McHenry County, Illinois - Chapter 2: The Early Settlers, 1885 (part 2 of 2)

At a special term of court, begun Sept. 25, 1843, the following entry was made upon the record: " The court having on this day examined the certificate of the clerk of this court in relation to the removal of the seat of justice of Mc Henry County, at an election begun and held on the fourth day of September, inst., in which it appeared that the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter sections, township 44, -range 7, east of the third principal meridian, receive da majority of all the votes polled at said election, for the seat of justice of said McHenry County; and it being made the duty of the court by the act authorizing an election to be held in said county for the removal of the seat of justice of the county aforesaid, to cause proclamation to be made that a certain place voted for had received the highest number of votes for said seat of justice. The court being divided in opinion relative to the validity of the bond filed in this court at the June term thereof by Alvin Judd and others for the erection of a court-house and jail in case the said seat of justice should be removed to the above described land, consequently no proclamation could be made of the result of the election aforesaid."

tion of the result of the above mentioned election to be made public and a notice posted on the court-house door certifying that the place named for the county seat received a majority of votes. At a special term of the Commissioners' Court, Dec. 22, 1843, convened at the instance of Alvin Judd, who was required to pay the expenses thereof, the court ordered that Judd's name be stricken from the bond relative to the removal of the seat of justice to the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section 5, township 44 north, range 7 east, and the name of George C. Dean substituted instead.

September term, 1844. " Ordered by the court, That the warranty deed made to the county by George C. Dean of the first part and the county commissioners of McHenry County and their successors in office of the second part, conveying to the county of McHenry two acres of land as described therein, for a public square at Centerville, in said county, with the court-house and jail for said county situated thereon, be, and the same is hereby, accepted."

Just when, to all appearances, the county seat was permanently settled, on the 4th of September, 1844, came into court E. W. Smith, by his attorney, stating that he made application on the 25th day of August, 1843, at the land office in Chicago, and offered to deposit the money for the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section 5, in township 44, range 7, east of the third principal meridian, said forty acres being the same upon which it is contemplated to locate the county seat; stating that the register told him he need not deposit the money, but he could be informed of the time when Judd came to prove up his preemption, and should have opportunity to contest his preemption. Such information was never furnished him. He further informs the commissioners that he has made application to the general land office at Washington, and forwarded the affidavits of two persons stating that they heard Alvin Judd state under oath that he did not reside on the above land in June, 1843, and that he did not reside on the said land till the fall of 1843; and Smith proposed to prosecute his claim to the above described land. The matter was finally settled by a special act of Congress, legalizing Judd's claim.

Sept. 4, 1844, the commissioners ordered," That' the court-house and jail erected by George C. Dean and Daniel Blair at Centerville, in McHenry County, be accepted; and it is further ordered that the same be received as the court-house and jail for said county, and the seat of justice of McHenry County be removed from McHenry to said Centerville." The clerk was ordered to make proclamation of the removal, and all the county officers were to remove their offices to Centerville on the 23d of September, 1844.

At their December court, 1844, the commissioners ordered that the court-house and jail in the village of McHenry be sold at public vendue to the highest bidder on the 8th day of January, 1S44. Henrv M. Wait, Sheriff, was appointed agent to conduct the sale.

Dec. 2, 1844, the commissioners met for the first time at the new county seat, Centerville, now "Woodstock. They then ordered that the land conveyed by George C. Dean to the county commissioners and their successors in office, on the 2d of September, 1844, be held by said commissioners and their successors in office to and for the use of the said county of McHenry.

The "Rat Hole" was a public building with which the people of the county were familiar in former years. The court-house being without suitable offices for the use of the county officers, the "Rat Hole" was built to supply them. Its beginning may be traced to the following order, passed at the June term of the Commissioners' Court, 1846 : " Ordered, That the clerk of this court be, and he is hereby, authorized to advertise in some newspaper in this county - if any there should be - for sealed proposals to erect a fire-proof building at this place, for the two clerks' offices, recorder's office, and probate justice's office." The building, a brick structure with thick walls, was erected by H. M. Wait and others, contractors. It did not receive its name until the year after its erection, the occasion of its christening being as follows: The building, when completed, was surmounted by a tin roof, to make it "fire-proof," according to the intention of its builders. Along in the winter there ctme a heavy wind which suddenly lifted the roof of the structure and carried it to some distance away. The county officers, in their offices at the time, naturally did not care to remain longer under such a condition of affairs, and rushed out with all possible haste. As they came forth they were greeted with a derisive shout and laughter from Henry Petrie, a merchant of crawl out of their holes!" Petrie was a Whig of very pronounced opinions, and had no sympathy with the Democratic party to which the county officers belonged. After this event the "fireproof building" whenever mentioned upon the county records or elsewhere was denominated the " Rat Hole." It was sold by the Sheriff on the 25th of February, 1856, to Lindsay Joslyn for $723. It is now occupied by Markus's saloon and for other business purposes.

May 21, 1853. In the meeting of the Board of Supervisors, Mr. Rice offered the following resolution: by this board. That it is prudent and expedient to appoint a committee to inquire into the propriety of procuring a suitable lot and the cost of the same, on which to erect a court-house and fire-proof clerk's office; and that said committee receive plans and specifications of said buildings and report to this board at its next meeting; which was carried. C. M. Willard, A. Judd, H. T. Rice, Ira Slocumb and Dan'l Stewart were appointed said committee."

