Oakland, Illinois

This enterprising little village is situated on the Illinois Midland Railroad, about twenty miles northwest from Paris. It was surveyed and laid out by Reubin Canterbury, County Surveyor, for Madison Ashmore, on the 12th of May, 1835. James Ashmore built the first residence in the village. McCord built a residence soon after the one built by Ashmore. Some say that McCord's was built before the village was laid out, while others hold to the fact as given above. The first store was kept by a man named McCleland Another was opened very soon after McCleland's, by a Mr. Trembly, but neither lasted long, and both "broke" in the business. Says the ^eraM reminiscence : "For the next four years, no goods of any kind, save what a peddler might bring in, were sold in Oakland. Our trading had to be done in Charleston or Paris. Not a spool nor a thread, nor even a pin, was to be had short of these towns. There was nothing here to buy goods with. Four-year-old steers went at $10 per head, and the only good horse we ever owned we bought for $50. Corn for many years never rated above 10 cents per bushel, and then was not considered a merchantable article."

Passage source: The History of Coles County, Illinois ... Map of Coles County; History of Illinois ... History of Northwest ... Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, &c., &c, published 1879.

The first tavern in Oakland was kept by Daniel Payne, soon after the laying-out of the village, and the next, perhaps, was kept by 'Squire Pemberton. The village at present has two first-rate hotels - the Oakland House, kept by H. A. Frederick, and the Union Hotel, by Mrs. Jones. The first post office was kept by McCleland, elsewhere mentioned as the first merchant. The present Postmaster is L. C. Thornton. The first blacksmith in the village was a man named Maxon, and his shop was a counterpart of that described by Longfellow, except that instead of the "spreading chestnut-tree" it stood under a spreading oak-tree. We are informed that it consisted mainly of a bellows and anvil, rigged up under an oak tree, and that there was no building belonging to it. The first doctor to practice in this section was of the name of Montague, but of him we learned but little. The next was perhaps Dr. H. Rutherford, who came here in 1840, and practiced the healing profession until he amassed quite a snug fortune, and physicians became so plenty that he could retire from a long life of laborious work.

Passage source: The History of Coles County, Illinois ... Map of Coles County; History of Illinois ... History of Northwest ... Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, &c., &c, published 1879.

In 1854, Clement & Clark built a steam-mill in the village of Oakland. It was a great institution in this primitive settlement, and people came for miles to see the engine work, and were frightened out of their wits when the steam blew off. A sash saw was added to it, but was soon dispensed with. The mill has several times changed proprietors and is now owned by John Burwell. The Smith mill, as it is called, is of rather recent building, and was put up by W. P. West some eight or ten years ago. The Herald's reminiscences thus speak of the originator of this last enterprise : " This man was what might be termed a fool for luck, and a spendthrift by nature. His father gave him a large farm at Culver's Grove. Getting embarrassed, he sold out, came down to this part of the country, and worried awhile with the McConkey mill. He next got hold of the Frank Williams' steam grist and saw mill. He succeeded in trading this worthless property to Thomas Kinney for a good farm in Edgar County. Selling the farm, he commenced building the mill before referred to, and at the same time he set up a grocery. About this time he succeeded in becoming guardian for the William Franklin heirs, for whom he drew pension money to the amount of $1,100. His luck continuing good, his grocery burnt down, and he received $1,500 of insurance. His borrowed money began pressing him and he sold out to his partner, W. 0. Smith, at a very good figure. If he had stopped here he would have had a good living remaining, but a man of the name of Foulke, of

Passage source: The History of Coles County, Illinois ... Map of Coles County; History of Illinois ... History of Northwest ... Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, &c., &c, 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 East Oakland Township - it names this place 9 more 9 times.