HOPKINS. There was a sound of revelry by night, And Belgium's capital 'had gathered then The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men.-Byron. A circle has one center, an ellipse has two, but Hopkins has three, Como, Galt and Emerson. The only member of the family of townships that enjoys that distinction. The early people in Como were a choice set, nothing common or unclean, as Peter once said. They were either of noble descent or of marked ability. For instance, Mrs. Margaret Perkins, wife of Hamilton, was Miss Breck, of Rochester, on the committee to receive Lafayette on his second visit in 1824. Mrs. Harding, wife of Dr. Harding, was a daughter of Judge Bigelow, of Boston, member of the Massachusetts legislature. William Pollock, surveyor of the county from 1847 to 1853, married Miss Sarah Maison, of an old Philadelphia family. The Sampsons were prominent. Two brothers, William and Henry Briggs. Simeon Sampson, a sea captain, married Caroline, daughter of William. After residence here, Simeon returned to Boston, but retained his property in the West, which became valuable. In early Como were six engineers, three ship captains, one minister, one editor, and one doctor. They were mostly New England people. Another familiar name is the Burrs. Capt. James M. Burr came from Boston, and had several children. Miss Adeline became the wife of the distinguished David Davis, senator, judge of the U. S. supreme court, friend of Lincoln, and administrator of his estate. She resides since his death in Fayetteville, N. C. Among the happy recollections of William Pollock, the surveyor, was his introduction to General Jackson at his inauguration at Washington in 1829, whom he described as a plain looking old fellow. John Williams Pollock, son of William, born in 1841, had a varied and responsible career in the rebellion. He served three years, part of the time with the 83d Pennsylvania Volunteers, and then on staff duty in South Carolina. At the close of the war, he was custodian of the secret archives of the Confederacy, captured with Jefferson Davis, taking them to Washington, and turning over to Gen. Thomas. Since the war he has lived in Nebraska, representing his district one term in the legislature. Jason Hopkins, after whom the township is named, was a native of Tennessee, a cabinet maker, served in the Black Hawk war in a cavalry. regiment, and at its close came to Como, where he remained till his death in 1853. Of all the Como pioneers, Jesse Scott was the most inventive and original. While other emigrants came in regular passenger packets by river, or in wagons overland, Jesse started from Ohio in a hundred-ton keel boat propelled by horse power. On this was a cabin of two rooms for the use of the family. Never before or since did any navigator stem the current of the Mississippi with such a contrivance. Leaving the great river, he turned up the Rock, and on landing at Como, set up his cabin, where it braved the elements for many winters. A piece of the siding is in the Whiteside Historical Society. Mrs. Scott died in 1876, and Jesse in 1907. Como was platted in 1838 on the original claim of Jason Hopkins, and was laid out in nine blocks and 142 lots, which were bid off by the settlers, on condition they were to build a house or forfeit the money paid. The postoffice was established in 1840, with Dr. Harding as postmaster. The Congregational church was erected in 1854, the first church building in Hopkins. Charles Holmes and Lorenzo Hapgood opened a store in 1844, and the Smiths and Weber a mill store. In 1845 Aaron W. Pitts began the manufacture of an improved plow, much superior to those in common use, and which had an extensive sale. The first hotel in Como was opened in 1839 by Capt. Henry Sampson, and as the daily line of four-horse stages changed teams here, and passengers took their meals, the young village became a lively point. But the large grist mill, erected in 1845, at a cost of $42,000, and carried on for many years by Leman and Howard Smith, was the commercial glory of the place. It was the only mill in the valley, up and down Rock river, and was the headquarters for flour and feed for half the county. But Babylon fell, and the big landmark is no more. W. R. Kelsey, of Lyndon, is our authority in saying that it was abandoned in 1868 or '69, and was burned to the ground in 1880. THE LYCEUM. Ev'ry word he speaks is a syren's note To draw the careless hearer.