USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler County, Iowa: a record of settlement., Volume 1 > Part 32
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Mr. Parriott was a native of Virginia and came to Washington township from Stephenson county, Illinois. He returned in June, 1854, to Illinois, and on the 4th of July started back for his new home, accompanied by his family. They came overland with seven yoke of oxen, three horses, three wagons and a carriage, and were one month on the way.
On his arrival he found that the log house previously built by Ellery Purcell was too small to accommodate his family, which numbered thirteen. He therefore erected another log house 16x24 feet, with a lean-to 12x24 feet in dimensions. This was the first. house in the township to be used as a hotel. After the establish -. ment of the stage line from Cedar Falls to Fort Dodge, the Par- riott house became a regular stopping place for the stage.
Mr. Parriott was the first postmaster in this part of the county .. He was the owner of the present site of the city of Ackley in
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Hardin county and conveyed to the Dubuque & Sioux City Rail- road Company one-half of the town site, or every alternate town lot. The company conveyed their interest in turn to William J. Ackley, of Waterloo, from whom the town derived its name.
Mr. Parriott was at one time the owner of more than twenty- five hundred acres of land in this part of the county. He gave the Dubuque & Sioux City railroad a right of way through his tract of land and worked for its establishment. He was also liberal in contributing to the Illinois Central Company, which constructed a line north of Ackley through Hampton about this time. Of his family of nine sons and two daughters, six sons served their coun- try in the Union army during the Civil war. Two of these were killed in battle. Mr. Parriott lived on his land here until his death in 1871.
On the same date as the entry of land by Mr. Parriott, Sarah E. Craw entered a claim on the same section, 24, and on July 29, 1854, Lewis Craw entered a claim on section 25. "Doc" Craw, as he was generally called, sold the improvements on his claim in 1855 to Robert Howard, one of the company of settlers who came from Hardin county to Iowa in company with J. M. Caldwell, of Monroe township. Land was also entered in 1854 by Nathan Pussy on October 2d, in section 24, and J. M. Caldwell, who is noticed at length in connection with the history of Monroe town- ship, in section 22. These were all of the land entries in the town- ship in the year 1854.
In 1855 William Stockdale built a log house, which he had taken up on section 23. In 1862 he enlisted in the army and died in the service. His remains were brought back and buried in Aplington cemetery. His father, Charles Stockdale, came to the township in 1856 and made his home with his son William until the time of his death, which occurred in December, 1859. Several other children were at various times residents of the township.
Jonathan Gee, one of the early township officers of Monroe township, when it included Washington within its limits, came also in the spring of 1855 from Henderson county, Illinois, with a company, most of whom settled in Monroe township. He located on sections 23 and 24 and erected a log house and made other im- provements. A year or so later he sold his claim and returned to Illinois.
Morris F. Whitney was another settler of 1855. He has been mentioned as an early school teacher in the old township of Mon-
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roe. His farm was on section 24. He divided his time between teaching and farming.
Wesley H. Long, a native of Ohio, settled on section 23. He was the man to whom was entrusted the organization of the town- ship when Washington was given a separate corporate existence. Long later enlisted in the volunteer army and died in the service in New Orleans, Louisiana, in April, 1864. Previous to the date of his enlistment he had served as a member of the board of super- visors of Washington township.
James Gray in 1856 came from Illinois and purchased the farm of Jonathan Gee. Mrs. Rachel Quinn settled in the township in 1856. Her husband, John Quinn, died of cholera while on his way to California during the gold fever of 1850. He was buried on the plains. In 1856 Mrs. Quinn took her family of ten children and started west to seek a new home, purchasing land in Washington township, where she lived until 1858, when she moved to Apling- ton and built the first hotel.
Alfred Munson, a southerner, came to Washington township in 1858 and boarded for a time with R. R. Parriott. He purchased a large tract of land in the western part of the township and built a house on section 31. When the war broke out he returned to his old home and enlisted in the southern army. He never returned for residence to Washington township. This is the only record known at present of an enlistment from Butler county in the army of the Confederate states.
This practically completes the list of settlers in the township before the close of the Civil war. Among the representative set- tlers in the years immediately succeeding the war may be men- tioned Patrick Kenefick, Henry and William Austin and Hugh G. Scallon.
