USA > Iowa > Black Hawk County > History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, and its people, Volume I > Part 5
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CITY AND VILLAGE SUPPLIES
Cedar Falls. The city supply of Cedar Falls is from springs in the Valley of Dry Run in section 13, township 89 N., range 14 W., a mile southeast of the postoffice. The springs issue from a fissure in the Cedar Valley limestone just above the level of the bed of Dry Run at the base of bluffs about thirty feet high. and they furnish, with several other sources in this immediate vicinity, a total discharge estimated at nearly six thousand gallons a minute. It is reported that the supply is somewhat less during dry weather and that the water is turbid at times of heavy rains or high river floods. The public supply is used for do- mestic purposes and for steam boilers, the average daily consumption being about three hundred and fifty thousand gallons. More than two-thirds of the population, including the lowa State Teachers College, is supplied with this water.
A sudden epidemie of typhoid fever occurred in this city in the fall of 1911, during which time more than one hundred persons were afflicted and nearly twenty died. It was the opinion of three independent investigators that the city water supply had become infected and was the cause of the epidemic. The lime- stone from which the water issues is exposed in the beds of Cedar River and of Dry Run and is covered throughout a greater part of the city by a mantle of
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HISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY
coarse gravel only five to fifteen feet thick. Many cesspools and wells enter the limestone and thus afford opportunity for contamination, as the rock is broken and full of crevices and water channels that allow free circulation of water without filtration. It is currently reported that cracks or sinkholes in the bed of Dry Run above the springs have been filled up at different times in an attempt to prevent the entrance of surface water. It is evident that several possible sources of contamination of this aquifer exist in the immediate vicinity.
After careful consideration of the reports and recommendations of state and federal experts the city officials had an experimental well sunk at the pumping station. This well passes through 38 feet of alluvium, sand and gravel, then through 78 feet of limestone, heavily bedded for the most part, though the lower 14 is shaly. At a depth of 116 feet there was encountered a copious supply of water, which arose within II feet of the well mouth. A galvanized iron cylinder was inserted through the alluvial filling well into the rock. Within this cylinder an 8-inch casing was inserted within 14 feet of the bottom of the well, or to the shaly limestone which is aquifer. By a careful test sustained for 24, 36 and 48-hour periods water was pumped at the rate of 500 and 600 gallons per minute without lowering its level except for 4 feet at the starting of the pumps. At the time of high water in the spring when spring water taken at the station was turbid, the water of the well remained clear and analysis at that time showed the water to be free from pathogenic and chemical impurities.
As a result of this experiment, two similar wells were sunk, No. 2 at a distance of 20 feet from No. I and No. 3 at a distance of 40 feet from No. 2.
The city has installed a new cross compound Corliss Prescott pumping engine with a capacity of 2,000,000 gallons daily, against a pressure of 90 pounds per square inch. The wells are so connected with the main suction pipe that any one or more of the wells can be used at any one time.
Every precaution has been taken to provide against a possibility of con- tamination of the water supply, even to the extent of infusing the standard amount of hypochlorite of lime into the water at all times, thus insuring the destruction of any pathogenic bacteria which might appear, though the water has never shown any trace of turbidity or other indications of contamination. It is believed that the problem of a safe water supply has been successfully solved, since the possibilities of contamination which existed under the former system-at the spring reservoir, through the long wooden conduit, which ran beneath the surface of the ground in a sandy bed, and at the supply well, or cistern, at the water works end of the conduit-have been eliminated. It has practically been proven that the contamination of the spring water has taken place by one or more of these means. Repeated and long continued tests with fluorescein have failed to show connection of the waters of Dry Run with the spring water.
Waterloo .- The City of Waterloo obtains its supply from four deep wells. respectively 1,373 feet, 1,377 feet, 1,365 feet, and 1,378 feet in depth. Previous to the drilling of these wells the water supply had been drawn from Cedar River and treated by mechanical filtration. In 1903 and 1904 a severe epidemic of typhoid fever was traced to the contamination of the water supply by sewage from a town situated up the valley, filtration having failed to destroy the micro- organisms of the disease. The city officials then asked the United States Geologi- cal Survey and the Iowa Geological Survey for information as to other sources of
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HISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY
supply, and W. Il. Norton was detailed to make an investigation. In his report a hypothetical geologic section at Waterloo was given, which is reproduced here with a parallel column showing actual depths at which the formations were en- countered by the drill :
Estimated Thickness, Feet.
