Matthew T. Scott
Encyclopedia
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
he attended college at Centre College
Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, USA, a community of approximately 16,000 in Boyle County south of Lexington, KY. Centre is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution. Centre was founded by Presbyterian leaders, with whom it maintains a loose...
http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/PDFs/201232.pdf also in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. After college he spent several years tending to his father's lands in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. He then journeyed to Central Illinois
Central Illinois
Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central section of the state, divided in thirds from north to south. It is an area of mostly flat prairie. The western section was originally part of the Military Tract of 1812 and forms the distinctive western...
to develop prairie land into farmland as well as build houses. While doing this he created and developed the city of Chenoa
Chenoa, Illinois
Chenoa is a city in McLean County, Illinois, USA. The population was 1,785 at the 2010 census. Located at the intersections of Interstate 55, Historic Route 66, and U.S. Route 24.Founded in 1854 by Mathew T. Scott, Chenoa was created to provide a retail and trade center for his farm tenants as well...
. He also developed the McLean County Coal Company with Adlai Ewing Stevenson I. http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/ead/htmldocs/RMM00330.html Scott also was the founder of the Bloomington Bulletin a Democratic daily newspaper. http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/ead/htmldocs/RMM00330.html. He died in Bloomington
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the county seat. It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...
in 1891. http://www.genealogytrails.com/ill/mclean/scott.matthew.html
Early life
Matthew Thompson Scott Jr. was born February 24, 1828 in Lexington, KentuckyLexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
as the fourth son to a wealthy banker Matthew T Scott Sr. http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/ead/htmldocs/RMM00330.html http://books.google.com/books?id=UngoAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA256&lpg=PA256&dq=Matthew+T+scott&source=web&ots=VwKP9KjIKA&sig=B3Ai6trauHpzJKGDQEBNz3C5sTQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PPA256,M1 Matthew T Scott Sr. was president of the Northern Bank of Kentucky. The Scott family was of Scotch-Irish descent who was a direct descendant from the old Covenanter hero, Robert Scott, a member of the Lower House of the old Scottish Parliament. Robert Scott lived during the latter part of the 10th century and fought at the battle of Bothwell Briggs. http://books.google.com/books?id=UngoAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA256&lpg=PA256&dq=Matthew+T+scott&source=web&ots=VwKP9KjIKA&sig=B3Ai6trauHpzJKGDQEBNz3C5sTQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PPA256,M1
College and Early Career
Matthew T Scott Jr. attended Centre CollegeCentre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, USA, a community of approximately 16,000 in Boyle County south of Lexington, KY. Centre is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution. Centre was founded by Presbyterian leaders, with whom it maintains a loose...
in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
and graduated in 1846. During his time at Centre College is where he met his soon to be wife Miss Julia Green. Julia Green was daughter of the Centre College
Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, USA, a community of approximately 16,000 in Boyle County south of Lexington, KY. Centre is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution. Centre was founded by Presbyterian leaders, with whom it maintains a loose...
president Rev. Lewis W. Green. http://books.google.com/books?id=UngoAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA256&lpg=PA256&dq=Matthew+T+scott&source=web&ots=VwKP9KjIKA&sig=B3Ai6trauHpzJKGDQEBNz3C5sTQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PPA258,M1 They would marry in 1859. http://books.google.com/books?id=UngoAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA256&lpg=PA256&dq=Matthew+T+scott&source=web&ots=VwKP9KjIKA&sig=B3Ai6trauHpzJKGDQEBNz3C5sTQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PPA257,M1
After college we headed north to manage his family's land in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. Between 1848 and 1859 the Scott family bought over 45000 acres (182.1 km²) of western land, with much of it being in Central Illinois
Central Illinois
Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central section of the state, divided in thirds from north to south. It is an area of mostly flat prairie. The western section was originally part of the Military Tract of 1812 and forms the distinctive western...
. The base of what Matthew T Scott's personal holdings were a tract of land near the present town of Chenoa, Illinois
Chenoa, Illinois
Chenoa is a city in McLean County, Illinois, USA. The population was 1,785 at the 2010 census. Located at the intersections of Interstate 55, Historic Route 66, and U.S. Route 24.Founded in 1854 by Mathew T. Scott, Chenoa was created to provide a retail and trade center for his farm tenants as well...
