Mulberry Grove

Mulberry Grove. The Shake Rag Stop. In the 1820s, not far from where you stand, passengers could board a stagecoach traveling west to Alton, Ill., or east to the Illinois Capitol at Vandalia., According to local lore, if passengers at the town tavern were waiting for a coach, the proprietor would send a child to keep watch at the roadside. As the coach rolled into view, the child would shake a rag, signaling the driver to stop., By the time coachman Francis Gill platted Mulberry Grove in 1841, the National Road was etched into America's soil, its route resolute. Passengers, raw materials, merchandise and mail traveled cross-country on a highway that connected Maryland to the Mississippi river, via the Shake Rag stop., Hard Road to Chicken Bristle, Until the early 1900s, roads were little more than dirt tracks through timber, marsh, and prairie. Many rural residents were reluctant to make the long trip to town. Eager to peddle their wares, Mulberry Grove merchants stocked wagons with goods and visited these remote farms and households., Some merchants made two trips per week. They passed through areas with names like Hog Back, Chicken Bristle, Cracker's Neck, and Lost Nation. In spring, wagon wheels became mired. In summer, they churned dust. The journey was difficult and travel could be treacherous----even on the National Road., Photo captions:, With a wagonload of goods, J. Francis Wright prepares to set off on his peddling route. String harnesses were used to repel insects that annoyed the horses., Sidewalks along Mulberry Grove's Main Street (top center and background photo) protected shoppers from National Road mud. , Visitors who rode the St. Louis, Vandalia and Terre Haute Railroad to Mulberry Grove could hire a horse and buggy at the livery, then call on friends who lived outside town., A photo of the Folger and Baldwin Lumber Yard shows a well-stocked shop ready to serve an area primed for growth., (aside:), A Road of Dirt, Rock, And Dreams, In 1806, President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation to provide federal funding for a National Road. Surveyed from Cumberland, Md., to the Mississippi River, the National Road was a highway for pioneers eager to settle the West., Today, as US 40, the National Road in Illinois spans 164 miles. From Indiana to East St. Louis, you can still see how the ambitions and accomplishments of early Illinois immigrants shaped our communities. You'll find their influence in our art and architecture, our industry and agriculture, and in our way of life. Enjoy your time on the Road.