USA > Iowa > Polk County > Des Moines > Des Moines, the pioneer of municipal progress and reform of the middle West, together with the history of Polk County, Iowa, the largest, most populous and most prosperous county in the state of Iowa; Volume I > Part 93
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 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97
The annual picnic for 1890 was held on the State Fair grounds, September 18. A welcome song was sung by Mrs. Cheek, Miss Carrie Laird, Mr. Keeler and Mr. Conger. Group, family and neighborhood picnic dinners followed. President Clapp made a brief address closing with a tribute to Iowa, his home for fifty-three years. He counseled the young man who would succeed to be "honest, truthful, industrious and keep away from 'original package' 'houses" and his success was certain. Mr. Clapp then introduced "Uncle Thomas Mitch- ell," jokingly adding "although he's not my uncle." "He's everybody's uncle," responded Barlow Granger, and everybody applauded the compliment. Mr. Mitchell read a valuable paper, replete with first hand information concerning the old settlers of 1846 and before. Among these mentioned were the three pioneer farmers of Polk county, William Lamb, Alexander Scott and John B. Scott, who raised enough from their first crops to supply the whole garrison with corn. When the Scotts came to Polk county, in 1843, "there was not a settler within a hundred miles of Fort Des Moines." He spoke of Lewis M. Burk, who, in 1846, located on section 33, Beaver township, only to find after he had improved his farm that it was on land which had been given to the "river improvement," -- thus losing most of his hard earnings. He mentioned Robert Warren and James and William Stewart, of Camp township. He told of Jacob Frederick's pioneer sheep-raising, having imported several hun- dred sheep into the county ; his farm west of Rising Sun. He mentioned Edward Martin, pioneer ferryman and farmer; William Wallace and Seth Renfro, of Wallace Prairie; Daniel Justice, of Justice's Grove, a pioneer stock-raiser ; John D. McGlothlin, of Allen township, farmer and county commissioner; Thomas Henderson, about a mile east of the packing house; John Saylor, farmer and man of affairs, and Benjamin, his father, who was one of the first county com- missioners; Elijah Canfield, of Altoona, who "could take his axe and go two miles to the timber and make a hundred rails and haul home a load at night ;" James N. Montgomery, of Camp township and his neighbor, Thomas Black, a pioneer county commissioner, and other contributors to the evolution of Polk county. Resolutions of respect to the memory of Rev. J. A. Nash were unani- mously adopted.
President Clapp called the early settlers together again at the same meeting place, September 16, 1891. The name of the association was changed to "The Early Pioneers of Polk County,"-though by common consent-if not by official action, it is now called "The Early Settlers' Association." The residence limit of eligibility to membership was changed from 1856 to 1860. C. D. Reinking was elected president; L. H. Bush was promoted from secretary to first vice president; G. Whitaker, second vice president; historian, Tacitus Hussey ; cor- responding secretary, Hoyt Sherman; treasurer, L. P. Sherman ; chaplain, A. L. Frisbie. Mr. Kasson eulogized the life-work of the late Father Brazill and that of the late Father Nash. He paid a feeling tribute to his friend, the late James C. Jordan. Mr. Kasson said he had stood in the presence of emperors and had faced the glitter of their courts,-all of which he could forget without a pang. But never could he forget the more than royal friends of his early life.
