USA > Iowa > Cedar County > A topical history of Cedar County, Iowa, Volume I > Part 9
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The first location and survey of any town or village must be credited to those who settled Rochester in 1836. The old records in the office of the county auditor in the county seat are largely the record of a few individuals. Among these names occur the ones first concerned in. the founding of the village which takes its name of the great city in the state of New York-Rochester. Stephen Toney and George McCoy, brothers-in-law, came to Cedar County late in the summer of 1836, settled on the site of the present village of Rochester and near this site McCoy built the first cabin and located a ferry. Toney afterwards located not far from him, building a double log cabin. This was destined to be the first county seat, the first ferry, the first in many respects for it had hopes of becoming a city not less im- portant than that of its name elsewhere. The other surrounding territory evidently expected this for settlers came in this direction and we first find the group formed in that region. At this time the point for commerce was at the "Mouth of Pine," frequently referred to in connection with all the county matters of that early day. "Mouth of Pine" was a creek which finally finds its way into the Mississippi ten miles above Muscatine and this is about twenty-five miles from Rochester-not far in those days. Here at the mouth of Pine creek lived Ben Nye who ran a store and mill on one side and another, who was called "Wicked Bill," or plain William Gordon, lived on the upper side of the creek. The latter being a surveyor was in- vited by Toney and McCoy to "lay out" a town on the Cedar River. This was done in August after their arrival and the surveyor took his pay in lots. Visions came and went then even as now and the lots probably gave the owner little trouble.
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In the summer of 1836, Rev. Martin Baker, who has left his personality in various ways in the history of the county, settled with his son William at the mouth of Crooked Creek and leaving his son in charge of the claim returned to Indiana for his family, three sons and one daughter with two grandchildren. The family settled on this claim in the fall of 1836, and the father continued to reside here until 1846, the year of his death. It is said that the first religious services held in the county were at the home of Rev. Baker soon after his arrival from his journey for his family.90
Col. Henry Hardman came to the township in July, 1836, and settled on the farm now owned by John Jeffers.91 His son, Cordis Hardman, operated the ferry at Rochester for many years. In 1837 H. D. Brown came to the village. He built a house for the original proprietor of the site, Stephen Toney, on the block where afterwards the Hardman house stood, and this is said to have been the first shingled house in Cedar County. This man Brown afterwards became a cabinetmaker in Tipton when it was made the county seat and the future of the river town was not so evidently prosperous.
Duncan McLaren came to the township in 1837 and made his claim north of the mouth of Rock Creek. He afterwards removed to Rochester, where at this date his widow still resides.92 At this point in the history of this town we find the mention of the first mill in the county and its plan of operation. It had a sig- nificant name, "The Little Savior," and was not erected for profit since no charge was made for its use. It was located two miles east of Rochester in 1836 by Aaron Porter. Mills began to be in demand from the very beginning since the pioneer must depend on what he could raise and have ground into flour for his living. The Freeman Mill was begun on Sugar Creek in 1837, but was not in operation until 1838. Like the "old stone mill" of so much interest to older gen- erations and not much less to the younger ones, the race of the Freeman mill was cut through the solid rock. Stephen Toney sold his mill site to a William Green, who built a saw-mill on the creek road, a half mile north of Rochester. This is called the first saw-mill in the county. This, after having been in use for many years, was removed and like many other "first things," it has but a memory to mark the spot. Another public-spirited citizen from the state of Ohio, which furnished so many settlers to Cedar County, Willliam Green, came to the county in 1837 and settled at Rochester. He is commended for his liberal ideas and this one may say, as mentioned in the first chapter, was a chief characteristic of the early comer to the open country of this state. The present location of the "Beltz Mill" was originally the site of a saw mill and grist-mill built by Christian Holderman.
