USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler County, Iowa: a record of settlement., Volume 1 > Part 28
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James P. Bannon is a native son of Madison township, his father, James Bannon, having settled upon the farm where James P. now lives, in 1866.
George Lupkes and G. D. R. Kramer are also large landown- ers in the township at the present time.
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OFFICIAL ORGANIZATION
Madison township was originally a part of the township of Ripley, being so organized February 5, 1855. It continued to con- stitute a part of the civil township of Ripley through the series of changes that took place in the township organization down to Sep- tember 3, 1860, when by order of the county court it was given a separate organization. The name Madison was proposed by Peter Coyle and was ratified by a meeting of the board of supervisors.
The first election was held at the house of Jacob Yost on sec- tion 16. The following officers were chosen: Dr. George Sprague, Peter Coyle, trustees ; Peter Coyle, justice of the peace; and Peter Coyle, assessor. Jacob Yost was elected to some office but exactly what it was is not recorded.
Madison township is the only township in the county which ·has a town hall, in which its elections and official meetings of the board and other official business are carried on. Its town hall is located on the schoolhouse grounds in sub-district No. 5, at the geographical center of the township, on the northwest corner of section 22.
GENERAL ITEMS
The first birth in Madison township occurred March 1, 1855, when a son, Marvin, was born to Nicholas and Sophia Hartgraves. The first death was that of Abijah Stacy in November, 1855. He was buried without any funeral service.
The first marriage ceremony in the township after its separate organization was celebrated at the house of Peter Coyle, at which time Elisha Scott and Miss Sallie Taylor were united in marriage. It is said that the wedding had been arranged and dinner pre- pared, guests arrived and everything in order for a good time. When the hour for the ceremony arrived, however, the bride did not put in an appearance. The guests who were present, together with the minister, proceeded to make way with the feast which had been provided and the party then dispersed. It later devel- oped that the sister of the bride, who was opposed to the marriage. had persuaded her not to go to the wedding. One of the friends of the contracting parties visited the bride and succeeded in get- ting her to change her mind again. The next afternoon, with the prospective bridegroom, she proceeded to Justice Coyle's, where
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a ceremony was finally performed. Mrs. Scott was drowned nine years later in West Fork, while attempting to cross it at the time of high water. Her husband was with her, but escaped. This was undoubtedly the first marriage ceremony performed in Madi- son township. The records of the office of county clerk, however, record an earlier marriage between residents of this township when it was a part of Ripley. The contracting parties were Jacob Yost and Evaline Scott. The date of this marriage was February 28, 1857.
The first religious services of the township were held at the house of Peter Coyle, and presided over by a Catholic clergyman, Father Shields, of Waverly. A child, John Cunningham, was baptized at this time.
The Methodists held services in the township as early as 1867 in the schoolhouse in district No. 4. A Rev. Mr. Williams, of Ackley, was the first clergyman of this denomination to hold service in the township. So far as is known, no definite organiza- tion was effected.
The first blacksmith shop was started in a building which had formerly been used as a schoolhouse. Albert Schmitz purchased this building and moved it and started a blacksmith shop which he conducted for about a year. Later he moved to Dumont.
EDUCATIONAL
The first schoolhouse in the township was erected in 1860 on section 14. This was used for school purposes until 1870, when it was moved away. In 1872 a board shanty was erected and used for several terms for school purposes and its place was taken by a schoolhouse built in 1873 in the southeast corner of section 13. This district was then known as No. 1. A Miss Carpenter was the first teacher in the township.
A second sub-district was organized in 1868. Helen Slaid was one of the first teachers in this district.
The second schoolhouse in the township was erected in the southeast part of the township in the early '60s. In 1881 this building was sold to K. S. Green and was thereafter used by him as a tenant house. Its place was taken by a school building erected on section 26, in 1881.
In 1875 another district was created. A schoolhouse was erected on section 8, in 1876, for the pupils of this district. Mary
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Johnson, Alice Hurley and George Palmer were among the first teachers in this schoolhouse.
The third schoolhouse erected in the township was con- structed in 1865 on section 16. In 1868 this building was moved to the southwest corner of section 17-its present location-and a new building was erected on the southeast corner of section 16. The latter school site was changed at a later date to the northwest corner of section 22.