In September, 1892, the association met at the Fair Ground. President Rein- king delivered an address. followed by an interesting paper on "Pioneer Life and Farming" by H. C. Hargis. Conrad Youngerman drew on his experience in a pleasing talk on "How we used to Work." Major Sherman gave an illuminating talk on "Trade and Commerce in the Early Days of Fort Des Moines." Judge Wright's address was on "The First Courts in Polk County." Mr. Hussey followed with rhyming "Reminiscences." Lampson P. Sherman
692
CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY
was present, but too feeble to read his able address, on pioneer journalism in the county, and his son, Alderman John Sherman, read the paper in his stead. Dr. A. Y. Hull favored the association with an address at the fair ground, August 18, 1893. He recited his experiences in Fort Des Moines in the Forties and in his boom-town of Lafayette which the flood of '51 washed away. As Daniel Webster had said of Massachusetts, so Dr. Hull remarked of Des Moines : "There she is and she speaks for herself." He had seen her development from a hamlet to a magnificent city. Judge William Phillips followed with a picture of Fort Des Moines in '54. The road by which he entered the city ran through the ground now occupied by the race track on these grounds. Then there were only two shanties and a mill on the East side. He spoke feelingly of the ravages of death among the pioneers. In 1870 there were 455 members of this associa- tion ; but death had reduced the number to 220.
George F. Henry of Des Moines presented the early history of railroads in Polk county, and the vast importance of the roads to the city and county. Mr. Hussey's humorous poem, "When you Live in Glass Houses," was followed by remarks from the venerable Isaac Cooper, then eighty-one years old. William T. Smith presented an optimistic picture of the future of Polk's ambitious county seat. The officers elected were Thomas Mitchell, president; A. C. Bondurant and H. C. Hargis, vice presidents; Tacitus Hussey, secretary ; Simon Casady, treasurer ; Isaac Brandt. The retiring president, Mr. Reinking, called his suc- cessor to the chair. Mr. Mitchell, a prime favorite of the association, responded to the hearty welcome given him with a few remarks on pioneer days. His friends then little thought they were hearing his kindly voice for the last time.
The annual meeting of 1894 was held in the Commercial Exchange room on the 25th of October. Judge Wright read a beautiful memorial to the late President Mitchell. Judge Casady followed with a feeling tribute to his "first friend in Polk county:" Tacitus Hussey was chosen president ; Ed. Dicks and Barlow Granger, vice presidents; Simon Casady, treasurer; F. A. Sherman, secretary ; A. L. Frisbie, chaplain.
The 1895 meeting was held June 13, in Crocker Woods, a famous picnic and amusement resort in the Nineties. The attendance was unexpectedly large -- about fifteen hundred in all. President Hussey and Colonel Godfrey made brief and interesting addresses. Mrs. Isaac L. Hillis read a strong paper entitled, "Is the New Woman an Old Settler?" Thomas E. Haines, of Altoona, gave reminiscences of pioneer life in Ohio and Iowa. Mrs. J. K. Macomber spoke eloquently on "What constitutes a State." Major Hoyt Sherman reported that Thomas J. Saylor, of Saylorville, who came to Fort Des Moines, February 25, 1844, was then the oldest living settler of Polk county. Judge Wright made one of his unreportably enjoyable speeches. Mr. Polk, of the park management, closed the exercises with an acrobatic exhibition by a Japanese troupe then play- ing on the grounds-a novel feature at an old settlers' picnic.
Then came the Semi-Centennial Jubilee Celebration in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the county and the State. The memorable 8th day of July, 1896, was made a general holiday in city and county. Among the many thousands assembled in Des Moines on that day, none were more enthusiastic than the men and women who had done their part in developing from humble beginnings the rich and populous county of Polk and its social, commercial and political center, the capital and metropolis of the State. The regular annual meeting of the association was omitted-or, rather, was merged into the greater event.
In 1897, the association returned to the State Fair Ground, holding its meeting June 24. President Hussey introduced Pleasant J. Mills as "a young man who was raised here and had tramped the muddy streets of Des Moines before pavements were thought of." 'Mr. Mills responded with a series of the inimitable stories for which he has since become famous. Harry H. Griffiths, son of Colonel Griffiths, and a native of Des Moines, gave interesting reminis-
693
CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY
cences of his early life, closing with an enthusiastic tribute to Polk county and Iowa. J. E. Fagen presented a lively picture of the amusements of the boys of the early Fifties. Isaac Brandt in his necrology, presented a long list of the dead of the past twelve months, remarking on the longevity of the pioneers. Of the number he had reported, forty-three had died between seventy and eighty years of age; eighteen between eighty and ninety; and six had passed the ninetieth birthday-namely: Mrs. May Smith, ninety; Adam Seid, ninety- two; Thomas Brun, ninety-five; David Norris, ninety-five; Harriet Ankeny, ninety-six. L. H. Bush was chosen president; Fred Elliott, vice president.
