USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler County, Iowa: a record of settlement., Volume 1 > Part 22
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As has been noted earlier in this work, this section of the county was the site of the first settlements. The Hicks and the Wamsley families, who have been mentioned as the earliest set-
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tlers, however, located their first homes just across the township line in what is now Jackson township, although they were identi- fied from the beginning with the history of the town of Clarks- ville and Butler township in general.
Jeremiah Perrin, Morrison A. Taylor and E. Ensley were probably the first permanent settlers of the township. These gentlemen settled on land located in sections 16 and 17, of Butler township, during the summer of 1851.
Seth Hilton, Sr., first came to Butler township in December, 1851, from his home in southern Illinois, where he had also been a pioneer settler. He erected a small log cabin on a spot about fifty rods southwest of the Rock Island depot, in which he moved his family in March, 1852. In the following year he built another cabin on what afterwards became the town site of Clarksville. It is said that he never saw a locomotive or train of cars until the first train along the line of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & North- ern, now the Rock Island, was run across his farm. In his later years he was a resident of Jackson township, surviving and con- tinuing his activities as a farmer until he had passed his eightieth milestone. He died many years ago.
In the spring of 1852 John Heery, who has been mentioned before as having made the first entry of land in Butler county, brought his family and located upon the claim which he had taken in November, 1850. He died some twenty or twenty-five years ago. Two of his sons still reside on the home farm near Clarks- ville, while the oldest son, John, lives in Clarksville.
Alfred Elam, Hiram Beard, John Armstrong and C. N. Bur- ton are also named among the settlers who located on farms in the western part of Butler township in the years before 1852. Alfred Elam was one of the earliest justices of the peace in the township and is remembered as having celebrated the first marriage cere- monies in the county. Hiram Beard was a veteran of the Mexi- can war. His claim afterward formed a part of the Mix estate. John Armstrong settled on section 29 and C. N. Burton on section 8. The exact dates of these settlements are unknown. It is diffi- cult to establish definitely the time when these various early set- tlers became finally identified with Butler township.
As has been noted before, most of the early claims in this county were entered for speculative purposes by men who had no intention of settling upon them. The date of filing upon these claims was often several years later than the actual location of
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the claim, and in many instances, even where these claims were purchased by actual settlers, the transfer was not recorded for some years thereafter.
The second claim to be taken in Butler township was entered by W. H. Knapp, on September 1, 1851, and consisted of one hun- dred and sixty acres of land in sections 8 and 17. On the same date W. M. Fulton entered a claim to a similar amount of land in sections 17 and 20, and A. C. Gale made an entry on section 21. J. F. Ballier, on October 21, 1851, entered claims on sections 21 and 28.
On July 5, 1852, George W. Poisal, with his wife and four children, Thomas Clark and family, Jeremiah Clark and family, and Mrs. Cynthia Clark and family, arrived in Butler township. They all came from the same part of Indiana. Mr. Poisal and the Clarks entered land in section 18, erected log cabins and com- menced their pioneer life. As the supply of provisions which they brought with them was insufficient to carry them through the rest of the season, Mr. Poisal, in August, drove overland to the vicinity of Cedar Rapids and purchased a load of corn, paying 25 cents a bushel. On his way home he busied himself shelling the corn and when he arrived at Cedar Falls he had it ground. This with a crop of potatoes, which they succeeded in raising, and game and fish, which they were able to secure during the winter, supplied them with the necessary food. Mr. Poisal later sold this first claim to Daniel Mather and purchased the north- east quarter of section 18, which in 1855 he laid out as an addi- tion to the village of Clarksville. Here he resided until the date of his death. He always occupied a high place in the esteem of his friends and associates and was honored with election to the office of county judge of Butler county in the first election held. He did not qualify for the office for the reason that he would have had to go to Independence to do so and he considered the distance too great for this purpose. He continued throughout his active life to take a prominent part in local affairs. His wife was a sister of Thomas and Jeremiah Clark, for whom the town of Clarksville was named.
