USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler County, Iowa: a record of settlement., Volume 1 > Part 24
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"The basis of the scare proved to be that a couple of Sioux and Winnebago Indians had got into a quarrel, which terminated in one of them being sent to the 'happy hunting grounds,' and the whites had no part whatever in the fight. Such was the great Indian scare of 1854."
OTHER EARLY SETTLERS
John H. Miller and Aaron Hardman, with their families, set- tled in the township in 1853. Mr. Miller's death in 1856 was one of the first in the township. William Choate, who is mentioned in the account of the Indian scare above, and David W. Miller were also settlers in the township about this time. Elias G. Mil- ler was another pioneer of this period. His name is mentioned among the soldier martyrs of the rebellion.
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Solomon Sturtz and Rev. Philip Moss came in the year 1855. The latter was a Baptist minister. A son of his, Capt. Aaron Moss, is noticed in the biographical volume of this work.
Felix Landis came with his family in 1856 and located on sec- tion 14. Following this date the land began to be taken up very rapidly. It is impossible to give in detail the names of all these settlers, but among the pioneers who helped settle this township and to whose efforts is due its present position may be mentioned the following: Joseph Miller, Samuel McRoberts, Emanuel Leidig, William Hesalroad and E. S. Tracy.
ELM SPRINGS
The first town platted in the township was laid out, surveyed and recorded just south of the present location of Greene. T. T. Rawson was the owner of this town site and it was called Elm Springs. A postoffice was established there under that name, at which point the residents of this section of the county received their mail until its location was changed to Greene.
OFFICIAL ORGANIZATION
The township takes its name from Coldwater creek which flows through it. It was one of the four original townships into which the county was divided in 1855, comprising at that time in addition to its present area the west half of Dayton. A warrant was issued on the 15th of February to Aaron Hardman to effect the organization of Coldwater township. The early official rec- ords of the township have been lost but it is fairly well estab- lished that at the first election held in April, 1855, at the house of John V. Boggs, on section 12, the following officers were elected: James Griffith, justice of the peace; A. Hardman and H. P. Balm, constables. Charles Wood was elected assessor but did not qualify. Coldwater township assumed its present limits in 1858 when Dayton township was organized on the east.
EDUCATIONAL
The records of the school township of Coldwater are more complete than those of many of the other townships of the county, so that it is possible to give somewhat in detail the educational
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history of the township. Originally the township consisted of a single school district. About 1854, through the influence of James Griffith, the township was divided into two school districts, No. 1 comprising the eastern half of Coldwater and a portion of Dayton, and No. 2, the western half of Coldwater. The first schoolhouse was erected in district No. 1 on section 13, and built of logs by the patrons of the district. The first school in the town- ship was taught in this building "as soon as it would hold water," by Edward Goheen. The attendance was about six. This log schoolhouse stood near the site of the present schoolhouse in said district No. 1. It was used for school purposes until the summer of 1865, when a frame building, 22x30 feet, was erected at a cost of $700.
In 1855 a log house was built for school purposes on section 8 to accommodate the pupils of district No. 2. The first school here was taught by Joseph Miller. In 1868 this was dispensed with and a frame building erected to take its place.
In 1866 a third district was created in the southeastern part of the township. About the same time district No. 4, including within its limits the town of Greene, was set off and a log school- house built. In 1871 a frame building, erected at a cost of $800, took the place of this log schoolhouse, and this continued to be used until 1873, when the independent school district of Greene was organized. The first teacher in district No. 3 was Miss Mary Clark, and in district No. 4, Rudolph Landis.
District No. 5 was established in 1870 and a schoolhouse erected on the southeast corner of section 3. This building continued to be used for school purposes until the erection of the present school- house which stands across the road from its former site. Miss Kate Ornhert taught the first school here.
District No. 6 was set off in 1874 and a schoolhouse built near the corner of section 22. Miss Ella Clark was the first teacher. The district now known as Mount Nebo district was first set off in 1877. A schoolhouse was erected in 1878 at a cost of $600. John Wilson was the first teacher at this school, with an attend- ance of nine scholars.
In 1880 district No. 7 was established. A schoolhouse was built at the northeast corner of section 33, in which Miss Sarah Williams taught the first school.
