelts and venison hams. These he would haul to St. Louis by wagon, bringing back goods in return. He was also a carpenter, and built many houses in the township. But liually he was unfortunate in becoming surety for friends, through which means he lost heavily and died a comparatively poor man. He was ever ready to take hold of anything to make money. On one occasion he and his son Christopher G. hired to some cattle dealers to drive cattle from this section up into Michigan, a distance of about 600 miles, for which he received 75 cents per day and his son 50 cents per day. Returning home, they walked the entire distance, often walking forty miles a day.

to which the pioneers were exposed in the early history of this division of the county is but the same as noticed in other chapters of this volume. One of the most trying difficulties was the procuring of bread, which sometimes could not be obtained at all. The mortar and pestle was the usual resort until horse mills made their appeai'ance. One of the lirst horse mills in this section was Crane's, which was liberally patronized by the people. But, as the country settled up, other and better mills were built, and this trouble passed away, as did all the difficulties of the early settlers. .

Who taught the first school in what is now Spring Garden Township we cannot say, nor can we give the exact location of the tirst schoolhouse in the township. The early schools and schoolhouses were of the usual primitive kind. The township now has six comfortable schoolhouses, situated in Sections 11, 16, 21, 29, 31, and at Spring Gar den Village, in which good schools are taught each year.

The chiu'ch history of the township is somewhat limited, at least so far as church edifices go. But religious meetings were held early, and a number of the early settlers were ministers of the Old-School Baptist Church. Among these were William Davis, William Braden, Solomon Goddard, Isaac Smith and Noble Anderson. Of these, the latter, perhajss, was the leader. He preached the Gospel to the simple pioneers pure and unadulterated as he understood it, not for pelf, but solely for the good of mankind, and because, as some of his neighbors used to say, he was too lazy to do anything else. There was within him the smoldering tires of a rough eloquence, that, when once in his jiulpit and warmed to his work, were soon fanned into fierce llames, as he drew frio-htful pictures of an angry God or the horrors of a literal hell of lire and brimstoue. A favorite expression of his was, " my brethering and sistering, the world is as round as a horse' s head and ten times rounder. " What meaning he intended to convey by the phrase no one seems to know - or care. Such was Elder Anderson, and such as he was, he never seemed to tire of proclaiming to the world that he was not " ashamed to own his Lord and Master." Whether this compliment was returned or not is wholly immateiial to this narrative. Elder Anderson was no band-box preacher. He was not a Beecher, a Talmage, a monkey, nor a fool. He was a humble, sincere, great pioneer preacher, with lists like a maul and a voice like the roar of a Numidian lion, and thus arrayed and equipped with the two-edged sword of faith, he went forth upon his mission and waked the echoes of the primeval forests as he proclaimed in his rude, wild eloquence the promises of the Gospel.

Elder Smith organized a church of the Hardshell Baptist persuasion in the neighborhood, and among its early members were many of the pioneer families of Spring Garden Township. Church buildings are scarce in the township, but religious meetings are held in many of the schoolhouses and the morals of the community are looked after by the ministers of the neighboring churches.

Spring Garden Township is untouched by railroads, but its citizens live in hope that some of the projected roads will strike them. The wagon roads of the township are equal in quality and quantity to other portioijs of the county, and bridges span the streams where many of the more important roads cross them.

Originally this township was included in Elk Prairie aad Moore's Prairie Election Precincts, but when the county adopted township organization, some fifteeu years

Justices of the Peace. - J. W, Marshall, R. G. Cook, J. M. McKinney, Charles Howard, J. M. McKinney, J. Johnson, J. M. McKinney, J. Johnson and A. P. Clark.

The village of Spring Garden is one of the old towns of Jeflerson County. It was surveyed and laid out by L. F. Casey for James F. Duncan and John S. Lucas, October 24, 1848, and is situated about twelve miles nearly south of Mount Vernon, on Section 22 of this township. W. W. Creek put up a house on the site of the town and commenced business the year before the place was laid out. Creek was a brother-in-law to Michael Fitzgerrell and bought land from him. In the winter of 1850-51, James E. Cox put up a house ''n vphieh he kept groceries and furniture. About this time Duncan sold out and left, and John H. Wyatt went in with Lucas in the mercantile business. He remained with him a while; was then with Hawkins, then with Prigmore, and then - died. The lu-st hotel was built by James M. Williams. He owned a farm in the neighborhood, which he traded to Creek for his interest in the village, put up a house and succeeded well. He built the brick hotel in 1859-60. Joseph "Williams built a house in 1853, and the next year his brother Henry went into business with him.

In 1854, W. B. Anderson laid out an addition to the town, comprising six blocks of two lots each, and two of four lots each. The first mill in the place was built by Driver & Pollock, and was a steam mill. This was a great cuiiosity here in those early days to the people, who had been used mostly to horse mills. Many came miles to see this modern wonder. The following incident is related of this mill: One night soon after its completion, when quite a number of people had come in to see it, the proprietors, somewhat elated at their success in the mill business, and to celebrate their growing propserity, drank deeply, and the miller, who was a green hand, crowded on steam until the speed was so great that the mill stones burst into fragments, scaring the proprietors, spectators and employes half to death and making a grand " scatterment" of all present. James R. Combs came to the town in 1854. and finally got an interest in the mill. He was an enterprising man; married Mrs. Compton, engaged in merchandising and finally died. Wiley Prigmore moved into the t(jwn in 1856. One Joshua Kilabrew opened a store, and some time later was succeeded by Thomas Williams, and he by John Clinton. Driver & Pollock's mill finally went' down and Harvey Williams built one some distance from town. Among the physicians of the place are Drs. Bernard, Reed, Cox and Hughey. The two latter le ft in a few years. Drs. Bernard and Reed W3re both from Tennessee. An excellent schoolhouse was built in 1857, which is still doing duty. Carroll and Scott have carried on blacksmith - ing here for many years, sometimes in partnership and sometimes each for himself.

Upon the building of the St. Louis k. Southeastern Railroad (now the Louisville & Nashville Railroad), and the springing up of the towns of Opdyke and Belle Rive, they have drawn heavily on Spring Garden. Several of the stanch citizens and business men of Spring Garden moving to those places on account of the railroad facilities. Spring Garden, perhaps, has passed the zenith of its glory and prosperity, and is now on the down grade to desolation and obscurity, unless some of the railroads now in contemplation pass it. Then its properous days may return.