Drury Township

Drury township was organized in 1857 and was named in honor of the Drury family, the earliest pioneers of the township. It is situated in the extreme southwest corner of Rock Island county. It contains one full Congressional township and fractional parts of three others and is the largest township in the county.

Those townships bordering upon the river naturally were settled first because of their position, for the pioneers recognized the advantage of being within easy reach of this great highway of commerce. In the early days the Mississippi river, with its many tributaries, was even more important than it is today, owing to the fact that nearly all of the commerce of the country was carried on by means of it. The building and improvement of the mighty railroad systems have changed conditions materially, although land in the river front townships is still the most desirable.

Some time prior to 1837, Isaiah, Miles, Reynolds and Eli Drury settled in what was afterwards to be known as Drury township, named in honor of them. At this time the land was totally undeveloped; dense forest covered much of the acreage, and wild game multiplied undisturbed. These pioneers were experienced men, who knew how to make the most of their surroundings, and they at once began to build their log cabins, and lay plans for the erection of a mill to grind their grain, as well as to saw their lumber.

Soon after their arrival, others followed, among them being James, William and Drury Reynolds, J. A. Seiver, William Huff, Ithamar Reynolds, Anthony Rickertt, William Womacks, Solomon Simpson, Jeremiah Lequatte, I. B. Essex, James Essex, Benjamin Essex, I. V. Reed, Valentine Reed, John Ballard, John Harbaugh, James Mcpherson, S. Prentiss, Henry Hampton, Charles Bean, William Peeney, Mr. Fox, William Hays, M. H. Johnson, John Boruff, Joseph Blair, Antoine Blair, and others. All of these men were married and had families, with the exception of one.

When these early settlers came to Drury township, they found conditions considerably different from those at present. The township now includes 30,225 acres of land and is bounded by the Mississippi river on the north and west Mercer county on the south, and on the east Buffalo Prairie township. Of late years much of the swamp land has been redeemed by a proper system of drainage, and this acreage is remarkably rich. The other land which has been developed, is exceedingly fertile, and crops are uniformly large. The farms in this section are well cultivated, and the buildings of modern structure, and well kept.

Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and
History of Mercer County, 1914

Submitted by Mary Lou Schaechter