1830
In 1830 John Berry started teaching school in a log house in the area of Dallas Road (where most of our population lived at the time), and this would be the first school in the township to last more than one year. That small log schoolhouse remained until 1834 when it was closed due to an accident. It was eventually replaced by the original Central School House at the corner of Wilmor and Newcastle, making the current Central School District 51 the oldest school district in our township.
James Hendricks married Sarah Redman in 1830, and this was the first marriage in our township.
In March 1830 the first "public highway" was declared running through the township. Of course, in 1830 that simply meant a cleared portion of land suitable for horse and buggy travel. The exact location of this "road" is unknown but it went past the properties of Ira Crosby and William Holland. Settlers northwest of those two are not mentioned in the official path of the road, leading one to believe the road may have followed the general path of what is now Main Street.
New arrivals to the area in 1830 included Henson Thomas, James McClure, and William Heath. Heath settled in Wrenn's Grove near the current Washington Grade School, Thomas in the northern part of the township near Dutch Lane, and McClure's initial stop was in the southern part of the township, although he would later relocate to the Dallas Road area.
According to one source, a child of Henson Thomas was the first known death and burial in the township. No headstone or death year has been found, so this is considered unsubstantiated. He was buried in the cemetery now known as Baker Cemetery. There are other headstones in the township that probably predate the death of this child, but research has shown these individuals most likely died elsewhere and were buried in Washington.
The same source lists the first adult burial as a Mr. Pembrock, a traveller who stopped at the William Heath residence because he was ill. According to the source he was buried in Baker Cemetery as well. However, this is possibly an Enos Pembrook who appears in the 1830 Tazewell County census. This mystery may remain unsolved.
Tazewell County took a hit in 1830 when over 100,000 acres were broken off to form Menard County. This diminished Tazewell Counties potential strength as a downstate county, and would not be the last occurence of this. It also would lead to drama surrounding the county seat of Mackinaw, which would move to Pekin for about five years, then to Tremont from 1836-1849, then permanently moved to Pekin.
This story from 1830 is related in the 1879 History of Menard and Mason Counties, regarding Pastor John G. Bergen:
After Mr. Bergen came to Springfield, he found in Mr. Moore a warm and trusted friend, and was his companion in many a preaching tour. It is related of him that once, during the summer before the deep snow, they rode together 130 miles north to organize a church in Union Grove, in what is now La Salle County. On their return, Mr. Bergen preached at Holland's Grove, where the town of Washington now stands, a few miles east of Peoria. At this service, nearly all the settlers were present for seven miles around, including a company of Potawatomie Indians, who, by invitation, attended the service, filing in one by one, and taking their seats on the floor, near the minister.
Another settler to the township in 1830 was James Waughop from from Virginia, settling southwest of town near the area where Guth Road presently meets Foster Road.
The final weeks of 1830 began a memorable winter for the old settlers, the "Winter of the Deep Snow."
Heading into that dreadful winter, our settlements were roughly positioned as seen below. For a long time, survivors of the winter of 1830-31 was the demarcation point for an "old settler."
Settlements in 1830