Bement Township

Bement Township

S township lies directly south of Monticello township, and also -1- contains forty-eight sections of land. A portion of Champaign county bounds it on the east, Unity township on the south, while Willow Branch and Cerro Gordo townships form the western boundary. A ridge running across the northwestern corner of the township causes the land there to be a great deal higher than it is in the southern and eastern part of the township. In fact the lowness of the land in the southern and eastern part debarred settlement therein for a number of years, and even yet it is thinly settled in some parts. Bat since tiling has begun to be used in the county much has been done to prepare the exceedingly rich soil for cultivation. A very much greater portion can be cultivated now compared with the tillable land of twenty years ago, and much more improvement is anticipated, too, in the next few years.

The extreme northwestern portion of the township drains toward the Sangamon, while all the rest of the township is drained by the Lake Fork of the Okaw, which comes into the township in its north- eastern section, runs southwest and then southeast, leaving the township about the middle of its southern boundary line. The fall in the stream is very slight. After the rainy season the banks are soon overrun, and then for days and weeks the stream, through miles of its course, has the appearance of a lake or swamp ; and because of this slowness in discharging its waters, we suppose, the stream has been called Late Fork. The land traversed by the Lake Fork is very rich indeed, and when the channel of the stream is once deepened so that the surplus water can be turned from off the farming land, we anticipate that the finest crops in the country can be raised on what is now untillable land.

Two railroads pass through this township. The Wabash road strikes the eastern boundary line about one mile from the northern boundary line, runs southwest through the township, crossing the western boundary line about three and one-half miles from the northwestern corner of the township. This road was the first one built in the county, and it has assisted greatly in the growth of the same. A road formerly known as the Chicago & Paducah railroad crosses the township nearly two miles from and runs parallel with the western boundary line of the township. This road now belongs to the great Wabash system. These roads cross at Bement.

The following, from an article written December 25, 1879, by Mr. L. B. Wing, will show the condition of at least a part of Bement township a quarter of a century ago :

"It is just twenty-six years ago to-day since I first saw the spot where this town is located. On Christmas clay, 1853, three 'solitary horsemen ' halted upon the ridge which divides the waters of the Sangamon and the Kaskaskia, and looked southward. It was a beautiful day - like autumn, rather than winter. A magnificent view, limited only by the powers of vision, was before us. It was like looking out upon the ocean. No farm or orchard, no living thing or sign of human habitation ! Everything, so far as we could see. was just as it had been for centuries. We knew that in the groves of timber that skirted the water-course a few pioneers had built their cabins, and for years had supplied their simple wants by hunting and by a little farming of the most primitive sort. But their proximity was not apparent to us and in no way dispelled the sense of complete solitude that oppressed us.

enjoy the view, and debated the question whether it was likely that this prairie, after remaining hundreds of years unoccupied, was now about to attain any particular value. All who had preceded us had evidently come to the conclusion that it was like air and water, valuable and necessary, so far as it could be used, but was in too large supply to be worth buying. Was it likely that in the little span of time represented by our lives, that this condition of things would greatly change ?

"But we had come to the state predisposed to own a small piece of it, and after we had consulted maps and rode over the land we drove stakes, selecting adjoining tracts, so that we might not lose each other, and in 1854 we secured titles to as much as our slender means would pay for. The year following the deer and prairie wolves were startled from their homes by an engineering corps surveying the route for what is now the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific railway. With this prospect in view we at once gave attention to our new purchase. This town was laid out on the tract as the nearest railroad point to the county seat, and I fell into the line of improvement by first hauling with ox teams, from Urbana, in Champaign county, the materials for a house, the third built in the town. The next season the ' iron horse ' made his way through Bement, from the Wabash river to Springfield. At this date the land was all bought up and the immigration was rapid. A large tract was purchased by Col. John S. Williams, now United States senator from Kentucky, who, with his brother, made this county their residence. With the same energy and pluck which won for him his sobriquet of 'Cerro Gordo Williams' in the Mexican war, he pushed his improvements and rapidly transformed the prairie into cultivated fields.

" Other railroads were projected and built, and new homes were established at a rate of increase unknown in the older states. The brothers Bodman, of Massachusetts, four of them, were of the first settlers and largest land owners ; men of enterprise, wealth and influence. The brothers Scott, from Lexington, Kentucky, Joseph and Isaac, honored by all who ever knew them, did their full share in the development of this county.