Thomas and Jeremiah Clark were among the original owners of the town site of Clarksville and after its formal platting, the entry of which was made on the records of the county on October 27, 1854, they were honored by the naming of the village for them. Abner G. Clark, who had been appointed postmaster at Coon's Vol. 1-17
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Grove, just west of Clarksville, in 1853, was the first merchant of the new town. He was a brother of Thomas and Jeremiah Clark.
Daniel Mather, another of the original proprietors of the land upon which Clarksville is situated, arrived in Butler county in October, 1854, and purchased the land in section 18, which had been owned by G. W. Poisal. Mr. Mather was a carpenter by trade and later was the contractor for the wood work in the new courthouse. Mr. Mather left a family of several children, of whom Charles is still a resident of the county. A daughter, Mary, later married Captain C. A. Roszell, and is still living in Clarks- ville.
D. C. Hilton, the other of the proprietors of the town site men- tioned in the record, was a son of Seth Hilton. He was afterward one of the first treasurers of Butler county.
During 1854-55 settlers came in rapid succession. The limits of this work make it impossible to give detailed mention of all these but among those who are remembered as belonging to this group of settlers are : O. A. Strong, John H. Morton, John Palmer, David Blakely, Aaron Van Dorn, J. J. Eichar, T. T. Rawson, M. M. Trumbull, William Brandon, R. Hardy, Abner Farlow, J. M. Vincent, R. W. Butler, W. E. Burton, John Ray and R. T. Crowell. Of these Aaron Van Dorn is noted in connection with the county officers, having been elected county judge in 1855. M. M. Trumbull is mentioned at length in connection with the chapter on the history of Butler county in the Civil war. William Bran- don is said to have been a genuine backwoodsman, "reared on the rifle, ax, deer and 'bar's' meat."
Henry Atkinson settled at Clarksville in 1855, entering the employ first of Daniel Mather and later R. T. Crowell. He is noticed at length in the biographical chapter of this work, as are also John Hickle, W. A. Riden, Thomas Hunt and W. H. Moore.
OFFICIAL ORGANIZATION
The first election in Butler township was held in a log cabin owned by George W. Poisal, situated on the corner where the Butler County Bank now stands. The first township officers elected were : trustee, Jeremiah Perrin; justice of the peace, Alfred Elam. At this time Butler township was practically coextensive in its boundaries with the county, no definite sub-division of the townships in the county having been made. In 1855 County Judge
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John Palmer divided the county into four townships and set the limits and bounds of Butler township as consisting of congres- sional townships 92 and 93, range 15, and township 92 and east half of 93, range 16. Butler township by this act comprised the territory later forming Fremont, Butler, Jackson and the east half of Dayton township. This territory remained a part of But- ler township until 1858, Jackson township having first been set off on the 11th of March, and the others soon after that date. The first constable whose name is found on the records is Joseph V. Hicks, and the first township clerk, Benjamin H. Shafer.
EDUCATIONAL
The first school in the township and in the county was taught in a little log cabin in Clarksville, in 1855, by Miss Malinda Searles.
As the township became more thickly populated provision was made for the education of the children by the organization of the district township of Butler. No records are available showing the date of the establishment of the different schools. However, by 1865 the township was divided into seven sub-districts.
Provision was made at the annual meeting for electors of the district township of Butler in 1860 for the sale of the schoolhouse in sub-district No. 4, now the Lowell district, to the highest bidder and the board of directors were empowered to dispose of the prop- erty within six months from date. This motion was later rescinded and it was voted to repair the schoolhouse in this district.
In the meeting of 1867 it was voted to build a schoolhouse in sub-district No. 3, now the Riden district. It was voted to hold eight months' school in the entire township-four months' sum- mer term and four months' winter term.
Provision was made in 1869 for building a schoolhouse in dis- trict No. 7, now known as the Shell Rock Valley district.
In 1870 an appropriation was made for the erection of a school- house in district No. 5, directly north of Clarksville. This con- tract was let to J. R. Jones, and specifications are given in full in the records of the district township. This was built of stone 22x28 feet in dimensions, walls one foot thick and nine feet high between floor and ceiling, with six windows and one door. Black- board 10 feet long, extending from the top of the windows to a. point three feet from the floor, to be placed in one end. It was to be seated with walnut double seats and desks securely fastened to
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the floor. The seats were to have two coats of ochre colored paint. These specifications are carefully drawn and indicate the electors of Butler township at that time desired to give their children the benefits of the best possible instruction. This building, if con- structed according to specifications, would form a better school- house structure than many in which the children of Butler county are still in attendance.
