Brighton Township

Brighton Township

Advance, April, 1871-80. A. G. Meacham was editor and proprietor until 1875, when A. M. Parker bought in the Shipman True Flag and the firm be- came Meacham & Parker. R. D. Suddeth leased Meacham's interest in 1876 and was succeeded in 1877 by L. H. Chapin. Parker bought Meacham's share in the next year and continued the paper. Neutral in politics till 1876, then republican.

News, 1879 to date; established with Holly Glenny as editor; Snively and Kessner, publishers. After a year L. H. Chapin succeeded Glenny. Later a Mr. Robertson bought the paper; then Frank Merrill, succeeded by William C. Merrill. A. William and George Amass bought the paper from Merrill, and in 1907 sold to iW. D. and Roscoe Franklin. They sold January i, 1909, to W. B. Tietsort, and he, July i, 1909, to Frank W. Lauck.

Ensign, September 12, 1878. One number was issued, printed at the office of the Brighton Advance, and bearing the name of Herbert Lawson Durr as editor.

Messenger, established January i, 1895, after numerous attempts had been made in the village to maintain a newspaper. The first owners were C. W. Tietsort, cashier of the Bank of Medora, and Elmer B. Ritchie, of Abingdon, Illinois. They published the paper for one year, when Mr. Tietsort bought Mr. Ritchie's interest in the plant. He then admitted his son, Walter B. Tietsort, to a partnership in the business and under the firm name of C. W. Tietsort & Son they have published the Medora Messenger continuously since 1896. Their entire plant was destroyed by fire, October 6, 1897, when the business section of Medora was burned. They immediately bought equipment and issued a paper the following week. The paper has always been an important factor in the civic affairs of Medora, is progressive and well patronized. It has a circulation of 1,100 copies per week, although published in a town of only /\.\/\ inhabitants.

Brighton township is bounded on the north by Shipman, on the east by Bunker Hill, on the south by Madison county and on the west by Jersey county. The land is drained by the tributaries of Wood river, while it is traversed by two railroads - the Chicago & Alton and the Rock Island division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad.

The first settlers in this township were Oliver Brown and his nephew, William Cowan. They built a cabin sixteen feet square in February, 1826. Their nearest neighbor was six miles distant.

In 1828 William Brewer came here from Virginia. Aaron Husong also arrived here the same year. In 1830 Michael Brown, a brother of Oliver, and Thomas Cowan, a brother of William Cowan, settled here and built a cabin. In 1831 James B. Pinkard came, while the following year, 1832, witnessed the arrival of Herman Griggs and others.

The first land entries were made as follows : James Brown, eighty acres on section 19, in 1830; Alfred Kennier, eighty acres on section 19, in 1830; and Joseph Anderson, on section 6, November 12, 1830.

The first Sunday school was organized about 1832 and was held in a log schoolhouse located about a mile from the present town of Brighton. The two denominations represented here at that time were the Baptist and Methodist. Some of the early settlers would ride to Alton, a distance of eleven miles, in wagons drawn by ox teams, to attend religious services. Until about 1835 preaching was held here in private homes. About that time the Baptists built a house of worship and the first minister was Rev. Amos Dodge.

The first school in the township was conducted in a smoke house belonging to Oliver Brown and was taught by Charlotte Sherman. The next summer the .school was taught by a Mrs. Stratton and was held in the same log house in which the Sunday school had previously been organized.

The first schoolhouse was built in 1834. It was built on government land and was made of logs, the structure being 16x18 feet in size. L. P. Stratton was the first teacher in the new building. The school was conducted on the subscription order at two dollars per scholar per quarter.

The town of Brighton is located mostly on the northwest quarter of section 19. Herman Griggs was the founder of the town, which was laid out in 1836 by Luke Knowlton. A short time previously a company had purchased two hundred and eighty acres of land of Mr. Brown on the same section. They proceeded at once to survey and lay off a town, which was named Bristol. The two plats were only twenty or thirty rods apart. Nathan Scarritt was manager of the latter company. Quite a competing spirit arose between the parties in town proprietorship. In 1837 there was a financial panic, which severely visited the two towns of Bristol and Brighton. Mr. Scarritt had erected what became known as the Hill House, on Main street, occupying it with a stock of merchandise. The company becoming discouraged sold the entire tract of two hundred and eighty acres to Daniel Nelson for $r,ooo, and the latter sold one half of it to J. W. Gilson. Foj a time improvements were very slow and for several months the only building that was erected was the Methodist church in 1837.

The first postoffice was established at Brighton in 1838, with Daniel Blodgett as the first postmaster. His commission for the first year was six dollars. Prior to this time the residents of this locality had received their mail from the Alton office.

On July 4, 1852, the Chicago & Alton ran its first train through Brighton, and from that time on the town took on new life. Herman Griggs was appointed the first agent at this station. He erected a brick store building near the railroad and admitted to partnership in business William Loveland and Lucius Griswold. In 1850 he built a Warehouse of brick, which adjoined his store building, and in 1853 he converted it into a steam custom mill.

In the fall of 1853 R. H. Peter and John Moore opened a dry goods and grocery store on Main street, and in 1857 Mr. Peter and Rev. Horatio Nelson built a store building on Main street.

Since 1832 there has been a schoolhouse in the town but the first was conducted on the subscription plan. In September, 1854, the settlers formed a company for the purpose of erecting a school building, the stock being fixed at ten dollars per share. Later the stockholders sold their interest to the district.

In 1890 all that part of Brighton lying in Brighton township and the county contained 697 inhabitants. By 1900 the number had dwindled down to 606 and the census of 1910 shows the decline had continued and that the population now is but 554. At any rate the town is a good trading center for a splendid agricultural community. It has a good school, mentioned in the article devoted to schools, and its churches are well supported.

Brighton has two strong financial institutions, Blodgett Brothers & Company, conducting a private bank, established the institution in 1868. It has a declared capital of $20,100. D. Newton Blodgett is president and Edwin ' Amass, cashier.

The First National Bank was established in 1890. Its capital stock is $25,000, deposits, $85,000. President, G. W. H'lliard; vice president, G. A. Brown; cashier, F. F. Chamberlain.

Milks Station

Miles Station is located in Brighton township, a portion of the hamlet lying on section 9, while a smaller part is on section 8. The place is located in the midst of a rich agricultural district and is on the line of the Chicago & Alton railroad. The proprietor of Miles Station was Colonel J. R. Miles, for whom it was named, and it was platted and surveyed by S. F. Spaulding in the year 1869.