LAWRENCE COUNTY HISTORY
The following information was taken from an Atlas of Lawrence County
published in 1875 by W. R. Brink & Co.

The early settlements in the Wabash Valley radiated from Vincennes, the history of which is, therefore, intimately connected with that of Lawrence County. The early French explorers applied the name of Wabash, or "Oabache," to the stream not only now known by that title, but to that portion of the Ohio from its confluence with the Wabash to its junction with the Mississippi. Marquette, in 1673, on his voyage of discovery down the Mississippi, records passing the mouth of the Oubache in little less than forty leagues below the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri.

The Illinois country was first settled by Frenchmen by way of Canada. There were three great avenues from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi. One was by way of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers - the route taken by Marquette and Joliet. Another was from the head of Lake Michigan across to the Illinois river - the course pursued by LaSalle. The remaining one was by way of the portage, about nine miles, dividing the Maumee from the head waters of the Wabash, and thence down this latter river to the Mississippi. There is evidence that the Wabash route was used at a very early date, but the exact year of the first exploration of the region cannot be fixed with certainty. The route was secured by the establishment of a military post. This was Post Vincennes, the first permanent settlement in the Wabash Valley, and in the state of Indiana.

Doubt exists in regard to the time of the first settlement of Vincennes. Volney, who visited the place in 1796, fixes the probable date as 1735. A letter, however, written November 9, 1712, by Father Marest, a priest of Kaskaskia, throws additional light on the subject. The venerable father states that "the French who have lately established a fort on the river Wabash, demanded a missionary, and Father Mermet was sent there." Father Mermet is the same whose gentle virtues and fervid eloquence were so effective among the Indians at the Kaskaskia mission. At the time of calling the missionary the post must have been established and the settlement made. If Vincennes be assumed to be the post mentioned in the communication of Father Marest, and the evidence to this point is strong, though not entirely conclusive, the date of the founding of the town must be placed at 1710 or 1711. The records of the Catholic church at Vincennes make no mention of a missionary till 1749, when Father Neurim came. No important events connected with the history of the Post occurred for nearly half a-century.

Vincennes received its name from Francois Morgan de Vinsenne, a gallant officer in the French service, who was in Canada probably as early as 1720. He became commandant of the Post, which afterward bore his name, about 1732. An entry on the records dated June, 1735, styles him an "officer of the troops of the King," and "commandant au poste du Oubache." Vinsenne was a brave soldier, and lost his life in 1736 in an expedition against the Chickasas. The French government had directed an expedition against the Chickasas, who in- habited the region east of the Mississippi, extending south from the Cumberland river, into the territory of the present State of Mississippi, and whose hostilities interrupted communication between Kaskaskia and New Orleans, and interfered with the occupation and settlement of the country. D'Artaquette was at that time commandant of Kaskaskia, and Vinsenne joined him with his forces from the Wabash. The army was composed of about fifty French soldiers, and more than a thousand Indian allies. Arrived at the country of the Chickasas, their forts were stormed, and one two successfully carried. In attacking the third, however, the soldiers met with a check, and at the first sign of defeat, the Illinois Indians fled. This decided .the battle. D'Artaquette lay wounded on the field, and the heroic Vinsenne refused to save his own life in flight. The captives afterward met their death at the stake by the slow torture of fire. Thus perished Vinsenne, whose name will be perpetuated as long as the town which bears his name shall guard the waters of the Wabash.

The name of the town originally appears as Vinsenne. The change to the present spelling was made as early as 1749. By the treaty of Fontainbleau, made in 1763, Vincennes with all the other French territory east of the Mississippi, excepting the island of New Orleans, came under British control. Three years after British soldiers took possession of the Post. The next important event in its history is the capture from the British by American forces under General George Rogers Clark during the time of the Revolutionary War. Clark had previously taken possession of Kaskaskia and Cahokia. Hamilton, the British Governor of Detroit, had surprised and occupied Vincennes with a strong force in December 1778. Clark, though poorly prepared for an offensive campaign, deemed it advisable to attempt the re-capture of Vincennes, in order to thwart Hamilton's designs of bringing the Illinois country once more under British authority. The French inhabitants of Cahokia and Kaskaskia raised two companies which augmented the American force to one hundred and seventy men. On the 7th of February, 1779, the expedition started. On the 13th the forces reached the forks of the Little Wabash, and found the bottom lands over flown with water. It was in some places five miles from bank to bank. The baggage was ferried over in a canoe, and the soldiers at last succeeded in reaching the other side. The season of the year was little favorable for such an expedition. Winter was breaking up. The streams were swollen, the soil wet and marshy, the provisions were exhausted, and it was only by an admirable fortitude and resolution that the famished and and exhausted troops were encouraged to proceed.

