History of St. Jacob, Illinois
Madison County ILGenWeb Coordinator - Beverly Bauser
Looking Glass Prairie
The natural state
of the prairie in St. Jacob Township was a most beautiful tract
of country. It looked more like a beautiful park than a wild
country. It was not like many other prairies, a monotonous
level, where the eye can find no resting place, but was covered
with luxuriant grass and flowers of all colors, with beautiful
hills, many of which were covered with fine trees. Small
streams, frequently embellished with fine willows, crossed the
prairie in all directions. The east fork of Silver Creek was the
principal stream. A number of small groves were made up of trees
such as linden, oak, hickory, buckeye and locust.
The
Village of St. Jacob
The first house in the future St. Jacob
was built at a crossroads by Jacob Schutz, where he sold whisky
by the gallon. In 1849 Jacob Schroth started a store. He
purchased two and a half acres on the corner of Jacob Schutz’s
farm and built a small house, which he later enlarged. This
building was called the St. Jacob’s House. There he entertained
travelers, and also had a wagon yard in connection with his
saloon and store. In June 1851, Schroth got a post office
established, and since his name was Jacob, and Jacob was the
original owner of the land, and the blacksmith’s name was Jacob,
they concluded to name the place St. Jacob. Mr. Schroth
continued in business here until his death in 1860. His wife was
then commissioned postmistress, and continued the business many
years.
In 1850 Jacob Willi started a blacksmith shop.
After several year he moved to a farm half a mile north of town.
The third house in St. Jacob was constructed by Louis
Schiele. It later became the Pfaelzer Hof.
Mr. Schiele, in 1866, laid out the town of St. Jacob. The town
was formally organized as a village on November 2, 1875. The
first board was composed of G. W. Hays, president; Louis
Schiele, clerk; John Schaefer, treasurer; and Christopher Moore,
Jacob Schrodt and Melchior Fischer as members.
The village increased principally around the Schroth corner and
on the St. Louis wagon road, until the construction of the St.
Louis, Vandalia & Terre Haute Railroad. Since that time, the
growth was primarily toward the depot. St. Jacob became an
important shipping point for farmers there and in Marine, five
miles away. There were about twenty houses in St. Jacob before
the railroad was constructed. The census of 1880 gave it a
population of four hundred and sixty-one. Dr. Buck was the first
physician.
In 1866, Edward Dee and William C. M’Alilly
built a sawmill a quarter of a mile north of town. They
afterward put up a small grist mill, and took into partnership
with them Charles Valier, who was a practical miller. The mill
began grinding in 1869. The sawmill was abandoned, but the grist
mill was in business for many years. The grist mill was improved
from time to time, and was a substantial frame, four-stories
high, with a basement. It had four run of burrs and a capacity
of one hundred and twenty-five barrels per day. In 1882 it was
owned and operated by Joseph Pecler and Jacob Willi.
A
sawmill near the depot was erected in 1880, and was owned by
John Bartle. The Independent Bucket Factory was opened in June
1881 by
John Schaefer, employing six to eight men.
A village hall
was constructed sometime in the 1800s, at the corner of Third
and Douglas Streets. It was demolished in December 2017, and a
new village hall constructed in its place.
St. Jacob Businesses in 1882
Physicians – B. F. Stephens,
E. Miller, and H. R. Kirsten
Postmaster – G. W. Hays
Hotels – Henry Laengle – Laengle’s Hotel; Louis Wasem - Pfaelzer
Hof; Henry Schmitt – St. Jacob’s House; Ernst Pahmeyer – Rail
Road Hotel
General Stores – G. W. Searcy, Karges & Williams,
F. Sohler
Lumberyard, Lime, Cement – E. N. Peterson
Hardware & Farming Implements – John Schaefer
Grain Dealer –
Anderson & Wiseman
Drugstore – Charles Spies, H. F. Wood
Furniture and Undertaker – H. A. Reichenbecher
Harnes and
Saddles – Theodore Schmidt, Fred Pfunder
Meat Market – Louis
Schiele; J. Freys
Merchant Tailor – F. Gain
Blacksmith
Shops – Fred Spies, Joseph Beckler, Leonz Buehlmann
Wagon
Shops – Leonz Buehlmann, Henry Maurer
Wagon Maker – Fritz
Graf
Bakery – H. Meyer
Barbers – Melch Hochul, Thomas
Cannon
Shoemakers – Joseph Hilbi, C. M. Petry
Cigar
Manufactory – W. Fisher
Early St. Jacob Schools
The
first settlers of St. Jacob’s Township gathered together within
the walls of an old fort in 1812-13, for safety against the
Indians. There they maintained a school taught by David
Smeltzer. As soon as peace had settled over the countryside in
1817 they erected a cabin between the homes of Parkinson and
Anderson, for school purposes. When this cabin was abandoned, a
new schoolhouse of logs was erected. In 1828 a new schoolhouse
was constructed near the Uzzle Spring in 1828, and classes were
first taught there by Alexander Trusedale. In the same
neighborhood, a school was taught, prior to this, by Mr.
Edmonds, in an abandoned cabin that stood near Dugger’s ox mill.
John Kile was among the pioneer teachers of St. Jacob Township.
By 1882, there were six schools in St. Jacob Township – three of
whom were in the village of St. Jacob under the superintendence
of J. W. Wells, a teacher. The two-story brick schoolhouse in
St. Jacob (1882) consisted of four rooms, where three teachers
were employed.
Early St. Jacob Churches
The Pleasant
Ridge Baptist Church was erected near St. Jacob in 1844, with 25
members. Members included J. Lindly, W. M. Lindly, and T.
Steele. Pastor of the church before 1883 were Joseph Lemen, M.
Ely, C. J. Kelly, H. Thompson, J. B. White, J. H. Mize, W. D.
Ross, and H. S. Deppe.
By 1882 there were two churches –
the Lutheran (a brick structure built in 1869), and the
Methodist (a frame building built in 1879). The Lutheran Church
was destroyed by a tornado in 1905, and rebuilt the same year. A
Catholic Church was organized in 1893, and a frame church
constructed in 1894.