Sawyerville is located northwest of White City on
Routes 138 and 4. It is located in Section 6 of Mt Olive Township. The post
office was established 17 Sep 1906, disbanded 15 Jan 1910, reestablished 6 Sep
1910, disbanded 15 Dec 1914, and reestablished 21 Jun 1916.
Also said to have
been named after David Sawyer, son of Josiah Sawyer. The village of Sawyerville
was incorporated 12 Jun 1907.
The village of Sawyerville, just south of
Benld, is unique in that every family in town owns an automobile and that at
least one member in every family has employment. The village has a population of
about 400.
Sawyerville got its name from Thomas SAWYER, 93, still hale
and hearty and still residing on his farm between the village and Benld. SAWYER
sold the land to the Superior Coal Co. In 1904 when the corporation's No. 2 mine
was sunk on the east edge of the present village limits. The village was founded
in 1905 and incorporated a few years later (1907).
Barney FLAHERTY, who
came to the village in 1908, and who has resided there with Mrs. FLAHERTY ever
since, says it is the cleanest mining village he has ever seen, FLAHERTY is an
organizer for the Progressive Miners union and a former board member of the
organization. He ran for the vice president recently. He also served a number of
terms on the village board.
A beauty spot in the village territory is the
mine reservoir. Set in a wooded valley, it gleams like a sapphire in a green
leafy setting. Just above the lake is a playground built by the mine company for
Sawyerville children and outfitted with swings and other play equipment.
The village of Sawyerville maintains its own electric distribution system and
retails power to its residents on a non-profit basis. The village early in its
history, installed its own poles and lines and purchased its power in wholesale
lots from the Illinois Power and Light Co.
Sawyerville is in Mt. Olive
Township near the Gillespie and Dorchester township lines. Rudolph STEWART is
village president and is assisted in his administrative work by Henry MOREACCI,
the clerk. The board includes Mike LARICK, Garland MUDD, Dan T. BREVIN, Theodore
SCHWEPPE and Jasper WENZEL. Sawyerville has a population of some 500 persons.
The district school is housed in a fine, modern building which includes an
auditorium for community meetings and six rooms, Glenn COX is principal and is
assisted by Jasper WENZEL, Miss Gertrude SIEGEL and Miss Virginia SCHMUTZLER.
Members of the school board are Frank KISS, president; Will PURDY and Mrs
Frank HERMAN. Graduates attend the Benld township high school.
There is
but one church in the village from where many of the residents attend the Benld
churches, Sawyerville's church of the Latter Day Saints is the charge of the
Reverend A. A. RUSSELL.
The Superior Coal Co., mine No. 2 employs
approximately 500 men. Lawrence Kiss is mine manager. Members of the shop
committee who are in charge of settling employee disputes are Matt KATELENICH,
George RADEMACHER and Mr. ROSETTI. The miners are members of local number one of
the Progressive miners union. John McCann, one of the miners employed in the
Sawyerville shaft, is president of the local. Shop or mine committee members
choose a new chairman for each meeting.
Helen L. CORRIGAN is postmistress
of Sawyerville post office. There are four stores in the village, all purveying
general merchandise. Sawyerville is unusual in that its east and west boundaries
are marked by state highways, route 4 runs on the west and routes 66 and 4
connection on the east. The village is served by the Litchfield and Madison and
the Illinois Terminal railways.
Contributed by Edna Grosenheider
Portions from Litchfield News Herald, 28 May 1936
Macoupin County ILGenWeb Copyright
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