The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1865-12-16

UTICA,

| the villages which cluster around the centres
of these wealth yielding sources. Thus We
have given sketch Of Mar.eil'es. with its
vas, water power in process OF Development;
of Seneca. with its immense grain business,
as denoting the rich farming region of which
| it forms the centre aud now We come to
Utica, whose prosperity aud fame rest mainly
on the singular richness OF its mineral re-
sources.
Utica, like Marscilles, is, for this region,
al old town and, like Marseilcs again, was
originally located in the wrong place. The
frss settler in that locality was Simon Crosiar
who built house there in 1888. This was
before the Illinois and Michigan canal was
surveyed and located, and that precise point
being really the head of navigation on the
Illinois river (for the river is always haviga-
bic to Utica wien it is to Peru,) the .tural
superstition was that here must be the point
of junction of the canal and river navigation.
e, Aud i~deed, in looking over the beautiful.
I elevated plat extending from near the foot Of
/ Buffalo rock TO within halt a dozen miles of
La Sale, and rejecting how beautiful 10.
cation it naturally is for great city, it seems
strange thst the engineers, in locating the
canal, should bave passed it by, and gone
eight miles beyond to La Sale.
1t was some time between 1893 and '35
tha. our honored fellow citizen Geo. E. Wal
ker, ESQ.,, obtained float" a sort of land
claim We can: stop to 1plsin) to so acres
at this spot, and laid it off into town lots.
Crosiar had bought a one-eighth interest in
IT. 4 village grew up apace, depending for
"sustsnance' chiefly on the steamboat. that
continued to arrive there and the business
they made; but after the route of the canal
Wa. permanently fixed, Old Utica never made
, much headway. In 1910 there may have
been twenty houses there. 1t never grew be.
yond that.
As the canal progressed towards compile
ton. and La Sale had grown into such i'm
portance thai steamboats, ceased to ascen2
the rive, to Utica, and for other reasons, soon
to be namely it became apparent to the
denizens in that region that Utica was mislo-
Gated, and that the place for the town was on
the bank of she canal. Hiram Highly owned
so acres Of land there, and had offered it for
sale for $iO9 but finding no purchaser, laid
a part CT it out into town lots, in l849. The
village soon began to flourish. Grain COM
mencsd seeking . market or shipment there,
AMI James Clarke, Esq built what was then
regarded as quite large and handsome
warehouse, Al establishment that has don.
good business from that day to this. After
wards, as the village kept growing and grain
kept cro~ding that way. Mr.. Franklin Dim
mick also built large warehouse there, which
still does heavy and thriving business; and
last summer this sor. Of business still! kept
CROWN. go rapidly, tbs. Mr.. J. D. G.. Weld
proceeded TO erect tkiid warehouse. This
last is 81 fine structure, entirely ne--;u-
deed barely finished yet-,hat it deserves
more than passing notice. 1t is about as
large as any Of the best warehouses at Otta.
| and supplied with all the machinery and con-
The main building is 80 BY 60 feet, with an
en-ine and shelter room aboat IS by 30.
The height is - feet from the 'owps.h to The
cupolA. Some estimate may be formed Of the
SIZE of the bins by the fact that they will hold
from $4,000 TO 60,0O) bushels The grain
| is received in sink in the basement, weigh
ed, and distributed by elevators to IL parts
OF the building. The basement is most
substantially bull. Of stone, the. work having
been done under tho superin:endence OF Mr..
Ed Trsinor, of Ottawa. The woodwork
which 10 model Of strength and neatness
WAS built under the supern;endence Of Mr.
Il. J. Logan, master builder, of Ottawa.
Besides the three warehouses named, Utica
has two stores: One, . large establishment,
owned b. Z. z. Taylor, Esq, dealing in dry
J goods and groceries: the other. owned by
a., The. Lockwood, dealing in dry goods, gro
ceries, clothing, &c. Also drug store, own
ed by Vim. Higby; a wagon shop, by G. c..
Perrin cooper shop, blacksmith shop, &c.
Also, very good hotel, the Cement House"
KEEP. by Mark Prentice. formerly Of Ottawa.
1 OF course there is Railroad depot, Express
office, post Office, &c. The grain shipped
from Utica during the past year amounted to
about 100000 bushels With the increased
warehouse facilities, this business must be
immensely increased the coming season.
Blu. We ha,. said the prosperi,, Of Utica
rests msin!y in lis mineral resources. Chief
Of these il its hydraulic cement 1t the
spring of 1887. when the work OH the canal
was being vigorously prosecuted, q demand
arose for this article. in building the aque.
ducts, culverts, &c. The nearest point 6,
which it WAS thenA attanable, we believe
Was Louisville About this time, Simon
| Crosiar, who lived on the Pekumsaugan, a
| mile or two north Of Utica. discovered & cu-
| rious looking stone Oh his land which he took
| to be lime stone. He made kiln and burnt
some Of il, but found it wouldn't slack. He
mentioned the fact TO Capt Robinson, an
! engineer on the canal who examined It and
pronounced it vater-line. Test, were made,
and the Captains conjecture proved correct.
Examination ~as made, and the stone found
| in unlimited abundance all over the bottom
| between the present site Of Utica and the
ri.er The stratum varies +: en- three to Ave
feet in thickness, and underlies the bottom
several miles in width, cropping out at the
farm OF Mr.. Crosiar, where it was first noticed.
| Thereupon Geo. Steele, a contractor on the
canal. purchased part Of the quarry, erected
| kins AID the old cement mill, which is still
standing, and took contract from the state
to furnish 100000 bushels OF water lime at