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 cop. 3 
 
 Pope County 
 Notes 
 
 John W. Allen 
 
 Museum of Natural and Social Sciences 
 Southern Illinois University
 
 L I B R.AFLY 
 
 OF THE 
 UNIVERSITY 
 or ILLI NOIS 
 
 IlllNOlS HISTORICAI WnB
 
 Pope County 
 Notes 
 
 John W. Allen 
 
 Acting Director 
 
 Museum of Natural and Social Sciences 
 
 Southern Illinois University 
 
 Introduction 
 
 Chester F. Lay 
 
 Former President 
 Southern Illinois University 
 
 Illustrated Map 
 
 Loraine Waters 
 
 The thix'd in a series of County Histories prepared 
 by the author, Randolph County Notes 
 and Jackson County Notes pre- 
 ceding the present publication. 
 
 Contribution No. 22, Museum of Natural and Social Sciences 
 
 Southern Illinois University 
 
 Carbondale, Illinois 
 
 Approved by the 
 Publications Committee 
 
 (Printed by authority of the State of Illinois) 
 
 ADLAI E. STEVENSON, Governor 
 
 State of Illinois 
 
 1949 
 
 I
 
 (Pref, 
 
 ace 
 
 No history of Pope County has heretofore been published. 
 This booklet does not pretend to tell the county's story fully. How- 
 ever, it does attempt to assemble materials that may aid in kindling 
 an interest in local history. 
 
 The author wishes to acknowledge the countless courtesies 
 and kindnesses extended to him by many persons on his numerous 
 trips to the region. County officials and others whose work has made 
 them acquainted with parts of the county's story have been especial- 
 ly helpful. Older persons have contributed from their memories of 
 earlier days. All have expressed interest in having even a brief i-ec- 
 ord, such as this, publish e^d. 
 
 JOHN W. ALLEN 
 April 1948 
 
 n
 
 
 
 With the Ridges and Valleys of Pope County in His Face 
 
 As a high school boy in Golconda, I was thrilled when my father, who 
 was County Clerk of Pope County at the time, showed me, with care ap- 
 proaching reverence, the old records referring back to the days when Pope, 
 like the rest of Southern Illinois, was a part of Virginia. Not only did the 
 pioneer move westward to settle Illinois, but also he moved from the south 
 ever northward. Judged by its civilized population at that stage, Illinois and 
 Southern Illinois were synonymous. The author of this brief history of my 
 home County has ably shown the place of Pope County in this westward 
 and northward march of the pioneers. 
 
 The world's greatest earth scientists agree with the schoolroom teacher 
 that anv real understanding of geography must begin in the school boy's foot 
 tracks. ' In the same way, any real feeling and appreciation of the truths of 
 history must begin with an understanding and appreciation of the school boy's 
 home people and home places. For these reasons, we at Southern are pleased 
 to present, for the use of teachers and all those interested in the area served 
 by this University, a series of regional histories, of which this is the third. 
 
 This southern area in a northern State has successively based its eco- 
 nomy upon the frontiersmen's hunting, fishing, and sustenance farming; sell- 
 ing the fine hardwood timber down the rivers; wheat and corn farming; live- 
 stock growing after the Kentucky pattern; mining; fruit growing; and mod- 
 erate beginnings in manufacturing. With a higher birthrate than that further 
 north, and with an exceptionally high percentage of the people with Anglo- 
 Saxon background, it is gradually being realized that the richest remaining 
 resources of Southern Illinois are the young men and women who constitute 
 this area's greatest export crop. 
 
 "Pope County Notes," we hope, will make some contribution toward 
 the growth in knowledge and appreciation of their own people by the school 
 children of Pope and its neighboring counties. I am entirely confident that 
 the manv who have made their way to places of respect and even promin- 
 ence in near or far places will read this first history of their home county 
 with both homesickness and pride. Once while I was a professor in the troub- 
 led Near East my thoughts kept returning to the rugged people and hills of 
 Pope and I was struck by the aptness of Omar Khayyam's remmiscences 
 when philosophizing : 
 
 "Mvself when young did eagerly frequent 
 Doctor and Saint, and heard great argument 
 About it and about; but evermore 
 Came out by the same door wherein I went." 
 
 Or, as mv father says, in the language of our hills, "You can take 
 the boy out of Pope County, but you can't take Pope County out of the boy." 
 For all such "boys and girls," we would be proud to know that this simple 
 record "pleasures ye." 
 
 February 11. 
 CFL:mmp 
 
 1948 
 
 Chester F. Lay 
 
 President 
 
 Southern Illinois University 
 
 HI
 
 Pope County Notes 
 
 BACKGROUND 
 
 Even to a casual observer many 
 localities in Southern Illinois yield 
 evidence of the pioneer era. For 
 those who observe carefully, a 
 wealth of artifacts connected with 
 the early years of the region's his- 
 tory awaits an opportunity to tell its 
 stories. Many log houses that have 
 lived from the early years of settle- 
 ment still stand. Sunken roadways, 
 often desex'ted and overgrown with 
 forest trees, mark the early immi- 
 grant trails. Old fords indicate the 
 places where these roadways crossed 
 the streams before bridges were 
 built. Numerous abandoned ceme- 
 teries, with shapeless and unlettered 
 grave markers, reveal the spots 
 where the now forgotten pioneer 
 was buried. Homely devices and 
 strange tools of the first settlers are 
 yet to be found in attics and lofts 
 where they have lain for a lifetime. 
 These and many other evidences 
 await the one who would study the 
 humble life of those who laid the 
 foundation of our state's greatness. 
 
 A knowledge and appreciation of 
 the contributions which the pioneers 
 made help much toward a better un- 
 derstanding of our life today. At 
 the same time, it will increase re- 
 spect for the skill, the sturdiness, and 
 the all-round capabilities that the 
 
 pioneer possessed. The fact that 
 they wrought intelligently and well 
 will become very evident. 
 
 In some ways, pioneer Southern 
 Illinois was kind, but altogether it 
 was an exacting and difficult task 
 that faced the first settlers. That 
 they did their work well and laid a 
 solid foundation for the things we 
 have today, clearly indicate a high 
 degree of intelligence, industry, and 
 capability. 
 
 Pope County may well be consid- 
 ered typical of a vast area of South- 
 ern Illinois hill land. Its relative 
 convenience to the Ohio River at a 
 time when good roads were practi- 
 cally unknown was an advantage. 
 The highways to and from numerous 
 ferries, across both the Ohio and 
 the Mississippi Rivers, led through 
 its forests. Its virgin soil, now badly 
 eroded and otherwise depleted, pro- 
 duced excellent crops. Its spring- 
 fed streams assured a bountiful sup- 
 ply of good water. These streams 
 also furnished power for the grist- 
 mills of the pioneers. Its forests 
 yielded a practically unlimited sup- 
 ply of building materials. In its hill 
 lands, malaria was not so prevalent 
 as in the lower and swampier lands 
 found at many other places along 
 the river. This county was an at- 
 tractive area for settlers.
 
 One cannot be positive as to the 
 very first ones that came into the 
 county. At the time of their com- 
 ing, the land had not been surveyed. 
 No systematic records were kept. 
 Into the unsurveyed wilderness the 
 settlers quietly came. Sometimes 
 they built homes, cleared a spot in 
 the vast forests, and remained as 
 residents of the new land. At other 
 times they paused for a year or so 
 and passed hopefully onward. Oth- 
 ers did not halt as they journeyed 
 along the lonely woodland trails 
 toward points north and west. 
 
 Relatively few people returned 
 along the roads that led many to 
 the westward. For most persons the 
 trails led to new homes and to a 
 measure of happiness. Others per- 
 ished on the journey and were buried 
 beside the trail. Some very old per- 
 sons yet recall the sites of these lone- 
 ly and generally unmarked graves. 
 Most of these burial places are for- 
 gotten, as are the names of count- 
 less thousands that hopefully plod- 
 ded toward the ever-beckoning west. 
 Even though only a few names re- 
 main, it is not difficult to pause be- 
 side a worn and deserted roadway 
 that once was an important immi- 
 grant trail, and in imagination, see 
 the unending stream of people silent- 
 ly trooping past. With the passing 
 years, the number of people moving 
 along these old roadways grew less. 
 Some were going by steamboat, and 
 others, over the better highways 
 farther north. 
 
 As the number of immigrants cros- 
 sing the county grew steadily less, 
 what might be called isolation came. 
 
 Pope County, once traversed by many 
 thousands of immigrants, was defi- 
 nitely out of the lines of major tra- 
 vel. 
 
 The pioneer environment of Pope 
 County was thus left to be influenced 
 less and less by new immigration. 
 Many of the skills and crafts prac- 
 ticed by the pioneers remained in 
 use here after their disappearance 
 in more accessible regions. Until 
 the coming of improved state high- 
 ways within comparatively recent 
 years, the residents of the rural 
 areas of the county clung to much 
 of the pioneer culture. Evidences of 
 this culture are now fast disappear- 
 ing. 
 
 This booklet is written in the hope 
 that it may help toward a better un- 
 derstanding and greater apprecia- 
 tion of the significance of that all- 
 but-vanished era. It may thus not 
 be out of place to include in this di- 
 vision certain general information 
 that may serve as a background 
 against which the homely informa- 
 tion given may be viewed. 
 
 To the middle-aged person who 
 grew up in an isolated community of 
 Southern Illinois, much of the infor- 
 mation concerning pioneer life may 
 seem commonplace. Even so, it is 
 hoped that such references may 
 arouse memories of other days, mem- 
 ories from which passing years have 
 removed all the sting. 
 
 The pioneers found no houses into 
 which they might move. It was 
 necessary that such be built. Since 
 the forest was all about them, this 
 new house would, almost without ex-
 
 ception, be built of logs. Often it 
 would consist of only one room and 
 sometimes have only the earth for 
 a floor. The usual tools the pioneer 
 had available for use in building his 
 home and furniture were a chopping 
 ax, a broadax, a drawing knife, a 
 frow, and perhaps an auger. Trees 
 were felled and shaped to their in- 
 tended use with the ax and the 
 broadax. With the frow, boards were 
 rived from some suitable oak near- 
 by. With drawing knife, timbers 
 were smoothed, where the ax and 
 broadax were not suited to the pur- 
 pose. And with an auger, not so es- 
 sential as the other tools named, 
 were bored holes into which pegs 
 might be fitted to fasten timbers to- 
 gether, or to form legs for the home- 
 built furniture. 
 
 Since nails were scarce and often 
 difficult to secure, a gimlet was fre- 
 quently used to bore holes, into 
 which small whittled wooden pegs 
 were fitted. The clapboards for the 
 roof were held in place by weight 
 poles laid on each course and fast- 
 ened down with pegs or withes. 
 Household furniture was also fa- 
 shioned from the forest trees. A 
 large slab, smoothed with the broad- 
 ax and supported on wooden pegs 
 for legs, made a table. Chairs and 
 benches were made from short sec- 
 tions of logs, or from slabs with legs 
 made from pegs smoothed by the ax 
 and drawing knife. A single post 
 set on the floor or in the gi'ound, 
 with rails extending to the walls, pro- 
 vided a platform upon which a bed 
 could be made. Meals were pre- 
 pared at the fireplace which also 
 served to heat the house. Many of 
 
 the dishes were also made from 
 wood. 
 
 The first crop planted by practi- 
 cally every settler was a patch of 
 corn. From the corn he grew, the 
 pioneer secured feed for his live- 
 stock and grain for making his corn- 
 meal. Corn whiskey, in common use 
 among the pioneers, also came from 
 this same source. Wheat was not 
 generally grown until some years aft- 
 er a settler had established his farm. 
 Much of the meat eaten by pioneer 
 families came from the wild game of 
 the forest. Clothing was coarse but 
 durable. That of the men was often 
 made from deer skins. For the wom- 
 en and children it was generally 
 homespun cloth, known as linsey- 
 woolsey. When flax or cotton were 
 not available, the cloth was "all 
 wool." 
 
 Shoes were of rugged construction. 
 They were often made by the house- 
 holder. At other times a shoemaker 
 would come with his rolls of home- 
 tanned leather, small bags of wooden 
 pegs, some waxed linen thread, a 
 small assortment of tools peculiar to 
 his trade, and a few lasts over which 
 the shoes might be fashioned. Shoe- 
 making was essentially a local indus- 
 try. During the summer season, 
 many persons went barefoot. 
 
 As soon as a few people had set- 
 tled in any vicinity, the practice of 
 "swapping work" began. A man 
 wishing to build a new barn or 
 house would invite the men from 
 some distance about. Enough help 
 was often assembled practically to 
 complete the building in one day. 
 Failure to receive an invitation to
 
 such occasions was considered an af- 
 front. The occasions were not with- 
 out certain social values, since the 
 women and children generally came 
 along. The children thus met and 
 played with other children. The 
 women prepared such a noonday 
 meal as would be most satisfying to 
 men who were engaged at hard man- 
 ual labor. The men rolled logs, en- 
 gaged in feats of strength, talked of 
 the subjects interesting to pioneer 
 men, often drank more than was ex- 
 actly good for them, and occasional- 
 ly had a few fist fights. 
 
 Money was very scarce, and trade 
 was usually by barter. Paper money 
 was of questionable value. The com- 
 mon coin in use was the "rix" dol- 
 lar. In order to make change, this 
 coin could be broken into eight 
 pieces or "bits" along the lines al- 
 ready marked on it. From this prac- 
 tice the terms "two bits," "four bits," 
 and "six bits" were derived. English 
 money was sometimes used. 
 
 Cattle, hogs, and horses were al- 
 lowed to run at large. In order that 
 each one might know his own ani- 
 mals, these were branded by the use 
 of a hot iron, or were marked by 
 cropping and cutting the ears in a 
 certain pattern. The ease with which 
 livestock could be grown is indicated 
 by the fact that beef or pork often 
 sold for three cents or even less per 
 pound. A first-rate cow and calf 
 could be bought for ten dollars. The 
 hide from a cow or steer was worth 
 as much as the meat. 
 
 Since waterways were ready-made 
 routes for transportation of goods, 
 settlements naturally began near 
 
 them. With the coming of land 
 transportation, the smaller streams 
 were crossed at fords. Ferries were 
 established across those streams that 
 could not be readily forded. With 
 the increase of overland transporta- 
 tion, bridges came to replace many 
 of the fords. The first roadways 
 were along winding trails that were 
 marked by the blazing of trees. For 
 land transportation, wagons and 
 carts were commonly used. In some 
 cases, the wheels of these vehicles 
 were made from short cuts of logs. 
 Sleds, lizards, and mudboats were 
 also frequently seen. 
 
 The sports and amusements of the 
 early day were those in which the 
 strength or skill of the individual 
 counted most. There were practi- 
 cally no organized games, such as 
 those known today. Among the 
 amusements for men, the shooting 
 match was perhaps most common. 
 In these matches, the shooting might 
 be done at a mark or at a goose or 
 turkey that had been tethered to a 
 stake. At most of these gatherings, 
 fights were common, but these could 
 hardly be termed sporting events, 
 since gouging and kicking were gen- 
 erally allowable. Dances, husking 
 bees, and apple parings offered op- 
 portunity for boys and girls to meet. 
 
 Soap-making was an activity that 
 occurred at least once each year. 
 Wood ashes were saved from the 
 fireplace and stored in an ashhop- 
 per. Meat scraps were also careful- 
 ly saved. When soap-making time 
 came, usually in the spring of the 
 year, lye was leached from the ashes 
 in the hopper, and the meat scrap
 
 was placed in an iron kettle with 
 this lye and cooked over an open 
 fire until a very potent soap resulted. 
 This was about the only soap known 
 to the pioneer. 
 
 When compared with the present- 
 day methods of giving out punish- 
 ment to law violators, those of the 
 pioneer seem rather severe. Whip- 
 ping was common. At one time in 
 Pope County, a person convicted of 
 burglary or perjury could be sent- 
 enced to receive up to thii-ty-nine 
 stripes. For the first offense of 
 horse stealing, the punishment was 
 not less than fifty nor more than two 
 hundred stripes. For a second con- 
 viction, the penalty was death. For 
 hog stealing, one would receive twen- 
 ty five stripes; for altering or de- 
 facing brands, forty stripes; and for 
 bigamy, from one hundred to three 
 hundred stripes. Children or ser- 
 vants, convicted of disobedience be- 
 fore a justice of the peace, could be 
 sent to jail or to a house of correc- 
 tion. Should a child or servant as- 
 sault or strike his parents or master, 
 a court of two justices could sentence 
 the offender to receive ten stripes. 
 In all cases, where whipping was or- 
 dered, the stripes were to be "well 
 laid on." 
 
 The pioneer era did not know nor 
 require the many kinds of skilled 
 workmen of the present day. Per- 
 haps the most essential craftsman in 
 any early settlement was the black- 
 smith. It was he who fashioned the 
 tools used by the settlers. The more 
 skilled of these men became the gun- 
 smiths who made and repaired the 
 firearms of the settlers. With in- 
 
 creased settlement, stores were estab- 
 lished and tradesmen appeared. 
 Many of the tools that had hereto- 
 fore been made by the local black- 
 smith were to be found for sale in 
 these new stores, but the blacksmith 
 continued to be an essential crafts- 
 man in each settlement. 
 
 In ail early county records much 
 space is given to roadways. In or- 
 der to secure a new road, the settlers 
 desiring it would sign a petition to 
 be presented to the county authori- 
 ties. If the petition was granted, 
 and it usually was, "road viewers" 
 were appointed to locate the new 
 road. This was done by selecting the 
 best available course through the 
 woodland and "blazing" the trees 
 to indicate the location of the route 
 chosen. Little attention was paid to 
 land lines; hence old roadways of- 
 ten appear to wander from place to 
 place. Streams were generally 
 crossed at fords; ferries and bridges 
 came into common use with increased 
 settlement. 
 
 In the early days of Pope County, 
 slaves were owned by a number of 
 people. An extended account of this 
 practice will be found under that 
 title in the later text. 
 
 The lot of servants and childi'en 
 bound out was often little better than 
 that of the slaves. Children or 
 younger persons who had no parents 
 or others able and willing to care 
 for them might be "bound out." The 
 term of such service ended at the age 
 of eighteen for girls and twenty-one 
 for boys. A girl thus bound out was 
 occasionally given a small sum of 
 money, a Bible, and almost always 
 "two dresses suitable to her station
 
 in life." Boys were generally taught 
 a trade and sent to school until they 
 learned to read, write, and "cipher 
 to the double rule of three." The 
 bound boy sometimes received a Bi- 
 ble and generally a suit of clothes 
 "suitable to his station in life." In 
 addition to the above, he occasional- 
 ly received a small amount of money, 
 as well as a horse, saddle, and bridle. 
 Being bound out did not prove any 
 great handicap in after life. There 
 are numerous instances of children 
 who were bound out in their youth 
 and who later attained reasonable 
 distinction. 
 
 Where white children were "bound 
 out" or apprenticed, they always 
 seem to have received some money 
 or other consideration of value at 
 the end of their apprenticeship. In 
 the case of Negro children, no men- 
 tion is found concerning any payment 
 or reward given at the end of the 
 period for which they were bound. 
 The only consideration indicated in 
 such cases was that the child thus 
 apprenticed was to be "trained as a 
 servant." 
 
 The lot of the poor was not in any- 
 way a happy one. In the county rec- 
 ords one often finds such references 
 as" , a 
 
 pauper, was sold out to the lowest 
 bidder to be boarded, clothed, and 
 cared for" at the expense of the 
 county. The rate for the care of 
 these unfortunate persons varied 
 from one dollar to three dollars per 
 week. This practice was followed 
 for many years before the county 
 farm or "pauper farm", as it was 
 generally referred to, was estab- 
 lished. 
 
 Because of the difficulties of tra- 
 vel, large crowds were common only 
 three times each year, when such 
 gatherings took on a county-wide na- 
 ture. These were election days, 
 court days, and muster days. Elec- 
 tion and court days correspond some- 
 what with the same events today, 
 but muster day was an institution 
 that has disappeared. It came from 
 the rule that each able-bodied man 
 was required to serve in the militia 
 and to meet at designated places and 
 at stated intervals for military drill. 
 Those days saw a motley crowd in 
 the county seat. Members of the 
 militia, each with his own rifle and 
 equipment, came to muster. The of- 
 ficers, often wearing uniforms and 
 swords, came for their brief day of 
 glory. By the close of the day, many 
 men had drunk themselves groggy, 
 the officers had bawled themselves 
 hoarse, and there had most likely 
 been a number of fights. Alto- 
 gether, the day was a demoralizing 
 one. When Andrew Jackson came 
 to the presidency, the practice of 
 muster day was abolished. It was 
 revived for a short time during the 
 Mexican War. 
 
 The foregoing affords a few glimp- 
 ses of an era that has passed. In its 
 history. Pope County has been ruled 
 by the Indians, French, English, Vir- 
 ginians, and Americans. It was a 
 part of the Northwest Territory, and 
 later of the Indiana Territory, be- 
 fore being known as part of Illinois. 
 Across the county and along its bor- 
 ders, significant military expeditions 
 have moved. Its citizens have parti- 
 cipated in the nation's wars. Men 
 who have exerted more than passing 
 influence on the affairs of the state
 
 and nation have had their homes 
 here. Several industries have risen, 
 flourished, and vanished. Flatboats 
 and steamboats have plied the 
 streams. Pirates, in the early days 
 of river traffic, sought refuge in this 
 region. 
 
 Pope County has an interesting his- 
 tory, and if this booklet and its ac- 
 companying map serve to increase 
 interest in that history, they Vi'ill 
 have served their purpose. 
 
 ANIMALS 
 
 The animal life native to Southern 
 Illinois v/a& all important to the peo- 
 ple vi'ho lived here prior to the com- 
 ing of the white men. To the In- 
 dians it was, with maize or Indian 
 corn, the major portion of food. The 
 Indian does not seem to have been 
 bothered much concerning the par- 
 ticular animals eaten. At their old 
 camp-sites and in the shelter of rock 
 ledges where their food was pre- 
 pared and eaten, one finds bones of 
 practically all the mammals large 
 enough to furnish even a few bites 
 of food. Turtles, terrapins, fish, eels, 
 and mussels were common articles of 
 diet. With the abundant animal life 
 of Southern Illinois and their ever 
 dependable Indian corn, beans, mel- 
 ons, pumpkins, and assorted roots, 
 the Indians of this area ate about as 
 well as those of any region in the 
 United States. 
 
 When the white men came, they 
 found the same plentiful animal life 
 that nurtured the Indian. They bor- 
 rowed his food crops and added oth- 
 ers of their own. This situation made 
 it an attractive area for settlement. 
 
 The native animal life as a source of 
 food was almost as important to the 
 pioneer as it had long been to the 
 Indian. 
 
 As has been stated, the Indian ate 
 practically any animal he killed. The 
 pioneer was more particular. His 
 lood animals were the buffalo, deer, 
 elk, bear, raccoon, opossum, rabbit, 
 squirrel, and perhaps a few others. 
 He did not include animals that are 
 generally looked upon as purely 
 beasts of prey. The wolves, panth- 
 ers, bobcats, minks, foxes, and some 
 other such animals were not attrac- 
 tive food items for the white man. 
 He liked geese and certain ducks 
 among the waterfowls. He parti- 
 cularly liked wild turkeys. The 
 white man sought and killed for food 
 the animals he most desired. This 
 process also operated to lessen the 
 natural food supply of such beasts 
 of prey as the country had. With 
 the diminishing supply of their na- 
 tural prey, wolves, panthers, and 
 foxes turned more to the domestic 
 animals of the settlers. The settlers 
 then became interested in an effort 
 to destroy the animals they consid- 
 ered harmful. Old county records 
 indicate many bounties paid for wolf 
 scalps. In some counties the rule of 
 the county board concerning the pay- 
 ment of a bounty for wolf scalps has 
 never been repealed. 
 
 Many stories are told of the set- 
 tlers' clashes with wolves and panth- 
 ers in particular. The howling of 
 the wolf pack or the cry of the 
 panther aroused fear and dread in 
 the most stouthearted. Tradition re- 
 cords stories of the killing of lone 
 settlers by such animals. Reverend
 
 John Crawford writes of quite a bat- 
 tle waged by his father, another 
 brother, and himself, against a 
 panther that was attempting to steal 
 their pigs. Their dogs held the ani- 
 mal at bay, and the father finally 
 killed it with stones. It was several 
 
 years after the settlers came that the 
 panthers disappeared, and several 
 more before the wolves ceased to 
 alarm people and to be particularly 
 destructive of livestock. The panth- 
 er was often referred to by the pio- 
 neer as a "painter" or "painther." 
 It was the same animal now occasion- 
 ally found in the Rocky Mountains 
 and known as the mountain lion. 
 
 The fur bearing animals of the 
 region were the beaver, otter, mar- 
 ten, raccoon, muskrat, mink, and 
 some others less valuable and per- 
 haps not so common. These animals 
 were also of value to the pioneer, 
 since their pelts could be sold for 
 needed money or exchanged for 
 products that were brought from 
 more distant regions. The animal 
 life of the area was altogether a 
 helpful factor in promoting early 
 settlement. 
 
 Many of the native animals have 
 entirely disappeared. The buffalo 
 was perhaps the first to go. Bear, 
 elk, and deer followed later. Otter, 
 beaver, and marten vanished early. 
 The wolf and panther were de- 
 stroyed. Bobcats became, and yet 
 are, scarce. Foxes became some- 
 what less common, but are now on 
 the increase. In recent years, wolves 
 have been seen in several localities 
 and have been killed or captured in 
 a number of places. Deer have been 
 brought back and released in the 
 
 hope that they may be protected and 
 once more be seen. The wild tur- 
 key disappeared a generation or so 
 ago. Fresh stock has been brought 
 in and released. It is hoped that the 
 woodlands may again be the home 
 of these attractive birds. Beaver 
 have been returned, and their dams 
 can be seen at several places. The 
 disappearance of some of these na- 
 tive animals is to be regretted. Un- 
 der proper protection and care, some 
 may return, but doubtless others will 
 not. 
 
 One of the tragedies of the wild 
 life that once flourished in Pope 
 County is that of the passenger pige- 
 on. Though larger, these pigeons 
 closely resembled the mourning 
 doves, now relatively plentiful. Very 
 old people yet recall seeing them in 
 immense flocks that literally dark- 
 ened the sky for some minutes at 
 a time. They often clustered so 
 thickly at roosting time that large 
 limbs of the trees were broken by 
 their weight. Older people of Pope 
 County may refer to one of these 
 localities as "the pigeon roost." They 
 were so plentiful that farmers 
 clubbed them to death at their 
 roosts and fed their carcasses to the 
 hogs. They began to appear in 
 smaller numbers and in a few yeai's 
 vanished. So far as is known, the 
 last specimen of these birds died in 
 the zoological gardens at Cincinnati, 
 Ohio, in February, 1914. 
 
 INDIANS 
 
 Pope County, with its varied topo- 
 graphy, provided an excellent region 
 for animal life. This abundance of 
 wild animals that served as food for
 
 the Indians made it an attractive 
 hunting ground lor them. Numerous 
 remains indicate that extensive na- 
 tive villages existed in this region. 
 Space will allow the discussion of 
 only a few of the remains to be 
 found in the county. After that, the 
 firsthand account of one who came 
 into intimate contact with the Indi- 
 ans of the immediate vicinity will be 
 given. 
 
 Kincaid Mounds 
 Kincaid Mounds is a group of 
 mounds located in the very south- 
 ern part of Pope County and in the 
 adjoining portion of Massac County, 
 most of them being in Massac Coun- 
 ty. These mounds were erected by 
 a people living in this region before 
 the coming of white men. Excava- 
 tions and study reveal that they 
 served various purposes. Some 
 mounds were burial places and, when 
 excavated, are found to contain hu- 
 man bones and assorted objects 
 buried with the dead. In other cases 
 the objects found indicate that the 
 mounds served as dwelling sites, pla- 
 ces of worship, work shops, or for 
 the location of some other activity 
 that entered into the life of the peo- 
 ple who built them. Despite all that 
 has been learned, there yet remains 
 enough of the mysterious to interest 
 almost any who stops to view. 
 
 From these mounds many of the 
 tools and implements and much of 
 the equipment used by a primitive 
 people have been recovered and 
 some parts of their way of life re- 
 vealed. Much yet remains to be 
 learned. 
 
 There are several of these mounds, 
 and they have attracted much at- 
 
 tention from the earliest times. Many 
 of the smaller mounds were much 
 defaced by plowing and by amateur 
 archeologists who often did not un- 
 derstand the significance of the ob- 
 jects discovered. In recent years, 
 the University of Chicago has con- 
 ducted extensive excavation and 
 gathered much significant material. 
 These mounds receive their name 
 from T. J. Kincaid, an earlier owner 
 of the ground on which they are 
 situated. Kincaid lived across the 
 line in Massac County. 
 
 War Bluff 
 
 War Bluff, several miles almost di- 
 rectly north of Golconda, has sheer 
 sides on the east, west, and north. 
 It is connected with the hill lands 
 to the south by a naiTow isthmus 
 about 75 feet wide. The area of the 
 bluff is about two acres. The rem- 
 nants of the wall found there today 
 are parts of the original wall. This 
 wall is perhaps the least disturbed 
 of any similar structure in Southern 
 Illinois. The purpose of this enclos- 
 ure is not definitely known. It may 
 have served as a place of defense by 
 the Indians or as a compound into 
 which game was driven. On the ex- 
 treme north end of War Bluff is a 
 place known as Lover's Leap, the 
 story connected with it being the 
 usual one. 
 
 Old Indian Fort 
 
 Old Indian Fort is shown on the 
 Illinois Atlas of 1876. It is also known 
 as Indian Kitchen and is located 
 about a half mile above Rose Ford, 
 on the Raum highway, on the west 
 bank of Lusk Creek. This fort re- 
 sembles very much the one in Giant
 
 City Park, the one at Stonefort in 
 Saline County, the one at War Bluff, 
 north of Golconda, and the one at 
 the Pounds in Gallatin County. In 
 each case a high bluff or headland 
 is connected to the main land by a 
 narrow isthmus that once had a wall 
 or fortification built across it. 
 
 A Boy's Account 
 
 Only one account concerning the 
 actual relations between the early 
 settlers and the Indians in Pope 
 County has been found. This was 
 written by the Reverend John Craw- 
 ford, who came with his parents 
 when they settled near the mouth of 
 Grand Pierre Creek, in 1808. The 
 portion of his account concerning the 
 Indians is given as he set it down. 
 
 "In the spring of 1808 we left the 
 Kentucky shore, and landed on the 
 Illinois side of the river at the mouth 
 of Grand Pier Creek, some five miles 
 above the present site of Golconda. 
 
 "This had evidently been an In- 
 dian town; a battle of some magni- 
 tude had been fought here. 
 
 "When this valley was brought into 
 cultivation, its soil was found to be 
 literally filled with musket balls and 
 Indian darts. 
 
 "I have in my possession a five- 
 pound cannon ball which father 
 found in the center of a large oak 
 tree. This is preserved as a relic 
 of early times, having the priority of 
 all others, as it must have been de- 
 posited there during a battle between 
 the French and Indians before any 
 American had seen the Ohio at that 
 point. 
 
 On the tops of the surrounding 
 hills was demonstrative evidence that 
 
 there had been a great slaughter in 
 that valley, each hill presenting a 
 large burying-ground, marked by 
 large flag-stones in long rows set up 
 in their crude state, and over- 
 shadowed by large oak trees. 
 
 "The Indian towns at that time, 
 were said to be principally on the 
 Oca, (Okaw) Illinois, and Tippecanue 
 Rivers, but we were surrounded by 
 large hunting parties during every fall 
 season up to the war of 1812. These 
 parties appeared to be very friendly, 
 often taking possession of our fire- 
 side on chilly and rainy days, which 
 was surrendered to them, through 
 fear, together with whatever provi- 
 sions that were on hand which they 
 might require. I often trembled with 
 cold and fear and felt the oppression 
 of hunger, because of these intru- 
 sions to which we were circumstan- 
 tially compelled to submit. 
 
 "On one occasion when father had 
 gone to Kentucky to mill, mother and 
 the children being alone, a very 
 large Indian came in with a silver 
 ring in his nose as large as the bot- 
 tom of a tin cup and demanded his 
 dinner. Mother of course spread be- 
 fore him all the provisions on hand 
 of which he partook freely. He then 
 approached the fireside, taking a 
 large scalping knife from his belt, 
 looking intensely at us children, drew 
 it three times across his throat then 
 stretched himself full length before 
 the fire for a sleep with his knife in 
 his bosom. We understood this as 
 a warning not to disturb him. We 
 all took position in the rear of the 
 cabin and endured the cold till he 
 concluded his sleep, and at his de- 
 parture there was great joy in that 
 house. 
 
 10
 
 "Another scene of horror to us came 
 during the occurrence of highwiads 
 when some Pennsylvania flatboats 
 were diuven into harbor at father s 
 landing. Knowing the Indian's great 
 love for whisky and our defenseless 
 situation, father presented our case 
 to the boats' officers and obtained 
 a promise not to furnish whisky to 
 the Indians, but these boat officers 
 proved faithless and when the In- 
 dians brought their peltry furs and 
 dried hams to exchange for whisky, 
 they were furnished in abundance. 
 The encampment numbered over 
 twenty and was in full view of our 
 cabin about four hundred yards off. 
 A scene of drunkenness and a great 
 war dance ensued. They fought pro- 
 fusely among themselves and made 
 frequent dashes toward the cabin to 
 attack us, but at every onset they 
 were repulsed by the sober ones who 
 pushed them back often at full 
 length and knocked them down with 
 whatever came to hand. Father and 
 the boys prepared to make the best 
 defense possible, but fortunately for 
 both parties they were repulsed be- 
 fore they reached the cabin. 
 
 "At the declaration of the War of 
 1812, these hunting parties were 
 called in by runners before the 
 whites knew of the declaration of 
 war, as there were no mail facilities 
 in that region in those days. On 
 leaving, they painted themselves and 
 assumed a hostile attitude, walked 
 with a great air of dignity past the 
 cabin, direct to our small boats at 
 the shore, our only means of com- 
 munication with our few neighbors in 
 Kentucky. These they confiscated, 
 and with their supplies of game, 
 descended the Ohio and ascended the 
 Mississippi. 
 
 "The supposed reason why we were 
 not massacred was that a family was 
 in plain view on the Kentucky shore 
 who would have beheld the deed and 
 given notice to a settlement of whites 
 at the mouth of Cumberland River, 
 who could have intercepted them. 
 This was the only settlement of much 
 strength between Shawneetown and 
 Kaskaskia at that time. Since then 
 there have been no Indians in South- 
 ern Illinois, only as passing through 
 under government arrangement." 
 
