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The
village of Chatham was officially laid out in October, 1836, by Luther N.
Ransom, who built the first house of logs. However, the town would grow
slowly during the first two decades. School was first held in the newly
founded village in 1837 in Luther N. Ransom's smoke house. It was taught
by Roxana S. Lyman.
During Chatham's early years, many of its residents were closely
intertwined with
Abraham
Lincoln. In 1837, two state senators and seven representatives
from Sangamon County managed to convince the General Assembly to move the
State Capitol from Vandalia to
Springfield.
These legislators, called the "Long Nine", included Lincoln and John
Dawson. Lincoln was a good friend of Reverend Josiah Porter, minister of
the Chatham Presbyterian church. Dr. John Lewis, of Chatham, and
Abraham
Lincoln surveyed and purchased rights to build the railroad from
Springfield
through Chatham to
St. Louis,
Missouri.
In
1838, a post office was established and the mail was brought by a stage
running from
Springfield,
Illinois to
St. Louis,
Missouri.
A frame school house was built in 1839, which would serve the village for
the next 19 years. later, when the number of students outgrew the
building, it was used as a grocery store.
When the Chicago, Alton, & St. Louis Railroad came to town in 1852, the
village really began to grow. Four years later, the first steam
grist-mill was erected by S.N. Fullenwider, which would manufacture flour
for the next several years. In 1858, a new two story school was built.
One
of Chatham's most famous residents was Ben F. Caldwell, who moved near the
town with his parents when he was just a boy. His formal school education
ended at age 15 when his father died. Caldwell became active in real
estate, banking and livestock raising, and eventually owned 1000 acres of
farmland in the area. In 1876, he built the towered Italianate style
mansion that sits on Route 4 north of Chatham. He also was a partner and
served as President of the Bank of Chatham, which opened for business in
January, 1880. He also served as president of the Farmer's State Bank in
Springfield,
and in the
Illinois House and Senate before becoming a U.S. Representative
in 1899. The 6,000 square foot residence and immaculate barn sits on five
acres and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is
privately owned.
 By
the early 1880's the town sported three church buildings including the
Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist as well as seven schools in the
Chatham Township.
In
1895, Ben Caldwell also paid for a new school for the city of Chatham,
which was named Caldwell School. The school was used as a combination
grade and high school until 1904 when it was destroyed by fire. A new
school was built in 1905 and also called Caldwell School. It continued to
be utilized as a combination school until 1938, when it served as a grade
school only until 1961. Three years, later, it also was destroyed by a
fire in 1964.
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