Stephenson County Courthouse

From 1840 until 1846, indeed up to the building of railroads, the growth of the county, as compared with earlier years, was slow. Other portions of the West were sought by settlers, particularly the lead mines, and received accessions more rapidly. One cause of this was the absence of markets. The population was engaged almost exclusively in agriculture, and after farms were opened there was but a moderate sale of their products for this reason. Settlers have been known to take a load of pork to Mineral Point, where it was disposed of with difficulty at $1.25 per hundred weight, and occasional shipments of grain were made down the Mississippi from Savannah, which practice continued up to the very period, when railroads were operated in the country. These flatboats were laden with produce and floated down the river to New Orleans, unless a market was found en route, and disposed of. The cargo being disposed of, the flat was sold for the lumber it contained, when the merchant who had shipped the venture, together with his supercargo or clerk and laborers, began his wearisome journey homeward. A partial market was found in the lead region, but as productions increased that market became overstocked, and prices decreased so that the transportation of commodities thither could not be made to pay. The same can be said of the Chicago market, though for a difi'erent reason - the distance. Chicago was at that early day beginning to be an important factor in the building up of the West. It was the point at which settlers procured their final outfits, and the market to which farmers transported their grain for sale. The means of conveyance was a lumber wagon drawn by four or five yoke of oxen, the driver pasturing his cattle at night by the wayside, himself camping out and cooking his meals. If he succeeded in progressing over horrible roads, or surviving the crossing of seemingly impassable sloughs and reaching his long journey's end, he was extremely fortunate. Not more so, however, if he was able to find a customer to whom a sale of the grain could be eff"ected at 50 cents per bushel. Whenever he was able to control their patronage, he returned with a load of merchandise for the merchants of Freeport, for which he received a nominal consideration of store goods. Occasionally he found a family of emigrants, who, having reached Chicago by "way of the lake, were waiting for the means of conveyance to continue their trip. In such cases the household goods of this "'lucky find," together with the emigrant and his wife and little ones, were laden on the wagon for the return trip. Such a cargo was a bonanza to the teamster, for passage was invariably cash. With such difficulties to encounter, and the low prices paid for commodities, together with the extravagant charge made for many of the necessaries of life, it is not surprising that wealth was not rapidly amassed. As a compensation for these disadvantages, land was cheap. The broad prairies, which proved to be the finest farming land in the State, were held at a price within reach of the most impecunious. The suggestion is frequently ma^e to some who came at an early day and are yet comparatively the reverse of independent, as to the reason why they failed to invest and wait for a rise ;

Passage source: The History of Stephenson County, Illinois : Containing ... Biographical Sketches ... War Record ... Statistics ... Portraits of Early Settlers ... History of the Northwest, History of Illinois, &c. .., published 1880.

Before the year 1840 had run the race set before it, the county was commencing to show good results of the years of labor that had been expended upon its improvement, and it promised, upon its advent into the fourth year of its existence, to do more than had been done during the years that had rolled into the past. "Let there be light," was the first word of the Creative Power, and "Let there be light" must remain the motto of every future development. The year was remarkable for many improvements, and an increase in the number of farms that were occupied and cultivated. Very little can be said concerning the emigration hither, for, beyond the fact that some come in, its measure was not in any ratio with what it should have been. This was due to the causes cited, more than the absence of large numbers who were only waiting for the sign that was to move them to change their several camps. The population was increased very slightly, as will be inferred, and did not, during the entire year, receive accessions of more than two hundred to the number already there. The post office, which was established at Freeport a year before, was not an unfruitful source of comfort and convenience to citizens throughout the county, as they were by its means enabled to communicate with their friends more frequently than when Thomas Craine was accustomed to carry the mail once or twice a month to Freeport. A stage line had been in operation for some time at this period, and the inspirations of delight that were felt when the bugle was sounded, need but to be referred to to be recalled. The notes brought back a consciousness that its auditors were not altogether beyond the pale of civilization ; that a trip of two days and two nights, and the expenditure of a round sum of money, would carry one to the heart of the city, Avhere he might be brought directly in communication with scenes and incidents to which he had been theretofore a stranger. And no doubt there will be many who read these lines to echo their truth and be carried back to days when they made their first trip to Chicago, arriving in the city and stopping at the old frame tavern on Lake street, near the river, as the day was declining into evening.

Passage source: The History of Stephenson County, Illinois : Containing ... Biographical Sketches ... War Record ... Statistics ... Portraits of Early Settlers ... History of the Northwest, History of Illinois, &c. .., published 1880.

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 Freeport Township - 153,555 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.