Return to : Gillespie, IL.
Return to : Gillespie, IL.
Gillespie, Illinois
Macoupin County
State of Illinois
United States Of America
Supposedly it was named for Judge Joseph Gillespie, who was an attorney and state representative from Edwardsville, Madison County, Illinois. Being a promoter of the railroad going through the town, was the primary reasoning listed. The first railroad in Illinois was between 1837-1839 in another part of the state. At this time. the Village of Gillespie was being populated and being settled, even though this settlement was not organized until 1853. Was it originally called a "different name"? The first Post Office was "Prairie Farm" and operated from 1852 until 1854, when "Gillespie" became the post office, which it remains named today. Townships were named circa 1870, therefore making it a probability that Gillespie Township was named for the Village of Gillespie
|
|
Harold Rauzi writes :
Part of the confusion with Joseph Gillespie's age is because the town was named almost 20 years before the township--Illinois townships were not named until 1870, before then, only the survey designation was used. For example, what is now Gillespie Township was Township 8, Range 7 West. A rural post office, named Prairie Farm, was established on the Thomas Chandler farm in what is now Cahokia Township in 1852. The next year, Philander Huggins had lots and streets platted on land he owned in Section 24 of T8 R7W/Gillespie Township, and Benjamin Clark built a store there, the first resident. A small hamlet grew in a few months, and the Prairie Farm post office was moved to Clark's store, with the hamlet taking the name of the post office.
When it was learned that the Terre Haute and Alton Railroad would be built across Macoupin County, locals tried to get Prairie Farm on the
route. I've found two versions of the story.
When Illinois started naming townships in 1870, Gillespie Township took its name from the only village then in the township, not vice versa. The Terre Haute and Alton RR went through several name changes, mergers, etc. (including Indianapolis & St. Louis) until 1889 when it became the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis RR, which was nicknamed "The Big Four."
Harold Rauzi is currently researching the history of the Gillespie-Benld coal mining district.
|
|
See below for : Additional References
|
|---|
A Brief History of Gillespie | ||
|---|---|---|
| October 28, 1825 | Eighty acres of land was the first land purchase recorded in the area. Michael Dodd had this entered for Section 15 of Gillespie Township. | |
| 1833 / 1834 | The first businesses were began in what is now Gillespie. These consisted of a tavern operated by Mr. Abrahams, a store ran by John Foster, and a blacksmith shop of Daniel Adams. | |
| 1853 | Named "Gillespie", the setttlement was surveyed by J. B. Meads from Edwardsville,
and was first organized as a village with a Board of Trustees and a president. Gillespie Village was located in Section 24
of Gillespie Township in Macoupin County, Illinois. The first proprietor of the land was Philander C. Huggins.
See : Notes |
|
| 1854 | Up until 1854, Giles Adams was the first postmaster and kept the mail in his own home. This year, the Post Office was moved to Clark's Store and Thomas Chandler was the postmaster. | |
| 1855 | Added to Gillespie in 1855 was "Huggins Addition". Dr. Isaac Osborn set up his medical practice the same year. Jacob Querbach operated a wagon shop. Another wagon shop was run by G. W. Schmidt. A schoolhouse was built, and this was also used by the Espiscopalians until a church was built on Spruce Street. |
|
| 1856 | Gillespie's first hotel was opened by S. D. Martin. This hotel was named
the "National Hotel".
S. M. Burton added Gillespie's second addition. "Burtons Addition" was added to the south side of Gillespie. |
|
| November 1860 | A newspaper "The Union and Gazette" began publishing. | |
| 1870 | A hotel was erected by Henry Weinicke named "Old California House', and remained in use until 1903. | |
| 1875 | According to the "Atlas of Macoupin County of 1875"; the northernmost city limit was Elm Street and to the south was South Street. | |
| 1877 | The "Little Brick School" was built. It is now the home of the Gillespie Public Library. |
|
| 5-1-1884 to 5-4-1885 | B. E. McDaniel served as President of the Village of Gillespie. | |
| 1884 | Records indicate that the Board of Trustees and president passed all of the ordinances pertaining to the "City of Gillespie". | |
| 5-4-1885 to 5-7-1888 | P. H. Pentzer served as President of the Village of Gillespie. | |
| 5-7-1888 to 5-6-1889 | William Love served as President of the Village of Gillespie. | |
| 5-6-1889 to 5-5-1890 | W. S. Dorsey served as President of the Village of Gillespie. | |
| 5-5-1890 to 5-7-1894 | W. M. McDaniel served as President of the Village of Gillespie. | |
