USA > Iowa > Jackson County > Annals of Jackson county, Iowa, Vol 1-6 > Part 51
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This name of the river seemed from the first beginning of civilization here to have a charm for the early pioneers. Living as I did on one of the river roads from what was called the "Narrows" (now Lyons) to this city, I could in 1839. '40, '41 see very often the covered wagons with their occu-
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pants pointing toward sun down, and when our people hailed them and told them not to go farther, that the Garden of Eden was not far from Carrollport now Sabula; they all said they knew what they were about. Their ans- wer was: "We are bound for the Genessee of the Blackhawk purchase"-the Fork of the Maquoketa River -- and ample evidence is furnished us today for miles on every side that they were correct. And it may be said without be ing egotistical many of you that hear within a radius of twenty miles has settled as hardy, energetic and generous-hearted people as are to be found in our state. The impression this made on my mind by seeing the emigrants wagons moving west and observing the numerous girls therein, caused me, when I reached manhood, to follow the procession ; and near here in 1850 I married one of the daugthers of a Pioneer of 1848;and that of itself gives me a right to a seat in this good looking assembly of ladies and gentlemen.
Of the times of the early Pioneers here it is proper at this time to speak. Without an illusion to them our meetings would lose their interest. Meditating on our early experiences there arises before our minds the log cabin, in some instances as I know by experience a floorless one, yet it was a home. At can be described in four lines:
"The house was made of log ; of the earth we made the floor, An opening in the side was both the window and the door, With the chimney on the end it answered for a dome;
O how truly we could sing, 'There is no place like home."
Of the long journeys to mill, the prairie ridges for roads, the poor markets and the poorer prices for our produce, the few neighbors and many other things we can not remember. But there were two things here which made an indelible impression on our minds. These were the mosquitoes and the ague --- the one singing his cheerful song while presenting his bill, the other ever ready to greet an emigrant with a free hand shake.
And now in the course of time, at a long distance on the journey of life, we look back and what once seemed a rugged path now seems rather pleasant than otherwise. You who led the column in this westward march joined in laying the foundations of a new s'ate, came intent in securing a home, whatever hardships you might endure. Of those who are spared to be with you today and who with an eye of faith, hope and patience from 1838 to 1870 looked for the good time coming, can now say, with one excep- tion, that such expectations have been fully realized. That one exception I need hardly say is the steam navigation of the Maquoketa River.
Of these changes of which I have passed upon no language of tongue or pen can describe. One single instance 1 will mention. This beautiful city whose people give us their grateful welcome here today, where was it 50, even 40 years ago? The men and the women who thus began and continued the work of civilzation here should not be forgotten in the past, present or future. In all ages and all lands there has been given to their patriots and statesmen their gratitude and praise. It is right that they should. Not less should the present people of this land give to their men and women who, leaving their cheerful homes in other lands with bold and adventurous
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steps setting aside and breaking away from the limtis of civilization, smoothed and prepared the way so that those who came after them could here find a place of refuge, a home and a haven of rest. Around their names shall cluster the lights of gratitude the incense of the grateful. For they stood at the head of that grand column that began the work and labors here which changed this from what had been for unknown ages the land of the savage to that which is to be during all future time the abode of en- lightened men and women. They above all others can best appreciate its marvelous growth and strength, for they saw it in its poverty and weakness. The word poverty as applied to the frontier settlements of our state must not be taken in its usual sense. The poverty of the early settlers here was a different kind of poverty as it is known today for this reason-one was no richer than another. Our wordly goods were of a uniform character and value so the wealth of one could not be contracted with the grinding pover- ty of another. . All were engaged in a common struggle. A common sym- pathy and hearty good will lightened the burdens of one another. The pov- erty of the frontier is indeed no poverty. It is but the beginning of wealth. We had the boundless future ever opening before us. We had what was al- ways its equal., the boundless prairie so well described by one writer that it may be quoted :
O, the boundless prairies here are God's floral bowers, Of all that he has made the loveliest, This is the Almighty's garden, And the mountains, stars and sea Are nothing compared with beauty- With His prairie Garden free,
Not one of us who came here in the first ten years following the settle- ment of this land, where a cabin raising, ploughing bee, or corn husking was a matter of common interest and helpfulness could have other than a feeling of generous independence.
