McHenry County IL Archives History .....Coral Township History - 1877 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 20, 2008, 6:39 pm

CORAL, TOWNSHIP 43, RANGE 6.

   This township was originally named Pleasant Grove, and the first settlers
were John Hamilton, James Van Vliet, Richard Simpkins, Lowell Vasey and Wm. M.
Jackson, all of whom, and some more, came in 1835 and 1836. Very near the same
time a settlement was made at Harmony, and when the county was surveyed and
divided into townships, these early settlers found themselves in different towns.

   The first school was opened in 1837 by Caroline Cobbs (afterward Mrs.
Philander Spencer), but the school house was not put up till 1839, when Wm. M.
Jackson was engaged as teacher, and greenbacks not having been invented, but
rails being in good demand, it was agreed that he should teach four months, and
to pay him for his services his employers were to split for him one thousand
rails for each month's teaching. The school house was of logs 20x28, was built
on Section 8, and stood till S. K. Bartholomew became a teacher, when, at the
close of his term, it was torn down by the scholars in a frolic.

   As usual in church building, the Methodists took the initiative, erecting one
at Harmony costing about $2,000. The Congregationalists next built one at Union,
and they were followed by the Universalists, who, in partnership with the
Masonic Lodge of Union, put up the stone [building now used by the Free
Methodists below and the Masons above. Upon the erection of the stone school
house at Union, in 1867, the frame building was used for a wagon shop till, a
year or two since, it passed into the hands of the Adventists, who fitted it up
as a place of worship, and hold meetings there occasionally.

   The Galena & Chicago Union Railroad was built in 1854, entering Coral on
Section 13, near the southeast corner, running in a diagonal direction and
passing out near the northwest corner of Section 5.

   The oldest village is Coral, but Union is the larger.

   A nursery was planted at Coral quite early, but finally moved to Marengo.

   The only public library is at Union, and consists of about two hundred
volumes. It was raised and is kept in existence, without difficulty, by
subscription.

   Fillmore & Anderson opened the first store at Coral. This store was
subsequently burned and not rebuilt. At present, Coral Post Office has one small
store, and Union two very fair ones for so small a place.

   In 1837, the first post office was established in charge of Mr. Jackson, it
being the only one on the route between Chicago and Galena, and Mrs. Jackson
opened the first mail that came to the county. It first came on horseback once a
week, till the fall of that year, when a two-horse wagon became necessary, and,
in 1838, the wagon gave way to a stylish coach.

   The mail was not assorted as now, but thrown into a bag holding about two
bushels. This was thrown from the coach and carried into the house, overhauled
by emptying the contents and assorting, put back into the bag and returned to
the coach in just eight minutes. The next post office was established at Garden
Prairie, in 1842.

   Coral is watered by a branch of the Kishwaukee and one or two smaller creeks
have their origin in the south and west.

   It has two cheese factories and creameries combined, one of which was erected
in 1874, on Section 34, by D. E. Wood, and is operated by him, manufacturing,
yearly, 300,000 pounds of cheese and 60,000 pounds of butter. Connected with
this is a steam mill for grinding feed; one run of stone; capacity, forty
bushels an hour. The other is owned by a stock company, in Section 29, of which
Sherman Bartholomew is agent, manufacturing 100,000 pounds of cheese and 20,000
pounds of butter annually.


Additional Comments:

Extracted from:

BIOGRAPHICAL DIRECTORY OF THE TAX-PAYERS AND VOTERS
OF
McHENRY COUNTY;

CONTAINING ALSO

A Map of the County; a Condensed History of the State of Illinois; an Historical
Sketch of the County, its Towns and Villages; an Abstract of Every-day Laws of
the State; a Business Directory; Officers of Societies, Lodges and Public
Officers; a Department of General Information for Farmers, Dairymen, Etc., Etc.

CHICAGO: C. WALKER & CO.
1877.


Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1876, by
C. WALKER & CO.,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

CULVER, PAGE, HOYNE & CO.,
PRINTERS, CHICAGO.


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