Directory of McHenry County Illinois 1877

NUNDA  TOWNSHIP HISTORY, 1877

    NUNDA, TOWNSHIP 44, RANGE 8 AND 1/3 OF 9

    The first settler in Nunda was Benjamin McOmber, who, in 1836, built his house on Section 6, where he lived until his death. Cameron Goff came in 1837, and still resides upon the land first taken up by him. George Stickney, Samuel Terwilliger, George T. Beckley and others settled in the northwest part of the township, and in the southeast Abram Vincent, Dewitt Brady and others. Near the center of Section 18, a little west of C. Goff's, in 1838, the first log school house was built, and Amanda McOmber first opened school within its walls, having five pupils in charge. This township was without a place of worship till 1867, when the Methodist Church at Crystal Lake was taken down and moved to Nunda, where it was occupied till 1874, when a new one was built at an estimated cost of $3,000. The name of the first pastor was Tilton. In 1863, Elder Lovelace organized a society of Disciples at the village. In 1844, James and Samuel McMillan, seeing a demand for a saw-mill, and having the necessary water power, erected one on Section 22, and sawed logs till 1863, when it was turned into a grist-mill at an expense of $6,000 to $7,000, and is still running. A carding-mill was built, in 1846, in the north part of the town, by Mr. Truesdell, on Boone Creek, but not paying, was discontinued after two years. The first flouring-mill was put up by T. J. Ferguson, costing, prob-ably, $6,000. The only manufactory in the town is the Crystal Lake Pickling and Canning Works, started in 1872, by William Archdeacon. This establishment carried on a large business and, under the stimulus thus given it, the popula-tion of Nunda village doubled in two years. In 1874, it was turned into a stock company, with a capital of $300,000, and owing, probably, to the general depression in business in 1875, it went into the hands of a receiver, but, having done a small business the present season, it is probable that the enterprise which promised so much for that region will not be abandoned. Nunda has two railroads, both of them having been built through the town in the same year. The Chicago & North-Western Railway enters the township near the southwest corner of Section 33, running in a northwesterly direction, and passing out near the middle of the west side of Section 30. The Elgin & State Line crosses the township line a few rods west of the former, traverses Sections 33, 28, 21, 16, 9, a corner of 10, and in its exit cuts the north line of Section 3 about 100 rods west of its east line, this and the Chicago & North-Western together having about nine miles of main track in the township, and one depot common to both at Crystal Lake Crossing. The first depot was shipped from Chicago, ready-made, on a flat car, in 1856, and set carefully down near where the two roads crossed. At that time, Nunda village was not thought of. This depot was for the accomodation of the railroads and, not being very well ballasted, it was feared that the prairie winds might blow it away, to prevent which, it was stayed with guy-ropes fas-tened to stakes driven into the ground. The Fox River Valley Railroad built a substantial depot near the center of Section 16, but finally removed it. Nunda has two cheese and butter factories and one for cheese alone, altogether using the milk of six to seven hundred cows. The village of Nunda is the only one in the township, and one Reed opened a store there in 1855. The log building first erected for a school house, however, had the honor of being the first store in the township, which was owned by E. M. Sever. This township is the best watered of any in the county except McHenry, being traversed from north to south, in its eastern half, by the Fox River, contain-ing two lakes--Griswold's and Lake Defiance--and half of Lily Lake, besides numerous small creeks, of which the largest is Stickney's Run, which furnishes water-power for two grist-mills. It is well adapted to grain or stock, and, containing all of Township 44, Range 8 and one-third of Range 9; has forty-eight square miles. Hanley Creek crosses the northwest corner of the township in a northeasterly course.