USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler County, Iowa: a record of settlement., Volume 1 > Part 31
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The hotel, or Dumont building, escaped the ravages of the big fire. Its south room on the ground floor was remodeled in February, 1914, and became the home of the Farmers Trust & Savings Bank, but recently organized.
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THE SCHOOLS
The school building, a frame affair, was built early in the his- tory of Dumont and within its walls many children have been taught by able and conscientious instructors. In 1905 the build- ing was enlarged by the addition of a high school room and another room, which necessitated the employment of two additional teach- ers, making the corps number six. The structure was also remod- eled and the entire improvement brought the expense account up to the sum of $7,000.
FINANCIAL
.The farming district contributing to the business activity and prosperity of Dumont is not surpassed by any in Butler county, and the bank reports support this statement. The State Bank of Dumont was established in 1896 as a private institution, by John Barlow and Ion Atkinson, and during a period of five years gained the confidence and support of a large and widely distributed clientele. About the year 1901, Mr. Barlow secured the Atkinson interest and alone managed the business until 1905, when E. O. and D. C. Slaid entered the firm as associate partners. In the year 1908 John Barlow, E. O. Slaid, A. Austin, A. E. Hartson, H. C. Brown and W. W. Ahrens incorporated the State Bank of Du- mont, with a capital stock of $30,000. A board of directors was selected and that body elected the following officers of the bank: President, E. O. Slaid; vice president, A. E. Hartson; cashier, John Barlow. The directors were: W. W. Ahrens, E. O. Slaid, A. Austin, A. E. Hartson and H. C. Brown.
In 1901 Mr. Barlow erected a handsome two-story brick home for the bank, on the main street, joining six others, who all con- formed to plans drawn for a continuous row or block of buildings having the same design, to take the place of the business houses destroyed by the big fire. In this building the bank has its count- ing rooms, modern vault, safes and other appointments demanded by patrons of the present day. The original capital of $30,000 is still maintained, and in its last statement, called for by the state banking laws, deposits to the amount of $293,983 were reported.
The Farmers Trust & Savings Bank is a new financial con- cern that has yet to prove its worth and the necessity of its being in the field of local finance. This establishment was organized
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January 15, 1914, and capitalized at $20,000. The incorporators are O. J. Irwin, of Omaha, and Dr. J. W. Cunningham, of Dumont. Charles Borneman, a well known farmer and large landowner of the vicinity, is the president; Dr. J. W. Cunningham, vice presi- dent; O. J. Irwin, cashier; Fred Armburst, assistant cashier. The bank commenced business in March, 1914, in a room specially fitted and arranged for its purposes in the Dumont building, now owned by a member of the concern, and started out into the finan- cial world under very favorable auspices.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
The first services of the Methodist society of this place were held in a little schoolhouse by "the Willows," back of the German Evangelical church, by Rev. Sproul, in the winter of 1871-2. This minister was employed by Samuel B. Dumont and J. N. McMan- nes on their own motion, who paid him $50 for his services. The first pastor sent by the conference to this charge was Rev. W. A. Pottle. At one time this appointment and Allison were yoked together and Rev. F. E. Day presided over its spiritual needs and desires. Prior to the erection of the church building, about the year 1892, Rev. James A. Clulow, then pastor, called the congre- gation together for services in the German Evangelical Associa- tion church. At this time the appointment consisted of four societies-Union Ridge, Hansell, Four Mile Grove and Dumont. The parsonage was at Hansell, but becoming unfit as a habitation, the residence of the pastor was changed to Dumont, where a com- fortable rectory was built in the fall of 1898, at a cost of $1,200, and paid for by subscriptions of members residing in the various places mentioned. As has been stated, the church edifice was built during the pastorate of Rev. Clulow, a frame structure cost- ing $3,000. The plans for the building were designed by Mrs. Caroline F. Dumont and her son, Dr. T. A. Dumont, and the site was a gift from the Minnesota Loan & Debenture Company, Charles Nichols, president; Robert Wright, secretary. There were then forty members; now the membership has reached one hundred and forty. In the Sunday school an average attendance of seventy-five is reported. A list of pastors of this church follows:
