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B. F. Shepard Gives Detailed! Description of First Cele bration Held in County NOW RESIDES AT GURNEE! Account is Intensely Interest ing After the Elapse of Three-Quarters of Century Wall began tomorrow plans to have a good old-fashioned observance of Abe. Fourth of JJuly....In_fact, It will be similar in many ways to the first public Fourth of July celebration held in Lake county 74 years ago. Ben jamin Franklin Shepard of Gurnee, one of the best living residents of the county, one who came to Lake county when he was about four years old, had written a detailed de’ scription’ of the first Fourth of July: celebration in Lake county as he witnessed it. This account appears in the local history book of th e tearns school, and is as follows: A STORY OF YE OLDEN TIMES By B. F. Shepard, Gurnee, Ill. In the month of June, 1844 word wit ont forth to all the scattered settlers of Mill Creek precinct, Lake county, Illinois, that they would have a grand Fourth of July celebra tion and picnic dinner with — fish chowder ,for all to meet at the con fluence of Second and Third Lakes. Everybody came, and as I sit thinking of was lack yonder of 70 years ago, and a I am one of the very few liv ing who partook of that generous feast, and it is one of the greatest event's in the early history of Lake counts, I will jot down a few inci dent and reminiscences of those early days, when we as boys, ran wild over the prairies and through the forests of Mill Creek Precinct. To remember with what anxiety us_ boys waited for that great day, the Fourth of July, 1844. Finally it came, but not with flags flying or the roar of artillery, but with our eventitle breeze blowing the wild flowers A steady booming of the praiie grouse hens on their old training grounds and the boys. call ing then from the prairie to get an owd, Start for the great celebra tion banquet were the calls that summoned so prementor that on the third of July aw of the neighbors were going on to locate the place, clear the brush, and make tables for the next day, and, as I remember it, it was on the same spot where the Bachelor Clubhouse now stands. I was one of the four boys who went along, from 19 to 14 years of age, a and took their teh tines. We had ‘not gone far into the forest when we saw four fine deer bound across our path a few rods ahead and be fore we arrived at the lakes , we kissed five large beautiful — rattle shakes As we were going fishing we went to the log canoe but found that it woul fold out two at a time so two of us jumped in and pushed out into the lake. The other two went along the beach hunting pretty pebbles, In dian browheads and shells and play ing in the sand. In a short time the other boys came in and let the other two go out and try their luck. They had good luck and soon came ashore with a fine lot of fish it will not tell how many or how large far you might call this a fish story), but there were enough and to spare. Then we took a piece of bars and strung them and took them back to the men who were at work. They looked at them and thought we had had splendid luck in getting ‘each a nice lot; they told ‘us to go to the inlet between the two lakes and anchor them in the water so they would keep fresh for the chowder next day. Mr. David Gimlore had been asked to make the chowder and he came to get our three-pail kettle, the larg est one around, to make it in. He came with his two oxen, Duke and alurby, hitched to a wagon ,the wheels made by sawing off eight or ten inches from a three-foot white oak log, putting a hole through the center for the aale tree. This wa gon all made wih anger, ax and saw was in use for a number of years, many of this style of wagons were made and used at that time. He invited us to ride with him and his wife and we felt highly honored. When we arrived at the lake we all went to work, some went after the fish, others made the fire ready for the kettle. As there were no roads or fences and people came from fall directions most of them with oxen or steers and those log wagons. We could hear them a long time before they came in sight, the wagons growling for the want of grease for axle grease was scarce in those days. As soon as a few boys came we all had to go for a swim in the lake. When we got back the people had arrived. The women had the tables set with their finest crockery and table covers of many colors. The crockery was all light and dark blue, right up to style. There were a few pies made from pumpkin dried the fall before, a few Sorell made from Sorell loaves. Castor was scattered along the tables with ‘bread, butter and cheese. No fancy nicknacks or canned goods or high living in those days. The chowder ready they had three or four tin pans filled with a gourd dipper for a jacket from the cattles and set them along the ta bles. When all was ready the marshal of the day, Nat Vose, thought we could not have a celebration without a parade, so he had them form in tw lines, each family together, an march in a circle and come on each side of the table with Father Dodge at the head. As we stopped before the steaming chowder with bowed heads Father Dodge blessed the food