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 31
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Along that river there are several bodies of good timber, more especially near its southern section. One grove, known as Ballard's, contains about 2,000 acres, chiefly of oak, walnut, linn, hickory, elm, and cherry. Wild fruits, such as are common in the state gen- erally, abound in Audubon.
The first settlers in the county who came with an intention to remain, lo- cated themselves in Hamlin's Grove in 1851. The grove was named after one of the new comers, but it is unne- cessary to pursue the individual ad- vantages of the families in question. A separate county organization was authorized, in 1855, by the county judge of Cass, to which the early set- tlers had adhered until they felt them- selves warranted in standing alone. In the same year commissioners were nominated to locate the county seat, and they selected a spot which was af- terwards named Dayton, but although many attempts were made, the parties failed to prove the fitness of their
choice by procuring the sale of lots in the projected town. On the first day only one lot was sold for half a dollar, and although subsequently other lots were disposed of, the town is still in the future. County business could not be done there. After two attempts by appeal to the votes of the people, the town of Exira, first named Viola, was located as the county seat, and in that place official business is transacted for the county to this day.
Exira is on the east side of David's Creek near its junction with the Nish- nabotany, and its situation is very pleasant. Rolling prairie, fine groves and rich farming land diversity the prospect and multiply the probabili- ties of wealth for the little town. Ex- ira was surveyed in 1857, but it was then called by another name, which was abandoned in favor of its present cognomen, because another place had already adopted the first chosen appel- lation.
Oakfield is five miles from Exira on the same side of the river Nishnabot- any, and is located in a grove of oaks. The town was laid out immediately after Exira in 1857, and the first store in the county was opened there. There were settlers on the site of Oakfield three years before the town was locat- ed there.
Audubon City, notwithstanding its ambitious title, can hardly be found except on paper. It was founded in 1855, but seems to have foundered soon after, although at one time it possessed a publishing office and a newspaper. It is a small village on Troublesome creek.
Louisville is another small village but two and a half miles from Exira, and it seems to have nothing beyond its name and its pleasant surroundings to entitle it to extended notice. The names of a few prominent men are identified with both the last named places, and it is evident that Audubon looks to a great future.
Benton County is thirty miles in length by twenty-four in width, em- bracing an area of 470,800 acres, or 720 square miles, containing twenty con- gressional townships, lying near the center of the state. The boundaries of the civil townships correspond with those of the congressional. Benton county presents to the observer an at-
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tractive landseape, rolling prairie bro- [ less than twelve thousand acres. Farm- ken here and there with belts of tim- ber and numerous streams, giving an aspect full of beauty, and a promise of unlimited advancement. Agriculture has no insuperable obstacles to en- counter in the broken surface of the more elevated prairies, and the bot- toms toward which these higher lands gradually slope are fertile in the ex- treme. Groves of timber in some places native, and in others the result of careful planting, contribute largely to the effectiveness of the panorama. Vegetable deposits, decaying year after year during many centuries, have giv- en a rich black mold to the hands of the farmer, and his labors seldom fail of a copious reward. Stock raising has been one of the favorite pursuits of settlers here from the earliest rec- ords, and the land responds liberally to all culture, whether for grasses, grain, fruit, or vegetables for the table.