| September 7, 1891 | An ordinance was passed that gave permission for electricty to be provided by a private concern. This was done by Gillespie Electric Light Company which was owned by C. W. Smith and Jacob Querbach. | |
| 5-7-1894 to 5-26-1896 | Mr. Dorsey served as President of the Village of Gillespie. | |
| 1893 | The first bank was established by Grubbs, Miller, & Isaacs, but was forced to close due to a financial panic. | |
| 5-26-1896 to 5-11-1899 | William M. McDaniel served as President of the Village of Gillespie. | |
| 1897 | The bank was reopened by a group associated with R. H. Isaacs and was now named Gillespie Trust & Savings Bank. Sometime later it became the American National Bank. | |
| 5-11-1899 to 5-6-1901 | David Dickie served as President of the Village of Gillespie. | |
| Unknown Date | The first mine in Gillespie was located near the east border
of the city and was known as "Dorsey Mine". The mine was located on Walnut Street where the grain elevator used to be and where public housing now is. This is just to the east of the police department building and west of Bear Creek. |
|
| 5-6-1901 to 5-5-1902 | James Monahan served as President of the Village of Gillespie. | |
| 1902 | The Superior Coal Company began to open mines in the area. The Superior Coal Company was owned by Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company, which had three of the largest coal mines in world for the first half of the twentieth century. "Number 1" was at Eagerville; opened August 1903 & closed in 1951 "Number 2" was at Sawyerville; opened October 1903 & closed in 1952 "Number 3" was at Mt Clare; opened in 1904 & closed in 1953 "Number 4" was at Wilsonville; opened in 1916 & closed in 1954
"Number 5" 'Not a Mine' Actually #5 was actually a still closed by the See Also : Coal Mining History of the Area |
|
| 5-5-1902 to 5-4-1903 | James T. Bergen served as President of the Village of Gillespie. | |
| 5-4-1903 to 5-2-1904 | Joe Querbach served as President of the Village of Gillespie. | |
| 1904 | The Illinois Terminal Railroad began operating. | |
| 5-2-1904 to 5-7-1906 | Mr. Bycroft served as President of the Village of Gillespie. | |
| January 20, 1905 | A 'great' fire destroyed virtually all of the business district. | |
| October 1905 | The Gillespie National Bank was organized. | |
| November 22, 1905 | The Gillespie News Publishing Company was established by S. P. Preston and Clinton Bliss. They had the distinction of having the first linotype in Macoupin County. | |
| May 6, 1907 | Gillespie became a city | |
| Note : | Minute Books are missing from May 7, 1906 through May 4, 1908. | |
| May 7, 1907 | Richard Isaacs became the first mayor of Gillespie. | |
| The first elected mayor of Gillespie was Adolph Behrens. | ||
| 5-4-1908 to 5-3-1909 | R. H. Isaacs served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| 5-3-1909 to 5-5-1913 | W. F. Bycroft served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| 1911 | There was a Bond Issue of $8000.00 to build a City Hall, to house the City Council, the Police Department, and the Fire Department. | |
| 5-5-1913 to 5-6-1915 | Bert Rice served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| March 15, 1915 | The Gillespie Library was started as "Reading Room" by the P. E. O. and the Woman's Club. | |
| 5-6-1915 to 5-10-1917 | A. H. Behrens served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| 1916 | Began paving streets. | |
| 5-10-1917 to 5-18-1919 | A. J. Hackney served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| 5-18-1908 to 5-7-1923 | William E. Brown served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| 1919 |
The "Little Dog Coal Company" was began by Sam Westwood and was known as
"Gillespie Coal Company". See : Notes The Gillespie High School was built. |
|
| 1920 | A newspaper, The Gillespie Record, was established by Tom Dayball and operated for about two years.
See : Notes
|
|
| 1922 | The water system was installed. The "Little Dog Mine" was purchased by John Henderson. The Peoples State Bank was organized. |
|
| 5-7-1923 to 5-4-1925 | W. A. Hamilton served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| 1924 | Maple Street School was constructed. | |
| 5-4-1925 to 5-2-1927 | Harry D. Brown served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| 1927 | Sewers were installed. | |
| 5-2-1927 to 5-6-1929 | Walter Orr served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| 1928 | Gas distribution was installed in Gillespie. | |
| 5-6-1929 to 5-6-1935 | William E. Brown served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| 1930 |
U S Census lists Population as 5111. The Gillespie National Bank merged with and became known as the American National Bank. |
|
| 1931 | William Brown was elected as mayor and began serving the first four year term, rather than the previous
two year terms of office.
