January 12, 2024 • 39 mins
Our Village was founded around the Rock Island Pacific Railroad coming through the middle of what is now downtown Mokena. In 1852 those tracks came through the north end of the McGovney (Yunker) farm. By the mid 1870's, Mokena had 8 saloons, more per capita than any other town in Will County. One of the significant motivators to incorporate was for control of how many liquor licenses would be allowed and who those fees would be paid to. Matt shares how many times they attempted to incorporate before it was finally approved by the voters in 1880.
There are still a few remnants and reminders around town of those first elected officials, including the Front Street home of our first mayor, Ozias McGovney and the location of the first official meeting place of the new board of trustees. Matt shares some great stories and interesting facts about the process and some of the first laws they passed.
We hope you enjoy this episode about an extremely important event in our Village history!
Here is a link to Matt's blog post that this is based on!
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Find Matt's Blog here: Matt's Old Mokena
Photo & Artwork Credit: Jennifer Medema & Leslie V. Moore Jr.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Israel (00:00):
Welcome to Mokena's Front Porch.
A Mokena History podcast withMatt Dalek and me, Israel Smith.
All right, Matt.
Well, happy New Year.
Happy New Year as well.
We're back after a little break.
And any New Year's resolutionsfor you?
This year, Anything.
You're making a big change on.
Matt (00:19):
Yeah, one of my resolutions is probably the
biggest one is to work onorganizing my Mokena history
collection a little better.
Israel (00:29):
What is your collection look like right now?
Matt (00:31):
It's the best parts of it are in binders and in file
cabinets and stuff like that.
But I also have stuff that'sjust like all over the place on
the computer and it's just likeoftentimes I'll think of
something and go try to findsomething and it's just like I
can never find this.
Like I know I have this thing,this bit of knowledge that I
(00:55):
need to, you know, cite forsomething or refer to for
something, and it's just like Ican't find this.
So hopefully on the computer Ican make it as organized as the
physical collection.
Israel (01:07):
So do you think your collection, how much of it is
split between physical anddigital?
Matt (01:14):
Good question, oh wow, I would say.
If I just had to kind ofestimate, I would say maybe like
70% of it is physical, becauseso much of what I've researched
was done in a time when thingslike old newspapers and like
(01:41):
census records and stuff likethat weren't digitized and
available online.
So a lot of what I have is justthe result of going to
libraries and printing thingsfrom microfilm or Because you
would print out all of thosepapers as you go and research
them.
Israel (01:58):
You're printing out the articles and the things that
you'd find interesting.
Oh yeah.
Matt (02:02):
Absolutely.
Wow, yeah, yeah.
So things like digitization ofgood stuff, like this,
especially newspapers, is a very, very recent thing.
The things that I haveavailable at my fingertips now,
I never would have even fathomed, even five years ago.
Wow, yeah, so yeah, a lot ofstuff is just physical sheets of
(02:26):
paper that's organized in thefile cabinets, in binders and
stuff like that accordion files.
But then again there's also alot of stuff that I have found
on various databases and stufflike that, as things are
becoming more digitized nowadays, and those are just screen
(02:46):
captures of things that I'vetaken and thrown them into
random files on the computer.
Israel (02:52):
Which can be sometimes probably harder to find than if
you had a paper file somewhere.
Yeah, yeah I got those two,you're just files everywhere,
yeah.
Matt (03:01):
So it's coming together, but well, I'm kind of hoping
that maybe this year can makesome better sense of it.
There you go.
Israel (03:08):
Yeah, so I think obviously the naturals you want
to work out or do eat better inthat oh yeah, yeah.
But I think my goal, one of mybig goals as we sit here today,
is to that we grow this podcasta little bit more this year and
get more people learned aboutMoquina and hear about what
(03:30):
we're doing.
Matt (03:31):
So if you're listening, share it right now.
Yeah, that's doable, I thinkthat'll happen.
Israel (03:35):
Yeah.
Matt (03:37):
I think that popularity has been growing around town and
elsewhere.
Yeah.
Israel (03:42):
And we had a great first year.
Yeah, been able to increasethat.
So I think that's the goals tokeep increasing and keep growing
this so we're sitting right nowstaring down a potential big
snowstorm, first big snowstormof the year.
Yes, indeed, any good memoriesof Moquina snowstorms in the
(04:03):
past?
Matt (04:04):
Oh, you better believe it.
Any time there was a snowstormgrowing up.
Of course this anybody will saythis that grew up and went to
public school but always wanteda snow day.
And one thing I will saygetting snow days at Lincoln Way
was pretty easy early on in myfirst year of high school,
(04:27):
because my first year at LincolnWay, let's see that, would have
been 2000.
Into 2001, Lincoln Way was hadnot been split apart yet.
The Lincoln Ways at that timeconsisted only of Central and
New Lennox and East andFrankfurt, which is where I went
, and as it was back then, therewere kids from Moquina,
(04:52):
Frankfurt, New Lennox andManhattan went to East for
freshman sophomore and then theCentral for the final two years.
But anyway, back to what I'msaying, I feel like we got a lot
of snow days in that freshmanyear because if the kids from
Manhattan couldn't make it toFrankfurt, then okay, well,
there you go snow day.
And Manhattan was nowhere nearas built up 20 plus years ago as
(05:16):
it is now, Sure.
Israel (05:18):
So they were barely a blinking stoplight out there
yeah.
Matt (05:22):
Yeah, yeah.
So they they weren't able tomake it in a lot, so we got a
lot of snow days, which ofcourse you know you have to make
them up, but in the time youknow the moment it's great.
Israel (05:33):
Well, now kids.
They don't necessarily alwaysrealize the joy of a snow day.
Yeah, my son had, you know,brought home his computer and
yeah, they have these built in elearning days it's crazy.
So where was, where was yourbest snow hill?
Matt (05:51):
You know I was.
You read my mind.
I was just going to say, in myopinion, the best place for
sledding Just keep it in Moquinawas McGovney Park on
Schoolhouse Road.
Yeah, because it's it's sort ofa retention basin, that's back
(06:11):
there, I guess, but there's adecent enough slope to get some,
some moderate sledding in.
Of course it's nothing toocrazy, it's.
It's it's nothing that's, youknow, gonna scare anybody, but
it's good enough for for beingwalkable distance from home and
being able to get a little airout there.
Israel (06:33):
Still a favorite with kids.
I know we saw the other night.
We had the snow and drove byand the hill was full of kids
out there Good.
I'm glad.
Do you ever take a sled downMidland, or?
I feel like that would be agood road to slide down.
Matt (06:47):
Yeah, I never did that one .
Israel (06:49):
Okay, fortunately no, yeah, we'll, maybe, we'll try it
.
Matt (06:52):
Yeah, yeah, we'll take a slide.
Oh cool yeah why not?
Israel (06:57):
All right.
Well, this episode we're goingto talk about an important time
for Moquina and it was ourincorporation.
Yeah, we went for a number ofyears being unincorporated, and
that's right and not to be aspoiler, but as is kind of leads
the way, in Moquina it wasreally the bars and being able
(07:17):
to oh yeah, to have theirestablishments that that kind of
brought it around.
Matt (07:22):
That's exactly what happened and yeah, no, it's just
.
It's a pretty interesting oneand I guarantee you it's a story
that no one really thinks aboutanymore.
Israel (07:31):
as to how this incorporation came to be yeah,
and realize how important thatis, you know, to a village and
the things and change and we'vetouched on a little bit here and
there, but really it's a reallyinteresting story to hear what
went through.
And now the village.
We say the official date 1852,right is when Moquina was
founded, or yeah, that's right.
Matt (07:52):
Yeah, that's when.
That's when the Rock Island wasbuilt and when the first plat
of Moquina was completed and youknow, you had things like
houses and businesses startingto sprout up and stuff like that
.
Yeah.
Israel (08:05):
So I looked up a few things just to kind of get an
idea of where the kind of theworld in the country is at.
Yeah, at the time.
You know, to look back at 1852is to long, a long time ago.
Matt (08:17):
It is yeah, so.
