Th Trail South Out of Chicago by Ross K. Ettma
Th Trail South Out of Chicago Thm: Th purpos of this papr is to shd light on th livs of thos Hollandrs who sttld in Rosland in 1849. Thir "trail" out of Chicago was partially known as "th Holland Road." This papr also offrs a brif history of th dvlopmnt of th First Rformd Church of Rosland, concntrating in particular on its church cmtary. () 1in 1. Landing at th port of Chicago. 2. Popl, placs, and dscriptions of th scnry on th trail. 3. Sttlmnt in Rosland, th building of homs & church. 4. Th cmtry practics of th First Rformd Church aftr 30 yars. 5. Th ffacing of that cmtry and concurrnt loss of a historic sit. Bibliography Th Calumt Indx (A local Rosland nwspapr) Th South End Rportr (A local Rosland nwspapr) History of Rosland and Vicinity by Simon Dkkr (Rosland Historian) Nintith Annivrsary Book of th First Rformd Church of Rosland 1939 Th Chicago Tribun nwspapr Th Sktchs of Hnry Nobl (Rosland artist-historian) Hilda Butlr Farr (Rosland pot-historian-musician) Dutch Emigrant Mmoirs & Rlatd Writings by Hnry Stvn Lucas On-Hundrth Annivrsary Book of th First Rformd Church of South Holland South Holland Villag Cod 1896 Paul W. Ptraitis (Rosland~Pullman historian-photographr) Mmoirs of Mrs. Mary Otto (3rd Gnration Dscndant of Rosland Sttlr) Prsonal Obsrvations & Rsarch Down An Indian Trail in 1849 by Mari K. Rowlands Calumt Indx 1949 Various Maps & Plats
Th Trail South Out: of Chicago A papr givn by Ross K. Ettma on Sptmbr 24, 1987 at th A.A.D.A.S. Confrnc hld at Trinity Christian Collg Palos Hights, Illinois on Sptmbr 24th thru 26th It might b intrsting for us to bgin by spaking about th ancint trails that ld our popl to this ara, and mayb xprinc an vnt or two along th way. Th unknown at th tim "City of Rfug" for th Hollandrs coming to Thornton Township in 1847 bcam what w call South Holland. Two yars latr, thy cam to th ara in Worth Township now known as Rosland. Whn thy dismbarkd 'from a ship at th Prairi Saport of Chicago, and if th ship was not too larg, it usd on of th small pirs for docking and unloading its passngrs on th Chicago Rivr. Largr ships had to anchor outsid that psky sand bar, using smallr craft to unload thir passngrs and cargo. In som ports in th days of th sailing ship, sand bars wr a circumstanc to b dalt with; witnss th hymn "Crossing th Bar." At last, it was summr and thy wr again on dry land, aftr an avrag voyag of prhaps sixty days for som, longr for othrs. Ys, a strang land whr vryon spok a strang" BabylOnian Tongu not found in thir Dutch Bibls. This arly wstrn trading post, on a muddy plain calld Chicago, was nothing lik w know it today. Chicago was known as a plac in th Far Wst of th Unitd Stats in 1847, a growing villag of 16,859 popl. It's strts, to us th trm loosly, wr litrally pig sty~ for th swinish part of th Razor-backd population who foragd at will, dfying captur in th chaos of mud. Chicago strts wr said to hav bn bgot in mud, born in mud, and brd in mud. Signs along th waysid rad; "No Bottom," "Tam Undrnath," or "Stag Droppd Through." Whn at on plac a hat was droppd in th mud, a comdian put up a sign saying, "Man Lost." Cow blls from all th four points of th compass mad on awar that th cud chwing cows wr also right to hom on th adjacnt grasslands hard by th Chicago rivr. Sad to say thr wr othr varitis of animal lif on th Chicago scn rady to pry on th unwary immigrant, rliving him of his twnty dollar gold pics and goods. Ths loafrs, "Rowdis, or Black Lgs", as thy wr calld spnt thir tim drinking, swaring, fighting, blocking th thoroughfars and gnrally bing obnoxious. It 1