It was on the 18th of the month, eleven days after leaving Kaskaskia, while toiling through the northern part of what is now Lawrence County, that the signal guns of the Fort at Vincennes broke upon their ears. On the evening of the same day they reached the banks of the Wabash, nine miles below Vincennes. Anticipated supplies had not arrived, and the almost starving men were in a condition bordering on despair. Three days after, the greatest obstacle of the expedition was met and conquered. Clark harangued the men, informing them, that passing the sheet of water now in full view, and reaching the opposite woods, they would find an end to their hardships. He immediately stepped into the water without waiting for a reply. Getting near the middle of the inundated plain, the weakest of the soldiers began to fail. A canoe plied back and forth and picked up the sinking men. Clark privately ordered a few of the strongest forward, with directions, when they had arrived at a certain distance, to pass back the word that the water was getting more shallow, and when near the woods to cry out "land." By this stratagem the spirits of the men were kept up, but on reaching the timber only the tall and strong were able to get ashore. The weakly hung to trees and floated on the drift till they were brought off in canoes. Fires were built, and a canoe, in charge of squaws going up to Vincennes, and containing buffalo meat, corn, tallow and kettles, was captured, and broth made with which the exhausted ones were revived and the whole company strengthened.

A position near the Fort was at length gained, and at sunset of the 23d, the force advanced to the assault. The garrison was yet unconscious of the presence of an attacking force, though the fact was known to the inhabitants of the town, nearly all of whom were favorably disposed toward the Americans. The number and condition of Clark's little army would seem to have made it more appropriate for him to surrender to the British than for the British to surrender to him, but by concealing his weakness and boldly attacking the fort and demanding its surrender, the garrison was at last induced to capitulate, and on the 25th of February, 1779, the American forces took possession, firing thirteen guns in honor of the recovery of this important stronghold. The capture of these frontier posts on the part of Clark was of the utmost importance in afterward determining, at the time of the treaty of peace, the western boundary of the United States.

The early French settlers of Vincennes, according to the usual custom, were allotted tracts of land. Most of these lay in the neighborhood, and within a few miles, of the town. Upon the change of government in 1762, by provisions of the treaty, these grants were confirmed to the settlers. A large number are located within the present limits of Lawrence County. These tracts were located generally according to the wishes of the grantees, and their boundaries run without any regard to fixed north and south, east and west, lines. Upon the country being thrown open to settlement by the United States government, the land was regularly laid off into sections.

SUBSEQUENT SETTLEMENTS.

Lawrence originally formed a part of Edwards County, organized by territorial law, in December, 1814. Edwards County extended from the present north line of White County to Lake Michigan, taking in Fort Dearborn, the site of the present City of Chicago. The Wabash River was its boundary on the east, and on the west the third principal meridian, now forming the western limits of Jefferson, Marion, and Shelby Counties. Palmyra, a town on the Wabash about three miles above the present town of Mt. Carmel, laid out in 1814 by Seth Gard, Peter Keen, Gervaise Hazleton, Levi Compton and John Wagoner, became the County-seat, and so remained until 1821, when it was removed to Albion. Palmyra is now deserted and forsaken, and a growth of timber covers the site ofthe town.

Lawrence County was constituted in 1821. Its boundaries have since been reduced to their present limits by the erection of Richland. The earliest settlements within the present County of Lawrence were opposite Vincennes, at St. Francisville, in the south-east part of the County, and on the Allison prairie in the north-east. It is difficult to ascertain the date of each settlement, and the one ranking first in priority. Col. William M. Small, now living at Lawrenceville, who was born in Vincennes in 1797, and who since 1821 has resided in Lawrence County, remembers when a boy four or five houses on the Illinois side of the Wabash, over from Vincennes. One was on the hill a mile above the town, and was the residence of Toussaint Dubois. The others were along the river directly opposite the town. A ferry was early established over the Wabash at this point. For a time it was under the control of John Small, father of Col. Small. A man named Tromley ran it from the Illinois side of the river. He was succeeded by his son-in-law, James Gibson, who maintained it for a long term of years.

