The Beaty Stonehouse in this story is in JoDaviess Co. just over the county line of Carroll Co. story found on this web site http://www.qctimes.com/prompgs/mysteries/story7.html That old house ... By Julie Belschner, QUAD-CITY TIMES SAVANNA, Ill. -- This old house is a stone-encased multitude of history and mystery, 171 years of farming and housing soldiers and watching the river approach. Called the Beaty House, it was built by Martin Beaty -- or was it? It was a stagecoach stop -- or was it? Escaping slaves, running for their lives, hid in its dark, welcoming basement -- or did they? It greeted the approaching ferry -- or did it? Reading the history of the beautiful stone house in northwestern Illinois raises as many questions as it answers. Now on the grounds of the Savanna Army Depot north of Savanna, the house was built in 1827, amateur base historian Arlie Dahlman said. Property documents filed in Dixon, Ill., state that the land it stands on was sold Aug. 14, 1845, by the United States to Martin Beaty for $100. Was the house built on land that did not have a legal title, as happened in other parts of the area? Or was the house built later? The price seems to indicate the house did not yet exist, but it also seems unlikely that inspectors from Dixon traveled the then-wilds of Illinois to look over a far-off parcel of land. The once-thriving family home is now boarded up and quiet, but it was built as a farmhouse miles from the uncontrolled Mississippi River. Martin Beaty's son, James, bought the parcel from his father in April 1848. While documents filed with the National Register of Historic Places suggest the home was built by James after that time, the saga of "The Bellevue War" suggests otherwise. James, a veteran of the War of 1812, along with his brothers and his son, John, then 20, fought in the skirmish across the river in Iowa, according to the national register. "The `war' took place in April of 1840," said Annabelle Wacker, the Bellevue Library historian and 11-year curator of the Jackson County (Iowa) Historical Society. "There were a group of men on the Mississippi that would go out into the territory, what is now Jackson County, and steal horses. They congregated at a tavern in town owned by a man named Brown, which was an inconvenience to the town." The sheriff and his posse gathered around Brown's Tavern one day to suggest the gang surrender. Upon a polite rejection of said suggestion, a stray bullet was fired and the war commenced. "They had a 15-minute war," Wacker chuckled. "There was a trial, though there doesn't seem to be any record of it, and the gang was sent down the river on a raft with no paddles. Reportedly, they stopped off in Davenport and killed Col. Davenport, then traveled on to Nauvoo, Ill." The Beatys, all sons of Ireland, came to JoDaviess County in 1827 and lived in Galena and at Beaty's Hollow in Hanover Township as well as here on what is now the border of Carroll and JoDaviess counties. John headed west during the Gold Rush, but returned, presumably without gold, to buy the farm from his father in 1864. The family may not have been the only occupants during those years. "It was rumored to be a stop on the Underground Railroad," Dahlman said. "It might have also been a stagecoach stop." Mary Lehner, John's daughter, sold the house to Robert Martin in 1900, records show. Then, in 1918, the Army came north up the river from the Rock Island Arsenal, dragging their cannons, buying up land, raising bunkers and storing ammunition. They bought the house that year. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers followed, building locks and dams the length of the great river and changing its course. The house watched silently as the waters grew closer and closer, finally stopping scant yards away. Stories suggest it was used as a ferry stop. Soldiers used the house as living quarters until it was finally boarded up. The three-bay, two-story front porch, used in the early years of the century for tea and conversation, lost two bays as the wood deteriorated. The roof on the third bay fell sometime late this century, but the stonework looks much the same as it did 171 years ago when it was quarried from the nearby bluffs. After 70 years in the Army's hands, the house will change owners again in about two years. As the Savanna Army Depot closes its doors, the house will belong to the Corps of Engineers. Since the house is listed as eligible for the national register, the Corps must preserve it and suggest a plan for its use. The house and land will come full circle and again be part of Blanding's Landing, which is now a Corps campground. The Corps hopes to have trails through the area as well as group campgrounds. The Beatys' sweat and tears, joys and hopes will be part of a prairie tour. Do you know more about this house? Was it a stop on the Underground Railroad? Call us if you know more about either the Beaty House, the Bellevue War or the Underground Railroad. Call (800) 437-4641 and ask for Doug Schorpp, or (319) 243-5039 and ask for Julie Belschner.