I ran across this interesting story in Google News about a former resident of Jacksonville that was a famous and prominent Indiana pioneer, agriculturist, columnist and writer. Apparently his efforts were also instrumental in the formation of the US Dept of Agriculture (at http://www.post-trib.com/news/neighbors/1487796,robinson.article):
Quote
March 22, 2009
By Sue Ellen Ross
Post-Tribune correspondent
Solon Robinson (1803-1880) was the first American to settle on land that eventually would be named Crown Point.
His nickname, "Squatter King," was reflected in the name, with the "king" having a "crown" and the area a central point for activity.
Friends thought the town should be named for the man who used a myriad of ways to develop the area.
Robinson was the first to do many things in this wide-open area in which he arrived in October 1834.
Not one to let grass grow under his feet -- literally -- he built a log cabin for his family in four days. Robinson was the town's first postmaster and justice of the peace, and Lake County's first clerk, mapmaker and claims agent. He also was the first to develop a squatters union and built the first courthouse with $500 of his own money.
The courthouse was used for more than just trials. It was used as a school, church, Sunday school and for elections. This community building was used until 1851.
Robinson also was a writer. Informally at first, he chronicled his early experiences as he traveled from Connecticut to Indiana with his wife, Mariah, and their two children. He wrote eloquent speeches and also began to send his agricultural articles to newspapers and journals outside the area.
Farming was Robinson's forte, but he subsequently became well-known as a serious journalist. In 1837, his work was sent to a New York newspaper.
In the 1840s, Robinson wrote a series of agriculture articles for the New York Times, located in Albany. He then became the agriculture editor, which required that he travel between Indiana and New York.
Mariah didn't share his enthusiasm for New York and wanted to stay in Crown Point. But Robinson had other plans -- at least for himself. He moved permanently to New York -- solo -- in 1852, and left his Lake County properties in the care of his wife.
Once settled on his farm in East Yonkers, N.Y., Robinson continued writing and farmed his land for more than 20 years.
Ill health encouraged a move to Jacksonville, Fla., where Robinson died in 1880 at the age of 77.
Today, an elementary school in Crown Point is named in his honor.
Which led me to find this additional information from the web:QuoteROBINSON, Solon, author, was born near Tolland, Conn., Oct. 21, 1803. He worked on his father's farm until 1817, his education being limited to the winter months. He was then apprenticed to a carpenter, but was soon released and became a peddler. His literary talents were early manifested, and he became a contributor to the Albany Cultivator and to other publications, chiefly on agricultural subjects. He was for several years the agricultural editor of the New York Tribune. His publications include: Hot Corn, or Life Scenes in New York (1853); How to Live, or Domestic Economy Illustrated (1860); Facts for Farmers (1864), and Mewonitoc (1867). In 1870 he purchased a farm in the vicinity of Jacksonville, Fla., where he died, Nov. 3, 1880.
Google Books link to Hot Corn (1853): http://books.google.com/books?id=qgTTSBmEoO8C&dq=Solon+Robinson&printsec=frontcover
Internet Archive links: http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Robinson%2C%20Solon%2C%201803-1880%22
http://www.ctheritage.org/encyclopedia/topicalsurveys/migration.htm :
QuoteAnd Solon Robinson (1803-1880), born in Tolland, made his mark. He traveled west as a peddler, opened a store in the Indiana woods, and traded with immigrants and Indians. In 1836, he organized the Squatters' Union to protect the homesteads of five hundred settlers in Lake County. The union members received much publicity and were able to secure their land at government, not speculators', prices. Soon after, Robinson founded a national agricultural society which was instrumental in establishing the United States Department of Agriculture.
http://www.lowellpl.lib.in.us/robinso.htm :
QuoteFrom Ball, T.H., editor. Encyclopedia of Genealogy and Biography of Lake County, Indiana with a Compendium of History 1834-1904. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1904. pp. 63-64:
There is much material for memorial sketches of some of the early residents of Lake county, those who are called its pioneer settlers; there is scanty material for biographies of others. Some men have written their names in a bold hand, like the name, John Hancock, on the Declaration of Independence, within the history and across the history of Lake county.
