USA > Iowa > Buchanan County > History of Buchanan County, Iowa, and its people, Volume I > Part 1
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NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES 3 3433 08192031 0
IVO BUCHANANCO) CHAPPEL
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التركية
Abchapfel.
HISTORY
OF
Buchanan County IOWA
And Its People
By HARRY CHURCH and KATHARYN JOELLA CHAPPELL
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME I
CHICAGO THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1914
MIN YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
997698
.1
:
i.
L
1. 11
Kathryn J. Le happell.
FOREWORD
To those subseribers who have made this volume possible through their cooperation and interest and financial support, is this book dedicated, if not of so much value to themselves surely of inestimable value to their progeny, who will appreciate their aneestors' forethought in establishing this record of facts for them.
And to those who have so ably assisted in various ways by furnishing data not otherwise obtainable, to both the Bulletin Journal and Conservative who have kindly loaned us their newspaper files and furnished us valuable data, to Mr. E. Little who loaned us those valuable old Guardian files, the only files in existence prior to 1870, and to those who have written us short sketches, we wish here publicly to express our gratitude. If we have failed to acknowl- edge any assistance which we have received, let those to whom we are especially indebted be assured that the omission is not due to any lack of appreciation. Besides this, we wish to acknowledge that we are not satisfied with this effort, possibly such a state of animus satisfaetus conld never be reached-but inadequate time to do some subjects justiee is one vital excuse for us.
In explanation of the difference in length of the various histories of socie- ties, lodges and churches we wish to say that it was not determined by their respective importance but by the accessibility of data. It seemed impossible in the limited time given for the completion of this work to collect all the facts.
Another reason is that we did not have the privilege of writing the town- ship histories, and as no two peoples' viewpoints are the same in regard to essentials, and details, hence the difference in expression. A professional historian has credit for the township histories (as much of the early history is connected with the various townships, it is compiled in the general sub- jects, as far as possible).
Another thing which makes the writing of Buchanan County History more diffieult than most is that thirty-three years have elapsed since one was written, which is at least fifteen years more than enstomary-and too, the fact that for a lapse of several years there are no newspaper files to consult to substantiate facts-they having been destroyed in the big fire of 1874. Begging these pal- pable excuses for your consideration and hoping that even a small per cent of the pleasure and profit of delving in these old records may be afforded the reader as it has the writers, we herewith submit for your perusal and edification Buchanan County History.
iii
F
Mdgm E. Brintnall
Dr. A. G. Shellito
A. P. Burrhus
M. W. Harmon
John Elliott
". II. Jakway
Stewart Beatty
W. G. Kiefer
B. F. Stoddard
W. M. Higbee
MEMBERS OF ADVISORY BOARD
INTRODUCTION
llistory, properly speaking, is a systematic, written record of past events, particularly of those affecting a nation, institution, seienee, or art and usually connected with a philosophical reason of their causes; a true story as dis- tinguished from a romance, distinguished also from annals which relate simply the facts and events of each year in strict chronological order; from biography which is a record of a person's life and from memoir which is history composed from personal experience, observation, and memory. "Histories are as perfect as the historian is wise and is gifted with an eye and a soul."-Carlyle.
But this history is to be a compilation of all the different phases of history eonneeted with both the individual and the physical features of this eounty.
And it will be our earnest endeavor to make it as authentic as possible, to substantiate all that has been written in previous county histories and add to, all that we deem important or of interest in the development of this county since the last history was written.
Undoubtedly mistakes will occur owing either to unavailable data, or to the erroneous perspective of individuals, it being impossible for any two persons to view happenings exactly alike, and another barrier in the way of writing local history is, that too little regard is paid to what might seem of minor importance, at the time, but which, in reality, may prove to be of vital moment in shaping the destiny of a whole community, or even that of a nation.
Just as a fallen tree trunk, a broken sod, or an inconsequential stone may turn the course of a mighty river, so too, may some trifling incident change all following events.
It is the little things that make up the sum of life, no more so with the individual than with a nation.
Too often we only take cognizanee of the big results, losing sight of the small happenings that constituted the real cause. It seems the most interest- ing phase of historical research to delve into those hidden personal histories of the pioneers and to thread out the motives for their courageous wanderings. The "why fores," so imbedded with all the yearnings, desires, ambitions, and dreams of our forefathers are fully as attractive to those who are somewhat dreamers themselves, as the realities of life. What mirage could have prompted that adventurous young stripling to leave all his kindred, his associates, the pleasures and comforts of an eastern home, to brave the hardships and priva- tions of this new wilderness and sparsely settled territory? What dreams of fortune to urge him to risk his all to get "a start in the world," with always
V
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INTRODUCTION
a haunting vision of a girl to goad him on to indefatigable labor? What roving spirit to entice the family man to sell out, and with his young wife and children in the covered wagon, face all dangers of the wild unknown, to try new lands and build a new home ?