was a town aswarm with pddlrs, grog sllrs and sharprs, all fin tund in th art of dcit. Law and ordr lft a grat dal to b dsird. At that tim Chicago consistd of-mostly fram houss paintd whit, with on brick hous landscapd and gradd and a fw log cabins. Som of th arly sttlrs of Rosland found lodging first in a warhous on Randolph Strt. Thy wr xtrmly fortunat, bcaus thr wr only twnty-fiv diffrnt tavrns or inns thr in 1849, of which ightn could barly justify th titl "Hotl." 1Wo yars arlir th City Hotl bcam th Shrman Hous. Rats for a bdroom with ful and attndant wr $1.50 to $2.25 pr wk. Othr immigrants, for whatvr rason, slpt nar th Fort Darborn Stockad, in wagons and vn on th bach. Th Gouwns family of South Holland slpt on th rivr bank until thy wr,kickd out by an irat proprty ownr. Most found thir way south through th mnag prviously dscribd to an ncampmnt in th "south suburbs" at 12th strt. Thr was a larg campground thr. Transints oftn stayd thr until thy got orintd to thir surroundings. Th mn saw and hard things thr thy hopd thir womn folk would nvr vn har about, lt alon s. By th tim th most Dutch immigrants got to Chicago thy had larnd how to obtain food,a vry basic first rquirmnt. Som by pointing, othrs by using a Dutch-English dictionary. On th strts what passd for markts, bf cost 4-1/2 cnts a p~und, pork 4 cnts a pound, buttr, 10 cnts a pound, ggs, 6 cnts a dozn and what ovr on dollar a bushl to mntion a fw of th thn currnt prics. Whn th immigrants bgan to inquir about land for sal, th Nw York financirs in thir gray Bavr hats appard with pockts, hats, and blts stuffd with promissory nots, mortgags, and summons. On thy cam, Prachrs, Lawyrs, and Landsharrs, landsuckrs, Idalists, and Knavs of vry ordr. Thr wr hors dalrs and hors stalrs, xprts in profit taking and chating, carrying on daily with no apparnt rtribution, in this city as on corrspondnt put it; "Without a God". A Yank tr~vlr passing through Chicago at that tim who distaind forignrs rmarkd: Th "Dutchmn spak vry bad English, and whn thy do talk amongst thmslvs you could undrstand thm about as wll as you could a flock of cackling gs." Th Hollandrs did not car to stay in Chicago ithr during th Roaring Fortis ra. 2
Chicago was rapidly gaining a rputation of bing th wickdst city in th world with its 2000 prostituts and 250 brothls. Randolph strt wst to Clark strt was calld Gamblrs Row by som, it also had th Nom d Plum of "Hairtriggr Block." Thn, somwhr th Rosland sttlrs hard of land possibly for sal about twnty mils south of th city, nar a rivr, and it was chap!!! Thn cam a chanc mting with Klaas Pool th hird man of th widow Antj Paarlbrg, an 1847 sttlr in D laag Prairi (South Holland). H providd thm with guidanc, spok thir languag and knw his way around th land to th south of th city. Th path out of Chicago to points south was not much mor than an old Indian Trail, variously calld "Hubbard's Trail," or, "Th Vincnns Trac." In thos days it was a dust trap in summr and a quagmir th rst of th yar. Originally it was th dg of an old glacial formation. Th path roughly parallld Stat Strt to Svntnth Strt. As lat as 1859 th ara south of 22nd Strt was considrd "Out in th Country," "Whr th prairis wr wid and th houss fw." As travl south incrasd, th wolvs soon found no mounds lft to build thir dns. A brakdown of a wagon on th trail mant hours waiting for anothr travlr to pass by who could possibly offr assistanc. Bfor procding vry far many stoppd at th sprad of Willard P. Myrick, which was th first plac of habitation south of th city. H calld it "Cottag Grov". Myrick's plac was boundd by 28th strt on th north, 31st strt on th south, Lak Michigan on th ast and I I what was formrly known as South Park Avnu on th wst. Provisions and livstock could b obtaind from Myrick. A littl furthr on th trail was.a man namd Jackson who followd th Blacksmith's trad. Nxt, cam th hom plac of Mr. Samul Pirc who is oftn tims mntiond in annals of immigrant history as giving good counsl to th pionrs. Th northwst cornr of Pirc's quartr sction of land abuttd th trail. FollOwing a gnrally southwstrly dirction on th highst and drist ground thy could find, plasantly surroundd by luxuriant Rosinwd, a boundlss profusion of wild Sunflowrs and Phlox, thy wndd thir way through th nin mils of grassy & swampy ground thn calld th Grat Winnmac Swamp which xtndd ast of th trail to Lak Michigan. On did not travl through th swamp at night. Evn in th 3
