USA > Iowa > An illustrated history of the state of Iowa, being a complete civil, political, and military history of the state, from its first exploration down to 1875; > Part 29
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CROSSCUP & WEST-S
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Martin & Willis
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TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
treatises and reports, selected expressly for the use of the school, and will be enlarged as rapidly as the funds granted for that pur- pose by the regents will admit. It already includes the reports of nearly all the northern states, with a large collection of Eng- lish and federal reports. The library is open every day in the term, from 8 A. M. to 5 P. M., and students of the department have free access to it for purposes of study or reference. Especial attention is directed by the instructors to familiarizing the class with the contents of the library, and teaching them to look up anthorities, make up briefs - in short, training them to find for themselves the law upon any subject desired.
The plan of the medical department requires the attendance of the students through two annual sessions, but should the Ameri- can Medical Association recommend an extension of the time to three sessions, and a specified amount of preparatory study in or- der to admission, the faculty of the institution will cheerfully aid in carrying out that object. Students of both sexes are admitted on equal terms, and afforded in all respects the same facilities for acquiring a thorough medical education. The following remarks set forth some of the incitements to study and facilities for the acquisition of medical knowledge furnished by this school. The students are examined every day on the lectures of the previous day, and the standing recorded for future reference. Advanced students are required to inake examinations at the clinics, and to prescribe for the patients. All kinds of surgical operations on the cadaver are performed by the students in the presence of the class, and under the direction of the professor of surgery. Pri- vate instruction in all the departments of medicine is furnished to all who may wish to avail themselves of such opportunities. The department has facilities for clinical instruction unsurpassed in the western states. The university hospital, located within two blocks of the university, not only affords ample accommodations to all who may apply for treatment, but has a large and conven- ient amphitheatre where from four to five hundred cases of dis- ease have been exhibited to the students during the year. A special advantage of the hospital is the opportunity afforded to members of the class for observing the treatment of cases in com- pany with the attending physician when making his daily rounds.
403
STATE INSTITUTIONS.
The most thorough study of practical anatomy will be required of every student. Facilities for obtaining material are such that an abundant supply will always be provided. The professor and demonstrator of anatomy will always be ready to aid the student in his anatomical studies. The anatomical museum will be open to students at all hours when lectures are not in progress. The qualifications of each graduating class are guarantied by the fact that a committee selected from the membership of the state medi- cal society takes part in the examination at the close of each an- nual session. The chemical laboratory is open six hours daily, for the study of practical chemistry. Courses in chemical analysis, urine analysis, and pure toxicology have been specially arranged for medical students. To students who remain at the university after the close of the annual session, an opportunity will be given during the ensuing three months for the study of analytical chem- istry.
The state library is also a credit to the state. It is located in the capitol building and contains 12,004 volumes exclusive of duplicates. Mrs. Ada North, the present librarian of state, is a lady of extensive culture, well qualified for the responsible position.
The state historical society was provided for by act of the legis- lature in 1857. Its first appropriation was $250. Since then the institution has received an annual appropriation of $500. The society is under the management of a board of curators, consisting of eighteen persons. Nine of these are appointed by the governor, and nine are elected by members of the society. These curators receive no compensation. The law provides that the society shall hold its annual meeting in Iowa City on the last Wednesday in June of each year. It is also provided by law that there shall be delivered to the society annually twenty copies of the reports of the supreme court, and the same number of all other documents published by the state, for the purpose of effecting exchanges with similar societies in other states. The society has published a series of exceedingly valuable collections, including history, biography, etc. To these collections the merits of our work is largely due. The objects of the society are praiseworthy, and ought to receive even more support than they do.
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TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
There are two hospitals for the insane, one at Mount Pleasant. and one at Independence. These institutions are a credit to the great state of Iowa, and well worthy the high esteem in which they are held by the people. The college for the blind at Vin- ton is also a well conducted, commodious and efficient institution, well provided with skillful, Christian educators. The institution for the deaf and dumb, located at Council Bluffs, is in that de- partment what the institutions named are in their respective prov- inces. It is in a flourishing, efficient condition. The soldiers' orphans' home, at Davenport, has done a valuable work in the state, and the institution is beloved by the whole people. It is a glorious monument to the Christianity of the state. The reform school at Eldora has fine buildings, and is in prosperous operation.