' ' There are many immigrants from old Licking, that have dropped in here at various dates. The Hon. Francis E. Bryant, who built the first warehouse in Bement, though a native of New Hampshire, was educated at Granville, and still remembers his college associates and teachers with a lively interest. Then in different parts of the county are, Gardner, Gregory, Mitchell, Fristoe, Orr, Caughenbaugh, Dickin-

"I desire, in closing, to bear witness in one thing more, to the credit of the settlers. It came to me with great force, on a summer day, while lying in dreamy reverie upon the same slope from which so long ago I first saw this broad prairie. The spires, the shaded dwellings, the shops and stores of Benient, a mile or two away, now obstruct the range of vision. Hedges and orchards, farm-houses, distant moving trains of cars, and things of life arrest the eye. But the transformation in all this is not greater than that which has come to this very spot. Now, hundreds of silver maples and groups of evergreen shelter and adorn this ridge of ground, and attest the good taste and civilization of the people. Their 'city of the dead' is here laid out in no stinted measure, as though they grudged 'God's acre,' but with broad, well-kept avenues and walks, with shrubs and flowers, they have made it a spot worthy of the dust it is to receive, and the associations with which their children will regard it. Already rising monuments tell of the mother, the child, the village favorite, the soldier brought from southern battle-field, of strong men fallen by the way, and mark the spot where the hardy pioneers of the county -

Early settlements. - From all accounts we consider that the first settlement in Bement township was made by "William Bailey, not long previous to 1854, in section 5. Another early settler was John Hughes, who lived near the head of Lake Fork timber. The first election in the township was held in his log house. There were not more than six voters in the entire township, and Jos. Moore was one of the judges. Mr. Smith Quick bought out Jno. Hughes, and Mr. Joseph Moore bought land of Mr. Bailey. Both Mr. Moore and Mr. Quick are yet living in the township.

These settlements were made previous to the building of the present Wabash railroad through the township. After the building of the said road settlements began to be made quite rapidly.

JBement. - Bement is situated seven miles south of Monticello, the county seat, and is a village of about 1,500 inhabitants. The land upon which Bement is located was purchased in 1854 by Joseph Bodman, who bought about 6,000 acres of land, which are now owned by himself, L. B. Wing and Lewis and Luther Bodman. [t was through Joseph Bodman's influence that Bement was located on its present site. L. B. Wing, Joseph Bodman and Henry P. Little donated ground upon which the original town was laid out. L. B. "Wing sold in 1854: to Hunt & Carter, agents for the Great Western railroad, thirty -three acres of land in section 19 for $1. The railroad buildings and some of the business houses of the town were located on this land. In fact Joseph Bodman is connected with every link of Bement's history. He assisted in laying out the town, as did also Joseph Mailory, Sullivan Burgess and James Bryden, and made an addition to the town of Bement. The Wabash railroad crossing is on his addition. Bement was surveyed during the summer of 1854 and recorded by Josiah Hunt in January 1855.

Joseph Bodman, J. H. and J. M. Camp, William Ellis, and Thompson and Marion Fettit were the first settlers of Bement. Mr. Joseph Alvord moyVd into a log house on Dr. Bodman's farm, which belongs to the estate of the late Chris Kesner, and boarded the men who built the first house in Bement. Mr. Alvord also hauled lumber from Champaign for the first house which was built in the town. In April, 1855, this first house, which stood just west of the present Christian church and was owned by Joseph Bodman, was erected under the supervision of T. T. Pettit and J. M. Camp. Joseph Nye and wife kept boarders in this house. They were succeeded by Mr. Crippen. Mr. Bodman also erected the second house in town, which stood just west of the first one. Soon after he erected a small office building, which was the first business house of the town. It served for various purposes, and until the Wabash depot was moved from Decatur was used as a depot until the winter of 1856.

Mr. and Mrs. Force came to Bement in 1855-56, Mrs. Force reaching the place in January, 1856. In the spring of 1856, after boarding in Monticello for a time, they moved into the third house in Bement. About this time Joseph Alvord, who had been living for a time in the second house of! the town, moved into a house built on his farm, now owned by Mr. Martin. Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Yost came to Bement April 29, 1856. Mr. Yost built on the ground now owned by Mr. J. C. Evans, but ere a great while moved on to his farm north of Bement which is still owned by his family.

Near the time the first settlements were made in Bement Mr. B. G. Hopkins moved onto a farm since known as the Elihu Fisher farm. He only remained a few years. Mr. F. E. Bryant moved to Bement in 1856, and his family made the seventh in the place. He started the first store, bought Joseph Bodman's warehouse, and began handling grain. Mr. Bryant's building, where Mr. Cooper has his store, was the first brick building of the town, and probably the first public entertainment was a dance held in Mr. Bryant's old warehouse. For several years each new building was dedicated by a dancing party.

Before the establishment of a postoffice in Bement the mail, though brought first to Bement, was distributed in Monticello. Mr. Joseph Bodman was the first postmaster of the town. The present one, Mr. S. K. Bodman, has ably filled his position for a number of years.

