Five veterans of the regular army were the first settlers in this region
this same year. One of these, David Gilbert, settled on the bank of the
lake now bearing his family name. George Finney, another veteran,
platted the village of Camden in February, 1821, in the valley now
bearing that name at the mouth of the Illinois river.
[Illustration: Corner of interesting nature museum]
James Mason entered land in 1830 just to the east of Camden to establish
a ferry to facilitate trade with St. Louis. Late in April, 1831, a
flatboat drifted past here, manned by four men from the Sangamon
country, bound for the New Orleans market. One of the crew, 22-year-old
Abraham Lincoln, was to be indelibly impressed by the slave market at
New Orleans.
Mason built a home on his land, founding Grafton in 1836. An earth wharf
was built, becoming known as Mason's Landing. In 1837 the town of
Hartford was platted where the Pere Marquette lodge now stands. The
church and school bearing this name are the sole reminders of this
development today. The flood of 1844 wrecked Grafton and business
shifted east to Alton.
When the Illinois and Michigan canal was opened in 1848 Mason's Landing
became a wood and coal center for the river traffic. Corded wood came
from the surrounding forests and coal was kept in 21/2 bushel boxes to
maintain the steamboats. Large rafts of pine logs and lumber from
Wisconsin appeared on the Mississippi River each spring, were caught at
Grafton, and held backed up on the Illinois River, until needed farther
down stream.
Quarrying began in 1857, and the old Lindell Hotel in St. Louis, and the
piers of the Meredosia and Hannibal railroad bridges were built of
Grafton stone. The Underground Railroad was a well kept secret of the
period in Grafton, Calhoun Point being the rendezvous for escaped
slaves.