Patrick Kenefick settled in the township in 1868, coming from Wisconsin. His home was on section 19, where in 1869 he built a house. Mr. Kenefick was supervisor from Washington town- ship during the latter period of the county government by a board of sixteen supervisors.
The Austin brothers, Henry and William, were natives of Eng- land. They emigrated to America with their parents when very young and settled in Michigan. Later they moved to Wisconsin. In 1868 they came to Iowa and purchased land in Washington township. Henry Austin located on section 21. In the spring of 1869 he broke ninety acres of land and planted his first crop. His
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brother William located on sections 21 and 22. Henry Austin was killed in 1912 in an automobile accident in Waterloo. William is still a resident of Washington township. A number of children of the two families are resident landowners of Butler county. As a family, the Austins unquestionably rank among the most exten- sive landowners in Butler county. The town of Austinville is named for these brothers.
Hugh C. Scallon was born in the Province of Quebec, Canada, came to the United States in 1855 with his parents, and settled in Wisconsin. Here he made his home until 1869, when he came to Washington township and settled on section 20.
Other settlers in the period following the Civil war, without regard to the date of settlement, were: Elisha Tobey, Thomas Clark, James Keenan, Daniel Beninga, J. Winne, Patrick Parker, J. J. Burnham, Samuel Croot, E. Wiechman, P. De Vries, Frank Parker, M. D. Eustis, Lafayette Le Valley, Harrison Combs and Robert Martin.
GENERAL ITEMS
Probably the first birth in the township was that of Geneva, a daughter of Anthony and Melinda Parriott, May 19, 1857.
The first marriage in the township was Anthony J. Parriott and Melinda Spangler, August 7, 1856.
The first death in the township was in 1853, when an infant child of Ellery Purcell died and was buried on his farm.
The first religious services in the township were held at the hotel of R. R. Parriott, in the winter of 1854-5, Elder Crippin, of Hardin county, being the presiding clergyman.
A Methodist Episcopal Society was organized in 1855 by Elder Stewart, of Hazel Green, Hardin county. Robert Howard was class leader. They afterward held meetings in Anthony Howard's log stable. Later this organization was moved to Aplington.
The first postoffice established in the township was called Al- gonquin. R. R. Parriott was appointed postmaster here in 1855. The office was kept at his hotel until 1857, when it was moved to Aplington. In recent years an office was established at Austin- ville, now the only postoffice in the township. The residents of the township are now served by rural routes from Ackley and Aplington in addition to Austinville.
The first blacksmith shop in the township was opened by a man by the name of Shaw from Waterloo, in 1857. R. R. Parriott fur-
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nished him the logs with which to build a shop and he erected it on the northwestern part of section 25. Mr. Shaw did not long remain. After his departure the building was used for school pur- poses.
OFFICIAL ORGANIZATION
Washington township was originally part of the civil township of Ripley according to the organization of the county into town- ships in 1855. In 1857 the county court redistricted the county into townships, making Washington township a part of the civil township of Monroe. The records of the county court during the September term of 1860 contain the following entry which is self- explanatory :
"September 3, 1860.
"Now on this 3d day of September, 1860, W. H. Long pre- sented a petition asking that congressional township No. 90 N., of range 18 West, be organized into a township for civil purposes. It is therefore ordered by the court that Washington township be and hereby is organized and bounded as follows, to-wit: By congressional lines of township 90 North, range 18 West of the fifth principal meridian, in Butler county, Iowa, and a warrant issued permitting Wm. H. Long to call the first election in said township on Tuesday, the 6th day of November, A. D., 1860, to be holden at the house of R. R. Parriott in said township for the purpose of electing the county and several township officers to be chosen at the election in 1860.
"Attest.
"A. CONVERSE, County Judge JAMES W. DAVIS, County Clerk."
Among the first officers elected at this election were Robert Howard, justice of the peace, and Silas Beebe, constable.
EDUCATIONAL
The first school in the township was taught by Mrs. Chiches- ter, at Morris Whitney's house, in the summer of 1857. It was a select school. In the winter of 1857-8 school was kept in Anthony Parriott's log stable. S. B. Decker was the teacher. After the departure of a blacksmith named Shaw, who is men- tioned above, the building which he used for a shop was used for school purposes, and Samuel Burke and August Arnold, of Iowa
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Falls, were among the first teachers in it. The first schoolhouse erected in the township was built in 1863 at the northwest corner of section 25. David Washburn was the first teacher in this schoolhouse.