The Cedar and its tributaries at once water and drain the northern portion of the county. The river rises in Min- nesota, and passes through Taylor and Benton counties, giving a clear and enticing stream, which flows with a strong current which turns about in its course until nearly forty miles of river bears its name in Benton county. Johnson and Bear creeks are its prin- cipal tributaries on its left bank with- in the boundaries named, while on the opposite bank the principal creeks are South Bear, Pratt, Big, Rock, Crooked, Mud, and Wild Cat. Prairie Creek is also tributary. The extreme south- west corner of the county is watered by the Iowa River, a stream not nearly so large as the Cedar. Among its tributaries are the Salt and Buckeye creeks. This county is not well fur- nished with water powers, but there are some on the Cedar which will be- come very valuable as capital expands. The Iowa river is of secondary im- - portance, but still valuable and of great beauty in some localities. The county - is on the whole well timbered, bearing generally the woods heretofore men-
- tioned as predominant in the counties which have heen described. Taylor, Harrison, Benton, and Polk townships - in the northeast are well supplied from the banks of the Cedar, and there are numerous small groves which it would be tedious to specify. Big Grove is one of the largest, as it contains not
ers, generally, in the district, plant groves of greater or less extent, usually of fast growing woods, which become speedily valuable for many purposes, without considering their beneficial influence on the climate and on agri- cultural industries. The further ex- tension of that practice is much to be desired. There are fine quarries of building stone at Vinton and along the Cedar, inexhaustible as to quantity, and in quality equal to the best afford -. ed in the western states. The Vinton stone when first quarried is soft, and can be readily moulded, but after ex- posure to the atmosphere it grows hard, and the brown color changes to an al- most marble like whiteness. This ma- terial is largely used in buildings, and it disintegrates very slowly. Quick- lime can be made from Vinton stone, and the quality is said to be excellent. Good sand and clay fit for brick mak- ing and for the manufacture of earthen- ware, have been found in various places, and at Shullsburg there is an extensive pottery. Belle Plaine, Blairs- town, and some few other places have found coal, but up to the present writ- ing, not in such abundance as to justify mining operations. Granite boulders, quite distinct from the strata of the country, are plentifully scattered on its surface.
Stock raising is a remarkably safe speculation in almost every part of Iowa, and in Benton county this is es- pecially the case. Rolling prairies, with groves of considerable extent at brief intervals, and water abundant, flowing through well grassed country, offer every inducement to that form of enterprise. Thoroughbred and blood- ed stock have won special attention in Benton county, and the future history of the state will not fail to demonstrate the wisdom of such care and skill as has been manifested. Benton County Fine Stock Association has won gold- en opinions from those best qualified to speak on such matters, and it de- serves to be mentioned here, that the society named was the first of its kind organized west of the Mississippi. Many, since its formation, have been established upon its model. Seeing that stock must be raised as the most convenient way of shipping produce to the markets of the world, Iowa farm- ers have wisely concluded that the best
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breeds obtainable in the world could alone meet their demands, and they have acted on that decision with re- sults as satisfactory as have ever been realized elsewhere.
The court house is of course the principal county building, but it will be more convenient to mention its beauties when speaking of Vinton, the county seat. Few western counties have greater facilities for railroad com- munication with the rest of the world than Benton. The Cedar Rapids and Missouri Railroad, leased by the Chi- cago and Northwestern company, has for years past supplied the wants of the community. The Burlington, Ce- dar Rapids and Minnesota railroad, the result of many combinations and consolidations, also runs through the Cedar Valley, so that Benton county is connected by lines, north and south, with the main arteries of railroad traf- fic, toward Maine on the one hand, and the Golden Gate on the other.
School houses and good teachers have also been objects of commenda- ble solicitude among the pioneers, and they have succeeded to an extent which has justified their aspirations.
The year 1839 saw the first perma- nent settlement in Benton county and after that date for many years there was little progress, such as would de- mand notice. Tradition alone tells of the doings of the earliest comers to the territory, and a few names of places such as " Hoosier Point," tell of the locality from which the pioneers found their way into Iowa. Amid the many uncertainties incidental to the claims of men, who came near about the same time to the newly peopled region, and were slow to learn who were their neighbors, it is not desirable to load our pages with the names of an entire population.
