The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1867-06-22
A Day I'm Sencca.

ADay in Seneca.
wednesday of this week, having a little leisure
we stepped on the cars, and took a ride to Seneca
Our last visit to Seneca had been about eighteen
months ago, when we gave our readers some
notes on the town, and one object on Wednesday
was to compare notes with our former visit and
report on the state of progress
And really the comparison surprised us
Eighteen months ago the population of the town
was placed at 600, liberal estimate. The
estimate now, based on the vote of the village as
well a for school purposes is 1900, show
ing that the town in the last eighteen months has
more than doubled in population. Then We said
Seneca bought and shipped over half million
bushels of grain in year. The figures for the
last year are trife over million. A few gem
eral facts like these, at once stamped Seneca as
live and decidedly growing town, but they do
not tell the whole story.
Then Main street in Seneca was low and fat
extending little further than from the railroad to
the canal bridge,and almost impossible for teams
in muddy weather; now the street has been
raised two three feet on both sides of the canal
the slough south of the canal substantially brdy-
ed, and the street opened, Strengthened and grad
cd from the north bluff to the bridge across the
Illinois river, forming an avenue mile and
half in length and as handsome and tempting as
one can need to try the muscle and speed on of
fast :rotter. Then Seneca had u little country
school or two hid away in some uncomfortable
loft now she has two stately public schools, with
four efficient teachers and seats for three or four
hundred pupils.
But to go more closely into particulars Among
the more prominent accessions to Seneca within
year the attention of the visitor is at once at
tracted by the din and hustle of a steam engine,
encased in large new building little north of
Armour's Warehouse. We entered it and fond
ourselves in the planning mill, door and sash
factory of Messrs. Newport, Watson & Bro
Propelled by one of the finest steam engines we
ever saw, here is in active operation one of Balls
planning machines, sticker, morticer, resawer,
lip saws, and quite a variety of other machinery,
not to forget, in a room adjoining corn mill,
where corn is ground into meal, feed, &c, for the
farmers in the vicinity. These gentlemen take
contracts to erect any buildings, from shanty
to a warehouse.
We noticed quite number of new stores and
shops, but as to these it would occupy too much
room to enter into full detail. Conspicuous
among them is the new drug store of Jackson 81
Bro. This is quite large establishment, one OF
the handsomest in the town. and is doing, as it
deserves to do q splendid business. Aside from
the drug business, the senior member of the firm,
VIM. 5. JACKSON, Esq, does good bushes as an
agent and dealer in real estate, notary public,
DC, and the Junior member, Dr. A. F. JACKSON,
has large practice as physician, a profession
to which he is thoroughly bred in the regular
school,
Adjoining the drug store just named, is a
handsome new business building just erected by
that glorious good fellow and eminently live bus
mess man, ALIEN. VAUGHEY, Esq. Indeed Mr..
'. seemed to us to be the soul of the town-the
protector and setter in motion of all its public
enterprises-the man with whom everybody adj
vised and upon whom somehow everybody SEEM
ed more or less to lean. Ofcourse he is tie active
member of the town board-he is also police
magistrate, likewise justice of the peacc-city
auctoneer, general insurance agent, &c. Amidst
these occupations, Mr.. V. is also getting ready to
fill up his new building with splendid stock of
goods-dry goods, groceries, &C., which he thinks
he will be able to open out to the public in about
two weeks. He cannot rail to do fine business.
A little south of Vaughey's, is the new store of
Newport Il Lammcy-thc building also nova
heavy establishment, thoroughly supplied with
all grades of dry goods groceries, boots, shoes,
&c. A live firm, and evidently doing a good
business,
An agricultural worehouse and seed store, on
Main street, south of the canal is also to be noted
as among the more important new institutions of
the town. This is kept by HAM Il Dn.LMAN,
who are running similar store in Norris They