USA > Iowa > Lucas County > Past and present of Lucas and Wayne counties, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 1
USA > Iowa > Wayne County > Past and present of Lucas and Wayne counties, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 1
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PAST AND PRESENT OF
LUCAS AND WAYNE COUNTIES IOWA
A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement
THEODORE M. STUART
ILLUSTRATED
-
VOLUME I
CHICAGO THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1913
THE KING TORY
629050
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LUCAS COUNTY
PAGE
ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY
10
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
11
MUNICIPAL DIVISIONS.
13
THE RECORD. 15
COURTHOUSE 16
STATEMENT OF PIONEERS.
24
THE MORMONS.
27
THE INDIANS.
30
CITY OF CHARITON
34
OTHER TOWNS
45 45
DERBY
46
LUCAS
47 47
CHURCHES OF CHARITON
51
EARLY COURTS
58
LUCAS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
64 67
FIRST TRIAL JURY
70
FIRST
72
OFFICIAL SALARIES
77
WILLIAM MCDERMIT
77
LAND AGENTS.
84
STREET RAILWAY.
85
POLITICAL RECORD. 86
WAR RECORD. 87
INTOXICATING LIQUORS. 107
SCHOOLS 110
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY 114
BANKS OF LUCAS COUNTY. 116
WOMEN'S CLUBS. . 119
CHARITON FIRE COMPANY 123
7
RUSSELL
ORDERS AND SOCIETIES.
FIRST SETTLER IN COUNTY
8
TABLE OF CONTENTS
NEWSPAPERS 124
CRIMINAL HISTORY OF COUNTY.
131
WATER WORKS AND ELECTRIC LIGHT 138
COUNTY POOR FARM 140
WEATHER REPORTS. 149
AGRICULTURE 151
RAILROADS
156
COAL . 158
RETROSPECTIVE VIEW
167
WAYNE COUNTY
EARLY HISTORY. 173
CLAIM SOCIETY 175
GAME, ETC. . 176
ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY 179
FIRST COURT
184
COURTHOUSE
184
BOUNDARY LINE CONTROVERSY
189
WAR RECORD. . 190
CAPTAIN WILLIAM M. LITTLE'S LETTERS
202
COURTS OF WAYNE COUNTY 268
LYNCH LAW . 272
CRIMINAL RECORDS
274
WOMEN'S CLUBS.
279
INTOXICATING LIQUORS
283
TOWNS OF WAYNE COUNTY.
288
SEYMOUR
288
CORYDON
292
ALLERTON
298
LINEVILLE
302
OTHER TOWNS.
304
HUMESTON SCHOOLS
304
TOWNSHIPS 305
AREA OF COUNTY 306
CHURCHES 307
POLITICAL INDEX 312
THE PRESS. 316
CORYDON'S FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY . 321
AS
ILD
THEODORE M. STUART
HISTORY OF LUCAS COUNTY
It is natural that we become attached to the land of our nativity, the scenes of our childhood, the birthplace of our early hopes and aspirations, and the battle ground of life's joys and sorrows.
We come to love its mountains and its plains, its rocks and its rivers, its forests and its prairies, and all the sur- roundings of the spot of earth that we have learned to call our home, have charms for us that time cannot efface.
The poet has thus beautifully expressed this truth :
"We view in each crag, A friend's familiar face, And clasp the mountain, In our mind's embrace."
It is this attachment for our homes which creates the demand for history, especially the history of counties, or other localities.
We desire to ascertain all that we can about this particular locality and the people who formerly occupied it as their home. What kind of people were they? How, or in what manner did they walk, talk, eat and dress? What were their ideas, and what did they do in the way of improving and develop- ing this home ?
We start out in search of this information, but at the very threshold of this inquiry we are met by the sad fact that but a very few of the pioneers who sought homes in this county are now living, and hence the answers to many of the questions we would propound to them are buried in the graves of early settlers.
Vol. I-1
9
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PAST AND PRESENT OF LUCAS COUNTY
THE ORGANIZATION OF LUCAS COUNTY
Lucas county was organized in the year 1838. It was named in honor of Governor Lucas, the first territorial gov- ernor of Iowa. He had twice been governor of the state of Ohio. On June 12, 1838, Congress passed an act seperating that part of the then territory to Wisconsin, lying West of and President Van Buren appointed Mr. Lucas as its organic governor. His term began July 4, 1838, the day the organic act took effect, and the date from which Iowa dates its polit- ical existence as an organized territory. Robert Lucas held the office of the territorial governor for three years, or until the close of the Van Buren administration in 1841, when he was succeeded by John Chambers, a whig, appointed by Pres- ident Harrison.
