Unity Township

Unity Township

township is one of the earliest settled townships of the county. -L In size it is equal to Bement and Monticello townships. It lies directly south of the former, and the surface of the land is very similar to the same. Douglas county borders on the east, Moultrie county on the south, while Cerro Gordo township forms the western boundary line.

The surface of the land is level, and for a number of years a great portion of it was covered with swamps, but since the settlements began to be scattered throughout the township sufficient ditching has been done to make the greater portion of the township tillable.

The main slope of the ground, imperceptible though it may be, is toward the east and southeast, and the greater portion of the land is drained into the lake fork of the Okaw. This stream strikes this township about three miles west of the northeast corner of the township, flows southeast and Jeaves the township almost exactly at its southeast corner. This stream has a shallow bed, flows very slowly, and well deserves its name of Lake Fork. Quite a good belt of timber follows the course of this stream, which breaks the monotony of the prairie land.

Relics ofla former race are found in this township. On the banks of Lake Fork and on Mr. Livengood's place there are some mounds at least three feet in height and two rods in circumference. Trees eight inches in diameter grow on these mounds, human bones have been found in them, and stone axes and arrow-points have been found in their vicinity.

Two railroads cross Unity township. What was originally known as the Chicago & Paducah road strikes the northern boundary line about two miles from the northwestern corner of the township, runs south nearly five miles, and then bends a little to the southwest, leaving the township about one mile east of the southwest corner of the township. This road has two stations, Voorhies and Hammond, which is at the intersection of this road witli the Indianapolis, Decatur & Springfield railroad. The Indianapolis, Dacatur & Springfield road, which has lately become a part of the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Wabash system of roads, crosses the southern part of the township from east to west, and just half a mile from the southern township line. There are three stations on this road, Hammond, Pierson and Atwood, the latter lying only partly within the limits of Piatt county.

Earhj settlements. - The Monroes, Shonkwilers, Harshbargers, Moores, and Mr. James Utterback, were the first settlers in Unity township. These people settled on the Lake Fork during the years 1836 and 183T, and part of them still live there. Other old settlers were the Quicks, Grains and Gregorys. Most of these people, or their descendants, have successfully built up homes in this township, and in every way are well-to-do people. From our transient contact with the people in this section of the township we think that they probably retain more of the good old ways of pioneer life than any other people in the county. We found here several of the old substantial two-story hewn log-houses, with their great fireplaces. We also found the second brick house of the county. We observed a great deal of the good old-time neighborly feeling, and we fpund characteristic pioneer hospitality. There was not a great deal of ceremony about this hospitality, but with it all you could not fail to see that you were welcome in every sense of the word. We also found here one of the oldest church organizations of the county.

Unity township has had a "neighborhood detective society," which has been in existence over twenty years. Some twenty or thirty of the best citizens comprise the organization, and much good has resulted in the way of keeping order in the neighborhood.

Harshbarger church. - This church, of the Christian denomination, was organized in 1842, and for a time the society met at houses and schoolhouses, until 1858, when the present church building, the second in the county, was erected on land donated by Mr. Harshbarger. The first man who preached on Lake Fork was Nicholas Prior, and the first sermon was preached in 1837, to about ten persons, comprising the entire neighborhood of men, women and children. John Collins was the next preacher, Thomas Holden the next, and then Thomas Welch came. After that Father Wilkins dedicated the church building just referred to. The Christian conference has been held six first birth, death, marriage, etc. - Mr. Daniel Harshbarger was the first person to make a profession of religion and the first person who was baptised on Lake Fork.

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Harshbarger's twins were probably the first who were buried in the Harshbarger cemetery. This cemetery, which contains two or three acres of ground, was deeded to the public by Mr. Daniel Harshbarger.

Mr. Joseph Taylor and Sarah Monroe (now Mrs. Thomas Goodson) were married in 1838, on the site of Richard Monroe's present home, and were the first couple married in the township.

