McLean County, Illinois - Chapter 5: Townships and Towns, Continued, 1924

Funk's Grove Township. - Taking the name of the earliest and most prominent family of settlers, this township is one of the most noted farming tracts in McLean County. Isaac and Abraham Funk came to this county in 1824, and after looking at the conditions at Blooming Grove and Old Town Timber, they decided to locate at the grove to the west, which afterward took their name. William Brock came with them from Ohio, and he with the Funks set to work in the business of raising cattle. Brock built his cabin on Section 30 and the Funks built theirs on Section 16. Having built up a good business in cattle, Brock was. driving a lot to the market in Ohio, when he was taken sick at the home of John Dawson in Old Town, where he died of typhoid fever. The first spring the Funks were here they planted a crop and cleared off a tract in the edge of the grove, meanwhile building a house such as they could from poles and bark of the linden trees, 12 by 14 feet. One window was put in and a puncheon floor laid. Eighteen persons lived in this cabin in the winter of 1824-25. The cabin stood till 1832, when it was burned down. Isaac Funk was born in Kentucky Nov. 14, 1797. The family moved to Ohio in 1807 and from there to McLean County in 1824. Isaac Funk had little education, but he was a man of great practical knowledge, being wise in matters of handling cattle. He went into debt $2,000, a great sum for those times, and acquired his first land. Every dollar he could get he invested in more land, until he acquired 20,000 acres. He was married to Cassandra Sharp in 1826, and they had eight children. Land values greatly increased with the coming of the Illinois Central railroad, and shortly after that time Mr. Funk added 12,000 acres to his holdings, for which he contracted debts of $80,000. He fed and marketed large numbers of cattle and hogs, and became known far and wide as the largest dealer of that kind in Central Illinois.

Mr. Funk took an interest in politics and was a man of positive convictions. He was a Whig for years, then joined the republican party. He was a friend of Abraham Lincoln, and in the campaign of 1860 he appeared in a Lincoln parade in Bloomington driving twelve yoke of oxen hitched to a wagon on which was a "float" representing the rail splitter. In 1862 he was elected to the state senate, and finding there much sentiment in opposition to the Lincoln and union war policy, he made a thrilling speech denouncing the opponents of Lincoln as traitors. It thrilled the whole state by its vigor and directness. In the winter of 1865 Mr. Funk came home, was taken sick and died on January 29. His wife died the next day.

The Funk lands were amicably divided among his sons after his death, and they remain largely in the hands of the family to this day, the third and fourth generation being now in charge. The lands were developed along lines different from that of ordinary farms, being devoted to "corn breeding," where new varieties and better qualities of seed are constantly bred, after the manner of breeding stock. The Funk Bros. Seed Company was the outgrowth of this kind of agricultural methods, and this company built up a business in seed corn and other grains which extends all over the country and to many foreign lands. Many of Isaac Funk's sons and grandsons have attained local distinction in other lines than purely agricultural. Benjamin F. Funk, one of the sons, was mayor of Bloomington and congressman, while his son, Frank H. Funk, grandson of Isaac Funk, is the present member of congress from this the Seventeenth district (1923). Another grandson, Eugene D. Funk, was member of the government food commission during the World War. Lafayette Funk, son of Isaac, was state senator for some time; also member of the board of supervisors and chairman of the board at one time.

Gridley Township. - This, the northwestern township of the county, is the largest in extent, being nine miles by six. Its southern border is along the Mackinaw River and there are 3,180 acres of timberland in the township. The first settlers came in 1833 and 1835, being James Bigger, Reuben and Taylor Loving, locating in the Mackinaw timber. John Sloan and John B. Messer arrived in 1833 and 1834. Messer had previously lived at Lexington and was a great hunter. He had given names to Turkey Creek and Buck Creek from the kind of game he had found along the streams. Loving Creek, in south Gridley Township was named for one of the Loving Brothers. After the first settlers came, Gridley did not get many new inhabitants until along in the '50's, most of the settlements being along the edge of the Mackinaw timber. The Mackinaw River runs for five miles through the township.

The village of Gridley was laid out by Thomas Carlyle and George W. Kent on land they had bought from General Gridley, and they consequently named the place in his honor. It was platted in 1856, and the new railroad, the Toledo, Peoria & Western, ran its first train through the town on Feb. 28, 1857. The village grew slowly for some years owing to the backwardness of the farming country around it. A great storm swept over the country May 13, 1858, causing much, damage to timber and property of all kinds. The villages of Gridley and Chenoa were both great sufferers. The first school house was built in the village in 1859. The town was incorporated in 1869, the first trustees being H. E. Stevens, president; W. H. Boies, George Juett, D. E. Sloan and S. L. Martin. A great windmill was built in Gridley in 1874 which for many years successfully competed with water and steam mills of the county in the way of making flour and grinding the grain of the farmers for feed and other uses. It was one of the notable institutions of the county during its existence, but finally went out of business. Gridley has prosperous churches of the Methodist, Congregationalist and Mennonite denominations. Among the notable characters of Gridley for many years were the Drum brothers who were great hunters, and made annual excursions to Arkansas, to the Rocky Mountains and elsewhere to hunt big game. Gridley has many good stores and is a point for much trading from northern McLean and southern Livingston counties.

