USA > Iowa > Muscatine County > History of Muscatine County, Iowa, from the earliest settlements to the present time, Volume I > Part 1
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GEN
GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
GC 3 1833 01084 7603 977.701 M97R, V.1
Gc 977.701 M97r v. 1 Richman, Irving Berdine, 1861-1938, History of Muscatine County, Iowa
175
HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA
FROM THE EARLIEST SETTLEMENTS TO THE PRESENT TIME
IRVING B. RICHMAN SUPERVISING EDITOR
VOLUME I
ILLUSTRATED
1911 THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING CO. CHICAGO
.
Sender - 27.50 (2 vols.)
1131931
A BRIEF FOREWORD.
In presenting this work to the public, a page is devoted to those who gen- erously contributed toward making it as complete as it is and by their invaluable assistance adding not a little to the various subjects treated. The moment is taken to especially thank that indefatigable, painstaking fact-ferret, Edward L. Graham, for his gratuitous services. Much credit is due him. Also Phil J. Mackey, W. S. Fultz, A. S. Lawrence, the able and courteous county auditor ; Alice Walton Beatty, W. F. Chevalier and Henry Heinz, the latter gentleman editor Der Herold. His hand penned the article on the early German settlers and is a valuable and interesting contribution. J. P. Walton, Suel Foster, Judge J. Scott Richman and Prof. F. M. Witter are gone to their reward, but they are not forgotten ; many of their writings pertaining to the early history of Musca- tine county, are embodied for preservation in this volume. Last but by no means least thanks are due that most excellent news-gatherer, the Journal. Its columns-many of them-have been transferred to the pages herein, owing to the accuracy and historic worth of the material. The News-Tribune also has been drawn upon generously.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I. HISTORIC IOWA.
Four score years ago-The Red Man, wild game and virgin prairie-Advent of the white man and his ways-Indian conflicts and Indian treaties- Iowa territory becomes a state-Its topography and public institutions. .
CHAPTER II. A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY.
Lieutenant Albert M. Lea's description of "Iowa District of Wisconsin Ter- ritory"-Gives to the state its name of Iowa-His explorations along the Mississippi in 1835 bring him to "Casey's Landing," now Muscatine- Prophetic forecasts for this region more than realized. 41 1
CHAPTER III. LAW AND ORDER.
First officials chosen to govern the settlements-This community first under laws of Michigan Territory-Muscatine County established by Wisconsin territorial legislature-How "claims" were made-Keokuk's and Powe- shiek's villages in the county-First settlers 52
CHAPTER IV. STORY OF THE ROCKS.
Geographic and geologic features of Muscatine County-Its rocks, rivers and hills-The clam and mussell shell which furnish the material for pearl buttons, the manufacture of which has become a great industry of the county's chief city 64
CHAPTER V. THE MISSISSIPPI.
The "Father of Waters" brings to Muscatine its first settlers-Early steam- boat days and a list of crafts plying up and down the river-Rafting and Lumbering-Ferry boats-Tale of a famous race-The Dubuque bursts her boilers and kills twenty-two people near this port. 76
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER VI. ORDER OUT OF CHAOS.
Muscatine County is organized-The first officials and proceedings-Election precincts established and county divided into commissioners' districts- Commissioners' and other courts-First grand and petit juries-County adopts supervisor system of government-Court houses and jails-County farm-Some statistics-Population of Muscatine County in 1910. ...... 88
CHAPTER VII. PIONEER LIFE.
The log cabin was the palace of the pioneer-Chinked logs, covered with clapboards-Rifle and spinning wheel-Almost anything was a bedroom -Cooking was primitive for sharp appetites-Welcome for the way- farer-Prairie fires and wolf hunts-Amusements for the frontier people were not lacking-What unremitting toil has accomplished. 106
CHAPTER VIII.
Iowa's first legislature-Graphic, amusing and interesting pen pictures by a veteran member of that historic body-Hawkins Taylor's portrayal of the first Iowa law makers-The members from Muscatine. I16
CHAPTER IX. CIVIL WAR.
President Lincoln calls for seventy-five thousand men to put down rebellion -Muscatine County intensely patriotic-Sends more men to the front than any county in the state-The soldiers' monument-Shelby Norman Post Grand Army of the Republic-Company C, 54th Iowa National Guards 123
. CHAPTER X. HONORABLE MENTION.