Thomas W. Smith was the first teacher in the Clutterville schoolhouse. In 1870 a frame schoolhouse was erected on sec- tion 32. Thomas Butler was one of the first teachers.
Since that date three additional schoolhouses have been erected in the township, which now has nine school buildings within its limits.
When the Northwestern Railroad was constructed through the township it was surveyed through the schoolhouse site in school district No. 1, necessitating its removal. Considerable difficulty was experienced in securing a satisfactory site for this school building and some litigation resulted. In the end the schoolhouse was located about a mile north of its first site. In recent years the population of this sub-district has been so small that no school has been held there. The district still owns the former schoolhouse site.
The schoolhouse in sub-district No. 2, known as the Eisen- trager school, stands on the northwest corner of section 10, just two miles south of Dumont. Borneman school, in district No. 3, is located in the southeastern corner of section 6. Sub-districts Nos. 4 and 5 are known as the West and East Clutterville schools respectively. No. 5 is the central school of the township. Sub- district No. 6 is located about a mile and a half north of Kesley. The schoolhouse in district No. 7 stands in Bear grove and is known as the Bear Grove school. Schoolhouse No. 8 is in the northeastern corner of section 33 and that in No. 9 in the south- western corner of section 29.
POSTOFFICE
The first postoffice established in the township was called the Island Grove postoffice and was located at the residence of Dr. George Sprague, on section 35. This postoffice was continued from 1858 until 1868. It was on the mail route between Cedar
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Falls and Hampton first and later on the route from Aplington. A postoffice was also located at Clutterville near the southwest- ern corner of section 17 at an early date. The exact dates of its establishment and discontinuance as well as the names of the postmasters are unknown at present.
POPULATION
1863, 66; 1865, 55; 1867, 157; 1869, 211; 1870, 293; 1873, 386; 1875, 401; 1880, 475; 1890, 604; 1900, 679; 1910, 755.
TOWN OF KESLEY
In the '50s a stock company was formed in Ohio, known as the Ohio Stock Breeding Association, the members of the associ- ation being John K. Green, of Cincinnati; R. W. Musgrave and Luther A. Hall, of Tiffin city; Doctor Sprague and others. Through Doctor Sprague, the originator of the plan, the company purchased some six thousand acres of land, mostly in Madison and Ripley townships. Doctor Sprague was made the manager of the farm and came to Butler county about 1858, bringing a splendid herd of shorthorn cattle with him. He located on sec- tion 35, in Madison township, and commenced the construction of buildings for the accommodation of the stock and a house for the men connected with the enterprise. For various reasons the attempt was unsuccessful.
After several years Doctor Sprague gave up the struggle, the company was dissolved and the land divided among the stock- holders. Doctor Sprague obtained some of the land, which remained in possession of his family for a good many years. John K. Green secured the largest part of the real-estate holdings- some three thousand seven hundred acres.
Subsequent to this time Doctor Sprague went to Des Moines and started the Iowa Homestead, a farm journal of wide reputa- tion and success, which he continued with the help of his sons for a number of years.
Kesley S. Green, a son of John K. Green, came to Madison township in 1865 to take charge of his father's land there. From that time to the present he has been the largest landowner in that section of the country. Of late years he has retired from active participation in business affairs and his son, John K. Green, has taken his place.
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When in 1900 the line of the Northwestern Railroad was pro- jected through this section of the county, a plat of land was secured by the Iowa & Minnesota Town Site Company, upon which a town was platted and named Kesley for Mr. Green. Although still unincorporated, the village at present is an important trading center for the farmers of this section of Butler county.
The plat of the town of Kesley was filed for record on June 15, 1900, by W. E. Brice, representing the Iowa & Minnesota Town Site Company. This was just before the completion of the line of railroad which was then being built from Belle Plaine, Iowa, to Fox Lake, Minnesota. The name of the railway line during contsruction was the Iowa, Minnesota & Northwestern. The pro- moters were the same men who were interested in the Town Site Company. This railroad was later sold to the Chicago & North- western Railway Company.
Before the town was organized a postoffice had been main- tained for a number of years at Hitesville, several miles to the 'east. After the town of Kesley came into being this was dis- continued and a postoffice was established at Kesley. The post- masters here have been as follows: John Bode, Henry De Vries and John Wessels.