It is not strange when a sensational find is discovered that thousands upon thousands should rush in to seek their Fortunes, there is something alluring, spectacular, and romantic connected with, say, the discovery of gold such as in California in 1849 and in Alaska in the '90s, but it does seem unaccountable in many instances that the pioneers should sacrifice so much and risk even their lives l'or but "a home in some vast wilderness," even though it were a virgin paradise. Nothing but the love of adventure, or desire of wealth could have prompted them.
Fact is stranger than fiction and we have only to read the tales of the early pioneers of any time or place to be convinced of this. The minor little events, the strange coincidences, and unforeseen happenings prove to be the very pivot upon which all subsequent affairs revolve and the ultimate climaxes all woven together as intricately as the most elaborate Oriental design. One inei- dent, as but a thread, yet that one thread may outlive a complete pattern. So, with our lives, does it matter-does it count the little rules, the little touches with other lives, may not be of any particular importance, yet they all tend to either smooth off or roughen a career.
A history of a county, although not of great scope, is just as important a factor in the making of a National history or mokling of American citizenship as any state history and often furnishes the material for much of the National history. Characters with only a local reputation may afterwards win National fame and the details of their early life might be available only in a county history.
We cannot look into the future and see our own consequence, or lack of it, but we may feel assured that no matter how small and inconsequential we may be we leave behind us some influence (whether good or bad depends on us) but nevertheless a memory in the mind of man which cannot be effaced. Some one remembers-and if the life is one of public interest history makes room for it. No life is crowded out of history but time and space in a publication of this kind prevents the recording of any but happenings which had some real significance with county history.
The history of a county, state, Government, war, or politics cannot be sepa- rated from the individuals, nor from the territory wherein they occur. And just so, the individual is dependant npon his environment, to what extent is still a question of argument, but home and associates certainly are great factors in determining the life of an individual, perhaps even more than heredity.
And surely this new and unexplored country afforded a wonderful oppor- tunity for the development of those hardy and tenacious hereditary qualities of this county's pioneers. The pioneers of the early days are much the same the world over, it would seem that they were particularly endowed by a Divine Providence with a superabundant amount of strength and energy to withstand the hardships and discouragements, which engulf the conquering of a new land. It is a question if we, who live in these latter days and are weakened by higher civilization, could endure such toil and privations but it is a test which can
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INTRODUCTION
never be made for there is no spot so far, nowadays, in this land of ours, but that more of luxury and comfort reaches it than our ancestors ever dreamed.
And the same spirit of adventure and longing for "green hills far away," possesses some of the young of today- those who venture far from home and even into foreign countries as the great immigration of landseekers who crossed the borders into Canada during the past few years proves, and this spirit is manifest in the progeny of some of the early pioneers of this county when we consider all the changes that have been wrought within the past ten years, right within this small area.
Farms which have been kept in families for two or three generations have now passed into the hands of strangers; farmers from across the river, com- ing from the too expensive lands of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and states farther east to these rolling prairies of Iowa where land is generally cheaper, bet- ter and safer. Our farmers are seeking homes farther west and hundreds of them took up land in Canada, according to the last eensus which explains the fact of the falling off of the state's population. The newspapers all over the state have written all sorts of editorials, conjectures, and reasons for this, some accounting for it, to the high price of land, some to high rents, high taxes, climate, increase in size of cultivated farms, and not a few to the great prosperity of our farmers which last might seem a very good reason from the fact that people nowadays are just beginning to know how to live and enjoy life, to use to the best purpose the well earned recompense of their hard labor and self denial-not alone of their own but their ancestors. Our people live well with what would have been luxury and rank extravagance to their parents in actual necessities and ordinary commodities to them ; they give their children the best educational advantages; college education and degrees in musical, fine arts and sciences are no longer a rare thing among our young people. They travel as a matter of course, and attend all available, profitable and pleasurable entertainments, they own their autos, their piano players and talking machines, and with it all, we truly believe, are not as satisfied as were the pioneers of the early days. Life is too complicated and too strenuous and with prosperity always comes a spirit of unrest-a desire for constant change and amusement, so it would seem highly probable that this very state of affairs had wrought the change among our formerly home staying and con- tented populace. History is being made so fast in these latter days that it keeps the chronicler and the newspapers busy recording the changes, and every year seems to increase the number.
