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 57
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83
The year 1844 saw the settlement largely increased, but a partial failure
582
TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
of the crops of that year, almost total in some few places, threatened famine among the pioneers, and many had to travel as much as a hundred miles or even more to procure the means of subsistence. They were learning in a hard school the peculiarities of the region into which they had moved, and the experiences of that era will not be repeated in that county.
The pioneers formed claim associ- ations as a means of protection for each other against unscrupulous prac- titioners, such as those who have been mentioned under the title of " land sharks," elsewhere. The territory was beyond the reach of civil laws for some considerable time, but the law of the public good was made to ope- rate by the common sense of the com- munity. The men who belonged to the claim association in Marion county, bound themselves to respect the rights of others, in consideration of loyal services from all the members of the organization, to maintain each indi- vidual's proper claims. Outsiders, try- ing to make money by sharp practice, found this institution a difficult enemy to overcome, and so the main purpose of the association was a success.
One member of this association availed himself of his opportunity in 1847, to enter the claims of several other men after securing his own, and the consequence was that the clubs compelled him to relinquish his un- righteous advantages. The usurper sought his revenge by procuring the indictment of his fellow members, and at that point there appears to have been a visitation of a mysterious des- cription, after which the usurper was conscious of a strong oder of tar wherever he went, and there were enough feathers used for his adorn- ment as would have stuffed a score of pillows. There seemed to be nothing supernatural in this development, but it produced such an effect on the mind of the disturber that he abandoned all the prosecutions, and as the novelists used to say, they were all happy ever afterwards. Lynch law is at the best a rude experiment, but it is better than the operation of individual covetous- ness, or violence without restraint, and only to that extent can it be defended. Old writers have shaped the maxim, salus populi suprema lex, and they are right. "The safety of the people
is the highest law," but lynch law is a poor substitute for settled institutions and the calm operations of judicial intellects upon the wrongs which de- mand investigation.
Organization had become the first necessity. The county had been joined to other portions of the territory at vari- ous times, but in 1845, a separate organ- ization for Marion county was resolved upon, the requisite authorization was procured, and the county seat was lo- cated at Knoxville, where the officers of the district met in a rude hut con- structed of poles, with a hole cut in the side to serve the purpose of a win- dow. That was the beginning of bet- ter days, and the value of the habita- tion of justice and authority was a small affair compared with the avowed intention of the populace to be gov- erned by these adjuncts and factors of civilized life.
KNOXVILLE, the county seat, is lo- cated near the center of the county of Marion. Since that first meeting in the hut, with a hole in the side for a window, there have been some consid- erable advances. There is a very handsome court house now, and the location in the public square is sur- rounded first by ornamental grounds well shaded, and next by the best bus- iness premises in the town. The town has no railroad at present, but a line is to be constructed from Albia to Des Moines, and when that comes into ope- ration there will be a large amount of shipping transacted at this point. The beauty of Knoxville has been jealously conserved from the first settlement, and there is no other method at once so cheap and so effective as planting trees to preserve and improve the or- nate appearance of a town. That fact has been well considered and acted upon by the people of Knoxville, as their town is daily demonstrating to every visitor. The cheerful aspect of Knoxville is due in the main to its shade trees artistically disposed, but much is also due to surrounding scene- ry and advantages, which may be glanced at but cannot be thoroughly and exhaustively described in our pages.
The country which surrounds Knox- ville is the fiuest description of agri- cultural land, and it is in the hands of a splendid class of men, who know how to make the best of the blessings
583
SKETCHES OF COUNTIES.
of which they are possessed. Such a ; new departure in their career of life. community never fails to make the prosperity of the town which they frequent. Then it is worth something to a town to be near to the very best descriptions of building material, that advantage has made its mark on the public buildings and private resi- dences of Knoxville. Contiguity to timber and to coal have given each their quota toward the success which has been attained, and of course the location of county offices has added something to the tone of society, which reproduces itself in enduring forms in the material entities of which a city largely consists.
