HISTORY OF DOUGLAS COUNTY, IL
CAMARGO CITY AND TOWNSHIP.
F.A. BATTEY & CO., PUBLISHERS, 1884.
TOWNSHIP HISTORIES
BY H.C. NILES
REPRODUCED FROM THE ORIGINALS AND CONTRIBUTED TO Illinois Genealogy Trails
BY
LARRY M. BURMEISTER,
©MAY, 2004
“It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education, than education without common sense.”
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ORIGIN OF NAME, AREA, ETC.
The township takes its name from the city of Camargo in Mexico, and was suggested by Col. J. B. McCown, who
honorably served in the war with that country. This political subdivision, under the old Coles County jurisdiction,
was called Albany Precinct, and took in the west half of Township 16 north, Range 10 east, all but the west tier
of sections in Township 16 north, Range 9 east. It extended two miles further south than at present, and contained
about seventy-three square miles of territory, but was reduced at the time of township organization in 1868 to
smaller dimensions, and still further decreased in 1882 by surrendering twenty-one sections of land to the new
township of Murdock. The present area includes all of Township 16 north, Range 9 east, except the west tier of
Sections 1, 2, 8 and 4, of Township 15 north, Range 9 east, and Section 6, Township 15 north, Range 10 east; is
bounded on the north by the county line and Champaign County, and on the west by Tuscola Township; on the south
by Bowdre, and on the east by Murdock, and now contains thirty-five Government sections of land, or thirty-eight
and twenty-three one-hundredths square miles, and the number of acres according to the United States survey is
24,443.72. Mr. Joseph B. McCowan was one of the Commissioners appointed by the County Court to divide the county
into political townships in 1868, the old arrangement having been ill-proportioned and inconvenient.
ANTIQUITY.
Camargo enjoys the honor of being the very oldest settled portion of
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Douglas County, the very first house built in the county having been raised in 1829 by John A. Richman. Mr. Richman
lived to be over eighty, and even at that age would hardly deign to ride a horse, but would gird himself with knife
and tomahawk, and, gun on shoulder, step over to the Okaw timber, a distance of ten or twelve miles, about as coolly
as present citizens would walk a mile. He came from West Virginia in 1827 or 1829—the best evidence is for the
latter year—and there was not another family of whites then living within the present limits of the county. “The
house that Jack built” is yet standing north of the railroad, about a half mile west of Camargo Village, and its
exact location is the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 33, Township 16 north, Range 9 east.
The land now belongs to Iles.
G. W. Henderson came to the neighborhood in 1844 without other capital than his right arm and his heart and head.
He died in 1882, leaving a very valuable estate in farm and other lands. William Watson was in the State Senate
at the time of making the new county. Alexander Bragg came to the State in 1835. He served in the Mexican war in
1846, and is one of the largest land owners in the township. Not having the advantages of a socalled education
in the schools, he is a remarkable exponent of business acumen and retentive memory.
EARLY LAND ENTRIES.
The first entry of land in the township was the northwest quarter of Section 35, Township 16, Range 9, by Harrison
Gill, the father of George C. Gill of Camargo, a prominent insurance and business man. This was in 1830, and in
February, same year, John Hammett entered the east half of the southwest quarter of Section 14, Township 16, Range
9, and in 1831 other large bodies of land. William Bradshaw, May 13, 1831, took the west half of the northeast
quarter of Section 27, Township 16, Range 9, and in the same year, in April, Thornton Sargent took fourteen forty-acre
tracts in Section 33, Township 16, Range 9, equaling 560 acres; Erwin Elmore, February 5, 1836, entered the northwest
quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 11, Township 16, Range 9. In 1838, April 23, N. B. Martz took Lot 1,
northeast quarter of Section 2, Township 16, Range 9. The greatest number
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of the entries were made in the years 1852 and 1853, it appearing that there was a check upon land entries
in the State pending the selections by the Illinois Central Railroad of the lands donated to that corporation.
THE SCHOOL SECTION.
