Logan County, Illinois - Chapter 7: In the Thirties, 1911

Chapter 7: In the Thirties

The "deep snow" of the winter of 1830-31, to which reference has already been had, was not only one of the most remarkable meteorological phenomena ever experienced in Central Illinois, but it marked a dating point, for every antecedent or subsequent event, in the history of the early settlers. "Before" or "after the deep snow" was a chronological expression, similar to the much later one of, "before" or "after the war." The snow began to fall in the latter part of November and continued to fall, until it reached a depth of three feet or more on the level. Then came a rain, with the weather so cold, that the rain froze as it fell, forming a crust of ice, over this great depth of snow, nearly, but not quite, strong enough, to bear up the weight of a man; and finally, over this crust of ice, came a few inches of light snow. ane clouds passed away and the wind came down, from the northwest, with extraordinary ferocity. For weeks, the mercury was no higher, any morning, than twelve degrees below zero. The air was filled with flying snow, which blinded the eyes, and almost stopped the breath of any one who attempted to face it. The settlers were all largely from regions to the south of this, had never experienced anything of this kind and were wholly unprepared for it. It is not difficult, therefore, to give due credence to the stories of suffering and destitution which its prolonged visitation entailed.

When the storm came, it found most of the corn, standing on the stalks. -The fall had been warm and wet, and the settlers had been in no hurry to gather the corn. They were so unprepared for such an extreme season, that it became almost impossible, in many cases, to obtain bread for family use, although amid stacks of wheat and fields of corn. Few had any milling done, and all sorts of devices were used to reduce what little grain that could be dug out of the snow into anything resembling bread. Watermills, few as they were, were frozen and stopped. Roads were obliterated and it was useless to make new ones in the snow, for the drifts filled them up as fast as made. Stock perished for want of sustenance, as also did hogs and poultry, in great numbers.

Nearly all kinds of game were destroyed, especially the deer, which being unable to run in the snow, fell an easy prey to the hunter and his dogs. Prairie chickens, with their well known habits of roosting on the ground, were destroyed by hundreds. Apple and peach trees were invariably killed. Prior to the "deep snow," this section was considered the greatest fruit country known, but since the "deep snow," it has never recovered its prestige in this regard. It is also a well known fact, that cotton was grown in what is now Logan County, prior to this remarkable weather, but none since. David England, who settled in Sangamon County, close to the present Logan County line, said in 1870: "Previous to 1831, we raised plenty of cotton, without cultivation, all we wanted, but after the deep snow, there was a change in climate, and it has not been the same since, as every old settler can testify. My father had a cotton gin, which consisted of two rollers turned by hand." Cotton was raised in considerable quantities in the Buckles' settlement in the Lake Fork country, before the "deep snow" as before noted in the chapter on early settlement. Elisha Primm, of Sangamon County, used to relate that his father built a cotton gin in 1822. He said that from the time the first settlers came into the county, until 1831, this was as good a cotton country as Georgia. He said that this was attested by men familiar with cotton growing in the south. Elisha attended the gin built by his father, which was run by horse power. The people brought cotton to be ginned, from all distances up, to twenty miles. . Sometimes it would accumulate on his hands, until he would have as much as three thousand pounds. The price for ginning was a toll of one pound in every eight, after the cotton was ginned. It sold from 12 to 16 2/3 cents per pound and occasionally higher. But after the "deep snow," he said that the seasons appeared to shorten, and cotton was generally bitten by the frost before it had time to mature, and cotton raising was abandoned.

John Buckles, during his lifetime, said that though only nine years of age, he remembered the "deep snow" quite vividly. He described it as follows: "The snow began falling about Christmas and continued until it was three feet deep on the level, and four or six feet deep where it drifted. A cold wave, following the snow, froze the surface into a thick hard crust, strong enough to bear the weight of team and sled. Deer and wild turkeys became so tame, through desire for food, that they ventured near enough to the cabin of the pioneers, in some instances, to be fed from the door. Before the opening of spring, much wild game was killed, by the merciless wolf or perished from starvation. Families not having prepared for such a trying time, and being housed only in open-built huts, were in many cases frozen to death, while others suffered cruelly from lack of food. The difficulties and adversities through which the people of that winter passed, and the misery and suffering they underwent, are indescribable and inconceivable, and those who survived it and are yet living, recall to memory or speak of it, with ghastly recollection of its horrors." Christopher C. Ewing, in writing to the Old Settlers' Association, about the "deep snow," said: "During this winter, we had to hitch two or three yoke of oxen, to a sled, to drive out into the field, and get some corn for ourselves and the stock; and we would find our trails, completely covered up, On our return. The snow was two or three feet deep, on a level. Sun-dogs followed the sun all day, and the weather was bitterly cold. We got through the winter with a lot of poor stock."