 EARLY SETTLERS 
 
 Pope, along with some other coun- 
 ties in Southern Illinois, had relative- 
 ly few very early settlers. It is known 
 that some settlers had come into the 
 area before 1800, but no land is in- 
 dicated as having been settled for 
 some years after that. This lack of 
 record is due to the fact that the 
 United States land offices did not 
 open for sale of land in Illinois until 
 1814. Those who came before that 
 time held no titles to their land un- 
 less it was through a grant given to 
 someone who had settled and made 
 improvements before 1790, or to oth- 
 ers who were given land because of 
 their having rendered military service. 
 
 Available records show only two 
 claims made for the grant of govern- 
 ment lands for military services, and 
 none are shown based on improve- 
 ments made in Pope County prior to 
 1790. One of these military claims 
 was in Section 19, Township 13S, 
 Range 7E, and is included within the 
 present limits of the city of Golcon- 
 da. This tract is designated as Sur- 
 vey No. 690, Claim No. 582. The 
 claim was filed by Robert Kidd, who 
 transferred his rights to Robert Mor- 
 
 11
 
 rison by deed made at Kaskaskia, on 
 April, 18, 1805. This deed, witnessed 
 by William Wilson and Henry Jones, 
 is recorded in Deed Record K at 
 Chester, Illinois. The land commis- 
 sioners, Michael Jones and E. Back- 
 us, allowed the claim at Kaskaskia 
 on December 31, 1809. After what 
 appears as somewhat involved trad- 
 ing, the title was secured by Thomas 
 Ferguson who operated the ferry 
 long known as Lusk's Ferry. It was 
 for one-hundred acres "affirmed to 
 include the improvements and ferry 
 of said Ferguson, called Lusk's 
 Ferry, to conform to sectional lines." 
 Kidd's claim to land was based on 
 his having been a "militiaman en- 
 rolled and doing duty in Illinois, on 
 the I'st day of August 1790." 
 
 A second claim for one-hundred 
 acres located on the Ohio river just 
 north of where Bay City now stands 
 is shown on the government plat 
 book in the Circuit Clerk's office at 
 Golconda. The American State Pa- 
 pers show that this tract was origi- 
 nally claimed by a man named 
 Thomas Winn, and that he assigned 
 his claim to Pierre Menard who, in 
 turn, assigned it to Isaac Fitmore, to 
 whom it was confirmed on December 
 31, 1809. This tract is recorded as 
 Survey No. 696, Claim No. 297. 
 
 The initial settlers who procured 
 land in Pope County made their pur- 
 chases at the Shawneetown land of- 
 fice. Inasmuch as it may be easier 
 to follow locations if given in groups 
 rather than in order of time, some 
 of the earlier entries will be located 
 according to the section of the coun- 
 ty where they were situated. 
 
 Beginning the record in the north- 
 west corner of the county around 
 McCormick, the first settler to enter 
 land was Gideon Alexander, who on 
 May 31, 1836, purchased parts of 
 Section 1 and 12, just south of the 
 place where the village of Colorado 
 was later to be located. On Decem- 
 ber 5, 1843, slightly more than seven 
 years after the Alexander homestead 
 was established, D. Beal, D. B. Grace, 
 and George W. Jones purchased land 
 in Section 6 of this same township. 
 Each bought his land on the same 
 day, and it may reasonably be in- 
 ferred that they had previously 
 planned to live as neighbors. Beal's 
 Hollow, which opens into the valley 
 where Bell Smith's Spring is found, 
 was named for the Beal family men- 
 tioned above. Other settlers follow- 
 ed in the 1840's, but it was during 
 the 1850's that land settlements in 
 this region reached the highest peak. 
 
 In the next section south of Mc- 
 Cormick, just northwest of present- 
 day Glendale, John Witt made a 
 purchase of land in Section 20, on 
 April 24, 1817. It appears that he 
 did not complete payment, as this 
 same land later became the proper- 
 ty of G. W. Waters. Also, William 
 Penny entered land in Section 10 
 on February 26, 1818, but there is 
 a possibility that he may not have 
 completed the purchase, as a note 
 on the land book says, "relinquished 
 I think." Robert Penny bought land 
 in Section 23, about three miles east 
 and one mile north of Glendale, on 
 April 23, 1818. Others who pur- 
 chased land in this area were Right 
 Modglin, who entered land in Sec- 
 tion 20, about a mile north of Glen- 
 dale on January 25, 1819; and James 
 
 12
 
 Whiteside, who made an entry on 
 November 24, 1818, for land in Sec- 
 tion 24, about a mile west of the Rou- 
 ert Penny property. Also, William 
 Modglin located in Section 17, just 
 north of the Right Modglin claim, 
 on September 1, 1818. Almost twenty 
 years elapsed before other claims 
 were filed in this region. Lugar 
 Wright came in 1837, Samuel Hazel 
 and George Walters in 1838, and 
 George Laughlin and Alexander 
 Murphy in 1839. A few others came 
 during the 1840's, and within the 
 next decade this section was rather 
 fully settled. 
 
 The settlements within the region 
 south of Glendale and around Dixon 
 Springs were generally located near 
 the early roadway leading from 
 Lusk's Ferry to Vienna and Jones- 
 boro. The first land entry in this 
 area was made by Justin Wilson on 
 June 27, 1817, in Section 4, about 
 two miles north of Dixon Springs. 
 Isaac Bozarth bought land in Sec- 
 tion 3 about a mile east of Wilson's 
 tract one week after Wilson had 
 made his entry. In 1818, Samuel 
 Alexander settled in Section 3, near 
 Bozarth, and William Wilson bought 
 land a mile or so northwest of the 
 springs. 
 
 Within the present-day Temple 
 Hill vicinity, James Richey entered 
 land in Section 1, about two miles 
 northeast of Temple Hill, on Novem- 
 ber 23, 1815. Some three years lat- 
 er, Charles Shelby came to live in 
 Section 1, near Richey. The next 
 person to enter land in this locality 
 was Robert Hayes, who filed a claim 
 on November 21, 1822. Later, on 
 May 20, 1825, James Green entered 
 
 land in Section 3, about two miles 
 north and west of Temple Hill. 
 
 Despite the fact that the region 
 lying around Oak, Delwood and 
 Blanchard was served by two 
 branches of the Shawneetown-Jones- 
 boro Road, land entries within this 
 area were not made until the year 
 1837. The initial entry was made by 
 Moses Davis, on June 22, 1837, in 
 Section 36, about two miles south- 
 east of Blanchard. The succeeding 
 entries were made by John and 
 James Williams, on June 5, 1838. 
 John located in Section 13, a mile or 
 so southeast of the present post of- 
 fice of Oak; and James in Section 24, 
 about two miles northeast of Blan- 
 chard. Jonathan and Joseph Dior- 
 man entered land in Sections 7 and 
 17, a short distance southwest of Del- 
 wood, on December 10, 1838. John 
 S. W. Morse entered land in Section 
 17, near them, on December 18 of 
 the same year. 
 
 In the Eddyville-Raum area, S. 
 Penny and E. Penny entered 
 land in Section 18, about one 
 and one-half miles south of Ed- 
 dyville, on February 16, 1818. Per- 
 haps these men did not complete the 
 purchase, as a note on the land book 
 seems to indicate that the land 
 passed to F. Beanard before full pay- 
 ment was made. The next entry in 
 this region was made by Richard Ful- 
 kerson, in Section 25, about two miles 
 southeast of Raum, on July 13, 1818. 
 No other person bought land in this 
 vicinity until James Gilbert located 
 in Section 3, just northeast of Eddy- 
 ville, on February 8, 1836. During 
 the year 1836, John Lauderdale set- 
 tled in Section 30, almost four miles 
 south of Eddyville; Joseph Hall, in 
 
 13
 
 Section 13, a mile or so northeast of 
 Raum; and Joseph Vaughn, in Sec- 
 tion 3, near James Gilbert. 
 
 The next section centers around 
 Golconda and Waltersburg, Here, on 
 November 3, 1815, James Allcorn 
 filed claim to land in Section 19, a 
 mile or so southwest of Brownfield. 
 The next entry was made in Section 
 23, some two miles west of Golconda, 
 on April 25, 1817, by a man whose 
 name appears to have been Francis 
 Glup. William Rambeau and John 
 Colver entered land in Section 26 
 and 28, on May 6, 1817. In Janu- 
 ary, 1818, James King settled in Sec- 
 tion 13, a mile or so north of Gol- 
 conda. John Crawford located in 
 Section 31, near Brownfield, in May 
 of the same year. In July 1818, 
 James Cogswell purchased land in 
 Section 24 near Golconda, and in Oc- 
 tober of the same year, James Pit- 
 talo (sometimes recorded as Pittulo) 
 entered land in Section 17, near Wal- 
 tersburg. Isaac Shufflebarger came 
 to Section 2, about four miles north- 
 west of Golconda, in March 1822. 
 
 In the Rosebud, Homberg, Bay 
 City section, George Lusk made the 
 first land entry in Section 24, on 
 May 6, 1816. According to present- 
 day maps, this location was washed 
 away by the Ohio River. William 
 Dyer entered land in Section 15, be- 
 tween Bay City and Homberg, on 
 June 3, 1817. Later, on October 13, 
 1817, William Cowan entered land 
 in Section 10, about a mile southwest 
 of Homberg, and Robert Scott, in 
 Section 15, a mile or so south of that 
 entered by Cowan. Samuel Tanner 
 and William T. Shepherd entered 
 land in Section 2, about two miles 
 east of Homberg, on November 10, 
 
 1817, and William Croncher in Sec- 
 tion 9, just south of Homberg, on 
 May 11, 1818. 
 
 Within the portion of Jefferson 
 Township lying south and west of 
 Bay City, John D. Hickman entered 
 land in Section 9, on November 9, 
 
 1818. The next entry was made by 
 William Griffith in Section 1, near 
 Bay City, on March 20, 1822. No 
 other entry was made in this section 
 until John Kincaid bought land in 
 Section 3, on July 5, 1836. 
 
 The Hartsville-Herod area dis- 
 closes an initial entry as early as 
 September 13, 1815, when Jesse 
 Story settled in Section 15, about two 
 miles southeast of Herod. After more 
 than twenty years, Elbert Rose en- 
 tered land in Section 10, east of 
 Herod, on July 6, 1836. On July 11 
 of the same year, Joseph Lambert 
 entered land in Section 5, northwest 
 of Herod; and in the following Au- 
 gust, Alfred Rose purchased land in 
 Section 3, northeast of Herod. 
 
 The eastern section, around Lusk, 
 shows the first land entry to have 
 been made by Thomas Rose, in Sec- 
 tion 34, near the Ohio River, on Jan- 
 uary 4, 1836. On June 6 of the same 
 year, Randal Towns entered land in 
 Section 19, about two miles south- 
 west of Lusk. The next day after 
 Towns had made his entry, Francis 
 Hoff entered land in Section 17, just 
 southeast of Lusk; Thomas Fulker- 
 son entered land in Section 18, south- 
 west of Lusk, on July 5, 1836; and 
 on October 11, 1836, James Rose lo- 
 cated in Section 34, near where 
 Thomas Rose had settled in January 
 of the same year. On November 9, 
 1836, Reeas Shelby purchased land 
 
 14
 
 in Section 22, about three miles 
 southeast of Lusk. However, it is 
 assumed that he did not complete 
 payment, as the land passed to 
 "Field and Clark." 
 
 Along the Ohio River, and near 
 present day Golconda, Thomas Fer- 
 guson entered land on July 12, 1814. 
 This entry in Section 19 appears to 
 be the first made in the limits of the 
 present-day Pope County. The sec- 
 ond sale in this region was on March 
 18, 1815, to Daniel Fields, who 
 bought a tract of land located in 
 Section 7, about three miles north 
 of Golconda. On April 24, 1818. 
 William Belford entered land in Sec- 
 tion 6, about a mile north of Fields. 
 Fourteen years later another entry 
 was made by George W. Waters in 
 Section 4, about four miles northeast 
 of Golconda, where a rock quarry 
 has long operated. In June 1836, 
 M. M. Rawlings located in Section 5, 
 west of Waters. Joel Crosby set- 
 tled in Section 6, just west of Rawl- 
 ings, on the tenth of the same month. 
 By June of 1837 Benjamin Melton, 
 Richard Melton, ami William Mod- 
 glin had settled nearby. 
 
 In the area lying between Bay 
 City and the southern end of the 
 County, Reuben Glover entered land 
 in Section 30, about five miles south 
 of Bay City, on October 5, 1816. On 
 October 10 of the same year, John 
 Wood entered land in Section 7, 
 about one and one-half miles south 
 
 of Bay City. The next entry occurs 
 twenty years later, when John H. 
 Smith settled in Section 7, near the 
 John Wood's tract. 
 
 On October 14, 1814, John Cald- 
 well entered land where the village 
 of Hamletsburg now stands. In No- 
 vember of the same year, Hamlet 
 Ferguson settled land in Section 3, 
 just north of Hamletsburg, Also, 
 John Warwick made an entry in 
 Section 20, southwest of New Liber- 
 ty, on February 9, 1815. The next 
 entry was by J. Hunter and others 
 in Section 9, just southwest of Ham- 
 letsburg, on August 18, 1820, fol- 
 lowed eleven days later by that of 
 Benjamin Thompson in Section 6, 
 about three miles west of the vil- 
 lage. James McCawley settled in 
 Sections 28 and 29, southwest of New 
 Liberty, on February 13, 1822; and 
 Lindsey Wright in Section 4, just 
 northwest of Hamletsburg, on Au- 
 gust 30, 1836. 
 
 The entries given are offered as 
 indication of the earlier settlements 
 of the county. It may be repeated 
 that the early land entries were 
 made slowly until about 1850. At 
 that time the settlement rate in- 
 creased so rapidly that ten years 
 later little government land remained 
 unsold. However, a very few such 
 tracts remained until about 1890. 
 The sale of these last tracts marked 
 the end of the public domain in Pope 
 County. 
 
 15
 
 HOW POPE BECAME 
 A COUNTY 
 
 The territory included in present- 
 day Pope County has been claimed 
 by different countries and territor- 
 ies, and has been a part of several 
 other counties. The Spanish laid 
 claim to all the Mississippi Valley, 
 basing it largely upon DeSoto's dis- 
 covery of the river, in 1542. By rea- 
 son of the exploration of Joliet and 
 Marquette, in the Mississippi Valley, 
 the French claimed the territory. The 
 English held it after the French and 
 Indian War. It is thus seen that 
 Pope County has been claimed by 
 three foreign nations. When the 
 colony of Virginia was granted a 
 charter in 1606, amended in 1609 
 and 1612, its north and south boun- 
 daries were to be "West and north- 
 west." The men promoting the col- 
 ony of Virginia naturally interpreted 
 this to mean that the northern line 
 was to extend in a northwesterly di- 
 rection and that the southern line 
 extended due west. A glance at a 
 map of the United States will show 
 that by this interpretation, Virginia 
 would include a great part of our 
 present day nation, including all of 
 the state of Illinois. The colonies 
 of Massachusetts and Connecticut 
 were granted charters that included 
 portions of Illinois, but neither of 
 these claims included Pope County. 
 
 For more than a century, the col- 
 onies of Virginia, Massachusetts, and 
 Connecticut made no effort to settle 
 the territory. The Spanish were busy 
 in other sections of the Americas and 
 gave this region scant attention. 
 France gave some effort to the de- 
 velopment of the territory and made 
 a few settlements in present day Il- 
 
 linois, none of which were in Pope 
 County. Though the French did 
 relatively little toward actual settle- 
 ment and development of the vast 
 tei-ritories included in the Mississippi 
 and Ohio valleys, they were recog- 
 nized as having the most valid claim 
 and were in possession. They occu- 
 pied the territory until the close of 
 the French and Indian War in 1763, 
 at which time they ceded their claim 
 to the British. By this treaty the 
 lands included in Pope County ceased 
 to be a part of the French Colonial 
 Empire and became British territory. 
 
 The next change in possession 
 came through the capture of the 
 British posts in this section by George 
 Rogers Clark, in 1778 and 1779. By 
 the treaty between the American 
 colonies and the British at the close 
 of the Revolutionary War, the col- 
 onies came into recognized posses- 
 sion of the area. Virginia's early 
 claim had been much strengthened 
 by her conquest of the territory, and 
 it was governed by men appointed 
 by that colony. It remained a part 
 of Virginia until that state ceded her 
 claim to the newly formed National 
 Government, before Maryland would 
 ratify the Articles of Confederation. 
 The Ordinance of 1787, passed by 
 the Continental Congress, set up a 
 form of government for the North- 
 west Territory, including all the State 
 of Illinois. In the division of coun- 
 ties, as established in 1790 for the 
 purposes of local government, Pope, 
 along with almost all of Eastern Il- 
 linois and much of the present State 
 of Indiana, was included in Knox 
 County. This arrangement of coun- 
 ties so far as it affects Pope, is 
 shown by the map of 1790. 
 
 16
 
 Counties of Illinois in 1790 
 
 Though other changes in county 
 boundaries were made between 1790 
 and 1801, present-day Pope still re- 
 mained a part of Knox County. On 
 February 3, 1801 the Govei-nor of 
 Indiana Territory which had recently 
 been established, issued a proclama- 
 tion that changed the boundaries of 
 the counties of St. Clair and Knox 
 and established the new County of 
 Randolph. This new County of Ran- 
 dolph included present-day Pope, as 
 well as much other territory of 
 Southern Illinois. The county seat 
 was located at Kaskaskia. This new 
 arrangement of counties is indicated 
 by the map of 1801. 
 
 In 1809, Indiana was admitted as 
 a state, and the present state of Il- 
 linois became a part of the region 
 included in a new division known as 
 Illinois Territory. Numerous changes 
 in county boundaries continued to be 
 made, but none affected the region 
 of Pope until Ninian Edwards, Gov- 
 ernor of Illinois Territory, issued a 
 proclamation, on September 14, 1812, 
 establishing some new counties. Two 
 of the new counties thus established 
 were Gallatin and Johnson, each of 
 which included a part of present-day 
 Pope County. The counties of Illi- 
 nois Territory as established by the 
 Governor's proclamation are shown 
 on the Illinois map of 1812. 
 
 Counties of Illinois 1801 
 
 CovNTies OF Illinois in 1612 
 
 Other changes in county boundar- 
 ies followed, and new counties were 
 established. These changes did not 
 alter the situation so far as Pope 
 County was concerned until the ter- 
 ritorial legislature, by act of Janu- 
 
 17
 
 ary 10, 1816, established some addi- 
 tional counties. The portion of the 
 law of 1816 that is of most interest 
 here is as follows: "Beginning on 
 the Ohio River where the meridian 
 leaves it that divides ranges number 
 three and four east of the third prin- 
 cipal meridian; thence north to the 
 township line dividing townships ten 
 and eleven south ; thence east eight- 
 een miles; thence to that point on 
 the Ohio where the line dividing 
 ranges eight and nine leaves it; 
 thence down the same to the point 
 of beginning shall constitute a sepa- 
 rate county, to be called and known 
 by the name of Pope." The new 
 county was named for Nathaniel 
 Pope who had served as secretary 
 for Illinois Territory. Pope County, 
 as it was then established, is shown 
 by the map of 1816. 
 
 In less than one year the boundar- 
 ies of the new county of Pope were 
 changed when the territorial legisla- 
 ture, on December 26, 1816, passed 
 an act stating that "Beginning at the 
 Rock and Cave (Cave-in-Rock) on 
 the Ohio River; thence a straight 
 line to the corner of townships num- 
 ber ten and eleven south, and ranges 
 number seven and eight east of the 
 third principal meridian," should be 
 the new boundary on the northeast 
 side of the county. This was only 
 a minor change in the county, since 
 the remainder of its boundaries were 
 not altered. The eastern boundar- 
 ies, as fixed on January 10, 1816, 
 and on December 26, 1816, are both 
 shown by broken lines on the map 
 of 1816. 
 
 ea»> Lint 
 W tint 
 
 CouHTics OF Illinois in 1816 
 
 With its boundaries as established 
 by the territorial legislature on De- 
 cember 26, 1816, Pope County had 
 little time to get acquainted before 
 another change came. On January 
 2, 1818, Union County was formed 
 from the western part of Johnson 
 County, and Johnson was given a 
 strip six miles wide along the west- 
 ern side of Pope. Pope County then 
 appeared as shown by the map of 
 January, 1818. 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 RAMOOLPH 
 
 Vna^JACK- 
 
 ^C SON 
 
 * 
 
 WHITE 3 
 KALLATiy 
 
 Vii 
 
 ^^ 
 
 Counties of Illinois 1818 
 
 The boundaries of Pope as fixed 
 by the territorial legislature in Janu- 
 ary 1818 remained unchanged until 
 March 2, 1839. At that time the por-
 
 tion of Pope County lying east of 
 Big Grand Pierre Creek was de- 
 tached and designated as Hardin 
 County. Pope then appeared as 
 shown by the map of 1839. 
 
 CouMTies or Illinois in 1839 
 
 On January 8, 1840, the legislature 
 returned to Pope County a small por- 
 tion of Hardin County lying east of 
 Big Grand Pierre Creek. The east- 
 ern boundary of Pope was thus es- 
 tablished as it is today, but the 
 Southern part of the county was 
 changed by legislation enacted on 
 February 8, 1843. At that time the 
 county of Massac was established 
 from portions of Johnson and Pope. 
 On March 3, 1843, part of the ter- 
 ritory separated from Pope and giv- 
 en to Massac less than a month pre- 
 viously was returned to Pope. This 
 was the last change in the boundar- 
 ies of the county. In the one hun- 
 dred five years since that time, the 
 boundaries of Pope County have re- 
 mained as they appear on the his- 
 torical map at the end of this book- 
 let. 
 
 Thus, present-day Pope County has 
 in succession been a claim of Spain, 
 a portion of the French and British 
 colonial empires, a part of the colony 
 
 of Virginia, a part of the Northwest 
 Territory, a part of Indiana Terri- 
 tory, and a part of Illinois Territory. 
 It was, in turn, included in Knox 
 County, Northwest Territory ; and in 
 Randolph, Johnson and Gallatin 
 Counties, Illinois Territory. It was 
 not until January 10, 1816, that a 
 separate county was established and 
 named Pope, as related in an earlier 
 paragraph of this section. 
 
 The first meeting of the men 
 designated by the Territorial Gover- 
 nor as officials of the new county 
 was held on April 1, 1816, at the 
 residence of Thomas Ferguson, near 
 the present courthouse square in Gol- 
 conda, then called Sarahville. Ben- 
 oni Lee, who had been especially em- 
 powered to do so, administered the 
 oath of office to himself, Robert Lacy, 
 and Thomas Ferguson, as judges of 
 the county court; to Hamlet Fergu- 
 son as Sheriff; to Samuel O'Melvany 
 as Justice of Peace, Assessor, and 
 County Treasurer; and to Thomas 
 Browning as Prosecuting Attorney. 
 
 The next actions of the County 
 Commissioners' Court were indicative 
 of the type of work which occupied 
 much of the court's attention for the 
 next fifty years. The court first pro- 
 vided that a road be opened from 
 Sarahville to Colonel Hamlet Fer- 
 guson's ferry, and another toward 
 Gallatin County. It next appointed 
 ovei'seers of the poor for each town- 
 ship that had been established. Later 
 it licensed taverns and fixed the 
 rates the taverns were allowed to 
 charge. Next it licensed ferries and 
 established ferry rates. It built a 
 courthouse, "of good hewn logs and 
 shingle roof," twenty-four by twen- 
 ty-six feet, with "more detailed spec- 
 
 19
 
 ifications to be given later." With 
 this courthouse it also authorized the 
 construction of a substantial jail and 
 estray pen. Pope County was defin- 
 itely in operation. 
 
 FERRIES 
 
 On the border of Pope County, one 
 of the first ferries of which there is 
 any record was established by Major 
 James Lusk, who procured a license 
 from the Kentucky authorities in 
 1797. The next year, 1798, Lusk built 
 a house on the Illinois side and moved 
 to it. He continued to operate the 
 ferry until his death in 1803. His 
 wife, Sarah Lusk, operated the ferry 
 after Major Lusk's death and was 
 given a license by William Henry 
 Harrison, Governor of Indiana Ter- 
 ritory. This license was issued on 
 May 7, 1804, and is as follows: 
 
 "Indiana Territory 
 
 William Henry Harrison, Esqr,, 
 
 Governor and Commander in Chief 
 
 of the Indiana Territory 
 
 License is hereby granted to Sarah 
 Lusk to keep a ferry across the Ohio 
 River in Randolph County, opposite 
 to the one formerly kept by James 
 Lusk. She, the said Sarah Lusk, en- 
 gaging to keep at the said ferry good 
 and sufficient boats for the passage 
 of travelers, with their horses, carts, 
 wagons, carriages, cattle, &c., &c., 
 and for which she is to receive such 
 toll as may be established for said 
 ferry by the Court of Quarter Ses- 
 sions for said County. And the said 
 Sarah Lusk is also to enter into bond 
 as the law directs for the proper 
 keeping of said ferry. 
 
 Given under my hand at St. Vin- 
 cennes the seventh day of May Anno 
 Domino one thousand eight hundred 
 and four, and of the Independence of 
 the United States of America, the 
 twenty-eighth. 
 
 William Henry Harrison 
 (Seal) 
 By the Governor 
 
 Jno. Gibson, Secretary." 
 
 On Api-il 2, 1805, Sarah Lusk mar- 
 ried Thomas Ferguson, and shortly 
 thereafter the ferry became known 
 as Ferguson's Ferry. 
 
 Ferguson's Ferry competed with 
 several other ferries across the Ohio 
 River. Perhaps the first of these was 
 Ford's Fen-y, about three miles above 
 Cave-in-Rock. A second one was es- 
 tablished at present-day Elizabeth- 
 town. This ferry was kept by James 
 McFarland. Samuel O'Mulvaney had 
 one at the upper end of Stewart's Is- 
 land. The fourth ferry was opera- 
 ted by Colonel Hamlet Ferguson in 
 the vicinity of Cumberland Island. 
 This ferry was made in two stages: 
 one being from the Kentucky shore 
 to Cumberland Island, and the other 
 from Cumberland to the Illinois 
 shore. Ebneezer Simpson kept still 
 another ferry at New Liberty. 
 
 Several of the men operating fer- 
 ries went to some expense and spent 
 considerable effort in clearing out 
 roads leading to their places. This 
 was particularly true concerning 
 Lusk's Ferry and Ford's Ferry. In 
 the case of Lusk's Ferry, a road was 
 laid out from that point to Green's 
 Ferry on the Mississippi. The ferry 
 of Samuel O'Melvaney was located 
 opposite Miles' old ferry and was the 
 beginning point for Miles' Trace 
 
 20
 
 which constituted an early county 
 boundary line. O'Melvaney's ferry 
 was established on March 5, 1810. It 
 later became known as Carr's Ferry. 
 A later ferry across the Ohio River 
 was Clark's Ferry that operated from 
 the south side of Bayou Creek on the 
 Kentucky shore to a point about 
 three-fourths of a mile south of Bay 
 City. These ferries sometimes 
 changed names and ownership 
 and were often short-lived. The 
 most widely known ferry in 
 Pope County, without a doubt, was 
 Lusk's, later Ferguson's ferry. 
 
 In some cases these ferries were 
 propelled by large sweeps operated 
 by men. Later, some of the larger 
 ferries made use of horsepower. In 
 such cases the horse generally 
 walked in a tread mill on the deck 
 of the ferry, and thus operated a 
 paddle wheel. 
 
 Some of these early day ferries 
 are still in operation, though under 
 different names and ownerships. A 
 ferry franchise is even yet consider- 
 ed valuable. 
 
 AGRICULTURE 
 
 In most of Southern Illinois the 
 first settlers located in the forest. 
 After they had provided absolutely 
 necessary buildings, their next work 
 was to clear and fence a plot of 
 ground for cultivation. Farm land 
 was often considered as "cleared" 
 when the smaller trees — that is, those 
 fifteen inches and less in diameter — 
 had been cut away and the larger 
 ones deadened by girdling. 
 
 In the initial clearing of the wood- 
 land for cultivation, much of the tim- 
 
 ber would thus be cut. The one 
 clearing land would clear away and 
 burn the smaller growth and the 
 limbs and brush of the larger trees 
 he had cut. This left the larger logs 
 yet to be disposed of. A log rolling 
 would take care of that part of the 
 work. Men living within a reason- 
 able distance would be invited to 
 come to this event. Their wives and 
 children would also come. While 
 the men rolled logs, the women pre- 
 pared the noonday meal and visited 
 together. The children became ac- 
 quainted and played such games as 
 were common at the time. Log rol- 
 ling was a "swap work" affair. Men 
 did not expect pay for the work, but 
 did expect the ones they helped to 
 return the favor when invited. The 
 general practice of this "swapping 
 work" also came into use in house 
 and barn raisings, and occasionally 
 in other undertakings where an in- 
 dividual could not accomplish the 
 task alone. 
 
 On newly cleared ground, the 
 trees that had been deadened by 
 girdling often stood as dead trees 
 for many years. Their fallen limbs 
 and the trees themselves as they fell 
 occasioned considerable work for 
 some years after the ground had 
 been put into cultivation. "Picking 
 up chunks" was an annual spring 
 chore. It was on the cleared and 
 fenced ground that the settler grew 
 his field crops and much of his food. 
 
 Livestock was turned out to range 
 in the woodlands. It was invariably 
 the crops that had fences built 
 around them; the cattle, hogs, and 
 horses ran free. In order to be able 
 to identify his stock, the settler 
 branded them with a hot iron or 
 
 21
 
 marked them by cutting their ears to 
 a particular pattern. These brands 
 and marlcs were registered in the of- 
 fice of the County Clerk, and the use 
 of a particular mark was reserved to 
 the one first registering it. Brands 
 were generally made up of the ini- 
 tials of the owner. Marks were made 
 up of various combinations of pat- 
 terns to which the ears of the animal 
 were cut. Some of the ear marks 
 in common use were the crop, under- 
 bit, overbit, hole, and swallowfork. 
 Since these marks could be used in 
 either the right or the left ear, or 
 both, the possible combinations were 
 almost limitless. Though a pig may 
 put up a vigorous squeal while hav- 
 ing his ear trimmed, the operation in- 
 conveniences him very little. 
 
 When judged by present day stan- 
 dards, most of the livestock of that 
 day would be termed as scrub. Hogs 
 were "razor backs", which term pret- 
 ty well describes their condition. 
 They roamed the woods, and often 
 lived upon the plants, roots, acorns, 
 and nuts that they found there, until 
 rounded up and slaughtered. Cattle 
 were raised in like manner. At times 
 of acute shortages of range, the own- 
 er called his stock home to feed it. 
 This practice was sometimes used to 
 supplement the range and to provide 
 a better finished product. This prac- 
 tice also kept stock from becoming 
 too wild. For this same reason the 
 owner would regularly salt his cat- 
 tle. Many a pioneer farmer was 
 rightfully proud of the lusty calls he 
 could make, calls that could often be 
 readily distinguished a mile or so 
 away. The value of livestock may be 
 judged from the fact that a cow with 
 calf at side often sold for fifteen dol- 
 
 lars or even less, and pork could be 
 bought for three cents a pound. A 
 few sheep were grown for wool to 
 supply local needs. Wolves, fre- 
 quently found until the 1860's, made 
 the raising of sheep a hazardous ven- 
 ture. 
 
 The first crop generally planted 
 was corn. It provided fodder for 
 livestock, grain for corn meal, feed 
 for farm animals and fowls, and 
 mash for the "essential" whiskey. It 
 could be planted, cultivated, and har- 
 vested with fair success on newly 
 cleared ground and among stumps, 
 and thus was adaptable to the exist- 
 ing conditions. 
 
 Newly cleared ground was gener- 
 ally plowed with a particular type of 
 new-ground plow. This plow had 
 little or no bar on the side opposite 
 the moldboard. The plow was most- 
 ly of wood, the metal parts being 
 the moldboard, the coulter (cutter), 
 and a few necessary bolts and rods. 
 The moldboard was sometimes of 
 wood with only iron strips. The coul- 
 ter was designed to cut smaller roots 
 and to allow the plow to "ride over" 
 larger ones. The plowman needed 
 to be wide-awake and agile to pre- 
 vent being struck by roots torn loose 
 at one end by the plow, or to pre- 
 vent being struck by the plow han- 
 dles when the point hitched, as it 
 frequently did, on some unseen ob- 
 struction. Perhaps the experience 
 gained in plowing with a new-ground 
 plow can never be properly described 
 to those who have not engaged in 
 that task. Likewise, the memories 
 gathered by those who did such work 
 will not soon leave them. It is per- 
 haps enough to say that it was try- 
 ing both to the physical strength and 
 
 22
 
 to the patience of the performer. If 
 the new-ground plow was exceeded 
 in its tendency to do the unexpected, 
 that distinction perhaps should go to 
 the double-shovel plow used in the 
 later cultivation of the crop. The 
 hand hoe was much used in cultiva- 
 tion of the corn crop. 
 
 Practically every farmer thought 
 corn should be "chopped out" and the 
 stumps "grubbed around" at least 
 once each season. This task was car- 
 ried out in late July or in August, 
 when the corn was tall and the days 
 were hot. Corn was "cut up" when 
 it had sufficiently ripened, and ar- 
 ranged in shocks. Fodder would be 
 "shucked out" later, generally dur- 
 ing a period of damp weather in the 
 winter. General use was made of 
 large baskets of oak splits, for cai'ry- 
 ing corn about to feed livestock. A 
 familiar figure on almost any farm- 
 stead at that time was that of the 
 farmer, going across the barnlot with 
 one of these baskets, often holding 
 as much as a bushel, or carrying an 
 immense bundle of shock fodder on 
 his shoulder. 
 
 Pumpkins were planted in almost 
 all cornfields. These were used to 
 feed livestock, were cooked for table 
 use, and were cut into strips and 
 dried, to be cooked later in the win- 
 ter. They were also made into pump- 
 kin butter. Melons were also grown 
 in the fields of corn, along with many 
 beans for which the corn stalks pro- 
 vided support. 
 
