Palestine Commercial Historic District

Lamotte Township is bounded on the north by Hutsonville Township, northeast and east by the Wabash River, south by Montgomery Township and west by Robinson Township. Lamotte Creek, flowing southeasterly into the Wabash near Palestine Landing, furnishes the main drainage. Back from the river the surface of the township is flat or slightly rolling. Within its borders were built the dwellings of the county's first settlers, and were instituted the first court and Government Land Office in this part of Illinois. At a period when the redskins outnumbered the whites the earliest forts and Stockades of the county were built here, around which cluster the memories of tragic events. Originally the entire area was covered with a growth of walnut, oak, hickory, buckeye, cottonwood, pecan, hackberry, sycamore and other forest trees. From east to west it was traversed in its subsequent development by the St. Louis, Indianapolis & Eastern Railroad, originally built as a narrow-guage, but later enlarged and now a part of the Illinois Central.

Passage source: ILLINOIS HISTORICAL CRAWFORD COUNTY, published 1909.

The first white families known to have lived in Lamotte Township located there shortly before the War of 1812, and on the outbreak of that confliet gathered together on the present site of Palestine, building a blockhouse for defence against the Indians. Of these, the largest, and, perhaps, most prominent, was the family of Wiliam Lamotte. who came from the South about the year 1808, with his sons, John, Job, Benjamin, Joseph, William and others. Some of the Eatons were killed by the savages and the remainder moved to different points after the war. Other pioneers whose names have been handed down were: Thomas Kennédy, Jesse Higgins, John Garrard, the Woods (John, Joseph and Welton), David Reavill, the McCalls, the Millses, David MeGahey, the Brimberrys, J. Purcell, Mrs. Gaddis Smith and James Shaw, J. Veach, George Bathe, John 8. Woodworth, Thomas Gill, Edward N. Cullom. Joseph Kitchell, William Wilson, James H. Wilson, Wickliffe Kitehell, Col. John Houston and his brother Alexander M., John C. and Harmon Alexander. Many others equally conspicuous in the early history of the county, settled in Lamotte Township between 1818 and 1830, but limited space forbids the mention of any but the first comers.

Passage source: ILLINOIS HISTORICAL CRAWFORD COUNTY, published 1909.

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 Lamotte Township - 364 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.