The Big Snow of 1830

Taken from Charles Chapman's 1879 "History of Tazewell County:"

The big snow of 1830 will be vividly remembered by all the old settlers. The snow began falling on the night of the 29th of December, and continued to fall for three days and nights, until it reached an average depth of about four feet, but drifting in places as high as from eighteen to twenty feet. Great suffering was experienced in consequence. The settlers relied for their daily food upon the Indian corn which they were enabled to raise, together with wild game, which was abundant at that time. Plenty of the former was raised to supply the wants of all until the next season's crop; but when the snow fell very little had been gathered. Game could not be had. The great depth of snow was a barrier to all travel, and it may well be imagined the sufferings of the people were very great indeed.

This was the heaviest snow that ever fell in Illinois within the memory of the oldest settler of this part of the State. According to the traditions of the Indians in relation to the pioneers, a snow fell from fifty to seventy-five years before the settlement of the white people, which swept away the numerous herds of buffalo and elk that roamed over the vast prairies at that time. This tradition was verified by the large number of bones of these animals found in different localities on the prairies when first visited by the whites.

The deep snow is one of the landmarks of the pioneer. He recollects the dates of early occurrences as so many years before or so many after the deep snow. He calculates the date of his coming, his marriage and the birth of his children from it, and well might it make a lasting impression upon their minds. Could we picture the suffering of that winter; "the dark forebodings that crept into every cabin. Starvation staring the inmates in the face; the meager meal that for months was their only portion; we, too, would never forget it. But human tongue or pen can never adequately picture the trials endured by the pioneers who were here during that long and eventful winter. For weeks the sun was not visible, and so intense was the cold that not a particle of snow would melt upon the south sides of the cabins. People were for weeks absolutely blockaded or housed up, and remained so until starvation compelled them to go forth in search of food." 

Israel Shreves came to Tazewell county from Decatur County, Indiana, and located first in Elm Grove township, where he remained two years. Then he moved to section 28, Morton township, where he passed the remainder of his days, dying there Aug. 26, 1861.

During the deep snow Israel Shreves and Major R. N. Cullom (father of Governor of Illinois Shelby Cullom), went to the mill at Pleasant Grove, Elm Grove township. This mill was some eight miles from Shreves' farm, and still farther from Cullom's; but necessity compelled them to make an effort to obtain some meal. Each of them took a horse to carry their sack of corn. The men traveled upon snow shoes and led their horses. "The snow was so deep that it was only with the greatest difficulty that they could get along at all. On the elevated places where the wind could strike, the snow would bear their horses up; but in the "swags" it was so soft that they would sink, and but for their snow shoes the men would also have gone down. In places the snow was so deep that it would strike the sacks on the horses and brush them off." At such places the men were obliged to take the sacks upon their shoulders and carry them to a spot that would bear their horses. They would then return to their horses and lead them on. Oft-times it was quite difficult, owing to the great depth of the snow, to get the horses upon the hard snow. The cold was so intense, and the wind so high, that persons were in great danger of freezing to death; but the two determined, sturdy pioneers pushed ahead and at last arrived at the mill. 

On the following day after their arrival at the mill Mr. Shreves started for home, and after a long and painful journey reached his destination in safety; "but so great was the physical exertion he made that not withstanding the intense cold he wiped the streaming perspiration from his brow."

Mr. Cullom remained another night at the mill before attempting to leave for home which he reached in safety after a tedious, dangerous journey.

Mr. Shreves had seven large, fat hogs running in a ten-acre field. Their bed was quite a distance from the house, and they could not be reached very soon. When found they were all frozen to death. Major R.N. Cullom, during this winter, carried corn on his back from Mackinaw to his cabin, a distance of ten miles, to feed his horses. He traveled on snow-shoes.

Rev. Wm. Brown and his brother-in-law, Alfred Phillips, who lived two and a half miles from Mr. Brown's,  cut brows for their cattle till they could shovel a path to Holland's Grove, now Washington, to drive them there. This was a hard task. So much extra work was to be done in the building of homes that in the fall the pioneers did not gather in and crib their corn. They let it remain in the field until winter came before gathering. The big snow therefore found many of the settlers without any preparation for a long siege. They would go out into the field, and where they could see the top of a corn stalk sticking up through the snow they would dig down until they came to the ear. To get wood,  they would cut trees at the top of the snow, and when spring came and the snow had disappeared, they often found the stump long enough to cut into fence rails. The snow lay on the ground until about the first of April; and we have little doubt that many a weary one during that long winter sighed for the comforts of the "old home;" still, not withstanding its great dreariness and the greater sufferings of the people, none became disheartened, for we find them in the spring of 1831 as determined as ever to carve out for themselves a home in this truly beautiful country.

During this winter, from Dec. 29, 1830, till Feb. 13, 1831, it snowed nineteen times. After the snow melted, we are told that the bones of deer were so numerous in some places that for one-quarter of an acre one could step from bone to bone over the whole surface, so many deer had perished there. The season following the winter of the deep snow was a very late one, and frost came every month in the year. The crops were poor, as may well be supposed, and the corn did not ripen.