Harrisonville, Illinois

Harrisonville, Illinois. . , The Mississippi River was a major superhighway throughout history, Native Americans traveled extensively on the waterway, and early settlers settled the Midwest by entering the port of New Orleans and traveling north on the river. During the steamboat era of the late 1700s, and throughout the 19th Century, those owning land along the river became prosperous selling cord wood to the passing riverboats to power their steam engines. Landings popped up along the Mississippi River, and the river became the principal source for importing and exporting goods, as well as for travel outside of the immediate area. The largest of these landings war Carthage, renamed in 1816 to Harrisonville, after William H. Harrison, hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe. , In 1816, because of the flurry of economic activity and the large population base, Harrisonville was established as the county seat of newly formed Monroe County. Flooding continued to be a problem, so in 1825, the decision was made to move the Monroe County seat to Waterloo. , Two communities were formed in the Harrisonville Precinct-Bridgewater and Carthage/Harrisonville. Both of these early settlements were built directly on the banks of the Mississippi and were later consumed by the rising waters of the river, Bridgewater, just north of the current Harrisonville location, was the first to disappear into the river. The flood of 1844 caused the demise of old Harrisonville. After that flood event, business owners and homeowners moved further inland to establish new Harrisonville, Businesses thrived at this new location. , Several churches were important to the town. St. Francis Catholic Church was built in 1868 and would later become part of the new Catholic Church to be built in Valmeyer. St. Paul Lutheran Church was built in 1880. , A school opened in the community in 1885 with Mary Kippenberger as the first teacher. By 1909, there were two teachers, Katie Miller and Charles James. When Harrisonville School District 48 closed in 1956, the teachers were Ethel Althoff and Ura Schlemmer. , Through the years several general stores and taverns continued to operate. In later years, one of the largest centers of activity in the area was the lighted softball field located across the road from the tavern. For safety reasons, the softball diamond was eventually moved behind the tavern. The German Evangelical St. Paul Church of Harrisonville was founded in 1897. When that church closed, the members moved to the Evangelical Church in Valmeyer. , Wallace Cemetery , The Wallace Cemetery is significant for many reasons. Dr. Caldwell Caims is buried in this cemetery. Cairns served as one of the first three county commissioners of Monroe County when it was organized in 1816. Cairns went on to represent Monroe County at the first Illinois Constitutional Convention when Illinois organized as a state in 1818, and his name is signed to the first Illinois State Constitution. , The Cairns homestead was located on this property, and Governor Shadrach Bond held his first banquet as Governor at the Cairns Estate. After the death of Dr. Cairns in 1832, the property was conveyed to Lewis Wallace, a very successful farmer and businessman in Monroe County.