Coffins for the dead were made by the neighbors of the deceased. Mr. Joseph Moore has an old drawing knife which he used many a time to make coffin s.

Mr. Moore says that it was over twelve years after the first settlements were made in the township before there were any bridges over the Lake Fork or before there was a blacksmithshop in the neighborhood. Before blacksmithing was done it was customary to put buckskin boots on the horses for them to slide over the ice with.

Mackville. - There used to be a beaver dam near where Mackville now is. There was also another land-mark, an eagle's nest; and it was not uncommon to hear the question, "How far are you from the eagle's nest?" *.

Mackville was started by a Mr. MeNutt (according to "Buckskin Joe " Moore), who rented a house that stood on Mr. Moore's present field, and used it for two years as a store. He then bought three acres of land of Nathaniel Shonkwiler where Mackville now is, and put up a storehouse now owned by Mr. Jarnes Sampson. We suppose that the village was probably first called Mack's village, which was soon shortened to Mackville. According to Mr. J. Sampson, Mr. McNutt kept the first store in the present Mackville, in a house which stood on the west side of L»tke Fork, and which is still standing. The first school in the district was taught in a log house on the place now owned by the widow Shonkwiler, and Mr. James Lewis taught the first school in the present school-house of Mackville in 1858. The first church was held in the school-house in 1858.

At the time of our visit to Mackville there were over twenty-five houses, seven or eight business houses, a Methodist church building and a school-house. We understand, however, that a number of these buildings have been moved to Atwood, the nearest railway station.

Atwood. - Mr. Joseph Moore reports that Mr. Christopher Mossbarger was the first resident where Atwood now is. He owned a horse mill at this place, and did good work in the way of grinding grain for the neighborhood. He and Mr. Geo. Heath once laid off a town, and upon Mr. Moor's laughing and asking why he did so, Mr. Mossbarger solemnly answered, "Why, people come here. Railroads come here." The neighbors, however, thought such was nonsense. After a town was thus laid off, it did go back for a number of years, and trees grew up again. Mr. Andrew Richey bought out the heirs of Mr. Mossbarger, and still lives there.

Atwood was laid out in 1873 on land then owned by Geo. Nolind and Harvey Otter. In 1881 an addition was made to the town and called Randal's addition. At the time of the laying out of the town, however, this land was owned by Mr. Levi Budd.

It was related to us that the name was given to the town by lawyer McCoutry, and that originally in speaking of the town it was customary to say "at the wood." Hence the name.

Atwood is only partly within the limits of Piatt county, a portion of it lying in Douglas county. The first house in the place was a store building, erected in August 1873, by Rich. Helton and David Barrett. They each moved a dwelling-house over from Mackville, and these became the first residences of the town. The first school was sustained by subscription. As Atwood is in the Mackville district it has no school-building of its own.

L. C. Taylor was the first postmaster of Atwood ; Dr. Bennerfield, now Ivesdale, the first physician ; Jno. Lucas put up the first drug store, and Joseph Moore kept the first hotel.

The members of the Christian church erected a church building, which was dedicated August 15, 1880, by Rev. J. Phillips, of Graysville, Indiana, and Rev. "W. H. Orr, of Philo, Illinois.

Atwood of to-day is growing rapidly. There are from fifteen to twenty business firms in the place, and new buildings are continually being erected. Over thirty new buildings were put up last year. The town contains nearly 500 inhabitants, which is twice what it contained five years ago.

, Royal Templars of Temperance. - The Atwood Council of Royal Templars of Temperance was instituted July 1, 1879, by Mr. Martin J. Watson, grand lecturer, in Drew's Hall, on the Piatt county side of the county line. The following are the names of the charter members : J. S. Marshall, Albert C. Lucas, Theodore J. Richey, Joseph W. Merritt, W. R. Marshall, J. C. Mathes, W. P. Myers, W. H. Mosbarger, Adam Starr, Mrs. R. J. Mathes, Mrs. Hannah M. Mosbarger, G. W. Snodgrass. The first officers were A. C. Lucas, select councilor ; I. J. Richey, vice-councilor ; J. W. Merritt, past councilor ; J. C. Mathes, chaplain ; W. R. Marshall, secretary ; J. S. Marshall, treasurer ; W. P. Myers, herald ; A. Starr, sentinel ; G. W. Snodgrass, guard ; W. H. Mossbarger, financial secretary.

