Swedona, Illinois

Alvin and Abner Arrasmith were the first settlers in this township. They arrived September i, 1834, from the Wabash country, and laid claims on section 13. Thev were located about a mile and a half north and a little east of the Village of Berlin, where Swedona was afterwards located. They made the first trail, it is stated, from Richland Grove to Rock Island. In 1835 Wesley Arrasmith, Sr., Abner and Alvin Arrasmith and Thomas Sellers constituted the only settlers. By the summer of 1836 there was quite a cluster of cabins around the grove and among the owners were Russell, Henry, George and John Peckenpaw, Hugh Montgomery, Van Meter, John and George Love, Samuel Clark and Peter Metzler. About the same time a Mr. Huyck arrived. His daughter at a later date married Samuel Clark. Charles Minnick came in about this time. He was an educated German and proved very useful to the new settlement, because he probably taught the first school in the township. L. D. Dimmick and Levi Shaw were among the first to settle in what became the Village of Berlin. This was about 1835 or 1836. The latter married a daughter of Peter Metzler and raised a large family, which became prominent in the affairs of the township. N. M. Chilberg came in quite early and settled in the Village of Berlin. He was one of the first Swedish settlers in the county, arriving here in 1849. Soon afterwards many others of the nationality came in and a large settlement was formed by them in Richland Grove Township.

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

Berlin was laid out by Abner Arrasmith and Jacob Walker on September 10, 1836. It was located on the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 24. In 1869 the name of the village was changed to Swedona and nearly the entire original plat has been vacated in recent years. In this village, as before stated, Asa Mc- Murtry was the first storekeeper and Willis Peckenpaw the second. It was located on the state road between Knoxville and Rock Island and became a thriving village, having at one time a population of about five hundred. The name Swedona was adopted under the following circumstances: There was another town of that name in the state, whereupon a meeting of the village trustees was held and it was decided to change the title. S. F. Fleharty suggested the name Laverne and Leander Chilberg suggested Swedonia. The latter seemed a little too long and was shortened to Swedona, which was finally adopted. Dimmick & Shaw were among the first settlers in the village. Peter Metzler also lived here. A tavern was erected on the south side of the village and had a large patronage from people passing on the road from the Wabash country to the United States land office. Mr. Dimmick owned much of the town and a large farm adjoining. N. M. Chilberg located in the village at an early date. Soon afterward many other Swedes arrived and soon the population was almost wholly Swedish. Mr. Chilberg conducted a shoe shop. The first church there was the American Methodist Episcopal and is still standing in the village. There is no doubt that had it not been for this church the Village of Berlin or Swedona would long ago have been wiped out of existence. Griffin Brothers established tile works on section 34 in the '70s. They soon had a large trade, securing their clay from banks in that vicinity. In the '50s Waugh & Ellis put up a new flour mill in this vicinity and operated it by steam. It was 40x84 feet, three stories high and had four run of stones. George Walker was the miller in charge. They were called the *Richland Grove Steam Mills. Waugh & Ellis at the same time conducted there a large general store, selling almost all articles kept usually for sale in all stores in the West. They also mined coal and sold it to those who wished to purchase. The store was kept in one part of the mill and was patronized heavily in 1858. In the early '6os Mrs. Collison was murdered in Richland Grove Township by John Volentine. The latter had been drinking heavily at a saloon and may not have known what he was doing. In any event, he was arrested, tried and acquitted.

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

The name of the postoffice at Berlin in early times was Center Ridge, because there was another Berlin in the state. When the name was changed to Swedona the postoffice took that name. In early times, and as well as in 1880, horse thieves were numerous in this section of the county. This led to a horse thief protective association, which had been in existence for many years and was presided over during his lifetime by Samuel Clark. In 1871 the-society numbered eighty members, and at that time Mr. Clark was president; D. Mowery, vice president; Byron Jordan, secretary; Dr. J. K. Manning, treasurer; George McCandless, J. A. Jordan, Warner Kinsey, T. L. Jordan and John McCandless, directors. This association was one of the most efficient and thorough ever organized in Western Illinois. They made it a point not to give up until they secured the thief. They made a special study of detective work and of quick action to head off and capture thieves. They were in collusion with all the livery stables for a hundred miles around. They held annual meetings in January. It was said at one time that not one of the members lost anything, even though it had been stolen, because the association would recover the property and punish the thief.

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 Richland Grove Township - it names this place 1 more 1 time.