In 1868 a board shanty was erected on section 7, which was used for school purposes until 1873. This stood on section 4 in what is now sub-district No. 2. The first school in the southwest- ern portion of the township was held in a private house on section 31. In 1869 a schoolhouse was erected in the same section. Mary McGill was the first teacher in this schoolhouse. In this same year the citizens of the northeastern part of the township built a small board shanty on the line of sections 11 and 12, where Miss Martha Clark taught the first term of school. In 1870 a school was organized in William Kenefick's granary, with his daughter Nellie as the first teacher.
A schoolhouse was erected on section 19, in 1872, with Miss Cynthia Bird as the first teacher. In 1876 a schoolhouse was erected on section 27, with Miss Emma Wright as the first instructor. In 1878 a board shanty was erected on the hill just south of the present location of the schoolhouse in district No. 2. Miss Anna Ford was the first teacher. A schoolhouse was erected on section 36 in 1880, with Bertha Brace as the first instructor.
At the present time the township is organized into nine sub- districts, numbered consecutively from the northeastern part. The schoolhouse in district No. 1 stands in the northwestern cor- ner of section 11. No. 2 is similarly located in section 9, and No. 3 in section 7. The residents of the western and central portions of the township are accommodated by school No. 4, situated on the south line of section 19, and No. 5 at the southwestern corner of section 15. Schoolhouse No. 6 is at the southwest corner of ser- tion 13; No. 1, the northwest corner of section 36.
The school in sub-district No. 8 is known as Austinville school and stands a half mile south of the station. This building is the same one that was erected in 1876 and has outlived its usefulness. There is considerable agitation toward the establishment of a township high school at Austinville. Certainly some more satis- factory and adequate provision must be made for the accommo- dation of the school children of Austinville and vicinity.
A new school building has been erected in sub-district No. 9 known as the Island Grove school, which stands almost exactly
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in the middle of section 32, at the southern edge of Island grove. The building, although small, is neat and satisfactorily serves the interests of the community to which it belongs. There is also a movement on foot looking seriously toward the consolidation of the schools of Washington township. Its situation as a purely rural township, with the larger towns of Ackley and Aplington on either side and at some distance, renders it peculiarly adapted for such a step. The friends of educational progress in the county will watch with interest the further development of this move- ment.
POPULATION
1863, 67; 1865, 134; 1867, 146; 1869, 296; 1870, 402; 1873, 456; 1875, 486; 1880, 765; 1890, 735; 1900, 925; 1910, 756.
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CHAPTER XXIX
TOWNSHIP AND TOWN OF SHELL ROCK
Shell Rock was the scene of the earliest known settlements : in the township. Here, as has been earlier recounted, about 1850 or 1851, a temporary settlement was made by Harrison and Volney Carpenter and D. C. Finch. These men were hunters and trappers and made their first sojourn in a log cabin which they erected near the banks of the Shell Rock on the present site of the town of Shell Rock. Later Volney Carpenter, who was a married man, brought his family to his new home and staked out a claim on section 1 of this township. This claim was later sold to Alexander Glenn, by whom the original entry was made in 1852.
The township constitutes No. 91 north, range 15 west. It is for the most part rolling prairie land but is traversed in the extreme northeastern part by the Shell Rock river, which follows a winding course from northwest to southeast through sections 2, 11, 12 and 13. The central portion of the township is drained by a creek known as Dry Run, which empties into the West Fork just a little below the southern line of the township. In the northeast- ern portion of the township and the strip along Dry Run in sec- tions 32 and 33, it is covered with natural timber. The rest of the township, however, was originally open prairie land. The Chicago Great Western & Rock Island railroads traverse the north- eastern part of the township.
Originally the greater part of the farms of the township were occupied by the owners. Of recent years, however, many of these have retired from their farms and moved to town, and as a result at the present time there is a large portion of land which is being farmed by renters. For this reason perhaps there are fewer modern farm homes in Shell Rock township than in some of the other townships where there is a larger portion of farm owners living upon their own land. There are, however, a large number of beautiful farm homes in this township, some of which are now
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occupied by a third generation. The soil of the township away from the river bottoms is a rich loam and produces crops of all the staple cereals that are surpassed by no section of this dis- tinctly agricultural county.
