Ed Kirby's Website

Crane Creek Township

In the 4th decade of the 20th century  Edgar Lee Masters wrote of the hills bordering the Sangamon River in Mason County (Illinois). In his book "The Sangamon" Masters refers to an area of Mason County known as Crane Creek Township. This area was well known to the 16th American president, Abraham Lincoln.

Mr. Lincoln participated in the survey of Crane Creek Township during the first half of the 19th century. In 1858 he returned to successfully defend William "Duff" Armstrong in the "Almanac Trial".

Hannah Armstrong was the mother of William Armstrong and a resident of Crane Creek Township. In 1865 she wrote to her long time friend, then President Abraham Lincoln, asking him to release her son from his duties in the Union Army. Lincoln granted her request.

Duff Armstrong died in 1899 at the age of 65. He is buried in Crane Creek Township at Walkers Grove Cemetery. During his lifetime he always maintained his innocence concerning the crime for which he was tried.

Today Crane Creek Township and more specifically the bluffs overlooking the Sangamon River are reminiscent of the days when Lincoln crossed the Sangamon on a ferry. Deer as well as wild turkeys are more plentiful today than in the time of Lincoln. Production agriculture is the main economic activity of the area. This was the case a century and a half ago. However, times have changed. Today technology makes this area "connected". New residences and new businesses dot the landscape. For its residents and guests alike, Crane Creek Township is not a place that time forgot but is instead a place that time left unspoiled.