What do a stone in the road, a Will from the Prerogative Court of Canterbury England and a life care contract have in common? They were all found in Deed Book G at the Lawrence County Courthouse. The stone itself stubbornly refused to appear anywhere in the deed ledger, but it does manage to immortalize itself in the description of a one‑acre parcel sold by Howard and Tabitha Jane Badollet (a name that sounds like it wandered in from a Dickens novel) to Nicholas Kuseman on

Once upon a time in Lawrence County Illinois in the year 1835 Jacob Pargin was born. He was the son of Peter Pargin and Sarah Petty and in 1850, the 15- year- old teenager was living with his parents. Eventually Jacob decided that farm life wasn't exciting enough and enlisted in Captain Watts Company of the 7th Missouri infantry. Clearly, he thought marching and guard duty would be a nice change from milking cows. Jacob's brother Daniel came home disabled before Jacob was e

Friday, February 25th , 1881 “What light through Yonder window breaks?” It is a snowball and Yonder goes the son of the glazier, reported the editor. More rain, bad roads and high water. The Vincennes paper reported that the little schoolhouse across the river was under water, and the roads on the Illinois side had been rendered impassable by the high waters. Mr. L J Hostetler, a salesman for Dr JH McLean of Saint Louis, met with a very narrow escape from drowning himsel

Let’s set the scene: John Pargin, feeling a bit under the weather (and perhaps sensing the Grim Reaper lurking nearby), wrote his Will on March 11, 1821. He didn’t know it, but he was about to become a local celebrity—the first person to have a Will filed in the brand-new County of Lawrence. Not exactly the kind of “first” most people aim for, but hey, history is history. In his Will, John assured everyone he was still of sound mind, though his body was apparently less enthu

Th e Rural Republican, published in Lawrenceville, Illinois on Friday, February 11th, 1881 The editor said that while the new bell on the Christian Church rang in soft tones, the weather was still bad. “The Groundhog did it--saw his shadow and now we have cold weather for six more weeks.” Having had three months of regular old- style winter, the streets were muddy, and there were about a dozen cases of measles in town that had already resulted in one death. Will M Garr

Our local researchers like to say that if you look hard enough you will find Lawrence County people playing a role in every part of American history. Here is just one example. Railroads played a pivotal role in shaping settlement across North Dakota, and their land‑selling campaigns were as influential as the tracks themselves. After receiving vast land grants from the federal government, railroad companies marketed these acres aggressively to homesteaders, immigrants, and an

Friday, February 4th, 1881 Both Vincennes and Lawrenceville newspapers The editor announced that there were six more weeks of winter so don't trade off your overcoat yet and he cautioned not to forget to send her a valentine. The previous Sunday was like a spring day, warm and the sun shone brightly, the snow disappearing rapidly under the warm rays. However, the previous extremely cold weather had affected the health of the county; in many places, measles, pneumonia, rheuma

Attention: Program by Nancy King scheduled for February 5, 2026 at History Center, Ladies' Lingerie through the Decades, has been cancelled due to weather. Thomas Perkins was born February 10,1832, near Sumner. He was the son of Alfred Perkins and Susan Shidler Perkins. At age 20 he moved west to the territories of Oregon, Washington and California where he stayed for almost forty-four years. Around 1854, he joined the U.S. military to assist in the Indian Wars in Washington.

January 28, 1881: Still the winter held on with snow and ice, and the sleigh bells sounded merrily in the county’s villages. The weather was disagreeable, the roads were slippery, but health was good. While A W Leech of Sand Barrens was out sleighing, his sleigh turned over and threw him and his lady fiend out. The editor admonished him to drive with both hands next time. Mart Drake received an increase in his war pension of $12.00 per month, and the reporter noted that

Dr. Harlie V. Lewis, the oldest physician in Lawrence County in 1939, died at his home at 809 13th St at 3:25 pm Saturday February 1. He suffered a stroke at 8:30 that morning and his condition was considered serious from the first. Dr. Lewis had been in his usual health the last month except for a slight cold that had confined him to his home in the latter part of that week. Dr. Lewis was born in Bridgeport, Illinois, the son o f William M. Lewis and Katherine Eaton Lewis