THE STORY OF GREENUP
Bobbie Claire Goodman
In 1806 a road was planned
To unite the frontier
with Maryland,
Work, begun by an
Engineer's Corp,
Had reached Terre Haute
by '34.
Illinois was a fledgling
state,
And, when pioneers
started to populate.
Our Fathers brought forth
their strength and will
To start a settlement
named "Roseville" .
Just a couple of cabins,
a store, and a still,
Some folks called it
"Natchez Under The Hill",
Then, "Embarrass", or
"Ambraw", but, that was until
A William C. Greenup
built his Grist Mill
With old Joseph Barbour,
whose Inn and Stage Stop
Were located east, up on
the hill top.
A decision was reached on
a permanent name,
Ewart and Austin each
added a claim
Of government lands that
these gentlemen got
At Palestine, known
then as Fort Lamotte.
So, duly recorded, a plat
was laid down
And that's how our
Greenup became a town.
The lay of the land was
both timber and slough.
And we still had a few
roving Kickapoo.
Behind every tree fear
and danger might sprout,
But the traveling
preachers kept folks devout.
The Cumberland Road was
soon paving the way
To Vandalia, State
Capitol of the day.
The farmers would gather
from miles around
To help build log cabins
and clear the ground.
Their leisure hours were
short and few,
But fisticuffs and
home-made brew
Kept men engaged in good
horseplay
While Ma raised kids and
slaved away
Sweeping floors with an
old hearth broom,
Spinning her wool on a
creaky loom.
Brewing herbs to keep
folks well,
Not much time to "set a
spell".
Measles and cholera took
their toll,
Claiming the life of many
a soul.
Motherless youngins'
added to strife.
So father married the
neighbor's wife.
Abe Lincoln's fame was,
as yet, unknown
When he built a well from
our native stone,
Then, later, returned as
a Lawyer, to face
Defeat, when he lost the
Zig Lustre case.
Hotels developed from old
Stage Coach Stops,
Awnings and hitching
posts fronted the shops,
Far-sighted citizens
realized goals
When Cumberland County
parted from Coles.
Railroads arrived and our
favorite dell
Became a Park, with a
Mineral Well
Whose fame put Greenup on
all of the maps.
We stored all the
buckskins and raccoon caps.
We were civilized; thus
we ended gun duels
As we modernized with
Churches and Schools.
Frame houses had pot
bellied stoves for our heat,
The boardwalks and dirt
roads gave way to concrete.
With electric lights, we
could work overtime,
The "Big Kettle's" water
meant no pumps to prime,
At the ring of a bell,
gossip grew on the vine
As we listened in on the
"party line."
Theaters, Lodges,
Ballrooms and Bands,
Tent Shows and Fairs, all
made their demands
For pleasure, and trips
had a greater appeal
If one could afFord a new
automobile.
Though depression,
disasters and wars have deprived,
Our little village has
always survived,
And balconies hanging
along our .Main Street
Tell stories historians
love to repeat
Of the facts, and the
fiction, of "way back when,"
As we yearn to bring
"good old days" back, once again
Our minds, like an attic,
can store souvenirs
With thoughts of our
genesis, and by-gone years.
No one can predict what
the future will hold,
But the memories won't
die, and if they're retold
By each generation, with
love of our lore,
THE STORY OF GREENUP will
live evermore.
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