Chatsworth Township

Chatsworth Township

Chatsworth is situated on the Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw Railway, about forty miles from State line, and seventy miles from the city of Peoria. It was surveyed and laid out by Nelson Buck, County Surveyor, June 8, 1859, for Zeno Secor and Cornelia Gilman of New York, who owned the land on which it is located. In 1853, the land was entered by Solomon Sturges, who, in 1857, conveyed it to Wm. H. Osborn, and Osborn and wife in turn conveyed it to Secor and Gilman. The original town occupied 160 acres of land, embracing the south half of the northwest quarter, and north half of the southwest quarter of Section 3. Since then several additions have been made to the original plat at different times. It has been organized as a village under the Incorporation act, and the first board of officers were Jacob Titus, E. A. Bangs, John S. McElhiny, W. W. Sears and Albert Tuttle. Jacob Titus was elected President of the Board, and George E. Esty. Village Clerk. At present its official board is as follows : John Young, President ; W. F. Dennis, A. M. Roberts, C. Spiecher, Samuel Crumpton and C Guenther; R. M. Spurgin, Clerk; W. H. Wakelin, Treasurer; J. M. Myers, Superintendent of Police, and T. S. Curran, Police Magistrate.

The first building was put up in the village in 1859, by Chas. D. Brooks and Trueman Brockway, both of whom Avere from New York. It was a store and residence combined, a frame building one and a half stories high, with rooms over the store. They afterward went into partnership, and after Brockway got married, he lived over the store. A post office was established in 1860, the first, not only in the village, but in the township. Chas. D. Brooks was the first Postmaster, an office he held several years, when Matthew H. Hall received it. He was succeeded by Col. N. C. Kenyon, who is at present Postmaster. The first hotel was built by C. W. Drake, in 1859. It has been converted into a dwelling house, and is now used as such. The only hotel in the village is the Cottage House, kept by Wm. Cowling. The first blacksmith, as mentioned in the history of the township, was Samuel Patton, who is still in the business, on the same old stand. He came from Ohio in the Fall of 1859, and there was at that time but one house in the village (Brooks & Brockway 's store), a little grain house and an old carpenter shop. There Avere tAvo others in sight - the section house, and one tAvo miles out on the prairie, owned by Franklin Foot. Mr. Patton is the inventor of a corn busker, which seems to be a good thing. It husks corn as fast as horses will Avalk, and can be sold at about ^225. He has not commenced the manufacture of them, but designs doing so.

The first school house was built in 1858, on two lots donated by Osborn for school purposes. This was the first school house in both Chatsworth Township and the village. The present elegant school edifice was built in 1870. Two years ago additions Avere built to it, at a total cost of buildings and additions of ^11,000. It is a two-story frame building, with stone basement, and is finished ofi" in fine style. The teachers and Principal of the school for the year just closed* were as follows : Prof J. T. Dickinson, Principal ; Miss M. J. Speer. Grammar Department : Miss Brown. Miss Aiken and Mrs. Tuckerman : Mrs. Palmer, Primary Department.

The Germania Sugar Company built their large factory here in 1865, for the purpose of manufacturing sugar from the beet. The capital stock of the company was ^50,000, which was all owned in Springfield, except $1,000 held in Peoria, The enterprise was projected by a man named Jennet, a German, and. after the company was organized, he had the management. It proved unsuccessful from the lack of water. One well bored on the premises, 1,200 feet deep, cost $6,000, and afforded an insufficiency of water to meet the requirements of the business. It is believed that, with plenty of water, it would have proved a valuable business. The beets jnelded about eight per cent, of their weight in sugar. The factory was in operation here for about five years, when the machinery was taken out and removed to Freeport, where it is devoted to the same purpose as here. The property fell into the hands of Jacob Bunn, of Springfield, who furnished the funds for its operation and removal to Freeport. Though the capital stock was originally $50,000, it cost while here, we are told, about $175,000. The "vacuum pan," as it was called, alone cost $6,000 in Germany, and was an extraordinarily fine piece of machinery. But it was a losing speculation as long as it remained in this village.

A coal shaft Avas sunk near the village of Chatsworth, in 1867, by Capt. Beard, who had some connection at one time with the east shaft at Fairburv. A stock company was formed among the citizens of Chatsworth, of $10,000, but the stock was never all paid up. Enough, however, was collected to pay Beard for sinking the shaft, which was about 218 feet deep. The works were finally abandoned, upon the report of Beard that there was no prospect of coal. It is thought by some that a good vein of coal was found, but for some reason the fact was concealed, or at least never olficiall}^ reported. One of the men employed in the work said to some frieftds one day, that they passed through a vein of coal about five feet thick in sinking the Chatsworth shaft. Whether this is true or false, we are unable to say.