The 4th of July was selected as the date, and Union Park the place, of the annual picnic in 1898. To the association was given the honor of dedicating the new pagoda at the west end of the park. The victory of Sampson's fleet before Santiago added much enthusiasm to the celebration. When President Bush read the latest dispatch from Santiago concluding with "not one Spaniard escaped," the vast audience rose and applauded with tremendous enthusiasm. Judge William Phillips delivered an address, and Mrs. Isaac L. Hillis read a paper on "the Daughters of the American Revolution."
At a special meeting at the office of President Bush, September 23, 1898, Major Hoyt Sherman presented the association with a handsomely made gavel, from the walnut lumber of the balustrade in the stairway of the Old Capitol building. P. M. Casady, Barlow Granger, E. R. Clapp, William Phillips and Isaac Brandt followed, in turn, each making interesting personal contributions to the history of the Old Capitol.
August 10 at Union Park was held the annual meeting of 1899. In the absence of the president, Judge Cole presided. Simon Casady was elected president; Mrs. Bina M. Wyman, vice president; Pleasant J. Mills, secretary and treasurer. Addresses were delivered by Isaac Brandt, Mrs. Wyman, D. M. Fox, and Judge Nourse. Mrs. A. C. McQuiston, in an address on "Early Settlers seen from a Woman's Standpoint," gave an interesting picture of her early life in Des Moines. In 1844, her father, J. B. Saylor, sent her brothers, Thomas and John P., the older only fourteen years old, with Shan Hackney from Van Buren county to Fort Des Moines to fill a contract to supply the garrison with meat. They drove the cattle overland. In '45, her father located in, and founded Saylorville. For about two years the Saylors were the only white family residing north of the fort. Later came families bearing the well- known names: Newcomer, Lamb, Henderson, Bates, Keeler, Bradley, Norris, Nagle, Deitz, Coons, Thrift, Bush, Lyon, Deford, Howard. Mrs. McQuiston read à list of pioneer mother's who came to Polk county prior to 1850, including the following names: Rosanna Newcomer, widow of Peter Newcomer; Eunice A. Thrift, widow of John M. Thrift; Mary D. Rathburn Reese, widow of Samuel E. Reese; Elizabeth Rathburn Cady, widow of Calvin Cady; Phœbe Barnes Brooks, widow of T. K. Brooks; Catherine Hilderman Norris, widow of David Norris; Eliza Henderson, widow of Thomas J. Henderson; Susan Miller Deitz, widow of Conrad Deitz; Martina Brazelton Elliott, widow of Frederick E. Elliott; Anna P. Bird, widow of Thompson Bird; Annie Dean, widow of Abram S. Dean; Sarah Ashford Fagen, widow of Hezekiah Fagen : Elizabeth Mills Hawkins, widow of William L. Hawkins; Mrs. Mary S. Spotts. widow of John Spotts; Mrs. Phœbe Justice, widow of Daniel Justice; Mrs. Mary Harley, widow of D. L. Harley ; Mrs. Diana Bowers, widow of Alexander Bowers. It was at the 1899 meeting that Mr. Hussey's popular "Iowa, Beauti ful Land," 1 was first sung at any public assemblage.