Governor Lucas first resided at Burlington, the temporary seat of government, and the then prospective capitol of the proposed state of Iowa, where he acquired a home, but in 1844 the capitol was removed to Iowa City, to where Ex- Governor Lucas removed and died at an advanced age. He was regarded as a man of rugged honesty, and strict integrity, and he seems to have discharged the duties of his position in a manner entirely satisfactory to the people of the new territory. He was a consistent Christian, whose life work harmonized with his profession. He died at his home in Iowa City at a ripe old age, and a marble monument marks the spot where he was buried in the City Cemetery of Iowa City. At the time of his death he, with his family, his wife, two sons, and three daughters, were living on his farm adjoining Iowa City.
Lucas county has an area of 276,480 acres. It lies within the Sac and Fox Indian purchase, by the treaties of 1837 and 1842, which included all of the land in the territory west of the "Black Hawk Purchase" of 1832. west of the Iowa river. Before the separate organization of Lucas county, the terri- tory therein, was, by an act of the Legislature of date January 19, 1846, attached to the county of Kishke-Kosh (afterwards changed to Monroe county) for election, revenue and judicial purposes, but by an act of the Legislature of date the 13th day of January, 1846, the county of Lucas was organized and the boundry lines thereof were described as follows: "Begin-
11
PAST AND PRESENT OF LUCAS COUNTY
ning at the northwest corner of Kishke-Kosh county; thence west to the northwest corner of township 73, north of range 24 west; thence south to the southwest corner of township 71 north, range 24 west; thence east to the southwest corner of Kishke-Kosh county; thence north to the place of beginning; and by this act Lucas county assumed its civic relations to the state, in its wild and natural condition.
The county consists of twelve congressional townships, each being six miles square, commencing at the northwest cor- ner of the county and thence running six miles east, thence six miles west ; and so on ; said townships being named as fol- lows: Otter Creek, Liberty, English, Pleasant, Cedar, Chari- ton, Whitebreast, Jackson, Union, Warren, Benton, and Washington.
THE PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF ITS SURFACE
The land of Lucas county consists of rolling prairie, drained by numerous small streams, which carry the rainfall either into the Mississippi or Missouri rivers. The rain which falls on the east half of the public square in the city of Chari- ton, the county seat of Lucas county, flows into the Missis- sippi river, while that which falls on the west side of the square flows into the Missouri river. The prairie as it approaches the streams is very rough and broken, there being very little marshy lands. The best lands for agricultural purposes are located on the high and level plateau or divides, a few miles from the streams. The valleys, along the streams are small, very rich and productive, but, as a rule, they are quite narrow and subject to overflow, rendering the cultiva- tion and harvesting of crops thereon very uncertain.
Of course the principal crops have always been corn. oats and hay, but the large crop of wheat produced this year (1912) places this county, and in fact most of Iowa, within the list of wheat lands.
Early settlers inform us that in the early days of Lucas county, large crops of wheat were grown and harvested about every year, but it is a fact, that in and during the years inter- vening between 1870 and 1910, the wheat crop was very small in this county. In fact, as a general rule, farmers did not attempt to raise it, the crop ranging from ten to fifteen bushels to the acre. Various reasons were assigned for this change in
12
PAST AND PRESENT OF LUCAS COUNTY
the wheat crop. It was claimed by some farmers that some element or property in the soil necessary to the production of wheat, had for some unknown reason changed or disap- peared, but, however this may be, the recent large wheat crops have had the effect of placing Lucas county again in the wheat belt, which will materially add to the cash products of the county.
TIMOTHY SEED
Southern Iowa, especially the middle portion thereof, has long been noted for its large crops of timothy seed, and it is claimed, and the claim seems to be well verified, that Lucas county is entitled to the credit of placing on the market more bushels of timothy seed in one year than any other county in the United States, and when farmers found out that the hay, after the seed had been taken therefrom, was still valuable as rough feed for horses and cattle, very little unthreshed timothy was kept on the farm. Timothy seed sold in the Lucas county market last year (1911) for as high as $5 per bushel, and yielded from three to five bushels per acre.