Horse thieves and other depredators became so daring in this portion of Io- wa a few years after the settlement was organized that the constituted authori- ties were deemed incapable of dealing with their demerits, and in conse- quence lynch law became the rule dur- ing what were known as "The Dark Ages." Bands of regulators paraded the country wreaking vengeance on suspected persons, and after complet- ing the ruin which the pursued cul- prits had commenced, short shrift and a long rope stood too often in those
wild days instead of justice. County officials were supposed in many cases, to have been among the most active of the " Regulators," and it was believed, that the thieves were occasionally to be found among the most clamorous, for the death of some innocent persons, upon whom, for revenge sake, they had contrived to center unanswerable sus- picions. Happily that condition of affairs came to an end soon after 1851, and since that time duly elected coun- ty officers have sufficed to meet the demands of justice in the once troubled land.
Benton county survey was eom- menced in 1845, but did not get com- pleted until 1847. Organization was however effected in 1846, Vinton being named as the county seat. There was at a later date some considerable sharp practice, to procure a change of the lo- cation, and for a time the schemers won some measure of success, but in the long run Vinton kept the honor, and the present court house was built. It is a substantial brick building, two storied, with excellent accommodation for county business and good provis- ion for the safety of important docu- ments. The court house stands in the public square at Vinton, and is sur- rounded by an ornamental inclosure planted with trees. The first election of officers after the organization of the county took place in April, 1846, and the district court held its first term in the following August, but unfortunate- ly no judge put in an appearance. In the following May a court was duly held with all the formalities possible in the then infantine condition of the institutions.
VINTON contains over three thous- and inhabitants on the west bank of Cedar river, occupying the finest site for a city obtainable near that stream. The banks are high and never subject to overflow, and the ground on which Vinton is built rises gradually for some distance, hence the beauty of each building can be always seen. On the north bank is a forest nearly two miles wide, and on the south bank a strip of beautiful prairie comes down to the river's brim. It will be readily seen that nature offered at this spot an ex- ceptional site for building a town, and the people who have taken up their abode there have ably seconded the exquisite suggestion. Vinton depends
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mainly upon the farm lands, which have been eagerly taken up by agricul- turists, and improved to the highest point. Originally the site was called Fremont, but it was changed to com- pliment one of the early settlers. The laying out of the town took place in 1849, but the post office had been es- tablished there one year before. Vin- ton was incorporated as a city in Au- gust, 1869, and it is noteworty that the city has never licensed the sale of in- toxicants, nor has there been a saloon within its borders since the year 1857. The public school stands in a well wooded park where it is easy of access to all parts of the town, and the organi- zation of the institution is creditable in the extreme.
Iowa college for the blind is a mar- vel of excellence and in it a full corps of teachers is maintained for the be- nevolent purposes indicated by the name of the institution. The build- ing itself is an honor to Vinton and to the state, and but for the seeming di- gression from the purpose of this his- tory, would well deserve some pages of encomiastic description. The beau- tiful stone obtained from the Vinton quarries, a kind of magnesian lime- stone, has been used in the building, which stands on a block of forty acres of land given for the purpose by the city. The beauty of the site, the splen- dor of the crection, and the noble pur- pose to which the whole of the outlay is directed, unite to make the college one of the grandest monuments possi- ble, of the essential Christianity of Iowa.
BELLE PLAINE is an incorporated city, thirty-five miles from Cedar Ra- pids and twenty-five miles from Vinton. It stands in the southwest corner of the county, and is served by the Chica- go and North Western Railroad. This city stands next to Vinton in county importance. It was laid out in 1861, in a beautiful location and almost from its infancy has had the benefit of rail- way communication with the great cen- ters, but there have been no great events in its history to date. Its population exceeds two thousand, and it stands in the center of a beautiful farming coun- try which in the march of events will enrich those who assist the husband- man.
BLAIRSTOWN is a thriving village on the line of the Chicago and North
Western with a population of nearly one thousand. The village was platted in 1861-2, and has increased steadily ever since. The inhabitants take much interest in their graded school which they endeavor to maintain in the high- est degree of efficiency. The build- ings for business and residence are handsome, and the streets are well laid out. There are no less than seven churches in Blairstown, and in other respects the mental and spiritual wants of the population are well catered for.