Among these is the name, SOLON ROBINSON. He was born in Connecticut, October 21, 1803. And the more closely one studies the biographical history of Lake county, Indiana, so much the more fully he will see that Lake county, like many other portions of this Union, owes very much, for its intelligence and enterprise, to New England blood and New England training. Of the earlier life of Solon Robinson, of his education and his experiences, not much is now known. He left his native State rather early in life, and from which of the larger Robinson families he was descended does not seem to be known, but in May, 1828, he was married in Cincinnati, Ohio, and not long after became a citizen of Indiana, first at Madison, and then in Jennings county, at a place called Rock Creek. What business pursuits he followed seems to be also unknown. In October, 1824, in a conveyance drawn by oxen, having one extra wagon or more to convey the household goods, he came with his wife and two young children, and probably two young men, Jerome Curtis and J.B. Curtis, over that long line of road that was then leading up into Northwestern Indiana. The road way, except Indian trails, ended in Porter county; but he found there Jacob Hurlburt to guide him to the newly surveyed land lying yet further west. Just before sunset Coctober 31, 1834, this leader of migration with his party, having crossed, what was to him and to them a wonderful sight, a beautiful belt of prairie, reached some skirting woodland. The next morning he concluded to locate there his future home, and from that November morning until about 1850 his name is quite closely interwoven with all that followed in the settlement and growth. So fully was he concerned in the affairs of the young county that he was collled the SQUATTER KING OF LAKE. He made a map of the county showing, besides other features, what was prairie and what was woodland, he secured the organization of the Squatter's Union, July 4, 1836, and was elected the first Register of claims. [That old Claim Register is now in my possession; also a copy of the Robinson map, probably the only copy now in Lake county.--T.H.B.] He was an early Justice of the Peace, was the first postmaster in the county, was elected the first County Clerk, and, with his brother Milo Robinson, opened the first settlers' store in the county. He secured the location of the county seat at Crown Point in 1840. He was fond of writing and had quite an agricultural turn of mind. He commenced writing for the Cultivator, at least as early as 1837. In 1838 he proposed the organization of an "American Society of Agriculture." In 1841 he sent out an address to the farmers of the United States, through the columns of the Cultivator. The journeys which he took over the country in behalf of his plan cannot be detailed here. His efforts probably led to the Grange movement. He also wrote stories, such as "The Will," "The Last of the Buffaloes," "Hot Corn," "Green Mountain Girls," and others. He was connected for a time with the New York Tribune. He went at length to Florida and there died in 1880. His older daughter, Mrs. Strait, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, reside in Crown Point, and, like him, have talent and intelligence, and, like him, some of them hold office.
Here is a little more about Robinson's efforts that led to the founding of USDA:QuoteBy the 1850s American agricultural leaders, including entomological and horticultural groups, were developing institutional structures that would provide the foundation for education, research and collective action. In the 1840s, Solon Robinson and others organized the National Agricultural Society with the objective of directing the Smithsonian Bequest to Agricultural research. In the 1850s Marshall P. Wilder organized the U.S. Agricultural Society to lobby for the establishment of land grant colleges and the creation of a department of agriculture. The Morrill Act that granted land to the states for agricultural and industrial colleges was passed in 1862. By the early 1870s agricultural entomology courses were being offered in a number of colleges throughout the United States.
Above excerpted from: http://www.icer.it/docs/wp2000/Olmstead142000.pdf
Apparently unappreciated in Jax... the citizens of Crown Point, Indiana, retrieved his remains here in 1993 and returned them to Indiana where they have also named a local elementary school in his memory:From: http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:yUOXtUTl5N0J:www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx%3Fguid%3D6522b560-21d9-424f-a245-16bab5d27967+%22solon+robinson%22&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
QuoteIt is doubtful that many of those members were at his funeral, for he died in Florida in 1880 at the age of 77 and was buried in a local churchyard. But in October 1993 the Crown Point Founder's Committee brought his remains back to Crown Point, and the words of his request were repeated over the new tomb of Solon Robinson, pioneer, founder, builder, writer and historian.
Nice find. This city's history is full of interesting individuals.
And to think, I lived in the Crown Point area for years and never knew a thing about the history.
Thanks for the articles!
Quote from: thelakelander on March 23, 2009, 09:22:35 AM
Nice find. This city's history is full of interesting individuals.
(http://www.wordsworthcountry.com/assets/laurelhardy2.jpg)
Add one more sculpture to our Riverwalks parade of "nonexistent" Jacksonville Stars of Fame.
Where are the Weavers, Peyton's, Davis and other prominent families when we need them?OCKLAWAHA
Not sure about the others but the Weavers do more than their fair share of philanthropy. This family donates millions in the Jacksonville area for a variety of causes. It is possible if someone put a proposal together The Weavers would help or match funds raised.
Maybe as a fund raiser for the historical society, they could do statues/memorials of some sort that are "adopted" by local businesses like the manatees, jaguars, and turtles that have already been done successfully. Such a walk of fame could be in the vicinity of their HQ's in the arena/stadium area where many visitors already patrol. I am sure it would also be of interest to tailgaters lingering for hours in the area looking of something different to do.
