About St. Charles

• Preface
• Native American History
• Early Settlement
• Building a Community
• Philanthropy & Tourism

Early Settlement of St. Charles

Migration West

The first Europeans to enter what is today the northern Illinois region were cartographers, French fur-traders, and soldiers. After the end of the Black Hawk War in 1832, white Anglo-Saxon settlers began to populate the area west of Chicago. People traveled via horseback, covered wagon, on foot, or by boat. Many times a combination of these methods were used during travel.

Life on the prairie was harsh for the pioneers; they would frequently have to endure brutal weather conditions, sickness by disease, or hostility from Native Americans. In addition, settlers would have to make frequent stops for provisions. Because there were no roads, they traveled very slowly to prevent wear on the wagon. In the 1830s, a trip from St. Charles to Chicago typically took at least three days.

To lighten the haul, the settlers often carried no more than necessary. Oxen, milk cows, chickens, pigs, guns, ammunition, and one set of clothing were part of a typical load. Pioneer cabins were typically constructed of stone, dirt, mud, sod, and wooden logs. When the pioneers settled around the Fox Valley, they found an abundant source of wood, game, fish, spring water, and clay.

As the Native Americans who settled along the Fox River for centuries already knew, the river itself was an enormous asset to people living near it. It was one of the best sources for water-power in the region, which caused settlements to quickly appear up and down its banks during the 1830s. In addition, the region sat on top of a huge bed of Niagara limestone, which aided in future mason work by making building stone easily obtainable and providing multipurpose lime sediments.

The savannah ecosystem of the landscape was largely divided by the river; on the west side laid a mix of prairies and forest, and a forest dominated the land on the east. Aurora and Batavia were commonly known as the "Big Woods" while Geneva and St. Charles were called the "Little Woods."

Building the Dam, Bridge, and Mills

In the summer of 1833, Evan Shelby and William Franklin moved west from Indiana and staked a claim on the east side of the Fox River just north of where Baker Park is today (Main Street and 4th Avenue). They left that winter and returned in the spring of 1834 with their families to purchase land from the government and build a cabin on their claim.

In 1834, Charleston was founded. Along with Evan Shelby and William and Lydia Franklin, many settlers bought land from the government and began to farm and improve the region. Included in this group were Dean and Read Ferson, Calvin Ward, Bela Hunt, and George and Ira Minard. These enterprising young men and women began to plot the town, establish the county, and sell land to new-coming settlers.

By the year 1836, construction was completed on the first dam, bridge, gristmill, and sawmill. The building of the dam was a crucial point in the establishment of the town due to its role in the production of natural resources. Where a town would be built was dictated by the natural course of the river, or where ever the river allowed for an ideal spot for a dam. A dam provided water control which allowed for a water-powered mills to cut wood or grind flour, which was crucial to the growth of the town.

By 1837, Charleston had its share of masons, millwrights, builders, and even a doctor, lawyer, and potter. In addition, churches also sprang up with the growth of the town, including the Congregationalist, Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, and Universalists.

During the late 1830s, it was discovered that there was another Charleston in downstate Illinois. The southern Charleston was slightly older than the northern. In 1839, it was suggested by S.S. Jones, a lawyer in town, that the name of the town be changed from Charleston to St. Charles.

The first bridge over Main Street was built in 1836. Between the days of March 11 and 12, 1839, a sleepy, ice-covered river turned into a raging torrent of water due to a sudden melting of snow. Consequently, every bridge in Kane County was swept away with the current. Many local people in St. Charles and the surrounding towns started private ferry services until new bridges were constructed.

There are competing stories of what happened to the bridge which replaced the original. One story claims it was again raging flood waters which washed the wooden timber bridge away, much like the fate of the first. Another story, however, tells the tale of an angry mob invading the town and permanently damaging the footbridge in the process. The raid was the Richards Riot that took place on April 19, 1849. In any case, the bridge was destroyed in April of 1849.

Once again, a new wooden timber bridge was built in place of the old, only to fall again to mother nature. In February 1857, the Fox River once again rose to a level that proved to be too much for the bridge. Learning from their first and second experiences, the settlers immediately constructed a temporary footbridge until a new bridge could be built. "Heavy wooden timbers" were used to reconstruct the bridge in 1857. However, being made of wood, the timbers were bound to rot, and rot they did until 1874 when the bridge was voluntarily replaced with iron.

The Boom of the1840s and 1850s

Between 1840 and 1850, the downtown experienced a boom in settlement, development, and activity. Industries such as a paper mill, condensing mill, oil mill, and an iron foundry were founded. In addition, many brick homes were built in the towns historic districts of Century Corners and Old St. Charles.

The Swedish community was an early and prominent factor in the development of St. Charles. They came just ten years after the very first settlers, and proved to be hard-working, successful business people.

