Mason County, though of comparative recent formation and settlement, has a record of growth and prosperity which rivals that of her older neighbors. The county was erected from parts of Menard and Tazewell in 1841, by an act approved January 20th of that year.

The boundaries were fixed as follows: Beginning at the mouth of the Sangamon River, running thence up its channel to the mouth of Salt Creek; running thence up Salt Creek until its intersection with the range line; thence to the north line of Logan County; thence west six miles; thence north to the centre of township twenty-three north, range six, west of the third principal meridian; thence west to the Illinois River; then following the channel of said river to the place of beginning at the mouth of the Sangamon.

The surrounding counties were all settled prior to Mason. Forty years ago the number of families living within the present limits of the county were less than a score in number, and it was not till some years after that the tide of immigration began to pour steadily in and that process of development was begun which has since raised Mason to its present position among the counties of Illinois. The first settlement seems to have been made at Havana. Major Ossian M. Ross was, doubtless, the first permanent white settler. The region had been traversed long before this by white men. The first account we have of the limits of the county ever having been visited by others than the aboriginal inhabitants of the soil dates back nearly two hundred years, to March, 1680, when Father Hennepin with two voyageurs, dispatched by LA SALLE, the veteran explorer of the Mississippi Valley, from a point farther up the river, floated down the waters of the Illinois to the Mississippi in a canoe laden with articles of traffic with the Indians.

In 1833, beside Major Ross, his family, some hands in his employ and his brother, there was a man living at Havana by the name of Myers, and the Krebaum family who came from Germany in that year. Henry Sheppard and a man named Westerfield were the only persons living where afterwards was Matauzas. A Mr. Barnes and family lived one and one-half miles north of Havana, at the Indian Mounds. Two miles north-east of Havana Jacob and Theodore Guntlach lived on the prairie. These were all the settlers at that date in the vicinity of the Illinois River. Matthew Wiley came from North Carolina, and settled on Suycarte Island shortly after the Black Hawk war. He lived there till 1842, and then moved out of the county. Amid the solitudes of the islands of the Illinois River there also had lived at an early period a man by the name of Spurlock, who was currently reported to be engaged in coining counterfeit money, but who left on the formation of the county. Pleasant May, at Lynchburg; Gibson Garrett, living about nine miles from Havana; and Ephraim Burnell, at the Indian Mounds, had made improvements as early as 1836.

The eastern part of the county was not settled till some time after the western. Among the first arrivals was a man named Lease, who settled at Lease's Grove, five miles west of the site of Mason City. He came probably in 1834 or 1835. A family by the name of Estep came to the Watkin's Grove at nearly the same time. Hagan was also one of the first settlers east of Crane Creek. The unimproved tracts of county which stretched eastward from the river were then subject to fierce prairie fires, and it is related of Hagan that he was overtaken by one of these at one time while journeying to Springfield with a load of honey. He cut the team loose from the wagon, and jumping on one of the horses, succeeded in saving his life, while the wagon and its load were destroyed of course by the flames. The Powells were, perhaps, the first settlers at Swing's Grove, entering land from the government about 1834. Among the early settlers along Crane Creek were the Mounts, Yardleys and Closes. A little grist mill down on Crane Creek, the stones of which were no larger than the crown of a hat, was kept by a man named Sidwell, and without doubt was the first grist mill ever erected in Mason County. A little saw mill on Prairie Creek, long since abandoned, was run by a man named Peck. Thomas and Richard Blunt came from Kentucky at an early date and settled on Field's Prairie, which had its name from old Dr. Field, also an early resident in the county. George Virgin, Kinsey Virgin, John Sware and Edward Sykes, had also made improvements on Salt Creek Bottom, opposite Big Grove, some years previous to the organization of the county.

The early settlers were not troubled by the Indians, nearly all of whom had left prior to the arrival of the first permanent white residents. A couple of block-houses, for defence against the Indians had been erected at Havana previous to the Black Hawk war, and stood for several years after.