Judging from accounts given of him this Stephen Toney, founder, was a thrifty character, losing no opportunity to improve his financial prospects and drive a bargain giving the big end to himself not far different from later and more numerous settlers in this same county. Indians love "fire-water," and while now the courts are laboring by all possible means to convict the man who sells "fire-water" to an Indian, it was not then a matter of vital interest to the United States officers whether one redskin or even two got more than he needed of this same "fire-water." So, as the story goes, when Toney found a great camp of "Sac and Foxes" near Rochester, said to be as many as five hundred, he prepared
WEST BRANCH SCENES
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for an immediate speculation in disposing of his full barrel and the full return in trade amounted to Indian property enough to restore his stock of liquid many fold. Chief Poweshiek came to the rescue of his braves and some think he "got even" with Toney in the conclusion of the parley. The oldest settler tells of these Indians to this day, but it is doubtful whether anyone can vouch for the event that happened so long ago. One can only surmise the conditions that must have existed and that did exist long after this time when the white man bought, or traded with the unsuspecting red man, who was often ruined by the gift or purchase of fire-water even sooner than his white brother. Too late, the govern- ment has discovered the damage to its wards.
In 1838 a hotel was built in Rochester, which since was known as the Hard- man House. These hostelries were all through the country as soon as parties began making journeys by regular trails, and each point had something akin to what one now calls a hotel. Charles Swetland, a well-known character, and who left his mark on Tipton afterwards, came to the village of Rochester in 1837. Nelson Hastings opened a store in 1839. Geo. McCoy, Justice of the Peace, and once County Sheriff, had conducted a store in 1837. These store supplies must be brought from the base of distribution at "Mouth of Pine," where Ben Nye, McCoy's father-in-law, kept a store. After a decade we hear of McCoy returning from California and finding his wife at her father's house, where she had been taken because of neglect, he became enraged it seems and in a quarrel which followed he killed Mr. Nye. Then he returned to the coast. His name appears frequently in the county records and one of the very first cases before the courts as a territory he is the plaintiff.
A legal survey of Rochester was made in 1840 by John J. Tomlinson, Sur- veyor. The proprietors then were Toney, Freeman and Fulwider. It lay on the east side of the Cedar in section two of that congressional township. This was the year that Tipton was surveyed as the county seat, but the greater population was in Rochester.
S. A. Bissell, afterward County Judge, settled here at an early date, with others who later moved from the vicinity. In 1836 came the Halliday family and settled the farm where the "Whittlesey Mills," afterward "Sugar Creek Mills," were built. In the same month Wm. Phelps settled in Iowa Township, four miles from the village, and the families of William and Emanuel Young came to the neighborhood.
In '37 and '38 the Davis and Arnett families settled near Hector Sterrett, who came here in 1836. Crane and McNaughton settled in Rochester in the spring of '39, and John Ridgway came soon after. The latter lived for a time with Daniel Hare, whose grave as now remembered is covered over with grass in the old cemetery. Ridgway has the credit for possessing the first tailor shop in the county.
Joseph Crane, whose fame rests in connection with the county seat fight, opened the first regular blacksmith shop in Rochester in 1838. His first work was for Geo. McCoy. So far as records go Dr. S. B. Grubbs was the first resi- dent physician. One Henry preceded him, but was not held in the highest respect by those who needed a doctor. It appears that he moved to the Pedee settlement in 1840 and may be referred to elsewhere.
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HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
Before 1840, in addition to the foregoing, the three Clines, two Coltons and Wm. Green had settled here. The latter burned the first kiln of brick in this county. Bodfish, the millwright, came in '39, and Andrew Wilson settled on the claim of Aaron Porter in '39. The two Foremans settled one and a half miles east on Toney's claim. All these are lost to any atlas published and since names are now far different, the only way to locate these points of residence is through access to records of the county. In 1840 Coffey and Chasteen came to Rochester and in 1842 Nathan Howe settled near by. The business of the village then ran about as follows: Adam Graham kept a grocery on the block facing where the Hardman House stood. Timothy Newton had a general store on the corner north of the old hotel building. Coffey kept a hotel for many years. Nelson C. Swank was running a cooper shop, but after the death of Graham he continued the store for a time until his own death. S. A. Bissell was then probate judge and justice. Dr. Meredith, who afterward died at Cedar Falls, and Dr. Rickey, afterward of Keokuk, were the resident doctors at this time. Wm. Finefield came here and opened a blacksmith shop, 1844. Blacksmithing became an exten- sive business at this time, for we find Nicholas Stutzman engaging in the same year with Finefield and another one the year following. John Foy built the second hotel on Water street-this sounds more metropolitan-which was after- wards purchased by the conspicuous citizen, Chas. Swetland, and moved to the corner of Main and Third streets, where it ceased to be a hotel, and now no one looks for such a place in the village, although a former dwelling house offers hospitality. This brick house was built by Wm. Green for a residence long ago. It stands at the end of the long bridge.