Mrs. Yost reports the following : The first couple married in Bement were Mr. Thomas W. Bane and Martha W. Hadsall, who were married at Aaron Yost's in June, 1856. Mr. Charles Evans is now living in the house where the ceremony was performed.

Mrs. Yost says that the first she knew of the public square, Mr. Alvord took his father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Stan ton, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Booth, Mr. and Mrs. Force, and Mr. and Mrs. Yost, saying, "Now, ladies and gentlemen, I will take you a drive around the public square," and they, with laughter and jokes, went around the present public square, which then was but staked out.

Mr. T. T. Pettit thinks that the first sermon in the town was preached by Mr. Samuel Harshbarger, in the depot, and that Mr. Huston was the first stationary minister.

The first hotel of the place, the Sherman House, was built in 1857, and until the erection of the elegant masonic building, stood on the main business street of the town. It now stands to the rear of the masonic building. John Townsend built and kept the hotel for a time, until his death, when his widow undertook the supervision of the same.

In the spring of 1858 James McDowell came to Bement, and with Mr. Tho. Postlethwaite erected the hotel known as the Pennsylvania House. This building is still standing, and, under the name of Bement House, is kept by its worthy proprietor, Mr. Royal Thomas.

Mr. C. F. Tenney moved to Bement in 1859, and says that at that time Mr. Bryant's was the only dry goods store in the place. There were no sidewalks, the streets were not graded, and there was not a tree in the town. There were just enough ladies in the town who

Mihmne & Bodman had the first bank of the town ; Freese & Co., the second ; Fisher & Gregory, the third ; and Bryant & Bodman, the fourth. The first three of these were in a building in which the " Bement Gazette " office is now located, but the building then stood on the present Site of D. S. Cole's shoe store. The only bank of the town is now known as the Bank of Bement.

In 1861 or 1862 some of the old settlers of the town, Messrs. Bryant, Bodman, and others, made preparations for and held the first fourth of July celebratiom of Bement in the school yard. Mr. C. D. Moore made the first speech, and was succeeded by Dr. Mitchell. Bement has held a number of celebrations since, and is surpassed by none as a patriotic town.

Bement of to-day. - A traveler on the Great Western road twentyfive years ago could find no point of resemblance in the present busy, energetic town as compared with the little station of a quarter of a century ago. To-day it has more beautiful trees than any town in the county ; then not one could be seen within three miles of the depot. Well built and substantial sidewalks have taken the place of the cobwalks of the early days. A number of quite elegant residences have taken the place of the first modest little cottages. The business houses have increased in size and number.

Since the Wabash railroad took possession of the Chicago and Paducah railroad an exceeding rapid improvement has been going on. Near a hundred new houses have been erected since then, and the population has made an increase of about four hundred. The Wabash company built an elegant new depot, by far the best in the county, in addition to a number of other railroad buildings near the crossing of the two roads.

Bement is " booming" just now, and persons desiring to locate in a thriving, energetic place cannot find a better one of its size in central Illinois.

The Churches

In speaking of the churches of this town, as well as those in other parts of the county, we have endeavored to mention the most important items that have been furnished us. In some cases more items have been given than in others, and we thus have made more extended notice of such. We were disappointed in several instances in regard to the small amount of facts we could collect relating to the churches.

Methodist Episcopal church, - The Methodist church was organized in 1858, under the pastorate of Rev. Edward Rutledge, and Mr. C. D. Moore, C. Schoolcraft, Thomas Postlethwaite, William Stillwell, Robert McDowell and James McDowell were among the most prominent members. Their meetings were first held in the school-] louse, and afterward in Bryant's Hall. In 1863 a subscription was taken up for the purpose of building a church, and in 1864 the building was begun. In October of the same year Rev. H. Buck dedicated the church. During the period from the opening of the subscription to the dedication of the church, Rev. I. Groves, and D. P. Lyon were pastors. Until the conference of 1865 Berne nt was included in the Monticello circuit, but at this date it was detached from Monticello, and with Mil mine and Cerro Gordo formed a new circuit. Rev. C. McKaskill was placed in charge. He soon was compelled to resign on account of ill health, and Rev. J. C. Lewis supplied his place.

In the fall of 1867 Bement was formed into a station, and Rev. H. S. Tryon was put in charge. About this time a belfry was built on the church, and a $150 bell was purchased. In 1876 a commodious parsonage, worth $1,600, was erected for the use of the pastor.