The first grain elevator was built by Charles D. Brooks, in 1861, and was b\n-ned in 1866. He then built another, which he afterward moved to Piper City. Samuel Crumpton built one next, and then Havercorn & Mette built the one now occupied by A. B. Searing. Joseph Rumbold built one, which is now owned by Searing & Crumpton. The next was an old mill, moved up by the railroad, and changed into an elevator by Chas. Weinland, and is now owned by H. L. Turner.

The mill above referred to was originally built by Wright, Williams & Cripliver, and, after several changes, it was disposed of as already noted. Williams then erected his present steam mill, and commenced operating it in December, 1877. It is a frame building, with two runs of buhrs, and is used mostly for grinding corn meal and stock feed.

Another of Chatsworth's manuftictures is the Star Wind Mill, which is put up by David E. Shaw, who is also the patentee of the Marvel Feed Mill, which is adapted to wind mills. Also, the wagon factory of L. C. Spiecher is quite an institution. He works seven hands, and make wagons and carriages principally.

The Chatsworth Plaindeahr is a five-column quarto newspaper, published by R. M. Spurgin, and is one of the flourishing papers of the county. It was t'Stablished in November, 1873, by C. B. Holmes, and in August, 1876, passed into the hands of its present owner. It is an independent paper, and takes no particular side in politics.

The first religious society organized in the village of Chatsworth was the Methodist Church, in 1859, bv Rev. M. Dewev, with about fortv members. The charge, at that time, included Forrest, Five Mile Grove, Pleasant Ridge, Oliver's Grove and Bethel, with Rev. J. W. Flowers as Presiding Elder of the District. The society held their meetings in the school house, two blocks north of the railroad depot, until the year 1874, when they erected a good church building at a cost of about $2,500, in which they have worshiped ever since, having now upon the church rolls about 100 members. Adjacent, is a comfortable parsonage, worth about $500, and both it and the church are free of t-ncurabrance. Rev. Samuel Wood is the present Pastor, and Rev. R. G. Pierce. Presiding Elder of the District. The church was dedicated by Rev. T. M. Eddy, D. D., of Chicago, on the 30th day of November, 1864. The Sunday school of this society was organized in March, 1862. W. H. Wakelin is the present Superintendent, and the average attendance is about 100 children.

The Presbyterian Church was built soon after the village was laid out, ahd the society first organized in the school house, under the pastoral care of Rev. Mr. Thomas, who preached here and at a school house in Ford County on alternate Sundays. He then lived at Champaign. The first regular minister in charge of the society was Rev. Oscar Park. The present Pastor is Rev. Geo. F. Mcx'Vfee, formerly of Missouri, but a graduate of the Northwestern Theological Seminary, and has in his charge about eighty members. A very flourishing Sunday school belongs to this church. The Rev. Mr. McAfee is Superintendent, and about one hundred and thirty-five children attend.

The Baptist Church Avas built in 1871, is a substantial frame building, 32x54 feet, and cost about three thousand six hundred dollars. Rev. A. Kenyon is

Pastor, with a membership of over one hundred, and an interesting Sunday school, of which A. H. Hall is Superintendent. There are two German societies, the Evangelical Association and the Lutherans : but they have no church buildings, and we were unable to learn anything definite of their organizations. The Roman Catholic Church was built in 1864, and dedicated, on the 17th of March, to St. Patrick, by Rev. Thomas Roy, President of St. Victor's Col" lege. The building cost about four thousand dollars, is a handsome frame, and was built under tiie pastorate of Rev. John A. Fanning, of Fairbury. Owen Murtagh, Patrick Monahan and William Joyce were the Building Committee. It was made an independent mission on the 22d of July, 1867, when the Very Rev. Learner Moynihan, formerly of New Orleans, and late of Jersey City, N. J., succeeded the Rev. Father Fanning. A flourishing Sunday school is attached, and the attendance, both at it and the church, are good.

Chatsworth Lodge, No. 539, A., F. & A. M., was chartered October 1, 1867, Jerome B. Gorin, Grand Master of Illinois, signing the charter, and H. G. Reynolds, Grand Secretary. The charter members were George R. Wells, E. L. Nelson, W. H. Jones, D. E. Shaw, E. A. Simmons, A. E. Anway, James Davis. J. H. Dalton, Charles L. Wells, Ira W. Trask, J. S. McElhiny\md D. W. Hunt. D. R. Wells was first Master ; D. R. Shaw, Senior Warden, and E. A. Simmons, Junior Warden. The present Master is N. C. Kenyon, and W. H. Wakelin, Secretary, with forty members.