BLUE GRASS
In late years machines for gathering this valuable seed have been invented and placed on the market, and it has devel- oped that as the wild prairie grass and timothy disappear from the fields from excessive pasturing, a coating of natural blue grass appears. It is claimed by some farmers that a field of blue grass which has been protected and preserved during the months of July, August and September, will form a winter pasture that is worth at least one-half as much as a good corn crop on the same lands. It has been ascertained that in the growth of blue grass, southern Iowa land, if it does not exceed the famous blue grass region of Kentucky, is fully as good. Lucas county is located in the center of this blue grass region in southern Iowa. What is known as the "Blue Grass Road," extending from some point in Lee county, near Fort Madison, to Council Bluffs, passes through the center of this county. This road follows in a general direction what is known as the "Mormon Trail" or Mormon Trace road. It follows the prairie divides, thereby avoiding the necessity of building
13
PAST AND PRESENT OF LUCAS COUNTY
bridges over the streams. It leaves the city of Chariton at the southwest corner of the public square.
RIVERS AND CREEKS
The streams and water courses of Lucas county are neither beautiful nor beneficial to any great extent. They are small muddy streams, crawling along from three to five feet below the surface of the ground at their banks, and most of them are subject to overflow. Unlike the streams of the northern part of this state, they do not present sandy or gravelly beaches, except in a few instances.
The conflicts between congressional grants of swamp lands to counties and railroads, ended in much litigation between these parties. During the sixties there was a continual con- troversy between these parties as to the priority of their claims under such grants. The counties having the right to sell and convey their interests and title to swamp lands under this grant, did, in some cases sell and convey such interests and rights to individuals and companies, and the result was, that protracted litigation grew out of the same. It seems that the officers of the Government land office decided that they would receive evidence of the character of these lands in con- troversy in the shape of ex parte affidavits, and it was claimed that in this manner some of the most valuable lands were held to be swamp lands within the meaning of the con- gressional grant. It was said by some wag during this con- troversy, that, "a good swamp land affidivit" as they were called, "was a legal tender for any debt, public or private."
However, Lucas county did not suffer much in this contro- versy. In fact there was very little swamp land in the county. and although the county sold its remaining interests therein to an individual, yet there was no litigation attending said sale.
MUNICIPAL DIVISIONS
From the dawn of civilization nations have followed the plan of dividing their territories into states, counties, parishes or districts, and finally into townships and towns, giving to each division certain limited municipal rights and powers for the government thereof and the protection of the citizens
14
PAST AND PRESENT OF LUCAS COUNTY
therein. The official authorities or government of a county are generally called county commissioners or county super- visors. The system of county commissioners has been con- tinued and improved upon in the United States, and is today more perfect in its workings than it has ever been before.
As heretofore noted the first act in the organization of Lucas county was that of the last territorial Legislature of Iowa, wherein it passed the act of January 13, 1846, to estah- lish a new county, which would be called Lucas, and defining the boundries thereof. Under the act of the second assembly of the state of Iowa, entitled, "An Act to Organize Lucas County, Approved, January 15, 1849," and supplemented to that of 1846, defining the boundaries of the county, the first section provides, "that the county of Lucas be, and is hereby organized from and after the fourth day of July, 1849." This provision was made to place the civic machinery in operation. First, by the appointment of three county commissioners to locate the county seat. These commissioners were, Wareham G. Clark, of Monroe county ; Pardan M. Dodge, of Appanoose county ; and Richard Fisher, of Wapello county; who pro- ceeded to perform the duties assigned them. There was much interest shown by the early settlers then on the ground as to the precise location of the seat of the new county, and several were looking for pecuniary advantages. John McMains, a single man, came West to find his fortune and grow up with the country. With this view he purchased eighty acres on the southern limits of Chariton, in the expectation that he would secure the county seat thereon. In this he failed but he came so near that the present town extends over and includes his tract of land. He was the first sheriff of Lucas county, being chosen at the election held in August, 1849. After his offi- cial days ended and his speculative prospects seemed to have waned, he pushed on to the more distant West, in Colorado. Another man who was similarly inspired by the county seat mania was William S. Townsend, called "Buck" Townsend. He became conspicuous in the county's history. He made a claim in the year 1848 which was then and still is somewhat historical. He located a claim covering the lands upon which several Mormon families had settled and built cabins in the year 1846 on their way to Salt Lake. He procured and sent to the state Legislature, a petition, purporting to have been signed by many persons, showing the great advantages of
15
PAST AND PRESENT OF LUCAS COUNTY
his tract of land as a location for the county seat. This peti- tion proved to be bogus and it did not secure the county seat. Mr. Townsend's house for many months served the purpose of an inn and was the headquarters of the county officials. In July, 1849, notices were issued and posted of the first elec- tion to be held on the 6th day of August, 1849, at the house of Win. McDermit. The county officers thus elected were: Three county commissioners, a clerk of the district court, a clerk of the board of county commissioners, a sheriff, a recorder and treasurer, a county surveyor, and two justices of the peace. There were twenty-five votes cast at this election, the follow- ing being the names of the voters at this, the first election ever held in Lucas county. To wit :