The first settlement on Allison prairie was by a family of the name of Allison, from whom the prairie has its designation. This was some time previous to the war of 1812. Mr. Allison lived near the present town of Russellville. During the war of 1812, a fort was built here, for the protection of the small settlement that occupied the neighborhood at the time. Shortly after the war a number of Campbellites scattered over the prairie, the descendants of some of whom are still remaining. Among the first settlers of St. Francisville were families of the name of Tugas. They established a ferry over the Wabash.

Leading west from Vincennes was the old "trace road," striking the Mississippi at Cahokia, a few miles below St. Louis. It ran from Bear Grass, now Louisville, Kentucky, and was one of the great traveled routes leading from east to west which the Indians and buffalo had worked out long before the advent of civilization. The "Kaskaskia trace" likewise ran through the County, south of the Cahokia trace. Col. Small, in 1807, when a boy of ten, remembers to have traveled the Cahokia trace on horseback in company with his father, from Vincennes to St. Louis. After leaving Vincennes, the first settlement was that of William Spencer, who had a log house of the kind known as a double cabin at the crossing of the embarrass to Small's mill. A wilderness then intervened to the Little Wabash, on whose bank at the crossing of the trace road lived a man named Macauley. After leaving the Little Wabash there was no settlement at this date on to Cahokia. Within a short time after, Nathan Rawlings built a house on Indian Creek, where the trace road crosses it.

John Small, in 1807 or 1808, built a water mill, the first of the kind in all that region of the Embarrass, a mile and a quarter from the Wabash, six miles from Vincennes, and seven from Lawrenceville. It was familiarly known as Small's Mill, and for a long time it did service for a large area of country, persons often coming to the mill from the other side of the Little Wabash. As early as 1818 the heirs of Toussaint Dubois built a saw-mill on the Embarrass where Lawrenceville is now situated. Dubois owned here a tract of land of 1020 acres. A gristmill was afterward connected with the saw-mill, both of which were run until their sale in 1823. Austin B. Chafe, Onatus D. Chafe, and Caius M. Eaton, then came into possession of the property. They repaired the mill-dam, and placed a new set of mill-stones in the establishment. Subsequently, with its enlarged capacity, it continued in operation.

After the war of 1812, the territory embraced within the limits of Lawrence County began to be settled quite rapidly. About the year 1819, according to the recollection of Mr. William R. McCord, of Vincennes, then a resident of Lawrence County, among the families on Allison prairie were those of John Harris, William Howard, Daniel Travis, Scott Riggs, John Berry, Eli Harris, John Dunlap, David Price, the Allisons, and others bearing the names of Lemon, Carnes, Organ, and Huston. John Allison, who lived near Russellville, was celebrated far and near for his skill as a deer-hunter. He would frequently kill fifteen or twenty a day, throwing away all but the hind-quarters.

David McCord came from Madison County, Kentucky, and settled north of Lawrenceville, in the fall of 1819. After a residence of five years, the family removed to Knox County, Indiana. Samuel H. McCord and William McCord, nephews of the former, settled at the same time in the same neighborhood, four miles north of Lawrenceville. A family by the name of McCall had previously settled two miles north of Lawrenceville. McCall was killed by the Indians in the Spring of 1819. Four or five miles to the north of Lawrenceville, a Methodist preacher, Dollahon by name, settled in the Spring of 1820. Near him, west of the Brushy Fork, lived Edward Mills. Two or three miles still further north a little settlement had been made by the Parkers. One of these, Jonathan Parker was a Baptist preacher of peculiar ideas, who called himself a "Two-seed Baptist," from two favorite doctrines of his, it is supposed, concerning which he frequently discoursed. Near Dollahon's lived Samuel Drake, and also a man named Emmons.

