|
ACT FORMING MACON COUNTY
The above is a reproduction from Page 28, section on "Counties", of
The Revised Code of Laws of Illinois, published in 1829. The
act was approved Jan. 19, 1829. The book from which this
reproduction was made is the property of O. B. Gorin.
It is not strange that with the increase in the
increase in the number of newcomers establishing homes here, the
settlers began to talk over means of remedying the situation.
Why not form a new county? Why not have a
county seat nearer their homes?
FORM NEW COUNTY
As a result, three men, Benjamin R. Austin, Andrew
W. Smith and John Ward, all from the Ward settlement, were sent to
the state capital, Vandalia, previous to the convening of the
legislature in 1829, to ask passage of an act dividing Shelby county
and forming a new county. They succeeded in their mission.
The act establishing the county of Macon was approved Jan. 19, 1829.
The county as formed by this act was much larger
than the county of today. It included territory which is now
Dewitt county, except for its northern tier of townships, all of
what is now Piatt county, except one township, and about half of
Moultrie county.
Dewitt county was formed on March 1, 1839. The
following day an act was passed which added to the county of
Macon the section now known as Niantic township. In January,
1841, Piatt county was formed from parts of Macon and Dewitt
counties, and in February, 1843, Moultrie was formed from parts of
Macon and Shelby.1
These changes gave us the present boundaries of
Macon county.
The object in adding Niantic township was to prevent
removal of the county seat from Decatur to a new town in Whitmore
township, called Murfreesboro, which was nearer the center of the
county as it was then. At that time the land in Niantic
township was considered worthless, and it was annexed merely to add
to the western territory of the county, which would bring Decatur
near the center.
It was after the defeat of the project to make
Murfreesboro the county seat that people of that locality,
represented by James A. Piatt, went before the legislature to ask
for the detachment of what is now Piatt county from Macon county.
The new county then formed assumed the name of its champion2.
Mr. Piatt for a number of years had been a member of
the county commissioner's court of Macon county, and was a valued
and efficient official.
Macon county as originally laid out was a rectangle
thirty-nine miles long and thirty-six miles wide, containing 1,404
square miles. The county as it is today contains 577 square
miles, or 369,280 acres.
The new county was attached to the first judicial
circuit.
LOCATE COUNTY SEAT
The act of the legislature creating Macon county
also provided for the seat of justice therein. John Fleming,
Jesse Rhodes and Easton Whitton3 were named
commissioners to locate the county seat. They met April 10,
1829, at the home of James Ward, and "carefully and
impartially viewed and examined the situation and convenience,
likewise the advantages of the present and future population."
The new town was located on the "fifteenth section
in township sixteen north, in range 2 east, northeast quarter and
east half of said quarter, the southeast corner of said above-named
half quarter".4
The first election in the county took place at James
Ward's blacksmith shop, the second Monday in April, 1829.
William Warnick was elected sheriff. County
commissioners were named as follows: Benjamin Wilson,
Elisha Freeman and James G. Miller.
The first county commissioners' court was held at
the home of James Ward, May 19, 1829. Daniel McCall
was appointed county clerk and Benjamin R. Austin was named
county treasurer. Austin's bond was $200 with John
Miller and William King as sureties.
LEVY TAX
One of the first acts of the county court was to
provide for funds to meet the expenses of the county, hence a tax
was levied on the personal property of the residents.5
The following is a list of properties taxed:
Slaves and indentured or registered negro or mulatto servants,
pleasure carriages, distilleries, stock in trade, horses, mares,
mules, asses and neat cattle over three years old, watches and all
other personal property except lawful firearms.
TOWN LAID OUT
Now that the county had a court and a location for a
county seat, steps were taken for laying out the town. On June
1, 1829, the county commissioners made order as follows:
"That Benjamin R. Austin, county surveyor for
the county of Macon, be required to lay off the town of Decatur
after the form of Shelbyville and make and return a complete plat of
the same on or before the first day of July next."6
Under this order the original town of Decatur was
platted. The boundaries were: Prairie street on the
north, Water street on the east, Wood street on the south, and
Church street on the west. In the center was laid out the
square, now known as Lincoln square. The town was divided by a
Main street east and west and a Main street north and south.
Austin's report was acknowledged by the county
commissioners July 7, 1829.
Decatur was located at the edge of the timber, hence
the name, Wood street. The northern boundary line, being out
on the prairie, was called Prairie.
At the time the town was platted, the land on which
it was located had not been entered from the government. It
was afterwards entered by Parmenius Smallwood, Easton
Whitton and Charles Prentice, and deed of gift was made
by them to the county commissioners on Oct. 8, 1831. The deed
was for twenty acres. The newly platted town, however, did not
cover the entire twenty acres.
The bond which was three men above named gave June
20, 1829, for this deed for the land was one of the first legal
documents recorded in the county.
SALE OF LOTS
A sale of town lots was ordered for July 10, 1829.
The clerk was required to advertise the sale in the newspaper
printed in Vandalia. Credit of twelve months was given for
payment on lots, note with approved security being required.