Thus was inaugurated the project of a new court-house. The subject seems to have slumbered until Sept. 14, 1854, when the committee on public buildings was instructed to report at the next meeting of the board upon the expediency and propriety of securing the passage of a law at the next session of the Legislature authorizing the Board of Supervisors to levy a special tax upon the assessment roll of the county in the year 1855, the amount derived therefrom to be expended in erecting a suitable court-house and jail for the use of the county. A further resolution was adopted Nov. 16, 1854,advising that Hon. George Gage, Senator, and Hon. "Wesley Diggins, Representative for this county, be instructed to make an effort to secure the passage of a law imposing a special tax of two mills upon each dollar of real and personal property in 1855 - '6, said amount to be expended in erecting county buildings. Such a law was passed at the next session of the Legislature.

Meantime, in 1855, a bill was brought before the Legislature providing for the removal of the county seat from Woodstock to the eastern part of the county. The anti- Woodstock party thought this would be a favorable time to secure such a removal, and proceeded so quietly that the Board of Supervisors were not aware of the movement until informed by the representative from this county. Thereupon the board presented a remonstrance. The bill, however, passed, and was approved Feb. 14, 1855. It provided that at the April election the people of the county should vote for and against removing the county seat to Algonquin Township, " within one mile of the junction or crossing of the Illinois & Wisconsin and Fox River Yalley railroads, and between that point and

May 30, 1855, Neill Donnelly, C. M. Goodsell and A. B. Coon were appointed a special committee to procure plans and specifications for a court-house and jail, to be built together.

June 1, 1855, a resolution was adopted setting forth the wishes of the Board of Supervisors as follows: That the ground then owned by Mary McMahon and occupied by Hill's tavern was the most desirable location for the new building, provided that the citizens of Woodstock would donate the same to the county; that when such conveyance was made the board would then proceed to levy the special tax of two mills authorized by the Legislature; that when the public buildings had been erected the board would donate the old court-house on the public square to the citizens of the town; all of which was duly performed. The citizens ol Woodstock bought the lot and the hotel of Miss McMahon for $3,000 and, in turn the old court-house was made over to them. The latter building, however, was destroyed by an incendiary fire in 1858.

Messrs. Coon and Donnelly, of the above mentioned special committee, conferred with Judge Wilson in relation to plans fjr a county building, then visited Chicago and obtained drawings and specifications from Yan Osdel and Baumann, architects. The cost of a building according to their design was estimated at less than $34,000; but, as it proved, the estimate was too low. The Board of Supervisors, however, thought that the sum named was greater than ought to be expended, and at a meeting held Sept. 14, 1S55, instructed the committee to obtain other plans and specifications. But at a special session of the board, Nov. 20, 1855, the committee reported back the same plan and specifications as the best they could obtain, alleging among other reasons that as good a building as the county required and ought to have could not be obtained for less money. The report of the committee was adopted with but one dissenting vote, and the board adopted the proposed plans for the building by a vote of twelve to two. The plan called for a building of brick and stone, two stories above the basement, the whole to be forty-four feet square with four end projections and the structure surmounted by a cupola and dome. Sealed proposals for its construction were to be received until Jan. 21, 1856, the work to be commenced on or before July 1, 1856, and completed by Oct. 1,

The contract for the brick, stone-masons', plasterers' and stonecutters' work was awarded to George Hebard & Son, of Marengo, their price being $18,000. For a like amount Russell C. Mix and James A. Hinds, of Aurora, agreed to do all the carpentry, joiners', glaziers' and iron work. The workmen performed their contract in a thorough manner, and the special committee who supervised the construction of the building attended to their duties with diligence and faithfulness. The building was completed on time. Its entire cost was not far from $47,000.

County Poor Farm

McHenry County was without a county farm until the year 1884, although the care of paupers has always been among the principal matters requiring official attention. The project of purchasing a poor farm was discussed by the Board of Supervisors as far back as 1851, and there has been discussion upon the subject by the people and the press ever since. In 1859 an act of the Legislature was secured authorizing the people of McHenry County to set apart from the funds devoted from the sale of swamp lands a sufficient amount to purchase a farm of not more than 100 acres and make the necessary buildings and improvements thereon; provided that at the next spring election a majority of the legal voters should vote to comply with this law. The question was submitted and the provisions of the bill defeated by an overwhelming majority. Thenceforth the county went on as before, each town caring for its own poor, according to a special act relating to paupers in Bureau and McHenry connties, approved Feb. 10, 1853. And now that the county has a farm, each town is still at liberty to support its poor in the way that is best and cheapest, whether at the farm or elsewhere.

In 1884 the Board of Supervisors voted to appropriate $25,000 for the purpose of purchasing a farm and making the necessary buildings and improvements. To raise the money the county issued five per cent, bonds. The committee appointed to select a farm, after examining several, made choice of the J. C. Allen farm, near Kishwaukee, in the town of Hartland. This farm contains 113 acres, and was purchased by the county for $6,000. The remainder of the appropriation will be expended in buildings and improvements under the direction of the board. "Work is now in

Items Of Interest

The first justices of the peace in Fox Precinct, and consequently the first in the county, were Wm. H. Buck and ¥m. L. Way, elected July 3, 1837.