Since that date two additional districts have been set off and schoolhouses erected. The school building which stands at the
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GATES BRIDGE, GREENE
SCENE ON MAIN STREET, GREENE Taken about 1904
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southwest corner of section 29 is located in one of these. The other is what is known as Clark school, in section 23. The dis- tricts have also been renumbered from 1 to 9, inclusive.
Coldwater township now has three comparatively modern rural school buildings and there is little doubt but that in the course of a very few years all of the older buildings will be replaced by more modern structures. The interests of the chil- dren in this township are well looked after by an efficient board of directors. The township is accounted one of the most pro- gressive of the county in all matters relating to the efficiency and welfare of the schools.
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GENERAL ITEMS
The first recorded birth in Coldwater township was that of Margaret Hardman, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Hardman. This birth occurred in 1854.
The first wedding in the township was that of Frances J. Griffith to Martin Van Buren Wamsley. This was performed by County Judge Van Dorn on the 4th of September, 1856, at the residence of the bride's parents. Mr. Wamsley died in prison at Tyler, Texas, in 1864. Mrs. Wamsley later married Clark Carr, of Jackson township.
The first death in the township was that of John Hardman, Jr., who died of apoplexy in 1853, at the age of thirty years.
POPULATION
1856, 165; 1860, 264; 1863, 225; 1865, 240; 1867, 333; 1869, 376; 1870, 461; 1873, 796; 1875, 980; 1880, 1,325; 1890, 1,508; 1900, 1,967; 1910, 1,836.
VILLAGE OF GREENE
The present town of Greene stands upon land which was pur- chased in the summer of 1854 by John W. Miller, who died two years thereafter. After securing the property, Miller put up a small log cabin, near a group of springs, which gushed out from the bases of elm trees. The diminutive habitation was thrown open to the traveler and "mine host" gave to the hostelry the name of "Home for Travelers." This was the first hotel in
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Greene. The pioneer was appointed postmaster of an office estab- lished under the name of "Elm Springs," the original name of Clarksville, and served the small community until his death, which occurred in 1856, both as postmaster and hotel keeper. Soon after Miller's death his land passed into the possession of Benjamin and J. E. Eikenberry, upon which Benjamin Eiken- berry erected a farm house on the site of which was erected some years later the Ball hardware building. In the latter part of 1871, when the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Minnesota Railroad was completed through Greene, the proper authorities of the road purchased the interests of the Eikenberrys in one hundred and sixty acres of this land, which was laid out and platted into town lots by the railroad officials. The new trading point, in honor of Judge George Greene, of Dubuque, president of the road, was named Greene, and in September, 1871, the plat of Greene was filed with the recorder of the county for preservation. The rail- road company also secured a large tract of land on the west side of the river, anticipating that some day the town would grow in that direction.
G. L. Mills purchased of the company the first lot sold in the embryo town and O. D. Barnum secured the second one. On the 22d day of September, 1871, G. L. Mills commenced excavating a cellar, preparatory to erecting a business house. The first build- ing, however, that stood on the town site and was used for mercan- tile purposes, was a frame structure, which was moved from near district No. 1 schoolhouse in Lower grove. This was fitted up with shelves and counters and converted into a general store by the firm of Moss & Sturtz. Before all preliminaries had been completed by Moss & Sturtz, however, the firm of Thomas Broth- ers had gotten on display to patrons a stock of hardware, installed in an unfinished building, so that as a matter of fact the Thomas Brothers may be considered to have been the first merchants in Greene. The reader will have noticed that the distinction is finely drawn, as the interval between the opening of the two stores was a very short one.
The first store building erected for the purpose and finished was that of G. L. Mills, and shortly after the two initial stores had opened their doors, in fact, in the same month, a combined grocery and drug store was established here by the firm of Trim- ble & Spaulding. Also, on the first of the last month mentioned, a stock of groceries and dry goods was shipped from Waterloo to
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Greene for the McClure Brothers and in a week thereafter this concern had its doors open to the public and was selling goods over its counters. So, as a matter of fact, the month after the town had been platted, Greene was amply supplied with business establishments, when one considers that there were not fifty souls in the place.
The lumber for a grain elevator was hauled from Clarksville and on the ground before the completion of the railroad, and as soon as the railroad was running trains, C. T. Sampson had the elevator ready for grain. While waiting for the warehouse, the firm of Barnum & Case had bought considerable grain and stored it in a barn purchased of J. E. Eikenberry and were the first to engage in the traffic.