The following quotation will faithfully state the spirit that moved us in our first labors here :
"We'll plough the prairies as of old Our fathers ploughed the sea ; We'll make the West as they the East The homestead of the free."
We knew that for man the earth would yield its increase that seed time and harvest should not fail and that industry would bring its own reward. Doubtless we all in early life here looked forward in the aim future to a time like the present one when we could meet with our families and friends and tell of some of the early incidents of our experience here. As the mys- tic cords of memory bind us to the past so let them do in the future. The roll call that may be made to-day will not long be responded to by all now
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present. The sad reflection involuntarily comes to our minds that we are not all here. Where are Chandler, Wilson, Perry, Jenkins, Clark, Current, and many, many others? They have met the common fate of all, yet they all performed their parts well, and their works live today. And as we one after another follow them, let those that remain pay them the last sad trib- ute, thereby making the world better for our having lived in it.
And now on this occasion, the first of its kind for many years, let me urge upon you this, that annually you thus meet and you will all find that these occasions are your own and in your keeping. You will find each of them one of those bright, pleasant places along the beaten track of life when stopping for a day every hour was filled with friendship and every moment bright with joy. And as this land has been for us so may it be for our chil- dren -- the land of our life, our liberty and our love.
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Organization of Jackson County-Official and Otherwise.
(Reprinted from Sabula Gazette of March 7th.)
It is a matter of history that the land now comprised in Jackson county was a part of the "Louisiana Purchase, " being transferred from France to the United States in 1803, becoming a part of the "District of Louisiana:" then of the territory of Louisiana in 1805, territory of Missouri in 1812, ter- ritory of Michigan in 1834, territory of Wisconsin in July, 1836, and terri- tory of lowa on July 3rd, 1838.
Jackson County was a part of the land which was conveyed in the treaty with the Sacs and Foxes in September, 1832, and generally know as the "Black Hawk Purchase"which opened the first land in Iowa for settlement by the whites. The treaty included a strip of about six million acres along the eastern border of Jowa, extending from the Upper Iowa river on the north to the present southern boundary of the state. in return for the Inad the government assumed debts that the Indians owed certain traders to the amount of $50,000 and agreed to pay them $20,000 annually, in cash. Soon after the purchase most of the Indians moved further west and in 1842 43 the remainder were transferred to a reservation in Kansas. The In- dian with whom the pioneer settlers came in contact mosty belonged to the Winnebagoes, a tribe that was widely scattered throughout this part of the Mississippi valley and who were always friendly with the whites.
For several years there were but two counties west of the Mississippi river, Dubuque and Des Moines the dividing line being what is now the line between Clinton and Scott counties. Des Moines county was sub-di- vided by the Wisconsin legislature which met at Belmont. Wis., in 1836, but Dubuque county remained- intact until the meeting of the legislature at Burlington, Nov. 10, 1837. The legislature remained in session until Jan. 20, 1838, and Jackson county was formed during that session. The establishing of what is now the line between Dubuque and Jackson county brought up a bitter fight. Those who are familiar with the map of Jackson county know that two townships along the Mississippi extend up into what would appear to be legitimate territory of Dubuque county. Capt. W. A. Warren, of Bellevue, was enrolling clerk of the house at the time of the contest. Bellevue wanted to be the county seat of Jackson county, and shrewd politi- cian that he was, he at once saw, that it would be almost impossible for his town to hold its own in a county seat fight if it was situated in the extreme northeast corner of the county, and hence it was highly essential that there should be some territory in Jackson county north of Bellevue township.
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It was generally admitted that from a geographical point of view the terri- tory in question belonged to Dubuque county, but Bellevue put up such a warm fight that a compromise was finally reached by making 'l'ete des Morts and Prairie townships a part of Jackson county and the townships directly west of them a part of Dubuque county.
