Cutler is located in the southwestern part of Perry County, in a section that was known as Lost Prairie, so named because some of George Rogers Clark's soldiers got lost in the area while going from Vincennes, IN., to Kaskaskia. People began settling in this area before Cutler was founded. The first house was built by Enoch Eaton in 1825. Other people coming later were Browns and Murphys from Tennessee, Greens from New York and Lively's from South Carolina. The first church was a Baptist Church established in 1832. The first school was in 1827. It was opened by Miss Elvira Tilden in Richard Green's barn. It had only 10 pupils in attendance and the tuition was $2 per year. Later a crude cabin was erected as a boys school. School brooks were few...Webster's spelling book, Pike's arithmetic and Walker's dictionary. Reading lessons were from the New Testament and biographical sketches of famous men. As population increased, a frame structure and a rented house were used as schools. Later, a two story brick structure was erected. It burned in 1929 and was replaced with the one story brick building which still remains. The building is no longer used as a school since Cutler joined the Trico Unit. Land on which the village of Cutler is located was deeded by the federal government to John A. Foens in 1839. He sold the land to Rev. Michael Harshaw. Later, Rev. Harshaw donated land for site of the village with a stipulation that no tavern could be operated within the village. If this agreement was not honored, land would revert to the heirs of the Harshaw family. To this day, no tavern are located within village limits, although T. R.'s Corral is located just outside the city limits. Cutler was incorporated February 25, 1873. It was named after Cutler Dawson, builder of the Tamaroa, Chester and Western Railroad through Cutler. It is now a part of Missouri Pacific system. Cutler was also a grain center. Early mills...Anchor Flour Mill and Smith Brothers Mill brought and sold grain. Both of these burned. Coles Mill of Chester also operated a grain elevator for some time which later was sold to Smith Brothers. There were a number of general merchandising stores at one time including J. H. Devinney, S. W. Beattie and Craig & McMillan. One enterprising merchant, John Brown, also sold coffins along with his general merchandise. Craig & McMillan sold their store to F. M. Norton in 1905. In 1907, the building was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt, and the Norton family operated it until 1968 when it was sold. The store is still in business under the name Country Store owned by Doug Higgerson. At one time a movie theater was operated by Ray Rosendohl who also operated a grocery store, restaurant and pool room. The theater burned. The building was replaced, but no longer used as a theater. Other businesses included a blacksmith shop and the widely know Cutler Creamery Company. This business was founded in 1887 and operated for 75 years until 1963 when it burned. Cutler Creamery was famous for its excellent ice cream and butter. In its early days, "it was an all day's job to make 50 gallons of ice cream. Later with modern machinery 100 gallons could be produced in one hour," according to one report. At its peak, it produced 100,000 gallons of ice cream and 300,000 pounds of butter a year. Products were shipped to other areas in the state. Cutler is now a peaceful small community with a population of approximately 500. The former school building has been converted into a civic center housing the village hall and board room, post office, senior citizens dining area, a gymnasium with belly dance and gymnastics classes and a reading center. Butler's business district has dwindled to nearly nothing in the past few years due to the help of several fires. Today, only the grocery store, restaurant and auto repair shop remain. People are generally employed at the mine, the prison, and the cake-mix plant in Steeleville.........Submitted to the Perry Co. History Book, 1988, by Pearl McClure. ----- Original Message ----- From: Skip To: ILPERRY-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2006 11:23 AM Subject: [ILPERRY] Town of Percy, IL Can someone give me a little of the history of Percy....?? looking for era from c1800 - 1870 Founded by... ?? Who were early settlers.... early businesses, etc. Indian nations that lived in the area.... S. Williams ==== ILPERRY Mailing List ==== Tim Casey is the Perry Co IL Mail List Administrator email timcasey1@verizon.net