Macon County, Illinois - Chapter 5: Geography, Agricultural Resources, and Railroad Facilities, 1880

Chapter 5: Geography, Agricultural Resources, and Railroad Facilities

ACON is the central county of Illinois, the exact geographical center of the State being some seven miles north-west of Decatur. The fortieth parallel of latitude crosses the northern part of the county, and the twelfth meridian of longitude west from Washington bisects it north and south. Measured in section lines, it extends north and south twenty-seven miles, east and west seventeen miles, containing an area of about 578 square miles, or 369,920 acres, and is divided into seventeen legislative townships. It is bounded on the north by De Witt ; on the east by Piatt and Moultrie; on the south by Moultrie, Shelby and Christian; on the west by Christian, Sangamon and Logan counties. Decatur, situated near the center, is the capital of the county, and is distant from Chicago 175 miles, and from St. Louis 113 miles.

Population. - According to the census of 1880, the county contains a population of 30,407, composed of persons of English, German, Irish and Swedish descent, with a few of the colored race.

Topography. - The surface of the country is mostly flat or level, with gentle undulations in the regions of the various water courses, along which the land is broken, low sand and clay hills intervening, some of which, especially on the Sangamon River, in the vicinity of Decatur, rise gradually to a height of ninety feet above the surrounding surface. By far the larger part of the county consisted originally of prairie, the timber being limited to a belt from two to three miles wide along the Sangamon River, a similar strip along Big Creek, and a somewhat narrower belt near Friends' Creek. Some of this timber is of excellent quality, as will be fully shown in the chapter on the Flora of the county.

Hydrography . - The county is well supplied with natural watercourses, the largest and most important being Sangamon River, which enters the county on the east and flows southwesterly to the central part, where it bends slightly northward, winding partly around the city of Decatur, and flowing out of the county in a north-westerly direction. By means of the Holly system of waterworks, situated on this river about a mile south of the center of Decatur, the city is supplied with an abundance of most excellent water. The northern part of the county is watered by the Lake Fork of Salt Creek, Friends' Creek, with its several tributaries, Jones' Fork, and Stevens' Creek; the central part by Stevens' Creek and Sangamon River ; the southern part by Mosquito Creek, Big Creek, Dry Branch and Long Grove Branch. Most of these streams are tributaries of the Sangamon River, and afford most excellent drainage to the surrounding country. In parts of the county, remote from these natural water- courses, an extensive system of tiling has been lately introduced, whereby the numerous ponds and inland lakes, which originally covered thousands of acres of fertile grain-producing lands, have been drained, and their dry beds, by the skill of the progressive husbandman, made to bloom and bear rich harvests of all the important cereals. This tiling, which has been in general use only some five or six years, is made out of a species of fire-clay, of which extensive beds are found in the county. The average cost of laying tiling is twenty-five cents per rod; the average depth to which it is laid in the ground is three and a-half feet. The price of tiling varies according to diameter, as follows :

During the past year the demand for this system of drainage has been so great that the local factories have been unable to fill all orders, and, consequently, much tiling has been imported from other parts of the state. As the benefits of tile draining become better understood and appreciated, and its importance more fully realized, by the farming community generally, it will be still more extensively used, and millions of wealth thereby added to the agricultural interests of the state. A rather remarkable circumstance connected with the recent draining of some of the lakes in this county is the fact that in these bodies of water, which are several miles distant from any permanent stream, and which, during the dry season a year ago, entirely disappeared, their beds becoming dried and baked, great numbers of fish embracing most of the common varieties, and large enough for table use, have been captured. The most plausible theory respecting their presence is that during the intervening freshets these fish, like mountain trout, have made their way up the numerous little brooks, that, in the rainy season, flow down the valleys from the lakes into the Sangamon River and other adjacent streams.

Perennial Springs

abound in different parts of the county. On the farm of John Good in the vicinity of Bethel church, four miles north-west of Decatur, is a boiling spring, upon the surface of which bubbles of carburetted hydrogen gas with peculiar white mineral flakes or scales are constantly escaping. The water of this spring is unusually cold and, though slightly tinctured with sulphur, is very pleasant to the taste. The ground around it for an acre or more in extent is wet and spongy. In the fair grounds at Decatur and on the farm of Capt. Allen, three miles south of the city, are several most excellent springs. Those south of the city contain traces of several minerals, the most promiuent of which is iron. On the premises of Mr. John Iinboden, adjoining the Decatur cemetery, is a mineral well thirty feet deep, which has an average flow, throughout the year, of eighteen gallons per minute. An analysis of this water, given by Dr. J. Y. Z. Blaney, of Chicago, is as follows :

" One Litre of water taken. Whole amount of solid matter found by evaporation to complete dryness, .4833.291 grammes in 1 Litre of water, which is equal to 27-116,251 grains in 1 W. S. gallon of 221,780 cubic inches.