CHAPTER XLVI.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Sketch of the Public School System of Iowa - Statistics - Growth in Pros- perity.
The public school system of Iowa is justly a theme for con- gratulation to every loyal citizen. The schools have grown from the log school house to the modern brick and stone building, with all the modern appliances, and the growth has been indeed wonderful. No state in the union has better educational pros- pects than Iowa. The people have already expended over ten millions of dollars for the erection of public school buildings. The following statistical table, prepared by the superintendent of public instruction, is worthy preserving in history :
No. of schools.
No. of youth be-
tween the ages of
5 and 21 years.
No of youth en-
Total average at-
Average number of
months school
has been taught.
Average com-
pensation of
teachers per
Am't paid Teach-
Am't paid for sch'l
houses, grounds, libraries and ap-
Am't paid for fuel
and other contin-
Total amount
pended for school
ригровев.
1863
6237
281, 733 199, 750 111, 185 4m 2d
$22 00
$15.68
$570, 115
$160,253|$31,169
$761,537
1864
6623
294,912 210,569 117,378 5m 5d
25.12
17.60
686,673
199,589| 46, 123
932, 385
1865
5732
324, 388 217, 593 |119, 593 5m 5d
31.64
22.80
856,726
297,453
74, 714
1,228,893
1866
5900
348, 498 241. 827 136,1745m 4d
33 60
23.76
1,006,623
572,593|158,739
1,737,955
1867
6229
373, 969 257, 281 148. 620 5m 6d : 35.88
24.64
1,161,653
692,034 186,910
2,039, 597
1868
6439
393, 630|279, 007 160, 773 6m 8d | 35.32
25.72
1,330,823
917, 605 407, 646
2, 656,074
1869
6788
418,168 296, 138 178, 329|6m12d
36. 96
27.16
[1,438,964
941,884 415, 484
2,796,332
1870
6919
431,134 320, 803 202, 246 6m 4d
35.60
26 80
1, 636, 951 1,016, 405 504, 583
3,187,939
1871
7823
460,629 341, 938 211, 568 6m10d
36.00
27.80 1,900, 893 1, 095, 903 605, 100
3,601,896
1872
8561
475,499 340, 789 214, 905 6m10d
36.00
28 06 |2, 130,048 1, 212, 723 722, 896
4,065,667
1873
8816
491, 344 347, 572 204, 204 6m10d
36 28
27.68 2,248,677 1, 184, 082 796, 696
4, 229, 455
In reference to the above table, the superintendent remarks as follows :
" The most remarkable advance exhibited is that in relation to the school expenditures ; the annual amounts paid teachers, ris- (405)
ex-
Years.
M.
F.
month.
ers.
paratus.
gencies.
rolled.
tendance.
406
TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
ing from $570,115 to $2,248,677, an increase of two hundred and ninety-four per cent. The expenditures for new school houses and sites, and for libraries and apparatus have increased from $160,253 to $1,184,082, and that for rent and repairs of school houses. for fuel, for compensation of district secretaries and treasur- ers, and for other incidentals, from $31,169 to $796,696. The ag- gregate annual expenditures rising from $761,537, in 1863, to $4.229,455, in 1873, or four hundred and fifty five per cent.
" The significance of these facts is unmistakable. Such munifi- cent expenditures can only be accounted for by the liberality and public spirit of our people, all of whom manifest their love of popu- lar education and their faith in the public schools by the annual dedication to their support of more than one per cent. of their entire taxable property ; this too, uninterruptedly through a series of years commencing in the midst of a war which taxed our energies and re- sources to the extreme, and continuing through years of general depression in business ; years of moderate yield of produce, of discouragingly low prices, and even amid the scanty surroundings and privations of pioneer life. Few human enterprises have a grander significance, or give evidence of a more noble purpose than the generous contributions from the scanty resources of the pioneer for the purposes of public education. The cost of sup- porting the public schools of the state is a subject of such gen- eral discussiou at the present time, that it was thought best to publish some facts giving the cost to each person ; to each scholar; to each dollar of taxable property, etc., for the past year.