Soon after the platting of the town an auction was held by the Town Site Company, at which a sale of lots in Kesley was made. The opening of a lumberyard by Reints & De Buhr, who later organized the Bank of Kesley, marked the beginning of the actual transaction of business in Kesley. Bode Brothers of Austinville, and F. Traisman of Aplington, immediately opened general stores and the Northern Grain Company and the Nye-Schneider- Fowler Company built elevators along the right of way. H. E. Perry, of Swanton, opened a blacksmith shop; Bode Brothers, of Parkersburg, a drug store, and Ludeman and De Vries a hard- ware and furniture store. J. H. Brandenburg built a two-story brick hotel, which he operated for some time. A creamery had been in operation about a half mile north of the site of Kesley for some time previous to its founding. This may now be con- sidered one of the industries of the town of Kesley. Mr. H. Pat- terson succeeded James P. Johnston in the creamery business here.
Kesley now has about one hundred and twenty inhabitants, has two general stores, drug store, a hardware and furniture store, an
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implement establishment, lumberyard, bank, two elevators, meat market, hotel, barber shop and pool hall, harness shop, milk depot and two blacksmith shops.
An independent school district was formed by Kesley and the immediate contiguous territory some years ago. There are at present two departments in the school, with an attendance of about forty children. The school building is a substantial two- story frame structure.
CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS
The German Baptists organized a church here through G. C. Engelmann. This society was later disbanded.
The Monroe Reformed Church was organized June 14, 1885, with a membership of thirty-four families, and built a neat church building which is used by this organization. This church is located three miles south and a half mile east of Kesley. The first pastor called to the charge was Rev. Fr. Schaefer, who after a service covering twenty-three years abandoned his work here, August 2, 1908. Since November, 1909, Rev. E. K. Russmann has had charge and the congregation now numbers seventy-three families.
This denomination has a church building in Kesley, in which regular services are held. A Union Christian Endeavor Society also holds its meetings here.
FINANCIAL
The Bank of Kesley is managed by Herman N. Reints, cashier, and is owned by Reints & De Buhr, of Aplington. Its capital stock is $20,000; surplus, $7,500. Its location in an excellent farming and dairying country makes this financial institution an important one, as the community which it represents in a finan- cial way enjoys a splendid trade from the surrounding territory and has come to be one of the most important shipping points for hogs and poultry in the county.
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CHAPTER XXVI
MONROE TOWNSHIP AND TOWN OF APLINGTON
Monroe township lies in the southern tier of the townships of Butler county, just west of Albion. It is bounded on the north by Ripley, on the west by Washington, and on the south by Grundy county. In its general characteristics it is very similar to the townships to the west and east. It is drained by the same stream, Beaver creek, and several minor branches. The surface in gen- eral is rolling with a rich, loamy soil which is highly productive.
There is comparatively little natural timber and this is chiefly along the Beaver. At an early date the water power of this stream was sufficient to be utilized for manufacturing purposes. Of recent years, however, the flow of the stream has been so reduced and the cost of steam power has become so essentially cheaper and more satisfactory as to render the use of this stream for com- mercial purposes needless. The Illinois Central Railroad furnishes the only means of transportation of persons and commodities of the township.
The town of Aplington is situated wholly within the limits of the township and a portion of Parkersburg also. These two towns are the central trading points, trade extending well beyond the limits of the township in every direction. The Hawkeye Highway, which has been mentioned previously, connects Parkers- burg and Aplington, furnishing a satisfactory route for automo- biles and other wheeled vehicles.
In an early day wheat was the principal product of this township, the yield often reaching forty bushels per acre. This wheat was principally marketed at Cedar Falls, at that time the nearest milling point. Comparatively little wheat is raised at the present time, corn, oats and hay constituting the chief crops. The township is particularly adapted to dairying and the growing of beef cattle and hogs. The farms are well improved and many of them are occupied and farmed by their owners-a
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condition which operates to maintain the natural fertility of the soil and develop its resources to the fullest extent.
