TERRE HAUTE TO WN SHIP.
It seems strange, when one looks at the fine farms and beautiful homes that are now so numerous in the beautiful spot of earth of which we are now writing, that but a few years ago, seemingly, the naked savage, the howling wolf and the red deer roamed over it almost unknown to the "palefaces." What wonderful strides have been made in the sunlit road of progress in this part of the beautiful west within less than half a century ! Upon the summit that has been so soon reached one can but stand and gaze upon the past in astonishment and bewilderment. Instead of the dusky warrior there is now the peaceful husbandman ; instead of the tall prairie-grass is the golden grain that springs from the earth at the white man's call : instead of the rude tent is the handsome cottage and stately mansion.
Just the period at which the township or precinct of Terre Haute was first settled by the white man is a matter somewhat involved in uncertainty, but it was as early as 1835, and possibly earlier. One of the oldest settlers that is now living in Terre Haute is Mr. Steven Genung, who came to the country in 1842 with his father's family. They came from near Terre Haute, Indiana, and the village and precinct of Terre Haute, Illinois, was named for the well known city of the same name in the Hoosier State, at the request of the Genung family. Mr. Steven Genung, to whom we are indebted for information, was a soldier during the Mormon trouble, and represents that that was a time which tried men's souls who were for peace and good order.
Mr. Simeon Averett, who is also yet residing in Terre Haute, and who has reached a very ripe age, was also a soldier in the ranks of the law-abiding citizens against the fanatical horde who, in the name of a religion, was indulging in rapine, theft and murder, and spreading fear and discontent throughout the sparsely settled country. Mr. Averett was on guard at the Carthage jail the night before the notorious Joe Smith was sent to the "happy hunting grounds."
After the Mormon war was over and the law-abiding citizens of the country could again breathe the air of peace and slumber peacefully in their newly chosen homes, when the red hand of persecution had been paralyzed by the strong arm of law and justice, the new county commenced to settle rapidly. The few who were already making for themselves fine homes in this "new world" served as a guiding star for others, and ere long the busy hammer could be heard in every quarter, the wild grass fell in the furrows of the brave and industrious frontiersman's plow and the vast desert smiled with teeming. Terre Haute is a beautiful spot of earth. Land commands a high price and the farmers are generally disinclined to change. The soil is a rich black loam and the surface is just undulating enough to give the land good drainage. Corn is the principal crop, and many of the farmers are paying a great deal of attention to high-bred stock culture. There are many fine horses and cattle as well as hogs to be found on the farms throughout the township or precinct.
The village of Terre Haute was surveyed and plotted March 22, 1854, by Wm. C. Rice, deputy county surveyor of Henderson county, and the document was filed by John L. Pollock, county clerk, March 25, 1854. This original plot covered a little more than 13 acres in. the corners of sections 20, 21, 28 and 29. There have been some additions to the town. Wm. Archer was the first postmaster. The first house built on the present site of Terre Haute was erected by Wm. Reynolds in 1848, and soon afterward Joseph Genung built the second. The first store-room was built by Alexander Bushnell, and is at present used for a wareroom by J. J. Bryan. Dr. Nelson was the first physician, and went to the village on foot. Keokuk, chief of the Sacs and Foxes, then had his headquarters at Burlington, and was quite a frequent visitor to the Terre Haute neighborhood. Dr. Smith remembers of often sitting on the knee of the old warrior.
There are in the town several dry-goods, grocery and notion stores, as well as a drug store, restaurant, wagon and blacksmith shops and other general business found in a thriving country village. Dr. E. H. Trask, Dr. B. F. Hamilton and Dr. W. K. Smith are the physicians of the place. Among the gentlemen who have held the scales of the fair goddess of justice are J. Davis, Wm. Hartford, A. Bushnell, W. C. Reynolds and A. H. Magie. The present incumbents are Geo. J. Morgan and C. R. Gittings.
History of Mercer and Henderson Counties.
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Illinois Ancestors