Lanark, Ill., May 15, 1862. - It is no good referring you to any map of the United States to ascertain the locality from which I write. The town where I am stopping has not yet completed the first year of its existence, and is inscribed on no chart or map as yet desig­nated. Probably beyond a circle of 20 miles round Lanark there are not a score of people who know there is such a place in the world, still less that it is a rising locality. In this far western world cities rise into existence like Aladdin's palace. You read of this mushroom growth in books of travel, but it is hard to realize without seeing it in its early stages.

You pass through the vast city of Chicago, along its splendid streets, and quays, and avenues, and there you are told that 30 years ago there stood no buildings there, except an old mud fort, raised to keep off the Indians; and that the first child ever born in Chicago was married only the other day. You are told so, but you do not believe it; or, at any rate, you form no idea how the solitary fort grew into the mighty city. To understand the process of development you must take a baby town just beginning to stand alone, not a full-grown giant of a metropolis. It is for this reason, and because, in French phrases, I "assisted" at the growth of Lanark city, that I wish to de­scribe it to you as the specimen of a western settlement.

I am not, indeed, the first representative of the English press who has been at Lanark. Last autumn, Mr. Russell visited the place, with the same friend who brought me hither, but at the time Lanark was still an idea only, and Mr. Russell passed the day shooting over the ground where the town now stands. I may fairly claim, therefore, in a literary point of view, to have discovered Lanark; and, dis­coverer-like, to lay before the world the result of my discoveries.

Between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River lies the prairie land of IIIinois. From the river to the lake there runs a host of railroads, and amongst them there is one, now making, called the Racine & Mississippi Railroad. If you take any map of the west, and draw a straight or what the Americans call an "air line," from Racine, on the shores of Lake Michigan, to the nearest point of the Mis­sissippi, you will have before you the exact course of the railroad in question; and 20 miles or so from the river is the present terminous of the line, Lanark city. It was in company with Mr. Thompson, the English proprietor of the line and founder of the city, that Lanark and I made acquaintance with each other. The course of emigration naturally enough caused the borders of the great river and lake high­ways to be occupied first by settlers, and it is only slowly, as the population increases, the inland parts of the western states are being occupied. Thus the interior of IIIinois is still a great prairie country, dotted here and there with new cities. Railroads are not built here to connect existing towns so much as to open new ranges of country: and if the Racine & Mississippi line had to depend upon the custom of the inhabitants settled in the district be­fore the line was made, its chance of profit would be a small one. For miles and miles our road lay along a silent, almost deserted prairie. Every now and then a low cutting through a hillock, sometimes an embankment over a hollow, and then a fiat bridge raised on piles across a marshy stream; but as a rule a long level of track scarcely raised above the ground, and stretching without curve or bend, for miles and miles behind you­right in the middle of the prairie the rail comes to an end at Lanark.

Alongside the depot stood a sort of railway caravan, which had been the first house of Lanark. When the rail was finished, there was not a house or covered dwelling of any kind on the spot, and so this caravan was sent down here, nine months ago, as a shelter for the railroad "employees." By this time its pur­pose was served, and I heard the order given for the caravan to be sent back to Racine in order to be used elsewhere for a like purpose. Along side the statioft there is an hotel built already, not a pot-house, or a roadside tavern, but a genuine well-ordered hotel. Of course, being in America, it had a barroom, a public room with long tables, and public meals at fixed hours. It was clean, too, and neatly furnished, as hotels in the Free States (So. Africa) are mostly. The only national institu­tion in which it was deficient was a gong. The first landlord removed the inevitable gong on leaving, and happily it had not been yet re­placed.

There was already, too, a piano in the house belonging to the wife of a gentleman em­ployed on the line, and in his room I found copies of Macaulay's History and of Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. The hotel belonged to the company, and had been built by them, to induce settlers to come to the place, and it was doing a good business. Meanwhile, the town was fast growing up around it. Lanark, like all western cities, is built upon the simplest of plans. The owners or projectors of cities, buy a certain number of acres, draw out a plan of the town, dividing it into streets and lots, and anyone who pur­chases a lot builds any sort of dwelling he likes upon it. The dwellings may be as ir­regular and unlike as possible, but the streets are not allowed to be encroached upon, the general plan of the town must correspond witt the map. The map had been drawn out by ~ Scotch clerk in the service of the railroad who had also the naming of the streets and t( display his nationality he had given Scotcl names-Rose, Argyle, Forth and Moray, an. Macs innumerable, and only condescended to American prejudices so far as to permit of there being a Main and a Chestnut street. Most of these streets, however, are still streets of the future, and the influx of population has as yet called only Main and Bote streets into existence. The first of these is the commercial thoroughfare of Lanark; in it are some 20 shops established; I noticed two competing ironmonger and tinmen, whose stores were plentifully stocked, two or three rival grocer­ies, two saddle and harness makers, a couple of beer and oyster saloons, a tailor, a shoe­maker, and a lawyer's office. Besides these there were two large store buildings, one of which was to be a furniture warehouse, and the other, I think, a dry goods shop. Bote Street consisted of private cottages, and a number of shanties were scattered around the place, but not close enough yet to one another to form streets.

