Original Plat of Centerville 1844
Title
Original Plat of Centerville 1844
Description
McHenry County was established in 1836. At that time the county included the current McHenry County as well as all of what is now Lake County to the east. The small, centrally located village of McHenry was chosen as the county seat for the new county. Three years later, in 1839, McHenry County was divided in two, the eastern half became Lake County, the western half remained McHenry County.
The village of McHenry, now on the eastern border of the of the newly formed McHenry County, remained the county seat until September of 1843 when an election was held to select a more centrally located spot. Several locations were on the ballot including Centerville which was unsettled land located near the geographic center of the new McHenry County. Centerville existed only on paper, having been laid out by Alvin Judd and officially recorded by George Dean.
The election was held and Centerville was selected as the new county seat. A small two-story wooden courthouse was built in the Woodstock Square Park and in September of 1844 all county records and county offices were moved to Centerville from McHenry.
Soon after, March of 1845, Centerville’s name was changed to Woodstock, named after Woodstock, Vermont, birthplace of the McHenry County Clerk at the time, Joel Johnson.
The names of the streets on the original Centerville plat were most likely chosen to curry favor with the County Commissioners at the time; H.B. Throop, B.H. Tryon and Andrew J. Hayward and also Superintendent of Schools, Peter Dietz. The other streets were named after prominent and popular Democrat politicians at the time (McHenry County was solidly Democratic until 1856) Andrew Jackson, John C. Calhoun, Lewis Cass, Thomas Hart Benton, Martin Van Buren, John Wentworth. Johnson street could have been named after either Joel Johnson, County Clerk, or possibly Richard Mentor Johnson.
The village of McHenry, now on the eastern border of the of the newly formed McHenry County, remained the county seat until September of 1843 when an election was held to select a more centrally located spot. Several locations were on the ballot including Centerville which was unsettled land located near the geographic center of the new McHenry County. Centerville existed only on paper, having been laid out by Alvin Judd and officially recorded by George Dean.
The election was held and Centerville was selected as the new county seat. A small two-story wooden courthouse was built in the Woodstock Square Park and in September of 1844 all county records and county offices were moved to Centerville from McHenry.
Soon after, March of 1845, Centerville’s name was changed to Woodstock, named after Woodstock, Vermont, birthplace of the McHenry County Clerk at the time, Joel Johnson.
The names of the streets on the original Centerville plat were most likely chosen to curry favor with the County Commissioners at the time; H.B. Throop, B.H. Tryon and Andrew J. Hayward and also Superintendent of Schools, Peter Dietz. The other streets were named after prominent and popular Democrat politicians at the time (McHenry County was solidly Democratic until 1856) Andrew Jackson, John C. Calhoun, Lewis Cass, Thomas Hart Benton, Martin Van Buren, John Wentworth. Johnson street could have been named after either Joel Johnson, County Clerk, or possibly Richard Mentor Johnson.
Date
1844
Language
en-US
Type
Image
Collection
Citation
“Original Plat of Centerville 1844,” Woodstock Public Library Archives, accessed October 14, 2024, https://woodstockpubliclibraryarchives.omeka.net/items/show/4.
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