USA > Iowa > Black Hawk County > Historical and biographical record of Black Hawk County, Iowa > Part 15
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
Funds for the support of the public schools are derived in several ways. The sixteenth section of every congressional township was set apart by the General Government for school purposes, being one thirty-sixth part of all the lands of the State. The minimum price of these lands was fixed at $1.25 per acre. Congress also made an additional donation to the State of 500,000 acres, and an appropriation of 5 per cent. on all the sales of public lands to the school fund. The State gives to this fund the proceeds of the sales of all lands which escheat to it; the proceeds of all fines for the violation of the liquor and criminal laws. The money derived from these sources constitutes the permanent school fund of the State, which cannot be diverted to any other purpose. The pen- alties collected by the courts for fines and
forfeitures go to the school fund in the counties where collected. The proceeds of the sale of lands and the 5 per cent. fund go into the State Treasury, and the State distributes these proceeds to the several counties according to their request.
In 1844 there were in the State 4,339 school districts, containing 11,244 schools, and employing 21,776 teachers. The aver- age monthly pay of male teachers was $32.50, and of female teachers $27.25. There were 594,730 persons of school age, of whom 431,513 were enrolled in the public schools. The average cost of tuition for each pupil per month was $1.62. The expenditures for all school purposes was $5, 129,819.49. The permanent school fund is now $3,547,- 123.82, on which the income for 1881 was $234,622.40.
Besides the State University, Agricult- ural College and Normal School, described on preceding pages, ample provision for higher education has been made by the different religious denominations, assisted by local and individual beneficence. There are, exclusive of State institutions, twenty- three universities and colleges, and one hundred and eleven academies and other private schools for the higher branches. All these are in active operation, and most of them stand high.
Amity College, located at College Springs, Page County, has eight instructors and two hundred and forty-five students.
Burlington University, eight instructors and forty-three pupils.
Callanan College, at Des Moines, has eighteen in the faculty and one hundred and twenty students enrolled.
Central University, at Pella, Marion County, is under the auspices of the Baptist church, and has eleven in the faculty and one hundred and two students.
Coc College, at Cedar Rapids, has a faculty of ten, and an attendance of one hundred and ninety-nine.
157
HISTORY OF IOWA.
Cornell College, Methodist Episcopal, at Mt. Vernon, Linn County, has eighteen members of the faculty and four hundred and seventy-nine scholars. This is a strong institution.
Drake University, at Des Moines, has thirty instructors and three hundred and twenty-five pupils.
Griswold College, at Davenport, is under the control of the Episcopal church, and has seven instructors and seventy-five stu- dents.
Iowa College, at Grinnell, is permanently endowed. Has fourteen instructors and three hundred and eighty-four students.
Iowa Wesleyan University (Methodist Episcopal), at Mt. Pleasant, has six mem- bers of the faculty and one hundred and seventy-five students.
Luther College, at Decorah, Winneshiek County, has a faculty of ten, and one hun- dred and sixty-five pupils.
Oskaloosa College has a faculty of five, and one hundred and thirty-five students.
Penn College, at Oskaloosa, has a faculty of five members, and one hundred and forty pupils in attendance.
Simpson Centenary College, at Indianola, Warren County (Methodist Episcopal), has a faculty of seven and an attendance of two hundred.
Tabor College, at Tabor, Fremont County, modeled after the Oberlin (Ohio) College, has twelve members in the faculty and an attendance of two hundred and ten scholars.
University of Des Moines has five in- structors and fifty pupils.
Upper Iowa University (Methodist Epis- copal), located at Fayette, in Fayette County, has eleven instructors and three hundred and fifty students.
Whittier College, at Salem, Henry County, is under the auspices of the Friends. There are two instructors and sixty pupils.
STATISTICAL.
When Wisconsin Territory was organ- ized in 1836, the entire population of that portion of the Territory now embraced in the State of Iowa was 10,531. The Terri- tory then embraced two counties, Dubuque and Des Moines, erected by the Territory of Michigan in 1834. Since then the counties have increased to ninety-nine, and the population in 1880 was 1,624,463. The following table will show the population at different periods since the erection of Iowa Territory :
Year.
Population[Year
Population
1838.
22,589
1859
638,775
1840.
43,115
1860.
674,913
IS44
75, 152|1863
701,732
IS46. .
97,588
1865
750,699
1847.
116,651
1867.
902,040
1849
1 52,988
I869.
1,040,819
1850.