Estimated Depth, Feet.
Actual Depth, Feet.
Limestone and shale ( Devonian )
125
125
158
Limestone ( Silurian )
135
260
265
Shale ( Maquoketa )
165
425
480
Limestone (Galena and Platteville )
410
835 -
815
Sandstone ( St. Peter ) (50 to 100 feet )
So
915
862
Shakopee. New Richmond and Oneota.
400
1,315
1,205
Sandstone ( Jordan )
100
1,415
1,362
The report stated that an experimental well, 1,400 feet deep, would test the capacities of the chief zones of flow, and the city officials were advised to carry the experimental boring as much farther as necessary to test the capacity of the Dresbach and underlying Cambrian sandstones. The head was estimated at between 20 and 30 feet and the discharge from a 6-inch well at between 100 and 300 gallons a minute. The Waterloo Water Company had such confidence in the artesian resources available that, instead of sinking an experimental well of small diameter, an S-inch well was put down to a depth of nearly 1,400 feet. As the capacity was found to be 290 gallons under natural flow and 700 gallons under the pump, it was decided to carry the drilling no deeper to explore the Dresbach and underlying sandstones, but to drill at once a second well of about the same dimensions. The two wells together yield under the pump, 1,550 gallons per minute.
Detailed information concerning these wells follows:
Well No. 1 has a depth of 1,373 feet and a diameter of 20 inches at the top, S inches at bottom; casing 35 feet of 20-inch, 106 feet of 15-inch, 284 feet of 9-inch, and 122 feet of 7-inch, making a total of 547 feet from the surface. The curb is 847 feet above sea level and the head 20 feet above curb. The well flows 290 gallons per minute ; its tested capacity is 700 gallons per minute. The water first overflowed from a depth of 840 feet, and very slightly increased between this and the next strong flow at 1.360 feet. Temperature in August at well mouth, 56 degrees Fahrenheit. The well was completed in 1905 at a cost of $6,000 by W. Il. Gray & Company, of Chicago.
The Waterloo Water Company's well No. 2 is located about 1,600 feet from well No. 1. It has a depth of 1,377 feet and a diameter of about 20 inches to 201 feet, 101/2 to 601 feet, 101/2 inches to 626 feet, and 814 inches to the bot- tom ; 20-inch casing to 139 feet 4 inches. 16-inch to 201 feet 2 inches, and 9-inch to 626 feet ; hemp packing at 198 feet. The curb is about 847 feet above sea level and the head 4 feet 5 inches below the curb. The tested capacity is 850 gallons per minute, temperature 54 degrees. The well was completed in 1907 by W. H. Gray & Brother, of Chicago.
Well No. 3 has a depth of 1.365 feet and a diameter of 20 inches to 200 feet and of 12 inches to the bottom : casing, 200 feet of 20-inch and 660 feet of 12-inch,
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HISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY
casing of the Saint Peter. Temperature 54 degrees. It was drilled by the Whit- ney Well Company, of Chicago, in 191I.
The last well to be sunk by the Waterloo Water Company was begun in November, 1913, and completed in April, 1914, located in Cedar River Park. From the surface to a depth of 200 feet this well is of 15-inch casing and from that point to the bottom, which is 1,378 feet below the level of the ground, it is 8-inch casing. The normal flow of this well is 80 gallons per minute, but under the force of the pumps it develops a capacity of 1,000,000 gallons a day. The cost of the pump was $8,300 and the equipments place an added amount of $3,000. Owing to the location of this pump in one of the city's most beautiful parks, it is the intention of the water company to erect an ornamental covering for the tower, or base of the tower. This surrounding house is to be of Japanese pagoda architecture and very attractive. The tower rises 35 feet in the air. The plan of the company at the present time is to carry their water line farther up the river, sinking a well every 1,000 or 2,000 feet, as the city requires more water for use.
