Pioneers of Menard & Mason Counties–THE EARLY SETTLEMENT OF HAVANA

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Among the early settlers in the town of Havana was that of Asa Langford who came from the southern part of Illinois and first settled in Lewistown in the year 1829, and in 1830 became a resident of Havana. He was a large fine looking man, about six feet three inches in height, and would weigh two hundred pounds. He was a man of great energy and perseverance and commanded a great influence among his fellow men. He was a Democrat and a strong supporter of Andrew Jackson and was one of the leaders of his party. After living at Havana about a year he purchased about one half of the town of Waterford and moved to that place. He was a keen, shrewd business man and always ready for a trade. Although he had never had the advantage of an education here were but few men that could excel him in a business capacity, for when he was married he could neither read nor write his own name, but his wife was a lady of fair education for those times, and she taught him to read and to write his own name in a good legible style. He received the appointment of postmaster of Waterford, and with his wife’s assistance he got along with it very well. In 1837 he built a flat boat at Waterford and loaded it with pork, grain and produce of different kinds and ran it down to New Orleans. He told the people before he left with his flat boat that he expected to trade a part of his Waterford town lots for a steamboat before he returned, but was laughed at by his friends, for they believing that such a thing as trading Waterford town lots for a steamboat would be impossible, but Langford had the faith that he could accomplish almost anything that he undertook. So he had a plat of the town of Waterford made out and a copy of the records made out showing that he was the legal owner of the property, all of which he took with him to New Orleans, and after disposing of his cargo of produce and his flat boat he and his flat boat crew went to a clothing store and all fitted themselves out with a new suit of clothes, for Langford, when well dressed, was a noble looking man and a fluent talker, and would make friends where many others would fail. He and his men traveled up and down the wharf at New Orleans and visited many steamboats and made the acquaintance of the captains and told them that his business was to purchase a small steamboat for use as a packet for the Illinois river trade. He left his address and the name of the hotel that he was stopping at and in a few days a gentleman called to see him that owned a steamboat called the Navigator, which was for sale. It was a one decked boat that had been running in the Arkansas river in the cotton trade. It was a strong, well built boat and a fast runner, and his price for it was four thousand dollars. Mr. Langford examined the boat and was satisfied with the price. Mr. Langford then told him that he did not have the money to pay down for the boat, but that he had some valuable town property that he would let him have that in all probability would be better to him than the money. He then showed him the town plat of the town of Waterford, describing to him that it was laid out on the bank of Spoon river, at the head of steamboat navigation; that it was in Fulton county, Illinois, the best county in the state, and surrounded by a rich and fertile county, and would, in all probability, in a few years become a large commercial city, something like those of Peoria and Chicago.

The men that he took with him on the flat boat were from Waterford and were on hand to testify to all that he had told about the town of Waterford. So the owner of the boat got a lawyer to examine Langford’s title papers and found that they were all correct and the trade was made. Mr. Langford having marked the price of each lot on the town plat all the man that sold the boat had to do was to select enough of the lots to come to four thousand dollars and the title papers were passed between them and the Navigator was turned over to Langford and he started up the Mississippi with her. When he got to St. Louis he sent word to his friends that the Navigator would be at Havana on a certain day, and when she arrived there a large crowd had gathered there to welcome him and a jolly good time they had. When Mr. Langford traded his Waterford lots for the steamboat he told the man that he traded with that Spoon river was navigable for steamboats as far up as Waterford, although steamboats had never yet run up that far, so to make his word good he determined to run the Navigator up that far and so he did, but it was the first attempt that was ever made to run a steamboat up that far. The river happened to be in a good stage of water at the time and before the boat got to Waterford eight or ten leaning trees that leaned over the river had to be cut down, and much drift wood that had closed up a portion of the channel of the river had to be cleared away, and it took him two days to make the trip, but he did take her up and tied up to a tree in Waterford, and great crowds of people came to see the Navigator.

After Captain Langford had run the boat between St. Louis and Peoria for a number of months, he offered to sell her for three thousands dollars, so C.W. Andrews, N.J. Rockwell, L.W. Ross and H.L. Ross purchased her at that price and C.W. Andrews was the captain, H.L. Ross clerk, Asa Langford pilot, and Alexander Stewart was mate. When Asa Langford purchased the Navigator at New Orleans he found a young Irishman on board of her who had been running on her as mate whose name was Alexander Stewart. He took a liking to Langford and wanted to continue on the boat in the capacity of mate, which he did and brought him to Havana and he continued to act as mate on the Navigator until she was sold to some parties in Beardstown.

Mr. Alexander Stewart afterward became one of the principal business men and property owners of Havana.

I will relate a little circumstance that took place while we were running the steamboat Navigator. The boat had made a trip from St. Louis to Peoria and on her return down the river there came up a terrible storm and the rain came down in torrents. It was in the night and the night was so dark that an object could not be discerned five rods ahead of the boat and as we were passing what was then called Sharp’s Landing, some sixteen miles below Havana, Asa Langford was the pilot at the wheel and Alexander Stewart was standing watch, we came into sudden collision with another steamboat called the Coldwater, which was coming up the river. The two boats came together with a terrible crash, breaking in the guards and the upper decks of the boats and knocking overboard the large anchor of the Navigator. A number of passengers were on board, with several ladies, and a terrible commotion took place, but Langford and Stewart stood nobly and bravely to their posts of duty and no one was hurt.