191,982 1870.
.1,191,727
1851
.204,774
1873
.1,251,333
1852.
. 230,713 1875
I 366,000
1854.
. 326,013|1880.
1856.
. 519,055
The most populous county is Dubuque- 42,997. Polk County has 42,395, and Scott, 41,270. Not only in population, but in everything contributing to the growth and greatness of a State, has Iowa made rapid progress. In a little more than thirty-five years its wild but beautiful prairies have advanced from the home of the savage to a highly civilized commonwealth.
The first railroad across the State was completed to Council Bluffs in January, 1871. The completion of three others scon followed. In 1854 there was not a mile of railroad in Iowa. Within the succeeding twenty years, 3,765 miles were built and put in successful operation.
The present value of buildings for our State institutions is as follows :
Sta e Capitol ... . $2,500,coo|Institutions for the
State University. 400,000
Insane ....... .$1, 149,000
Agricultural Col. and Farm
300,000
Penitentiaries. . .. 408,000
150,000 Normal School. . 50,000
Inst. for the Blind Institution for the Deaf and Dumb
Reform School .. 90,000
225,000
1,624 463
Orphans' H .me .. 62,000
158
HISTORY OF IOWA.
The State has never levied more than two and one-half mills on the dollar for State tax, and this is at present the consti- tutional limit.
Iowa has no State debt. Whatever obli- gations have been incurred in the past have been promptly met and fully paid. Many of the counties are in debt, but only four of them to an amount exceeding $100,000 cach. The bonded debt of the counties amounts in the aggregate to $2,592,222, and the float- ing debt, $153,456; total, $2,745,678.
In the language of Judge C. C. Nourse, we feel compelled to say : " The great ulti- mate fact that America would demonstrate is, the existence of a people capable of at- taining and preserving a superior civiliza- tion, with a government self-imposed, self- administered and self-perpetuated. In this age of wonderful progress, America can exhibit nothing to the world of mankind more wonderful or more glorious than her new States-young empires, born of her own enterprise and tutored at her own political hearth-stone. Well may she say to the monarchies of the Old World, who look for evidence of her regal grandeur and state, 'Behold, these are my jewels !' and may she never blush to add, ' This one in the center of the diadem is IOWA!'"
PHYSICAL FEATURES.
Iowa, in the highly figurative and ex- pressive language of the aborigines, is said to signify " The Beautiful Land," and was applied by them to this magnificent section of the country between the two great rivers.
The general shape of the State is that of a rectangle, the northern and southern boundaries being due east and west lines, and its eastern and western boundaries de- termined by southerly flowing rivers -- the Mississippi on the east and the Missouri and the Big Sioux on the west. The width of the State from north to south is over 200 miles, being from the parallel of 43° 30' to
that of 40° 36', or merely three degrees ; but this does not include the small angle at the southeast corner. The length of the State from east to west is about 265 miles. The arca is 55,044 square miles, nearly all of which is readily tillable and highly fer- tile.
The State lies wholly within, and com- prises a part of a vast plain, and there is no mountainous or even hilly country within its borders, excepting the bluffs of the larger rivers. The highest point is near Spirit Lake, and is but 1,200 feet above the lowest, which is in the southeast corner, and is 444 feet above the level of the Gulf of Mexico. The average descent per mile between thesc two points is four feet, and that from Spirit Lake to the northeast corner of the State, at low-water mark of the Mississippi, is five feet five inches.
It has been estimated that about seven- eighths of Iowa was prairie when the white race first settled here. It seems to be a set- tled point in science that the annual fires of the Indians, prevented this western country from becoming heavily timbered.
GEOLOGY.
Geologists divide the soil of Iowa into three general divisions, which not only possess different physical characters, but also differ in the mode of their origin. These are drift, bluff and alluvial and be- long respectively to the deposits bearing the same names. The drift occupies a much larger part of the surface of the State than both the others. The bluff has the next greatest area of surface.
All soil is disintegrated rock. The drift deposit of Iowa was derived to a consider- able extent from the rocks of Minnesota ; but the greater part was derived from its own rocks, much of which has been trans- ported but a short distance. In Northern and Northwestern Iowa the drift contains more sand and gravel than elsewhere. In
159
HISTORY OF IOWA.