The public school in Knoxville is a substantial edifice of brick, with stone facings, located in the midst of a fine area, well planted and adorned. The grounds are well laid out to appeal to the sense of beauty in the growing in- telleets of the race, and the schools have every modern appliance for the furtherance of mental training. The school is graded, and there are six teachers, under an efficient bead, en- gaged in the work. Latin and Ger- man, with academic exercises adapted to the scope of the institution, can be imparted when time enough is given to scholastic development, and gener- ally the results have been highly satis- factory.
Newspapers have been established in Knoxville since 1855, when the first paper made its debut in that town. There are now two, which represent the opposing parties in political life, and they are very well supported by the public as a whole.
PELLA has been mentioned already in our pages in describing the admira- ble quarries from which the best kind of St. Louis limestone is obtained. We come now to speak of the origin of the community which inhabit that place and make it of peculiar inter. est. Holland, whose hospitable dike- walled towns gave a shelter to free thought when the kingdoms of Europe were trying to trample into the dust every trace of that power which is destined to extinguish king-craft and hierarchy, found within its borders, in 1846, a little body of men anxious to open out in a broader field, and, natu- rally, the prudent Dutchman looked across the seas to this land, the adopted home of the Pilgrim Fathers, for the
An association formed under such auspices, for such purposes, was brought into operation. Men who had means were required to assist those who had none, subject, of course, to reimbursement. There were certain rules adopted to shut out profanity, intemperance, superstition and athe- ism from the organization, and eventu- ally eight hundred people were brought to this country by the agency of the society. Unlike many other such efforts, the scheme has proved a complete and an enduring success. Pella, known as the City of Refuge, was made the center of the home first established; the lands, which were part settled on Lake Prairie, were pur- chased from their occupants, and the whole district taken up for the use and benefit of the colony. Progress, during many years, has but served to develop the soundness of the move- ment, and although the population is now somewhat mixed, there remains enough of the original element to stamp a character on the place and on the people.
The Central University of Iowa is located at Pella, and is a very well en- dowed and prosperous institution, be- louging the Baptist denomination, ca- pable of accommodating three hun- dred students. The land on which the university stands was given for the purpose by the gentleman to whom the success of the Pella colony is mainly due. The institution contains a valuable library and a museum, and the attainments of the professors are of high rank.
The town of Pella is an important station and depot on the Des Moines Valley Railroad, over which an im- mense traffic is sent from this place, the center of a populous and flourish- ing community of farmers. The gen- eral business of the town is quite large, and the quarries help materially to increase its beauty and wealth. The town is incorporated, and has the ad- vantages of excellent schools, duly graded, in a handsome building. Pella has a newspaper, which calmly reflects the characteristics of the population, for whose benefit it is published.
There are many other villages and post offices which should be men- tioned, together with their claims on public notice, but, space being limited,
584
TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
we must be conteut to give their names only, and there are some few places not yet named in which settlements are being made somewhat rapidly. The villages and post offices are: Co- loma, Bennington, Attica, Cooper Springs, Columbia, English Settlement, Dallas, Gosport, Iola, Hamilton, Lucas Grove, Newbern, Marysville, Oak, Pleasantville, Otley, Red Rock, Star, Wheeling and Rosseau. Many of these villages are engaged in mining operations, and others are interested in the fine quarries found in this county.
Marshall County occupies almost the geographical center of the state of Iowa and its size is twenty-four miles square. The forty second parallel of latitude passes through this county. The Iowa river is the principal stream in Marshall county which takes a southeast course from very nearly the center of the northern boundary, and has tributaries from almost every sec- tion. The stream is large and rapid all through the year, and its waters clear and good. Many water powers of great value are found on the banks of this river, and the breadth, only about forty yards on an average, makes the cost of constructing dams compara- tively moderate.
