Kane County, Illinois - Chapter 9: Beginnings Along Fox River, 1908

The county of Kane, although among those last settled in Illinois, is now one of the most populous and wealthy in the State. It derives its name from Hon. Elias K. Kane, one of the early and prominent citizens and politicians of southern Illinois. Prior to 1836. the territory from the present north line of La Salle county to the Wisconsin line, and from what was then Cook county, on the east, to what was Jo Daviess county, on the west, was a part of La Salle county. In the winter of 1835-36, the legislature passed an act by which the present territory of Kane and DeKalb counties, and the three north townships of Kendall, were laid ofif into a county and denominated Kane. In the winter of 1836-7, the west half of Kane was appropriated to an organization denominated DeKalb county, and subsequently the three southern townships were allotted to Kendall countj leaving Kane with its present area - eighteen miles wide by thirty long, and embracing fifteen townships. It contains 540 square miles or 345,000 acres. The present population of the county is 78,792.

The government surveys of Kane county took place in 1839 and '40, and the lands came into market in 1842. In the early days of Illinois, the local government was mainly by counties, though they were divided into election precincts for the convenience of voting, etc. In 1850, this precinct arrangement was abandoned in Kane county, and township organization and government took their place.

The first actual settler in Kane county was Christopher Payne, from North Carolina, who arrived with his family in October, 1833, and located one mile east of Batavia. He made his journey from Carolina wath an ox-team; but came originally from New York. Colonel Nathaniel Lyon and Captain C. B. Dodson .settled near Batavia in the spring of 1834, there being only five other families in the county at that time. During the summer and fall, some forty families located along Fox river, among whom were Messrs. Haight, Joseph and Samuel McCarthy, Aldrich, Vandeventer, How,

McKee, Town, Churchill, Miles, William and John Van Nortwick, Ira Minard and James Herrington. At this time the country now embraced by- Kane county was in possession of the Pottawattomie Indians - the wigwam of Waubonsie, their chief, being a little north of Aurora, but most of them were soon after removed beyond the Mississippi.

The first store and saw-mill in the county were built by C. B. Dodson, in the summer of 1834, at Clybourneville, one mile south of Batavia. The first flouring-mill was erected in Batavia in 1837 by Mr. M. Boardman, and was followed the same year by another at Aurora, built by Messrs. McCarty. Up to this time the nearest flouring-mills were at Ottawa.

The first school in the county was held in a log cabin on Colonel Lyon's claim, one mile east of Bata\ia, and was taught by a Mr. Knowles, from Vermont, with an average attendance of nine scholars.

The first celebration of the Fourth of July is said to have taken place in Elgin in 1836. The year following, S. S. Jones, Esq., delivered his celebrated oration on the Fourth of July, to eleven hearers.

The first church was organized in Batavia in 1835. The first sermon preached in the county was by the Rev. N. C. Clark, at the log cabin of Christopher Payne, the first settler, as. early as August, 1834. Indeed, Mr. Clark might well have been styled the pastor of the entire Kane county settlement for several years, and was truly one of the pioneer preachers of this region.

The first newspaper in Kane county was published at St. Charles in the fall of 1841. by John Thomas. It was styled the St. Charles Patriot, afterwards the Fox River Advocate and Kane County Herald. The paper was burned out in 1842, but Ira Minard went to Hennepin, on the Illinois river, with two teams and purchased a press and material, so that the paper was continued as the Fo.x River Advocate, edited by D. D. Waite.

The following extract from a letter to the Genesee Evangelist, in 1848, will give the impression of a traveler with regard to Kane county si.xty years ago, and also the population of some of the villages of the county at that time :

"This county lies north of Kendall and west of DuPage, and if any preference can be given among so many counties, all of which are so beautiful and so fertile, that preference must be given to Kane. I think, after taking all things into consideration, that I may safely pronounce it the best county in the State. Although the prairie land predominates, it is interspersed with valuable groves, containing timber sufficient for fuel, fencing and building for years to come.