Buchanan while it may not have made quite as important history as some other counties of the state, yet presumably she has done her share compared with the length of time of her settlement, having practically been an undis- covered country in 1840 when other counties, such as Dubuque and Delaware were already filled with settlers and the land under cultivation.
People, generally speaking and especially in the present strenuous times, seem to greatly underestimate the value of historical knowledge. They are very little concerned with the causes, it is the effect that they are inter- ested in. They seem to take for granted and accept as a matter of fact all the pleasures and conveniences of modern life, forgetting that everything that we now enjoy was obtained only through struggle and sacrifiee and toil, and
viii
INTRODUCTION
the very necessities of our lives were either undreamed of, or the extreme luxuries of our ancestors.
The only way to appreciate or even know of these changes is to read of the pioneer life in histories or by personal interviews with those early pioneers and the latter opportunity is fast slipping away. The pioneer will in the not Far distant future be as great a curiostiy as the Indian is in the streets of a great metropolis. And the details and descriptions of his life and events should be kept both for the historical value and as examples of thrift and energy that might be an influence and inspiration to the young.
These pioneers who endured the perils and hardships of frontier life, to establish civilization and an unknown wilderness, a noble, enterprising elass of men, are entitled to monuments if not of granite and marble, of praise and emulation.
Many of these receive their just recompense 'rom a grateful people if they have reached the heights but many more equally deserving through force of circumstances can never reach. To these we dedicate the county histories. In them is a record of their deeds of public service and heroism. And may- hap from this lowly niche in history's page they will climb to exalted heights.
The county history has a place for all, and it has been an endeavor not to omit a name that deserves mention. To say that we have accomplished this is beyond our expectations, for through seventy-two years since Buchanan County saw its first white settlers is no small task, and often the unrecorded and inaccessible facts are the ones which deserve the worthy place. To those subscribers of county histories can be accredited the collecting and writing of these facts, for without their assistance and cooperation no effort to write these histories would be made, and as the average demand of such works is small, the publishing is always a venture.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY
THE GLACIAL EPOCH- ORIGIN OF THE PRAIRIES. 1
CHAPTER II FLORA AND FAUNA
AT THE BEGINNING-ECONOMIC FEATURES. . 21
CHAPTER III ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS
THE MOUND BUILDERS-THE INDIANS. 41
CHAPTER IV EARLY HISTORY
53
THE FIRST WHITE MEN-EARLY SETTLERS
CHAPTER V ORGANIZATION
61
LOCATION-COUNTY GOVERNMENT-ELECTIONS.
CHAPTER VI EARLY COMMERCE
PIONEER MERCHANTS AND MANUFACTURES- THE PROFESSIONS.
75
CHAPTER VII AGRICULTURE
THE VIRGIN SOIL-YESTERDAY AND TODAY.
89
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x
CONTENTS
CHAPTER VIII THE EARLY SETTLERS ASSOCIATION
IT'S ORGANIZATION-"THE OLD PIONEER -AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS 99
CHAPTER IX BUCHANAN COUNTY IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION
THIE CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS-THE MEN AT THE FRONT-THE WOMEN AT HOME. . 109
CHAPTER X SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR
THIE MILITIA-IN THE CAMPS-THE AUXILIARY. 195
CHAPTER XI MISCELLANEOUS MILITARY AFFAIRS
THE ARMY AND NAVY-THE GUARDS-TIIE MILITIA-CAMP WOLCOTT 211
CHAPTER XII EARLY HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE
LOCATION-INCORPORATION-GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT. . . .217
CHAPTER XIII
HISTORY OF TOWNSHIPS. 227
CHAPTER XIV COUNTY FAIRS