A colony of Negroes, consisting of a dozen families or more, had likewise settled about four miles north of Lawrenceville. The families were of the name of Anderson, Morris, Gocus and Cole. North of this colony of Negroes, and about five miles north-east of Lawrenceville, there also lived about 1819 or 1820, Henry Prukstaff. He had two sons, John and Henry, who married and had families. West of these lived Adam Lackey, Senior and Junior, and James Bryant.

On the Embarrass, at the site of the town of Charlottesville, a colony of Shakers, of whom one of the principal persons was John Hancock, had built a mill. The Shakers are now extinct in that locality. The mill had a wide reputation as the "Old Shaker Mill," and is still known by that name. Four or five miles from Lawrenceville, a man named Helvenstein built a cotton gin about 1820, which, with the probable exception of Organ's, on Allison prairie, was the oldest in this region.

Among the early settlers in the region south and west of Lawrenceville, was James Lanterman, who came from Fleming County, Kentucky, and settled five miles southwest of Lawrenceville, about half a mile south of the old trace. This was in 1818. In the Spring of the same year, Henry Bennett came from Ohio, and settled three-fourths of a mile east of Lanterman. Half a mile south, a widow named Miller, with a large family of children, most of them grown up, had made an improvement. The Spring of the same year a family by the name of Rawling settled five miles west of Lawrenceville.

In the Fall of 1817, Samuel H. Clubb and his brother came from Kentucky, and settled on the old Kaskaskia trace, about seven miles west of Lawrenceville. They put up double cabins, and kept a hotel for the accommodation of travelers. Their cabins were not very extensive, yet it was not unusual for them to entertain twenty-five guests at a time. Samuel H. Clubb became a permanent resident, but his brother remained only a short time. On the trace about half a mile west of the residence of the farthest Clubb, Benjamin Sumner settled about 1818. He was a native of South Carolina. He owned the land on which the town of Sumner was afterward built, and that town was named in his honor. His residence was about two miles and a half east of Sumner.

In 1818, Moses Laws came from South Carolina, and settled on the site of Hadley, east of the line afterward run between Lawrence and Richland Counties. Some of his descendants are still living in the western part of the County. The Kincaids came from Kentucky, in 1818, and located seven or eight miles south-west of Lawrenceville. In the same year, William Clark, and a man named Buffington, put up houses on what is now Sand's prairie. South of them, on the Ruark prairie, the Ruarks settled about the same period. The Buchanans came from Kentucky. The family was composed of four sons, James, Thomas, Victor, and Walter, some of whom, with their descendants, live at the place of original settlement, one of the best farming localities in the County. West of the Embarrass and north of the State Road, there were no settlements at all in 1818.

COUNTY ORGANIZATION.

Lawrence County was organized by act of Legislature, session of 1821, during the administration of Governor Bond. Greene, Fayette, Montgomery, Hamilton, Sangamon and Pike were organized at the same session of the Legislature.

The first Circuit Court for Lawrence County was held at the house of Tousaint Dubois, on Monday, June 4th, 1821. The Hon. William Wilson was there as President Judge. Henry Dubois acted as Sheriff. He produced his bond for approval, and took the dueling oath. James McLean was Clerk. The first Grand Jury was composed as follows: Samuel Harris, Scott Riggs, William Spencer, Larkin Ryol, Daniel Grove, Benjamin Sumner, Samuel Ramsey, Gabriel Scott, Abraham Cairns, John Hindman, William Howard, Eli Harris, Daniel Travis, John Berry, Ezekiel Turner, Joseph Clayton, James Baird, Joseph Adams, William Bennet, Benjamin McCleave, Thomas Andersor, Reson Clubb and William Adams. The Grand Jury, on being charged, retired to a neighboring grove for consideration. The Court adjourned till the next day at nine o'clock.

Upon the re-assembling of the Court, the record states that the Grand Jury brought in a true bill against William Ashbrook, who was charged with assault and battery. The defendant pleaded guilty, and was fined one dollar and cost. After a three days' session, the Court having disposed of all business before it adjournment was made to the Fall term. At the November term the Court sat for five days. But little business of importance, however, was transacted. General G. W. Johnson produced a license to practice law in the State, and took the usual oath as counselor and attorney. The original records of six terms of the Circuit Court stand upon thirty pages of a small, home-made book. Of the first Grand Jurors, William Adams is the only one living. His home is in Russellville. Judge Wilson is still remembered as an affable and dignified gentleman, learned in the law, and honoring his position.