The school building in district No. 2, now the Union district, south of Clarksville, was first provided for at the annual meeting in March, 1870. This, however, was not built immediately, as at the November meeting of 1871 a committee was appointed to locate a site for this building and erect a building on said site. Henry Atkinson and W. J. Gregg were appointed as a committee. In the end it was found necessary to resort to condemnation pro- ceedings in order to secure the site for this school. The records contain the formal notice of condemnation and assessment dam- age at $15 as compensation for the acre of land taken for this pur- pose. Provision made at this meeting for repairs and repainting in districts No. 4 and No. 6 indicate that the buildings in these dis- tricts had been in use for some time. The contract for the build- ing of the schoolhouse in sub-district No. 2 was let to W. S. Smith, who is still a resident of the district and has served as its secre- tary for a number of years.
Another entry of interest in these early records is as follows: "On motion, the books recommended by the county convention for general use in the district schools were adopted towit: Independ- ent Series Readers and Speller, Monteith and McNally Geog- raphy, Ray's Arithmetic, Burt's Grammar, Swinton's U. S. History."
Among the names of teachers in these schools of the township of the early days appear those of H. F. L. Burton, I. E. Lucas, Eliza Fasset, W. H. Moore, Thomas F. Heery and S. E. Bement.
The change of the boundaries of the sub-districts of the town- ship was made November 16, 1872, by which the boundaries of the independent district of Clarksville were determined as at present and a section and a half of land lying directly north of this was set over for school purposes into Jackson township, to which it has been attached ever since. The boundaries of the other districts were at this time fixed as at present with the exception of the districts on the east side of the township at that time divided
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between sub-districts Nos. 6 and 7 instead of in three districts as at present.
These sub-districts were divided and a new district, No. 9, created in 1873. A contract for building a schoolhouse was let in the same year. The schoolhouse site in district No. 7 was moved to its present location at the same time.
The school buildings in this township so far as the records show, were erected at a uniform cost of $700.
At a meeting held in the schoolhouse in district No. 8, now the Central school, on September 21, 1874, the affairs of the district township were closed up, the funds of the district distributed and school property equalized and divided so far as possible among the eight independent districts, which had been formed in accord- ance with the vote of the people of the township at a previous election. Having transacted this business the board adjourned sine die and the district township of Butler ceased be a corporate body.
The independent districts formed at this time had substan- tially the same boundaries and names as at present with the exception of No. 7, which is now called Shell Rock Valley school and was then called the Leavens district. Since this date new school buildings have been constructed in Prairie Valley district and the school site has been changed and a new building con- structed in Burr Oak district. The other buildings remain sub- stantially as they were at that time, among the few remaining relics of the departed generation.
In the list of officers of the district township of Butler there are a number of names frequently met with in the history of Butler county. Among the presidents may be noted Jeremiah Perrin, J. R. Jones, W. A. Riden; among the secretaries, Asa Lowe, W. E. Burton and Henry Atkinson. Thomas Hunt served as treasurer throughout the greater part of this period.
POPULATION
1856, 722; 1860, 963; 1863, 996; 1865, 871; 1867, 941; 1869, 1,274; 1870, 1,329; 1873, 1,387; 1875, 1,506; 1880, 1,532; 1890, 1,496; 1900, 1,527; 1910, 1,471.
TOWN OF CLARKSVILLE
As before related, Thomas and Jeremiah Clark, with others. were the original owners of the land upon which Clarksville now
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stands. That portion of the land on section 18 selected for the town site was surveyed and platted in the month of August, 1853, and soon thereafter additions were laid out, one on the east by Daniel Mather and one on the south by Seth Hilton. All in all, the plat consisted of seventeen blocks. As originally laid out and with the additions it was filed for record with the county recorder.