Mutual Aid Association. - The Indiana Mutual Aid Association of Terre Haute, Indiana, has several agents in Piatt county. It is formed on the same plan as the Royal Legal Friendly Society of England, and is similar to the Masonic, Odd-Fellows and other mutual associations.

The object of the association is to furnish protection to all. All beneficiaries must be of kin to the members. There are no annual dues and no premiums. Assessments are made upon the loss of members, according to the class to which each member belongs. The membership in this county amounts to quite a number, and Mr. T. A. Wilson and Mr. Ritchie, of Atwood, and W. J. Porter, of Monticello, are agents.

Hammond. - It has not been a great many years since there was scarcely a trace of inhabitants in the vicinity of Hammond. A few people ventured to locate in prairie round about, and they had a trial to get a start in such place. The people who lived near the timber wanted the prairie land for grazing purpose, and they took no pains to keep their stock at home. One of the early settlers told us that for the first few years after he located on the prairie, he used to get up night after night to ride around his place to see if any stray stock was on it. However, such trials were finally overcome and comfortable homesteads are dotted all over the prairie land.

Hammond is located at the crossing of the railroads originally known as the Indianapolis, Decatur & Springfield, and the Chicago & Paducah. The town was laid out in July, 1873, by C. D. Moore, assisted by C. H. Love. The place was first called Shumway, but the name was soon changed to Unity, and the people still being dissatisfied, the owners of the town site, Warren and Powers, of Decatur, selected the name of Hammond, in honor of the president of the Indianapolis, Decatur & Springfield railroad.

The very first building put up in what is now Hammond was a grain office erected by Mr. Sanford, of Bement. Olonzo Newton put up and kept the first store building in the town. He also erected the first residence, which is now a part of the hotel kept by Mr. Jno. Tenbrooke, and his wife cooked the first meal of victuals eaten in the town. Mr. J. R. Wortham opened a mercantile house in 1873, and he is still in business in the town. J. M. Baldwin opened the second general merchandise store. M. D. Cook, who was the first postmaster, had the first drug store. W. R. Evans, at present a grain merchant, had the first hardware store. George Ragland was the first blacksmith and Dr. Abram the first physician of the place.

Hammond of to-day contains from fifteen to twenty business firms, over 200 inhabitants, and bids fair to become quite a place. In 1876 the Chicago & Pacific railroad built an elevator with the capacity for storing 3,000 bushels of grain. In 1881 Brown & Boyd, of Indianapolis, built a large grain elevator in the town, with a capacity for 35,000 bushels of grain. John S. Metcalf was the superintendent and J. R. McCormick the foreman of this building. The town is fast becoming quite a grain center. There have been as high as 200,000 bushels of grain cribbed there at one time.

Hammond had the first tow-mill that we have heard of in the county. It was begun by G. W. Folkerth, but is now owned by Davis & Finney. of Tuscola, and the Kiser Brothers, of Hammond. Monticello has followed the example set by Hammond, and also has a tow-mill.

Two church organizations are in existence at the place. The Methodists, who organized in 1876, recently dedicated a new church building. Dr. W. II. H. Adams dedicated this church in 1882. There are over thirty members in this denomination. The Christian church was organized by Elder Culley, of Decatur, in 1877, and though the membership is not large, it is hoped that ere a great while they may be enabled to erect a house of worship.

Good Templars. - While many of the citizens of Hammond belong to lodges in other towns, this is the only local organization in the place. This lodge was organized in December, 1880, by Col. J. D. Long, of Kentucky, and contains over thirty active members. We are glad to find these temperance organizations in various parts of the county. They show that the people are striving for better things; that they are endeavoring to reach a higher plane of existence.

