History of the County and Courthouse - Macoupin County IL

Macoupin County became the 50th county in Illinois on 17 January 1829 by an Act of the General Assembly out of unorganized Greene County and Madison County. Carlinville, the county seat, has a population of 5,416. The 2000 US Census shows the county's total population is 49,019.

Act of the General Assembly creating Macoupin County Illinois contributed by Robert Fletcher

"The first known white men to cross the land that became Macoupin County were 350 soldiers from Fort Russell in 1812, led by Territorial Governor Ninian Edwards. Perhaps the earliest settlers were part of the so-called "Great Migration," which began at the close of the War of 1812 and had as one of its results the founding of the State of Illinois in 1818." (Taken from the Macoupin County Courthouse Centennial 1867-1967 booklet provided by a committee of citizens with Lucille Paul Carney, Chairman.)

A Brief History of Macoupin County an article by Joseph Howell (many area names)

Personal Recollections of the Early Settlement of Carlinville, Illinois (by Mrs. M.B.W.)

The first white child born in Macoupin County was probably Samuel Love born in South Palmyra Township 1822. Descendant of Samuel Love is family researcher Ron Grassi.

The Macoupin County Courthouse is a grand and huge structure for such a small county, 47,000 population. In the 1860's, the price of a courthouse costing over a million dollars sounds unthinkable but it was built and still stands off the square in Carlinville as the largest courthouse of its time.

Macoupin County's Famous Courthouse by Cynthia K. Leonard, a genealogy researcher and a newspaper column writer for the Staunton Star Times. Cynthia's article provides a brief history of Macoupin County from its beginning in 1829, the origination of the name Macoupin and the problems in the building of the elaborate courthouse.

Macoupin County Courthouse by Pat Hauter, The courthouse is listed in the National Register of Historic Sites - printed in The Story Of Macoupin County 1829-1979, p 1, by Pat Hauter.

Picture of the 1870 million dollar courthouse (recent) courtesy Wayne Hinton  **Self-guided tours are available of the Macoupin County Courthouse. The Carlinville Community Chamber of Commerce has recorded the tour on cassette (which takes 20 - 30 minutes) and provided Walkmans for individuals to take their own tours. The walkman and cassette are available in County Clerk Mike Mathis' office during regular business hours. A small deposit is collected, but fully refunded upon return of tape and recorder.

Macoupin County Courthouse in Carlinville (taken early 1900's) submitted by Marilyn Galvan

Early Macoupin County Courthouse postcard from Annette Miner

Heard Mr. Lincoln Make His Speech In Carlinville (Macoupin County Enquirer, August 7, 1929, p 8.)

Around The Square In Eighteen Ninety-Six

Ed Trover letter 1870, Carlinville Township

Ed Trover's Recollections of Carlinville

George Huston Holliday - George Huston Holliday was one of the commissioners appointed in the building of the courthouse and later he was county clerk when misuse of funds became an issue. Contributed by Dennis H. Watkins.

Macoupin County Fair of 1859 (Macoupin County Enquirer, March 22, 1911, Page 5

Lawyer Gives Farm To Blackburn College

Harris Law School - Just a Dream

See each township in Townships and Towns of Macoupin County for more history.

Macoupin County Fact Sheet at the IL State Archives site

1875 Atlas - Early Settler Names

Asbury Cemetery History

Barr Township History

Old Bunker Hill Macoupin Co IL Newspaper Stories

A Sketch of Woodburn - Bunker Hill Township (Bunker Hill Gazette, July 6, 1876, page 2.)

