Cass Morgan, IL-2020 Telco

COUNTY CHRONICLES Morgan County Morgan County was formally organized in 1823. Jacksonville was laid out on a 40-acre tract in 1825 and chosen as the county seat. Named for General Andrew Jackson, the city was incorporated in 1867. Morgan County was named for Daniel Morgan (1736-1802), a soldier who served with the Colonial forces during the French and Indian War, Pontiac’s War (1764) and Dunmore’s War (1774). During the Revolutionary War, Morgan was colo- nel of a Virginia regiment, then became a Brigadier General in the Conti- nental Army. In 1794, by order of President Wash- ington, he commanded the Virginia Militia to suppress the Whisky Insurrection in Pennsylvania. He was elected as a Federalist to the Fifth Congress (1797-1799). John Ellis and a group of missionaries called the “Yale Band,” founded Illinois College in 1829. Erected in 1829, Beecher Hall was the first college building in Illinois. Named for Edward Beecher, the first president of the college and brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, “Old Beecher” still stands. The Illinois Female Academy, now MacMurray College, was founded in 1846 by Methodist clergy, including Peter Cartwright. In 1931, the school adopted the current name in honor of Senator James E. MacMurray. Because of strong humanitarian and political influences in Jacksonville, three state institutions for the care of the hand- icapped were located here. The Illinois School for the Deaf was chartered in 1839 and began classes in 1845. The Illinois School for the Visually Impaired began as a private school in 1847, becoming a public institution in 1848. The Jacksonville Mental Health and Developmental Center was authorized a charter in March 1847. Morgan County has contributed a number of leaders and inno- vators to the state and the nation. In 1833, Jonathan B. Turner,

professor at Illinois College, originated the Osage Orange Hedge, which became the first effective method of fencing the North American grasslands. Turner is also recognized as the father of the land-grant college idea. Jacksonville also contributed three governors to Illinois – Joseph Duncan (served 1834-1838), Richard Yates (served during the Civil War, 1861-1865), and Richard Yates, Jr. (1901-1905). During the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant camped his Illinois Division (21st Illinois Infantry) on what is now the Morgan County fairgrounds. In 1864, Dr. Greene Vardiman Black, the “father of modern dentistry,” began the Jacksonville practice, which he

would continue for 34 years. His office has been reconstruct- ed as an exhibit in the

Smithsonian Institute. A bandstand built around 1979 on the grounds of the Jacksonville Men- tal Health and

Developmental Center has been restored to its original state and moved to the Smithsonian Insti- tute for display.

In 1900, William E. Sullivan began manufacturing Ferris wheels in Jacksonville and set his first model in operation on the public square. Sullivan’s organiza- tion, the Eli Bridge Company, is the oldest firm in the country mak- ing Ferris wheels, and is one of the few such firms in the world. Big Eli Wheel No. 17 stands in the community park on the corner of Morton and Main Streets. It is operated by the Jacksonville Rotary Club.

25