Isaac McClelland was born in Pennsylvania and went to Ohio and from there to Illinois and settled at Walnut Hill about 1818. He married Sarah "Sallie" Welch. For the next few years he partially improved three or four places in Centralia township, but in 1830 he settled on section 32 (the Sandoval side of the township) and lived there many years and raised a family of six children.
Temporary as his residences were, his influence on Marion county was profound and lasting. From 1842 to 1848, he served as a county commissioner and from 1857-1861 he filled the office of county judge. For the last 22 years of his life, he was a justice of the peace.
In 1867, Isaac, foreseeing the growth of Centralia, purchased a sizeable parcel of land and laid out an addition in that community. From 1867 to 1870, he and a partner owned the "Centralia Democrat."
Unsettled as this settler seemed to be, Isaac, at one time owned over 700 acres of land, engaged extensively in farming and stock raising, became a prominent man in Marion county during its formative years, and left an indelible mark on its history.
Submitted by K. Randolph, taken from the Centralia Sentinel "The Unsettled Settler" by George E. Ross