Having some cents of Ogle County history

Ogle County’s past is full of stories — the people, places, facts and figures that have played a part in putting it on the map and telling its tales. Some are well-known, while others can only be found when you dust off the history books and flip through the pages — but big or small, all those stories deserve to be preserved.

When it comes to celebrating the past, most of the historical hoopla is usually reserved for benchmark anniversaries — 100 years, 150 years, and the like. People don’t tend to get as nostalgic when the 93rd or 147th anniversaries come around.

Milestone markers come with some linguistic tongue-twisters, though they don’t tend to get as much attention as centennials and bicentennials. There’s the quasquicentennial for 125 years and sesquicentennials for 150 years; and when it’s time to mark 175 years, you’ve got several different words you can wrap your tongue around — seven by some counts, including dosquicentennial and septaquintaquinquecentennial (though some who’ve done the math contend some of the terms don’t quite add up, but we’ll leave that to the linguists).

When it comes to Ogle County history, we’ll feature stories that have reached a milestone this year, tales mostly forgotten, but ones that deserve to be remembered: When state Route 2 cut through Castle Rock, when Daysville’s soldiers were recognized in stone, when a pair of railroads created towns and the birth of a baseball legend.

It’s not just centennial celebrations that bring the past to the present. Double the milestone and double the memories — there are 200 reasons to celebrate bicentennials, just ask anyone old enough to remember being around for America’s year-long love affair with liberty during its red, white and blue birthday bash in 1976. (Which reminds us, our nation’s 250th birthday is coming next year.)

As far as what happened in Ogle County 200 years ago, in 1825, not much is known. The county looked much different then than it does now. Native Americans, led by Chief Black Hawk, lived all throughout the county even as Illinois achieved statehood seven years prior. Also, present-day Grand Detour had been the site of a trading post along the Rock River operated by Pierre La Sallier and Stephen Mack since 1822.

Northwest Illinois was one of the last areas of the state to be settled, largely due to the presence of the Natives, and at that time Ogle County had yet to exist — it was part of a much larger Putnam County. It would just be a couple of years later when the first stagecoach trails came through the western part of the county.

You might not be able to say “septaquintaquinquecentennial,” but once you’re done reading, you shouldn’t have any trouble saying, “Hmm, now that was interesting.”

100 years ago: Route 2 cuts through Castle Rock

The popularity of modern-day motoring reached a milestone in the mid-1920s in Illinois, when the number of automobile licenses issued surpassed the 1 million mark.

As more cars and trucks traveled through Ogle County in the Roaring ’20s, the gravel and dirt roads that were good enough for horse and carriages just weren’t cutting it for horseless carriages.

Riders were getting in a rut on roads worn by weather and wear and tear, making for a bumpy ride wherever they went. Paved highways were the answer to a growing problem, but they took time and money.

When state Route 2 was planned to run from South Beloit to Cairo, it called for the path to run on a pre-existing dirt road parallel to the Rock River in a stretch from Rockford to Dixon. One of the largest obstacles along that path was getting through a hilly area between Oregon and Grand Detour that would later be known as Castle Rock State Park.

At that time, the pre-existing road curved around a hill in a hairpin shape, but this wasn’t feasible for a state highway: In 1925, parts of the hill along the hairpin were cut out for a straighter path.

This area is now one of Route 2’s most scenic features, one where St. Peter sandstone cliffs meet both sides of the road to make for a narrow passage with a tight curve to navigate. According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, there are only a few places in Illinois where St. Peter sandstone comes to the surface, even though it underlies practically the entire state.

The spot is well-shaded under trees and other vegetation in the summer, awash in the stunning colors of fall when the leaves change, and a study in contrast when autumn’s colors are replaced by a black and white picture of snow-dappled trees against a winter backdrop. The curve has a street light that helps travelers navigate it successfully at night.

Today, Route 2’s path is much shorter than its original route, no longer ending in Cairo but now terminating in Sterling. Castle Rock was dedicated as a state park in 1978. The old hairpin curve has since been overgrown on one end and converted into a private driveway on the other.

125 years ago: Daysville Cemetery soldier’s monument erected

The year was 1900: The Spanish-American War was still fresh in the minds of the American public, a war that started with the explosion and sinking of the U.S.S. Maine battleship at a harbor in Havana, Cuba, in 1898 — an incident that may or may not have been an attack by Spain, but one that the public was led to believe was so by sensationalistic American journalists at the time.

Only 35 years prior had the nation’s bloodiest war between the Union and Confederacy concluded, and memories of the Civil War still lingered in many people’s minds. In both wars, men from all over the country, including Ogle County, heeded to call to serve their nation and fight for its interests.

Those who served from Daysville and the surrounding area were honored at its cemetery 125 years ago, when a soldier’s monument was erected and their names were etched in stone.

The 22-foot-tall monument came to be through the work of Civil War veterans H.A. Mix and Virgil E. Reed, both of Oregon. The memorial is made from Bedford granite, consisting of a series of tapering blocks and surmounted by the figure of a soldier with his rifle at rest. Construction cost $1,600 at the time and was paid for by contributions from the old soldiers and their friends.

The names of 379 soldiers are inscribed, including those from Nashua and Oregon Townships who had served in any of the country’s wars at that point, as well as those who were living in the townships when the monument was erected, but had only moved there after serving in their respective wars. Soldiers who had been buried throughout the cemetery were moved closer to the monument when it was built.

