Stone's Prairie Riot

Summary: The Stone’s Prairie Riot of 1860

During the 1860 presidential race, one of the most historically significant in the nation’s history, the bitterness between the two major parties was addressed by the two major candidates, Senator Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, both of Illinois. At Stone’s Prairie on August 25, 1860, a crowd of 10,000 gathered from Adams and Pike Counties, coming in wagons, on horseback and on foot in colorful fanfare.

The coming together of a specific set of political circumstances resulted in a Republican-organized political rally gone awry. Campaign rhetoric reflected in partisan newspapers heightened the political temperatures and nowhere was the atmosphere more highly charged than in the two westernmost counties bordering the Mississippi River, Adams and Pike Counties. The hotly debated issue was whether slavery should be allowed in the new territories as the United States expanded west. Intense partisan passions resulted—passions that erupted into a riot. The pastoral setting of Stone’s Prairie would not appear to have been a likely place for a riot to erupt, but hundreds of men resorted to fistfights; shots were fired, and pandemonium reigned as the clash progressed.

What happened at Stone’s Prairie to bring passions to a boiling point? Was this behavior typical of frontier political rallies in west-central Illinois? What other factors contributed to the atmosphere that culminated in a riot? The story of the riot at Stone’s Prairie is part of the program for the Stone’s Prairie Riot of 1860 Commemoration.

Written by and compliments of Iris Nelson

“The Republicans of Payson and

Kinderhook will have a Grand Mass

Meeting and Basket Picnic at the

south-end of Stone’s Prairie, on the

farm of Mr. Shinn, on Saturday,

August 25th, commencing at 9 o’clock,

A. M. Special invitation is extended to

the Democrats to participate

in the exercises. ---

The ladies are also expected

to be present.

Good speakers from Quincy, Pittsfield,

and other places, will be on hand.”

Published text of the broadside inviting area residents of both parties to participate in the rally. Reprinted in the Chicago Tribune, August 29, 1860 and in the Quincy Herald, September 7, 1860.

ACTUAL HANDBILL ADVERTISING THE RALLY

Iris Nelson and Mr Waggoner wrote the definitive article about the Stone's Prairie Riot in the Journal of Illinois History , Spring 2002, pages 19-32. You can order a copy by linking to this site. http://www.state.il.us/HPA/JournalBack.htm

At our Trade Days on May 22nd, 2010 we kicked off the 150th anniversary commemoration by having Iris Nelson speak about her article. Reg Ankoram re-created a political speech and the obituary of Rev. Abraham Stone was read. Rev. Stone was the son of Samuel Stone, who founded Stone's Prairie. He was friends with Abraham Lincoln and lived in Stone's Prairie for 17 years. He was a prominent abolitionist in the area.

Roger Leach and the Mississippi Thespians were present and helped set the stage of the 1860's. Their website is;

www.mississippithespians.com

We are indebted to theQuincy and Adams County Historical Society who helped us in many ways pull this all together, including providing the banners below. They are reproductions of what would have been held and carried at the rally. They have a wealth of information including a new Lincoln Gallery. http://www.adamscohistory.org

The Farmer's Bank of Liberty provided beautiful commemorative buttons and fans printed and designed by Elliott Publishing. I am impressed with their dedication to supporting our local history.