USA > Iowa > Boone County > History of Boone County, Iowa, Volume I > Part 23
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
The Nance families were good, law-abiding citizens and well respected by all of their neighbors.
Moses Eversoll was justice of the peace of Cass Township for eighteen consecutive years. He was as a rule the only justice in Cass Township and this gave him considerable legal business. It is claimed that there never was a decision of his reversed in the Dis- trict Court.
Joshua Eversoll was one of the pioneer schoolteachers of the township.
The first schoolhouse erected in Cass Township was a log build- ing located on Section 2. In this house Joshua Eversoll taught three or four terms. It is claimed that Claiborne Wright taught the first school in the township in a house that stood near where the McClellan schoolhouse now stands. Mr. Wright was an Indiana schoolteacher, who was at one time a student in what is now De Pauw University. Cass Township now has five schoolhouses, all of which are in good repair. The schools are all in a prosperous con- dition.
There was no effort made to lay out or build up a town in Cass Township. There was no inducement at any time to make a venture of this kind. Joseph Rhodes at one time kept a small store near the Elk Rapids mill and J. G. Porter kept another near the center of the township, but neither of these ventures lasted very long.
Dr. C. E. Porter is the only medical man who ever located in the township. For about ten years he practiced his profession and he met with good success. But in time his farm interests grew so large that he abandoned his practice and now gives all his time to farming.
About the year 1857 Andrew Orlow and John Oviatt estab- lished a wagon and blacksmith shop on the farm of Andrew Oviatt, where they did the work in this line for all the people in that part of the country. They also manufactured a number of good wagons. This was the only manufacturing concern that Cass Township ever had.
The soil of this township is very fertile and the farms as a rule are of medium size. There are no very large farms in the township. The largest landholders are the Harlows and Burrels in the south part of the township, the Porters and Ramseys in the central part and the Oviatts and Williams in the north part.
Of the local schoolteachers may be mentioned John A. Keys, F. M. Betteys, Tom Davis, Mrs. Enos Rhoads and Mary Preston.
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
The Union Historical Society says that the first religious services in the township were conducted by Rev. John De Mass at the resi- dence of Jonathan Boles during the fall of 1851. There is nothing said as to what part of the township Mr. Boles lived in at the time, but as he and his brother were the builders of the Elk Rapids Mill, which was completed about that time, the service must have been in the southeast part of the township in Section 34.
The first Methodist Episcopal church organized in Cass Town- ship was in February, 1880. The first members were Andrew Oviatt and wife, Orlow Oviatt and wife, Mrs. Drake, Mrs. Hurdman, Mrs. Meek, Mrs. Halsey, Mrs. Bernard, Emma'and Ella Vernon, Phillip Carrel and wife, John Perry and wife and Charles Russell and wife. This church still survives and is now called Liberty Church. It has a good church building, with regluar preaching services and a good Sunday school. The present pastor is Rev. W. H. Harvey, of Madrid.
Elijah Pierce was the only one of the early settlers of the town- ship who was a minister of the Gospel. He worked on his farm and preached when his services were required. He belonged to the Church of Christ, and at one time there was a small congregation of this denomination in this township. Reverend Pierce died at his home in the township some years ago, loved and respected by all of his neighbors.
There was at one time a congregation of Presbyterians in the township, but it long since ceased to exist.
The people of Cass have been a very law-abiding people. No crime of a serious nature is found on the records against them.
There is a cemetery near the Liberty Church, but this is the only one there is in the township.
In 1855 a large buffalo was chased down and killed in Cass Township. This incident raised a little excitement among the hunt- ers of the township in that early day. This wild animal had become separated from the herd to which it belonged and had come into Cass Township from the north. It had probably been chased by other hunting parties before coming into the township. This buf- falo was headed toward the south, as was the custom of the buffalo herds in the fall season of the year. When this buffalo came into Cass Township it was seen by S. B. Williams, who lived near the north line, and he saddled his horse, took his gun, and calling his dogs began the final chase of this lost animal. He had not gone far until he was joined by Phillip Carrel, John Carrel, Melvin
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Nance and Moses Eversoll, each on horseback and rifle in hand. The buffalo being hard pressed left the prairie and passed into the timber a little south of the Eversoll place, with half a dozen dogs close after him. The dogs brought the doomed animal to bay on Section 22. S. B. Williams, who was in the lead of all the pur- suers, succeeded in sending a bullet through the animal just behind the shoulders, which brought him to the ground. The dogs were called off, the buffalo was dressed and the meat divided among the settlers. This was the only buffalo chase that ever occurred in Cass Township.