Israel (08:18):
Millard Fillmore from New York, is the president at
the time.
Oh yeah, I thought this isinteresting, especially knowing
Mr Quinn is a Studebaker guy,right?
Oh, yes, he is.
In 1852, the Studebaker wagoncompany is established.
Oh, I didn't know that.
How about that?
Okay, that's cool connection.
We weren't making cars yet, butnot yet.
(08:39):
But they're on their way.
Later in the year, FranklinPierce has elected the 14th
president of the United States.
We're kind of nearing the endof the California Gold Rush,
which went from 1848 to 1855.
Oh yeah, this is interestingNapoleon III is becomes emperor
of France.
Yeah sure, and Wells Fargo Bankis founded yeah.
(09:01):
So some interesting kind ofpoints, I thought, and gives us
an idea of where the where theworld's at.
Yeah, let's, let's hear thestory of the birth of a village,
volkina's Road to Incorporation, which was just posted on
Matt's blog on June 4 of thisyear of last year, 2023.
Matt (09:20):
A student graduates from high school, a couple gets
married and a longtime workergoes into retirement.
On the road of life, milestonesare reached and when we hit
them we make them official.
It's just the same with ourfair village.
Moquina was born in 1852, withthe momentous arrival of the
Chicago, rock Island and PacificRailroad, and after the steel
(09:43):
rails were laid across theprairie by and by, commerce came
to our little hamlet.
She came to flourish and after20 years of moving forward, she
was ready for the next stepbecoming incorporated and having
the right to call herself avillage.
It would be a process that tookthe better part of half a
decade, complete with stumblingblocks thrown in the way.
(10:06):
By the time all was said anddone, the resilience and can do
spirit of our forefathers hadblazed a trail to prosperity.
Fortune was favoring Moquina, alittle town made up of young
people born in or near thecommunity, their parents, who
were born anywhere from Ohio toKentucky to New York, a
(10:27):
smattering of Canadians andEnglanders, and the rest a
significantly high percentage ofGermans.
Respected for theiragricultural acumen and
straightforward hard work ethic,this was a folk who were also
known to be especially thirsty.
By the mid 1870s, moquina washome to five general stores,
(10:50):
three hotels and two blacksmithshops, but also eight lager beer
saloons more per capita thanany other rural town in Will
County.
Proprietors such as Martin Heim, william Jacob and brothers
Ferdinand and John Sheik keptthe juice of the barley flowing
(11:12):
to the farmers and railroadworkers who called Moquina home,
while also netting themselves acomfortable living to boot.
By this time in the narrative,sundays in town were known to be
a day where things generallygot pretty out of hand.
Decades later, one residentdescribed them as being filled
with street parades, picnics anda wild time generally being
(11:37):
celebrated on the Sabbath.
The local situation was suchthat the attention of county
bigwigs was drawn to thehappenings in our burg.
As it was, they were the onesissuing dram shop licenses to
the bar keeps in town, thesebeing the bureaucratic red tape
that allowed the saloonists tokeep their doors open.
(11:58):
At a meeting of the Will CountyBoard of Supervisors in early
1875, it was decided thatMoquina could make do with only
three watering holes, and thusonly so many licenses were dealt
out.
In these days, the board wascontrolled by what one bystander
called a temperance element,referring to the 19th century
(12:22):
social movement that faulted theconsumption of arcan spirits.
For all of society's woes, fivelocal business owners were
about to be thrown out of whatwas referred to as a lucrative
business.
The Joliet Republican notedthat Moquinians were excited to
an unwanted degree and wantedthe county off their backs and
(12:46):
the ability to rule themselves.
So it was that a petition madethe rounds in town to
incorporate the community as avillage, allowing it to make its
own rules, which was filed atthe office of the county clerk
on March 14, 1875.
Alas, not everyone in Moquinowas on the same page.
70 male residents affixed theirnames to a rebuttal petition to
(13:11):
which a county judge threw uphis hands.
The law gave him no legal rightto call the shot and come down
on one side or another, andtherefore the matter would have
to be settled by a referendum,which was ultimately slated for
April 15 at the Hall of JohnSutter.
The balloting went off and,after an all-days sharp contest,
(13:32):
those in favor of incorporationlost, and that with an
overwhelming majority, with 25votes being counted, 4 and 64
against.
The media of the county seathad the final word, with the
daily sun snidely commentingthat Moquino will consequently
remain in her present benightedcondition.
(13:57):
Another go at trying toincorporate the town appears to
have been made three years later, in 1878, when a new petition
made the rounds that ultimatelygarnered 34 favorable signatures
.
But how far this secondendeavor went remains unclear
after the ebb and flow of time.
In any case, those withincorporation in their hearts
weren't done yet.
(14:17):
The hubbub never really dieddown.
Previously recalcitrant soulswere won over and once again,
pen was put to paper.
Yet another referendum wascarried out, this time on Friday
, may 21, 1880, at the scalehouse of John Cople and Martin
Krop, moquino's premier hogshippers, nail citizens turned
(14:42):
out in droves to cast theirvotes, and this time the tables
had turned, with 50 votes comingin favor with 22 against.
The results were certified byJudge Benjamin Olin three days
later, he being the same WillCounty judge who was presented
with the first petition half adecade earlier.
So it was that our littlerailroad town of 522 souls was
(15:06):
officially incorporated.
One of the first orders ofbusiness was the election of
officers, which took place June14, 1880, just over three weeks
after the first ballot casting.
Eleven names of representativecitizens were ponied up, and the
sixth, with the largest amountsof votes by their townsmen,
were the aforementioned JohnCople, storekeeper and sometime
(15:30):
attorney Azayas Magovni, harnessmaker and feed salesman,
valentine's share railroadworker George Smith, shoemaker
John Ulrich and saloonist JohnZahn.
The most popular of them wasJohn Cople, who tallied 72 votes
.
The freshly elected trusteesthen did some voting themselves
(15:54):
and picked Azayas Magovni as thepresident of the new board, an
honor which earned him thevenerated place in Mokena's
history as our first mayor.
38-year-old John A Hatch, theson-in-law of Mayor Magovni, was
then appointed as our firstvillage clerk.
Nowadays, eyebrows would beraised over such a close
(16:16):
familial connection ingovernment, but in this case
there was nothing disreputableabout it, it being only a
reflection of the smallness ofour town.
Our first town government was aninteresting cross-section of
Mokena.
Of the five new trustees, allbut one of them were born in
Germany, and of the entire board, all of them were fathers.
(16:39):
Clerk Hatch and trustee Smithwere veterans, having marched
with the Union Army in the CivilWar, with the latter having
received four serious wounds incombat.
The most senior of them was themayor, who was 55 years old at
the time he took his oath ofoffice.
While the others were by nomeans newcomers to Mokena,
(17:00):
azayas Magovni had them all beat, having arrived as a lad on the
wild, untamed prairie whereMokena would later stand with
his family in the fall of 1831.
A member of the firstEuropean-American family to take
up residence in today'sFrankfurt township, magovni was
no stranger to holding office.
(17:20):
First came a post as justice ofthe peace upon the formation of
the township in 1850, then theposition of township supervisor,
before ultimately giving upboth in 1870 and a subsequent
nomination as postmaster ofMokena in 1875.
Israel (17:38):
All right, so real quick , I wanted to go back.
So for one in 1878, we have asecond attempt at incorporation,
but we don't really know whathappens there.
They don't ever turn in thepetition.
Matt (17:54):
Yeah, it's kind of a mystery to me.
The only reason I even knowabout that 1878 attempt if we
want to call it that even wasbecause I found the original
petition in some files at thevillage hall quite some time ago
, many years ago.
And yeah, it's a prettyofficial looking document with a
(18:17):
legal description of thevillage, the incorporated limits
that they wanted and thesignatures all the different
signatures of all the guys intown.
Of course, since women couldn'tvote at the time, it was all
men who signed it and yeah,whatever came of it though I
don't know whether they sent intheir paperwork to the county,
(18:43):
whether there was anotherreferendum held.
Yeah, it's just, it's totallybeen lost in time.
