SOLON ROBINSON, 1847 73 



Stoleup but they were unfit for wells. Brick chimneys & 

 frame buildings now began to show an improving condi- 

 tion of things. Thus it is, little by little, & slowly, that 

 the improvement of a new country creeps along. In rid- 

 ing over the county this year we begin to discover here 

 and there a new barn and brick chimneys peering above 

 the roofs of frame houses. 



In the spring of 1842, Mr. Wells built his large tavern 

 house in Crown Point & opened a store in one end of it, 

 and a very bad whiskey shop in the other. I cannot say 

 that this improvement has ever improved the morals of 

 the place. Certain it is, it has been the ruin of the owner. 



This year we had the benefit of the first grist mill in 

 the county, built by Mr. Wood at his saw mill on Deep 

 River & put in operation the past fall by Charles Wilson, 

 who has since built a windmill on horse prairie — I speak 

 it prophetically that the time will soon come when there 

 will be one of the recently patented centrifugal wind mills 

 in every neighborhood in this county. 



This year a frame school house was built in Crown 

 Point, which was the first respectable one in the county, 

 and I fear that the same remark is still too true; for a 

 decent provision for schools has hardly been yet made in 

 any district in the county. 



And I don't mean to be understood that the Crown 

 Point school house is at all worthy the name of a decent 

 one for the place ; for it is not. Although it is better than 

 the little old black log cabin which was in use previous to 

 the building of this one, this is entirely too small for a 

 community of such good christians as this is, for verily 

 they keep that part of the law of scripture which com- 

 mands them to "multiply" and the earth is "replenished," 

 with a most rapid increase of children, whose best inherit- 

 ance would be a good education. But they cannot obtain 

 it here, unless parents will give them an opportunity to 

 acquire it in a school house where there is more oppor- 

 tunity to expand, than in a room 15 by 20 with 50 chil- 

 dren packed around a red hot stove. I hope that in the 



