This township contained Hill Prairie named for Nathaniel Hill. Early settlers were: Hugh Leslie from Abbeville, SC in 1812, his family and sons accompanied him: Samuel and Matthew. Alexander McKelvy (also in T4 R5), Mark Wilson and John McMillan were among the first settlers. Sarah Clark’s family came from GA.
Houston (Huston) today is a tiny hamlet located in Sec 29 just off Rt. 154 west of Sparta. The town was est. about 1874 when the Cario-St. Louis RR made the place a stop. The Post Office was est. in 1874 and closed in 1956. In 1874 W. C. McKee opened a store were the Post Office was located, he also owned a grain elevator. R C Temple was the blacksmith. Dr. Hugh C. Galt was the town’s doctor and druggist. Ellen McCandles opened a millinery shop and Perry Wilson had a creamery. There was a school and a Presbyterian Church in the town. Today all but a few houses are gone.
Jordon’s Grove was located in Sec 7, and to some accounts it was named for a man named Jordan who froze to death during the winter in a grove of trees. In 1828 the Presbyterian Church was built of logs and in 1861 of brick. There was a cemetery next to the church. There was a school in town and the Grove’s family opened a store in 1850, closing in 1887. The Post Office was opened in 1854 to 1883. Louis Patterson was the blacksmith till 1867, In 1969 the church was sold to the Peabody Coal Co. The area of Jordon’s Grove was completely strip-mined; the only thing that remains is the cemetery, which has a monument to the 141-year-old church that once stood next to it. This cemetery can be reached by using the mine roads in the area.
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