Keithsburg, Illinois

The second settler of the county was John Vanatta, who located at Keithsburg in May, 1827. He opened a supply yard to furnish wood for the steamboats. A year or two afterwards his brother Benjamin joined him. He had preempted a claim on the southeast quarter of section 22 in 1833. John Bates settled on section 34 and a few years later Isom Lakey located on the same farm. About the spring of 1835 Samuel Vanatta, a brother of John, arrived, but in the fall of the same year all the Vanattas sold out to Robert Keith, a Scotchman, and removed to Muscatine, which was then called Bloomington. In the spring of 1836 Abner Martin built a house on section 13, but sold out the same vear to John McH. Wilson. In the same year William and Paul Sheriff settled on section 24. The next year William Sheriff built a sawmill on Pope Creek on section 23. He built a large dam and at first the mill seemed destined to become very useful, but it was located on quick sand, which undermined the structure and the mill was abandoned and finally rotted down. A. B. Sheriff arrived about 1836 and Matthew Sheriff a year or two later. T. B. Cabeen came about this date. Daniel Justice located on section 1 in 1836; John W. Nevius arrived the next year. William Wilson, the father of John McH. Wilson, arrived in 1836 also and settled on section 13. Bennett Hurst located a claim on section 2. Joel A. Hall, a millwright, arrived in 1838 and established a farm on section 13. In 1837 Benjamin F. Gruwell built a home on section 1. Later he kept a hotel in Keithsburg. Joseph J. Wordin arrived in 1837. Rev. James Ross reached the township about 1841. James Garner arrived about 1842 and started a small store at Keithsburg. He sold whisky and merchandise and was one of the first business men of the village. Robert Keith was the founder of Keithsburg. The place at first was nothing but a woodyard for the steamboats and was known as such, apparently not having any other name. In the spring of 1835 it became known as Keith's Landing. In July, 1837, Hiram Hardie, deputy county surveyor, laid off the Town of Keithsburg on section 23. The original plat shows Main and Washington streets east and west and crossed by First, Second, Third, etc., streets. In all thirteen blocks were surveyed and the first sale of lots occurred in July. 1837. They brought from twenty to sixty dollars each, but the place could hardly yet be called a village. The landing made it what it was and not any stores or shops. Garner sold out in 1839 to David Bower and moved out on section 25. In 1847 he returned and opened a hotel, was justice of the peace and sheriff. Bower went to Rock Island. A Frenchman named Rochelle arrived early in the '40s, and with a small quantity of goods brought up on a steamboat, started a store. Omy Brothers succeeded to this store. In 1842 Zephaniah Wade arrived and located on section 14 and the following year Nicholas Edwards settled on section 5 at the mouth of Edwards River. The previous year William Willett and Josiah Brown built a sawmill on the river, but in 1843 Willett sold his interest to Brown. In 1837 a Mr. Gavitt established a claim about a mile below the landing at Keithsburg and immediately laid off a small tract, which he named Columbia City. It was located on a high plateau and was the site of an old Indian encampment where yet could be seen the fields used in growing corn and vegetables by the Indians. Numerous evidences of their presence were shown, among which were pits of ashes and a few wigwam poles or bark of houses. This plat was not recorded and Columbia City, amounted to nothing. The claim passed to Alexander Davis. In 1837 Bluff postoffice was established at the house of Frederick Frick in Abington Township, keithsburg mail came there until 1846. The village amounted to very little until about 1846. Another early settler in the township was Rousy Bower, who arrived about 1834. He occupied a small house on the river bank and was employed by the Vanattas in chopping wood for the steamboats. Jesse Mount arrived about 1835.

Passage source: Past and Present of Mercer County, Illinois, published 1914.

Keithsburg became the county seat in 1847 and thereafter was a pretentious and promising place. However, the settlement of the township was still in progress. A body of farmers in 1844 formed an organization and endeavored to build a warehouse in Keithsburg for the storing and handling of grain. In those years the farmers back on the river brought their grain to river points because it could there be shipped to the large markets. Robert Keith assisted in this warehouse movement and contributed several lots upon which to erect the building. William Willett succeeded in getting title to the property soon after the frame was up and Col. J. B. Patterson, of Oquawka, secured an interest therein about the time it was finished. Patterson soon after this opened a store in the Keith Building and with him was associated Booth Nettleton. They sold dry goods and groceries on Washington Street. Patterson really came to Keithsburg in 1845 lor permanent residence, although he still had a home in Oquawka. His location at Keithsburg was for business purposes. His firm immediately began to buy large quantities of produce, grain, etc., from the farmers, and in turn thev sold enormous quantities of store goods to the farmers back from the river for many miles. They had a large establishment here, including one frame house, one log house and three cabins. His trade in 1845 was 3,690 bushels of wheat, 512 barrels flour and 2,250 bushels corn. Patterson himself had other interests and left after a year or two and the management of the concern passed to Noble & Gayle, who built a one-story frame store on Main and Second streets and a large warehouse on Lot 10. In 1848 they erected a brick packing house and at that time McConaha & Rife established a combined saloon and grocery. In 1848 also Jonathan Juda established a store. He was a Jew and a successful merchant. In 1848 also Wilford J. Ungles established a store on Washington Street and built a large warehouse in 1855, at which time he had become very prosperous. Seth Redman built a brick business block about 1855. Before it was finished he sold to Dr. A. B. Campbell. In 1849 McConaha & Rife dissolved, the latter engaging in the grocery business, but later added dry goods. Still later he put up a brick building. In 1848 T. B. Cabeen built the brick block on Main and Second streets. It was a three-story structure, his family occupying the upper stories. Below Miss E. Smith kept a store. She had come from New Boston and was a successful business woman.

Passage source: Past and Present of Mercer County, Illinois, published 1914.

In 1858 R. H. Spicer & Company seem to have succeeded Miss Smith, although she was eventually a member of the concern. The location of the county seat at Keithsburg in 1847 gave it a great boom, and numerous shops and business houses of all kinds were started. In a few years Keithsburg was one of the most active and prominent of the smaller places on the Upper Mississippi. In consideration of the location there of the county seat, Mr. Keith gave half of the land of the first addition to the county authorities. It was officially laid out in January, 1848, and the division was made by giving the county and Mr. Keith the choice of alternate blocks. The county blocks were subdivided into lots and sold or used for county building purposes. Mr. Keith was a saving and close-fisted Scotchman who believed that the village was destined to become a great citv. Accordingly he refused to sell his lots except occasionally. The first court was held in Willett's Warehouse, which was used for many other pub- lie purposes. Finally the courthouse was built on Block 7 and finished in 1 85 1. It was a good building, though low, and looked more like aschoolhouse than a courthouse. It was a one-story brick structure, about 40x50 feet. Late in the '40s William Willett began extensively buying grain from the farmers of the back country. He had associated with him Mr. McConaha for a short time, but in 1850 the latter went to California, whereupon Willett and Doughty formed a partnership and continued business. In 185 1 they established a store or grain trading station at New Boston. Mr. Doughty was left in charge of the establishment at New Boston. A little later A. B. Sheriff became associated with Willett & Doughty, but in 1852 Doughty sold out to the other two. The firm was then Sheriff & Willett, who continued to do a large and successful business until 1864, when Willett retired just in time to save himself from the decline of prices at the close of the war. Mr. Sheriff was swamped and lost much of his property. The building they had occupied was used as a grain storage warehouse until 1875. It was occupied by Phelps & Brewer for a short time before it was burned.

Passage source: Past and Present of Mercer County, Illinois, published 1914.

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 Keithsburg Township - it names this place 32 more 32 times.