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THE
story of Decatur in the '60s is largely the
story of its part in the Civil war and the after
effects of that war. It was a trying time
for the country in general, yet in spite of the
depressing after results of the great conflict
the city made some progress.
Decatur had been aroused in
1860 with the big Republican convention held in
the Wigwam, where, on May 10, Abraham Lincoln
had been proposed and endorsed as a candidate
for president of the United States. His
nomination at the national convention, his
election and his career as president during the
war were followed with the utmost interest.
The news of his assassination
stirred Decatur as it had never been stirred
before. Decatur had personal memories of
its own. It was the saddest of all
mornings when the news came that Lincoln was
dead.
Decatur did not get that news
until the war reports arrived about 10 o'clock
in the morning after the assassination.
John Moreland, court crier, walked the streets
proclaiming that sad news had come.
Lowber Burrows took the message to the court
house in "the Old Square". Judge
Emerson
adjourned court at once. Mr.
Burrows read the message, speaking from the
court house window to the crowd assembled below.
All Decatur mourned.
After the war was over,
Decatur settled down to readjust itself to new
conditions and to look ahead to the future.
New citizens came to Decatur
at this time. Young men who had fought in
the war were now ready to seek a location and
settle down. Many chose Decatur.
Cupid was a busy fellow, and romances, both new
ones and those postponed by the war, culminated
in marriages.
Politics were playing a big
part in the city then.1
The G. A. R. had a big influence, and its
members could have just about what they wanted
in political offices.
R. J. Oglesby was
inaugurated governor of Illinois in 1865, and
General Jesse H. Moore was sent to congress
in 1868. With two citizens in such
positions of honor, Decatur was beginning to
think it was a place of some consequence.
GAS SERVICE
A public improvement which
came in the decade was the installation of gas
service. The Gas, Light and Coke company
erected a plant at Jackson and Wood streets,
Henry Prather became president and J.
K. Warren
secretary -treasurer of the company. The
installation of gas brought forth the following
report in a newspaper in 1868: "At last
the era of gas has burst upon Decatur with more
or less brilliancy. Last night (Nov. 18)
stores were lit up by this essential, and light
thus diffused held by all as a most important
improvement." In a year or two gas lamps
and posts were installed in all districts of the
city and Decatur was then in reality "lit up".
THIRD METHODIST CHURCH BUILDING
Churches were making
progress. The Methodists held a revival
meeting which so greatly increased their
numbered that it was necessary to build a new
church.2
The revival was held during the winter of
1866-67 by Rev. Levi Pitner, pastor, and
in 1868 the church began the erection of a new
building at the northwest corner of Water and
William streets, which cost $65,000. The
building was dedicated Jan. 14, 1872. In
December, 1866, the Franklin street church (now
Grace Methodist) was organized. Its house
of worship, at Eldorado and Franklin, was
afterwards called Stapp's chapel.3
A second Presbyterian church
of the "New School General Assembly" was
organized in 1868. It met in Powers hall.
Rev. A. L. Brooks became pastor.
In 1870, when the old and new branches of the
Presbyterian church united, the First and Second
churches here combined forces.
ST PATRICK'S CHURCH
Erected in 1863-64
St. Patrick's Catholic church
erected a building in 1863-64 at the northeast
corner of East North and Jackson streets.
It was used until the present building was
erected in 1910.
The German Lutherans
organized a church in 1866, and bought property
at Wood and Edward streets, where they soon
erected a frame building. Later, in 1880,
they built a brick house of worship.
Four new school buildings
came during the '60s, the Wood, Sangamon, and
Jackson street buildings, and the Decatur high
school.
BUSINESS AND INDUSTRIES
James Millikin opened
his new bank on Merchant street in 1860.
The Stare Brothers
planing mill at Franklin and Cerro Gordo streets
was erected in 1860.
An industry which came in
1861 was the Haworth factory which
developed later into one of Decatur's leading
establishments.
