January 4, 2021 Thank you, Barbara Schock, for sharing your extraordinary gift of these vignettes of Galesburg & 19th century American history.
Illinois Geology By Barbara Schock
The earth was once an inferno of molten rock about three
billion years ago. There was a very long period of cooling. Wind and water
eroded the high places and filled the low places. The continents moved from one
place to another, broke apart and moved around the sphere. What became the state of Illinois was invaded by water many
times over millions of years. Sediments would accumulate and over time created
the limestone, dolomite and sandstone that lie under our feet. When the land became somewhat more stable swamps developed.
Vegetation accumulated as beds of peat. Layers of sandstone, shale, clay,
limestone and coal were created over time. They would later become valuable
resources to the people who moved onto the prairies of Illinois. The state parks
of Staved Rock and Mississippi Palisades in northern Illinois are examples of
the layers which were created and now exposed for us to see. About 250,000 years ago the Ice Age developed and thick
layers of ice scraped away some sections and dropped deposits of soil and rock
in other places. This process occurred four different times over thousands of
years. Various kinds of animals inhabited these lands and their
remains can be found in the rocks. Vegetation too left its Imprint on the rocks.
Soil blew in from other places and settled on the land. Prairie plants
established themselves in the rich soil. Animals adapted to the conditions and
their population increased. By the 1830s the place where we live was being populated and
farmed. Towns were laid out, railroads were built for hauling products of the
land and all sorts of buildings were constructed to serve the needs of
businesses and manufacturing plants. When Carl Sandburg was born in 1878, much of the landscape
had been changed to suit the needs of the people. Streets had been laid down,
streams had been channeled, roads and bridges had been built. Those streets and
roads were still made of dirt—they became muddy after rains and froze into rough
ruts in the wintertime. During dry summers they were dusty and dirty. Sandburg learned about the land and the town on foot. He
didn’t have the money to ride the street cars that carried people from their
homes to Main Street shops. He delivered newspapers and milk on foot. He learned
the names of the streets and the people who lived in the houses. He became familiar with the campuses of Knox and Lombard
colleges and the activities of those places. He explored the outskirts of
Galesburg with other boys. They knew where the best swimming holes were located.
They walked to the Knox County Fair at Knoxville. They knew who maintained the
best orchards of apples in the fall. The boys would walk an extra distance to
get the best tasting apples. Perhaps we should do more walking in our neighborhoods to
see what is growing around us, to meet our neighbors and to appreciate the
nature of the place where we live.
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