1900 Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois
Cowden [page 122]
COWDEN, a village of Shelby County, at the intersection of the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern and the Toledo, St. Louis & Kansas City Railways, 60 miles southeast of Springfield. Considerable coal is mined in the vicinity; has a bank and a weekly paper. Population (1880), 350; (1890), 702.
Moweaqua [page 392]
MOWEAQUA, a village of Shelby County, on the Illinois Central Railroad, 16 miles south of Decatur; has banks and two newspapers, and is the center of a rich agricultural and stock-raising section. Population (1880), 673; (1890), 848.
Shelby County [page 477]
SHELBY COUNTY, lies south of the center of the State, and contains an area of 776 square miles. The tide of immigration, to this county was at first from Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina, although later it began to set in from the Northern States. The first cabin in the county was built by Simeon Wakefield on what is now the site of Williamsburg, first called Cold Spring. Joseph Daniel was the earliest settler in what is now Shelbyville, pre-empting ten acres, which he soon afterward sold to Joseph Oliver, the pioneer merchant of the county, and father of the first white child born within its limits. Other pioneers were Shimei Wakefield, Levi Casey and Samuel Hall. In lieu of hats the early settlers wore caps made of squirrel or coon skin, with the tails dangling at the backs, and he was regarded as well dressed who boasted a fringed buckskin shirt and trousers, with moccasins. The county was formed in 1827, and Shelbyville made the county-seat. Both county and town are named in honor of Governor Shelby, of Kentucky. County Judge Joseph Oliver held the first court in the cabin of Barnett Bone, and Judge Theophilus W. Smith presided over the first Circuit Court in 1828. Coal is abundant, and limestone and sandstone are also found. The surface is somewhat rolling and well wooded. The Little Wabash and Kaskaskia Rivers flow through the central and southeastern portions. The county lies in the very heart of the great corn belt of the State, and has excellent transportation facilities, being penetrated by four lines of railway. Population (1880), 30,270; (1890), 31,191.
Shelbyville [page 477]
SHELBYVILLE, the county-seat and an incorporated city of Shelby County, on the Kaskaskia River and two lines of railway, 23 miles southwest of Mattoon and 32 miles southeast of Decatur. Agriculture, coal-mining, and lumbering are all carried on in the surrounding region. In the city are a foundry, several large flouring mills, a woolen mill, agricultural implement works and other factories, besides a national bank (capital $75,000) one daily, four weekly and one monthly periodicals. Population (1880), 2,939; (1890), 3,162; (1895). 3,320.
Stewardson [page 508]
STEWARDSON, a town of Shelby County, at the intersection of the Toledo, St. Louis & Kansas City Railway with the Altamont branch of the Wabash, 12 miles southeast of Shelbyville; is in a grain and lumber region; has a bank and a weekly paper. Population, 617.
Tower Hill [page 527]
TOWER HILL, a village of Shelby County, on the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis and the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railroads, 6 miles east of Pana. The district is agricultural. Population, 540.
Windsor [page 595]
WINDSOR, a city of Shelby COunty at the crossing of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis and the Wabash Railways, 11 miles northeast of Shelbyville. Population (1880), 768; (1890), 888.
Extracted 24 Jul 2019 by Norma Hass from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, 1900.