In 1863 Barnes and
Lintner began the manufacture of wood pumps.
In 1866 the firm became William Lintner &
Co., and began making furniture. Mr.
Lintner sold his interest in 1875 to the
other partners, Peddecord and Burrows.
For years the furniture factory was a prosperous
plant, as many as 150 or more persons being
employed. The plant suffered a disastrous
fire Nov. 19, 1891, and though the factory was
rebuilt, the furniture business was continued
only a few years afterwards. Later the
building was occupied by the Decatur Chair
factory, which also suffered a fire (in 1905)
and soon went into bankruptcy.
In 1863 Barber and Hawley
erected a plant to manufacture gang plows,
riding cultivators, headers, and other
agricultural implements. Many men were
employed. It failed, but was reorganized
under the name of Decatur Agricultural works,
with J. R. Race as president and H. B.
Durfee, plant superintendent.
The Union Iron works, at
first known as a Central Iron works, had its
beginning in 1864, started by Burroughs & Co.
James Millikin was a member of the firm from
its beginning. It started as a repair shop
for machinery and then for manufacturing steam
engines and mill machinery. Then John
Beall, millwright, invented a machine, the
manufacture of which by the Union Iron works has
been a leading Decatur industry ever since.
He built a corn sheller, one which would work.
It is now used wherever corn is grown. The
plant has always been located at Morgan and
William streets.
A. R. Montgomery entered the employ
of the Union Iron works about 1875 as
bookkeeper. By 1884 he had risen to the
position of secretary-treasurer and general
manager, a position he occupied until his
death in 1908.
Conrad Ammann began
making brick in 1864. So did H. M.
Whitmer. William T. Traver that same
year began manufacturing tile.
Several marble works were
established in 1865.
W. H. Grindol began business that
year, as did also Peniwell, Brown & Co.
In 1867 John Strohm began the same line
of business.
Elwood & Co. started
making doors, sash, blinds, etc., in 1865.
The same year Fred Pahmeyer started a
cigar factory. Andrew Kepler began
making cigars in 1867.
The Decatur Bottling works
was established in 1866 with Fred Kuny as
proprietor. D. W. Brenneman started
in the liquor business in 1866. That same
year H. E. Foster established a lumber
business.
In 1867 the linseed oil mill
was established at the foot of East Main street
by William and Benjamin Sawyer.
Later it was run by Hatfield, Taylor &
Co. The mill developed rapidly and in a
few years was consuming 50,000 bushels of flax
seed, doing $75,000 worth of business annually.
This business was finally closed about 1900 due
to changes in the industry.
R. R.
Montgomery
established a real estate, insurance and loan
business in 1867, and continued in the same
office until his death in 1930. For many
years the firm was
Montgomery & Shull (F. R. Shull), and
later Montgomery
& Sons, as it is known today. For
years that firm was busy platting and selling
real estate additions. In later years
Mr.
Montgomery
developed
Montgomery
Place, one of Decatur's most beautiful residence
districts. Mr.
Montgomery served as member of the
city council, was a member of the library board,
and otherwise was active publicly.
In 1868 Young and
Norman established a steam laundry and
barber shop. Afterwards it became
Norman's laundry.
Taylor and Bradley
began making carriages, wagons and buggies in
1869. Their factory was at Water and Cerro
Gordo streets. This business came in
control of the Wayne brothers, John B.
and William J., in 1866, and Dr. A. J.
Stoner's drug store on South Park, opened in
1869. John Washburn, grocer on
North Water street, moved to South Park street
in 1869, and remained in business there until
his death in 1916, his business life here
altogether covering sixty-one years.
W. H. Linn and W.
R. Scruggs, two Virginians, came to Decatur,
and on Oct. 11, 1869, started a dry goods store,
which still bears their names. Their first
place of business was at 24 Merchant street
Stamper & Condell corner). After ten years
there they moved to Mai and Water, southeast
corner, where the store remained until 1924,
when it moved to its present location, Main and
Prairie streets.