In those years, the sixteenth section in Township 16, north, Range 9 east, was taken up by various parties,
the Hammetts taking half of it. Section 16 in every township was by law set apart for the use of schools, and was
required to be divided into lots. Why this requirement was made is unknown, as the regular descriptions would have
answered every purpose, and doubtless have prevented some confusion. This section was divided into sixteen lots,
beginning at the northeast corner. The northeast quarter of the northeast quarter being Lot 1; the northwest quarter
of the northwest quarter was made Lot 4, etc., ending with Lot 16, which was the southeast quarter of the southeast
quarter. All of these sixteen sections were not lotted alike, some of the lots containing eighty acres, and some
as large as 160, and there seems of record in Douglas County no authority for this lotting other than the naming
of them in certain conveyances, where, however, the number of the lot as well as the subdivision of the sections
are usually given. The school lands were all sold too early; some were disposed of at a price as low as $2 an acre.
They are now worth $50.
THE INDIANS.
The Hammetts, William S. and James R., lived in a tent the first winter, and were visited by numbers of Indians
who would call and sit around the fire. Their general conduct was such as to leave the impression that they were
honest, and although the family was at their mercy, nothing was stolen, and there was no fear for personal safety.
However, one or two battles with Indians from the Upper Embrarrass are spoken of as having occurred; one, perhaps
with Government Surveyors, near the creek in Coles County.
Mr. Harrison Gill came from Kentucky on horseback, and, in company with his Uncle Robert, visited the Indians at
Hugo, in Bowdre Township. His uncle told the “boss” Indian that Gill was about to enter land
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and wanted a wife; upon hearing which news, the “ladies” at once gathered around the candidate for matrimonial
honors, as if they meant business, and Mr. Gill only got out of the dilemma by claiming to be a poor hunter, by
reason of which he would make a sorry husband. A few items of aboriginal lore will be found in the notes on Bowdre
Township. The two winters immediately succeeding the arrival of these early settlers were the hardest known in
the history of the State, that of 1831-32, being known as the winter of the great snow. The milling of the neighborhood
was done principally at Eugene, Ind., a distance of forty miles.
WATER-COURSES.
Camargo Township is traversed from north to south by the Embarrass River, the head of which is a few miles
further north in Champaign County. This, like the head-waters of most prairie streams, and some citizens, is very
often “very dry,” and at the very first chance gets “very full,” varying from “nothing at all, to a raging canal,”
from four to six rods wide, coming up in a night and going down in a day, and sometimes when feeling well, comes
booming down stream with an irresistable armor of ice upon its bosom, to which the most of the heretofore constructed
bridges have now and again yielded. Permanent bridges have not as yet found much favor in the county, but the people
cannot much longer defer the inauguration of more expensive and more durable ones. The river gives most excellent
drainage to the greater part of the township. Two drainage districts under the statute have been established in
the south part, under the direction of the Highway Commissioners. One of them, which afteward was included in the
new township of Murdock, was called No. 1, contains about 2,000 acres, at an expense of $2,500; No. 2, lying in
the southeast corner of Camargo, has about 3,000 acres, costing $3,000. The surveying was done by Davis.
Long Point, sometimes called the Jordan, enters the township at the northeast part and becomes an affluent of the
Embarrass in Section 2, Township 16, Range 9. This water-course, which is partly artificial, will at no distant
day be the great drain for the north part of Murdock and Newman Township.
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TIMBER.
One-third of the area of the township is within the original timber limit, which grew adjacent to the river,
as is usual here. Many fine tracts of timber yet remain, but also, many clearings. The value of the timber, or,
in other words, the price at which it is held, is much less than it was twenty years ago. Good timber was held
as high as $75 per acre, and $50 was a common price; it was used, after building with it, and for a long time,
almost exclusively for fuel first, and then fencing. As the country grew older, saw mills were introduced and native
boards appeared; but, since the multiplication of railroads leading to the easy transportation of foreign fencing
and coal, timber land was depreciated, until good prairie is full as valuable. Some large farmers use foreign planks,
or hedges, for fencing, and burn coal exclusively, many of them having not an acre of timber. The long-mooted question
as to whether the timber is decreasing, or the reverse, within the original limit is not as yet decided.
RAILROADS.
The St. Louis Branch of the I., B. & W. Railroad crosses this township in an east and west direction, coming
in on the west side and near the middle of Section 32, Township 16, Range 9, and runs upon a straight line until
shortly after passing the village of Camargo, in Section 35, where it deflects to the south about twelve rods,
and continues at that distance from the middle line of the section till it leaves the county. It has a substantial
bridge, 130 feet long, on the west side of the village at the crossing of the Embarrass River, which resisted the
ice-floe of the winter of 1882, while the wagon bridge, 150 feet north of it, gave way. The township took stock
in the railroad under its former name, I. & I. C., to the amount of $15,000, payable in fourteen years, with
ten per cent interest, and the bonds were refunded in June, 1880, being placed with Preston, Kean & Co. of
Chicago, at six per cent interest, which transaction was negotiated by Charles G. Eckhart, Esq., of Tuscola.