Pierson. - The railroad switch at this place, which is on the Indianapolis, Decatur & Springfield railroad, was laid about 1876, and it was named Pierson probably for the man who owned land in that vicinity. The postoffice was started in 1877, under the name of Dry Ridge, but the name was soon changed to Pierson. Francis F. Flack was the first postmaster, and Mr. Reuben Willey the second.

Nothing was done in 1876 save the laying of the switch and the putting up of one grain office, but in 1877 Mr. Willey put up a grocery store. The town itself was not laid off until May 1881, when C. D. Moore surveyed it on land owned by Mr. W. C. Pierson. The first dwelling-house erected in the town as laid off at that date is one built the same year and in which Chas. W. Weaver resides. Mr. Willey 's house, built in 1875, was the first residence erected near the switch. There are now several business houses at the station.

Baptist church. - This church organization has had an existence of about thirteen years, and, as far as we could learn, is the only Baptist church in Piatt county. The first minister who preached after the . organization was Rev. Geo. Christ. Nathan Griffen was the minister in 1SS1. In 1881 a church building was erected in the town of Pierson, which cost $1,000. This building presents a neat appearance, and was the first house erected in the town as laid off. The membership is about seventy-five.

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; 1,294 words in this source stream.

Unity Township

The first school house in Unity township was a very primitive one, even having the paper windows. It was taught by John Collins about 1842. The first school house in Mackville was built in 1858 and was taught by James Lewis. Among the early teachers in the township may be mentioned the following: Peter A. Hamilton, Gilbert A. Burgess, George W. Poole, J. A. Hawks, J. H. Easton, Mrs. J. A. Hawks, Joseph Trenchard. John A. Hardenbrook and wife, C. H. Righter and Miss Anna Davis.

The first school houses were Shonkwiler, Harshbarger, Mackville and Tryon. Pierson first belonged to the Tryon district and was a part of that district until 1882. The last school in the old Tryon school house was taught by William Wilson in 1882-3. Tnc house stood just south of A. B. Chambers and a mile and a half south of the Easton school house. In the spring of 1883 the Pierson district was formed. George F. Righter taught the first school here in the school year of 1883-4. He was followed by Belle Barnes, William Loveless, Emily Godwin, John H. Easton, Anna Davies, Bell (Righter) Snider. Alberta Easton, B. M. Godwin, Rhoda Lowe, Otto C. Adams and Edward Erhardt.

In the meantime the village of Pierson had been growing and they had to have a larger school house, so in the fall of 1892 the present two-room building was completed. Miss Mollie Birks was the first principal . teaching there the school year of 1892-3. The other principals at Pierson in order are as follows : Holton Hall, John P. Rose, F. S. Betz, Alice Withers and Henry C. Gross.

Up to 1876 the pupils from Hammond attended the Love school, which was sitsituated northwest of Hammond, near where the present Hammond cemetery is. In 1876 the school house was moved into Hammond. John Hughes taught the first school in the new location. Among the other teachers in the one-room school house at Hammond may be mentioned : Laura Hines, Levi Harber, Mr. Humphrey and Amos M. Sharp.

In 1882 a new two-room house was built and George S. Morris was the first principal. In the summer of 1896 two additional rooms were added. The building is now a fourroom frame house, heated by a furnace. The rooms are nicely decorated and some good work is being done there. Four teachers are employed. The list of principals is as follows : George S. Morris, Frank Godwin. W. W. Larrahee. D. L. Baker, John LoefHer, William Theobald, L. C. Foster, Warren Sanders, Jennie B. Burks. J. T. Gale, S. S.

