The town of Hope is Township 31, Range 1. It is the southwestern town in the
body of the county — is all prairie, and was entirely neglected by the early
settlers. Its northern portion forms part of the divide which separates the
waters which flow northerly to the Vermillion and Illinois and those that flow
west and southwest to the Illinois.
The head of Bailey’s creek drains the northeastern portion of its surface, which
runs to the Vermillion, but the larger portion is drained by the north branch of
Sandy creek and its affluents, called Little Sandy, which runs west and
southwest and empties into the Illinois near Henry.
Samuel D. McCaleb, from Rockbridge County, Virginia, and his wife, Catharine
Wood, from Mason County, Kentucky, settled on Ox Bow Prairie, Putnam County, in
August, 1832, where Samuel D. died in September, 1839. His widow moved to S. 1/2
S. 9, town of Hope, with her family of five boys and one girl, in April, 1850.
She is now living in Lostant. Her children are: Albert G., in Lostant; Gilbert
B., Lostant; Herbert C, Wenona; Ethelred A., Missouri; and Hubert A., in Ottawa;
the sister is now dead.
Hubert A. McCaleb held the following positions in the army: Sergeant Company I,
Eleventh I11. Infantry, Second Lieutenant and First Lieutenant same company,
Lieutenant Colonel Sixth U. S. C. Artillery, Colonel same regiment, Sheriff
LaSalle County from 1866 to 1868, and County Clerk from 1873 to 1877.
John M. Richey, from Muskingum County, Ohio, came to Putnam County in 1837. He
entered S. 24 in Hope, in 1849, on which he resided till his death in 1875. The
village of Lostant was laid out on Mr. Richey's farm in 1861. He married Clara
C. Collister, and left three living children: Mary C, Candace M., and John C.
Horace G-raves, and William H. Graves, came to Putnam County in 1829 and 1830,
and were early settlers in Hope.
John Morrison, a native of Scotland, came to Hope in 1850; has been Supervisor
eight terms.
The Rev. A. Osgood, and family, were early settlers, and aided efficiently in
building up the town.
William Lancaster settled at an early day on the Magnolia road that runs through
the town; he served as Town Supervisor.
Thomas Patterson, from Kentucky, owned a farm, and built a house, called the
Prospect House, at an early day, about the first in the town.
Extracted from 1877 History of La Salle County Illinois, pages 480-481.
| Lee | DeKalb | Kane |
| Bureau |
 |
Kendall |
| Putnam | Grundy | |
| Marshall | Woodford | Livingston |