 When time came to gather corn, 
 it was sometimes "jerked" or "snap- 
 ped" and brought to the barn or to 
 the crib of fence rails, with husks 
 still on it. Husking bees might then 
 
 occur. At these times the neighbors, 
 mainly the younger people, met for 
 an evening of jollity. Captains were 
 selected, sides were chosen, the corn 
 was divided into two approximately 
 equal piles, and all set to work with 
 a will. The side finishing its por- 
 tion first was declared winner. Per- 
 haps one incentive to greater effort 
 was the custom of allowing any 
 young man finding a red ear to kiss 
 the girl of his choice. It might be 
 of interest to know that in the mixed 
 varieties of corn then common, red 
 ears were not so scarce as they are 
 today. After husking was finished, 
 a dance invariably followed. 
 
 Potatoes were an early and staple 
 crop. The soil of Pope County was 
 found to be excellent for their pro- 
 duction. One of the early agricul- 
 tural products shipped from the 
 county was potatoes. These were 
 often shipped by flatboats to the 
 market at New Orleans. 
 
 Wheat was not generally grown 
 until settlers had become more estab- 
 lished. This may be explained par- 
 tially by the difficulty of harvesting. 
 The hand sickle was in universal use 
 until 1830 or later. By this method, 
 the grain stalks were gathered in 
 one hand and cut by the sickle held 
 in the other. These handfuls were 
 piled together until there were 
 enough to make a bundle. These 
 ,vere then tied together with a wisp 
 of straw. 
 
 About 1830, the grain cradle was 
 introduced and slowly came into 
 general use. With the cradle a 
 strong and active man could cut some 
 two acres of wheat in a long day. 
 Though this was a slow method, it 
 
 23
 
 was many times more ei'l'icient than 
 the hand sickle method. The work 
 of a second helper was necessary to 
 bind this wheat into bundles. The 
 grain was sometimes threshed by 
 flailing. At other times it was 
 tramped out by horses or cattle driv- 
 en over it. By use of a pitchfork, 
 perhaps made from a forked limb, 
 the straw was removed. The grain 
 and chaff remained on the threshing 
 floor. These were then separated by 
 winnowing, that is, by pouring the 
 mixed grain and chaff from pans or 
 baskets at some place where there 
 was sufficient breeze to blow the 
 chaff away. If a sufficient natural 
 breeze were not available, a large 
 fan made of a sheet or blanket would 
 be used to fan the grain as it was 
 poured from containers. All of this 
 meant much labor and may, in part 
 at least, explain the reason for the 
 somewhat slow introduction of wheat 
 into general use as a farm crop. 
 
 A generation or so later, one finds 
 reapers and crude threshers coming 
 into use. Though these did much 
 to lighten the labor of harvesting 
 wheat, it was many years before 
 hand methods that had been in use 
 for centuries disappeared. 
 
 The earlier farmer sowed his 
 small grains by broadcasting; that 
 is, he walked back and forth across 
 the field and scattered the seed by 
 hand. By the 1860's drills for plant- 
 ing grain were in use. In 1869, the 
 Golconda paper carried an item stat- 
 ing that wheat sowed by a drill was 
 best. It was more evenly distributed 
 over the ground and was not so like- 
 ly to freeze out. This same paper, 
 published in 1887, carried an adver- 
 tisement stating that grain cradles 
 
 could be bought in Golconda. All 
 this indicates that the more primitive 
 methods had not entirely passed. Old 
 sickles, grain cradles, and an occa- 
 sional flail are found even today 
 where some pioneer farmer left them 
 in his barn or attic. Youngsters are 
 often puzzled by their queer appear- 
 ance and know little or nothing con- 
 cerning the manner in which they 
 were used. 
 
 Oats, rye, and barley came into 
 use as field crops some years later 
 than wheat. Small amounts of buck- 
 wheat were grown in the 1860's and 
 later. In the same issue of the Gol- 
 conda paper that tells of drilled 
 wheat's being best, there is another 
 item stating that bugs could be kept 
 from the vines of melons and cu- 
 cumbers by planting a few seeds of 
 buckwheat in the patch. 
 
 At earlier times, a considerable 
 amount of cotton was grown for the 
 market. As late as 1876, a large 
 cotton gin was in operation near the 
 Pope-Massac line. 
 
 On many farms were small plats 
 of flax, turnips, cabbage, tobacco, 
 broomcorn, hops, castor beans and 
 other crops. 
 
 Orchards were planted by numer- 
 ous early settlers. They were not 
 beset with insect pests so much as 
 they are today. The early orchards 
 contained apples, pears, cherries, and 
 peaches. The latter two were not 
 nearly so numerous as the apples and 
 pears. Not many plums were grown, 
 since an abundance of the wild va- 
 rieties could be had for the gather- 
 ing. Fruit varieties then widely and 
 favorably known are now only the 
 memories of older persons. The 
 
 24
 
 names of Northern Spy, Ben Davis, 
 Fall Pippin, Fall Wine, Pearman, 
 Rambo, and American Golden Rus- 
 sett, now seldom heard, will stir the 
 memories of older persons. 
 
 There are many who insist that the 
 apples of that day, though they were 
 not so lai'ge nor so attractive in ap- 
 pearance, were even better flavored 
 than present day ones. That may be 
 true or it may be that the memories 
 are tinged with a long-vanished, boy- 
 ish appetite. 
 
 ROADWAYS 
 
 The first roads in the Pope-County 
 territory were those leading from the 
 early ferries on the Ohio toward im- 
 portant points to the north and west. 
 They were often kept in repair by 
 the owners of the ferries, in order to 
 attract travellers to their places of 
 business. It is recorded that some of 
 the roads leading from Lusk's Ferry 
 were laid out and opened by Major 
 Lusk to secure business for his ferry 
 at Golconda. 
 
 The first authentic map yet found 
 that shows roadways of present-day 
 Pope County is the postal map issued 
 in 1841. This rnap was made by Da- 
 vid H. Burr, geographer of the House 
 of Representatives. Although it was 
 issued in 1841, the information on 
 which it was based evidently was 
 gathered two or three years prior 
 to that time. This map shows a main 
 highway entering the county south- 
 west of present day Bay City and 
 proceeding in a northeasterly direc- 
 tion to a place near the Ohio River, 
 about two miles north of the village. 
 The road then followed along the 
 
 river through the present town of 
 Golconda and left the county about 
 the northeast corner of S34, T12S, 
 R3E. This was the main highway 
 leading from Fort Massac to Rock 
 and Cave. 
 
 Another impoi'tant road was the 
 one leaving the Fort Massac-Rock 
 and Cave road about two miles north 
 of Golconda and going west. It 
 passed a short distance north of Dix- 
 on Springs and continued toward Vi- 
 enna and Jonesboro. A third road 
 left the Ohio river at about the same 
 place, proceeded in a northwesterly 
 direction, passed the present village 
 of Eddyville, and left the county 
 near the northwest corner. This 
 road led from Golconda, or Lusk's 
 Ferry, to Frankfort and on to Kas- 
 kaskia. A fourth main highway en- 
 tered the county about two miles 
 north of the present village of Robbs 
 and proceeded in a northeasterly di- 
 rection to S24 in TllS, R5E. At this 
 point the road forked; one branch, 
 continuing in the same genei'al di- 
 rection, passed about a mile south 
 of present Delwood and a mile north 
 of Oak, and left the county near the 
 northwest corner of SI, TllS, R6E. 
 The south branch of this road passed 
 about one-half mile south of Oak, 
 crossed Gibbon's creek a short dis- 
 tance north of Herod, and left the 
 county about a half mile south of 
 the northeast corner. Both branches 
 of this road led to Shawneetown and 
 appear to have offered a choice of 
 roads, depending upon the weather 
 or season. There were doubtless 
 many other roads in the county at 
 the time, but these were the roads 
 over which the mail was transported. 
 It was over these roads that the ear- 
 
 25
 
 ly-day stage coaches were driven. 
 Some very old persons recall the last 
 of these coaches and knew the men 
 who drove them. Judged by present 
 day standards, they were uncomfor- 
 table and slow. Despite this, they 
 served their purpose well, and the 
 tradition of them even yet adds gla- 
 mour to the age they served. 
 
 The tendency in laying out these 
 earlier roads was to follow as direct 
 routes as conditions warranted. Since 
 there were very few fenced farms, 
 land lines were generally ignored, 
 high hills and swamps avoided, and 
 streams crossed at points where they 
 could be most easily forded. With 
 the establishment of farms and the 
 building of fences, many old road- 
 ways were changed to follow land 
 lines. In many places in the coun- 
 ty, one may yet see the deeply worn 
 trails of old roadways, some of which 
 were deserted a century ago. 
 
 Since bridges were practically un- 
 known, larger streams were crossed 
 by ferries and smaller ones by fords. 
 A ford was necessarily located at 
 some shallow point on the stream, 
 where sloping banks permitted wa- 
 gons to enter the stream and be 
 pulled up on the other shore. In 
 some places where a solid bottom 
 could not be found, floors of logs and 
 poles were laid in the bed of the 
 stream. These were often held in 
 place by cross poles that were fast- 
 ened down by forked posts. This 
 same method of crosslaying with logs 
 and poles was used in swampy and 
 miry spots. It was called corduroy. 
 Though it was a serviceable road, it 
 was a rough one. 
 
 A number of the fords established 
 at an early day are still in use. They 
 soon became landmarks and were 
 often used as points from which oth- 
 er places were located. One of the 
 well-known fords of the county is 
 Maynor's Ford, named for Calvin 
 Maynor who lived nearby. This ford 
 is across Hayes Creek, about one and 
 a half mile southeast of Eddyville. 
 Another one, across Lusk Creek, 
 about three miles east and slightly 
 south of the village of Lu.sk, is known 
 as Rose Ford. It takes its name from 
 one of the men who lived in the vi- 
 cinity. 
 
 At the point where the very early 
 roadway crossed Bay Creek, about 
 four miles west of Eddyville, one 
 finds another old ford named for 
 David Watkins who lived there. John 
 Anderson gave his name to the ford 
 aci-oss Lusk Creek north of Walters- 
 burg. Porter's Ford was on Lusk 
 Creek about three miles north of 
 Waltersburg. Hanson's Ford across 
 Lusk Creek is another ford that has 
 been used for many years. It was 
 named for George Manson, who lived 
 near it. Carvel Ford on the old road- 
 way from Eddyville to Clendale was 
 named for Smith Carvel, who had 
 a blacksmith and wagon shop at that 
 place. This was an important shop, 
 and many wagons were made there. 
 
 The.se are only a few of the fords 
 that were used by the citizens of 
 Pope County. As bridges were built 
 and the location of roadways 
 changed, some of the old fords were 
 no longer used and have been for- 
 gotten. As one wanders along some 
 stream, he occasionally sees a deep- 
 ly worn but abandoned and over- 
 grown roadway leading to a likely 
 
 26
 
 crossing place. On the other bank 
 of the stream, he sees the same evi- 
 dences of an old roadway's leaving- 
 the stream. When carefully sought, 
 the interesting story of these old 
 fords can be uncovered. 
 
 CHURCHES 
 
 Ministers and missionaries doubt- 
 less visited Pope County prior to 
 1811, but the first known record of 
 a minister's working there was made 
 in that year. This man had come 
 from eastern Kentucky, from the vi- 
 cinity of Cumberland Gap, by way 
 of the "Wilderness Road." It is said 
 that he arrived at Lusk's Tavern, 
 then called Fiddler's Green, on the 
 same day that the first steamer, the 
 New Orleans, stopped there on its 
 way down the Ohio River. This man, 
 James MacGready, was of Presby- 
 terian faith, traveling, as he stated, 
 "for observation and opportunity." 
 The people of the settlement later 
 known as Sarahville urged the Rev- 
 erend MacGready to stay in town 
 and preach for them. This he con- 
 sented to do, but it is not known how 
 long he stayed. Records, later than 
 those of the coming of Reverend 
 MacGready, made occasional allu- 
 sions to other preachers. 
 
 The work of Reverend MacGready, 
 who later established Sharon Church 
 near Enfield, Illinois, or that of some 
 other Presbyterian minister who 
 came to Golconda, shortly bore fruit 
 in the establishment there, in 1819, 
 of the present Presbyterian church, 
 now the oldest organized church of 
 that faith in the state of Illinois. This 
 church, of sixteen members, was or- 
 ganized on October 24, 1819, by Rev- 
 
 erend Nathan B. Darrow. A copy of 
 the record of this organization serv- 
 ice is given in the next paragraph. 
 
 This day a number of persons con- 
 vened at the Courthouse in Golcon- 
 da, for examination preparatory to 
 the planting of a church in this place. 
 Sixteen persons, whose names are 
 hereafter recorded, gave in their 
 names for members in a Presbyter- 
 ian church in this place, and after 
 inquiry respecting their belief and 
 practice, it was resolved to be plan- 
 ted in a church state tomorrow. Ac- 
 cordingly, on Lord's Day, the 24th 
 of this month, after a discourse from 
 Rom. 4th chapter, the church was 
 planted by the persons aforesaid 
 making the following Confes.sion and 
 Covenant. (These are omitted at 
 this place from the record consul- 
 ted.)**** They are, therefore, here- 
 by declared a regular member of 
 the church of Jesus Christ, and as 
 such recommended to the fellowship 
 of sister churches and to the atten- 
 tion of the Ambassadors of Jesus. 
 By me, 
 
 N'n B. Darrow, V. C. M., 
 "Missionary for Connecticut." 
 
 The orginial members of this 
 church were as follows: James E. 
 Willis, Eliza Willis, Joshua Scott, 
 Jane Scott, David B. Glass, Francis 
 Glass, Agnes Glass, George Hodge, 
 John Hanna, Margaret H a n n a, 
 George H. Hanna, William P. Han- 
 na. Jane Hanna, James H. Hanna, 
 Benjamin Spilman, and Nancy R. 
 Spilman. Benjamin Spilman became 
 a rather prominent churchman in 
 later years and was a teacher in the 
 academy or college established at 
 Equality. 
 
 27
 
 In the early years of this church, 
 the congregation had two places of 
 worship, one being in the village of 
 Golconda and the other in the coun- 
 try on the Vienna road. In earlier 
 years, the meetings in Golconda were 
 held in the court house or school 
 house or in a Union church. This 
 plan of meeting seems to have been 
 carried on until 1869, when the pres- 
 ent building was erected. 
 
 The meeting place of the congre- 
 gation in the country was in the home 
 of Francis Glass, where meetings 
 were held until about 1832. They 
 were next held at the house of Da- 
 vid B. Glass, some four miles west 
 of Golconda, until about 1840. At 
 that time. Bethel church was built. 
 Though never entirely finished, it 
 was used until about 1858 when it 
 was sold and the proceeds used in 
 building a church called Bethany. 
 The title to this church was with the 
 Cumberlands, but the building was 
 used also by the Presbyterians until 
 about 1877. During the next year, 
 the Presbyterians built a church 
 called Prospect. It was located near 
 the middle of the N. W. quarter of 
 S33, T13S, R5E. Another church 
 named Grove had been erected in 
 1871, about three miles southeast of 
 Prospect church. It was soon aban- 
 doned, and the members re-united 
 with the Golconda church. 
 
 The history of another early 
 church, which may be considered as 
 typical of the first churches of the 
 county, is that of Olive General Bap- 
 tist Church. This church was foun- 
 ded near present day McCormick by 
 Elder William Hurt, in 1855. The 
 six members uniting to form it were 
 
 Nathan Bramlet, Mary Bramlet, Gil- 
 bert Penell, Matthew Bracewell, Ir- 
 ene Bracewell, and Matilda Brace- 
 well. 
 
 The beliefs of this group — and 
 these seem to be typical of the gen- 
 eral church beliefs of the period — 
 are rather clearly shown by the con- 
 fession of faith adopted. These arti- 
 cles of confession are, briefly, as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 1. The new testament is the only 
 safe rule of conduct. 
 
 2. There is only one true God. 
 
 3. All people are fallen and de- 
 praved. 
 
 4. A 1 1 salvation, regeneration, 
 sanctification, resurrection, as- 
 cension, and intercession come 
 from the death, resurrection, 
 ascension, and intercession of 
 Christ. 
 
 5. One who endures to the end is 
 saved. 
 
 6. Punishment of the wicked is 
 eternal. 
 
 7. Communion is only with those 
 baptised by immersion. 
 
 8. The sanctity of Sunday, the 
 first day of the week, is affirm- 
 ed. 
 
 9. There is to be a resurrection of 
 the body. 
 
 10. All should be tender and af- 
 fectionate, one toward another. 
 
 In order that the business should 
 be transacted in an orderly fashion, 
 the following "Rules of Decorum" 
 were adopted by the church: 
 
 1. All meetings will be opened and 
 closed by prayer. 
 
 2. Only one person may speak at 
 a time. 
 
 28
 
 3. One must not interrupt the 
 speaker. 
 
 4. The speaker must adhere to the 
 subject. 
 
 5. No one may speak more than 
 three times on any one subject. 
 
 6. There must be no whispering 
 and laughing. 
 
 7. Members sliall be addressed as 
 '"brother" or "brethren." (It 
 seems strange that "sister" or 
 "sisters" were not included.) 
 
 8. No one may absent himself 
 without the permission of the 
 moderator. 
 
 These articles of faith and rules of 
 decorum were signed by Wm. Hurt 
 as moderator and Matthew Bracewell 
 as clerk. The church formed at that 
 time is still in existence and appears 
 to be a reasonably prosperous coun- 
 try church. 
 
 In many of the communities, the 
 church services were held in the 
 same building used for school pur- 
 poses. The description of an early- 
 day church building is, therefore, 
 about the same as that of an early- 
 day school. The buildings were 
 most likely of logs; the benches, of 
 slabs or half logs, were supported on 
 wooden pegs that served as legs. As 
 the congregation grew and became 
 somewhat more prosperous, benches 
 or pews were built. Some of these 
 hand-made seats are yet to be seen 
 in country churches. Such church 
 services as were held at night were 
 generally announced for "early can- 
 dlelight." The light for these serv- 
 ices was supplied by a grease lamp, 
 or candles, and in season, was helped 
 by the light of the fire place. It was 
 not unusual for the only illumination 
 
 to be that used by the minister to 
 allow him to read the scriptures. The 
 congregation thus sat in semi-dark- 
 ness. 
 
 The teacher's desk often served as 
 the pulpit. In some instances, a 
 special stand was built. When heat 
 was required, it was supplied by a 
 fire place or, at later times, by a 
 stove. In cold weather this healing 
 was uneven, and it was not unusual 
 to see members of the congregation 
 quietly moving back and from the 
 fire or edging up to it. 
 
 There were generally three serv- 
 ices on the week-end, but these serv- 
 ices v/ere often held only once each 
 month. The Saturday afternoon 
 service, usually at about two o'clock, 
 was looked upon as the business 
 meeting of the church. At that time 
 such business as should come before 
 the church was transacted. Members 
 were disciplined, letters granted, 
 members received, plans for future 
 church programs formed, or other 
 business matters attended to. The 
 Sunday morning and Sunday evening 
 services were those in which the ma- 
 jor sermon efforts were made. The 
 sermons were generally of the revival 
 type and placed much more emphasis 
 on the fate awaiting the unsaved soul 
 than do those of the present day. It 
 was not unusual for the sermon to 
 last for an hour or more. 
 
 As was stated earlier, the preach- 
 ers were often men of only average 
 learning. They spoke the language 
 of the common man in the commun- 
 ity, frequently making very liberal 
 use of 'ah,' 'and-ah,' and other su- 
 perfluous words. There was con- 
 siderable prejudice against an edu- 
 
 29
 
 cated minister. Peter Cartwright, 
 one of the most noted frontier 
 preachers, in his sermons and writ- 
 ings often expresses disapproval of 
 book learning. It must be admitted 
 that many of the ministers of that 
 period were earnest and consecrated 
 men and often weielded great influ- 
 ence. They were usually poorly paid, 
 receiving only a free-will offering. 
 If it had not been that on week days 
 they were farmers, merchants, doc- 
 tors, or tradesmen of some kind, the 
 work of the ministry could hardly 
 have been carried on. 
 
 The social aspects of the church 
 at that time were greater than those 
 of today. The crowd would gather 
 long before church services were to 
 begin. They used this interval in 
 visiting and talking. The actual 
 church services generally began by 
 the singing of a song. At that time 
 most of those present would troop 
 into the church, find themselves 
 seats, and settle down to await the 
 sermon. After church there would 
 be more visiting, but since appetites 
 had generally become acute, this vis- 
 iting would not be unduly prolonged. 
 
 The songs used in the services 
 were more solemn and sedate than 
 the congregational songs of today. 
 Song books were not so common as 
 they now are. It was not unusual 
 to have the preacher or some song 
 leader announce the hymn and line 
 it; that is, sing a line of the hymn, 
 allow the congregation to repeat the 
 line, and continue the process, until 
 a "verse" had been completed. The 
 portion of the song thus rehearsed 
 would be repeated in its entirety. As 
 books became more common, this 
 
 practice of lining the hymn became 
 unnecessary. Even then, few of the 
 song books carried the music. Since 
 no instruments were in common use 
 in the earlier church, it was not un- 
 usual to find that the one leading 
 the singing used a tuning fork, from 
 which he secured the proper pitch 
 and relayed that pitch to the con- 
 gregation. Some time later, song 
 books with shaped notes came into 
 use. With the help of singing 
 schools, the method of singing was 
 somewhat changed. Prayers called 
 forth more than ordinary vehemence, 
 and numerous instances are on rec- 
 ond where the prayers could be 
 heard a mile or so away. 
 
 When Sunday came, the people 
 invariably put on their clean or Sun- 
 day clothes. Men often took their 
 weekly shave. Shoes or boots were 
 shined, children were carefully scrub- 
 bed, the boys had their hair 
 "roached," the girls and women put 
 on their prettiest dresses, and all 
 went to church. Many ministers de- 
 nounced an occasional tendency of 
 some woman to dress in what might 
 then be considered as too striking a 
 manner. There are numerous in- 
 stances of such disapproval in the 
 sermons and writings of Peter Cart- 
 wright, mentioned earlier. In most 
 early churches it was the practice for 
 men and women to sit on opposite 
 sides of the house. In the corner 
 next to the minister, on the side oc- 
 cupied by the men, one might expect 
 to see the "pillars of the church." 
 This was known as the "amen" cor- 
 ner, doubtless from the fact that at 
 times during the sermon some one 
 seated there frequently approved the 
 utterance of the preacher by fer- 
 
 30
 
 vently saying "amen." In the cor- 
 responding corner on the opposite 
 side, one might see the elderly and 
 more important women of the con- 
 gregation, but one seldom heard 
 "amens" coming from that corner. 
 When people lived beyond reason- 
 able walking distance of the church, 
 they might be seen coming on horse- 
 back or in wagons that were often 
 drawn by oxen, and later in buggies 
 or carts: some also used mud boats, 
 and sleds. Basket dinners and all- 
 day services were frequent. In the 
 wagons were liberal paddings of hay 
 on which a number of people could 
 be seated. During the services, the 
 horses or oxen were unhitched and 
 tied to the wagons. When this was 
 done, the hay padding for the return 
 trip was often thinned considerably. 
 Such expressions as "Come and go 
 home with us for dinner" were often 
 heard, and it was not unusual for 
 about half the people going to church 
 to go home with the other half. Such 
 visits were repaid, perhaps, on the 
 next meeting day. A bucket of wa- 
 ter and a drinking gourd were avail- 
 able for the thirsty, and a pitcher 
 and glass were often to be found 
 convenient to the minister. 
 
 When church was out and people 
 started to leave for home, it was not 
 at all unusual to see a sizeable group 
 of boys line up beside the doorway, 
 particularly at the evening service. 
 They were waiting to "see the girls 
 home." The aspiring boy would 
 leave his group and surprise the girl 
 of his choice with a rather common 
 expression, "May I see you home?" 
 If it was agreeable, the girl would 
 reply, "Yes;" if not, she would say, 
 "No," and the boy was "sacked." 
 
 This called forth some laughs and 
 perhaps deterred the boy in his so- 
 cial progress. 
 
 Some people, generally young 
 men, seemed to go to church for no 
 other purpose than the social con- 
 tacts that they might make. It was 
 not unusual to see a group of these 
 young men standing, throughout the 
 services, just outside the church win- 
 dows or doors. 
 
 With each year came the church 
 revival or portracted meeting. At 
 such times, if interest were aroused, 
 there would be large crowds and a 
 considerable amount of enthusiasm. 
 The successful minister generally 
 "sprinkled" a liberal amount of 
 brimstone and told a number of 
 deathbed stories. As the interest 
 and enthusiasm mounted, shoutings 
 were frequent. More of the shout- 
 ing came from women than from 
 men, but the shouting of men was not 
 unusual. In some instances, the great 
 excitement of the meetings induced 
 epidemics of "jerks." In such cases 
 the victim was seized with convul- 
 sive jerkings of the body that were 
 rather alarming to observers, and 
 often rendered the person incapable 
 of controlled movements. 
 
 In some instances, the places of 
 meetings were under sheds erected 
 for the purpose. At the present time 
 such buildings are termed taber- 
 nacles, but they were then generally 
 designed as sheds. Services might 
 even be held under a brush arbor, 
 that is, under a rude shelter made by 
 piling leafy branches on an elevated 
 platform. This arbor sometimes ex- 
 tended over the entire congregation; 
 at other times, only over the pulpit 
 
 31
 
 and the seats nearby. Seats were 
 generally rude benches made of 
 planks or puncheons laid across 
 logs. In some cases these camps 
 would be set up in a rather military 
 fashion, with guards, assembly calls, 
 and other characteristics common to 
 a military post. Sunday School did 
 not become common until about the 
 time of the Civil War. Even then, 
 some sects did not receive it very en- 
 thusiastically. 
 
 SCHOOLS 
 
 The first official record found 
 concerning schools in Pope County 
 is that in the minutes recorded for 
 the meeting of the Board of County 
 Commissioners, held at Golconda, on 
 June 14, 1825. At that meeting were 
 presented a number of petitions, 
 signed by residents of different vi- 
 cinities, and asking for the establish- 
 ment of school districts. The first 
 one recorded was a petition to estab- 
 lish a school district with boundaries 
 as follow: 
 
 "Beginning at Golconda, thence up 
 the Ohio River so as to include Sam- 
 uel Alexander thence with the Shaw- 
 neetown road to the Saline road 
 thence with Stucken path to Church's 
 Ford on Lusk Creek, thence on a di- 
 rect line so as to include William 
 Rondeau thence to the Ohio River on 
 Lack's (or Jack's) Landing includ- 
 ing Smith's Mill, thence up said river 
 to place of beginning. Therefore or- 
 dered by said court that the afore- 
 said boundaries constitute the first 
 school district of Pope County." 
 
 Although some of the landmarks 
 mentioned in the above description 
 can not now be definitely located, it 
 
 can be determined that the district 
 described was some five or si.x miles 
 square, or about the size of an ordi- 
 nary rural voting precinct of today. 
 
 At this same meeting a second pe- 
 tition was evidently allowed, but it 
 does not seem to have been recorded. 
 The next district which was estab- 
 lished and which had boundaries giv- 
 en is designated as the third school 
 district in the county. The boundar- 
 ies of this third school district were 
 as follow: 
 
 "Beginning at the mouth of Big 
 Creek, thence up the same to half a 
 mile above the Salt Petre cave thence 
 westward to include Mr. Asa Da- 
 vises' thence southerly to the Ohio 
 River to include Mr. Alexander Park- 
 inson and Alex Blair, thence up the 
 same to place of beginning to be 
 styled and called the 'Monroe School 
 District.' " The boundaries of another 
 school district are given, the fourth 
 one in Pope County. This district 
 lay east of Big (Grandpierre) Creek. 
 At that time this territory was a part 
 of Pope County but was placed, a 
 few years later, in a newly created 
 county of Hardin. Since only a small 
 part of the district is in present-day 
 Pope County, a detailed account of 
 this district will appear in the Hardin 
 County Notes. 
 
 It will be seen that all of these 
 districts were extremely large when 
 compared with present-day ones. It 
 was not then unusual for a school 
 district to extend three miles or more 
 in practically all directions from the 
 school. This large area was neces- 
 sary in order to secure sufficient rev- 
 enue to pay school expenses. Even 
 then, expenses of early schools were 
 
 32
 
 not large if measured by present- 
 day standards, since many of the 
 teachers were paid $20.00 or less 
 per month. Several early-day con- 
 tracts for teaching in Southern Illi- 
 nois have been found, providing a 
 salary of only $16.00 per month. 
 
 The pay of the teacher was often 
 made in produce of the community 
 and in a small amount of money. The 
 things mentioned as acceptable for 
 payment of the teacher's salary were 
 coi'n, wheat, venison, deer skins, ba- 
 con, cattle, and hogs. These were 
 generally to be taken "at current 
 market price." In communities where 
 such could be done, teachers often 
 loaded this produce on a flat boat 
 and took it to New Orleans. In some 
 cases it was sold to local dealers. In 
 addition to the small income from 
 taxes to support the earlier schools, 
 parents paid an additional fee, ac- 
 cording to the number of pupils at- 
 tending from their home. The above- 
 described schools should be thought 
 of as the first regularly organized 
 districts and not necessarily as the 
 first schools existing in the county. 
 It is recorded that an old sailor 
 named Pittulo was teaching in the 
 vicinity of Golconda in 1800, and 
 that he taught some years thereafter 
 in the same vicinity. It was this 
 teacher that gave the name of Fid- 
 dler's Green to the tavern built at 
 the site of Golconda, in 1798, by 
 Major James Lusk. This man 
 "boarded around;" that is, he went 
 from home to home for various 
 lengths of time, staying at each place 
 somewhat according to the number 
 of pupils attending from there. He 
 thus stayed twice as long at a place 
 where there were four pupils as at 
 
 where there were only two. This 
 teacher received most of his salaiy 
 in skins and pelts which he conver- 
 ted into money by selling them to 
 fur dealers who came to the town 
 once or twice a year. He also added 
 to his income by selling vegetables 
 to keel boat men. 
 
 The schools of the early day dif- 
 fered greatly from those of the pres- 
 ent day. They were generally log 
 houses. Sometimes the house would 
 be a settler's deserted cabin. One 
 such school standing until recently 
 and typical of the schools at that 
 time may well be described in order 
 that the reader may visualize others. 
 
 This house was built in 1838 of 
 logs that had been smoothed on two 
 sides. In size it was about 16 by 
 20 feet. It was chinked with short 
 pieces split from blocks, and daubed 
 with a mixture of clay and lime. The 
 finished walls, both inside and out- 
 side, were the logs with their chink- 
 ing and daubing. The floor was 
 made of puncheons, that is, slabs 
 split from a large log. These slabs 
 were smoothed on one side by the 
 use of a broad ax or adz and the 
 edges straightened. Such floors were 
 somewhat rough and open, but they 
 were substantial. In some early 
 school houses no floor was made, the 
 earth being used instead. The roof 
 was made of clapboards that had 
 been rived from some convenient oak 
 tree. Because of the scarcity of 
 nails, it was not unusual to have a 
 roof of this kind held on by weight 
 poles; that is, a course of boards was 
 laid and held in place by a pole. 
 These poles were fastened with hic- 
 kory withes or perhaps pegged in 
 place. 
 
 33
 
 In some instances these school 
 houses had no ceilings. Wherever a 
 ceiling was found, it often consisted 
 of long clapboards, perhaps four or 
 six feet long, laid on log joists. It 
 was not unusual for one to look up- 
 ward in one of these school houses 
 and see through both the ceiling and 
 the roof. 
 
 Such buildings were heated by 
 fire places, built in the side or in the 
 end of the house. These fire places 
 were built of stone or more often of 
 logs lined with stone and clay, and 
 had a stick-and-clay chimney. These 
 stick-and-clay chimneys were simple 
 pens of double walls extending to 
 about the roof level. They were 
 plastered inside and out with clay 
 in order that the chimney would not 
 burn down. It was not unusual to 
 see places where the clay had crum- 
 bled away from the sticks and a hole 
 had been burned. These fire places 
 were no puny affairs and often ac- 
 commodated logs four feet or more 
 in length. It was occasionally a part 
 of the teacher's task to provide the 
 necessary fire wood. This was not 
 so bad as it sounds, perhaps, since 
 the forest nearby provided a source 
 of timber. 
 
 In the old building mentioned in 
 a previous paragraph, there were two 
 windows, one in each end, about two 
 feet wide and four feet high. These 
 windows and the light from the fire- 
 place provided the illumination. On 
 dark days it must have been a dimly 
 lighted school room. 
 
 Seats for the school room were 
 made from logs that were split in 
 half. The split surface was smooth- 
 ed, holes were bored in the rounded 
 
 side, and pegs of suitable length to 
 provide seats for pupils of different 
 sizes were inserted to serve as legs. 
 There were no backs to these seats 
 and no desks on which the books 
 might be placed or writing done. The 
 writing desk was generally a smooth 
 slab placed on large wooden pins 
 set in the wall. Pupils who wished 
 to write went to this desk. Some- 
 times two writing desks of different 
 heights were provided for the larger 
 and the smaller pupils. At other 
 times, the shorter pupils had to stand 
 on a block or some other object to 
 bring them up to the level of the 
 desk. Fools cap paper was in com- 
 mon use and derived its name from 
 the fact that teachers sometimes fa- 
 shioned a pointed cap from it and 
 placed it on the head of some pupil 
 who did not learn his lesson in a sa- 
 tisfactory manner. 
 
 On a shelf near the doorway one 
 found the water bucket. This wood- 
 en bucket and the ever-present 
 handled gourd for use as a dipper 
 were standard equipment. "Going 
 after a bucket of water" was almost 
 always a welcome escape from regu- 
 lar schoolroom work. These trips 
 to the well or spring, often as far as 
 a quarter of a mile away, were nev- 
 er more hurried than the teacher de- 
 manded that they be. 
 
 If any writing was done in the seat 
 where the pupil sat, he used a slate. 
 By to-day's standards, these slates 
 were rather unsanitary, for after a 
 child had written on a slate, it had 
 to be erased. He accomplished this 
 by spitting rather liberally on the 
 slate and using the palm of his hand 
 to remove the writing. In order to 
 
 34
 
 dry any surplus moisture, the sleeve 
 of the forearm was sometimes used. 
 For pens and ink, the source of sup- 
 ply was local. Ink was made of oak 
 galls and copperas. Pens were made 
 from the wing feathers of geese. It 
 was not unusual for the teacher's 
 ability to make pens from these 
 feathers to be considered one of his 
 major qualifications for the job. 
 Writing paper was more expensive 
 and was not so freely used as at the 
 present time. 
 
