USA > Iowa > Jefferson County > History of Jefferson County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 1
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Entire Territories
History of Jefferson County, Iowa Charles J. Fulton
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IVO (Jefferson Co) Fulton
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HISTORY
OF
JEFFERSON COUNTY .
IOWA
A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement
Local history is the ultimate substance of national history-Wilson
By
CHARLES J. FULTON
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME I
CHICAGO THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1914
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PUBLIC L'OS ARY :
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI .. I
CHAPTER II
THE NAMING OF LOUISIANA
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CHAPTER III
THE DIVIDING OF LOUISIANA
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CHAPTER IV
THE TERRITORY OF IOWA
...
II
CHAPTER V
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF JEFFERSON COUNTY ... .
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CHAPTER VI
JEFFERSON COUNTY: THE LAND
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CHAPTER VII
THE INDIANS
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.
CHAPTER VIII
THE FIRST SETTLERS
29
iii .
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CONTENTS CHAPTER IX
IN THE BEGINNING
33
CHAPTER X
THE LAND SURVEY
....
.. 41
CHAPTER XI
CEDAR TOWNSHIP
.... .
45
CHAPTER XII
ROUND PRAIRIE TOWNSHIP
57
CHAPTER XIII
LOCKRIDGE TOWNSHIP
.. 69
CHAPTER XIV
WALNUT TOWNSHIP
....... 83
.
CHAPTER XV
PENN TOWNSHIP
.. . . . . .. 103
CHAPTER XVI
BLACK HAWK TOWNSHIP
... .. . . 113
CHAPTER XVII
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP
... . 121
CHAPTER XVIII
BUCHANAN TOWNSHIP
.. . . . . . 131
CHAPTER XIX
CENTER AND FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIPS .. . . . . . . . 139
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CONTENTS CHAPTER XX
LOCUST GROVE TOWNSHIP
. . . . . . . . 147
CHAPTER XXI
POLK TOWNSHIP
. . . . . . . . 155
CHAPTER XXII
DES MOINES TOWNSHIP
. .... . 163
CHAPTER XXIII
ACQUIRING TITLE.
. 171
CHAPTER XXIV
THE SEAT OF JUSTICE.
.. . . . . . 181
CHAPTER XXV
ORGANIZING THE COUNTY
.185
CHAPTER XXVI
MAKING A COUNTY SEAT
. . 191
CHAPTER XXVII
THE FIRST COURT
.. . . 197
CHAPTER XXVIII
ROADS
.. .201
CHAPTER XXIX
IN TERRITORIAL DAYS.
..
. . . 215
CHAPTER XXX
THE STATE CONSTITUTION
.. 225
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CONTENTS CHAPTER XXXI
THE VOTERS OF 1848. 231
CHAPTER XXXII
COMMON SCHOOLS
....
. . 249
CHAPTER XXXIII
EARLY COUNTY FAIRS
.. .253
CHAPTER XXXIV
THE STATE FAIRS.
....... . 259
CHAPTER XXXV
THE COMING OF THE RAILROAD . . . . . . 269
CHAPTER XXXVI
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
....... 289
CHAPTER XXXVII
THE POLITICS OF 1856 301 .. ...
CHAPTER XXXVIII
THE LINCOLN CAMPAIGN . .. .. . . 307
CHAPTER XXXIX
THE PRELUDE TO WAR.
315
CHAPTER XL
THE SOLDIERS
327
CHAPTER XLI
WAR TIMES
..... . 339
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CONTENTS CHAPTER XLII
vii
MORE RAILROADS
..
375
CHAPTER XLIII
PROGRESS
. . ... 383
CHAPTER XLIV
A STATISTICAL REVIEW
.. . .. . : 405
CHAPTER XLV
.411 THE OFFICIAL LIST
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, IOWA CHAPTER I
THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI
Although the Spaniards under De Soto, in 1541, came upon and crossed the Mississippi River, little importance was attached to the event. The fact to them was a passing incident scarcely worthy to be remembered, for their minds were full of the mythical El Dorado of the New World of which they were in search.
More than a century later, tales of a wonderful river to the westward were brought to the French Jesuits, who had established missions among the Indians about the Great Lakes. None of the talebearers had looked upon its waters, but they called it "Mississippi" and described it as rising in the north and flowing southward through a region of mystery and terror.
In 1673, Joliet, a fur trader, and Marquette, a priest, were sent by Count Frontenac, then governor of New France, to find this river and to learn whither it ran. They were eager to obey his commands, the first with an eye to future business, the second for the glory and advancement of his religion.