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CITY OF CAMARGO. CREATION AND DEVELOPMENT
The original town of Camargo was laid off in November, 1836, by Isaac Moss, being surveyed by Joseph Fowler,
and was called “New Salem.” Mr. Moss made an addition in 1840; the name was then changed to “New Albany,” the voting
precinct being known by the name of Albany, and finally, when, upon the suggestion of J. B. McCown, the name of
the precinct was changed to Camargo, the village accepted the same name. It is the most ancient village in the
county, antedating Tuscola, Arcola and Newman, and even time-honored “Bourbon,” which was laid off in 1853. Camargo,
with her 1836 record, leading Bourbon by seventeen years. This village in the long years preceding the advent of
the east and west railroad, languished and was long considered finished; the final completion of the road, however,
gave it somewhat of an impetus, that may end in some distinction, it being the place of residence of some of the
leading men of the county, and the starting point of several of its most successful business men.
The town proper comprises an area of about eighty acres, which is the south half of the northeast quarter of Section
34, Township 16 north, Range 9 east, and is almost precisely six miles distant and east of the center of Tuscola
City.
STRUGGLE FOR THE COUNTY SEAT.
The village of Camargo, from its central position, had claims to the honor of being the county seat, which were
strongly advocated, and which could not very well be ignored. She had no railroad, but everybody said she would
have one at no distant day, the I. & I. C. having been chartered in 1852, and the route through the village
selected and staked out, and further encouraged by the almost annual appearance of engineer corps along the line
through which, amongst other things, the interest was kept up. Pending the selection of a shiretown, Camargo was
made county seat pro tem. The election returns of the county seat
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contest were stored at the place, and rumor had it that interested parties, obtaining access to the tickets, procured
a set of scales, and upon ascertaining the “weight” of each package of votes, took special care that their favorite
point should have superior heft. The first meeting of the county court, presided over by James Ewing, of Arcola,
as Judge, and John D. Murdock and Robert Hopkins as Associates, John Chandler, Clerk, a special term was held April
28, 1859, up-stairs over Coleman Bright’s store, and here it was ordered, amongst other things, that a special
election be held May 30, 1859, as between Tuscola and Arcola, which rival towns, whose vote had not been considered
in the first canvas, were found to embrace the choice of the people, upon which occasion Tuscola won.
ANCIENT PRAIRIE TRAVEL.
The new officers all met here to get their commissions. The county was almost covered with water, and the County
Surveyor, being a small man, was mounted upon a horse about sixteen feet high, and sent from Bourbon to Camargo
“by way of Arcola,” at which latter place the owner of the horse had a message to deliver, and told the surveyor
it was “on the way,” so it was—the way he went; he did not know any better. As there were no prairie fences, or
roads, he went straight from Bourbon to Arcola and straight from Arcola to Camargo, across the prairie, with a
general direction from his advisors, at Arcola, to keep the northeast wind in his face, which he proceeded to do
as far as possible; but as the aforesaid northeast wind came on that occasion from all points of the compass, he
accordingly got lost, as was to be expected. The wind was like old Uncle Jack’s compass, which somebody gave him
to use in the woods; no matter how he held it, it would diddle-daddle to the southwest every time.
SECRET SOCIETIES.
Camargo Lodge, No. 440, A., F. & A. M., was instituted October 18, 1865. The charter members were James T.
Orr, A. Salisbury, R. E. Carmack, Dr. A. K. P. Townsend, George C. Gill, Martin Rice, W. C. Campbell, R. C. Patterson,
J. T. Helm, J. R. Henderson and H. G. Russell. The first officers were: Orr, W.M.; Gill, Secretary; Carmack, Treasurer.
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A commodious lodge was dedicated, October 2, 1875. An R.A. Chapter was instituted, U.D., November 9, 1865.
The institution of the lodge was assisted by Tuscola Masons in 1865, who came out “by land” for the purpose, the
railroad having not yet appeared.
CHURCHES.
