American aerial county history series

504 Pages·2008·48.28 MB·English

by  Drury, John, 1898-

Informative
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THE AMERICAN AERIAL COUNTY HISTORY SERIES, NO. 27
Stephenson County,
Illinois
An Up-To-DateHistorical Narrativewith Countyand
Township Maps and Many Unique Aerial Photo-
graphs of Cities, Towns, Villages and Farmsteads
By
JOHN DRURY
Author Old Illinois Houses, Historic Midwest Houses,
MidwestHeritage, etc.,and memberofAmerican
Association for State and Local History
1955
PUBLISHED BY
COMPANY
THE LOREE
3094 Milwaukee Avenue Chicago 10, Illinois
COPRIGHT 1955 BY THE LOREE CO. All RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN U.S.A.
1 :
The American Aerial County History Series
Illinois, No. 27
Counties already published for Illinois:
Macon Menard
Ful ton Iroquois
Champaign Hancock
Verrai1ion Schuyler
Tazewel Stark
Pike Knox
McDonough Adams
Logan Bureau
De Witt Mercer
Cass Woodford
Brown Henry
Mason Rankakee
Piatt Will
Counties already published
for Indiana
Newton
Printed in offset lithography
by The Loree Company,
Chicago, Illinois, 1955
II
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This is the twenty-seventh of a series of new-style county histories which
will include all of the 102 counties of Illinois, and, ultimately, all of the 3,103
counties of the United States. The project, specializing in low-altitude aerial
photographs of cities, towns, villages and farmsteads and with brief historical
narratives added, is known as The American Aerial County History Series. For a
list of already-published volumes in Illinois, see back of title page of this book.
Each of the volumes is being written by John Drury, author of Old Illinois Houses,
Historic Midwest Houses, Miduesi Heritage, etc., and member of the American
Association for State and Local History and the Illinois State Historical Society.
In the preparation of this work on Stephenson County, Illinois, the writer and
publisher hereby acknowledge theirgratitude,for advice and assistance generously
given them, to Mr. Joseph C. Wolf and Mrs. Ellen Chase of the Newberry Library,
Chicago; to Mr. Herbert H. Hewitt, Mrs. Roberta Sutton and Miss Winifred Baum,
all of the Chicago Public Library, Chicago; and to various librarians, public offi-
cials, business executives and private citizens of the city of Freeport and the
county of Stephenson, Illinois. The author also wishes to express special acknowl-
edgment to his wife, Marion Neville Drury, for research, editorial and proof-reading
assistance.
Grateful appreciation is also shown here to officials of the Bureau of Public
Roads of the United States Department of Commerce and to officials of the Depart-
ment of Public Roads & Planning of the State of Illinois (in particular to those in
cha ge of that department's Bureau of Research and Planning in the Highway De-
partment), for permission to use the Stephenson Countymaps included in this book.
Sources used by the author in preparing this volume were: History of Stephen-
son County, Illinois, by Addison L. Fulwider (two volumes, the S. J. Clarke Pub-
lishing Cqmpany, Chicago, 1910); Inventory of the County Archives of Illinois:
No. 89, Stephenson County (The Historical Records Survey, Chicago, 1938); The
History of Stephenson County, Illinois, by M. H. Tilden (Western Historical Com-
pany, Chicago, 1880); Illinois: A Descriptive and Historical Guide, The American
Guide Series (A. C. McClurg & Company, Chicago, 1939); County and City Data
Book, 1952 (United States Bureau of the Census, Washington, 1952); The Editor
and Publisher Market Guide for 1955 (The Editor and Publisher Company, New
York, 1955); and The Rand McNally Commercial Atlas for 1955 (Rand McNally
Company, 1955)-
III
IV
TABLE OF CONTENTS
MAP OF STEPHENSON COUNTY VI
STORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY 1
CITY OF FREEPORT 13
Buckeye Township (Cedarvi1ie, Red Oak.Buena Vista) . 15
Dakota Township (Dakota, Afolkey) 47
Erin Township (Eieroy) 67
Florence Township (Florence, Bolton) 81
Freeport Township (Freeport City 109
)
Harlem Township (Scioto Mills, Cedarville) 117'
. . .
Jefferson Township (Loran 147
) . .
Kent Township (Kent 163
)
Lancaster Township (Cedarville) 189
Loran Township (Pearl City) 217
Oneco Township (Orangevi11e, Oneco) 243
Ridott Township (German Valley, Ridott, Evarts) . . 269
Rock Grove Township (Rock Grove) 309
Rock Run Township (Davis, Rock City) 331
Silver Creek Township (South Freeport) 367
Waddams Township (McConnell) 393
West Point Township (Lena, Waddams Grove) .425
. . .
Winslow Township (Winslow) 453
GENERAL HIGHWAYMAP
STEPHENSON COUNTY
ILLINOIS
VI