Eagerville, Cahokia Township, history

History of the Loomis House, Chesterfield Township (Macoupin County Enquirer January 9, 1901)

History of Historic Chesterfield Church (Macoupin County Enquirer, February 21, 1923)

Medora History, Chesterfield Township

1934 Medora High School Yearbook

Dorchester History

Wilsonville Is Newest Town In Old Macoupin

Girard History

History of the Plainview Community

Nilwood History

The Cyclone, Shipman and Plainview Vicinity, 1883, Macoupin County Ilinois (Carlinville Democrat, Thursday, May 24, 1883, P1)

Beaver Dam State Park History by Jim Frank

Bill Behrens Memories, Bunker Hill, as told to Lula Vaughn

Grandma Ladendroff - Bunker Hill IL

Charles A. Jacobi letter

Mount Clare History

Hornsby History Cahokia Township

Larry Clark remembers Gillespie

Honey Point Township history

Where Was Brooklyn, Macoupin County, and When Was It Laid Out, and By Whom? (Carlinville Democrat, 24 December 1930)

Mt Olive High School Graduates 1895 - 1910

Sawyerville History, Mt Olive Township

White City Remembrances - Mt Olive Township

Greenridge Nilwood Township History

Fulton History - North Otter Township

Modesto History - North Palmyra Township

City Fathers Of Modesto And Their Families

Scottville History and Charter

Palmyra Village Organization

Palmyra Village History

South Palmyra Township History

History of Piasa, Shipman Township by Mrs. Howard Reno

History of Polk Township

History of Shipman

History of Hettick - South Palmyra Township

Old Newspaper Articles, Staunton Star Times

How Staunton Got Its Name from the book, Staunton in Illinois, by Dorrell Kilduff.

History: Poem about Staunton - An Interrupted Dream - Macoupin County IL

Black Town News

Virden History excerpted from Carlinville Free Democrat, October 27, 1859

Haunted Macoupin - a research of the haunted buildings in Macoupin County

Books published about Macoupin County History and some of them may be For Sale.

Indian Tribes in Illinois History at Lee Sultzman's site

Townships and Towns of Macoupin County.

Bond County History Book Index with Macoupin names

Illinois History - an ILGenWeb Special Project

Macoupin County, Illinois was created by an act of the Illinois General Assembly on January 17, 1829. The area now known as Macoupin County was once part of Madison and later known as the "attached part of Green County."

The name Macoupin is of Indian extract, being shortened version of the Indian word "Macoupiana," which meant "white potato." The Indians used this name for the wild artichoke which grew in abundance along the waterways in the county. Long before the county was established, the main stream running through the county was named Macoupin Creek.

Thomas Carlin, a senator from this district at the time, and later governor of Illinois, was largely responsible for the passage of the bill. However, not all members of the general assembly were in favor of the new county. Peter Cartwright, a "celebrated and eccentric pioneer preacher" has been quoted as saying, "God has set apart this region as a reservation for the geese and ducks."

The first appointed commissioners were Seth Hodges, Joseph Borough, John Harris, Shadrack Riddick, and Ephraim Powers. They met at the house of Joseph Borough on the third day of March to decide on a permanent seat of Justice for Macoupin County.

The first courthouse built was of logs, erected in 1820. Seth Hodges won the contract and the cost according to records was $128.66. Ten years later, Macoupin County had outgrown its 18 x 24 foot log courthouse and plans were made for a larger one.

This building was to be of brick and measure 50 x 50 feet. Harbird Weatherford and Jefferson Weatherford were designated as builders. The project was to have cost $15,000.

By 1867, the county was again in need of a larger courthouse. The minutes of the county court of March, 1867 said, "Ordered that A. McKim Dubois and George H. Holliday be associated with T. L. Loomis, county judge, and Isham J. Peebles, County Justice, as commissioners, to erect a new courthouse in the City of Carlinville, Illinois, foundation to be laid this year, and building to be completed before the expiration of the term of office of the present court; said courthouse not to be commenced until there is sufficient money in the county treasury to pay the present indebtedness of the county." also: "Ordered that a levy of 50 cents on each $100 value of property in Macoupin County for the year 1867, real, personal, and mixed, be made for the purpose of erecting said courthouse, and that the clerk extend said tax on the collector's books for the year 1867, and that it be collected as their taxes for county purposes."

