Early History of Carpenter
Madison County ILGenWeb Coordinator - Beverly Bauser
Carpenter was laid out by John F. Opel, and
the plat was recorded May 9, 1877. Carpenter is located along
the Wabash Railroad in Hamel Township, north of Rt. 140, at
Quercus Grove Road. Carpenter was originally called
Millersville, as the few buildings that were there were located
on land originally owned by Fred Mueller (Miller). This land was
located on the east side of Quercus Grove Road. On the west side
of the road, was the Johan (John) Fredrick Opel farm. In 1877,
at the age of 51, Opel helped lay out the town on the west side,
and the plat was recorded May 9, 1877. Sometime later, a man
passing through was killed on the Wabash Railroad tracks near
there. His name was Frank G. Carpenter, and due to this
incident, it was ordered by the railroad to rename the town
Carpenter.
Carpenter became an important shipping point
for farmers. In 1877, twenty thousand bushels of corn were
shipped from this point. The grain office of H. Breed & B. Clark
was erected in January 1877. The following month, F. H. Clark
established a building attached to the grain office and opened a
general store. Clark was also the railroad agent. Fred Bachs
opened a general store, which changed hands several times, with
the last owner being G. H. Neuhaus. Fred Bachs also opened a
grain elevator.
The following May, a post office was
established, with F. H. Clark as postmaster. In the fall of
1877, Peter Balmer built a house and opened a hotel. Another
hotel, called the Spooner Hotel, was opened by John and
Katherine Braun. The following winter, John Brown built a
residence and blacksmith shop. In the summer of 1877, Breed &
Clark erected a grain house east of the office. In 1881, D. S.
Shellabarger & Co. of Decatur built a grain house south of the
depot, with a capacity of 30,000 bushels. In 1880, the railroad
company constructed a tank and pond. T. H. Clark built his
business house in 1881.
The original Carpenter School
was built in 1800. Another schoolhouse was constructed in 1860
by John Koenig. This building, 22x20, was erected for $373,
including all benches, desks, and painting. George S. Pomeroy
served as the teacher for six months, for $196. A new
schoolhouse was constructed in 1880, on land bought from Johan
and Ida Opel for $150. The first directors of the school were:
J. W. Abert, John F. Opel, and Theobolt Rinkel. W. C. Daniels
was the first teacher.
In the year 1882, the businesses
of Carpenter consisted of:
Physician – G. C. Gray.
General
Store – Frank H. Clark.
Grain Dealers – D. S. Shellabarger &
Co.
Grain Agents – B. Clark & Son.
Hotels – Charles
Spruner, and J. H. Bange.
Blacksmith – John Brown.
Wagon
Shop – F. Wehling.
Harness and Saddles – Louis Eckardt.
Shoe Maker – H. G. Lehrke.
