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 66
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CREDIT ISLAND is a kind of delta, west of the main stream of the Missis- sippi. The name was given because the French traders established a post here and used to give the Indians cred- it. It is not recorded whether the ex- periment proved a success, but caslı on delivery is usually thought the best basis of trade with the noble red man.
The first contest for county seat was between Davenport and Rockingham, and the voting was very spirited, but the result was favorable to Davenport, and there were so many suggestions of unfair play that a new contest was or- dered by the duly constituted authority. Davenport was accused of having im- ported a supply of voters for the oc- casion, and it was supposed that such as could arrange the matter satisfactor- ily "voted early and voted often," on that day.
The next poll was deelared in favor of Rockingham, but after a delay, which was as mysterious as the first voting had been declared to be on this occasion, the majority for the town of Rockingham was pronounced to be a verdict of the public in favor of Daven- port, and that place was declared to be the county seat. Writs of mandamus, and legislative action followed in due course and a third election was order- ed, but by this time there were other " Richmonds in the field," so the old rivals made terms of reconciliation in the presence of the parvenu aspir- ants, Davenport winning honors, by tricks which were not vain. Rock- ingham "paled her ineffectual fires " after the battle was over. and the town soon passed out of recognition.
In July, 1838, Iowa was separated from Wisconsin by an act of congress, and immediately thereafter this county was called to make new elections of officers, and the number of voters on that occasion proved that the popula- tion of the county was rapidly in- creasing. The improvement went ou with rapidly accelerating speed, until in some parts of Scott county there seemed to be almost a velocity in the rush of immigration.
In the year 1853, the first railroad company in this county, was organiz- ed as the Mississippi and Missouri
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railroad company. The work was of immense importance to the county and the appreciation of that importance may be seen in the fact that $100,000 of the required stock, one-sixth of the whole amount named, was raised by individual contributions, $50,000 by the county and $75,000 more by the city of Davenport.
The days of the ferry boat and the stage coach were being numbered, the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad was opened in 1854, the Mississippi was to he bridged, the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad was to join the other road by that structure, and the work was well accomplished by 1856. There was some cause for Scott coun- ty to feel elated; that one event was worth more than a coal mine that might underlie the whole area. Every town and every acre of the fertile land that might grow supplies for the hu- man family had now from this locality means of carrying its supplies to the best market. Every man that had in contemplation some work of accom- plishment, some enterprise that would pay had established by his share in this work as a citizen of Scott county, some claims to consideration in the republic of money, and to such help as the captalist might consider wise and safe. All the machinery of civil- ization became part and parcel of the governing power of that region from that hour. The public opinion of the largest communities came into opera- tion as a factor of thought in these se- clusions, which until now had known no press worthy of the name. With the railroad and the bridged river came an improved possibility in police control and order, came too, the elec- tric telegraph and that immunity from crime, which arises just in proportion as the probabilities of escape for the criminal are diminished, came the bet- ter organization of the honest and en- terprising class of merchants and tra- ders against the land sharks who move from place to place, using specious ar- pearances and devilish audacity to de- stroy the confidence of men in each other. The old settlers who saw the opening of that bridge, might well feel elated by the triumph which had been accomplished by courage and skill, and self sacrifice, but they could not have imagined by any power short of the gift of prophecy how vast was the
boon which the men of that time be- stowed upon their children.
THE CITY OF DAVENPORT, county seat for the county of Scott, stands op- posite Rock Island, Illinois, on the right side of the Mississippi river, be- low the upper rapids. There is some beautiful scenery around Davenport, and it is various. Back of the town is the broad undulating prairie, with its border of broken land, against which the great river might have hurled its waves long ago, when the bluffs were the natural boundaries of the stream, and when the channel had not been worn to its present depth in the strata. Below these broken lands the bluffs look down upon the plain where the city now shapes the desti- nies of thousands, but where, until very recently, there was a forest of timber crowded almost to the rivers brink. Where the city does not extend its stalwart arms and bear down the vegetation of half a century, there are still trees, and in some directions there are groves springing up, which owe their presence to the fostering care of the city, or the county, or are due to the cultivated love of the beautiful, which that community has fostered. Far away upon the high lands, are homes of young, lovely and brave men and maidens, who are en- abled by those clanking engines, and the perpetual roar of industry, to build up in their brain and heart those fac- ulties of thought and love, wbich, in a nation's extremity, may be worth more than battalions of armed men. The cultivated intellect resembles the dia- mond cut into all the beauty which the lapidary can compass. There is not a ray of light, but some one of its facets will reflect it back again with added brilliancy. Thus it is with the mind. The clod looks out upon the flowing river, and the flower bursting into bloom, but it has for him no les- son ; the whole book of nature is to him at best, a mass of hieroglyphs confused and worthless; but the soul, awakened to its highest power, finds in the same phenomena a voice, a token, a distinct command, which compels him to sink down in adoration,
" Prone on the great world's alter-stairs, Which slant through darkness up to God."