Early attention was paid to the educational interests of the community, and among the first steps taken were the establishment of schools and the erection of suitable buildings for public instruction. Among the very first houses built at Havana was a log structure which stood on the corner of Market and Orange streets, known as the School House, in which school was taught at an early date. It was here that the first school within the bounds of the county was taught. The first school houses in the eastern part of the county were built at Crane Creek and Big Grove, and were known as the Turner and Virgin School Houses. Voting was conducted here, and they were centres for all big meetings. The log school house at Big Grove was built in the latter part of 1838. Old man Lease was the first teacher. The first school, however, in that part of the county was taught some time previous to the building of the school house in the house of Edward Sykes, one of the early settlers of Salt Creek Bottom, opposite Big Grove, and the teacher was Mary A. Sykes, then a girl of fourteen, and now the wife of Mr. S. D. Swing, living at Mason City.

It was not until some time after the formation of the county that churches were built. The early settlers, however, were not deprived of religious services, and in the absence of church edifices they worshipped from house to house or in the groves, where, we may imagine, their simple-hearted devotion was as acceptable to the Being to whom it was offered as though it echoed from pillared dome or cathedral walls. Many of the settlers were pious men, who brought their religion with them into their new homes and lost no time in organizing church societies and providing for means of worship. The first preaching was principally by transient visitors to the county. Among the earliest of these was the celebrated Methodist itinerant Rev. Peter Cartwright, who preached at Havana about 1835. Rev. John Jenkins, from Fulton County, had come across the Illinois River and preached at a period probably still earlier. Old man Ray, as he was familiarly known, a Hardshell Baptist, was also among the earliest preachers. In the eastern part of the county there was regular preaching at Hagan's house, on Salt Creek, by the Rev. Mr. Slinker, a local Baptist minister. There was also Methodist preaching at the house of George T. Virgin, in Big Grove by a circuit rider, Shunk by name. The first regular church organization was formed at Big Grove in 1838. It was a Methodist church, of which the Rev. Mr. Shunk was the pastor. The preaching was held in the school house. The Baptists built a church on Crane Creek about 1856, and this was probably the first church built within the present limits of the county east of Crane Creek. The Methodist church at Havana and the Presbyterian church at Bath, both erected some years earlier, were the first churches built within the county.

About 1837 settlers began to pour rapidly into the county. It required some time to discover the peculiar value of the lands, differing as they do from much of the soil of Illinois; but when once it became known that the finest farms could be made out of its unpromising soil the unimproved tracks were rapidly taken up, and population increased in a corresponding ratio. The district now embraced within the present bounds of the county was at that time lying part in Menard and part in Tazewell County, the count seats of which were both several miles away, on account of which the administration of justice was rendered difficult, and public business could be attended to on the part of the inhabitants only at the cost of great personal inconvenience. The matter of the formation of a new county was agitated, and in 1841, as has already been related, an act was passed by the State Legislature, then in session at Springfield, and duly approved by the Governor.

By the provisions of the act, the legal voters of the new county met at Havana, on the first Monday of April, 1841, and (judges and clerks of election having been appointed) proceeded to elect a Sheriff, Treasurer and other county officers. The Sheriff chosen was Francis Low, still residing at Havana, who had previously acted as Deputy Sheriff when part of the territory lay within the bounds of Tazewell County. George T. Virgin, John R. Cheney, and Colonel Abner Baxter were the County Commissioners. Joseph A. Phelps, now residing at Mason City, was elected the first County Clerk, and subsequently, on the meeting of the Circuit Court, was also appointed Circuit Clerk, by the presiding Judge. The population of the county was then in the neighborhood of 2,000, and at the first election about four hundred votes were cast.

It was also directed by the Legislature that at the same time and place a vote should be taken for the purpose of determining the location of the county seat. It was then that a struggle began, continuing several years and which (while it lasted) was the source of an exciting rivalry between the friends of the towns which were candidates for the Seat of Justice. It was prescribed by the act of formation that the friends of each place voted for should first place in the hands of the judges of election a promissory note, drawn to the order of the County Commissioners, for the sum of one thousand dollars, and also a bond, making a donation, in the event of the place being selected as the county seat, of real estate for the use of the county, of not less than one block of lots should the town already have been laid off, and not less than twenty acres if on land not already laid off in town lots.

