Little Egypt Heritage Articles Stories of Southern Illinois © Bill Oliver 18 June 2006 Vol 5 Issue: #18 ISBN: pending Osiyo, Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen of Little Egypt “When I was a tad of a lad”, whenever I failed to do something I was supposed to do on time, Grandma Lester would say to me, “You are a day late and a dollar short”. The writing is not a day late but more like a several week hiatus due mainly to a trip to the hospital and a granddaughter’s wedding and graduations of other grands. This hiatus has been spent evaluating goals and priorities. One conclusion reached is that “aging is not for sissies”. Stretching across the land we call USA, “stop-overs” are everywhere and add much of the “meat” in the stories of our ancestral families. This includes the Oak, Nebraska area where a distant cousin’s family owned and ran one of the first station’s along the Pony Express route. And, other distant cousins were involved in the travel of the Cherokee Nation as they passed through and made camp in Vienna, Illinois. On the road from the port of Wilmington, Delaware, travelers who were going north to Norristown, Pennsylvania, might stop at the King of Prussia Inn, which was built in 1719. The inn provided hospitality to travelers when the colony was just a scattering of farms around the very young city of Philadelphia. It also seems likely that the crossroads--upon which the inn was built--influenced the making of this home into a tavern and inn. There exists a map of the area surrounding Valley Forge drawn by William Parker in 1777 and is referred to as a “spy map.” That is because it is believed that Mr. Parker was spying on George Washington's forces for the British. The map depicts the area around the King of Prussia Inn, which at the time was also known as Berry's after the proprietor, James Berry. The horizontal road on which the inn sits is now known as Route 202. The road dates as far back as the 1680s as evident by its notation on a map of that time demonstrating the Penn family's landholdings. Like other historic inns, they link us to the day-to-day lives of travelers, inn keepers, and merchants in our developing country. They further link us to trends in the commercial and social history of our country. Inns populated the major transportation routes and were usually located at important crossroads. Their histories are very much tied to the history of the American transportation network. In the course of providing food, rest, and entertainment for generations of travelers, the inn witnessed many events, trends, and ideas that are central to our history. These included the early network of roads and turnpikes that were essential to the rise of Colonial commerce and trade; the comings and goings of armies during the American Revolution; and the War of 1812. The entire growth of urban and suburban areas followed the improvement of local roads in the 19th and 20th centuries giving rise to the modern American transportation network of today. Sitting on the bank of the Maumee River in northwestern Ohio, about four miles downriver from its original location between the present auto and Nickel Plate Railroad bridges to Gilead, now Grand Rapids, is the large house of Edward Howard. This shrewd businessman built the house in 1832 and it developed into the stopping place for pioneers as they journeyed to and from Toledo along the Maumee. The “stopping place”, or Howard House, was the place where nearly all early activities in the area took place. It was the site of the formation of civic organization, as the first election in the area was held there. It later served as a stopover for escaping Negroes heading north. It was known as the “Stone House”, because of the stone room on the back of the house. This stone room was the “fort” that protected the women and children of early settlers. The room was also used to hold First Nation wives and children of important aborigines [first peoples] to insure the “good behavior” or warriors during conflicts. In its early years, Dresdon Howard, the son of Edward Howard, aided in the transportation of Indians across the country to new “reservations”. The house, which later became known as the Pioneer Inn, was constructed of timbers hewed out 12 x 12 inches, and mortised and pegged. This enabled the house to be taken apart and moved the four miles down river, and reassembled. There were 15 rooms in the house, including a large smoking room, a large kitchen and a large and a small dining room. Hard maple wood made the timbers of the house; solid beech logs made the six outside columns. The stairway and much of the furniture were made from walnut trees as they were bountiful in the area. Early travelers made seven