The first County Commissioners' Court was held April 14th, 1821, also at the house of Toussaint Dubois. The Court consisted of John Dunlap, James Lanterman, and William Martin. The honor of inducting these into office belongs to Thomas Anderson, Esq. Toussaint Dubois was appointed Clerk, and Samuel H. Clubb, Treasurer. On the sixteenth of the following May, a special Court was held to determine upon the seat of justice. Moses Thompson and William Wilson, who had been appointed commissioners for that purpose, made their report, stating that they "had located it on the twenty acres on the west side of the Embarrass River, three hundred yards south of the Dubois Mills, on a ridge to the left of the St. Louis trail, laid off in a square, and designated as the center of said tract, by a white oak stump, with a peeled stake sticking by its side, as the seat of justice.

Having decided this important point, the commissioners next took in hand the establishment of tavern rates. They decided that for a meal of victuals, twenty-five cents should be paid; lodging, twelve and a half cents; horse feed, twelve and a half cents; horse-keeping, twenty-four hours, fifty cents; whiskey, half-pint, twelve and a half cents; French brandy, Jamaica spirits, Holland gin and wine, fifty cents; domestic brandy, peach brandy, and domestic gin twenty-five cents per half-pint.

The sale of town lots was ordered, and advertisements placed in the Indiana Sentinel, Vincennes Sun, Illinois Gazette and Illinois Intelligencer, the last published at Shawneetown.

Thomas Anderson, a Justice of the Peace, made his appearance before the court, and paid two dollars, an amount collected by him from persons for profane swearing. The first settlement of the County Treasurer shows that his total receipts for the year were $1,124,54 in amount, and his expenditures $441,87. The first County order dates May 16, 1821, and was payable to Moses Thompson and others for services in locating the County seat.

The house of Toussaint Dubois, in which the first courts were held, stood at the time near the mill. Later it was moved up into the town. The house is known as "Broadway." It was also used as a hotel. Dr. C. M. Carter now occupies it as a residence.

The present court-house was completed in 1841. On Tuesday, November 4, 1856, an election was held on the question of township organization. It resulted as follows: For township organization 733 against 690. Peter Smith, William D. Adams and Walter Buchanan, commissioners appointed at the term of court the following December, subsequently submitted a report, dividing the County into the following townships: Perry, Bond, Russell, Hardin, Lawrence, Thompson, Marion and Denison. Under the present division, the County comprises Allison, Bond, Christy, Bridgeport, Denison, Lawrence, Lukin, Petty and Russell Townships. Lawrenceville has continued to be the County-seat without interruption. In 1861, the question of removal to Bridgeport was submitted to the people, but the election resulted in favor of Lawrenceville. The list of the present County Officers is as follows: Judge of Circuit Court: Hon. James C. Alien, Pales- tine, Crawford County, Illinois. States Attorney: Thos. B. Huffman. Judge of County Court: Hon. Isaac Potts. Clerk of Circuit Court: B. L. Cunningham. Clerk of County Court: Clinton Abernathy. County Treasurer: George W. Stoltz: County Surveyor: Jesse B. Benefield: County Superintendent of Schools: F. W. Cox. Sheriff: J. H. Allison. County Jailer: Gabriel Graffham. Coroner: Gabriel Graffham. Master in Chancery: Jehu Fields.

PHYSICAL FEATURES.

Lawrence County is composed of an area of upwards of three hundred and fifty square miles. The Wabash river washes the whole of the eastern border. In a southeast direction through the northern and eastern parts of the County, flows the Embarrass river. Indian and Muddy creeks are among the largest of the other streams. The greater portion of the County is timber land, one-fourth, perhaps, being prairie. Well-wooded tracts generally extend along the streams. In the bottoms, the timber growth is largely made up of walnut, poplar, oak, ash, hickory, pecan, hackberry, coffee-nut, sugar-maple, linn, cottonwood, black and sweet gum, and wild cherry. On the ridges and uplands, hickory and different varieties of oak predominate.