The first woman resident of Greene was the wife of A. H. Bell. The latter bought the Eikenberry residence from the rail- road and Mrs. Bell converted it into a boarding house.
The first lumberyard was established here by F. W. Smith in 1871 and that same year a wagon bridge was built over the Shell Rock river. This was a much needed improvement and was paid for by the county appropriating $5,000. The railroad contrib- uted an additional $1,000 and the citizens $1,000.
The Gault House was the successor to the "Travelers Home" and was ready for its guests about the time trains were running through the place. The doors of this hostelry were first opened by Bradley & Farrell. Later the name was changed to the DeGraw Hotel, which finally terminated its existence by going up in flames. At present Greene has two hotel buildings-the Commercial, a substantial frame, and the Kessler. To monop- olize the traffic the proprietor of the Kessler secured the Com- mercial property and closed its doors, so that the traveling public is compelled to patronize the former, willy nilly.
Shortly after traffic on the railroad had commenced a branch of a bank at Cedar Falls, known as the Bank of Greene, was estab- lished and continued in operation until 1875, when its doors were summarily closed and the institution went into liquidation. The cashier, J. L. Spaulding, left for parts unknown.
The opening of a harness shop by J. H. Cooksey is reckoned by the coming of the railroad; also a grocery and fruit store by the Baughman brothers; a blacksmith shop by one Gould; a boot and shoe store by John Reed; and a saloon by a man named Rob- erts. The character of the settlers not being libatious or ribald,
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soon disgusted the rum seller, and in a few short weeks Greene was purged of its infection and Roberts sought a more congenial sphere for his chosen vocation.
No town in Butler county grew so rapidly from the beginning as did Greene. The town hardly had been platted before material was on the ground for buildings and within thirty days after the town site was platted there were four business concerns selling goods to the farmers of the surrounding country, which has no superior, from an agricultural viewpoint, in the state of Iowa. And Greene continued to advance in its building operations, increase of mercantile establishments and population, until, in 1873, two years after its birth, the Butler County Press, estab- lished at Greene in the month of August of that year, was led to publish the following interesting facts: In 1873 Greene has a population of 500, one church, a good schoolhouse, one drug store, one shoe store, one planing mill, one wagon factory, four dry goods and grocery stores, two harness shops, two hotels, two mil- linery stores, two banks, two agricultural warehouses, two black- smith shops, three grain warehouses, two lumberyards, two saloons and one restaurant, a town library. The Press apparently was well patronized in 1874; as the following advertisers indicate: Physicians, C. C. Huckins, V. C. Birney and W. H. Nichols; A. Hardman, drayman; R. F. Graupner, barber; John Collins, boots and shoes; J. L. Cole, druggist; Charles Northfoss, door and sash manufacturer; C. H. Baughman, architect; E. Wilson, county recorder; Theodore Coley, blacksmith; Henry Feyereisen, Dubuque Hotel; Mrs. M. Ball, millinery; William M. Foote, lawyer; J. W. Gilger, lawyer; George W. Long, New Hotel; A. Bradley, Gault House; S. W. Soesbe, real estate; J. M. Wegand, painter; E. W. Soesbe, machines; S. T. Hotchkiss, general mer- chandise; Morris Ball, hardware; Bank of Greene, J. L. Spauld- ing, cashier; Barnum, Case & Company, lumber; Young & Pope, furniture; A. W. Collins, architect ; W. R. McClure, general mer- chandise; J. Pennock, boots and shoes; S. Thomas & Company. hardware; L. A. Boller & Brother, jewelry; N. W. Thomas & Company, agricultural warehouse; Johnston & Hill, wagon and carriage works; Trimble & Stranahan, drugs; D. E. Shook, machinery; C. Snyder, harness; F. D. Mabee, restaurant; Trim- ble & Barney, livery; Charles V. McClure, land office; E. Jordan, real estate; George L. Mills, general merchandise; T. F. Heery. lumber; F. M. Root & Company, general merchandise.
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POSTOFFICE
The settlers of Coldwater township secured a distributing and receiving point for their mail in the year 1855, which was called Elm Springs postoffice and John Miller, who kept the office at his residence, just south of the town which was later named Greene, was appointed postmaster, and retained the position until in the '60s, when Samuel Earnest was made his successor; the office was then moved to Mr. Earnest's home, which stood south of the old roundhouse. There have been several worthy citizens incumbents of this office, but their names are not ready to hand. However, W. A. McClure is the present Federal official and the postoffice is in commodious rooms on Main street.