Soil. - In depth and richness of soil, this county is perhaps unsurpassed by any in the state. It is situated in the most fertile part of the famous " Grand Prairie," which includes within its limits, by far the most productive lands in North America, rivaling, in native agricultural resources, the far-famed valley of the Nile or the great "granary of Europe" in the region of the Baltic Sea. The soil of the prairie lands - and these constitute about seveneighths of the county - is a black peaty loam from three to ten feet deep, and commonly termed "vegetable mould," from the fact that for untold ages extending back to the great drift period, immense accumulations of decayed vegetable matter have from year to year and from century to century been fertilizing these vast treeless plains, thus preparing them to yield abundant crops for the dense population already here, and the still denser population yet to be. On the Sangamon hills extending three or four miles East and West from Decatur, the soil has a light yellowish color, with reddish-brown clay containing sand and gravel, intermixed. North and South from the river, the arenaceous and argillaceous soil of the timber changes rapidly into the deep rich black soil of the prairie. This county contains very little land that is not susceptible of cultivation, and that will not yield rich returns for the labor of the husbandman.

Agriculture. - Nothing is truer than the rather trite saying that " the success of the farmer is the success of the country." His mission is to create wealth. The surplus products of his labor form constant additions to the wealth of the State and help to swell the capital of the nation. When farming fails, famine flourishes, poverty prevails, commerce ceases, and progress is paralyzed. In this country abundant crops are the rule ; failures, the exception. The chief occupation of the people is farming and stock-raising. The lands, both timbered and prairie, are capable of producing the finest crops. In the northern part of the county especially, most excellent corn crops are annually raised, the average yield of this cereal in that region being sixty-five bushels per acre, and often far exceeding this number. Oats, barley, and rye grow luxuriantly, rarely failing to yield largely. The potato and other tuberous plants are successfully cultivated, and, when free from the depredations of bugs, and other noxious insects, not only afford ample supplies for home consumption, but contribute much to the exports of the country. All varieties of grapes, berries, currants, and common garden vegetables grow well, and, in favorable seasons, produce more than enough to meet the demands of the local markets. But wheat, especially the winter variety, is considered a very uncertain crop. New land and that adjacent to the timber belts produce fair crops of this important cereal. The land near the South line of the county is much better adapted to wheat-raising than that in other parts. The soil generally, though very rich, seems to be too loose to protect the roots of the wheat during the winter, and, consequently, in the process of freezing and thawing, the wheat is gradually ejected from the ground and dies. However, for the last two years, (1879 and 1880), wheat has done well in this county, the average per acre being upwards of twenty five bushels, making a favorable comparison with that in other parts of the State. These two extra crops are probably due to the climatic peculiarities of the last- two winters, and to the improved methods of planting the seed. In years to come, as the soil grows more compact, and the science of agriculture becomes more exact, wheat will probably be as certain a crop in this county as corn and oats are now. Blue grass, timothy, red-top, and clover are the principal cultivated grasses, and afford rich pasturage for stock, and the finest quality of hay for market. The black soil of the prairie seems especially well adapted to the growth of timothy, and the same may be said of the other grasses in connection with the thinner soil on the hills and uplands along the larger water-courses. The acreage of pasture and meadow has been largely increased within the last decade, indicating a tendency on the part of farmers to take advantage of the great facilities nature has here furnished for stock-raising. Within that time, the quality of stock has also been much improved, as the numerous herds of fine cattle, to be seen in the broad pastures, sufficiently attest. The horses, sheep, and hogs are of far finer quality now than they were a few years ago, showing progressive spirit and enterprise on the part of farmers in keeping with all other branches of industry. Of late years fruit of all kinds has received increased attention. Apples, peaches, pears, cherries and other less prominent fruit have been found to do well, and, when carefully cultivated, yield abundant supplies. Soil, climate, geographical position, water supply, transportation facilities, and the intelligent, enterprising spirit of the people, combine to make this one of the finest counties in the State.

