P 489 This county was settled in a very early day. Zadoc Casey, a young man of twenty-one, came with his mother from Tennessee in 1817 and settled very near the future site of Mt. Vernon. Probably there was even that early a trail from Carlyle to Equality passing through the site of Mt. Vernon and McLeansboro. There was also in a very early day a branch trail running from Mt. Vernon south through the site of Benton and on south to Frankfort, where several trails centered. It is not at all certain that Zadoc Casey was the first settler in the county, but he was without doubt the first settler near Mt. Vernon. Stinson H. Anderson was also an early comer. There were enough people in the limits of the county to warrant its organization in 1819. At that time the county included what is now Jefferson and most of what is now Marion county.

MT. VERNON MADE THE COUNTY SEAT

       The commissioners to locate the county seat were James A. Richardson, Ambrose Maulding and Lewis Barker. William Casey donated twenty acres for the benefit of the county seat. The court house was made of hewed logs, eighteen by twenty feet, puncheon floor, one door, and one window; a fire place and chimney were added, the whole costing $150. The jail was built in 1820. A public sale of lots took place the same year. The lots brought as much as $165 each. A number of the names that we find in the old records, we find today—Casey, Pace, Watson, Dodds, Piercy, Vaughn, Yost, Moxey, Green, Anderson, etc.

       The second court house was of brick and was built in 1822. The third one was built in 1840 after the model of the White county court house. More settlers were coming and new names were being spoken, among them Hicks, Castles, Baltzer, Green, Condit, Pavey, etc.

        Mt. Vernon was the only town of any consequence. All the early comers who did not settle about Mt. Vernon were farmers. The land was not rich. Peck in his “Gazetteer,” printed in 1837, says: “The soil is tolerable second rate land, about one-third prairie,” and the rest fairly well timbered. In those days the prairie spots in a timbered country all had names. Some such prairie spots in Jefferson were called Casey’s, Jordan’s, Moore’s, Walnut Hill, Arm of Grand, and Long. Many of these names still remain. P 490

MILITARY RECORD

       By the time of the Blackhawk war in 1832 the county was able to send a company to the front. It was commanded by Capt. James Bowman. In the war with Mexico there were two companies from Jefferson county, one—Company H—of Col. Forman‘s regiment. Its captain was Stephen G. Hicks, who was colonel of the Fortieth regiment in the Civil war. The other company was under Capt. James Bowman. In the Civil war many of the troops in the 40^th, 44^th, 49^th, 60^th, 80^th, 110^th, were Jefferson county boys.

JUDICIAL AND LEGAL CENTER

       After the revision of the constitution in 1848 the supreme court was to sit in three places, which were selected as Mt. Vernon, Springfield

 and Ottawa. A very striking building was erected in Mt. Vernon and the courts sat there regularly. Many lawyers made their homes in Mt. Vernon and the presence of the judges of the supreme court and prominent lawyers gave prominence to this little city. The old supreme court building is now used by the appellate court for its sittings. It has a very fine law library.

CAR SHOPS

       Mt. Vernon has extensive car shops. Originally these shops belonged to the L. & N. road, but they are now operated by a corporation of local capitalists. They are a valuable addition to the industrial life of the city.

       An interesting fact is a part of Jefferson county history. In 1858 the state fair was held at Central City, two or three miles north of Centralia. A Professor Wilson was giving balloon ascensions. On the P 491 last day of the fair he ascended and sailed into Jefferson county, where he landed at the farm house of a Mr. Harvey in Rome township near the village of Dix. While talking to Mr. Harvey, Wilson had his balloon anchored to a rail fence. Two of Mr. Harvey‘s children wished to play in the basket. They were allowed to do so. A gust of wind raised the balloon and it broke anchorage and sailed away. It sailed in a southwest direction and was found the next morning by a Mr. Atchison living in Moore’s Prairie township. He found the balloon and the two children fast in an apple tree. They were rescued and taken to their home in the northern part of the county.

MT. VERNON OF TODAY

       As has been said, there are no towns of any size in the county other than Mt. Vernon. This is a beautiful city of 8,007 people. It has beautiful and commodious church edifices, a modern court house, the old supreme court building, several ward school buildings, a very fine township high school, and scores of elegant residences. The city has many miles of paved streets, is saloonless and has been for many years. It is not only without saloons but it is a dry town as well.

       In 1888 a destructive cyclone passed through Mt. Vernon from the southwest to the northeast. It mowed a path through the city a hundred yards or more wide, destroying thousands of dollars worth of property and killing thirty people. The generosity of the good people of Southern Illinois was shown in the large quantities of foodstuffs, clothing, money and sympathy which poured in from all sides.

FACTS OF INTEREST

       The villages of the county are Woodlawn with 315 people, Belle Rive with 312, Rome 233, Ina 484. It will thus be seen the population is largely rural. The total for the county is 29,111, a gain of 978 since 1900.

       There is considerable waste land in the county, as only 87.2% of the land is in farms and only 85% of the farm land is improved. The distribution of values for farm property is 68.8% in land; 13.9% in buildings; 2.5% in implements and machinery; 14.9% in domestic animals, etc. This shows well for the farmers, since with poor lands the showing good on buildings, implements, and stock.

       The county slopes to the south, as shown by the drainage. The principal streams are the Big Muddy and its tributary, Casey’s Fork. Timber for purposes of lumber is scarce, but much remains for fuel. Coal is found but it is 800 feet below the surface and mining is expensive. The number of mines reported is one, with a tonnage of 10,708, all of which, excepting 400 tons, was consumed locally.

       Jefferson belongs in Group 9 of the  Bankers  Association. The county has fifteen banks, seven of which belong to the Bankers Association. Only two out of the fifteen are national banks.

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