Israel (18:49):
And there was no opposing referendum to that one
that you know of.
Matt (18:52):
Not that I know of, not that I know of.
There is no mention in any newsmedia from that time of any of
this.
So don't really know what wasgoing on, other than the fact
that that document exists, thatmentions it.
So a petition was at leastcirculated.
(19:12):
But how far it went?
Israel (19:14):
Yeah, so then it was about two years later when they
get the third, the third attemptand a fairly decisive victory.
When you look at the first one,that failed was 25.
Yes, yeah, 64.
No.
Matt (19:36):
Now a couple years later it goes to 50.
Yes, and 22.
Israel (19:39):
No Right.
Yeah, that's interesting.
I don't know, people's justminds changing.
Yeah, I don't know.
Yeah, they got the right peopleto vote that year.
Matt (19:45):
Yeah, yeah, they must have .
Maybe the saloon keepers mighthave been promising things to
certain people.
This is just a theory.
I don't mean to besmirchanybody or anything, but maybe
they might have been tellingguys yeah, come down here and
we'll get you something to drinkand then you can go vote.
(20:06):
You know something like this.
Just a theory, who knows.
Israel (20:11):
But something happened where people's minds were
changed big time in those fewyears there, and then you list
the six that were first electedwhen we have the election, and
so we have John Capel Capel.
Matt (20:29):
Yeah, his family always pronounced it.
Israel (20:30):
Cople, couple, couple.
And then Uzzias McGovney, ohyeah.
Valentin sheer.
George Smith Good name yeah.
John Holrich and John Zahn,yeah, so are any of those
families still around Mokena?
Oh, let's see.
Matt (20:46):
Um, there could very.
I know of a descendant of JohnCople's who lives in New Lennox,
um, and you know there's gotespecially of his family, of the
couple family.
There's got to be some stillaround.
I'm sure if, if I took sometime to think about it and go
through mentally my list of ofMokenians, we'd find some,
(21:10):
because Mr Cople had quite a bigfamily.
Israel (21:13):
He had somebody will call me out on this if I'm wrong
but he had something like 10kids or something like that Of
that survived into adulthood,not counting the ones that he
lost to the Black Dippitheriaplague in the 1870s Um and Cople
seems like a name of all ofthem that is more familiar in
the area, like I feel like I'veseen that family name as well,
(21:37):
other than you know, smith,which yeah, yeah, um, yeah, so
there were, there was quite,there was quite a big family of
couples, and they had a milliondescendants, and it's very
possible that one of Mr Cople'skin will listen to this.
Matt (21:54):
Um, but, yes, I know definitely of one in New Lennox.
Um, I'm sure there are more,though, of the other guys.
The last one of us excuse me ofAzias McGovernies was Carol
Norton, who just recently passed.
Sure, um, yeah, I can't thinkof any of the others.
They're, their families are outthere somewhere, but I don't, I
(22:17):
don't know of any that that arestill in this area, so our most
likely candidate would be thecouple family.
Israel (22:23):
Yeah, okay, yeah, um, and, as you said, ozaias
McGovernies uh appointed ourfirst board president and
becomes the first mayor of ofMokena.
I think the picture you have isis uh is pretty cool, it's a
great great uh, amish beardgoing on.
Matt (22:40):
Yeah, I love it.
Um, yeah, he does.
Israel (22:42):
Yeah, very stern face.
Matt (22:44):
Yeah, he, yeah, he was a very um, from what you can tell
by looking at pictures of him hedid.
He looked like a very kind oflike a very stern sort of no
nonsense kind of guy.
Um, but luckily we are, uh, youknow, you know you're not going
to blessed to have photos ofhim, and that one I used in the
piece on my blog is the oldestknown image of him.
(23:06):
That came out of an 1878history of Will County.
Oh, wow.
But yeah, he generally had apretty epic beard, at least in
his middle age.
By the time he got up into his70s and his 80s he was clean
shaven.
But in his younger years, yeah,he had a pretty good beard
going.
Israel (23:26):
Yeah, I'm assuming it's because of his previous elected
experience in that, but why theychose MacGovney?
Ozaias MacGovney is the firstmayor.
Matt (23:35):
Yeah, I think, just because he was a pretty
prominent guy in town, he andhis family, as you mentioned.
Yeah, he definitely hadexperience in holding office.
He had been supervisor ofFrankfurt Township.
He was the Moquina Postmaster.
The Moquina Post Office was inthe hands of the MacGovney
(23:57):
family for just decades anddecades.
And maybe most Most importantlythis is my kind of guess on
this, but was his office asJustice of the Peace, which he
took when Frankfurt Township wasfirst founded in 1850.
He was the guy who people wouldcome to to marry them.
(24:18):
He was settling legal disputessort of, or when somebody would
get in trouble he would fix themwith a fine or something like
that.
He was, you know he was.
Israel (24:33):
he had a little bit of power in Moquina and and in the
days before Moquina existed,Sure, and the fact that his
family had been around sinceforever since day one, you know
didn't hurt him at all.
Matt (24:45):
So yeah, no, yes, he was a prominent guy who's also a
prominent businessman.
He, he had been an attorney,but by the time the
incorporation came arounddoesn't look like he was really
practicing too much anymore.
But he and his, his son, zaiusJr, who everyone is called Irwin
by his middle name, they had apretty well known general store
(25:09):
in town.
So yeah, he just was aprominent man around Moquina and
just about everybody knew andrespected I I would imagine that
at least from this point, allthese years later, it looks like
he was a very respected guy soand lived right here.
Israel (25:24):
Right yeah, front and Midland, that is correct.
Matt (25:27):
The front and Midland, right on the let's see that
would be the northeast corner offront and Midland.
That's the old McGovernihomestead right there.
Israel (25:36):
And rumored to be one of the oldest buildings, right
when the original.
Matt (25:42):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, easily.
One of the absolute oldestbuildings in in Moquina, if not
all of Eastern Will County.
Wow, rumor has it that part ofthe house that's there now had
been a long cabin.
So I mean the house has beenthere for a very long time.
(26:05):
As the newly incorporatedvillage had no town hall to
speak of, the board held theirfirst meetings at Trustee's
shares harness and feed shop onFront Street and got to work
drafting the first villageordinances.
Looking back upon thesehandwritten documents, they're a
unique window to the 19thcentury as they represent
pressing problems in town thatthe founding fathers wanted to
(26:28):
fix.
They were put to vote by theboard and officially adopted on
August 4th 1880.
One of the freshly adoptedordinances decreed that foul
were not to run loose.
It's stating it shall beunlawful for any geese, turkeys,
ducks and chickens or anydomestic foul to run at large
(26:50):
within the limits of the villageof Moquina, specifically
between the 1st of April untilthe 1st of October.
Any violators could count on afine of not less than $3 and no
more than 25.
In what was likely a referenceto the aforementioned Wild
Sundays of the time, anotherordinance said that it shall not
(27:10):
be lawful for any person orpersons within the village of
Moquina to disturb the peace ofany street, lane, avenue, alley,
neighborhood, family or personsby loud or unusual noises, or
by blowing trumpets, horns orother instruments, or by beating
of drums, tambourines, kettles,pans or other serenading
(27:34):
vessels or implements, or byloud or boisterous language,
bearing silent witness to theever-present threat of fires.
One ordinance mandated that nolighted candle or lamp shall be
used in any stable, barn orbuilding where hay, straw or
other combustible material shallbe kept, unless the same shall
(27:57):
be well secured in a lantern, asso-called hobos often breezed
into town over the railroad,intended to cause trouble.
Another ordinance split hairs,defining what exactly
constituted a vagrant, it beingwritten that it was a person
with no visible means of support, someone who lives idle or
(28:19):
shall be found loitering orstrolling about, frequenting
places where liquor of any kindis sold, drank or kept, and
could be found in houses ofill-fame or bad repute, ten-pin
alleys, billiard rooms, sheds,stables, barns, hay or straw
racks.
(28:40):
Our founding fathers managedMokena and by and by wore in the
seats of their chairs.
But the story didn't end in1880.