Mounds. - No artificial mounds have yet been discovered in the county. The absence of these structures is probably due to the fact that when that mysterious " lost race," known as mound builders, occupied in great numbers the southern and western parts of the State, as the multiplication of mounds in those regions attest, the land in this portion of the State was yet under water. There are in the county several natural mounds, of which the one near the town of Blue Mound south of Decatur fourteen miles is probably the most prominent. It covers an area of some fifteen acres, and rises to an altitude of sixty feet above the flat surface of the prairie. This mass has been found by excavation to be composed mostly of gravel and sand, proving it, beyond doubt, to belong to the ancient drift period. Another of these mounds is situated two miles north of Decatur, and covers with its base about forty acres. It rises fifty feet above the surrounding level and, like the one at Blue Mound, is made up chiefly of sand and gravel. A large mound a little east of Decatur covers some forty acres and has an elevation of eighty-five feet. These and other similar formations in this county have been supposed by some to have been constructed by the mound-building race as places of worship, and consequently to belong to the class known as " temple mounds," of which the most remarkable representations on the continent are situated in the vicinity of Cahokia Creek near East St. Louis.

As introductory to the subject of railroad facilities in Macon county, a brief summary of the railroads of the world will not, it is thought, be inappropriate. The locomotive steam engine, as is well known, was invented by George Stephenson, of England, and was first successfully operated, September 27th, 1825, on a short road built from Stockton to Darlington. In 1830 there were only twenty-three miles of railroad in the United States. During the following year a railroad was constructed from Albany to Schenectady, N. Y., a distance of sixteen miles, and put in successful operation. From the latter dates the introduction of railroads in the United States and also in America. To show what rapid progress has been made, by the various countries on the globe, in this great system of transportation, which has already revolutionized the world, and rendered the Nineteenth Century famous in the annals of time, the following official statistics of 1879 are submitted :

Railroads Of Illinois

The first line of railroad projected in Illinois was the Northern Cross Railroad, extending from Quincy to Danville. This was chartered in 1837, and upon it the first locomotive that ever appeared in Illinois, was placed in the winter of 1838-9, running from Meredosia to Jacksonville. In 1842 the road was completed from Jacksonville to Springfield, and three trips were made per week from the latter place to Meredosia, on the Illinois River. The track was of the old flat-rail style, which was made by nailing thin strips of iron on two parallel lines of timbers placed at the proper distance apart, and running lengthways of the road. The engine, as well as the road, soon became so impaired that the former had to be abandoned and mules substituted as the motor power. It was during this incipient state of western railroad development that the writer, then a mere youth, witnessed one of these mule-motor trains in transit between Jacksonville and the Illinois river, and was duly impressed with the grandeur and solemnity of the occasion. However, such locomotion was destined to be of short duration ; for the State soon afterwards sold the entire road at a nominal sum, and thus for a short time was suspended one of the first railroad enterprises in Illinois. But in the West a new era - one of prodigious industrial activity and of far-reaching results in the practical arts - - was dawning, and within thirty years from the temporary failure of the road mentioned, this State had outstripped all others in gigantic internal improvements, containing at present as shown below, more miles of railroad than any other State in the Union. According to the official report of 1879, Illinois has 8,624 miles of railways, constructed and equipped at a cost of $380,779,971, thus surpassing Ohio (the next greatest railroad State) by 2,391 miles of road, New York by 2,800 miles, and Pennsylvania by 2,941 miles. It may be of interest to the reader fifty years hence, to make a similar, though more extended, comparison.

All the railroads that enter this county converge and either pass through, or terminate at, Decatur, making this city one of the most important railroad centers in the State. The first railroad built through the county was the whose name has since been successively changed to Toledo, Wabash and Western, Wabash, and Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific, the last of which it still bears. The Great Western was an extension of the Northern Cross Railroad, which has been previously mentioned. To this road, whose cars first entered Decatur in April, 1854, more than to any other, the county owes the subsequent rapid development of its agricultural and other resources. It was constructed without any pecuniary aid from the county, and running through some of the finest portions of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, it soon became the popular highway of travel and traffic between the East and the West. Under its new name - Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific - and management, it has rapidly extended its lines east and west of the Mississippi river, comprising at present two great divisions, the eastern and the western, whose termini and lengths of lines are as follows :

Eastern Division Western Division

The "main line" of the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway runs nearly on an east and west line through the county, crossing the townships of Niantic, Harristown, Decatur and Oakley. The Decatur and St. Louis branch bears in a south-westerly direction from Decatur, passing through the townships of Decatur, South Wheatland, Blue Mound and Pleasant View. The latter road was chartered as the Decatur and St. Louis Railroad, to which the county of Macon, in 1870, voted $100,000 in eight percent, bonds. In 1873, the county voted to the Decatur and Monticello Railroad, $25,000; Friends' Creek township voted to the same road, $20,000, and likewise Decatur township, $25,000. This road was afterwards called the Champaign, Havana and Western, and, in August, 1880, passed under the control of the W abash, St. Louis and Pacific. It starts at Decatur and runs in a north-easterly direction, crossing diagonally the townships of Whitmore and Friends' Creek, in this county, and at Champaign making important connections, east and west. The engine-house of the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific, located at Decatur, contains twenty-two stalls, and gives employment to a large number of men. The receipts of the road from freight and passenger traffic at Decatur average, at present, about $25,000 per month, and are constantly increasing. The disbursements to employees at this point amount to several thousand dollars per month. The principal lines of the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific have steel rail tracks, well ballasted road-beds, and altogether constitute one of the greatest railroad systems in the West. The second railroad built through this county was the