Revs. J. R. A. Hanner, October, 1883-October, 1884; S. M. Davis, October, 1884-October, 1885; William E. Ross, October,
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EVANGELICAL CHURCH, DUMONT
PUBLIC SCHOOL, DUMONT
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1885-October, 1886; Edward Lee, October, 1886-October, 1887; Horace Foote, October, 1887-October, 1890; James Clulow, Octo- ber, 1890-October, 1892; O. W. Weeks, October, 1892-October, 1893; W. W. Robinson, October, 1893-October, 1895; R. M. Acker- man, October, 1895-October, 1897; J. G. S. Meyers, October, 1897- December, 1898; F. T. Heatly, January, 1899-October, 1900; E. B. Downs, October, 1900-June, 1901; W. C. Keeler, June, 1901-Octo- ber, 1903; W. F. Albright, October, 1903-October, 1904; M. A. Goodell, October, 1904-October, 1906; W. N. Chaffee, October, 1906-October, 1908; W. A. Gibbons, October, 1908-October, 1911; J. B. Metcalf, October, 1911-October, 1913; M. L. Hill, October, 1913-
EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION CHURCH
The history of this church is reproduced from a sketch appear- ing in the report of the Iowa Conference, April 7, 1910:
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In the early '70s several of our members, H. Ahrens, J. J. Baumgartner and others, settled in the neighborhood of Dumont. Brother H. Kleinsorgn commenced to preach at the home of the first named in 1876, but soon transferred the appointment to a schoolhouse south of town. In 1878 Brother Kleinsorgn organized a class. He was followed by Rev. F. Berner, whom Rev. O. Ball succeeded. In 1882 this class was added to Hampton circuit. Then came Rev. W. Kolb, who was followed by Rev. L. Scheurer, who commenced his labors at Dumont in 1884. A revival resulted in more than twenty conversions, among which were many of the church's present leaders. This established the north class, and in 1886 Rev. V. Griese found it possible to build a spacious house of worship and consolidate the two classes. The following clergy- men continued the work: Revs. H. Butz, H. Sassman, F. Benz, L. F. Smith, H. Schmidt, G. P. Cawelti, J. H. Engel, C. Hillman, and in 1911, the present pastor took charge. The church is in a very prosperous condition, both physically and spiritually. A mem- bership of one hundred and twenty communicants composes its present strength in numbers and an average attendance of sixty in the Sunday school is the gratifying report. The church build- ing, a frame structure, cost $2,500; the parsonage, $2,000.
UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST
In the year 1893 John Boots, Lyman Hall, J. H. Marken, Will- iam Titus and W. R. Straight, gathered together and organized
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the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and had for their first pastor Rev. A. King. The first meetings were held in the Evangelical church.
In the fall of 1895-on September 7th-the board of trustees met and let the contract to William Schulenburg for the construc- tion of a church building, which was finished late in the year and dedicated January 13, 1869, at a cost of $3,000. The par- sonage was built in 1900, the outlay being $1,400. The church society is in good shape financially and in point of membership, having on its rolls at the present time eighty names. Attendance at the Sunday school will average sixty. The pastors who have served this church follow by name: Revs. A. King, W. Fawcett, W. P. Taylor, William Stice, W. A. Smith, Sweezy, D. F. Dickensheets, M. L. Tibbetts, G. W. Emerson, Eugene Richard- son, Harper Krieser, I. E. Hartman, H. S. Cooper, Ernest L. Shaffer.
ST. FRANCIS CHURCH
St. Francis Catholic church was built during the pastorate of Father Kelley, then stationed at Parkersburg, and had for its earliest communicants the Bannons, Doyles, Augstmans and others, whose names are not obtainable at this time. For many years prior to the erection of the church building in 1890, the people here were attended from Ackley, mass being said at inter- vals in the prairie homes of stanch defenders of the faith, many of whom hailed from Canada, some from the banks of the Rhine, and others from the land of destiny, the beautiful green isle of the sea, "auld Erin." Two of the most worthy members have passed to a well merited reward-James Bannon and Joseph Augstman. The names of the priests from Ackley who came here to hold mass were Revs. Fathers O. Doud, Murphy (deceased), Burns, McCormack and Meagher. For some time past the church has been served by pastors from Hampton; for the past six years by Father J. C. Wieneke, or his assistant, Frederick W. Mc- Kinley.
THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH
There is quite a sprinkling of the natives of Holland and of what is known as "platt Deutsch" in Dumont and vicinity and
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they determined to have a church of their own. To this end the Dutch Reformed church was organized in 1912 and the society now has a membership of thirty-five. A fine piece of property was secured, including a residence, which is now the pastor's home. On a lot to the rear of the parsonage and facing the south, a fine church building was immediately erected and dedicated in 1913.
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FRATERNAL ORDERS
Dumont Lodge, No. 52, I. O. O. F., was organized in 1885, and now has a membership of seventy-five. The lodge has a taste- fully furnished hall and appropriate paraphernalia. An auxiliary body, the Daughters of Rebekah, organized October 18, 1893, tak- ing the name of Columbus Lodge, No. 178.
West Fork Camp, Modern Woodmen of America, No. 1416, was established some years ago, with the following named char- ter members: W. H. Bannon, Len Baudy, John Hogan, Herbert J. Horner, William Jamison, J. D. Leroy, Norman Long, M. H. Perry, George B. Sutton, Moses St. Peter, Jr.
A lodge of Mystic Workers of the World was organized at Dumont September 2, 1903. It is known as Dumont Lodge, No. 551.
The Fraternal Bankers Reserve Society came into existence at this place as a local lodge, December 21, 1901.
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CHAPTER XXVIII
RIPLEY TOWNSHIP
The township of Ripley is one of the four central townships of Butler county, situated south of West Point. It is bounded on the east by Jefferson, south by Albion, on the west by Madison township. The township is divided almost equally from east to west by the West Fork river, which enters in section 7 and flows in a southeasterly direction across the township, emerging on the east side of section 24 and then doubling back and reentering the township and emerging again near the northeastern corner of section 25. This portion of the West Fork is bordered by a belt of natural timber, varying in width from a few rods to a mile or more. The valley is bordered on the north side by steep bluffs. On the south side, however, the banks of the stream are compara- tively low and there is some land which is still liable to annual inundation. The two branches of the West Fork also flow through the township; Mayne's creek flows into the West Fork almost in the center of section 7 and Kilson's creek in section 23. The land is sandy in the neighborhood of the river but the rest of the township has the same rich alluvial soil that is characteristic of the best farming land of this section of the state.
The township is without any town or village. Allison, Bris- tow, Kesley and Parkersburg are the market points which serve the interests of the people of the township. Rural mail routes from these points reach practically every farm home.
Thirty years ago a considerable portion of farming land of the township was held by non-resident owners and remained in its wild state without any improvements whatsoever. At the present time, however, practically all of the land is farmed by resident owners. The township plat shows a number of these lands of relatively small acreage along the West Fork, especially in sections 23 and 24.
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EARLY SETTLEMENTS
The first land entry in Ripley township was made by Hugh Mullarky, October 13, 1853. He made entries to sections 23 and 24 adjacent to his holdings in Jefferson township, already mentioned. The second entry on the records of the government land office of Ripley township indicate that on May 12, 1854, Richard Merrill entered land in sections 15, 23 and 24. D. H. McCormack, June 26, 1854, also made an entry of land in section 15. . All these entries were within the timbered area. Other entries in 1854 were made by Samuel Harsh, May 13; George Mc- Connell, October 2; Henry Gray, J. C. and F. G. Walker, Novem- ber 3; and James Hunter, November 21. These entries likewise were located in close proximity to the river.
The honor of the first settlement in the township belongs to George McConnell, who in the May previous to the entry men- tioned above staked out a claim on section 15. After living on his claim for some years he removed temporarily from the county but returned later. He died in 1862 or 1863 at the home of Nathan Linn, in Monroe township. The land which he entered was later a part of the Henry C. Mead estate. Mr. McConnell was unmar- ried and was known among his associates as the "old bach." His house was a sort of wayside inn, as it always furnished shelter for the traveler or the land seeker.
James Hunter, whose name is mentioned in the land entries above, was the second settler in the township, coming in Novem- ber, 1854. He spent the first winter with Mr. McConnell. In the following spring he took up his residence upon the land which he had previously entered.
J. C. and Christian Hites settled in the township in July, 1855, J. C. Hites making a claim on section 20, and Christian on sec- tion 28. These brothers were the founders of families that are still residents of Ripley township and have occupied a prominent place in its history and development. Other farms were chiefly located in the southwestern portion of the township around what afterwards came to be known as Hitesville.