daytim th travlrs wr wary of wolvs and snaks. Wolvs snt mor than on pionr into th swamp, which was considrd to b th lssr of two vils. Th nxt sign of civilization appard at approximatly ighty third strt and what is now calld Vincnns Avnu. It was th "Tn Mil Hous" opratd by August Schorling. It was known logically as Schorling's Road Hous. A man namd Christian Dunsing ran it till 1847, whn his son-in-law Schorling took ovr. Schorling in turn sold it to Frank Kyl. At this point th trail forkd in two dirctions, on to th wst tomrds Blu Island and th othr towards th south ast which would bring thm to D Hoog Prairi. From 83rd strt th pionrs of 1849 followd th trail Which at that point bcam known as th "Holland Road". At about 9250 Stat strt as w know it today th trail ran btwn th barn of th old log two story "Elvn Mil Hous," a plac wll known in th annals of local immigrant travl. It was tom down in 1955 whn th Dan Ryan,Exprssway was built. A IMn namd John Smith ownr of th tavrn offrd harty mals, with th appropriat cool drinks catring to th nds of hulmnity, with larg comfortabl rooms to rst thir bons. H also providd for animals with hay, watr, and stabls. Laving Smith's Tavrn th old Illini Trail (Holland Road) vrd again in a southastrly dirction toward 99th strt. Not long aftr laving Smith's Tavrn thy lookd to th southast. Thr th clar shimmring watrs of Lak Calumt could b sn with an Indian ncampmnt on th thirty foot dun of th northwst sh9r. Looking far to th south on th trail at 111th strt thy saw th diggings of Hamilton Lapp in th distanc. At this point th trails mandring dirction was southward and bcam known in our day as Michigan Avnu. Th Rosland Pionrs arrivd thr on th 4th of July 1849. Aftr building som rud shltrs, thy worshippd in a bam. latr thy fllowshippd with th South Hollandrs. In Sptmbr of 1849 th Rosland sttlrs built thir own,church building at Onhundrd svn hundrd south on th wst sid of th trail. Rosland and South Holland bcam sistr connnunitis in th yars ahad, sharing prachrs and providing hunting grounds for prospctiv marriag partnrs. As mntiond bfor, nar what is now 11039 south Michigan avnu livd th prsumd squattr Hamilton Lapp. H was first to offr th pionrs th 4
o hospitality of his humbl abod and barns that ovrlookd th vista of lak Calumt lss than a mil to th ast, along with th hospitabl Charls H. Bull furthr south on th trail. n s 9 5 d Lopp, on thir prliminary scouting trip in his low Grman tongu, gav thm dirctions rgarding th trail south. Dirk Van Vuurn, son of th pionr sttlr, (Ro1 Van Vuurn) who sttld in South Holland, said th undulating and ovrhanging prairi grasss narly obscurd th trail from sight. Wnding thir way south thy cam to th bnd of th Calumt Rivr at 128th Strt, known vn in my liftim as "Wildwood." Nar hr thy found th cabin of, Jonathan M. Prriam, huntr, trappr and frind to many of th local Indian tribs. H no doubt offrd much valuabl assistanc. His nam is oftn mntiond in pionr writings. Continuing past th old Indian Burial grounds following th rivr thy cam to th Calumt Rivr Frry nar 133rd strt and Indiana Avnu opratd by Gorg Dolton and Lvi M. Ostrhaut. Fs wr 25 cnts for a doubl wagon, 1 cnt pr prson, and 2 cnts for a hors, or on had of cattl. Procding southast on th Michigan City Road for a half mil, thy cam to what is now Chicago Road. From thr it was south to South HolLand, which was first known as "Holland Bridg." Aftr consulting with th South Holland folk, th dcision was, RosLand is for us. Thy bought on-hundrd & sixty acrs of. land along both sids of th trail from 10 3rd s strt to Illth strt, xtnding from Indiana avnu to th sction lin at Stat strt. I hav chosn to dal with som of th popl, organizations and vnts prhaps that manatd from that trail in th Gratr Rosland ara and in particular at l07th strt. Th sttlrs of Rosland somwhat to th dtrimnt of thir bginnings wr not ld to th Unitd Stats by a Domini. Th most ducatd and rligious mn appar to hav bn found in th brothrs Jakob and Pitr D Jong. Jakob was th first ldr of thir littl church on th prairi, and Pitr Was th first Voorzingr and school mastr. Cornlis Kuypr opnd th first littl gnral stor in th front of his hom at l03rd plac on th trail, and h was also th closst thing to a mdical doctor th littl sttlmnt had locally for about twnty yars. His Abolitionist political involvmnt in th opration of th Undrground Railway movmnt has bn wll documntd by Profssor Gorg Albrt Brnnan for on. Th Land that Pitr D Jong ownd as his parcl bisctd th cntr of th sttlmnt, and 5
