BONE GAP PRECINT

BONE GAP PRECINT

Transcribed by Laurie Selpien from Edwards County Sesquicentennial 1814 – 1864

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Bone Gap did not exist as a precinct in early days of Edwards County as four precincts were recorded for some years. About 150 years ago a small band of Piankashaw Indians set up a village in a gap in the trees a short distance east of present day Bone Gap. Several years later early settlers found a pile of bones discarded by the Indians near their encampment – hence the name Bone Gap as given to the white man’s village established about 1830. Early settlers in the area included the five Rude Brothers who came from West Virginia in 1830. Other families included the Morgans, Knowltons, Philips, Gibons and Rices. In 1835-36 Ebenezer and Elizabeth Gould came west with their twin sons, Philander and Ansel. Because several members of the farm community came from northeastern states they referred to as Yankees and the community Yankeetown. The first Temperance Society in this area was established here in 1831 under the direction of Rev. Aaron Wood of Mt. Carmel. A Presbyterian Church was formed in 1833 by Rev. Stephen Bliss. Inconveniences of a newly settled area is illustrated by report of Mr. Cyrus Rice who left home early Monday morning for a trip to the grist mill thirty miles away or about 7 miles north of Vincennes. He returned home Saturday night having had to wait in line for his turn at the mill.

Old Bone Gap, as it was usually called, was situated a little more than one-fourth mile east of the present village limits. It was never incorporated as a village and was comprised of a store and post office, the office of Dr. Fildes, a blacksmith shop, a Baptist Church, a Methodist parsonage, and a few log dwellings. The Methodist parsonage was built in 1852 as a home for the circuit rider, who served several churches in the area, including Albion. The post office was set up in 1886 with Thomas Birkett as Postmaster at a salary of $12.00 per year. Theron Gould was a mail carrier-a horseback and saddle job-who met the carrier from Bridgeport at the Greathouse Corner.

In 1881 the Peoria, Decatur, and Evansville Railroad called the P.D. & E., was built and the village was moved to its present site on the railroad. The site was surveyed and plotted in 1881 by Edwin L. Chalcraft acting for Alstorphius Shurtleff and Rebecca Shurtleff his wife, and John Burket and Melinda Burket, his wife and Grace Morgan, sole proprietors. W. Morgan was a leader in the movement to the new site where he constructed the first building, a general store which was one of the finest in the county.

On March 9, 1892 a petition was circulated for an election to incorporate as a village. On March 29^th of that year thirty-eight votes were cast for incorporation and seven against. On April 19 an election for village official was held with V. C. Bowers being elected president with twenty votes. Apparently the first public school was a log building north of the road leading east out of Bone Gap, built in 1854, later the area was divided into three districts-Black Oak northeast, Yankeetown southeast, and Stanley southwest. Later Stanley School was replaced by College Hill just west of Bone Gap. Finally, in one of the consolidations in the state of Illinois, school districts around Bone Gap united and built a new building in 1916. Among other items of interest in Bone Gap was their newspaper, The Bone Gap Progress, published by Logan Gould around 1910. Chapters of the I. O. O. F., Modern Woodsmen and Grange were very active. For many years a brass band gave weekly concerts in the public square.

At two different times Bone Gap had a bank. For a century almost anything could be bought or sold in Bone Gap which could be bought or sold anywhere. Among the names of notable people in the area were Gould, Rude, Shurtleff, Rice, Burket, Morgan, Bowers, Knowlton, Gibson, Phillips, Porter, Stanley, Nichols, Thrall, Harms, Hocking, Brown, jack McClure, Sims, Marriott, Barnett, Drury, Fawkes and McTaggart.

The Bone Gap Commercial Club

The Club was started to get an all-weather road from route 130 east of the town of Bone gap and stayed in the fight to get it done. The club has been the sponsor of every important project since its start in the early 20’s such as the street improvement program, the Rural Fire Department, the new fire engine, school director, improvement of the chowder park and every project that arises for the welfare of the community. The Club membership varies from 75 to as low as 20 from year to year. The regular meeting date is the fourth Monday of every month with a family night each third month with pot luck supper and entertainment. Three different members serve on the refreshment committee each meeting night. The present officers (1964) are: President, Ivan Case Treasurer, Calvin King, Vice President, Ivan Briggs, Secretary, Vernon Nelson