Illinois Central

Which was completed in 1854. By an act of Congress in 1850, a grant of public lands was made to the State of Illinois to aid the construction of a railroad, north and south, through the central part of the State. In 1851, the Legislature of Illinois incorporated the Illinois Central Railroad Company, to which the lands, held in trust by the State, were, under certain restrictions of the charter, transferred. This donation consisted of every alternate section of land for a distance of six miles on each side of the proposed road, and the company in consideration of the gift and of forever being exempt from taxation in the counties through which the road passed, bound itself to pay into the State treasury perpetually 7 per cent, of its annual gross earnings. This placed the company at once upon a sound financial basis which, by judicious management, it has always maintained. The Central either owns or controls the following lines: of which 788 are in Illinois. The tracks of these various lines are mostly steel-rail, the road-beds, especially in this State, arc ballasted with rock, the rolling-stock is excellent, and the road throughout is, in all respects, first-class. The maiu line passes through the richest portion of the State - as does also the Chicago branch - and is the great thoroughfare of travel and traffic between the North and the South. The Central passes almost directly north and south through the central part of Macon county, crossing the townships of Maroa, Hickory Point, Decatur, South Wheatland, and South Macon, making, in all, about thirty miles of track in the county. Being the second railroad built through the county, it has been to the county in point of transportation facilities north and south what the Wabash and Pacific has been east and west - the great through route - and, like the latter, has contributed very largely to the development of the county's resources. Remarkably free from accidents of all kinds, the Central justly merits the reputation it has, of being one of the best managed railroads in the United States.

Peoria, Decatur And Evansville R. R.

This road is a consolidation of the Pekin, Lincoln and Decatur and the Decatur, Sullivan and Mattoon railroads. The former of these two roads was chartered in 1861, and the charter was amended in 1865. The road was constructed in 1871, from Decatur to Pekin, 67 miles, and was leased by the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific. In October, 1871, the county issued to this road (P. L. and D.) $100,100 in 8 per cent, bonds. The latter (D S. and M.) was chartered the same year (1861), and in 1872, was completed from Decatur to Mattoon, a distance of 43 miles. In 1872, Mt. Zion township voted to this road $20,000 in bonds and, at the same time, the township of Decatur issued to the road $25,000 in 8 per cent, bonds. Subsequently these two roads, as before stated, were consolidated, and now form the Peoria, Decatur and Evansville R. R. which secures to the county a north-western and south-eastern line of transportation, the northern terminus being Peoria, and the present southern, Parkersburg, making the road, as extended, 192 miles in length. In this county, it runs through the townships of Illini, Hickory Point, Decatur, South Wheatland, and Mt. Zion, affording to each excellent railroad facilities.

Was chartered in 1850 as the Indiana and Illinois Central R. R., but for various reasons, its construction was delayed till 1872, when it was finished only from Decatur to Montezuma on the Wabash River, 85 miles from the former jfiace. It has since been completed to Indianapolis, distant from Decatur 152 miles, this being the entire length of the road, with Decatur as its western and Indianapolis as its eastern terminus. The road-bed is well constructed and ballasted, the rolling-stock of excellent quality, and the general management of the road very commendable. It runs in a south-easterly direction from Decatur, crossing diagonally Long Creek township and affording rapid transit to Indianapolis, Cincinnati and other important points south-east. In 1872, Maroa township, Macon county, issued $75,000 in bonds to the which is a consolidation of the Peoria, Atlanta and Decatur, and the Paris and Decatur Railroads. It was constructed in the same year (1872) from Peoria via Decatur to Terre Haute, Indiana, Peoria and Terre Haute being the termini, and the entire length of road 176 miles, of which 168 are in Illinois.

The total railroad bonded indebtedness of the county is, at present, $187,000 bearing 6 per cent, interest. In addition to this, there is a township railroad indebtedness of $145, 000, distributed as follows :

To Messrs. A. T. Elder, Cashier of the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific R. It., and II. S Gray, Passenger Conductor on the same road, we are indebted for valuable information respecting the railroads mentioned in this article.