 The games the pupils played were 
 usually those in which the skill or 
 the strength of the individual coun- 
 ted most. They were not the orga- 
 nized games known today. They in- 
 cluded bull pen, wolf on the ridge, 
 hat ball, old sow, shinny, cat, sling 
 dutch, move up, lap jacket, leap frog, 
 one-and-over, stink base, and whip- 
 cracker. Most of these games were 
 much too vigorous and rough for the 
 girls, who were sometimes admitted 
 to such games as cat or wolf-on-the- 
 ridge. Generally, however, the girls 
 played ante over — often called 
 andy over — London Bridge, drop the 
 handkerchief, rope skipping, or some 
 form of singing game. Some of the 
 games played by the boys were rath- 
 er trying to those who engaged in 
 them. An illustration of such a game 
 was the one known as lap jacket. 
 In this game, each one of the pair 
 engaging secured a switch, often a 
 handful of the buckberry shrub that 
 grew along the fence rows. They 
 then clasped left hands and pro- 
 ceeded to switch each other thor- 
 oughly. Though the game was known 
 as lap jacket, the rules generally re- 
 quired that the switching be done 
 above the knees and below the waist. 
 
 These switchings were often severe, 
 and the contestants left the game 
 considerably striped. Should one of 
 the contestants decide that he had 
 been "bested", he indicated the same 
 by a pre-arranged call, like "enough" 
 or "calf rope." A simple cry of "oh" 
 was also regarded as a surrender. A 
 simple description of the games then 
 played but now practically forgotten 
 would take half the space of a book 
 of this size. 
 
 On some of the Friday nights there 
 were spelling matches or meetings 
 of a literary society. In the spelling 
 matches, two captains chose sides, 
 naturally beginning with the best 
 spellers available, and dividing all 
 contestants into two numerically 
 equal groups. It was not long until 
 the poorer spellers were eliminated, 
 since a contestant must "set down" 
 when he missed a word. As the num- 
 ber of spellers yet in the contest 
 grew less, the interest mounted, 
 reaching its climax when only two 
 were left. The one who could "spell 
 down the school" enjoyed quite a 
 reputation, being much admired by 
 some and perhaps cordially despised 
 by others. At times, instead of two 
 captains choosing the team, a speller, 
 usually a poor one, was designated 
 to start the contest. He naturally 
 chose an opponent that he thought 
 he could outspell. The survivor in 
 turn chose another opponent. This 
 was continued until only two were 
 left. The results arrived at in each 
 case were the same. 
 
 In the case of the literary socie- 
 ties, one could expect a paper some- 
 what like a newspaper in its com- 
 ments upon local events and persons. 
 
 85
 
 This was generally meant to be hu- 
 morous. By some of the comments 
 on local incidents and persons, ill 
 feelings were aroused. There were 
 always recitations or declamations, 
 a few songs, perhaps a dialogue or 
 two, and often a paper — by the stan- 
 dard then used, a learned one. After 
 this, there was generally a debate in 
 which teams were pitted against each 
 other and before judges chosen from 
 the group assembled. Questions for 
 debate were "Resolved that pursuit 
 is more pleasant than possession;" 
 "Resolved that water is more useful 
 than fire;" "Resolved that Lincoln 
 was greater than Washington;" "Re- 
 solved that the American Indian has 
 been mistreated;" or some other such 
 subject. In these debates many a 
 young man received a training that 
 afterwards helped him as a minister, 
 as a lawyer, or as some other servant 
 in public life. 
 
 Another type of meeting held in 
 the school houses was the singing 
 school. In these schools the singing 
 master often came into the communi- 
 ty as an itinerant and remained to 
 teach a school. His equipment for 
 this work consisted of nothing more 
 than a tuning fork, an ability to sing, 
 a few song books, and a chart on 
 which some bars of music were writ- 
 ten. In these schools the young peo- 
 ple of the community learned to sing 
 and to enjoy the social aspects of 
 their lives, for, naturally, after the 
 school, the girls were "seen safely 
 home." These singing schools were 
 continued until recent years. Uncle 
 Burton Holloway, of Eddyville, now 
 past eighty years old, is one of the 
 men remaining who taught many 
 such singing schools. 
 
 Another school, similar to the sing- 
 ing school already mentioned, was 
 the writing school. This, like the 
 singing school, was a subscription af- 
 fair, open to all those who would pay 
 a fee for the privilege of attending. 
 The penmanship taught was com- 
 monly referred to as Spencerian and 
 had many a flourish and scroll. Old 
 copy books from that period are yet 
 to be found in trunks and attics. 
 They are admired for the excellent 
 figures, flourishes, and fancy letter- 
 ing they exhibit. 
 
 In the matter of text books there 
 was little uniformity. The one book 
 that was deemed an essential for 
 every pupil was a spelling book. Al- 
 most without exception this was Web- 
 ster's Blue Back Speller. A little 
 later, with the advent of McGuffey's 
 Readers, more uniformity in the mat- 
 ter of readers came. In the earlier 
 schools it was not uncommon for the 
 pupil to bring whatever reading ma- 
 terial the home afforded. This might 
 be a Bible, Rollin's Ancient History, 
 a newspaper, or almost any other 
 book in circulation in that section. 
 There were few arithmetic texts; 
 hence these books were generally 
 made by the teacher or pupil. Num- 
 erous home made texts are yet to be 
 found in attics and old trunks. One 
 was thought to be a good mathema- 
 tician when he could "cipher to the 
 double rule of three" — that is, com- 
 pound proportions. For the more 
 advanced pupils, grammar became an 
 important subject. From it, they not 
 only learned the fundamental struc- 
 tures of the language but also de- 
 veloped an ability to reason and to 
 argue. 
 
 36
 
 Art, as it exists in public schools 
 to-day, was banned. The little bit 
 of such work done was that which 
 the pupil did while the teacher was 
 not looking. At times he even used 
 the teacher as the subject for his 
 not-too-complimentary sketches. Some 
 decorative penmanship in which 
 birds were prominent was expected 
 at almost any school. Work of this 
 type was done by the more skillful 
 of the students in the writing clas- 
 ses mentioned earlier. 
 
 Physiology and hygiene were then 
 practically unknown. Geography was 
 often very sketchy, and sometimes 
 the book used was a small one with 
 an accompanying book of maps. The 
 text in geography was unvarying in 
 its methods of treatment of different 
 countries. History was rather brief- 
 ly dealt with and seemed to empha- 
 size war more than anything else. 
 Except for those who were to be- 
 come lawyers, doctors, ministers or 
 teachers, a rudimentary knowledge 
 of the Three R's — "reading, riting, 
 and rithmetic" — was about all that 
 was considered essential. 
 
 In many of the earlier schools, the 
 pupils were encouraged to study 
 aloud, and the hum of the school 
 could be heard for a great distance. 
 It was thought to be the best way 
 for a pupil to learn. It also enabled 
 the teacher to tell whether the pupil 
 was actively at work. A teacher soon 
 became like a trained choir leader, 
 rather capable of selecting and list- 
 ening to almost any voice he chose. 
 Since all were studying aloud, the 
 noise did not bother anyone partic- 
 ularly. 
 
 Most of the teachers of the early 
 day were men. They were often itin- 
 erants, teaching a term or two in a 
 place and moving on. In addition 
 to a rudimentary knowledge of the 
 common subjects, one of the qualifi- 
 cations deemed essential at that time 
 was the ability to inflict corporal 
 punishment. The idea of "no lick- 
 ing, no larning" was generally ac- 
 cepted. On a peg behind his desk 
 the teacher kept the switches neces- 
 sary to apply the corporal punish- 
 ment in the approved manner. The 
 pupil who did not receive an occa- 
 sional flogging was looked upon as 
 unusual. Many a pupil thought the 
 day had been lost if he did not re- 
 ceive a reasonable switching. Wom- 
 en teachers were an exception, but 
 an occasional one with more daring, 
 tact, and ingenuity than the average, 
 became well known for her success- 
 ful work. It is a far cry from those 
 schools to the ones of this day. Their 
 defects and limitations were glaring; 
 yet they are not to be laughed to 
 scorn. They produced the men and 
 women who made America great. 
 Perhaps their stern regime was not 
 so badly fitted to the world in which 
 they existed. No thinking person 
 would wish to call them back, but 
 that same person will look upon them 
 as the rather solid foundation upon 
 which the schools of today are built. 
 
 A careful study of the early re- 
 ports of the schools in Pope County 
 reveals much interesting information 
 concerning early schools, but the 
 space available here limits the 
 amount of such information. 
 
 37
 
 GRIST MILLS 
 
 One of the first tradesmen to op- 
 erate in any regular way in the fron- 
 tier settlement was the miller. The 
 citizens required bread ; and to sup- 
 ply that universal need, grist mills 
 soon appeared. Before the arrival 
 of a miller, each family was forced 
 to contrive in some manner for the 
 preparation of its breadstuff. Dif- 
 ferent methods were employed. In 
 the Midwest, corn was in general use 
 for breadstuff before wheat came 
 into use. One of the very earliest 
 methods of preparing cornmeal was 
 the use of the stone mortar and pes- 
 tle, the Indian mill. Into the smooth 
 hollow of the mortar, a small quan- 
 tity of corn was placed. This corn 
 was crushed by pounding and grind- 
 ing with a smooth ended stone. Meal 
 produced in this manner was not so 
 fine or so smooth in texture as corn- 
 meal of today. It contained more 
 small particles of stone and more 
 bran than the meal of to-day. Nev- 
 ertheless, it was a simple way to pro- 
 duce breadstuff. 
 
 Another early method of making 
 meal was an adaption from the stone 
 mortar and pestle. In this adaption, 
 a section of a log or the top of a 
 stump was hollowed out by burning 
 or by gouging with a chisel or a 
 sharp stone. If it were a section of 
 a log that had been hollowed out. 
 this section would be placed upright 
 in the ground with the hollowed end 
 up, and at a convenient height. The 
 log might be eighteen inches or more 
 in diameter. The hole that had been 
 hollowed out sometimes held a peck 
 or more of shelled corn A rather 
 heavy section of a log, with a roun- 
 
 ded end that fitted rather snugly 
 within the hollow of the section first 
 mentioned, was then used in place 
 of the stone pestle of the Indian Mill. 
 Since this pestle was too heavy to be 
 handled by one person, it was sus- 
 pended from the limb of a tree or 
 end of a limber pole. By this meth- 
 od the pestle could be forcibly 
 brought down upon the grain in the 
 hollow of the mortar The spring- 
 iness of the limb would then hoist 
 the pestle for the next stroke. These 
 m'ills were in common use by isolated 
 settlers. 
 
 Another device used by the pio- 
 neers was a grater. For a grater, a 
 sheet of metal, often from a can or 
 bucket, was perforated by a hammer 
 and a sharpened nail. The metal 
 sheet was then bent into an approxi- 
 mate half oval, the rough side out, 
 and attached to a board. The lower 
 end of this board was placed in a 
 pan or upon some smooth surface 
 like a table top. Held in this posi- 
 tion the ear of corn was rubbed 
 across the roughened metal. This ac- 
 tion produced meal, but somewhat 
 slowly. The grater was most com- 
 monly used in the fall of the year 
 with corn not fully hardened. Some 
 people looked forward with pleasur- 
 able anticipation to the first bread 
 to be made each fall from "gritted" 
 meal. 
 
 The next step in the development 
 of the mill was the hand mill. These 
 mills included two small but other- 
 wise regular millstones. Into the 
 top of the upper stone, a shallow 
 hole was drilled near the edge, and 
 the end of a staff set into it. The 
 upper end of this staff was then at- 
 tached to the limb of a tree or to 
 
 38
 
 some overhead timber in the house. 
 While one person might operate such 
 a mill, two generally worked at it. 
 Both helped in turning the crank. 
 One of the operators poured corn 
 into the center hole in the upper 
 stone. As the corn worked its way 
 to the edges of these stones, it was 
 ground into meal and fell upon the 
 table or stump. Though this mill 
 was not so good nor so productive as 
 the mills operated by horse or water 
 power, it was an advance over the 
 mortar and pestle, or the Indian type 
 of mill. 
 
 Another type of mill that came 
 into early use was the band mill. This 
 mill was operated by horse or ox 
 power. An upright shaft was set 
 up, perhaps fifteen or twenty feet 
 from the mill stones. Cross arms 
 were attached to this shaft, and a 
 wheel closely set with upright pegs 
 built upon them. Around these pegs 
 and around a wheel on a shaft ris- 
 ing from the upper millstone, a twis- 
 ted rawhide belt was passed. As the 
 horse or ox walked around, the main 
 shaft was turned. By means of the 
 rawhide belt, the shaft moving the 
 millstones was turned. By the use 
 of a smaller wheel on the mill stone 
 shaft and a larger one on the main 
 or drive shaft, the turning of the 
 stones could be speeded up. Some 
 mills were operated by means of 
 gears made by setting pegs in wheels 
 attached to shafts. This allowed 
 various arrangements to be made for 
 connecting the powered shaft to the 
 shaft moving the millstone. It also 
 made the use of the treadmill for 
 horses or oxen more practicable. 
 
 The mills described heretofore 
 were generally smaller ones. What 
 may be thought of as the next step 
 in the development of the grist mill 
 was the machines operated by water 
 power. These were located upon 
 streams where sufficient fall and 
 volume of water furnished necessary 
 power. 
 
 In the operation of these mills, 
 three types of wheels were used. The 
 most picturesque one and the one 
 with the appearance of which most 
 people are familiar, was the overshot 
 wheel. In this one, the water passed 
 over the top of the wheel, and its 
 weight for the entire fall over the 
 wheel was used. A second type was 
 the breast or undershot wheel. In 
 this one, the water flowed against 
 the wheel at or below the center of 
 its height and passed thence beneath 
 the wheel. This wheel did not re- 
 quire So great a fall of water as did 
 the overshot but did require more 
 water to secure the same amount of 
 power. The breast or undershot 
 wheel was also picturesque in ap- 
 pearance but hardly so picturesque 
 as was the overshot. The turbine 
 was the least picturesque of the three 
 wheels but was perhaps the most ef- 
 ficient one. This type was enclosed 
 in a circular box into which water 
 was admitted at the top, and from 
 which it escaped only by the move- 
 ment of the vanes of the wheel into 
 the open space in the lower part of 
 the box. It operated in the same 
 manner as the meter which measures 
 the amount of water used by a house- 
 holder in any city. 
 
 Because suitable sites for water- 
 mills were not plentiful and, when 
 found, were often remote from set- 
 
 39
 
 tlements, they were forced to give 
 way to steam powered mills when 
 such became available, but the steam 
 mills can never replace the legend 
 of the watermill. 
 
 "Going to mill' was a somewhat 
 significant event. The sacks of 
 shelled corn were loaded into an ox 
 wagon or placed across the back 
 of a horse, and the trip began. Since 
 it was often necessary to go several 
 miles, the start was generally made 
 before daybreak. Upon arrival at 
 the mill, one found others already 
 there. He then "waited his turn." 
 This often required an all-day wait 
 — and sometimes longer. 
 
 This waiting was not always un- 
 pleasant. It afforded an opportunity 
 to meet and get acquainted with oth- 
 er settlers, to learn of the happen- 
 ings for many miles around, or even 
 to glean news of national events. 
 When boys were sent to mill, they 
 often used the waiting time to play 
 with other boys there on similar mis- 
 sions. They sometimes swam, or 
 fished in the millpond, or roamed 
 over the surrounding countryside or 
 in the woodland. In this manner, 
 the tedium of waiting was lessened. 
 
 These mills sometimes provided a 
 meeting place for the militia when 
 all able-bodied men of military age 
 were required to meet for regular 
 drill and be ready to defend the 
 settlement against the Indians or 
 other sources of danger. Sometimes 
 elections were also held at these 
 mills. Pioneer merchants found such 
 places desirable spots for the location 
 of their stores. Other tradesmen 
 sometimes located nearby. The pio- 
 neer distillery was served by the 
 
 gristmill and so was usually located 
 near one. Often the same person op- 
 erated both the mill and the distil- 
 lery. Thus it can be seen that the 
 gristmill was more than a mere place 
 to grind corn into meal. It was the 
 center around which numerous acti- 
 vities gathered. These early mills 
 were sometimes combined grist and 
 saw mills. 
 
 Pope County had its quota of early 
 mills. The springs and creeks in 
 the more hilly sections provided some 
 excellent sites. These first mills are 
 often difficult to locate with reason- 
 able exactness, however; neither is 
 it easy, definitely, to fix the years 
 they were in operation. The Rev- 
 erend John Crawford, then a boy 
 who moved with his father to a place 
 on Grand Pierre Creek near its 
 mouth, in 1808, tells in his writings 
 that they were forced for some years 
 to cross the Ohio and travel about 
 twenty miles into the State of Ken- 
 tucky to a horse mill, to have corn 
 ground into meal. This indicates that 
 no such mills were accessible in that 
 region. 
 
 One of the earlier mills mentioned 
 in the county records is that of Ran- 
 som Peters, in June, 1817. This mill 
 is mentioned again on August 22, 
 1818, when a jury was appointed to 
 view a mill seat for Peters on a "fork 
 of Lusk Creek." At the same time, 
 a jury was appointed to view a mill 
 seat for William Cowan on Lusk 
 Creek. In 1821, a similar jury was 
 appointed to view a mill seat on Big 
 Creek in Section 22 Tils, R8E, for a 
 man named Spyars Singleton. On 
 July 4, 1821, a man named Smith had 
 a mill on Big Creek, "near where Si- 
 mon Armstrong now lives." A man 
 
 40
 
 named Chipps operated a mill on 
 Grand Pierre in 1825, but its loca- 
 tion is not indicated by the county 
 records. At this same time mention 
 is made of Twitchell's Mill, then in 
 Pope County, but later in Hardin. 
 This mill was of more than ordinary 
 significance and operated for a num- 
 ber of years. Another watermill was 
 located near Porter's Ford across 
 Lusk Creek, about three miles north 
 of Waltersburg. It served the people 
 over a considerable area and became 
 a somewhat important business cen- 
 ter. Robert M. Hamilton, seventy- 
 six years old, told in 1945 of having 
 played about this mill as a boy. He 
 jokingly said that a hungry boy could 
 eat the meal as rapidly as the mill 
 ground it — at least, until he starved 
 to death. 
 
 A few years later a German im- 
 migrant named Wolrab established 
 a mill in what is present-day Hardin 
 County. This mill operated success- 
 fully for many years. It was one of 
 the last watermills to exist in South- 
 ern Illinois. Its story will be told 
 more fully in the Hardin County 
 Notes. 
 
 Other mills followed, some being 
 watermills and some, steam. A man 
 named William Drumm operated 
 mills in the vicinity of present-day 
 Herod. His mill, with an undershot 
 wheel, was located on Grand Pierre 
 Creek, at the lower end of the mill- 
 pond or lake that is still to be seen. 
 Some of the timbers of this mill are 
 yet found embedded in the earth at 
 the millsite. Later, Drumm moved 
 his mill to Gibbon's Creek, south of 
 Herod. In addition to having been 
 a miller, he is recalled by older per- 
 sons as an excellent old time fiddler. 
 
 Another mill was operated by 
 Joseph Broadway on Hayes Creek, 
 southwest of Eddyville. This mill 
 was one of the largest watermills in 
 Pope County, grinding as much as 
 one hundred twenty-five bushels of 
 grain in a day. It was in operation 
 from about 1875 to 1876, perhaps 
 longer. According to local tradition, 
 it ground only corn. 
 
 Another early mill was located on 
 Lusk Creek about one and one half 
 miles west of Raum, where the old 
 roadway from Lusk's Ferry to Frank- 
 fort crossed the stream. Still another 
 was located about two miles north- 
 west of Brownfield, but it is not 
 known by what power it was opera- 
 ted. According to tradition, this mill 
 was at one time operated by a man 
 named Bagly and was both a saw- 
 mill and a gristmill. The name of 
 Bagly is also associated with a mill 
 that stood near Glendale. Accord- 
 ing to local reports, this mill was op- 
 erated by steam power. The mill 
 was once owned by a man named 
 George Kimbell — or Kimmel — and 
 began operation about 1869. 
 
 Still another watermill, a mile or 
 so southwest of Lusk, was established 
 by Columbus Wilson. This mill was 
 sold to Riley Barker and later passed 
 into the possession of Nelson Conley. 
 After he sold the mill to Barker, Wil- 
 son went to Eddyville and there op- 
 erated a grist and sawmill and later 
 a wool mill. This wool mill was still 
 later moved to a pond about a half 
 mile west of the village. 
 
 The first mill to operate in the vi- 
 cinity of present day Eddyville was 
 a horse mill that was located on 
 Frieze Hill. This mill was operated 
 
 41
 
 by Eddie Fulgham. It is said that 
 it was a small affair, some twelve 
 or fourteen feet square, and that the 
 shaft to which the horse was hitched 
 was fifty feet or so from the build- 
 ing. The power was transmitted by 
 a belt. The next mill at Eddyville 
 was operated by James Mason, at 
 the lower pond on the east side of 
 the present roadway. This was a 
 steam mill which ground both meal 
 and flour and had sieves for bolt- 
 ing. Tom Cullom later secured it 
 and moved it into Eddyville. With the 
 improvements made by Cullom, it 
 became an excellent mill. Numer- 
 ous other small mills were in opera- 
 tion at various times and places in 
 the county. 
 
 These, in brief, are some of the 
 highlights of the story of milling in 
 Pope County. They do not include 
 accounts of the many sawmills that 
 have operated in countless places 
 since the task of clearing away the 
 forests began. 
 
 SLAVERY AND NEGRO 
 SERVITUDE 
 
 A great deal of interesting infor- 
 mation lies unnoted in the county 
 records of Southern Illinois. In 
 searching these records for data con- 
 cerning the history of various coun- 
 ties, the author has found numerous 
 references to slavery and to other 
 forms of negro servitude in this sec- 
 tion of the state. The most valuable 
 information is, of course, to be found 
 in the records of the older counties. 
 For example, a careful inspection of 
 the first four deed books of Pope 
 County reveals many recordings con- 
 
 cerning negro slaves and servants. 
 A pait of the information gathered 
 from these books is presented here 
 in the belief that it will prove help- 
 ful to those interested in the history 
 of slavery in Southern Illinois, for 
 the Pope County records are typical 
 of those in other older counties of 
 this part of the state. These records 
 reveal that the practices relating to 
 slavery in Southern Illinois, did not 
 conform to the statutes enacted for 
 its regulation. They also indicate 
 that public officials were aware of 
 the inconsistencies, even participating 
 in them. 
 
 It may be well here to view brief- 
 ly the general history of slavery in 
 Illinois. With such knowledge in 
 mind, the information regarding in- 
 consistencies may be better under- 
 stood. 
 
 It appears that the first negro 
 slaves of present-day Illinois were 
 those brought from San Domingo, 
 by Phillippe Francois Renault. These 
 slaves, numbering several hundred, 
 reached Illinois about 1720, perhaps 
 in the latter part of 1719. Some of 
 them were used in Renault's mining 
 ventures in northwestern Illinois and 
 in Missouri. Others were used in 
 farming operations about the now- 
 vanished village of St. Phillippe, in 
 Monroe County. In addition to these 
 imported slaves, a number of Indi- 
 ans were also held in bondage. How- 
 ever, the total number of slaves held 
 in the territory seems to have shown 
 little increase after 1720. According 
 to the Jesuit Relations, records kept 
 by the Jesuit priests, there were only 
 300 negroes and 60 Indians held as 
 slaves in 1750. 
 
 42
 
 When this territory was ceded to 
 England in 1763, the English did not 
 interfere with the practice of slav- 
 ery. Hence, when Virginia came into 
 possession of the territory now in- 
 cluded in Illinois, at the end of the 
 Revolutionary War, nothing was done 
 to restrict the existing practice. 
 When Virginia ceded the territory to 
 the newly-formed federal govern- 
 ment, she stipulated that the French, 
 the Canadians, and other inhabitants 
 of Kaskaskia and of other villages 
 in the territory should be allowed to 
 retain their properties and "ancient 
 privileges." The Ordinance of 1787 
 provided that there should be no slav- 
 ery nor involuntary servitude "other- 
 wise than in the punishment of crime, 
 whereof the party shall have been 
 duly convicted." However, both 
 Governor St. Clair, of the Northwest 
 Territory and Governor Harrison, of 
 the Indiana Territory, held that this 
 did not affect slaves held in the ter- 
 ritory prior to 1787, but both agreed 
 that additional slaves could not be 
 brought in. The law barring intro- 
 duction of more slaves was evaded 
 by the practice of indentui'ing neg- 
 roes brought in after the ban had 
 been placed. 
 
 Indiana Territory, of which Illinois 
 was then a part, legalized this prac- 
 tice by action of the Governing Coun- 
 cil and by action of the territorial 
 legislature, in 1803, 1805, and 1807. 
 By these acts it was legally permis- 
 sible to indenture negro men up to 
 the age of thirty-five and negro wom- 
 en up to that of thirty-two years, 
 though indentures were generally for 
 longer terms, on some occasions for 
 as long as ninety-nine years. These 
 
 regulations were adopted by Illinois 
 Territory upon its separation from 
 Indiana, in 1816. 
 
 The Illinois Constitution of 1818 
 forbade slavery, but it did not regu- 
 late specifically against the slavery 
 already established. To evade this 
 provision of the new constitution, the 
 practice of indenturing was contin- 
 ued, but it was legal to indenture 
 a servant for only one year. In some 
 instances the constitutional provision 
 against slavery was simply ignored. 
 Children born to indentured negro 
 servants could be indentured, the 
 boys until they were twenty one 
 years old and the girls until they 
 were eighteen. Few paid heed to 
 this limit of time. Indentures al- 
 ready in force were not interfered 
 with in any way. 
 
 The legislature of the new state in 
 March, 1819, re-enacted the princi- 
 ples of the earlier territorial laws. 
 These laws passed by the first Gen- 
 eral Assembly became known as the 
 Black Laws. Under the provision of 
 this act, a negro could not become a 
 resident of the state unless he had 
 a certificate of freedom from a court 
 of record. Without such a certifi- 
 cate, the negro could be sold for one 
 year. Should he have the required 
 certifiaate and be admitted to the 
 state, he still could not bring suit, 
 testify in court when a white person 
 wa.s concerned, or vote ; nor was he 
 allowed to travel, except in very re- 
 stricted areas. The whole plan seems 
 to have been intended to drive free 
 negroes into voluntary indentures. 
 The colored person's plight was in- 
 deed a sorry one. 
 
 43
 
 Travelers crossing Illinois with 
 their slaves and other property often 
 expressed a desire to settle, but 
 some hesitated to do so because of 
 the ban on slavery. This situation 
 led those citizens of Illinois who fa- 
 vored slavery to demand a conven- 
 tion to amend the State Constitution 
 and make slavery legal. Such a 
 convention was voted by the Legisla- 
 ture in 1824. In the general election 
 that followed, August 2, 1824, there 
 were 4,972 votes for slavery and 
 6,640 against it. Pope County cast 
 273 votes for and 124 against. 
 
 This election did not end slavery 
 in Illinois. In some counties, princi- 
 pally in the southern part of the 
 state, indentured servants and slaves 
 were held after 1824. This is shown 
 by numerous certificates of freedom 
 executed after that date. Though 
 the insitution of slavery was definite- 
 ly disappearing, the genera! attitude 
 toward the negro could hardly be 
 termed favorable. 
 
 In 1862, the people of Illinois 
 voted, by a majority of 100,000, to 
 refuse admission to negroes. At the 
 same time they voted, by a majority 
 of 176,000, to prohibit negroes from 
 voting or holding office. In 1862, a 
 negro in Hancock County was arres- 
 ted for being in the state ten days 
 and intending to remain permanent- 
 ly. He was found guilty and fined. 
 Interested citizens appealed his case 
 to the State Supreme Court, which in 
 1864 upheld the verdict of the lower 
 court. 
 
 Such incidents as these reveal more 
 clearly, perhaps, the general feeling 
 towards negroes than does the fact 
 that the legislative acts of 1865 ra- 
 
 tified the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and 
 Fifteenth Amendments to the United 
 States Constitution and repealed the 
 "Black Laws" of 1819 and similar 
 laws added in 1853. 
 
 The forgoing brief outline of the 
 general history of slavery and the 
 treatment of negroes in the State 
 of Illinois, furnishes a background 
 for a more detailed study of negro 
 servitude in Pope County. The first 
 entry concerning a negro servant in 
 the records at Golconda is a docu- 
 ment filed on June 25, 1816, about 
 six months after the formation of the 
 county. By this indenture, Silvey, 
 a negro woman about twenty-four 
 years of age, had, on June 22, 1815, 
 bound herself to sei've John Morris 
 of Gallatin County, then including 
 portions of Pope, "for a term of forty 
 years next ensuing." Silvey received 
 "$400.00 in hand paid, receipt of 
 which is hereby acknowledged." She 
 was also to receive "good and suf- 
 ficient meat, drink, lodging, and ap- 
 parel, together with all other need- 
 ful conveniences fit for such a ser- 
 vant." Silvey pledged herself "faith- 
 fully to serve, obey, not absent her- 
 self from her work and not to em- 
 bezzle or waste or lend her master's 
 propei'ty." With this indenture, a 
 bond was filed and signed by John 
 Morris, and one surety, guaranteeing 
 that Silvey would not become a pub- 
 lic charge of Pope County. Except for 
 length of service pledged, this inden- 
 ture complied with the law of Illinois 
 Territory at that time. In its form 
 it is typical of such contracts. 
 
 In the majoi'ity of indentures re- 
 corded, an entry similar to the one 
 where Silvey acknowledges the re- 
 ceipt of a certain sum of money, "in 
 
 44
 
 hand, paid, the receipt of which is 
 hereby acknowledged" will be found. 
 It is seriously to be doubted whether 
 the negro actually received the mon- 
 ey. 
 
 The second entry noted on the rec- 
 ords of the county was a "Bill of 
 Bargain and Sale" that states, 
 
 "Know ye all men by these presents 
 that I, Jessie Jones, of the State of 
 Kentucky and county of Galdwell, 
 have this day bargained and sold 
 and delivered unto Thomas Fergu- 
 son of Illinois Territory and County 
 of Johnson, a certain negro man 
 named Jeffery about 30 years of 
 age, and for consideration of the sum 
 of five-hundred and twenty-five dol- 
 lars." 
 
 This bill of sale was filed in the 
 office of Joshua Scott, recorder of 
 Pope County, on November 28, 1816. 
 Since this document is an outright 
 bill of sale, it did not conform to the 
 legal requirements of Illinois Terri- 
 tory. A later paragraph will indi- 
 cate the manner in which this ap- 
 parent failure was rectified. 
 
 The next entry noted concerning 
 a servant in the records of the coun- 
 ty is an indenture acknowledged be- 
 fore Wm. Greenup, County Clerk of 
 Randolph County, and dated Decem- 
 ber 17, 1810. It was not recorded 
 in Pope County, until November 28, 
 1816. By this indenture, similar in 
 form to the one between John Mor- 
 ris of Gallatin County and the negro 
 woman named Silvey, George, a neg- 
 ro man about twenty-one years of 
 age, for a consideration of "Five hun- 
 dred dollars, lawful money of the 
 United States" bound himself to serve 
 David J. Black for the term of sixty 
 
 years. It will be noted that this in- 
 denture exceeds the legal limit by 
 forty-seven years. 
 
 The next entry indicates a method 
 approximating outright slave trade 
 in the Illinois Territory, since the 
 consent of the servant is not indi- 
 cated as having been secured. In this 
 case, Louis LaChapelle of Randolph 
 County had Isaac, a negro man about 
 twenty-three years of age, bound to 
 him for a period of forty years for 
 an indicated consideration of $500. 
 This indenture was acknowledged be- 
 fore Wm. Greenup, County Clerk of 
 Randolph County, Illinois, on Febru- 
 ary 3, 1815. La Chapelle then made 
 a notation on the indenture as fol- 
 lows — 
 
 "For value receive (sic) I assign 
 over all my write (sic) to the within 
 indenter (sic) unto Thomas Fergu- 
 son and hath (sic) this day delivered 
 the above indentere (sic) servant as 
 the above indenters (sic) calls for 
 as witness and seal this 7th day of 
 June, 1815. L. Chapelle." 
 
 Another record indicates the out- 
 right purchase of a slave by Thomas 
 Ferguson, a citizen of Pope County. 
 This slave, Toney, had been pur- 
 chased by Richard Thomas Porter 
 of Edgecomb County, in North Caro- 
 lina, for "200 pounds currency of 
 North Carolina." Porter was "to 
 have and hold forever." Then on 
 April 26, 1809, the following trans- 
 action was recorded; "For value re- 
 ceived, I, Richard Thomas Porter — 
 do assign over all my writ (sic) — 
 to Thomas Ferguson." — Porter also 
 "will warrant and defend title." This 
 transaction evidently took place in 
 
 45
 
 Pope County, since it was acknow- 
 ledged before Joshua Scott, who was 
 then serving as county clerk. 
 
 David Black then appeared with 
 a "slave" named George, whom he 
 had purchased from Thomas Dunder- 
 son of Christian County, Kentucky, 
 on November 19, 1810, for $400.00. 
 This slave was sold to Thomas Fer- 
 guson on April 2, 1811. In the next 
 recorded transaction, Wiley Davis of 
 Eddyville, Kentucky, assigned his in- 
 terest in Letty, a "slave" about twen- 
 ty years old, and son about one year 
 ten months old, to Ferguson. In the 
 following entry, Ferguson bound a 
 negro named Anthony for thirty 
 years in return for "a certain lot 
 numbered 163 in Sarahville" — now 
 Golconda. Anthony was to have im- 
 mediate possession and "enjoy the 
 rents and profits" during his term of 
 servitude. The value of these lots 
 must have been negligible, since lots 
 161 and 168, fully as well located, 
 sold within a year from the time of 
 Anthony's indenture for $3.00 each. 
 On July 17, 1816, Jeffery, mentioned 
 in the second entry on the county 
 records and previously referred to 
 as having been "bought" from Jesse 
 Jones by Thomas Ferguson, volun- 
 tarily bound himself to Ferguson for 
 a period of thirty years for lot num- 
 bered 167. This lot was not trans- 
 ferred to Jeffery until December 1, 
 1821, more than five years after he 
 had signed the indenture. On July 27, 
 1816, Lettie or Lettice, a negro wom- 
 an about twenty-eight years old, was 
 bound to Thomas Ferguson for a pe- 
 riod of thirty years for lot numbered 
 166 in Sarahville. The lot mentioned 
 was not transferred to Lettie until 
 December 1, 1821. Next is a bill 
 
 of sale whereby John Ditterline, on 
 December 18, 1816, transferred his 
 rights to Mary, "A slave for life," 
 to Ferguson, for a consideration of 
 $500.00. This transaction took place 
 in Pope County, as evidenced by its 
 acknowledgment before Joshua Scott, 
 County Clerk for Pope County. 
 