James Randolph, at the Old Settlers' meeting in 1875, said that he came to the county, with a colony of fifty persons; that they came from a warm country and the men spent the fall in hunting, instead of finishing their cabins and that only two cabins had chimneys when the big snow came; that by spring forty-nine of the fifty were in the two cabins that had chimneys, one having died; that nearly all were sick, they had no doctor, and a number of the settlers became discouraged with the outlook and went back home. Samuel Hoblit used to relate that he moved into his new log house, near the present site of Atlanta, "the day of the commencement of the deep snow," that the house was somewhat open, not having had it finished and "that the snow of that long winter, lasting eighty days, without a thaw, continually drifted in, until, under the bed, it reached the cords, where it became packed and was allowed to remain until spring."" David Ward Clark, one of the first presidents of the Old Settlers' Association, is authority for the statement that, during the winter of the deep snow, the house tops were covered with prairie chickens, which died by the thousands. Jacob H. Judy, in his lifetime, always claimed that the snow was five feet deep, on an average, and drifted, in places, to fifteen and twenty feet. Ford Ewing used to relate that during this period, he, and his brother, ran down eleven half starved, scrawny deer, which they afterwards fattened, but could not domesticate. This great snowfall produced constant sleighing for nine weeks, and when, at last, warm rains and sunshine prevailed, the roads remained as lines of ice, which disappeared but gradually. The streams were raised, by the melting snow, to an unusual height, and thus passed away this epoch-marking event.

The Sudden Freeze

About five years after the "deep snow," or to be exact, on December 20, 1836, another meteorological event occurred, in the history of the county, which has likewise not been surpassed, since that time. This event was known as the "sudden freeze." Rain and sleet had been falling in the early afternoon, when without warning, a strong wind, traveling at the rate of at least seventy miles an hour, accompanied by a deep, bellowing sound, with its icy blast, swept over the county, and everything was instantly frozen hard. The water of the little pools in the roads froze in waves, sharp-edged and pointed, as the gale had blown it. Chickens, pigs and other animals were frozen in their tracks. Wagon wheels, ceasing to roll, were frozen to the ground. Men, going to their barns or fields, in slush and water, a short distance from their houses, returned a few minutes later, walking on the ice. Some caught out on horseback, were frozen to their saddles. Ice was frozen in streams, from six inches to a foot thick, in a few hours. John Buckles, of Mt. Pulaski, gave the following version of this event, during his lifetime: '"On the morning of the sudden change, it was warm, the atmosphere was saturated with moisture and on the ground was a light layer of snow. About noon, rain began to fall for a time, when without a moment's warning, an icy wave swept down from the north, freezing everything as it went. Under foot, was a slush of snow and water, but in less time than it takes to write it, the polar blast converted it into solid ice. Carter T. Scroggin, who was on his road from a neighboring mill, in an old durbin, was struck by the frigid wind. The top of his durbin was removed and his horse faced in the opposite direction. Realizing the peril of his situation and knowing that if he did not find shelter immediately death would claim him, he drove rapidly in search of some friendly cabin, which he found in time to save his life. Those who had the misfortune to be overtaken by this icy terror and were unable to find shelter, quickly succumbed and much stock was numbered among the frozen victims."

Christopher C. Ewing, of Lawndale, now deceased, reporting this event, said: 'In December of 1836, our pioneers experienced another severe change in the atmosphere and lost heavily of their stock and poultry, and in some cases their own lives. The snow had been falling for a day or two, when a drizzling rain set in, which continued until about two o'clock, in the afternoon, melting the snow and converting it into a thin, mushy ice. Suddenly, there came a mighty, rushing wind from the northwest, which roared at a distance, like a hurricane, and froze everything in its course. The water on the ponds was frozen in waves and all who were out, suffered more or less, as in an hour, the mercury changed from forty degrees above to thirty degrees below. This severe weather continued three days and resulted in much sickness throughout the country." J. T. Hackney in an Old Settlers' talk at the annual meeting, recalled the sudden change. "The earth was wet from recent rains," said he, "when suddenly a cold wind came, which seemed to whiten the earth. Three of us were caught in this storm and the ice becoming thicker and thicker and the cold more intense, we were compelled to stop at the house of Alfred Sams for safety."