Men who left the impress of character on the community-First secretary to Governor Lucas, lawyer, historian, master mason-Eccentric and brilliant Methodist preacher, a "copperhead"-Historians of Muscatine County and men of the "right spirit"-Other notable pioneers. 195
CHAPTER XI. THE TOWNSHIPS.
Six townships first organized in 1842-First settler in the county locates in Montpelier-Second settler in Seventy-Six-Fruitland the "baby" town- ship-Cities, towns and villages. 209
CHAPTER XII. THE HUNTSMAN'S PARADISE.
Geneva Island a colony of Hunters' cottages-Many places in the vicinity to hunt and fish-Mackey writes entertainingly of all of them-The old gun maker-Boil coffee in a wash basin-Shoot pelicans on the lake-Key- stone Gun Club .258.
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER XIII. GERMANY'S CONTRIBUTION.
From "Der Faderland" came many to Muscatine County-Their impress upon social and commercial affairs-Founder of the button industry a German- Churches, schools, societies of their founding-Patriotic, a host of brave sons fought for the Union-The German Press-Bands and breweries. . 265
CHAPTER XIV. THE COUNTY SEAT.
Muscatine incorporated as a town in 1839-Receives new charter in 1851- One of the most beautiful cities on the Mississippi-Its first settlers- Trading cabin-"Casey's Landing"-Now a city of over sixteen thousand inhabitants-What some of them have accomplished-City government and public utilities .282
CHAPTER XV. CHURCHES AND PARISHES.
The pioneer settlers' thoughts early turned toward the church-First devo- tional exercises held in a cabin-Trinity church first Masonic building in Iowa-Muscatine a city of Christian people and many beautiful church edifices-History of the various religious bodies. 309
CHAPTER XVI. EDUCATIONAL.
Schools in Muscatine County of a high order-First one taught in "Wapsi" in 1839-Interesting sketch of early schools by the late Professor Witter -Professor Chevalier compiles data to complete history-No. I school in olden days as remembered by Alice Walton Beatty 342
CHAPTER XVII. THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
The first physicians endured hardships and were poorly paid-Pills and quinine composed the pioneer doctor's pharmacoepia-Placed great re- liance on the lancet and bled his patient with or without provocation- Some of the first physicians practicing in the county 353
CHAPTER XVIII. BENCH AND BAR.
The profession of the law-Diverting incidents relating to certain of the early lawyers-Many of them men of great ability-T. S. Parvin first applicant admitted to the bar in Iowa-First member of congress from Iowa was of this bar-Present member in congress also a Muscatine lawyer- Pioneer bench and bar-A fashionable quadrille and an Indian war dance
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CHAPTER XIX. JOURNALISM.
This community ably served by the press-In the front rank of present day equipment, make-up and quantity and quality of news-Editorial writers of statewide reputation-The Journal "older than the state of Iowa"- - The News-Tribune. 383
CHAPTER XX. BANKS AND BANKERS.
Financial concerns of Muscatine County-Early banks and bankers-In the "Forties" currency chiefly consisted of county orders-Deposits in Mus- catine banks over five million-Recollections of a pioneer banker. . . . .. 400
CHAPTER XXI.
TRANSPORTATION.
Building of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad-Of the Mississippi & Missouri Railroad-First train into Muscatine and grand celebration of the event-Other railroads-The street railway. . 409
CHAPTER XXII. ASSOCIATIONS.
Old Settlers' Association organized in 1856-Sketches of the fifteen original members-Fraternal orders-Masons build first temple in Iowa-City of many fraternal orders and societies-The women have theirs, too ...... 420
CHAPTER XXIII. LOOKING UPWARD.
Public and semi-public institutions for religious advancement and uplift of the community-P. M. Musser public library-Young Men's Christian Association-Young Women's Christian Association-Hershey Memorial Hospital-Bellevue Hospital-Old Ladies' Home-German Lutheran Orphans' and Old People's Home. 436
CHAPTER XXIV. CHRONOLOGY.
Record of events from 1834 to 1910-Some things may be missing but that's to be expected-This is a chapter of concentrates put up for the time saver 446
History of Muscatine County
CHAPTER I.
HISTORIC IOWA.