 In April 1817, Anthony, Lettie, 
 Jeffery, and George agreed to go to 
 Missouri Territory with Ferguson. If 
 this trip was made as indicated, it 
 would appear that Lettie and Jef- 
 fery were later safely returned to 
 Illinois, since lots 166 and 167 were 
 transferred to them on December 1, 
 1821, but no later mention of either 
 Anthony or George is found on the 
 records. 
 
 Other indentures followed. Betty, 
 a negro woman about twenty-two 
 years of age, bound herself to Sam- 
 uel Langdon for a period of sixty 
 years, for a consideration of $400.00. 
 This indenture was acknowledged 
 before Robert Lacey, Judge of the 
 County Court, on February 8, 1817. 
 Nancy Williams, a negro woman 
 from Missouri Territory, bound her- 
 self to Jacob Robinson for a term of 
 twenty years for a consideration of 
 $500.00. This indenture was execu- 
 ted before Joshua Scott, County 
 Clerk of Pope County. In April, 
 1817, Daniel and Vina bound them- 
 selves to Joshua Scott, county re- 
 corder, for forty years. The consid- 
 eration named in each case was 
 $400.00. These indentures for Dan- 
 iel and "Vina were acknowledged be- 
 fore Joshua Scott, county clerk, to 
 whom they were also bound. Both 
 indentures were witnessed by Pru- 
 dence M. Rose and Polly Pankey. 
 
 46
 
 On August 20, 1817, Anny bound 
 herself to Isom Clay for sixteen 
 years for a consideration of $400.00. 
 One week later, David Turner and 
 Millie, both "late out of Jefferson 
 County, Virginia," bound themselves 
 to David Covi^an for fifty years. A 
 consideration of $400.00 is named in 
 each case. On January 6, 1818, Ju- 
 dith, about seventeen years old, "last 
 (sic) of the territory of Missouri," 
 bound herself to William Wilson of 
 Pope County, Illinois Territory, for 
 a period of ninety-nine years. For 
 this term of service she is supposed 
 to have received $400.00. On Feb- 
 ruary 13, 1818, Linda, a Negro wom- 
 an about nineteen years old, "last 
 (sic) out of Missouri Territory" like- 
 wise bound herself to William Wil- 
 son for a period of ninety-nine years 
 for a named consideration of $400.00. 
 These indentures would have expired 
 on February 13, 1917. 
 
 A negro boy named Anthony, 
 about eighteen years old, was sold 
 on December 14, 1820, by John 
 Henry of Pope County to Elizabeth 
 Henry of Logan County, Kentucky, 
 for the sum of $612.00. This bill of 
 sale was certified by Craven P. Hes- 
 ter, a Justice of the Peace for Pope 
 County. This definitely indicates 
 that the sale took place in Illinois. 
 It should be noted that Anthony had 
 not previously appeared in the rec- 
 ords of the county as a slave. 
 
 According to tradition, and occa- 
 sionally by written implication, other 
 outright sales of slaves occurred in 
 Pope County after the admission of 
 Illinois to statehood. One instance 
 that indicates an outright sale was 
 the settlement of the estate of Lar- 
 kin Kesterson, who died on May 25, 
 
 1829. In his will, Kesterson provi- 
 ded "that his said executor shall sell 
 his two negro men, Macklin, and 
 Frank, together." This provision of 
 the will was carried out by Robert 
 Kesterson, father of the deceased 
 and executor of his will, when the 
 negroes were sold in November 1829 
 for $325.00. It should also be noted 
 that Macklin and Frank were not 
 previously recorded in the circuit 
 clerk's records as slaves. 
 
 These instances of unrecorded 
 slaves held by Kesterson, as well as 
 the case of Anthony, cited in the 
 preceding paragraph, coupled with 
 unverified traditions, would seem to 
 indicate that there were numerous 
 other slaves owned in Pope County. 
 Negro indentures were not found on 
 the deed records of the Circuit 
 Clerk's office after this date, though 
 they are referred to in other county 
 records. 
 
 A new turn of affairs is indicated 
 in an entry dated August 19, 1823. 
 At that time, William Beam emanci- 
 pated and issued certificates of free- 
 dom to twelve slaves as listed be- 
 low: 
 
 Abraham — about sixteen years old. 
 
 Martin — nine years old. 
 
 Gilbert — about twenty-one years 
 old. 
 
 Cunningham — about eight years 
 old. 
 
 Sam — about twelve years old. 
 
 Thomas — nine years old. 
 
 Hetty — six years old. 
 
 Lotty — about seventeen years old. 
 
 Nelly — about forty years old. 
 
 Rody — about thirteen years old. 
 
 47
 
 Luckey — about twenty-two years 
 old. 
 
 Nancy — about sixteen years old. 
 
 These are the first emancipations 
 found recorded in Pope County. The 
 certificates are signed by Beam, with 
 his mark, and are witnessed by Ed- 
 mund Richmond. 
 
 The next recorded emancipations 
 were made on February 13, 1830, 
 when Wiley Jones granted freedom 
 to "Chaney, a woman of color, about 
 twenty-six years old, of low stature" 
 and to her children, Anne, Judah, 
 James, and Alfred. All this was "for 
 and in consideration of faithful serv- 
 ice." The emancipations made by 
 Beam and Jones were evidently to 
 slaves or servants held in Pope Coun- 
 ty- 
 
 The records of Fannie Mac, "A 
 woman of color" and of her son "A 
 man of color" are somewhat singu- 
 lar. Fannie Mac purchased her son, 
 Caesar, a slave, from Stephen Smel- 
 ser of Calway County, Kentucky, for 
 the sum of $550.00. A short time 
 afterwards, that is, on January 29, 
 1836, she, "for love and affection," 
 emancipated Caesar. During the in- 
 tervening period, Fannie Mac thus 
 held her own son as a slave. 
 
 A slightly different case was that 
 of a slave named Lewis, brought from 
 Arkansas to Pope County for the ex- 
 press purpose of emancipation, on 
 March 15, 1838. The next year a 
 somewhat similar case is found in 
 which Eli Roden of Pope County, 
 formerly of Arkansas, emancipated 
 "Mary Ann, a woman of color, a 
 slave" and her children, Melvina 
 about four years old, Margaretta 
 
 about three years, and Henrietta 
 about one year old. 
 
 David A. Smith, on March 22, 
 1817, secured the approval of an 
 Alabama Court and freed his slaves 
 William, William's wife, Isabel, and 
 their six children. 
 
 These certificates of freedom were 
 filed for record in Pope County on 
 November 22, 1838. 
 
 Other certificates of freedom for 
 former slaves appear on later Pope 
 County records. Thus, on May 10, 
 1845, "Moses, a man of color", after 
 extended and complicated legal pro- 
 cedures, established the fact that 
 he had purchased his freedom, along 
 with that of his wife and son, from 
 their Tennessee owner for $1,450.00. 
 In these proceedings, Moses was rep- 
 resented by "next friend" John Step- 
 henson. These certificates were filed 
 in Pope County and indicate that 
 these Negroes became residents 
 there. 
 
 On the same date. May 10, 1845, 
 "Jerry, a colored man," filed his cer- 
 tificate of freedom in Pope County 
 after he had failed to secure passage 
 to Liberia, from Hardeman County, 
 Tennessee. On May 27 of the same 
 year, Winnie, who had, after in- 
 volved court procedures in Missouri 
 and in Kentucky, won her freedom, 
 filed the certificate in the office of 
 the recorder in Pope County. The 
 records in this case cover some ten 
 pages and indicate that Winnie had 
 been held illegally in slavery for 
 some years. 
 
 Slaves were evidently held in Pope 
 County until a comparatively late 
 date. This is Indicated by the fact 
 
 48
 
 that Lucinda, and her eight children, 
 indicated as "slaves", were freed by 
 the will of Wm. R. Adams, on De- 
 cember 28, 1846. 
 
 One of the most interesting certifi- 
 cates filed during this period is the 
 one by Matthew Scott, on Septem- 
 ber 22, 1846. In this certificate, the 
 freedom of Scott and his family, con- 
 sisting of a wife and nine children, 
 is established along with the fact 
 that Scott had received a military 
 discharge from the "company of 
 Captain William McCalley in the 
 General Jackson War." 
 
 On July 31, 1850, Patsey, who had 
 been born free in Vii'ginia, estab- 
 lished the fact in Pope County by 
 registering her certificate in the re- 
 corder's office. On the same day, 
 Theodore Mundle, through an affi- 
 davit filed by Robert T. Leeper, es- 
 tablished the fact that he was a free 
 Negro and had lived with his mother 
 in the county for the past five years. 
 
 In the inspection made, no latter 
 records of certificates of freedom 
 were found on the records for Pope 
 County. 
 
 In all cases concerning the freeing 
 of slaves, a somewhat detailed de- 
 scription is given. This procedure 
 was used so that the one emancipa- 
 ted could be readily identified. In 
 the case of slaves or servants brought 
 into the state and indentured, it was 
 required that bonds be furnished, 
 guaranteeing that such Negroes 
 would not become a public charge 
 of the county. Laws of the period 
 also required that similar bonds be 
 filed for Negroes being emancipated. 
 In some instances this requirement 
 
 was fulfilled. In other instances no 
 record of a bond occurs. It was in 
 compliance with this demand that 
 William Beam, on August 19, 1823, 
 filed bond for $13,000.00 with the 
 County Court. 
 
 The foregoing instances are cited 
 as being indicative of the course of 
 slavery in a typical Southern Illinois 
 county. Other uncited records of 
 slaves and indentured servants are 
 to be found in various Pope County 
 I'ecords. A rather careful search 
 fails to reveal the later disposition 
 of those bound to a term of service. 
 The records do not show that these 
 servants and slaves were freed when 
 the periods for which they were 
 bound expired. Tradition likewise 
 fails to provide an answer. 
 
 FLATHEADS AND 
 REGULATORS 
 
 The pioneer was often a venture- 
 some and independent individual. 
 This was natural, too, since the wild 
 and unsettled sections appealed most 
 strongly to such persons. Because 
 these early settlers were as they 
 were, and lived in an area where or- 
 ganized local government and law 
 enforcement facilities had not come 
 to function too well, it is not strange 
 that the more law abiding settlers 
 became impatient with the law 
 breakers whose actions were injur- 
 ious or disturbing. This often led to 
 independent, or extra-legal groups, 
 organized to enforce their conception 
 of law. The history of the entire 
 West is replete with examples of 
 these groups. 
 
 49
 
 When such groups were organized 
 and began to function in any area, 
 it was not unusual to find the more 
 lawless elements strengthening their 
 own organizations. There would 
 thus be two opposing but equally de- 
 termined groups. These conditions 
 led to a state that resembled a local 
 civil war in this county. The law en- 
 forcement groups sometimes began 
 the use of what might easily be 
 termed extra-legal methods, and 
 passed beyond the control of the 
 more conservative element that had 
 promoted their organization. Some 
 then began to use the group to pro- 
 mote their own purposes, or to visit 
 punishment upon those they disliked. 
 
 Such practices made for two 
 groups that were almost equally law- 
 less in their methods and objectives. 
 Instead of a law enforcement group 
 and a definitely lawless gang, there 
 were two gangs about equally law- 
 less in their methods. Pope County 
 affords a typical example of this 
 course of events. 
 
 Though the operations of the 
 groups, known as Flatheads and 
 Regulators, covered more than Pope 
 County, it appears that their begin- 
 ning in Southern Illinois was in the 
 county of Pope as it was then con- 
 stituted. It also appears that, in the 
 beginning, the Flatheads were re- 
 cruited mostly from the more lawless 
 part of the population, and that the 
 Regulators came from those who 
 wished to see a more efficient en- 
 forcement of the law. The condi- 
 tions leading to the organization of 
 the Regulators may be attributed to 
 the inability or lack of desire of the 
 regularly constituted authorities to 
 perform their duties. 
 
 One of the first incidents that in- 
 dicated the alignment of the groups 
 that were later to wage what was 
 almost a civil war, was that having 
 to do with a group led by a man 
 named Sturdevant, and centering 
 about a blockhouse he had erected in 
 what was then a part of Pope but 
 now of Hardin County. Around this 
 place a group of counterfeiters are 
 said to have operated. The exact 
 location of Sturdevant's fort is not 
 known, but on October 17, 1820, a 
 man named Roswell Sturdevant dee- 
 ded a part of Sec. 2, T12S, R8E to 
 Samuel O'Melvaney. This deed was 
 witnessed by James Steel and Mer- 
 rick Sturdevant. This description 
 applies to land about where Rosiclare 
 now stands. According to tradition, 
 this roughly corresponds to the site 
 of the fort. In the earlier stages of 
 the venture, Sturdevant seems to 
 have done the counterfeiting of bank 
 notes and to have given them to con- 
 federates to pass outside the state. 
 For these counterfeit notes the con- 
 federates are said to have paid Stur- 
 devant at the rate of $16.00 in legal 
 money for each $100.00 of the coun- 
 terfeit currency. The operations of 
 this band do not seem to have 
 aroused active opposition until the 
 practice of passing the money local- 
 ly was begun. When those accused 
 of passing the counterfeit money lo- 
 cally were arrested, the resulting 
 trials seemed almost always to have 
 resulted in a hung jury, a mistrial, or 
 some such action that many persons 
 looked upon as a miscarriage of jus- 
 tice. 
 
 In an effort to strengthen the law 
 enforcement program, a committee 
 composed of -Joseph Pryor, Dr. Wil- 
 
 50
 
 liam Sims, Rev. William Rondeau, 
 Hugh McNuelty, Major John Raum, 
 and perhaps of others, was formed. 
 This committee seems to have been 
 an advisory and controlling body, 
 and was formed to direct the activi- 
 ties of others. At about this time, 
 and doubtless upon the advice of this 
 committee, a band of men was 
 formed and proceeded to attack the 
 band of counterfeiters at Sturde- 
 vant's blockhouse. Spies had inform- 
 ed the counterfeiters that an armed 
 group was coming to attack them. 
 In the battle that followed, accord- 
 ing to tradition, three members of 
 Sturdevant's band were killed. A 
 small cannon in the possession of the 
 counterfeiters was brought into ef- 
 fective use, and the law enforcement 
 group was held at bay. Messengers 
 were dispatched to bring reinforce- 
 ments. While the attacking party 
 was awaiting the additional help, 
 night came on, and the counterfeiters 
 made their escape. 
 
 For a short time following this 
 event, conditions remained quiet. The 
 next epidemic of lawlessness began 
 with considerable horse stealing, with 
 which the earlier practice of counter- 
 feiting was soon included. To these 
 practices of horse stealiag and coun- 
 terfeiting, that of kidnapping free 
 Negroes and of selling them to slave 
 dealers was shortly added. Anyone 
 informing the authorities concerning 
 the men supposedly guilty of the 
 crimes mentioned might expect his 
 property to be burned or his very 
 life to be in jeopardy. One person 
 accused of the kidnapping of free 
 Negroes confessed and implicated 
 others. He died quickly after tak- 
 
 ing a drink of whiskey given to him 
 by a man suspected of being engaged 
 in the same illegal practice. 
 
 In 1846 a man named Sides, who 
 had received some money from an 
 estate that he was administering, was 
 beaten, along with his wife, and left 
 presumably to burn in his home that 
 was set on fire. A heavy rain put the 
 fire out. The victims were revived 
 and told their story. This incident 
 seems to have been the decisive one 
 in the open and somewhat public 
 functioning of the Regulators. Hun- 
 dreds of men joined the organiza- 
 tion, ostensibly to carry out the or- 
 ders of the governing council. The 
 sheriff was to be "advised" concei'n- 
 ing the release, on bond, of any ac- 
 cused men. Some men suspected in 
 the Sides incident were arrested. No 
 bonds were allowed, and they were 
 kept under close guard by the Regu- 
 lators. When time came for the 
 trial, a change of venue took it to 
 Johnson County. According to some 
 reports, the Flatheads intended to 
 use force to free the accused as they 
 were being transferred to Vienna. 
 Because of the heavy guard under 
 which they were moved, such could 
 not be done. In the Vienna trial, six 
 men were convicted and given prison 
 terms. Four of them died in the 
 penitentiary. 
 
 Like most extra-legal groups 
 formed to take the law into their 
 own hands, the Regulators soon got 
 out of control of the calmer element 
 that directed their formation and 
 early work. They became tyrannical 
 and fanatical, often adminstering 
 beatings and torture to those they 
 suspected, or toward whom they had 
 formed a dislike. They forced the 
 
 51 
 
 >j^'^^ 
 
 .H^"* 
 .^<.^^'*- 
 
 *>>^ 
 
 .^0^^
 
 resignation of Circuit Judge Scate, 
 intimidated and coerced law enforce- 
 ment officers, rescued fellow Regu- 
 lators who had run afoul of the law, 
 and appointed justices before whom 
 accused persons were tried. They 
 whipped, as well as tarred and 
 feathered people whom they ad- 
 judged as deserving punishment. In 
 short, they became as lawless as the 
 element they had organized to regu- 
 late. 
 
 A plea was sent to Govei-nor Ford, 
 asking for the State Militia to be 
 sent into the county. Militia from 
 adjoining counties refused to serve. 
 Dr. William Gibbs of Johnson Coun- 
 ty was sent by the governor to try 
 to compose the difference. The State 
 Legislature gave the problem much 
 attention. A new and special dis- 
 trict court was established to try 
 such cases. It aroused considerable 
 opposition, and its legal validity was 
 challenged. Though this court met 
 at Benton, in 1847, and several men 
 were held to appear before it, there 
 seems to be no record of its final ac- 
 tion. After many years of strife and 
 considerable loss of life and property, 
 cooler heads came to prevail, and by 
 1850, peace and quiet reigned. Mob 
 law had been a failure. People in 
 large numbers came to settle in 
 Pope County, and its progress during 
 the next ten years was marked. 
 
 POLITICS 
 
 Records indicate that the citizens 
 of Pope County have at all times tak- 
 en politics rather seriously. The mea- 
 ger records indicate that in the elec- 
 tion of August 1824, when the prop- 
 osition of amending the state consti- 
 
 tution to permit slavery in Illinois 
 was to be voted upon, there was a 
 sharp division of sentiment in the 
 county. The majority was favorable 
 toward slavery. 
 
 Again, the mounting political feel- 
 ings throughout the nation in the pe- 
 riod immediately preceding the Civil 
 War were clearly reflected. In the 
 senatorial campaign of Lincoln and 
 Douglas in 1858, the division was 
 sharp and somewhat bitter, but defi- 
 nitely favorable to Douglas. That 
 feelings were freely, though slight- 
 ly unmetrically, expressed is indica- 
 ted by one of the campaign songs 
 published in the Herald, on Septem- 
 ber 23, 1858. A copy of the song 
 is given here. 
 
 A DITTY FOR THE TIMES 
 by Hackberry 
 
 AIR — "Pop Goes the Weasel." 
 
 Poltitics is now a theme 
 For all to talk and think on. 
 While out upon the changing scene 
 Pop ! goes Aby Lincoln. 
 
 He to fight the "Giant" tries, 
 While Danites he relies on — 
 Trumbull "crams our throats with 
 
 lies" 
 Pop ! they're worse than poison. 
 
 As he rants and raves away, 
 Some exclaim, "O, fie! man;" 
 Others simply smile and say, 
 "Pop! what a lie-man!" 
 
 Lincoln says the darkies are 
 Our equals by creation — 
 O'er our eyes to pull the har, 
 Pop — the Declaration! 
 
 On his platform he can't stand. 
 And when the people hoot him. 
 
 52
 
 While in their eyes he's throwing 
 
 sand — 
 Pop! goes a plank to suit 'em. 
 
 Lovejoy the first Lieutenant is, 
 Of all his thimble-riggers — 
 While underground that road of his 
 Pop — away the niggers! 
 
 Though for a preacher he was raised, 
 He's bound, with expedition. 
 If he doesn't mend his ways. 
 Pop! into peridition. 
 
 The Danites hate the "Giant" brave, 
 And niggerism wink on; 
 Finding "Dug" has dug their grave, 
 Pop! They're out for Lincoln! 
 
 Office-holder brave and true 
 Who don't support the "Ranger" 
 Dougherty and all his crew — 
 Pop ! his head's in danger. 
 
 When the Lincoln-Douglas debate 
 occured at Jonesboro, several people 
 from Pope County attended. The 
 only known name of anyone going is 
 that of E. E. Trovillion, who made 
 the journey in a wagon, going by 
 way of Columbus, Old Grantsburg, 
 Vienna, and on to Jonesboro. It is 
 reported that he took several others 
 with him. That Pope County was 
 definitely favorable toward slavery 
 as shown by the election is not sur- 
 prising. It is explained by the fact 
 that numerous Negroes were at one 
 time held as slaves or bond servants 
 in the county. 
 
 The presidential election of 1860 
 was an animated one, and numerous 
 stories concerning it are still to be 
 heard. In February, 1929, a list of 
 the men who voted for Lincoln in 
 1860 was published in the Golconda 
 paper. According to this list, Lin- 
 
 coln received only nineteen votes. 
 There could be some mistake in these 
 figures, since published returns for 
 the presidential election that year 
 show many more Lincoln voters. 
 Even at its best, however, the Lincoln 
 vote was, relatively, very small. 
 
 The following is a list of these 
 voters as published in the Golcon- 
 da paper in 1929: John M. Boi- 
 court, J. Hillis Hall, Joshua Craig, 
 Jonathan C. Williams, Thomas Mc- 
 Gowan, J. W. Y. Hanna, W. S. Hodge, 
 Dr. John P. Hodge, Thomas Bell, 
 A. D. Pierce, E. E. Trovillion, Ed 
 Palmer, Glen Wright, F. M. Clana- 
 han, George D. Waters, Wesley Booz- 
 man, Shanz Golightly, William R. 
 Whiteside, and Mathew Bracewell. 
 
 With the list of names as pub- 
 lished, a brief record of the part 
 played by some of these men after 
 the 1860 campaign was given. J. 
 M. Boicourt entered the service and 
 became Captain of Company G. 6th 
 Illinois Cavalry. He was a member 
 of General John B. Grierson's com- 
 mand that made one of the most cele- 
 brated cavalry raids of history when 
 it ravaged the territory from La- 
 Grange, Tennessee, to Baton Rouge, 
 Louisiana. Boicourt had been post- 
 master but resigned the position to 
 enter the army. Upon his return to 
 Golconda, he was re-appointed post- 
 master and served until his death. 
 
 J. Hillis Hall was for a long time 
 a leading citizen in Golconda and 
 succeeded in accumulating a sizable 
 fortune for that day. Joshua Craig 
 was editor of the Herald Enterprise. 
 Jonathan C. Willis later became 
 sheriff of the county. After this, he 
 
 53
 
 moved to Metropolis. He served as 
 Revenue Collector for the 13th dis- 
 trict. During the Civil War he was 
 on General Grant's staff. Thomas 
 McGovi'an was for a number of years 
 one of the prominent business men of 
 Golconda. For many years, J. E. Y. 
 Hanna was a teacher, civic leader, 
 and county surveyor. 
 
 Captain W. S. Hodge was at one 
 time sheriff of the county. His son, 
 John H. Hodge, later became Coun- 
 ty Superintendent of Schools. Dr. 
 John P. Hodge was a leading physic- 
 ian and prominent citizen of the 
 area. Major A. D. Pierce became 
 sheriff and one of the leading mer- 
 chants of the town. E. E. Trovillion 
 was a successful business man. Ed 
 Palmer was a prominent farmer liv- 
 ing near Glendale. Glen Wright was 
 also a prominent farmer and the 
 father of Captain Robert M. Wright, 
 U. S. Army. F. M. Clanahan became 
 widely known as "Fox Clanahan" be- 
 cause of his love for fox chasing. 
 George W. Waters became a prom- 
 inent farmer and leading citizen of 
 the county. 
 
 The records do not indicate any 
 later fame attained by Leslie Booz- 
 more beyond the fact that he lived 
 near Dixon Springs and that his wife 
 was a writer of some note. Shanz 
 Golightly operated a mill for wheat 
 and corn at Bay City. William R. 
 Whiteside, farmer of Glendale, was 
 the father of Attorney J. Ado White- 
 side. Matthew Bracewell lived in the 
 northwestern corner of the county. 
 He told of being personally assaulted 
 at the polls when he cast his vote. 
 Bracewell lived to a ripe old age and 
 vowed that he never for one moment 
 regretted the way he voted. His son. 
 
 William, was a volunteer in the Civil 
 War. Thomas Bell left no later rec- 
 ords. 
 
 The first issue of the Golconda 
 Herald — that is. Volume 1 Number 
 1, issued in 1857 — frankly and forci- 
 bly set forth its political beliefs. An- 
 other paper, the Pope County Tran- 
 script, established by J. M. Boicourt, 
 in late 1862 or early 1863, was rabid- 
 ly union and stoutly suppoi'ted Presi- 
 dent Lincoln and his party. This pap- 
 er evidently did not continue many 
 years, for there is record that an- 
 other paper. The Enterprise, began 
 publication in 1886 and announced 
 itself as definitely Republican. This 
 definite commitment of the papers 
 of that day to an active part in poli- 
 tics need not be interpreted as in- 
 dicating more than the usual prac- 
 tice. Practically all papers at that 
 time were avowedly political and 
 did nothing to conceal the fact. 
 
 It should be noted, however, that 
 when the Civil War did come. Pope 
 County definitely and consistently de- 
 fended the cause of national union. 
 Its military contributions to the union 
 cause certainly need no apologies. 
 
 The general interest in elections 
 did not always require a Democrat- 
 Republican issue. That of temper- 
 ance and prohibition has furnished 
 material for some animated cam- 
 paigns. The writer was unable to 
 secure the exact dates when these 
 campaigns were waged, but it must 
 have been in the first decade of the 
 1900's, since one of the authors has 
 been absent from Golconda since 
 about that time. To indicate the 
 general pattern of such campaigns, 
 two of the songs used are given here. 
 
 54
 
 THE TEETOTALERS ARE COMING 
 
 Tune — "The Campbells are Coming." 
 By A. H. Buel 
 
 The teetotalers are comin O Ho O 
 
 The teeotalers are comin O Ho O 
 
 The teetotalers are comin 
 
 Old Alchy to rout 
 
 The teetotalers are comin O Ho O. 
 
 We have entered the field with our 
 
 armours bright, 
 To fight the old demon with all our 
 
 might 
 By the help of God, Oh here we come 
 To save you from the tyrant Rum 
 
 Chorus (First Verse) 
 
 King Alcohol disputes our ground 
 And says that he will wear the 
 
 crown 
 Give him the crown. Oh! That won't 
 
 do 
 To have you lost in Brandy stew. 
 
 Know in our midst the enemy is sta- 
 tioned 
 
 To fill our country with black dis- 
 sipation. 
 
 To put you in chains and stone you 
 with crime 
 
 And throw you to waller along with 
 the swine. 
 
 The ladies already have entered the 
 
 field 
 The cause of temperance they never 
 
 will yield. 
 With pledge in hand they nobly wait. 
 To save you from the Drunkard's 
 
 fate. 
 
 The ladys are coming O Ho O 
 
 The ladys are comin O Ho O 
 
 The ladys are comin 
 
 Old Alchy to rout 
 
 The ladys are coming O Ho O. 
 
 BLESSINGS OF TEMPERANCE 
 By Isaac McCoy, A. M. 
 
 What blissful sounds have broken, 
 
 Along the distant main. 
 
 The tidings. Hear them spoken — 
 
 There's joy in every strain; 
 
 O'er every sea and ocean. 
 
 O'er every land, behold. 
 
 Health, peace, and true devotion. 
 
 The Temperance theme have told. 
 
 Long night had rapt creation 
 In darkness shades of woe; 
 And tears and lamentation. 
 From countless hearts did flow. 
 But hark! What note of gladness 
 The Patriot's bosom thrills? 
 Tis Temperance, cheering sadness 
 And soothing sorrow's ills. 
 
 Then Hope from Heav'n descending. 
 Her beams on nature flung; 
 Her thousand anthems, blending, 
 With Freedom's muse she sung. 
 Columbia woke to glory. 
 Her Temperance banner waved. 
 Her millions learn'd the story; 
 And Heav'n and Virtue saved. 
 
 Whatever the issues at stake, it 
 seems that the voters of Pope Coun- 
 ty have acted with directness and 
 have not been hesitant in voicing 
 their convictions, nor in acting upon 
 them. 
 
 BLACKSMITHS 
 
 One of the first and very neces- 
 sary craftsmen was the blacksmith. 
 This local workman's shop was the 
 source of practically all iron work 
 required in the making of farm tools. 
 He layered axes and sometimes even 
 made the entire ax. Hoes, frows, 
 log hooks, plows, butcher knives. 
 
 55
 
 door hinges, latches, andirons, 
 wedges, hammers, chisels, and many 
 other tools and devices came from 
 his shop. 
 
 The more skilled smiths often 
 turned their hands to the making of 
 rifles. Even today one may find 
 in an attic or somewhere about an 
 old homstead, a rifle that was made 
 by such a gunsmith. These firearms 
 should not be looked upon solely as 
 a means of recreation. They were 
 useful to the pioneer in the defense 
 of his livestock against wild animals 
 and, upon occasions, in the defense 
 of his home. A considerable propor- 
 tion of his meat supply was secured 
 from the game he killed. These men, 
 the gunsmiths and blacksmiths, were 
 skilled craftsmen and useful citizens. 
 
 Some of the early blacksmiths and 
 wagon shops operating in Pope Coun- 
 ty were those of Willie Story, John 
 Willis, John H. Baugher, and Daniel 
 Sanders, who operated shops in Gol- 
 conda. Harris Leonard also operated 
 a carriage shop there. Jess Reynolds 
 had a shop at Bay City, and J. B. 
 Russel had one at Glendale. Num- 
 erous other shops were scattered over 
 Pope County at a very early date. A 
 considerable amount of wagon repair 
 work is even yet done at Eddyville. 
 
 One of the very few gunsmiths, 
 Mr. Walters, still using the methods 
 and tools of the pioneer craftsman, 
 occasionally plies his trade at Wal- 
 tersburg, on the Vienna-Golconda 
 highway. 
 
 WHITESIDE'S TANNERY 
 
 Whiteside's tannery is shown on 
 an atlas published in 1876. It took 
 its name from George Whiteside 
 who operated it for a number of 
 years. There were twelve or more 
 pits, each about four feet wide, about 
 the same in depth, and of varj'ing 
 lengths. The pits were lined with 
 heavy oak planking and were tight 
 enough to hold water. 
 
 Some of the pits contained a mix- 
 ture of wood ashes and water, or 
 lime and water. Into these the hides 
 were placed and allowed to soak for 
 the necessary time. Upon removal 
 from this solution they were carefully 
 scraped, so that all hair was remov- 
 ed. They were washed, to remove 
 the lye or lime, then were placed in 
 another pit with alternate layers of 
 tan bark that had been somewhat 
 finely ground. Water was poured 
 over these layers of hides and tan- 
 bark, until all was covered. Here the 
 hides were allowed to soak until they 
 had been fully tanned. 
 
 After they were removed from the 
 pits, the hides were drawn back and 
 forth across the sharp edge of a 
 plank, or whipped about a beating 
 post until they had become as lim- 
 ber as desired for their intended pur- 
 pose. Some leather, like that to be 
 used for shoe soles or some parts of 
 harness, was not so treated. After 
 drying, the leather was ready for 
 sale. 
 
 After it was tanned, leather was 
 dyed to desired color. This was 
 sometimes done by use of dubbin, a 
 mixture of oils and animal fats com- 
 
 56
 
 bined with lampblack or other color- 
 ing matter. At other times, oxgall 
 was used for dyeing. 
 
 The bark for tanning came from 
 oaks. Trees were sometimes cut only 
 for the bark they afforded. Gener- 
 ally the tanbark was secured from 
 trees cut for barrel staves or for 
 lumber. Since a number of stave 
 factories operated in communities 
 nearby, much tanbark was obtained 
 from them. If cut in the early spring 
 months after the sap had begun to 
 flow, bark could be easily peeled. 
 This bark was collected and hauled 
 to the tanner. There it was laid on 
 a circular track having a stone floor. 
 Around this track a heavy stone, 
 fastened to a horsepowered sweep, 
 was rolled. Bark was kept on the 
 track and in the path of the wheel 
 until it was ground finely enough to 
 be used in the tanning pits. An in- 
 dividual wishing to tan only a few 
 hides might pound his tanbark with 
 a stone maul. 
 
 Local shoemakers and harness mak- 
 ers used some of the leather. Some 
 of it went upon the market and was 
 aften transported to New Orleans 
 or other points by flatboat. Cattle 
 were generally cheap, and a tanned 
 hide was often worth more than the 
 remainder of the animal. 
 
 Carl Maynor operated a black- 
 smith and wagon shop at the same 
 location as Whiteside's Tannery. Both 
 these ventures seem to have pros- 
 pered. 
 
 MINES AND MINERALS 
 
 The mining industry of Pope Coun- 
 ty has extended over quite a long 
 period of time and been somewhat 
 varied, but never extensive. On some 
 of the early maps of the county, 
 "Iron Ore" is indicated. Some of 
 these places where coal or iron was 
 found, and perhaps mined to a very 
 limited extent, are indicated on the 
 accompanying map. These iron de- 
 posits were not impoi^tant and have 
 never been mined, as they were in 
 Hardin county around the Illinois 
 Furnace of Martha Furnace. Coal 
 findings have been of little impor- 
 tance. In a few places, out-croppings 
 were found and some mines opened. 
 Apparently there have been no tip- 
 ple mines. Most of the operators 
 sold the coal to those who came for 
 it in wagons. Some of these mines 
 are located on the map, but none of 
 them seem to be still in operation. 
 
 Deposits of kaolin and other clays 
 used in industry have been found in 
 Pope County. One of the largest of 
 these kaolin mines was located be- 
 side the Eddyville-Golconda road 
 where it crosses Lusk creek. This 
 mine had been operated for several 
 purposes. At one time it was desig- 
 nated as "lead diggings", and a 
 quantity of lead was mined. As the 
 supply of lead diminished, the mine 
 was turned to production of red iron 
 oxide. It then turned to clay mining. 
 A considerable village was located 
 there, and Alonzo Frieze operated 
 a hotel and store. At one time the 
 mine employed a number of foreign- 
 ers. There were several major acci- 
 dents at this mine. Some men were 
 
 57
 
 crushed to death by falls of clay, and 
 others by an explosion. Operations 
 ceased many years ago. 
 
