Grundy County IL Archives History - Books .....Chapter 14 1882
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Book Title: History Of Grundy County IL 1882

CHAPTER XIV.*
 
SARATOGA TOWNSHIP—PHYSICAL FEATURES—THE EARLY SETTLERS—THE NORWEGIAN 
EMIGRATION—THE HOUGES MENEGHED.

IT was Montesquieu who declared that nation happy whose annals were tiresome; 
but while this speaks for the peaceful prosperity of a people it furnishes no 
glowing periods to the historian nor patriotic panegyrics for the citizen. 
This is especially true in the case of Saratoga. Timber lands were originally 
very little found here, and Nettle Creek on the west and Au Sable on the east, 
with pleasant union of timber and prairie, attracted the earlier settlements. 
Later, as the original location proved unhealthful, or as nearer settlers 
failed to find eligible timber sites, the prairie land of Saratoga was invaded 
from either side. The country embraced within the limits of this township was 
of the most attractive character. Save a spur of timber on the elbow of Au 
Sable Creek, which crosses the eastern border of Saratoga, and that on Nettle 
Creek in the southwestern corner of the township, the eye met only a broad 
expanse of undulating prairie which ended only with the line of the horizon in 
the north. Through the central portion the Saratoga Creek flowed an easterly 
course through the township, and the east fork of Nettle Creek, draining the 
southwestern part, joined the main stream in Morris. There is but little low 
land here, the most of the township lying

*By J. H. Battle.
 
north of the second "bench." The southeastern corner, however, is 
characterized by the low lands which are found between the first and second 
rises from the Illinois River. The diagonal road which enters the township 
near the middle of the eastern line of Saratoga, follows upon the margin of 
the second bench, leaving it at the Concklin road. From this point the line of 
high ground continues the same general southwesterly direction, deflecting 
slightly to the west, and passing the southern line of the township about a 
mile east of Nettle Creek. The rest of the township is admirably situated, and 
one would expect to find a dry friable soil were it not of prairie origin. As 
it is, the township is noted for its bad roads, resulting chiefly from the 
character of the soil, which seems to have a special affinity for water, and 
the highways, piked never so high, become in the rainy season one quaking bog 
of impassable mud. This question of roads is a very serious one throughout the 
county. Considerable expense is annually laid out in "piking" and ditching, 
but the character of the soil renders these expedients but partially 
successful even for a twelve-month. There is plenty of accessible limestone 
which could probably be used profitably in making permanent improvement upon 
the highways, but the taxpayers have not yet learned that the annual mud 
blockade costs the people at large enough to macadamize every principally 
traveled road in the county.

Saratoga was originally settled by emigrants from New York, who crystallized 
the memories of their old home in the name which the township bears. The first 
settlement in this precinct was made by Joshua Collins, in the spring of 1844. 
His father came from Oneida County, New York, in 1834, following the lead of 
the Walleys, Tablers and Cryders to Au Sable township. Here he lived and died. 
His son Joshua married a daughter of Mr. Cryder, and in the following spring 
set up a home of his own, where his widow now lives. In the same year Phillip 
Collins came to Saratoga, and Alexander Peacock. The latter was an Englishman, 
and made his claim on section 33, including in his selection the present Fair 
Grounds, which he bought some time later. In the southern part also came 
another Englishman, H. M. Davidson, about the same year. James Cronin, an 
Irishman, whom the canal work brought to this region, was associated with 
Peacock on section 33, in the year of 1844. In the northeastern corner a 
considerable tract of land was secured as early as 1842 or '3, by John B. 
More, whose cabin, however, was built north of the Grundy County line. Early 
in 1844, Carpenter Concklin, in whose honor the central road of the township 
was named, took up a claim on section 9, and was followed very soon by Elias 
Bartlett, who knew the Concklin family in the State of New York. Bartlett was 
an unmarried man, and followed school teaching very early. Concklin's daughter 
had remained behind her father's family engaged in teaching, and after being 
here a short time, Bartlett, struck by the similarity of their tastes, went to 
New York and brought back Miss Concklin as his wife. They subsequently engaged 
in teaching, and for a time conducted the Seminary at Ottawa. Daniel Johnson 
was another early settler, as was Gersham Hunt.

