Lee County, Illinois - Chapter 8: Internal Improvements in Lee County, 1914

It was the policy of the Board of Public Works of Illinois, to build the proposed great north and south railroad in sections, here and there, in order to keep the various settlements in a tranquil state of mind. Dixon's Ferry was given more than its due proportion, and instead of building from both sides of a stream as was the policy of the commissioners, in Lee, they built altogether from the south bank of Rock river, southward, and clear through the county to its southern boundary. That circumstance indicates to us of today the commanding i^osition of Dixon's Ferry in Illinois affairs, although it contained but a house or two or three at the time. And it indicates also the commanding influence of John Dixon as a factor in the business and political affairs of Illinois.

When in 1837-8 and -9, these works were going forward, the engineers of the state occupied a building on First street as their headquarters. It has been mentioned once, but repetition here will not be uninteresting.

In 1835, James Wilson built a blacksmith shop of logs on First street, on the spot occupied liy the present Dixon Telegraph building and its neighboring building to the west. The building did not reach the corner. I would say the west wall of the Telegraph building would measure approximately the center of the old log building. In 1837 this building received a floor, and it was used to hold therein the only term of court held in what comprehended the territory of the old Ogle of Lee and Ogle counties.

This building, on the south side of the street, was perhaps twenty feet long, east and west, and when the gi^ade was cut down to its present level, rather than pare down the entire lot even with the street, as at present, a stone basement or ground floor story was built under the buikliug to reach the street level, so that thereafter the building became a two-story building. The upper one of logs was sided and in its altered form, it gave out the appearance of a very elaborate structure.

The appointment of John Dixon as a member for the Sixth Judicial District of the Board of Public Works, gave to Dixon's i^erry a still more commanding position.

Large quantities of stone, much of it dressed for proposed outside use in building piers and abutments in bridges over streams, including Rock river, were hauled into Lee county and deposited along the route of the proposed railroad and in Dixon a very large amount of material was left.

In reports for subsequent years, made by the commission, it is interesting to notice the orders made for the public sale at Dixon, of those materials. The grade made through Lee county began at the south bank of Rock river where Hennepin avenue intersects the same and ran southerly, crossing the south line of Lee not far east of the Dad Joe house. To this day it may be traced overland for every foot of its ancient course and so too may it be traced easily from the old first map of Lee county made in 1863 by Joseph Crawford and Jason C. Ayres.

Originality it was planned to have a wagon road rim alongside its alignment on the northeasterly side, but with the abandonment of the project, the grade was appropriated instead and was retained for many years. Between Dixon and the Northwestern right of way, it is used today as at first. Beginning at the junction of Hennepin avenue with the river the grade was designed to run south on the avenue to the library corner where it curved towards the east, passing through the jail block and the intervening blocks between that and Seventh street and Chicago road, just east of the Keycs residence. Here as a matter of fact, the actual grading began for its southward joTU-ney. Beyond the right of way of the Nortliwestern, it paralleled the present Chicago road until the Clarence Smith place is reached at the top of the hill, where it continued southerly between the Smith hoixse and the White Tem]'.]e schoolhouse. A shoi't distance further on it followed the Peru road. On the farm north of the county farm, the channel by the roadside is well defined still, and the right of way passed through the dooryard of the county farm, running not far west of Sh(^lburne and the Joseph G. Hall farm; further south, it ran through Maytown by the diagonal road that passes the spot occupied by the old Academy before its destruction. It is today a clean-cut trace, with the few exceptions where intervening ridges appear. No doubt these appear because when the various gangs working towards each other got orders to quit, their work had not met the work of the approaching gang. It may be interesting to know that Sterling made desperate elforts to secure the location of the Central road at that place. The counter petition which was presented by John Dixon is now owned by Edward H. Brewster and reads as follows:

Your petitioners - Citizens residing on Rock River and vicinity understanding that a petition has been or is about to be presented to your Honorable body representing that the Central Rail Road or that part of the same from Rocky ford to Savannah crossing Rock River at Dixon is located on unfavourable ground, occasioning a longer and more expensive route &c &c. - to which we would respectfully protest -

And would add, that whatever may be the feelings of a few interested individuals at Sterling, we are of the opinion that that part of the Central Rail Road alluded to, has been judiciously located - answering both the interest of the finances of the State and that of a very large majority of the Citizens of the Rock River Country- Authentic information on this Subject is in reach of your Honorable body, to which we would respectfully refer you. In the reports of the Engineers, duly appointed to examine and Survey Said Road, information will be found properly attested. And your petitioners have too much confidence in the good sense and judgment of our Legislature than to suppose the representations of a few individuals should have much weight against all the evidence in your possession to the Contrary -

Praying that your honors will Consider said petition for what it is worth - Your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray T. D. Boardman C. Brookner

Dixon prevailed. Beyond doubt, Mr. Dixon's appointment in 18.38 as member of the Board of Public AVorks had nuich to do with the defeat of Sterling's aspirations.

The Tenth General Assembly, of which Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas were members, reduced to a point resembling system the vast numbers of inane theories which the people demanded, and Stephen A. Douglas was the member whose resolutions permitted it to be done. The Illinois and Michigan canal project by this time had proceeded a considerable distance. This scheme, however, should not become confused with the internal imi^rovement schemes. The canal scheme may be said to date back when Representative Pojoe laid off the boimdaries for the new state, and in January (22), 1829, when the act was passed providing for the appointment of commissioners to fix upon the route.

The year 3837 was the year of the Douglas resolutions and the beginning of active preparations for work. The bill which was passed at last, over the objections of the council of revision and the Govei'nor's objections, appi'opriated the enormous siun of $10,200,000. Of this sum, $100,000 was appropriated for the improvement of Rock river, and for the railroad (through Dixon's Ferry) from Cairo to Galena $3,500,000 was appropriated. This latter was the most important of the list and received the largest appropriation, and in tlie distribution of the $5,668,000 which was realized from the sale of bonds, the sum of $1,142,027 was placed in the hands of the commissioners of public works to spend ; about one half the sum appropriated by the bill.

Thus for a short while over two years, the insane mania proceeded. In 1839, the peojile awakened to the fact that they were in debt over $17,000,000 and had nothing to show for it but a few grades and cuts and the great internal schemes collapsed. Lee county was favored more than any other northern county in the wa}^ of railroad grades and the Central Railroad languished until Senators Stephen A. Douglas and Sidney Breese, in the United States Senate, later secured the land grant which permitted the Illinois Central Railroad to be built through Lee county, not very far away from the old grade of fifteen or sixteen years before.

The scrip used in pajonent for labor and material depreciated to a ruinously small figure. I have secured a piece of it to reproduce here as an illustration.