" These facts are based upon the aggregate expenditures for schools, including the interest on the permanent school funds, amounts received from fines, etc., so that the actual cost to our people is somewhat less than the figures given. From these state- ments it appears that the total expense of supporting the public schools, exclusive of school house building, is two dollars and fifty-five cents to each man, woman and child in the state ; eight dollars and eighty-two cents to each pupil enrolled in the schools ; also twelve dollars and eighty-three cents to each head of a family ; about eleven dollars to each adult male, and eight and forty-one one-hundredths mills on the dollar of the taxable property of the state. If the cost of building school houses be
CROSSCUP & WEST-SC.PHIL A.
Louis Case
408
TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
added, the expense is considerably increased, as will be seen from the foregoing summary.
" There is but little opposition to the levy of taxes for the sup- port of schools, and there would be still less if the funds were al- ways properly guarded and judiciously expended. However much our people disagree upon other subjects, they are practically united upon this. The opposition of wealth has long since ceased to exist, and our wealthy men are usually the most liberal in their views and the most active friends of popular education. They are often found upon our school boards, and usually make the best of school officers. It is not uncommon for boards of directors, especially in the larger towns and cities, to be composed wholly of men who represent the enterprise, wealth and business of their cities.
" The taxes which are levied to support the schools by our people, are self imposed. Under our laws no taxes can be legally levied or collected for the erection of school houses until they have first been voted by the electors of the district at a legally called school meeting. Our school houses are the pride of the state, and an honor to the people. If they are sometimes built at a prodigal expense, the taxpayers have only themselves to blame. The teach- ers' and contingent funds are determined, under certain restric- tions, by the boards of directors elected annually in all except inde- pendent districts, where the board is wholly changed triennially. The only exception to this method of determining school taxes, is in case of the county school tax of from one to three mills on the dollar, usually the former, which is levied by the board of supervisors."
In every sense the public schools of Iowa are on a sound foot- ing. The school fund is large, and the financial outlook is one of cheering prospect.
CHAPTER XLVII.
SKETCHES OF COUNTIES.
The Agricultural, Mineral, Educational and Manufacturing Resources and Developments of the State of Iowa by Counties, with Notes and Statistics of the leading Cities.
IN ADDITION to the foregoing chapters, comprising a general civil and political history of the state of Iowa, we present the following sketches of the several counties. From these sketches the reader may become familiar with the various interests and industries of the state, get a view of the principal cities, and observe the rela- tive growth of various localities. Iowa is truly a great state in its present growth, but its undeveloped resources are almost beyond comprehension. The internal improvements of the state are in a stage of advanced prosperity, and in every section, may be seen evidences of wonderful thrift and industry.
Adair County. This county is twenty-four miles square, containing 368,640 acres. The surface is nearly all prairie, but not level, many of the grassy ravines being especially decliv- itous. This peculiarity of the coun- try prevents complete cultivation at present, but the soil being fertile on the slopes there will come a time when every acre must be improved. The subsoil retains moisture, and fine crops are common where ordinary care is exhibited in observing the essen- tials of successful cultivation. Na- ture has provided nearly all the con- ditions for proper drainage, notwith- standing the feature just referred to, and within a brief period after the heaviest rains it is possible to resume farming operations. Pastoral pursuits must eventually command the atten- tion of settlers in Adair county, so ! depths named, is customarily hard,
numerous are the advantages which are there placed at their disposal.
Although the county which we are describing forms a portion of the water- shed of the two great rivers, the Mis- sissippi and the Missouri, there are no great water courses traversing its area, but the aqueous supply for all practi- cal purposes is never failing. Springs as well as streams will furnish stock raisers with all that they require for their cattle, even in the dryest seasons. Some of the streams are of sufficient importance to attract attention for the water power which they offer to man- ufacturers, but the advantage is not very extensively used. Well water can, in almost any district, be ob- tained by sinking from twenty to twen- ty-five feet. It may be mentioned that while the well water obtained at the
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TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
the springs almost invariably give | grove. bought the land from Taylor, soft water, such as is most desired in domestic consumption.