Protestant Episcopal church. - The first Episcopal preaching in Bement was done by Rev. J. W. Osborne, who was in the town in September, 1861. Soon it was planned that a parish should be formed and a meeting for the same was called ; the name, the Church of the Atonement, was chosen and the following persons were elected to office : George Milmine and Tho. Cooper, senior and junior wardens respectively, and Frank M. Speed, F. E. Bryant, C. F. Tenney, Robert D. Niles, Jos. Bodman, Chas. Fisher and Edward Bodman, vestrymen. J. W. Osborne was made president, and Frank M. Speed, secretary. Judge Spear gives the names of about twentyfive communicants. The growth of this church has been somewhat slow, but of late the society has been making a good deal of advancement. Their church fairs are very interesting and successful. Preparations are being made for the building of a church

Bement Townshh'

Christian church. - The organization of this church dates in January, 1862, and according to Judge Spear, James Connor, jr., was the organizer, and the meeting was held at William Monroe's. The following names show the membership at the above date : B. G. Hopkins, Mary B. Hopkins, Samuel J. Hopkins, Sarah J. Hopkins, William Monroe, Jane Monroe, John J. Gosney, America S. Gosney, Martin R. Ruble, Johnathan Ruble, Joseph Shelton, Thomas Dunn, Elizabeth Evans, Caroline Yost, Ann E. and Susan Gosney. The following were the officers : William Monroe and S. Ruble, elders, and Thomas Dunn and Samuel Hopkins, deacons. The names ot some of the ministers of the church are James Conner,. A. J. Northcut, Elder Osborne, J. W. Perkins, S. M. Conner, Americus Conner, E. J. Hart, and Messrs. McFadden, Matthews, Carter, Munser, Rice, McCorkle, Johnson, Frame, Speer, Pointer, Hodson and others.

The church building was erected in 1867, and cost about $800. Lately a bell has been purchased, and the new belfry adds much to the appearance of the church. Since the organization of the church there has been a total of over two hundred names enrolled, and the membership the present year is about ninety-six. The Sunday-school has an attendance of one hundred and twenty-live persons, with thirteen teachers. W. A. Godwin is superintendent. The trustees of the church are G. C. Evans, B. G. Hopkins and J. J. Gosney. The elders are G. W. Thompson, H. Martin and William McGaffey. Calvin Boake is deacon.

Presbyterian church. - The following extracts from a sermon by Rev. A. W. Ringland will tell the story of the Bement Presbyterian church better than can be told with other material which we have collected:

"August 29, 1868, this church was organized in the Methodist Episcopal church, Bement, by Revs. Thomas A. Chestnut and T. P. Emerson, with eight members, whose names are as follows : E. C. Camp, Elizabeth J. Camp, Mary E. Camp, Wm. Newton, Margaret Newton, Sarah E. Bryant, Emily F. Swaney and Mrs. Scott, with E. C. Camp and Wm. Newton as elders. January 30, 1870, six trustees were elected, as follows : Jos. Bodman, president, with F. E. Bryant, Warren A. Pierce, A. G. Gregory, Jos. M. Scott, and Wm. M. Camp, who, the records tell us, with the congregation began to consider the expediency of building a house of worship. Financial energy marks the very first pages of the records. The salary, though very modest, is paid. Within three months of the time when the church was organized there is a record of a contribution of $7 to the board of home missions, and within seven months of its organization another contribution of $13 to the board of church erection. A church which might have put on beggars' airs - a church without a building, worshiping in a town hall, giving to other churches that they may have buildings. These were two of the best days' work this church could possibly have done. It may not be business, but it is decidedly Christian, to esteem others better than ourselves. And there is more danger of churches dying outright from supreme selfishness than from prodigality in benevolence.

"1. Ecclesiastical. - (1) Pastors. The first supply of the pulpit, Rev. Thos. M. Chestnut, seems not to have remained to exceed ten months, probably only seven. Rev. S. A. Hummer occupied the pulpit for about fifteen months, Rev. B. F. Sharp beginning October 1, 1871, ending his engagement with the church April 1, 1878. July 18, the present pastorate began, in the same year, which has just reached its fourth anniversary. In the strict construction of terms, the church was under a system of stated supplies until 1880, when your present pastor was regularly installed. '(2) Elders. The church has had, in all its history, eight elders, as follows : E. C. Camp, Wm. Newton, Geo. Sandford, W. M. Camp, Jno. H. Murphy, L. W. Bodman, Geo. F. Miller and T. W. Scott. E. C. Camp alone remains of the original bench, after fourteen years of uninterrupted service. Two have removed from the bonds of the congregation, four are active, and one, at present, is inactive. (3) Deacons. On April 6, of present year, this office was filled for the first time by the election of Louis H. Alvord and Henry M. Hays. (4) Members. The whole number of members received from the foundation of the church has been 154. One has been excommunicated, six have been placed on the "retired list" because their whereabouts are not known to the session, ten have died, thirty-one have been dismissed to other churches, while 108 still remain upon the roll of membership. (5) The Sabbath school has been one of unwavering prosperity. It was organized about 1871, with L. W. Bodman as superintendent. His energy and zeal are notably linked with its organization and early success. After two years' service Jno. H. Murphy became his successor for one year, who in turn was succeeded by Win. M. Camp, who now holds and has since held the position with favor and capability, combining enough of the military with the Christian to give symmetry to the movement of the school. The maximum enrollment is 255 for any year. (6) The Ladies' Missionary Society, originally ' Foreign, ' but latterly 'Home and Foreign,' has been one of marked activity, both in gifts and missionary spirit. Under its tuition a children's band, known as 'The Sunbeams,' with about eighty names on its roll, has been kept in active operation for a number of years. Beyond the monthly meetings of each of these, there has been kept up ,a ladies' society for general work, and since January, 1879, a ladies' prayer meeting, with varying numbers and interest. Intermittent instruction has been given by the pastor in the shorter catechism to primary pupils, and in historical portions of the Old Testament by the pastor's wife, at the parsonage, on Tuesday evenings, to academic youth.