Southern Iowa the soil is frequently stiff and clayey. The bluff soil is found only in the western part of the State, and adjacent to Missouri River. Although it contains less than I per cent. of clay in its com- position, it is in no respect inferior to the best drift soil. The alluvial soil is that of the flood plains of the river valleys, or bot- tom lands. That which is periodically flooded by the rivers is of little value for agricultural purposes ; but a large part of it is entirely above the reach of the highest flood, and is very productive.
The stratified rocks of Iowa range from the Azoic to the Mesozoic, inclusive ; but the greater portion of the surface of the State is occupied by those of the Palæozoic age. The table below will show each of these formations in their order :
SYSTEMS. AGES.
GROUPS. PERIODS.
FORMATIONS. EPOCHS.
THICKNESS IN FEET.
(Post Tertiary .. . ....
. Drift
Inoceramous Bed ..
50
( Lower Cretaceous.
Woodbury Sandstone and Shales .. . .
130
-
Nishnabotany Sandstone .. .
100
Upper Coal Measures.
200
Coal Measures ...
Middle Coal Measures.
200
( Lower Coal Measures
200
Carboniferous. ..
( St. Louis Limestone.
75
Keokuk Limestone.
90
Subcarboniferous. .
Burlington Limestone.
196
1
Kinderhook Beds.
175
Devonian. .
. Hamilton.
Hamilton Limestone and Shales ..
200
Upper Silurian .... Niagara.
.. Niagara Limestone ..
3,50
Cincinnati
. Maquoketa Shales.
80
Trenton ..
Trenton Limestone ..
200 80
Primordial.
Lower Magnesian Limestone ..
250
Potsdam Sandstone .. .
300
Azoic .. ..... Huronian. .
. Sioux Quartzite. .
50
.
.Io to 200
Cretaceous .. .
The Sioux quartzite, in the azoic system, is found exposed in natural ledges only upon a few acres in the extreme northwest corner of the State, upon the banks of the Big Sioux River, for which reason the specific name of Sioux quartzite has been given them. It is an intensely hard rock, breaks in splintery fracture, and of a color varying, in different localities, from a light to deep red. The process of metamorphism has been so complete throughout the whole formation that the rock is almost every- where of uniform texture. The dip is four or five degrees to the northward, and the trend of the outcrop is eastward and west- ward.
The Potsdam sandstone formation is ex- posed only in a small portion of the north- eastern part of the State. It is only to be seen in the bases of the bluffs and steep valley sides which border the river there. It is nearly valueless for economic purposes. No fossils have been discovered in this for- mation in Iowa.
The Lower Magnesian limestone has but little greater geographical extent in Iowa than the Potsdam sandstone. It lacks a uniformity of texture and stratification, ow- ing to which it is not generally valuable for building purposes.
The St. Peter's sandstone formation is remarkably uniform in thickness through- out its known geographical extent, and it occupies a large portion of the northern half of Allamakee County; immediately be- neath the drift.
With the exception of the Trenton lime- stone, all the limestones of both Upper and Lower Silurian age in Iowa are magnesian limestone. This formation occupies large portions of Winneshiek and Allamakee counties, and a small part of Clayton. The greater part of it is useless for economic purposes ; but there are some compact, even layers that furnish fine material for window caps and sills.
§ Galena Limestone ..
250
.
Lower Silurian. .
(St. Peter's Sandstone ..
.
..
160
HISTORY OF IOWA.
The Galena limestone is the upper for- mation of the Trenton Group. It is 150 miles long and seldom exceeds twelve miles in width. It exhibits its greatest develop- ment in Dubuque County. It is nearly a pure dolomite with a slight admixture of silicious matter ; good blocks for dressing are sometimes found near the top of the bed, although it is usually unfit for such a purpose. This formation is the source of the lead ore of the Dubuque lead mines. The lead region proper is confined to an area of about fifteen miles square in the vicinity of Dubuque. The ore occurs in vertical fissures, which traverse the rock at regular intervals from cast to west; some is found in those which have a north and south direction. This ore is mostly that known as galena, or sulphuret of lead, very small quantities only of the carbonate being found with it.
The surface occupied by the Maquoketa shales is more than 100 miles in length, but is singularly long and narrow, seldom reach- ing more than a mile or two in width. The most northern exposure yet recognized is in the western part of Winneshiek County, while the most southerly is in Jackson County, in the bluffs of the Mississippi. The formation is largely composed of bluish and brownish shales, sometimes slightly arenaceous, sometimes calcareous, which weather into a tenacious clay upon the sur- face, and the soil derived from it is usually stiff and clayey.