Flash forward 12 years to April1892.
It was then that a letter cameto town from Secretary of State
IW Pearson, which was taken inhand by then village clerk John
(29:01):
Lease.
In part it read a certificateof the organization of the
village of Mokena was filed inthis office May 22, 1890, which
was paid for at that time.
This certificate you retain inthe files of your office as
clear as day.
This note states thatSpringfield didn't file our
(29:21):
incorporation until ten yearsafter our town folk voted on the
issue and picked a governingboard.
Decades later, mayor and villageluminary Richard Quinn remarked
.
Apparently, however, someonehad neglected to inform the
Secretary of State of theincorporation of the village
until 1890.
(29:41):
Thus begins one of the greatmysteries of our town's
narrative.
What happened in those 10 years?
Did the initial paperwork getlost in the mail?
Did a local courier getdistracted on the way to the
state capital?
This issue has hung fire for agood many years, with Quinn, the
chairman of the committee thathosted Mokena's official
(30:04):
Centennial observations in 1980,even suggesting to hold another
celebration in 1990, whichultimately never panned out.
All has been put to rest,however, by a recent
communication between thisauthor and the state's index
department.
Upon consultation ofSpringfield's records, officials
(30:27):
on their side confirmed thattheir documents confirm our 1880
incorporation date.
Thus, another mystery has beensolved and consigned to the
history books.
The hard work of our foundingfathers paid off and after 144
years, Mokena is still here.
Ozias McGovney and hiscolleagues never could have
(30:48):
envisioned the long way we'vecome, and this author for one
likes to think that they wouldbe proud of our progress, with
all of our modern conveniences,comforts and prosperity that we
enjoy in our village.
Let us not forget the way thatwas paid for us.
Israel (31:04):
You know that last line.
I mean how true, like we don'teven realize.
I mean that's why thesepictures, I think, are really
interesting.
Because, you look back and yousee like that's not the same
front street of today.
These aren't, you know, that'speople, but it's not the same
people Like you're living in adifferent time.
Yeah, no, definitely I mean tothink of them.
You know, the early settlers ofthe area coming across, you
(31:26):
know, it's just it's reallyincredible to think about and
what they did for us to leave usthis now.
Matt (31:34):
Yeah, it is.
Yeah, it really makes youthankful and really makes you
appreciate them and all the hardwork they put in all those
years ago in a different ofdifferent world, really to give
us what we now have and enjoyand maybe sometimes take for
granted.
Yeah, absolutely.
Israel (31:50):
Yeah, well, and you know not the harp on it, but
especially when we look atdowntown, you know, downtown
McKinna, you know one point wasa center for the whole area.
Matt (32:01):
Yeah.
Israel (32:02):
And everybody, every villager, came to downtown to do
their grocery shopping, andthat yeah exactly, you know, and
then obviously how that'schanged now and society changes
as well.
And then I thought it wasreally interesting that you know
the state of Illinoisunshockingly seeing the mess up
(32:23):
by missing 10 years ofincorporation, but kind of
typical Illinois right there?
Matt (32:30):
Yeah, it is.
Yeah, yeah, that's the wholestory.
Yeah, yeah.
Israel (32:35):
So what would happen if we hadn't incorporated?
Matt (32:37):
Oh wow that's a really good question.
You know, I just Shot out ofthe cannon.
I think Mokena wouldn't quitehave prospered in the way it did
.
Of course, as we know, towardsthe 1890s and into the early
part of the 20th century.
Mokena was in kind of aneconomic slump at the time
(32:59):
anyway.
But I just I can't see thatThings really would have taken
off for the town in the way thatthey ultimately did, and also
Because, ultimately, the thewhole thing with the saloons was
about was about money in thelocal economy.
(33:23):
So with the village beingincorporated and the, they're
not really being a cap anymoreon saloons in town, which was
bringing in a decent amount ofmoney to the village in terms of
the, the, a dram shop licenses,or liquor licenses we call them
nowadays.
Israel (33:43):
Yeah, that, and so once those, because pre incorporation
that money was all going to thecounty.
That's right.
And now this meant that thevillage would get those proceeds
.
Oh, yeah, so the county.
So we talked about thedifferent new laws and things
they passed for one.
Matt (34:04):
Yeah.
Israel (34:06):
So it said it mentions houses of ill fame or bad repute
.
Yeah, yeah, was this an issuein Mokena?
That's interesting.
I mean, I'm thinking ofbrothels.
Yeah, you know, obviously.
Matt (34:17):
Yeah, right, no, and that's what that is.
That's what they're referringto there.
Yeah, you know, it's veryinteresting that you bring that
up because they're and I wish somuch that I knew more about
this.
But right around the time ofincorporation there was a so
(34:40):
called house of ill repute thatwas broken up in Pokina.
Yeah, wow, yeah, we know whowas running it, and she did get
in trouble for it.
I can't quite remember whatexactly her punishment was.
(35:00):
I don't think she was sent tojail or anything about this.
If I remember, I'll have to digat home.
I think she was just fine, butyou know there's a story behind
it yeah.
How it got found out, whopressed the issue, you know, and
but they, you know of, you know, stopping it, and but, yeah,
(35:22):
the fact that that was in theordinances, yeah, makes me think
that, you know, they didn'tjust put that in there for
nothing.
Yeah right.
Israel (35:29):
Yeah, and then so again, all these you know new laws and
the no pots and pans beingbanged on the street?
Yeah, did.
Did law enforcement change withincorporation?
Matt (35:42):
Yeah, a little bit there upon incorporation.
There was a man who was hiredto be the official town marshal.
They called him.
He's like a constable, like apolice officer and, of course,
as we know, we've talked aboutexcuse me, in the case of Walter
Fisher in the past when we'vetalked about him, an official
(36:04):
Mokena police department wasstill 80 years into the future.
But yeah, there was a man whosejob it was to enforce the law
in town and they built him aCalibus in about 1881 or 1882.
That's for those who areunfamiliar with that antiquated
(36:25):
word is a like a little one roomshack that serves as a jail.
Israel (36:31):
Is that the Calibus, the one that's still in Lockport?
Matt (36:35):
That's the Calibus Yep and that's still the original one.
You can go visit it in Lockportat the Heritage Village.
Whole other interesting storybehind that.
But there were, there wereconstables in Mokena before then
, but they, I believe, if I'mnot mistaken, I believe they see
now I can't remember if theywere appointed by the township
(36:56):
or the county, so there wereguys you know before them.
But I think, you know, withhaving ordinances to enforce and
stuff like that, he probablythis man whose name was Wesley
Kennedy.
He probably had a little more,little more power.
Israel (37:12):
I think, yeah, yeah.
And are these documents, theoriginal incorporation documents
, available?
Like, does the village stillhave them or have you seen them?
Matt (37:22):
Yeah, they should still have them.
As far as I know, the villagestill, and it's been many years
since I've actually seen them.
But the village should stillhave all of the original
incorporation let's just call itstuff.
I'm very lucky in that.
(37:43):
Excuse me again, I'm very luckyin that.
A quite some time at years agoI was still in high school, mr
Quinn Dick Quinn, who Imentioned in this piece, who was
our former mayor and head ofthe Centennial Committee back in
1980, when he was running theoriginal Mokena Historical
(38:06):
Society, they took on a projectof transcribing all that stuff.
Wow.
So at one point he he let me gothrough the copies they had
made and then I went off andmade my own copies.
So I've got all the stuff athome and I referred to them from
time to time.
Israel (38:24):
Oh, very cool, yeah, yeah it's pretty cool stuff.
Well, great, you know, as wesaid, this is an.
It was an extremely importantmoment for Mokena.
Yeah, you don't allow us tohave more, more bars.
Yeah definitely as well as allthe other benefits.
Matt (38:40):
but yeah, yeah, great story, oh, thanks, thanks for
sharing it, man, absolutelyThanks for having me.
Israel (38:47):
Matt and I both really hope that you're enjoying the
podcast and that you enjoyedthis episode.
We would really appreciate itif you would share our podcast
with your friends or family, aswell as leave us a review on
Spotify or Apple music orwherever you hear our podcast.