The two towns which were the principal competitors for the county seat at this first election were Havana and Bath, and after an exciting contest, the former carried the day. The required note of one thousand dollars was drawn by N. J. Rockwell, Pulaski Scovell, Lewis W. Ross and H. L. Ross; and a bond, donating a block of lots adjoining the public square, was executed by L. W. Ross and H. L. Ross. Then Havana was selected as the first county seat. It did not, however, long retain that honor. There was much dissatisfaction on the part of the inhabitants of Bath, who, justly or injustly, thought that their town offered superior advantages as the Seat of Justice of Mason County. An agitation of the subject was kept up, and finally an act, approved January 1, 1843, was obtained from the Legislature, authorizing another election be held on the second Monday of February of that year. Polls were opened at three places, at James Walker's in Havana, at Lynchburg and at Bath, where votes were received for the towns of Bath and Havana for the county seat.

Bath received a majority of votes and was declared the county seat. Its inhabitants soon had the satisfaction of seeing the archives of the county removed to their town. The June term of the Circuit Court for 1844 was held at Bath, the previous June term having been held at Havana. Bath continued the county seat for eight years. Entire satisfaction was not yet obtained. Havana still had aspiration which could only be satisfied by another removal of the Seat of Justice, and in February, 1851, legislation was obtained by which another election was held on the second Monday of March, 1851, at which the question was again brought before the people. The clerks of election opened two columns, one "For Havana" and one "Against Removal." The election resulted in again making Havana the county seat, which it has since continued to be. The last term of Circuit Court held at Bath was in November, 1850. The following May term of court was held at Havana.

But to return to the first organization of the county. The first term of the Circuit Court was held at Havana, at the hotel of Major Ossian M. Ross, beginning November 12, 1841. A terrible snow storm prevailed at the time. Samuel H. Treat was the Presiding Judge. The first Grand Jury consisted of James Walker, Ira Halstead, Michael Swing, Austin Pettitton, P. W. Campbell, William Deio, Andrew Young, Hoag Sherman, William Hibbs, William Atwater, Thomas Lowe, John Rishel, Daniel Dieffenbacher, Pulaski Scovill, and Daniel R. Bell. The others called failed to give in their attendance. Isaac Parkhurst was summoned as talisman, and thus the panel completed, with James Walker as foreman. The administration of justice in the county from that time to this has been unaccompanied by any incidents which require particular notice. The sentence of death has never been executed upon a criminal.

Among the many interesting incidents which occurred in connection with the contests in the early history of the county none are more remarkable, or better deserves mention, than an election for sheriff which took place in August, 1844. Isaac H. Hodge and Kean Mahoney ran for the office, and the race was a close and exciting one. The result showed that Hodge had beaten by one vote. The matter was so close that it was agreed to have the contest over. Another election was held throughout the county. The friends of both candidates turned out in their strength, and exactly the same result followed-Hodge was chosen sheriff by one majority.

The soil of Mason County, lying as much of it does along the Illinois River, partakes of a sandy character, particularly in the western part. It is, however, valuable for agricultural purposes and capable of making the finest farms. The prairies to the east, off from the river, were covered with high, blue stem prairie grass, waving in autumn as far as the eye can reach like a boundless sea. Wolves made night hideous with their howls. "Deer, in great herds, might be started up at any time, but their course could only be known by the parting of the tall grass. Every fall the whole face of the country was swept over by fire, the flames of which would reach high up towards the heavens, then swoop down, reaching a hundred feet ahead, and taking into their grasp the tinder-like material. None but those who have seen our prairie fires of twenty or thirty years ago can comprehend their magnificent grandeur."

The population of the county in 1850 was 5,921. In the next decade it very nearly doubled, amounting in 1860 to 10,929. In 1870 it had further increased to 16,250, although the growth and prosperity of the county were much retarded by the war during the five years following 1860. Elsewhere will be found census statistics from which may be more minutely gathered facts in relation to the population of the townships, and the amount and variety of agricultural products. The soil is tolerably well adapted to the growth of wheat. Corn is the leading staple, and that grown is of a superior quality to the product of the black prairie lands, of an excellence, indeed, sufficient to admit of its being distinctively quoted in the eastern market, as "Mason County Corn," and bringing several cents more to the bushel. Grapes may be grown in prolific abundance, and some parts of the county offer great advantages as sites for vineyards. Sweet-potatoes, water melons, and other products requiring a light soil are raised of a superior quality, and yield crops which offer ready returns for the skill and labor of the husbandman.

