[Page 31]
In 1861, James Antrim purchased an 80 acre farm from a Mr. Booth. The land
is located in Hopewell Township, Section 26.
In 1865, Mr, Antrim built a five room, two-story house. There were three
bedrooms upstairs and two down. The hand-dug cellar beneath the house was
reached by an outside entrance only.
With the exception of a period of six years, Antrim ancestors have resided
in the home and farmed the land.
Richard Antrim, James's youngest child, married and continued to live with
his parents. James, his father, passed away at the age of ninety-four.
Richard became the owner in 1887. At Richard's death in 1948, his daughter,
Ethel Antrim Green, and his son, Earl F. Antrim, inherited the farm.
In 1949 Earl purchased his sister's interest and has been the owner since.
For six years, after Earl's mother's death (Clara Freeman Antrim), the
Antrims resided in Lacon.
In the early 1920's, Earl and his wife, Velma Campbell Antrim, returned to
the farm in Hopewell.
The old home is still intact with its old oak beams and original plaster.
Several additions and porches have changed the appearance somewhat. It is
located about five miles east of Lacon and one mile north of Route 17.
[Page 32]
Lunsford Broaddus Home
The home located on the brow of the Broaddus Hill, Route 17, about one and
one-half mile east of Lacon, and presently owned and resided in by the Elmer
Klein family is well over one hundred years old.
The original structure was erected before 1840 by Lunsford Broaddus who
acquired the farm in Section 31, Hopewell Township, in 1834. One-quarter
acre of the farm was deeded to James Hall and John Wier, School Trustees, in
1836. An interesting quote from the abstract reads:
"...for the purpose of a school which will also remain open for divine
worship and free for any denomination Christians provided no damage is
done."
The site was in the area of the present Marshall County Airport.
The old Broaddus home was left to Irving by his father, Lunsford. Irving
married Ruth Forbes in 1863 and they reared a family of five; Savella, Cora,
Mae, Walter and Nancy.
An important social event in Hopewell Township, 1883, was the marriage of
Savella, Broaddus' eldest daughter. The following account appeared in the
Lacon paper:
"On Wednesday evening last a large company of friends and relatives gathered
at the Broaddus homestead to witness the nuptials of Miss S. Broaddus and
Mr. J. K. Davidson. Nearly three hundred people were invited, and but few
were absent. The house was tastefully decorated, two hearts being placed for
the happy pair to stand under. Miss Broaddus is well and favorably known in
this locality, and is an estimable and accomplished young lady, well fitted
to make any man happy, and aid him in the joys and sorrows of life. She is
now in her nineteenth year. Mr. Davidson is a young and rising farmer from
Pennsylvania. He has resided in this locality for several years, and is much
esteemed. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Mr. Tracy, at 8:20 p.m., Miss
Davidson, the groom's sister, acting as bridesmaid, and Mr. F. Hancock as
groomsman. The bride's trousseau consisted of cream-colored nun's veiling,
trimmed in cream-colored satin, Spanish lace and natural flowers. The second
day dress was plum colored silk. The groom wore the conventional black, and
when the eventful questions were asked both replied in a firm and audible
voice.
"Friends and relatives conspired to give them a pleasant start in the
harness of wedded life, and it is our sincere hope that the car of Hymen may
ever move smoothly and prosperously along. May their hearts never grow cold,
their hearth fire never die out, and their larder always be full. Time fails
us to tell of all the elegant costumes of the guests. The wedding march was
artistically executed on the piano by Miss Hattie Mohler. After the ceremony
we were shown the presents, which were many and costly, and all useful."
A detailed list of gifts followed, including a High grade Durham heifer, Mr.
R. Broaddus; five dollar gold piece, Mr. and Mrs. J. Hall, Sr.
The Irving Broaddus heirs sold the farm in the 1940's and it was after this
numerous changes were made in the old home. Today, the basement area and
upstairs portion are unchanged. The old open porch surrounding the north and
east of the house has been replaced by a sun porch. The four large west bay
windows of the original dining room have been replaced by more modern
windows.
A visit with the Kleins in this sturdy old farm home in its lovely setting
recalls to us much of the early history of Lacon and Hopewell; early schools
and Elisha Swan's first store. The family burial plots (east of Kleins)
contain the names of many Marshall County's first settlers.
[Page 34]
The Casey Homestead
In the early l860's William Vernay, a Hopewell Township early settler, wrote
in "An Album of the Heart," a quatrain entitled, "To My Wife." Thus:
"Oh, the skies may bend above thee;
Other hearts may seek thy shrine;
But no other heart can love thee
With the constancy of mine."