SHELLSBURG has a population of about seven hundred and it is situated on the line of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota Railroad, on the north side of Bear creek, about ten miles southeast of Vinton. The town was laid out in 1842, and its growth if not rapid has been satisfactory. There is a l'air average of business done in Shellsburg now, and it is slowly im- proving.
NORWAY is the original name of a village with about five hundred inhabi- tants which now aims at being called Florence. The Chicago and North Western Railroad serves the interests of the little town in everything except the one idea of changing its name, and it has no other cause of disquietude. Norway, or Florence, for the place is known by both names, the station re- maining under the original appella- tion, is situated in the southeast part of the county. The station was built in 1853, on five acres of land donated for the purpose, on condition, among other provisos, that the name Nor- way should remain in perpetuity, and that feature makes the station an eye- sore to the Florentines. The town is beautifully situated and must thrive.
Black Hawk County is in the north- ern part of Iowa, already populous and wealthy, containing in all 566 square miles. This county lies in the valley of the Cedar surrounded by all that goes to make up the sum total of pros- perity for a western population. The beauty of the outlook from any com- manding position could hardly be overrated; the rolling prairie, clothed in eternal green, repeats itself in a thousand undulations, telling of charms which will grow more and more de- lightful with advancing years. Groves of fine timber vary the monotony of beauty with a changing excellence in
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which nature hourly renews her youth. The soil is a deep black vegetable mould, with a mixture of sand which improves its value. Wheat and corn will succeed each other on this land for any number of seasons without sign of exhaustion, and fruits, grasses, indeed, all growths proper to a temper- ate clime flourish in this region.
Black Hawk county is well watered by the Cedar river, the Wapsipinicon, and their numerous tributaries. The Cedar flows from northwest to south- east through the center of the county, seldom less than two hundred yards wide, and two feet in depth. The value of such a stream needs no exponent. The waters are beautifully clear and as good as beautiful. The fall of the river bed is considerable, and as a con- sequence there are many mill powers available, but up to this time only a few attempts have been made to utilize these desirable advantages. The Shell- rock river flows into the Cedar in the northwestern part of the county where the river itself divides into the east and west branches. The southwestern section is drained by Black Hawk creek and the most delightful farming land available in the state is watered by that stream. The tributaries of the Black Hawk are Miller, Beaver, Rock, Big and Prairie creeks, besides many of less volume which fall in from the west. Elk Run spring, Silver and Poyners creeks, with minor tributaries fall in from the east, so that the whole remainder of the county is amply pro- vided for as to drainage and water supply.
The Wapsipinicon receives in this county the tribute from Brush, Camp and Crane creeks, and by its agency the northeastern township is made fruitful and pleasant for the farmer.
Well water can be obtained, any- where within a depth of twenty-five feet, and the whole county has unsur- passed facilities for stock raising. The manufacturing advantages of Cedar river will command attention from capitalists within a few years; alrea- dy some mills are located there but good positions are yet unoccupied.
Timber is not so plentiful in this county as in some others, the estimate as to quantity being about one acre of wooded land to every thirteen of prai- rie. That proportion continues to be maintained, and it is anticipated that
an increase is being slowly effected by planting groves which will more than compensate for daily consumption. The pine forests of Minnesota are large- ly drawn upon for lumber at present, and the coal fields of Illinois supply fuel to a very large extent, consequent- ly the farmers who turn their attention to planting care only for the best growths available. The Cedar river used to be famous for its red cedar groves, but that valuable feature of the country's wealth was destroyed by ad- venturers from St. Louis. The depre- dations of these predatory lumbermen continued as of right, even after white settlers came in, but a few indications of their determination to make a fright- ful example of the spoilers, put an end to the traffic after a short time.