THE WANATAH MILL
In the autumn of 1874 the frame of the mill which stood on the east bank of the Shell Rock river at the entrance to the bridge was raised and in 1875 the structure was completed by the owner, E. Hiller, and the machinery started. The original building was 40x50 feet with an office 20x20. With the stone basement it was two stories in height. The mill was equipped with four run of stone and had a grinding capacity of 100 barrels a day. The cost was $18,000. By repeated disasters, occasioned by continued washing away of the dam, Mr. Hiller lost the property. George W. Dellinger, of Ripon, Wisconsin, was the next owner. The dam was reinforced and the Dellingers-P. N. and Burt-sons of the purchaser, managed the industry for many years and up to the time it was destroyed by fire. In 1884 the property came into the hands of the Greene Water Power & Mill Company, composed of John Earnest, S. W. Soesbe, Henry Feyereisen, Dr. J. Nevins, R. Miner and others, who built the present mill. About 1890 the Greene Manufacturing Company became the owners and operated the mill until 1908, when it passed into the hands of the present owners, the Greene Electric Light & Power Company.
TOWN OF GREENE INCORPORATED
The town of Greene was incorporated in 1879 and had a pop- ulation at the time of 700. The district court had granted articles of incorporation on a generously signed petition of the citizens,
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and soon thereafter an election was held, at which the following municipal officers were chosen: Mayor, C. T. Lamson; trustees, J. L. Cole, S. W. Soesbe, G. L. Mills, Henry Feyereisen, W. H. Rupert, R. Miner. On the 20th of September, and immediately following the election, the officials met in their first regular ses- sion and qualified under oath administered by Justice Riner. Upon completion of the council's organization, on motion, O. D. Barnum was appointed recorder; C. Crocker, marshal and street commissioner. G. L. Mills acted as clerk and took the minutes of the proceedings. At the second meeting of council, William Soesbe was selected as treasurer and C. W. Gilger, solicitor.
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At a meeting of council held in October, 1879, The Butler County Press volunteered to publish the proceedings of the coun- cil free of charge and all ordinances at fifty cents per square inch. The offer was accepted. In the same month Councilmen Riner, Mills and Feyereisen comprised a committee which built the city "lockup." The building was a frame and had two cells. A front room was used as the council chamber. This sufficed for a while and then another was built on the site of the present city hall.
A DIMINUTIVE FERRY
It may not be generally known that Greene at one time main- tained a ferry, for the convenience of the citizens who desired to cross from one bank of the usually placid Shell Rock river to the other, while the bridge was in course of erection across that stream. It is true, however, that a committee of council was appointed January 8, 1880, composed of Mayor C. T. Lamson, and Councilmen Mills and Rupert, to build a ferry boat, to be used in crossing the river, and while the records are not explicit on the point, it is to be presumed that the ferry was built and operated during the emergency period herein mentioned. These improvements all took place under the administration of Mayor C. T. Lamson. The names of his successors in the office of chief executive, and that of the clerks follow in their order: Mayors-V. C. Birney, H. H. Barnett, C. T. Lamson, C. W. Soesbe, Andrew Glodery, Charles Gates, A. Glodery, Oliver McGee, L. K. Reid, Edwin Morrill, W. H. Buchholz, Edwin Mor- rill, Paul Deveraux, William F. Nolteriek, H. H. Barnett, E. W. Parno, John Hessalroad; clerks-O. C. Barnum, C. W. Lyford, M. Hartness, Dan Carney, C. E. Mabee, R. L. Doore, F. L. Stober, LeRoy Niles.
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HIGH SCHOOL, GREENE
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF GREENE
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THE SCHOOLS
The schools at Greene were identified and set apart in 1866 as comprising district No. 4, but in 1873 the territory was reor- ganized as an independent district. Prior to this, however, the district had two frame schoolhouses, which accommodated the one hundred and fifty pupils. But the number of children of school age increased quite rapidly and by 1877 outgrew the capacities of the buildings. Hence, in the year just mentioned, a large frame structure was erected on the hill overlooking the town and on the site of the present high school building. This was of frame, veneered with brick, two stories in height and cost $6,000, and continued in use until 1896, when it was destroyed by fire. A new and more modern structure immediately took its place. It is of brick material, contains six rooms and an assembly room, the latter having a capacity of one hundred pupils. The grades num- ber twelve, with a high school having an accredited rating. This school is presided over by six teachers, exclusive of the city super- intendent, and all concerned are now provided with most of the conveniences to be found in the schools of modern times. The building and equipment cost about $15,000 when first erected. In 1911 an addition to the building brought the cost up to $20,000. On the west side of the town is another school building, a brick- veneered frame, having four rooms and erected at a cost of prob- ably $8,000. There are four teachers who preside over the elementary educational destinies of the children in that locality.
