Sterling-Rock Falls Historical Society

The Origins of Sterling's Growth and Prosperity

The city of Sterling was formed from two, adjacent communities situated on the bank of the Rock River in northwestern Illinois. The communities' initial purpose was to unite under one name in an effort to acquire the county seat, which town leaders believed would generate economic and social activity. While the county seat did fulfill town leaders' predictions, it also paved the way for other developments. Manufacturing grew during this period due to the harnessing of the Rock River's water power and the growing number of people able to man the factories. This development led to the acquisition of the railroad, which provided faster, more efficient transportation of products and connected Sterling to larger markets. These two factors, along with the early evolution of churches and schools, provided the foundation upon which Sterling could grow into a large, prosperous community.

The first of the two settlements that came to comprise Sterling was founded in early June of 1834 by Hezekiah Brink. Brink, who had been exploring the Rock River throughout northern Illinois, chose this site to settle because of the opportunities he saw in the land and river.¹ The vast prairie provided ample opportunities for farming and the river served as an easily accessible route of transportation. As a result, others were attracted to this area and settled. Boats passing by this new settlement did some small scale trading with settlers. One particular trader, steamboat captain D.S. Harris took a one half interest in the settlement after providing it's settlers with necessary provisions. In 1836 the people of this settlement named it Harrisburg in honor of D.S. Harris for his service to them.²

The second of the two settlements was founded in the spring of 1835 by William Kirkpatrick.³ This settlement was to the west of the area Hezekiah Brink had founded one year earlier. It was the given the name Chatham shortly after it's founding. In the later part of 1836, Captain Harris, Brink, and Elijah Worthington, a settler of Harrisburg, had Harrisburg and Chatham surveyed and boundaries drawn up, thereby officially designating the area of each town.

The Rock River provided each community with ample trading opportunities, as steamboats and other vessels frequented this new center of commerce en route to and from the Mississippi River and much larger centers of trade such as St. Louis. As a result, numerous businesses and homes were built on or near the bank of the river so as to position themselves in the center of activity. The river also served as a route of transportation for those who had the desire to take their goods to other places and trade.

From the earliest period in the two towns' history, Harrisburg and Chatham were rivals. The competition that existed between the two towns fostered a spirit of ambition among the members of each, wherein people worked to make their respective town a more desirable place to live than the other. One particular case of competition was over where the site of the post office would be.⁴ The site of the post office shifted between the two towns until finally being placed upon neutral ground. This competition was productive, for it strengthened each town and fostered a cooperative relationship between the leaders of each town.

In 1839 leaders of each town met and discussed uniting under one name in order to win the county seat. Lyndon, a small community southwest of Harrisburg and Chatham, had held the county seat, but lost it because it had no suitable building to hold court in nor keep county records in.⁵ Town leaders believed by combining their resources they would have the most to offer of any town in the county and thus be chosen to house the county seat.⁶ With the acquisition of the county seat, town leaders believed each of their communities would experience growth, prosperity, and an increase in prestige among the towns of the county. The name the two towns united under was Sterling, as suggested by Hugh Wallace, one of the committee members responsible for uniting the two towns, in honor of his friend, Colonel Sterling from Pennsylvania.⁷ In 1844, as a result of cooperative efforts, Sterling acquired the much sought after county seat. Although the two towns were united in name they still acted as separate entities. Leaders from each community agreed the courthouse would be built on a stretch of land running between the two towns, known as Broadway. The streets of each town were then extended to the point where they intersected Broadway, creating an accessible route for townspeople to travel upon to and from this new place of business.

There were hotels, stores for dry goods, hardware, jewelry, and groceries, and other businesses that sprang up around the courthouse. Sterling began to grow around the center of business the county seat had created. The early 1850s saw the emergence of several private banks and a town newspaper. The Sterling Gazette increased rapidly in circulation and influence over the next several years, becoming one of the most notable newspapers in northwestern Illinois.⁸

Sterling was growing and prospering just as town leaders had projected it would, ten years earlier, as a result of acquiring the county seat. Despite the loss of the county seat in 1856, Sterling continued to grow. Businessmen realized their growth and prosperity lay in manufacturing, which the county seat had been instrumental in bringing to the forefront. Four flouring mills that were doing a large amount of business with outside towns, and several smaller manufacturing establishments were adding considerably to the wealth of the community. In terms of population, Sterling had grown from several hundred people in the early 1840s to almost 1,800 people in 1855.⁹ Also during this period people from each community developed feelings of unity in Sterling that transcended the name itself. Thus, in 1857 Sterling, after petitioning by the townspeople of each community, was officially incorporated as a city through a charter granted by the General Assembly of Illinois.

The endless supply of water power provided by the Rock River was first noticed by Hezekiah Brink when he settled here in 1834. It was not until 1838, however, that a resident of Harrisburg named Wyatt Cantrell utilized the water power by constructing a small dam and erecting a mill on the bank of the river. For the next several years this mill was one of the few that lay on the bank. As the county seat attracted more people to Sterling there was a growth in manufacturing. By the early 1850s, the factories needed a larger supply of water power than the dam, Wyatt Cantrell had built, could supply. Likewise, property holders of land along the bank also called for a greater water supply to power the factories they were intent on opening. The demand for power made the construction of a larger dam inevitable. Thus, the Sterling Hydraulic Company undertook the construction of a larger dam, capable of generating more power. This dam was completed in 1855. Townspeople referred to it as a timber crib because of its size and shape.¹⁰ It was 940 feet in length, filled with stone, and provided a fall of 8 feet, 6 inches, which generated up to 5,000 horse power depending upon the flow of the water¹¹.