There was no wild rush for town lots on the day of
the sale. The first lot disposed of was Lot 2, in block 3.
This was the corner where the Lincoln cafe now stands. It was
bid in the $53.50 by John Manley. The second lot sold
also was a corner lot. It was lot 6, block 1, and was
purchased for $12. That is the lot at the southeast corner of
the square7. John McMennamy was auctioneer.
James (Uncle Jimmy) Renshaw was Decatur's
first business man. He also had the distinction of putting up
the first building. He evidently believed Decatur was going to
become a good town, and he decided to open a tavern. On Oct.
26, 1829, he secured a license, for which he paid $4. Tavern
rates were fixed by the court. Straight prices prevailed.
There was no pick and choice of rooms for the traveler in this log
cabin "hotel".
For breakfast and horse feed the cost was 37 1/2
cents. For lodging man and horse over night (the man to have
supper) the price was 62 1/2 cents. Dinner and horse feed were
37 1/2 cents. Brandy, rum, gin, wine or cordial could be sold
at 25 cents a half pint, and whisky or cider brandy at 12 1/2 cents
a half pint.
A license was required of any one who wished to
enter any kind of merchandise business, license fees ranging from $3
to $5. The court also established rates for ferries on the
river. The first ferry license was issued to John Ward,
Dec. 7, 1829, for $1.
ILLINOIS STATUTES THEN AND NOW
Comparison of the Illinois Statutes of 1829 and the
same volume a hundred years later is an interesting study, both in
contents and size of volume. Laws in force in 1829 made up a
book little more than half an inch thick. A present day
similar volume is five times as thick, with pages twice the size.
The general assembly then was concerned with laying
out counties, roads, canals, building bridges, establishing courts
and otherwise providing for legislation necessary in a new state.
Previous to every session of the assembly, it was
the duty of the secretary of state to provide sufficient stationery.
One of the appropriations made in 1831 for this kind of supplies was
to John D. Gorin for $7.62 1/2 for blank books and other
stationery furnished. John D. Gorin was the grandfather
of O. B., J. P., and Miss Mattie Gorin of Decatur. He
was a receiver in the land office of Vandalia.
Mr. Gorin's name appears in another list of
appropriations, when he was voted $35 for the use of his room for
the committee on the revision of the statutes. That
appropriation was made in January, 1829.
Two early volumes of the Illinois statues, the ones
published in 1829 and in 1831, are now cherished possession of O. B.
Gorin.
----------------------
1 Dr. Joseph King
afterwards prominent in Decatur, took an active part in the
organization of Piatt county. He lived in what is now
Monticello before coming to Decatur. He was the first county
clerk of Piatt county, member of the first board of school
commissioners, and was the first physician of Monticello.
2 Mr. Piatt became famous for his skill and courage in
capturing horse thieves. It was his horses which were stolen
in the spring of 1832 by the two men, Redmond and Wyatt, who were
horsewhipped by Sheriff Warnick. Mr. Piatt captured the men in
Indiana near the Ohio line, and brought them to Decatur where they
were tried and convicted, and sentenced to be whipped. One was
to receive 39 lashes and the other 49. Both these horse
thieves came to a tragic end. One became a murderer and was
hanged. The other was drowned in the Mississippi.
3 Easton Whitton of Hillsboro, was the only one of the
three men named to locate the county seat of Macon county whose name
appears in the history of the county afterward. All three were
from other counties. Whitton was on of the three men who
entered the land on which Decatur was laid out. He was elected
to the legislature from Montgomery county, serving in 1836-38 and
also in 1842-44.
4 Pioneer citizens of Macon county were not at all agreed
over the location of the county seat. There was much argument
over the site. One meeting broke up in a free for all fist
fight, in which one man was so badly beaten that he died afterwards
as a result. Different votes were taken. One favored a
site south of the river. That was rescinded, however.
5 The tax, when collected for the year 1829, amounted to
$109.32 1/2. It is recorded that Benjamin R. Austin,
surveyor, was paid $24 for laying out the county seat, and that
Easton Whitton was allowed $10.50 and John Fleming and
Jesse Rhodes $7.50 each, for locating the seat of justice.
John McMennamy was allowed $1 for crying the sale of lots in
Decatur.
6 Shelbyville was laid out according to the plan of
Vandalia. One of the three men who entered the tract of land
for the town site of Shelbyville was James T. B. Stapp, who
afterwards became one of Decatur's leading citizens.
7 There seemed to be many changes in ownership of the
original lots of the town in the first few years. Evidently
the pioneers "swapped" lots to a considerable extent. Among
the earliest owners of lots were James Renshaw, Lydia
Packard, Landy Harrell, Thomas Cowen, Daniel
McCall, John D. Wright, James Johnson, Samuel B.
Dewees, and James Miller. As deeds could not be
made out at the time, it is impossible to tell from the records
which lots were sold on the first sale day.
<PREVIOUS>
<NEXT>
<CLICK
HERE TO RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS>
|