Hudson Township. - The township and village of Hudson took their names from Hudson, New York, which had formerly been the home of some of the men who organized a colony and entered most of the land which comprised this township. The very earliest settlers of the vicinity were Bailey Harbert, his son-in-law, Richard Gross, and Mosby Harbert, who arrived here probably in 1828 or '29. Jesse Havens came in 1830, from Blooming Grove, and bought out the claims of the earlier settlers. Havens had been a soldier of 1812 and served as county commissioner after his settlement in this county. His son, Hiram Havens, grew to be a leading citizen. David Trimmer was the first blacksmith of the neighborhood. The Illinois Land Association, organized at Jacksonville, in Feb., 1836, entered large tracts of land in this township in the names of Horatio N. Pettit, one of the three charter members, the other two being John Gregory and George F. Durkitt. This was one of the many colonization schemes which flourished about that time as land speculating enterprises. Each member paid $235, for which he was to receive 160 acres of land, four lots in the town of Hudson and a share in the net profits of the whole scheme. Some timber land was also promised to each, but finding a limited amount of timber to give out, caused discontent among members of the colony. Some left, but of those who remained there were Pettit and Gregory, John Magoun, James H. Robinson, Oliver March, James and Joseph Gildersleeve, Jacob Burtis and Samuel P. Cox. The colony had got a good start when the panic of 1837 hit it, and things were at a standstill until about 1850. Among the buildings erected at the start was a frame structure used as school house and church. The first preacher was John Dunham, a United Brethren missionary. Rev. James Latta organized the first Methodist church. The German Baptists or Dunkards also had a congregation here. The first man buried in the township was Solomon Lewis, a soldier of Captain Brown's company en route from Danville to the Black Hawk war. The company camped here, Lewis was taken sick and died at the house of Jesse Havens. The houses built by the Hudson colonists were of frame, in contrast to log houses erected in other settlements. This required sawed lumber, and a saw mill was among the first structures erected. J. Moats erected such a mill in 1836, and George Mason built a grist mill on the Mackinaw. Among the earlier settlers aside from those composing the colony, were James Smith, who removed here from Smith's Grove in Towanda Township, Benjamin Wheeler, the Hinthorns, Elijah Priest, Isaac Messer and Isaac Turnipseed.

The village of Hudson was laid out Aug. 13, 1836, by Horatio Pettit. The main street was laid out 120 feet broad, and other streets 80 feet wide. When the Illinois Central Railroad was built it passed through the township and the village, going along one side of the main street, or "Broadway." A celebration was held at Hudson under auspices of the McLean County Historical Society, at which time a boulder was set marking the site of the last camping ground of the Pottawatomie Indians in that vicinity. It stands just at the turn of the road in front of F. A. Carrothers' residence. Mrs. Carrothers was a Havens.

Lawndale Township is made up of rich prairie lands and contains many excellent farms. The settlement of the township took place between 1851 and 1854, when emigrants bought lands from the government. Hon. John Cassedy, one of the early settlers and members of the Legislature, was the one who suggested the name, the land suggesting to his mind a great lawn. Cassedy was a man of great stature and equally great brain, a marked character of his time and station. Henline Creek, which crosses the township and flows into the Mackinaw, was named for John Henline, who settled here in 1828. He with his three sons, David, William and Martin, were the only settlers living here at the time of the deep snow. By the year 1832, when the Black Hawk war broke put, there were many settlers living in Lawndale, Martin and Lexington townships. They banded together and built a stockade and block house for mutual protection against roving bands of hostile Indians. Jacob Spawr, an early settler, says this stockade was about six rods long and four rods wide. Mc- Lean County at that time extended beyond the present site of Pontiac, and was almost on the Indian frontier. Some of the settlers being in terror of the unknown extent and ferocity of the Indians, fled the country and went back east. The only known Indian band in this immediate vicinity at that time were the "praying Indians" of the Kickapoo tribe, then located at Oliver's Grove in what is now Livingston County. This fear of them caused the government to remove them west of the Mississippi River in September of that year. This panic over supposed Indian dangers probably lost the county many permanent residents at that time, some leaving never to return.