The Egyptian laborer saw, ten thou- sand times, the blades of grass which
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had formed their seeds, but from that [ tion of more than twenty thousand, significant suggestion he procured no and it is safe to say that, by the time - the union has completed its centenni- al, there will be thirty thousand per- sons in and around that city. hint of the vast granary of human sustenance which might be built up out of the tiny messenger of God's mercy. Other eyes, more capable of The appearance of the city is deci- dedly imposing, all the aspects of a commercial and manufacturing town strikes the visitor at the first glance. Vast business blocks. tall chimneys, thronged streets and a populace full of the affair of the moment, without time or inclination for the idle curiosity of the villager. The improvements of the age are here represented in their latest form -streets lighted with gas, traversed by street railroads, and re- ticulated with water pipes which will not allow the streams to escape from mau's control, until the very topmost rooms in the greatest buildings have been visited to serve his needs. seeing, contemplated the phenomena, some one of the seers, perchance, who suggested the building of the truly oriental pyramids, for the better calcu- lation of the precession of the equi- noxes, and the seeds told him their story. They could be improved by selection, as the other vegetable foods of man had been, and the idea deserved an experiment. The largest seeds were planted, and, from their seeds, still the largest, for a long succession of seasons, until the lowly grass had become wheat, barley, oats and rye, and the granaries of Egypt attracted the famine stricken tribes from every land.
The apple might have fallen a mill- ion times before the eyes of some dullard, but the theory of gravitating force which holds this earth in its place in the sun's system; the sun with all its planets in some larger system, and all these in some grander combi- nation, in endless extension, could never have gleamed in upon his mind. For him, as for Peter Bell in Words- worth's poem, there could be no reve- lation but the physical verity that touched the material sense in its rudest way -
The primrose by the river's brim, A yellow primrose was to him, And it was nothing more.
Newton saw it, and his Principia had already taken form, because that won- drous intellect had been shaped and fashioned for his work. Thus, ever the progress and the struggle of one age, and one man, becomes the plane upon which succeeding generations commence their labors.
Davenport is favored in situation, and it is still more fortunate in the type of its inhabitants, who are a pushing and intellectual combination of all that is most valable in American city life. The population, which in 1839 was less than five hundred, had grown to two thousand in less than twelve years, and, within ten years from that time, was twelve thousand. In the year 1870, when the people were numbered, Davenport had a popula-
The railroads continue to favor their own interests and those of the city by making this place one of their main depots. The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad does a large business here, and the same may be said of the Davenport and St. Paul. The gen- eral government, uniting with the first named of these companies, has recent- ly, at a cost of $1,000,000, constructed a new bridge of wrought iron to re- place the bridge first constructed to unite Davenport with Rock Island. The present structure rests upon mas- sive piers and abutments of stone, and has been built to accommodate car- riages and pedestrians as well as for the use of the railroad, hence the share in construction borne by the gen- eral treasury. The city is one of the largest grain depots in the west, and the great water power available here, added to the many other causes which unite to make this an immense store- house for the industrial forces through- out Iowa, must force the growth of this metropolis to immense propor- tions.
The site on which Davenport stands was first occupied by white men for purposes of settlement in 1833 and the town laid out in 1836. The city takes its name from an enterprising Eng- lishman, who came to this country in the year 1804, and was connected with the army until after the war with his native land on the impressment ques- tion in the year 1812. When the Aaron Burr difficulty arose, he served under
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Gen. Wilkinson at the Sabine. He | cation of youth. The board of edu- was with the expedition which ascend- ed the Mississippi in 1805, to quell the disturbances among hostile Indi- ans, and when he retired from active service, Col. Davenport came into this region, making his home here from the year 1818 until his death.
He was a member of the American Fur Company for many years, and, when that company retired from the field of operations, he carried on the business on his own responsibility, leaving with every person who came in contact with him in his career, a very excellent impression. He was murdered in 1845, at his home on Rock Island, by a gang of ruffians, some of whom suffered the penalty of the law.
The first improvements made on the site of Davenport bear date 1833, but there were only seven houses there af- ter a lapse of three years, and the post- master, who was also the ferryman, carried the mail in his pocket, earning as his first three months' salary, in his official capacity, less than $1.
The town was incorporated in 1838, and the first brick house was erected there during the same year. The growth of the city could not be more satisfactorily attested than by the number and importance of the news- papers at this time.