Every house in the place was of wood, all of them one, but some two stories high. Many had curtains and green-veranda shutters, and even the poorest I looked into were far superior in comfort to an ordinary English laborer's cottage, not to mention their being clean and airy. The streets were mere tracks of the prairie, hardened by the wheels of the teams, of which the place was full; but there were plank footpaths along Main Street. The shops were chiefly kept by the women while the men were at work on their fields roundabout the town.

The object indeed for which Lanark had been founded is to form a depot for agricul­tural produce. The fertile plains of the vast prairie will produce boundless supplies of wheat and corn. There is no clearing to be done before they are cultivated. For some cause or other, which I am not learned enough in such matters to explain, trees do not grow naturally on the prairie, fertile though it is, and for miles on every side of Lanark there is scarcely a tree to be seen. You have but to turn up the soil some three inches deep, and the land will yield crops without rest or ma­nure. An acre will bear from 30 to 40 bushels, and wheat is from two shillings six pence to three shillings (72 cents) a bushel. Indian corn, or corn as it is called here, is so plentiful that last winter it was burnt for fuel. With these prices the only thing which stops the cultivation of wheat is the difficulty and ex­pense of bringing it to market, and as fast as the railroad removes this difficulty, the cul­tivation extends rapidly. In one day last autumn 300 tram loads of wheat were brought to the Lanark station, within a few weeks of the railroad opening. The population, there­fore, of Lanark consists of farmers and of persons who come to provide for their wants. There is, of course, a good deal of luck about these western towns, as about all other under­takings; and it is impossible, as yet, to say whether Lanark will succeed in becoming the depot of the district, but its prospects are very flourishing. Its population, as far as I can gather, numbers already about 3QO per­sons. There is no church at present, but every week there comes some minister or other, who preaches in a room at the hotel. The people are now making arrangements for establishing schools. One of the chief settlers, with whom I had some conversation, talked of raising $1000 in the town for this purpose, and said he hoped for as much more in aid from the Edu­cation Fund of Springfield, the county town (state capital) of Lanark district.

The first public meeting in the town was to be held next week to consider the school question, as the railroad company has offered to give land for the school buildings at unusually low prices. The site of a church is, I believe, fixed upon, and I was pointed out a long square of prairie land which is to be, hereafter, the park of Lanark. If a dozen years hence, the park was to be surrounded by stone mansions, the growth of Lanark would not be more sur­prising than that of other western cities.

The railroad is pushed on fast toward the Mississippi. It is strange to any who, like myself, has seen a great deal of European rail­road making, to watch the rough and ready way in which this line is carried forward. The low mound of earth on which the single line is placed is heaped up hastily from a trench cut on either side. You would fancy that the weight of the engine would crush down the embankment, and break thru the flat bridges fixed upon the slender piles; but, somehow or other, American railroads work well, and serve their purpose. The cost of construction is low enough to make the mouth of an English share­holder water, being under 2000 pounds ($9720.00) a mile. This, however, is unusually low for America, and I believe the cost of the Illinois Central, over as easy a country, was about 8000 pounds per mile. What makes this cheapness of construction the more remarkable is that wages are high. The rate of pay for common laborers varies from four to five shillings ($1 to $1.20) a day, and the teams, which are brought in to the work from the surrounding country, are paid ten shillings ($2.40) daily. A very large group of the work­men are Irish, and the hillsides along the line are covered with shanties and gypsy tents where Irish women and children swarm to­gether in as great a taste of native dirt as the clean fresh air of the prairie would permit of. The sale of whiskey or intoxicating liquor was forbidden, by sort of ex tempore Lynch law; and I was rather struck by hearing the Ameri­can overseer go round to the different shanties and tell their inmates that if he heard of their having liquor on the premises, he would pull the huts down over their heads. From what I saw of him, too, I have not the slightest doubt that he would have kept his word.

