iifiilii;' jiiiiii The Story of McLEAN And Its WILLIAM B. BRIGHA Chciwy '• Grovr Tow n Map of 116 Four Comers 117 PloiMnl Valley 118 Excelsior 1«" I2U Brush College 111 McLEAN COUNTY i:i Hillsdale »» nsll/lowur 122 Corn Valley IIJI Funk B«n). 123 White Hall ILLINOIS «7 Bloomlngtun 1S9 Cii'lock Chenoa Township -4i* Ch«noa 41 Pa\Tie 177 Colfax 242 BallanI 167 Cookivillr 243 Trim Mi Crop!«.v 244 Maple T 12» 245 Center Jl 246 Enterprise 101 Ellsworth 248 Bauman 239 Gridley 16 He.vworth 197 Hudson lly Sa> brook 73 Shirley bS SUnford HIth S<haoU Anchor C. H. S. Arrowsmith H 5. Beimower T»p. H S. Jul Benj. Funk Consol. H. S. »7 BloominKton H. S. 366 Carlock Twp. H. S. 3!10 Chenoa C. H. S. 330 Colfax C. H. S. 340 Cooksvllle C. H. S. 399 Cropsey C. H. S. i H. S. 388 Downs C. H. S. 370 Ellsworth C, H. S, ridley H. S. 377 Heyworth C. H. S. 197 Hudson H. S. 344 URoy Twp. H. S. 3130 Lexington C. H. S. 35.-, McUan C. H. S. 348 Normal C. H. S. 3iiO Saybrook C. H. S. + 350 Stanford C. H. S. ^ J_ " "^ 15S To«an<la H. 71 West Warlow Anchor Township 178 Sherwood 179 Rockford 180 Mt. Zion 81 Fair\iew 82 Kingston 183 Sabin IS 107 108 Columbia Baker 110 Plainview 112 Sangamon 113 Cornell Bane 115 Betlflowcr Township 55 Oliver 56 Osman 57 Caledonia 59 Pleasant Valley 61 CenUr "^2 Prairie Cottage 63 Victoria 64 Hall Bloomington Township tjj 79 Grassy Ridge SO Eldorado 81 Walker 82 Price 83 Houghton 84 Sunny Point 85 Alexander 86 Little Brick 89 Maple Grove Blue Mound Township 159 Lincoln 160 Diamond 161 Blue Mound 162 St. Nicholas Center Fletcher 165 166 LAwndale Towiuhii o-i 185 Strubhar 186 Cottage Grove OawNon Township L I E) R.A I^Y OF THE UN IVLRS ITY Of ILLINOIS A Bequest from Marion D. Pratt 375.773 B76^ Illinois Historical 'wmf iiBRA&y McLean county and its schools THE OLD SPRING, 1932 Although many springs of McLean County have dried up, this old sulphur spring one and one-fourth miles north of the Blue Mound Hill flows on. It was here that Indians came to drink of the waters given by the Great Spirit, and hunters lingered near with bows and arrows awaiting the famishing deer. Nearby buffalo wallows showed where these large animals rolled to coat themselves with mud as protection against the blood sucking greenhead flies. Early settlers sank barrels over this spring and the everflowing water bubbled up though all neighborhood wells were dry. Now a concrete tank and trough have been placed there in recent years by the road commissioner. The Story of McLEAN COUNTY And Its Schools WILLIAM B. BRIGHAM County Superintendent of Schools, 1927-1943 President Emeritus, McLean County Historical Society COPYRIGHT 1951 BY WILLIAM B. BRIGHAM, BLOOMINGTON, ILL. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form, without permission in writing from the author. LiTHOGR.'VPHED IN U. S. A. 37 f. 77J .-Ch^J-^ , 3 To my mother, who left her little log school among the hills of Pike County to share the hardships of pioneer "^ life in McLean County with a veteran of the Civil War. S'Her influence has endured and I shall never forget the— "V "Beautiful home where my childhood was spent. ^ Beautiful skies where the rainbow oft bent. ^ Beautiful hills echoing whippoorwills song,^ ^Beautiful streamlets running zigzag along." About The Author In my boyhood while attending Fletcher School in Blue Mound Town- ship, it was my privilege and pleasure to share my more abundant books and often my desk with Billie Brigham who was a younger pupil. Pleasurable were the occasions when the two of us were sent by the teacher to bring drinking water from the spring one-half mile away. During the seasons when our services were needed on the farm, schooling was second in im- portance. Our friendship has remained intact through these many years, since we were both engaged in educational work. Billie continues to accomplish important tasks, such as the preparation of this volume. Walter Dill Scott, President Emeritus, Northwestern University William B. Brigham was born on a farm in Blue Mound Township in 1874, son of Benajah and Elizabeth Sharer, who had settled on the prairie in 1867. He attended the rural schools, began teaching in 1894, and retired in 1943 as County Superintendent of Schools. In 1902 he married Emma C. Wissmiller. A daughter, Mildred Dodds, is a teacher living at White Plains, New York. With a keen insight into problems facing teachers and school officers, he proved a wise counselor and friend of fair judgment to those who sought his aid. He has supported many worthwhile projects in Bloomington and McLean County—scouting, gardening, eflforts in World Wars I and II, bird house building, soil conservation. Home and Farm Bureaus, 4-H Clubs, Indian lore, local history, placing of historical markers and other work of the McLean County Historical Society, the semi-centennial and centennial celebrations of Bloomington, McLean County