Mary Carr Vemay, the subject of this verse, was born in Baltimore, Maryland,
in 1808. In March of 1830, she married David Vemay and three years later,
1833, came to Hopewell Township with her husband, who came to work for John
Strawn. Soon after his arrival Vernay bought 80 acres of land from John
Iliff and the holding became the site of what is currently, in 1976, known
as the Casey place, containing the original brick residence which still is
the home of the Casey clan, Miss Johanna and Edward (Ted). Two brothers,
Franklin, resides in Lacon which lies a mile west of the Casey residence on
Illinois Route 17; and Charles W. Casey (Colonel, U. S, Army, retired)
resides with his wife, Elizabeth Buck Casey in Carmel, California.
During the first season of his residence in the county David Vernay
purchased the 80 acre claim and later added 60 acres northeast of the 80.
Two children were born to David and Mary Carr Vernay, William and James.
William married Ellen Forbes and established a residence, site now unknown,
north of the brick house. James moved to Kansas and contact with him was not
maintained.
William and Ellen Forbes Vernay had a daughter, Nellie, born September 17,
1863. She died November 17, 1886. William Vernay died in October, 1865,
leaving 80 acres of the farm to his widow and two year old daughter, Nellie.
Five years after her husband's death, Ellen married her late husband's
cousin, Charles W. Casey. They had three children, Clara (1871); Laura
(1873); and Wilbur (1879). Nellie Vernay died in 1866, leaving 80 acres to
her mother and step-father.
During the years in which the foregoing events occurred Mary Vernay lived in
the old brick home which, it is believed, was built in the l830's. After her
death in 1884, Charles Casey and family moved into the brick house. In the
late l890's, a frame kitchen was added, and in 1973, Ted and Johanna Casey
added more space to the original building, a two-story wing at the north
side which replaced the old kitchen.
When the William Vernays came to Illinois from Maryland the home they built
reflected the Eastern style of architecture. It has withstood the ravages of
time and storm and has been kept in excellent repair. The old brick
undoubtedly is more staunch than much modern architecture. The house was of
Federal style, very plain and simple, without fancy or elaborate paneling,
moldings, or wood carvings. The unadorned pattern was suited to the frontier
where tastes and tools were less sophisticated and limited materials were
close at hand but expert craftsmen were scarce. Houses were largely devoid
of ornament, with the exception of an occasional fanlight or horizontal
transom. The Casey home has several of these. Simple gable walls and roofs
incorporate chimneys for fireplaces at the east and west ends of the house.
The Nicholas Garrat house in Cahokia, Illinois, the oldest brick building in
the state, built in 1800, is much like the Casey home in features and
appearance.
The main part of the old brick house is constructed of sun-dried soft brick
believed to have been made at the John Wier brickyard several miles to the
southeast. The house has walnut door and window frames. Also doors of oak
and yellow pine and seven-inch boards are used for floors, baseboards and
window sills.
There are three fireplaces, now bricked over, all made of original small
bricks. The brick house has six rooms, three on each floor. Square wrought
iron nails were used throughout the house and basement timbers were put
together with wooden pegs. Horsehair plaster was used to finish the interior
of the fourteen inch walls.
The original part of the two-story home is the basic part of the structure
and is in daily use. Some changes have been made, however. All inside doors
retain their heavy iron locks and some still sport ceramic doorknobs. There
remain some of the original windows with rough, bubbly glass.
Changes made in the original six-room brick have been limited to
installation of a partition in a downstairs bedroom to convert a portion
into a bathroom. This partition was made in 1930. Also in 1930, an L-shaped
porch was replaced with an enclosed porch. Frames of the one-story kitchen
and back porch were added to the north side of the house in the late l890's.
In 1973, the old kitchen and porch were removed and replaced with a
two-story four-room wing with attached garage. No changes were made in the
old brick part except to convert a north window into a door opening into a
large closet which is part of the new wing.
The old mellow-hued brick thus furnishes the sturdy shell of a home modern
in every convenience, and no winter wind nor summer sun affects the house
built more than a hundred years ago by David Vernay, who came from Maryland
to work on the John Strawn farm in Richland Township and remained to found a
modest dynasty and family in Hopewell. He built well, with wooden pegs and
wrought iron nails and laid foundations and walls of brick that promise to
endure for untold years.
Maud E. Uschold
[Page 37]
The farm Just east of Lacon about three miles in Section 33, Hopewell
Township, and owned by the heirs of the last J. Foster Held contains one of
Marshall County's oldest homes. The house was built by Lemmuel Russell about
1837 and is much the same today as it was almost 140 years ago.
The old stone foundation, soft brick fireplaces; one upstairs, one down;
simple Federal style are typical of the early pioneer homes.