The county contains valuable stone for building purposes, and some kinds which may be found of great use in lithography. Geologists find in the strata in this section of the state a great treasure of ancient organic re- mains, but our space will not allow of details on that purely scientific basis, and we leave the interesting records of the world past in abler hands. There is no difficulty in procuring excellent limestone almost anywhere within easy distances, and clay, fit to make the best kind of bricks, is plentiful. Sand also is abundant.
Apples and pears, when the hardier varieties have been selected, have pros. pered tolerably well in this county ; but, in the enumeration of its claims upon attention, the honest and pains- taking historian will not describe Black Hawk county as a first class fruit growing district. There is a large variety of small fruits raised with moderate care, but there are other at- tractions upon which the practical farmer may more confidently rely for returns in a commercial sense. Per- haps, when the peculiarities of the re- gion have been more closely studied, it will be possible to reap large profits from well chosen orchards. The cli- mate is very salubrious, the atmosphere being clear of miasma in a remarka- ble degree. During winter the cold is severe, but it is tolerably steady, and can be provided for. Rain, during summer, comes with great regularity to gladden the heart of the husband- man, and gentle breezes prevail dur- ing nearly the whole of the season.
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Droughts and damaging floods are | of ceaseless labor to haunt the soli- comparatively unknown.
The record is already made of rivers and streams which meander through this fertile region contributing so much moisture to air and soil, that grasses of all kinds, whether wild or tame, spring up with great profusion, and stock can be raised in this county with great profit, although much care has to be bestowed during winter in pro- viding for their protection and feed. The best breeds to be found in the state have been introduced into this country with great advantage, and fairs are held in Waterloo and else- where every year, helping both the ag- riculturist and the stock producer by additional incentives to profitable emu- lation.
The site of the beautiful city of Ce- dar Falls seems to have been visited for the first time hy a white settler, in the year 1844, when William Chambers built his cabin on the banks of the Cedar river. He was mainly a hunter and trapper, and, in consequence, he loved a solitary life, so that he moved further afield when neighbors ap- proached his camping ground. Tra- dition and probability alike say that the same country had been hunted and trapped over before; but other names are problematical - William Cham- bers is known. The Indians were hardly more unsettled than the early trappers.
The first claim for settled occupa- tion appears to have been made in 1845, and, since that time, the indubit- able charms of Black Hawk have not been lost sight of by advancing civili- zation. The homes of the first comers were rough and rude, such as would barely cover the necessities of fron- tiersmen - hardy and careless amid the toils of the wilderness; but the names of the few score of families, with which the infant settlement began, re- main among the county records to this day, and are identified with the high- est legal attainments which have adorned the courts, and the best states- manship yet exhibited in the legisla- ture.
Indian titles to the land have been but recently given up, and the red- skins were naturally slow to leave a section of country so well adapted to their modes of life. But when the white man came with the busy hum
tudes in which the savage once delight- ed, the magic spell which of old bound them to their hunting grounds, was broken, and they followed the slowly vanishing game. Their depar- ture was not regretted by their white neighbors, who could not recognize the poetry of Indian depredations, and were quite inclined to apply the rough-and-ready remedies of frontier law to perpetual peculations. An In- dian is now a phenomenon in the ter- ritory which was once his own, before the days of modern improvements.
The territorial legislature of Iowa settled the bounds of Black Hawk county in 1843, hut Delaware county exercised judicial functions in that re- gion for some time afterwards. Sub- sequently there was a transfer of the powers in question to Benton county, in 1845, and, still later, to Buchanan county. When steps were taken to lo- cate the county seat, Bremer, Grundy and Butler were attached to Black Hawk county for purposes of revenue, election and the exercise of judiciary powers, and the village of Cedar Falls was selected as the county seat. The organization of the county went on during all the time that these several transfers were being made, and the first election actually occurred in Au- gust, 1853. In the same month and year, the first term of the county court was held by Judge Pratt, in the same village, and taxes were levied to meet the wants of the time. Since that date, when the real and personal property of the county was assessed at little more than $91,000, and the tax levied was only $873, the wealth of the people has kept pace with their organization.
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