" 2. The Secular. - (1) The trustees. The original bench of trustees was Joseph Bodman, F. E. Bryant, Warren A. Pierce, A. G. Gregory, Joseph M. Scott, Wm. M. Camp and L. W. Bodman. The only changes ever made in this board have been suggested by vacancies occasioned by removals from the bounds of the congregation. Warren A. Pierce, Jos. M. Scott, A. G. Gregory and L. W. Bodman having removed to other places, their seats were filled by the election of C. F. Tenney, Abram Hays, A. D. Newton and J. C. Miller. The same president holds office to-day who was called to the chair at its first election. Three of the original six members remain. Two who were elected when the organization was very young are still there. All are living except Mr. Gregory. This board, which has been its own successor very largely, has piloted the finances of the church through all kinds of weather, to the present outlook of permanency which we now witness. This board was no mere honorary body. At its first meeting, as soon as officers were elected, we find the ' subscription book accepted with its conditions.' Immediately following this it is

$250 of which was given by actual members of the church, and the church building built and the basement completed. The audience room was next completed, and the church was dedicated. Under the third division Rev. Ringland mentions April 18, 1880, as the time when the wind lifted seventy-five feet of the church spire during church service. Ere noon the next day $200 was subscribed for its repair. In this period, too, was mentioned the building of a $1,700 parsonage.

" 1. That for purposes of building and repairs alone, the trustees of this church, first and last, have given from their own private funds $5,275. This includes nothing given by them on salaries or for benevolence. It includes no amount given by other members of their families. You know me too well to charge me with catering to sentiment when I say that their record as officers, taking the burden of care on their .own hearts, for the completion of a very generous building for a 'town like this, - giving their time, and leading every one in the matter of generosity, - deserves to be noted beyond the limits of this congregation. It deserves to be held up as a chapter of unwritten church history, that others may take knowledge of how a consecrated zeal can clear away difficulties of a very grave character. They have been leaders to you, not drivers. They have shouldered the heavy end of the beam and then said, come. And I believe that if you read their motives by their past acts, if they ever say 'come' again, you will be more ready than ever to heed their bidding.

"2. The grand total given by this church and congregation with such foreign help as has been given you, is more than $32,000. I have traced with ease $31,598.21. The benevolence of this church, from its beginning up to 1877, is not included, for want of sources of information. But it will add a considerable sum to the amount really audited. It has been a giving church and congregation from the beginning. It has paid its debts. It has sought to carry honor unto the sanctuary, as the records show. Nor has it grown poor, but rather 'increased in goods.' It would be an omission not to speak of aid granted by the ladies of this church and congregation. Their labors have been so diversified as to elude detail. They put themselves on record first with $200 aid toward the construction of the church. Aside from their matronly oversight, their contributions rose, first and last, to a sum exceeding $1,000."

Catholic minister in Bement. He visited the town occasionally until 1866, when the present church building, costing about $2,100, was erected. About this time Rev. P. Toiler was stationed in Champaign county, and Bement came under his charge. He came to the town once a month until a- church was built at Ivesdale, when the resident minister of that place took charge of this station. The church at Ivesdale was organized in 1865, as a mission of Champaign, by -Rev. P. Toner. Rev. P. Burmingham then became the resident priest in 1868. The Rev. Burmingham died, and about seven years ago the Rev. Tho. Shanley, the present priest, succeeded him. Rev. Shanley is reported as being a finely-educated man and a gentleman in every respect. His congregations, both at Ivesdale and Bement, have all confidence in him. The membership at Ivesdale includes over one thousand persons. A number of these people reside in Piatt county and are good workers and earnest citizens. The original church at Ivesdale was built about