Ezekiel Bowman, one of the early sheriffs of the county, used to say that after the sudden freeze, he found frogs frozen, with their mouths open, and he verily believed that the change was so sudden, they didn't have time to close them. John Hepperly, of Lincoln, illustrated the suddenness of the change, by saying that it was "'sudden as a clap of thunder." The father of Abe Larison had a narrow escape from death, at the time, his clothing being frozen on him and he frozen to the saddle, when he arrived at his home. Many cases of subsequent death among the early settlers were due to exposure during the storm, and much micknees followed.

James Harvey Hildreth, who died in Mt. Pulaski township in 1858, underwent such an amount of suffering, during this sudden change, that, in after years, he rarely ever cared to refer to it. He came to this country in 1833, and was engaged in cattle trading. At this time, he was a stout and rugged young man, of about twenty-four years of age. In December of 1836, he, in company with a young man, by the name of Frame, started, on horseback, for Chicago. On the day of the sudden freeze, they had entered the border of a large prairie, in the northern part of the state, and the next timber was many miles distant. It had rained all morning, and the earth was covered with water. They encountered a slough, containing so much water, they did not like to attempt passing through it. In order to head the slough, they rode some miles in a northeasterly direction, and having crossed it, turned northwest, to regain their course. That was about the middle of the afternoon. It suddenly ceased raining and the cold wave came, in all its fury, from the northwest, striking them square in the face. They were then out of sight of any human habitation, and their horses became absolutely unmanageable. They drifted with the wind or across it, until dark closed in upon them. The cold becoming intenser, death seemed to be imminent. As a last resort, they decided to kill their horses, take out the entrails and crawl into the carcass, as a protection: against the cold. They dismounted, killed Frame's horse first, disemboweled it and both crawled into the carcass, as far as they could, and remained there until midnight. The animal heat, by this time, having been dissipated, they crawled out, with the intention of slaughtering Hildreth's horse. In some way, however, they lost the only knife they had, and could not find it in the darkness. They then huddled about the living horse, until about four o'clock in the morning. By that time Frame had become so benumbed by the cold, that he sank to sleep and while in this stupor, froze to death.

Mr. Hildreth, in the meantime, kept from freezing, by jumping about. As soon as it was daylight, he mounted his horse and started in search of shelter. In mounting, he dropped his hat, but was afraid to dismount and get it, for fear he would not have strength to mount again. Bareheaded, he rode about, until he reached the bank of a stream, supposed to be the Vermillion River. Seeing a house on the opposite shore, he made an outcry, which brought the occupant out. This did him little good, for the occupant, whose name turned out to be Benjamin Russ, was one of those inhuman outlaws, who were occasionally to be met with in the timber. Russ yelled to Hildreth, that he could not do anything for him. A canoe was lying tied to the opposite shore, but he affected to be afraid of the running ice. Hildreth then offered him a large sum, if he would cut a tree and let it fall over the stream, so that he could cross. Russ still refused and directed Hildreth to a grove, which he said was a mile distant, where he would find a house. He went, but it was five miles, and the house proved to be a deserted cabin. He then returned to Russ' house and called for help: and was again refused. He then dismounted, crawled to the bank,. found that the ice had closed, and was strong enough to bear him and crawled over. Arriving at the fence, the brutal owner of the place refused to help him. Hildreth tumbled over the fence, crawled to the bank and laid down near the fire. He was allowed to lie there, until four o'clock that afternoon, but no assistance was given him, either by Russ or his wife. Finally, some hog drovers came along and moved' him to another house, where he was properly cared for. Afterwards,. the settlers of the neighborhood, hearing of the inhumanity of Russ, decided to mete out severe punishment but Russ and his wife fled the country. Mr. Hildreth always expressed the belief, that his offering to pay liberally, for cutting down a tree across the river, led them to: think that he had a large sum of money, and that, if, by their neglect, he perished, they could obtain it. Mr. Hildreth was conveyed back to: the house of his brother in Vermillion County, where all his toes were amputated from both feet and the bones of all his fingers, except one joint of the thumb, on his right hand, which enabled him to hold a pen or drover's whip. -His left foot never healed entirely and nearly twentytwo years after his misfortune his leg had to be amputated below the: knee. This healed, but his lungs, already diseased, caused his death as. before stated. . METEORIC SHOWER OF 1833.