There were sixteen citizens of Cass Township who became sol- diers in the Civil war, as follows: Andrew Hurst, G. W. Horn- buckle, Melvin Needham, Nathaniel Noland, A. C. Noland, S. C. Needham, J. H. Hurst, J. A. Waldo, William Waldo, C. O. Need- ham, Charles Peck, John A. Keys, Jasper Pierce, William Noland, J. B. Vernon and A. Preston. Whether any of the sixteen men whose names appear in the above list are still living cannot be here stated. But it is reduced to a certainty that not one of them is now a citizen of Cass Township.
The streams of Cass Township are the Preston Branch, the Caton Branch and the Eversoll Branch. A sketch of these is given in an article to be found in another part of this work, under the heading of "The Small Streams of Boone County."
It was not until the year 1913 that there was any railroad track in Cass Township. In relocating the track between Madrid and Woodward the new track of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad runs across the southeast corner of the township, but there is no station within its borders.
The State Colony for Epileptics recently established by the Board of Control of State Institutions consists of 960 acres of land. Of this body of land 900 acres are situated in Cass Township, Boone County, and 60 acres in Des Moines Township, Dallas County. The 900 acres in Cass Township are situated as follows: Four hundred and eighty acres in Section 31 and 420 acres in Sections 29 and 30, all in Township 82, Range 26. The board of control had arranged for the extension of the interurban line north to the col- ony, a distance from its depot in Woodward of about one mile north, but the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul authorities have objected to the crossing of its track and it will be some time before this matter is settled. It is understood that there will be no improve- ment in the way of the erection of buildings in the present year.
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HISTORY OF MONTREAL
There is perhaps no township in the county that has as well pre- served records as Cass Township. George Mougin, the township clerk, is still using the same record book which was purchased and used when Berry Township was organized in April, 1852,-sixty- two years ago. It contains many interesting records. When Berry Township was discontinued in March, 1858, this record book became the property of Cass Township and it has been used by the township clerks of Cass Township to the present time. Mr. Mougin estimates that it will last fifty years longer. The book is a large. leather bound volume of about five hundred pages of blue tinted paper.
The trustees elected at the organization of Cass Township in 1858 were J. O. Harris, Samuel Williams and W. W. Wade. The present township officers are as follows: Trustees, Augustus Mougin, Hugh Oviatt and Archibald Williams; clerk, George Mougin; assessor, James Swisher. There has not been a justice of the peace elected in the township for the past eight years. J. O. Harris was elected a member of the board of supervisors in 1860, when each organized township was entitled to a member of that body. He held the office for two terms and was succeeded by James Bausman, who held the office until the membership of the board was reduced by law to three members. Charles Olson of Cass was elected and has served two terms in the office of county recorder. These are the only county officials that Cass Township ever had.
CHAPTER XX
WORTH TOWNSHIP
Worth Township is bounded on the west by the Des Moines River and for this reason it is not a full congressional township The southwest part of it is cut off by the incline of the river, which part belongs to Marcy Township. The south one-third of Worth Township was at the time of the organization of the county a part of Pleasant Township, and at the same time the north two-thirds was a part of Boone Township. It was surveyed in 1847 by James Davis, deputy surveyor, and certified to by Henry A. Wiltse, sur- veyor general at Dubuque, Iowa. There were four tracts of land purchased from the Government as early as October, 1848. Lewis Kinney and John Boyles purchased land in Section 2 and Jefferson Hoffman and Matthias Hoffman in Section 15.
Worth Township was organized and named in March, 1858. It was named in honor of William J. Worth, a general of the Mexican war and the hero of Monterey. It was organized by Samuel B. McCall, county judge at that time, and named by him.