The Swedish Lutheran Church was a long time coming for those early settlers and proved to be difficult to keep. Local legend maintains that the community of Swedish Lutherans constructed a quaint church in 1852 where they assembled to conduct services. By the next year however, the congregation was allegedly in a bit of financial trouble. The landlord was an Irishman named Marvin, and in Easter 1853, he took the church back from the Swedes, literally. Apparently the congregation could not pay rent for the church, and overnight, it was taken from the premises never to be found again. When the parishioners arrived to worship Easter morning, what they did not find was their quaint little church waiting for them.

The Irish emigrated to the United States because of devastating social conditions in Ireland, due to the potato blight. They survived in the United States because of the need for manual labor in the Midwest during the 1860s. As a result, they were employed mostly as canal diggers and railroad workers.

Not all of the Irish were of this working-class, however. Dr. H. M. Crawford, a native of Northern Ireland, arrived in town in 1848. Born in Belfast in 1820, he went to school in Belfast, Glasgow, Dublin, and Edinburgh. He ran a successful practice in St. Charles and aided in preventing the spread of the Swedish cholera epidemic in July 1852. Though not an American by birth, Dr. Crawford served in the United States Army during the Civil War as a surgeon.

As a stop over between Chicago and DeKalb, hotels played an important part in the town. In addition to room and board, they also served as gathering places for local organizations, political rallies, balls and dances, and recruiting offices for the United States Army. There may have been as many as 17 hotels in town between 1838 and 1930. Some early hotels include the Burchell Hotel, the Howard House, White Front, and the Franklin Hotel.

The Burchell was the first hotel in St. Charles and was founded by J.R. Burchell. The Burchell Hotel (later called the St. Charles Hotel) was built in 1838 on the southeast corner of 1st Avenue and Main Street where the Arcada Theatre stands today. Many community activities centered in and around the hotel which functioned until around the Civil War.

The Howard House Hotel opened in 1848 and became the spot of many military balls and holiday parties in the following twenty years. The hotel was surrounded by a large balcony from which local politicians and orators impressed or dulled the citizens of St. Charles. During the Civil War, the recruitment offices for the 8th Illinois Cavalry were stationed there.

The Legend of the Franklin Medical School

The first medical school in Illinois was the Franklin Medical School founded in 1842 in St. Charles. Dr. George Richards was director of the school located at the northeast corner of First Avenue and Main Street. The school was the cause of a 1849 riot in St. Charles, which today is known as the "Richards Riot."

Apparently, the 1849 incident was not the first time there was trouble between the community and the school. The school was filled with controversy in its brief history and tension surrounded it prior to the riot. It seems several of the students of the school were well known for their numerous midnight grave thefts.

In April of 1849, however, tension would become violence for St. Charles. Late one evening, two medical students from the school, John Rood and George Richards (son of the director), stole a cadaver from a Sycamore graveyard. It was the body of Mrs. George Kenyon, a deceased young bride from a prominent family. After returning to town, they concealed the corpse in Richards’ barn, awaiting an opportunity to dissect it in class. Soon afterward, their exploit was discovered by the grieving family.

On April 19th, an angry mob of over 100 Sycamore residents journeyed to the home of Dr. Richards demanding the return of the body. A heated riot ensued and John Rood was fatally shot. Trying to calm the people, Dr. Richards stepped outside his home and was shot in the arm. Bleeding profusely and still trying to address the uncontrollable crowd, Dr. Richards was hit by rocks hurled at his head by the angry Sycamorans. While John Rood was instantly killed during the incident, Dr. Richards suffered wounds that would later cause his death.

To add to the strange story, there are competing versions of how the body was recovered. In one version, boys from town retrieved the body from what is now the Red Oak Nature Center. Another more fantastic version tells of Mrs. Caroline Howard, a noted spiritualist in town, being asked to use her psychic abilities to retrieve the body. Apparently, according to the latter version, her powers were strong enough to find the body, which was concealed along a bluff south of town. Mrs. Howard’s alleged association with this incident made her a very popular medium over the next 40 years.

Consequently, the Franklin Medical School was forced to close after only seven years of existence. Although the town was famous because of this incident, ultimately it was detrimental to the prosperity of St. Charles due to the closing of a major medical building.

Abolitionist Movement and the Underground Railroad in St. Charles

African-American emigrants to St. Charles shared an abusive history of power struggles within the slave trade. Many of the people who fled from this persecution did so through the underground railroad. St. Charles played an important role in helping slaves to freedom. Known abolitionists such as James Wheeler, James Durant, and members of the Kane County Anti-Slavery Society fought for the rights of these oppressed people. Many fugitive slaves traveled through the Fox River Valley following the river north to freedom.

The underground railroad was very active in St. Charles. It was not a railroad in the true sense of the word, but a term used to describe the pilgrimage of the slave to freedom in the North. The routes for passage would change frequently to help keep the runaways safe. Typically, escaped slaves would travel only at night, following waterways and railroad tracks northward. The information about the trails was spread through word-of-mouth, stories, or through song.