it was th highst point on th trail btwn 103rd strt and 111th strt, hnc th arly nam "High Prairi." It was mor or lss agrd that whovr ownd that parcl would giv up a portion of it for a church and cmtry. So it was that fiv acrs on th wst sid of th trail was st asid for a church at that location. Thir bginnings wr difficult, as' far as obtaining a rgular Domini, until Fbruary 25, 1855 whn Domini Maartn Anns Ypma cam to shar his ministry with Rosland and South Holland congrgations. Ftom this small bginning a numbr of othr churchs hav thir roots. Th accptd historical rhtoric givn in most church historis mak wid dtours around what rally wr th causs for ths sparations in th kingdom work. Bfor Ypma's arrival Domini Willm Conraad WUst had attmptd to inflict his vrsions of how contmporary Dutch RfonDd popl in th U.S. should liv. His pastorat lastd only 22 months. In th intrim btwn May 1850, and Fbruary 1855 spiritually it was vry man for himslf so to spak. Th book "Classis Holland 1846-1856" r~ats an incidnt of this priod, rgarding th absnc of pulpit supply. Rvrnd Sin Balks rmmbring his short pastorat in Our ara said, "It was lik plowing rocks." But lt us gt back to what I think is a most intrsting cntr point on th trail. As lif around 107th strt wnt on. Thr wr births, marriags and daths. With th dpartur of a lovd on, dcisions had to hav bn mad about mmbr burials. Tunis Maat has bn mntiond as on, if not th first to hav did in th nw sttlmnt and h was burid nxt to th church. Many wr soon to follow. As was th custom with a fw of th arly local Dutch churchs, a cmtry was propr nxt to th church. What was impropr was to prmit? allow? mandat? that th janitor hav complt charg of th administration of th cmtry, including of cours th digging of th grav. This church followd that pattrn. Th First Rformd South Holland had a cmtry nxt to th church which is now undr thir north parking lot. Th First Rformd Church of lansing rtains a part of thir cmtry, th rmaindr is undr adjacnt strts. Th First Christian Rformd Church of Munstr, Indiana has kpt thir gravyard in tact. Th First Rformd Church of Rosland rtaind Johanns Ambuul as thir first janitor in th arly days. H livd in rud quartrs at th rar of th church attachd to th hors hams. Most arly grav markrs if 6
y a S any, wr mad of wood. Th woodn boxs, in som cass, had a namplat on th covr, but as to rcords, alas, th usual pronouncmnt is, 'thy ar lost.' Burials continud as a right of church mmbrship to any family mmbr till around 1880. At that tim 107th strt was not thr. But as progrss dmandd cross strts instad of privat 0 roads, of which thr wr many, considrations had to b mad as to th continuanc of burials a in th Krkhof (Church Gardns-Cmtry). Oak Woods cmtry in Chicago at 7lst strt & Cottag Grov avnu was on option, but not vry accptabl. Mount Holland Cmtry wst of n t Thornton which-by 1857 blongd to th First Rformd Church of South Holland was-a limitd choic bcaus most of th plots wr sold yars bfor. Evn so thr wr som burials of Rosland popl thr. Th Nw Mount Grnwood Cmtry at 11lth strt and California was opnd in th arly 1880s, and bcam th burial ground of choic for th Hollandrs for many yars. t Whn it bcam imminnt that th 107th strt sction lin was going to b drawn, svral bodis had to b movd to a diffrnt part of th churchyard. Th church fathrs had to dcid what to do about th gravs of th pionrs which wr laid right smack in th middl of what would b th nw strt. Th dcision was to mov th bodi~ to Mount Grnwood, but, anothr n o problm rard its ugly had, th cmtry wantd