True and Tilden's Folly

The first step in the founding of the town of Bunker Hill was the establishment of a store.  In 1836, Moses True and John Tilden returned from St. Louis, Mo. bringing a wagon load of groceries, dry goods, etc., which were placed in a building where Tilden ran the store.

The general population did not share the anticipation of the proprietors and they ludicrously called it "True and Tilden's Folly" and it was proclaimed abroad that "The Yankee and his money will soon be parted."  The settlement lay on the direct mail stage route to St. Louis, Mo, by way of Edwardsville and Springfield, and the Old Tavern became a stopping place on that route.

Eventually a stagecoach line was established between the Mississippi River front at Alton and Springfield.  Transportation from St. Louis was by boat to Alton.  In 1838, the first stagecoach line was established, with the main trail being from Alton to Springfield.  The stagecoach stopped many times between these two cities, the local stops being Fosterburg, Woodburn, and Centerville.

The stage route entered Woodburn from the south past the present Woodburn Cemetery and exited to the north.  There was another stop at Pennington place before entering Centerville.  The Bunker Hill Stage Route met up with the Woodburn route at Centerville before going on to Carlinville and then to Springfield.

...Read more about this and other Bunker Hill, IL historical stories at https://bunkerhillhistory.org/

--Cite this story: Redford, Carol, and Betty Triplett. "Bunker Hill History." In Reflections: A History of the Bunker Hill-Woodburn Area, 6-7, 13. Bunker Hill: Bunker Hill Publications, 1993. Provided by the Bunker Hill Historical Society.