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(As told by Mr. and Mrs. M. C. Cook to Marilyn Kellerman) Du Quoin in the 1870's was the greatest railroad shipping center between Decatur and Cairo. Flour, coal, apples, vinegar, and salt were the main products. Barrels were used for shipping most things and were made by the hundreds at the salt works and flour mills. Du Quoin had two flour mills because wheat was one of the main crops, grown on the many Du Quoin farms. Many, apple orchards could also be seen around the countryside which is now residential Du Quoin. Apples’ for cider, were hand picked and put in the press which could either be horse driven or by hand. But for vine gar, any apples were used. To preserve fresh summer veg etables through the winter, pits were dug in the ground and lined with straw. Then a layer, of apples, then a layer of straw, alternating until the pit was filled and heaped with straw to keep the weather out. These stockpiles were usually opened about Christmas time of the year. To make ice-cream at that time, when the ice froze thick in the winter, the men would cut out huge blocks and put it in an ice house which was made of two layers of wood with sawdust be tween the layers and lined with canvas. This ice would generally keep until August. The first ice cream parlor was established by Mose Miller who made his own home-made ice cream to sell.
Newspaper Details
Du Quoin Evening Call
Du Quoin, Illinois, US
Sat, Sep 19, 1953
Page 50
Full Page
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Anonymous
USA 28 Apr 2026
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