THE FIRST COUNTY FAIR-THE BUCHANAN COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. ... . 287
CHAPTER XV INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS
PUBLIC HIGHWAYS-BRIDGES-RAILROADS, MAILS AND MEANS OF COMMUNICA- TION-THE TELEGRAPH-THE TELEPHONE 293
xi
CONTENTS
CHAPTER XVI MISCELLANEOUS
CLIMATE-WINDSTORMS-BLIZZARDS-ACCIDENTS-RIVERS-FLOODS .317
CHAPTER XVII PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
THE INDEPENDENCE PUBLIC LIBRARY-THE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL-THE MUNSON BUILDING-TABOR LIBRARY-Y. M. C. A .- CIVIC IMPROVEMENT LEAGUE COUNTY HOME-CEMETERIES 347
CHAPTER XVIII THE INDEPENDENCE STATE HOSPITAL
THE BUILDINGS-THE EQUIPMENT-TIIE SUPERINTENDENTS. .361
CHAPTER XIX EDUCATION
EARLY SCHOOLS-EARLY EDUCATORS-THE PRESENT SYSTEM-OAKWOOD SEMINARY -INDEPENDENCE SCHOOLS-COUNTY SCHOOLS . 367
CHAPTER XX FRATERNAL AND SOCIAL LIFE
WOMAN'S SUFFRAGE-TEMPERANCE-RELIGIOUS-SOCIAL-LITERARY-MUSICAL-
AGRICULTURAL .401
CHAPTER XXI CONVENTIONS
FRATERNAL-SOCIAL-RELIGIOUS-PROFESSIONAL .449
CHAPTER XXII PUBLIC EVENTS
CELEBRATIONS-EXHIBITIONS-CARNIVALS-VISITS OF NOTABLE MEN-CHAU- TAUQUAS 455
xii
CONTENTS CHAPTER XXIII CHURCH HISTORY
THE FIRST SERVICE-THE CHURCHIES OF INDEPENDENCE-CHURCHI NOTES. ...... 465
CHIAPTER XXIV COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
EARLY COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTIONS-GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF TRADE-TIIE PRESENT DAY. 491
CHAPTER XXV THE CITY OF INDEPENDENCE
PUBLIC BUILDINGS-POSTOFFICE-FIRE COMPANIES -- WATERWORKS-ELECTRIC LIGIITS- STREET PAVING-PARKS-TIIE STREETS RENAMED-MAYORS OF IN- DEPENDENCE .509
CHAPTER XXVI WIIO'S WHO
IN LITERATURE-IN ART-MISCELLANEOUS. 521
CHAPTER XXVII THE INDEPENDENCE PRESS
THE CIVILIAN-THE GUARDIAN-THE RISING TIDE-THE CRISIS-THE NATIONAL ADVOCATE-THE COURIER-TIIE IOWA TURFMAN-THE SATURDAY HERALD- THE BUCHANAN COUNTY SCHOOLS. .525
CHAPTER XXVIII TIIE MEDICAL PROFESSION
EARLY PRACTITIONERS-THIE BUCHANAN COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY-THE PHYSI- CIANS OF TODAY-INDEPENDENCE HOSPITALS .. . 533
CHAPTER XXIX BENCHI AND BAR
THIE JUDICIARY-MEMBERS OF THE BAR-SOME LEGAL CASES OF NOTE. ..
. . 539
CONTENTS
xiii
CHAPTER XXX BANKS AND BANKING
THE PEOPLES NATIONAL BANK-THE COMMERCIAL STATE BANK. ... .. 557
CHAPTER XXXI
INTERESTING EVENTS
AMUSEMENTS-CRIMES-DISASTERS
563
CHAPTER XXXII REMINISCENCES
TIIE PIONEER LIFE-INTERESTING NOTES.
. . . 597
CHAPTER XXXIII
PROMISCUOUS FACTS
NOTES OF INTEREST-UNUSUAL INCIDENTS.
.621
APPENDIX
IHISTORY OF THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK, OF INDEPENDENCE, IOWA. .627
HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY
CHAPTER I GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY
THE GLACIAL EPOCH-ORIGIN OF THE PRAIRIES
The territory now comprising Buchanan County, like that of the whole state and in fact the great Mississippi Valley, was submerged beneath the sea, and marine forms of animals and plants were its only occupants, and during all those countless ages of submergence the sedimentary strata of these rich prairie lands and the vast underlying bed of rock were being formed at the sea bottom. The duration of this period of formation is absolutely incomprehensible even to those scientists who deal in figures of incalculable size to ordinary individuals. At this indefinite and remote age a small portion of Northeastern Iowa rose above the sea, while all the great region south and west still lay buried beneath the engulfing waters of that vast sea. It gradually recedes to the southward and the whole surface of our state was visible above the waters. Odd shaped fishes and a species of fern marked the highest degree reached in the evolu- tion of animal and plant life at that time, but later vegetation and animal life appear. Again waters eover the northwestern part of the state and again recede never to return and the water drain to the ocean forming practically the same great river courses through the oozing sediment which the discoverers ages later named the Mississippi and the Missouri.