The first settlers of Worth Township were John Pea and his family and James Hull and his family. They settled in Section 2, Township 83, Range 26, May 26, 1846. The point of timber where this settlement was made continued to be known as Pea's Point for many years. The little stream that heads at this point of timber is known as Pea's Branch unto this day. When the raid on the Lott family was made by the Sioux chief, Si-dom-i-na-do-tah, at the mouth of Boone River, in December, 1846, the settlement at Pea's Point was the nearest one to the scene of that historic event. When Henry Lott and his stepson arrived at Pea's Point, soliciting help to go to the rescue of his family, John Pea and Thomas Sparks were two of the men who went to aid in the rescue. They also assisted in the burial of the dead bodies of Mrs. Lott and her son, Milton Lott. Mr. Sparks became a settler of what is now Worth Township some time during the summer of 1846.
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
There is rather an amusing incident which occurred during the winter of 1846 and 1847 at Pea's Point. John Pea had been away from home helping to erect a log house for some settlers who were late in arriving in the country and did not reach home in time to provide wood for the fire next morning. On looking out next morn- ing he was much surprised to find snow on the ground a foot deep. This snow had covered up every dry stick of timber near his log cabin and to start a fire with green wood from the forest could not be done in a reasonable time. Around his few cultivated acres there was a rail fence and most of these rails were large and well seasoned. They looked so tempting that he exclaimed : "Fifty good rails will make fifty good fires and it is a poor specimen of a man who can- not make fifty rails in a day when the spring opens." So suiting his action to the expression, it was but a short time until he had a good fire.
In 1848 John Hull, Henry Holcomb, William Dickerson, Wil- liam Hull, George Hull, Nathan Hull, Henry Hoffman, Jefferson Hoffman and Matthias Hoffman came and located in the township, nearly all of them purchasing land.
In 1849 John Long, Clark Luther, James E. Moss, John Boyles, Pembroke Gault, John Gault and many others came and located in the township.
From 1849 to 1852 came David Parker, W. D. Parker, John B. Montgomery, Squire Boone, W. M. Boone, George Drake, James Gildea, John Sturdivant, James A. Cunningham and William Dyer, all of whom became land owners in Worth Township.
At the end of the year 1853 about all the land in Worth Town- ship was purchased from the Government and improvements made thereon. One of the serious things that confronted the early set- tlers of this and other townships in the pioneer times was the long distance they had to haul their grain in order to get it manufactured into breadstuffs. At first the settlers of Worth Township went to Oskaloosa, a distance of one hundred miles. This was a great hard- ship, especially in winter time. Sometimes as many as eight teams went together, and it would frequently be three weeks before all of them could return home. Families often ran out of breadstuff and subsisted for days upon hominy and potatoes as a substitute for bread. These were trials and hardships that make people of the present day shudder. But the pioneers lived through them without the loss of a single person from starvation. Elk, deer, wild turkeys and prairie chickens were plentiful in those days and the good hunters kept the
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
settlers well supplied with wild meat and wild fowls. This was a rough way of living but it kept starvation away from the cabins of the settlers until better facilities came nearer them.
It has already been stated that Boone was a part of Polk County for election, revenue and judicial purposes prior to the time of its organization. In pursuance of this authority the Board of County Commissioners of Polk County, in July, 1847, organized a voting precinct in Boone County. The action of the board is as follows: "Ordered, That the County of Boone and the country north and west of said County of Boone, which is by law attached to the County of Polk for revenue, election and judicial purposes, be and the same is hereby set off into, and shall constitute a separate precinct by the name of Boone, and the place of holding elections in said precinct shall be at the house of John Pea in said precinct."