The situation of the county on the Illinois River, and on the line of great central railroad routes is favorable to its rapid development and growth. The river offers a cheap means of transportation, and in the course of a few years will, doubtless, be improved, and still greater facilities obtained. Where it comes in competition with railroad lines lower freights are the result. The county is traversed by four leading lines of railroads, the Jacksonville Branch of the Chicago and Alton; the Peoria, Pekin, and Jacksonville; the Springfield and Northwestern; and the Indianapolis, Bloomington and Western Road. These roads running through different parts of the county open up excellent railroad advantages. The first places it in direct communication with Chicago and St. Louis, the two great markets of the west, while the others make connection with important points.

The principal towns are Havana, Bath, Mason City, Topeka, Forest City, Manito, Natrona, San Jose, Easton, Matauzas and Kilbourne, ranging in population from fifty to twenty-five hundred. Bath is one of the oldest towns, It is situated in the south-western part of the county on the line of the Peoria, Pekin and Jacksonville Road. It was the county seat from 1843 to 1851. John Kerton was the original proprietor. The town was laid out in 1836, and has the honor of having been surveyed in November of that year by Abraham Lincoln, afterward President of the United States. There are two churches, Methodist and Christian, and a number of stores at which considerable trade is carried on. The town is a leading centre of the grain trade, and large quantities are shipped annually. The town at present has a population of about 600. Matauzas, along the Illinois River, was laid out in 1839, the original proprietors being V. B. Holmes and Watkins Powell. The place at one time bid fair to rival her sister towns throughout the county, but at present has but a small population. Manito is a town in the extreme north of the county. It was laid out in 1858. Forest City, also in the northern part of the county, was laid out in 1862. Kilbourne, in the southern part of the county, laid out in 1870, is on the line of the now Springfield and North-western Road. Natrona is a young town, on the Chicago and Alton Road, in the eastern part of the county. Easton has been founded only a few years. San Jose was laid out in 1859, and has a population of about 150. The two largest towns are Havana and Mason City.

Havana is the oldest town in the county, and the county seat. The site was surveyed in November, 1837, by Stephen Deary, for Ossian M. Ross, and the plat was recorded in the Tazewell County records, June, 1835. Several additions have since been made to the original plat. Two block-houses were built here for protection against the Indians. They stood on the bank of the river at the foot of Market Street. One was standing as late as 1840. In 1833, beside the block-houses, half-a-dozen rude log structures, only three of which were occupied, marked the site of the present City of Havana. In 1836 the population of the town had increased to eight or ten families. Francis Low, C. W. Andrus, and the Krebaums are the only persons living in Havana now who were residents of the town at that early date. A poll list in the possession of Mr. C. W. Andrus shows that an election held August 7, 1841, twelve votes were cast. The town has grown steadily in population, and now reaches nearly twenty-five hundred inhabitants. By a special election, Havana was organized as a city under the general law, and at an election held the following April, 1873, Hon. Hugh Fullerton was chosen Mayor. The town is finely situated on the Illinois, on land rising gently from the river, affording excellent building sites. The streets are lined with shade trees, which in summer give the town an attractive appearance, and heighten the effect of the large number of neat and tasteful residences. The town possesses capital and wealth, and offers a good field for business enterprise. The Methodists, Baptists, German Reformed, Catholics, and Lutherans have church buildings. Two newspapers are published, both of which have extended circulations, and are reorganized as journals of ability and influence. Selah Wheadon is editor and proprietor of the Democratic Clarion, a paper devoted to the principles of the Democratic party. The Mason County Republican, was established in August, 1873. It is Republican in politics. M. C. B. Ketcham is proprietor, and F. Ketcham editor. A bridge crosses the Illinois at this point. It was built at a cost of $60,000. A railroad bridge is also in process of construction, which on its completion will materially contribute to the importance and prosperity of the town. Its situation on the river makes it a favorable point for the shipment of agricultural products, which, together with its position as a railroad centre, afford abundant elements for a steady and prosperous growth.