FOUR SCORE YEARS AGO-THE RED MAN, WILD GAME AND VIRGIN PRAIRIE-ADVENT OF THE WHITE MAN AND HIS WAYS-INDIAN CONFLICTS AND INDIAN TREAT- IES-IOWA TERRITORY BECOMES A STATE-ITS TOPOGRAPHY AND PUBLIC INSTI- TUTIONS.
Four score years ago all that part of the great and beautiful state of Iowa, of which the county of Muscatine is a part, was practically terra incognita, a vast wilderness, given over by the Almighty to wild beasts, birds of the air and their masters, the Indians, who roamed the plains and forests at will, claiming and securing an existence from the bounteous hand of nature. Here the deer, buffalo and other fur bearing animals found a habitat, and the main streams gave generously of the palatable fish. The red man had no care for the mor- row. No thought came to him that his possessions would ever be disturbed by the pale face. So he continued his dreams. The hunt was his daily avocation, broken in upon at intervals by a set-to with a hostile tribe of aborigines, that was always cruel and bloody in its results and added spoils to the victor and captives for torture. He knew not of the future and cared less. But the time was coming, was upon him, when he was called upon to make way for a stronger and a progressive race of men; when the fair land, that was his birthright, and his hunting grounds, resplendent with the gorgeous flower and emerald sod, must yield to the husbandman. The time had come for the buffalo, deer and elk to seek pastures new, that the alluvial soil might be turned to the sun and fed with grain, to yield in their seasons the richest of harvests.
It is hard for the present generation to realize the rapid pace of civilization on the western continent in the past one hundred years; and when one confines his attention to the advancement of the state of Iowa in the past seventy-five years, his amazement is all the more intense. Evidences of progress are on every hand as one wends one's way across the beautiful state. Manufacturing plants are springing up hither and yon; magnificent edifices for religious wor- ship point their spires heavenward; schoolhouses, colleges, and other places of learning and instruction make the state stand out prominently among her sis-
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HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY
ters of this great republic. Villages are growing into towns, and towns are taking on the dignity of a city government, until today Iowa is noted through- out the Union for the number, beauty and thrift of her towns and cities. The commonwealth is cobwebbed with her telegraph, telephone and railroad lines, and all these things above mentioned have been made possible by the thrift, determination and high character of the people who claim citizenship within her borders.
THE INDIAN AND HIS FATE.
It is conceded by historians who have given the subject deep thought and careful research that this country was inhabited by a race of human beings dis- tinct from the red man. But that is beyond the province of this work. The men and women who opened up the state of Iowa and the county of Muscatine to civilization had only the red man to dispute their coming and obstruct their progress ; and in that regard something should be recorded in these pages.
So far as the writer can ascertain, the Indians were the first inhabitants of Iowa. For more than one hundred years after Marquette and Joliet had trod the virgin soil of Iowa and admired its fertile plains, not a single settlement had been made or attempted; nor even a trading post established. The whole country remained in the undisputed possession of the native tribes. These tribes fought among themselves and against each other for supremacy and the choicest hunting grounds became the reward for the strongest and most valiant of them.
When Marquette visited this country in 1673, the Illini were a powerful people and occupied a large portion of the state, but when the country was again visited by the whites, not a remnant of that once powerful tribe remained on the west side of the Mississippi, and Iowa was principally in the possession of the Sacs and Foxes, a warlike tribe which, originally two distinct nations residing in New York and on the waters of the St. Lawrence, had gradually fought their way westward and united, probably after the Foxes had been driven out of the Fox river country in 1846 and crossed the Mississippi. The death of Pontiac, a famous Sac chieftain, was made the pretext for war against the Illini, and a fierce and bloody struggle ensued, which continued until the Illini were nearly destroyed, and their possessions went into the hands of their victorious foes. The Iowas also occupied a portion of the state for a time, in common with the Sacs, but they, too, were nearly destroyed by the Sacs and Foxes and in the "Beautiful Land," these natives met their equally warlike and bloodthirsty enemies, the Northern Sioux, with whom they maintained a con- stant warfare for the possession of the country for a great many years.