Following the direction of the water courses, this county is scantily tini- bered, with here and there a beautiful grove, but generally the indications point to a time not very remote, when wooded country will be at a premium. Probably the attention of settlers hav- ing been called to the scantiness of timber, there may be special attention bestowed on forestry in Adair county, in which case the beauty of its scenery and its value will be enhanced ..
Limestone is moderately abundant in some districts, and is made availa- ble for building purposes as well as for making quick lime, and other building stone is found in small quan- tities. Granite boulders are compara- tively common, being scattered all over the soil, as though cast there in mere wantonness during the sports of some Titan predecessors. Writers on the glacial period may suggest some theory of wandering icebergs, but the giant is more poetical. Coal is want- ing in Adair, but there are signs which have been held infallible else- where, which promise abundance of that deposit when the discoverer fair- ly settles down to his work; but the state geologist, Dr. White, anticipates that the carboniferous layer will be found at a very great depth. Clay, such as brick makers demand for their craft, has hitherto been found in but few places, but the quality of the de- posits so far discovered has been ex- ceptionally good
Thomas N. Johnson was probably the first white settler in Adair county, as he arrived in that section of the country in 1849, but his claims are challenged very confidently by some parties. William Alcorn settled at the upper crossing of Middle river in the following year, in the district now known as Jefferson township. Vaw- ter's Grove had a resident soon after that time, a man named Lyon being known to have built and occupied a cabin near the spring in that locality in 1851. That location is now included in Jackson township. Lyon did not long remain a resident, as he sold out his claim to a drover who was on his way toward California, and wanted wintering ground for his cattle. Vaw- ter, whose name is identified with the
who had succeeded Lyon, and the first holders of the soil there are thus lost to history. Permanent settlers soon followed, and made their homes in Adair county, foremost among whom we find the names of William McDon- ald, Alfred Jones, George M. Holaday, Robert Wilson, Jacob Bruce, Joshua Chapman, John Ireland, James Camp- bell, John A. Gilman and and John Gilson.
In the spring and fall of 1855, the attractions of the county having be- come known in South Carolina, Wal- nut township was settled by families that emigrated thence. James Thom- son and and Isaac Arledge, with their belongings, were among the first to arrive, and they were speedily fol- lowed by Charles Smith and Lewis Underwood, whose names promise to be continued among the residents to an unlimited posterity.
Jefferson township comes next in chronological order, having been set- tled in the summer of 1855. Most of the early settlers came from the state last mentioned, and may have been in- duced to plant their stakes so near to Walnut township, for the sake of good neighborhood among families that haifed from their old camping ground. The names of Jeremiah Rinard and Sto- ver Rinard are remembered among the earliest pioneers. From that time the process of settlement went on simulta- neously in many parts of the county so rapidly as to defy particular mention which would not seem invidious. Some interest must attach to the first birth, the first death, and the first mar- riage in the newly peopled country, of course referring to the white popu- lation. Margaret Johnson comes un- der the first category, Johu Gilson fills the second, both events having transpired in 1850, and it was not un- til four years later that William Stin- son married Elizabeth Crow, under a license issued in May, 1854, the county judge, George M. Holaday, one of the earliest residents in Adair county, having officiated.
The organization of the newly set- tled district went on with commenda- ble rapidity. An act of the general assembly, which was approved in Jan- uary, 1853, attached Adair to the county of Cass for purposes of reve- nue, election and judiciary, and the
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SKETCHES OF COUNTIES.
first election under the new act was held in the house of Alfred Jones. No records of that event have been preserved. The following year saw a second election, when county officers were chosen, and the county was defi- nitely organized. The judge already mentioned was then elected, and John Gilson was appointed clerk. The judge ordered that the first county court should be held in his own residence, in May of the same year, and on the third of July the county was divided for election purposes, into two town- ships, known as Washington and Harrison, respectively. The loca- tion of the county seat was author- ized by the general assembly, Jan- uary 15, 1855, the commissioners nominated for the purpose being John Buckingham, of Page county ; George B. Hitchcock, of Cass; and Elias Stratford, of Madison county; and they selected the spot, having met at the Adair post office for the purpose, and named the location Summerset. From that time the business of the county court was transacted at the house of J. J. Leeper, pending the erection of official buildings. The first district court was convened in 1855, but the first proceedings recorded bear date Foutanelle, March, 1857.