On the night of Nov. 13, 1833, there occurred in this section of the: state, a remarkable shower of meteors, stars apparently falling like rain from the clouds. Mr, Ewing, in his Old Settlers' reminiscences, said: "In November of 1833, was witnessed what was called a meteoric . Shower, which in grandeur surpassed the great snow. From midnight until daylight, there was a blaze of meteors, as thick as snow-flakes and apparently everything was on fire. Some thought the end of the world had come and many got together and held prayer meetings." Robert:

Cass, another pioneer, thus described it: "Rising early as was my custom, I had proceeded but a little way from the house, when I discovered all the stars apparently in motion, shooting here and there, with a brilliancy that lit up the heavens and earth. This continued until the sun rose. The Sangamo Journal of Nov. 16, 1833, commenting on this phenomena, said: "At three o'clock, a. m., the whole atmosphere was lit up by what appeared to be the falling of myriads of meteors or shooting stars. At times the appearance was not inaptly compared to the falling of a shower of fire. The air was entirely calm and free from clouds. The scene presented was one of extraordinary sublimity and excited intense admiration in all who beheld it."

Hard Times

In 1837, there came a killing financial frost. The state banks suspended specie payment and hard times set in with severity. From that time on until about 1845, the early settlers experienced greater financial embarrassment than at any other time in the previous history of the county. Money was an almost unknown commodity, all business was transacted through the means of trade or barter, flour for its value in meal, a yoke of oxen for a horse, a half dozen hogs for a cow, and so on. Many were the straits to which the settlers were led, to make both ends meet. The prices of such articles as the people had to buy rapidly advanced, while that of which they had to sell as rapidly declined. Sugar sold for 16 2/3 cents per pound, coffee for 25 cents; calico or prints for 50 cents per yard. Hogs brought from one dollar to $1.25 per hundred pounds, and wheat about 20 cents per bushel.

In June of 1837, Daniel Webster, the famous orator and statesman, passed through what is now Logan County, on his way from Springfield, via Peoria and Chicago, to the East. Mr. Webster made a Western trip that year, with his wife and a niece. He was a guest for several days of Gov. Joseph Duncan, at his home in Jacksonville, where Mr. Webster delivered an address. Springfield had just been chosen the capital and Mr. Webster and party accompanied Gov. Duncan, from Jacksonville to the new capital. From thence, Mr. Webster's party proceeded to Peoria and from Peoria to Chicago. All this trip throughout Illinois was made by stage, it being before the day of railroads. The route was through the village of Middletown, which had been laid out five years previous. Just as the stage was leaving Middletown, an accident happened to the vehicle and a delay of several hours was necessary to make repairs. Soon Mr. Webster's identity became known, and he was soon surrounded by the few inhabitants of the new town, who were anxious to catch a glimpse of so distinguished a personage. A subscription school in the village was dismissed, that the children might see him, and it is stated that he responded to a request for a speech, in a few words, principally directed to the children, on the benefits of early

The Town Lot Craze

The year 1836 culminated in the great town-lot craze, which spread like wildfire over the length and breadth of Illinois. The rapid rise of Chicago started the boom. From a mere trading post in 1830, it had grown into a city of several thousand souls. The story of sudden fortunes there made, in the increased values of land, first aroused wonder: and then aroused the gambling instinct for sudden gain. Town after town was laid out, each advertising its rare attractions, throughout the East, and holding its lots at fancy prices. Chicago became a great market for the sale of these lots, the plats of towns projected for hundreds of miles around being taken there and offered for sale. Other plats were sent East. It was said at the time that the staple articles of Illinois export, were town lots and there was danger of crowding the state with towns, to the exclusion of land for the tilling of the soil. The East had caught the mania and Illinois was supplying the goods. Vessels came to Chicago loaded with eager investors who returned home with town lots. New towns were laid out in every direction to meet the insatiate demand; towns in impassable marshes, and towns in the heart of solemn woods. Stakes of surveyors whitened the unbroken plains, where wolves howled and wild cats roamed undisturbed, and the bounds therein fixed were industriously harked, by velvet-tongued salesmen, in the marts of Boston and New York. The early settlers themselves loaded up with more town lots than they could pay for. They became town lot poor. And all in the belief that all of these paper towns would blossom into populous cities and the holders of lots therein would become fabulously rich.