We'd love to hear your showideas or your questions so you
can send us an email at podcast,at Mokenasfrontporch.
(39:10):
com, or on Facebook throughmessenger, or through our
website, which isMokenasfrontporch.
com.
You can send us a message there.
We have a link in the shownotes to Matt's blog post that
this episode was based on.
We have some great thingscoming up and we're really
excited to share with you.
So thanks for listening andwe'll see you next time on
(39:33):
Mokenasfront Porch.
Welcome to Mokena's Front Porch.
A Mokena History podcast withMatt Dalek and me, Israel Smith.
All right, Matt.
Well, happy New Year.
Happy New Year as well.
We're back after a little break.
And any New Year's resolutionsfor you?
This year, Anything.
You're making a big change on.
Matt (00:19):
Yeah, one of my resolutions is probably the
biggest one is to work onorganizing my Mokena history
collection a little better.
Israel (00:29):
What is your collection look like right now?
Matt (00:31):
It's the best parts of it are in binders and in file
cabinets and stuff like that.
But I also have stuff that'sjust like all over the place on
the computer and it's just likeoftentimes I'll think of
something and go try to findsomething and it's just like I
can never find this.
Like I know I have this thing,this bit of knowledge that I
(00:55):
need to, you know, cite forsomething or refer to for
something, and it's just like Ican't find this.
So hopefully on the computer Ican make it as organized as the
physical collection.
Israel (01:07):
So do you think your collection, how much of it is
split between physical anddigital?
Matt (01:14):
Good question, oh wow, I would say.
If I just had to kind ofestimate, I would say maybe like
70% of it is physical, becauseso much of what I've researched
was done in a time when thingslike old newspapers and like
(01:41):
census records and stuff likethat weren't digitized and
available online.
So a lot of what I have is justthe result of going to
libraries and printing thingsfrom microfilm or Because you
would print out all of thosepapers as you go and research
them.
Israel (01:58):
You're printing out the articles and the things that
you'd find interesting.
Oh yeah.
Matt (02:02):
Absolutely.
Wow, yeah, yeah.
So things like digitization ofgood stuff, like this,
especially newspapers, is a very, very recent thing.
The things that I haveavailable at my fingertips now,
I never would have even fathomed, even five years ago.
Wow, yeah, so yeah, a lot ofstuff is just physical sheets of
(02:26):
paper that's organized in thefile cabinets, in binders and
stuff like that accordion files.
But then again there's also alot of stuff that I have found
on various databases and stufflike that, as things are
becoming more digitized nowadays, and those are just screen
(02:46):
captures of things that I'vetaken and thrown them into
random files on the computer.
Israel (02:52):
Which can be sometimes probably harder to find than if
you had a paper file somewhere.
Yeah, yeah I got those two,you're just files everywhere,
yeah.
Matt (03:01):
So it's coming together, but well, I'm kind of hoping
that maybe this year can makesome better sense of it.
There you go.
Israel (03:08):
Yeah, so I think obviously the naturals you want
to work out or do eat better inthat oh yeah, yeah.
But I think my goal, one of mybig goals as we sit here today,
is to that we grow this podcasta little bit more this year and
get more people learned aboutMoquina and hear about what
(03:30):
we're doing.
Matt (03:31):
So if you're listening, share it right now.
Yeah, that's doable, I thinkthat'll happen.
Israel (03:35):
Yeah.
Matt (03:37):
I think that popularity has been growing around town and
elsewhere.
Yeah.
Israel (03:42):
And we had a great first year.
Yeah, been able to increasethat.
So I think that's the goals tokeep increasing and keep growing
this so we're sitting right nowstaring down a potential big
snowstorm, first big snowstormof the year.
Yes, indeed, any good memoriesof Moquina snowstorms in the
(04:03):
past?
Matt (04:04):
Oh, you better believe it.
Any time there was a snowstormgrowing up.
Of course this anybody will saythis that grew up and went to
public school but always wanteda snow day.
And one thing I will saygetting snow days at Lincoln Way
was pretty easy early on in myfirst year of high school,
(04:27):
because my first year at LincolnWay, let's see that, would have
been 2000.
Into 2001, Lincoln Way was hadnot been split apart yet.
The Lincoln Ways at that timeconsisted only of Central and
New Lennox and East andFrankfurt, which is where I went
, and as it was back then, therewere kids from Moquina,
(04:52):
Frankfurt, New Lennox andManhattan went to East for
freshman sophomore and then theCentral for the final two years.
But anyway, back to what I'msaying, I feel like we got a lot
of snow days in that freshmanyear because if the kids from
Manhattan couldn't make it toFrankfurt, then okay, well,
there you go snow day.
And Manhattan was nowhere nearas built up 20 plus years ago as
(05:16):
it is now, Sure.
Israel (05:18):
So they were barely a blinking stoplight out there
yeah.
Matt (05:22):
Yeah, yeah.
So they they weren't able tomake it in a lot, so we got a
lot of snow days, which ofcourse you know you have to make
them up, but in the time youknow the moment it's great.
Israel (05:33):
Well, now kids.
They don't necessarily alwaysrealize the joy of a snow day.
Yeah, my son had, you know,brought home his computer and
yeah, they have these built in elearning days it's crazy.
So where was, where was yourbest snow hill?
Matt (05:51):
You know I was.
You read my mind.
I was just going to say, in myopinion, the best place for
sledding Just keep it in Moquinawas McGovney Park on
Schoolhouse Road.
Yeah, because it's it's sort ofa retention basin, that's back
(06:11):
there, I guess, but there's adecent enough slope to get some,
some moderate sledding in.
Of course it's nothing toocrazy, it's.
It's it's nothing that's, youknow, gonna scare anybody, but
it's good enough for for beingwalkable distance from home and
being able to get a little airout there.
Israel (06:33):
Still a favorite with kids.
I know we saw the other night.
We had the snow and drove byand the hill was full of kids
out there Good.
I'm glad.
Do you ever take a sled downMidland, or?
I feel like that would be agood road to slide down.
Matt (06:47):
Yeah, I never did that one .
Israel (06:49):
Okay, fortunately no, yeah, we'll, maybe, we'll try it
.
Matt (06:52):
Yeah, yeah, we'll take a slide.
Oh cool yeah why not?
Israel (06:57):
All right.
Well, this episode we're goingto talk about an important time
for Moquina and it was ourincorporation.
Yeah, we went for a number ofyears being unincorporated, and
that's right and not to be aspoiler, but as is kind of leads
the way, in Moquina it wasreally the bars and being able
(07:17):
to oh yeah, to have theirestablishments that that kind of
brought it around.
Matt (07:22):
That's exactly what happened and yeah, no, it's just
.
It's a pretty interesting oneand I guarantee you it's a story
that no one really thinks aboutanymore.
Israel (07:31):
as to how this incorporation came to be yeah,
and realize how important thatis, you know, to a village and
the things and change and we'vetouched on a little bit here and
there, but really it's a reallyinteresting story to hear what
went through.
And now the village.
We say the official date 1852,right is when Moquina was
founded, or yeah, that's right.
Matt (07:52):
Yeah, that's when.
That's when the Rock Island wasbuilt and when the first plat
of Moquina was completed and youknow, you had things like
houses and businesses startingto sprout up and stuff like that
.
Yeah.
Israel (08:05):
So I looked up a few things just to kind of get an
idea of where the kind of theworld in the country is at.
Yeah, at the time.
You know, to look back at 1852is to long, a long time ago.
Matt (08:17):
It is yeah, so.
Israel (08:18):
Millard Fillmore from New York, is the president at
the time.
Oh yeah, I thought this isinteresting, especially knowing
Mr Quinn is a Studebaker guy,right?
Oh, yes, he is.
In 1852, the Studebaker wagoncompany is established.
Oh, I didn't know that.
How about that?
Okay, that's cool connection.
We weren't making cars yet, butnot yet.
(08:39):
But they're on their way.
Later in the year, FranklinPierce has elected the 14th
president of the United States.