As soon as the county had been formed, it became necessary to appoint a sheriff and Capt. Warren recommended Charles Stowell for the place. A few days later, before the appointment had been made, Gov. Dodge sent for Warren and told him he could not appoint Stowell as a strong petition had been sent from Bellevue asking W. W. Brown be appointed. Warren told the governor that there must be some mistake as Brown bore a bad reputation and was considered the leader of a gang of outlaws. When shown the peti- tion, however, Warren was forced to admit that the signatures were not only genuine, but that they were those of the best men of the county, and the governor decided that under the circumstances he must appoint Brown. The next day, however, he again sent for Capt. Warren and showed him his (Warren's) own signature. This led to an investigation and it was found that Brown or some of his friends had taken a petition that had been circu- lated in connection with the boundary line matter. cut off the heading and attached one pertaining to his appointment as sheriff. The governor then settled matters by appointing Warren as organizing sheriff of the county.
When Jackson county was formed it included under its legal jurisdic- tion all of the country west of it, within the original land grant, comprising what is now Jones and Lion counties, and the settlers of that territory were accorded electoral privileges and the same rights in the county government as those who actually lived within the geographical limits of the county.
The first county commissioners were William Jonas, William Morden and James Leonard, and their first meeting was held in Bellevue, April 2, 1838. At that meeting they established the first election precincts, dividing the county into six voting places as follows:
1st precinct-To comprise Charleston (now Sabula) and vicinity ; elec- tion to be held at the store of James Leonard; judges, Charles Swan, O. A. Crary and E. A. Wood
2d precinct-To comprise Higginsport and vicinity : to be held at house of W. H. Vandeventer; judges, W. H. Vandevender, Andrew Farley and B. B. Evans.
3d precinct-Election to be held at the court house in Bellevue; judges, W. Sublett, J. D. Bell and J. S. Fitzpatrick.
4th precinct-Election to be held at the house of Daniel Brown in Tete des Morts township; judges, D. Brown, J. P. March and D. G. Bates.
5th precinct-Election to be held at the house of Charles W. Harris: on north fork of the Maquoketa; judges, C. W. Harris, V. G Smith and Thomas Davis.
6th precinct -- Election to be held at the house of S. Burleson, south fork of the Maquoketa ; judges, S. Burleson. J. Clark and William Phillips.
At a meeting held in June of the same year, the commissioners estab- lished three additional voting precincts, two in what is now Jones county,
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the elections to be held at the house of John G. Joshlin, on the Wapsipini- con, and at the house of Nathaniel Dalley on the Maquoketa, and the third in Linn county, at West point.
In August they established precinct No. 10, election to be held at the house of one Wadkins, about four miles south of the present site of- An- drew.
The new board of commissioners elected in the fall of 1838 was Wm. Jonas, E. A. Wood and James Kelley.
The county officers elected at the same time were: John Howe, record- er; John Sublett, treasurer; Jas. S. Kirkpatrick, coroner; Jas. F. Hanby, assessor; John G. McDonald, surveyor.
At the regular election held Oct. 5, 1840, the electors decided that the county should be re-organized into townships, and on the 6th of the follow- ing January the commissioners divided the county into nine townhips, un- der the names of Butler, Farmers Creek, Perry, Tete des Morts, Davis, Bel- levue, Harrison, Van Buren and Union townships Many changes were sub- sequently made. both in boundaries, sub-divisions and names. Brandon township was formed from a part of Butler township in 1834. Monmouth township was organized in 1843, re-annexed to Davis township in 1844, and returned to its present form and name in 1845. South Fork township was first organized and named Apple township in 1845, and Maquoketa town- ship was organized the same year
Fairfield township was organized in July, 1845, and the first election was held at the home of B. F. Hull.
Jackson township was organized at the same time, with its first election at the home of Markspiles and Sandridge.
The name of Butler township was changed to Lehrin in 1845, but was re-changed to Butler soon after.
Richland township was detached from Perry and named in 1846, and at the same time Otter Creek township was formed from the north half of Farmers Creek. Washington township was formed from portions of Belle- vue and Van Buren townships in 1851.
In January, 1855, lowa township was detached from Union township and its first election held at Sterling in April of that year.