In 1863 was formed a
partnership between John K. Warren and
Henry B. Durfee. For years the
names of Warren and Durfee were
connected with real estate development in
Decatur. In 1865 B. K. Durfee
became a partner. In 1868 H. B.
Durfee
retired. In 1893 B. K. Durfee
retired, and Mr. Warren continued the business
alone until his death in 1914.
Henry B. Durfee first
came to Decatur in 1849. During his
business career here he served as alderman, was
first chairman of the board of supervisors,
member of school board for fifteen years, and
member of state board of equalization.
STAMPER & CONDELL'S STORE IN THE
'60s
Picture taken about
1862.
Present site of Bachrach store on Lincoln
Square.
JOHN K. WARREN
John K. Warren located
here in 1856, living the first two years on a
farm and then moving to Decatur, where he
started a real estate and insurance office.
He also was interested in manufacturing wheat
drills. Later, from 1867 to 1872, he was
prominently connected with railroad building,
being identified with the Pekin, Lincoln &
Decatur, and the Indiana & Illinois roads.
He served as president of the latter road from
1868 to 1871.
Mr. Warren was
president of the Decatur Gas Light and Coke
company, was mayor of Decatur in 1867, served
for years on the board of education, established
the first home savings institution in this
section, and was interested in the manufacture
of wooden dishes, automatic grain scales and
other products. Warren street and Warren
school were named for him.
Bradford K. Durfee,
who entered the office of Durfee and Warren
in 1863, prepared the first set of abstracts for
the firm, the first such set to be used in Macon
county. Mr. Durfee was instrumental in
securing the enactment of the law permitting the
establishment of state insurance superintendent.
For two years, 1884-86, he was a member of the
city council.
George S. Durfee
became a clerk of Warren and Durfee,
and later he and Charles M. Durfee
organized the real estate firm of Durfee
Brothers. George S. Durfee also
was interested in the manufacture of
agricultural implements with W. B. Chambers.
Mr. Durfee was a captain in the army
during the Civil war. He participated in
fourteen battles, and was wounded at Shiloh.
He served as parole officer and provost marshal.
In 1901 Captain Durfee was appointed by
Governor Yates to ascertain and mark the
positions occupied by the Illinois troops at the
battle of Vicksburg.
SPORTS
Croquet was a great sport in
the '60s. Another popular game was
cricket. These two pastimes received more
attention than baseball. It was reported
one time in a newspaper that baseball wasn't
half the sensation it once was, and the
suggestion was made that a livelier game was
needed!
Decatur and its circuses in
those days, and they were just as fascinating to
the small boy as they are today. The lads
who sat on the fence to watch the elephants and
camels are old and a wrinkled today, but they
haven't forgotten the thrills of circus days in
their boyhood. College hill was the circus
grounds in those days. Circuses traveled
altogether by wagon and teams, moving from one
stand to another in the night.
CIRCUS SCENE IN 1866
This picture was taken
June 27, 1866, by Barnwell and Pitner,
photographers.
The first state religious
meeting in Decatur was in June, 1867, when the
Illinois Sunday School association convention
was held on College hill, as College square was
then known.
Decatur had no hall big
enough to accommodate such a gathering, so a
tabernacle - the first of its kind in Decatur -
was erected. It was made out of rough
lumber, and seats were constructed by placing
boards on wood blocks. The ground was
covered with straw. The tabernacle was not
enclosed at the sides.
TABERNACLE ON COLLEGE HILL
This convention meant a great
deal to the city. It was largely attended,
people coming from all over the state. William
Reynolds, the president of the association, was
present, as was also B. F. Jacobs, widely
known Sunday school worker. Philip
Phillips, noted singer, was song director.
This was at the time when Dwight L. Moody,
founder of the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago,
was coming into fame as a preacher, and much was
heard of him at the convention.