to ten miles a day. Coming from Toledo the first day of travel usually ended in or near Maumee. The second day’s journey would end in Waterville, probably at the Columbian House Inn. Here the River could be forded due to the rock bottom. The Pioneer Inn would be reached on the third day of travel from Toledo. The fourth took them to Defiance, Ohio. One of our granddaughter visited last week and we went a-seeing. We traveled to Lebanon, Ohio to visit ancient earthworks and tour the town. We ate lunch at “The Golden Lamb”, a quality restaurant that was not outrageously expensive. One only lives once, so since we had been trying to “go out for a steak dinner” since our January anniversary, we indulged. The restaurant and attached Inn have been in continuous operation since the State of Ohio was but a fledgling. Jonas Seaman was issued a “license to operate a house of public entertainment” that became known as the Golden Lamb Inn. The establishment is the oldest Inn in Ohio dating from 1803. The Inn has four public dining rooms and five private ones, including the General Harrison dining room on the second level. It has hosted nearly a fourth of the U.S. Presidents and such 19th century dignitaries as Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Henry Clay, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The eighteen overnight guest rooms are each named for a famous visitor or person. They are all furnished in period antique furniture; yet each is modern enough to contain private baths, T.V.s, telephones, and air conditioning. The entire building is a “living” museum, even with these modern amenities. Happy Father’s Day 2006! e-la-Di-e-das-Di ha-wi nv-wa-do-hi-ya nv-wa-to-hi-ya-da. (May you walk in peace and harmony) and Wado, Bill -=- PostScript: Other sites worth visiting: http://www.deannedurrett.com/codetalkers.html PostScript: = = = = http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/SOIL http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/ILMASSAC http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/state/BillsArticles/LittleEgypt/intro.html

Hi, are there any maps of the Little Egypt area on line? Nancy Helvey On Jun 18, 2006, at 3:37 PM, Bill wrote: > Little Egypt Heritage Articles > Stories of Southern Illinois > © Bill Oliver > > 18 June 2006 > Vol 5 Issue: #18 > ISBN: pending > > Osiyo, Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen of Little Egypt > > “When I was a tad of a lad”, whenever I failed to do something I was > supposed to do on time, Grandma Lester would say to me, “You are a day > late and a dollar short”. The writing is not a day late but more like > a several week hiatus due mainly to a trip to the hospital and a > granddaughter’s wedding and graduations of other grands. > > This hiatus has been spent evaluating goals and priorities. One > conclusion reached is that “aging is not for sissies”. > > Stretching across the land we call USA, “stop-overs” are everywhere > and add much of the “meat” in the stories of our ancestral families. > This includes the Oak, Nebraska area where a distant cousin’s family > owned and ran one of the first station’s along the Pony Express route. > And, other distant cousins were involved in the travel of the Cherokee > Nation as they passed through and made camp in Vienna, Illinois. > > On the road from the port of Wilmington, Delaware, travelers who were > going north to Norristown, Pennsylvania, might stop at the King of > Prussia Inn, which was built in 1719. The inn provided hospitality to > travelers when the colony was just a scattering of farms around the > very young city of Philadelphia. It also seems likely that the > crossroads--upon which the inn was built--influenced the making of > this home into a tavern and inn. > > There exists a map of the area surrounding Valley Forge drawn by > William Parker in 1777 and is referred to as a “spy map.” That is > because it is believed that Mr. Parker was spying on George > Washington's forces for the British. The map depicts the area around > the King of Prussia Inn, which at the time was also known as Berry's > after the proprietor, James Berry. > > The horizontal road on which the inn sits is now known as Route 202. > The road dates as far back as the 1680s as evident by its notation on > a map of that time demonstrating the Penn family's landholdings. > > Like other historic inns, they link us to the day-to-day lives of > travelers, inn keepers, and merchants in our developing country. They > further link us to trends in the commercial and social history of our > country. Inns populated the major transportation routes and were > usually located at important crossroads. Their histories are very much > tied to the history of the American