Before the steam mill in 1857 a number of brick buildings were erected for business purposes. One of two stories by William Baker still standing, and another by Dr. Noah Green, a third by T. J. Newton. The three-story brick steam flouring mill did good service for a time, but like all the other mills in this vicinity was finally dismantled and moved to Clarence by James Cessford, who purchased it at sheriff's sale.93 This was not the only mill property that fell under the hammer in those days. An incident in the history of Rochester is the reported discovery of silver in paying quantities and the formation of companies to exploit that discovery. Experts came to examine the ore and assays of ore made which reported silver in paying per cents. Shafts were sunk, machinery procured and then the usual result happened-another vain search for silver where the dollar dug only paid a small per cent of the dollars spent in digging. One company lasted about two years and was composed of the best and most influ- ential citizens of Rochester and that vicinity.94
"Our neighboring town of Rochester has for some time been on the standstill . as to its growth and prosperity, but this season (1857) it will take a long step forward and make it possible for it to compete with any town in the state."95
The particular improvement contemplated is the building of a steam mill, the foundations of which are already in. It is to be 38 by 68 feet, three stories, and built of brick. It will be built by Dr. N. Green and M. Bailey. Dr. Green is an enterprising man and will push forward the mill to an early completion. The stone work for the foundation is done and the frame work for the three run of stone with which the mill is supplied. The lumber is mostly on the ground and
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the brick in the kiln is ready for burning. The cost of the mill is considerable and it will be equal to any mill in this part of the state. This will give an impetus to the trade and business of Rochester and will not only be an ornament to that town, but a credit to the entire county. This mill was doing a fine business in October, 1857, grinding, with two run of stone, at the rate of four hundred bushels per day. One run of stone was for corn and buckwheat and two for wheat. Building material was cheaper at Rochester than in very many places. Stone plentiful in the vicinity and the brick for the mill were burned within two rods of the location.96
But the hand of time is not charitable and now all that promised so much, all that meant so much to the former builders is no more, for where brick and mortar once held firm walls the short space of a little more than a half century has left but ruins or at most what will soon be ruins. He who saw the city in those early days, who heard in his imagination the rumble of wheels as in the original city of Rochester fame was never to be so much as near his ideal, and like all other visions it was only temporary. New life may sometime appear, for the country is still very new. There is plenty of time for a new city to grow where the old was planned. Just now Rochester is the enterprising center of interest for summer campers, and only awaits the coming interurban, discussed elsewhere, to be restored to its former activity. Some old landmarks remain-the old hotel, opposite the Mercantile Company's store; the old "Ferry House" on the river bank, which at one time was kept by Cordis Hardman. There was once a distillery just south of this. Some say the site of the steam mill is washed away by the erosion of the river current against the bank. Some old dwelling houses remain, and Water Street is still there. The sand is still very deep and the automobile is not popular. Across the Cedar the camping grounds are becoming an annual resort for many from a distance, and the contrast of the long ago and what the future promises is to be imagined. Living in this village are some who came to the township in 1837. The widow of Duncan McLaren, mentioned early in the history of Rochester, still resides here. The children of Adam Bair, one of the pioneers, remain to connect the past and present. In one old building the Masonic fraternity still have a lodge full of interesting history, which is further discussed by those who know its past.