We're kind of nearing the endof the California Gold Rush,
which went from 1848 to 1855.
Oh yeah, this is interestingNapoleon III is becomes emperor
of France.
Yeah sure, and Wells Fargo Bankis founded yeah.
(09:01):
So some interesting kind ofpoints, I thought, and gives us
an idea of where the where theworld's at.
Yeah, let's, let's hear thestory of the birth of a village,
volkina's Road to Incorporation, which was just posted on
Matt's blog on June 4 of thisyear of last year, 2023.
Matt (09:20):
A student graduates from high school, a couple gets
married and a longtime workergoes into retirement.
On the road of life, milestonesare reached and when we hit
them we make them official.
It's just the same with ourfair village.
Moquina was born in 1852, withthe momentous arrival of the
Chicago, rock Island and PacificRailroad, and after the steel
(09:43):
rails were laid across theprairie by and by, commerce came
to our little hamlet.
She came to flourish and after20 years of moving forward, she
was ready for the next stepbecoming incorporated and having
the right to call herself avillage.
It would be a process that tookthe better part of half a
decade, complete with stumblingblocks thrown in the way.
(10:06):
By the time all was said anddone, the resilience and can do
spirit of our forefathers hadblazed a trail to prosperity.
Fortune was favoring Moquina, alittle town made up of young
people born in or near thecommunity, their parents, who
were born anywhere from Ohio toKentucky to New York, a
(10:27):
smattering of Canadians andEnglanders, and the rest a
significantly high percentage ofGermans.
Respected for theiragricultural acumen and
straightforward hard work ethic,this was a folk who were also
known to be especially thirsty.
By the mid 1870s, moquina washome to five general stores,
(10:50):
three hotels and two blacksmithshops, but also eight lager beer
saloons more per capita thanany other rural town in Will
County.
Proprietors such as Martin Heim, william Jacob and brothers
Ferdinand and John Sheik keptthe juice of the barley flowing
(11:12):
to the farmers and railroadworkers who called Moquina home,
while also netting themselves acomfortable living to boot.
By this time in the narrative,sundays in town were known to be
a day where things generallygot pretty out of hand.
Decades later, one residentdescribed them as being filled
with street parades, picnics anda wild time generally being
(11:37):
celebrated on the Sabbath.
The local situation was suchthat the attention of county
bigwigs was drawn to thehappenings in our burg.
As it was, they were the onesissuing dram shop licenses to
the bar keeps in town, thesebeing the bureaucratic red tape
that allowed the saloonists tokeep their doors open.
(11:58):
At a meeting of the Will CountyBoard of Supervisors in early
1875, it was decided thatMoquina could make do with only
three watering holes, and thusonly so many licenses were dealt
out.
In these days, the board wascontrolled by what one bystander
called a temperance element,referring to the 19th century
(12:22):
social movement that faulted theconsumption of arcan spirits.
For all of society's woes, fivelocal business owners were
about to be thrown out of whatwas referred to as a lucrative
business.
The Joliet Republican notedthat Moquinians were excited to
an unwanted degree and wantedthe county off their backs and
(12:46):
the ability to rule themselves.
So it was that a petition madethe rounds in town to
incorporate the community as avillage, allowing it to make its
own rules, which was filed atthe office of the county clerk
on March 14, 1875.
Alas, not everyone in Moquinowas on the same page.
70 male residents affixed theirnames to a rebuttal petition to
(13:11):
which a county judge threw uphis hands.
The law gave him no legal rightto call the shot and come down
on one side or another, andtherefore the matter would have
to be settled by a referendum,which was ultimately slated for
April 15 at the Hall of JohnSutter.
The balloting went off and,after an all-days sharp contest,
(13:32):
those in favor of incorporationlost, and that with an
overwhelming majority, with 25votes being counted, 4 and 64
against.
The media of the county seathad the final word, with the
daily sun snidely commentingthat Moquino will consequently
remain in her present benightedcondition.
(13:57):
Another go at trying toincorporate the town appears to
have been made three years later, in 1878, when a new petition
made the rounds that ultimatelygarnered 34 favorable signatures
.
But how far this secondendeavor went remains unclear
after the ebb and flow of time.
In any case, those withincorporation in their hearts
weren't done yet.
(14:17):
The hubbub never really dieddown.
Previously recalcitrant soulswere won over and once again,
pen was put to paper.
Yet another referendum wascarried out, this time on Friday
, may 21, 1880, at the scalehouse of John Cople and Martin
Krop, moquino's premier hogshippers, nail citizens turned
(14:42):
out in droves to cast theirvotes, and this time the tables
had turned, with 50 votes comingin favor with 22 against.
The results were certified byJudge Benjamin Olin three days
later, he being the same WillCounty judge who was presented
with the first petition half adecade earlier.
So it was that our littlerailroad town of 522 souls was
(15:06):
officially incorporated.
One of the first orders ofbusiness was the election of
officers, which took place June14, 1880, just over three weeks
after the first ballot casting.
Eleven names of representativecitizens were ponied up, and the
sixth, with the largest amountsof votes by their townsmen,
were the aforementioned JohnCople, storekeeper and sometime
(15:30):
attorney Azayas Magovni, harnessmaker and feed salesman,
valentine's share railroadworker George Smith, shoemaker
John Ulrich and saloonist JohnZahn.
The most popular of them wasJohn Cople, who tallied 72 votes
.
The freshly elected trusteesthen did some voting themselves
(15:54):
and picked Azayas Magovni as thepresident of the new board, an
honor which earned him thevenerated place in Mokena's
history as our first mayor.
38-year-old John A Hatch, theson-in-law of Mayor Magovni, was
then appointed as our firstvillage clerk.
Nowadays, eyebrows would beraised over such a close
(16:16):
familial connection ingovernment, but in this case
there was nothing disreputableabout it, it being only a
reflection of the smallness ofour town.
Our first town government was aninteresting cross-section of
Mokena.
Of the five new trustees, allbut one of them were born in
Germany, and of the entire board, all of them were fathers.
(16:39):
Clerk Hatch and trustee Smithwere veterans, having marched
with the Union Army in the CivilWar, with the latter having
received four serious wounds incombat.
The most senior of them was themayor, who was 55 years old at
the time he took his oath ofoffice.
While the others were by nomeans newcomers to Mokena,
(17:00):
azayas Magovni had them all beat, having arrived as a lad on the
wild, untamed prairie whereMokena would later stand with
his family in the fall of 1831.
A member of the firstEuropean-American family to take
up residence in today'sFrankfurt township, magovni was
no stranger to holding office.
(17:20):
First came a post as justice ofthe peace upon the formation of
the township in 1850, then theposition of township supervisor,
before ultimately giving upboth in 1870 and a subsequent
nomination as postmaster ofMokena in 1875.
Israel (17:38):
All right, so real quick , I wanted to go back.
So for one in 1878, we have asecond attempt at incorporation,
but we don't really know whathappens there.
They don't ever turn in thepetition.
Matt (17:54):
Yeah, it's kind of a mystery to me.
The only reason I even knowabout that 1878 attempt if we
want to call it that even wasbecause I found the original
petition in some files at thevillage hall quite some time ago
, many years ago.
And yeah, it's a prettyofficial looking document with a
(18:17):
legal description of thevillage, the incorporated limits
that they wanted and thesignatures all the different
signatures of all the guys intown.
Of course, since women couldn'tvote at the time, it was all
men who signed it and yeah,whatever came of it though I
don't know whether they sent intheir paperwork to the county,
(18:43):
whether there was anotherreferendum held.
Yeah, it's just, it's totallybeen lost in time.
Israel (18:49):
And there was no opposing referendum to that one
that you know of.
Matt (18:52):
Not that I know of, not that I know of.
There is no mention in any newsmedia from that time of any of
this.
So don't really know what wasgoing on, other than the fact
that that document exists, thatmentions it.
So a petition was at leastcirculated.
(19:12):
But how far it went?
Israel (19:14):
Yeah, so then it was about two years later when they
get the third, the third attemptand a fairly decisive victory.
When you look at the first one,that failed was 25.
