1934 History of Calhoun County

Appendix ~ Important Dates in Early Calhoun History, 1673-1863

1673 — Aug	Marquette-Joliet Expedition land and spend night in what is now Calhoun County.
1680 — Nov	Indian massacre takes place near the present site of the Deer Plain Ferry, in Point Precinct. Women and children of the Illinois tribe killed by Iroquois.
— Nov	LaSalle and companions stop at the site of the massacre on the day following its occurrence.
1800 —	Federal government expedition passes through what is now Calhoun County.
1801 — Feb	Territory now included in Calhoun County made a part of St. Clair County, Indiana Territory.
1811 —	The first permanent settler, O'Neal, arrives and settles several miles above the present site of the Golden Eagle Ferry.
	Twenty French families living at Cap au Gris.
1812 — May 6	Congress passes an act giving 160 acres of land to all who enlist in the army. Land between the Illinois and the Mississippi Rivers set apart and was known as the "Military Lands". Territory now included in Calhoun was a part of this tract.
— Sep 14	Territory now included in Calhoun made a part of Madison County, Illinois Territory.
1813 —	Band of northern Illinois Indians appear near Cap au Gris (southern Calhoun). Attack soldiers from Missouri fort.
1814 —	Indians again appear in southern Calhoun. Black Hawk accompanies Indians. Attack settlers and soldiers in Missouri. No evidence of attack on any settlers in what is now Calhoun.
1819 —	Ebenezer Smith operates a ferry across the Illinois River about five miles below present site of Hardin.
	Ebenezer Smith plants first orchard on farm below Hardin.
1821 — Jan 21	Territory now included in Calhoun County become a part of Pike County. Coles Grove (now Gilead) made the county seat.
— May 23	First probate Court to be held north or west of Illinois River held at Coles Grove.
— Oct 1	First Circuit Court north or west of the Illinois held at Coles Grove, Judge John Reynolds presiding.
	John, Nathannial, and Comfort Shaw arrive in the county.
1822 —	Johnn Mettz settles at the present site of Brussels.
	John Shaw and Nicholas Hansen each claim to have been elected to the State Legislature. Contested election. Hansen seated
	Joshua Twichell and family arrive at Coles Grove.
	Hansen removed from the Legislature and his seat given to John Shaw.
1823 —	John Mozier arrives and settles at the present site of Mozier Landing.
1825 — Jan 10	The lower part of Pike County is made into a separate county and is named "Calhoun". George W. Allen and Gershom Flagg met and selected Coles Grove as the county seat of Calhoun
— Jan 27	In a report to the County Commissioners, Allen and Flagg recommend Coles Grove as the county seat and suggest that its name be changed to Gilead.
— Jan 31	John Shaw donates 80 acres of land to the county. He also gives 12 lots in Gilead as a place where the county buildings might be erected.
— Feb 2	County officials elected.
— Mar 8	First meeting of the County Commissioners at Gilead.
— Mar 9	John Shaw, Nathanial Shaw, Pendleton Lamb, Gigelow C. Fenton, and Levi Roberts recommended to the governor as suitable persons to fill the office of Justice of the Peace for Calhoun County.
— Mar 24	First marriage license issued. Samuel Cresswell and Eliza Ann Hewitt, the contracting parties.
	Contract let to build the jail at Gilead.
1826 —	John Bolter, John Mozier, and Amos Ferris elected County Commissioners.
1827 — Sep 14	Nathanial Shaw appointed County Treasurer.
1828 — Apr 14	Nathanial Shaw appointed County Treasurer for coming year.
	Ebenezer Smith, Robert Erwin, and William Mettz, County Commissioners.
	John Mettz starts a water-power corn mill at the present site of Brussels.
1829 —	Jacob Crader, Sr., builds water-power mill at Cave Spring Hollow. Samuel Crader builds mill at Indian Creek.
	First frame dwelling erected by Major Roberts near the present site of Brussels.
	Two of the first schools of the county are in operation. One is Bethel School, west of present site of Brussels, and the other is Point Pleasant, several miles south of same village.
1830 —	First census of the county taken. Population, 1090.
1831 — Mar 9	Nathanial Shaw appointed Assessor and Treasurer.
	Government report shows presence of post offices at Gilead, Hamburg, and Belleview.
	The "Utility", a steamboat from St. Louis, visits Twichell’s Landing. First steamboat to visit Calhoun.
1832 — Dec 3	John McDonald, Nathanial Shaw, and Robert W. Irwin elected County Commissioners.
	New brick court house completed at Gilead. Cost, $1,600.
1833 — Mar 4	John Bolter given license to operate ferry across the Mississippi River at Little Cap au Gris.
	John Stark given license to run ferry across the Mississippi River at Clarksville.
	Dr. William Terry given license to sell goods for one year.
	A company was organized to dig a canal across Calhoun. To be located several miles below the present site of Hardin.
	The first recorded wheat raised in Calhoun.
