Otto’s Column

LOCAL HISTORY T.O. Johnston was newspaper’s editor in 1877

Editor’s note: Otto Dick, Oregon has researched the people, places and events importantintheOregonarea’shistoryfor the Ogle County Historical Society. The followingisoneofa seriesofthearticleshe haswritten.

BY OTTO DICK

The following items are taken from the 1877 Reporter newspaper.

Monte man arrested and told to (git), he (got).

One day last week Forrest and Co. shipped six car loads of oat meal to Glasgow, Scotland.

The sociable of the Lutheran Church will be held at the residence of Mr. I.S. Wooley this Thursday evening, November 8th. All invited.

President Hays sets Thursday, November 29th for National Thanksgiving.

The city council is considering the propriety of placing one or more cisterns, on our main streets, to supply water in case of fire.

Six persons in the county jail.

The lumber for the Mud Creek Bridge arrived on Saturday, by the steam boat.

Sam Sechler of Kings, gets over here once in a while to give vent to his democratic ideas.

Messrs John and Joseph Mattmiller are happy in the return of their better-halves from extended visits.

There is a man living in Oregon, who makes a practice of going to Daysville two or three nights a week, to visit a certain woman for unlawful purposes. Said man is married and has a true and loving wife, we understand.

We suppress his name for the sake of his family. Were it not for them we would drop on him like a thousand of brick and show him up to the contempt of the community.

Saturday afternoon a young man of this place visiting Mr. Wallace Hawthorn in Byron on Winnebago St, missed his pocket-book containing all his worldly wealth of five dollars. The next day he took the overland route for home on the Foot & Walker Route.

Proceeding of the City Council, November 1, 1877: The following bills approved by the committee on claims and accounts, Jay Seyster burying dog—50 cents and T. T. Johnston printing $6.92. J. B. Cartwright, Mayor.

Railroad spur heading north past the Schiller Piano Co.: (The spur was finished to the twin elevator Saturday. (A Y was installed near the depot so train engines on the main line at the depot, used the Y to change directions.)

This newspaper gave the official vote of the Ogle County November 6 election. Judge Cartwright who became Supreme Court Justice for many years lost this election.

The purchase of a Poor Farm located

T.O. Johnston was the editor of the newspaper in 1877. T.O Johnston lived at this house at 403 N. Third Street in Oregon. Photos supplied by Otto Dick

ABOVE: There were three mills in Oregon. BELOW: These elevators were located in Oregon.

south of Oregon carried by a large majority. I. S Wooley from Oregon was elected County Clerk.

An editorial in the Ogle County Reporter says take the county paper. They question whether the city newspapers in Ogle County cover county matters and draw attention to Ogle County promoting its progress.

In Ogle County the Reporter Newspaper was established by Robert Burchelle and later operated by T. O. Johnson.

In March of 1851 The Ogle County Reporter ran by Paul Behan merged with the Republican Newspaper into the Republican Reporter Newspaper. Paul Behan and the Landers family were the co-owners and publishers of the Republican Reporter Newspaper.