History of Venice Township, Madison County, Illinois
Madison County ILGenWeb Coordinator - Beverly Bauser
Venice Township (Township 3, Range 10) is
located in the southwestern part of Madison County. It is
bounded on the north by Chouteau Township, east by Nameoki,
south by St. Clair County, and west by the Mississippi River. It
is mostly low and level land in the American Bottoms. Separated
from the mainland is Cabaret (French tavern) Island, composing
of 1,042 acres.
Venice Township was settled as early as
1804, but there is little history of those settlements. In about
1807, George Cadwell and George Richardson settled on section
13. Robert McDow, John Atkins, Daniel Lockhart, and possibly
others, were located in the township prior to the War of 1812.
George Cadwell was an enterprising Yankee, who combined the
practice of medicine with farming. In 1815, he was appointed by
Governor Ninian Edward as Justice of the Peace. Cadwell had
three daughters and one son. In 1818, he was elected a Senator
of Illinois. He then moved to Morgan County. George Richardson,
a farmer and friend of Cadwell’s, also moved to Morgan County.
Richardson drowned in Santa Creek near Jacksonville.
Richardson’s daughter, Nancy, was married to Asher Chase. This
was possibly the first marriage in the township. The second
marriage was of Moses Seeds to Mrs. Mary Waddle, on October 10,
1818.
Robert McDow, a Kentuckian, had a large family. He
erected the first horse mill on section 24. When he left the
township and moved north, he sold his mill to Benjamin Merritt.
John Atkins settled on section 1, prior to the War of 1812.
He and two of his sons served during that war, and were present
at the treaty made at Portage des Sioux, a short distance above
Alton. Other Atkins sons were William, John Jr., Charles,
Everett, and James. John Atkins was from Kentucky, and he and
his sons were all large, able-bodied men.
Daniel Lockhart
settled on section 35, on an elevated ridge.
In perhaps
1815, John Anthony, an eccentric pioneer, settled in the
township. He was of Pennsylvania Dutch stock. His was the first
house build on the site of the old village of Venice, and was
made of hewed cottonwood timber, with only one room. He kept
lodgers and served meals to travelers. On a shelf was the bottle
of “aqua miraculous.” He had a number of skiffs, in which he
hired to parties wanted to cross the river, at a shilling a
trip. On section 25, a family named Blum settled. They, too,
were Pennsylvanians.
In 1818, Abraham Sippy, a young
married man from Pennsylvania, decided to try his fortunes in
the “far west.” His father came to American as a soldier under
Lafayette. After the battle at Yorktown, he deserted, determined
to remain here instead of returning to France. His name was
Joseph Trimeau, but took on his mother’s name of Sippy. He
became the father of seventeen children.
Matthew Kerr, a
merchant of St. Louis (and for whom Kerr’s Island was named)
opened a horse ferry in 1826. The ferry was named “Brooklyn.” In
1842, Lieutenant Robert E. Lee, commander in-chief of the
Confederate forces during the Civil War, built a dike running
from Kerr’s Island to the head of Bloody Island. This
necessitated a change in the landing place of the “Brooklyn,”
and the company operating the ferry received $1,600 damaged from
the U. S. Government. This money was used for the construction
of a bridge connecting Kerr’s Island with the mainland. The
National Road – the great wagon route connecting the east with
the west – terminated there, and across Kerr’s Island was the
principal street of Venice. The “National Way,” as it was
called, became the center of a large trade. Two hotels catered
to the wants of travelers, and two livery stables supplied
horses and vehicles. There were also three general stores and
two blacksmith shops. One of the stores, kept by Peter Smith,
was the first brick building erected in the township. The flood
of 1844 swept everything away except the brick store, a livery
stable (also brick), and part of one of the hotels. During high
water, one of the blacksmiths, a German, in a fit of
desperation, jumped from the bridge as it was being carried
away, and committed suicide. His was the first smithery in the
township, erected in 1837. As soon as the waters receded,
repairs began. A new bridge was built across the slough, and
business revived. Trade was represented by Peter Smith, James
Morris, and Charles Pearce – all general merchants. In 1851,
when flooding again came through, much of Venice was washed
away, including much of the island. The bridge was not rebuilt.
A solitary brick building remained on the once busy site of the
village of Venice.
A post office was established in 1837
in the village of Venice, on section 13. It was first kept by
Joseph Squire, the owner of a public house called the “Western.”
This was the first established hotel in the township. It was a
large, frame building, and was quite popular with stockmen from
above Alton, who made it their headquarters. Large numbers of
hogs and cattle were annually driven from the north to St.
Louis, following what was called the slough road from Alton.
The first cemetery in the township was on Cadwell’s tract.
His son, Bach, was the first to be interred there, prior to
1820.
The first land entries were by John Atkins on
September 14, 1814, section 1; George Richardson on August 17,
1814, section 12; William Gillham on August 15, 1814, section
13; and John McDow on August 16, 1814, on section 24. Prior to
the land entries, there were numerous land claims made. Among
the first, was 400 acres by Alexis Bryalte in 1809; Nicholas
Jarrott, 400 acres opposite Cabarat Island; and James Kinkead,
on sections 25 and 26, two miles above Venice.
The First
Churches
The first preaching was by Revs. Chance and Jones –
two Baptist missionaries who preached at the home of Mr. Cadwell
as early as 1812. A Methodist Episcopal Church was erected in
1870, and a Catholic Church was constructed in 1881-2.
The First School
A schoolhouse was constructed in 1868 a half
a mile from the business district of the village of Venice. It
was a two-story, brick building.
The Village of Venice
A village was founded on Cabaret Island soon after the
establishment of the ferryboat, Brooklyn. The name of Venice was
given by Dr. Cornelius Campbell in 1841. Twice the village on
the island was destroyed by flooding. For years afterward,
growth of a village on the mainland was slow. Finally, the
village of Venice was incorporated June 28, 1873.
To read more on
the history of the village of Venice, please click here.