Early History of Hamel (or Hamel's Corner)
Early Settlers
The area around what is presently Hamel remained unsettled until the
early 1800s. When settlers first arrived, they found fertile land
with abundant water, as well as virgin stands of timber. The first
white man known to settle in the Hamel area was a man named
Ferguson. He built a log cabin on Cahokia Creek in 1811, but
abandoned it at the beginning of the War of 1812.
The first permanent settlers in about 1817 were a Robert and Anson
Aldrich, George and Henry Keley, Mrs. Henry Keley, Mrs. Ann Young,
and Henry T. and Harriet Bartling – all from Massachusetts. Henry
Keley, aided by the Aldrich’s, selected a home site and built a log
cabin. He was joined by his family in 1818, and the Aldrich’s
boarded with them.
Shortly after, settlers from Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and
Carolinas began to settle in the area. The early economy was
strictly agriculture. The first wheat crop was harvested in Hamel
Township in 1818. In 1819, Henry Keley and Anson Aldrich bought some
apple grafts from a nursery in St. Charles County, Missouri, and
planted the first orchards in the area.
The first industry in Hamel Township was a band mill, erected by
Henry Keley in 1820. The mill was operated with rawhide bands
instead of cogs. It was not successful, however, and soon closed
down. The next attempt to establish businesses was made by two men
named Estabrook and Livermore. In 1829, they built a saw and grist
mill on Cahokia Creek, which remained in operation until 1852.
In the 1830s, a large number of German immigrants began to arrive in
America. Many of these immigrants settled in the Hamel area, and in
1861 they erected a Lutheran Church.
Hamel’s Corner
Hamel’s Corner was founded by Frederick Wolf in 1865. He built a
general store and feed stable at the Edwardsville-Staunton and
Alton-Greenville crossroads. Travelers stopped to eat, rest, and
feed their horses. It was named Hamel’s Corner after Andrew Jackson
“Jack” Hamel [also spelled
Hammel], a farmer who owned all the land
on the north side of the Alton-Greenville Road, near the crossroads.
Hamel was born in Ohio in 1822, and immigrated to Indiana where he
married Mary Mattocks or Mattlock. They had three sons – Squire,
Joseph, and George. His wife, Mary, and two sons – Squire and Joseph
– died in Indiana. Hamel remarried to Mary Wilson in 1853. He
purchased two land grants in Madison County from veterans who served
in the military with his older brother, Nelson Hamel, and moved to
Madison County with wife, Mary (with whom he would have nine
children), and his son, George. He became a land speculator and made
many purchases and sales of land in the area. His original 160 acres
of land was located where two old trails used to cross – the
Kaskaskia and Peoria trace trail, and the Ranger trail. The
Kaskaskia and Peoria was a trail cleared by buffalo and Indians long
before the days of recorded history. Before 1800, it had been
widened by two-wheeled ox carts of the French when they owned the
territory. It became the Edwardsville-Staunton Road (Hwy. 157). The
Ranger trail dated back to 1812, when Rangers cleared a trail from
the Wood River [creek] to the Sangamon River, to facilitate their
march to the Indian towns. This trail became the Alton-Greenville
Road, and today is known as Rt. 140.
Hamel opened a general store at the crossroads in 1868, which
provided travelers with food. This was in the days when droves of
cattle, horses, and hogs were driven overland and ferried across the
river to St. Louis. Near the northwest corner of the intersection,
Jack Hamel, with John Handshy & Mr. Sparks, established a steam
flour mill in 1869. This was wheat country, but the mill went out of
business after four years – possibly because of the mills at
Edwardsville gave too much competition. Jack Hamel sold his
remaining land of 255 acres to Casper Gaertner and left Madison
County. He died in 1876, but it is unknown where.
Early Progress
In 1867, Christian Traub opened a blacksmith shop, and soon after,
C. A. Engelmann erected a wagon shop. In 1871, Jack Hamel sold his
general store to George H. Engelmann, and moved out of the township.
The name, Hamel’s Corner, lingered on even after the Illinois
Traction (now Illinois Terminal Railroad) came through. The
extension of the Wabash Railroad came through the township in the
1870s, and was a stimulant for the local economy. Farmers began to
ship their produce to distant markets. In 1877, the railroad built a
station and installed a switch northeast of the village. This
station was named Carpenter by the railroad company.
Two churches were built in the township during the 1870s – the
Cumberland Presbyterian Church (1872), and the Evangelical Church
(1873).
By 1880, the population of the township had risen to 1,222, and the
village of Hamel’s Corner included a general store, two blacksmith
shops, a wagon shop, and a shoemaker’s shop.
Hamel Incorporated
On February 24, 1955, Hamel was officially incorporated as a
village. The village population at this time was 331. Wilbur Meyer
was elected the first village president. In 1956, postal service was
established in the village, and a new post office building was
erected in 1959. A bank was established in 1957. Construction of the
new Hamel Elementary School was completed in 1969, on Rt. 140 in the
western section of the community.
Early Schools in Hamel
A school was built on the Robert Aldrich farm in 1825, but was used
for only a short time. A more permanent log structure was built
sometime later and was used for church services as well as classes.