The soil is rich and well adapted to agriculture. Along the Wabash, it is a deep, black, sandy loam, very fertile, and best adapted to corn. Wheat and oats are also raised, and of the grasses the soil here is best adapted to the growth of the Hungarian. From five to ten miles from the river, the ridges and timberland make their appearance. The principal constituent of the soil here is a clay loam, susceptible of producing excellent crops under proper tillage. West of the timbered region, five or six miles, come the clay and loamy prairies, with a deeper soil than the ridge lands, well adapted, with the proper surface drainage, to the production of corn, wheat, grass, and the other staples. Some of the prairies are made up of a black loam, with a very little sand, and are little affected by drought and wet weather, while they are not easily surpassed for richness and fertility. The clay prairies are chiefly in the west, and the north- west part of the County.

Wheat and corn are the principal agricultural staples, The wheat produced is of the finest quality. In 1874, there were 31,014 acres of wheat in cultivation, 29,936 of corn, and 6,024 of oats. 15,060 acres were enclosed pasture. There were 2,696 acres of orchards, and 82,559 of woodland.

SCHOOLS.

The schools of the County are in a prosperous condition. School-houses were built on the advent of the first settlers. The Centre school-house. Spring Hill school- house, and one on Allison prairie were probably the first built. Others were erected soon after. The Spring Hill school-house is the oldest west of Lawrenceville. The County is now divided into sixty-two districts, and contains sixty-seven school buildings, of which four are brick, forty-eight frame, and fifteen log. All the districts but one, maintained school more than five months of the year 1874. The number of male pupils enrolled was 1815, of females 1605; total 3420, out of 4663 between the ages of six and twenty-one. In 1874, the amount received from State and County for the support of schools was $5,796.81. For building school-houses for the same time, there was paid, $5,775.26;' to male teachers, $10,366.82; to female teachers, $4,478.91. The average salary of male teachers for the year was $4036, of female teachers, $26.82.

CHURCHES.

The early settlers were generally a religious people, and churches were soon established. One of the first preaching places was at the Centre school-house. Services were held here under the direction of the "New Light" Baptists. Daniel Travis and others were among the first preachers. The Spring Hill Church stood about three miles south-west of Bridgeport, and was built as early as 1820. It was occupied by the New Lights, though open to other denominations.' A school-house was likewise early established here, and a burying-ground. The cemetery, kept well in repair, still remains to mark the spot. William Kincaid was the oldest resident preacher in this neighborhood, and was one of the first to preach in the Spring Hill Church. Traveling preachers frequently came through from Kentucky, and among them Rev. James Hughes, whom John Rogers sometimes accompanied. These were New Lights and were succeeded by David McDonald and Elijah Gooden. The Cumberland Presbyterians early had services on Allison prairie and west of Lawrenceville. The Shaker Colony at Charlottesville has been mentioned.

Among the earliest Methodist preachers was Rev. Peter Cartwright, who frequently visited this region. The celebrated and eccentric Lorenzo Dow visited the County in 1820 and again in 1830. At this latter visit, he preached at Lawrenceville and Spring Hill Church. His discourse at Lawrenceville was given one Sunday afternoon in the summer. A platform had been raised at the door of the old court-house, which was then still standing. A large crowd of people, attracted by reports of the eloquence and eccentricity of Dow, had gathered to hear him. It is said people were present from a distance of forty miles. At no time during the service did the preacher stand up. He generally maintained a sitting posture, sometimes, however, getting down on hands and feet, and crawling around the platform. About five o'clock, as the people were going home, the services having been concluded, a terrible storm arose, doing a great deal of damage, particularly in the eastern part of the County. The violence of the tempest is said to have been so great as to blow French carts across the Wabash. Timber was destroyed, houses demolished, and crops injured. It was known long afterward as the "Dow storm."

At the time of Dow's preaching at Spring Hill, nothing specially occurred to mark the occasion, except that a party of twelve or fifteen came late to the services. Dow had just finished his sermon. "Late to meeting, late to heaven,"said the preacher, turning to the party, adding that he had just concluded his discourse, but would tell them something, notwithstanding,, "on the side of the Lord." He accordingly proceeded to give an additional exhortation of fifteen minutes for their benefit.

The Methodist Episcopal Church has meeting-houses at Sumner, Bridgeport, Lawrenceville and Chauncey. Zion Church stands four miles north-west of Lawrenceville. Walnut Grove Church is on Allison prairie seven miles north-east of Lawrenceville. There is also a church seven miles north of the county-seat, on the Palestine road, known as Dollahon Chapel.

