Businesses in Omega, Illinois
Omega, Marion Co., Illinois
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We are looking for photos of people and/or places from around Kinmundy & Alma. Can you help?
Or maybe you have stories or memories from the "Good Old Days"? What do YOU remember?
The Kinmundy Historical Society would be honored to preserve your memories and stories. We also have the
equipment to scan (or copy) your photos so that they may be enjoyed now as well as for generations yet to come!
We would love to hear from you! For more information, please contact:
Dolores (Ford) Mobley – Dolores@ford-mobley.com
208 Joan Dr.; Divernon, IL 62530; (217) 625-7527
or
Gladys (Corrie) See – gsee49@yahoo.com
408 S. Washington St.; Kinmundy, IL 62854; (618) 547-7731
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(From "Omega (1823-1973)")
Early Settlers of Omega Township
Previous Marion County Histories give the following account of settlers coming to this locality for the years 1829 - 1836. It is hoped that the family histories which have been compiled from old deeds, land abstracts, and other family records will add much to the information already printed in these County Histories.
Adam Gallaway erected a good log house in Section 13 in 1829 and improved 40 acres. Frederick Songer bought this claim and moved with his family on it in the Spring of 1835. In 1838 he entered the east half of the southeast quarter of Section 13. Clyde Jones now lives on this farm. Henry H. Pyles, a native of Tennessee and wife Rachel (Tinkler) moved here from Iuka in 1830 and raised a family of nine children. Richard Pyles, with wife and several children from Kentucky, settled on Section 16. (He was a noted hunter,) A small daughter died and was the first grave in the Millican Cemetery. They moved to Missouri in 1834. It was there he was named “Dick, the Bear Hunter”. David England, wife and six children from Tennessee settled on Section 29 in 1832. They moved to Texas in 1857. Also coming to this township in 1832 was Daniel Lovell, born in Virginia and settled on Section 16 with his family. Some of his descendants are residents of the township. Israel Bozarth, wife and two children emigrated from Kentucky in 1832 and settled on Section 23. They moved to Iowa in 1846. Markham C. Lovell, son of Daniel Lovell moved to the township with his wife Polly (Hensley). He had moved with his father to the county in 1829, and to Omega in 1831. The early settlers all settled on public land. Beginning in 1836 land grants were given at a nominal price, usually $1.25 per acre. All lived in log houses which were poorly provided with light a hole cut in the wall serving as a window minus the glass. The fireplace was made to take in large quantities of big wood to make sufficient heat to keep the family reasonably comfortable. Many of the homes had no protection overhead other than the board roof. In some of them the only floor was mother earth. At that time the friction match was unknown. If the fire went out it had to be started with flaxtow. Their supply of cooking utensils consisted of a skillet, a teakettle, and a coffee boiler.
The farmers cultivated small farms with teams of horses or oxen. Corn was grown to feed cattle and horses. Hogs were fattened with white oak acorns and some corn. Both deer and turkey were plentiful. Small orchards of apples, peaches, and pears were grown. The women had to spin and weave the cloth to clothe the family. Flax was grown, cleaned, and spun to make linen. Sheep were raised to provide wool to be carded and spun for winter clothing. The stockings had to be knitted - all done at home. The stock had to be protected from wild beasts. Sheep and calves were penned near the house. The wolf was the most destructive of the wild beasts. There were three kinds, the small prairie wolf, the large black, and gray wolves. Not withstanding all these things, some of the pioneers laid the foundation for a good comfortable living in the after part of life. The first schools were subscription schools. The Lovell school in Section 20 was taught by William Hadden in 1838. It was a log building 26 x 20 feet. The next school was on Section 27, in a log cabin with no floor but the earth. Silas Litteral taught two terms in 1838 and 1839, at $2 per quarter for each pupil, largely paid in coon skins. About 1839 or 1840 in Section 23 a subscription school was taught by Alexander Kyle. Subjects taught were spelling, reading, writing, and arithmetic.
The early preachers were: Thomas L. Middleton, Vincent Wm. Chaffin, Joseph Hellems, Cy Wright, John A. Williams, and David R. Chance. Bee Branch Church, the first in the township, was erected in 1845 on Section 30.
The first mill was run by water power on Lost Fork on Section 14. It was built by Israel Bozarth at a cost of $50; its’ capacity was four or five bushels per day. The next was a saw and grist mill, built by John Onslott on Section 35, and cost $500, and had a capacity of forty or fifty bushels per day. This was on Skillet Fork and it sawed the first lumber of the township.
The first blooded cattle, of the Durham breed, were brought here from Tennessee by W.W. Sommers, who was an importer of blooded sheep of the Cotswold breed.
The first crime committed, within the limits of the township was the stealing of a horse from Richard Chaffin, about the year 1874. The thieves, Reuben and Robert Black, were both residing in the township. One broke jail and stole a second horse, but was overtaken on the Illlinois River, which he was trying to cross, having stolen a gun to pay his ferriage. Both received a sentence of eleven years in the penitentiary.