Lemmuel Russell was one of Hopewell's earliest settlers, having arrived in
Putnam County with the Jessie Sawyers in 1831. He purchased two lots in
Lacon, but finding it to be mostly Indian trails and a gloomy place with
nothing doing he went to Pekin, Illinois for a short time.
He returned to Hopewell after the Black Hawk War and entered the land east
of Lacon.
In 1833 he married Sara Ann Edwards. They reared a family of eight; Willis,
Margaret Ann, Love, Sara, Lemmuel, Mary, Amanda and E. (?) Russell.
It is interesting to note here that Mrs. Foster Held has in her possession
Lemmuel Russell's cane and a window pane from the old house with the words
"Love Russell" scratched in the glass. This old farm home was the first
residence of Foster and Annie Bellows Held after their marriage in the early
1900 's.
A visit to the little country "Russell Cemetery" west of the house about two
blocks reveals the graves of Lemmuel and Sara and several members of the
family.
[Page 38]
The Old Cider House
One of the first settlers to acquire land around Lacon was John Wier who
came in 1832. He took title to land in 1833 which is still in the family. He
built a log cabin above the present hone of the Ralph Wier family. It
over-looked the river. An old mulberry tree still stands by where the cabin
stood.
The only remaining building is the cider house built in 1848 by John Wier
and his sons, Henry and Dan. It stands behind the present barns and remains
sound, built of hardwood lumber and foot-wide pine siding. Oak and walnut
are in the beams and sheeting. It is a two-story building with a basement
room for storage. It is entirely insulated with a brick lining. The soft red
bricks were made from the clay pits on the farm and supplied many nearby
farmers. The best known building remaining made from Wier brick is the Budd
building, corner of 5th and Main Street, Lacon, which was constructed by
Henry Wier for vinegar storage.
The cider house was the processing plant for the surrounding area when
vinegar was a necessity for food and cleansing everything from kitchenware
to human bodies. At one time 600 acres southeast of Lacon were in apple
orchards planted by John, Dan and Henry Wier. There were seven cider presses
made with 16" X 16" oak beams, 24 feet long. A wood-fired steam engine drove
a line shaft with well greased hard maple blocks for bearings. It turned the
presses and various other equipment. Large cisterns provided water for steam
when the streams went dry in the fall.
The building is still a picturesque sight though acid vinegar put cider
pressing out of business. The cooperage in Lacon supplied barrels for the
vinegar which was shipped by boat down the Illinois River for cities in
southern and eastern United States.
Mrs. Delight Wier
[Page 39]
Wier Centennial Farm
The sixth generation of the Wier family is residing on and operating a tract
of land bought May 10, 1832 by John Wier from Sam Hamilton and James
Hamilton who had purchased it from the U. S, Government July l6, 1831. John
Wier came by horses and wagons to Illinois from West Virginia because he was
opposed to slavery. The purchase price was $1.25 per acre. This Centennial
farm is unique in that direct male descendants of John Wier have always
resided on and operated the farm.
The home farm lies in Hopewell Township with a small strip extending into
Lacon Township. The first purchase made by John Wier was 80 acres. It is the
South half of Section 31 in Hopewell Township. The succession of title runs
from John Wier to Dan B, Wier and wife who sold it to Henry E. Wier November
28, 1872. Conveyed by warranty deed to Frederick E. Wier and wife, December
11, 1888, it came to Charles Wier, May l8, 1960. Ralph Wier and sons operate
the farm at present. The home farm grew to 440 acres with the addition of
SW1/4 of NW1/4 of Section 31.
Other land was bought and extensive orchards were planted. Dan Wier operated
the Lacon Nurseries south of Lacon where Club 115 stands. He experimented
with fruits and wrote for horticulture magazines and lectured on his
findings. The Henry Republican, September 15, 1870 reports "D. B. Wier of
this county is said to have the largest orchard in the state. It consists of
over 200 acres of apple and peach trees and about 30 acres in small fruit.
It will take 20 men two months to gather his apples." Again in I871, October
26, “D. B..Wier of Lacon, one of the best entomologists of the country,
informs us that there are three flights of chinch bugs this year, instead of
two, as is usual, and the third brood is now preying on the fall wheat." In
1879, July 3, "Henry Wier 's Orchard produced 4,000 barrels of apples last
year."
The present house was built in 1898 and was remodeled to add the east half
in 1917. It replaced the soft red brick home on the same site. Some of the
original bricks fired by hand in the Wier brickyards still show in the
basement walls.
There is a central hall leading to an open stairway to second floor. The
living room has hardwood flooring of maple. Ten foot ceilings and a large
bay window area make the house unique.
Mrs. Delight Wier
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