Yes, yeah, 64.
No.
Matt (19:36):
Now a couple years later it goes to 50.
Yes, and 22.
Israel (19:39):
No Right.
Yeah, that's interesting.
I don't know, people's justminds changing.
Yeah, I don't know.
Yeah, they got the right peopleto vote that year.
Matt (19:45):
Yeah, yeah, they must have .
Maybe the saloon keepers mighthave been promising things to
certain people.
This is just a theory.
I don't mean to besmirchanybody or anything, but maybe
they might have been tellingguys yeah, come down here and
we'll get you something to drinkand then you can go vote.
(20:06):
You know something like this.
Just a theory, who knows.
Israel (20:11):
But something happened where people's minds were
changed big time in those fewyears there, and then you list
the six that were first electedwhen we have the election, and
so we have John Capel Capel.
Matt (20:29):
Yeah, his family always pronounced it.
Israel (20:30):
Cople, couple, couple.
And then Uzzias McGovney, ohyeah.
Valentin sheer.
George Smith Good name yeah.
John Holrich and John Zahn,yeah, so are any of those
families still around Mokena?
Oh, let's see.
Matt (20:46):
Um, there could very.
I know of a descendant of JohnCople's who lives in New Lennox,
um, and you know there's gotespecially of his family, of the
couple family.
There's got to be some stillaround.
I'm sure if, if I took sometime to think about it and go
through mentally my list of ofMokenians, we'd find some,
(21:10):
because Mr Cople had quite a bigfamily.
Israel (21:13):
He had somebody will call me out on this if I'm wrong
but he had something like 10kids or something like that Of
that survived into adulthood,not counting the ones that he
lost to the Black Dippitheriaplague in the 1870s Um and Cople
seems like a name of all ofthem that is more familiar in
the area, like I feel like I'veseen that family name as well,
(21:37):
other than you know, smith,which yeah, yeah, um, yeah, so
there were, there was quite,there was quite a big family of
couples, and they had a milliondescendants, and it's very
possible that one of Mr Cople'skin will listen to this.
Matt (21:54):
Um, but, yes, I know definitely of one in New Lennox.
Um, I'm sure there are more,though, of the other guys.
The last one of us excuse me ofAzias McGovernies was Carol
Norton, who just recently passed.
Sure, um, yeah, I can't thinkof any of the others.
They're, their families are outthere somewhere, but I don't, I
(22:17):
don't know of any that that arestill in this area, so our most
likely candidate would be thecouple family.
Israel (22:23):
Yeah, okay, yeah, um, and, as you said, ozaias
McGovernies uh appointed ourfirst board president and
becomes the first mayor of ofMokena.
I think the picture you have isis uh is pretty cool, it's a
great great uh, amish beardgoing on.
Matt (22:40):
Yeah, I love it.
Um, yeah, he does.
Israel (22:42):
Yeah, very stern face.
Matt (22:44):
Yeah, he, yeah, he was a very um, from what you can tell
by looking at pictures of him hedid.
He looked like a very kind oflike a very stern sort of no
nonsense kind of guy.
Um, but luckily we are, uh, youknow, you know you're not going
to blessed to have photos ofhim, and that one I used in the
piece on my blog is the oldestknown image of him.
(23:06):
That came out of an 1878history of Will County.
Oh, wow.
But yeah, he generally had apretty epic beard, at least in
his middle age.
By the time he got up into his70s and his 80s he was clean
shaven.
But in his younger years, yeah,he had a pretty good beard
going.
Israel (23:26):
Yeah, I'm assuming it's because of his previous elected
experience in that, but why theychose MacGovney?
Ozaias MacGovney is the firstmayor.
Matt (23:35):
Yeah, I think, just because he was a pretty
prominent guy in town, he andhis family, as you mentioned.
Yeah, he definitely hadexperience in holding office.
He had been supervisor ofFrankfurt Township.
He was the Moquina Postmaster.
The Moquina Post Office was inthe hands of the MacGovney
(23:57):
family for just decades anddecades.
And maybe most Most importantlythis is my kind of guess on
this, but was his office asJustice of the Peace, which he
took when Frankfurt Township wasfirst founded in 1850.
He was the guy who people wouldcome to to marry them.
(24:18):
He was settling legal disputessort of, or when somebody would
get in trouble he would fix themwith a fine or something like
that.
He was, you know he was.
Israel (24:33):
he had a little bit of power in Moquina and and in the
days before Moquina existed,Sure, and the fact that his
family had been around sinceforever since day one, you know
didn't hurt him at all.
Matt (24:45):
So yeah, no, yes, he was a prominent guy who's also a
prominent businessman.
He, he had been an attorney,but by the time the
incorporation came arounddoesn't look like he was really
practicing too much anymore.
But he and his, his son, zaiusJr, who everyone is called Irwin
by his middle name, they had apretty well known general store
(25:09):
in town.
So yeah, he just was aprominent man around Moquina and
just about everybody knew andrespected I I would imagine that
at least from this point, allthese years later, it looks like
he was a very respected guy soand lived right here.
Israel (25:24):
Right yeah, front and Midland, that is correct.
Matt (25:27):
The front and Midland, right on the let's see that
would be the northeast corner offront and Midland.
That's the old McGovernihomestead right there.
Israel (25:36):
And rumored to be one of the oldest buildings, right
when the original.
Matt (25:42):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, easily.
One of the absolute oldestbuildings in in Moquina, if not
all of Eastern Will County.
Wow, rumor has it that part ofthe house that's there now had
been a long cabin.
So I mean the house has beenthere for a very long time.
(26:05):
As the newly incorporatedvillage had no town hall to
speak of, the board held theirfirst meetings at Trustee's
shares harness and feed shop onFront Street and got to work
drafting the first villageordinances.
Looking back upon thesehandwritten documents, they're a
unique window to the 19thcentury as they represent
pressing problems in town thatthe founding fathers wanted to
(26:28):
fix.
They were put to vote by theboard and officially adopted on
August 4th 1880.
One of the freshly adoptedordinances decreed that foul
were not to run loose.
It's stating it shall beunlawful for any geese, turkeys,
ducks and chickens or anydomestic foul to run at large
(26:50):
within the limits of the villageof Moquina, specifically
between the 1st of April untilthe 1st of October.
Any violators could count on afine of not less than $3 and no
more than 25.
In what was likely a referenceto the aforementioned Wild
Sundays of the time, anotherordinance said that it shall not
(27:10):
be lawful for any person orpersons within the village of
Moquina to disturb the peace ofany street, lane, avenue, alley,
neighborhood, family or personsby loud or unusual noises, or
by blowing trumpets, horns orother instruments, or by beating
of drums, tambourines, kettles,pans or other serenading
(27:34):
vessels or implements, or byloud or boisterous language,
bearing silent witness to theever-present threat of fires.
One ordinance mandated that nolighted candle or lamp shall be
used in any stable, barn orbuilding where hay, straw or
other combustible material shallbe kept, unless the same shall
(27:57):
be well secured in a lantern, asso-called hobos often breezed
into town over the railroad,intended to cause trouble.
Another ordinance split hairs,defining what exactly
constituted a vagrant, it beingwritten that it was a person
with no visible means of support, someone who lives idle or
(28:19):
shall be found loitering orstrolling about, frequenting
places where liquor of any kindis sold, drank or kept, and
could be found in houses ofill-fame or bad repute, ten-pin
alleys, billiard rooms, sheds,stables, barns, hay or straw
racks.
(28:40):
Our founding fathers managedMokena and by and by wore in the
seats of their chairs.
But the story didn't end in1880.
Flash forward 12 years to April1892.
It was then that a letter cameto town from Secretary of State
IW Pearson, which was taken inhand by then village clerk John
(29:01):
Lease.
In part it read a certificateof the organization of the
village of Mokena was filed inthis office May 22, 1890, which
was paid for at that time.
This certificate you retain inthe files of your office as
clear as day.
This note states thatSpringfield didn't file our
(29:21):
incorporation until ten yearsafter our town folk voted on the
issue and picked a governingboard.