The first church built in the village was put up by the Methodists, and we are informed was erected as early
as 1850, at a cost of about $500. It was eventually sold, and the present brick built.
THE COUNTY’S NAME.
W. D. Watson, of this township, was at the time of the formation of the new county, 1859, in the State Senate,
and a Republican. The proposed county was of that faith, so estimated, and the petition for the new county asked
for the name of “Richman,” that of the first inhabitant. Others favored the name of “Watson,” and the subject of
a name was always introduced at the meetings, often under considerable excitement, which finally yielded when the
advocates of the various other names became convinced that the bill could not pass under any other name than that
of Douglas. Dr. Pearce and others strongly opposed the name, and only gave way on the solemn promise of the opposition
to assist in having the name changed after the institution of the county. Camargo being central, had much to do
with the new county meetings. The original bill before the Legislature contained errors, and had been passed by
both Houses before the discrepancies had been discovered; only three days of the session remained, and Dr. J. W.
McKinney went to Springfield, wrote out the supplementary bill, adding eighteen sections of land, between 10 and
12 o’clock in the morning. The bill was finally signed by the Governor at 4 o’clock and the Doctor had a copy of
it in his possession, and was on his way home by 6 o’clock P.M. of same day. A more particular history of the formation
of the new county will be found under its proper head in this volume.
SOME PROMINENT CITIZENS
Coleman Bright came to Coles County, now Douglas, in the
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year 1859, and began his experiences here as a retailer of merchandise through the country. He afterward
settled down to a mercantile business in Camargo, and in about 1860 moved to Tuscola, or at least transferred his
interests generally to that place. Here he remained a citizen as the senior member of the dry goods firm of Bright
& Jones until his death, which occurred July 20, 1881. He, during the last eight or ten years of his residence
in Tuscola, took life comfortably, being in easy circumstances. He was active in a quiet way in all public matters;
prominent in the formation of the county, and was a Democrat.
James R. Hammett was active in the interests of the new county of Douglas, and also one of the directors, for fourteen
years, of the east and west railroad. G. W. Henson, Charles Brewer, John Brown, Martin Rice, John D. Murdock, Alexander
Bragg and W. D. Watson were of the first arrivals; C. Brewer came in 1855 [1835]; John Brown arrived in 1838, and
was elected Associate Judge of the county in 1865; Martin Rice, a resident of the State since 1849, and of the
county since 1853, actively assisted in the new county business, and was a member of the first political convention
held in it. From the second year of township organization, he represented the people as Supervisor continuously
until 1877, and again in 1879. He died at his farm in 1883, at the age of sixty-one years, leaving a large estate.
Mr. Rice was one of the people. He began with the early settlers, and fought the wilderness, and with his compeers
conquered, believing in progress and in keeping up with the times. The impress of his candid and emphatic but genial
character upon most of the old and new institutions of Douglas County cannot be erased.
CAMARGO’S RIVAL.
A proposed town or village was laid out in November, 1837, and vacated in February, 1845; its situation was
on Section 35, Township 16 north, Range 9 east, about a mile east of the site of Camargo village, and was probably
intended as a rival of that institution, which, as stated, was laid off in 1836. It was recorded as “New Boston;”
the exact location cannot now be given, and its rise, progress and decadence can now only be guessed at, as it
died of a-borning, and “Since it is so soon it’s done for, We wonder what it was begun for.”
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POPULATION.
The population of Camargo Township, according to the enumeration at the ninth census, 1870, was set down at
1,808, and at the tenth census, 1880, it became 2,089, an increase of 281 in the decade. But as the township was
shorn of about twenty-two square miles of territory when Murdock was organized, these figures do not show the present
number of inhabitants, of which an approximation only can be had at the present writing, which has been compiled
from the best authorities at command. We therefore deduct from the census of 1880 the number 873 as the probable
loss of the township to Murdock, finding that the list of personal tax payers in 1883 numbers 304, which, multiplied
by four, makes 1,216, the probable inhabitants in the latter year, multiplying by four being based upon the proposition
that families average four members. The State estimate is five and one-third to the family. Arcola Township gives
in her highest vote, compared to her population, six and six-tenths persons to every voter.
As to THE PREVAILING POLITICS
of Camargo, no reliable data seem to be available, the more especially since territory was surrendered to Murdock.
The Supervisors, as to political preferences, have been about equally divided, and this was the case even in the
old times when Camargo was called Democratic.