We are told by the veteran stage driver that Mississippi boats did load flour at the mill on the bank of the river for he saw them doing so when a boy. We have no reason to dispute the matter, but it is hard to realize that this was true when we see the present worn condition of the surroundings.
The county seat of Cedar County and its location is a matter of history during the years from 1839 to the final settlement in 1852. At the latter date the decision was final and judging from present conditions no fears need be entertained of the question hereafter. From 1840 to the present time events have transpired changing the current of history, but leaving the landmarks as guides to trace the path the pioneers attempted to follow. Here and there along the way one finds serious breaks in the record, but there are those yet living who can recall events covering this allotted life of man since the town of Tipton was first thought of, even before a stake had been driven to mark its site.
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Twelve miles from the north, the east, the south, the west, the first mark was made, about which the future town was to grow. Some of these facts had to be touched upon when discussing county organization and government, but the immediate data of town history must follow here. A former citizen, one who was a boy in this vicinity, has made a running commentary on the early times in the pioneer accounts in his own good and personal way,97 but a little repetition in a new form will not detract from previous references. Town history may grow monotonous because of the want of personal account, and this cannot be wholly supplied at this time. It is fortunate that some record has been made from which one can draw, otherwise the task would be almost endless.
The original plot of Tipton was certified to by the county commissioners, William Miller, Daniel Comstock, and John G. Foy, and was sworn to before W. A. Rigby, who built the first house in Red Oak. The town plot was sur- veyed by J. Tomlinson, who surveyed most of the roads in the preliminary county government, and this plot was filed for record June, the first day, 1840, at four o'clock in the afternoon, the precise time at which the county began its present legal existence.98
The original plot contained forty-nine blocks of twelve lots each, with streets eighty feet wide and alleys sixteen feet, the blocks being three hundred feet square and numbered in tiers from east to west.
Jennings's Addition was made to Tipton June 17th, 1840, by Charles Jennings. Starr's Addition in 1855. This was from eighty acres lying directly west of the original plot. Moore and Culbertson's Addition was made in 1857, Long's Addi- tion in 1858.
The survey of Tipton was made officially in 1840 by the authorized surveyor, J. J. Tomlinson, who made the survey of Rochester referred to on a previous page. This was May 20, 1840. The streets were the usual eighty feet in the original plot, although one might find some less, and lots fifty by one hundred and forty- two in dimensions. The order came from the county commissioners on April 18, 1840, and the surveyor's plans were approved. A public square was provided for near the center of the quarter section which had been pre-empted for a town site. Henry W. Higgins named the town for his friend, General Tipton of Indiana. One is led to think that Tipton, Indiana, and possibly Tipton, Missouri, may have been named for the same military man. The only building then on the site was a log cabin built by Wm. M. Knott, whose life some one should write. This cabin was first used as a county clerk's office by Wm. K. Whit- tlesey, who moved there from Rochester after the re-location of the county seat. Here also the county commissioners met in 1840. One speaks of the removal of the county seat with considerable respect for the under- taking, but as a matter of fact all the county possessed was contained, it is said, in a "candle box." Few of us know much about even a candle box. Charles M. Jennings built a cabin in that portion now known as Jennings' Addition in 1840, this being the first public house in the place. It was afterward used for church purposes. John Culbertson kept hotel for many years in a house located on the present site of the town hall. He was a member of one of the earliest firms in the mercantile line, being the junior partner in the firm of Friend and Culbertson. Among the arrivals in 1840 were John P. Cook,
MAIN STREET, MECHANICSVILLE
PANORAMA OF MECHANICSVILLE
OAK STREET, MECHANICSVILLE
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who was closely identified with the interests of the town for many years ; Walker and Davis, carpenters, and John R. McCurdy-all these were men without fami- lies. Cook built the first store room in Tipton in the year he came, on the corner where W. H. Tuthill later had a drug store, and the corner now occupied by the National Bank.99 This store contained the first stock of goods sold in the town. John R. McCurdy was the first tailor here and built a shop near the site of Whan and Adams's store on the west side of the square, near where Rumble's grocery is now. Preston J. Friend built a log cabin not far from the same site, and William R. Rankin, Tipton's first lawyer, soon moved to a house just north of the Palmer House, which stood where the Cobb block is now. Rankin is referred to in connection with the county seat fight and territorial politics when he sought office for himself. William Cummins soon separated from his partnership with Culbertson and built a house of frame material on the north side of the square, third door east from the corner, once occupied by Perrien Dean as a store site. There Cummins opened a saloon.