Lexington Township. - Indians still had their villages in this township when the first white settlers came, one band of Kickapoos being located near where Selma was afterward, and the Delawares with a band farther up the Mackinaw. In 1828 several white men arrived, including Conrad Flesher, John Haner and his sons, Jacob, John and William; Isaac and Joseph Brumhead. John Patton and family1 reached the settlement next spring, having wintered near the home of John W. Dawson at Blooming Grove. When Patton arrived he found the deserted wigwams of the Kickapoos, who had moved out. The Indians came back in the summer, but found their habitations occupied by white men. The red men stayed around the vicinity all summer and helped Patton build his first cabin. In the fall they removed to Livingston County to remain. Patton's house was turned into a block house or fort during the Black Hawk War, but no Indians attacked it. Valentine Spawr and Milton Smith were the next additions to the settlement. The latter became a prominent citizen and member of the county commissioners' court. The Mackinaw River and its surrounding timber proved an attraction to settlers and several mills were early built along the stream. William Haner, John Patton, John Haner and Harrison Foster were those who erected grist and saw mills. Patrick Hopkins was a newcomer about 1831 and he became well known. He and General Bartholomew made a noted trip to the Indian settlement at Oliver's Grove in Livingston County, to see if the Indians were disposed to be hostile. Instead, they were given a friendly greeting. Hopkins was in demand by Judge Davis as a juryman and served many times in different court houses. James R. Dawson arrived at about the time of the Black Hawk war and he became county commissioner in 1845.

Lexington Township had two villages, one of which survived, the other passed away. The village of Lexington was laid out by James Brown and Asahel Gridley in 1837, taking its name from Lexington, Ky. The panic of 1837 struck the town as it did everything else, and it got a slow start. Jacob Spawr, who was born in January, 1802, in Pennsylvania, settled here in 1826, and located in Money Creek. He lived in the vicinity of Lexington until his death on Aug. 20, 1902, having attained the remarkable age of 100 years, six months and 26 days. Spawr's tavern was a favorite stopping place for lawyers and others going from one countycourt to another, and among the other guests at the place was Abraham Lincoln on several occasions. The village of Lexington began its prosperity when the Chicago & St. Louis Railroad was built through the place. Noah Franklin and his bride rode to Bloomington on the first train that ran through the village. Franklin and Long built a hotel, and among the early merchants were J. C. Mahan, George Dement, and men by the name of Gregory and Knotts. Soon after the village was incorporated on July 12, 1855, the citizens held a public meeting to denounce intemperance and take measures to put the rum sellers out of business. There were two of them, Edward Gleason and Albert Hancock. They set a price upon their stocks, which sum was raised by public donations, and the liquors then emptied upon the streets. No liquor was afterward sold in Lexington for many years. William M. Smith, a prominent resident of Lexington and member of the Legislature, secured the passage of a law giving power to the town council to prohibit the sale of liquors. Attempts to incorporate under the general law were defeated until 1901, when the change was made and Lexington had licensed saloons until prohibited under the local option law in 1914. There were three saloons in 1907 each paying $1,200 annual license. William M. Smith was perhaps Lexington's most distinguished citizen for many years, being legislator, speaker of the House, and member of the Railroad Commission. Bernard Claggett, another resident of Lexington, was Democratic candidate for State Treasurer on one occasion. He afterward moved to Oklahoma and died there. W. M. Claggett, of Lexington, was superintendent of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home at Normal for several years and was very successful in the position. Lexington always had progressive schools and churches. The United Brethren, Methodists and Baptists were the earlier denominations. The Christian Church later organized a congregation, and the Catholics also formed a church there.

The town in Lexington Township which once was and is not now, was Pleasant Hill, in section 21, which was laid out in 1840 by Isaac Smalley. It had a fine location and good prospects until the location of the Chicago & Alton Railroad left it isolated, when it began to go backward. Mr. Smalley tried to get the proposed east and west line, the Peoria & Oquawka road, to pass his town, but he died before success crowned his effort, and when the road was finally built it ran considerably north of Pleasant Hill. Only one or two buildings now mark the site of the village.

Lexington held a notable celebration on July 4, 1901, when a meeting under the auspices of the McLean County Historical Society commemorated the seventy-fifth anniversary of the settlement of the upper Mackinaw. Hon. Lawrence Y. Sherman was the speaker of the occasion, and Joseph Spawr, then in his 100th year, was the guest of honor. Governor Fifer, Judge Tipton and others gave talks, and at night there was a concert and fireworks in the city park.

Lexington Township made the first attempt at making hard surfaced roads in McLean County. Using the beds of gravel that abound in the township, the road commissioners in 1887 began hauling it to the roads forming a central bed ten feet wide with earth roads at the side. It cost about $1,200 a mile and served the purpose of travel in wet weather better than any other form of improved highway in the county up to that time. Thirty miles of such road was constructed in the township.

Lexington people have always believed in education, and have now two as substantial schools as can be found in any place of similar size. The primitive churches have given way to beautiful and substantial edifices. Lexington has one of the best town parks in the county. The public library is one of the things of which Lexington is proud, being well supplied with books and also serving as a public meeting place. The business district is well built, mostly of brick buildings two and three stories in height. It is electrically lighted, with some paved streets and sewer systems. It is a fine trading center and is well known as a grain and stock shipping point. The city has two banks and one weekly newspaper, the Unit-Journal, edited by Miss Florence Wright.