In this out-of-way spot, as everywhere I have been, the war was the one subject of thought and talk. It is too far north for seces­sion, and the people to a man are stanch Unionists. A report came while I was at Lanark that Richmond was taken. There was a flagstaff in the main street, and at once the stars and stripes were hoisted in honor of the event. It was striking, too, to observe how thoroly all the people were "posted," in American parlance, on the events and politics of the war. Lincoln and McClellan (from his connection with the Illinois Central) were known personally; and their merits, as well as those of the other American statesmen, were discussed freely and often ably. Mr. Stanton (Secretary of War) seemed to be the most popular of the public men of the day, chiefly on account of his anti-slavery views. Indeed, in these northern states of the west, public feeling seems to be more roundly abolitionist than in any part of the Union.

There is little sentiment about the negro's wrongs, but there is a strong feeling that slavery is a bad system and a disgrace to the country; and, still more, there is a bitter hostility, almost an antipathy, to the slave­holding democracy of the South. Half-meas­ures, or patched-up compromises, find little favor with these matter-of-fact, plain Western men.

"The slaveholders have made the rebellion, and they ought to pay for it. The North has been half-ruined by the South, and the South is rightly punished if she is ruined altogether. Compassion to rebels is absurd, and loyal men ought not to be called on to pay for the property of rebels. If the South chooses to burn its cotton, and produce a famine, so much the better. The more slaveowners are ruined, the better for the Union."

Such are the sentiments I heard expressed, only the expression was in general a good deal too emphatic to be repeated literally. Mc­Clellan with his supposed pro-slavery views, was looked upon with open distrust. Lincoln, with his compensation scheme, was thought to be not up to the mark: and the policy which seemed to please this village public best was that of General Hunter, who gave a knock­down blow for once and all to slavery and slave owners.

Still, in this western world of the North, is only the rumors of war, not the war itself, that one comes across. The great tide of the Civil War has not spread so far north. Illinois and Wisconsin regiments there are in the fight, and plenty, but the states themselves have been little affected directly. According to the popu­lar English views of American affairs, the whole country is in revolution, trade is bank­rupt, and the entire progress of the century stopped for years to come. Yet here in the West in the very heat of the war, there is a great country growing meanwhile by rapid strides. The great march of civilization is still, as ever, tending westward, building rail­roads, clearing forest, reclaiming wild lands, raising cities, and making a wilderness into a fertile country. This progress westward across the prairie is the great fact of American his­tory; and if you want to understand the present episode of the Civil War, you must remember that this progress is still going on without ceasing. The growth of Lanark is one little incident of the history of the West, and it is as such that I have dwelt upon it.

An English Traveler.

The late Glenn Ward Dresbach, nature poet and author, was born near Lanark, Sep­tember 9, 1899, son of William Henry and Belle M. (Weidman) Dresbach. Educated in the Lanark public schools, he studied journal­ism 1908-11 at the University of Wisconsin and left college to go to Panama where he filled various posts for the Panama Canal including agency accountant for the Panama Railroad. During W orId War I he was a captain in the U. S. Army serving as commanding officer of the U. S. Medical supply and officers training school at Camp Meade, Maryland. His poems which appeared in leading New York news­papers and national magazines received wide acclaim and won several top awards. Eleven volumes of his poetry were published over a period of 25 years beginning in 1916. He is a member of the Society of Midland Authors, the Poetry Society of America and other professional groups. He and Mrs. Dres­bach made their home in Eureka Springs, Carroll county, Arkansas since 1941. Word was received of his passing shortly before this sketch of his life was prepared for publication.

"SALUTE TO THE PIONEERS" - CARROLL COUNTY: 1839-1939
BY GLENN WARD DRESBACH

As prepared to conclude an address, "Frontiers," given Wednesday, February 22, 1939,8:00 P.M. in the Milledge­ville High School auditorium, on the occasion of the ob­servance of the Carroll County Centennial.

Here were the trails of their desires!
Strength and faith for the miles ahead,
Warmed here at unextinguished fires,
Fed here upon the wholesome bread.
They brought here what all regions need
­Hope and courage! This land we know
Offered its richness for their seed,
Gave them harvest-and space to grow.

Stubborn was sod they had to break
­What of that if the crop was good!
Never a stormy wind could shake
Their faith in God or their brotherhood.
They asked His help - and did the rest
­Grubbed and plowed and raked and hoed,
Built-and always found it best
That each back carry its honest load.

These were the pioneers who tamed
The land and shaped it to their need
While the Light of the brave young Nation flamed
For every land and every creed.­
Freedom! . . . to live and dream and love,
The sun on the face, the eyes still clear,
And sheaves in the arms! 0 God above,
Forgive us now if we fail them here!
If courage fails-it is not their Will!
If hope grows dim-it is not their kind!
The sun of their freedom warms us still
­But we, with a lighter load, have whined!
We are sons and daughters of pioneers:
The land they left us is rich today­
Young. . . though tilled for a hundred years!
And God be praised that they came this way!

