COMPTON
Melugin's Grove
Zachariah T. Melugin, a native of Dickson County,
Tennessee, was born on August 29, 1806. He was the son of Jonathan
and Sarah Melugin and the oldest child of a family of seven children.
During the early years of his life, his father, Jonathan, moved his
family to Sangamon County, Illinois. There he lived until the Black
Hawk War broke out in 1832.
Zachariah answered the call for volunteers and
enlisted at Rock Island, Ill., on April 21, 1832. Harry L. Quick,
Dixon representative of Rockford Newspapers, verifies the following
statements written just before the Centenary in Dixon in 1930, and
the dedication of the Lincoln Monument there. Quote: “Zachariah
Melugin served as a soldier in the Black Hawk War with Abraham
Lincoln. Each enlisted three times. Their services began and ended
the same days, and their last two enlistment’s were in the same
companies with those who came from Sangamon County. At the first
enlistment Lincoln was immediately elected Captain of his company.
Melugin was a private. However, in the second enlistment Lincoln was
a private and Melugin a sergeant. Melugin again became sergeant in
their third enlistment period. Each enlistment was about one month in
length as it was suspected in the beginning that the war would end
rather quickly.”
It was this experience in Lee County and as far
north as Whitewater, Wisconsin, that Zachariah became intensely
interested in the Rock River Valley. He had become acquainted with
Father John Dixon and liked him very much. He was persuaded by Father
Dixon and other friends to make his home in the grove which later
became Melugin’s Grove, Lee County.
In the fall of 1833 he built his first home there
after having returned from Sangamon County where he had gone
immediately after the close of the war. He also built a stage station
on the stage and mail route between Chicago and Galena which crossed
the Rock River at Dixon’s Ferry. This station was located just a
day’s drive from Dixon, a little over 20 miles and therefore was an
overnight stop, the midway stop being made at Inlet about midway
between Dixon and Melugin's Grove, and the next midway stop was at
East Paw Paw or a dozen miles east of Melugin’s Grove.
Not only was Zachariah Melugin the first settler
at Melugin's Grove, but he was the first settler in Lee County
outside of the settlement at Dixon's Ferry. The first coach and mail
route to operate between Chicago and Galena, via Father Dixon's
Ferry, commenced operations as of January 1, 1834. The first
stagecoach arrived at the outpost of Melugin's Grove the evening of
January 4, 1834, bringing the first mail to be received by the
settlers of Melugin's Grove.
In the spring of 1834 Zachariah's sister Mary
(Polly) came from Sangamon County and kept house for him until he and
Mary Ross were married at Ottawa, Ill. on October 12, 1834. During
the summer of 1834 Mary Melugin was the only white woman at the Grove
and none closer than Dixon. Bands of Indians belonging to the Sac,
Fox, Winnebago and Pottawatomie tribes passed through the settlement
and often complimented her by calling her brave squaw.
Late in the summer of 1834 Mary met John K.
Robinson at the home of Mrs. Dixon. He was a special friend of
Zachariah’s, having also served in the war. They were married
September 10, 1835, at the home of Mr. Melugin by the Rev. Harris.
The settlement of Melugin’s Grove grew rapidly, many of the settlers
arriving from Pennsylvania and other eastern states.
This was a thriving village having the beginnings
of many places of business such as: blacksmith shop, grocery and
furniture store, hotel, casket shop, cabinet shop, flour mill, wood
manufacturing shop, department store, saw mill, schoolhouse and two
churches.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in
1837 at the residence of Zachariah Melugin. Later it was removed to
Compton. The Union Church built later, possibly 1863, remained until
the late 1960s.
The first school house in Brooklyn Township was
erected in 1838 on the farm of A. V. Christiance, about a mile
northeast of the Christiance residence. The first teacher was
Zachariah Melugin.
Zachariah and Mary Ross Melugin were the parents
of six children:
John E. ..................Oct. 17, 1835 - Nov. 13, 1911
George W. ............May 22, 1837 - Sept. 20, 1838
Sarah Jane .............June 26, 1838 - Nov. 13, 1914
Eliza Ann ...............Feb. 9, 1840 - Aug. 26, 1921
Mary E. .................March 11, 1841 - 1909
Zachariah T. ..........April 28, 1842 - June 19, 1864 (Civil
War)
Zachariah Melugin died Jan. 19, 1842, at the age
of 36 years, 4 months, and 20 days. His body lies buried on the bank
of a little creek very near to his home and just across the road
where John K. Robinson built his cabin in 1835. A small marble slab
marks his grave and in this same small cemetery were many other
graves, about 100 of the early pioneers. Gradually the creek has
changed its course and many of these graves are no longer there,
washed away due to erosion.
Compton
While most of the towns within Lee County took
some time to become established communities, the town of Compton
almost came into existence overnight. The history of Compton started
when railroad tracks were laid through Brooklyn Township, one mile
south of what was called, "the Burg" but officially known as the town
of Melugin's Grove.
The town of Melugin had been started during the
winter of 1833 when Zachariah Melugin built the first house in Lee
County, outside of Dixon at the grove which would come to be known as
Melugin's Grove. This area had been a popular station on the stage
line between Chicago and Galena and now with the birth of the
railroad industry would soon come the demise of the stagecoach and
Melugin's Grove when the new railroad service started in 1872, some
thirty-nine years after the grove was settled in.
Joel Compton was born in Sussex County, New
Jersey on June 28, 1819. During 1842 he married Nancy Townsend. It
was in 1856 that they came west and settled on land a short distance
southeast of the site which would become a village bearing his name.
At the time he owned some 400 acres of fertile land. By 1867 he
purchased the property of Aaron Hook who lived in Melugin's Grove.
Mr. Compton moved his family there and would shortly thereafter own a
grocery store, drug store and a hotel.
As the Kenyon Railroad, later known as the CB&Q;,
laid its track through the township the station was to become located
on property Mr. Compton owned. Suddenly, what had only been farmers
fields had now overnight brought a rapid turn of events. It was the
advantage of faster transportation that would induce the residents of
the grove to relocate their homes and businesses on farmland owned by
Joel Compton near the train tracks.
The area was soon platted into lots and Mr.
Compton along with others now had the tedious work of moving their
buildings a short distance to the new town which appropriately became
known as Compton. Most of the stores, along with homes, churches and
the school house would eventually be moved into the new
village.
One such large building moved to the area from
Melugin's Grove had become known as the 'Cave', which had been used
as a tavern and was placed on the corner of Cherry and Third. Several
business ventures were conducted in this building throughout the
years.
The village of Compton received their charter
from the State of Illinois in December of 1875 and held its first
organized meeting on Jan. 14, 1876 and elected J.W. Swisher, W.W.
Miller, M.M. Avery, G.W. Bradshaw, W.I. Guffin and Joel Compton as
trustees. Mr. Compton also became the first president of the small
village of Compton.
Joel Compton died on Dec. 9, 1896. His wife died
on Aug. 11, 1906, just days before a fire would engulf many buildings
in the business part of town. The fire destroyed each of the wooden
structures that had been located on the east side of Third Street.
The blaze had been reportedly started in the barbershop and had
quickly spread through the business district except for the
saloons.
In the early 1920's goods were now being easily
and sometimes more rapidly moved by truck. By 1929 the completion of
the north-south highway, U.S. 51 which linked Rockford and Mendota
now beckoned residents of Compton to venture outside of their
community to work, shop and trade, just as a new form of
transportation had lured residents from Melugin's Grove.
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