Mason City is of younger growth. The site was government land till 1849, when it was entered by James Maloney, who afterwards conveyed it to George Straut. Mr. Straut conveyed the tract to a company composed as follows: W. G. Greene, Richard Yates, John Bennett, George Straut, Henry Keefer, Joseph Elliott, William Young, and J. P. Walker. In 1857 the company through Mr. Straut employed E. Z. Hunt to survey the original plat of the town of Mason City. This was filed September 29, 1857. Various additions have since been made. The city now contains 1,308 lots as shown by the recorded plats. The corporate limits now comprise about 480 acres. Twenty years ago land in the neighborhood could be bought for one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre, while the same now commands from fifty to one hundred dollars. Mason City would probably never have had its present existence and growth had it not been for the location of the Tonica and Petersburg Railroad, now known as the Jacksonville Branch of the Chicago and Alton. Two lines were first run differing from the present, and as many towns sprang up, both within a mile and a half of the site of Mason City, but their anticipations of becoming important railroad points were blasted by the location of the present route. The Fourth of July, 1867 was a great day in the history of Mason City. It witnessed the completion of the railroad to its limits, and the first train made its appearance, bearing two hundred excursionists from Petersburg and other places along the line. That day witnessed a new era in the prosperity of the town. The Indianapolis, Bloomington and Western Road was completed through from Havana in January, 1863, and Mason City now possesses rare advantages as a railroad centre.

The first building erected on the original plat was a blacksmith shop, built by David Dare on the north-east corner of Chestnut and Menard Streets, in the fall of 1857. Mason City was incorporated under a special city charter in 1869. The first election was held in April of that year, and Mr. T. J. Watkins was chosen Mayor on an anti-license ticket. The present population approaches two thousand five hundred. There are two banks; Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist Episcopal churches; two hotels, and a large number of stores. Two newspapers are published here. The Mason City Independent is issued by Haughey & Warnock. Mr. J. C. Warnock is editor, and under his direction the sheet has attained high standing and wide influence. It is Democratic in politics. The Mason City Journal is a Republican paper, published by Walker & Corey. Wells Corey is the editor. It has reached an extended circulation, and is an able and influential journal. One of the principal ornaments of the town is the "Soldiers' Monument." It was erected in 1865 at a cost of $4,500. It stands in the south-west of the town, and on it are graven the names of the Mason County soldiers who fell in battle or died from diseases contracted in the army. Mason City is noted as a business point, and it rivals any town of its size in Illinois for commercial activity. In the single year of 1871 over a million bushels of corn were shipped. It is the centre of a rich agricultural region and its future prosperity promises to be as substantial as its growth in the past has been rapid.

QUOTES FROM 1953

'I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it's going to be impossible to buy a week's groceries for $20.00.' 

'Have you seen the new cars coming out next year?  It won't be long before $2,000.00 will only buy a used one.' 

'If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit.  A quarter a pack is ridiculous. 

'Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter?' 

'If they raise the minimum wage to $1.00, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store.' 

'When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 29 cents a gallon.  Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage.' 

'Kids today are impossible.  Those duck tail hair cuts make it impossible to stay groomed.  Next thing you know, boys will be wearing their hair as long as the girls.' 

'I'm afraid to send my kids to the movies any more.  Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying DAMN in GONE WITH THE WIND, it seems every new movie has either HELL or DAMN in it.' 

'I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the century. They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas .' 

'Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball?  It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be making more than the President.' 

'I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric.  They are even making electric typewriters now.' 

'It's too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet.' 

'It won't be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to watch their kids so they can both work.' 

'I'm afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business.' 

'Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the Government takes half our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to congress.' 

'The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on.' 

'No one can afford to be sick anymore; at $35.00 a day in the hospital it's too rich for my blood' 

'If they think I'll pay 50 cents for a hair cut, forget it.' 

'There is no sense going to Lincoln or Omaha anymore for a weekend, it costs nearly $15.00 a night to stay in a hotel.' 

Havana, Illinois