Millville, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Millville is a defunct settlement in Jo Daviess County
, Illinois
, United States
, located within the boundaries of Apple River Canyon State Park
. Founded in 1835 and platted in 1846, the community was washed away completely by a flood in 1892. No visible remnants of its structures remain today. The site of Millville was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
as the Millville Town Site in 2003.
, its physical address is within the village of Apple River
. The canyon
is a deep gorge carved by the Apple River when its course was diverted during the Illinoian Stage
132,000–300,000 years ago. The old river channel eventually filled and became the South Fork Apple River. Millville was located at the confluence
of these two rivers; the site is marked by a large rock formation and two plaques.
route, a roadway today known as the Stagecoach Trail
. John R. Smith and the Burbridge family were responsible for the village's first buildings and a saw mill was erected between 1835–36. It developed as an important rural service stop along that stagecoach route. Millville was significant in the early history of Jo Daviess County, serving as a civic and commercial hub from 1838–53. According to 1878's The History of Jo Daviess County, Illinois the town itself was platted on April 14, 1846 within Rush Township by John R. Smith.
Millville faced decline after the railroads entered Jo Daviess County during the 1850s. Still, the town served as a minor commercial center for several decades after. In 1853–54 the Illinois Central Railroad
bypassed Millville relegating it to a future as a "backwater town". Despite this, two prominent commercial operations remained in business into the late 19th century, the grist mill and a blacksmith
shop. The blacksmith shop, eight buildings, two homes and a school are shown in town maps as late as 1872 also used as a boy.
scout camp in the 1930s which is now canyon camp in a diffrent location
The town's fate was sealed by a June 1892 flood
which reportedly swept away all of the town's remaining buildings, leaving no trace of Millville in its wake. Heavy rains swelled the pond at the Cox Mill, ¼ mile from Millville, causing the mill dam to burst. The mill pond
waters tore down Clear Creek and poured into the South Fork Apple River, rushing toward Millville. The town's buildings, unable to withstand the deluge, were swept away by the violent river.
store, another resident, Eldridge Howard built a large house and opened a tavern
within it. At its height, Millville was the only settlement of significance between Freeport
and Galena
.
The most concentrated part of town was laid out on the flood plain at the rivers' confluence, other structures were built along the bluffs flanking the river. Millville covered 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) and consisted of about 10 blocks, approximately laid out in a north-south grid. 1840 census figures show a population of 62, though local historians have given estimates for the late 1830s at 330, a number that likely included surrounding rural farms.
The 1850 census provides little illumination about the number of people in Millville. Through the census information, however, 27 households can be derived, as well as the place of origin for many of those heads of households as well as their occupations. Settlers in Millville originated in 11 different states with Kentucky
and New York
being the most common, only three were native Illinoisians, and one was foreign-born. Of the 1850 population of Millville, 19 people were engaged in commercial or trade occupation, 17 were farmers or laborers and at least 6 were involved in lead
mining.
Multiple archaeological surveys have taken place at the Millville site. One such survey occurred when the Illinois Department of Transportation
(IDOT) prepared to replace an old bridge across the South Fork Apple River within the state park. An archaeological team, from the Resource Investigation Program (RIP) at the University of Illinois (U of I), reported a buried layer of top soil about 70–80 cm beneath the surface with extensive 19th century ceramic
s and mortar
as well as an area of stone that may have been part of a building foundation. The team determined that the building of the bridge would disturb the site and recommended further survey, no other work was done at the right-of-way and IDOT approved the project in December 1991.
Today, the site is open to the public and marked by a plaque, visitors to Apple River Canyon are allowed to walk about the site and even picnic. However, metal detector
s and artifact removal are not allowed and the town site is protected by state and federal law.
to Galena, as such it played an important early role in the history of Jo Daviess County. The town site is an archaeologically important site that surveys have shown to be in good condition. Artifacts recovery at the site in the future has the potential to yield new information about the day to day habits of those living in Millville. For these reasons the Millville Town Site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 3, 2003.
Jo Daviess County, Illinois
Jo Daviess County is a county located in the northwest corner of U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 22,678, which is an increase of 1.7% from 22,289 in 2000. Its county seat is Galena....
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, located within the boundaries of Apple River Canyon State Park
Apple River Canyon State Park
Apple River Canyon State Park is an Illinois state park on 297 acres in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, USA. The land for the park was purchased by the state in 1932 and preserves the canyon on the Apple River....
. Founded in 1835 and platted in 1846, the community was washed away completely by a flood in 1892. No visible remnants of its structures remain today. The site of Millville was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as the Millville Town Site in 2003.
Location
Millville was located in what is today the Apple River Canyon State ParkApple River Canyon State Park
Apple River Canyon State Park is an Illinois state park on 297 acres in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, USA. The land for the park was purchased by the state in 1932 and preserves the canyon on the Apple River....
, its physical address is within the village of Apple River
Apple River, Illinois
Apple River is a village in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. The population was 366 at the 2010 census, down from 379 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Apple River is located at ....
. The canyon
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
is a deep gorge carved by the Apple River when its course was diverted during the Illinoian Stage
Illinoian Stage
The Illinoian Stage is the name used by Quaternary geologists in North America to designate the period of geologic time of ~300,000—130,000 years ago, a period of ~ during the middle Pleistocene when sediments comprising the Illinoian Glacial Lobe were deposited. It precedes the Sangamonian stage...
132,000–300,000 years ago. The old river channel eventually filled and became the South Fork Apple River. Millville was located at the confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of these two rivers; the site is marked by a large rock formation and two plaques.