The record here makes another jump from 1899 to 1903, when, on the 12th of August, the settlers convened in Greenwood Park. A feature of the meeting was the presence of three women who had lived in Des Moines more than a half-century, namely: Mrs. Phœbe Justice, aged ninety-four; Mrs. Elizabeth
1 Music by Judge Horace M. Towner, now representative from the Eighth District in Congress.
694
CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY
Halderman Norris, aged ninety; and Mrs. Diana Bowers, aged eighty-nine. Three others had anticipated attending, but were deterred by inclement weather, namely: Mrs. Dorothy Tungate, ninety-six; Mrs. Mary E. Spotts, aged ninety- two; and Mrs. Elizabeth Moore Hanger, mother of B. O. Hanger, aged ninety- one. Judge Nourse, president of the association, after recalling several amusing incidents of pioneer life, introduced Representative John A. T. Hull. Captain Hull referred to the experiences of his father, Dr. A. Y. Hull, who had recently passed away, and of his own birthplace in the boom-town of Lafayette which lost out in '51. Isaac Brandt, Barlow Granger, P. M. Casady, J. H. Robinson of Dallas, and others made brief addresses. Mr. Brandt referred to the pioneer preachers and their good work, mentioning Father Brazill, Dr. Summerville, William Peet, J. A. Nash, Sanford Haines, Ezra Rathburn, George B. Jocelyn and others. The officers elected were William Mowry, president; Cyrus Mosier, vice president; Walter McCain, secretary; Simon Casady, treasurer; A. L. Frisbie, chaplain.
The next annual meeting reported was that of September 7, 1905-place, Union Park, near the birthplace of Adjutant-General Thrift, son of John M. Thrift, the garrison tailor of 1843. Among the dead of the year whose memory was vivid in the minds of many were James C. Savery and Barlow Granger. Judge Casady paid high tribute to Mr. Savery's integrity, great energy, devotion to his city and county, and loyalty to friends. Isaac Brandt presented the rugged character and picturseque career of Barlow Granger. J. J. Williams was elected president ; Isaac Brandt, vice president ; Arthur Sherman, secretary ; John M. Davis, treasurer; G. M. Settlemeyer, chaplain. In the list of deaths since the last meeting were: Angie Louisa Beaumont, aged one hundred and two and Dorothy Tungate, aged ninety-eight. Twenty-five died between eighty and ninety, and forty between seventy and eighty. Mahala Miller Mathis, aged eighty-five, had lived in Iowa seventy-two years. Eli Trullinger and B. F. Elbert had lived in Iowa sixty-two years. Among the aged pioneers still living was Elizabeth Green West, of Saylor township, one hundred and one years old ; also Ruth McPherson Morris, East Des Moines, aged ninety-nine. Eleven women then living in Polk county were ninety years old.
The next record is Union Park, August 15, 1907, with Isaac Brandt, presi- dent, and William B. Keffer, secretary. About 1,500 were present. A special table profusely decorated with flowers was spread for couples who had celebrated their golden wedding, and about twenty happy couples sat down together to live over again "the days that are no more." A song, "The Early Settlers' Picnic," composed by C. C. Nourse, and led by C. H. Brown, was a feature of the day. The president's address was one which did honor to that preeminent pioneer, the late Isaac Brandt. Jefferson S. Polk gave an address entitled "Then and Now,"-one of several addresses delivered before this association which should be printed in book-form for preservation. Gen. Cyrus Bussey gave a brief address reminiscent of the Civil war. Mrs. Mabelle Wagner-Shank and Mr. C. H. Brown sang Major Byers' "Iowa" and "the Old Oaken Bucket." Judge William H. McHenry fitly closed the day with an informal address of a humorously reminiscent character. Resolutions were passed requesting the presi- dent to appoint a committee to raise funds for a monument to the memory of Wilson Alexander Scott.
On the 12th of August, 1909, the association was called together by J. H. Dean, vice president.