 Some early spar mines were opened 
 in Pope County. The one designated 
 as Empire Spar Mine was opened 
 before 1876 and worked for several 
 years. As its products grew poor, it 
 was discontinued and later revived 
 with the discovery of a better vein. 
 It was deserted a second time and 
 once more revived. It is still operat- 
 ing. 
 
 The Grand Pierre Lead Mine was 
 operating in 1876. Perhaps the most 
 extensive coal mine of the county was 
 one operated by Frank Durfee, near 
 Blanchard. This mine supplied some 
 householders, along with schools and 
 churches. The coal came from an 
 outcropping on a hillside. Durfee's 
 mine also supplied some coal to the 
 company engaged in construction of 
 the new railway known as the Edge- 
 wood Cut-Off. So far as can be 
 learned, no coal mines were operat- 
 ing in the county in 1946. 
 
 COTTON 
 
 According to Mr. T. B. Holloway, 
 living near Eddyville in 1946, a large 
 cotton gin was operated by Josh Tay- 
 lor at a place about four miles south 
 and two miles west of Bay City, in 
 the 1870's, and for some years there- 
 after. Mr. Holloway remembers go- 
 ing with his father. Josh Holloway, 
 who then lived about one mile north 
 of Rock, to take cotton to Taylor's 
 place. This was a journey of some 
 eighteen miles, but it was the most 
 convenient place at which one could 
 have cotton ginned. 
 
 In earlier days many people grew 
 small patches of cotton to be used in 
 home weaving. This cotton was some- 
 times picked from the seeds by hand. 
 In other cases a rude gin was made 
 and used in the home. The main part 
 of these homemade gins consisted of 
 two wooden rollers, similar to those 
 of a clothes wringer but much small- 
 er, being only about one-half inch in 
 diameter. These rollers allowed the 
 cotton fibers to enter and be drawn 
 through but did not allow the seeds 
 to enter. Two persons worked at one 
 of these small gins. While one op- 
 erator turned the crank at the end of 
 one roller and held the unginned cot- 
 ton against the rollers, the other 
 turned a crank at the opposite end 
 of the other roller and helped by 
 pulling the ginned cotton from the 
 rollers as it came through. By use 
 of this simple machine, cotton fibers 
 were removed from the seeds much 
 more rapidly than by hand. Parts of 
 one of these primitive hand gins were 
 secured from Rev. Wesley Jackson 
 at McCormick, along with a detailed 
 description that enabled the author 
 to complete working drawings for the 
 reproduction of such a device. 
 
 Cotton from the small plots grown 
 by the householders was used for 
 home weaving. It was carded and 
 spun into thread to be used as warp 
 in making of the cloth known as lin- 
 sey-woolsey. The term linsey-wool- 
 seey was derived from the fact that 
 such cloth was originally made of 
 linen warp and wool woof. The term 
 soon came to be applied also to a 
 cotton warp and wool woof cloth. 
 
 58
 
 TAVERNS 
 
 One of the duties of the early- 
 County Commissioner was to fix tav- 
 ern rates. Since all taverns were li- 
 censed by the county board and the 
 rates that they might charge their 
 customers were fixed by the same 
 board, such records do much to indi- 
 cate the location of different settle- 
 ments and lines of travel. 
 
 The following are typical of the 
 rates charged in April, 1816, at tav- 
 erns in Pope County. Breakfast, din- 
 ner or supper 25c ; lodging, each per- 
 son, I2V2C; whiskey and peach bran- 
 dy one-half pint, 37V2c; horse kept 
 and fed corn or oats and hay or fod- 
 der, 37V2C; a single feeding for horse 
 1214. The licenses charged for the 
 privilege of operating a tavern in 
 1816 varied from $4.00 to $8.00, evi- 
 dently depending upon the size of 
 the tavern. 
 
 Tavern rates in 1812 were as fol- 
 lows: Breakfast or supper 25c; lodg- 
 ing 12Vo; horse to hay at night 25c; 
 for feed and corn I2V2C; French 
 brandy, 50c one-half pint; whisky 
 one-half pint, 1214c; taffia or rum 
 per one-half pint, 37i/4c; peach bran- 
 dy, 37V2C; and cherry bounce, 25c 
 one-half pint. Comparison of these 
 prices with those of 1816 shows sub- 
 stantially the same charges. Hov/- 
 ever, taffia and cherry bounce had 
 disappeared from the list of liquors 
 available. One wonders just what 
 they were. 
 
 It should be remembered that tav- 
 erns were often important as gather- 
 ing places. They were stopping 
 places for stages; they often held the 
 postoffice; they frequently had a 
 
 store connected with them; they 
 were, therefore, convenient gathering 
 places for travelers and politicians. 
 The tavern keeper was a man of con- 
 siderable influence. 
 
 SUGAR CAMP 
 
 Sugar camps were located at vari- 
 ous places in Pope County, one being 
 about a mile northwest of Raum, in 
 a region where maple trees were 
 plentiful. It was in full operation 
 until at least the middle 1880's. T. 
 B. Holloway remembers distinctly 
 when this camp was operated. An- 
 other such camp was the one near 
 Bethesda church, about three miles 
 southeast of Raum, on Little Grand 
 Pierre Creek. In the Golconda paper 
 of February 14, 1887, an advertise- 
 ment appeared, stating that Tom 
 Abbot wished to buy all maple sugar 
 made in the county. 
 
 When one considers that loaf sug- 
 ar — that is, sugar closely resembling 
 the dark brown variety sometimes 
 found on sale today — cost about 50 
 cents a pound, it can be readily un- 
 derstood why maple sugar was made. 
 For the making of maple sugar, a 
 section of woodland containing many 
 sugar maple trees was selected. This 
 was generally in some fertile valley. 
 If the grove selected was not easily 
 accessible from the home of the one 
 making the sugar, a cabin and other 
 camp necessities were built. Fire- 
 wood was gathered; the necessary 
 kettles, buckets, sleds, carrying-yokes, 
 troughs and barrels were assembled ; 
 and other preliminary preparations 
 completed. 
 
 59
 
 In early spring, the householder 
 watched closely to see when the sap 
 began to rise in the maples. This 
 was generally in late P'ebruary or 
 early March. As soon as conditions 
 warranted, work began. Trees were 
 "tapped" by having holes bored into 
 them. These holes sloped down, 
 slightly. Into them, spiles or tubes, 
 generally made of sections of alder 
 from which the pith had been re- 
 moved, were closely fitted. These 
 tubes were allowed to project six or 
 eight inches from the tree trunk. Un- 
 der the end of each spile, a wooden 
 trough or bucket was set. By use of 
 large buckets and a carrying-yoke, 
 or by use of barrels and a sled, the 
 sap was collected as often as was 
 necessary. It was carried to the place 
 where kettles had been arranged for 
 boiling the sap. Here, boiling and 
 skimming began. If syrup was de- 
 sired, the boiling was discontinued at 
 the time when a proper consistency 
 had been reached. If it was planned 
 to make sugar, the cooking was con- 
 tinued until a soft brown sugar re- 
 sulted when the thickened syrup was 
 cooled. 
 
 This work of making maple syrup 
 and sugar was carried forward vig- 
 orously for the two weeks or so that 
 the sap flowed freely. Coming as 
 it did at the end of the winter, the 
 making of maple sugar took on some 
 of the aspects of a holiday. 
 
 STEAMBOATS 
 
 Since the Ohio River flows along 
 much of the border of Pope County 
 and no railroads came through the 
 County until a comparatively late 
 date, steamboats and river traffic 
 
 were important factors in the coun- 
 ty's development. With the decline 
 of river traffic, it became less impor- 
 tant but remained the main source 
 of commercial transportation with 
 outside territory for a long time. This 
 is indicated by the fact that the Gol- 
 conda paper on September 11, 1887, 
 carried advertisements of the Mem- 
 phis-Cincinnati Packet Company, in 
 which the company advertised that 
 four of its boats would stop regularly 
 at Golconda, the downriver stops be- 
 ing made on Monday and Friday 
 nights, and the up-river stops on 
 Thursdays and Sundays. 
 
 A floating saw mill was owned and 
 operated by Leo Bauer in the Gol- 
 conda vicinity, about 1865. Another 
 Bauer, Ottoman, of Golconda, bought 
 a steamboat and named it the "Monie 
 Bauer" for his daughter. With old- 
 er people, the echoes of steamboat 
 whistles still arouse memories of the 
 days when Golconda was a busy river 
 port. 
 
 DISTILLERY 
 
 Several early-day distilleries oper- 
 ated in Pope County. One stood near 
 the present Old Home Church in the 
 Eddyville vicinity, and was operated 
 by a man named Gus Henry. "Uncle" 
 Burton Holloway tells of seeing the 
 log trough, holding perhaps 100 gal- 
 lons, in which mash was allowed to 
 ferment before distillation. Most of 
 the whiskey was made from corn. 
 Since whiskey was quite generally 
 used and found a ready sale, the corn 
 could be marketed much more con- 
 veniently in this manner. Made into 
 whiskey, it could be transported in 
 much less space. Local potteries pro- 
 
 60
 
 duced the jugs required. With the 
 planting of orchards, the manufac- 
 ture of brandy became common and 
 helped considerably in providing a 
 market for the surplus fruit. Since 
 practically no insect pests then 
 plagued the owner of an orchard, 
 fruit growing was not beset with so 
 many difficulties as it is today. Thus 
 the distilling of brandy was a com- 
 mon industry. 
 
 The pioneer distiller paid a very 
 small tax on his product. It was 
 priced accordingly, and whiskey 
 could be had for one dollar, or less, 
 per gallon. 
 
 These early distilleries were often 
 located near a grist mill where corn 
 could be ground for the mash. This 
 arrangement allowed the miller to 
 turn his surplus product to a nice 
 profit. Owners of larger orchards 
 might also turn distillers, in order to 
 dispose of their surplus fiuiit. 
 
 STREAMS AND LAKES 
 
 Springs 
 
 There are some widely known 
 springs in Pope County. One of these 
 is Bell Smith Springs, about four 
 miles west and slightly north of 
 Eddyville. The region about Bell 
 Smith Spring has long been noted for 
 its beautiful scenery, and for several 
 generations, people have gone there 
 to picnic. It is still a popular picnic 
 ground. 
 
 This spring was named for a man 
 named Bell Smith who lived nearby 
 and who at one time owned the land 
 on which the spring is located. For 
 many years, his name was visible 
 where he had carved it in the rock 
 
 just above the spring. The wall 
 where the name was carved is thickly 
 covered with moss, and now it is only 
 by careful searching that the name 
 can be found. 
 
 Another widely known spring is 
 one located some two miles north of 
 Golconda, on a farm now owned by 
 Ray GuUett. Quite an interesting 
 story is connected with this spring. 
 According to the story, a band of 
 men had robbed a bank in Kentucky 
 and secured a large amount of mon- 
 ey. A man named Hudson, who was 
 a pilot on an Ohio River steamboat, 
 owned the place. His brother had 
 a hand in the robbery and buried the 
 money on the farm. The robber told 
 his pilot brother of the treasure and 
 promised that he would some day 
 indicate the hiding place. Before this 
 was done, the robber brother died 
 with yellow fever, however; so the 
 treasure is still buried near the 
 spring. 
 
 The present owner, Ray Gullett, 
 often has visitors who wish to dig for 
 the treasure. In response to their re- 
 quests, Mr. Gullet anwers calmly, 
 "Now boys, I am interested in that 
 treasure; I know just about where it 
 is, and some day when I am not too 
 busy, I am going to dig it up" — and 
 continues to sit on his porch. 
 
 According to another story, one of 
 many in that locality, a local citizen 
 was told by some .strangers that if he 
 would place his gold in a leather belt, 
 allow them to "bless" it, and then 
 wear the belt during the night, he 
 would dream of the location of the 
 above-mentioned treasure. He took' 
 his gold, put it in the belt, allowed 
 the strangers to say some mystic 
 
 61
 
 words over it, and buckled it about 
 himself. As morning neared and no 
 dreams had come, this gentleman be- 
 gan to be somewhat worried and de- 
 cided to take a peek at the gold that 
 he had. The peek revealed the fact 
 that the belt was filled with leaden 
 washers. The strangers and his gold 
 were gone. 
 
 There are numerous other stories 
 of buried treasure to be heard along 
 the river regions of the county. 
 
 Round Pond 
 
 Round Pond, so named because of 
 its general shape, is indicated as a 
 pond on the Illinois map of 1876. On 
 some later maps and on the geologi- 
 cal survey it is indicated only as a 
 marsh. This is the result, perhaps, 
 of its having been partially drained. 
 
 Big Pond 
 
 This pond or lake is shown on the 
 1876 map. It is indicated as being 
 about one-fourth mile wide and five 
 or six miles long. On later maps it 
 is indicated as a marsh. Early set- 
 tlers called this and much of the ter- 
 ritory lying about it the "Nigger 
 Wool Swamps." It was an excellent 
 fishing place in early days. 
 
 Black Bottom 
 
 On many of the early maps of 
 Pope County, one finds a portion of 
 the southern part designated as 
 "Black Bottom." Different explana- 
 tions are offered for this name. Some 
 say that it was given because a num- 
 ber of Negroes settled in that region. 
 Others claim that it was so named 
 because of the black soil. The lat- 
 ter explanation seems to be the better 
 one, even though several families of 
 
 Negroes have resided in that area. 
 It was once a swampy region with 
 much dark water moss. This fact is 
 advanced, also as an explanation for 
 the name of the area. It, too, was 
 occasionally referred to as the "Nig- 
 ger Wool Swamps." Today practi- 
 cally all of it has been drained, and 
 it constitutes an excellent farming re- 
 gion, except for periodical overflows. 
 This is the most fertile soil of the 
 county. Old men tell of the time 
 when these swamps were first 
 drained and excellent corn crops 
 were gathered from broadcast seed- 
 ing. 
 
 Clear Lake 
 
 Clear Lake was located and named 
 on the map of Pope County, in 1876. 
 By some, it is explained that it was 
 named because of the clear water. 
 It was an excellent fishing place. A 
 later drainage system practically 
 eliminated this lake. 
 
 Creeks 
 
 Alcorn Creek empties into the Ohio 
 River about two miles north of Ham- 
 letsburg and opposite Dog Island. 
 Tradition has it that it was named 
 for a man named Alcorn, who had 
 settled near it. Allen's Branch flows 
 north from the vicinity of McCormick 
 and empties into Little Saline River 
 near the northern boundary of the 
 County. Through a considerable por- 
 tion of its length, its valley is narrow 
 and rather picturesque. This creek 
 takes its name from one of the ear- 
 lier residents of the area. Burden 
 Creek, once known as Halfway 
 Branch, rises east of McCormick and 
 flows north into Little Saline River. 
 It takes its name from Wm. Burden. 
 
 62
 
 who lived near the Eddyville-Stone- 
 fort road. The Burden house was 
 still standing in 1946. 
 
 Copperous Branch flows into Lusk 
 Creek a short distance downstream 
 from the point where the Eddyville- 
 Golconda road crosses it. This stream 
 gets its name from the fact that its 
 waters taste rather strongly of cop- 
 peras. In earlier days, when Lusk 
 Creek was forded just below the 
 point where Copperous Branch en- 
 ters it, the horses and oxen refused 
 to drink the distasteful water. Travel- 
 ers would drive up the bed of Lusk 
 to a place above the point where the 
 branch entered and allow their ani- 
 mals to drink. Some people felt that 
 the water of this spring possessed 
 medicinal properties. 
 
 Gibbon's Creek has carried several 
 names. It was once known as Drumm 
 Creek because of the fact that Phil 
 Drumm had a grist mill on the 
 stream. It was also called Drumm's 
 Branch of Sugar Creek at another 
 time. The present name of Gibbon's 
 Creek is for a man of that name, an 
 early resident of the area. 
 
 Hunting Branch flows into Bay 
 Creek near Bell Smith Spring. Its 
 name comes from the fact that it 
 was along this branch that an excel- 
 lent early hunting ground lay. 
 
 Quarrel is an unusual name to as- 
 sign to a creek and easily arouses 
 curiosity as to why it is so named. 
 Two explanations are offered by 
 older residents in the area. Accord- 
 ing to one of the stories, the rocky 
 bed of the creek and the several 
 falls that occur in it, make it a very 
 noisy stream after any heavy rain. 
 Its name thus comes from its being 
 
 so noisy. According to another story, 
 an old couple who lived near the 
 place where the gravel road crosses 
 the creek quarreled almost continual- 
 ly, and from that situation came the 
 name. 
 
 Sugar Camp Creek takes its name 
 from the fact that a camp for the 
 making of maple sugar was once lo- 
 cated there. Such a camp was op- 
 erated by a Mr. Shufflebarger, about 
 two miles east and south of McCor- 
 mick. The name of Sugar Creek is 
 one that often occurs and seems al- 
 ways to indicate an area where ma- 
 ple sugar was made. 
 
 These illustrations explain the ori- 
 gin of some of the names. Others 
 easily suggest the sources of their 
 names, but still others remain ob- 
 scure. No satisfactory explanation 
 is found for Big Bay or Grand Pierre, 
 though a tradition exists that Grand 
 Pierre came from an early French- 
 man of the region, a part of his name 
 being Pierre. In some old records 
 this name is spelled "Grandpear" or 
 "Grampear." 
 
 When Randolph County was or- 
 ganized as pai-t of the Northwest 
 Territory, one of the townships of 
 the county was Grand Pierre. This 
 would tend to indicate an early, 
 somewhat concentrated settlement in 
 the area. 
 
 Dams 
 
 Ohio River dams are rather recent 
 structures. Only one such dam oc- 
 curs on the border of Pope County. 
 This is designed as Dam Number 51 
 and is located just below Golconda. 
 It regulates the depth of water where 
 the rapids once occurred at lower 
 
 63
 
 river stages. By means of gates and 
 locks, boats are passed over the shal- 
 low stretch of river at all times of 
 the year. 
 
 An ingenious forcing of the water 
 to flow through a controlled device 
 in the dam known as the "bear trap" 
 makes the gates of the locks operate 
 properly, and the boats pass through. 
 Though they are large structures and 
 are designed for the passage of the 
 largest river boats and barges, these 
 locks will also operate for the indi- 
 vidual who chances to come that way 
 in a rowboat. They are a great aid 
 in the promotion of river traffic. 
 
 When watermills were established 
 on several streams of Pope County, 
 it was often necessary to build a dam 
 across the stream in order to have a 
 sufficient head of water. Permission 
 to build such dams was granted by 
 the county officials to mill owners 
 upon proof that such a dam would 
 not damage property belonging to 
 others. 
 
 SURFACE FEATURES 
 
 Caves 
 
 There are many places designated 
 as caves in Pope County. Very often 
 they are not true caves but are only 
 overhanging rock ledges. One such 
 cave was alluded to in the discussion 
 of Money Cave Hollow. Another 
 cave is located in Gum Springs Hol- 
 low. It is said that this cave once 
 had weird drawings on its walls. 
 Another cave, known as Murray's, is 
 about two miles south of Olive 
 church. A third cave, known as Mc- 
 New Cave, is in Jackson Hollow. A 
 family named McNew once lived in 
 this cave, and a son named Jake is 
 
 said to have been born there. May- 
 nor Cave is located about one mile 
 south of Eddyville. This cave is re- 
 ported to be a dry one and is said, 
 even yet, to be only partially ex- 
 plored. Freeze Cave is located near 
 Freeze School. Very early county 
 records refer to Salt Peter Cave on 
 Big Creek but do not definitely fix 
 its location. 
 
 Sheridan Cave 
 
 On the west side of War Bluff 
 and well toward the bottom, is a 
 cave, or over-hanging ledge. This 
 cave is perhaps 25 feet long and 8 
 feet high, and extends 10 or 12 feet 
 beneath the bluff. Earliest tradition 
 indicates that a wall was found across 
 the open side of this cave. It was 
 in this cave that Tom Sheridan, who 
 later became county superintendent 
 of schools and "a practicing attorney 
 in Vienna, was born. In addition to 
 the other incidents related concerning 
 this cave, there is also the buried- 
 treasure story, and many men have 
 gone to dig in various places about 
 the cave and along the bluff for trea- 
 sure they are sure is buried there. 
 No one has reported finding it. 
 
 Hills and Hollows 
 
 The hills and hollows of Pope 
 County have taken their names in 
 many cases from settlers who lived 
 nearby, or from activities carried on 
 in the vicinity. 
 
 Near the north end of the County 
 is Bear Track Hollow. According to 
 local explanations, this hollow is so 
 named from the fact that the last 
 bear tracks to be seen in Pope Coun- 
 ty were found there. At one time it 
 was known as Sugar Camp Hollow. 
 
 64
 
 This name came from the fact that, 
 at one time, a sugar camp had been 
 located at the mouth of it. 
 
 Near Bear Track Hollow is Guip 
 Williams Hollow. It was named for 
 a man called Guip Williams, who 
 lived near the head of it. Both of 
 these hollows are rocky and present 
 a wild appearance. Each is infested 
 with rattlesnakes, and for that rea- 
 son, most people stay away from 
 them during the summer months. 
 
 Cedar Bluff 
 
 The name "Cedar Bluff" appears 
 first on a map made in 1876. Pres- 
 ent-day maps do not carry the name. 
 The bluff is covered with cedar trees 
 that present a most attractive ap- 
 pearance during the winter months. 
 It is still referred to by many peo- 
 ple as Cedar Bluff, 
 
 Dog Hollow 
 
 This hollow is shown and named 
 on the geological maps but is not 
 shown on other maps. It is a short 
 distance north of Oak church. Ac- 
 cording to the story current in that 
 region, this hollow received its name 
 from the following incident. Two 
 young men had seen their girls safe- 
 ly home from a church service. They 
 were returning at a late hour through 
 the hollow. By their story they were 
 pursued by a headless dog. Thus 
 the hollow received its name and has 
 ever since been called Dog Hollow. 
 
 Harper's Knob 
 
 The name of Hence Mountain ap- 
 pears first on a map published in 
 1876. This hill has had several dif- 
 ferent names. At one time it was 
 called Williams Mountain for a fam- 
 
 ily who lived near the east end of 
 it. Later it was called Carter Hill, 
 for Jack Carter. Then afterwards, it 
 was owned by Hence Gibbs and was 
 designated Hence Mountain. It is 
 now a part of the Shawnee National 
 Forest. This is the highest elevation 
 in southern Illinois, being about thir- 
 ty feet higher than Bald Knob in 
 Jackson County. 
 
 Kate Reid Hollow 
 
 Kate Reid Hollow is in the north 
 end of the County and takes its name 
 from a woman who lived in the vi- 
 cinity. This name was also applied 
 to the branch that flows through the 
 valley. 
 
 Massac Bluff 
 
 Massac Bluff is shown and named 
 on the Illinois Atlas of 1876. It is 
 three-fourths of a mile south of Rock, 
 The church at the foot of this bluff 
 was once known as Pine Hollow and 
 is said to have taken that name from 
 a large, lone pine that stood in the 
 hollow. 
 
 Millstone Knob 
 
 Millstone Knob is shown on the 
 1876 map of Pope County. It is 
 said to have taken its name from the 
 fact that millers once got mill stones 
 from a quarry there. A number of 
 the early mills in Pope County are 
 said to have been equipped with mill- 
 stones from this source. According 
 to another explanation, it was so 
 named because of the resemblance it 
 bears to a millstone, when viewed 
 from a distance. 
 
 Money Cave Hollow 
 
 Money Cave Hollow is shown on 
 the Illinois Atlas map of 1876, This 
 place takes its name from the fact 
 
 65
 
 that a man who once lived there en- 
 gaged in counterfeiting. According 
 to the story current, this man went to 
 Grantsburg and bought a suit of 
 clothes, paying for it with counter- 
 feit money. The merchant detected 
 the spurious money and had the cul- 
 prit arrested. In fact, he had been 
 arrested sevei-al times previously but 
 had managed to escape, being assis- 
 ted by friends who smuggled him 
 saws hidden in the soles of their 
 shoes. On this occasion he failed to 
 escape and was sent to prison for 
 his crime. 
 
 Pittulo Bluff 
 
 Pittulo Bluff is shown on the map 
 of 1876. It takes its name from a 
 man who homesteaded nearby. On 
 some records the name is given "Pit- 
 talo." 
 
 Potato Hill 
 
 There are two stories explaining 
 the name of Potato Hill. According 
 to one story, it looked very much 
 like the old-fashioned potato hills or 
 mounds used by farmers for storing 
 potatoes during the winter. 
 
 According to another story, it was 
 named because many potatoes were 
 grown in the vicinity. It is not a 
 very large hill. Either of these ex- 
 planations sounds plausible, for it is 
 a recorded fact that James Wallace 
 lived in that vicinity and grew many 
 potatoes. 
 
 Sand Hill 
 
 Sand Hill is shown and named on 
 the Geological Survey maps of this 
 region. According to local explan- 
 ations, this hill received its name be- 
 cause of the fact that there is much 
 
 soft sandstone exposed on its slopes. 
 This sandstone washes away easily, 
 and after rains, much sand may be 
 found drifted at the foot of the hill. 
 The view from the crest of this hill 
 is a magnificent one. It was here 
 that Matthew Bracewell home- 
 steaded land and built his house. 
 
 Thacker's Gap 
 
 Thacker's Gap is one of the most 
 convenient passages through the hills 
 extending across northern Pope 
 County. It received its name from 
 Ben Thacker who lived in a hewed 
 log house about one-fourth mile off 
 the present highway, on the old road 
 that led toward Hart's store. Thac- 
 ker chose this location because there 
 was a large spring nearby. Through 
 this gap passed one of the early im- 
 migrant trails leading toward the 
 St. Louis area. 
 
 Islands 
 
 There are several islands on the 
 Ohio River along the border of Pope 
 County. One of these, Golconda Isl- 
 and, is indicated on the 1876 map. 
 On earlier maps it is shown as a dis- 
 tinct island. On later maps and on 
 the geological maps, it is indicated 
 as attached to Kentucky. This island 
 is known locally as Rondeau Island, 
 which name appears as older than 
 Golconda Island. The name. Ron- 
 deau, was the name of an early set- 
 tler of the region. 
 
 Cumberland Island is located near 
 the mouth of the Cumbei'land River, 
 from which it takes its name. An 
 early ferry used this island as an 
 intermediate stop in crossing the 
 Ohio. 
 
 66
 
 Stewart Island marks the location 
 of an early-day ferry, operated by a 
 man named O'Melvaney. This ferry 
 passed from Bayou Creek (Smith- 
 land, Kentucky) across the river but 
 did not stop at the island. 
 
 Three Sisters Island is shown on 
 the 1876 map as separate islands. At 
 the present time it is shown as one 
 island though it still bears the name 
 of "Three Sisters." 
 
 Price Island, or Pryor Island, is 
 located about two miles below Gol- 
 conda. This island is said to take 
 its name from a man named Pryor 
 who lived on the Illinois shore near 
 there. He was the father of Rev- 
 erend Dan Pryor, a Baptist minister, 
 and Reverend R. M. Pryor, a Presby- 
 terian minister. 
 
 MADSTONES 
 
 The "madstone" is an interesting 
 object in Pope County and indicates 
 a fairly firm belief of many people. 
 Such a stone is now in the possession 
 of John Bushman, who lives north of 
 Golconda. This stone is very black, 
 fibrous in appearance, and somewhat 
 like a piece of cannel coal. It is ir- 
 regular in shape, about one half inch 
 in length, and slightly less in width 
 and thickness. According to tradi- 
 tion, this stone has been widely 
 known for a century or so in the re- 
 gion of Golconda and of much of 
 Southern Illinois. It is said to have 
 been found originally in a mine in 
 Italy. In Pope County it has figured 
 in several law suits. In one such 
 suit, in the March term of 1911, a 
 man named John Breedlove asked 
 that a receiver be appointed and that 
 
 the stone in question be sold and a 
 division of the proceeds made. 
 
 Breedlove, insisting that he had an 
 equity in the stone, brought suit 
 against Susan Boos, Maggie Meyer, 
 Will C. Gullett, Charles Gullett, and 
 John Gullett. In this suit, Breedlove 
 stated that this Madstone was 
 brought to Illinois from the state of 
 Tennessee by his paternal grandfath- 
 er, Matthew Trovillion, "more than 
 40 years ago." He also contended 
 that this stone had been awarded, 
 by a court decision issued about 1892, 
 to two families in turn. He further 
 stated that proceeds from the appli- 
 cation of the stone amounted to more 
 than $300.00 yearly, and that it had 
 proved effective in all except one 
 of the hundreds of applications. In 
 this case, a man named Lentzen, who 
 had been badly bitten about the face, 
 died on his way to an Evansville 
 hospital. Mr. Breedlove's suit did 
 not secui'e him an equity in the stone 
 nor in the possession of it. This stone 
 for many years has attracted persons 
 bitten by dog thought to be rabid, 
 or by poisonous snakes and insects. 
 
 According to information given by 
 Mr. Bushman, present possessor of 
 the stone, the wound to which it is 
 applied must be an open one. The 
 stone is applied to the wound and 
 allowed to remain an hour, unless 
 it drops off sooner. It is then placed 
 in clear water and allowed to remain 
 there until it starts to give off bub- 
 bles. Then it is again applied to the 
 wound. This process is repeated un- 
 til the stone no longer adheres. An 
 old issue of the Golconda paper re- 
 counts a trip made by Mr. W. V. 
 Nelson, of Hamletsburg, to the mad- 
 stone. On this trip the horse that 
 
 67
 
 Mr. Nelson borrowed to take his wife 
 to the stone died in Golconda. This 
 story appears in the Golconda Her- 
 ald, for April 18, 1887. In this case, 
 the stone is reported to have ad- 
 hered eight times. 
 
 With the introduction of the Pas- 
 teur treatment for rabies prevention, 
 the stone has been used less and 
 less, until today it is seldom in use. 
 
 Other madstones have been re- 
 ported for this vicinity, but none of 
 them seem to enjoy such wide pres- 
 tige as this one. 
 
 NEWSPAPERS 
 
 The first newspaper of which 
 there is record in Pope County was 
 the Herald. The date of its estab- 
 lishment may be fixed with reason- 
 sonable accura<5y as November 1857, 
 from the fact that its issue of Feb- 
 ruary 7, 1889, is marked as Volume 
 32, number 14. At this time it was 
 consolidated with the Enterprise, 
 which was marked Volume 2, number 
 41. The Enterprise was established 
 as a Republican paper and adver- 
 tised that it had new and complete 
 equipment. Another old paper of 
 the county was the Pope County 
 Transcript. This was published by 
 J. M. Boicourt and Volume 1, number 
 13, is dated March 18, 1863. Mr. 
 Boicourt's paper, The Transcript, was 
 very partisan to the union cause dur- 
 ing the Civil War. 
 
 One of the interesting issues of a 
 Southern Illinois newspaper is the 
 Herald Enterprise of February 4, 
 1937. On that date, the Ohio River 
 flood had closed the printing shop, 
 and the paper was mimeographed. 
 
 TOWNS AND 
 POST OFFICES 
 
 Allard 
 
 The post office of Allard was 
 established on January 12, 1900, and 
 David N. Allard was appointed post- 
 master. The records do not show 
 that another postmaster was ap- 
 pointed at a later date. An order 
 was issued on October 9, 1907, clos- 
 ing the post office and directing that 
 the mail be sent to Flatwood. This 
 post office of Flatwood was doubt- 
 less in Johnson County. The order 
 for the forwarding of mail was to 
 take effect on October 31. 
 
 Allen Springs 
 
 A post office, known as Allen 
 Springs, was located about one mile 
 south and a half mile east of Dixon 
 Springs. Various old maps show dif- 
 ferent locations, doubtless indicat- 
 ing the movement of the office to 
 the residences or stores of those serv- 
 ing as postmaster. On some maps 
 and in some records it is indicated 
 as "Allen Springs"; on others it is 
 set down as "Allen's Spring." The 
 post office was first established on 
 August 5, 1857, with George M. Al- 
 len as postmaster. The postmasters 
 who served there are indicated by 
 the following list, which also gives 
 the date of each appointment, 
 
 George M. Allen — August 5, 1857. 
 
 James R. Anderson — November 4, 
 1857. 
 
 R. H. Modglin— August 10, 1858. 
 
 James P. Anderson — November 1, 
 1859. 
 
 W. J. Leigh — June 15, 1864. 
 
 T. S. Barton — August 16, 1864. 
 
 68
 
 Discontinued — April 17, 1865. 
 
 Re-established — October 16, 1865. 
 
 James S. Anderson — October 16, 
 1865. 
 
 Discontinued — January 16, 1866. 
 
 Re-established — February 7, 1876. 
 
 William J. Baker — February 7, 
 1876. 
 
 Pinckney L. Baker — March 10, 
 1880. 
 
 William J. Baker, March 23, 1880. 
 
 William I. Cox — November 18. 
 1883. 
 
 John T. Farmer — October 19, 1886. 
 
 Soloman Dilaplain — November 24, 
 1886. 
 
 James A. Whiteside — April 14, 
 1889. 
 
 William I. Cox — November 8, 
 1893. 
 
 William A. Henley — August 2, 
 1897. 
 
 Brovi'nlow Cox — January 19, 1898. 
 
 William I. Cox — March 17, 1908. 
 
 Discontinued — February 7, 1928. 
 
 Azotus 
 
 Azotus appears on Geological Sur- 
 vey maps, but does not appear on a 
 map made in 1876. The strangeness 
 of the name, Azotus, elicits many 
 inquiries concerning its origin. This 
 post office took its name from a 
 church, still in existence. The church, 
 in its turn, was named for the Bibli- 
 cal city, Azotus, that stood near the 
 Mediterranean Sea and almost di- 
 rectly west of Jerusalem. The post 
 office named Azotus was established 
 on August 17, 1895, and Luther 
 Hodge was appointed postmaster. Lu- 
 ther Hodge was succeeded by John 
 R. Hodge, on May 23, 1901. John 
 
 R. served about two months only and 
 was succeeded by Nathaniel L. Go- 
 lightly, who became postmaster on 
 July 26, 1901 and served until De- 
 cember 29, 1905, when Eli P. Hodge 
 became postmaster. The post office 
 was discontinued by an order issued 
 on April 2, 1910., and mail was or- 
 dered sent to New Liberty. 
 