Martin Township. - This township took its name from Dr. E. Martin, of Bloomington, who owned a tract of 1,700 acres in the township. The land is largely prairie, with originally about 1,040 acres of timber. The Mackinaw River runs west along the northern tier of sections, and here most of the timber is located. One grove was known many years as Funk's Bunch, being on a tract of 1,000 acres which Isaac Funk owned. It was later sold to Peter Harpole and the timber became known as Harpole's Grove. William and L. R. Wiley, brothers, bought land near the

Mackinaw in 1835, partly located in Lawndale and some of it in Martin Township. Curtis Batterton came about 1837, both he and the Wileys being from Kentucky. Martin Batterton bought land on the north side of the Mackinaw in Lawndale Township. The Batterton and Wileys were hunters and spent much time in trying to exterminate the wolves which prayed on the stock. Deer were found in the vicinity as late as 1865. When the rush for prairie land was on from 1865 to 1870, most of the tracts in Martin Township were taken up. Martin long sought to secure a railroad when the new lines were being platted across this part of the state. It failed in the effort to get the extension of the Wabash south from Forrest, for the line was built through Gibson to Decatur. But the Clinton, Bloomington & Southwestern, now known as the Kankakee branch of the Illinois Central, was built from the northeast into the township and for two years had its terminus at the new town of Colfax. This town boomed at first, being platted on W. G. Anderson's land. A coal mine was soon started and continued in operation for many years, but finally discontinued. It was 200 feet deep and had a two-foot vein.

The village of Colfax was incorporated in 1880, and from the start was growing and prosperous. There was a large amount of grain shipped through the three elevators located there. The business district was laid out on a wide street, and the residences were of substantial and modern character. It has always had schools of a high grade for the size of the town, and modern school facilities have been provided. There are several churches. For many years the question of "license" or "no license" formed the main question at the local elections, but finally saloons disappeared under the state local option plan of voting and then by the enactment of national prohibition.

The news of Colfax and vicinity is purveyed by the Colfax Press, edited by H. C. Van Alstyne, and this paper has a page devoted to news of Anchor and vicinity. The mercantile interests of Colfax are varied, and it has one bank and one modern moving picture theater.

Money Creek Township. - The township takes the name of the creek which enters its borders near the southwestern corner and passes to the northwest. The Mackinaw River crosses its northeast corner. Being well supplied with water and timber land, the township was settled very early, Lewis Sowards arriving here in 1825. Jacob Harness came about the same time and Jacob Spawr in 1826. Being accustomed to the wild life of the frontier, Sowards moved to Wisconsin when his neighbors became too "thick" - that is, when there were several within a few miles of him. Gen. Joseph Bartholomew was perhaps the most distinguished of the early settlers of this township, coming here from Bartholomew County, Ind., in 1830. He had a distinguished military record in the Revolutionary War, in the Indian wars that followed and was an officer in the battle of Tippecanoe, where he was wounded. He was a distinguished citizen of Indiana, when he met financial reverses and emigrated to Illinois to attempt to recuperate his fortunes. When the Black Hawk War was on in 1832, the people of this sparsely settled county were in fear of attacks by the red men, hence sent General Bartholomew to the Indian village in Livingston County to learn the real intentions of the Indians. They met a friendly reception, and their report served to allay many of the fears among the settlers of this county. Nevertheless, General Bartholomew believed in "preparedness," hence he advised the building of rude forts or block houses as means of defense. One such was erected at the home of John Patton near Selma in Lexington Township and the Henlines also erected one. General Bartholomew and his son Marston laid out the village of Clarksville on July 13, 1836. In a few years it had grown to quite a town, with a hotel, store, shoe shop, carding mill, cabinet shop and saloon, there being about twenty buildings. General Bartholomew died in 1840, leaving his plans for bridging the Mackinaw River incomplete, and the town of Clarksville gradually lost prestige and population until there are only two buildings left on its site. Always interested in public affairs, General Bartholomew took an active part in the campaign of 1840 for his friend and old commander, Gen. William Henry Harrison. His exertions in the campaign resulted in his collapse and death on Nov. 2 that year. Many mills were built in Money Creek Township in the early days, but none of them remain. Among the proprietors of these mills were George W. Wallis, Adam Hinthorn, W. G. Bishop. There is one village in the township, Fifer by name, but it has no postoffice. United Brethren and Methodist churches were organized in the township, but only two U. B. churches remain at present, people of other denominations going to Towanda or Lexington. The C. & A. railroad crosses a corner of this township, but there is no station in the township.

Mt. Hope Township. - Another of the townships of the county which was settled mainly by a colonization scheme. Located in the southwestern part of the county, it contains 48 sections of land, of which 940 acres were originally timber. Among its earlier settlers was William Johnson, who located at a grove on Sugar Creek named in honor of him. He was justice of the peace and county commissioner 1837-40. Among the other early settlers of the region were Phillip Cline, James Murphy, Jacob Moore, John and Robert Longworth, Daniel Proctor, Ezra Kenyon and Nicholas Darnell.