The Methodist Church has a house of worship at Chauncey, and one ten miles north-west of Lawrenceville. A society, without a house of worship, exists at the County-seat. There are other preaching places throughout the County.

The Presbyterian denomination have churches at Bridgeport, Sumner and Lawrenceville. Pisgah Church is south of Lawrenceville, eight miles.

Churches of the Christian denomination have been established at Sumner, Bridgeport and Lawrenceville, four miles west of the latter place on the St. Louis road, on Allison prairie six miles north-west, and at Russellville.

The United Brethren have churches at Sumner, eight miles west of Lawrenceville on the Shelbyville road.

There are Roman Catholic Churches at Bridgeport, near Captain O'Donnell's, four miles south, and at St. Francisville.

The Shiloh Baptist Church stands two miles south- west of Bridgeport.

NEWSPAPERS.

Two newspapers are published in the County, both at Lawrenceville, the Democratic Herald and the Rural Republican. The first newspaper published in Lawrence County began its issue in the winter of 1847. Mr. J. F. Buntin, formerly a resident of Vincennes, was editor and proprietor. It was independent in politics. Various changes, both in the publishers and name of the journal, occurred. The Rural Republican is now in the third year of its publication. Miss Mary F. Buntin is editress. It advocates the principles of the Republican party, and is recognized as a journal of influence throughout the County, occupying a field of usefulness peculiarly its own.

The Lawrence County Democrat was established, October, 1871, with W. C. Garrard, editor and publisher. After two years it passed into the control of Mr. T. P. Lowry, who published the paper under the name of the Farmer's Union. While Mr. Lowry had charge the paper was run in the interests of the Grange movement. In October, 1874, Mr. J. W. Mehaffey, the present editor and publisher, assumed control of the paper. It is Democratic in politics, and has a wide circulation in the community.

RAILROADS.

The Ohio and Mississippi Railroad runs through the County from east to west, nearly midway between the northern and southern boundaries. The construction of the road was begun in 1853, the first ground having been broken at Sandoval in March of that year. The road was opened in 1855, on the 4th of July. A train ran through from St. Louis to Vincennes. That portion of the line from Vincennes east was not completed till a subsequent period.

A continuation of the Paris and Danville Road is now being constructed through the northern part of the County, running south from the Crawford County line to Lawrenceville, where connection is made with the Ohio and Mississippi Road. It is designed to continue the road to some point on the Ohio river, making it an important line of communication between northern Illinois, and points south.

TOWNS AND POST-OFFICES

The Post-Offices within the limits of the County are Bridgeport, Chauncey, Hadley, Lawrenceville, Russellville, St. Francisville and Sumner.

Bridgeport is a prosperous and growing town on the line of the Ohio and Mississippi Road, two or three miles west of the center of the County. It was laid out in 1857, the survey having been made in February of that year. Lanterman's addition was made October, 1866; Schmalhausen's, June, 1869; Shepherd and Crane's, July, 1869; Thorns', October, 1870; and Smith's, June 1872. It contains four churches, Roman Catholic, Christian, Methodist and Presbyterian. A steam flouring mill does a large business. At the pork-packing establishment, during the season of 1874;75, 7000 bags were packed at a value of $120.000. No licenses for saloons are granted. There are six dry goods stores, four groceries, two drug stores, two hotels, two livery stables, two millinery establishments, three blacksmith shops, three shoe shops, a harness and saddlery manufactury, and a furniture store. There are three dealers in grain, and one in lumber. Bridgeport Lodge, No. 386, A. F. &, A. M., meets here. The public schools, of which there are two, with two teachers, are in an excellent condition. The population numbers five hundred.

Chauncey, about twelve miles west of Bridgeport, has a population of, perhaps, one hundred and fifty. A Methodist Episcopal and a Methodist Church are here. The school-house is a fine, new, brick structure. The town was surveyed. May, 1857. There are two stores and two blacksmith shops.

Charlottesville, the seat of the old Shaker Colony, is a town of small population on the Embarrass, six miles north-west of Lawrenceville. It has one store, and a large steam saw-mill. The village was among the first settled in the County. It was laid out in March, 1837.