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Vol. 1-3
CHAPTER II
EARLY SETTLEMENT OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY
Pioneer history, at its best, is an elusive subject. Records of the days when the settlers hewed their homes from the unbroken wilderness were not adequately preserved and consequently the sources of information which have been guarded are treasures which must be kept and preserved by the present generation and the ones to come, lest the tales of hardships and sturdy deeds be lost from view entirely. Such is the purpose of history. Pioneer history, as well as any other, grows with the telling: there is glamour and interest centering around the hard fought battles of the early day which will bear the retelling numberless times. What if bits of imagination are introduced in the retelling? Any life is prosaic in the stern reality, and narrative beauty is added by the coloration of the pure facts ; but, of course, strict adherence to these same facts is a prime requisite.
In the beginning of Iowa history, and with it that of Black Hawk County, settlements were miles apart and social intercourse was difficult. Log rollings, husking bees, barbecues, cabin buildings and other pioneer entertainments sup- plied the only opportunities for the people to congregate together and these periods were often months apart. So the pioneer lived alone with his family in the silent and mighty forest and on the monotonous level of the prairie, sallying out before dawn to shoot the game for the day's food supply or to cast a line in the stream nearby. The clothes worn by the family were manufactured by the good house- wife who sat for days before the loom, patiently weaving linsey-woolsey and homespun, adorned with the skins of wild animals, were the popular fabrics. An extreme hardiness of soul and body resulted from this life: men were cast in steel. Writers of today lament the deterioration of the present civilization, pray- ing for the spirit of the pioneer days. This may be true, but the effects of money and luxuries are too familiar to merit discussion in a work such as this volume. It is to the first men of the county and their influence upon the building up of the county that this work, and especially this chapter, must serve.
LAND OPENING
In the year of 1837 the Indian title to all of the Iowa land west of the Black Hawk purchase and south of the neutral ground of Winnebago Reserve was destroyed by the purchase of this territory by the United States. Thereafter the land was lawfully opened to settlement by the white men. Within the present boundaries of Black Hawk County lay a portion of the Winnebago purchase. The Indian tribes known as the Sacs and Foxes having ceded this territory to the United States in the above mentioned year, they did not immediately leave,
35
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IHISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY
but stayed and hunted as they had done of yore. The south line of the neutral ground, starting from a point on the left bank of the Des Moines River, thirty- seven miles, 70.50 chains below the second or upper fork of the same and running a course north 70 degrees 15 minutes east, passed very near to the forks of Cedar River and also near the northwest corner of the County of Black Hawk, as laid out in after years.
One James Craig, a civil engineer, surveyed this line for the Government. lle worked under the instruction of the superintendent of Indian Affairs, April 9, 1833. North of this surveyed line, from the year 1833 until 1848, the Winne- bago Indians held their reserve, which was a strip of land forty miles in width, extending from the Des Moines River to the great Mississippi. Along this line several sparse settlements were made soon after, mostly by a class of Indian traders, with occasional home-seekers.
Settlements were inevitable, however, now that the land was opened for whom- ever cared to brave the hardships and dangers.
FIRST SETTLEMENTS
To speak of the first settlers does not necessarily mean the first men who came to make a permanent settlement. Prior to this event in any territory there are roving bands of men, some bent on hunting and fishing, others trading with the red men, who pass through and stop for a time, perhaps a month and perhaps several years in one locality, without any intention of making it their home. The first settler of this type known to have invaded the territory now comprised in Black Hawk County was Gervais Paul Somaneux, or Sornaneaux, a Frenchman. He lived during the summer of 1837 at the falls of the Cedar and in the nearby forests. A few years later he came to Sturgis Falls, the original name of Cedar Falls, and there built a cabin on the north side of the river, after having spent the preceding winter trapping on the Beaver and Shell Rock with A. J. Taylor. This intrepid Frenchman came from Detroit where he had been under the care of a Catholic priest. Naturally a rover he at last drifted to this section of Iowa, how, it is not known, unless he used some kind of craft after reaching the Mississippi and then entering the lowa River, thence to the Cedar River. His time en route was probably spent in trapping and hunting, and many months con- sumed in his journey of over four hundred miles to the land now Black Hawk County. There is another theory advanced. This has to do with his intention to reach the French settlement then located at Dubuque, either on private reasons or as a messenger for the French Catholic priests. He died in 1850, and was buried on the bank of the slough in North Cedar Falls.