It was in March, 1841, that Judge W. H. Tuthill came to the village, and soon after purchased the store of John P. Cook, which business he continued for some two years longer. Friend and Culbertson organized and conducted the next general business. The first physician to locate in Tipton was Dr. Harvey G. Whitlock, who tried many trades or professions.
A discussion has arisen as to the first child born in Tipton, but the credit is given to two names, and since no one now seems able to determine the only means of making record is to give the two, Jacob Tipton Haight and John Tipton Culbertson, allowing the reader to take his choice. There seems to be no differ- ence of opinion regarding the girl, since only one, Sallie Friend, claims that honor. It is perhaps fortunate that there is no second claimant, since the quarrel might never end. The surveyor, Tomlinson, built a house on the corner northeast of the square in 1841, and the house now occupied by Basil Wiggins is near the site. This was the home of Williard Hammond, who ran a general store here after 1849, coming from Cedar Bluffs for that purpose. In 1840 Geo. McCoy, whom we have fully met in Rochester's history, built a house and planted a cottonwood tree in the yard which grew to great size in later years. It was located on the corner of Sixth and Cedar Streets, where Hotel Tipton now stands. In 1841 a house was built for W. H. Tuthill near the house now known as his residence, and in its day recognized it as one of the best, which stands under the stately pine trees at the corner of Seventh and Cedar Streeets. Addison Gillett, mentioned in pioneer accounts as being unfitted for the scenes of the new country, opened a general store on the west side of the square in '43. His death occurred a few years later. The first harness maker here was J. A. Sangston, who after a short time was succeeded by Austin Parsons. The latter's business has not stopped to this day, since his son, M. A. Parsons, continues it at the old stand. It is one of the two businesses that have continued through a half century. Edward Godden, plasterer and stone mason of the time, is living now in the north part of town.
E. M. MacGraw is known as the first wagon maker and J. S. Tuthill followed him in the same trade. Small buildings had large names in those days, one bearing the significant title of "Tontine," was used as post office and clerk's office when Culbertson was appointed district clerk. Richard Hall was a physician and
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druggist in '44 to '49, when the California fever struck the town, taking a number away in search of gold. The Friend and Culbertson store was opened in 1847. In the same year Alonzo Shaw, one of the most active of Tipton's oldest citizens until his removal to California two years ago, and Col. Smith bought the hotel of Culbertson and conducted it until 1850, when Samuel Tomlinson bought it. William Morton also opened a store about 1847 in a two-story building which stood formerly where Whan and Adams's brick building was erected, as before mentioned. The latter building was erected in 1876. The Hammond store was north of the square in the building now used by Otis Wilson as a plumbing shop. His family became prominent in Tipton affairs, but death and removal have left few of them. One landmark here must not be forgotten-the first brick store building in the place. This is the long building on the corner used by the Savings Bank at the present time and other business below, while the offices of Hon. John T. Moffit are above. On the corner diagonally across from this building recently used by the Elwood store is the building erected by Charley Swetland, who came here in 1853 from the California gold fields. He is one referred to frequently in Rochester history, coming there in 1837. He also built the frame block on the corner south of the public square used recently by Ross as a place of amusement. Kizer, Crew, and Turner began business here with a general stock of goods. This same Swetland began to publish "The Advertiser" in November, 1853, and to complete his story he failed in business and died in Utah, far from the scenes of his intense activity. It is worth while in passing to say that the "Advertiser" files are complete from his time to the present issue. Some time during the editorial labors of D. C. Mott, 1893, to June, 1897, the missing files were returned, making a valuable record which is pre- served, parts of it in bank vaults.
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