Pike County is located between the Mississippi and
Illinois rivers as they move towards convergence at Grafton, IL. Much of
the land in Pike County is in one of three scenic portions of Illinois
that wasn’t worn done by the glaciers that created the flat lands of the
upper Midwest. Although there are bottomlands along the two rivers, Pike
County is much more hilly and forested than the rest of the flat plains
that characterize central Illinois. Native Americans had lived in Pike County long before
the arrival of European settlers. Many archeologists have termed Pike
County and Calhoun County to the south the “Nile of America.” There have
been many mounds that have been discovered dating from the late Woodland era and Mississippian
era Native American cultures throughout the county. When
the French explorers Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette passed by Pike
County on their way down the Mississippi River and then up the Illinois
River in 1673 the Illini Confederation occupied the territory. By the
time of the arrival of European settlers in the early 19th century the
land was mostly inhabited by the Sauk and Fox tribes.
In May 1812, an act of Congress was passed which set
aside bounty lands in three states including Illinois as payment to
volunteer soldiers for the War against the British. The Illinois
Military Tract, surveyed in 1815-1816, contained more than 5,000,000
acres of land in central western Illinois. The first notable permanent
European settlers in what is now Pike County came in 1820 when the Ross brothers
settled on land that one brother, Leonard, a captain in the War of 1812,
had purchased as part of payment for his military service. Other
settlers were attracted by the natural beauty of the area and Ross’s
Settlement grew rapidly. Pike County was organized on January 31, 1821
and originally encompassed all of the state above the Illinois and
Kankakee Rivers. The county was named after Zebulon Pike, leader of the
Pike expedition in 1806 to map out the south and west portions of the
Louisiana Purchase. Coles’ Grove, in what is now Calhoun County, was
named the temporary county seat.
A rivalry grew between the followers of the Ross
brothers who wanted to move the county seat to their town and followers
of John Shaw, leader of a group who wanted the county seat to remain at
Coles’ Grove. The Ross contingent prevailed and the county seat was
moved to the new town of Atlas. However, the conflict wasn’t over and
the rivalry didn’t end until three new counties were created from
Pike County in 1825 including Calhoun County where Coles’ Grove was
located. Atlas didn’t remain the county seat for long as residents
wanted a county seat more in the center of the county. In 1833 the
county seat was moved to the newly platted town of Pittsfield, named
after the home town of the Rosses.
Although the Mormon experience is much more extensive in the counties to
the north there is some history of Mormon activity in Pike County. When
the Mormons were driven from Missouri during the winter of 1839-1840
they temporarily settled at a new town called Mormon Town, two miles
east of Pittsfield. The town grew to have as many as 300 voters by 1845
but as the troubles grew at Nauvoo to the north Mormon Town was
abandoned and no trace of it remains today. In 1843 a set of six small,
bell-shaped pieces of brass with strange engravings were “discovered” in 1843
in an Indian mound near Kinderhook. According to Latter Day Saint
belief, the Book of Mormon was originally translated from a record
engraved on Golden Plates by the ancient inhabitants of the Americas.
The plates, known as the Kinderhook Plates, were designed to appear
ancient, but were in fact a forgery created by three local men. There is
a large map illustrating Mormon history at the East Ward School, home of
the Pike County Historical Society, in Pittsfield.
Abraham Lincoln was closely associated with Pike County and the people
of Pittsfield influenced Abraham Lincoln's early legal and political
career. Lincoln’s three personal secretaries while he was president,
John Hay, John George Nicolay, and Charles Philbrick were all from Pike
County. Lincoln gave legal counsel to
friend William Grimshaw, a Pittsfield attorney whom he represented in a
federal court case. Grimshaw and Lincoln also served together in local
court cases. Pittsfield founder Colonel William Ross and his wife hosted
Lincoln during his 1858 U.S. Senate campaign. Lincoln was a friend of
John Greene Shastid and visited his home often and enjoyed Mrs.
Shastid's home cooked meals. There are probably more houses associated
with Lincoln in Pittsfield that any other city in the state. A car-radio
audio tour has been developed and takes visitors to eight houses and three
sites where you can hear the stories of the houses and the people that
knew Lincoln.
When
the Civil War broke out in 1861 Pike County was among the first to send
volunteers to fight for the Union despite the fact that the majority of
the population were Democrats who voted against Lincoln in the election
of 1860. Attitudes towards the war differed considerably in the county.
Republicans portrayed themselves as loyalists and the war party while
the Democrats were split. War Democrats sided with the Republicans and a
few Democrats opposed the war. Republicans referred to these Democrats
as "Copperheads," after the poisonous snake, and felt that they were not
loyal to the Union and were sympathetic to the Confederacy. Early in the
war President Lincoln suspended habeas corpus, allowing citizens to be
thrown in jail and held there without being given a trial. It became
commonplace for federal soldiers and law officers organize a posse and
ride through Pike County arresting those whom they suspected of being
disloyal. Bushwhackers, a lawless group made up mostly of Missourians
committed numerous outrages from horse stealing to murder. Violence and
crime was commonplace throughout the county and wasn’t confined to the
Bushwhackers. Union soldiers murdered some Democrats for their beliefs
and those that were taken to court usually went unpunished. In February
of 1864 a mob nearly destroyed a Democratic newspaper office and its
printing press and was planning harm to the editor. Only the courageous
actions of the provost marshal of the area prevented this destruction.
Despite the conflicts in the county the men who served in the Union army
did so with distinction. Many Pike County men fell on the battlefield,
particularly at Vicksburg. During an assault on May 22, 1863, against
Confederate fortifications, as many as 102 men of the "Bloody
Ninety-ninth" fell during the first ten minutes of the attack. A
monument to the Civil War soldiers of Pike County can be found in Summer
Hill.
Pike
County is noted for its rolling hills and scenic vistas and its many
rural communities that offer opportunities to see a part of Illinois
as it existed in the days of the pioneers. Pike County is also an ideal place
for the sportsperson and nature lover. The geography of the
county, combined with a relative lack of heavy development, makes Pike
County particularly suited to wildlife and attractive to game hunters. The area is reported to be the
number one location in Illinois for game hunting of deer and wild
turkey. Lake Pittsfield offers boating, camping, and fishing and its
200-acre lake is surrounded by 480 acres of recreational land with
picnic facilities and hiking and biking trails. Every fall the county hosts a
spectacular event - the Pike County Color Drive. This event is
considered the premier countywide event in the state of Illinois and provides visitors
with the opportunity to see the beauty of rural Pike County bathed in
the splendor of autumn. On this
third weekend in October most of the county's communities
participate in providing a unique roster of events, activities, vendors,
crafts, food, and exhibits for the general public to take part in. In
addition many communities hold annual festivals throughout the year that
celebrate their heritage and the county hosts two annual agricultural fairs -
the Pike County Fair in Pleasant Hill and the Western Illinois Fair in
Griggsville. Besides Pittsfield's connection with Abraham Lincoln the county is home to a number of
small museums that preserve the local history of the area. A visitors center is conveniently located in downtown Pittsfield
with a 24-hour foyer when the main lobby isn't open during regular hours.
This visitors center provides all the information that one needs to explore the beauty and history
of Pike County.
www.pikeil.org
The website for Pike County provided by the Pike County Chamber of
Commerce. This web site has
detailed information about the town, its history, the things to do, and
local events.
www.seequincy.com
The
official site if the Quincy Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
which promotes Adams, Hancock, and Pike Counties as destinations for
overnight visitors.