1839-1939 - PROGRAM OF THE 100th BIRTHDAY
ANNIVERSARY OF CARROLL COUNTY

Held in the Milledgeville High School Auditorium
Wednesday, February 22,1939,8 p.m.
Sponsored by Civic Organizations

Prelude. . . . . Milledgeville High School Band Colors Advanced by Members of the Ameri­can Legion
Salute to the Flag. . . . . . . . . By the Audience Led by Wayne Hawkins
National Hymn, "America" . By the Audience Led by Wayne Hawkins
Invocation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. W. S. Bell Pastor, Milledgeville Brethern Church
Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . High School Band
Brief History of Carroll County. . . Composed by Eva McKean Read by Margaret Austa Deets
Music. . . . . . . . . . .. Lions Club Male Chorus In first public appearance
Introduction of the Speaker. . . . Darl Unholz
The Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. "Frontiers" by Glenn Ward Dresbach of Lanark
Salute to Old Settlers. . . . . . . . . . J. H. Shirk
Music. . . . . . . . . . .. Lions Club Male Chorus
Colors Retired. . . . . . . The American Legion

Lovers Spring

In 1830 Thomas Crane, the first area set­tler took up a squatter's claim in what is known as Cherry Grove township. His home, surrounded by a nine foot palisade, was known as Crane's Fort. One of the first sur­veyor's map shows it located about one-half mile west of Highway 73 and one-half mile north of the township road off the old Sucker trail.

It was later known as Lovers Spring, a beautiful spring surrounded by wild flowers. This spot was used by many schools and Sunday schools for their spring and fall picnics. In the early 1900's it was improved with park facilities as of today (1968). When permission was granted for a picnic we usually climbed barb wire fences to make a short cut since we had already walked from Lanark. It was quite a task getting the teacher and girls across fences, but fun.

The Charles Carro lis bought twenty acres of this land in 1965 and have developed it into a summer retreat. Helen Rahn

The Boyle Hose Company Lanark Fire Department, 1865 or 1866

Martin J. Boyle was the first fire chief and there were three units; engine company, hose company and rescue hook and ladder. Company foremen were William Beans, C. W. Chamberlain, Henry Mayer, G. A. Crinklaw, and John M. Cross, foreman of rescue hook and ladder company. F. B. Boyle was the last surviving member of the original department.

Tournament Aug. 25-26, 1886

On the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Lanark fire department, ten other towns were there. Ten firemen ran 300 yards with a hose cart. They laid 25 yards of hose and had water at nozzle. Received $100.

Clinton, Iowa was first in 46112 seconds, Polo was second in 50 seconds, Lanark made a run with their hook and ladder, 300 yards, and had a man at the top of a 15-foot ladder in 48 seconds.

Lanark won first at Springfield state meet in 1887 for the state championship. They re­ceived $250.

Old Neptune was purchased by the fire­men from proceeds from their winnings from fairs, contests and dances.

Old Neptune was a hand-operated fire truck that took 15-20 men on the handles. A suction hose was dropped in a cistern and water was pumped through a regular 2 1/2-inch hose.

Old Neptune was used for fun only on July 4, 1917 or 1918 on Main street in Lanark and worked as good as the day it was purchased. It was sold by the City Council to the Fox Film Company and was in the moving picture, "Old Chicago Fire."

Not much can be found about when the first well was drilled. Prior to wells and water mains, water was secured from large fire cis­terns located one at each end of Main Street, one in the center of Main Street, one in each alley east and west behind Main Street, one by the Methodist Church (still exists) and one by the High school on East Franklin Street.

In 1917 the City Council passed an ordinance that no fire apparatus could travel more than 15 miles per hour in the City of Lanark. This was after Harry Sites pulled a hose cart behind a Model T grocery truck and broke a wheel off.

In 1924 the Stoughton fire truck was pur­chased at a cost of $5300 and housed in the fire station which is occupied by the Lamoreux Grocery store at the present time. In the year 1928, the new City Hall was built on West Carroll street and the fire station moved to the new building.

In the year 1929 a rural fire company was formed by selling shares to the farmers to purchase a Dodge truck from John Peters and had a fire truck built on it which was housed in the City Hall.

In the year 1946 the city replaced the old Stoughton truck with a new central fire truck on a Chevrolet chassis. In 1948 the community fire department felt the need of a new fire truck so it sold shares again. The bid was given to the Howe Fire Apparatus Company of Anderson, Ind. to build a new fire truck on a 1948 Ford chassis.

