of Menard and Mason Counties
By T.G. Onstott
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CHAPTER XXXI Page 309 This village is in the extreme northeast part of the township and was surveyed and platted by E.Z. Hunt, county surveyor, in 1857 for Daniel Dillon, Alexander W. Morgan, Silas Parker and Zenas B. Kedder. The original plat contained fifteen blocks, three hundred feet square, and eleven fractional blocks. These were subdivided into two hundred and thirty-five lots and fifteen fractional lots. The lots adjoining the railroad were donated to the company to secure the location of the depot. After laying out the village, a public sale of lots was held and $3,000 was realized. Private sales were made until $4,000 or $5,000 was realized. The investment in many instances proved a loss, inasmuch as the town failed to grow as rapidly as the purchasers anticipated, and many, feeling that they had made a bad investment, sold their interest at a sacrifice. Moses C. Hicks made an addition in 1868. At a later date, Willis Graft and John Lineberger made an addition on the east. This last was just across the line in Logan county. Moses C. Hicks erected the first residence in the village-a business house and residence combined. In this building he opened a general stock of merchandise in 1858. He came from Atlanta, Logan county, where he had been engaged in the same business. The second building was erected by Morgan and Luper and was occupied as a hardware store. Dillon and Morgan soon became the proprietors of this store, and at the end of six months Dillon bought Morgan out. With the exception of a few small buildings, the village took a rest for a few years. On the prospective completion of the railroad, a new life was infused into the almost defunct village, and a number of dwellings and business houses were built. Nat Beardsley, from Jerseyville, opened up a stock of merchandise in 1862 and 1863, and after operating it for two years sold it to Dr. Knapp and went back to Jerseyville. In 1865 Dr. Charles D. Knapp built and opened a drug store. Hull and Morrrison came from Henry in 1866, moving into a building occupied by Chestnut as a hardware store. In time, others came, and San Jose was soon on a firm basis. The first grain merchants were Beck and Scott, who began the handling of grain in 1866. A warehouse, built by Peter Defries, was converted into an elevator by Buck and Brother and was the first in the village. In 1866 Moses C. Hicks built a steam elevator, which was destroyed by fire in 1868. Thomas Little operated a warehouse here and then moved it to Teheran. Moses C. Hicks erected a large and commodious hotel at a cost of $6,000; at one time he had forty-two regular boarders, besides the transient customers. In the same year, C.B. Vanhorn moved the machinery of the grist mill from Atlanta and began to manufacture flour. Allen's Grove lies high and dry. Towards the west, for twenty miles, the land was once a swamp and was not considered of much value. To the south of the Grove, high land is soon stuck. On the north the swamp extended for ten miles, but with artificial drainage the whole country has been changed and no finer body of land is to be found. The Linewebber ditch drains the water from the swamp ground and the country has become a paradise for the farmer. The country north of Allen's Grove is a high ridge where you can have a view for fifteen miles west. Allen's Grove is nearly twenty miles from Forest City, yet it is in plain view and would not be taken to be more than ten miles. One-half of San Jose is in Mason county, the other half in Logan county. At San Jose three counties can be seen at one glance, namely, Mason, Logan and Tazewell.
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