The At\voocl district \vas organized as a union district in the spring of 1884. The town of At\vc;od is built right along the count}- line, between Piatt and Douglas, the county line being the main street of the village. Previous to 1884 the Atwood children on the Douglas side went to the Otter school and those in Piatt county went to the Mackville school. Either school was about a mile and a half from town. A four-room house was erected in 1884. Three rooms were used the first year and James Hicks was the first principal. In 1886 four rooms were used. Afterwards a two-room addition was built and the house now contains six rooms. In 1901 a steam heating plant was installed. For some time there was considerable opposition to the district from the Douglas side. The Atwood district maintained school in the old Otter house until 1894, when two sections in Douglas county were taken from the Atwood district and those who objected to the management of affairs at Atwood were placed in the Garret district.

Following is the complete list of the Atwood principals in order : James Hicks, John Smith, George S. Morris, T. J. Haney, Charles Gott, W. E. Knott, C. H. Bonnell, M. A. Hester and M. A. Thrasher, the present principal.

There are ten rural schools in the township, as follows : Baird, McCabe, Shonk- -wiler. Baker, Morgan, Leavitt, Easton, Harshbarger, Love and Maple Grove.

The first settlers in Unity township were the Monroes, Shonkwilers, Harshbargers and Moores who settled on Lake Fork about 1836 or 1837. The first village in the township was a little settlement started by Mr. McNutt, and hence called Mackville, Here Mr. McNutt kept a small store, and supplied the early settlers with the few "store goods" which they used. The first church in the township was erected in 1858, and the first school was taught the same year. Dr. Mitchell was the first regular physician of the place. Mackville, at one time, was a fair sized town, but when the railroad was put through, the town of Atwood was started, and Mackville commenced to go down.

Atwood was laid out in 1873 on 'and owned by Mr. Levi Budd. The first house in the place was a store building erected in 1873 by Richard Hetton and David Barrett. They each moved a dwelling house over from Mackville, and these became the first residences of the town. L. C. Taylor was the

The Christian church of Atwood was dedicated August 15, 1880, by Rev. John T. Phillips. The M. E. church was built at Mackville, and dedicated in 1872, but moved to Atwood in 1882. The Baptist church was dedicated March 18, 1893.

Atwood has strong Masonic and Odd Fellow lodges. The town of Atwood is partly in Piatt county and partly in Douglas, the main street of the town being the county line road between the two counties. The population of the town on the Piatt side was 320 in 1890, and 403 in 1800. The population of the entire town was 530 in 1890 and 698 in 1900.

Hammond- was laid out in 1873. The first house in the town was a grain-office built near where Evans and Bunyans' lumber yard is now located. Alonzo Newton put up and kept the first store in the town, and also erected the first residence. Mr. J. M. Wortham opened a store in 1873, and is still in business in the place, occupying a handsome corner brick store built recently. M. D. Cook was the first postmaster and kept the first drug store. W. R. Evans had the first hardware store, George Ragland was the first blacksmith and Dr. Abrams was the first physician of the place.

The M. E. church was organized in 1876 and dedicated the first church in the town in 1882. The Christian church was organized in 1877 and dedicated their building in 1883. The Baptists have recently dedicated a handsome new church. The hotel was built by W. H. Lewis, of Lovington, in 1874. The first bank in Hammond was conducted by S. F. Musson in 1895. In 1899 a modern brick bank building was erected, now owned by the State Bank of Hammond. T. J. Kizer is president, O. D. Noe, vice president and J. A. Vent, cashier. The depots were built in 1895. T. J. Kizer's large grain elevator was built in 1881. The population of the village in 1900 was 481.

The town of Pierson was laid out in 1 88 1. The postoffice was started in 1877, and Francis F. Flack was the first postmaster. The postoffice was called Dry Ridge at first, and changed to present name later. The Baptist church was dedicated in 1881. The Christian church was dedicated in 1903.

The churches in the country are as follows : The Harshbarger church, about four miles north of Atwood, the oldest church in the county ; the Antioch church, built in 1864; a Christian church about six miles northwest of Atwood and the Prairie Chapel church, a Christian church built in 1891, about a mile east of Voorhies.