One notable name is that of Daniel Day (1763-1838), who made the trek out west from the original 13 colonies well after his service in the Revolutionary War. Day’s surname lends itself to the community of Daysville, though it was Daniel’s son, and War of 1812 veteran, Jehiel Day, who came to the area a few years before his father. The Day Family was originally from New Hampshire, and Jehiel took advantage of a prime opportunity at that time to own land in the early days of Illinois, and came to a place not too far from the Rock River and Kyte Creek. When the elder Day died, he was buried on top of a small hill to the side of a wagon trail to Franklin Grove (now Daysville Road). Other burials would follow and it would become the Daysville Cemetery.

Ogle County’s other veterans from the American Revolution are Rufus Perkins (1763-1848) of Buffalo Grove and Rufus Phelps (1767-1839) of Lindenwood.

150 years ago: Steel rails create new Ogle County towns

The northeastern part of Ogle County was a quiet, rural area rich in farmland and home to a few stagecoach stops in the early 1870s. Much of its population was concentrated in areas along the Rock River and its then-three railroad lines at the time, which crossed through the other three-quarters of the county.

When a pair of railroads expanded their reach in the late 1800s, laying more track, it connected residents of northeast Ogle County to larger cities throughout the region. When the Chicago and Pacific Railroad was built west from Chicago, and when the Chicago, Rockford and Northern Railroad connected Flagg Center and Rockford, they quickly led to the establishment of four communities: Davis Junction, Kings, Monroe Center and Stillman Valley — all of which can claim 1875 as their year of establishment.

Davis Junction, as its name states, is the crossing of the two rail lines. When the rails were built, the new community took over the Post Office that previously had been a couple of miles to its southeast in Beacon. Davis Junction was named for Jeremiah Davis, who came to area in 1859 and served in the Illinois Legislature in 1870 and 1871. He donated land toward the right-of-ways of both rail lines and platted a town around the intersection, with streets named for family members and trees.

Monroe Center, a few miles east of Davis Junction, was founded by Silas D. Tyler who platted the community on his farmland when the Chicago and Pacific came through. Stillman Valley, a few miles west of Davis Junction, also was developed in 1875 by Joshua White as the Chicago and Pacific extended further west. Stillman Valley wound up siphoning off residents and businesses that had been about a mile north at Hales Corners because of the railroad. For a few years, Stillman Valley was the railroad’s last stop as the construction of a bridge over the Rock River encountered delays; it eventually crossed and reached Byron in 1880.

The Chicago, Rockford and Northern Railroad led to the establishment of Kings, which was laid out by W.H. King. Its establishment caused the nearby community of White Rock Center to disappear. White Rock Center formerly was home to a Presbyterian church founded in 1864, which was later moved to Kings and is now the Sweet Revival Antique store and coffeehouse.

In 2026, Holcomb will celebrate its sesquicentennial; it was established by Joseph Sheaff and named for W.H. Holcomb, an administrator for the Chicago and Iowa Railroad (now the BNSF, which runs east-west through the county), who was instrumental in the development of the Chicago, Rockford and Northern.

Holcomb and Stillman Valley would later have a second railroad cross through with the establishment of the Chicago Great Western in 1886. The line was abandoned in the 1970s.

Both the Chicago and Pacific and the Chicago, Rockford and Northern Railroad would be acquired by the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul (the Milwaukee Road) by the turn of the 20th century.

The north-south line through the county served as the Milwaukee Road’s access to the coal mine in Cherry in Bureau County, which was the site of a deadly fire in 1909; the line was later acquired by the Burlington Northern and is now owned by Illinois Railway, which rarely uses the track, now overgrown with vegetation in many parts.

The east-west line is still used daily: It was acquired by Soo Line upon the Milwaukee Road’s bankruptcy in 1985, and is now operated by Canadian Pacific.

175 years ago: Byron’s baseball legend is born

Through the years, many budding young baseball players from high schools across Ogle County have dreamt of one day making it to the major leagues, and one of them made that dream come true when the game was still in its infancy, and he would go on to find even more fame in the sports equipment industry.

Albert G. Spalding, whose professional career as a player, manager and administrator would one day land him in baseball’s hall of fame, was born 175 years ago this year, on Oct. 2, 1850, in Byron, the son of James and Harriet Spalding. It was while growing up in Byron that Spalding learned his ABC’s, 123’s and the three R’s of reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic that would help him become the success that he was in baseball. The Spaldings lived on the northwest corner of Second Avenue and Chestnut Street, and the house still stands as a private residence. Other than that, little is known today about Spalding’s time in Byron, but that’s because he only lived there for the first 13 years of his life.

The Spaldings moved to Rockford in 1863, and a few years later Albert joined the Rockford Forest Citys baseball club. His success with the Forest Citys led him to the nationally renowned Boston Red Stockings franchise, where, as its ace pitcher, he led his team to four straight National Association of Professional Base Ball Players championships from 1872-75. He later led the Chicago White Stockings (now the Cubs) to a National League pennant as pitcher and manager in 1876.

In all, Spalding finished with a career win-loss record of 252-65, had a 2.13 ERA, completed 279 of 325 games started, hurled 24 shutouts, saved 13 games, and tossed 2,886.1 innings from 1871-77; his statistics from his playing days in Rockford have not been documented.

Spalding remained an active presence in American sports through the sporting goods company he established and that still bears his name today. The spike of the country’s population in the late 1800s, with the rise of immigration, gave rise to the popularity of a greater variety of entertainment and sports options, including football, basketball, boxing and hockey. As their popularity grew, so too did the Spalding company’s role, cranking out sports equipment that made Spalding a wealthy man. He died of a stroke on Sept. 9, 1915.

His time in Byron wouldn’t be forgotten. The Byron Museum of History has an exhibit on Spalding’s career and his time in the town, and his parents and a brother who died before Albert was born are buried in the town cemetery.