Clarksville is the premier town of Butler county and the only one in the township. As a trading point it probably has no superior in the bailiwick, being set down upon a beautiful prairie, with a scope of farm lands encircling it for many miles, all drawn upon by the busy and enterprising mer- chants, who make the place a vantage point for their business activities. Two railroads add very much to the natural advan- tages of Clarksville, giving the surrounding farms a ready market for their large contributions of cereals and live stock, and the merchants access to the great marts of the world, thus enabling them to procure merchandise readily and at a minimum cost for transportation. It is needless to add that these two lines of rail- road, one belonging to the great Rock Island system and the other a trunk line known as the Chicago Great Western, afford quite satisfactory accommodations to the traveling public, to which Clarksville contributes no insignificant share.
To Seth Hilton, one of the original owners of the town of Clarksville, is given the distinction of being the first person to start things moving in the embryo town. He it was who built the first structure, a log affair, and it is presumed the first house was put up in 1853, although no record is extant giving authority for the statement.
On the site of the Tremont House Abner Clark erected a build- ing in 1853, in which he placed a stock of general merchandise. Here Abner Clark, the first merchant of Clarksville, held forth in barter and trade the next two years, and then sold his stock of goods to John Palmer, who removed his purchase into another building on the west side of the courthouse square, where the second store opened its doors under the management and proprie- torship of Palmer & Moneton. The Clark store building was converted by the proprietor into a hotel and for some years gave shelter and bodily comfort to many a traveler. Then one "Billy" Brandon was "mine host," and was followed by his son, Henry, who, in the year 1874, tore down the old structure and in its stead erected the present Tremont House, a square frame building,
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almost, if not quite, ready for the scrap pile. In this building Henry Brandon remained as landlord one year and at its expira- tion turned it over to a renter, one Ravenscroft, who finally pur- chased the property and rented it to a Mr. Younger. But why, give in detail the various managers of this old hostelry ? Let it suffice to say that the building has stood still, while the town has been making steady, onward strides, so that a more modern cara- vansary is justly due a trading point having the size and impor- tance of Clarksville.
The third business house in Clarksville was that of the firm of Eichar & Dollison, located on Main street. This firm was in exist- ence about six years and then disposed of its stock of goods in the lump. In the building vacated by Eichar & Dollison the firm of Davis & Griffin opened the first hardware store in the town.
The first blacksmith was John Hardy, who opened a shop in a log house, which stood on the corner formerly occupied by the old Peet House and now the site of the handsome Auditorium build- ing. Mr. Hardy, being of an enterprising turn of mind, also kept a hotel on the same lot.
Clarksville has the distinction of being the home of the first newspaper established in Butler county. This happy consumma- tion took place in 1858 and the paper was named the Butler Transcript by its founders, Messrs. Palmer & James.
On the corner opposite Hardy's blacksmith shop J. Gilbert opened a drug store in 1858 in a one-story frame building. He remained in the trade a long term of years.
The first physician to locate in Clarksville was Jeremiah Clark, coming to the place in 1853. He was followed in 1854 by Dr. James E. Walker.
One of the most energetic and progressive business men of the early days was Henry Newman. He came here in 1856, opened a very pretentious general store and remained in the business many years. He also dealt extensively as a cattle buyer and before removing to the state of Oregon built several houses in the town. His removal was considered a serious public loss.
James Hazlet was another settler in Clarksville of an early day, who for a number of years ran a large grocery establishment. He subsequently took up his residence in Boone.
The Central House was a landmark in Clarksville for many years. The building superseded the Peet House, already men- tioned, and was presided over by George Riley Peet, who came
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here in 1856, purchased the Peet House and eventually tore it down and erected the Central House. Mr. Peet became a leading man in the community and was the popular landlord of the Cen- tral until 1879, when he met an untimely death in a railroad acci- dent.
John Bartlett started the first lumberyard here in 1870 and conducted the business three years, when he sold his stock to Samuel McRoberts and C. H. Ilgenfritz. The enterprise was con- tinued two years under the firm name of McRoberts & Company, when McRoberts withdrew and A. J. Ilgenfritz became a member of the firm, which took the title of Ilgenfritz Brothers.