proof of ownrship, clar titl, idntification, tctra, or thy co~dn't accpt th bodis. For thos that could provid th ncssary paprwork ~hr was no problm, for th othrs it was a mass grav in Mount Grnwood Cmtry. Som nvr hav bn movd, lying bnath th strt today. According to a nwspapr g articl of Fbruary, 29, 1928, (thr had bn no intrmnts in th church yard sinc 1868, which I doubt, bcaus what did thy do btwn 1868 and 1880?) Kp in mind it was not o g n h f impossibl that som lovd ons wr burid on th family homstad, in fact, it was highly probabl. Th South Holland folk did it, I hav hard tstimony to it, and whn th Villag ordinancs of South Holland wr codifid" it was strictly forbiddn." As 107th strt was widnd th sam problm rcurrd again, whn th nw chapl was built, south. of th church bodis wr found again, and if I am corrctly informd thy wr movd to to a diffrnt location within th churchyard and rintrrd by stacking thm on atop th 7
othr to consrv spac. This was don by th ordr of R. J. Nichols, Chicago Halth Dpartm inspctor. Th Hollandrs wr going to build right on top of th gravs. In'1929, on mm statd that many markrs wr not takn down until 1908. Th nwspapr articls of Fbruary 1928 said: HRAT3H DEPARll!JlNT PmMlTS EXCAVATION OF ANCIENT CE}fJIDlRY Halth dpartmnt officials last Friday ordrd workman to cas digging xcavations th nw building in th old gravyard adjoining th First Rformd Church of Rosla Accordingly, Captain Pndrgast of th Knsington Polic Station had th work haltd at lo strt and Michigan avnu until an invstigation could b mad. On anothr ordr from th Halth dpartmnt work was rsumd in spit of th protsts local popl whos rlativs wr burid thr. Pndrgast Not Satisfid Howvr, Captain Pndrgast is not satisfid that th uncovring of old gravs is ntit fr from ndangring th halth of th community. With th Community safty in viw h pj to snd sampls of th arth to th Halth Dpartmnt for minut xamination. Furthrmor, h is of th opinion that dumping th bons and dust of th bodis in opn, as has bn th practic, is nithr sanitary nor rspctful and h voics him vigorously with rgard to th sming callousnss and carlssnss with which th work has carrid forward Rlativs Ar Shockd Whn th stam shovl of th xcavator bgan to bring up human bons and bits of cof soon aftr digging was startd, it was with a fling of horror that th local rsid gathrd to'watch th violation. Popl living hr whos parnts wr burid in th anc cmtry wr almost prostratd by th nws that thir forfathrs' rmains wr bing ju! into a dump cart and distributd to th. four winds. As th only fasibl concssion to public sntimnt, workman ar now gathring rmaining bons and dpositing thm in a box, which is to b burid in Mount Grnwood, a of community burial which will bring littl consolation to th living rlativs. 8
May B Titl Tangl, Anothr angl arising again from th strang tangl is th possiblitis of difficulty involving a clar titl to th proprty. It has arisn bfor in lik situations. If any of th burial plots wr ownd by individuals or familis and can b provn, thn it is doubtful if clar titl could hav bn givn without th consnt of th plot ownrs.. h A lik circumstanc is citd in South Chicago, whr on lonly grav on th calumt Rivr can nithr b movd nor touchd. It has bn a point of curiosity and contntion for many yars. Morbid Crowd Watchs No burials hav bn mad in th old Michigan avnu cmtry for mor than sixty yars, it is said. Tn yars ago (1918) th church sold th plot and rlativs of th dad wr notifid y S to mov thir coffins to th Mount Grnwood cmtfy. Som wr-rmovd, but othrs rmaind. Drawn by morbid fascination, crowds daily gathr at th xcavation, ys glud upon th dbris th shovl uncovrs. Youngstrs find in this onc hallowd ground strang trinkts from anothr gnration, whil th gnral public concds that th whol affair is a pathtic but n smingly unavoidabl situation. Anothr articl within th wk dscribd th situation thusly: Attntion of th community was cntrd on th vacant proprty at 107th strt and Michigan avnu this wk whn xcavation was startd Monday for a nw building. It rvald