"Most of the county is within a day's drive of the lake, thus enjoying a proximity to market not possessed by counties further west. The new railroad from Chicago to Galena passes directly through it and afifords a ready communication at all times with Chicago. But its magnificent river, which supplies so inucli w ater power and propels so much machinery, adds materially to the wealth and business of the county. This is Fox river, which rises in Wisconsin, a few miles west of Milwaukee, and empties into the Illinois at Ottawa. After running twenty, or thirty miles from its source, and before entering the State of Illinois it becomes sluggish, and for most of the way has too little fall to propel machinery with much power. By the time, however, that it reaches the north part of Kane county, its descent is more rapid and it rolls on in a broad channel and nearly a straight course through the whole length of the county (about thirty miles), afifording many valuable mill sites. On ascending or descending the ri^-er. the traveler passes, once in every five miles, on an average, a thriving village, divided by the stream, until he reaches the sixth before leaving the county. Each of these villages contains one or more flouring mills. A short distance north of the south line of the county is Aurora, containing some 1,000 or 1,200 inhabitants. Seven miles north of here is Batavia, a place somewhat smaller than Aurora, Like its sister village, it is separated by the channel of water which propels its machinery. A small island divides the river as it passes through the village. Two miles north of Batavia is Geneva, the shire town of Kane county, although it is the smallest of its villages. Two miles further on is St, Charles, containing some 1,200 or 1,500 inhabitants. A paper mill has been erected here and is now in operation, being the only one in northern Illinois, Ten miles north of St, Charles is Elgin, the largest and prettiest village in Kane county. The state of society here is, good and the country around beautiful and fertile, thus making Elgin one of the most delightful places in the world for a residence. Proceeding five miles northward we reach Dundee, the last of the Kane county villages. The place contains some 600 inhabitants, and as its Scotch name would indicate, has several Scotch families in and around it."

The following letter, which appeared in the Kenosha Telegraph, in 183 1, will give some further idea of Dundee and Elgin as they appeared at that time : and something of the county :

"Air. Editor: The river which rises a few miles northwest of Milwaukee, and flows so tardily to the state line, and through McHenry county, Illinois, begins, as it approaches the line of Kane county, to move more rapidly onward. Its haste to reach its destination continues through nearly the entire length of the county, affording water power which already propels a large amount of machinery, and may be made to propel much more. The river passes in nearly a straight course from north to south through the eastern part of the county, lined on each side by a narrow strip of woods, beyond which the high, rolling prairie, dotted as it is by well cultivated farms and comfortable dwellings, presents an appearance which beauty's self tuight envy. Six of the numerous mill-seats on the river are the nuclei of as manv villages, distant from each other, on an averag-e, less than five miles. With such a water power within them, and such a beautiful and fertile country around them, it is not strange that Kane county has reason to be proud of its villages. All of them are within about thirty-five miles of Chicago. All but one are connected with that city by railroad, and thus have daily or semi-daily communication witli it. Four of tliem liave newspapers - a larger number, probably, than are issued in any other county in the state, with the exception of the one embracing Chicago.

"The most northern of the Kane county \-illages, on Fox river, is Dundee, which, as its name would indicate, has a large sprinkling of Scotch inhabitants in and around it. It lacks that appearance of thrift and enterprise which mark its sister villages further south - and as the iron horse is not to visit it. its future prospects are not the brightest. Its present population is about 800, with the usual proportion of churches, schools, etc.

"Five miles further down is Elgin, containing about 2,000 inhabitants. One of the first settlers and principal founders of this place was James T. Gifford, whose lamented death occurred last summer. To no man is Elgin more indebted, and long will her citizens regret their loss. Mr. Gifford lived to see a beautiful village of 2,000 inhabitants on a spot which, when first visited by him, some fifteen years since, had just been vacated by the wild Indian. He also lived to realize that much depends upon the influence exerted on an embryo village, and to have cause for gratulation that the influence which he and his co-pioneers brought to bear on Elgin while society was in its forming state there, was Christian. Few places can boast of better society than this village. The number and strength of its evangelical churches ; the number of houses erected for the worship of Jehovah, and the interest felt in the subject of education which, whatever may be said to the contrary, are the true indices of the state of society, speak an unequivocal language in favor of Elgin. The scarcity of grog-shops proclaim as unequivocally that here King Alcohol is not an absolute monarch.

"The Congregationalists, Calvanistic Baptists, Free Will Baptists, Methodists and Unitarians each have church edifices - all of them respectable in appearance, and some of them large and attractive.

"For several years there was published at this place a religious paper called The Western Christian, and designed to be the organ of the anti-slavery Baptists. This has recently been removed to Utica, N. Y., where it is now published. It is succeeded by The Elgin Gazette, a paper not denominational nor exclusively religious, but which, nevertheless, exerts a good moral influence.