The central portion of the township was formerly considered, too wet to be of value for farming purposes. The undoubted change in climatic conditions as well as the introduction of tile draining and a greater absorption of moisture by the tilled lands, all have resulted in removing to a large extent this condition. At present there is practically no waste land in Monroe township.
EARLY SETTLEMENT
Walter Clayton, who has been mentioned as the first settler in Albion township, also has the honor of being enrolled as the pioneer of Monroe. Mr. Clayton was a native of New York, com- ing to Albion township from Wisconsin. The claim which he took up there was, to use the language of the period, "jumped" by Thomas Mullarky of Cedar Falls, owing to Mr. Clayton's ignor- ance of or neglect to comply with the provisions governing the formal entry of land in the western states.
In April, 1854, Mr. Clayton moved west across the Albion line and located a new home on sections 21 and 28, Monroe township, about a mile east of where Aplington now stands. Here he erected a log house in the northwest quarter of section 28, cover- ing the roof with shakes. These shakes were made from hewn oak timbers, about sixteen inches long, from which shakes, in form somewhat similar to the modern shingle, were split with a tool designed for this purpose. They were very frequently used in the construction of buildings in pioneer days. The floor was laid with basswood boards hewn from the native logs.
In this cabin the first white child in Monroe township was born. It was also the first hotel in this part of the county. It was called the Half-Way House, being so named because of its location mid- way between Cedar Falls and Iowa Falls. A basswood board, with the name Half-Way House written upon it with red chalk was nailed to a stake in front of the house. It is said that often as many as twenty travelers were accommodated in the one room of this little shanty, where on account of the low ceiling the guests were obliged to kneel while dressing.
In 1856 he built another log house with two rooms on the ground floor and two above. The same year a stage route was established past his hotel and this became a regular station on the
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route. It was known thereafter as Elk Horn Tavern, from an elk horn which he had procured and suspended over the approach at the entrance. This tavern was in continuous use until after the railway was constructed through the township.
Clayton made considerable money in the management of this hotel. In 1868 he built a large frame house where he lived until his death in 1870.
It is said that the money which he received for the improve- ments on his Albion township claim, amounting to about one hundred and fifty dollars, he entrusted to the care of a young man to take to Des Moines to secure the entry to his new claim in Monroe township. The man, however, ran away with the money. Mr. Clayton then managed to save up the sum of $353 by keeping travelers and this was stolen from him. He still per- severed, however, and in the end achieved a high degree of pros- perity.
No entries of land in Monroe township were made until 1854. The first of these is dated July 29, 1854, when J. V. Hogaboom entered a claim on section 19. L. L. Pease the same year entered a claim on section 23, and on the 11th of October Walter Clayton, mentioned above, entered his claim on section 21. During this year of 1854 claims were also entered by P. M. Casady and R. L. Tidrick, on sections 19 and 29, respectively.
The year 1854 is marked by the addition of Solomon Cinna- mon to the settlers of Monroe township. Cinnamon took a claim on section 36 but lived there only a few years and later removed to Nebraska. J. M. Caldwell and Thomas Nash also belonged to the list of settlers in the township this year. Mr. Caldwell was a native of Georgia. He came to Iowa from Illinois in September, 1854, and located a claim in section 30, Monroe township. Thomas Nash took up portions of sections 19, 29 and 30.
In October Messrs. Caldwell and Nash returned to Illinois. disposed of their real estate there, bought stock and in 1855 returned to Butler county with their families. With them came quite a colony of pioneers, among them Anthony Howard and his son Robert, J. G. and George W. Caldwell, Silas Beebe and Jonathan Gee. The party made the journey with three horses and five ox teams. The trip took about sixteen days. These all settled in Monroe and Washington townships.
The number of pioneer settlers was largely increased in the year 1855. Among the first of these was Nathan Linn. He
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located first at what was then called Carpenter's grove, in Shell Rock township, in the fall of 1854, where he spent the winter. The following spring he pushed his way westward into Ripley township, whence, after a brief sojourn, he came to Monroe, locat- ing on section 2. In 1879 he sold his farm in Monroe township and removed to Jefferson township, where he resided for a num- ber of years. Daniel Peterson, like Nathan Linn a native of Maryland, located a short time afterward on section 1.