The election of 1848 was a closely contested one. After making a careful canvass of the votes in Polk County, the democrats found that they were a few votes in the minority. Hoyt Sherman was the whig candidate for the office of clerk of court, and Henry Early was the democratic candidate. A council of the leading democrats was held in the office of Barlow Granger to decide what would be the best course to pursue in order to elect Mr. Early their candidate. After thinking the matter over for a while Mr. Granger gave it as his opinion that the opposing candidate, Mr. Sherman, nor any of his friends, had thought of the new voting precinct in Boone County. "The thing for use to do is to keep quiet about it, get our tickets printed and send a man up to the Boone precinct and get the voters out, and in this way I think we can elect our candidate." The plan was carried out just as Mr. Granger had outlined it. The election was held and the returns of Polk County elected Mr. Sherman by a very small majority. The whigs were rejoicing over their victory, when Mr. Spofford, the man sent to the Boone precinct, arrived with the returns, and the result changed the joy of the whigs to grief and sorrow. Barlow Granger's plan elected Mr. Early and at the same time perpetrated a good joke on the whigs.
The first schoolhouse built in Worth Township was located in section 11, on what is now the farm of W. H. Wane. It was built in 1851 by donations and work of the citizens and not by taxation. It was a frame house built of native timber. In 1856 this house and the land on which it stood were sold to G. W. Brown, who used it for a dwelling. He raised it one story higher and used it for a residence the remainder of his life. This building has been moved back to
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
the rear of the yard and it still stands there. This is the only one of the early pioneer schoolhouses yet remaining. Of the pioneer schoolteachers who taught in this schoolhouse may be mentioned Thomas Sparks, L. J. Dunn, James Purcell, D. M. Dunn and Irene Holcomb.
The second schoolhouse in Worth Township was built on section 34. It was a log house, built in 1852, by the citizens for temporary use. It was called the Elm Grove schoolhouse. It was used for school purposes until 1858, when the Pleasant Grove schoolhouse was built, and it ceased to be used longer for school purposes. Among the teachers employed here may be mentioned V. B. Crooks, John S. Green, Irene Holcomb and Thomas R. Gildea. In 1858 the Boone schoolhouse was built on section 23. This was the same year in which the Pleasant Grove schoolhouse was erected, and which was located on section 35. About the same time the Des Moines schoolhouse was built on section 2. These have all been moved as the result of redistricting and are now among the things that were. Worth Township now has seven schoolhouses, one of which is within the corporate limits of the Town of Luther. The schools are in a prosperous condition.
The streams of Worth Township are Big Creck, Pea's Branch, Honey Creek and Pole Cat Creek. A sketch of these streams is given in an article elsewhere under the heading of Small Streams of Boone County. A singular formation of cliffs of rock on both sides of Pea's Branch, about half a mile above its mouth, known as the Ledges, as always attracted the attention of the people. The ledges consist of perpendicular walls of rock, twenty feet high, on both sides of the branch and extend a distance of about ten rods. The Ledges were a place of considerable resort for a period of about five years. Some parties from Des Moines and Boone erected a building there, which was called Beaulah Home. Many children from Des Moines were brought there for a two or three weeks' open air outing. But the Ledges were so difficult of access that the outings were discontinued, the buildings were sold and moved away and Beaulah Home is now among the things that were. But the Ledges are still there-majestic and immovable.
There are two railroads that pass through portions of Worth Township. The Chicago & Northwestern passes through the north- west corner and the Boone line of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul passes through the entire length of the township. This line has two stations-one at Luther, the other at Grayson.
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
From first to last there have been five postoffices in Worth Town- ship. The first one was established in 1863 at the house of W. M. Boone in section 23, the gentleman above mentioned being the first postmaster. Two years later Mr. Boone resigned and J. B. Hurl- burt was appointed postmaster and the office was moved to his residence a mile and a half south on the mail route. When Mr. Hurlburt was elected county treasurer in 1866, he resigned and J. A. Cunningham was appointed postmaster. The office was then moved to his residence, a mile farther south on the mail route. Mr. Cunningham kept the office a little over a year, when he resigned, and Thomas Doran was appointed postmaster. The latter moved the office to his residence a mile north on the same route. About two years later Mr. Doran resigned and the postoffice was dis- continued. Each of the postoffices above mentioned was named Worth, after the name of the township.
The fifth and last postoffice established in the township was located at Luther and it was named Luther in honor of Clarke Luther, who owned the house it was kept in and the land on which it stood. It was established in 1884, with J. K. Jenkins as the first postmaster. This postoffice is still distributing mail to the citizens of the south part of Worth Township.
