The History of Wheeling Township and Wheeling

The town of Wheeling Il. lies in the north part of Cook County, and is bounded on the north by Lake County, on the east by Northfield, and on the south by Maine and Elk Grove, and on the west by Palatine. The highest land in the township is in the western portion, there being a gradual slope to the Desplaines River, which flows south through the eastern tier of sections The soil is a rich prairie loam.

Originally the timber along the Deplaines River consisted of a belt about three-fourths of a mile wide, and was, perhaps, equally divided between Wheeling and Northfield. Probably the first settler in the town was a Mr. Sweet, whoso first name cannot be ascertained. He Arrived in March 1833, selected a claim on Section 13, and built a cabin, in which he lived until the following October. As this was before the ratification of the treaty with the Pottawatomie Indians, with reference to their retirement from these lands, and as they were generally opposed to their occupancy by white men, Mr. Sweet must have been on especially friendly relations with them in order to remain there, and yet his desire to remain seems not to have been excessively strong', for in October he sold his claim to George Strong for $50. Mr. Strong, before finally deciding to buy this claim, consulted Colonel Thomas J. V. Owen, Indian Agent at Chicago. as to the propriety of moving onto it, and as to the probable results. Colonel Owen advised him not go go, as the Indians were hostile.

 

See more information and the continuation of the story about the first inhabitants of Wheeling, in the attached file …

Click Here ===> The History Of Wheeling.pdf

Wheeling Historical Society and Museum