McHenry County IL Archives History .....Marengo Township History - 1877 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 20, 2008, 8:21 pm MARENGO, TOWNSHIP 44, RANGE 5. Calvin Spencer first came into this township in 1835, but was not long alone; A. B. Coon, C. Sponable, R. Simpkins, John Belden, Mr. Dunham and Dr. W. B. Mason following soon after, the last named being probably the first physician in the county. The first store was put up in 1838 by Charles Hibbard, the next in 1842 by Frank Safford and G. T. Kasson, the latter selling out to his partner at the end of the year. Mr. Southwood, a Baptist minister, came in 1836 and preached the first sermon, in the vicinity, and the first death was that of the mother of Calvin Spencer, who died about two weeks after their settlement. Dr. Mason lived till 1847. This is one of the wealthiest township in the county, containing, as it does, one of the largest villages, which is situated on Sections 35 and 36, and for taste in private residences it is ahead of anything else in the county. Its leading lawyer, A. B. Coon, one of its earliest settlers, is also one of the most prominent men in the county and is counted the best technical lawyer at the bar of our Circuit Court. This town, too, depends upon the Kishwaukee for its water and its tax for bridge money, the river running eastwardly across Sections 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30, on the east of which it is joined by Rush Creek from the northeast after flowing through Sections 4, 9, 17, 20 and 19; so the town may be said to be well watered. As to transportation, the Galena Division of the C. & N. W. furnishes all that is necessary, entering the town on the east side and a little south of the middle of the line of Section 36, and running northwesterly till a little below the line between Sections 26 and 35, whence it crosses the township in a direct west course, making about 6 1/2 miles of road. The farmers of Marengo do not appear to have been afflicted with the "milk fever" to an alarming extent, and the town contains no factory for butter or cheese, but contains something that no other township does, and that is a stone quarry on Section 31, which has furnished the stone for the school houses at Marengo and Union, besides one or two smaller buildings of the same class. The nursery business appears to lead all others right about the village, there being two large nurseries beside several smaller ones. The village of Marengo nearly divides the honors of first settlement with Crystal Lake and Algonquin. It is situated in the-southeast corner of the township, hence is about equally accessible as a market for Riley, Coral, Seneca and Marengo. It contains a wind-mill factory, an excellent steam flouring mill, a commodious stone school building, containing seven school rooms and an enrollment of about 350 pupils; not only these, but her people take much more than ordinary interest in the progress of their school. They have one newspaper, the Republican, six churches, three hotels, one planing mill, two livery stables, three dry goods stores, ten groceries, two banks (one of them National), two boot and shoe stores, two drug stores and six doctors to prescribe the drugs; two jewelry stores, two lumber yards, two lawyers, which certainly speaks well for the town, and four ministers. Marengo once had a carriage factory that was carried on quite extensively by one Skinner, and some carriages are still made there. 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. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/mchenry/history/other/marengot192gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ilfiles/ File size: 4.6 Kb