In this time of wild excitement, Logan County had her full share. Probably the most famous and for awhile the most successful of these boom towns, was the town of Bloomingdale, which was located in the southwest portion of what is now Eminence township, about five miles north of the present site of Lincoln and three miles west of the present site of Lawndale. Its history reads like a romance and a town plat recorded among the archives of Logan County, transcribed from the records of Tazewell County, of which that portion of Logan County was then a part, is all that is left of a series of transactions, which for a time excited the staid residents of the historic old town of Providence, in the Yankee State of Rhode Island. For many of the details herein given, the writer is indebted to Dr. G. M. Angell, of Atlanta, who compiled an account of the settlement, for the Historical Society of Logan County, in 1901, these details being supplemented by research of an individual character.

Along about 1835, a gentleman connected with President Jackson's administration and a relative of Justice Ellsworth, then Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, wrote an interesting and glowing account of Central Illinois, with its wonderful prairies, its timber and its streams and the mighty possibilities that were surely in store for this Eden of the new world. This book was read throughout New England and set the country wild over the prospects for settlement and development. As a result, an association was formed in Providence, Rhode Island, bearing the name of "The Smithfield Emigration Association, of Providence, Rhode Island," and its incorporators were respectively, Jonathan B. Nichols, Seth Padelford and John B. Read. Nathan B. Sprague was also a leading man in this Association and he was sent out to view the land. He brought with him one Dr. Usher Parsons, a geologist and a skilled surgeon, who had served with distinction in the War of 1812, with Commodore Perry, 'on Lake Erie's broad expanse." While here, Sprague and Usher boarded with Thomas Fletcher. These men reported favorably upon the country and were directed to proceed at once to enter claims, on behalf of the Association, in whatever portion of the country they deemed the most desirable for the location of a colony. While in Pekin, they met Reuben Ewing, afterwards Judge of the Logan County Court, and upon his advice, decided that the most suitable location was between Kickapoo and Sugar Creeks, which in their report, they denominated as rivers. They thereupon entered 1,600 acres of land, extending from east of what is now Lawndale, to Rocky Ford, between Kickapoo and Sugar Creeks, extending out on the prairie on both sides, to Delavan prairie in one direction and south of Kickapoo, in the other, and the Association, in due time, received a government patent for this land, signed by the President of the United States, Andrew Jackson.

_ The next step was to divide the land into eighty acre tracts and the next step was to plat the town, which was to be the nucleus of the proposed colony. The new town was given the euphonious name of Bloomingdale. It was surveyed by Thomas C. Wilson, Deputy Surveyor of Tazewell County, and the proprietors named were Richard Ackman, Wm. Rankin, Thomas P. Fletcher and George Cottingham, well known early settlers, who were interested in the enterprise. The original town was platted with 63 blocks, and was located on sections 29 and 32, in township twenty-one north, range 2 west. It provided for a public square and a market place, and its streets were respectively named, Washington, LaFayette, Franklin, Madison, Jefferson, Adams, Jackson, Monroe, Elm, Walnut, Liberty, Center, Richmond, Tremont and Market. The plat was recorded Aug. 5, 1836. One year later, an addition of 16 blocks was platted by the Smithfield Association, The Association began advertising at once throughout the East. The plan adopted, was as follows: Stock was sold in the Association at $100 a share, and each share of stock entitled the holder to one eighty-acre tract and one lot in Bloomingdale. The colonists were expected to live in Bloomingdale and go out from there, to farm their lands. All names of stockholders were put into a wheel and all the eighty-acre tracts were numbered and the numbers put in another wheel. A name was drawn from the first wheel, and a number from the second and a deed of the tract corresponding to the number drawn, was made out to the party, whose name was so drawn. Colonies were to emigrate in three installments, during the three successive years.

The first installment started in the spring of 1837. They were called "the advance guard" and were to get everything ready for the others who were to follow. They were all men. They had some farming implements and came overland, in "prairie schooners," until they reached the Ohio River, when they loaded their 'schooners' on flat boats and came down the Ohio to the Mississippi, up the latter stream to the mouth of the Illinois and then up the Illinois to Pekin. Most of the colonists were clerks, mechanics and factory hands, from the cities, and unused to rural life, to say nothing of the hardships of the frontier. On arriving in what is now Logan County, they threw up little sod fences around their tracts and on these they planted trees. They built few houses. The season was a wet one and soon they were attacked with chills and fever, ague and kindred diseases. Scores of them died. Those who had some money with them, started back east, with long tales of woe. Arriving back in Rhode Island, they described conditions and punctured the Bloomingdale boom, in and around Providence. They referred to Pekin as "Deathville," because so many died there. The idea got abroad that no white man could live in Illinois, the colony project was abandoned and neither the second nor third installment ever left the shores of New England. Still a few remained, and battled with the rigors of the new country. Among them was Stephen Beverly, R. K. Webster and others.