In 1803 when, under the administration of Thomas Jefferson, then president of the United States, Louisiana was purchased from Napoleon Bonaparte, en- peror of France, the Sacs, Foxes and Iowas possessed the entire state of Iowa and the two former tribes also occupied most of Illinois. The Sacs had four principal villages, where most of them resided. Their largest and most im- portant town, from which emanated most of the obstacles encountered by the government in the extinguishment of Indian titles to land in this region, was on
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HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY
the Rock river, near Rock Island; another was on the east bank of the Missis- sippi, near the mouth of Henderson river; the third was at the head of the Des Moines rapids, near the present site of Montrose; and the fourth was near the mouth of the Upper Iowa. The Foxes had three principal villages. One was on the west side of the Mississippi, six miles above the rapids of Rock river ; another was about twelve miles from the river, in the rear of the Dubuque lead mines; and the third was on Turkey river.
The Iowas, at one time identified with the Sacs of Rock river, had with- drawn from them and become a separate tribe. Their principal village was on the Des Moines river, in Van Buren county, on the site where Iowaville now stands. Here the last great battle between the Sacs and Foxes and Iowas was fought, in which Black Hawk, then a young man, commanded one division of the attacking forces. The following account of the battle has been given :
"Contrary to long established custom of Indian attack, this battle was com- menced in the daytime, the attending circumstances justifying this departure from the well settled usages of Indian warfare. The battlefield was a level river bottom, about four miles in length and two miles wide near the middle, narrowing to a point at either end. The main area of this bottom rises per- haps twenty feet above the river, leaving a narrow strip of low bottom along the shore covered with trees that belted the prairie on the river side with a thick forest, and the immediate bank of the river was fringed with a dense growth of willows. Near the lower end of this prairie, near the river bank, was situated the Iowa village. About two miles above it and near the middle of the prairie is a mound, covered at the time with a small clump of trees and underbrush growing on its summit. In the rear of this little elevation, or mound, lay a belt of wet prairie, covered at that time with a dense growth of rank, coarse grass. Bordering this wet prairie on the north, the country rises abruptly into elevated broken river bluffs, covered with a heavy forest for miles in extent and in places thickly clustered with undergrowth, affording convenient shelter for the stealthy approach of an enemy.
"Through this forest the Sac and Fox war party made their way in the night and secreted themselves in the tall grass spoken of above, intending to remain in ambush during the day and make such observations as this near proximity to their intended victims might afford, to aid them in their con- templated attack on the town during the following night. From this situation their spies could take a full survey of the village and watch every movement of the inhabitants, by which means they were soon convinced that the Iowas had no suspicion of their presence.
"At the foot of the mound above mentioned the Iowas had their race course, where they diverted themselves with the excitement of horse racing and schooled their young warriors in cavalry evolutions. In these exercises mock battles were fought and the Indian tactics of attack and defense carefully inculcated, by which means a skill in horsemanship was acquired that is rarely excelled. Un- fortunately for them, this day was selected for their equestrian sports and, wholly unconscious of the proximity of their foes, the warriors repaired to the race ground, leaving most of their arms in the village; and their old men, women and children unprotected.
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HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY
"Pash-a-popo, who was chief in command of the Sacs and Foxes, perceived at once this state of things afforded for a complete surprise of his now doomed victims, and ordered Black Hawk to file off with his young warriors through the tall grass and gain the cover of the timber along the river bank, and with the utmost speed reach the village and commence the battle, while he remained with his division in the ambush to make a simultaneous attack on the unarmed men whose attention was engrossed with the excitement of the races. The plan was skillfully laid and dexterously executed. Black Hawk with his forces reached the village undiscovered, and made a furious onslaught upon the de- fenseless inhabitants by firing one general volley into their midst and complet- ing the slaughter with the tomahawk and scalping knife, aided by the devouring flames with which they enveloped the village as soon as the firebrand could be spread from lodge to lodge.
"On the instant of the report of firearms at the village, the forces under Pash-a-popo leaped from their couchant position in the grass and sprang, tiger- like, upon the unarmed Iowas in the midst of their racing sports. The first impulse of the latter naturally led them to make the utmost speed toward their arms in the village, and protect, if possible, their wives and children from the attack of their merciless assailants. The distance from the place of attack on the prairie was two miles, and a great number fell in their flight by the bullets and tomahawks of their enemies, who pressed them closely with a running fire the whole way and the survivors only reached their town to witness the horrors of its destruction. Their whole village was in flames and the dearest objects of their lives lay in slaughtered heaps amidst the devouring element, and the agonizing groans of the dying, mingled with the hideously exulting shouts of the enemy, filled their hearts with maddening, despair. Their wives and chil- dren who had been spared the general massacre were prisoners, and their wea- pons in the hands of the victorious savages ; all that could be done was to draw off their shattered and defenseless forces, and save as many lives as possible by a retreat across the Des Moines river, which they effected in the best possible manner, and took a position among the Soap Creek hills."