The mere publication of a newspa- per says very little for the status of a place; it may be a sheet of village gossip, printed under some wide- spreading tree, and distributed by the winds, as the other dry leaves of the forest are driven hither and thither ; but when newspapers increase in numbers continuously, and are read by thousands of subscribers who are accustomed to a world-wide breadth of thought, without a sense of vacuity in their well printed columus, there is positive testimony that the city which can sustain a press so well conducted, must have attained considerable growth. In that way, the newspaper press of Davenport may be called in evidence to show the type of town which it represents.
The public schools are graded in four departments, and they are very well conducted, the greatest care hav- ing been exercised, irrespective of cost, to procure for Davenport the best tal- ent available in both sexes for the edu- 1
cation and an able city superintend- ent preserve the most complete over- sight of the several institutions. There are many private schools in the place and they are well managed; but the public schools still have the favor of many of the wealthiest citizens who are anxious for the welfare of their children.
The Catholic population in Daven- port amounts to somewhere about ten thousand, and the edifices of " the el- der church " are very handsome and commodious. In connection with their organization there is a temperance so- ciety which was much called for and has effected a great deal of good.
The various protestant denomina- tions are also strong and very whole souled in their operations, but it would occupy too much of our space to give detailed mention to their several build- ings and organizations.
Shelby County is on the Missouri slope, second county east from that river, and fourth from the southern boundary of Iowa, containing about five hundred and seventy-six square miles. The surface is generally rol- ling but along the larger streams there are valleys which have been deeply scored into the strata and there is also a large proportion of broken land. The hills are precipitous, in some places necessarily, where the valleys have been so completely hollowed.
We have spoken elsewhere of coun- ties, parts of whose surfaces seemed to have been formed by a process similar to that which throws the waves of the sea into their wondrous shapes and configurations. Here that type of country is seen in some of its most fantastic developments, as if the earth had rivalled the mobile sea, and ex- celled what it only sought to imitate.
The soil of this hilly country is well suited for the cultivation of fruit trees of various kinds, but it is not precisely the form of surface which an agricul- turist would select for his farm. The lands slope toward the river bauks, generally in the valleys of the several streams and along the west Nishna- botany; some of these river margins average nearly a mile across. There are fine belts and groves of timber along the streams. The bluff deposit prevails here with the customary ad-
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dition of vegetal deposit on the face, but the subsoil and understratum of clay are seldom found in Shelby coun- ty. The absence of clay materially as- sists the process of drainage in this re- gion. The native grasses are more prosperous here than any other, aud corn may be looked upon as the staple, althoughi all the cereals and vegeta- bles flourish with due care as else- where in Iowa.
The West Nishnabotany already mentioned many times in these pages. flows toward the south through the central township in this county, re- ceiving from its eastern affluents the Middle Nishnabotany, Whitted's and Indian creeks, very copious sup- plies. The affluents of Boyer river and of the Missouri effectually drain the western part of the county, and the irrigation of that section is well se- cured by the Pigeon, Mosquito, Silver, and Picayune creeks. There is a small creek in the northwest, known as Mills creek, which finds its way into the Boyer after leaving this county. Near this creek one of the finest groves in the county is located ; it con- sists of about one thousand acres of excellent growths.
There are many considerable bodies of timber near the several streams, the varieties being those which are com- mon to other parts of the state and therefore not calling for more particu- lar description. The quantity is how- ever, much less than will be necessary for the development of Shelby county's agricultural resources. Lumber can be cheaply procured from a distance, but the shelter obtainable from groves and woodlands cannot be imported, but must be of native growth. The protected lands are now giving much promise of native wood which will doubtless come up rapidly under fav- oring circumstances, and settlers are planting choice varieties in positions most likely to assist their designs.
Coal has been diligently sought on the surface of this county, and among the exposures by the river beds, but up to this time without result. The forma- tion leads to the belief that the upper coal measure may be found at a depth of nearly three hundred feet, conse- quently there will not be much coal mining effected here before the next centennary gathering.
The supply of stone is limited, the
boulders from the era of glacial de- posits being almost the only resource in that direction, but a serviceable clay is found, and from that material an unlimited supply of bricks can be manufactured.
This county was at one time long be- fore actual settlement in great repute among trappers and hunters, but ac- tual organization only dates from 1853, when thirteen votes were polled in the election of officials. Shelbyville was made the county seat and a town was laid out at the point indicated, but the city lives now only in the memories of a few men and in the pages of some peculiarly musty records.
HARLAN is the county seat, and the town stands very near the geographi- cal center, about half a mile from the Nishnabotany river, near the point where the west and middle branches join in one mightier stream. The sec- ond bottom of the river serves as the site of Harlan, and the position is well chosen, commanding a very extensive and encouraging prospect of fertile prairies which roll and rise one above the other, like " Alps piled on Alps," in a miniature way, to a great emi- nence. The hills have the effect of sheltering Harlan from the rude winds, and the situation is much ap- proved for residence. There is one newspaper here, a good school, and there are several churches. The sur- rounding country is fertile but the town lacks preferment by the rail- roads. There are only a few miles of railroad within this county, but all the facilities desired for shipment of produce by the farmers are within easy reach outside the bounds of this organization. The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific and the Chicago and Northwestern Railroads run to and fro on the northern and southern sides, giving to agriculturists the choice of routes most congenial to their tastes.
