SOLON ROBINSON, 1847 77 



The winter of '45 & 6 though not as mild as the last, 

 was not at all severe. It may be worth while to record 

 the price of land at this place for comparison with the 

 past & future. I sold ten acres of land adjoining Crown 

 Point on the West in a state of nature for $20 an acre — 

 Cash— Dec. 1845. 



In the spring of 1846, Rev. Wm. Townley settled in 

 Crown Point as pastor over the Presbyterian Church; 

 the building for the use of this church was raised & en- 

 closed this season & pointed the first spire to Heaven 

 from the county seat of Lake County. Mr. George Earle 

 started his saw mill this spring on Deep River — 



The summer of '46 was very dry & very long continued 

 hot weather, and consequently there was more sickness 

 than ever before in any one season. Many fields of grain 

 wasted uncut or unstacked, because the owner could not 

 himself save it, or procure any of his neighbors when all 

 were equally sick, to save it for him. 



Much of the wheat this year was badly shrunk and that 

 universal calamity, the potato rot, destroyed half of that 

 crop. Corn was good, as usualy it is. 



Owing to the universal sickness, it was supposed that 

 there would be a great scarcity of hay for the winter of 

 '46-7, but the season for cutting wild hay continued very 

 late in the fall & the winter proved so mild that not much 

 scarcity has been felt. Although the spring is extremely 

 backward & grass affords but poor feed at this time. 



I have now brought a slight sketch of the history of 

 Lake County down to the present time ; and have only a 

 few general remarks to make & then I have done my task 

 — I cannot give the exact number of inhabitants in this 

 county, but think as before stated it cannot be less than 

 3000. 



I have stated some of the disadvantages the early set- 

 tlers labored under in regard to mails & post offices. Now 

 there are 7 post oflfices in the county — A mail twice a 

 week from La Porte to Joliet suplies the county seat — 

 There is a mail through the south part of the county, 