 Bay 
 
 Another early post office of Pope 
 County was established on June 4, 
 1846, and Alexander Jenkins was 
 appointed postmaster. Jenkins served 
 until the post office was discontinued, 
 on March 2, 1857. The author has 
 not been able to secure definite in- 
 formation concerning the location of 
 this post office. Tradition vaguely 
 locates it near the Ohio River, in the 
 vicinity of Bay City. 
 
 Big Bay 
 
 One of the early post offices estab- 
 lished in Pope County was that of 
 Big Bay, located near the present site 
 of Dixon Springs. This post office 
 was established on May 7, 1835, and 
 King Hazle was appointed postmas- 
 ter, for which position he was re- 
 quired to furnish a bond for $300. 
 The post office was discontinued on 
 November 2, 1835. This office and 
 another at Golconda are the only 
 ones appearing on a map published 
 in 1841 and showing the post offices 
 and postroads of Pope County. Its 
 appearance on the official postal 
 map based on data gathered about 
 1838, seems to indicate its existence 
 at that date; yet the postal records 
 in the national archives indicate 
 that it was closed in 1835. 
 
 69
 
 This name of Big Bay has also 
 been used to designate a creek that 
 flows a short distance south and west 
 of the place where the early post 
 office was located. It was used to 
 designate the stream as early as 
 1809, since a land claim for military 
 service was confirmed to Isaac Fits- 
 worth on December 31 of that year, 
 with the statement — "affirmed at the 
 mouth of Big Bay on the Ohio." 
 
 In some very early census reports 
 for southern Illinois, Big Bay is men- 
 tioned, but no definite location is 
 given. 
 
 Blanchard 
 
 The village of Blanchard grew up 
 near the residence of J. B. Blanchard. 
 A store and post office were once lo- 
 cated there, and a rather dense rural 
 population lived in the vicinity. J. B. 
 Blanchard, the man from whom the 
 village took its name, was a rather 
 unique character. He was a farmer, 
 a country doctor, a preacher, and an 
 enthusiastic fox-hunter. The tradi- 
 tion of the powerful and deep voice 
 sometimes leading a church hymn, 
 at other times urging a pack of 
 hounds in the chase, linger, still. The 
 school at Blanchard once had as 
 many as sixty or seventy pupils. 
 When the Shawnee National Forest 
 was established, nearly all of the 
 people sold their land to the Federal 
 Government and moved away. In the 
 winter of 1944-45 there was no 
 school, since there were no pupils of 
 school age in the district. The first 
 frame church in Pope County is said 
 to have been located at this place. 
 It later burned. 
 
 A post office was established there 
 on December 22, 1893, and William 
 D. Smith was appointed postmaster. 
 The succeeding postmasters with the 
 dates of their appointments are given 
 below. 
 
 John L. Ragan — September 4, 
 1895. 
 
 James P. Williams—July 22, 1897. 
 
 Ezra Harl^March 5, 1898. 
 
 Richard S. Hart— March 5, 1898, 
 
 Joel F. Stone— October 19, 1915. 
 
 John B. Owen — October 11, 1918. 
 
 James R. Wasson — Appointed on 
 December 15, 1921, but declined the 
 office. 
 
 Discontinued on March 31, 1922. 
 
 Breckenridge 
 
 On October 14, 1857, the post of- 
 fice of Breckenridge was established 
 at a point on the Ohio River about 
 two miles above Bay City, and John 
 D. Rose was appointed postmaster. 
 On August 27, 1860, Rose was suc- 
 ceeded by James M. McCormick. 
 This post office was discontinued on 
 February 6, 1864, and mail was or- 
 dered sent to Bay City. An examina- 
 tion of county records has not re- 
 vealed that a village was ever plat- 
 ted at Breckenridge. 
 
 Broad Oak 
 
 Broad Oak post office was estab- 
 lished on June 13, 1849, and George 
 W. Walters became the first post- 
 master. He was succeeded by James 
 M. Gulp, on February 14, 1854. Gulp 
 served until October 21, 1856, when 
 the post office was discontinued. The 
 demand for a post office at this place 
 led to the re-establishment of an of- 
 fice on December 23. 1856, slightly 
 
 70
 
 over two months after it had been 
 closed; and Philip Adar was appoin- 
 ted postmaster. He served until 
 April 23, 1859, when Adam W. Hill 
 assumed the office. On November 
 12, 1860, Thomas Stone became post- 
 master and served until February 19, 
 1861, when Clyde Glendale was ap- 
 pointed. The date of the closing of 
 this office is not known, but it ap- 
 pears that Glendale was the last man 
 to serve as postmaster. No informa- 
 tion has been found that will defi- 
 nitely locate this office. 
 
 Carrsville 
 
 Though no place named Carrsville 
 has been located in Pope County, a 
 story appearing in the Golconda pa- 
 pers in late December of 1887 seems 
 to indicate that such a place existed. 
 This story, although it may refer to 
 the town of that name in Kentucky, 
 is a good one and is included here. 
 The incident alluded to occurred on 
 Christmas Eve, 1887. On that after- 
 noon two young men, wishing to have 
 some excitement and "start some- 
 thing," planned to meet in the most 
 public place in the village and ap- 
 pear to have a quarrel. This they 
 did. When they met, a few sharp 
 words were exchanged. Each drew 
 his revolver, previously loaded with 
 blanks, and began to fire at the oth- 
 er. The results were more than they 
 expected. Friends, seeing what they 
 thought was a battle in progress, 
 promptly joined in the fray. More 
 revolvers appeared, and increased 
 firing began. Others rushed home to 
 secure their firearms. Some seized 
 rocks and began to hurl them. The 
 result was a general melee. Hap- 
 pily no one was killed, though some 
 
 were injured. The young men 
 "started something." 
 
 Colorado 
 
 Colorado was located in Pope 
 County a short distance south of the 
 Saline County Line, in Section 1, 
 Township IIS and Range 5E. It has 
 never been more than a country post 
 office and grocery store. The first 
 office was established on April 19, 
 1880, and John A. Stalions was 
 named postmaster. John T. Stalions 
 succeeded him on October 14, 1901. 
 Another Stalions, William R., suc- 
 ceeded John T. on October 7, 1904, 
 but John T. once more became post- 
 master on November 14, 1907, and 
 served until September 30, 1910. At 
 that time, Samuel S. Stalions suc- 
 ceeded him. The Stalion succession 
 was broken when Mason B. Morse 
 became postmaster, on May 6, 1911. 
 He served until April 30, 1917, when 
 the office was discontinued and the 
 mail was sent to Stonefort. 
 
 County Line 
 
 A post office known as County 
 Line was established on June 20, 
 1858, and Daniel L. Mattice was ap- 
 pointed postmaster. Mattice served 
 until June 8, 1859, when the office 
 was discontinued. This office was 
 located somewhere in the western or 
 northern part of the county. 
 
 Delwood 
 
 Delwood is now only a country 
 store and filling station. A post of- 
 fice was once located there, having 
 been established on February 3, 1896, 
 with William R. Stalions as postmas- 
 ter. William R. was succeeded by 
 Samuel S. Stalions, on January 7, 
 
 71
 
 1904, but returned to the office on 
 December 2, 1907, to serve until No- 
 vember 30, 1923, at which time 
 Clarence S. Barger took over the of- 
 fice. Mrs. Allie Randolph became 
 postmistress on February 15, 1930, 
 and apparently served until the of- 
 fice was closed, some years later. 
 
 It may be interesting to note that 
 William R. and Samuel S. Stalions 
 are also listed as postmasters at Col- 
 orado, another post office of Pope 
 County. 
 
 Dixon Springs 
 
 Dixon Springs takes it name from 
 William Dixon who once owned the 
 land there. It has long been used 
 as a place for reunions, picnics, and 
 outings. To some of these reunions, 
 many former residents of the area 
 regularly return, to meet old friends. 
 The post office in this vicinity has 
 borne several names. It was first 
 established as Big Bay, on May 7, 
 1835. This post office was short- 
 lived and was discontinued on No- 
 vember 2, 1835. The next post of- 
 fice at or near this place was known 
 as Resort. This office was estab- 
 lished on February 1, 1896, with 
 Walter Clements as postmaster. He 
 was succeeded by James A. White- 
 side, on July 22, 1897. The name 
 again was changed to Dixon Springs 
 on February 11, 1905 but Mr. White- 
 side continued to serve as postmaster 
 until October 3, 1913, when James 
 A. Graves took charge. Graves was 
 succeeded by Isaac N. Clements, on 
 March 3, 1919. The post office is 
 still in operation. Dixon Springs now 
 has a country store, a hotel or club- 
 house, and a swimming pool. It is 
 a popular place for picnics and out- 
 
 ings. The scenery about the springs 
 is delightful. This site has recently 
 been acquired by the State of Illinois 
 and will be developed as a state 
 park. 
 
 One of the unique sights at Dixon 
 Springs is that of three churches that 
 stand almost side by side. All are 
 still functioning. Across the nar- 
 row valley, north of these three 
 churches, is the rather well-preserved 
 log building that once housed one of 
 the church organizations. There are 
 thus four rural church buildings in 
 a distance of less than a quarter of 
 a mile. 
 
 Eddyville 
 
 The first post office established 
 at Eddyville was known as Book. It 
 is reported that when men met to 
 consider the establishment of this 
 post office, no name had been selec- 
 ted. In the home where they met 
 there was a considerable collection of 
 books. Some one suggested that the 
 name Book be given the post office. 
 This was done, and Sylvester Ful- 
 gham was appointed postmaster, 
 June 26, 1861. He was succeeded 
 by the following men. 
 
 John Jenkins, October 16, 1861. 
 
 David Bozarth, October 13, 1865. 
 
 Rufus Hall, September 20, 1866. 
 The post office of Book was dis- 
 continued on August 24, 1869, to be 
 re-established on October 18 of the 
 same year, under the name Eddy- 
 ville. This name was for Edward 
 Fulghum, who owned the land where 
 the office was located. A list of 
 later postmasters is shown below. 
 
 John D. Rose — October 18, 1869. 
 
 72
 
 Jasper N. Maynor — March 28, 
 1870. 
 
 R. G. Metlton— October 21, 1869. 
 
 David Shufflebarger — July 20, 
 1877. 
 
 David S. Barger — August 17, 1877. 
 
 Elizah B. F. Ginshaw — July 26, 
 1878. 
 
 George W. Whiteside — January 7, 
 1881. 
 
 John W. Robinson — February 2, 
 1881. 
 
 William B. L. Biggs — November 2, 
 1881. 
 
 John Whiteside — November 25, 
 1881. 
 
 Jasper N. Maynor — September 22, 
 1882. 
 
 George S. Borger — September 4, 
 1883. 
 
 George Shufflebarger — Septem- 
 ber 27, 1883. 
 
 Elizah B. F. Ginshaw — January 2, 
 1886. 
 
 J. Green Whiteside — November 19, 
 1889. 
 
 William D. Beames — October 14, 
 1893. 
 
 Richard M. Fulkerson — February 
 16, 1895. 
 
 Mitchell T. Chancey — October 27, 
 1895. 
 
 Albert N. Lauderdale — August 10, 
 1914. 
 
 Mrs. Orilla C. Hollaway — Decem- 
 ber 18, 1922. 
 
 Jesse T. Ragan — October 7, 1929. 
 
 Jesse T. Ragan — October 23, 1929. 
 
 Erastus Barger — March 11, 1930. 
 
 A wool mill was established at Ed- 
 dyville about 1880 and operated for 
 some twenty years, closing about 
 
 1900. The mill, which used horse 
 power, was first operated by Colum- 
 bus Wilson. The first church, Meth- 
 odist, was organized by B. W. Holla- 
 way under a shed, about 40 by 80 
 feet. The first church building was 
 erected about 1872. The upper floor 
 of this first church was occupied by 
 a Masonic Lodge. The old building 
 has long since disappeared. A Bap- 
 tist church was established at Ed- 
 dyville about 1890. Knox Trovillion 
 and Bert Baker were two of the early 
 pastors. An interesting story is told 
 concerning the ringing of the bell in 
 the present Baptist church. Accord- 
 ing to this story, the bell has been 
 rung each New Year's Eve for more 
 than fifty years by "Uncle" Bill 
 Cross, who comes to the church each 
 New Year's Eve and at the hour of 
 midnight begins to ring the bell and 
 thus welcomes in the new year. 
 
 A grist mill once stood on the top 
 of Frieze Hill. It was owned by Ed- 
 die Fulgham. This first mill was op- 
 erated by horse power. The horse 
 walked in a circle, turning a sweep 
 that transmitted power to the shaft 
 which turned the mill stones by 
 means of a large pulley and leather 
 belt. The mill house was small, be- 
 ing only about twelve feet square. It 
 ground both corn and wheat but did 
 not bolt the ground wheat. The next 
 mill was operated by James Mason, 
 at the lower pond on the east side 
 of the road. This one was operated 
 by steam power and had sieves. Tom 
 Culloms later came into possession of 
 the Mason Mill and moved it into 
 Eddyville where it was improved and 
 operated for a number of years. 
 
 73
 
 Eddyville was at one time an im- 
 portant tobacco market. Much to- 
 bacco was bought, placed in hogs- 
 heads, and taken to the Ohio River 
 for shipment. According to some 
 traditional accounts, these hogsheads 
 had axles arranged and were rolled 
 by mule or ox power to the shipping 
 point on the river, where they were 
 loaded on steamboats. 
 
 Glendale 
 
 The village of Glendale was sur- 
 veyed on January 8, 1861, by J. E. 
 Y. Hannah for George W. Waters. 
 The plat was filed on February 1 of 
 the same year. One of the earliest 
 industries located in Glendale was 
 a grist mill. This mill stood about 
 seventy yards below the present-day 
 bridge and was operated by George 
 Kimball. 
 
 A post office was established in 
 Glendale on February 19, 1861, and 
 Thomas Stone was appointed post- 
 master. The postmasters who suc- 
 ceeded him, with the dates of their 
 appointments, are listed below: 
 
 George Waters — September 4, 
 1861. 
 
 John R. Kerrell — November 25, 
 1862. 
 
 Morris Dinkelspell — August 2, 
 1867. 
 
 Charles H. Sheldon — February 10, 
 1869. 
 
 J. R. Kurrell— August 28, 1871. 
 
 John B. Russell— April 11, 1876. 
 
 F. M. Croy— July 10, 1877. 
 
 William A. Mangum — November 
 19, 1877. 
 
 John R. Kerrell — May 6, 1878. 
 
 Willis Story— June 26, 1882. 
 
 Benjamin M. Palmer — May 7, 
 1884. 
 
 Edwin M. Palmer, Jr. — May 20, 
 1889. 
 
 Sarah C. Palmer — February 17, 
 1890. 
 
 Zachariah C. Simpson — October 
 30, 1893. 
 
 Milo Palmer — December 9, 1898. 
 
 Mattie E. Palmer — March 8, 1901. 
 
 Mattie E. Haynes — September 11, 
 1901. 
 
 Sarah C. Palmer— March 30, 1905. 
 
 Edward C. Walter— March 5, 1907. 
 
 Lewis Austin — September 8, 1909. 
 
 James Walter Chisler — November 
 5, 1920. 
 
 Golconda 
 
 The first recorded residents on the 
 site of the present city of Golconda 
 were Major James Lusk and his fam- 
 ily. Lusk, who had been given the 
 title of Major for his services at the 
 Battle of Cowpens, came from Ken- 
 tucky in 1796 and located near the 
 Ohio River, just across from the 
 mouth of Lusk Creek. His property 
 in Kentucky fronted on the river, so 
 it was natural that he began to ferry 
 travelers across. He received a ferry 
 license from Kentucky, in 1797. 
 Major Lusk wished to move across 
 the river into present-day Illinois but 
 was somewhat discouraged by Gen- 
 eral William H. Harrison, governor 
 of the territory. It was Harrison's 
 wish to offer the Indians living in 
 the region no offense until they could 
 be removed by treaty. 
 
 Lusk grew impatient at the waiting 
 and crossed the river into Illinois, 
 then a part of Indiana Territory, in 
 
 74
 
 1789. With materials secured most- 
 ly from keel boats, he built a com- 
 fortable and somewhat commodious 
 two-story house, near the bank of the 
 river and east of the present city. 
 This became known as Lusk's Tavern. 
 It was also referred to as Fiddlers' 
 Green, a name given by a man named 
 Pittulo, who had been teaching in 
 the vicinity since about 1800. A num- 
 ber of other people who had come 
 with Lusk from the Waxhaw settle- 
 ment in the Carolinas also crossed the 
 Ohio and took up residence in the 
 immediate vicinity. Several mem- 
 bei's of the group, led by Lusk, later 
 became prominent in the early af- 
 fairs of Pope County. Among others 
 were Robert Lacey, Benoni Lee, 
 Shadrack Waters, Thomas Ferguson, 
 his brother, Hamlet Ferguson, and 
 Hector Pittulo. 
 
 Major Lusk continued to operate 
 the ferry across the Ohio and to give 
 much attention to the opening of 
 roadways to the west and north. 
 While at his work in opening a road- 
 way toward Green's Ferry on the 
 Mississippi, he became sick and died 
 at Golconda, in 1803. Upon the 
 death of Lusk, his wife, Sarah, con- 
 tinued to operate the ferry, securing 
 a license to do so from Governor Wil- 
 liam Henry Harrison, in 1804. On 
 April 2, 1805, Mrs. Lusk became the 
 wife of Thomas Ferguson, who had 
 come to the country with the Lusk 
 party. 
 
 Ferguson was a man of consider- 
 able influence and property. He se- 
 cured possession of the land where 
 the ferry landing was located, on the 
 Illinois shore. When a town was 
 platted in 1816, Ferguson appeared 
 
 as owner of practically all the town 
 lots and land surrounding the town. 
 The town was designated as Sarah- 
 ville, named for Ferguson's wife, the 
 former Sarah Lusk. 
 
 The name of Sarahville did not 
 endure for long. In the minutes of 
 June 24, 1817, is the following en- 
 try: "Ordered that town at the seat 
 of Justice of Pope County be called 
 Corinth in the room of Sarahville at 
 the request of the proprietors." This 
 entry occurs on page 78, of a book 
 which was evidently used to record 
 notes at the actual session of the 
 court, and from which the permanent 
 records were written. In the official 
 and continuous records of the court 
 proceedings is the following entry 
 under the same date — June 24, 1817: 
 "Ordered that the town now called 
 Sarahville, the present seat of Jus- 
 tice of Pope County, hereafter be 
 called Golconda at the request of 
 the proprietors." 
 
 There is no other entry concerning 
 the change in name from Sarahville 
 and no explanation of the manner in 
 which Corinth was dropped and Gol- 
 conda substituted. The word, Gol- 
 conda, appears to have been written 
 by another person than the one regu- 
 larly recording the proceedings. It is 
 also in a much bolder and more 
 prominent style and is underlined. 
 However the change was affected, 
 Sarahville evidently became Corinth 
 before it was called Golconda. Since 
 only one of the county judges, Be- 
 moni Lee, ever signed the minutes of 
 the meeting of June 24, 1817, and 
 since it was the practice for at least 
 
 75
 
 two of the three judges to sign, the 
 manner of the change becomes even 
 more puzzling. 
 
 Postal records in the National 
 Archieves show that a post office 
 called Ferguson's Ferry was estab- 
 lished in 1812 or 1814, and that 
 Thomas Ferguson was appointed 
 postmaster. Ferguson served until 
 July 18, 1817, when Joshua Scott, 
 then also serving as county recorder, 
 became postmaster. On June 15, 
 1820, he was succeeded by Amassa 
 Davis. Davis apparently served un- 
 til the name of Ferguson's Ferry was 
 dropped, in 1825. 
 
 The name of Golconda as a post- 
 office first appears on September 7, 
 1825, when Charles Dunn became 
 postmaster. The following list in- 
 dicates the others who served during 
 the first century of the Golconda of- 
 fice, and the dates of their appoint- 
 ment. 
 
 James Rankin — September 27, 
 1834. 
 
 John Raum — November 26, 1834. 
 
 Edward Dobbins — September 5, 
 1836. 
 
 Samuel Roper — September 25, 
 1837. 
 
 James Finney — October 6, 1838. 
 
 Wesley Sloan — June 24, 1840. 
 
 John Raum — May 30, 1850. 
 
 Joseph A. Hall — July 6, 1853. 
 
 John Raum — March 20, 1854. 
 
 Theodore Steyer — June 10, 1854. 
 
 William L. South— April 2, 1855. 
 
 John M. Boicourt — April 26, 1856. 
 
 Mosov G. Bird — June 3, 1885. 
 
 John M. Boicourt — April 24, 1889. 
 
 Reappointed — January 16, 1892. 
 
 Lewis McCoy — January 3, 1894. 
 John C. Baker — January 10, 1898. 
 Francis Baker — March 17, 1911. 
 Wm. S. Jenkins — June 15, 1911. 
 I. M. Runsey— July 31, 1913. 
 Francis Baker — April 1, 1922; 
 April 20, 1922. 
 
 Although the record of its begin- 
 nings is somewhat fragmentary, Gol- 
 conda slowly emerged. First it was 
 known as Lusk's Tavern, and often 
 commonly referred to as Fiddlers' 
 Green. A few years later, and for 
 only a brief time, it was designated 
 as Sarahville. Then came, for at 
 least a very brief day, the name of 
 Corinth, which quickly yielded to 
 Golconda. 
 
 In 1807, the settlement consisted of 
 three small stores, one tavern, one 
 grocery or saloon, and about twenty 
 dwellings. The town was not then 
 platted, and the houses were not 
 built in any ordered arrangement. In 
 1816 the plat of Sarahville was re- 
 corded. In 1817 it was replatted and 
 changed somewhat from the first 
 platting. Though there have been 
 some additions to the city, this sec- 
 ond platting is the one now used, 
 and the stone from which the town 
 is laid out may still be seen at the 
 southeast corner of the square. 
 
 When Pope became a county, the 
 first meetings of the officials were 
 held at the residence of Thomas Fer- 
 guson. On September 4, 1816, a 
 contract was made for the erection 
 of a courthouse, 24 feet by 26 feet, 
 to be built of logs. This house was 
 to be two stories high, the bottom 
 story of ten feet and the upper one, 
 six feet, with two doors and five win- 
 
 76
 
 dows. Three of the windows were 
 to be upstairs and large enough to 
 have nine lights each. This coui't- 
 house was to be chinked with stone 
 and daubed with clay and lime, half 
 and half. 
 
 By 1832, this courthouse was con- 
 sidered outmoded, and a two-story 
 brick one was built. The present 
 courthouse was built in 1871. 
 
 Golconda has seen the rise and 
 decline of river traffic. It was a 
 stopping place for flatboats and keel- 
 boats. The first steamboat to ply 
 the Ohio stopped there in the winter 
 of 1811. For more than a century 
 steamboats stopped regularly. The 
 river showboat came, had its day of 
 glory, and passed. Many thousands 
 of emigrants crossed by its ferry, 
 plodding their way to a beckoning 
 West. The Cherokee Indians, on their 
 sad trek from their homes in Georgia 
 to the Indian Territory, crossed there. 
 The legend of Sarah Lusk clusters 
 about this point. Stories of buried 
 treasures abound. Practically the 
 entire roster of pioneer crafts and 
 industries came, prospered for a 
 while, and passed from existence. Its 
 sons have gone forth to write their 
 names prominently on the pages of 
 history. Golconda has many a story 
 to tell to a willing listener. 
 
 Gowanville 
 
 This village once stood north of 
 Golconda and about one-half mile 
 off the paved highway leading to 
 Elizabethtown. It was named for 
 the Goin family. A post office was 
 established there on April 7, 1900, 
 and Samuel Goin was appointed post- 
 master. The office was discontin- 
 
 ued on August 25, 1903, and mail 
 was sent to Golconda. It is inter- 
 esting to note the various spellings 
 of Goin, Gowin, and Gowanville as 
 they occur in different records. 
 
 Halltown 
 
 Halltown is located about one mile 
 north of Golconda, near the old fair 
 ground. It was surveyed by J. E. 
 Y. Hannah on August 12, 1868, and 
 the plat was filed for record ten days 
 later. At the present time, a few 
 houses and a filling station mark the 
 site. No records of a post office at 
 this place have been found. 
 
 Hamletsburg 
 
 The town of Hamletsburg, which 
 takes its name from Hamlet Fergu- 
 son who once operated a ferry there, 
 was surveyed by J. E. Y. Hannah for 
 Robert Ferguson as proprietor, on 
 September 8, 1859. The plat was 
 recorded in the Circuit Clerk's office 
 on the same day. Charley Wool- 
 ridge and Charley McGee had Han- 
 nah make a plat of an addition to 
 the town on April 9 and 10, 1884. 
 This plat was filed for record in May 
 of .the same year. On September 2, 
 1824, a second plat was filed. 
 
 The first post office, spelled Ham- 
 letsburgh, was established on Feb- 
 ruary 2, 1885, and Fred L. Ashwill 
 was appointed postmaster. The suc- 
 ceeding postmasters are listed below, 
 with the dates of their appointments. 
 
 James L. House — March 17, 1888. 
 John F. Fisher — April 3, 1889. 
 Philip B. Clark — August 5, 1896. 
 Samuel W. Neely — July 22, 1897. 
 
 77
 
 Samuel W. Neely— May 23, 1906. 
 George McCawley — May 5, 1931. 
 
 The spelling of the post office 
 name was changed from Hamlets- 
 burgh to Hamletsburg on August 5, 
 1893. 
 
 Hartsville 
 
 Hartsville is now a small collection 
 of houses on the old Herod-Golcon- 
 da road, about four miles southwest 
 of Herod. A post office and two 
 country stores were once located 
 here. This was the division point 
 for the mail between Harrisburg and 
 Golconda. This mail was carried 
 for some time by "Uncle Alf Unsell." 
 At times, Mr. Unsell carried the mail 
 on mule-back, going from Hartsville 
 to Golconda and returning on one 
 day, and from Hartsville to Harris- 
 burg and returning on the second 
 day. The post office was established 
 on April 17, 1882, and Marion M. 
 House was appointed postmaster. 
 The other men who served as post- 
 masters at Hartsville and the dates 
 of their appointments are given be- 
 low: 
 
 William B. L. Biggs — February 25, 
 1884. 
 
 William Moser— March 2, 1887. 
 
 John S. Johnson — December 5, 
 1889. 
 
 Lilly Robertson — November 20, 
 1893. 
 
 John S. Johnson — December 1, 
 1897. 
 
 Val Wasson — December 3, 1904. 
 
 Monroe W. Dixon — September 11, 
 1905. 
 
 Gertie Reins— June 16, 1906. 
 
 John S. Johnson — March 16, 1910. 
 This office was discontinued on 
 January 15, 1915. 
 
 Hartsville was once an important 
 trading center, and Hart's Store was 
 widely known. An important early 
 blacksmith shop, where many wagons 
 were made, operated here. The first 
 store building used by Hart is yet 
 standing, in 1947, as is also the large 
 shed where farm implements were 
 sold. 
 
 Herod 
 
 The town of Herod, located in the 
 opening through the hills and known 
 as Thacker's Gap, has been a trading 
 post since about 1880, when George 
 Smith established a small store there. 
 Before the establishment of a store 
 at this point, Phil Drumm had opera- 
 ted a water mill in the vicinity. An 
 early Baptist church was also es- 
 tablished there. 
 
 The first post office, known as He- 
 rod Springs, was established on April 
 19, 1888, and David W. Herod, Sr., 
 was appointed postmaster. On May 
 8, 1888, he was succeeded by Daniel 
 W. Herod, Jr., and he in turn, by 
 John A. L. Herod, on March 13, 
 1890. The name of the post office 
 was changed from Herod Springs to 
 Herod, on July 26, 1895, and Charles 
 Oatman was appointed postmaster. 
 The postmasters that later served at 
 Herod are listed, with their dates of 
 appointment: 
 
 Charles Sauty — December 1, 1899. 
 William Partain — January 24, 
 1920. 
 
 Jesse A. Crabb — January 6, 1903. 
 
 78
 
 Byron E. Hart — April 2, 1909. 
 
 Ethel H. Randolph — March 1, 
 1913. 
 
 John R. Hart — August 15, 1919. 
 
 Shuma E. Schrall — January 15, 
 1921. 
 
 The post office was discontinued 
 on September 15, 1922, and it was 
 ordered that the mail be sent to 
 Monolith, the location of which the 
 author has been unable to establish. 
 This office of Monolith must have 
 been in Saline County, since no men- 
 tion of it has been found in the pos- 
 tal records of Pope. 
 
 The post office was re-established 
 on May 17, 1930, when Mrs. Auda 
 P. Ferrell was appointed postmis- 
 tress. On April 29, 1931, she was 
 succeeded by Mrs. Eunice H. Joiner. 
 
 Hodgville 
 
 The post office of Hodgville was 
 located in Section 33, about one mile 
 south of Brownfield. It was estab- 
 lished on January 19, 1899, and John 
 W. Hodge was appointed postmaster. 
 Others who served later and the 
 dates when they were appointed are 
 given below. 
 
 Delia Hodge — March 13, 1900. 
 Charles E. Baker — July 31, 1900. 
 Jesse I. Baker — March 24, 1903. 
 
 The office was discontinued on 
 October 28, 1903. 
 
 Holmes 
 
 On November 14, 1905, a post of- 
 fice was established in the vicinity 
 of Homberg and named Holmes. 
 Joseph M. Baker was appointed post- 
 master. The name of this post of- 
 
 fice was changed to Paul on Octo- 
 ber 1, 1906. James P. Williams be- 
 came postmaster on March 16, 1910, 
 and Ada I. Marberry succeeded him 
 on August 15, 1912. The office was 
 ordered discontinued on November 
 15, 1917, and mail was sent to Gol- 
 conda. 
 
 Homberg 
 
 The town of Homberg, sometimes 
 spelled "Hombirg" and at other times 
 "Homburg" takes its name from 
 Fritz Homburg, an immigrant from 
 Germany. The village was surveyed 
 on November 8, 1902, by H. J. Tay- 
 lor, for John R. Homburg and Sarah 
 J. Homburg. The plat was filed for 
 record on the same day it was sur- 
 veyed. So far as the records indi- 
 cate, there was no post office at this 
 place that carried the name of the 
 village. 
 
 Jones 
 
 The post office of Jones was estab- 
 lished on April 24, 1900, with Ger- 
 tie Jones as postmaster. An order to 
 discontinue this post office was is- 
 sued on September 11, 1901, and 
 mail was to be sent to Ozark. It will 
 thus be seen that this post office ex- 
 isted for less than a year and a half. 
 It was located in the vicinity east of 
 MeCormick. 
 
 Louis 
 
 A post office was established at 
 Louis, on October 27, 1884, with Wil- 
 liam R. Stalions as postmaster. It 
 was discontinued on January 22, 
 1886, and mail was ordered sent to 
 Stonefort. 
 
 79
 
 According to tradition, this office 
 was located between Ozark and Del- 
 wood, but was nearer the latter. It 
 may be of interest to note that Wil- 
 liam R. Stalions, named as the first 
 postmaster here, also served in that 
 position at Colorado and at Delwood. 
 With him, being postmaster was al- 
 most a habit. 
 
 Lusk 
 
 The village of Lusk is shown on 
 the 1876 map of Illinois and on later 
 ones. It was at one time a rather 
 prosperous village and had a large 
 blacksmith shop that built wagons. 
 At present it has a small stone and 
 blacksmith shop where an old gen- 
 tleman does repair work on farm 
 implements. The first store in Lusk 
 was kept by J. R. King who was later 
 followed by Pankey, by William Hed- 
 rick, and by the present James Buc- 
 hanan. The early blacksmith shop 
 was operated by David King and by 
 a man named Upchurch. Dutton Cha- 
 pel Church is nearby. Floyd Cemetery 
 is a short distance north. The post 
 office was established at Lusk on 
 November 14, 1860, and James Floyd 
 was appointed postmaster. The list 
 of postmasters who served there and 
 the dates of appointment are given 
 below: 
 
 James B. Floyd — March 2, 1874. 
 
 Dr. George B. Rawlings — Novem- 
 ber 23, 1874. 
 
 William W. Diorman — October 16, 
 1879. 
 
 Joel A. Hart — November 1, 1886. 
 
 John G. Cullum — August 26, 1887. 
 
 Discontinued — September 14, 1887. 
 
 Re-established — November 14, 
 1887. 
 
 George W. Diorman — November 
 14, 1887. 
 
 Martha J. Diorman — November 26, 
 1888. 
 
 William Hedrick — November 7, 
 1891. 
 
 Green Story — April 25, 1894. 
 
 James M. Buchanan — August 14, 
 1894. 
 
 James R. King— May, 1898. 
 
 James Pankey — October 29, 1906. 
 
 James H. Buchanan — April 17, 
 1908. 
 
 The post office was again discon- 
 tinued on October 31, 1913, and the 
 mail ordered sent to Golconda. 
 
 McCormick 
 
 McCormick is a small village that 
 was established by "Uncle Mack" 
 McCormick, whose real name was 
 Christian L. McCormick. It is re- 
 lated that McCormick came to this 
 locality as a wagon peddler. After 
 his establishment of McCormick's 
 store there, a man named Lem Dunn 
 set up a grist mill and a hoop mill. 
 Many hoop poles, cut in the vicinity, 
 were split and shaved on the site 
 where Mr. Jackson's barn now 
 stands. A stave mill was also loca- 
 ted a short distance from McCor- 
 mick, on the road toward Glendale. 
 
 The first post office was estab- 
 lished at McCormick on September 
 16, 1889, with Christian L. McCor- 
 mick as postmaster. The other post- 
 masters at McCormick are indicated 
 on the following list with the dates 
 of their appointments: 
 
 Peter Morris — November 4, 1908. 
 Burt Bynum — November 24, 1914. 
 William H. Bryan — May 3, 1915. 
 
 80
 
 John I. Baker — October 29, 1918. 
 Dewey McCormick — August 13, 
 1919. 
 Arthur McCormick — May 17, 1923. 
 
 The office was discontinued on 
 August 31, 1926, and mail was sent 
 to Stonefort. 
 
 Mealer 
 
 The post office named Mealer, 
 somewhere between Eddyville and 
 Delwood, was established on July 
 27, 1900, with Meredith Mealer as 
 postmaster. It did not operate long 
 and was discontinued on October 1, 
 1900. According to local stories, 
 this place was also referred to as 
 Slapout. This name came from an 
 oft-repeated remark of the merchant 
 who kept a small store there. When 
 asked for any article not in stock, 
 his usual reply was, "I am slap out 
 of that!" 
 