Another settler who came to the vicinity of Black Hawk County in this same year of 1837 was Robert Stuart. He is recorded as having been rather an elderly man when he came and was a civil engineer by trade. He spent the summer months of 1837 near the falls and engaged in trading with the Indians. It is said that he reported this summer to have been extremely wet and travel difficult. The Cedar River, according to his testimony, reached a marvelously high stage. A story is told of this man Stuart, which gives a good idea of his character. The incident happened in 1855. An evangelist was conducting meetings in Cedar Falls every night and had let it be known that upon the next Sunday a collection
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HISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY
would be taken up from the people for his benefit. The Sunday meeting drew a good house, among them Bob Stuart. The preacher's sermon was unusually long that day and Stuart's legs soon began to cramp and he became impatient. Finally he arose to the floor and started for the preacher. His six-foot, broad-shouldered frame, his weather-beaten countenance and frontier dress attracted attention. He stopped at the pulpit and pulled a coin from his pocket, slapped it down on the Bible, exclaiming, "Here's my sheer !" and walked out of the hall.
Prior to the year 1845 a man by the name of Osborn hunted and traded near the forks of the Cedar. He afterward moved to Cedar County. At this time the Sacs and Foxes were still using this territory as a hunting ground and were ap- parently on good terms with the whites. In 1840, Franklin Wilcox, with his family and brother Nathaniel, settled south of the line surveyed by Craig, in Fayette County. In 1841 George Culver built a log trading post a few miles east on the Volga.
Until the spring of 1844 there were no other settlers in this part of Iowa, so far as the records show. There may have been some, and it is reasonable to suppose that there were, but they probably belonged to the class referred to as itinerants.
In the spring of 1844, however, William Chambers, a genuine westerner, from Louisa County, located at the falls of the Cedar, built for himself a log cabin and traded with the Indians. This cabin stood on the south bank of the river at the head of the falls. He did not make any legal claim to the land, according to pioneer remembrance, but left in the fall of the same year, returning to Louisa County.
FIRST PERMANENT SETTLEMENT
The honor of making the first permanent settlement in Black Hawk County belongs to William Sturgis and wife, farmers from Michigan, who came in March, 1845. Erasmus D. Adams, an Ohio cabinetmaker, came at the same time. These men discovered the land and river very well adapted to settlement and proceeded to locate their claims. They found the spot where Chambers had lived, there his log cabin still intact. It is reasonable to suppose also that Sturgis and Adams perceived the admirable location for a town site.
Sturgis claimed the north part of the present town of Cedar Falls, including the mill site, and Adams selected his claim farther south, near what was called Dry Run. Sturgis constructed a large log cabin on the bank of the Cedar and proceeded to till about five acres of the surrounding land, which he found very fertile and well drained by the river. Adams built a cabin also on his claim, two miles from Sturgis, and cleared and planted a like amount of ground. It is said that Adams knew something of the value of this territory before coming with Sturgis. He was located for a time in Johnson County and visited Cedar Rapids, then concluded that there were similar places farther up the river, equally good for settlement. This was the first attempt at settlement and agriculture in Black Hawk County. George W. Hanna, another old pioneer, has said this: "Adams soon returned to Iowa City. Sturgis had some hands and commenced getting out timber for a mill, but his family got sick, and he and his family went back to Iowa City again, leaving a Dutchman to work his claim and not intending to
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HISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY
return until other settlers came in. The man he left had a claim where Hon. Jeremiah Gay later lived, on Miller's Creek, and the creek took its name from him. In the fall Sturgis and his wife, and Adams and his wife and his little boy, John, came back and occupied the cabins they had built in the spring previous." With the laying out of the Town of Cedar Falls and the building of the mill it was found that Sturgis' cabin was near the upper end of the race, at the foot of Washington Street. There it remained until the '70s.
In May or June, 1845. there came John Hamilton and his sons, from Johnson County, who made claims near to those of Sturgis and Adams. They brought with them full equipment, namely, a breaking-plow and a team of horses, and began to till the land. For some unknown reason they became dissatisfied with the country and moved back to Johnson County. This left the two original settlers alone again, their nearest neighbors being at Quasqueton, Buchanan County, and Fremont (Vinton ), in Benton County.
I: was during the absence of Sturgis and Adams on their trip back to Iowa City that George W. Hanna, with his wife and two children and his wife's brother. John Melrose, arrived in the vicinity and located on section 20, township 89, range 13, about half way between Sturgis Falls and Prairie Rapids.