This unit worked well with the exception that the department ran into trouble collecting fees set to fight fire for non-members which was $35 for the first hour, $25 per hour after that. Members were not charged.

It was decided the only fair way to do this was to form a Fire Protection District sup­ ported by taxation which was done in 1948. The district purchased the trucks and equip­ment from the city and rural community.

Due to new water systems installed on farms, the problem of water supply became urgent as the large stock tanks and cisterns were being eliminated. The only solution was to haul water to the farm fires. In 1954, a new tanker was purchased on a F-9 Ford which held 1300 gallons.

In the year 1956, the Illinois inspection bureau agreed that if the fire department could haul 3,000 gallons of water to a rural fire, the district could get a six per cent insurance reduction. So another tanker was bought-on a 1300 gallon G.M.C. truck.

In 1953 the need of an "Emergency unit" was felt. By taking donations, money was raised to buy a used ambulance and necessary equip­ment to operate it. A first aid fund is accumu­lated with donations from people who are served.

In 1959 the need of a truck which could travel in the soft fields and hard-to-get-at places to fight grass fires was apparent. The district purchased a four-wheel drive Dodge power wagon. Due to having to roll a pumper, two tankers, and the four wheel drive truck to the country, and with the shuttling between fire and station for more water, the problem of communication became bad. The houseman did not know whether a tanker was needed from a neighboring fire company or not. A two-way radio was installed in March 1961. It has proved its need by coordinating the work of all fire departments in the area in case of a bad fire.

At present the fire district has a member­ship of 30 with a limit of 30. There are three living members of Boyle hose company, Carl Klome, Wilbur Whitmer and Boyd Barber.

The proceeds from the 1961 centennial were used to purchase a new ambulance costing about $5,000. In 1962 an International Carry­all, fully equipped and with only 5,000 miles on it was purchased by the centennial associa­tion and turned over to the Lanark fire department. The unit served the community well until the spring of 1968 when the fire district trustees replaced it with a 1968 GMC carryall ambulance.

In 1965 a new Chevrolet 750-gallon pumper was purchased to serve as first line pumper, the 1948 Ford, 500-gallon pumper was moved down to serve the city and the 1946 Chevrolet pumper turned in.

In 1965 Robert Shaner, the fire chief died; assistant chief Andy Weisz was elected to the rank of chief and serves as of this date, June 14, 1968.-Jack Hoak

Lanark's 1888 Fire

Lanark, Sunday, Jan. 28, 1888-A little before noon the most destructive fire ever known in Lanark commenced and four busi­ness firms burnt up, two buildings nearly de­stroyed-total loss $50,000.

John Lohr, who was in C. Wells cigar fac­tory over the Seyfarth & Water store saw smoke coming through the floor, ran down stairs, looked in the show window and saw smoke and fire and yelled, "Fire." Al Seyfarth, one of the clerks who was across the street came over, unlocked the door and found the room fulI of smoke and fire about ten feet west of the stove in the center of room and beyond control. The fire companies responded, also an immense crowd of citizens. The fire kept get­ting ahead of them, so they telegraphed the Freeport company. That company arrived about 2:30 P.M. on a special engine, flat car and caboose with full company and news re­porters. In an hour the fire had gone through the floor and was burning on the underside of the roof. Bucket brigades of citizens assisted but could not contain it to the one building; and about 1:30 smoke and fire were seen com­ing through the doors and windows of the Odd­Fellow's Hall. The flames gained steadily and about 2:00 got into the old Puterbaugh store and both buildings were doomed. At that time the Freeport Fire Department with its steam engine and efficient service arrived, but only a few minutes later the water in the cistern in front of the Hess hardware store gave out, so the engine moved to the cisterns in front of the corner drug store. The fire was under con­trol by 5:00 P.M. and had been confined to two veneered buildings owned by A. Liven­good and S. Dietrick, though the Ganz building was damaged somewhat by water and smoke.

Estimated property damage was as follows: C. J. Wells-cigar factory, $2,000; building ­ A. Livengood, who had purchased same only a few weeks before from Mr. Olion, $4,500; The Lanark Drug Co., $7,000-stock; Harry Low­man, jeweler-stock, $3,000; Oddfellows, $600; S. Dietrick, building, $5,000; Ganz building, smoke and water; Bert Widmer, con­fectioner, fire and smoke $500; G. M. Myers, second floor news office, smoke, water and mix­ing of type in removing same.

Ten minutes after dispatch for help reached Freeport the railroad company had fired a "cold engine and had engine and cars on track at 12:50; delay was to obtain an order from the Mayor to leave town. The City Council de­tailed four special men to watch the ruins during the night.