The Mt. Hope colony was formed in Rhode Island in 1835 with $12,500 in capital and composed of many men of means and intelligence. It was proposed that each one's share in the new settlement would be 320 acres of land and four lots in the village of Mt. Hope. Twenty-two sections, 14,000 acres, were entered, and the village of Mt. Hope laid out. There were 6,000 acres also held in trust for the general purposes of the colony. Fifteen families formed the advance guard of the colony in the spring of 1837, coming by way of New York, Pittsburgh, down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to St. Louis, then by wagon to this county. The settlers soon established their distinctive New England institutions, the school house, Thanksgiving day and the Congregational church. However, owing to the hard times of 'that period, the colony had rough sledding and lost many of its original members. In 1845 the trust lands were sold at $3 to $5 per acre. A proposed railroad from Pekin to Bloomington along in the '40's was never built, and the hopes of this colony for a railroad were deferred till the building of the Chicago & Alton road in 1853, which had a station at McLean. The township of Mt. Hope was organized in 1858 with Daniel Windsor as first supervisor. The village was laid out by Franklin Price, former mayor of Bloomington, in June, 1855. Among the first settlers in the village were G. L. and F. A. Wheelock, E. G. Clark, John Kellogg, H. W. Wood, and Dr. F. P. King. The Wheelocks and Wood opened stores. The first postmaster was John Goodhue. Early grain buyers were A. H. Dillon and Mark Marions, J. S. and G. P. Barber. The grain elevator erected in 1868 by C. C. Aldrich was conducted by him many years and now belongs to his son, Frank W. Aldrich. Many saw and grist mills were built in this township in the early days, but all of them eventually were abandoned, the latest survivor being Moore's grist mill on Sugar creek in Johnson's grove, built about 1840. Schools and churches were among the first institutions of the Mt. Hope colony, the first school being in the village of Mt. Hope. There are now four churches in McLean, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist and Christian. The town has one newspaper, the McLean Lens, published by Crihfield from Atlanta. Mt. Hope Township is the center of the chief dairying industry of McLean County, there being several farmers who keep large dairy herds. Snow & Palmer of Bloomington is the principal distributing means for the milk and cream. Barnes & Tudor and Leach & Sons are two others dairying firms.

The village of McLean has one of the best community high schools in the county, it having been completed in 1921 at a cost of $200,000. The grade schools are housed in good substantial buildings. Practically all lines of trade are represented in the stores of the village. A fine little park in the center of the town adds to its beauty and utility.

Normal Township. - The boundaries of Normal Township and the city of Bloomington formerly overlapped each other, that part of the city of Bloomington between Empire and Division Streets being located within Normal Township. This made a confusing state of affairs especially in election precincts. This was remedied in the year when the voters of Bloomington organized the township of the city of Bloomington, whose boundaries were co-extensive with the city limits. Normal Township thus lost some of its territory and population.

Jesse W. Fell, who located his home on a high rise of ground north of the then city of Bloomington in 1833, began at once to secure public improvements for his neighborhood. When the crossing place of the two new railroads, the Illinois Central and the Chicago & St. Louis, was fixed, the site was first called the "Junction," and later North Bloomington. Jesse Fell early conceived the idea of locating here some kind of educational institution, and when on June 15, 1854, a sale of lots was held at North Bloomington, one block was named "Seminary Block." Being a strong temperance man, Mr. Fell provided in every deed for a lot sold that no liquor should be sold on that lot, thus establishing the new town as an anti-liquor community. In 1867 on a petition of the people of Normal, this prohibition was enacted into special statutory form. Pursuing his intention to secure an educational institution, Mr. Fell went to work after a convention of educators held in Bloomington on

Dec. 26, 1853, had decided in favor of founding a state institution for the training of teachers, and this had been followed by a bill passed by the Legislature on February 18, 1857, providing for such a training school. Mr. Fell, Prof. D. Wilkins and others started in to gather funds for making an offer for the location of the normal training school at "North Bloomington." They were successful, making a much better bid than Peoria, their nearest competitor, and the State Normal University was thus founded and located here. In honor of the new school, the name of the Junction was changed from North Bloomington to Normal, and the township was likewise named. The change officially took place April 6, 1858. Mr. Fell had for many years after his first settlement here been busy in planting trees, and hence when the state committee to locate the normal school visited this new community they saw in it possibilities for great future beauty. This was one of the deciding factors in the location of the new school. The lands of Normal Township had originally been rich black prairie.

A second state institution was secured for Normal in 1867, when through the generosity of Jesse Fell, Judge Davis and others, the Soldiers' Orphans' Home was located here.