Rev. I. M. T. Cory, who came into Polk county in 1846, talked interestingly of Tom Mitchell, who was wont to come all the way from "Mud Creek" to Cory's Grove to help the Corys and other neighbors whenever there was a log house or a barn to raise. The motto then was, "One for all and all for one." Settlers living on timber land were wont to invite their prairie neighbors to come into the woods and help themselves to fence-timber. He told of coopera- tion and neighborly accommodation in going to mill at Oskaloosa, sixty miles
CORNER SEVENTH AND LOCUST STREETS, SHOWING CHAMBERLAIN HOTEL
HARPEL -
THE NEW LOCUST STREET BRIDGE
Looking west-The new city library on the left-The new Coliseum on the right. The Observatory building and the Savery hotel in the distance.
695
CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY
distant, and of the "big eats" on the return. He paid high tribute to P. M. Casady who was wont to advance money to settlers without security. He con- cluded with a vivid picture of the transition from the day of the ox-cart to the day of the automobile. General Bussey related his experiences in raising a regiment during the war. Judges Cole, Nourse and McHenry gave interesting reminiscent talks. Judge McHenry, a native of Polk county, described "the old fair grounds down by the 'Coon." A pleasurable feature of the day was the impromptu talk of Mrs. Al. Swalm, the Pauline Given of other days and an accomplished speaker and writer. Mrs. Swalm told of the great uprising in England in favor of Equal Suffrage. Samuel Saucerman spoke briefly-and for the last time before the association, for his death was soon to follow. The officers elected were: president, W. H. McHenry ; vice presidents, G. L. Dob- son and Nat. N. McLelland; secretary-treasurer, William B. Keffer ; chaplain, I. N. T. Cory.
The Early Settlers united with the Polk County Buckeye-Hawkeye Associa- tion in a picnic in the grove at Mitchellville on the 8th of September, 1910. Several thousand were present. Many came from Des Moines by the interurban line. The music for the occasion was supplied by Mrs. C. C. Keister and Misses Emeline Starks and Hazel Rooker, and the Mitchellville band. Chaplain Cory led in prayer. . Dr. G. B. Hibbs delivered the address of welcome. Judge W. H. McHenry delivered the president's address. Governor Carroll told of the vicissitudes and pleasures of his own boy-life in Davis county, and vividly pic- tured the greatness of Iowa. Asa Turner talked interestingly of his early experiences in Polk county. W. B. Keffer, D. R. Ellis, Asa Plummer and J. J. Williams were on the program for short talks. Amos W. Brandt gave an excellent biographical sketch of his father, Isaac Brandt. Prizes were given to the oldest settler, to the oldest man and woman, and to the couple who had been married the longest.
CHAPTER XVII.
MINOR CIVIC CENTERS OF POLK COUNTY.
While many counties in Iowa have two or more nearly equally balanced centers of social life and business activities, Polk county has but the one chief city from which influence radiates and toward which activities tend. It hap- pens, therefore, that there can. be no clear-cut line between county-seat and county, between chief city and the townships of the county. There are, how- ever, several important civic centers in Polk, the influence of which is felt in the trade, the politics and the social life of the county, at the center of popula- tion and even beyond the county's boundary lines. Let us look in upon these, considering them in the order of their population as given in the census of 1910.
Valley Junction-Valley Township.
Valley Junction, the second city in size in Polk county, lies just west of the corporate limits of the city of Des Moines, on the main line of the Rock Island railway system, and at the junction of the Des Moines division, and the Sibley, Winterset and Indianola branches of the Rock Island. The Minneapolis & St. Louis also crosses the Rock Island at this point. In 1892 the Rock Island made this the division station of its line in the State, and built extensive round houses, machine and car shops, and Valley Junction grew rapidly from a mere cross- road station to a city of 3,000 inhabitants, with electric lights, waterworks, gas, telephones, street cars, and practically all the conveniences of a modern city. On October 9, 1893, the first election was held for the selection of town officers, and it continued as an incorporated town until March, 1906, when it was or- ganized as a city of the second class. In October, 1898, the Interurban railway company began operating street cars between Des Moines and Valley Junction. The city has three excellent school buildings, with twenty teachers. In May, 1905, the high school was placed on the fully accredited list. A network of gas mains has been laid over the city, which connects with the plant of the Des Moines Gas company and in August, 1906, gas was supplied to Valley Junction. There are four churches in the city: Catholic, Christian, Congregational and Methodist, with commodious church edifices. Valley Junction is located in the edge of a rich coal field and the coal industry is being rapidly developed with several extensive mines already in operation. Several hundred men are em- ployed in the various departments of the Rock Island road, and thousands of dollars are paid to its employes every month. The Valley Express, of this city, is ably edited and published by Homer Thompson. The city's population in 1910 was 2,573.