-Beaumont. Como has always had good schools and teachers, with such men as Phinney and Crary at the desk, and naturally with the intelligence of her citizens would have a lyceum. Their New England training may account for it, too. In our Historical Society is the record of the Como Lyceum from 1858 to 1860. After the constitution and by-laws, are the minutes of the meetings held every week. The main business of the society seemed to be debate, and the best brains of the village investigated all kinds of questions, moral, social, political. We glean a few Resolved, that intemperance has caused more misery in the world than any other evil. Resolved, that a tariff barely sufficient to defray the expenses of our government is the best. Resolved, that we can profit more by the defects than the excellencies of others. Resolved, that we are not free moral agents. Resolved, that the signs of the times indicate the perpetuity of the Union. Is the Fugitive Slave Law constitutional? A roll of twenty-one members is given, and among them are the following: John Phinney, Norman Besse, Charles N. Russell, Washington Loomis, Charles B. Holmes, Henry Murray, George Davidson, R. B. Stoddard, John I. Russell, Joel Burdick, Francis Dubridge, R. C. Warfield, S. S. Partridge, W. T. Smith. GALT. Since I was so soon done for, I wonder what I was begun for. When Galt was platted in 1855, and the railroad came through, the death knell of Como, over a mile south, was rung. So near, and yet so far. A depot was erected, and various business concerns sprang up, some of which have since subsided. The elevator and lumber yard remain. The Cheese company was started in 1873 with a capital of $3,100 and a main building and addition. For a few years sixty thousand pounds of cheese were made annually. William Pratt was president, and Robert A. Galt treasurer. It ceased operations long ago. An account of the Galt family after whom the station is named is given in the second volume. On a spacious lot planted with trees, stands the most imposing edifice in Galt, the school room below, and the town hall in the second story. It is of frame painted white. The citizens take pride in their school as the best jewel in their crown. In December, 1907, an operetta, "Bonnybell, or Cinderella's Cousin," was given by the pupils, and received with great satisfaction. In the cast were forty pupils, and the characters were all well taken from the prince and queen to the fairies and brownies. Some excellent musical numbers. The town hall is the favorite place for oyster suppers and festivals. It is at the service of any minister who desires to hold religious meetings. EMPIRE OR EMERSON? Perhaps, in this neglected spot is laid Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire; A mile or so north from Galt is Emerson. The old name was Empire, but some admirer of the philosopher decided to change the appellation. In its palmy days, the prettiest inland spot in the county. It has not the bluffs of Albany and the mighty Mississippi, but Elkhorn and the dam, Spring creek and its rocky banks, the mossy meadows between, the white cottages, and around all, the refreshing woodlands, made a romantic picture on which the eye loved to linger. But much of the beauty is departed. The dam is gone and turned into a cornfield, and so farewell to Riley's "ole swimmin' hole," and the skating crystal of January. The bed of Spring creek is quarried out. Acres of noble oak have fallen before the Vandal ax. It were vain to say Woodman, spare that tree, Touch not a single bough. Corn and hogs drive out all sentiment. Like Como, the present village has lost much of its early importance. The grist mill, woolen factory, and saw mill, ceased operations before the dam was swept away. There remain the store and blacksmith shop. There is a substantial two-story schoolhouse, erected in the early fifties, and afterwards enlarged. It once bore the flattering title of Oak Grove Academy. Here were in attendance at various times some persons who are quite well known: Rev. John K. Reed, missionary to Africa, Dr. Frank Keefer, Miss Alice Dinsmoor, Mrs. George Keefer, Jarvis Dinsmoor, Esq. At one time many of the patrons were from Franklin county, coming in 1854 and 55, the Reeds, Keefers, and Groves. James Dinsmoor, Esq., a member of the legislature, had an extensive farm in the northeastern part of the district. Of all the settlers fifty years ago, only two are living, Benjamin Reed and Mrs. Ryerson, now in Sterling. Martin Ryerson came from New Jersey to Whiteside in 1850, worked as a carpenter and farmer, married Margaret Johnson, and died a few years ago. At sixteen he was apprenticed for four years at ten cents a day. Through the kindness of Mr. Harry Reed, we are furnished with the subjoined account of the First Lutheran church of Hopkins. It stands in Emerson on the road leading north: The Lutheran church at Empire (now Emerson) was organized April 4, 1870, and a church building erected the same year. Dr. J. W. Richards, who has since risen to a prominent position in the Lutheran church, was practically the first pastor of the church, although there was preaching for a short period before that time. The names of the pastors, and time they served, are as