The area occupied by the Niagara lime- stone is forty and fifty miles in width and nearly 160 miles long from north to south. This formation is entirely a magnesian lime- stone, with a considerable portion of sili- cious matter, in some places, in the form of chert or coarse flint. A large part of it probably affords the best and greatest amount of quarry rock in the State. The quarries at Anamosa, Le Claire and Farley are all opened in this formation.
The area of surface occupied by the Hamilton limestone and shales, is as great as those by all the formations of both Upper and Lower Silurian age in the State. Its length is nearly 200 miles, and width from forty to fifty. Portions of it are valuable for economic purposes ; and, having a large geographical extent in the State, is a very important formation. Its value for the pro- duction of hydraulic lime has been demon- strated at Waverly, Bremer County. The heavier and more uniform magnesian beds furnish material for bridge piers and other material requiring strength and durability. A coral occurs near Iowa City, known as " Iowa City marble" and " bird's-eye mar- ble."
Of the three groups of formations that constitute the carboniferous, viz., the sub- carboniferous, coal measures and Permian, only the first two are found in Iowa.
The Subcarboniferous group occupies a very large area of surface. Its eastern border passes from the northeastern part of Winnebago County, with considerable di- rectness in a southeasterly direction to the northern part of Washington County. It then makes a broad and direct bend nearly eastward, striking the Mississippi at Mus- catine. The southern and western bound- aries are to a considerable extent the same as that which separates it from the real field. From the southern part of Poca- hontas County it passes southeast to Fort Dodge, thence to Webster City, thence to a point three or four miles northeast of El- dora, in Hardin County, thence south ward to the middle of the north line of Jasper County, thence southeastward to Sigour- ney, in Keokuk County, thence to the north- eastern corner of Jefferson County, thence sweeping a few miles eastward to the south- east corner of Van Buren County. Its arc is about 250 miles long and from twenty to fifty miles wide.
The most southerly exposure of the Kin-
161
OF IOWA.
HISTORY
derhook beds is in Des Moines County, near the mouth of Skunk River. The most northerly now known is in the eastern part of Pocahontas County, more than 200 miles distant. The principal exposures of this formation are along the bluffs which border the Mississippi and Skunk rivers, where they form the eastern and northern bound- ary of Des Moines County ; along English River, in Washington County ; along the · Iowa River, in Tama, Marshall, Hamlin and Franklin counties, and along the Des Moines River, in Humboldt County. This formation has a considerable economic value, particularly in the northern portion of the region it occupies. In Pocahontas and Humboldt counties it is invaluable, as no other stone except a few boulders are found here. At Iowa Falls the lower division is very good for building purposes. In Marshall County all the limestone to be obtained comes from this formation, and the quarries near Le Grand are very valu- able. At this point some of the layers are finely veined with peroxide of iron, and are wrought into both useful and ornamental objects. In Tama County the oolitic mem- ber is well exposed, where it is manufact- ured into lime. Upon exposure to atmos- phere and frost it crumbles to pieces ; consequently it is not valuable for building purposes.
The Burlington limestone is carried down by the southerly dip of the Iowa rocks, so that it is seen for the last time in this State in the valley of Skunk River, near the southern boundary of Des Moines County ; it has been recognized in the northern part of Washington County, which is the most northerly point that it has been found ; but it probably exists as far north as Marshall County. Much valuable material is afforded by this formation for economic purposes. The upper division furnishes excellent com- mon quarry rock. Geologists are attracted by the great abundance and variety of its
fossils-crinoids-now known to be more than 300.
The Keokuk limestone formation is to be seen only in four counties : Lee, Van Buren, Henry and Des Moines. In some localities the upper silicious portion is known as the Geode bed; it is not recognizable in the northern portion of the formation, nor in connection with it where it is exposed, about eighty miles below Keokuk. The geodes of the Geode bed are more or less masses of silex, usually hollow and lined with crystals of quartz; the outer crust is rough and unsightly, but the crystals which stud the interior are often very beautiful ; they vary in size from the size of a walnut to a foot in diameter. This formation is of great economic value. Large quantities of its stone have been used in the finest structures in the State, among which are the postoffices at Dubuque and Des Moines. The principal quarries are along the banks of the Mississippi, from Keokuk to Nauvoo.