Nathan Linn preceded the Hites by a short time and was the third settler in the township. He located on section 14 but later removed to Monroe township and still later to Jefferson township.
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Andrew Hesse came in August, 1855, and settled on section 20. About the same time Michael Considine with his family came from Nova Scotia and settled in section 9. In the same year a Mr. Ulery came from Illinois and settled in the township. George W. Stoner also settled in the township in 1855.
Among the settlers of 1855 were John G. Moorehead, who' settled on section 4, and George Monroe, Sr. About the same time Mr. Elmore sent a brother-in-law, Mr. Fortner, to develop a tract of land in the township. Fortner was the pioneer manu- facturer of the township, engaged in the production of a limited amount of limburger cheese. The factory did not prove to be wholly successful, whether due to the inferior strength of the product or not is unknown. However, Fortner proved to be a financier of some ability, as he sold his brother-in-law's team and pocketing the proceeds, departed for the far west.
In the following years the township settled up with compara- tive rapidity. Daniel Haynes, Edwin Kincaid, Henry Trotter, Joseph L. Santee, Jacob Yost and J. S. Margretz may be men- tioned as among the later settlers who by their ability and influ- ence helped the township to take its place among the corporate sub-divisions of Butler county.
OFFICIAL ORGANIZATION
As originally constituted, Ripley township was organized on the 5th of February, 1855, and included what is now comprised in Madison, Monroe, Washington, West Point, Pittsford and Ben- nezette townships-almost one-half of the county. In March, 1856, .these limits were restricted by the formation from this ter- ritory of the townships of West Point and Monroe. At the same time Bennezette township was added to Coldwater. Ripley there- after included only what is now Madison township in addition to its own present limits. Madison was given separate organiza- tion in September, 1860, thus reducing the civil township of Rip- ley to the limits of the congressional township numbered 91 north, range 17 west of the fifth principal meridian.
A complete list of the first township officers cannot be given. In the April election of 1855, John Lash was elected clerk; Isaac Boylan, constable; and H. A. Early, justice of the peace. These men were all of them residents of the portion of the then township in the neighborhood of Boylan's grove.
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Of the township with its present limits John Hites was the first clerk. The first election was held in a sod house owned and built by Moffatt and Mason, two factory men from New York. It is said that at the time of this election there were not enough settlers to fill all the offices and one man was required to bear the honors of two or three.
HITESVILLE
In 1871 a postoffice was established at Hitesville, with J. S. Margretz as the first postmaster, the office being located at his house on section 19. This office was served by a mail carrier on the route from Aplington to Bristow. Later the route was changed to run from Aplington to Hitesville. This office was later superseded by the office at Kesley.
GENERAL ITEMS
The first birth in the township was that of a son, Allen, to Mr. and Mrs. James Hunter, on the 2d of August, 1856.
The first death was a child of Samuel Kimmel, in the fall of 1855. The burial took place in a cemetery located on the north- west corner of the northeast quarter of section 29, being the first interment in this cemetery.
The first marriage was that of Richard Davenport and Miss Susanna Kimmel at the home of the bride's parents, the ceremony being performed by Justice J. J. Criswell. The marriage took place in the fall of 1859.
EDUCATIONAL
The first school in the township was taught by Miss Susanna Kimmel, in the summer of 1858, in a building erected for the pur- pose on section 20. The second school taught in the following summer by Miss Charlotte Levis was in a building located on sec- tion 15. James Hunter donated an acre of land for this school site.
After the township became more thickly settled it was organ- ized as a district township and divided into seven sub-districts. At that time district No. 1 included six sections, Nos. 1, 2, 11 and 12, and 13 and 14, with schoolhouse in the eastern part of section
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11; district No. 2, composed of sections 3, 4, 9 and 10, 15 and 16, with its school building on the north side of section 10; district No. 3 consisted of section 5 and a portion of sections 6, 7 and 8, north of the river; No. 4 comprised sections 29, 30, 31 and 32 and the south half of sections 19 and 20; No. 5 comprised six sections, Nos. 21, 22, 27, 28, 33 and 34. The schoolhouse is located on sec- tion 28. No. 6 contained sections 23, 24, 25 and 26, 35 and 36, with its schoolhouse on section 36; district No. 7 embraced those por- tions of sections 7 and 8 south of the river and sections 17 and 18, and the north half of sections 19 and 20.