Centennial, school homecomings and other local celebrations. This volume is a tribute to his ability to ferret facts and to painstakingly record them for posterity. Much knowledge was gained through his many contacts with humanity, and, he is to be commended for his searching mind, ready help, and variety of interests—all of which were evidenced by his ability to inspire teachers and pupils "to make this year better than the last". Dana F. Rollins, Former Member, McLean County Non-High School Board Preface Data collected over a period of more than forty years is herein presented. It is the saga of the free public schools of McLean County, interwoven with stories of this great country's growth during nearly a century and a quarter. Although devoted largely to educational history of the County, the volume is not exhaustive of the subject. Enough, however, has been given to enable the reader to trace the growth and development of the school system. Space does not permit listing names of thousands of young men and women who helped further the cause of education as teachers. Neither has mention been made of the many school officers who so ably served at a sacrifice in diflferent capacities. Countless other persons, throughout the county have assisted in accomplishing worth-while community projects and school enterprises Grateful acknowledgment is given the assistance of Orlin C. Spicer, Librarian, Illinois Wesleyan University; Inez Dunn, Custodian, McLean County Historical Society; Clyde Hudelson, Head of Agriculture Depart- ment, Illinois State Normal University; Clarence Ropp, 4-H Club Leader and Farm Bureau Officer; Clara R. Brian, former McLean County Home Advisor; Thelma Van Ness Breen, Librarian, Withers Public Library; Paul V. Hudelson, United States Department of Agriculture; Ethel M. Sinclair, Daily Pantagraph; Nina Spicer, Lois Bright Brown, Elaine Wiese, typists. Through no fault of the author or of those consulted in the research, errors in names or credits may appear. The author would be grateful for assistance in eliminating these in historical records. Glayds Lantz, who served so well as my assistant for more than ten years, has helped in the preparation of much of this manuscript. Special acknowledgment is given Julius ("Jake") Klemm, who for years has said, "Bill, the anthology of the one-room school must be written, and you are the one to do it." His insistence and encouragement is largely responsible for this publication. William B. Brigham Growth of McLean County, Bloomington and Normal Date 7 A Study of Population by Townships TOWNSHIP 1950 1940 1930 1920 Allin Tonwship 965 1,037 Stanford Village 457 Anchor Township 642 Arrowsmith Township 801 Arrowsmith Village 316 Bellflower Township 966 Bellflower Village 412 Bloomington Township 2,382 Bloomington City Township 34,048 Blue Mound Township 783 Cooksville Village 256 Cheney Grove Township 1,318 Saybrook Village 762 Chenoa Township 2,021 Chenoa City 1,441 Cropsey Township 421 Dale Township 779 Danvers Township 1,469 Danvers Village 763 Dawson Township 872 Ellsworth Village 200 Downs Township 998 Downs Village 297 Dry Grove Township 758 Empire Township 2,435 LeRoy City 1,819 Funks Grove Township 587 Gridley Township 1,561 Gridlcy Village 817 Hudson Township 906 Hudson Village 339 Lawndale Township 455 Lexington Township 1,781 Lexington City 1,173 Martin Township 1,350 Colfax Village 824 Money Creek Township 589 Mount Hope Township 1,285 McLean Village 667 Normal Township 10,499 Normal Town 9,832 Old Town Township 734 Randolph Township 2,01 Heyworth Village 1,067 Towanda Township 955 Towanda Village 397 West Township 677 White Oak Township 600 Yates Township 619 DAWSON AND HENDRIX MARKER near Blooming Grove Chris- tian Church. (Pantagraph Photo) Places of Historic Interest Arrowsmith Battlefield, 1730. Bartholomew, General Joseph, the hero of Tippecanoe, at Clarksville Cemetery Blooming Grove Settlement, first in county, 1822 (marker) Cheney's Grove Settlement, 1825, Saybrook (marker) Funk Cabin and first log school. Funk's Grove, 1824 (markers) Harbord, General James G., birthplace, five miles south of Bloomington (marker) Hedding College, old bell, Illinois Wesleyan campus Henline Fort in Lawndale Township Hubbard, Elbert, home at Hudson (marker) Kickapoo Stockaded Fort, east of Old Town Timber (marker) Illinios State Normal University campus, tower of "(Old Main)" and Fell Memorial Gate Major's Hall, place where Lincoln made the "Lost Speech" (marker) Miller Park, memorial to Civil War soldiers and souvenirs of later wars McBarnes, John, Memorial Building, houses McLean County Historical Society, local soldier organizations, state headquarters of American Legion Money Creek Blockhouse on old Bloomington-Chicago trail west of Lexington Patton Cabin, at Pleasant Hill Pottawatomie Village, west of Hudson (marker) Powell, Major J.