Milledgeville, a thriving community located in the very southeastern part of Carroll County, stands on a spot which the first white people to venture to this part of the country believed "was and must forever remain worthless, because it could never be inhabited to any extent for want of timber." With but few exception, these early settlers hugged the groves, only the boldest of them venturing out on the prairie. The sweep of the winter winds, it was thought by some, would render the prairie practically uninhabitable. A 1913 edition of a History of Carroll County states, "Think of that, you farmers who now rate your farms at $100 per acre in this very part of the country."
Consequently, the first settlement int he area was made at Elkhorn Grove, so-named because of the large number of elks horns found there when the first settlers came. Elkhorn Grove is located several miles east of the present site of Milledgeville. Here, the early settlers had not only the protection of the timber, but wood for fuel and logs for building their cabins and timber for making rail fences to protect their crops. Livestock for many years was allowed to roam over the prairies at will, and stock raising became one of the most profitable branches of farming that the early settlers engaged in, and continues to be such today.
The first settlement was made on the north side of the Grove by John Ankeny in 1831. He was driven away by Indians during the Blackhawk Indian War, but returned to his claim in 1833. Other early settlers were Levi F. and A.G. Eastabrook from Pennsylvania; Elder Henry Meyers, the father of sixteen children; Lucius Thorp, whose son, Charles S. owned and operated the last water power mill in Carroll County; John Knox; and Eliliakm Todd. John Knox and family settled in the Grove in 1835 and records show that he set out the first orchard in Carroll County that year. The Eastabrook family came from Bradford County PA, making the entire trip overland by wagon, fording the rivers and creeks along the way.
Eliakim Todd and his brother-in-law Joseph Hire, started from their home in PA in Sep. 1827 and walked nearly the entire distance to Elkhorn Grove, arriving here on December 3, 1837. Todd was the father of Samuel H. Todd and the grandfather of Mrs. A.H. Wagner who lives in Milledgeville today. Other early settlers came from other parts of PA, from the New England States, and from OH, VA, KY and souther IL. "The area," according to a history of the county, "was settled by a very intelligent and enterprising class of people. Most of them were from the middle class of society, both in regard to intelligence and wealth. They had been accustomed, in their native states, to habits of industry and did not leave those habits behind tem. They were all young people and entered upon the labor of opening farms and gathering around them the comforts of life with a zeal and determination which, with their earnest efforts, could not fail of success."
In 1837, Elijah Eaton built a saw mill at the Grove which was later known as Thorp's Mill, and was the first saw mill in Wysox Twp. Milledgeville derived its name from the "mill" which stood at the east edge of the "ville." In 1834 a millwright named Peters settled on Elkhorn Creek bottom at the east edge of Milledgeville, but falling sick, he gave up his claim to Jesse Kester, who improved it with a saw mill and a small corn cracker mill. This was the first mill in the county to be run by water power. Kester later sold out is claim to Adam Knox, who built a grist mill and had it in operation in 1839. Before mills were established locally grain had to taken to Peoria to be ground. In early days, the roads, over the prairie were traveld so little and the tracks were so scattered and grown up with grass that travelers sometimes lost their way. This led to plowing the longest furrow in a direct line that was ever plowed in Carroll County. A Mr. Humphrey of Milledgeville offered to furnish the plow and team, two yoke of oxen, to anyone wo would mark the road to Mt. Carroll and Savanna. So a Mr. Spencer held the plow and made a furrow from Elkhorn Grove Twp, just easat of Milledgeville, to Mt. Carroll Twp. The underground railroad of the Civil War days, passed through Milledgeville. This was the route the slaves followed from Fulton on the Mississippi River to Byron, on their way to Canada and freedom. They were usually taken from place to place in the night, hidden in the wagons with farm produce.
The first birth in Milledgeville was that of Eliza J. Knox, daughter of Adam Knox in 1839. Soon after, his son, Albert Knox, died and this was the first death at or near Milledgeville. The first store was opened by A.H.H. Perkins in 1843. The original village plot was laid out May 19, 1850. Records state that in 1878 the population was 300 - today its more than 1100 (1976). In 1844, a post office was established with Jacob McCourtie appointed as postmaster. It was incorporated as a village in 1887. The first school in the area was kown as Centre School. In Milledgeville proper, the first school was taught in a private home by Miss Miriam Whitney of Belvidere int he summer and fall of 1847. From this early start, MIlledgeville has developed a fine school system. A unit district has been established, which serves the community and surrounding areas. The Milledgeville School, a large four-room school building was erected in 1877 at a cost of $6,000 to $7,000. This building burned to the ground in the winter of 1946-47 after it was struck by lightning during the villent winter electrical storm. A new brick building was completed connected to the high school which had been erected in 1920.
The Burlington Railroad was built through the county in 1886, and a station was established on the north side of the old town. The coming of the railroad was celebrated with "an ox roast and general merrymaking." A large addition was made to the town north of the tracks, where the business part of town rapidly built and stands today. Many of the two and three story brick business buildings are dated 1887 and 1888. The two parts of Milledgeville, divided by the railroad, are still referred to as "old town" and "new town". The first church in the are was the South Elkhorn Methodist Church. James McKean, a circuit preacher, was the first pastor, and preached his first sermon there in 1836. The Milledgeville library was erected in 1923, a gift of Mary Fletcher. Milledgevlle lays claim to having one of the largest Swiss cheese factories in the world. A Kraft Foods plant has been the largest industry of years, and employs many people from the community and surrounding areas. Milledgeville is the home of the Carroll County fair - one of the larges and most progressive in the state. The fairgrounds are located just east of Milledgeville on the Milledgeville-Polo blacktop on land donated for that use by Charles Schell.