Societies And Associations

1866, in the school-house. George L. Spear was chairman and R. S. Hopkins, secretary. At this meeting a report was given in of a subscription list amounting to $134. Committees were appointed for getting further subscriptions and soliciting donations of books. The subscribers met in December, 1866, and a constitution was adopted. The first officers were George L. Spear, president ; R. S. Hopkins, vice-president ; Joseph Bodman, treasurer ; and H. A. Coffeen, librarian. It was originally called the Bement Library Association, but was chartered October, 1878, under the name of The Library Association of Beinent. The present officers are Dr. Yance, president ; II. D. Newton, secretary and treasurer ; Mrs. Force, librarian, which position she has held for six years. The directors are Mrs. Knapp, Mrs. Bacon, Mrs. Bodman, Dr. Vance, and Mr. Joseph Bodman. At present the books in the library number 1,224, and somewhere near a hundred are added each year. The circulation is about 3,000 books a year. By paying $10 any one can become a life member and pay no dues. By paying $5 one can become an elector and pay fifty cents each year. Annual members pay $1. Two books each are allowed a week. The rest of the money is raised by subscription. It is open once a week, on Satunlav afternoons, for two hours. The association is in a very flourishing condition, the number of members and amount of money received increases each year. Bement lias reason to be very proud of the library, as it is by far the best in the county.

The Bement Masonic Association was chartered under the laws of the State of Illinois, October 4, 1875, "for the purpose of purchasing a site and erecting thereon a building for masonic purposes for the promotion of universal benevolence and charity." The first directors were Joseph Bodman, W. M. Camp, C. F. Tenney, S. A. Lodge, J. O. Sparks and Robert Fisher. They organized by electing Joseph Bodman president ; F. E. Bryant, treasurer, and C. F. Tenney, secretary. The directors issued and sold stock, and with the proceeds purchased a lot on the southeast corner of Bodman and Piatt streets and erected thereon a two-story brick building with basement. The corner-stone was laid by the grand lodge, A. F. and A. M., with the usual formalities, on May 25, 1876. The hall was dedicated to Masonry by the same body in the autumn following. The present board of directors are J. O. Sparks, Horace Haldennan, Robert Fisher, D. D. Kimmel, W. M. Camp and C. F. Tenney. The present officers of the board are D. D. Kimmel, president ; F. E. Bryant, treasurer, and C. F. Tenney, secretary.

Bement Lodge, No. 365, A. F. and A. M., received its charter October 1, 1861. The charter members were F. E. Bryant, H. A. Bodman, Charles Fisher, Jr., A. G. Gregory, G. M. Gregory, J. W. C. Gray, John A. Helman, T. T. Pettit, W. L. Kyder, J. O. Sparks, William Stilwell, E. B. Sprague, J. M. Taylor and Aaron Yost. The first officers were F. E. Bryant, worshipful master ; J. O. Sparks, senior warden ; William Stilwell, junior warden ; T. T. Pettit, treasurer ; E. B. Sprague, secretary ; J. A. Helman, senior deacon ; C. Fisher, Jr., junior deacon ; Aaron Yost, tyler. The present officers are W. M. Vance, worshipful master ; G. A. Stadler, senior warden ; V. S. Ruby, junior warden ; W. M. Camp, treasurer ; Thomas Lamb, Jr., secretary; Charles McGaffey, senior deacon; John C. Klapp, junior deacon ; J. F. Knapp, senior steward ; William Parker, junior steward ; T. T. Pettit, tyler. Present membership, sixty-four.

Order of Odd-Fellows. - The Irwin Lodge, No. 344, Bement, was chartered October, 1867, with R. F. Jones, past grand ; Aaron Misenhelter, past grand ; D. C. Moffitt, past grand ; and E. O. Wallace, Peter Caughenbaugh and J. N. Bills as charter members. At the first meeting the following named persons were elected and installed in their respective offices : E. O. Wallace, noble grand ; J. N. Bills, vice grand; R. F. Jones, recording secretary; and Peter Caughenbaugh, treasurer. Grand Master Ilerr was the installing officer. At this first meeting the following persons were admitted to membership : C. Schoolcraft, Samuel Bearing, Joseph W. Fristoe, J. A. Force, C. Newton, Wm. L. Finley, John Hughes, H. A. Starks and Peter Shaffer. The total membership of the lodge since its institution is over one hundred, while the present membership in good standing is near fifty. The total amount of revenue during the existence as a lodge is near $2,000. Some help has been given to families of brethren, there is some cash on hand, some notes at interest, and the value of regalia and other belongings is over ,$500.