Hadley, on the Ohio and Mississippi Road, a short distance east of the line dividing Richland and Lawrence Counties, was laid out November, 1855, soon after the completion of the railroad. Moses Laws, a South Carolinian, settled on the site of the town in 1818.

Lawrenceville, the County-seat is the oldest laid-out town in the County, having been surveyed in June, 1821. Several additions were subsequently made. Bradley's, in June, 1826; Badollet & Eaton's in July, 1828; Clubb's, in October, 1829; Baker's, October 1839; and Jones', in March 1853. The town stands on a tract of one thousand and twenty acres originally in the possession of Toussaint Dubois. Dubois, whose name is prominently connected with the early history of the County, was a man of influence, and an Indian trader. His house stood on a hill on the west side of the Wabash, a mile above Vincennes. His death occurred in 1816. He had gone to St. Louis, when his wife was taken ill, and a messenger sent after him with the intelligence that she was dying. Traveling the old Indian trace, he rode night and day in his effort to reach home before she breathed her last, but in crossing the Little Wabash he was drowned, the stream having swollen and over flown its banks from the recent rains and thaws.

The County buildings are located on a square near the center of town. A large brick school building was completed in 1874, in which two teachers are employed. The Democratic Herald, and the Rural Republican are published here. The population is about five hundred. There are Methodist Episcopal, Christian and Presbyterian churches. There are two grocery stores, a dry goods store, a drug store, three blacksmith shops, harness saddlery shop, two livery stables, two hotels, and a flouring mill. Lawrenceville Lodge, now Edward Dobbins Lodge, No. 164, A. F. & A. M., was instituted October 3, 1855, with Edward Dobbins, W. M.; George P. Sherwood, S. W. and Jesse K. Dubois, J. W. Immanuel Lodge, No. 32, 1.0. 0. F., and Lawrenceville Lodge, No. 87, 1. 0. G. F. comprise the remaining secret orders. A branch of the Shawneetown bank was located here, removed on the breaking up of that institution. The town is on the west bank of the Embarrass river. The Ohio and Mississippi Road runs a short distance below the town. The Paris and Danville Road here intersects the Ohio and Mississippi.

Russellville, on Allison prairie and the Wabash river, in the north-east part of the County, is one of the oldest localities in Lawrence County, the vicinity having been settled prior to the war of 1812. A fort stood here during that war. The town was surveyed, October, 1835. Allison's addition was made June, 1837; Ryan and Caldwells' bears the same date; and Vanderburg's was made March, 1837. The Christians have a church here. The Methodists worship in the school-house. A dry goods store, a drug store, three grocery stores and three blacksmith shops are among the business establishments. There are also two steam saw and grist mills. A lodge of Odd Fellows meet here.

St. Francisville, on the Wabash, in the extreme south- east of the County, is also one of the oldest settlements, having been colonized by French families at an early date. The population in the vicinity is still largely French descendants of the original settlers, who to a great degree have retained the habits and customs of their forefathers. A rich and productive farming land lies in the neighborhood of the town. The town was first surveyed February, 1837. Four additions have since been made. Tugas' first addition was made in May, 1837. The families bearing the name of Tugas were among the first settlers of the town and have ever since been prominently connected with the interests of the community. Another addition was made by Tugas, January, 1838. Jackman's bears the same date. The third addition of Tugas was made in March, 1838.

Sumner is the largest town in Lawrence County, having a population in the neighborhood of eight hundred. It is situated in the western part of the County on the Ohio and Mississippi Road, immediately on which the town is built. The first survey of the town was made, January, 1854. Three additions have been made by May, one in May, 1859; another in July, 1865; and the third in April, 1868. The town contains houses of worship, belonging to the Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian, United Brethren and Christian denominations. A good brick school-house has been recently built. Among the business establishments are three dry goods and four grocery stores, one hotel and three saloons, a woolen factory, pork-packing establishment, meat market, two drug stores, three shoe- maker, and a like number of blacksmith and wagon shops, also a manufactory of harness and saddles. Lodges of Masons and Odd Fellows are established here. There are three dealers in grain. A large and prosperous trade is carried on, and the town is an active business center for the surrounding region of country. JOHN R. WILLIAMS.