EARLY SETTLEMENT
The first entry of land in Shell Rock township was made by Michael Curry, on October 18, 1851, in section 2. The other earliest entries in order of date were Willoughby Flanagan, December 1, 1851, section 11; Letitia Wilkins, December 1, 1851, section 12; Jonathan Hook and John Reynolds, January 26, 1852, in section 2.
Other entries in 1852 were made by Frederick E. Bissell, Alex- ander Glenn, Joseph Thornsbrue, Henry P. Moore, George C. Moon, Asbury Leverich and W. J. Barney.
Among the early settlers of this township was Aaron Moore, known to all his friends and neighbors as "Uncle Aaron." It does not appear that Aaron Moore obtained any land by original entry nor has it been possible to establish definitely the date of his settlement in the township. There is little doubt, however, that he is to be numbered among the earliest actual settlers, as he is mentioned incidentally in connection with the accounts of a number of the pioneers, some of whom came to the county because of his glowing descriptions of the fertility of its soil and many of whom made his home their first stopping place. Among these may be mentioned the Wamsley brothers, who were pioneer set- tlers of Butler and Jackson townships. Aaron Moore early became, by the purchase of the claims of other settlers, one of the largest landowners in the county. He was a resident of the township for a number of years and died in the late '70s. Before passing away, Mr. Moore disposed of most of his property by distribution among his heirs.
Alexander Glenn became a resident of the township in 1852. He, too, purchased a considerable amount of land in the north- eastern part of the township. Another settler during this period was Daniel Myers, who in 1852 purchased Harrison Carpenter's claim on section 1. Myers remained a resident of the township for a number of years. He is mentioned in connection with the first lawsuit in Butler county, a writ of injunction having been issued against him by one Solomon W. Ingham, restraining him
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from selling a portion of his holdings in section 2, Shell Rock township. A full account of this is given in connection with the county court.
In the spring of 1853 George W. Adair, founder of the town of Shell Rock, and one of the most prominent of the early citi- zens of the county, purchased Alexander Glenn's forty acres in section 11, through which the rivers runs diagonally. This tract of land at that time was heavily timbered. As soon as possible, Mr. Adair brought his family to his new home, moving into their log cabin on the east side of the river the 1st day of June, 1853, thus becoming the first permanent settlers of the town site of Shell Rock. Here, soon after, Mr. Adair began the erection of a saw- mill and in 1854 he laid out the village of Shell Rock upon the land which he had purchased. This town plat was not filed for record until the 29th of March, 1855. In the entry on the minute book of the county court, George W. Adair and Elizabeth Adair, his wife, are given as the sole owners of the town site. Mr. Adair was one of those pioneers who clearly foresaw the magnificent possibilities of the future and he labored to lay the foundations broadly and deeply for a community which would be an honor to him and to the state and county. In this he was successful. He lived to see the town of Shell Rock thoroughly established as one of the leading communities of the county. He died on the 4th day of September, 1879, leaving a large family of children, of whom George Adair is noted at length in the biographical volume of this work.
In the fall of 1853 Heman D. Hunt came to Shell Rock and commenced working in the Adair sawmill. Later Mr. Hunt pur- chased several hundred acres of land in Butler township, upon which he lived until his death in 1912. Several of Mr. Hunt's children have been prominent citizens of the county, William J. being at present editor of the Butler County Tribune at Allison; John H., former county recorder and postmaster at Allison; and Charles, a resident of Clarksville.
About the same time with other settlers there arrived Messrs. Walters, Hawker, Compton, Dewey and Smith, and two brothers, Charles and Henry Sweitzer. In 1854 Hiram Ross, who is still a resident of Shell Rock, came and began work in the planing mill. In 1855 the Newcomb brothers came. All these gentlemen settled in and around Shell Rock. During the same years the country to the west and south gradually filled up. Among the
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pioneers in this part of the township were Michael Hollenbeck, D. White, R. L. Town, D. Shannon, T. Marslin and Lyman Nor- ton. Shannon became converted to Mormonism through the efforts of a Mormon preacher who stopped for some time at his house. He proposed to build a Mormon tabernacle in the county but before his plans were completed his wife eloped with the preacher to Salt Lake City and it is supposed that he was awak- ened rather rudely from his delusion.