that many s ts t d h yars ago this spot was a cmtry whr many pionr rsidnts wr burid. Th hug scoop of th stam shovl, digging into th arth crumbld th rottd wood of th ag old caskts and disturbd th bons of hundrds of Gratr Early Rosland's dad, som of who wr burid thr ovr 75 yars ago Whn th proprty was usd as a cmtry it was ownd by th First Rformd Church of Rosland which now stands opposit. Svral bodis in th path of th sction lin for 107th strt wr dug up whn it was first put through and rburid. Forty yars ago in 1887 th prsnt.first Rformd Church building was rctd and a whit chapl was built from th wood of th old church adjoining th cmtry. Th proprty was thn 9
sold, rsold and tn yars ago was bought by Dr. Paul Ptraitis of 10748 Michigan avnu. A this tim Mount Grnwood cmtry, which had a prptual chartr, offrd fr spac in whic to rbury th bodis, providing survivors paid th moving xpnss. All who wr financiall abl took advantag of this offr, stats a mmbr of th church. Forty-four yars hav laps sinc th last body was laid to rst in this gravyard, on of th first in this part of tt city. Th rmaindr of th old burial ground stood vacant until rcntly whn it was usd as usd car markt. On month ago th cornr lots wr purchasd by Stphan Vilimovitz, a druggis of 10657 MiChigan avnu. A thr story building will b constructd undr th suprvision c Striff and Son, contractors, and will b modrn in vry dtail. Th plans includ fi> stors, thr offics and thirtn 2, 3, and 4 room kitchntt apartmnts. Th ownr hops t hav thm rady for occupancy by May 1st. Ironically, it was to b calld "Th High Prairi, Building. " "Rmaining Bons From Church Yard Givn Nw Burial," rad th by-lin of May 3, 1928. ] wnt on to tll how last Fbruary whn work was startd for th xcavation of a foundation f th nw building that has sinc bn rctd on th northwst cornr, a stam shovl diggii into th ground scoopd up bons and bits ~f coffins which wr bing hauld away with tl arth. Public' sntimnt was arousd,,and th work of hauling th dirt away was prohibitd untj th bons wr sparatd from th dbris,placd in a box and rburid at Mount Grnwood. To forstall anothr such occurrnc whn possibl xcavation for a building on th oth. half of th cmtry would start, stps wr takn this wk to rmov all rmaining bons ai rintr thm at Mount Grnwood. To s that this work was proprly carrid out, E. G. Elzin! was appointd by th congrgation of Th First Rformd church of Rosland, to which tl cmtry formrly blongd. It bcam svrd from th church it onc adjoind whn 1071 strt was cut through, and about 12 yars ago was sold by th church. Tim and progrss had ffacd on th surfac all marks of what was onc a count] churchyard, but undr-ground row aftr row of pin-box coffins gav plnty vidnc of wlu was onc th burial ground for th arlist Dutch sttlrs of this community. 10
1 r i FIND TOMBSTONE A ston slab dug up bor th nam of Van dr I. and Roodhuizn. According to th chisld lttrs, still discrnibl it had markd at on tim th grav of Elizabth Van dr I., wif of Willm Kaspar Roodhuizn, born Fbruary 29, 1804 and did July 23, 1869. Many of th coffins dug up this past wk wr thos of babis. Thy wr simpl pin boxs mad by carpntrs. Th work of rintrring th bons was handld by Martin M. Otto, a local t f o t undrtakr, whos wif is a dscndant of on of th first Dutch sttlrs of this community. Mmbrs of Mrs. Otto' s family wr laid to rst in this cmtry. In trying to xplain th rasons for slling cmtry land, w might say this. In 1900 th City of Chicago was installing swr and watr pips in th old trail. Th church 'was facing a lvy of svral thousand dollars by spcial assssmnt to covr xpnss for ths improvmnts. Thr upon it was dcidd on January 1, 1901 to sll th northwst cornr of 107th strt and Michigan avnu a part of th cmtry for $5,000.00. Ths rcaps of disturbing th dad at this plac wr not to b th last. In 1983 th city 1 watr dpartmnt was r-working thir lins from th middl of Michigan avnu wst down th middl of 107th strt along sid th church. As I witnssd th vnt that opnd up a hol about 15 ft wid bsid th church, and