1. William S. Townsend
14. Samuel Mckinley.
2. James Roland. 15. James G. Robinson.
3. Philip G. Dunn. 16. John Ballard.
4. Beresford Robinson. 17. Thomas Wilson.
5. Nelson Lowder. 18. Peter Phillips.
6. William McDermit.
7. William T. May.
8. X. E. West.
9. Loyd Jenkins.
10. Elizah Baldwin.
11. Samuel A. Francis.
12. John Yergey.
13. James M. Mercer.
19. James Peck.
20. Andrew J. Allen.
21. John McMaines.
22. John Mercer.
23. Joseph W. Allen.
24. Milton Lowder.
25. E. K. Robinson.
THE RECORD
The first session of the board of county commissioners was held at the house of Wm. S. Townsend on the 10th day of August. 1849. All the members of the board, viz., Wm. T. May, Jacob Phillips and James G. Robinson, being present. They made numerous orders necessary to put the civic machinery of the county in operation, among which was an order that HI. B. Notson, an attorney of Albia, Iowa, be paid the sum of $18 for services rendered in the organization of the county. that Wm. H. Moore procure assessment rolls from the clerk of the board of commissioners of Monroe county. and that Mr. Moore also procure suitable blank books to keep the county records in.
At a meeting of the commissioners held on the 11th day of
16
PAST AND PRESENT OF LUCAS COUNTY
September, 1849, the board ordered that the county be organ- ized as one election district, and thus it was that the first elec- tion district was established in January, 1850. The county officers elected at the prior election, and holding office until the 6th day of August, 1850, were duly installed. The board of commissioners being charged with the general management of the affairs of the county came to realize that the future prosperity of the county depended largely upon their wisdom and economy in the discharge of their duties. The idea of personal gain does not seem to have entered into the minds of these honest men. The modern schemes of graft never occurred to them, and they faithfully performed their duties, for the best interest of the county.
As yet they had not secured the title to the land they had selected as the location of the county seat town. At their meeting in February, 1850, they made provision for the pur- chase of this land by directing Commissioner Robinson to enter the same. In pursuance of the order of the board, Mr. Robinson purchased from one John Jappert, a military land warrant, with which he entered said land in his own name, and then he promptly conveyed the same to Lucas county. This 160 acres of land cost the county $200, or $1.25 per acre.
THE FIRST COURTHOUSE BUILT IN THE COUNTY
At the regular session of the board of county commission- er's in April, 1850, the following proceedings in reference to the building of a courthouse was adopted and entered of record, to wit :
Ordered, "That the board receive through its clerks, at the next session thereof, sealed proposals for building a court- house in the town of Chariton, Lucas county, of the following dimensions to-wit: Said house to be constructed of good solid oak logs, hewed so as to face from eight to twelve inches ; said house to be eighteen feet in width and twenty-two feet in length, and to be one story and a half high, the lower story to be eight and one-half feet in the clear, the upper half-story to be five feet to the top of the plates ; said house to have good oak sleepers and joists sufficiently strong to make a good solid floor, to be laid with good lumber, jointed and laid down in a workmanlike manner; the roof of said house to be con- structed of rafters of suitable size, and to be covered with joint shingles to be made of oak or walnut, laid five and one-
17
PAST AND PRESENT OF LUCAS COUNTY
half inches to the weather, said shingles to be eight to ten inches in length; the spaces between the logs of said house to be pointed with lime and sand ; said house to have one door and shutter in front part of the lower story near the middle of said building, and also three twelve light windows, one in each side and one in the back end of said house, also one door and shutter in upper story of said house in connec- tion with a flight of stairs and platform to run up on the front end of this house; also one door and shutter in the upper story of said house in connection with a flight of stairs and platform to run up on the front end of first story of said building; and also one twelve-light window in each end of said house in the upper story ; and also a partition to run through the center of the upper story, to be made of planks, with a door and shutter in the center of said partition ; said platform in front of the upper door to be six feet square, with railing around it two and one-half feet high ; the gables of said house to be weather-boarded up with suitable lumber; the door of said house to be made of seasoned walnut lumber, matched together. and hung on hinges, and suitable locks to be put in said house filled with suitable sash and glass, all of which is to be done in workmanlike manner. Said house is to be located on lot number six in block number nine in said town. Said house to be completed on or before the first Mon- day in October, A. D. 1850. And it is further ordered, that the board of commissioners, of said county, pay for the building of said house out of the town lot fund."