Peter McMahon, who settled in the township this year, came from Pennsylvania. From Chicago they came overland by team. When they reached the vicinity of Butler Center they endeavored to find a place where they could be accommodated over night. They were at first unable to find a place to stay .until they by chance heard that Nathan Linn, at that time hardly settled in the township, sometimes kept travelers. Pushing on from Butler Center they arrived at Linn's claim, where they found the family. living in a little log house without a floor. In the absence of a door, a blanket was hung to keep out the wolves. Here they were heartily welcomed. Mr. McMahon located a claim on section 4, and rented a cabin in Butler Center where his family lived until he was able to complete a cabin on his own farm. Among other arrivals about this time were Lycurgus Hazen, R. R. Horr, Wells A. Curtis, Joseph Embody, M. S. Wrightman and James Gillard.
This year also is marked by the settlement of Thomas Conn and his three sons, Joseph, Moses and Samuel, together with Joseph, William and Alexander Hopley. Thomas Conn located a claim on the southwest quarter of section 1, which he later sold to his son Joseph. Samuel located on section 12 and Joseph and William Hopley on sections 2 and 3. Moses Conn is mentioned in connection with the history of Albion township.
Among the settlers in the township in 1856 were Benjamin Inman, Samuel Gillard and J. H. Kerns. In the years subse- quent to the Civil war the township was rapidly settled. As is the case with most of the other townships of the county, Monroe township in the early '80s became the home of large numbers of German emigrants who themselves and their children today are found among the leading citizens of their communities.
GENERAL ITEMS
The first birth in the township was Winfield Scott Clayton, a son of Walter and Rachel Clayton, who was born June 10, 1855.
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The first marriage was that of Richard Parriott and Lilly M. Caldwell, who on the 10th day of July, 1856, plighted their faith. The bridegroom was later killed in the battle of Murfreesboro in 1863.
Two deaths occurred on the 14th of October, 1859-Catherine, the wife of Samuel Bisbee, aged twenty-two; and Sarah, the wife of Anthony Howard, aged seventy-two. They were both buried on the same day in Aplington cemetery.
OFFICIAL ORGANIZATION
Monroe township was at first a portion of the township of Ripley, being so assigned by order of the county court, February 5, 1855. On March 3, 1856, Monroe township was organized of the two congressional townships, now Monroe and Washington. Washington township was separated from Monroe on the 3d of September, 1860, since which date both townships have had their present boundaries. The township name was suggested by J. M. Caldwell, whose middle initial stands for Monroe. Whether he had his own name or that of the president of the United States is unknown.
The first election in the township was held at the home of J. M. Caldwell in April, 1856. At this election an oyster can was used for a ballot box, and the following officers were elected: Thomas Nash and J. M. Caldwell, trustees; Jonathan Gee, clerk; L. P. Hazen, assessor; Daniel Peterson, constable; and Joseph Embody, justice of the peace.
EDUCATIONAL
Monroe is one of the eleven townships of Butler county enjoy- ing township district organization for school purposes. It was so organized from the beginning in 1856.
The first school was held during the winter of 1856-7 in a log shanty belonging to J. M. Caldwell, on section 19, with L. P. Hazen as teacher.
The second school, held in the following winter at the resi- dence of Walter Clayton, was taught by Morris F. Whitney.
In 1859 there were two schoolhouses erected, one in Parriott's grove on section 30, and the other in the eastern part of the vil- lage of Aplington. The latter was not completed until about 1861. W. C. Garrison was the first teacher here.
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By 1883 the township had been divided into six sub-districts. The first school in district No. 1 was taught in Joseph Conn's house on section 1, Thomas Conn being the teacher. A school- house was erected about 1863 on section 2. In 1865 a schoolhouse was erected at the northwest corner of section 15, at what was then known as sub-district No. 2. This schoolhouse stood on the present station of Eleanor. A schoolhouse was erected in 1872 in the western part of section 8 for district No. 3. About 1872 a schoolhouse was erected near the southwest corner of section 27. School was first held in this part of the township in section 34. The first school in the southeastern portion of the township was taught by Wells A. Curtis at his house on section 25, in the winter of 1858-9. The following winter the school was taught at M. S. Wrightman's house by George Russell. In 1861 a schoolhouse was located in the northeastern part of section 26, where M. F. Whitney taught the first school.
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