This form of organization was retained for some years. In 1874 the system was changed and the township was divided into independent districts, with the same boundaries as those pre- scribed for the sub-districts above, except that district No. 3 was made to include all of sections 7 and 8. District No. 1 was there- after known as the McEachron district; No. 2, Fairview; No. 3, Fort Sumpter; No. 4, Melrose; No. 5, Glendale; No. 6, Excelsior ; No. 7, Spring Garden.
In 1911 a new district in the center of the township comprised of sections 15, 16, 21 and 22, known as the Mead independent dis- trict, was formed, and a new schoolhouse erected on the south side of section 15. The McEachron, Excelsior and Fairview districts all have erected new school buildings within the past few years.
POPULATION
1856, 86; 1860, 151; 1863, 121; 1865, 148; 1867, 200; 1869, 255; 1870, 299; 1873, 376; 1875; 377; 1880, 453; 1890, 493; 1900, 621; 1910, 602.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP
The township of Washington occupies a position at the ex- treme southwestern corner of the county. Its general character- istics are different in no essential respects from the neighboring townships in Butler county, its surface being rolling prairie, broken in the southern part by the valley of Beaver creek. The northern branch of Beaver creek flows through the central portion of the township, entering into the main stream near the east line of section 23. The Beaver in its course through this township has a considerably smaller flow than in its course further to the east.
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Except in extremely dry weather, however, its flow is constant. It is bordered by timber, much of which has been cut away. In the eastern part of the township there is a large natural grove, which originally covered an extent of approximately one thou- sand acres. Another grove in the southeastern part of sections 31 and 32 is called Island grove.
There are a number of natural springs in the township, the largest of these, known as Big Spring, in an early day being a favorite camping ground for emigrants in their way westward.
The settlement of Washington township, although it began at a date approximately as early as that of other townships similarly located in the county, progressed very slowly until some years after the war. This is explained chiefly by the fact that much of the land was taken up by speculators and was not put upon the market until a comparatively late date.
The real development of the township did not begin until after 1870. For fifteen years thereafter much of the land of the town- ship remained wild, unbroken prairie. Today, however, the land is all occupied by farmers and much of it is farmed by residents.
The quality of the soil is second to none in the county and the products of the farms are equal both in quality and in quantity to those of other farms in this garden spot of the great agricul- tural west. A study of the list of landowners in Washington township reveals the fact that by far the greater part of the farms of this township are owned by Germans. This to any one who is familiar with the history of rural communities which have been settled by the German people, indicates without necessity of further comment, that the land is being cultivated intensively and rapidly being brought to the highest degree of productiveness. Land values in Washington township reach practically the highest limit received for farming land in Butler county. Rental prices, too, are higher here than in most other sections of the county. These facts also indicate the progressive character of the farming population in this section.
The Illinois Central Railroad traverses the township from east to west in its southern portion, having been constructed in 1865. For a quarter of a century thereafter, however, there was neither store, postoffice or railway station within the limits of the town- ship. Since then a railway station and postoffice have been estab- lished at Austinville, which now is the only village within the township limits. Kesley to the northeast, Aplington to the south-
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east and Ackley to the southwest, form the trading points for the farmers of Washington township.
EARLY SETTLEMENT
The first settlement in Washington township was made in the spring of 1853 by R. M. and E. Purcell, two brothers, who made a business of keeping just ahead of the line of settlement and selecting the most valuable claims in the new territory. When the pioneers in search of permanent homes reached them, they would sell these claims at a good figure and move on again to repeat the venture in other localities farther west. R. E. Purcell located a claim on section 24 and his brother Ellery on section 25. The latter erected a log house and broke about eight acres of prairie sod, on which he raised a first crop of corn. This was in the year 1853 and may be taken as the beginning of the agricultural devel- opment of Washington township.
In the spring of 1854 R. R. Parriott located in the township and purchased Ellery Purcell's land in section 25. Mr. Parriott's first visit to the township must have been not later than the fall of 1853, as on the 2d of January, 1854, he made entry in the gen- eral land office of two claims in Washington township, located on sections 14 and 32. Reuben Purcell made the second entry on the 22d of April, 1854. The early history of Washington township would be like Hamlet with Hamlet left out, if an attempt were to be made to write it without mention of R. R. Parriott.
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