History
Millville was initially established in 1835 along the northern Chicago-Galena stagecoachStagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
route, a roadway today known as the Stagecoach Trail
Stagecoach Trail
Stagecoach Trail is a historic route through northern Jo Daviess County and western Stephenson County, in the northwest of Illinois. The trail was a part of the larger Galena–Chicago trail that crossed the entire state....
. John R. Smith and the Burbridge family were responsible for the village's first buildings and a saw mill was erected between 1835–36. It developed as an important rural service stop along that stagecoach route. Millville was significant in the early history of Jo Daviess County, serving as a civic and commercial hub from 1838–53. According to 1878's The History of Jo Daviess County, Illinois the town itself was platted on April 14, 1846 within Rush Township by John R. Smith.
Millville faced decline after the railroads entered Jo Daviess County during the 1850s. Still, the town served as a minor commercial center for several decades after. In 1853–54 the Illinois Central Railroad
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
bypassed Millville relegating it to a future as a "backwater town". Despite this, two prominent commercial operations remained in business into the late 19th century, the grist mill and a blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
shop. The blacksmith shop, eight buildings, two homes and a school are shown in town maps as late as 1872 also used as a boy.
scout camp in the 1930s which is now canyon camp in a diffrent location
The town's fate was sealed by a June 1892 flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
which reportedly swept away all of the town's remaining buildings, leaving no trace of Millville in its wake. Heavy rains swelled the pond at the Cox Mill, ¼ mile from Millville, causing the mill dam to burst. The mill pond
Mill pond
A mill pond is any body of water used as a reservoir for a water-powered mill. Mill ponds were often created through the construction of a mill dam across a waterway. In many places, the common proper name Mill Pond name has remained even though the mill has long since gone...
waters tore down Clear Creek and poured into the South Fork Apple River, rushing toward Millville. The town's buildings, unable to withstand the deluge, were swept away by the violent river.
Demographics and cityscape
By 1847 a large grist mill was constructed in the town, replacing the earlier saw mill. Other businesses were established in what had become a thriving wayside stop with the stagecoach line running directly through it. A Mr. Dean owned a blacksmith shop, a John W. Marshall started a dry goodsDry goods
Dry goods are products such as textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, and sundries. In U.S. retailing, a dry goods store carries consumer goods that are distinct from those carried by hardware stores and grocery stores, though "dry goods" as a term for textiles has been dated back to 1742 in England or...
store, another resident, Eldridge Howard built a large house and opened a tavern
Tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....
within it. At its height, Millville was the only settlement of significance between Freeport
Freeport, Illinois
Freeport is a city in and the county seat of Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,443 at the 2000 census. The mayor of Freeport is George W...
and Galena
Galena, Illinois
Galena is the county seat of, and largest city in, Jo Daviess County, Illinois in the United States, with a population of 3,429 in 2010. The city is a popular tourist destination known for its history, historical architecture, and ski and golf resorts. Galena was the residence of Ulysses S...
.
The most concentrated part of town was laid out on the flood plain at the rivers' confluence, other structures were built along the bluffs flanking the river. Millville covered 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) and consisted of about 10 blocks, approximately laid out in a north-south grid. 1840 census figures show a population of 62, though local historians have given estimates for the late 1830s at 330, a number that likely included surrounding rural farms.
The 1850 census provides little illumination about the number of people in Millville. Through the census information, however, 27 households can be derived, as well as the place of origin for many of those heads of households as well as their occupations. Settlers in Millville originated in 11 different states with Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
being the most common, only three were native Illinoisians, and one was foreign-born. Of the 1850 population of Millville, 19 people were engaged in commercial or trade occupation, 17 were farmers or laborers and at least 6 were involved in lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
mining.
Archaeological investigation
Illinois Department of Transportation
The Illinois Department of Transportation is a state agency in charge of state-maintained public roadways of the U.S. state of Illinois. In addition, IDOT provides funding for rail, public transit and airport projects and administers fuel tax and federal funding to local juridictions in the...
(IDOT) prepared to replace an old bridge across the South Fork Apple River within the state park. An archaeological team, from the Resource Investigation Program (RIP) at the University of Illinois (U of I), reported a buried layer of top soil about 70–80 cm beneath the surface with extensive 19th century ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
s and mortar
Mortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
as well as an area of stone that may have been part of a building foundation. The team determined that the building of the bridge would disturb the site and recommended further survey, no other work was done at the right-of-way and IDOT approved the project in December 1991.
Today, the site is open to the public and marked by a plaque, visitors to Apple River Canyon are allowed to walk about the site and even picnic. However, metal detector
Metal detector
A metal detector is a device which responds to metal that may not be readily apparent.The simplest form of a metal detector consists of an oscillator producing an alternating current that passes through a coil producing an alternating magnetic field...
s and artifact removal are not allowed and the town site is protected by state and federal law.
Significance
Millville was an important town along the stagecoach route from ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to Galena, as such it played an important early role in the history of Jo Daviess County. The town site is an archaeologically important site that surveys have shown to be in good condition. Artifacts recovery at the site in the future has the potential to yield new information about the day to day habits of those living in Millville. For these reasons the Millville Town Site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 3, 2003.
External links
- Property Information Report: Millville Town Site, Illinois Historic Preservation AgencyIllinois Historic Preservation AgencyThe Illinois Historic Preservation Agency is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Illinois. It is tasked with the duty of maintaining most State-owned historic sites within Illinois, and maximizing their educational and recreational value to visitors....