In 1838, however, another effort was made to resuscitate the colony idea. Two partners, in the manufacturing business in Providence, Morse and Hayden, got a few others to try the experiment. A saw mill was started by Esten and Stacey. One or two stores were opened in Bloomingdale. R. K. Webster began a grocery store in a log building. A Mr. Cunningham started a log dry goods store, with Anthony

N. Dills as clerk. A frame school house was erected and three or four log dwellings built. Later three men, Esten, Phillips and Hawkins, who had loaned money to the first colonists and had lost it, bought up the interests of those who had returned East, began another Bloomingdale boom in and about Providence. They got out flaming advertisements of the new town. One of them had a picture of steamers and sailing craft anchored at a wharf, and bore this legend: 'Bloomingdale is at the head of navigation of the Kickapoo River." An old resident states that he was in Providence, R. I., about this time and heard a street corner orator, descanting on the beauties of Bloomingdale. Among other things he said Bloomingdale was situated between two rivers, Sugar River and Kickapoo River, that these rivers were less than two miles apart and that a highway, 100 yards wide, had been built from river's edge to river's edge. Despite this booming, however, the project was a failure. Yet even as late as 1842, Bloomingdale lots were bought and sold, among the early settlers, in large numbers. Subsequently the eighty-acre tracts and the town lots were largely sold for taxes and purchasers were able to reinforce their title by sending east, to the original owners, and getting quit claim deeds from them, for a song. Abstracts of title to scores of farms in Logan County, today, will be found to contain transfers of Bloomingdale tracts and lots, but nothing remains of the original town, but an occasional rock now and then. The Bloomingdale school house, built within a short distance of the old site, still perpetuates the name.

Town Of Albany

Another boom town was that of Albany. It was located near Rocky Ford, on the west half of the southeast quarter of section six, and the west half of the northeast quarter of section seven, in township nineteen, north, range three west. The proprietors were John Wright and John Donavan and it was surveyed June 16, 1836, by no less a personage than Abraham Lincoln, later President of the United States. Salt Creek divided the proposed new city into two parts, thus providing excellent drainage, besides giving the' city advertising value, in being located upon a running river. The town as laid out contained fourteen blocks, six belonging to Wright and eight to Donavan. As far as known, the town was always a paper town, no buildings having been erected therein, but the original lot sale was good and transfers of lots continued down, until the fifties, two lots having been sold in 1852, by Ezekiel Bowman to Henry Peck. The lots were not high priced, as the following figures, annexed to the names of certain purchasers in 1836, would indicate: David Enslow, two lots, $40.50; William M. Glenn, one lot, $14.50; William B. Brown, one lot, $13.50;

Town Of Madison

There were two towns by the name of Madison laid out in the county, both in the year 1836. One was located in what is now Chester township, on the east half of the northeast quarter of section twentyseven, on the Lincoln and Mt. Pulaski road, near what was afterwards known as Yankeetown. This town was laid out by one William Carpenter and was surveyed, April 11, 1836, by T. M. Neale, then County Surveyor of Sangamon County, the chain carriers being recorded as Alex Morrow and William Vandeventer. This town contained nineteen blocks. The streets were named Washington, Jefferson,' Madison, Monroe, and from First to Seventh Streets. The plat was vacated, however, by the proprietor, six years later, the venture not having proven a success. Still some lots were sold and when township organization was adopted, in the county, the township, in which the proposed town of Madison had once been located, was called Madison township, in honor of the old town, but was subsequently changed to Chester. There is a cemetery now upon the old site. In August 23, 1836, another town of the name of Madison was laid out, in what is now known as Prairie Creek. That two towns of the same name should be laid out, in the same year, and only some fifteen miles apart, is perhaps due to the fact that, while both were laid out in what is now Logan County, at that time one was in Sangamon and the other in Tazewell County, and probably the proprietors of neither knew of the other. Former President Madison had just died, full of honor and renown, and his was a name with which to conjure. The second town of Madison was laid out by Horace Johnson and Norman H. Purple, of Pennsylvania, and its lots were intended for sale in the East. It was located on the southeast quarter, of section seventeen, township twenty-one, range four. On paper, it contained forty-two blocks, boasted of a Washington Square, had streets lettered from A to G and numbered from First to Sixth. Later, the proprietors assigned their interests in the town, to John B. Sloan, Benjamin M. Robinson and John C. Flanagan. The town never materialized. Its old site was across the road from the present Victory school house and not far from the Prairie Creek town hall.