Among the representative settlers of the township without particular regard to the order of their settlement, the following may be mentioned: Amos Ressler, who came to Butler county in 1856, first working in the steam mill at Butler Center and later purchasing a farm in Shell Rock township, upon which he lived for a number of years; Sylvester Rice, who was for many years a resident of Shell Rock, coming to this place from Waverly, in the spring of 1861; L. W. Howard, who settled on a farm in sec- tion 14, Shell Rock township in 1865, and who was the father of Frank E. Howard, former county superintendent of schools of Butler county, and Samuel W. Howard, now a resident farmer of the township. Mr. Howard died at an advanced age in 1912.
John Bowen located in the township in 1866. Col. Huston Green settled in the township in 1873. Washington Tharp came to Iowa in 1853, locating first in Bremer county. After serving with honor as a member of the Eighth Iowa Cavalry in the Civil war, he settled in the fall of 1866 on a farm in section 13, Shell Rock township. John Christy became a resident of Butler county, settling on section 7, in Shell Rock township, in 1868. John H. Mead, in May, 1870, came to Butler county, first settling on sec- tion 18 and later moving to section 8. Several of his children are still residents of the county.
Among other later residents of the township may be men- tioned A. P. Dilger, W. H. Dryer, W. R. and G. E. Stanley, Judson Lake, J. F. Auner, F. B. Miner, G. P. Soash and J. W. Wheat.
OFFICIAL ORGANIZATION
When the county was first divided into townships Shell Rock township was included in the township of Beaver, which was then made up of the four congressional townships in the south- eastern quarter of the county. In March, 1856, Shell Rock town-
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ship was set off from Beaver and made to include together with its present limits the township of Jefferson as well. In March, 1857, Jefferson township was given a separate organization and set off from Shell Rock. Thereafter the township had the same limits as at present.
THE MILLS
In the summer of 1853, George W. Adair erected a sawmill and built the first dam at Shell Rock. Hiram Ross was his mill- wright. The sawmill was kept busy by the settlers for many years and served its purposes faithfully and well until the year 1878, when it was torn down, being unfit for further use. The dam was partially washed out by a freshet in 1855, when a new and better dam took its place, built by George W. and William Adair.
George W. Adair erected the first grist mill, on the west side of the river, in 1856, and had it running early in 1857. This became known as the Shell Rock mill and is still in operation, although it has long since ceased to make flour, only corn meal and ground feed for cattle now being the product. This struc- ture was built at a cost of $10,000. Its original dimensions were 30x40 feet, and three stories in height. The property was trans- ferred to John F. Wright in 1857 through purchase and shortly thereafter Mr. Wright sold a one-third interest to the Overman brothers; another one-third was bought by Sheldon Fox. Sev- eral changes later took place in the ownership of the mill, Mr. Wright always retaining his interest until 1891, when W. F. Brown, the present owner and a nephew of Wright, came into full possession.
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The Rockland, or east side mill, was built by George W. Adair and Emanuel Metzger in the winter of 1867-8, at a cost of $18,000. This originally was a two-run mill, four stories in height and propelled by water power. The property was sold to Robert McDonald in 1872 and in 1879 Haynes brothers were the owners. In 1903, W. F. Brown bought the mill of T. W. McInroy and is now running both industrial concerns, being steadily and profit- ably employed grinding feed for the farmers living within a wide and contiguous territory.
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EDUCATIONAL
In common with other townships of the county, the schools of Shell Rock township were originally organized as sub-districts of the school township. There were in the beginning eight of these sub-districts, corresponding in general in their boundaries to the present sub-divisions. As the town of Shell Rock devel- oped, it was set off as an independent district, maintaining for a number of years two schools one on either side of the river. The rest of the township continued the sub-district organization until late in the '70s, when by vote of the electors the sub-district plan was abandoned and an independent district form of organ- ization adopted. There are at present seven independent dis- tricts in the township-Norton's Corners, Dryer, Salem, Central Valley, Excelsior, Prairie Mound and Christy. For the most part the school buildings in these districts are somewhat above the average in character and equipment. Probably the best of the rural school buildings is that in the Dryer school district. The Norton's Corners school has the largest enrollment of any school in the township and has for a number of years been in the hands of exceptionally well equipped and well trained teach- ers. There is considerable agitation toward the erection of a new building to accommodate the children of this district and doubt- less within a comparatively short time this step will be taken and the Norton's Corners district will be equipped with a school building which will correspond in its appointments with the excel- lence of the school in other ways.
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