Decades later, mayor and villageluminary Richard Quinn remarked
.
Apparently, however, someonehad neglected to inform the
Secretary of State of theincorporation of the village
until 1890.
(29:41):
Thus begins one of the greatmysteries of our town's
narrative.
What happened in those 10 years?
Did the initial paperwork getlost in the mail?
Did a local courier getdistracted on the way to the
state capital?
This issue has hung fire for agood many years, with Quinn, the
chairman of the committee thathosted Mokena's official
(30:04):
Centennial observations in 1980,even suggesting to hold another
celebration in 1990, whichultimately never panned out.
All has been put to rest,however, by a recent
communication between thisauthor and the state's index
department.
Upon consultation ofSpringfield's records, officials
(30:27):
on their side confirmed thattheir documents confirm our 1880
incorporation date.
Thus, another mystery has beensolved and consigned to the
history books.
The hard work of our foundingfathers paid off and after 144
years, Mokena is still here.
Ozias McGovney and hiscolleagues never could have
(30:48):
envisioned the long way we'vecome, and this author for one
likes to think that they wouldbe proud of our progress, with
all of our modern conveniences,comforts and prosperity that we
enjoy in our village.
Let us not forget the way thatwas paid for us.
Israel (31:04):
You know that last line.
I mean how true, like we don'teven realize.
I mean that's why thesepictures, I think, are really
interesting.
Because, you look back and yousee like that's not the same
front street of today.
These aren't, you know, that'speople, but it's not the same
people Like you're living in adifferent time.
Yeah, no, definitely I mean tothink of them.
You know, the early settlers ofthe area coming across, you
(31:26):
know, it's just it's reallyincredible to think about and
what they did for us to leave usthis now.
Matt (31:34):
Yeah, it is.
Yeah, it really makes youthankful and really makes you
appreciate them and all the hardwork they put in all those
years ago in a different ofdifferent world, really to give
us what we now have and enjoyand maybe sometimes take for
granted.
Yeah, absolutely.
Israel (31:50):
Yeah, well, and you know not the harp on it, but
especially when we look atdowntown, you know, downtown
McKinna, you know one point wasa center for the whole area.
Matt (32:01):
Yeah.
Israel (32:02):
And everybody, every villager, came to downtown to do
their grocery shopping, andthat yeah exactly, you know, and
then obviously how that'schanged now and society changes
as well.
And then I thought it wasreally interesting that you know
the state of Illinoisunshockingly seeing the mess up
(32:23):
by missing 10 years ofincorporation, but kind of
typical Illinois right there?
Matt (32:30):
Yeah, it is.
Yeah, yeah, that's the wholestory.
Yeah, yeah.
Israel (32:35):
So what would happen if we hadn't incorporated?
Matt (32:37):
Oh wow that's a really good question.
You know, I just Shot out ofthe cannon.
I think Mokena wouldn't quitehave prospered in the way it did
.
Of course, as we know, towardsthe 1890s and into the early
part of the 20th century.
Mokena was in kind of aneconomic slump at the time
(32:59):
anyway.
But I just I can't see thatThings really would have taken
off for the town in the way thatthey ultimately did, and also
Because, ultimately, the thewhole thing with the saloons was
about was about money in thelocal economy.
(33:23):
So with the village beingincorporated and the, they're
not really being a cap anymoreon saloons in town, which was
bringing in a decent amount ofmoney to the village in terms of
the, the, a dram shop licenses,or liquor licenses we call them
nowadays.
Israel (33:43):
Yeah, that, and so once those, because pre incorporation
that money was all going to thecounty.
That's right.
And now this meant that thevillage would get those proceeds
.
Oh, yeah, so the county.
So we talked about thedifferent new laws and things
they passed for one.
Matt (34:04):
Yeah.
Israel (34:06):
So it said it mentions houses of ill fame or bad repute
.
Yeah, yeah, was this an issuein Mokena?
That's interesting.
I mean, I'm thinking ofbrothels.
Yeah, you know, obviously.
Matt (34:17):
Yeah, right, no, and that's what that is.
That's what they're referringto there.
Yeah, you know, it's veryinteresting that you bring that
up because they're and I wish somuch that I knew more about
this.
But right around the time ofincorporation there was a so
(34:40):
called house of ill repute thatwas broken up in Pokina.
Yeah, wow, yeah, we know whowas running it, and she did get
in trouble for it.
I can't quite remember whatexactly her punishment was.
(35:00):
I don't think she was sent tojail or anything about this.
If I remember, I'll have to digat home.
I think she was just fine, butyou know there's a story behind
it yeah.
How it got found out, whopressed the issue, you know, and
but they, you know of, you know, stopping it, and but, yeah,
(35:22):
the fact that that was in theordinances, yeah, makes me think
that, you know, they didn'tjust put that in there for
nothing.
Yeah right.
Israel (35:29):
Yeah, and then so again, all these you know new laws and
the no pots and pans beingbanged on the street?
Yeah, did.
Did law enforcement change withincorporation?
Matt (35:42):
Yeah, a little bit there upon incorporation.
There was a man who was hiredto be the official town marshal.
They called him.
He's like a constable, like apolice officer and, of course,
as we know, we've talked aboutexcuse me, in the case of Walter
Fisher in the past when we'vetalked about him, an official
(36:04):
Mokena police department wasstill 80 years into the future.
But yeah, there was a man whosejob it was to enforce the law
in town and they built him aCalibus in about 1881 or 1882.
That's for those who areunfamiliar with that antiquated
(36:25):
word is a like a little one roomshack that serves as a jail.
Israel (36:31):
Is that the Calibus, the one that's still in Lockport?
Matt (36:35):
That's the Calibus Yep and that's still the original one.
You can go visit it in Lockportat the Heritage Village.
Whole other interesting storybehind that.
But there were, there wereconstables in Mokena before then
, but they, I believe, if I'mnot mistaken, I believe they see
now I can't remember if theywere appointed by the township
(36:56):
or the county, so there wereguys you know before them.
But I think, you know, withhaving ordinances to enforce and
stuff like that, he probablythis man whose name was Wesley
Kennedy.
He probably had a little more,little more power.
Israel (37:12):
I think, yeah, yeah.
And are these documents, theoriginal incorporation documents
, available?
Like, does the village stillhave them or have you seen them?
Matt (37:22):
Yeah, they should still have them.
As far as I know, the villagestill, and it's been many years
since I've actually seen them.
But the village should stillhave all of the original
incorporation let's just call itstuff.
I'm very lucky in that.
(37:43):
Excuse me again, I'm very luckyin that.
A quite some time at years agoI was still in high school, mr
Quinn Dick Quinn, who Imentioned in this piece, who was
our former mayor and head ofthe Centennial Committee back in
1980, when he was running theoriginal Mokena Historical
(38:06):
Society, they took on a projectof transcribing all that stuff.
Wow.
So at one point he he let me gothrough the copies they had
made and then I went off andmade my own copies.
So I've got all the stuff athome and I referred to them from
time to time.
Israel (38:24):
Oh, very cool, yeah, yeah it's pretty cool stuff.
Well, great, you know, as wesaid, this is an.
It was an extremely importantmoment for Mokena.
Yeah, you don't allow us tohave more, more bars.
Yeah definitely as well as allthe other benefits.
Matt (38:40):
but yeah, yeah, great story, oh, thanks, thanks for
sharing it, man, absolutelyThanks for having me.
Israel (38:47):
Matt and I both really hope that you're enjoying the
podcast and that you enjoyedthis episode.
We would really appreciate itif you would share our podcast
with your friends or family, aswell as leave us a review on
Spotify or Apple music orwherever you hear our podcast.
We'd love to hear your showideas or your questions so you
can send us an email at podcast,at Mokenasfrontporch.
(39:10):
com, or on Facebook throughmessenger, or through our
website, which isMokenasfrontporch.
com.
You can send us a message there.
We have a link in the shownotes to Matt's blog post that
this episode was based on.
We have some great thingscoming up and we're really
excited to share with you.
So thanks for listening andwe'll see you next time on
(39:33):
Mokenasfront Porch.
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