Muncie, Illinois

After the first advent of Captain Blackman, and the building of a residence by Mr. Treat, in November, 1819, we find a Mr. Bailey on Stony Creek. This was probably the first man who settled on that creek. He came in 1821 or 1822, and opened a small piece of ground in the timber. This was in section 16, town 19 north, range 13 west. He sold out his interests to Mr. Harvey Ludington, late of Danville, Illinois. Mr. Ludington has been supposed by many to be the first settler on Stony Creek.

Passage source: History of Vermilion County, Together with Historic Notes on the Northwest, Gleaned from Early Authors, Old Maps and Manuscripts, Private and Official Correspondence, and Other Authentic, Though, for the Most Part, Out-of-the-way Sources, published 1879.

Stony Creek was called for a long time Ludington's Branch. The next man in these parts was a Mr. Walker. He settled near the same place, but a little farther up the creek, near the present site of Muncie. He, too, left his name with us. That point of timber where he dwelt went by the name of Walker's Point. The exact date of his settlement we were unable to learn, but it was after the settlement by Mr. Ludington. The settlements along the Salt Fork, on the south side of the township, were early begun, and here we find the principal population for some time. The exact date of many of these settlements cannot now be ascertained, nor do we conceive it to be of very great importance. It is quite probable that the next family that came in here after those already mentioned was that of the man who built the old watermill on the Salt Fork where the present steam and water mill is located. This mill was in operation as early as 1826; how long it had been running previously we are not quite sure. At this date Mr. Nathaniel Mead traveled over the country, and the only inhabitants that he remembers were those at this mill, and John Vance, at the salt works. Mr. Mead is, perhaps, the oldest person living in Oakwood township who saw this country as early as 1826; in fact, we doubt whether another grown person was here in 1826 and is here now. At that time he was twenty-six years old, having been born in the gray dawn of the nineteenth century. He is from the land of "steady habits," having first seen the light of day seven miles from Hartford, Connecticut. He remained there till he was eighteen years old. His youthful days were spent in the dairy. On his western-bound trip he first stopped at Cincinnati. After a stay here we find him next in Union county, Indiana. Although he came here as early as 1826, "prospecting," he did not permanently locate his family in this county until 1835. At this time he bought land near the site of Conkeytown. Excepting a short stay in Covington, Indiana, he has remained in this township ever since. He has reared a family of children. His sons are well-to-do, important elements in societ}r, and he still lingers on the shores of time, two miles southwest of Oakwood station, enjoying the fruits of seventy-nine years' toil among the children of men. He remembers well the war of 1812, and the rejoicing at its close. During his recollection not only Oakwood township and Vermilion county have been developed from their native wildness to a populous, well-organized community, but industries have sprung up all over the nation. He was seven years old when Robert Fulton made that wonderful experiment on the Hudson ; when Lafayette made his wonderful passage through this country he had reached the age of full manhood; when the first car carried its load of stone from the Quincy quarries, he was verging on the period of middle-life; as Queen Victoria ascended the throne, he was growing old. If all the progress of art and science, which has been made within the memory of such men as he, was written in a book, the world could scarcely contain it. The progress in itself is not so startling as the fact that one man's experience has embraced it all.

Passage source: History of Vermilion County, Together with Historic Notes on the Northwest, Gleaned from Early Authors, Old Maps and Manuscripts, Private and Official Correspondence, and Other Authentic, Though, for the Most Part, Out-of-the-way Sources, published 1879.

Brewer, and close to the present site of old Conkey Town was Stephen Crane. Thomas W. and John Q. Deakin came in 1835. They lived in this same neighborhood, just on the south line of the township. They were important elements in the early settlement of the neighborhood on Salt Fork. On the west side of Stony Creek, Mr. Wright probably followed Mr. Walker. In 1832 Mr. Aaron Dalbey followed the opening made here, and came over from the south side of the Salt Fork, and began a farm one mile south of the present site of Muncie. Mr. Dalbey was a millwright, and rendered important service to the community in building the second mill on Salt Fork. Mr. Shepherd was the proprietor, but Mr. Dalbey was the architect and builder. Mr. Dalbey remained here till his death. His widow married John McFarland, and still resides on the original farm. The farm is a good one, and under the careful management of Mr. McFarland has reached the highest state of cultivation. A little farther north, up Stony Creek, we find John McCarty, about 1836. He settled just above Muncie. Beyond him, and later, came Harrison and Seneca Stearns. They came to the country, young men, though married, in 1836, and have remained in the edge of the timber ever since. In mentioning the early settlers, we would not forget John Shepherd, who came in 1836, and engaged in the milling enterprise, but who died before he saw his work fully completed. These are the principal early settlers in the southwestern part of the township. No doubt there were others that came early, but they soon moved away. Of those who came later we have scarcely time to speak, although such men as Havard and Cast, that came in 1838, would now be considered old settlers.

Passage source: History of Vermilion County, Together with Historic Notes on the Northwest, Gleaned from Early Authors, Old Maps and Manuscripts, Private and Official Correspondence, and Other Authentic, Though, for the Most Part, Out-of-the-way Sources, published 1879.

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 Oakwood Township - it names this place 14 more 14 times.