Asher creek is one of the principal tributaries of the Iowa river, which it joins near Marshalltown after run- ning about eleven miles. Burnett creek flows into the river just below Marshalltown, having taken its rise in the northeastern townships of Mar- shall county. Rock creek falls into the river five miles east of the same point, and is not of great volume, being mainly fed by springs, and traversing a very limited range of country. Honey creek comes from the west and has two branches, the main stream is ten miles long, and it takes its origin from Hardin county. Minerva creek is a succession of small creeks or streams draining and irrigating a large area of country to the northwest, with an aggregate of twenty miles in length. Lime creek, never very large, traverses twenty-six miles before join- ing the Iowa near Marshalltown. Next to Lime creek in length, but vastly su- perior to it in volume and otherwise, is Timber creek which runs nearly twenty-four miles before entering the Iowa river. The north Skunk with
numerous branches, runs through the southwestern part of the county, and a vast array of nameless rivulets, added to many others of purely local cel- ebrity in connection with the forego- ing water, and drain the whole county in a manner largely conducive to its reputation for fertility and beauty.
Along the Iowa river there are im- mense groves of timber and similar masses are found on Timber creek be- sides a number of detached belts and groves of less extent elswhere, making an aggregate of about thirty-three thousand acres. Since settlement has been carried on extensively in this county, it has been noticed that the acreage of land under timber has been steadily increasing, and that even the prairies are becoming woodland. The causes which operate to work this im- provement have already been glanced at in our pages, and need not be re- capitulated here.
The surface of Marshall county is very considerably diversified. Gently undulating land without hills or val- leys of any extent run through the county except where the streams inter- vene. Prairie bottoms in some cases two miles in width are found occa- sionally along the course of the Iowa river, and are found very valuable for grazing purposes, as the grass springs here before it begins to show in the higher regions. High rolling prairie, about fifty feet above the level of the streams in the lower altitudes, and gradually rising to one hundred feet or more, is the prevailing feature, and the varieties of slope by which the valleys and the prairie uplands join, with oc- casional ravines and almost precipi- tous bluffs, make the scene as widely diversified as the most fastidious lover of change could wish. The soil of the uplands is a black loam mixed with sand, and very deep in some places; the fertility of such formations has been already explained, and the crops customarily raised do not vary very much in the state of Iowa. Corn yields from sixty to eighty bushels to the acre. Tobacco has been produced with profit, but it is claimed that to- bacco exhausts the soil very rapidly. Cereals, root crops and fruit, likewise flourish wherever due care is bestowed on their cultivation. Corn appears to be the staple.
Marshall is mainly distinguished for
.
585
SKETCHES OF COUNTIES.
its live stock, as for many years past | scope, all the chief cssentials for an the best breeds have been introduced, enduring prosperity. Add to all these a delightful climate every way favoring health and longevity, and the record of the virtues of Marshall county is very nearly complete. The country is truly prosperous. and there is hardly a farm on which there is not a showing of cattle and horses of illustrious pedigree. Should human beings ever attain to the dis- tinction which belongs to blooded horses, the careful training and cul- ture which must needs follow would weed out the lower type of the race by a process of " natural selection " and "survival of the fittest" within a few generations, but as long as our matri- monial contracts are based on lucre or on other such mean personal advan- tages, there cannot fail to be miserable, weedy specimens of the genus homo in high places, and our hospitals, asylums and jails will teem with poor creatures, to whom life is an unmitigated humil- iation and sorrow.
About half of Marshall county lies within the coal region, but no mines have yet been opened here. The coal found in the county adjoining this on the south gives a good quality of coal, in such quantities as abundantly pay for working and leave a fair margin of profit, consequently there is no doubt but that Marshall will do the same.
