Existing comment:
Life in the 1830s:
New Salem owed its location to the mill built in 1829 by the town's founders, James Rutledge and John M. Camron. It was a combination saw- and gristmill powered by Sangamon River water pooled behind the milldam. It was, during its early years, the only mill in the area. The result was a lively business with a widespread clientele.
In those days, rivers were important avenues of commerce in Illinois. Rutledge and Camron sold lots along the bluff near their mill to merchants and tradesmen who hoped that growing boat traffic and the mill's importance would make New Salem a center of commerce. After it was proven that steamboats could not easily navigate the Sangamon, the town gradually died out. |