Normal has been from its beginning a center of the nursery industry in Illinois. Jesse W. Fell had a nursery of limited extent, while along from 1855 to '59 Cyrus R. Overman conducted a nursery in company with his brother-in-law, Capt. W. H. Mann, a veteran of the 94th Illinois and father of the famous congressman, James Mann, who died in 1923. The F. X. Phoenix nurseries were famous in their day, and later Capt. Henry Augustine conducted a large nursery, which is now owned by his Son, A. M. Augustine and run under the name of the Augustine Nursery Co. George J. Foster, H. K. Vickroy and B. J. Vandervoort were other nurserymen of later years.

The town of Normal was incorporated in 1865 under the general law. The first trustees were L. A. Hovey, Wesley Pierce, D. P. Fyffe, John A. Rockwood and S. J. Reeder. For many years the town struggled under the handicap of lack of paved streets, but some fifteen years ago, under the mayorship of 0. L. Manchester, an era of improvement struck the citizens and practically every principal street of the town was paved before they stopped. Broadway, which is a boulevard, is one of the handsomest drives to be found in any town of the state. Two of the state paved highways passed through Normal in 1923, one from the southwest to northeast, the other from north to south. The population of Normal is made up largely of families who originally moved to the place to educate their children and became permanent residents. The town has a modern business district and several small factories. Several paved streets connect it with Bloomington, making the two corporations practically as one town, which some day they may become in name as well as in fact.

Old Town Township. - The belt of timber across the southern border gave its name to this township, the grove in turn taking its name from the old Indian town. The grove covered 6,620 acres, being 18 miles long and three miles wide. It was at the headwaters of the Kickapoo Creek. William Evans was the first settler within the township borders, coming in 1826. His farm buildings were destroyed by a tornado in September, 1827, and he gave up and moved to Blooming Grove. His land afterward became a part of the city of Bloomington and was quite valuable. John Bishop was a settler in Old Town in 1830 and William Bishop in 1832. John Hendryx and Lewis Case also came about that time. The first school was in Lewis Case's home, taught by Callista Stanton in 1838. The same house also sheltered the first church meeting. In 1853 the Methodists built a church at Benjaminville, which was later moved to the village of Holder and sold to the United Brethren. The Society of Friends formed the religious influence at Benjaminville. When the railroad afterward known as the Lake Erie road was built, the village of Holder was laid out in 1871 by Charles W. Holder. It occupies ten acres in section 13. The hamlet of Gillum is located in the southwestern part of the township and is on the New York Central, or Nickel Plate railroad. Pleasant Grove church and cemetery are located on section 26, and an older cemetery on section 22, not now in use.

Randolph Township. - Gardner Randolph was the first white man to settle in this immediate vicinity, and for him the grove where he settled was named, and in turn gave the name to the township formed. This was a favorite resort of the Indians before the white men came, and many relics of the red men have been found by Milo Custer and others in the vicinity of Randolph Grove. Gardner Randolph reached his stopping place in December, 1823, and set up a hut formed of brush, hay and the canvas cover of his wagon. Born in North Carolina, Randolph had first moved to Alabama, then to White County, Illinois, then to Sangamon County, thence to McLean. After this region was pretty well settled, he moved on to the west, locating in Kansas, and at last went on to California, where he died in 1866. It was a hard life indeed for the Randolph family the first year, as they had little to subsist upon, not even milk from a cow until the second year. Other settlers joined Randolph in the grove in the following two years, the Stringfields, John Moore, Samuel Stewart, Thomas 0. Rutledge and Jesse Funk. Gardner Randolph was a religious man, an adherent of the Methodist Church, but in politics opposed to the Abolitionists. John Moore came into prominence in the early years of the county, was elected to the legislature, became lieutenant governor of the state and later state treasurer. His grave is in one of the old cemeteries of Randolph neighborhood. Jesse Funk was a sturdy stockman. He raised hogs and drove them to Galena to market. In one of these trips in the winter of '31 he was caught en route with other men in the deep snow, but they finally got out alive. He was instrumental in retaining the north tier of sections in township 2 for McLean County instead of giving them to DeWitt as was proposed when the latter county was organized. Jesse Funk was a county commissioner 1844 to 1849. Capt. John Karr, a Revolutionary war soldier, came with his sons in 1835. The Rust family, the Nobles, Stewarts and others were among the earlier settlers. Dr. Harrison Rust and Dr. A. E. Stewart were prominent citizens, soldiers, writers and farmers. Campbell Wakefield and Isaac Van Ordstrand were also early and prominent settlers. Randolph Township was famous for its mills in the early days, these using the water power of the Kickapoo Creek, which was sufficient to turn wheels about half the year. Probably the first water mill in the county was one built by Michael Dickerson, and later sold to William Hampton and Martin L. Bishop. James Hedrick put up a sawmill on the Kickapoo at the then young village of Lytleville. John Baldwin bought this mill and was really the founder of Lytleville, which was once a flourishing and ambitious village, but died out when Heyworth was started as a station on the new Illinois Central railroad, two miles away from the Lytleville site. G. Kimler and a Mr. French were other owners of early time saw mills on the Kickapoo. Rev. Ebenezer Rhodes conducted the first