The first Omega school-house was erected in 1856. It was a frame building 28 x 24 feet. William Duncan and Katie Elder were thought to be the first teachers.
Excerpts from an old school ledger gives the year 1891 as the date the above building was replaced by another. The school board, Wm. Southward, R.M. Schooley, and J.W. Arnold met and awarded the contract to N.B. Turner for building a new schoolhouse on the same location for $514 and $10 for the bellrey. Later seats and desks were bought for $45.00.
The first to teach in this building were Mrs. Wise at $30.00 per month for five months, and K.K. Boynton at $40.00 for four months. This building was used as a school until the rural schools consolidated. It is now the Omega Town Hall.
This is an agriculture township, consequently the population remains low. Modern machinery and better farming methods have resulted in larger farms. Many of the young people go elsewhere for employment.
In the early history of our country, once the eastern states ceded their overlapping “sea to sea” claims to the Federal Government, a great interest in western emigration was aroused. For the great “Northwest Territory”was a vast region of fertile land with virgin soil to be had for homesteading for very little monies”.
The Federal Government adopted the Ordinance of 1787 governing this territory which now comprises the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and this ordinance was one of the most important pieces of legislation in American history. It forbade slavery, it provided a generous plan for statehood rights, it guaranteed religious freedom and provided for schools in a clause which is today famous in our educational system “Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever by encouraged”. Little wonder then that when such news reached the ears of families in the east, wagon trains and groups guided by “Land Companies” began their trek to this promised land.
In 1881 Omega’s land valuation was less than $100,000. A far cry from the rolling farms with modern homes, its’ State Park and Omega (Forbes) Lake, its’ camping grounds and fisheries. True, by the way of the pioneer was hard but in its path are generations of citizens of honor, hardihood, and distinction. The staunch pioneer families of this township have done their share toward a progressive Marion County.
When a group of Omega citizens, who were interested in a railroad, met in a town meeting an interesting proposition was adopted. Namely, to impress the railroad engineers with the virtues of the community it was decided to contact a steamboat captain in St. Louis and have him bring back from New Orleans a consignment of frozen fresh oysters - something hard to come by in those days, especially in towns far from the seashore. It was arranged and when a returned river steamer brought to St. Louis a box of oysters in ice, men on horseback went to meet the steamer and carry to Omega the consignment of oysters. The oysters were transferred from the iced box to leather bags containing ice. Then they rode from St. Louis to Omega with the oysters which were served to the railroad engineers at a banquet. They were impressed so much that the Omega people thought that the railroad would surely come this way. Later on, the engineers were feasted by citizens of Centralia, who in turn provided a banquet. Later on, the city of Centralia won the railroad. It was never learned what they fed the engineers.
A History of the Village of Omega
According to Brink’s History of Marion and Clinton County, the Village of Omega was founded by Timothy Baldwin in 1856. He was later killed in the Civil War in 1865. He built the first house which was of fram construction. It was located somewhere near the present house of Hazel See Millican, widow of Roy Millican. The basis for this belief is the fact that the land on that corner was bought from a son of T. Baldwin by Robert J. Millican, the father of Roy Millican.
The Post Office in Omega was established in 1955 and the first postmaster was a Ralph F. Baldwin. The Post Office at Omega was out of existence in 1904 with the event of R.F.D. (Rural Free Delivery). It is believed the last postmaster of the Omega Post Office was Samuel G. Copple. Mrs. Valeria VanCleve Schooley who moved to Omega Township in 1901 at the age of thirteen, remembers going over to the Copple Store to get their mail when they came to town to trade. Many Postmasters served the village. Among those were Ben Baldwin, father of Emma Barbee, a relative of Helen Wantland Millican’s mother, Margaret Earl Davis Wantland. Mark Hensley and Robert J. Millican were postmasters in the eighties. Helen Wantland Millican had a card sent to her great Uncle, E.B. Davis, signed by Robert J. Millican postmaster in 1880 telling him that he had a registered letter at the Post Office.
The first blacksmith shop in Omega was built by Captain Elder and operated by R.M. Rogers. In 1881, according to Brink’s History there were two blacksmith shops in Omega, Cox & Lockes, and R.D. Barnes. We believe that one of the above were wagon makers rather than blacksmiths. Mrs. Valeria VanCleve Schooley says that, “when the father of Robert M. Schooley ran the blacksmith shop that the shop building was two sotries with a wagon shop in the upper story”.
Robert M. Schooley operated a blacksmith shop in this building just south of the house of Mrs. Schooley. This building burned in 1937.
(from "Omega (1823-1973)")
Copple Store building
(from "Omega (1823-1973)")
Picture taken in Village of Omega May 22, 1915 shows a 1910 Model Aultman-Taylor Steam Engine belonging to Clarence Smith, the larger man standing on the platform. Next to him is his brother Bryan and seated on the coal box is Amos Wilcoxen. In the rear is Raymond Smith on the water wagon, and through the tree boughs one sees the Star Cut Plug Tobacco sign on the side of an Omega Store Building.
(from "Omega (1823-1973)")
The Omega Townhouse (from "Omega (1823-1973)")
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