The eastern portion of the county has many fine quarries from which building stone of excellent quality has been obtained. Some of the limestone found in this county is so highly prized that it is named Le Grand Mar- ble, but the title is too ambitious, and therefore misleading; but the bed of limestone is beyond question very fine, and susceptible of a beautiful finish. Limestone, fit for the manufacture of quicklime, is found in almost every quarry that is opened. Near Marshall town is a quarry which may be ex- tended without limit for a century to come, supplying a dark red conglom- erate which contains a mixture of iron. Probably the color is due to that ma- terial. The stone hardeus after it is removed from the quarry, and is there- fore easy to work, but it will endure great pressure, and is much in request for foundations. Marshall county has also a superior description of clay for the manufacture of bricks, and many large establishments are engaged in that business. It will be seen from this briet' glance at the soil, strata, rivers, woods and other resources of this county, that it contains within its
The winter of 1847 saw au cncamp- ment of Mormons in Marshall county, and the poor creatures suffered terribly on their flight from Nauvoo. What- ever may have been their faults in the district which they were summarily compelled to quit, there was punish ment of the severest kind in their lo- cation upon these lands in the midst of an inclement season. Flocks and herds they had none, and a crop could not be raised in time to avert the in- roads of hunger. The trees were robbed of their bark to make an innu- tritious and unsatisfying bread, which might temporarily stay the pangs of starvation. Great numbers died of famine, and the survivors could hardly find strength enough to place them beneath the sod. The wild animals which once abounded in the region which they temporarily occupied, were too few to supply the wants of the set- tlements. The rivers were frozen over so that fish could seldom be caught by the rude contrivances to which they were compelled to resort, and there were no human habitations within easy reach to which they could carry their tale of woe, with a hope to obtain re- lieť. Such experiences may have rankled in the breasts of the men who passed through Iowa in their flight to- ward Utah, and thus have hardened their hearts for the horrible massacres which have stained the history of the Mormon church since that date, for it requires a very high civilization indeed to enable injured and suffering men to bless their persecutors, and to be- have mercifully toward those through whom they and their loved ones have been submerged beneath the waters of affliction. The Mormons moved on in the following spring, and other settlers came into the country under auspices more favorable to permanent habita- tion.
The Sac and Fox Indians, over whom Black Hawk ruled, used to oc- cupy this territory before the pale faces came, and although there were on the whole friendly relations between the Musquakas, as the combined tribes
586
TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
are called, and the settlers, yet occa- ional difficulties with individuals led at one time to an expectation that the red men would assault and destroy the little colony. In June, 1850, so great was the anticipation of war, that a fort was built by the whites, and twenty- four families took shelter there, pre- pared for every emergency. The troops stationed at Fort Dodge were too distant and too few to come to the rescue until after the fortification had been occupied about a month, when, in the latter part of July, 1850, a bat- talion of dragoons removed the Indi- ans to another location west of the Missouri. It is not easy to say who were most to blame for the condition of affairs which rendered the military demonstration necessary, probably both sides were to blame only so far as the actions of individuals drag in the responsibility of the mass, but at any rate it is satisfactory to know that the steps taken by the infant settlement averted bloodshed in that instance.
The farmers returned to their habi- tations and to the prosecution of their agricultural designs as soon as the In- dians had been removed from the country, and there has never since that time, been any trouble in Marshall county between the red men and the whites, except in scattered individual collisions.
The first white settlement in this region, excepting the temporary stay of the Mormons in 1847, was on the site of Le Grand township, during the same year. In 1848, there were many pioneer cabins erected, and the work went on so rapidly that in 1849 county organization was effected. The county seat was located at Marietta, in the year 1851, and that place was rapidly rising into importance as a business center, many arrivals from the eastern states having settled down in that lo- cality, when a struggle for preemi- nence began between that place and Marshalltown, the present location. The contest continued with much vio- lence on both sides, worse weapons than forensic eloquence being resorted to, until in 1859, the supreme court or- dered the removal of all records to Marshalltown.
The Chicago and Northwestern rail- road passes east and west through Marshall county, crossing the Central railroad of Iowa at Marshalltown.
The last named road crosses the coun. ty in a northwesterly course, and thus every part of the agricultural area can, with little trouble, be brought into contact with convenient shipping sta- tions, by means of which their surplus produce can be sent to first class mar- kets. The Chicago and Northwestern road was completed as far as the coun- ty seat in 1863; consequently Marshall- town is now quite an old railroad cen- ter in the new country.