"A large two-story brick schoolhouse indicates the interest taken in the subject of education here. In addition to this an effort was made some two years since, by the Free Will Baptists, to establish a college at this place, and some $5,000 was subscribed by the citizens toward the erection of a building. A noble structure has been commenced, but the work has been suspended in consequence of a lack of funds, and the building seems likely for the present to remain in statu quo.

"The Elgin woolen factory is a large establishment of the kind, which adds materially to the business and to the appearance of the place. Near this establishment a splendid brick store, 75 by 100 feet long, has been erected during the past season, and during the coming season a block containing eight or ten others of like dimensions is to be erected in proximity to it. Some idea may be formed from these facts of the growth of the place. The

"Elein. like other Fox river villages in the countv. is divided bv the stream, and each of its sections is striving for the ascendant. The railroad was at first constructed to east Elgin, with the expectation that if it did not cross there it would cross at some point above. The directors have, however, since decided to leave the present track some distance east of the village and cross two or three miles below. The road will then be constructed to the section of the village lying west of the ri\er. where a depot will be erected. This will probably cause the road between east Elgin and the Junction to be unused, and will transfer much of the business of the place from the east to the west side of the stream. A natural consequence of the location of the depot is an increase in the value of village lots on the west side."

Many of the suggestions of the above writer have been realized, but trade was not diverted to the west side, that side of the river having increased comparatively little since the above was written, while the east side now contains nearly all the business district.

A saw-mill was built by Joseph McCarty on the island at Aurora in 1835, the first timber being sawed on June 8. 1835. An old style, upright saw being used. The first saw-mill was built just south of Batavia at the mouth of Mill Creek by C. B. Dodson. A mercantile establishment that sold everything salable was opened by James L. Adams in 1836. Tax'erns were built at Aurora and Elgin that year. A stage route from Chicago to Elgin opened in 1837. A library was opened at Aurora in 1837. A postoffice was established in 1837. and a bridge built in 1836.

In 1834 a log schoolhouse was erected by the efforts of Colonel Joseph Lyon, about one mile east of what is now Batavia. with nine pupils. A bridge was built in 1837. The first Batavia tavern was built in 1837. A church was organized in 1835.

In 1839 a bridge was erected at Dundee; a schoolhouse built in 1837; a "hotel" opened on the west side by Hardin Oatman in 1838: a saw-mill erected in 1837.

At Elgin a log schox^'house was built in 1837. near what is now South Elgin. Elgin was made a v'ostoffice in 1837: a log tavern appeared in 1836. July 4, 1836. the first road vas built east from Elgin to Meacham's Grove (now Bloomingdale). A juvice of the peace and constable were elected in 1836; a saw-mill was completed in 1837. A grist-mill was built the same year on the east side at the head of the old race way. The town plat was sur\-eyed in 1836. A wooden bridge was put up at a cost of $400 in 1837. The first frame dwelling was built in Elgin by Dr. Joseph Tefift in 1838, on the site of the present city hall, then Dr. Tefft's residence; a blacksmith set up business in 1838. The first school was opened in 1835. ''"d the first religious service was held in the Giflford cabin, September, 1835. A religious society was organized in 1836.

At Geneva a school was opened in 1835 by Mrs. Samuel Sterling, who taught in her own cabin. A blacksmith arrived in 1836; a church was organized in 1837; the town was platted in 1837.

At Virgil the first framehouse was built in 1839, by Luther Merrill; a tavern was opened in 1840; a blacksmith shop in 1845; ^ postoffice in 1849.

At Sugar Grove the first log cabin was raised in 1836, with nails, sawed boards and shingle roof; a tavern was built in 1836; a postoffice established in 1840. The first "store" was opened in 1839 by P. Y. Bliss, who built a framehouse in 1838. The store was long one of the largest in Kane county and drew the trade from many miles distant.

In Rutland township a postoffice called Deerfield was established in 1838; a log house was erected in 1840, and a church organized by the Catholics about the same time.

So the county advanced to settlement, forming the basis for the large and splendid development that has since resulted. The first needs, the church, the schoolhouse, the saw-mill, the postoffice, the general store and the open road everywhere were first attended to; dams, bridges, and grist-mills came next. Soon frame dwellings were built by the more well-to-do (if there were any such), and progress was then upon its way in the valley of the Fox, preparing for those industries that make its cities world famous, and the product of its farms a household word.