The first term of the district court of Jackson County, Territory of Wisconsin, was held in Bellevue. June 18, 1838, presided over by Charles Dunn, Chief Justice of the Supreme court of Wisconsin. Among the attor- neys were Stephen Hempstead, afterwards governor of Iowa: James Grant and Jas Churchman, afterward a United States minister. The grand jurors chesen were Jas. Wood, Benjamin Hudson, Thos. Parks, Samuel S. Draper. James L. Burtis, John Stuckey, John D. Bell, Wm. Smith, J. S. Kirk- patrick, David G Bates, Daniel Brown, James McCabe, Joseph Mallard, W H. Vandevender. C. W. Harris. Webster McDowel, Wm. Philtipps. Obadiah Sawtell, Jas Kimball. S. Burleson, M. Seymour, R. G. Knox and II. G. Hinkley.
The petit jurors were: Chas Swan, E. A. Wood. O. A. Crary, Alex- ander Reed. Sylvester Baker, John Howe, John Hayes, James Kirkpatrick. Wm. Van, John Clark. V. G. Smith, Richard Billups, Chas. Bilto, Hazen Chase, Hugh Kilgore, N. Jefferson, Thos. Davis, Wm. Trimble, Thos. Nicholson, Wm. Dyas, J. Jefferson, Thos. Sublett, and Henderson Palmer.
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The grand jury found one indictment, that of Wm. Sublett, charged with assault with intent to kill. He was released on a $500 bond signed by James K. Moss.
The first probate court in the county was held March 2,. 1838, James K. Moss, judge.
The management of county affairs was vested in a board of three com- missioners, sometimes called the "county commissioners' court" until 1851, and some of the entries in their old records show the extremes they had to resort to occasionally to raise a little ready money. In July, 1838, they contracted with Hefley & Esgate to build a toll bridge across the mouth of Mill Creek, near Bellevue, for $525, subject to purchase at any time by the county at an advance of ten per cent. on the cost. The owners were permitted to charge a small toll for crossing the bridge until it was finally purchased by the county.
In August, 1841, the board borrowed $200 of Enoch Sells and William Markespiles giving their personal note therefor, payable in one year, with interest at 40 per cent. In 1844 a license was issued to Isaac Neagus to ped- die clocks on the soil of Jackson county two months for $3. The same year R. H. Hudson paid $25 for the privilege of keeping a grocery for one year, but it is quite evident that this license was exacted because of the liquor sold in the back room, as three petitions were presented to the board a little later, praying them to fix the license on "groceries" at $100 per year, while another petition asked a regulation requiring all grocery to sell liquor at 10 cents per glass, (a glass in those days was the ordinary table tumbler) or 14 mills per swallow.
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The G. H. Johnson Deep Well and Prof. W. H. Nor- ton's Report on Its Geology.
(Written by Harvey Reid for the Jackson County Historical Society.)
The deep boring made by Geo. H. Johnson & Co. in search for petroleum in the summer of 1907, while unprofitable in the purpose for which it was made, was of much interest as a contribution to scientific knowledge, and as such attracted the attention of some of our most eminent geologists. Professor William Harmon Norton of Mount Vernon, assistant in the Hy- drographic branch of the United States Geological Survey, and Assistant State Geologist of Iowa, an expert in deep well data, visited the well in July, 1907, a few days before work on it ceased, and was furnished with driller's samples of all the different strata which had been passed through. A few weeks ago the writer supplied Prof. Norton with the three lowermost samples to complete his set. from those left with me by Mr. Johnson. From these samples Professor Norton has made a determination by microscopic and chemical examination, of the character of the rocks passed through by the drill, and of their proper place in the geological column, and has kindly supplied us with a copy of his report, and permission to publish it.
The opportunity of having a complete set of the well-drillings here, has also been utilized in a very valuable way by Superintendent E. L. Rick- ert, who has set in a frame a tube thirty-four inches long, covered with glass, and in that tube has poured the drillings in regular succession, each two inches representing one hundred feet of the well, so as to give us an accurate and graphic model of the geologic strata that underlies this locali- ty. On a broad card filling the frame, Prof. Rickert has inscribed opposi- te each sample its geologic place and rock characteristics as determined by Prof. Norton. The exhibit will form part of the valuable Geological Cab- inet in our High School.