Probably the biggest crowds
in Decatur during the '60s were brought by the
state fair, which was held at the fair grounds
(now Fairview park) in 1863, 1864, 1869 and
1870.4
A number of things happened
during the '60s to give folks something to talk
about. In August, 1863, Macon county's
corn crop was ruined by a killing frost, and
farmers lost considerably. Previous to
that time, the price of corn was 12 1/2 to 15
cents a bushel. By the first of the year
the price had gone to $1 and 1.05.
An event of interest in 1869
was the total eclipse of the sun on Aug. 9.
For a time Decatur was left in darkness, and the
chickens thought it was bedtime and went to
roost. Smoked glass was at a premium.
In the spring of 1865 came
the excitement of the chase after J. W.
Crawford, desperado, ending only when he was
shot down. He had tried to sell his horse,
and on being suspected of being a horse thief
had dropped form the horse and fled. The
cry of "horse thief" was raised and everybody
joined in the chase. He was brought to bay
in a hedge in Union street north of Green, and
as he was about to shoot the marshal, he himself
was brought down by a shot fired by John
Marsh. He was buried just as he was,
his pistol being put in the grave with him, in
King's cemetery.
During the '60s, when there
was talk of moving the state capital Decatur
made strenuous efforts to land the prize.5
Site for the building and various sums of money
were offered, but the effort to bring the
capital to the city failed. The site that
was offered at that time was Johns hill.
It will be noted that
Decatur, as the center of a rich farming
community, was becoming the center of industries
demanded by any farming community.
Implements for cultivating the soil must be had,
and enterprising men saw their opportunity to
furnish those necessities. Corn growing
was given such an impetus by the invention of
the check rower that Macon county was even then
deserving its title of Corn Belt. While
the farmers were making money with their corn
and other products, the manufacturers were
making money in providing the implements
necessary to the farmer. Several
factories, important then, but small by today's
standards, were at work. Among the
articles made were plows, cultivators, corn
planters and check rower wire.
The "rich country of the
Sangamon" was fulfilling its mission as the land
of promise.
-------------------
1.
Newspaper editors spoke their feelings freely
along political lines and otherwise in those
days. Here is the way one editor welcomed
a newcomer in the newspaper ranks, according to
the Decatur Republican, July 30, 1868:
"The first number of the Decatur Democrat was
issued last week. As was to be expected,
it was filled with such matters as are
calculated to suit the Democratic tastes.
J. H. Walin, the editor and manager, was
formerly with the Chicago Times and is a good
newspaper man. His politics, however, are
of the 'pizen' variety. We editorially
wish his business all manners of success - may
his principles go to Lucifer's domain.
2.
The story is told that one prominent citizen,
during the revival of 1866-67, thanked the Lord
that "ball rooms are not so well attended as
they were." The same good man went on to
say: "We adore Thee, O Lord, that a Bible
brings a better price than a novel."
3.
The pipe organ installed in this church served
three organizations. First was the church,
then the Masons, to whom the building was later
sold, and last the St. Paul's Lutheran church,
to which it was presented by William Frede,
who bought the building from the Masons and
wrecked it to make room for his new garage in
1930.
4.
Efforts were made to secure the state fair here
afterwards but were unsuccessful. In 1883
the supervisors appropriated $5,000 for
improving the grounds if the state board of
agriculture would locate the fair here for the
next two years. However, Decatur's efforts
proved unavailing.
5.
A favorite story told on A. Brower Bunn
was in connection with this movement. Mr.
Bunn, in company with Henry B. Durfee and
William E. Nelson, was in Springfield
setting forth the claims of Decatur for the
capital. Bunn, the spokesman, became more
and more enthusiastic and eloquent as he
extolled the advantages of this city.
Before he was through he had offered not only
the site for the new buildings, but a million
dollars in cash. The opposing interests
asked him who would guarantee that million.
With impressive grandeur, Mr. Bunn arose.
"Gentleman,"
At the time his check for $10 might not have
been of value.
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