Madison County History
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GREAT SNOW STORM OF 1867
"We
have been visited with a heavier fall of snow than that veracious
individual, 'the oldest inhabitant,' ever remembers to have seen
before in Alton. The storm commenced on Saturday morning, and the
snow fell steadily from that time until late last night, and this
morning found the ground covered with some fifteen inches of snow on
a level, giving to the city a decidedly arctic appearance. Our
telegraphic reports state that the storm was very extensive, and was
the heaviest of the season. The delays occasioned to railroad trains
are innumerable, and it will probably be some days yet before the
roads are entirely unobstructed. The streets on Sunday were almost
impassible for pedestrians, consequently the number of church goers
was very small, and the evening service in most of the churches was
suspended.
The possessors of fast horses and stylish cutters will doubtless
enjoy several gala days before the snow departs. For the benefit of
those of our readers who are not fortunate enough to own sleighs, we
publish the following old substitute for a sleigh ride, which
everyone can enjoy, viz: “Sit down in your hall in your night
clothes, with both doors open, to secure a draft; put your feet in a
tub of ice water, hold an icicle in each hand, shut your eyes and
ring the dinner bell, and you can’t tell the difference between this
operation and the original.”
The sleighing is all that the most exacting could desire. From
morning till night, the streets are filled with every description of
sleigh, from a dry goods box mounted upon runners, to the stylish
cutter and the great four-horse sleigh. The evening air re-echoes
with the joyous swells of the musical bells and the merry shouts of
the pleasure seekers. The jangle of the sleigh bells and the peals
of laughter blend more beautifully on a winter’s night, than did
ever the voice of a serenade with the notes of his “light guitar.”
But we had no intention of becoming sentimental, and will simply
advise anyone who is skeptical on the subject of the pleasures of
sleighing to try it.
Male and female relations may be judged accurately by their way of
riding in a cutter [sleigh]. For instance, if you meet a couple, one of whom
is a female and the other ‘aint, and the one that ‘aint trying to
make figures with a whip on the snow, and squirting tobacco juice
into the circles while the woman looks straight ahead or leans a
little t’other way, it may be safely set down as a man and wife of
some time standing. If two youthful heads are bent down over some
pretended curiosity on the robe, while the horse has the getting
ahead wholly left to his own discretion, this indicates the first
symptoms of a softening of the heart and generally of the brain.
When you meet a dashing pair, with a team that is equally on the
dash, ribbons all around the driver’s arms, with a mighty long whip
in the socket, they may be set down as somebody else’s wife taking
an airing with somebody else’s husband. When you see a blooming
young widow snugging up to a beaver overcoat like a sick kitten to a
hot brick, this means a wedding – if the widow can have her way
about it."
Source: Alton Telegraph, January 25, 1867
__________________
On
September 14, 1812, Madison County was established in the Illinois
Territory out of Randolph and St. Clair Counties, by proclamation of
the Governor of Illinois Territory, Ninian Edwards. It was named for
U. S. President James Madison, a friend of Edwards, and had a
population of 9,099 people. At the time of its formation, Madison
County included all of the modern State of Illinois north of St.
Louis, as well as all of Wisconsin, part of Minnesota, and
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
A meeting was held on April 5, 1813 at the home of Thomas
Kirkpatrick in Edwardsville, where appointed commissioners were to
report on their selection of a county seat. A meeting was held on
January 14, 1814, where the court ordered the sheriff to notify the
commissioners appointed by law to fix the place for the public
buildings (courthouse and jail) for Madison County. The county seat
was established in the town of Edwardsville, with the first public
building – the jail – being erected in 1814. The first county
courthouse was erected in Edwardsville in 1817.
During the period 1819 to 1849, Madison County was reduced in area
to its present size, about 760 square miles. All of the public lands
had become the property of individuals and had been converted into
thousands of productive farms. New towns and villages were
established, such as Collinsville, Highland, Marine, Venice,
Monticello [Godfrey], Troy, and Alton.
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HISTORY OF THE WESTERN MILITARY ACADEMY
HISTORY OF THE WYMAN INSTITUTE
__________________
History of the
Illinois State Penitentiary in Alton (1833-1860), and the
military post
and Confederate prison (1861-1865).