1834 — Sep	Election returns of this year show that there were four precincts in the county, namely: Belleview, Gilead, Illinois, and Cap au Gris.
1835 — Mar 5	John Shaw given license to sell goods for one year. License fee, $5.00.
— Sep 9	Contract let to build new jail at Gilead. Contract awarded to John Huff. To receive $299.
	R S. Quigley tries to manufacture salt at the salt spring at Gilead. Machinery from Ohio. Plan fails.
1836 — Jun 6	John Shaw appointed to act as special commissioner and agent for the inhabitants of the county to sell section 16, which had been given to each county for school purposes.
1838 — Mar 8	John Shaw given license to run ferry across river at Hamburg.
1839 — Mar 8	Commissioners report shows presence of an indentured servant in the county.
— Jun 3	Carlin Precinct formed from the north part of Illinois Precinct. The Beeman ferryhouse was designated as a place where elections were to be held. The precinct was named after Thomas Carlin, Governor of Illinois.
1840 — Mar 3	John and William Beeman given license to operate ferry across the Illinois River at their place of residence in Carlin Precinct
	Jacob Crader, Sr., given license to operate ferry across the Illinois River.
— Mar 5	Edmund Morris and Cordelia McCoy given license to operate stores in Hamburg.
— Mar 7	O. W. Bacon appointed School Commissioner and agent for the school funds.
— Jun 4	Peter Durham appointed to take the census of the county.
1841 — Sep	County Commissioners are Benjamin Childs, Alexander Hemphill, and Elias Mettz.
1842 — Jun 8	John Shaw removed from office as County Treasurer for failure to pay orders or to settle with the court.
	Abel Haper appointed County Treasurer.
	O'Neal, the first settler in the county, dies at his home near Golden Eagle.
1845 — Jun 4	Bids asked for a new jail at Gilead.
	First grain cradle to be used in Calhoun on the farm of Jacob Crader, Sr., about two miles above the present site of Michael.
1846 —	First threshing machine in Calhoun was used on the farm of Henry Bechdoldt, north of present site of Michael.
	William Beeman, one of the County Commissioners dies. James Guy appointed to serve as County Commissioner.
1847 — Jan	Court house at Gilead destroyed by fire. All records appear to have been saved.
1847 — Jan 18	Commissioners rent a room from Daniel T Simpson as a place to hold court. Talk of rebuilding court house at Gilead.
— Feb 23	Commissioners meet and pass resolution to relocate the county seat. They select Hamburg as a temporary meeting place.
— Mar 15	Commissioners meet at Hamburg.
— Mar 16	The following persons were granted licenses to operate ferrys: Stephen Farrow, Mary Ann Bushnell, William Chase, John Jones, and Frank Webster.
— Mar 18	Commissioners select the store building, that had been used by John Shaw, as a meeting place.
— Aug 12	People of Hamburg present petition asking Commissioners to refrain from moving the county seat to Childs' Landing.
— Sep 7	The name of the new county seat selected by the County Commissioners was changed from Childs' Landing to "Hardin". It was named in honor of Col. John Hardin of Morgan County who was killed in the Mexican War, in 1847.
— Sep 8	Commissioners meet for the last time in Hamburg.
— Dec 6	The County Commissioners met for the first time at Hardin.
	Contract let to build a court house at Hardin. Cost to be $1,990.
— Oct 14	Sale of town lots in Hardin. Six and twelve months credit given.
1848 — Mar 8	Re-organization of the precincts of the county. The precincts after this date will be Point, Gilead, Hardin, Hamburg, Carlin, and Belleview.
	Catholics in the southern part of the county build a frame church at the present site of Brussels. This was the first Catholic Church in the county.
	Point, Hardin and Hamburg precincts organized.
— Sep	Contractor William D. Hamilton notifies the Commissioners that he has completed the court house.
	Post office established at Hardin. Benjamin F. Childs appointed first postmaster.
1849	Bids asked for building of jail at Hardin.
	Post office transferred from Milan to Deer Plain.
1850	Work on jail completed. Cost was $1,275.
1851 — Mar 7	William Hamilton appointed special agent to inspect farms which might be purchased by the county for the establishment of a county farm.
1852 Sep 7	Richwoods Precinct formed. School house of District No. 1 chosen for voting place.
	Carlin Precinct reduced in size.
	Lower half of Carlin Precinct made into new precinct, called Crater Precinct. Named in honor of Jacob Crader, Sr., the first settler in precinct. Home of Jacob Crader selected as official voting place.
1860 — Jun 5	A committee examined a number of farms with the idea of selecting one as the county farm. Buy farm from B. F. Childs for $2,500.
1862 — Dec 3	Daniel J. Kennedy given job as keeper of the county farm.

Extracted 20 May 2017 by Norma Hass from History of Calhoun County, pages 88-93.

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