One of the many slaves who stayed in St. Charles was Joanna Garner. She worked for a family in town which gave her a block for farming and a small house in return for her services. Her descendants still reside in St. Charles to this day.

Abolitionists and sympathizers may or may not have helped in a slave’s journey, but those who did help were referred to as "conductors" and the temporary hideouts as "stations." St. Charles has several stations in which tunnels, false doorways, and small hideouts are found. In addition, letters written by family members prove the existence of the stations at some sites. The most probable stations include the James Wheeler home (Wild Rose Inn), the Klink Wagon Shop (Antique Market II), and the Norris Funeral Home.

In the summer of 1842, the "friends of the oppressed" were invited to form a society in which they could openly profess their disapproval in the institution of slavery. The organizers called themselves the Kane County Anti-Slavery Society. The Society consisted of over 180 men and women who fought for the rights of Blacks in the United States on a religious, social, and political level. All around the country at this time, a radical abolitionism had gained ground in the political arena and Kane County proved to be no different. Politically, the abolitionists supported the Liberty Party.

In 1833, the American Anti-Slavery Society was founded and during the following years, a network of state and local chapters were founded. The abolitionists involved in these organizations were the outspoken supporters of human rights at their time. Their courage can be compared to many human rights groups of today.

The constitution of the Society consisted of such unbending doctrines as:

...whereas our national existence is based upon this principle... ‘that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;’ and whereas, after the lapse of more than sixty years... nearly one sixth part of the nation are held in bondage by their fellow citizens, and whereas slavery is contrary to the principles of natural justice, of our republican form of government, and of the Christian religion, and is destructive to the prosperity of the country...

The writers of the Society’s constitution went on to ask that the masters immediately free their slaves and stop endangering the peace and union of the States. They called for nothing less than to abolish all forms of slavery worldwide. The beliefs in basic human rights inspired the group not only to talk about the injustices of slavery, but to deliver relief efforts as well.

Aside from voting for candidates who supported abolitionist movements, Society members assisted the cause by harboring running slaves on the Underground Railroad. There are thought to be many "stations" in Kane county, many of which are unknown to this day. It was not unlikely however, that nearly all of the members helped the Underground Railroad in some way. One member of the Society wrote, "...consider me as ever ready to furnish all of the assistance in my power to aid and sustain the underground railroad in all lawful undertakings to obtain passengers and their safe deposit..." Because the Society had its most active membership before the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which made it illegal to assist slaves to freedom in the North, participation in the Underground Railroad by the Society was probably widespread.

The Kane County Anti-Slavery Society was headed by some of the leading citizens in the towns and churches. Among them, Valentine Randall, Frank Ward, and James Wheeler, and many leading women in the community, including Cynthia Waite, Abby C. Ward, Elizabeth Finley, and Catherine Walker. They all fought for the rights of slaves and participated in the works of the Society. A resolution was passed on September 24, 1844 stating: "we hail the formation of female anti-slavery societies, and the enlistment of female talent and effort, as affording the strongest grounds for encouragement, and the surest evidence of success on our holy cause." Over thirty women were among the original signers of Society’s constitution. Without the efforts of these courageous men and women, the cause of the abolitionist would have been that much more difficult to achieve.

Camp Kane and the Civil War

St. Charles played an important role in the history of the Civil War as a training ground, recruiting center, and home to a famous general of the war, John Farnsworth. Farnsworth was an attorney, founder of the Republican Party, congressman, as well as a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln. In 1858, he advised Lincoln during the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates and in 1860 nominated Lincoln for president during the Republican Party Convention. Farnsworth was also called to the bedside of the dying President after Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theatre in 1865. Without Farnsworth’s influence, Camp Kane would not have been so successful.

Illinois was a hotbed of anti-slave ideals and St. Charles was no exception. General Farnsworth started a training camp for troops and cavalry (horse) units in 1861 on property which he owned along the east bank of the Fox River. Camp Kane (now Langum Park) trained over 1000 men. Two of the units to come out of Camp Kane included the 8th Illinois and 17th Illinois Cavalry Regiments, both instrumental in the Northern victory. Marcellus Jones of the 8th Illinois Cavalry is reputed by some historians to have fired the first shot at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Despite its size, St. Charles gave one of the largest quotas of troops in all of Kane County. St. Charles residents such as General Farnsworth, Captain Elliot, Major Van Patten, Major John Waite, Captain Beach, Captain McGuire, Colonel Gillett, Major (Judge) Barry, Lieutenant Durant, and Dr. Crawford all aided in the war effort. In addition, at least three women from St. Charles also served in the war, including Ophelia Amigh, Lucy Whipple Campbell Kaiser, and Emma Lake. These names are among the most important in the history of our town.

History of St. Charles
The First 100 Years
Written by Jeanne Schultz-Angel
The Heritage Center

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