Chosen Friends. - This order was organized in Bement, April 18, 1881, and at present there are forty-three members. It is a mutual benefit society, in which the members receive one, two or three thousand dollars, owing to the grade they take, one-half of which is paid upon total disability, either from disease or accident, and the whole amount to be paid at death or when the member lives to the age of seventy-five years. Either lady or gentleman can become a member any time between the ages of eighteen and sixty -one. The current expenses are kept up by quarterly dues, and the relief fund is raised on the assessment plan. The organization now numbers, ir. the United States, from twelve to fifteen thousand persons, and is but three years old. This is the only order in Piatt county, and the first officers who held the highest positions were E. B. Sprague, Past @. C., and T. J. Mitchell, C. C. Those holding the corresponding offices now are M. M. Sprague and G. W. Poole. Dr. Mitchell was the organizer in this county and is deputy supreme counselor.

Knights of Honor. - This lodge was organized April 11, 1879. There are forty members at present. The order is nine years old in June, is conducted on the assessment plan, and is run much like the order of Chosen Friends, except it does not receive lady members. The highest officers at present are Dr. Mitchell, past dictator ; Robert Fertig, dictator ; James A. Klapp, recorder ; H. Halderman, treasurer.

Temperance Union. - The Woman's Christian Temperance Union was organized at Bement, November 27, 1879, by Frances E. Willard, with twenty-one charter members. At present there are about fiftyseven members. Miss P. A. Duncan is president ; Mrs. J. Y. Cooper, secretary; Miss Irene Barnes, corresponding secretary ; Mrs. Weinstein, treasurer, and Mrs. Peairs, Mrs. Swaney and Mrs. Martin, vicepresidents. Mrs. Pettit is local editress. A juvenile temperance society was organized in Bement about a year ago.

About the time the Great Western railroad was built, or soon after, a switch was made at the present Ivesdale and the station was named Norria for one of the owners of the road. But when Mr. Cliapin, general superintendent of the railroad, and one of the men most interested in the station, died, the town was nipped in the bud. After a time the name was changed to Ivesdale, in honor, it is supposed, to Mr. Ives, of Providence, Rhode Island, who owned land in the vicinity. The town was laid off about 1867 on land owned^by Messrs. King, Harbinson and Cliapin. After about two years an addition was made by S. K. Donovan.

The business part of the place lies in Champaign county, but some forty acres of land owned by W. H. Johnson in Piatt county was incorporated in 1870 or 1871. The school district extends into Piatt county. The first school was taught in 1863 by Miss L. White in a log house.

The post-office was established in 1864, and W. H. Johnson was made postmaster. He retained his position as such with little interruption until 1881, when Mr. Charles Groves became postmaster.

Biographical Sketches

The town contains eight or ten business houses and three churches, Catholic, Methodist and Lutheran. There are about three hundred inhabitants. Mr. Patrick G-allavan is one of the oldest settlers in the vicinity* and W. H. Johnson has been identified with the town almost through its entire existence.

Source changes here: from Past and Present of Piatt County, Illinois : Together with Biographical Sketches of Many Prominent and Influential Citizens, by McIntosh, Charles, published 1903; 1,261 words in this source stream.

Bement Township

Bounded as follows : Beginning at N. \Y. corner of Sec. 2, T. 17, R. 5 E., thence east to county line, thence south on county line to the S. E. corner of Sec. 36, T. i/.N., R. 6 E., thence west to the S. W. corner Sec. 35, T. 17 N., R. 5 E., thence N. to place of beginning.

' The first school in Bement township was taught in the village of Bement by Henry C. Booth in 1856. The length of the school was but three months and the salary was $40 per month.

this time they had used rented buildings. The school grounds, which are used even to the present time, and make a fine campus, were donated by L. B. Wing and William Rea. In 1866 four additional rooms were added, although they were not all used for some time. Two more rooms were built on in 1886 and four more in 1892, making in all twelve school rooms. A steam heating plant was put in in 1884.

On September 4, 1898, the building was struck by lightning during a storm and was damaged to the amount of $1,350, which was paid by the insurance companies.

In April, 1899, the entire frame building was destroyed by fire. The fire originated in the night from some unknown cause, and before it . was discovered the building was past saving".

Arrangements were at once made for a new building, and in the fall of 1899 and 1900 a magnificent new building was erected, which is one of the handsomest of any of the smaller towns in the State. Cost, $27,000.

It contains eleven school rooms, besides offices, recitation rooms, etc. It is heated by steam, has drinking water on each floor and has a very efficient system of ventilation.

