BDR (CIRCA 1929) PHOTO Belvidere Republican
Opening Ceremony of the State Street Bridge, September 1929.

By Mindy Long

Local History Librarian, Ida Public Library

During the past two years as the local history librarian and the past 40 plus years residing in Belvidere, I have frequently run across strange and unusual events or tidbits which are not well known. Belvidere is a beautiful city to live in, but like all cities, it has its quirks and foibles. So, in the interest of informational knowledge, and, let’s face it, just pure reading enjoyment, here is a new monthly series on the bizarre aspects of Belvidere. P.S. If you have items you feel should be included in this series, please email me at [email protected]. Enjoy!

The first bizarre fact about Belvidere which was uncovered during research on the river, is the presence of quicksand in the Kishwaukee River. Quicksand, you ask, how can that be? Isn’t quicksand just a movie gimmick? Don’t you find real quicksand in exotic or warm locations? While it’s true that over three percent of action/adventure movies feature some sort of quicksand gimmick, quicksand is not specific to temperature or location.

Quicksand is basically liquefied soil that forms when water cannot escape from sand. It is a liquid that appears to be a solid until disturbed, when it can quickly change viscosity and trap anyone or anything. The first recorded account of quicksand in Belvidere happened in 1867, when E.H. Avery tried to drive the pilings for the foundation of the new iron bridge on State Street and hit quicksand. The bridge construction was delayed until dredging and hammering managed to drive the pilings five to six feet deep. This location would present further problems later.

Quicksand was found in 1909 when a new well was dug by the Maffioli Contracting Co. for the National Sewing Machine Co. and the new smokestack was erected. The smokestack foundation was actually built on quicksand which extended twelve feet deep. Pilings were driven into the ground to under the quicksand level and filled with concrete. Maffioli also constructed the Post Office in 1909 and worried they might find a situation similar to National, so test holes were sunk before building. Fortunately, they found mostly good black soil with a small bed of gravel on the southwest side.

In 1921, an attempt was made to construct a bridge across Coon Creek at Route 5 three miles east of town for the Elgin/Belvidere interurban railway. The contractor, Hallock of Oak Park, lost thousands of dollars and went broke battling the quicksand. Hallock had a crew of 35 men but they could find no bottom to the quicksand. A subsequent contractor, Nelsons, also lost a ton of money and failed to construct the bridge. Chicago & NW railroad finally hired Haag contractors of Chicago, who had experience with quicksand, and the bridge was completed after two years. The pilings had to be sunk 20 feet and another 20 feet of foundation built upon the pilings to stabilize the bridge.

In 1928, a worker was seriously injured when installing a new sewer line at Bel Mar Country Club. Quicksand was encountered and the ditch caved in on the worker, who was luckily only partially buried. Other workers were also injured in the collapse.

In 1929, raging floods took out the iron bridge at State Street, so the city contracted the Widell Co. to build a new, stronger bridge. Unfortunately, workers uncovered a quicksand bed on the south side that stretched the full width of the bridge excavation. Workers reported the entire south side of the riverbed along the bridge was a mass of slippery, sliding, treacherous quicksand. Breaking though the main crust, they discovered the lower depths held miniature geysers shooting above the water level. When the engineer waded out to investigate, he sank to his waist in the quicksand and had to be rescued. The Widell Co. ended up ordering stronger sheeting and longer pilings, with the total cost reaching over $100,000. Construction, which began in February, was finally finished in September.

In 1933, a tractor sank in quicksand on a farm in Garden Prairie during a 48-hour period. Efforts to drag it out were to no avail but after it sunk, the river tide turned, and the people gathered around were able to raise up the tractor and pull it out using old railroad ties. A few years before, a horse and a cow were swallowed up on another farm east of Garden Prairie. Several patches of quicksand had been noted between Garden Prairie and Marengo and seemed to worsen in the spring after heavy rains. Near Caledonia, a man and his three-horse team were plunged into quicksand when the bank at the roads edge collapsed. Two of the horses sunk to their death but the man and one horse were pulled out by helpers.

The last three incidents of quicksand reported in local newspapers included an issue with quicksand in the Kishwaukee River in Belvidere Park in 1936. A ford was planned instead of a bridge for the drive near Kelly’s Island in the hopes that a ford would weather floods better than a bridge. But quicksand patches were found, and the idea was scrapped. The second incident occurred in 1935, when discussions were underway to lay the main sewer line for the new sewage treatment plant across the Kishwaukee River. Plans also had to be scrapped due to the presence of quicksand along the river bottom. Small lines could be laid with reinforced concrete, but the river was judged too precarious to hold the entire line. Finally, in 1940 an 8-year-old girl was wading in the river at Wheelers Beach near Camp Grant when her foot sunk into quicksand. She was quickly freed but swimmers were cautioned.

Although no further incidents were reported in newspaper accounts, we cannot be certain that quicksand is entirely gone from the area, so please exercise caution when fishing, boating, or splashing in the river. The good news is you cannot really sink entirely in quicksand, because our bodies are made of water and our own buoyancy will keep us afloat if we don’t struggle.

Be safe and stay tuned next month when we explore the tale of Belvidere’s most notorious thief.

 
 
 
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