Chatsworth Lodge, No. 339, I. 0. 0. F., chartered October 9, 1866, J. K. Scroggs, Grand Master, and Samuel Willard, Grand Secretary. Charter members - Arthur Orr, N. A. Wheeler, Peter Shroyer, T. L. Matthews, H. J. Roberts and G. W. Blackwell. Arthur Orr was first Noble Grand, and N. A. Wheeler, Secretary. C. Guenther is at present Noble Grand, and Arthur Orr, Secretary, with thirty-seven members.

Livingston Encampment, No. 123, I. 0. 0. F., was chartered May 31, ixll ; D. W. Jacoby, - Grand Patriarch, and N. C. Nason, Grand Scribe; J. B. Renne, first Chief Patriarch; Peter Shroyer, Scribe. L. C. Spiecher is at present Chief Patriarch, and P. J. Garhart, Scribe, with about twenty members on the roll.

Chatsworth has a well organized fire department, with a good volunteer company. Their engine is the old "Prairie Queen," formerly used in Bloomington, and this village bought it for $1,300, which, Avith hose and other equipments, runs the cost of the department up to about two thousand dollars. The company has been a valuable acquisition, and has saved to the town more than twenty thousand dollars' worth of property since its organization.

The bar is represented in Chatsworth by Hon. Samuel T. Fosdick and George Torrence, Esq. The former was elected to the State Senate in the Fall of 1876, on the Republican ticket, receiving 5,056 votes over C. C. Strawn, of Pontiac, Democrat, who received 4,313 votes. The Senatorial District is composed of Livingston and Ford Counties.

John Walter, a merchant of the village, has a very ancient relic, and one to be highly prized. It is an old Bible, printed in 1536. The following is the inscription on the fly-leaf:

It is printed in the Swiss dialect of the German language, bound in heavy wood backs, covered with loatlier. with heavy iron clasps and corners. Mr. Walter claims that it is the oldest Bible, but one, in the United States; and, for a book that is 340 years old, it is in a state of excellent preservation. It is profusely illustrated throughout the Old and New- Testaments with colored engravings of Bible scenes and incidents.

The village of Chatsworth has one of the most beautiful little parks in this section of the country. It embraces just one square, or block, in the village, and is very handsomely shaded with young maples, of which there are over 500 in the enclosure, making it a fine place to pass an hour or two of a warm evening, and a lovely pi-omenade for the boj^s and girls, who

Find in their wooing much moonshine yearning, Such as young folks always have when they are learning to be sweet on each other, and yearn for moonlight, solitude and the " mournful cooing of the turtle dove."

Chatsworth Cemetery was laid out January 4, 1864, and an addition made to it March 2, 1865. It is a pretty little burying ground, and the good order in which it is kept shows a high regard of the living for the dead. The first party buried within its silent shades was an old German laborer who lived, at the time, with Patrick Monahan, of Charlotte Township, and was buried on the spot, before the cemetery was laid out. as noticed in the history of the latter township.

Source changes here: from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Livingston County, Vol. 2 by Strawn, Johnson, and Franzen (1909)., by Dale C. Maley, published 1909; 1,149 words in this source stream.

Chatsworth Township

It was not until two years after the Toledo, Peoria and Western railroad passed through the six northern sections of the township, from west to east, that the village of Chatsworth was laid out. On June 8, 1859, Zeno Secor and Cornelia Gilman of New York state, who owned section 3, caused 160 acres to be surveyed from the south half of the northwest quarter, and the north half of the southwest quarter, the work being performed by Nelson Buck, county surveyor. Forty-four blocks were laid out. The land was entered in 1853 by Solomon Sturges who, in 1857 disposed of it to William H. Osborn, and the latter to Secor and Gilman, Within the past few years, owners of the lots have discovered a flaw in their title to the same. It appears that Cornelia Z. Gilman was married at that time, but her husband did not join in the deeds of conveyance.

The first store building was erected in 1869 by Truman Brockway and Charles Brooks, and they conducted a grocery store, The latter was the first postmaster. C. W. Drake erected the first hotel. Samuel D. Patton was the first blacksmith. The first school house was built in 1858, being also the first one in the township. The present school building was erected in 1870, although several additions have been built to it. Charles D. Brooks erected the first elevator. It was destroyed by fire in 1866. Others were bullt later by Samuel Crumpton, Haberkorn and Mette and JosephRumbold. A mill for grinding corn was built by William Williams in 1877.