GREENE LIBRARY
Early in February, 1873, when Greene was still in short dresses, so to speak, a library association was formed by certain of the village's progressive men and women. The name and title of the organization is the "Library Association of Greene, But- ler County, Iowa," and by means of contributions of books and receipts from entertainments a sum was gathered which formed a fund for the purchase of books, which became the nucleus of the present library. Further, through the beneficence of Judge George Greene, an endowment fund of $1,200 was secured for the purchase of books, the interest from the fund only being avail- able for that purpose. As the years have gone by the association has kept its course in a conservative manner and today has a
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valuable and splendid collection of books which now numbers about 2,500 volumes, 500 volumes of which were selected for juvenile readers and their possible edification. The first president of the association was C. T. Lamson, and C. S. Stranahan assumed the duties of secretary. The personnel of the present official list follows: President, Benjamin Boardman; vice president, Mrs. F. D. Mabee; treasurer, O. C. Perrin; secretary, F. L. Stober; librarian, Miss Marion Hodgdon.
For years the library's headquarters were first in one law office and then in another. But when the new city hall was com- pleted and occupied pressure was brought to bear upon the council and that body was prevailed upon to give the library a permanent home. Hence, since 1910, the library has been com- fortably and conveniently located on the second floor of the city hall.
THE CITY HALL
While comparisons are more or less obnoxious, still it will not be going too far to say that Greene has the best and most pre- tentious municipal building in Butler county. This utility was made possible by an appropriation of council in 1910 and before the year had expired a handsome two-story brick structure was built on Second street, at a cost of $3,600. The first floor is de- voted to the fire department and apparatus; also the rear part of it contains the steel cages of the city bastile. The upper floor is given over to the council, mayor, city clerk and library.
WATERWORKS
Feeling the need of a sufficient supply of water for public and domestic uses, a movement gained headway in 1900, for the estab- lishment of a system of municipal waterworks. The question of building waterworks and issuing $9,500 in bonds for their con- struction, was submitted to the electorate of Greene on the 23d of July, 1900, and was carried by a generous majority. Work was at once commenced on the construction of the improvement. One well, five feet in diameter and twenty-five feet in depth, was drilled and an excellent quality of aqua pura obtained. Mains were laid throughout the main thoroughfares and a steel tower. upon which rests a wooden tank with a capacity of 50,000 gal-
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lons, was erected, and today Greene has a splendid waterworks system, obtained at an original cost of $12,000. By an arrange- ment with the electric light company, power for pumping the water was secured.
SEWERAGE SYSTEM
No town of the importance and size of Greene can consider itself safe, from a sanitary standpoint, and have a completed system of waterworks without sewerage. This proposition has been realized as being the only tenable one in the premises, by the leading minds of the place and at this writing preliminary proceedings of the town council have reached a stage which make it a certainty that in the spring of the present year a system of sewerage will be inaugurated.
POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS
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There are no saloons in Butler county, consequently no nui- sance of the kind has an abiding place in Greene. This prefatory remark serves to bolster the assertion that the people of this place are quiet and orderly in their daily walks and have but little use for a police force. The office of marshal is a creation of law, however, and the authorities following the mandates of the law, at regular intervals make provisions for the selection of a compe- tent and eligible man to fill the position. Practically, he is a mere figurehead and his duties chiefly consist in parading the streets and drawing a monthly salary. The fire department is of the volunteer order. But when an alarm of fire shatters the nor- mal placidity of the citizens every one becomes a member of the department and, if possible, will be found at the scene of con- flagration, doing a neighborly turn, by working valiantly and oft- times furiously, in subduing and annihilating the fiery foe. The city is well equipped with 1,500 feet of hose, two hose carts, a hook and ladder wagon and twenty-one fire hydrants.
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