Mitchellville-Beaver Township.
Next in population is the incorporated town of Mitchellville,-in no sense a suburb of Des Moines, but a well defined social and trade center in eastern Polk. It is located about seventeen miles northeast of Des Moines, on the Rock Island road. Its name is a permanent monument to one of the relatively great men of the county-a man whose influence was felt in every local move- ment for the betterment of social conditions, from the early Forties down to the day of his death, in 1894. The city was organized in 1866. Among the
696
697
CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY
many and varied activities of Thomas Mitchell was the founding of a Univer- salist church, also a seminary of learning, the distinguishing feature of which was its liberal tendencies. He was also active with other pioneers, in planting a public school in the community. The seminary was not successful, and, several years ago, the property was acquired by the State. It is now the State Industrial School for Girls. In addition to the Universalist church, the city now has well housed congregations of the Congregational, the Christian and the Methodist church. The pioneer school has grown until a twelve-thousand dollar public school building has taken the place of the first schoolhouse. Mitch- ellville has a well-conducted local paper, the Index, founded in 1882, and still edited and published by its founder, Enos P. Marmon. The town's modern store buildings bespeak prosperity, and the many buyers and shippers doing business at this point explain the local prosperity. The city had a $25,000 fire in December, 1904; but quickly rallied from the loss. In 1910, Mitchellville had a population of 1,363 and a school enrollment of 224.
Grimes-Jefferson and Webster Townships.
Grimes, named in honor of Governor and Senator Grimes, is fourteen miles northwest of Des Moines. It is an incorporated town and has a newspaper, the Advocate, two banks, a good school, three churches, the Presbyterian, the Chris- tian and the Lutheran. It has an electric light plant, a commercial exchange, a farmers' mutual telephone company, and its citizens are in all other respects progressive in spirit. It has two general stores and other places of business. It is on the Milwaukee road, and is a favorite halting place for automobile tourists from the Capital city. It makes extensive shipments of grain and live stock. The first house erected in Grimes was in 1881. The town's population in 1910 was 733.
Ankeny-Crocker Township.
Ankeny is a prosperous and well-built town of about 500 population, located in Crocker township, on the Northwestern railroad, eleven miles from Des Moines. It has a good school, and two churches, the Congregational and Metho- dist. Its name perpetuates that of Col. J. F. Ankeny, who platted the town. It has a newspaper, the Times, two general stores, two banks, and is an active live-stock market. Ankeny was, in 1895, a new station on the then new narrow- gauge road. It then celebrated its new year with a new postoffice-Henry Hutton, postmaster. The population of Ankeny in 1910 was 445.
Altoona-Clay Township.
Altoona is a growing town on the Rock Island railroad and on the Colfax and Des Moines interurban line, eleven miles northeast of Des Moines. The townsite was located by W. H. Davis in 1868. In 1870, the Methodists of that vicinity erected a $22,000 church. At that early date the town had retail stores, a hotel and other local institutions. It now has substantial business blocks, several well-stocked stores, a bank, an opera house and a newspaper-the Herald. It is a shipping point for grain, live stock and produce. Altoona's population in 1910 was 438 and is now reported as having 550.
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.