Bonds issued totaling $50,000.00 would be issued for ten years and bear interest at ten percent. By September, over $13,000.00 had been spent and in October, 1867, the cornerstone was set in place. The cost of the courthouse was beginning to go over the original estimate and by January, 1869, the cost was $449,604.07. Yet the courthouse was still not complete! The great dome and the roof were estimated to cost $125,115.00. More bonds were issued and by the time the building was officially completed in 1870 the final total cost was $1,342,226.31.

Not only was the courthouse an exorbitant expense to the taxpayers of the county, there was scandal about the appropriations being misused and the blame was laid on Judge Loomis and George H. Holliday, who was at that time County Clerk. Judge Thaddeus L. Loomis was apparently innocent of any wrong doing. We may never know about Mr. Holliday, as one night in 1870 he boarded a train on the Chicago & Alton railroad and disappeared.

When it was finished, the largest county courthouse in the United States, with the possible exception of one in New York City, and larger than the Illinois Statehouse became a showplace, attracting tourists, architects and art students. Some 120 years later, the courthouse still stands and is an impressive site in the "Great State of Macoupin."

George Huston Holliday was born August 5, 1824 at Harrisburg, Kentucky.(1) He was from the large family of Charles and Elizabeth (Spears) Holliday. George was the youngest son of Charles. The Holliday family settled in Chesterfield, Macoupin County, Illinois in 1834 or 1836. Charles and his first wife Sarah were direct ancestors of Alouise Holliday, who married Charles Clement Watkins.

George was fortunate in securing a good education. He became known as a scholar of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and English.(2) This would have undoubtedly prepared him for higher education. He attended McKendree College in Lebanon, St. Clair County, Illinois, finishing his courses in 1848.

In the 1850 census, George was living with his recently widowed mother, Elizabeth Holliday. The census noted that Elizabeth (now 65) had property valued at $2,000 and George was as a farmer.(3)

April 15, 1852 George married Cinderella Chism,(4) who was born in Macoupin County.(5) They were married one day after receiving their license from Enoch Wall, Clerk of the County Court, by P.B. Solomon, Justice of the Peace.(6) Cinderella was almost 10 years younger than George, and would have been 18 at the time of marriage. Her father, William Chism, wrote a note dated April 12, 1852 as follows: "Dear Sir, It is with my certain consent that Mr. George H. Holliday makes application for him to marry my daughter Cinderella Chism."(7)

George and Cinderella had six children, four boys and two girls. The boys were Willie, George, Henry and Albert and the girls were Susie and Nanny.(8) George Spears Holliday went on to be a graduate of Blackburn University, class of 1875. He studied in the office of William R. Welch and was admitted to the bar in February 1879.

George was the publisher of the "Spectator" at Carlinville, which is the County Seat of Macoupin. The Spectator was the Democratic paper in the County. This gave George an outlet for his writing talent. He only published the Spectator for a short time however. After disposing of the paper George continued to write for several other papers. George also was editor and proprietor of the "Conservative" paper. This also was a paper Democratic in its editorial views. The paper only ran from March 24, 1868 to June 2nd of the same year.

Since he was a learned man and literary man, it was no surprise that he owned one of the largest libraries in that part of the country. When his estate was cleared, many of his volumes were purchased by Easterners and shipped to New York.

In 1850, George Holliday, working with John H. Shipman, laid out the streets and lots of the village of Shipman, Illinois. They laid out the part of the village that lies "east of the railroad"(9) He served as the County Surveyor in Macoupin County for several years and served a time as school commissioner.

It was noted that George was deeply involved in politics. In 1851 he was elected county surveyor.(10) He was a member of the Illinois Legislature for the term 1855-1857. In 1858 George was appointed County Clerk when the then current clerk, Enoch Wall, died in office. At the end of his term in 1860 he was nominated by the Democratic party for the same position and subsequently won the election that year. In 1865 Carlinville, already the capital of Macoupin county, became incorporated as a city. Along with Bernard Lorenz, John T. McConnell, C.H.C. Anderson, J.W. Hankins and R.B. Minton, George Holliday was a member of the City Council.