At the following session of the board of commissioners. May 15, 1850, sealed bids were submitted, and that of Beverly Searcy being the lowest and best, he was awarded the con- tract for building the first courthouse in compliance with the foregoing specifications, for which he was to receive the sum of $374. The work of construction progressed as rapidly as the material and means at hand at this advanced frontier point admitted.
In addition to the specifications already given, there was a plan of the building drawn in perspective by J. J. Jacobs. of Decatur county, giving a front view of this pioneer temple of justice. It, with many other scraps of early records, was found in the "abandoned archives" of the former court-
18
PAST AND PRESENT OF LUCAS COUNTY
house garret, where the dust and stains of more than thirty years have given it a somewhat ancient appearance.
It is remembered by none now living, who were active in the early organization of the county. It will be a greater curi- osity to coming generations, than now, and should be pre- served.
The day approached for completion of this important structure, and all eyes were eager to see its door thrown open for public occupancy on the day named in the bond. But the materials and appliances for such a structure had mainly to be hewed from the forest-all was primitive. There were no mills to cut the lumber, no railroads to transport it, not even wagon roads, except a trail to Albia, where the few pioneers of the county, who were here prior to the organizing election of August 6, 1849, had to go to cast their votes and pay their taxes, or to Brobst's mill on the North Cedar, some thirty miles northeast, where they had to take their corn to be ground for their bread, and for wheat flour as a luxury. They would take turns, and one of their number would go over the prairie to Warsaw, on the east bank of the Mississippi river, and get a load for such as sent, with a balance to sell to others, and thus pay the expenses of the trip.
Through the delays thus incident to pioneer life, Mr. Searcy, the contractor, asked for an extension of twenty days beyond his contract period, in which to complete this edifice of justice, which time was granted. So that at the session of the board of commissioners of October 23, 1850, it was sub- stantially finished, as required by the contract, and accepted by the board, as shown by the following action.
Ordered, "By the board of county commissioners, that they receive the courthouse in the town of Chariton, of Beverly Searcy, by said Searcy knocking off $15 from the original price. The amount due Beverly Searcy to be issued in twenty different orders."
Thus it will be seen that Lucas county was no longer home- less for her officials, and the holder of the scales of justice. Up to this time the various county officers had mainly car- ried their offices in their hats, as was done by some of the state officials at a very early day in its history.
Some time seems to have passed before the courthouse was furnished. As the order of the board of commissioners. made in July. 1851 session, providing for the equipments of
LUCAS COUNTY COURTHOUSE, CHARITON
PUBLIC LIBRARY, CHARITON
I LIBRARY
21
PAST AND PRESENT OF LUCAS COUNTY
the courtroom, is of itself something of a curiosity as well as the character of such equipments we give it as it appears on record :
"ORDERED, "By said board, that they let the contract of furnishing 16 benches, 61/2 feet long, made of good hewn lin, with good substantial oak legs; also the contract for erecting a good substantial "puplit" in the court house, in the town of Chariton, of a cheap dimentions; also the con- tract of bracing up the upper floor of the court house, in the town of Chariton, to be braced as follows, to wit: A hewn peace, 8 inches square, and set 2 posts under the same, the peace to extend. across three joists, the lower sleepers to be braced with good pillars or blocks."
"Ordered, "That the contract for job of furnishing benches and "pulpit" and bracing up the upper floor, to be sold out at public auction on Saturday next, the lowest bidder to be the undertaker, the undertaker to be paid out of the town fund as soon as the work is completeed according to contract."
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