THE TENTH CENSUS.
The census of 1880 was taken by George W. Ritter, the Government enumerator. He found thirty-seven Siders and
thirty-six Smiths.
TILE FACTORIES.
Tile factories, two in number, have been established in the township, that of R. C. Patterson, one mile southwest
of the village of Camargo, being established in 1877, and Joseph R. Hammett’s, three miles north, was established
in 1883. The plant in each is worth about $6,000, and they have a combined capacity per day of about 8,000.
FOUNTAIN.
On the farm of R. C. Patterson, on the Embarrass River, in Section 33, Township 16, Range 9, is a fine fountain
of living water, widely known as Patterson’s Spring, and, offering the inducements of ample shade and water, is
a favorite place of resort for celebrations of all kinds,
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which, from numbers, have necessarily an al fresco requirement. This spring issues from the bluff of the river,
about twenty feet above low water. It has never been known to fail, or materially fail, in the amount of its discharge
in forty years, or since the first settlement of the county. It flows, at about the rate of 700 gallons per hour,
pure and palatable water, with a uniform temperature of fifty degrees Fahr. This spring was carefully examined
and reported upon in 1877, when an effort was made to secure the site of the Eastern Insane Asylum for Douglas
County, and a sample of the water was forwarded to Dr. Haines, of Chicago, whose report was, as to its superior
qualities, very favorable.
PUBLIC OFFICERS.
This township, in the public service of the county, has contributed liberally of her citizens. John D. Murdock
was one of the first county board of Judges, having been elected in 1859, and re-elected in 1861 Mr. Murdock has
since been voted out of the township by the creation of Murdock Township. John Brown was in the same position in
1865. William H. Lamb, formerly a merchant in the village of Camargo, was made County Clerk in the fall of 1865.
He was the Commissioner to transfer to the new county all the records of Coles which belonged to the new territory,
a work, consisting mainly of five large volumes, which was performed most correctly and efficiently. P. Watson
was called to the sheriffalty in November, 1860, and S. S. Irwin was Superintendent of Schools from 1861, serving
two years. John C. Parcel was elected County Clerk in November, 1869, and served four years. The Supervisors of
the township have been G. W. Henson, the first, in 1868; F. Hesler, 1870; Dr. J. W. McKinney, 1871-72; Martin Rice,
1869 to 1877, and again in 1879; John T. Irwin in 1878; John E. Bagley, in 1880, also in 1882, 1883 and 1884, being
the present officer, and R. C. Patterson served in the same position in 1881. Thomas S. Wyatt was elected Sheriff
of the county in the fall of 1880, and again in 1882.
CRIME.
The notable high-handed and desperate robbery of Mr. William S. Hammett and his household occurred on the night
of June 8, 1870. The family had retired. Mr. H. was aroused by a knock at the door, and upon
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opening it was instantly seized by two armed and masked men, who demanded silence and money. Mr. H. being
not only unarmed and but partly clothed, taken by surprise, with a loaded pistol pointing directly at and close
to his heart, which might at any instant have been discharged by the trembling hand of his guard, after carefully
weighing the chances concluded to surrender, a prudence that is commended by men who have been in the army. He
was held strictly under guard until the villains had obtained watches and jewelry to the amount of $250, and a
little money. They had taken care to fasten the door of a room occupied by some work hands, and having accomplished
their purpose with dispatch, released Mr. Hammett, and disappeared with great haste in the darkness.
VALUATION.
The Assessor’s valuation in 1883, of personal property in the township is $92,222; lands, $252,825.
REMARKS.
Whether a perfect history of Douglas County will ever be written, depending as it does upon circumstances,
is a matter that “no fellow can find out.” There are persons who, for twenty years, have earnestly worked to that
end, but the business part of such a worthy scheme has placed a sea of fire through which they cannot pass.
While it is perfectly natural for the average intelligent reader of what purports to be a history to observe that
all is not given, he ought to “put yourself in his place,” for it “goes without saying” that there are a hundred
men and women in the country who will cheerfully “soar to the infinite and dive to the unfathomable,” for $2 a
day and found, and be glad of the job.
The present scheme for a history is the best yet offered, and for thoroughness and research, caps all previous
efforts. Yet a mass of interesting material remains on hand for future treatment, which cannot be made available
at this particular juncture, but all of which some day will appear in print, even though, like this, written by
nobody in particular.