The geological disclosures of the Johnson well, while not varying great- ly in thickness of the various strata from those found in other wells of the same geologic horizon, (like Anamosa, Sabula and Clinton), presents some features that are almost unique, and one that is very remarkable. The hope of finding a deposit of petroleum in paying quantity by the boring which was done, came from the discovery of surface indications of oil on the farm of Samuel R. Earles in Maquoketa township, about six miles north of east
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Treasurer Jackson County Historical So- ciety, Member American Historical Association and Iowa State His- torical Society.
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from the city. A small round hole in the sod about thirty yards from the south line of the northeast quarter, northwest quarter of section eleven, township eighty- four north, range three east of the fifth principal meridian, constituted a sort of intermittent spring. It always contained water one or two feet below the opening, and at irregular intervals would overflow, but such overflow bore no positive or certain relation to rain storms. The most plausible explanation of the phenomenon seems to be that a connec- tion with a sink hole farther up the h'll slope becomes clogged occasionally, and then breaks loose, supplying a flow of water greater than the seepage which usually drained the hole, can carry away. It was in an unfrequented pasture lot, and nothing unusual had ever been noticed in the water hole, until in the early fall of 1906, when some young men from an adjoining farm brought into town for identichation, a dark. only substance found in the hole, which was immediately recognized as petroleum.
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This, naturally, created great interest and excitement. The hole was visited almost daily ; bottles and small cans dipped into the hole invariably brought up samples of petroleum which was floating on the surface of the little pool until an amount, variously estimated at a barrel or more. has been carried away. Experts and promoters soon began arriving from Pitts- burg, Pa., and from the oil fields of southern Illinois, Indiana, Texas and Indian Territory, and some of them secured leases at once from farmers in the vicinity. Mr. Earles refused to lease his farm on the usual terms, but a lease of that of Peter Broderson whose north line ran within a few feet of the oil hole, was secured at once by local parties.
Among those who came to investigate the oil indications was George H. Johnson of Beaumont, Texas, who nad formerly lived at Rock Island, Illinois. Mr. Johnson owned an interest in several prolific wells in Texas, and the show of oil in the alluvial hole on Sam Earles farm resembled so much the signs in the oil country of Texas that had almost invariably led to rich developments, that he was impressed at once with almost unbounded confidence that here was a field worth exploiting. He secured leases at once for nearly all of the farms within several miles of the locality, includ- ing that of the Broderson farm, whose local leasers were perfectly willing that others should assume the risk of deep well boring, rather than them- selves, and later obtained also the lease of the Earles farm at a liberal price. Other Texas oil men joined Mr. Johnson in financing the adventure. He brought from Beaumont, Col. S. H. Clarke, an experienced driller, as super- intendent, and employed McIntire and Kelley of Casey, Illinois, to do the drilling. Their drilling outht was of first class capacity. and they engage to go down 2,000 feet, or even 3,000 feet if required. Drilling began Apri twenty-sixh, 1907, and continued until July twelfth, when the well was abandoned, no oil having been found. The depth a'tained as shown by the daily log, was 1716 feet, but, a correction made with a steel line measure af- ter drilling ceased showed actual depth to be 1707 feet. We use the first named figures in the geological section, in order rot to disturb the true proportion of strata thicknesses. The locality chosen for the well is on the Broderson farm, a few rods fron the line separating it from the Earles land, or about fifty yards from the oil hol ..
It lies in a practically driftless region, beirg in one of the "loess-free" tracts of which there are several in Jackson county. They are interpreted by Frank Leverett, the distingui hed U. S. Geological Survey geologist. who is devoting his time to the study of glacial geology, as being caused br great stagnant masses of ice of the lowan period, melting slowly while loses hills were being deposited by winds in the intervals where thinner ice had already melted. This particular tract can be studied on the Andrew road. where bare rock exposures with very thin or no covering of loses ciay, may eb seen bounded by the loess bill at Bridgeport on one margin and that near the Perry township line on the other. The mouth of the well is about 760 feet above the level of the sea, being on a hill slope about forty feet lower than its summit.
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