MARSHALLTOWN stands on the east side of the river Iowa, near the center of the county, ou high, rolling prai- rie, in the midst of a tract of country upon which nature seems to have lav- ished all the charms that pertain to a temperate clime. The town is well laid out, the streets broad and well drained, the business blocks numer- ous and substantial, the residences ele- gant and well placed, with all the ad- vantages which attach to plenty v. wood and water, the neighborhood of coal, the contiguity to a river and good building stone, and the presence of beautiful groves, which diversify the scene. Many of the citizens have beautified their homes, and all the pub- lic have participated in the improve- ment of the reserves, by planting shade trees, most of which are very or- namental.
The first settlement on this site was made in 1851, but the town was not surveyed and laid off until 1853. The first name bestowed upon the settle- ment was Marshall; but when a post- office was established, it was found convenient to add the termination, " town," in consequence of many mis- takes which occurred in the confusion incidental to the town and the county having the same appellation. The site appears to have been chosen for its beauty, but among the pioneers the useful was so intimately related to the beautiful that it would have been hard for them to see the charm of a region which could not offer an area of fertile land to the agriculturist, as well as an unexceptionable site for a city for the trading population. Certain it is that Iowa can hardly show a spot which more completely answers to all the re- quirements for a first class center of commerce and residence, in which the arts and industries may prosper in closest intercourse with that cardinal [ enterprise which wins the staff of life
587
SKETCHES OF COUNTIES.
from the soil, and renders possible return upon the capital invested for its all the other works which, on that benefit. basis, surrounds life with enchant- ments.
The battle for the county seat loca- tion went on with various fortunes un- til 1859, when Marshalltown became the victor. Meantime a postoffice was secured in 1854, but so little did the place resemble the town of six thou- sand inhabitants which now stands there, that deer were hunted through the streets about the time that the city became a postal station.
The workshops of the Central rail- road of Iowa have just been located at Marshalltown, the citizens having giv. en to the company a premium of $75,- 000 for the privilege, which, in the course of a few years, will amply re- pay the outlay. The school buildings here are handsome and commodious, and the schools are managed very well indeed by a staff of excellent teachers, under a principal of acknowledged ability. The men of this city are an energetic, enterprising class, which permits of no possibility of failure. The destructive fire which, in 1872, swept over the place, destroying almost every building ou fifteen acres, includ- ing several elevators and a number of hotels, with a total loss of about $200,- 000, hardly made a pause in the pro- gress of Marshalltown; and now near- ly all the buildings which were con- sumed have been replaced with more commodious edifices.
The value of the shipping station to the mercantile community is quite as great as to the farmer, and to both it will improve. The press is well rep- resented in the county seat, and is well supported by all classes throughout the county.
STATE CENTER stauds in the western part of Marshall county, on the line of the Chicago and North Western rail- road. which has an excellent station here. The western part of the county is largely occupied for farming and grazing purposes, and as a matter of course this depot is used by a large number of farmers as the point of shipment for their live stock, hogs and general produce. Just here as it is found elsewhere, the huisness of ship- ment brings to the town a fair average of local trade. The railroad has made State Center what it is as a town, and the community bids fair to pay a good
The following are the names of other villages and post offices which have not yet commenced to make history. Bangor, Albion, Bivin's Grove, Gil- man, Edenville, Green Mountain, Lamoille, Illinos Grove, Laurel, Lis- comb, Le Grand, Marietta, Quarry, Minerva, Stanford, Vienna and Timber Creek. Among these names are found Le Grand, a village which will become famous and rich in consequence of the quarries which are being worked in that locality, and Marietta, once, and for several ycars the capital of the county. The last named place deserved a more prominent position, if only for the courage with which the people, vi et armis, defended the honor of the county seat, but the law's delays and the manifold expenses, with all the troubles incident to defeat, have caused the little town to retrogade for a time, and it may be some years before it will come again to the front rank.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.