Their preparations were simple. For their party they secured five men; for food, a small supply of smoked meat and Indian corn; for transportation, two birch canoes. On the 17th of May, from Point St. Ignace on the north side of the Strait of Michilimacinac connecting Lake Michigan with Lake Huron, they set out on their adventure. They skirted the shore of Lake Michigan west- ward to a Jesuit mission at the head of Green Bay; then following up Fox River, on the 7th of June, they arrived at the chief town of the Mascoutins, Miamis and Kickapoos. A council was called. Joliet in a speech informed the Indians that his party were sent to discover new countries and asked for guides to show the way to the Wisconsin River. The request was granted. Provided with two guides, on the 10th of June, they set forward, still proceeding up Fox River. Through a maze of lakes and marshes choked with wild rice, the channel twisted its devious way, but at length brought them to the portage. For a mile and a half they carried their boats and supplies over the divide and set them afloat, this time on the Wisconsin River down which they were to pass into the unknown West.
On the seventh day after their departure from the Town of the Mascoutins, -it was the 17th of June, 1673-they saw with joy the stream they sought. They steered into it and traveled with the current, but proceeded with caution not Vol. I-1
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knowing what dangers might surround them. The high bluffs were wrapped in forests. On the prairies grazed herds of buffalo. For a fortnight they met no human being and saw no sign or trace of human habitation. Then, on the 25th of June, in the mud of the western bank, they noticed footprints and a well-trodden path.
Leaving their men to rest during their absence, Joliet and Marquette fol- lowed the path to find, if they could, the people whose travel back and forth had left this evidence of their presence. They had walked for five miles or more through forests and across prairies when there came in view an Indian village on the bank of the river. Perhaps a mile away were two other villages. They shouted to attract attention.
The sudden appearance and the call of the travelers, who up to this moment had not been noticed, excited a commotion among the residents of the village. Presently there came toward them four of the chief men, two of whom held up peacepipes decorated with feathers as a token of amity. Marquette was relieved to note they wore French cloth which indicated trading and friendliness. . .. his question, who they were, they answered they were "Illinois." After the pipes were smoked as evidence of goodwill, the two whites were conducted 'O a large wigwam where they were received with much formality.
the conclusion of this ceremony, the Frenchmen were invited to visit the great chief of all the Illinois who dwelt in one of the other villages. An invita- tion so agreeable to their desires could but be accepted. Quite in modern fash- ion their arrival there was made an occasion for the delivery of an address of welcome. Marquette in response announced himself as a messenger from God who had made them and whom they should recognize and obey. The great chief seems to have been versed in the art of compliment. Again speaking, he assured his visitors that their presence added flavor to his tobacco, made the river more calm, the sky more serene, and the earth more beautiful.
To show due honor and proper hospitality after their fashion to these unex- pected visitors, the Indians gave a feast. It was served in four courses. First, a wooden bowl containing cornmeal boiled with grease was set before them. Out of this they in turn were fed its contents with a single large wooden spoon. Then was brought in a platter of fish. The master of ceremonies, picking out the bones with his fingers and blowing on the morsels to cool them, placed these directly in the mouths of the guests. Boiled dog which had been prepared as a special delicacy was next offered them. They record what may readily be believed, that it did not tempt their appetities to hearty eating. The final dish was fat buffalo-meat, which proved more palatable and satisfied their hunger.
On Marquette's map of this journey, these villages are placed near the mouth of a river and given the name "Peouarea." Some distance up the river is located another village, which is given the name "Moingouena." From the latter is undoubtedly derived the name "Des Moines," which the river itself now bears.
Down the Mississippi the explorers drifted, seeing its current swelled by the waters of the Illinois, of the turbid Missouri and of the Ohio. Coming at length to the mouth of the Arkansas, opposite to which was an Indian vil- lage, they landed and debated their situation. Alarmed at the hostility they were led to believe confronted their further advance, and now feeling certain
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the river emptied into the Gulf of Mexico, they resolved to return to Canada and report what they had seen.
It was the 17th of July, just thirty days after they caught the first glimpse of the object of their quest, when the party turned their faces homeward. The return was slow and toilsome. When they came to the Illinois, they turned up that river, passing from its headwaters to Lake Michigan and at the end of Sep- tember arriving at Green Bay after an absence of about four months, during which they had paddled. their canoes somewhat more than twenty-five hundred miles.
The first men of white race, of whom there is any account, to set foot in Iowa and enjoy its hospitality, were Joliet and Marquette on this expedition.