In the autumn of 1845 there came William Virden and his family. a wife and daughter, and settled about a half mile southeast of Hanna's cabin, on what in 1878 was known as the Glover Farm. Thus, the four families of Sturgis, Adams. Hanna and Virden, in all thirteen people, comprised the sole population of Black Hawk County during the winter of 1845-6. During the fall Sturgis worked industriously at his dam across the Cedar at the Falls, but was handi- capped considerably by the lack of laborers.
Captain Boone, an army officer, in 1836. crossed the state from Council Bluffs to l'rairie du Chien. striking the Cedar River at the forks in the northwestern corner of Black Hawk County. It was in the summer time and the county looked very inviting to the captain and his squad of men, so they tarried several days, enjoying the hunting and resting from their hard journey. Captain Boone was very much impressed with the land here and when, in the fall of the year, he met James Newell at Muscatine, he praised the country in glowing terms. The words of Boone made a similar impression on Newell and he decided to pay a visit to the territory mentioned. Accordingly, in the spring of 1845, Newell, in company with Harris Wilson, left Muscatine and journeyed up the Cedar River to the location described by Captain Boone. They did not have an easy trip. At Marion, in Linn County, they were told that the last settler to the northwest resided seven- teen miles out. To add to the warning they were told that after passing this settlement they would have to be on their guard, for that was the neutral ground of the Sacs, Foxes, Winnebagoes and Sioux Indians, and they were liable to attack at any time. This was not very encouraging news for the travelers, but. undaunted, they pushed onward. Also the fall before the Indians had beaten and robbed the two Ward brothers who had been trapping along the Cedar. The two men came upon James Chambers as they proceeded northward and he related the same tale to them. Finally, the two men reached Black Hawk County and upon the first night pitched their camp where Gilbertsville now stands. The next morning they proceeded on their way, crossing the Indian trail from Fort AAtkinson to Indian Town near the present site of Waterloo. The men left the
WILLIAM STURGIS First settler of Cedar Falls.
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HISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY
ford and made a circuit inland, coming to the Cedar again near where Janesville now stands, where they crossed and explored the country between the Cedar and Shell Rock. While they were resting in camp in this vicinity there occurred a heavy rain and the rivers became swollen to the danger point. They attempted to ford the Shellrock and had a great time of it: by the time they reached the other side their wagon-bed was completely filled with water. Wilson did not like the country they had seen up to this time, but Newell was of different opinion. He, in fact, determined to make a settlement in it. Returning, Wilson found that he liked the country north of the Rapids better, but yet thought it was too far from Muscatine. The men decided to hunt Sturgis, but in this quest they were unsuccessful.
During the following autumn Newell returned to the forks, accompanied by his brother, Robert, Walter Tillman and Joseph Brown. They called the forks "Turkey Foot Forks." This name was originated by the Indians. Newell had a severe attack of ague on the journey and was aided by his companions, who built him a cabin. They did not like the country, so departed, accompanied by Newell who was still enthusiastic and determined to come back and make a settlement.
In January, 1846, Newell and Hugh Rawdon began their journey up the Cedar River, with the avowed intention of cutting cedar logs and rafting them down. They procured Charles Huntley of Benton County to go with them as guide. The first men they met were the Dickersons, who were cutting logs near the mouth of Big Creek. The Dickersons told them that one "Cedar" Johnson had begun cutting logs in 1844, eight miles above Big Creek. They soon found the cabin belonging to Johnson and immediately took possession of it, at the same time sending Rawdon back for grain for the teams. Johnson received word that his dwelling had been occupied and right away sent word for the men to get out or to "prepare their wooden jackets," for he intended to shoot them on sight. This warning did not scare Newell and Rawdon and they continued the cutting of logs, until they had sufficient to make a raft eighty-four feet long. During the progress of this work they were visited by John Sturgis who spent a night with them. The work completed, the men made ready to start on their journey down the river. Just at this time, however, Johnson drove up in a wagon, accompanied by two hands. His temper had apparently cooled and he merely exclaimed that he came to see about the price of the logs. After being invited into the cabin by Newell he resented the inroad made into his timber land, whereupon Newell is said to have expostulated: "that it would be a damned pretty case- two thieves going to law about property they were stealing from the Government."
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