The village of Heyworth was laid out by Campbell Wakefield Sept. 11, 1858, and incorporated in 1869. It is one of the most flourishing and up-to-date towns in the county, with modern homes, two banks, churches, a newspaper and other business enterprises. Heyworth has good churches. The Presbyterian congregation was organized in 1844 by Rev. Josiah Porter and has a good building and parsonage. Flourishing Methodist and Christian congregations are also in the town. Heyworth is supplied with modern grade and high schools. Heyworth's weekly newspaper is named the Heyworth Star. The paper is edited by P. A. Chapman. The town is a grain and stock shipping point. It has many good stores, two banks, elevators and lumber yards. The Illinois Central and the Illinois Traction System supply its transportation. An excellent school system includes a community high school, among the best in the county, with grade schools. A progressive Parent-Teacher association is at work. The churches of the city include the Christian, Presbyterian and Methodist. There are many lodges, numbering among them the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias, both of which own buildings of their own; the Modern Woodmen and Royal Neighbors, Masons and Eastern Star, Pythian Sisters, Rebekahs, and Court of Honor. There is a large post of American Legion.

Towanda Township. - Being a prairie district, Towanda was not settled as early as some of the townships having timber. There is only 460 acres of timber in the township and the rest of the land is rich prairie soil. Smith's grove, named for David Smith, who settled there in 1830, is in the center of the township, while in the north part is a strip of timber along Money Creek. John Trimmer and family were the first settlers, coming in 1826, following an Indian trail from the Wabash country and settling at the grove. Frederick Rook came soon afterward, but later moved to Livingston County. William Halterman settled on the prairie in 1840. About 1837 Elbert Dickason and John Pennell erected a sawmill on Money Creek. David Trimmer had a blacksmith shop at the head of Money Creek timber as early as 1828. Jacob Spawr and Eliza Ann Trimmer were married on Dec. 3, 1826. Notices of the proposed wedding were posted, in lieu of getting a license from the county seat. W. C. Orendorff performed the wedding service. The postoffice of the township was at the home of William D. Moore, on the site of the present town of Towanda. The first preacher was John Dunham at Smith's Grove in 1832. Rev. Ebenezer Rhodes visited this section in his rounds. There are now Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist and Catholic churches in the township.

Peter Badeau and Jesse W. Fell laid out the village of Towanda on Dec. 1. 1854. Charles Roadnight, then treasurer of the Chicago & Alton road, established here a country place which became famous in its time for the elaborate expenditures which he lavished upon it. He tried to boom the town and built there a two-story building 50 by 100 feet, the upper part of which was designed for a public hall. But the structure fell to decay and finally burned down. A good flour mill was erected by Roadnight and Strothers, but did not long continue in use. Henry Warner's mill met with a similar fate. William R. Duncan was one of the earliest breeders of fine cattle in this vicinity. Towanda at present is a village of some considerable prosperity in trading. It is located on the state paved road forming the direct line of travel between Chicago and St. Louis. The Chicago & Alton railroad runs through it and has a new station there.

Two other railroad stations are in the township, both Barnes and Merna being on the branch of the Illinois Central. Merna is the center of a large and prosperous farming district mainly composed of adherents of the Catholic church, and they have a large church at the town. There are two community halls and two elevators.

West Township. - It was first attempted to name this township Pottawatomie in honor of the Indian tribe of that name; then Kickapoo for that tribe, but at last the board of supervisors gave it the name of West in honor of Henry West, one of the early settlers and largest landowners. The first entry of lands from the government in the southeast part of the county was by Jonathan Cheney, this land being located near the old Indian town. Absalom Funk entered a large tract in the same vicinity, on which was the site of the supposed Indian fort. Henry West entered a tract of 2,500 acres in 1850, while John Weedman took up a large tract in the southeast part of the township. These two men early developed a large cattle business. The tract of timber on section 5 was named Weedman's Grove. Henry West was elected first supervisor when the township was organized in 1858 and continued for 20 years. During the civil war he distinguished himself by his activity in providing means for caring for the families of soldiers. Mr. West also prevented the sale of the school lands owned by the township, so that the school tract grew to 720 acres which yielded an income of $2,000 to $3,000 annually, which income was applied to school maintenance for many years, thereby reducing the school taxes of the township. He served the people well in his day and generation.