Sioux County is on the western boundary of Iowa, second from the northern line, containing seven hun- dred and ninety-two square miles. There are many fine streams in Sioux county, the Big Sioux river, Floyd and Rock rivers, and the west branch of Floyd river, are among the most considerable, and Indian and Otter creeks are also good streams. Many
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of these streams have abundant tim- came here from the Netherlands, and ber, and the Big Sioux has many water powers which cannot fail to bc improved to a great extent. Rock river runs through a beautiful valley, and is one of the Big Sioux's tributa- ries. Floyd river crosses the county in a southwesterly direction, and its western branch joining with the main stream, fed by many rivulets and creeks, carries the drainage of nearly half of the county. There are no swamps, and the land admits of very easy and effective cultivation, there being but little broken country in this county ..
As the valleys fall back from the river banks the ascent is very gradual in most cases until the uplands are reached, where the prairies roll and undulate until the next valley makes its graceful curve towards the stream. The wild grass is very fine and abund- antly nutritious, and the soil gives an abundant crop always.
The bluffs of the Big Sioux are high and steep, in some cases rising nearly two hundred feet, with some broken land beyond that altitude until the prairie level is reached. There is but little wood on these bluffs now, but there will be a plenty before many years have passed away. This is one of the drift regions, and there are no stones to be obtained except the glacial boulders, consequently there is a lack of building material, as trees are at a premium.
The earliest settlement in Sioux county dates from about 1859, when the valley of the Big Sioux became the home of a few white men, but it was not until 1873 that any considerable population could be found in that re- gion. The census of that year showed a total of nearly three thousand. The apprehension of trouble with the red men seems to have prevented the country from going ahead, but it is now becoming much more prosperous and enterprising.
Until the year 1872, Calliope was recognized as the county seat, when that honor was transferred to Orange City, and has since remained there.
ORANGE CITY, the seat of justice in Sioux county, is very beautifully situ- ated in a fine farming district, about three miles from the Sioux City and St. Paul Railroad. The town was laid out in 1870, when many families
the name is due to the admiration which the people still bear to the de- scendents of William the Silent of whom Motley has so eloquently writ- ten. The population of the county had been almost at a stand until that time, when a colony came here from Pella, and was followed with little de- lay by the other hody named. That gave to Orange City the eminence which robbed Calliope of its glory. The town stands on high and gently rolling prairie, has been well laid out, with a public square well planted, and wide streets in which are numer- ous shade trees. There is a school which serves present purposes, but it will soon have to he replaced by one larger and better adapted to the im- portant work of education.
EAST ORANGE will by and by be- come part of Orange City, by the pro- cess of absorption, the distance being only three miles. The younger town has grown up near the railroad station of the Sioux City and St. Paul Com- pany, in the valley of the Floyd river, and there is a large shipping business transacted. In both of these places the Netherlanders predominate, and their care for the education and train- ing of youth is exemplary.
HOSPERS is another railroad station on the same line in the same valley, in the eastern part of Sioux county. The Floyd river is a very small stream where the town is built, and the sup- ply of timber is somewhat limited here.
CALLIOPE, the original county seat, realizes the old promise that " the last shall be first, and the first last." Its pleasant and healthful situation on the banks of the Big Sioux river in the southwest of the county, will not atone for the absence of railway ac- commodation, and in consequence, al- though the country in all directions around is fertile and beautiful, there is and there can be no rapid growth for the town.
Story County is very near the cen- ter of the state of Iowa, and contains about five hundred and seventy-six square miles. The Skunk river runs in a southeast course across the coun- ty, watering and draining seven town- ships, and has many confluents. The principal of these are Ballard's and
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Keagley's branches, and Squaw and Walnut creeks from the west, Clear creek, Wowall creek, and several smaller streams run to the same river from the east.
Indian creek has two branches, east and west, with many tributaries, in the northern section of the county. Minewa has two branches in the east, and the Wolf in the southeast with numerous streams of less note, which serve to drain the county. These wa- ter courses are all bright and pure, with numerous springs which feed them at all seasons of the year, and besides these a number of small lakes assist to make Story county a very de- sirable location for farmers and stock raisers. Wells come upon permanent water at depths varying from sixteen to twenty-five feet. Skunk river will be the home of many mills and fac- tories, as it has several most desirable water powers.
Except the central northern part of the county, there is a good supply of timber everywhere, and the aggregate shows about one acre of woodland to every five in this region, a supply more than ample to cover all wants.
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