PARKERSBURG
There have been two towns laid off in Worth Township. The first of these was Parkersburg, which was laid out by David Parker, in the month of November, 1852, on the northwest quarter of section 2, at the point of timber known as Pea's Point. This town was de- signed to be a rival of Boonesboro. All of the settlers at that time believed that the first railroad to come into Boone County would come from the south and that it would run on the prairie touching the points of timber on its route. In running thus, it would miss Boonesboro about two miles and Parkersburg would be a station, which in a short time would become the county seat. This north and south railroad so fondly hoped for did not come until long after the Chicago & Northwestern had spanned the state from east to west. But when the line from the south running into Boone was built, in 1882, it ran within eighty rods of the eastern limits of Parkersburg, but by that time it was among the things that were. Parkersburg never so much as got a start toward being a town. The old Boone County House, kept by David Parker, became one of the
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
most prominent country hostelries ever kept in Central Iowa. This country hotel was the only thing beyond the ordinary that Parkers- burg ever had.
LUTHER
The second and last town laid out in Worth Township is the Town of Luther. It has already been stated that the postoffice at Luther was established in 1884. But the town was not laid out until January 26, 1893. In the fall of 1883 Clark Luther built a storehouse on the site of Luther and J. K. Jenkins opened a store which in a short time met with considerable patronage. J. K. Jenkins was the first postmaster at Luther.
From the above it will be seen that the postoffice at Luther was established about nine years before the town was laid out. For a town of its size there is a large amount of business transacted there. Much grain and stock are shipped from Luther. There are now about three stores in the town, one bank, a blacksmith and woodwork shop, a livery barn, a telephone office, a practicing physician, two grain elevators and a number of nice residences. Although Luther has not more than one hundred and fifty people within its limits it has been incorporated for a number of years and has a system of waterworks and electric lights. It has, during its short career, lost two stores and a lumber yard by fire. None of these places of busi- ness have been rebuilt. The outlook for Luther to continue to grow and maintain a good volume of business is assured. It is on the Boone line of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, at a safe distance from any other town and in the midst of a fine agricul- tural country. Luther has two churches and two good church build- ings. One of these is of the Methodist Episcopal denomination, the other the Church of Christ. It also has a schoolhouse large enough to accommodate the pupils of the district. George Abraham is the present mayor of the town.
About two miles west of Luther is the Meadow Grove Church. This is the oldest church society in the township, having been or- ganized in 1881. This society has a good, energetic membership and a splendid little building. They have preaching on alternate Sundays and Sunday school every Sunday.
There are two incorporated and well kept cemeteries in Worth Township. One of these is the Hull Cemetery, in the southwest part of the township, the other the Sebers Cemetery, in the north
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
part. The remains of many of the early settlers and some of the first county officers repose in these cemeteries.
The population of Worth Township, according to the census of 1910, was 655. This includes the Town of Luther, which was incorporated in 1903.
The first brick houses in Boone County were erected in Worth Township. These were built in 1857, both two-story residences. One was erected by Clarke Luther and the other by James E. Moss. Both are still standing and are occupied.
Worth Township has been honored above nearly all the other country townships in the number of its citizens who have been called to fill county offices. At the first election in 1849 two citizens then in the present limits of Worth Township were chosen to fill county offices. Thomas Sparks was elected county surveyor and John Boyles county commissioner. In 1860 Mr. Sparks was elected a member of the board of supervisors and was reelected in 1862. In 1852 James Lacy was elected sheriff of the county and served two years. In 1864 John Long was elected county supervisor and served one term. In 1851 S. C. Wood was elected county surveyor and held the office four terms, or eight years. In 1854 J. B. Montgomery was elected county judge and was reelected in 1856, 1859 and 1861. In 1865 M. K. Ramsey was elected county judge and M. T. Harlan superintendent of schools, while J. B. Hurlburt was elected county treasurer. In 1870 J. B. Vontrees was elected a member of the board of supervisors and later on Henry L. Davis was also elected a member of the board of supervisors. Some time in the '8os J. B. Patterson was elected sheriff for two terms. In 1879 J. H. Jennings was elected representative, which makes twelve citizens of Worth Township who have been honored with county offices.
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