Among the early merchants were J. G. True, jeweler; J. T. Bullard, in the lumber business; E. A. Bangs and H. M. Bangs, druggists; Hall & Crane, hardware; J. L. Delong, grocer; W. H. Hall, furniture; Robert and Lantry, hardware; Peter Shroyer, coal merchant; John Timm, first a meat market, afterward in the lumber business; William H. Wakelin, grocery; Justin H. Wyman, drygoods; John Walter, general merchandise; Albert M. Hall, photographer; Louis Sorg, tailor; Fred Felker, furniture; Brockway and McKee, grocers; Henry Wrede, boots and shoes; John Young, general merchandise; Robert Rumbold, insurance; Conrad Heppe, bakery ; William Cowling, hotel; Samuel D. Webster, stock and grain; William Altman, drygoods; A. Grendling, harness shop; C. Gunther, harness shop; E. A. Jackson, hardware; L. T. Larned, grain dealer; Louis Meister, shoe maker; M. Reising, grocer. The early blacksmiths were S. D. Patton, W. Buller, George Beckman, C. R. Beckman, A. Orr, L. C. Speicher and Charles Sieberts. The wagon makers were L. C. Speicher, H. Barth, Frank Fowler, Carl Stephens, A. Van Alstyne. Among the carpenters were M. Free, P. Hoffman, Theodore Klover, W. A. Linton. John O'Neil, E. B. Roberts. Among the early physicians were Drs. D. W. Hunt, W. C. Byington, Charles True and F. H. Bostock. The early postmasters were Charles Brooks, N. C. Kenyon and W. W. Sears. Among the first lawyers were S. T, Fosdick, R. R. Wallace and George Torrance. Fosdick was elected state senator from this district in 1876, and re-elected in 1878. Mr. Wallace was elected county judge in 1878 and held the office for nineteen years. Mr. Torrance was elected to the senate in 1880 and held the office four terms. The senatorial district at that time was composed of Ford and Livingston counties. Judge Wallace now resides in Pontiac, while Fosdick and Torrance are both dead. Thomas S. Curran, and W. W. Sears were among the first justices of the peace. The first banks were owned by C. A. Wilson and Company, and E. A. Bangs and Company, At present there are two banks - the Commercial Bank, of which G. W. McCabe is president, and the Bank of Chatsworth, of which Stephen Herr is president.

pose of manufacturing sugar from beets. It proved unsuccessful on account of the scarcity of water. The factory was in operation for about five years, when the machinery was taken out and moved to Freeport. The promoters lost in the neighborhood of $75,000 in the venture.

The first newspaper was published by O. J. and L. W. Dimmick in 1873 and called the Palladium. Those who have since been proprietors are George Torrance, C. B. Holmes and R. MSpurgeon. The name was later changed to the Plaindealer. The present proprietor is James A. Smith, The Times was started in 1905, by the Times Publishing Company. E. E. Megquier is its editor.

Chatsworth Lodge, No. 539, A. F. & A. M. was chartered October 1, 1867; Chatsworth Lodge, No. 339, I. O. O. F. on October 9, 1866; Livingston Encampment, I. O, O. F. May 31, 1871. Among other secret organizations are the Knights of Pythias, Modern Woodmen and Court of Honor.

The first religious society organized in the village was the Methodist church in 1859, by Rev. M. Dewey, with forty members. The charge at that time included Forrest, Five-Mile Grove, Pleasant Ridge, Oliver's Grove and Bethel, with Rev. J. W. Flowers as presiding elder. In 1874 the members erected a church at a cost of $2,500. In'1871, the Baptists erected a building at a cost of $3,600. The first Catholie church was erected in 1864, and dedicated on March 17 of that year by Rev. Thomas Roy, president of St. Viateur's college, It was built under the pastorate of Rev. John A. Fanning, and cost about $4,000. A Presbyterian church was built soon after the village was laid out, but there is no membership at present. Since that time, the Catholics, Methodists and Baptists have either built new structures or repaired the old ones. The present Catholic church is an elegant brick structure, with a parochial school and rectory. The total cost of the buildings exceed $30,000. The German Evangelical church has in recent years erected a fine edifice. The German Lutherans also have a church for worship.

cursionists to Niagara Falls broke through a burned-out culvert three miles east of Chatsworth. Seventy-seven were killed outright and four died later from injuries received. Two of those killed were residents of this county - E. C. Adams of Blackstone and Mrs. Daniel Duckett of Forrest.

The village now contains a population of about 2,000 inhabitants. Nearly all of the mercantile houses are built of brick, and every line of buslness is well represented. The main throughfare is paved with brick and cement walks are found in the residence district, One of the largest industries is the drain tile and brick factory of George J. Walter, which gives steady employment to twenty men. Mr. Walter is also proprietor of the electric light plant. A well-organized fire department, with a volunteer company, has done good service in protecting the town from disastrous fires. The village has recently sunk a deep well, and erected a new tower. The park is located in the center of the town and is used as a place for various public meetings.