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CHAPTER II
THE NAMING OF LOUISIANA
There came to Canada, in 1666, one Robert Cavelier, better known as La Salle. A young man of twenty-three, he was perhaps as eager to test his spirit as to improve his fortunes. He established a settlement some eight miles above Montreal on the St. Lawrence. From Indians who visited him there, he heard of a noble river to the southwest. It was but natural that his quick imagina- tive mind should connect their story with the still lingering popular belief in the existence of a western passage to China. The fever of exploration seized upon him. He planned to seek this passage, which he reasoned was to be found by way of the unknown river. He won the approval of Courcelle, the governor of New France, to his design, but received from that official no aid more sub- stantial than governmental permission to engage in the enterprise. To secure means he sold his property. On the 6th of July, 1669, the expedition started from La Chine as his place was called in derision of his magnificent schemes of discovery. His travels and the adventures that befell him in the next two years are veiled in obscurity. That he visited the Illinois River is probable; that he reached the Ohio River is certain.
Returning to France in 1674 for a brief period, La Salle, on account of his public services, was able to obtain from the King the rank of an untitled nobleman and a valuable grant of land in the colony. He prospered, acquir- ing both position and wealth, but he cared for these things only that they might be the means to greater ends. His own discoveries and the discoveries of Joliet and Marquette had fired his imagination. He was not content with these achieve- ments. They were incentive and inspiring. The wonderful country brought to view should be the seat of a new empire. So he continued to dream, to plan and to prepare for his part in its development, for in his visions he saw it occu- pied, fortified and settled.
The propitious time and opportunity for which La Salle was hoping at length arrived. In 1677, he sailed for France to present a memorial to the King pray- ing for authority to execute his plans. In this proposal he described in glowing terms the country he had seen and to which he was calling attention. "It is nearly all so beautiful," he wrote, "and so fertile; so free from forests and so full of meadows, brooks and rivers; so abounding in fish, game and venison, that one can find there in plenty and with little trouble, all that is needful for the support of flourishing colonies." In contrast with the northern possessions of the French, it was an attractive prospect. He met with a favorable recep- tion. On the 12th of May, 1678, he was, commissioned by Louis XIV to labor at the discovery of the western parts of New France, and to build forts
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and enjoy the possession thereof. By October he was back in the colony assem- bling goods for trading, provisions and whatever seemed necessary for the enter- prise.
It was to be a difficult undertaking, how difficult to be revealed only with the progress of the days. Time was to show that both extreme personal enmity and the unyielding forces of impassive Nature were to be overcome. La Salle's force, his strength of character, his success in trading, the magnitude of his purpose, had raised up active enemies. The big fur traders were envious or feared him. The Jesuits distrusted him. He was ridiculed as visionary and declared to be fit only for a madhouse. He was charged with immorality. His creditors attacked his property. His followers were enticed from his service. Often his trust was abused. Poison was secreted in his food. The Indians were incited to hostility against him. Storms, rain, snow, cold, all assailed him. When one obstacle passed or was subdued, another of forbidding aspect loomed large and terrifying. Suffering, discontent, disaster, danger pressed from every side. For three years it was an unceasing struggle against the opposi- tion of man and the elements. Only a soul of unconquerable fortitude could have endured it. La Salle's courage never faltered.
Then Fortune smiled. On the 6th of February, 1682, with a party of fifty- four persons, twenty-three being Frenchmen and thirty-one being Indians, of whom ten were squaws and three were children, La Salle's canoes passed from the Illinois River to the broad bosom of the Mississippi. The way to his heart's desire was at last open. The days that followed, as they swiftly drifted toward unknown destinies through everchanging scenes, promised a successful issue to their long and hazardous effort.
On the 6th of April, they found the river parting into three branches. They separated into three companies to follow the different channels. On reaching the Gulf they reunited and finally landed on a spot of dry ground a short dis- tance above the mouth of the river. With solemn ceremonies La Salle laid claim to the great valley they had in part traversed and to all lands draining into it. A column bearing the arms of France and the inscription "LOUIS LE GRAND, ROY DE FRANCE ET DE NAVARRE, REGNE; LE NEU- VIEME AVRIL, 1682," was set up. Then in formal proclamation La Salle
announced in a loud voice that in virtue of his commission he took possession of this country of Louisiana in the name of the most high, mighty, invincible and victorious Prince, Louis the Great, by the grace of God, King of France and of Navarre, Fourteenth of that name, and of his successors to the crown, on this ninth day of April, one thousand, six hundred and eighty-two, upon the assurance of the natives that they were the first Europeans who had ascended or descended the Mississippi River. A cross symbolizing the Christian religion was erected beside the column. Near by was buried a leaden plate, it too bear- ing the arms of France and the Latin sentence, "Ludovicus Magnus regnat." At intervals they fired volleys of musketry, shouted "Vive le Roi" in unison, and chanted sonorous Latin hymns. The Indians of the party looked on in silent wonderment, unconscious that in the scene enacted before them their white leader and his companions were asserting lordship and dominion.
In this place and in this manner did La Salle bestow the name of "Louisiana" upon the vast territory drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries. His
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dream failed of realization. Forces not then manifest determined the future of these fertile valleys and placed them under the control of an alien race. But as is fitting the name he gave is proudly borne by that state of the Union within whose boundaries occurred the drama of its bestowal.