GREENFIELD, the present county seat of Adair, is a village, near the geographical center of the county, to which place the business records of the county seat were removed upon an appeal to the popular vote, and a sub- sequent decision in the supreme court in the winter of 1874-5.
FONTANELLE, originally known as Summerset, when the county seat was first located, was newly named by an act of the general assembly in 1856. A considerable business is done in the town, and it is well situated in an ad- mirable locality.
NEVINSVILLE, more familiarly known as NEVIN, has the double advantage of being partly in the coun- ty of Adair and partly in Adams. New England is largely represented iu its population, and the settlement thrives.
From the building of the railroad the town has gone on increasing in pros- perity, and at no distant day it will be one of the wealthiest centres of popu- tion in the state.
Adams County is the third county on the east of the Missouri, and con- tains four hundred and thirty-two square miles, comprising no less than twelve congressional townships. The east and middle Nodaway rivers drain the major part of the area, other rivers and their branches coming through the county on the south and the eastern border. The rivers mentioned above afford valuable water powers during the greater part of the year, and many enterprises have been started to im- prove the advantages thus offered. During nearly nine months of the av- erage year, the water powers of the Middle Nodaway are available and are used by flouring mills, saw mills, and for other purposes which will go on in- creasing in importance. Other manu- facturing establishments would de- serve attention here, but for the fact that to do them justice, would divert attention from the natural facilities now under review. About one tenth of the county is under timber, mostly young, as until recently fires were com- mon destroyers of forest growths, but since the settlers have used wise pre- cautions against the devouring ele- ment, groves have steadily increased in value. The streams already men- tioned and their nameless tributaries almost without number afford excel- lent water for stock, and the beautiful vallies, fertile beyond imagination, give illimitable promises of prosperity to men of every class. Wells can be made in any place with but little expense, and immense varieties of timber are ready for every industry. Wild fruits challenge the skill of the practical and skillful gardener, and coal has been found in veins thick enough to war- rant the expenditure of capital in bringing that valuable deposit to a market. One vein nearly two feet thick traverses the county from the southeast to the north west corner, and before long much labor may be em- ploved in realizing that promise of wealth. Already much coal has been removed from some parts of the seam to supply local demands, and Adams
CASEY is a very promising town, having the benefit of traffic and travel on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, but it is only in part includ- ed in the county of Adair, the larger portion being in Guthrie county. I county has sent portions of its carboni-
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TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
ferous riches to more distant fields. As fuel it is not of the first class, being much impregnated with sulphur, but it burns well and blacksmiths use it freely. Up to the present time there has been no mining in the larger meaning of that term, the main opera- tions having been a kind of quarrying along the banks of the different rivers. The discovery of a workable coal bed on the Missouri slope is a feature of more than local importance, but that aspect of the subject cannot be consid- ered on this occasion. The main value for Adams county consists in the pos- sibilities of manufacturing eminence which lie buried with the forests and entombed sunshine of the centuries before Adam himself, in that rich vein. Steam sawmills and a woolen factory already in operation dimly outline the prosperous future which may lift every petty town into importance as an en- trepot of wealth. Men who are wise enough to assess at their true value the coal measures of England, see in their prospective failure within a century at the farthest, the complete eclipse of the manufacturing greatness of that kingdom, with, as an inevitable con- sequence, the transfer of empire to this continent. The possession of coal must eventually resolve all questions as to national and commercial pros- perity, as only the people that have coal can afford to work iron, and those who are the masters of iron command the gold of the world. Building stone of excellent quality has been found in various parts of the county, and the supply will be ample for all purposes. Limestone is plentiful and first class bricks have been at all times available. The eastern half of the county consists of prairie, and is very valuable for ag- ricultural pursuits; the western half, equally rich in soil, being less even in surface, and therefore not so immedi- ately available. Generally the county might be described as undulating, with occasional valleys which must in the course of time, with the advantages which accrue from wealth and civili- zation become surpassingly beautiful.
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