In 1860, Holliday built what became the "Mounts Home," which later became the Weatherford Nursing Home on West Buchanan Street in Carlinville. The supervising builder and architect was L.W. Mounts, father of the late Senator L.W. Mounts. Mounts' family occupied the home after the Hollidays. The grounds of that home were beautifully landscaped with trees and shrubs from around over the world.

After his term in the legislature, he became more active in building and finance. He was President of the Henderson Building and Loan Company and a wealthy man. This allowed him time and money to give to his many activities. This Building and Loan was the predecessor of the C.H.C. Anderson Bank of later years.(11)

George Holliday was a strong Democrat and was in the "Courthouse Crowd" before and during the construction of the "new" courthouse. In 1867 he was appointed, along with A. McKim Dubois, T.L. Loomis, County Judge and Isham J. Peebles, Associate Justice, as a member of the commission to erect a new court house in Carlinville.(12) This was a very controversial project.

The building of the courthouse began in 1867. Construction was completed in 1870 after many years of financial maneuvering by all involved. The county had insufficient funds to pay for construction, so the commission lobbied the State Legislature to pass a tax to complete the project. Costs kept going up and the construction was not completed on time. Many County taxpayers continually fought the project.

In November of 1869 three new members were elected to the court commission. They were P.C. Huggins, A.A. Atkins, and M. Olmstead. These new members were "anti-court house" and asked for a report on the courthouse by February first, 1870. The report was submitted and the old commissioners resigned in February 1870. At this date the building was just being completed. The County then employed an architect to value the building at replacement cost and came up with a value of under $650,000. Total cost for the Courthouse was over $1,300,000.(13) The County eventually issued bonds to resolve the financing in 1878. The issue was finally resolved financially for the town when on September 7, 1904, Carlinville staged a celebration for making the final payment on the Courthouse bonds.(14)

While a center of controversy, the Courthouse was considered a beautiful building. It was the largest courthouse in the United States with the possible exception of one in New York City and larger than the Illinois Statehouse.(15) A rectangle 181 feet in length crossed by a transverse rectangle of smaller dimensions, the building resembled a Swiss cross. Built as a massive home to a 4,500 square foot courtroom, it became a major Macoupin County landmark.

This was undoubtedly a difficult time for George Holliday. There were questions about the finances of the courthouse, but no evidence of personal monetary gain from the building was proven. Apparently the controversy became so heated that George left town in 1870, never to return. Speculation was rampant about Hollidays' disappearance but never factually confirmed. His estate eventually settled and later the rest of his family moved to Missouri.

GHOLLIDAY
©1995 DENNIS H WATKINS

1. Centennial History of McKendree College with St. Clair County History, 1928.
   
2. Ibid.
   
3. Abstract of The 1850 United States Census, Macoupin County, Illinois, transcribed under direction of Irvin David Hess, Yuma, AZ 85364, Copyright Irvin David Hess 1972. From sheet 187, Aug 20, 1850.
   
4. Marriage license and certificate, Macoupin Co., IL.
   
5. Centennial History of McKendree College, ibid.
   
6. Marriage Certificate, ibid.
   
7. Macoupin County Records, in Marriage record file, Macoupin Co., IL.
   
8. Holliday and Watkins family history, information provided by Oscar and Helen Brown, Chesterfield, IL.
   
9. History of Shipman Village of IL, February 1923. Macoupin County Searcher, Macoupin County Genealogical Society, Vol XIV, No.2, October 1993.
   
10. History of Macoupin County, Brink McDonough & Co, Philadelphia, 1879.
    
11. Macoupin County Centennial Book, 1867-1967 Biography of George Holliday.
    
12. History of Macoupin County, Illinois and Biographical Sketches of some of its prominent Men and Women, Brink, McDonough & Co. Philadelphia, 1879.
    
