"Chick's Country" by Grandpa Jim

My brother Chick always used to say that his part of far northwest Illinois was “God’s Country.” It’s not exactly the ONLY area that people call this, of course. Anywhere that there is some natural beauty and fierce pride qualifies, apparently.

If you are in the market for a tour, however, I’d recommend giving it a try. There is an old, genuine “river town” called Savannah, for instance. Coming from the east, you really drop down into the town, because eons ago, the Mississippi River etched out a deep ravine for itself.

Just east of Savannah is another small, old farm-town, Mount Carroll, the county seat of Carroll County. It is also the site of what used to be the Frances Shimer College for Women, and also for a short-lived television series of 20-some (?) years ago. I recall Savannah as the home of some distant cousins when I was small, and Mount Carroll as the home of one of the only movie theaters for miles around.

Just north of M.C. is a wide spot in the road called Pleasant Valley, the home of a close cousin when I was growing up. He was Willy Willson, a breeder of draft horses, mainly Belgians, I believe. I didn’t know until just a few years ago that Belgians, Clydesdales, and Percherons are all just about the same size. (I had always thought that Clydesdales were larger.)

North of P.V. is Stockton and the home of one of my grandfathers, who owned a harness shop. Legend has it that two of my ancestors received acreage (some say 150) as reward for military service. One was “Captain Tommy” Harrison, reportedly kin to President William Henry Harrison. These two great-grandparents are supposed to have been disappointed in the acreages and traded them. (One for the harness shop, a turn-key business, I presume.) Later, it is said, railroads bought up a lot of land that ran through these acreages, and towns grew up there to accommodate the railroads. (Yes, the acreages would have increased in value, perhaps greatly. The towns may have become Lanark and Shannon, possibly?)

Before I leave Mount Carroll too far behind, I need to mention that one of my grandfathers earned credits from the women’s college there! He worked part-time for the school, tending the furnaces in the winter, and was allowed to attend some classes as part of his wages.

I always though it was interesting that my late brother (Chick) was so proud of this area. After all, he didn’t move out there to live until he was 16! (He left school and home for a place that appealed to him more. I will never know of all his motives, and it doesn’t matter. There is evidence that he truly enjoyed working with, and being around, horses, and Willy was glad to have the help.) In my next post, I’ll add some more places in “Chick’s Country.”