The sun and wind finally dried the earth's surface and forests and rank vegetation again appeared, animal life flourished and all the conditions are favorable for the advent of man but there are no evidences of his existence on the earth at this period.
This state was like a tropical garden, where cypress, magnolia, cinnamon, fig and palm grew in a jungle-like profusion, tropical birds sang in the forests and huge reptiles crawled about in the rank vegetation and swamps. The drain- age of the state must have been much the same as now, although the altitude was several hundred feet lower.
This luxuriance of a tropical climate prevailed for many ages then a change was perceptible; the intense heat of the long summer days was tempered by refreshing breezes and the nights became delightfully eool. Then a winter season appeared which gradually became longer and colder, snowstorms eame and piercing winds swept over plain and forest, tropical plants succumbed to early frosts, ice formed in lakes and streams, the more hardy animals sought the shelter of wooded ravines and deep gorges. Year after year the cold in- tensified, the snow fell deeper and deeper and piled to terrific heights, the earth became frozen to great depths, the summers became too short and cold to melt it, so that finally all animal and vegetable life disappeared. The pressure of mountains of snow and percolating rains converted the mass into a solid sheet Vol. I-1
1
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HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY
of glacier ice, that not only covered nearly all of Iowa but reached over the northern half of North America.
This vast ice tract extended south to a latitude some below that of St. Louis. It began slowly moving outward from the center of acennmilation, grinding over the underlying rocks, crushing them into the finest powder. Fragments of enormous size were frequently caught in the floes and swept forward and piled in tumbled masses. All the boulders of crystal like roek which we find strewn throughout our state were carried from their native ledges in British America by these herculean ice floes that successively overflowed its surface. Then another climatic change came; slowly the ice began to melt, rivers gradually formed carrying on their turbid waters the soil made by the grinding ice, which was deposited over the surface of the state and we are deeply indebted to these glaciers and their action that have contributed to such a great degree in the formation of our magnificent state. Some parts of the state are in what is known as the Driftless Area.
Before the glacial period, the surface had been earved into an intricate systems of hills and valleys; there were narrow gorges, hundreds of feet deep, and rugged, rocky cliffs and isolated buttes corresponding in height with the depths of the valleys, a fine example of which we see at the Devil's Backbone, and also in Allamakee, parts of Jackson, Dubuque, Clayton, Fayette and Winne- shiek counties. A person living, say in Buchanan County, on the drift covered, rolling prairie land is much surprised when he goes to the driftless part of the state, to note the great differenee in the topography. The principal streams in those parts flow through narrow valleys, or gorges, that measure from their summits six hundred feet or more in depth. These cliffs rise almost vertically from three to four hundred feet and then the land makes a gradual rise to their summit, some three, four or five miles back from the stream. These can- yons are intersected with tributary streams, and these again with others of lesser depth, until the entire surface of the land is all ent up and a quarter section of level land would be a curiosity. This is a fair sample of what Iowa would have been had it not been ground and planed and leveled by the glaeiers.
This driftless area lies just north and east of Buchanan County and it is a miracle of Nature that she escaped it, for although it is much more scenic, it is not as conducive to farming, at least on an extensive seale, as the rolling prairie. The soil deposit in lowa is of different depths, as is also the underlaid rocks, and in boring for water the great unevenness in both is shown. In Bu- chanan water is easily obtained at a depth of from ten to twenty-five feet.
Our soil, formed by the grinding, pulverizing glacial process from granites of British America and Northern Minnesota and the limestones and shales of more southern regions, and mixed with infinite care and precision and in exactly the right proportions, and deposited at our very door, so to speak, an ideal soil for both vegetation and cultivation. This rich material is not oxidized or leached, but retains the carbonates and other soluble constituents that contribute so largely to the growth of plants; its physical condition is ideal, rendering it porons, facilitating the distribution of moisture and likewise drainage, and thus was the beginning of these rich fertile prairies; and then for centuries there- after, all the different forces of Nature, organic, physical and chemical, have contributed to making it the virgin soil which the explorers and early settlers
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HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY
found. The growth and decay of vegetation, and the unremitting assistance of burrowing animals, such as pocket gophers, and even the earthworm, is of inestimable value in pulverizing, mellowing and enriching the soil until now we have almost a perfect condition ; the most easily cultivated and highly pro- duetive soils in the whole country.
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