Clayville

Clayville centered on a brick building erected in the spring of 1834 by John Broadwell, one of the first brick buildings in Sangamon County. Moses Broadwell, John's father and a native of Elizabethtown, New Jersey, came to Illinois in 1820, and he and John built a brick kiln and operated a tannery at this site where animal skins were cured. Several buildings were put up about 1824, but only the present one survives. From the 1830's into the early 1850's, a stage line ran between Springfield and Beardstown along this route, used by eastern cattle buyers, cattle drovers bound for distant markets, teamsters hauling dry goods, liquor, groceries, hardware, and clothing between Beardstown on the Illinois River and Springfield, and settler families seeking property who spent the night here. The original inn burned in the late 1800's, but the present brick building, notable in its time, served overflow crowds and may have sheltered stage passengers, cattlemen, teamsters, and settlers together. The Broadwells named the area Claysville for Henry Clay, the leading Whig politician, and the property became a gathering place for Whig festivities and poll-raisings, including a July 4, 1842, celebration with speeches, music, marching, dining, and drinking. After the railroad arrived and commerce and travel were rerouted, Clayville passed into history.

Illinois · United States