 New Liberty 
 
 The Village of New Liberty is lo- 
 cated in Section 16, Township 16 
 South, Range 17 East. While a post 
 office had existed in that vicinity 
 for some time, it was not until March 
 6, 1860, that J. E. Y. Hannah, Coun- 
 ty Surveyor, made a plat for the 
 village. This plat was recorded on 
 the day it was made. One of the 
 residents of New Liberty, in 1876 
 was J. H. Jacobs, proprietor and 
 captain of a steamboat operating on 
 the Ohio River. 
 
 Several years before the village 
 appeared, a post office had been es- 
 tablished, on September 11, 1848, 
 and Samuel F. Simpson appointed 
 postmaster. Other postmasters who 
 
 served there and the dates of their 
 appointments are indicated in the 
 following table: 
 
 James J. Shemwell — November, 30, 
 1848. 
 
 George W. Neely — June 28, 1854. 
 Joshiah Dayhuff — December 2, 
 1854. 
 
 John F. Stewart — June 2, 1858. 
 
 J. A. Sheerer — September 4, 1866. 
 
 Ebeneezer Simpson — October 28, 
 1869. 
 
 James B. Angely — January 25, 
 1871. 
 
 John W. Ashwill — January 2, 
 1872. 
 
 Milo Velvey — September 3, 1875. 
 
 John W. Ashwill — November 9, 
 1876. 
 
 Ephrain B. Shearer — November 17, 
 1879. 
 
 John W. Ashwill — August 10, 
 1881. 
 
 Fred L. Ashwill — April 26, 1883. 
 
 Discontinued — September 7, 1885. 
 
 Re-established — June 17, 1889. 
 
 Elisha Baugh — June 17, 1889. 
 
 Warren P. Rankin — December 26, 
 1889. 
 
 Robert F. Owen — October 28, 
 1893. 
 
 John W. Adamson — May 2, 1896. 
 
 Sarah E. Lewis — July 15, 1898. 
 
 Lorenz O. Harris — March 4, 1915. 
 
 Bedford E. Henley— July 6, 1920. 
 
 Newport 
 
 A post office known as Newport 
 was established on April 1, 1837, 
 and Williston F. Read was appointed 
 postmaster. This post office opera- 
 
 81
 
 ted until October 2, 1838, when it 
 was discontinued. The exact loca- 
 tion of the office is not known, but 
 it is thought to have been on the 
 Ohio, in the vicinity of Bay City. 
 
 Oak 
 
 Oak is shown on the Illinois Atlas, 
 issued in 1876. At that time it was 
 one mile south of the present post 
 office. The first office was estab- 
 lished at Oak, on October 30, 1860, 
 with James Dixon as postmaster. The 
 list of those serving there later and 
 the dates of their appointments are 
 listed below: 
 
 Norman Finney — August 4, 1863. 
 
 George W. Owen — September 7, 
 1865. 
 
 William J. Wilson — February 5, 
 1867. 
 
 Thomas D. Gossage — February 24, 
 1868. 
 
 Jeremiah Williams — October 3, 
 1871. 
 
 T. Gowen — March 5, 1874. 
 
 George W. Gapage — April 6, 1874. 
 
 Discontinued — May 22, 1876. 
 
 Re-established — November 27, 
 1876. 
 
 Robert W. Albert — November 27, 
 1876. 
 
 James B. Floy — December 17, 
 1877. 
 
 George W. Waddell — January 3, 
 1881. 
 
 Aden C. Alexander — January 3, 
 1881. 
 
 William Parks — November 23, 
 1882. 
 
 Carroll F. Baker— October 11, 
 1886. 
 
 Elijah McAnnally — December 17, 
 1886. 
 
 Elbert J. Hancock — February 21, 
 1890. 
 
 Sidney B. Hancock — March 24, 
 1892. 
 
 Jasper N. Hart— August 15, 1895. 
 
 Richard Hawkins — December 13, 
 1901. 
 
 Joshua Hart — December 2, 1902. 
 
 George G. Harl^-May 5, 1919. 
 
 Mrs. Julia Fulkerson — January 24, 
 1924. 
 
 Ora 
 
 The post office named Ora, near 
 the northeast corner of the county, 
 was established on August 21, 1901, 
 and Daniel N. Cox was appointed 
 postmaster. Other postmasters at 
 Ora are shown on the following list : 
 
 James P. Williams — October 31, 
 1904. 
 
 William W. Williams— July 7, 
 1906. 
 
 Fannie Estes — October 4, 1907. 
 
 On April 29, 1908, this office was 
 ordered closed and mail sent to 
 Hicks. 
 
 Orville 
 
 Orville was located about three 
 miles north of Golconda, near where 
 the present highway bends to the 
 northwest. The post office was es- 
 tablished on April 26, 1869, with 
 Richard Fulkerson as post master. 
 
 It was discontinued on April 12, 
 1871, and re-established on June 14, 
 1876, with William R. Storey as post- 
 
 82
 
 master. Alexander N. Couley became 
 postmaster on October 8, 1877. 
 
 Though this post office was dis- 
 continued, the exact date of discon- 
 tinuance could not be found on the 
 postal records. 
 
 Poco 
 
 Poco was located about four miles 
 west and two miles north of Ham- 
 letsburg, near the site of the old cot- 
 ton gin. The post office was estab- 
 lished on May 2, 1884, and Philip 
 G. Reynolds was appointed postmas- 
 ter. He was succeeded by J. Clabe 
 Reynolds, on January 6, 1906. The 
 office was discontinued on March 
 30, 1906, and mail sent to New Lib- 
 erty. 
 
 Ragan 
 
 A post office named Ragan was 
 established on February 19, 1898, 
 but according to postal records, this 
 post office was never placed in op- 
 eration in Pope County and was dis- 
 continued on June 23, 1898. Its lo- 
 cation is not definitely fixed, but 
 tradition has it located near the 
 Pope-Johnson County line, in the vi- 
 cinity of Ozark. There is some claim 
 that it was located in Johnson Coun- 
 ty. Since it is listed on the postal 
 records among the post offices of 
 Pope County, it may be safely in- 
 ferred that it was on the Pope Coun- 
 ty side of the line. 
 
 Raum 
 
 The town of Raum, named for Cap- 
 tain John Raum of Golconda, secured 
 its name through the efforts of John 
 G. Anderson, who was appointed 
 
 postmaster when the office was es- 
 tablished, March 18, 1883. William 
 H. Carr, the second postmaster, was 
 appointed on July 21, 1899. The 
 office was ordered discontinued on 
 January 23, 1904, and re-established 
 on June 14, 1904, with James Buc- 
 hanan as postmaster. It was again 
 discontinued on March 8, 1905, only 
 to be re-established on June 8, 1905, 
 with Frank A. King as postmaster. 
 He was succeeded by Richard R, 
 Taylor on August 5, 1912. The of- 
 fice was again discontinued on De- 
 cember 15, 1920. It was later re- 
 established for the third time. 
 
 Renshaw 
 
 Renshaw was a flag station on the 
 branch line of the Illinois Central, 
 about three miles east of Reevesville. 
 It was named for the Reverend El- 
 mer E. Renshaw. A post office was 
 established there on December 27, 
 1902, and Renshaw was the first 
 postmaster. Upon the death of Rev- 
 erend Renshaw, his widow, Rachel 
 C. Renshaw, became postmistress, on 
 March 1, 1905. Beginning February 
 4, 1907, she also served as Rachel 
 C. Walker, after her marriage to a 
 man named Walker. Ray Ball be- 
 came postmaster on October 8, 1913. 
 The post office was later discontin- 
 ued. 
 
 Rising Sun 
 
 A post office was established at 
 Rising Sun, located about two miles 
 north of Waltersburg, on the old 
 roadway, on November 22, 1895, and 
 George G. Hertter became postmas- 
 ter. This post office was diseontin- 
 
 83
 
 ued by an order dated November 28, 
 1906, and mail was sent to Golcon- 
 da. 
 
 Robbs 
 
 Robbs was named for Albert L. 
 Robbs on whose land it is located. 
 Indeed, Mr. Robbs practically owns 
 the town. Once a farmer, he became 
 interested in selling washing ma- 
 chines and clothes wringer. The wash- 
 ing machines were of the plunger 
 type, made of a funnel shaped piece 
 of metal on the end of a broomstick. 
 Robbs proved an excellent business 
 man, and through the sale of these 
 washers and wringer, through the es- 
 tablishment of agencies for their sale, 
 and through numerous other business 
 ventures, he accumulated consider- 
 able wealth. This town, practically 
 all owned by one individual, is in 
 that way a rather unique one. 
 
 Rock 
 
 Rock has never been much more 
 than a few houses. It is said to have 
 been given its name because of a 
 large cluster of rocks near the site 
 of the village, that, according to tra- 
 dition, was first known as Birdseye. 
 The post office was established there 
 on September 9, 1853, and John El- 
 lis was appointed postmaster. Suc- 
 ceeding postmasters and their dates 
 of appointment are given below: 
 
 John W. Parmley — August 18, 
 1879. 
 
 James T. Grisham — May 7, 1884. 
 
 John W. Parmley — November 8, 
 1887. 
 
 Reuben H. Chrisman — December 
 24, 1889. 
 
 Milo Austin — November 20, 1893. 
 James O. Grisham — July 26, 1897. 
 Andrew J. Caldwell — December 
 29, 1900. 
 
 Flavius M. Palmer — April 6, 1909. 
 Andrew J. Caldwell — May 4, 1911. 
 Milo Austin — May 9, 1913. 
 Fae Caldwell— July 31, 1914. 
 John W. Ellis— June 29, 1916. 
 
 This office was discontinued and 
 mail sent to Golconda, on November 
 15, 1917. 
 
 Rock Quarry 
 
 Rock Quarry was located in Pope 
 County, down the river a short dis- 
 tance from Shetlerville. 
 
 A post office was established there 
 on September 12, 1850, and John 
 Diorman was appointed postmaster. 
 It was discontinued on December 17, 
 1852, and re-established on Septem- 
 ber 19, 1853, with Richard Ferguson 
 as postmaster. The post office was 
 again discontinued on October 16, 
 1855, to be re-established on Septem- 
 ber 22, 1858, with John Maloney as 
 postmaster. He was succeeded by 
 James Belford on June 22, 1859. The 
 post office was again and, finally, 
 discontinued on November 10 of that 
 year. This place takes its name 
 from the fact that in early days a 
 stone quarry was located there. 
 
 Rosebud 
 
 Rose Bud began its existence with 
 a name of two words. It was estab- 
 lished on August 10, 1869, with A. 
 G. Cheney as the first postmaster. 
 He was succeeded by William King, 
 on May 23, 1870. The name was 
 
 84
 
 changed to one word, Rosebud, on 
 June 13, 1894, and Hallie L. Bird 
 was appointed postmaster. On Sep- 
 tember 21, 1897, John L. King be- 
 came postmaster; he was followed 
 by William King, November 28, 
 1904; and he, in turn, by Thomas A. 
 King, September 23, 1915. 
 
 Shandsville 
 
 Shandsville was located about five 
 miles west and three miles north of 
 present day Hamletsburg, near the 
 Massac-Pope County Line. The first 
 post office was established there on 
 June 15, 1870, and J. N. Shemwell 
 was appointed postmaster. He was 
 succeeded by Augustus Helcher on 
 June 6, 1873. The post office was 
 discontinued on November 16, 1875. 
 
 Stouts 
 
 Stouts was established as a post 
 office in Pope County on September 
 3, 1872. The office was discontin- 
 ued on August 8, 1874. No record 
 of its location has been found. 
 
 Tansill 
 
 This village was located about one 
 and one-half miles southeast of Hom- 
 berg, on the north side of Bear 
 Creek. At the present time, a store 
 is about all that marks the place. The 
 first post office was established on 
 July 7, 1884, with John Barnett as 
 postmaster. Other men who served 
 as postmasters there, with the dates 
 of their appointments, are listed be- 
 low: 
 
 Newton Gilbert — November 20, 
 1889. 
 
 John R. Scott — December 24, 1890. 
 
 Discontinued and mail sent to Rose- 
 bud — February 29, 1896. 
 
 Re-established and Thomas F. 
 Cromeenes appointed postmaster, De- 
 cember 11, 1897. 
 
 This office was again ordered dis- 
 continued on December 2, 1906, and 
 the mail sent to Golconda. The order 
 to discontinue, however, was rescin- 
 ded on December 14, 1906, before 
 the date set had arrived for the of- 
 fice to cease service. On December 
 24, 1906, Syrus T. Cromeenes became 
 postmaster. The office was finally 
 discontinued and mail ordered sent 
 to Golconda, on July 31, 1907. 
 
 Temple Hill 
 
 Temple Hill is shown as a church 
 and a lodge hall as early as 1876. 
 The post office was established on 
 January 12, 1888, with Thomas S. 
 Holifield as postmaster. Other per- 
 sons who were in charge of this of- 
 fice are indicated in the list below: 
 
 Eugene S. Welton — August 23, 
 1890. 
 
 William C. Holmes — August 18, 
 1894. 
 
 Eugene S. Welton — February 4, 
 1897. 
 
 William C. Holmes — July 31, 1907. 
 
 Mark C. Welton — December 5, 
 1912. 
 
 William C. Holmes — August 17, 
 1914. 
 
 Mrs. Madge King — December 1, 
 1927. 
 
 This office was discontinued on De- 
 cember 13, 1927. 
 
 85
 
 Underwood 
 
 The post office of Underwood was 
 located in the northwest portion of 
 the county. It was established on 
 May 1, 1902, and the name of the 
 postmaster was given as Pierce A. 
 Underwood. Underwood's first name 
 must have been in error, for the name 
 of the postmaster appeared as Prince 
 A. Underwood on May 19, 1902. The 
 post office was discontinued on June 
 24, 1903, and mail ordered sent 
 to Ozark. 
 
 Walnut Shade 
 
 Walnut Shade post office was es- 
 tablished in the Eddyville area on 
 June 19, 1854, with Burton W. Holl- 
 oway as postmaster. The office was 
 discontinued on a May 1, sometime 
 during the 1860's, the last figure on 
 the date not being legible on the 
 postal records. 
 
 Waltersburg 
 
 The village of Waltersburg was 
 named for a family that settled in 
 that vicinity. It soon became a pros- 
 perous trading center. At one time 
 much tobacco was grown in his vi- 
 cinity, and Waltersburg became an 
 important market for this crop. Much 
 tobacco was packed in hogsheads 
 here and taken to Golconda for ship- 
 ment by river. 
 
 On June 12, 1878, the first post 
 office was established and called 
 Wallersburg, with Andrew J. Walker 
 as postmaster. The name of the 
 post office was changed on July 1, 
 1878, to Waltersburg, and Adolph 
 W. Walter appointed postmaster. 
 The next mention of this post office, 
 found in the postal records, was a 
 
 notice indicating its discontinuance, 
 on November 30, 1917. The mail 
 was ordered sent to Golconda. It 
 should be noted from this record that 
 Adolph W. Walters was postmaster 
 for more than thirty-nine years. 
 
 Wool 
 
 Brownfield, Old Brownfield, Co- 
 lumbus, and Wool are all names used 
 to indicate the same place. The name 
 of Wool was given to the post office 
 located at or near Columbus. In later 
 years this place became known as 
 Brownfield. With the founding of 
 the village on the railroad, the older 
 place became known as "old" Brown- 
 field. It was named for John Brown, 
 a local merchant, who operated a ho- 
 tel and kept a dry goods store. The 
 town of Brownfield was platted by 
 John H. Sharp, a civil engineer, and 
 Thomas F. Dunn and N. B. Bland 
 became proprietors. This plat was 
 prepared April 8, 1902, and filed 
 for record in the County Clerk's of- 
 fice, April 22, 1902. The village is 
 located in the SE14 of the NE14 of 
 836, T13S, R5E. New Brownfield 
 was platted by T. D. Waters on May 
 25, 1903, and filed for record on 
 April 20, 1908. This town of New 
 Brownfield is located on the rail- 
 road. 
 
 The village of Columbus is shown 
 on the 1876 atlas with the name of 
 the post office as Wool. It is loca- 
 ted about the center of Section 30. 
 The village of Columbus was sur- 
 veyed by J. E. Y, Hannah, and the 
 plat was filed on January 18, 1871. 
 This post office of Wool is said to 
 have been named for a General 
 Wool. 
 
 86
 
 Green's old mill was located near 
 Brownfield. It was on Big Bay Creek 
 in the NE14 of S36, and on June 13, 
 1820, that Green was given permis- 
 sion to build a dam 7 feet 6 inches 
 high. 
 
 The post office. Wool, was estab- 
 lished August 5, 1857, with Joshua 
 M. Ragsdale as postmaster. The other 
 persons who served as postmasters at 
 Wool are given below, with their 
 dates of appointment: 
 
 John T. Hielerman — May 16, 1863. 
 John R. Brown — April 30, 1872. 
 John T. Baldwin — December 15, 
 1884. 
 
 Maggie Brown — January 2, 1885. 
 
 It was discontinued and mail sent 
 to Brownfield on August 27, 1892. A 
 new post office, Brownfield, which 
 took the place of Wool, was estab- 
 lished on the same day. While it bore 
 the name Brownfield, the following 
 persons served as postmasters: 
 
 Maggie Brown — August 27, 1892. 
 William J. Parmley — March 16, 
 1894. 
 
 Maggie B. Reeves — February 9, 
 1898. 
 
 Elish W. Green — December 
 1902. 
 
 6, 
 
 The office was discontinued on 
 July 9, 1906, and mail sent to Gol- 
 conda. This office was evidently re- 
 e.stablished, however, since W. C. 
 Wierville was appointed postmaster 
 on July 10, 1911. 
 
 Another post office known as New 
 Brownfield was established a short 
 distance from the old town, Janu- 
 ary 10, 1903, and Thomas F. Dunn 
 was appointed postmaster. He was 
 succeeded on January 24, 1907, by 
 Wesley W. Wierville. The post of- 
 fice was discontinued on July 10, 
 1911, and the mail sent to Brown- 
 field. 
 
 ZIon Hill 
 
 Zion Hill post office, which may 
 be somewhat indefintely located 
 about six miles west of Eddyville and 
 near the Johnson-Pope County line, 
 was established on June 15, 1857, 
 and William Wooten appointed post- 
 master. The office was discontinued 
 on December 19, 1862. 
 
 These notes have been written with the full realization that many in- 
 cluded subjects deserve a more thorough treatment. Also there are numerous 
 other items that merited inclusion if the allotted space had permitted. If these 
 fragments of Pope County's story and the map included in the booklet help to 
 increase interest in local history, they will have served their purpose. The story 
 of the county deserves a more nearly-complete treatment. 
 
 87
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 Alvord Clarence W. (Editor-in 
 Chief). Centennial History of Illi- 
 nois. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois 
 Centennial Commission, 1920. 
 
 American State Papers, Public Lands. 
 Washington, D. C; Duff Green, 
 1834. A complete set of these pa- 
 pers are available at the Southern 
 Illinois University Museum. 
 
 Atlas of the State of Illinois. Chica- 
 go: Union Atlas Company, 1879. 
 
 Blue Book of the State of Illinois. 
 Compiled by James A. Rose, Sec- 
 retary of State (Printed by au- 
 thority of the State of Illinois), 
 1905. 
 
 Chapman, Mrs. P. T. A History of 
 Johnson County, Illinois. Herrin, 
 Illinois: Herrin News Press, 1925. 
 
 Crawford, Rev. John. "Early His- 
 tory-Frontier Life." Six-page man- 
 uscript. Southern Illinois Museum, 
 Carbondale, Illinois. 
 
 Davidson, Alexander and Stuve, 
 Bernard. A Complete History of 
 Illinois from 1673 to 1873. Spring- 
 field, Illinois: Journal Company, 
 1874. 
 
 Golconda Weekly Herald (Continued 
 as the Herald Enterprise). Office 
 of the Herald-Enterprise Publish- 
 ing Company, Golconda, Illinois. 
 
 Hand, John P. "Negro Slavery in 
 Illinois." Transactions of the State 
 Historical Society. Springfield, Il- 
 linois, 1910. 
 
 Harris, N. D. The History of Negro 
 Servitude in Illinois. Chicago: A. 
 C. McClurg, 1904. 
 
 Herald-Enterprise. Office of the 
 Herald-Enterprise Publishing Com- 
 pany. Golconda, Illinois. 
 
 Illinois in 1837; A Sketch Descrip- 
 tive of the Situation, Boundaries, 
 Face of the Country. Philadelphia: 
 Augustus Mitchell and Gugg and 
 Elliot, 1837. 
 
 Journal of the Illinois State Histori- 
 cal Society. Illinois State Histori- 
 cal Library Publication. Spring- 
 field, Illinois. 
 
 Minutes of the Olive General Bap- 
 tist Church. Church Clerk, Mc- 
 Cormick, Illinois. 
 
 McCoy, Theodore, "Notes on Pope 
 County." Unpublished papers. A 
 part of these notes are in the 
 Southern Illinois University Mu- 
 seum and part of them are re- 
 tained by Theodore McCoy, Gol- 
 conda, Illinois. 
 
 Norton, A. T. History of the Pres- 
 byterian Church in the State of 
 Illinois. St. Louis: W. S. Bryan, 
 1897. 
 
 88
 
 Page, O. J. History of Massac Coun- 
 ty, with Life Sketches and Por- 
 traits. Metropolis, Illinois, 1900. 
 
 Public Records of Pope County, Il- 
 linois (1816-1865). Including 
 Deed Records, Land Entry Book, 
 Government Surveyor's Plat Book, 
 Circuit Court Records, and Mis- 
 cellaneous Records. Office of Cir- 
 cuit Clerk, Courthouse, Golconda, 
 Illinois. 
 
 Public Records of Pope County, Il- 
 linois (1816-1865). Including The 
 Proceedings of the County Com- 
 missioners Court, The County 
 Court, the Probate Court, Report 
 of the School Commissioner, and 
 Miscellaneous Records. Office of 
 the County Clerk, Courthouse, 
 Golconda, Illinois. 
 
 Public Records of Gallatin County 
 (1812-1865). Similar to Pope 
 County records listed above. 
 Courthouse, Shawneetown, Illinois. 
 
 Public Records of Johnson County 
 (1812-1865). Similar to Pope 
 County records listed above. 
 Courthouse, Vienna, Illinois. 
 
 Public Records of Randolph County 
 (1790-1865). Similar to Pope 
 County records listed above. 
 Courthouse, Chester, Illinois. 
 
 Records of the Court of Common 
 Pleas. Office of Circuit Clerk, 
 Courthouse, Randolph County, 
 Chester, Illinois. 
 
 Record of the Court of Quarter Ses- 
 sions. Office of Circuit Clerk, 
 Courthouse, Randolph County 
 Chester, Illinois. 
 
 Register of Slaves. Office of County 
 Clerk, Courthouse, Randolph 
 County, Chester, Illinois. 
 
 Smith, George Washington. A His- 
 tory of Southern Illinois. Chicago: 
 The Lewis Publishing Company, 
 1912. 
 
 The Biographical Encyclopaedia of 
 Illinois of the Nineteenth Century. 
 Philadelphia: Galaxy Publishing 
 Company, 1875. 
 
 Transactions of the Illinois State His- 
 torical Society. Illinois State His- 
 torical Library Publication, Spring- 
 field, Illinois. 
 
 U. S. Postal Guides (Prior to 1873). 
 Revised and Published Quarterly 
 by Authority of the Post Office 
 Department, Library of Post Of- 
 fice Department, Washington, D. 
 C. 
 
 U. S. Postal Records. Industrial Rec- 
 ords Office, National Archives, 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 The author has also interviewed 
 numerous older settlers in the area. 
 Wherever such information has been 
 used, it has been carefully checked 
 and verified. 
 
 89
 
 INDEX 
 
 Numbers and letters in parantheses refer 
 to illustrated map at end of book. 
 
 Agriculture 21 
 
 Alcorn Creek (C-5) 62 
 
 Allard 68 
 
 Allen Branch (A-1) 62 
 
 Allen Springs (A-3) 68 
 
 Amusements - 4 
 
 Anderson's Ford (B-2) -.- 26 
 
 Animals 7 
 
 Azotus (B-5) 69 
 
 Bagly's Mill 41 
 
 Band Mill 39 
 
 Barker's Mill 41 
 
 Baskets 23 
 
 Bay 69 
 
 Bay City (B-4) 69 
 
 Bear Track Hollow (C-1) 64 
 
 Bell Smith Spring (A-1) 61 
 
 Big Bay (A-3) 69 
 
 Big Bay Creek 69 
 
 Big Pond (A-4) 62 
 
 "Binding Out" 6 
 
 Black Bottom (A-3) 62 
 
 Blacksmiths 5, 55 
 
 Blanchard (B-1) 70 
 
 "Boarding Around" 33 
 
 Book (Post Office) 72 
 
 Boundaries of County 18 
 
 Brands and Marks of Cattle _ .21 
 
 Breadstuff 38 
 
 Breckenridge 70 
 
 Broadcasting Seeds 24 
 
 Broad Oak - 70 
 
 Broadway's Mill (A-2) 41 
 
 Brownfield (A-3) 86 
 
 Brush Arbors 31 
 
 Burden Creek (A-1) .62 
 
 Buried Treasure (C-3) (C-5) 61, 64 
 
 Carr's Ferry 21 
 
 Carrsville 71 
 
 Carvel's Ford (A-2) 26 
 
 Caves - 64 
 
 Cedar Bluff (A-1) __... 65 
 
 Cherokee Indians 77 
 
 Chipp's Mill 41 
 
 Chopping Out Corn 23 
 
 Churches 27 
 
 Clapboards 3 
 
 Clear Lake (C-6) 62 
 
 91
 
 Clearing Ground 21 
 
 Clothing 3 
 
 Coal (A-1) (B-1) (B-2) -57 
 
 Colorado (A-1) -- 71 
 
 Columbus — 86 
 
 Conley's Mill 41 
 
 Copperous Branch (B-2) 63 
 
 Corduroy Roads 26 
 
 Corinth 75 
 
 Cutting Up Corn 23 
 
 Cotton 24, 58 
 
 Cotton Gin (B-5) 58 
 
 Counterfeiting 65 
 
 County Officials' First Meeting .19 
 
 County Line 71 
 
 Courthouse 76 
 
 Cowan's Mill 40 
 
 Creeks 62 
 
 Crowds 6 
 
 Cullom's Mill 42 
 
 Cumberland Island (C-6) 66 
 
 Dams 63 
 
 Deadening Trees 21 
 
 Debating Societies 35 
 
 Delwood (B-1) 71 
 
 Distilleries (B-2) .-. 60 
 
 Dixon Springs (A-3) 72 
 
 Dog Hollow (B-1) 65 
 
 Dress 3 
 
 Drinking Gourds ^-_.34 
 
 Drumm's Creek (C-1) 63 
 
 Drumm's Mill (C-1) 41 
 
 Durfee's Mine (A-1) .— . 58 
 
 Early Settlers 11 
 
 Eddyville (B-2) — 72 
 
 Empire Mine (C-1) ..- : 58 
 
 Ferries 20 
 
 Hamlet Ferguson's Ferry (C-6) -20 
 James Ferguson's Ferry (C-3) .—20 
 
 Feuds 49 
 
 Fiddler's Green 75 
 
 Flatheads and Regulators 49 
 
 Food of Indians 7 
 
 Food of Pioneers 7 
 
 Ford's Ferry 20 
 
 French 16 
 
 Fruits — —-24 
 
 Fulgham's Mill (B-2) _ ..— 41 
 
 Furniture 3 
 
 Games _- — 35 
 
 George Rogers Clark 16 
 
 Gibbon's Creek (C-1) 63 
 
 Glendale (A-2) ^ 74 
 
 Golconda (C-3) 74 
 
 Golconda Island -. 66 
 
 Gowanville (C-2) 77 
 
 Grain Cradles 23 
 
 Grand Pierre — 63 
 
 Grand Pierre Mine (B-2) 58 
 
 Grater 38 
 
 Green's Mill 87 
 
 Grist Mills 38 
 
 Gulp Williams Hollow (C-1) 65 
 
 92
 
 Gullet's Spring (C-3) 61 
 
 Gunsmiths - 56 
 
 Halfway Branch , 62 
 
 Halltown 77 
 
 Hamletsburg (C-6) 77 
 
 Hand Mills .— ...38 
 
 Harper's Knob (C-2) 65 
 
 Harrison, William Henry 20, 75 
 
 Hartsville (C-1) 78 
 
 Harvesting 23 
 
 Hence Mountain (C-1) 65 
 
 Herod (C-1) 78 
 
 Hills and Hollows 64 
 
 HodgvilLe 79 
 
 Holmes 79 
 
 Homberg 79 
 
 Horse Mill 39 
 
 House Raising 2 
 
 How Pope Became a County 16 
 
 Hunting Branch 63 
 
 Husking Bees 23 
 
 Indian Mill 38 
 
 Indian Forts 9 
 
 Indian Kitchen (B-1) 9 
 
 Iron (A-1) (B-3) 57 
 
 Islands 66 
 
 Jones 79 
 
 Kaolin (A-1) 57 
 
 Kate Reed Hollow (A-1) 65 
 
 Kincaid Mounds (C-6) 9 
 
 Land Claims 11 
 
 Lead (B-2) 58 
 
 Lights 29 
 
 Lincoln 53 
 
 Literary Societies 35 
 
 Little Saline River (A-1) 62 
 
 Livestock -22 
 
 Logrolling 21 
 
 Louis . 79 
 
 Lusk (C-2) 80 
 
 Lusk Creek 63 
 
 Lusk, Major James 74 
 
 Lusk, Sarah 20, 75 
 
 Lusk's Ferry (B-3) 20 
 
 Madstones - 67 
 
 Manson's Ford 26 
 
 Maple Sugar 59 
 
 Marking Stock 21 
 
 Massac Bluff (A-3) ..„ 65 
 
 Maynor's Ford (A-2) 26 
 
 McCormick (A-1) ...80 
 
 McFarland's Ferry 20 
 
 Mealer 8 1 
 
 Miles' Ferry 20 
 
 Miles' Trace 20 
 
 Military Claims 11 
 
 Militia 6 
 
 Millstone Knob (A-2) 65 
 
 Mines and Minerals 57 
 
 Money 4 
 
 Money Cave Hollow (B-3) 65 
 
 Negroes 42 
 
 93
 
 New Liberty (C-6) -- 81 
 
 Newport 8 1 
 
 Newspapers 68 
 
 Nigger Wool Swamp (A-3) 62 
 
 Oak (B-1) 82 
 
 Old Brownfield (B-3) 86 
 
 Olive General Baptist Church 
 
 ( A-1 ) 28 
 
 O'Mulvaney's Ferry (C-5) 20 
 
 Ora 82 
 
 Orchards 24 
 
 Ordinance of 1787 16 
 
 Orville 82 
 
 Panthers 7 
 
 Passenger Pigeons 8 
 
 Peter's Creek Mill 40 
 
 "Picking up chunks" 21 
 
 Pittulo Bluff (B-3) 66 
 
 Plowing New Ground 22 
 
 Plows 22 
 
 Poco ^ 83 
 
 Politics 52 
 
 Poor Persons 6 
 
 Porter's Ford 26 
 
 Porter's Ford Mill (B-3) 41 
 
 Post Offices 68 
 
 Potatoes 23 
 
 Potato Hill (C-1) 66 
 
 Price Island 67 
 
 Prior Island 67 
 
 Punishments, Legal 6 
 
 Punishments, School 37 
 
 Quarrel Creek — 63 
 
 Ragan _ 8 3 
 
 Raum (B-2) 83 
 
 Renshaw (A-3) 83 
 
 Resort 72 
 
 Revival Meetings 31 
 
 Rising Sun 83 
 
 Roadways — 5, 25 
 
 Robbs (A-2) 84 
 
 Rock (A-3) 84 
 
 Rock Quarry (C-3) 84 
 
 Rondeau Island 66 
 
 Rosebud (B-4) 84 
 
 Rose Ford (B-2) 26 
 
 Round Pond (C-6) 62 
 
 Sand Hill 66 
 
 Sarahville 75 
 
 Sawmills 42 
 
 Settlers, early 11 
 
 Shandsville 85 
 
 Sheridan's Cave 64 
 
 Shoemaker 3 
 
 Sickle . ^-24 
 
 Singing Schools . 36 
 
 Singleton's Mill 40 
 
 Slavery and Negro Servitude 42 
 
 Slaves, Kidnapping 51 
 
 Smith's Hill 40 
 
 Soapmaking . 4 
 
 Spanish 16 
 
 Spar 58 
 
 94
 
 Spelling Matches 35 
 
 Steamboats 60 
 
 Stewart Island (C-5) 66 
 
 Stock Marks 21 
 
 Stouts 85 
 
 Stump Mills 38 
 
 Sturdevant's Fort 50 
 
 Sugar Camps (B-2) 59 
 
 Sugar Camp Creek ..^ 
 Sugar Camp Hollow 
 
 Sugar, Maple 
 
 Swapping Work 
 
 Tanbark 
 
 Tanneries . 
 
 Tansill (B-4) 
 
 Taverns 
 
 Temperance 
 
 Temple Hill (A-4) _ 
 Thacker's Gap (C-1) 
 Three Sisters' Island 
 
 Threshing 
 
 Tobacco 
 
 63 
 
 64 
 
 59 
 
 3 
 
 56 
 
 56 
 
 85 
 
 59 
 
 54 
 
 85 
 
 78 
 
 67 
 
 23 
 
 -74, 86 
 
 Treadmills 39 
 
 Transportation 4 
 
 Twitchell's Mill 41 
 
 Underwood 86 
 
 Virginia 16 
 
 Visiting 31 
 
 Wagon Makers 56, 57 
 
 Walnut Shade ^_86 
 
 Waltersburg (B-3) 86 
 
 War Bluff (B-2) 9 
 
 Watermills 39 
 
 Watkins' Ford 26 
 
 Wheat 23 
 
 Wild Animals 7 
 
 Williams' Mountain (C-1) 65 
 
 Wilson's Mill 41 
 
 Wolrab's Mill 41 
 
 Wolves 7 
 
 Wool (Postoffice) 86 
 
 Wool Mill (C-2) _-73 
 
 Writing School 36 
 
 Zion Hill 87 
 
 95
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOISURBANfl 
 
 977 3991AL5P com 
 
 POPE COUNTY NOTES CARBONDALE 
 
 3 0112 025400414