Calhoun County
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Calhoun Herald
June 21, 1888

Reminiscences of Calhoun County

By Henry Deen

I noticed that the HERALD desired some reminiscences of Calhoun County, and in response to the request I will give you a few items that may prove interesting to the readers of the HERALD. I was born in Guersey County, Ohio, in the year 1809, and I am now nearly 79 years old. I came to the state of Illinois in 1839 and located on the 10th day of June at Carrollton in Greene County. I soon after located in Calhoun County about three miles west of Kampsville. Thomas H. Boyd, now a wealthy and prominent citizen of Greene County came with me to this county. We both assisted Silas Hurd in surveying out section 5 in township9, range 2. My nearest neighbors were Stephen Farrow, father of C. B. Farrow, and Solomon Bushnell who was then the ferryman of Farrowtown. The present site of Kampsville was then laid out into town lots and was named New Philadelphia. It was located during the town lot craze of 1836-9 by a Dr. Coleman. He went to Philadelphia and sold those lots, but of course no one ever received anything from the purchase. Our nearest post-office was at Hamburg. We got mail such as it was once a week. Sometimes we got our mail at Gilead which place was then the county seat. John Red was the post-master. The postage on a letter was twenty-five cents in silver. We had no preaching and no school for twelve years. The first Sunday school was started by my mother and Mrs. Jane Nevins in the year 1843. Settlers were scarce and those who lived in the county were engaged principally in hunting Deer and turkeys were quite plentiful. Deer hides were a cash article, so was wild honey and beeswax. From these articles the settlers derived their chief support. Corn and wheat were but little cultivated and only for bread. Hogs fattened on the mast and run wild in the woods. The country was all timber and was covered with the finest white oak and black oak and hickory. When I first came here the wood and timber business was not so extensively engaged in as afterwards. Occasionally we would cut some cord wood. My hunting ground was from river to river and from Bee creek in Pike County to Gilead. The hunting was excellent. Deer and turkey furnished us plenty of good meat and hides brought us what little cash we needed.

The first circuit court that I attended in Calhoun County was held in Gilead. Judge Lockwood was on the bench; John Red was sheriff. The Court House was a small brick one built in 1828, and the jail was built of logs. Judge Wilkinson, father of Wm. M. Wilkinson was our Justice of the peace, and he was also assessor and treasurer of the county. Gilead was a small village and after the court house burned, and the county seat moved to Hardin the town ceased to grow. Hamburg was a trading and shipping post then of some importance. John Shaw built the first house in Hamburg. He kept a store and dealt in wood and staves and was the post-master. The shipping of hoop poles and staves was another principal industry. The Calhoun County of today is vastly different from the Calhoun County of 1839. The hospitality of the first settlers of this county was unbounded; neighbors were friendly and helped each other whenever help was needed.


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