William Rock arrived in Champaign County in 1835. His was the second family to arrive in the Sadorus area, settling 2 to 3 miles south of the original Henry Sadorus homestead on the east side of the Kaskaskia River. William and his family started out with 80 acres of land purchased from the federal government for $100 and a single room pole dwelling. [1]
This part of a Federal Tract Book for the Danville federal land office shows the original land William Rock entered in Section 24 where the Rock family built their house. [2]
The pole dwelling was replaced first with a log cabin, then finally this much fancier brick home in 1848. The bricks were handmade on their property. According to county biographies of William’s son, Andrew J Rock, “…several teams [were] sent to Chicago…[to haul back]…the lumber, shingles, nails, etc., with which to build the house.” As “there were no hotels along the route, …[they] took their meals by the wayside and slept in their wagon at night.” [3]
Judge Cunningham in his History of Champaign County relates that the Rock and Sadorus homes were “the best on the Creek, and were often the scenes of social gatherings and always the seat of a generous hospitality.” [4]
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[1] Portrait and biographical album of Champaign County, Ill.: containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, together with portraits and biographies of all the governors of Illinois, and of the presidents of the United States, (Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1887), 759-760;Cunningham, J. O., History of Champaign County. 1905. (Image reprint with added introduction and indices, Evansville: Whippoorwill Publications, 1984), 674.
[2] "United States Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1820-1908," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-32471-11498-82?cc=2074276&wc=M771-1NP%3A356162801%2C356174401 : accessed 18 December 2014), Illinois > Vol 1 (Danville) > image 61 of 195; Records Improvement, Bureau of Land Management, Washington D.C.
[3] Portrait and biographical album of Champaign County, Ill…, 759; Milton W. Mathews and Lewis A. McLean, Early History and Pioneers of Champaign County (1891), reprint, with introduction, appendices, and index by Champaign County Historical Archives (Evansville, Indiana: Unigraphic, Inc., 1979), 151; and Portrait and biographical album of Champaign County, Ill…, 538.
[4] Cunningham, History of Champaign County, 711.
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