transportation network. In the > course of providing food, rest, and entertainment for generations of > travelers, the inn witnessed many events, trends, and ideas that are > central to our history. These included the early network of roads and > turnpikes that were essential to the rise of Colonial commerce and > trade; the comings and goings of armies during the American > Revolution; and the War of 1812. The entire growth of urban and > suburban areas followed the improvement of local roads in the 19th and > 20th centuries giving rise to the modern American transportation > network of today. > > Sitting on the bank of the Maumee River in northwestern Ohio, about > four miles downriver from its original location between the present > auto and Nickel Plate Railroad bridges to Gilead, now Grand Rapids, is > the large house of Edward Howard. This shrewd businessman built the > house in 1832 and it developed into the stopping place for pioneers as > they journeyed to and from Toledo along the Maumee. > > The “stopping place”, or Howard House, was the place where nearly all > early activities in the area took place. It was the site of the > formation of civic organization, as the first election in the area was > held there. It later served as a stopover for escaping Negroes heading > north. It was known as the “Stone House”, because of the stone room on > the back of the house. This stone room was the “fort” that protected > the women and children of early settlers. The room was also used to > hold First Nation wives and children of important aborigines [first > peoples] to insure the “good behavior” or warriors during conflicts. > In its early years, Dresdon Howard, the son of Edward Howard, aided in > the transportation of Indians across the country to new > “reservations”. > > The house, which later became known as the Pioneer Inn, was > constructed of timbers hewed out 12 x 12 inches, and mortised and > pegged. This enabled the house to be taken apart and moved the four > miles down river, and reassembled. There were 15 rooms in the house, > including a large smoking room, a large kitchen and a large and a > small dining room. > > Hard maple wood made the timbers of the house; solid beech logs made > the six outside columns. The stairway and much of the furniture were > made from walnut trees as they were bountiful in the area. > > Early travelers made seven to ten miles a day. Coming from Toledo the > first day of travel usually ended in or near Maumee. The second day’s > journey would end in Waterville, probably at the Columbian House Inn. > Here the River could be forded due to the rock bottom. The Pioneer Inn > would be reached on the third day of travel from Toledo. The fourth > took them to Defiance, Ohio. > > One of our granddaughter visited last week and we went a-seeing. We > traveled to Lebanon, Ohio to visit ancient earthworks and tour the > town. We ate lunch at “The Golden Lamb”, a quality restaurant that was > not outrageously expensive. One only lives once, so since we had been > trying to “go out for a steak dinner” since our January anniversary, > we indulged. > > The restaurant and attached Inn have been in continuous operation > since the State of Ohio was but a fledgling. Jonas Seaman was issued a > “license to operate a house of public entertainment” that became known > as the Golden Lamb Inn. The establishment is the oldest Inn in Ohio > dating from 1803. > > The Inn has four public dining rooms and five private ones, including > the General Harrison dining room on the second level. It has hosted > nearly a fourth of the U.S. Presidents and such 19th century > dignitaries as Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Henry Clay, and Harriet > Beecher Stowe. > > The eighteen overnight guest rooms are each named for a famous visitor > or person. They are all furnished in period antique furniture; yet > each is modern enough to contain private baths, T.V.s, telephones, and > air conditioning. The entire building is a “living” museum, even with > these modern amenities. > > Happy Father’s Day 2006! > > e-la-Di-e-das-Di ha-wi nv-wa-do-hi-ya nv-wa-to-hi-ya-da. > (May you walk in peace and harmony) and > > Wado, > > > Bill > -=- > > PostScript: > > Other sites worth visiting: > http://www.deannedurrett.com/codetalkers.html > PostScript: > > = = = = > http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/SOIL > http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/ILMASSAC > http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/state/BillsArticles/LittleEgypt/ > intro.html > > > > ==== ILJOHNSO Mailing List ==== > Do not send Virus warnings to this list. "Problems with Johnson Co IL > Mail List email Tim Casey" > timcasey1@verizon.net >