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MACON county had no conspicuous part in the scheme for internal
improvements authorized by the Illinois legislature in the year
1836, the story of which is a dark chapter in the history of the
state. The county was then too young to have any influence in
state politics. Macon county suffered, however, in a general way
by the collapse of the project just as the entire state did.
It received one benefit at least from the proposed improvement
program, and that was a lot of publicity. Decatur, being the
intersection of two railroads planned at that time, came in for
considerable favorable mention. That publicity was all it did
get, however, for the roads never materialized, and the only short
stretch of railroad that was built was eighty miles away from
Decatur. The era of internal improvements, as it is called, began
in 1835 at the beginning of Governor Joseph Duncan's administration.
In his first message to the legislature he pleaded for a general
system of internal improvements. The people of Illinois were ready
to welcome such a proposal. The state had been growing in
population. Farm production was increasing and the need of
transportation facilities was being realized more and more all the
time. The governor's scheme for railroads and river
improvements struck a responsive chord. Everybody wanted
something; some sections asked for railroads, some for canals, some
for improvement of rivers to make them navigable.
IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM The legislature in extraordinary session Jan.
9, 1835, authorized the building of the Illinois-Michigan canal.
The same year a $10,230,000 improvement program was passed.
Abraham Lincoln was one of the members of the legislature who
supported that bill. It called for improvement of the Great
Wabash, Illinois, Rock, Kaskaskia, and Little Wabash rivers,
building of a Great Western mail route, construction of the Central
railroad from the mouth of the Ohio to Galena, and of the Northern
Cross and the Southern Cross railroads. The passage of the bill
started a fever of excitement and speculation. New towns were
laid out along the proposed railroads. For a while, said one
writer, the chief export of Illinois was town plats. These
plats were sent to Chicago and to the east in order to be within
reach of eager purchasers of lots who were unable personally to see
the town sites. The towns, however, never went ay farther than
the paper on which they were laid out. Work on railroads was
started at different points over the state and money was spent
recklessly. It was discovered that the estimates for the work
had not been large enough by half. The construction of the
Illinois-Michigan canal had already been a heavy draft on the
resources of the state. The credit of Illinois became
strained. Financial panic came on. Banks failed. The
legislature did not repeal the public improvement act, but continued
to borrow money. The state debt finally reached $13,643,601.
Governor Duncan had been succeeded by Thomas Carlin in 1838, but
there was no improvement in the situation during his regime.
Then in December, 1842, Thomas Ford became governor. Out of
the chaos he brought order. When Ford came into office he faced a
bankrupt treasury, a huge debt hanging over the state, and the
people themselves in debt and unable to pay higher taxes.
ABANDON PROGRAM Illinois had various detached beginnings of
railroads, but none completed. Only the short stretch of the
Northern Cross road between Meredosia and Jacksonville had been
finished. It was the only thing to show for the few amazing
years of money spending. At a special session of the
legislature called by the new governor the public improvement
program was practically abandoned. The Northern Cross road was
expected to be run from Quincy to Danville and the state line.
The appropriation which had been made for this road was $1,850,000.
Though Macon county did not get any of the road at the time the
project was started, it had the comfort of being on the proposed
route, and hopes of seeing the road built some day. It had to
wait nearly twenty years longer for that hope to be realized.
SERVICE INAUGURATED After the completion of the first section of
the Northern Cross road, a locomotive was brought from the east and
service was inaugurated on the road Nov. 8, 1838. The first
engine was called the "Rogers." Following the collapse of the
internal improvement program, the line was extended by private
capital to Springfield, in 1843, the line being known as the Morgan
and Sangamon. At first three trips each week were made from
Springfield to the Illinois river, the speed of the cars being six
miles an hour. This was considered a wonderful achievement!
The track was made by nailing flat pieces of iron on timbers.
It was not long until the road became so rough and uneven and the
engine so much out of repair that mules were substituted for the
engine to draw the cars. This service finally became too poor
to be endured longer, and the line was sold in 1847, at public
auction. The Great Western railroad, which came into possession of
this first feeble attempt at a railroad, had been incorporated on
March 6, 1843. After taking over the Northern Cross, it
completed the building of the line. The first three
locomotives used on the road were called the Morgan, Sangamon and
Frontier. The Great Western afterwards became part of the Toledo,
Wabash and Western, which eventually became the Wabash.
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