Among other early business men of Clarksville may be men- tioned Charles Bulcken, who started a creamery in 1881; Henry Ilgenfritz, furniture, in the '60s; T. E. and J. E. Kephart, black- smiths, 1875; John Hartness, carpenter, 1857; M. B. Wamsley, live stock, 1878; Jeremiah Perrin, capitalist, settled near Clarks- ville in section 17, in 1851; M. M. Trumbull, attorney at law, early in the '50s; W. A. Riden, blacksmith, 1855; C. G. Schellinger, hardware, 1868; Wamsley &. Horton, merchants, 1877; Jerome Shadbolt, carpenter, 1855; J. M. Houston, grocer, 1861; Elias Walter, mason, 1853.
POSTOFFICE
The Clarksville postoffice was established in 1853 and was kept by A. G. Clark, the first postmaster, in a small log cabin that stood just south of the public square. At that time mail was received irregularly from Clear Lake by carrier, who made his trips back and forth by horseback. The second postmaster was A. J. Lewellen, who gave way to J. R. Fletcher. His successor was A. J. Thompkins; then came C. W. Wheelock, Webster Bart- lett, and in 1872, Mrs. C. M. Mitchell, widow of Wellington Mitchell, who lost his life while serving his country in the Civil war. She continued in the position under several administra- tions. The present incumbent is Ed Madigan, a former editor and proprietor of the Clarksville Star.
SCHOOLS
Clarksville always has had good schools and today the Clarks- ville school building is one of the finest and most commodious in
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HIGH SCHOOL, CLARKSVILLE
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the county. Miss Malinda Searles taught the first school in the town, beginning her duties in the spring of 1855 in a little log cabin. Her immediate successor was Miss Jane Clark. The log house was used for school purposes four or five years and then abandoned for a more modern and convenient building, which was constructed of concrete and stood north of the Dubuque & Dakota (Chicago Great Western) railroad track. When the county seat was taken from Clarksville the courthouse was prepared for pupils and teachers and used as a school building until the present handsome structure was built on the spot, which confidently had been expected would always be the site of the county's capitol. But the old courthouse was torn down in 1903 and in its place a modern brick building was erected at a cost of $12,500.
Since the opening of the big farms in the northwest section of this great country and the establishment of immense elevators and flouring mills in the cities contiguous thereto, the mills of the. Middle West gradually have been going into, to use the expres- sion of Grover Cleveland, innocuous desuetude. Untold numbers of them are standing idle, their machinery rusted and worthless, and their foundations and walls decaying. But in the pioneer days a local mill was a stern necessity. The settler was in abso- lute need of corn and flour for the household and it was the rule to set up a mill of some description in a new community as soon as possible. This condition and consummation obtained in Clarks- ville as early as 1856. It was in that year that J. J. Eichar and George Dollison, pioneer merchants heretofore mentioned, formed a copartnership with C. A. Strong under the firm name of Eichar, Dollison & Strong, and erected what was long known as the Clarksville Mill, the first industrial concern of its kind in Butler county. The mill was built for three run of stone, which were run by water power. The building, a frame 42x32 feet and three stories in height excluding the basement, stood on the east bank of the Shell Rock river, in section 19.
CLARKSVILLE INCORPORATED
The village of Clarksville continued to grow slowly, but in a measure, satisfactorily, to all concerned, and upon the approach of the year 1875 had approximately seven hundred in population. In 1874 the long nurtured hope of her citizens reached a gracious fruition, when the district court acted favorably upon a petition
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for incorporation and on the 21st day of September, 1874, the first municipal election was held, which completed the organization of Clarksville as an incorporated town. The offices filled at this initial election and names of incumbents follow: Mayor, John Palmer; clerk, E. A. Glenn; trustees, S. M. Townsend, H. Ilgen- fritz, H. F. L. Burton, T. Shafer and Edwin Fowle. The coun- cil met in the private office of Mayor Palmer and qualified, with the exception of E. A. Glenn, who had declined to accept the office of recorder. Thereupon the council appointed H. F. L. Burton recorder pro tem. Hiram Newman was appointed marshal, but failing to qualify, E. F. Duncan was chosen for the position.
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