about 12 ft dp. On ithr sid of th xcavation wr tirs of woodn boxs, of both adult and childrn' s dimnsions. Ths had bn xposd on d a h y t Thursday. Work was stoppd. I was thr on Friday. Radio and Tlvision camramn wr t!'r on Thursday and th vnt mad th vning nws. Th Coronr' s Offic cam out on Thursday, mad his prfunctory rmarks, on in rgards to th blacknd condition of th boxs, which is what occurs whn wood is xposd to wtnss. H was rportd to hav said; '"that was causd by th Chicago Fir! '" Of cours his prmission was givn' to continu with th xcavation with th proviso any bodis discovrd would b rpctfully xhumd for an undrtakr to transport for rintrmnt in a anothr plac. What was not don was to post a guard ovrnit. In convrsations I had with local spctators, thy said on Thursday vning th pit was swarming with for want of a bttr word, '"Grav Robbrs.'" Thy said, hardwar was rmovd from th 11
boxs, rumors wr it was mad of silvr, jwlry was rmovd also to a hous down th hill 0 107th strt. Truck drivrs hauling matrial away from th sit said many of th pionr rmains faun thir way to unknown dumps whr thy unloadd, until all work was officially stoppd again. tlvision camraman I qustiond as to why thy l'r thr for two days,. and what ty~ incidnts qualify for th kind of covrag thy wr giving it rspondd by saying; "It has t b hot & dirty!" It was both of thos, but it was also a sad historical commnt on our tim. Had th cmtry bn prsrvd it would hav bn on of th formost Holland Historical site on th south sid of Chicago. Othr accounts of th.1888 rmovals stat that som of t1 rmains wr strwn along th shor of Lak Calumt south of Knsington. Simon Dkkr in W writings said; "Having th cmtry nxt to th church was not a good ida, nor was it an id~ plac for th mournrs to s th rmains of thir lovd ons lt down in." Dkkr dscribe burial conditions in wt. wathr. Th janitor aftr digging th rsting plac, found it oft. filld with watr right up to th momnt of burial, and how h had to hav somthing to dip tl watr out bfor th woodn box was lowrd into th grav. Dkkr diffrd radically with tl consnsus. Living clos to th church, but no longr a mmbr of th church bcaus sparatd with thos who bcam th congrgation of th First ChriStian Rformd Church, Rosland on th 28th of Dcmbr of 1877. His brothr-in-law was on th consistory at 107 strt at th tim dcisions wr bing mad rgarding th problm of th grav-yard. Dkkr opinion was that it should not b sold, but prsrvd. H said; a nic fnc should b put around it with a monumnt in th cntr of it and ni grn grass around it as a mmorial to th first pionrs. Dkkr said h would b willing do somthing for it, kp it in trim and mak it an honorabl monumnt to th popl Rosland. H thought it would hav bn an honor to b abl to point to a rlic of formr day H flt it was a disgrac to th popl of Rosland and to th popl of th First Rfarn Church in particular for th sak of a fw paltry dollars to sll th plot of ground whr could hav bn such a valuabl rmindr of th first pionr sttlrs of Rosland. Th tra south out of Chicago ndd for som in that littl cmtry at 107th strt, but as w ha (- 12
l said w know not whr many ndd up in th sns of thir physical rmains. This littl scnario no doubt could b xpandd upon, and prhaps it will b and should b. Th ida of using th covrd wagon to covr history hopfully is going out of styl, and mtings lik. this hlp in stopping th blankting procss. Now in th vrnacular of th summr of 1987, I say tharik you for inviting m this morning to shar and join with you rgarding our mutual intrst in th pursuit of Dutch history, som s s of it obtaind ovrtly, som covrtly, or as som of you know, you don't gt it. With no plausibl dniability for what I hav said, xcpt to say, I am not finishd yt. Rgarding rsiduals, you and I know you.hav to lov history or you would not hang in thr with vrything you'v got, prhaps hlping th sarchr, sharing in his qust to find th trails of thir for-fathrs; hr is whr my rsiduals ar found. d f h s 0 f. t I 13