The following is a list of the school principals : H. C. Booth, S. K. Bodman, J. W. Richards, C. D. Moore, J. B. Lovell, A. S. Norris. J. A. Helman, J. R. Johnson, J. N. Patrick, E. M. Cheney, Mrs. Shirk, F. M. Fowler, Asa W. Mason, H. A. Coffeen, W. J. Cousins, J. H. McComas, G. C. Gantz, A. C. Butler, Thomas Sterling, Miss Bell Sterling, R. O. Hickman, T. C. Clendenen, I. N. Wade, W. E. Mann, P. K. McMinn, William Condericker, Charles \V. Groves, A. B. Martin, J. M. Martin, Charles Mclntosh, E. L. McDuffee, C. H. Andrews and Arthur Verner.

The school was placed on the accredited list of the State University in 1881, under Mr. Clendenen, but was afterwards dropped. LTnder the superintendency of J. M. Martin it was again placed on the accredited list, and has been on the list continuously ever since.

Many of its graduates have entered the State University and have made very creditable showings. At least five of its graduates have won scholarships given by the State.

In 1878 a frame school house was built in the southern part of the district to accommodate those living at a distance from Bement. Joanna Fleming was the first teacher in the school. This house has been repaired and remodeled from time to time and is now in very good condition. The "Bement Rural," as it is called, has a library of over 200 volumes.

There are nine rural schools in the township, as follows : Ray, Moma, Davies, Fisher, Concern, Mitchell, Bement Rural, Coffin, Moore. Davies has a cupola and a

Past And Present

The first settlement in Bement township was made about 1854 by Wm. Bailey. In the summer of the same year, Bement was surveyed, the land at that time belonging to Mr. Joseph Bodman. The first settlers in the town were Joseph Bodman, J. H. Camp. J. M. Cam]). William Ellise, T. T. Pettit and Marion Pettit. The lumber for the first house was hauled from Champaign. It was erected in 1855 '>v T. T. Pettit and J. M. Camp, and was owned by Joseph Bodman.

The house stood just west of the present brick hotel building. The second house was built west of the first one. Mr. Force and wife came to Bement in 1855. For awhile they boarded in Monticello. In the spring of 1856, they moved into the third house ever built in "Dement. Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Yost cfime to Bement in 1856, built a house, but soon moved on a farm north of town. Mr. I!. (1. Hopkins moved on a farm west of Bement. since known as the Elihu Fisher farm. F. E. Bryant moved to Bement in i8=;6, and run the first store. He erected the first brick building in the town. The first, hotel' was built in 1857, called the Sherman house. It stood on the main street of the the town, but on the erection of the Masonic building, it was moved back on the corner where the Christian church now stands, and remained there until moved away to give room for the handsome church building. The Pennsylvania hotel, afterwards known as the Thomas House, and kept for a number of years by Royal Thomas, was built in 1888. and is still standing. At that time there were no sidewalks in the town, and no trees, thus presenting a very marked contrast to the beautiful shaded streets and substantial sidewalks of the present time.

The M. E. church was organized in 1858 under the pastorate of Rev. Edward Rutledge, a minister on the Monticello circuit. The meetings were first held in the schoolhouse, and afterward in Bryant's Hall. The first church was erected in 1864, and was dedicated in October, by Rev. Hiram Buck. In 1865. Bement was detached from the Monticello circuit, and with Milmine and Cerro Gordo formed a new circuit. In 1867 Bement was constituted a circuit and Rev.

The Christian church was organized in 1862. The first church building was erected in 1 867, and cost about $800. T>he building stood where the present brick hotel now stands. This lot was afterward sold and a handscme modern building erected.

The Presbyterian church was organized in 1868. with eight members. The church was built in the early /o's. In 1880 a storm blew down the church steeple and belfry, and by noon the next day $200 was subscribed for its repair. The church owns a handsome parsonage, costing about $1,700.

The Catholic church was built in 1866, at a cost of $2,100. This was connected with the church at Ivesdale for a time. A handsome residence for the priest has been erected just north of the church.

The Bement Lodge, No. 365 A. F. and A. M. was chartered October i, 1861 ; Bement Chapter. No. 65, Royal Arch Masons October 7, 1864. The Masonic building was erected in 1876. The Irwin Lodge, No. 344, I. O. O. F. was chartered October, 1867.

The Haldeman mill was erected in 1868 by Horace and William Haldeman. and G. C. Nichols, and did a flourishing business for many years. A few years ago the building was sold to the Farmers' Elevator Co.. and the machinery shipped away.

In 1890 a stock company put in a three hundred electric light plant. \Y. J. Day has been manager and superintendent of the plant since it was started. At first the Haldeman mills furnished the motive power for the plant, but in 180,6 they erected a power house

Bement is an important railroad center, being a division point of the Wabash. The Wabash have recently put down a big well, and most of their engines on these runs take water and coal here.