The Sioux located their hunting grounds north of the Sacs and Foxes. They were a fierce and warlike nation and often disputed possession in savage and fiendish warfare. The possessions of these tribes were mostly located in Minne- sota but extended over a portion of northern and western Iowa to the Missouri river. Their descent from the north upon the hunting grounds of Iowa fre- quently brought them into collision with the Sacs and Foxes and after many a sanguine conflict, a boundary line was established between them by the gov- ernment of the United States, in a treaty held at Prairie du Chien in 1825. In- stead of settling the difficulties, this caused them to quarrel all the more, in consequence of alleged trespasses upon each other's side of the line. So bitter and unrelenting became these contests that in 1830 the government purchased of their respective tribes of the Sacs and Foxes and the Sioux, a strip of land twenty miles wide on both sides of the line, thus throwing them forty miles apart by creating a "neutral ground," and commanded them to cease their hos- tilities. They were, however, allowed to fish on the ground unmolested, pro- vided they did not interfere with each other on United States territory.
SCENE AT WILD CAT'S DEN, MUSCATINE COUNTY
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HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY
Soon after the acquisition of Louisiana the United States government adopted measures for the exploration of the new territory, having in view the concilia- tion of the numerous tribes of Indians by whom it was possessed, and also the selection of proper sites for the establishment of military posts and trading stations. The Army of the West, General Wilkinson commanding, had its head- quarters at St. Louis. From this post Captains Lewis and Clarke, with a suf- ficient force, were detailed to explore the unknown sources of the Missouri, and Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike to ascend to the headwaters of the Mississippi. Lieutenant Pike, with one sergeant, two corporals and seventeen privates, left the military camp near St. Louis, in a keel boat, with four months' rations, Au- gust 9, 1805. On the 20th of the same month the expedition arrived within the present limits of the state of Iowa, at the foot of the Des Moines rapids, where Pike met William Ewing, who had just been appointed Indian agent at this point; a French interpreter, four chiefs, fifteen Sac'and Fox warriors. At the head of the rapids, where Montrose is now situated, Pike held a council with the Indians, in which he addressed them substantially as follows :
"Your great father, the president of the United States, wishes to be more acquainted with the situation and wants of the different nations of red people in our newly acquired territory of Louisiana and has ordered the General to send a number of his warriors in different directions to take them by the hand and make such inquiries as might afford the satisfaction required."
At the close of the council he presented the red men with some knives, to- bacco and whiskey. On the 23d of August he arrived at what is supposed from his description, to be the site of the present city of Burlington, which he se- lected as the location for a military post. He describes the place as "being on a hill, forty miles above the River de Moyne rapids, on the west side of the river, in latitude about forty degrees twenty-one minutes north. The channel of the river runs on that shore. The hill in front is about sixty feet perpendicu- lar, and nearly level at the top. About four hundred yards in the rear is a small prairie, fit for gardening, and immediately under the hill is a limestone . spring, sufficient for the consumption of a whole regiment." In addition to this description, which corresponds to Burlington, the spot is laid down on his map at a bend in the river a short distance below the mouth of the Henderson, which pours its waters into the Mississippi from Illinois. The fort was built at Fort Madison but from the distance, latitude, description and map furnished by Pike, it could not have been the place selected by him, while all the circumstances corroborate the opinion that the spot he selected was the place where Burling- ton is now located, called by the early voyagers on the Mississippi "Flint Hills." In company with one of his men Pike went on shore on a hunting expedition and following a stream which they supposed to be a part of the Mississippi they were led away from their course. Owing to the intense heat and tall grass, his two favorite dogs, which he had taken with him, became exhausted, and he left them on the prairie, supposing they would follow him as soon as they should get rested, and went on to overtake his boat. After reaching the river he waited for some time for his canine friends but they did not come, and as he deemed it inexpedient to detain the boat longer, two of his men vol- unteered to go in pursuit of them. He then continued on his way up the river,
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