Chapter Thirty-Nine of the History of Southern Illinois

Clark county was created March 22, 181 The county was named in honor of George Rogers Clark. It has at present an area of 493 square miles, and its population by the census of 1910 was 23,517. This is a loss in population since 1900 of 516.

FIRST SETTLEMENTS

The first settlements were along the Wabash. When the county was organized Darwin, a group of not more than a dozen or so of log huts, was made the county seat. Darwin is on the Wabash about half way from north to south in the county. In 1837 Darwin had about 20 families. This village remained the seat of justice till 1849 when it was moved to Marshall about twelve miles southwest of Terre Haute.

MARSHALL AND THE NATIONAL ROAD

When the survey for the National Road was made in 1829, it was discovered that the highest point on the survey between the state line and Vandalia was at a point some nine miles along the survey, westward from the state line. The attention of Gov. Joseph Duncan and Colonel Wm. B. Archer was called to the eligibility of this high ground as a site for a town. These two men entered the land from the government in 1833. Two years later Gov. Duncan sold his interest to Col. Archer and the latter proceeded in the fall of 1835 to lay off a town which came to be called Marshall. The first house, log cabin, was built in the fall of 1835.

In the forties and fifties considerable trade was carried on between the region of Clark county’ and Chicago. Gov. Reynolds in his inaugural message in 1830 urged upon the legislature the establishment of roads, and among the roads he suggested was one from Shawneetown to Chicago. Roads were early laid out and used as mail routes from Shawneetown and Equality to important points in the eastern part of the state. Among these roads was one from Shawneetown to the mouth of the Little Wabash and thence to Carmi, Grayville, Mt. Carmel and to Lawrenceville where connection was made with the road from St. Louis to Vincennes. This road was a mail route as early as 1806, and it was the extension of this road to Chicago that Gov. Reynolds urged p 437 upon the legislature. This road was subsequently opened, and passed from Vincennes to Palestine and to Marshall, Paris, Danville, Iroquois, Crete in Will county, and on to Chicago. The north end of this road was a mail road in 1832. Now by 1839 the National Road was in use from Terre Haute to Vandalia, and Marshall, being at the crossing of the north and south road and the east and west road, soon became an important center.

It is said that the town of Marshall became a center for the collection of the products of the region and also a distribution point for goods from Chicago and St. Louis. It was no uncommon thing to haul country produce such as lard, meats, beeswax, honey, fruits and vegetables from Marshall to Chicago and to return with dry goods and groceries, leather, iron, and pottery ware for distribution, from Marshall.

The building of the National Road from Terre Haute to Vandalia was the life of all the counties it passed through and especially was Clark county profited by this enterprise. The county was well timbered in many parts, and excellent stone was found along the line of the road. Saw mills were brought in and much lumber produced. Quarries were opened and most of the stone used in the abutments, culverts, and bridges was local material.

PROFESSIONAL MEN OF THE COUNTY

In 1854 there were thirteen lawyers in the county, these were: Geo. R. Gibson, Constable and Dulaney, Chas. H. Constable, Joshua B. Cooper, Robt. L. Dulaney, Justin Harlan, J. Newton Harlan, E. S. Janney, Uriah Manley, J. C. Robinson, Timothy R. Young, Nathan Willard. These were all located in Marshall except Mr. Gibson who was at Lodi. Justin Harlan became a judge of wide reputation; was Indian agent under Lincoln and held other positions of trust. A son of Justin Harlan, James Harlan rose to great prominence in the United States. He was the father-in-law of Robt. T. Lincoln, James C. Robinson rose to considerable prominence as a Democratic leader in this state. He was the Democratic candidate for governor 1864. He was a well known criminal lawyer.

There was a carriage factory in Martinsville in 1854 operated by S. C. Wilson. In the same year there were six ministers stationed in the county: Revs. Dean Andrews, Congregational; J. C Chapman, Congregational; James Martin, Methodist; E. Montgomery, Methodist; H. Conden, Methodist; M. Moore, Methodist. At the above date there was one dentist in the county, Dr. W. H. Eidson, who had an office in Marshall. There was also one flour mill at this time located at Marshall and owned by Payne and Overmyer. There were four hotels or public inns in the county in 1854. The “Clark House” kept by S. Archer in Marshall. The ‘‘Marshall” and the ‘‘Wright House” were also in Marshall, the former kept by D. Legare, the latter by J. Wright. Martinsville had a hotel kept by W. C. Bane.

AGRICULTURAL AND FINANCIAL

Clark county is preeminently a farming county. Ninety-five and a half per cent of the land of the county is in “farms.” The average size of the three thousand and twenty farms in the county is 99.8 acres.