TAYLORVILLE TOWNSHIP, CHRISTIAN COUNTY, ILLINOIS THE BEGINNINGS The Illinois Centennial Commission in 1918, commissioned a group of historians to commit to print the history of the Illinois territory. A ten volume set of books were completed and contained this background of the people plus much more. In the year of 1778, George Roger's Clark had been commissioned to defend Kentucky. His private instructions were to make an expedition to the Kaskaskia. The "Long Knives". as the American frontiersman was called, had been trading in the Kaskaskia for sometime. Men from Vincennes (IN) traveld the Wabash River to Kaskaskia. St. Louis was a thriving river port already and settlers were exploring north and east from there across the river. Cahokia and Prairire du Richer were known as the American Bottom land and were occupied by the American Indians. The Indians had been running raiding parties on the new settlers and the principal purpose of Clark's expedition into the Illinois country was to put an end to the raids. These settlers were men who believed in local self-government. They spurned autocratic rule in all forms and preferred to live along in freedom. The Illinois country had dozens of Indian tribes; the Cippewa, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Sauk, Kickapoo, Piankashaw, Shawnee, Foxes, Miami, and others. Some of them were friendly and others resented the white man pushing into their lands. As Clark's expedition crossed the prairie in February of 1779, the log told of the places covered with water and for days the men waded through the icy water with the nights being spent on knolls protruding from the surrounding mud. The Wabash Land Company, a part of the Illinois Land Company, in 1778 had started exploiting the Illinois region. This land included the whole course of the Ohio and both banks of the Mississippi from the line of the Ohio to that of the Missouri and Illinios rivers. It constituted, therefore a narrow belt extending across the great valley from the Alleghenies to the Rockies. The Ohio river at this time was called Wabash. By 1801, the population within the Illinois territory boundries was 2500 people. Mostly hunters and trappers, making their living trapping beaver and hunting buffalo. The stagnant pools and undrained prairies gave the Illinois territory the reputation of being a particularly unhealthy area because fo malaria. It was thought that the land was unfertile too. The rule of thumb in 1805 for the selection of good land was to have tall trees for building and firewood and rivers for transportation. In 1814 the pioneers started moving to the open lands and draining the prairire. The once virile Illinis and Piankashaw tribes were ruined and killed by their contact with the alien civilization. The strong liquor and diseases fo the white man were effecting all of the tribes and were the reasons for the raiding parties. the Indians were trying to drive the settlers out and reclaim their lands. But by 1790, most of the Peoria and Cahokia Indians had crossed the Mississippi River to escape the white man. As the settlers crossed the prairie they had wondered why the forest had not over taken the prairie. The resaon became aparent when the Indians meet for the grand hunt which was held each year. They would set fire to the prairie and force the wild game to flee the flames into an area where they were shot. These fires controlled the timber advancement and at times even forced it back. The trees grew near the streams and only a fe other places where there were natural springs and higher dry land. By 1819, land was being drained and turned to crops. Growing corn that was ten to fifiteen feet tall was common. The word of such good crops and the end of the War of 1812 triggered the lnd boom of 1835-1837. zmilitary land warrantes were issued to the soldiers for their services in the war. this land for the warrants lay between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. Some soldiers took advantage of their warrents but most sold theirs to the land speculators for as little as $1.25 an acre, cash, and returned to their homes and families. Those with cash to buy these lands, did and sent home for mroe money. They would be the big land owners later. In February 1839, Christian County was to be designated as a county -- Dane County after Nathaniel Dane. Some people didn't like the name and within the year the name was changed to Christian County, after Christian County Kentucky, from which a great amount of the residents had come. A commission was picked to chose a county seat. After many meeting the commission, on May 24, 1839, chose the site. They picked the area half way between Allenton and Edinburgh. It was equally thirty miles from Springfield and Deactur, Hillsboro, and Shelbyville. It had a high hill and this was designated as the spot for the court house and square. It was surveyed and platetted by T. M. Neal, for a company composed of Dr. Richard F. Barrett, the Honorable John Taylor, Marvellous Eastham, and Robert Allen. At a dinner at the Goode home, (since he had owned the Land) the commissioner's picked a name for the town. The names of those present were put into a hat and one drawn. John Taylor's was drawn and the new county seat was named Taylorville. He was the registrar in the Land Office in Springfield and it was an honor to him. Out of another article.....: Over 150 years ago the pioneers entered the county which they named Dane and later changed it to Christian County. The beloved settlers were a strong, hardy, courageous and determined group of people who did progess slowly by never wavered in their future in bulding up Christin County and the City of Taylorville. IL. ......................... TAYLORVILLE TOWNSHIP Taylorville Township was organized on November 7, 1865 by vote. In 1866 the first board of supervisor's was created. The town of Taylorville was layed out and comsisted of thirty-two blocks. ............................ I have a lot of twp info in Christian Co. I have books and journals to do lookups in. I do not have any real census but have indexes. C. C. G. S. TAYLORVILLE TWP SUMMER QUARTERLY 1989 THANKS.....:-)* Sally Hathaway.... [email protected] Owner...ILROUTE66 LIST