The St. Louis limestone is the uppermost of the subcarboniferous group in Iowa. It occupies a small superficial area, consisting of long, narrow strips, yet its extent is very great. It is first seen resting on the Geode division of the Keokuk limestone, near Keo- kuk; proceeding northward, it forms a narrow border along the edge of the coal fields in Lee, Des Moines, Henry, Jeffer- son, Washington, Keokuk and Mahaska counties; it is then lost sight of until it appears again in the banks of Boone River, where it again passes out of view under the Coal Measures, until it is next seen in the banks of the Des Moines, near Fort Dodge. As it exists in Iowa, it consists of three tolerably distinct sub-divisions : The mag- nesian, arenaceous and calcareous. The upper division furnishes excellent material for quicklime, and when quarries are well opened, as in the north western part of Van Buren County, large blocks are obtained. The sandstone, or middle division, is of
162
HISTORY OF IOWA.
little value. The lower, or magnesian di- vision, furnishes a valuable and durable stone, exposures of which are found on Lick Creek, in Van Buren County, and on Long Creek, seven miles west of Burlington.
The Coal Measure group is properly divided into three formations, viz .: The Lower, Middle and Upper Coal Measures, each having a vertical thickness of about 200 feet. The Lower Coal Measures exist eastward and northward of the Des Moines River, and also occupy a large area west- ward and southward of that river, but their southerly dip passes them below the Middle Coal Measures at no great distance from the river. This formation possesses greater economic value than any other in the whole State. The clay that underlies almost every bed of coal furnishes a large amount of ma- terial for potter's use. The sandstone of these measures is usually soft and unfit, but in some places, as in Red Rock in Marion County, blocks of large dimensions are ob- tained, which make good building material, samples of which can be seen in the State Arsenal, at Des Moines.
The Upper Coal Measures occupy a very large area, comprising thirteen whole counties, in the southwestern part of the State. By its northern and eastern bound- aries it adjoins the area occupied by the Middle Coal Measures.
The next strata in the geological series arc of the Cretaceous age. They are found in the western half of the State, and do not dip, as do all the other formations upon which they rest, to the south ward and west- ward, but have a general dip of their own to the north of westward, which, however, is very slight. Although the actual ex- posures of cretaceous rocks are few in Iowa, there is reason to believe that nearly all the western half of the State was originally occupied by them; but they have been removed by denudation, which has taken place at two separate periods.
The Nishnabotany sandstone has the most easterly and southerly extent of the cre- taceous deposits of Iowa, reaching the southeastern part of Guthrie County and the southern part of Montgomery County. To the northward, it passes beneath the Woodbury sandstones and shales, the latter passing beneath the chalky beds. This sandstone is, with few exceptions, valueless for economic purposes.
The chalky beds rest upon the Wood- bury sandstone and shales. They have not been observed in Iowa except in the bluffs which border the Big Sioux River in Wood- bury and Plymouth counties. They are composed almost entirely of calcareous ma- terial, the upper portion of which is exten- sively used for lime. No building material can be obtained from these beds, and the only value they possess, except lime, are the marls, which at some time may be use- ful on the soil of the adjacent region.
Extensive beds of peat exist in Northern Middle Iowa, which, it is estimated, contain the following areas: Cerro Gordo County, 1,500 acres ; Worth, 2,000; Winnebago, 2,- 000; Hancock, 1,500; Wright, 500; Kos- suth, 700; Dickinson, 80. Several other counties contain peat beds, but the peat is inferior to that in the northern part of the State. The beds are of an average depth of four fect. It is estimated that each acre of these beds will furnish 250 tons of dry fuel for each foot in depth. At present this peat is not utilized ; but owing to its great distance from the coal fields and the absence of timber, the time is coming when its value will be fully realized.
The only sulphate of the alkaline earths of any economic value is gypsum, and it may be found in the vicinity of Fort Dodge in Webster County. The deposit occupies a nearly central position in the county, the Des Moines River running nearly centrally through it, along the valley sides of which the gypsum is seen in the form of ordinary
163
HISTORY OF IOWA.
rock cliff and ledges, and also occurring abundantly in similar positions along both sides of the valleys of the smaller streams and of the numerous ravines coming into the river valley. The most northerly known limit of the deposit is at a point near the mouth of Lizard Creek, a tributary of the Des Moines River and almost adjoining the town of Fort Dodge. The most southerly point at which it has been exposed is about six miles, by way of the river, from the northerly point mentioned. The width of the area is unknown, as the gypsum be- comes lost beneath the overlying drift, as one goes up the ravines and minor valleys.
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.