West township is distinguished by having within its borders two of the most notable Indian relics of the county. These are the sites of an old Indian town and also that of an Indian fort. The late Capt. John H. Burnham was most active in seeking to trace to authentic records some of the facts concerning this town and fort. The town was deserted before the white settlers came, after the Kickapoos had suffered from a scourge of smallpox, and they moved to the grove further north, which became known as Old Town timber, and so remains to this day. According to researches of Captain Burnham and the late Hiram W. Beckwith of Danville, there were traditions that the Indians here had been attacked by white troops and driven away. By some it was said to have been a detachment sent by General Harrison from Indiana, but in other quarters it was said to have been a squad of state rangers who attacked the Indian camp and drove them off. A survey was made in 1880 of the site of the old Indian town and fort by the McLean County Historical Society. It was figured that the fort consisted of some kind of trenches and parapets surmounted by stakes driven into the ground, but which were afterward pulled up and used for fuel. In 1906, at the instigation of Hon. Simeon West, son of Henry West, the Historical Society took steps to erect a marker for the site of the old fort. Accordingly, on a plot of ground two rods square, donated by its owner, George W. Funk, a granite monument costing $100 was erected, on which was inscribed: "Site of Ancient Kickapoo Fort. Erected by the McLean County Historical Society." This was mostly paid for by Mr. West and George P. Davis, president of the society, in order to preserve from oblivion this most valuable historic relic.

of railroad. One was the I. B. & W., later called the Big Four and now the Nickel Plate, to which West Township gave $20,000 and which crossed the southwest corner of the township. It was built in 1870. The largest town on the road that is near to West Township is Farmer City, in De- Witt County. Another road to which West contributed in 1878 was a narrow gauge, which was afterward purchased by the Illinois Central and standardized. The station of Glenavon, in Bellflower Township, is nearest to West on this line. A branch of the Illinois Central was built across the southeast corner of the township in 1872, without aid from the public. Weedman is the station on this line in West Township. Sabine is near the center of the township on the former narrow gauge line. Hon. Simeon H. West, son of the first settler of that* name, was long a member of the supervisors, and in 1883-85 was a member of the Legislature. He owned hundreds of acres of land which he inherited from his father. In later years he moved to Leroy and built a fine home. His act of most public interest was his donation of 20 acres of timber land to the county to be perpetually used for park purposes. This is in section 6 and was donated in 1906. It has been suitably marked and named West Park.

White Oak Township. - This, the smallest township in McLean County, contains only about one-half the ordinary area of a congressional township. Its peculiar shape is due to the politics of two families, the Benson and the Carlocks. When Woodford County was formed, the Carlocks wanted to be in that county, because it was Democratic, while the Bensons wanted to be in the Whig county of McLean. Consequently the line was drawn half way between the Benson and the Carlock farms. Only one-half of White Oak Grove is in this township, the remainder being in Woodford County. Smith Denman was the first settler, in Sept., 1829. He was followed next year by Elisha Dixon, John Brown, Samuel and Robert Phillips, and a little later by John, James and William Benson. The father of the Bensons was a soldier of Tippecanoe under General Harrison, who had come to Blooming Grove in 1823. He afterward became the first treasurer of Tazewell County. The sons served in the Black Hawk war, and the grandsons in the Civil War. Oak Grove was one of the towns of McLean County which was destined to arise, flourish for a time, then die out. It was situated in White Oak Township, and there a town hall was built, a postoffice established, several stores and shops opened. But when the Lake Erie Railroad was built and a station placed at Carlock, Oak Grove dwindled away. White Oak Grove was a resort of the Indians, and a camping place was at Indian Point, west of the Carlock farm. There was an Indian trail leading from Blooming Grove along the high lands past Dry Grove and Twin Grove to White Oak Grove, thence west to Peoria. Another trail came from the WTabash country on the east by the north side of Cheney's Grove, thence by Money Creek passing near where Hudson now stands, to Indian Point. The village of Carlock was laid out Jan. 5, 1888, by John P. Carlock, after the building of the Lake Erie Railroad had left the town of Oak Grove sidetracked off the line of the road. Most of the buildings of Oak Grove were removed to Carlock. The latter has grown slowly since it was founded. It has modern business buildings for a town of its size, churches, elevators, good schools and a newspaper. It is located on one of the trunk line's hard roads built by the state in the years 1922-24.

Yates Township lies in the extreme northeast part of the county. The T. P. & W. Railroad crosses the township. Chenoa and Lexington are the nearest trading towns in McLean County for the Yates Township people. Owing to the lack of timber, Yates was not settled early, the first entries of lands being in 1855-6. It was part of Chenoa Township from its organization in 1858 until 1862. This was first called Union Township owing to the sentiments of its people, but there were others of the same name in the state, and the name was changed to Yates in honor of the Civil War governor of Illinois. Yates Township had a great influx of population just after the Civil War, and after the prairie land was properly drained it became some of the most fertile in the county. Yates Township is one of the two townships in the county which still owns school lands, there being 240 acres unsold of the original assignment, while West Township has 720 acres. The township school fund is $50,000, being next to West. David Ogle, an early settler, donated to the township school fund $5,800, and later a further sum of $2,000, subject only to a small life annuity.

The village of Weston, on the T. P. & W. railroad, is the only station in the township. It was laid out in 1868 by Nelson Buck, county surveyor of Livingston County. Two elevators handle great quantities of grain. Weston has never been incorporated as a village, though several attempts were made. There are Methodist and Christian churches in the township, and also one called the Zion church.