About 1847 or '8, the immigration of Norwegians began to appear in this 
township. The first came from La Salle County, with one or two from other 
sections. They were in poor financial circumstances, but they brought hardy 
constitutions and abundant energy, and were not long in getting upon an equal 
footing with their more favored neighbors. Their native tastes inclined them 
to prefer the timber lands, and here and there, where they could buy an acre 
or two of timber, their sheepskin coats and calfskin vests could be seen all 
through the northern and middle part of the county.

"The first emigration from Norway to the United States was in 1825. Cling 
Pearson, of Hesthamer, in Norway, came over in 1822, and on his return to his 
native country, gave a glowing picture of America. He found the people of 
Starvinger, a small town in his neighborhood, dissatisfied with their minister 
appointed by the government, and desirous of changing their location, and soon 
persuaded them to emigrate to the new country. They purchased a small vessel, 
a two-masted fishing sloop, for $1,800, and fifty-two emigrants set sail in 
their little craft for the Western Continent. They sailed through the North 
Sea and English Channel to Madeira, where, getting short of provisions, they 
picked up a pipe of wine, and laid in a stock of supplies. They left Norway 
July 4th, reached Funchal August 18th, and New York on the last day of 
October, 1825, their number having received one accession on the journey. 

"In New York they sold the vessel for $400, and the company divided, twenty-
eight going with Cling Pearson, who had secured for them a free passage to 
Orleans County, New York. Here the colony bought land and formed a settlement, 
the first Norwegian community in America. But the leader of this hegira was a 
restless spirit, and soon set off to explore the far West. He reached Illinois 
and struck with its attractions, fixed upon La Salle County as the site for a 
new settlement of his fellow-countrymen. Cling said that when exploring the 
country afterward occupied by the Norwegians, that he laid down under a tree 
to sleep, and in his dreams saw the wild prairie changed to a cultivated 
region, teeming with all kinds of grain and fruits; comfortable houses and 
spacious barns dotted the land, which was occupied by a rich, prosperous and 
happy people. He woke refreshed, and with renewed enthusiasm returned to his 
countrymen in New York, and persuaded them to emigrate to Illinois. The dream 
was a natural one and might have been conceived when awake, but however it 
originated, its most sanguine expectations have been fully realized. The early 
days of the Norwegian settlement in this country were full of poverty and 
toil, to which was added the terrible ravages of Asiatic cholera. Happily 
these days are past, and these difficulties surmounted; those people are now 
found a wealthy, prosperous and happy people.

"The first Norwegian colony from New York came to La Salle County in 1834, and 
included some of the original fifty-three who arrived from Norway in 1825. 
Since that others have followed from the Fatherland, and the members of the 
original colony have welcomed many of their old neighbors to the land of their 
adoption. Many of them still adhere to the Lutheran, the national church of 
Norway, but many are Methodist, and the Mormons have made some converts among 
them."*

The only church in the township is the Houges Meneghed. This is a Norwegian 
Lutheran church, and was organized about 1876. The society proceeded at once 
to build a place of worship on the land of H. Osmonson, which was erected that 
fall at a total cost of about $4,000, including the price of the lot.

*Hist. of La Salle County.

Additional Comments:
HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY ILLINOIS; Containing a History from the earliest 
settlement to the present time, embracing its topographical, geological, 
physical and climatic features; its agricultural, railroad interests, etc.; 
giving an account of its aboriginal inhabitants, early settlement by the 
whites, pioneer incidents, its growth, its improvements, organization of the 
County, the judicial history, the business and industries, churches, schools, 
etc.; Biographical Sketches; Portraits of some of the Early Settlers, 
Prominent Men, etc.; ILLUSTRATED. CHICAGO: O. L. BASKIN & CO., HISTORICAL 
PUBLISHERS, Lakeside Building. 1882.


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