|
|
| 5-6-1935 to 5-5-1941 | Fullarton Fulton, Jr. served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| 1939 | The library was closed due to lack of funds. | |
| 1940 |
U S Census lists Population as 4440. The WPA took over operation of the library. |
|
| 5-5-1941 to 5-9-1949 | Theodore Frey served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| 1942 | The library was taken over by the City of Gillespie. | |
| 1945 | C. V. Beck purchased the Little Dog Mine. | |
| 5-9-1949 to 5-11-1953 | John Menzie served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| 1950 | U S census lists Population as 4105 | |
| 5-11-1953 to 5-13-1957 | Theodore Frey served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| 5-13-1957 to 5-8-1961 | Fullarton Fulton served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| 1960 | U S Census lists Population as 3569. A new Elementary School was built. |
|
| 5-8-1961 to 5-12-1969 | Raymond Bishop served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| 1962 | The "Big Brick School" was demolished to create the Big Brick Park. | |
| 1965 | The Little Brick School became the Gillespie Public Library. | |
| 1968 | The Little Dog Mine was closed. | |
| 5-12-1969 to 5-1-1989 | Howard Carney served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| 1970 | U S Census lists Population as 3457. | |
| February 8, 1970 | There was a Grand Opening of the Gillespie Municipal Building. | |
| 1980 | U S Census lists Population as 3740. | |
| June 1980 | The first "Black Diamond Days" celebration was held this year. | |
| 5-1-1989 to 5-1-2001 | Michael Mathis served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| 1990 | U S Census lists Population as 3645 / 3673. | |
| 2000 | U S Census lists Population as 3412. | |
| 5-1-2001 to 5-1-2005 | Daniel Fisher served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| 5-1-2005 to May 2009 | Josh Ross served as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| May 2009 to Present (2009) | John Hicks is serving as Mayor of the City of Gillespie. | |
| - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - | ||
|
Referrences used in creating this timeline :
1. "Macoupin County and Gillespie, Illinois Then Until Now"
2. "The History Of The City Of Gillespie From The 60's thru 1984"
3. City Clerk's Office records 4. U S Census Records 5. Miscellaneous records and notes |
||
| N O T E S : | |
|---|---|
| * |
Philander C. Huggins was born in New Hampshire about 1811 to 1814. He married Mary Lydia Whittlesey on November 18, 1839. She died on November 11, 1945. He married Mrs. Elizabeth Knowlton on November 8, 1846 in Macoupin County, Illinois. The 1860 & 1870 Census list list residence as Township 7, Range 8, Post Office is Bunker Hill, IL.
|
| * |
Sam M. Westwood was a resident of Staunton, Illinois in 1910. On the 12th of September in 1918, he registered for the World War I draft. His birth date was shown as June 12, 1877 and he listed his residence as Gillespie, Illinois. The occupation was stated as "Mine Superintendent" for the Gillespie Coal Company.
|
| * |
Thomas Herry Dayball, a newspaper printer by trade, started and operated a newspaper, "The Gillespie Record," for about two years. He was born August 18, 1875 in Missouri and was married to Nellie K. Dayball.
|
| Additional References |
|---|
| Name Origin |
| History of Macoupin County, Illinois Biographical and Pictorial Hon. Charles A. Walker, Supervisory Editor Volume I, Illustrated Chicago -- S. J. Clarke Publishing Company 1911 |
| - Excerpts - |
|
Page 385 Gillespie township . . . . . . . was named in honor of Judge Joseph Gillespie by the managers of the Indianapolis & St. Louis railroad.
Page 387 |
| - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
|
Incredible Illinois By Bill Nunes ISBN 0-9646934-0-2 Copyright - 2004 Printed in America by Corley Printing of St. Louis, Missouri |
| - Excerpts - |
|
Page 197
Gillespie: On Route 16 off Interstate 55 in Macoupin County; the ITS streetcar line that went to Springfield ran down main street; incorporated in 1853; named for Joseph Gillespie, a circuit judge who was a froend of Abe Linciln's whom he met in the Black Hawk War; Gillespie was responsible for bringing the Indianapolis & St. Louis Railroad, later called the Big Four; the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad sunk the Superior mine shaft, and the Gillespie area had 3 of the largest mines in the world; . . . . . . . |
| - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
| Newspapers |
| History of Macoupin County, Illinois Biographical and Pictorial Hon. Charles A. Walker, Supervisory Editor Volume I, Illustrated Chicago -- S. J. Clarke Publishing Company 1911 |
| - Excerpts - |
|
Page 306 Union and Gazette, November, 1860, established by A. W. Edwards, who edited it until 1863. Alonzo James conducted it for a time after Edwards left. It was extremely democratic. Edwards revived the paper in Bunker Hill in 1866. Gillespie News. This paper was established November 22, 1905, by the Gillespie News Publishing Company, the members of which are S. P. Preston and Clinton Bliss, of the Hillsboro News. The first few issues of the paper were of a five column quarto, all home print. That was the size of the paper until 1908, when it was enlarged to a six column quarto, all home print. In 1911 a linotype was installed. The plant has a splendid two-story brick building, recently erected and the outfit consists of modern machinery, new body and display type and everything that goes to make the up-to-date newspaper and job printing establishment. The patronage is very gratifying. S. P. Preston is the resident managing editor.
|
| off-site Interrnet Links |
|---|
| Sesquicentennial |
|
093_HR0410 LRB093 11946 RAH 16419 r HOUSE RESOLUTION 150th anniversary Congrats to Gillespie, IL. Sponsored by Rep. Gary Hannig on May 30, 2003
This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the |
| Illinois General Assembly 093_HR0410 |
| - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
| Biography of Joseph Gillespie (1809-1885) |
|
Mr. Lincoln and Friends © 2007 The Lincoln Institute. A project of The Lincoln Institute under a grant from The Lehrman Institute. |
| Biography of Joseph Gillespie |
© 2006 - 2009 by Wayne Hinton