follows: J. W. Richard, April 1, 1871, to July 31, 1873; J. T. Gladhill, August 1, 1873, to December 15, 1874; E. S. Rees, August 1, 1875, to August 1, 1878; J. W. Elser, December 1, 1878 to December 1, 1880. At this date the church ceased to have a resident pastor, and services were held by Rev. E. Brown of Sterling Sunday afternoons, with the exception of one Sunday each month, during more than nineteen years, until his death. From that time until now preaching services have been held by Mr. H. K. Hostetter of Sterling, and the ministers of Trinity Evangelical church on alternate Sunday afternoons. There are 58 members of the church. The Sunday school was held in the schoolhouse long before the church was built. It has continued without any interruption ever since. The superintendent is H. M. Overholser. The total attendance is about 50. Old Empire had two conspicuous characters, familiar to the dwellers as household words, Joel Harvey and Major Wallace. Joel came from New York. He built the mill and store, several dwellings, and owned large tracts of land in the vicinity. It was said, although ready to buy, he never sold an acre. A man of enterprise, sagacity, and very tenacious of his rights. His son, Samuel, was second sergeant in Co. B, 13th Illinois Volunteers, and went through all the battles without a scratch. Joel bored an artesian. well in Sterling, and laid pipes, long before the present system. He removed to Sterling, and died there in 1875. ELIJAH AND ELIZABETH WALLACE, PIONEERS IN HOPKINS. My acquaintance with Major Wallace began in 1859 when I taught the Empire school, and boarded at the large white farm house, one of the firmest ever put up in the county. Martin Ryerson, neighbor on the north, was the carpenter. He was a man of powerful muscle, raw boned, and used to pick up timbers that generally required two ordinary fellows to lift. A wide hall runs through the center, two spacious rooms on each side. The major called the ample cellar and garret the two best rooms in the house. A genuine Sucker, careless in dress, slouch pulled over his eyes, his hooked cane hung over his arm, shambling gait, always ready to stop and chat, full of joke and story. An early riser, and at four o'clock he might regularly be seen dozing in his rocking chair before the Franklin stove in the sitting room. O pity this has disappeared, the only specimen in the state, I suppose. It was a large cast iron hearth with back and plate, all open, no doors. His estate of stream and woodland was his world. Day after day about the house or farm, or to the village store, or to some neighbor's, or in pleasant weather lounging at one end of the long front porch. He was induced to attend the state fair at Freeport about 1860, and that was the only time I ever heard of his going away, or saw him in his Sunday suit of rusty black. He was no Beau Brummel. As he had plenty of leisure and tired of reading, he liked to meet folks. He was fond of the children, talked to them as they went to school, and they in turn liked him. In fact, Major had no enemies. He never looked for trouble, never made any, always in good humor, played jokes, and took them. Always at meeting when any was held in the school house, an admirer of Rev. E. Erskine, Presbyterian, who occasionally preached at Empire. It is said the father of Hugh and Elijah Wallace came with them at first, and that they rode on horseback from Cumberland county, Pa., the father advising the boys in the selection of land. Certainly the original tract as purchased in 1838 was an ideal spot, watered by Spring and Elkhorn creeks with prairie for farming, and woodlands for pasture. A noble homestead, now all in the hands of strangers. The major soon planted a large orchard, and for years after his bins were full. Empire people were invited to help themselves. The major took to hunting and fishing as a duck to water. Just suited his tastes, as he had no fondness for steady work. What stories he had of deer, fish, and the wild denizens of the woods. At that day a stroll on the prairie or a search along the banks of the creeks, generally was rewarded with some kind of game. An expert carver, laying a fowl in pieces with the ease of an operator in a hospital. Elizabeth Wallace was in some respects like the major, good natured, companionable, simple in dress, kindly, sympathetic, but much more industrious. Seldom away from home, except once in a while to a neighbor's, but always busy. Her tastes were purely domestic. The kitchen was her world. The preparation of the meals and the various functions of the culinary department occupied most of her time. She took the milk management into her care, for they had a herd of cows, and it was her joy to perform the regular task of making the butter. In pleasant weather as you drove past the kitchen door, you were sure to |