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CHAPTER III
THE DIVIDING OF LOUISIANA
For parts of the territory embraced in the Louisiana of La Salle there arose various claimants. In general the claims rested upon no substantial foundation. That they should take who have the power, and they should keep who can, was the law of suzerainty, or ownership and authority. A long struggle between France and England for supremacy in America finally terminated in favor of England. In 1762, France relinquished to England all of Louisiana east of the Mississippi from its source as far south as Iberville, a military post about one hun- dred miles north of New Orleans. This was the western boundary of the English colonies when later they became the United States. At the same time the part of Louisiana west of the Mississippi was ceded to Spain. It retained the name of the original province. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 confirmed these transfers.
The new and restricted Louisiana remained in the possession of Spain until 1800, when it was secretly/traded to the Republic of France. The Treaty of Madrid in 1801 established the conveyance.
In 1803, the Republic of France being in serious difficulties, Napoleon, First Consul, offered to sell Louisiana, and Jefferson, President of the United States agreed to buy Louisiana. It was a strange transaction. Nevertheless the sale and purchase were duly ratified and in October became an accomplished fact. It was a memorable event in the expansion, growth and development of the United States.
Of that portion of Jefferson's purchase stretching from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, little was known. Save for the small settle- ment of St. Louis with a motley population of a few hundred souls, no impres- sion had been made upon its primeval state. It was only a great hunting-ground for savages and for an occasional white man who had wandered far beyond the frontier. Its latent possibilities for cultivated fields, for homes, for cities and for commerce filled no statesman's vision. None foresaw the marvellous transformation shortly to be wrought by brave and sturdy pioneers whose ad- vance was a triumphant progress in spite of the privations, hardships and dangers with which they had to suffer and contend.
At Jefferson's instance the Lewis and Clark expedition was organized to explore the Missouri River to its source, cross the mountains and attain the Pacific Ocean. The long and famous voyage began on the fourteenth of May, 1804, with St. Louis as the starting-point. The expedition followed the Missouri River upward until the seventeenth of August, 1805, having travelled on its waters more than three thousand miles. It crossed the great divide and
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late in November reached the Pacific, having accomplished its main purpose. It arrived again at St. Louis on the twenty-third of September, 1806, with the loss of but two members of the party, one by death and one by desertion.
By Act of Congress in 1804 the thirty-third parallel of north latitude was made a line to divide the newly acquired country into the Territory of Orleans, lying south of it, and the District of Louisiana, lying north of it. For judicial and administrative purposes the District of Louisiana was attached to the Ter- ritory of Indiana; but one year later its importance had so increased that this connection was dissolved and it was erected into the Territory of Louisiana. The change of designation meant a government more closely in touch with the needs of its people.
In 1812, the Territory of Orleans was admitted into the Union as the State of Louisiana. To prevent confusion, the Territory of Louisiana was given the name of its principal river and made the Territory of Missouri.
In 1819, the portion of the Territory of Missouri lying south of the parallel of 36° 30' north was detached and organized as Arkansas Territory. This action was preliminary to the erection of a state north of that parallel.
After a bitter struggle lasting for three years over the question of slavery, a portion of the Territory of Missouri, in 1821, by the Compromise Act of Henry Clay, became the State of Missouri. The remaining portion of the ter- ritory received no attention and was left for thirteen years without any form of government.
In this "No Man's Land" stretched the fertile and beautiful plateau drained on the east by the Mississippi, on the west by the Missouri, and now included within the State of Iowa.
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CHAPTER IV
THE TERRITORY OF IOWA
The Blackhawk war, an event of 1832, ended in the disastrous and complete defeat of the Indians. The direct result was that the Indians were required to cede to the United States a strip of country extending about one hundred and eighty miles in length from the boundary of Missouri north along the west side of the Mississippi River, with an average width of fifty miles. On the first day of June, 1833, it was opened to settlement. This cession was termed the Black- hawk Purchase.
The presence of a considerable population and the absence of lawful authority were sharply brought to the attention of Congress by a murder committed in May, 1834, at Dubuque. One Patrick O'Connor, a miner, apparently without provocation and without cause, shot and killed George O'Keaf, another miner. It was found no court had jurisdiction. The people of Dubuque then acted for themselves. O'Connor was tried in legal form with counsel and jury and was convicted. At the appointed time he was hanged.
Such administration of justice was too uncertain and too liable to abuse. Congress acted with promptitude and in June of the same year for govern- mental purposes attached the region between the State of Missouri on the south and the boundary of the United States on the north, and between the Mississippi River on the east and the Missouri River and the White Earth River on the west to the Territory of Michigan.
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