Hilda Butlr Farr in a historical pom sh calld "High Lights of Rosland" composd for th clbration of Rosland's 1949 Cntnnial wrot: Th thriving town of Rosland in which w liv today Prsnts a diffrnt pictur a hundrd yars away. Th Pionrs from Holland who cam to sttl hr Exprincd grat bardshi ps in that vntful yar. Th Da1nbrgs th Kuyprs th Enignbrgs and Tons, D Jongs Ambuuls th Jonkrs, and othrs, on by on. Although a tiny city a cntury ago, Thir hop was in Chicago, a plac to liv and grow. But thr wr many problms, thr wasn't much to at, Thy couldn't spak th languag, so much thy had to mt. At last thy found "High Prairi", what vision thy possssd To s byond th cbaos, a plac for futur rst. For vry inch was covrd, with grasss two ft high And wild flowrs gaily blossomd, as dr and snaks wnt by. And thn along th rivr th Indians would prowl And childrn would b frightnd as wolvs and bars would howl. Among this dsolation thr stood on hous just on And Mr. Lapp, th ownr, a mdal should bav won. Bcaus h kindly offrd to giv th familis car Until som othr buildings could b uprisn thr. 14
A hundrd sixty acrs of land thy purchasd thn. On acr cost fiv dollars in th days of "way back whn... Thy built som tiny houss thr was no gold to spar. Th furnitur was Simpl. likwis th cloths to war. Thy startd raising cattl and gtting if you plas. 8 cnts a pound for buttr. 4 cnts a pound for chs. But low wr all th wags within this oldn day. For six whol dollars monthly was oftn all th pay. No lttrs rachd High Prairi so ovr hill and dal Th popl wnt by Ol-tam Downtown to gt th mail. Thus passd th yars of struggl whil othr sttlrs cam To plan and build th railroads for this had bn thir aim. And soon thr wr som wddings som daths som births ach day. Community of spirit was now upon display. Cornlius Kuypr opnd a mrchandising stor. H also srvd as druggist and aidd rich and poor. A scond stor soon followd by Goris Van dr Sijd A Van dr Bi1t. namd Hiram. stor 3 was his grat prid. And aftr many Sundays of, travling by ox-tam To church out in Low Prairi. thy ralizd a dram. At last thy worshippd wkly within a church. thir own. Th Rosland Dutch Rformd Church. th gratst joy thy'd known. Th first bll in th stpl soon rang for all to har. 15
Across th quit madows to bring th popl nar. And thn th Hop Post offic, a prtty sounding nam Was finally stablishd how busy it bcam Th first plat of th villag was mad in '73 Hraftr known as Rosland and namd officially. What rally could b httr than Rosland for our town, With ross blooming gaily both up th hill and down. And to a Colonl Bown th crdit sms to li, H mad th bright suggstion as tim was moving by. High Prairi... Hop... thn Rosland and Rosland it rmains. For wors prhaps for bttr for losss or for gains. And nxt th bittr yars of war to dvastat th harts of mn, Disastrous grat Chicago fir, th days of drought and toil again. So up to 1880 thn, this town smd part of Holland still Transplantd to th frtil soil of this grat stat th Stat of ILL. Whn suddnly it all was changd, th nws was sprad on vry hand Th Pullman shops wr to b built... Th Pullman modl town was plannd. Throughout th country at this tim all ys wr focusd on th scn, So Rosland HAD to go ahad, for comptition was so kn. Soon plumbing was in vry hom and gas pips laid on vry strt, And sidwalks woodn sidwalks thn, wr put in plac for busy ft. Th Irish cam th English cam Th Scotch and thn th SWds, 16
Norwgians and th Dans arrivd, of many diffrnt crds. Th Lithuanians sttld hr, Italians Slavs and Pols Th Frnch and Grman, othrs too... Ambitious, sarching souls. Elctric lights and tlphons mor churchs strt cars schools. A modrn town it soon bcam, according to th ruls. World War I and World War II, what a pric to pay, Our gallant youth who gav thir livs to bring us pac today. And w who liv within this town salut th pionrs Who ovrcam all handicaps through many tragic yars. W fac th futur unafraid, with gratst confidnc Rmmbring with humbl thanks, that God is our dfns. Within our town of Rosland now, a cntury has passd. W pray th nxt on huodrd yars ar gratr than th last. Hilda Butlr Farr Juo 20, 1949 17