Grand Pass, Illinois

The school building was erected in 1873 is furnished with 40 patent seats, capable of seating 80 pupils ; has abundance of blackboard room, well lighted, vestibule in front end, furnished with hat hooks, shelves, etc. The yard is beautifully adorned and shaded with a grove of maples, planted by W. B. Coates, who, at the time, was director of the school. As it is impossible to name, consecutively, the links which formed the business of this village, we shall content ourselves with giving it thus: In 1855, J. R. Pruitt and L. T. Whitesides were the business men of the place. In 1856, Lee Coates and his father, John Coates, engaged in the mercantile business, and for four or five years had a good trade. In 1857. W. B. Coates succeeded his father, becoming a partner with his brother Lee, thus forming a strong and prosperous firm, which continued till 1861, when they dissolved, and Lee continued some time alone, dealing heavily in grain, and barge building, with L. E. Carter, at Grand Pass, etc. About that time, W. B. Coates did considerable business as a stock and grain dealer, till in the spring of 1864, he went to the Montana gold mines, where he remained four years. He afterward engaged in business here. About 1857, Morris & Simmons sold goods here for a short period, and were succeeded by Beal Cotter, in 1859. In i860 Aaron Reno & Bro., succeeded J. R. Pruitt. In 1865 Elihu Yates and James Wilkinson embarked in the dry goods and grocery business, but not succeeding well, soon retired. About 1866, J. R. Pruitt and Philemon Reno formed a dry goods firm, and after a short time retired. Edward S. Houghton, also, dealt in boots, shoes, etc., for a short time. About the same time Jones, Patterson & Howard formed a copartnership, and sold an immense amount of goods, continuing some three or four years. In 1869 Philemon Reno dealt in groceries alone. The village was incorporated in 1869, under the general laws of the State, as a town, and as a village under special act, in

Passage source: Past and Present of Greene County, Illinois, published 1905.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Patterson Township.