Cemetery Harpers Ferry Cemetery St. Joseph's Durbin Cemetery Early history of Palmer The coming of the railroad in 1870 sounded the doom of Harpers Ferry, located on the Old Edwardsville Road. Harpers Ferry hosted a post office for Star Route pony express, a mill for grinding grain, a wayside station for the Stagecoach, and a few stores. The new village was laid out early in 1869 by J.H. Boyd and J.M. Simpson and was surveyed and platted by Richard V. Powell. Boyd and Simpson erected the first store in 1869 and the firm of Starke and Hailey put in a stock of goods. Boyd erected a hotel and his residence was included within the town limits. James McCauley opened the second store and when the first post office was established in 1870 it was housed in his building with G.E. Starke the first postmaster. The village was incorporated on February 5, 1873, at a meeting called for that purpose. Forty-one votes were cast in favor of incorporation, and one against, giving as his reason for voting "no"-"to keep saloons out of the neighborhood." The village was given the name Palmer in honor of John M. Palmer, a major-general in the Union army and then Illinois governor from 1869 to 1873. During the history of Palmer, there have been hardware stores, millinery stores, restaurants, lumber yards, harness shops, grocery stores, drug stores, shoe shops, butcher shops, elevators, blacksmith shops, saloons, hotels, pool halls, livery stables, bakeries, garages, post offices, and barber shops. The first hotel was owned by a family named the Stockings, the family of Ashley Basil, a 5-year-old killed in 1895 in the old coal shaft. Her final resting place is in Harpers Ferry. Mining industry A familiar landmark in Palmer is the old coal shaft. At one time it was the dream of a group of citizens in the area to sink a coal mine, bringing industry, employment, and fuel to the community. The site selected to sink the mine was in the southwest edge of town, on the north side of the railroad. According to ledgers still in existence, kept on sinking of the shaft, MacDonald and Bro., did the drilling. On March 30, 1872, the first share of stock was sold to Suplines Judd for $100. Many other shares were also sold for $100, some for $70 and some for $50. A total of seventy-two shares