Town Of Richmond

There was an old platted town of Richmond, in what is now Logan County, which preceded the town lot boom by nearly two years. It also preceded the laying out of Bloomingdale by the same number of years. Richmond was laid out in 1834, Bloomingdale in 1836. Bloomingdale was laid out but a quarter of a mile from the site of Richmond, and the idea of the best location for Bloomingdale was iprobably suggested by the location of the older town. Richmond was surveyed, Aug. 30, 1834, by Thomas C. Wilson, on the west half of the northeast quarter of section thirty-one, north, range two west, then a part of Tazewell County, now of Logan. The proprietor of the town was one Achilles M. Haden, of St. Louis. The plat shows the town to have consisted of nine blocks, with a public square in the center and the streets were named Main, Richmond, Washington and Pine. The first lot sold was on the northeast corner of the public square, 85 feet front, to Daniel Lantis, an early Logan County settler, for twenty-five dollars. All the other lots were subsequently sold, mostly to people in the East. A transfer of a lot described as "Lot Number 15, North of the Publick Square, in Richmond," was made as late as August 3, 1846.

Town Of Rushbrook

The town of Rushbrook was laid out in 1834 and also anticipated the town lot boom. It was located on sections nine and sixteen, in what is now Eminence township, on the southeast quarter of the former section and the northeast quarter of the latter. It was located on Sugar Creek, from which it received its euphonious name, and was about a mile or so from what is now known as the Gold Springs. It was surveyed May 6, 1834, by the Deputy Surveyor of Tazewell County, Thomas C. Wilson. It contained thirty-two blocks and its principal streets were named Main, Middle, North, South, East and West. Its proprietor was Alfred Orendorff.

Town Of London

The Town of London was located on the northeast quarter of section fifteen, in what is now Aetna township. It was surveyed by Thomas R. Skinner, County Surveyor of Logan County, Nov. 3, 1839, being about the first of his official acts, as first Surveyor of the county. It was surveyed for James Randolph, who was the proprietor. The chain carriers were Brooks Randolph and Lemuel Woodward. It contained six blocks and the streets were named Washington, Lafayette, Half and Main. The principal road now running from section fifteen, to the east side of the county, was originally laid out from Main Street of the Town of London.

Town Of Eminence

The town of Eminence was laid out in September of 1836, not far from the site of Rushbrook, laid out two years before. It was surveyed by Thomas C. Wilson, on the southwest quarter of the north- i¢ east quarter of section nine, in what is now known as Eminence township. It consisted of twenty-one lots and its proprietors were John Morgan and Philip B. Miles. While it never developed into a town, it furnished the name for the whole township, nearly thirty years later, when township organization was adopted. The town plat of Eminence was vacated July 11, 1842. It received its name in consequence of being located on an eminence of ground.

One town laid out during the boom period, like the seed which the sower cast in Holy Writ, fell on good soil, took root and grew, later became the county seat and is today one of the populous cities of the county. That town was Mt. Pulaski and the detailed history of its birth and growth will be found elsewhere. Postville antedated Mt. Pulaski one year and was another boom town which survived. How it originated, became the first county seat and was absorbed by the City of Lincoln, is also narrated elsewhere. Middletown is the oldest town of all in Logan County and dates from 1832. There were perhaps other boom towns projected in Logan County, in the speculative year of 1836, not above named, that afterwards became absorbed in adjoining farms, but, if any there were, they have left no trace behind. When the speculative season had passed, and the town bubble had burst, only these three towns remained in Logan County, as reminders of a period of history that is interesting to all, - Middletown, Postville and Mt. Pulaski. And they have remained to this day. Following the boom, hard times set in, business suffered greatly, many men were financially ruined; the State itself defaulted in the payment of interest on the public debt; the State Bank at Springfield, with three millions of circulation, went down with a crash and widespread poverty prevailed. Speculation had done its work and the people, realizing its dangers, buckled down again to arduous toil, to prepare the way for generations yet to come.