The Cotta Steamer of 1901
Interests American Motors

On Feb. 10, 1968 Thelma Swartz, editor of the Lanark Gazette received a letter from John A. Conde, historian for the American Motors Corporation. He was asking about the Cotta Steamer which he claimed was invented and built in Lanark on the site of the present Miller hatchery by the Cotta Automobile Company about 1901.

He wrote that this unusual auto­mobile had four-wheel steering and drive and independent springing of each wheel and went on to say that they were revolutionary features for motor vehicles built that early.

February 22 issues of the Lanark Gazette and Shannon Reporter carried a picture and story of the Cotta Steamer and asked if any readers remembered it. A letter dated February 25 resulted in an interview with Harry C. Curtice of Shannon who assisted Cotta with the construction of this car.

"Mr. Curtice recalled that Charles Cotta contacted him in 1901 and asked for his assis­tance with the building of his steam car. Cur­tice, then a young man of 20 had a reputation for being an expert mechanic. For six months Curtice resided in the Lanark home of Mr. md Mrs. Cotta and worked on the design and construction of the Cotta Steamer that apparently was not finished until three years later.

"One had nothing to pattern, nothing to copy, few tools available, no parts were manufac­ured and the only means of communication mywhere in the country was by letter, a slow and tedious method 67 years ago. Each indi­vidual part had to be designed and machined into being; welding was unheard of."

Curtice was not with Mr. Cotta when the Cotta Steamer was finished about 1904. There was only one Cotta Steamer built in Lanark as far as can be learned. The car is famous today because of features that have become univer­sally accepted and used in many vehicles to­day; the four-wheel drive is the really unique feature.

The Cotta Steamer also had four-wheel steering and a special type of transmission with non-clashing gears. The Cotta Trans­mission Company of Rockford, a prosperous factory today producing transmissions is apparently an outgrowth of Mr. Cotta's in­vention following his move to Rockford from Lanark in the early 1900's.

Harry C. Curtice, 87, was born on a farm near Shannon. After helping Mr. Cotta with his Steamer he went to Chicago and helped build cars for 37 years. In 1948 he retired and returned to the family home near Shannon. He recalls building a steam engine when he was only 15 years old.

Peter Horner the Cider Press Man Photo is Ray Smith owner of the press in the 1970's.
Contributed by Leoy Getz & Alice Horner
More - History of the Cider Press
Peter Horner - Pioneer Family

Peter Horner was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, on December 26, 1834, eldest son of Michael and Catherine (Forney) Horner. In 1856 he came to Illinois via the Ohio, Mis­sissippi and Illinois rivers. He married Wil­helmina Biesecker from Somerset county, Pennsylvania at Buffalo Grove, Illinois in the lid "Stone House," also known as the Doty place on February 21, 1860. He worked at breaking the prairie along "telegraph" road, a farmer tilling the soil for corn on land now in southeast Lanark where the grade school stands. As the town grew he bought a half block at Franklin and Will streets where his home still stands occupied. In early 1900 there was a big red barn on the southwest corner of his property. Here he kept four horses and did hauling and moving of buildings. Also he ran a cider press with horse power. This was big Fall business and a place where Lanark chil­dren came for "a sample" of the pressed juice. One of the native boys who loved the "Old Cider Press" and visited it often was Lanark's native poet, Glenn Ward Dresbach, whose poem is reproduced here.

Harold Horner, grandson of Peter, moved back to Lanark from Chicago on retirement and is a member of Carroll County Historical Society's committee on historic sites.

Among Lanark industries that should be mentioned is that founded by Don Buss, grad­uate of Lanark High School, who invented a material for keeping fish-worms alive. He not only formulated his successful invention but established a factory producing the substance which was marketed all over the world, from which he reportedly made more than a million dollars.

CIDER PRESS

The slow drip of the golden light,
through gold of trees that filled with richness to the core
The flushed fruit, now more clearly than before
Keeps time with drippings from the press.

Grown bold
To potent lure are bees that leave the cold
Drained cups of late blooms to the wind.
The store of piquant essence of earth-dreams is more
than this array of earthen jugs can hold.

The last bright drops seem oozing slowly back
Into the glow and fragrance of the air,
But this stored verve and twinkle of the earth
Is saved for one who leaves a beaten track
From cider press to nooks beneath a stair
­And age shall blend a mellowness with mirth.
-By Glenn Ward Dresbach

Notes from Lanark Gazette
By Mr. & Mrs. Harold H. Horner

The Lanark Gazette formerly the Carroll County Gazette, was started in 1863, two years after Lanark was founded. In 1873 the Gazette office and aU the files from the beginning were burned.