13. History of Macoupin County, Illinois, ibid.
14. Macoupin County Searcher, Macoupin County Genealogical Society, Vol XV No 3, January 1995 quarterly Newsletter, Page 53.
    
15. Macoupin County's Famous Courthouse, Cynthia K. Leonard, from a handout from the Macoupin County Clerk, John Saracco, reprinted in the Macoupin County Searcher Vol. XVI, No.3, January 1996.
    

The Macoupin County Courthouse, located in the county seat, Carlinville, is a 191-foot architectural phenomenon from the nineteenth century. The landmark was completed in 1870 at an approximate cost of $1,380,500. Some aspects of the construction are still shrouded in mystery. In comparison to the building's cost, one notes that the total value of assessed property in the county in 1860 was $5,097,589. Most of the material for the courthouse was hauled to the site on flat cars drawn by oxen. The Chicago & Alton Railroad put in a switch from the main rail, and the spur became known as the "ox railroad."

According to a survey by St. Louis architect Earl Fey, "the courthouse is of a Century Victorian Classic Revival style. As such, it lacks the archaeological precision of the works of professional architects of a little later era, but also avoids their tendency towards sterility. The building may be termed either Italiante or French Second Empire, but it is not always easy to make this distinction, short of a definitve feature which would definitely establish the style."

The structure is contemporary with Mullett's St. Louis Custom House (Old Post Office) in St. Louis, to which it bears a stylistic affinity. The exterior detailing is definitely Roman, in contrast to the Greek Revival prevalent in this area up to the time of the Civil War.

The Monumental Corinthian Order of the corner pilasters and porticoes is rather accurately detailed. General proportions of the main building mass and the relationship of dome to the rest of the building tend to make the structure appear awkwardly tall . . . judged by accepted standards of ancient and Renaissance architecture. This is an instance of nineteenth century striving for originality. The soaring effect of the building thus seems more outstanding when viewed with respect to the low-rising structures surrounding it.

Fey said the building "defies reproduction." Every door in the building is made of iron, each weighing about one ton. Window frames are of iron. Magnesian limestone covers the rectangle building, 181 feet in length and 80 feet wide, crossed in equal distance from the north to the south ends by a transverse rectangle of smaller dimensions. The plan resembles an elongated Swiss cross, or the cross of St. George, of double width.

The building is divided into three floors. The basement is 12 feet high, the main floor 16, and the upper floor, used as a courtroom, is 32 feet high. Supporting the roof of the portico are four Corinthian columns 40 feet in height, 3 feet in diameter at the base, and 3 1/2 feet at the top. Floors of the building are laid with tile. The upper floor is reached by two wide iron stairways at the right and left as one enters the building from the north. At the south end of the main corridor is a stairway leading up to the rear of the courtroom, and also to the fourth floor, just under the dome. To be noted on taking the first step up the southside stairway are the "pelicans" of iron holding up part of the metalwork. The front stairways are ornamented with flowers done in iron and other designs. The balustrade of the main stairway at the north are ornamented with wolf and dog heads done in iron. On the front of each of the double iron doors opening into the courtroom is a lion's head with a large ring in its mouth, a symbol of the majesty of the law.

One has a feeling of grandeur on entering the Circuit Court chamber. The focal point is the raised judge's chair mounted on a track behind the massive vari-colored marble bench, flanked on each side by a pair of massive Corinthian columns, replicas of the outside porticoes. Capping these columns is a massive pediment cresting a portico treatment which, along with the dome above, lends a sense of majestic authority to judicial proceedings in the courtroom. The hand-carved walnut judge's chair is seven feet in height. Lions are carved in each of the huge arm rests. When built in 1869, it was reported to have cost $1500. For a great number of years, the immense chair was stored in one of the alcoves where it gradually disintegrated and almost fell to pieces. The Carlinville Woman's Club had it reupholstered. The old track on which the chair runs also was repaired for use, and the chair was rededicated in a ceremony when Judge F. W. Burton was on the bench in 1925.

Electric lights were installed in the office of the County Superintendent of Schools in January 1927.

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