The varying ranges of power supplied by the dam made heavy industry, in addition to light industry, a reality. As a result, new factories evolved and old ones were rejuvenated. The bank of the Rock River housed numerous factories during this period: foundries, tanneries, flouring mills, planning mills, and steel mills. One particular businessman, Thomas Galt, began manufacturing farm implements in a small, one story building in 1857. In 1862 he built more plants and continued upon the path of expanding his business until 1870 when it became known as the Keystone Manufacturing Company. The farm implements produced in this establishment came to be used by people all over the country. With Sterling being inhabited by entrepreneurs like Thomas Galt, there was a dramatic rise in economic activity in the community. The factories attracted people to Sterling because of the opportunities for employment. Once here, people discovered a high standard of living and an overall prosperity of the community. The area along the bank of the Rock River that housed the numerous manufacturing establishments buzzed with activity. Small steamers, traveling along the river became transporters for some of the products of these factories. Other boats frequented this area to engage in trading with store owners and townspeople. As a result of the mass movement of people to and from this area, streets running perpendicular to the river were built wider than those running parallel to the river in order to make travel in this direction easier and faster¹².

With the rapid increase in manufacturing in the early 1850s, the need for a faster mechanism of transportation evolved. As the factories produced larger amounts of material, the steam ships could no longer handle the loads with efficiency. Town leaders and prominent businessmen believed the railroad would provide the fast, efficient means of transportation they were looking for. After contacting several railroad companies, town leaders were offered a proposal by the Chicago and Galena Union Railway to run a stretch of track through Sterling, en route from Chicago to the Mississippi River. Upon revealing the proposal to the community, it was embraced wholeheartedly. Construction of the railroad began soon thereafter. In 1856 the railroad was completed and townspeople saw the first train enter Sterling. The arrival of the locomotive cast a euphoric effect on the whole community. Townspeople gathered and took part in a joyous celebration, wherein the mayor made a speech marking the significance of the occasion.¹³ The euphoria eventually wore off; however, people reaped the rewards of the railroad for many years after. It served as a faster, more efficient means of transporting products and it connected Sterling with larger, outside markets such as those in Chicago. Consequently, Sterling's economic activity continued to boom causing people around the state to raise a brow when looking in Sterling's direction.

Education was valued in Sterling from an early period and has always played a vital role. Proprietors of Harrisburg viewed education as the cornerstone upon which a prosperous town could be built. Therefore, in 1838 they offered a young woman named Sarah Worthington a house and a city lot upon which to open a school. Mrs. Worthington accepted the offer and opened the first school in Sterling.¹⁴ There were several students who attended this school in its early years; however, as the population grew other schools, similar to this one, were opened in order to accommodate the growing number of students.

Educational improvements marked the town's early history. Larger buildings were erected and brick replaced wood as the primary building material. Brick buildings were more solid and weather resistant than wood ones, thereby they created a better physical atmosphere within schools. Also, after the incorporation of Sterling as a city in 1857, the town was divided into three wards, each serving as a separate school district.¹⁵ This feature of education allowed a greater number of students to attend school and made travel to school easier and faster. As the wheels of educational improvement continued to turn in Sterling, the idea of a more modern school evolved. This idea quickly took form and on April 1, 1867 the Sterling School, as it was called, was opened. At a cost of $65,000, the Sterling School stood four stories high, housed eleven classrooms and had a capacity of 600 students.¹⁶ As can be seen through these developments, there was an enduring commitment to education in Sterling. It was this commitment that paved the way for the production of educated citizens, who were capable of contributing productively to the growth of Sterling.

Religion was also an important factor in peoples' lives. In the mid 1830s, ministers were invited into peoples' homes to preach. From these early religious services stemmed the evolution of various churches in Sterling: Methodist Episcopal was established in 1838; First Presbyterian in 1844; Roman Catholic and Lutheran in 1854.¹⁷ This early growth of various churches offered many townspeople an opportunity to practice their faith. This aspect of town life contributed to the morality of the townspeople and the structure of town life, thereby perpetuating the prosperity of the community.

Sterling's development from two, fledgling settlements to a large, prosperous city was inevitable. From its prime position on the bank of the Rock River it possessed ample natural resources to fuel a growing community. However, the lifeline of Sterling was the people. Through cooperation, ingenuity, and industriousness, the people of Sterling created a community that was held in high regard by people all over the state. Attesting to this claim is an article published by a Chicago newspaper, Western Manufacturer, in the 1870s on how non residents viewed Sterling. A section of the article read, "It is a city presenting advantages to the businessman and manufacturer second to none in the country. Possessed of an almost unlimited water power, with the rapid growth of the industrial interests of the West its future grand possibilities cannot be overestimated. It abounds in an educated and industrious population, unexcelled public schools, numerous well appointed and well united churches, live newspapers, and every essential element which characterizes a city. Sterling offers to capitalists opportunities for the most profitable investment of their money in manufacturing and business enterprises, as well as the refinements and comforts of a pleasant home."¹⁸