before us ,and, as all had the famous llindg appetite, the chowder vanish ed and it was decided that it was better than any they had ever eaten on the shore of old Massachusetts Bay where many had come from and where Mr. Gilmore was an expert in making it. While they are eating I will intro duce you to a few of that I remem ber who were there with their fam ilies: George Gage, George Drivy from First Lake, Alex Cruce from Second Lake, Miltimore from Fourth Lae, Amaziah Smith, George Wright from Sand Lake, William Dodge or Father Dodge, John or Sam_ Slu man, Crapp and I think the Doust Brothers, Sledmans from Millburn, just came in from Salem, Mass., Fath er East, Gleason Haines, Levit Saf ford, John Skarns, Russell Croker, Philip Blanchard, George Shepard, Nat Vose, Joe Lamb, David Gillmore, two or three of the Esty Brothers the Suat—(first)—settlers—in Mill+ Creek: Preciet, ‘Amos Bennett, who said that he was the first white man that planted corn on the west side of the Desplaines River, and was about the blackest man I ever saw; there were many others I do not remember, nearly 100 in all, great and small. As Little Fort had been on a boom for a year and had two or three stores ,with a little competition they had got eggs up to three cents a dozen in trade and sugar and salerity down to 25 cents a pound. Two or three of the pioneer ladies thought they would have something for des sert, so between them they picked up a lot of eggs, took them to Little Fort and traded them for sugar. With the sugar they made two large milk pans of seed cakes, (cookies with caraway seeds in them). After the chowder, had vanished the ladies walked down each side of the tables and gave every one, great and small, a seed cake apiece.” When they got to the end they had a few left over, they shouted, “Where are the boys who caught the fish? As four boys had to step forward and those two ladies presented an extra seed cake to each of us, I think few fishermen get so highly honored as we were that day and after 70 long years I can taste them yet. To make a platform they rolled one of those log wagons by the side of a large oak tree. They had three or four small flags, one the largest, I should think six by eight feet, was brought by a Salem man; it was raised over the speaker's stand and as they raised it one of the men said “Three cheers for the Stars and Stripes.”’ These were as hearty cheers as were ever given in Lake county, although the first that yvvr echoed through the grand old forest and over these beautiful lakes. Lit tle did anyone think that in 24 years some of those little boys playing around and in their mothers’ arms would be lying on the battlefields of the south in decfnse of that same flag, the tears and Stripes, now call ed Old Glory. Father Dodge steped on the plat form and gave a prayer and as it was in anti-slavery days he prayed for the freedom of the 3,000,900 of slaves in bondage in what was called a free and enlightened nation. After he was through Nat Coast read the Declaration of Independence. Then Father Dodge delivered the oration. It has passed my memory but I know it was food. There were a number of short speeches, one from George Gage and one from Sam Doust, I remember. Sam and Nat were twins, I think, at least they looked very much alike, young law yers from Salem Massachusetts, shortly after this they put up their shingle in Little Fort and, I think, lived and died there. . As a celebration would not be much without some noise and there were no fire crackers at that time as boys got hold of a little powder; we wet it and filled some wild goose quills; we called these squibs and when they were touched with a live coal they would go around in all di rections. Lots of fun for us boys if most of the old pioneers always car ried their rifles with them; that day they put up a mark and fired a few times but ammunition was pcarce and they did not want to waste it. As some had a long ways to go they began to thin about going be fore it got late and you could hear them talking to their oxen and steers as they hitched them to their wagons. There were five horses, two span and one single, there that day. Everybody from Fox Lake to Lit tle Fortana from Independence Grove to Wisconsin were neighbors in those days and you could hear them laughing, joking and shouting to each other. “Good by ,come to see us. “Have the boys hitch up the oxen, start early and bring time whole lot most anyday. We'll put the kettle right on. “Good by, good by. Thus ended the first public Fourth of July celebration in Lake county, Illinois. And as I brush the mists of time away and view those old scenes of way back yonder I_think of how happy we all were that day when we were eating Squire Gill more’s good fish; then I think of the wonderful changes that have come in those long 70 years since our parents came west to make their homes.
Newspaper Details
Libertyville Independent
Libertyville, Illinois, US
Thu, Jul 04, 1918
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 30 Jun 2026
Other Publications Near Libertyville, Illinois
Libertyville Lake County Independent and Waukegan Weekly Sun
Libertyville Independent
Libertyville Lake County Independent