. http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/PDFs/201232.pdf
Development of Chenoa
In 1855 news of the Toledo, Peoria and Western RailwayToledo, Peoria and Western Railway
The Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway is a short-line railroad that operates of track from Mapleton, Illinois, through Peoria across Illinois to Logansport, Indiana, and includes a branch line between Logansport to Winamac, Indiana...
extending through Chenoa
Chenoa, Illinois
Chenoa is a city in McLean County, Illinois, USA. The population was 1,785 at the 2010 census. Located at the intersections of Interstate 55, Historic Route 66, and U.S. Route 24.Founded in 1854 by Mathew T. Scott, Chenoa was created to provide a retail and trade center for his farm tenants as well...
to intersect with the current Chicago and Alton Railroad, Scott began to plat the city of Chenoa
Chenoa, Illinois
Chenoa is a city in McLean County, Illinois, USA. The population was 1,785 at the 2010 census. Located at the intersections of Interstate 55, Historic Route 66, and U.S. Route 24.Founded in 1854 by Mathew T. Scott, Chenoa was created to provide a retail and trade center for his farm tenants as well...
. http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/PDFs/201232.pdf He established the first trackside grain storage facility in northern McLean County
McLean County, Illinois
McLean County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. McLean County is included in the Bloomington–Normal, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 169,572, which is an increase of 12.7% from 150,433 in 2000. Its county seat is...
. http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/PDFs/201232.pdf He also launched the most extensive advertising campaign ever seen in Central Illinois
Central Illinois
Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central section of the state, divided in thirds from north to south. It is an area of mostly flat prairie. The western section was originally part of the Military Tract of 1812 and forms the distinctive western...
of that time, to promote the development of his town. In his advertisements, he told prospective buyers "The lack of local timber would be offset by the cheap coal that would be shipped in on rail from Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
and stressed that local farmers and merchants would be at a distinct trading advantage". http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/PDFs/201232.pdf He dug a cistern and offered to stake a quarter interest in a steam powered mill. He also donated land for a church and burial sites. http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/PDFs/201232.pdf He also built his personal house in 1855 known today as the Matthew T. Scott House
Matthew T. Scott House
The Matthew T. Scott House is a historic house located in Chenoa, Illinois. Chenoa's founder Matthew T. Scott and his wife Julia Green once lived in the house. It was built in two parts, The first section of the House was built in 1855 in a form known informally as a Kentucky Cat Slide, and is the...
.
During 1855 12 houses were built by Scott and over 2000 acres (8.1 km²) of prairieland was broken as agriculture began to boom in the area. By the 1850s Scott had broken and fenced more than 5000 acres (20.2 km²) of land, most of it located within modern day Chenoa Township
Chenoa Township, McLean County, Illinois
Chenoa Township is located in McLean County, Illinois. The population was 2,305 at the 2000 census.- External links :***...
. http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/PDFs/201232.pdf By 1890 50 tenants were farming 8000 acres (32.4 km²) of Scott's land, most of it being in Central Illinois
Central Illinois
Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central section of the state, divided in thirds from north to south. It is an area of mostly flat prairie. The western section was originally part of the Military Tract of 1812 and forms the distinctive western...
.
Later Career and Death
McLean County, Illinois
McLean County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. McLean County is included in the Bloomington–Normal, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 169,572, which is an increase of 12.7% from 150,433 in 2000. Its county seat is...
. http://www.mchistory.org/McLean_County_Coal_Company_Collection_Finding_Aid.html He also established the Bloomington Bulletin which was a Democratic Daily newspaper based in Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the county seat. It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...
. http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/ead/htmldocs/RMM00330.html
Matthew T Scott died May 21, 1891. He is buried in the city he loved and developed. http://books.google.com/books?id=UngoAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA256&lpg=PA256&dq=Matthew+T+scott&source=web&ots=VwKP9KjIKA&sig=B3Ai6trauHpzJKGDQEBNz3C5sTQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PPA258,M1