As to Robinson's memorialization in Jax, I don't know if the Crown Point area in Mandarin has any relationship. Robinson founded Crown Point, Indiana. Also, could Robinsons Addition on Beaver Street (see MetroJax at http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,4441.0.html ) have any relationship to his farm here? Do we have any Jax history researchers present?
(http://www.eventsintents.com.au/Star%20Light.jpg)
I'd love to start a 501c3 or some such method of raising funds and placing a walk of Jacksonville Stars on the Northbank Riverwalk. The only problem I have is, it's a long, long, way from the RAILROAD... so I'd be out of my box. Now if a group of y'all want to jump on this, I'll gladly help get us organized.
OCKLAWAHA
At this link is a picture of Solon Robinson, circa 1875: http://www.picturehistory.com/product/id/23778
(http://www.picturehistory.com/images/products/2/3/7/prod_23778.jpg)
Wikipedia gives him credit for being the first to use the word "jambalaya" in English print:QuoteThe first appearance of any variant of the word "jambalaya" in any language occurred in "Leis amours de Vanus; vo, Lou paysan oou théâtré," by Fortuné (Fourtunat) Chailan, first published in Provencal in 1837. The earliest appearance of the word in print in English occurs in the May 1849 issue of the American Agriculturalist, page 161, where Solon Robinson refers to a recipe for "Hopping Johnny (jambalaya)."
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jambalaya
Wow! I just found Mr. Robinson quoted in the book on the South highlighted in my other post today at: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,4651.msg71143/topicseen.html#new .
What a weird coincidence given that I never heard of him until finding my post yesterday starting this thread :o
QuoteSolon Robinson, formerly the agricultural editor of the Tribune, who now resides at Jacksonville, tells me that he considers the climate of East Florida undoubtedly the best in the country. A general impression prevails in the North that on account of the large bodies of swamp land in the State, any one going there to reside, even temporarily, will incur danger of malarial disease. It is, however, established beyond controversy that there is never any danger from malaria in the winter months; and that it is, to quote Mr. Robinson once more, "certainly no worse for immigrants from any of the Northern States than central New York was in its early settlement for those who went into the forests from New England."
For convenience, here is the link to this fascinating and extensively detailed account of riding the rails and other travels in the South in 1874:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/king/king381.jpg&imgrefurl=http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/king/king.html&usg=__wyRLABhMZ0DCzUPdWGtFARcP7Fw=&h=300&w=862&sz=76&hl=en&start=28&um=1&tbnid=3ABuwI8uOHEEnM:&tbnh=50&tbnw=145&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmyrtle%2Bavenue%2Bviaduct%2Bjacksonville%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D18%26um%3D1
I am going to read a couple pages a day. I am facinated by first hand historical accounts and descriptions of early America.
I found this description of New Orleans in 1873 interesting on page 59...
QuoteNEW ORLEANS is built on land from two to four feet below the level of the Mississippi river at high water mark. It fronts on a great bend in the stream in the form of a semicircle, whence it takes its appellation of the "Crescent City," and stretches back to the borders of Lake Pontchartrain, which lies several feet below the level of the Mississippi, and has an outlet on the Gulf of Mexico. The rain-fall, the sewerage of the city, and the surplus water from the river, are drained into the canals which traverse New Orleans, and are thence carried into the lake. The two principal canals, known as the Old and New Basins are navigable; steamers of considerable size run through them and the lake to the Gulf, and thence along the Southern Atlantic coast; and schooners and barks, laden with lumber and produce, are towed in and out by mules. The city is divided into drainage districts, in each of which large pumping machines are constantly worked to keep down the encroaching water. Were it not for the canals and the drainage system, the low-lying city would, after a heavy rain, be partially submerged. A fine levée extends for four and a-half miles along the front of Lake Pontchartrain, making a grand driveway; and as a complement to this improvement, it is expected that in a few years the cypress swamps will be filled up, and the lake front will be studded with mansions. The building of this levée was an imperative necessity, the action of the lake making the perfecting of the city's present system of drainage impossible otherwise.
Interesting, Bridge, how far along New Orleans was in "draining the swamp" in 1874. And the acknowledgement of the City's vulnerabilities. Yet, no comment was made about the possibility of these measures failing to endure or resist the fury of a hurricane. Chalk it up to American pioneer optimism?
There is more. It is facinating reading. Accounts like this are the closest thing to a time machine we will ever get. The author is very expressive and able to describe images, situations, and dialects with amazing clarity. It is a vivid storytelling from someone NOT exposed to radio, movies, and television. This art is lost when all you have to do is click a link to see a picture or video.
It's no statue, but somebody should add this Man's achievements to the People of Jacksonville Wikipedia page. Great find!