1876-Dave Weed had a fanning mill; in 1880 the railroad secured the contract of the C.M. & St. P.R.R. from Chicago Pacific R.R. Company.

Oct. 4, 1880-Peter Horner ground out 1100 gallons of cider and nearly as much more Tuesday the 5th at two cents to 2 1/2 cents a gallon. The other cider press of E. S. Barkley ran twice a week.

1884-Shumway and Reynolds started their vinegar factory, Jacobs his carpet factory and a large cistern for the city was built on Broad and Claremont holding 300 gallons of water.

Feb. 13, 1884: As per our announcement of last week, Hess's hall has been fixed up for a roUer rink and Messrs. Ernst and Tabor are the managers. Tallman and Hepfer are man­ager of the rink in Sherwood's Hall. Both rinks enjoy plenty of customers.

1885-a tile factory was begun and more jiscussion about street lighting. The council lppropriated $300 to buy 300 lamps for the :ity streets.

Mar. 17, 1891: Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Hawk "hile coming to Lanark from their farm in a :overed carriage were struck by a wild freight train from the east at the M. Steinman cross­ing one mile west of Lanark and thrown at least 60 feet. Mrs. Hawk was instantly killed, and Mr. Hawk taken in critical condition to Deitrick House for care.

Nov. 27, 1893. The High School building was totally destroyed, loss $16,000. Fire was dis­covered by John Carbaugh who attempted to ring the bell but it failed. He gave the' alarm shortly in the streets. Lanark's hose cart di­rected two streams on the building but couldn't save it and directed their efforts to save the adjacent buildings. Two hundred fifty children were deprived of school privileges. Arrange­ments were planned to resume school work by January I. However, on December II, it was announced that Lanark school would resume as arrangements had been made for the High School and grammar department to hold sessions in the parlors of the Methodist church; the intermediate grades in the Baptist church, and the 1st, 2nd and primary grades in the Abrahamic church.

On May 5, 1894, the school board announced it had let the contract for construction with native stone of their new school building to Fred Stuart of Freeport for $17,789.

Carroll County Mirror, Feb. 16, 1869: Springfield News. House Bill 1113 introduced last Thursday would authorize Carroll county supervisors to issue bonds, or impose taxes of $100,000, for building a county courthouse at Lanark. For some reason the bill is silent as to a jail. . . The whole thing is regarded as a huge joke and the bill is to be killed by amend­ments for beer gardens, bridges over Straddle Creek, and regulating the navigation of fresh water streams in Carroll County.

Dec. 8, 1873: Teasdale, Harrison and Com­pany, St. Louis, will build a creamery and cheese factory near Otter Creek school house, or on George Sherwards farm, a half mile east of town. Work will commence in ten days, capital invested $10,000 with capacity of using milk from 700 to 800 cows. During the first year will manufacture butter only, later cheese.

1885: They are going to have a woolen mill at Lanark.

Feb. 3, 1888: On Sunday, January 28th a little before noon the most destructive fire ever known in Lanark commenced and four busi­ness firms burnt up, two buildings nearly destroyed, total loss $50,000.

Aug. 16, 1899-Dr. H. W. Wales has had an automobile or horseless carriage built at Cleveland, Ohio, which he expects will arrive here about the last of the week. It will be used in making his professional visits in the country. Purcell Wales went to Cleveland to get instructions on the care and handling of the vehicle. Gasoline will furnish the power. It will be shipped to Chicago, and will be driven from there to Lanark by Purcell Wales.

The Horseless Carriage Arrives

Aug. 23, 1899-Dr. H. W. Wales' new automobile will probably. arrive here about five or six o'clock this evening. Drs. A. H. and F. M. Wales are driving it from Chicago. They left there yesterday at 2:30 P.M. and due to it being new they are proceeding slowly. They are following the Northwestern Rail­road and stopped last night at St. Charles. A telegram this morning denoted their arrival at DeKalb, and at this writing they are at Ashton-a little station east of Dixon-and unless unduly delayed they should arrive in Lanark as above stated.

Nov. 15, l899-A representative of the Winton Motor Carriage Co. of Cleveland, Ohio, was here to repair Dr. Wales' auto­l11obile. June 21, 1899~Shannon Reporter. The deep hole found several weeks ago on the Hackett farm has created considerable comment. A cave 40 feet deep and extending far back into the earth, is supposed to have been the ren­dezvous of a band of outlaws which infested that section at an early day.

June 7, 1899-City Council proceedings­ Alderman Jacob moved that a concrete or artificial stone sidewalk be laid on the east side of Broad Street, from the First N a­tional Bank to C. E. Wales' corner. Carried; July 5- The contract for the stone sidewalk was let to J. D. Brazie of Savanna at his proposition of $5 per day for his labor, the city to furnish the materials; 7/2/,99-Hitching posts on the east side of Broad Street are being removed for the new sidewalk, and will be placed on side streets, thus freeing Main st. from hitching posts.

July 19, 1899-The Mayor of Georgetown has recently enacted a new proclamation, and it will be enforced by Aug. 1st, and we will therefore for the benefit of those not knowing of his new rules quote a few as space will per­mit. No more fast driving on Lincoln street, either horses or bicycles; no cycling on side­walks; no vulgar language; all 16-year olds or younger to be off the streets by eight at night; and no trespassing on his property. A fine to $100 for disobeying any of these ordi­nances. (7/26/,99) The laws that Mayor Sweitzer had issued last week will not be enforced-so say the Aldermen.

Tri-County Press, Polo, July 5, 1906: Sat­urday afternoon Ralph Whitmer, 13 years old, climbed up the steelwork 100 feet high, opened the hole in the roof of the Lanark water tower, took off his clothes, jumped in the tank and went swimming, having a good time. He was discovered and arrested and the tank was emptied through the water mains, cleaned out and pumped full again with fresh water. A great many people were indignant over the idea of having to drink bathing water.

Lanark Public Library

The Lanark Public Library had its beginning in 1886 when 40 civic-minded persons each donated one dollar to form and stock a library. A permanent home for the books was not available so the National Bank of Lanark stored them until the Womens Christian Temperance Union agreed to give them space in their rooms over the postoffice. The W.C.T.U. then had its own difficulties and a Lanark physician located the books over the corner drug store.

For a time the Library flourished, then languished, and had it not been for the sisters, Estella and Emma White, who placed the volumes in their own home on East Franklin street making them accessible to the public, the library would have died.

The book collection remained in the White home until Miss Emma White died in 1941 again leaving the future of the library uncertain. With the settlement of the estate the books having been left to the city, a place to store them was found in the Lanark Gazette building where they remained until 1944 when the Woman's Club assumed responsibility. The National Bank again offered upstairs rooms where the library was lodged until 1957. During this period the Woman's Club kept the library open through its own fund-raising projects and financial assistance from the Community Chest. The club itself provided volunteer librarians. MO. The second floor library was up an unusually long and steep stairway and down a long, dark hall which was hot in summer and cold in winter. It fell far short of meeting the needs of the community so in 1956 the Woman's Club library committee met with the City Council urging it to consider establishing a public library. This necessitated a vote on the levy and the election of six board members. After much persistence and devotion to the cause including a campaign of talks with community organizations and the news media, the passage of the necessary tax levy was finally accomplished.

The newly elected Library Board immediately began searching for a ground-floor location; it was successful in obtaining the present location on West Locust street. The Woman's Club had conducted bake sales and auctions and paper drive,s with the Future Farmers of America boys providing the labor for collecting paper and moving to the new location. The Boy Scouts and others also assisted.

The more accessible facilities increased the patronage many-fold while membership in the Northern Illinois Library system plus the help of the state library greatly added to meeting the community needs.

Gypsy Camp Near Lanark

Aug. 15, 1907-A party of gypsies has been camping north of Lanark and did a general soliciting business. The boy with the trained monkey took in a number of nickels and pen­nies. The fortune tellers were over-anxious to tell people much more than would ever come to pass. Their absence is more agreeable than their presence.

Aug. 15, 1907-0ld Settlers Day will be a big day in Lanark. William E. Mason is the speaker. Lanark as a central point in the county, was selected a number of years ago for holding these annual meetings. Hon. D. C. Busell of Wysox called the meeting to order. George Weed of Lanark was elected president for the ensuing year. The death roll of old settlers was read by Mrs. Maloney of Mt. Carroll, showing that 75 had passed away since last August, 80 having passed away the prior year.

Dec. 9, 1907: Gov. Charles Deneen gave a talk at Sherwood's Hall, Lanark, then took the train for Mt. Carroll, and from there to Savanna.

Apr. 22, 1909: The sidewalk that was taken up last week on account of not being paid for has caused some comment pro and con. The city council decided that the walk would have to be paid for by a certain time or it would be taken up. As the property owner refused to pay for it, the 60-foot walk was taken up and hauled over to the water works where it will be laid north of the engine house. The cement blocks being in squares it can easily be relaid.

June 3, 1909: Lanark. The earthquake last Wednesday was felt by the greater part of our citizens. A few articles tumbled from shelves, one chimney was shaken down, dishes rattled, and one large building could be felt swaying. Note: In the same issue, several other com­munities reported the effects of the quake.

Illinois - "Our Way"