USA > Iowa > Chickasaw County > History of Chickasaw and Howard Counties, Iowa > Part 31
USA > Iowa > Howard County > History of Chickasaw and Howard Counties, Iowa > Part 31
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47
COUNTY FUND.
To cash in treasury at last report $ 17.89
Amount collected since.
2173.71
Amount warrants issued.
632.22
$2823.82
By county warrants redeemed
2611.00
By cash in treasury.
212.82
$2823.82
STATE TAX FUND.
To amount in the treasury, last report
124.59
To amount collected since. 737.86
To amount due A. M. McCowan 1
12.13
$874.58
By disbursements
874.58
COUNTY SCHOOL FUND.
To amount in the treasury last report.
444.23
To amount collected since
544.74
$988.97
By disbursements
831.60
Cash in treasury
157.37
$988.97
POLL TAX FUND.
To amount collected to date.
90.40
By amount transfered to general county fund .. 90.40
-
347
HISTORY OF HOWARD COUNTY.
BRIDGE FUND.
To cash in treasury, last report. 24.54
To cash collected since. 227.86
$252.40
By amount transferred general county fund.
252.40
FEDERAL TAX 1861.
To amount collected to date.
227.41
By amount in treasury 227.41
During the Indian outbreak and massacres in the state of Min- nesota, during the summer of 1862, may people in Howard county became seriously alarmed, and the board of supervisors passed the following resolution:
"To his excellency, Samuel J. Kirkwood, governor of the state of Iowa, or the agents acting therefore;
Believing it to be the duty of good citizens to prepare for war, especially on the era of danger from the savage foe, now ravaging our northern frontier, and desolating the homes of our fellow-citi- zens in the adjoining state of Minnesota, do hereby humbly request you send five hundred stand of arms, with their accouterments, to the county of Howard, and the said county pledge's itself for the return of the same, excepting such as may be lost in the casual- ities of war."
However, before this could be acted upon, the danger had passed away and once more the community retired in peace at night, with no fear of the dreaded savage, to disturb their slumbers.
A resolution was adopted, by the board, at the September ses- sion, 1862, which recites that "owing to the unusual expense of the county in giving bounties to soldiers and their families, [The record of this may be found in the chapter devoted to war record .- ED,] and the consequent depreciation of the county war- rants; therefore,
Resolved, That the clerk be, and is hereby directed, to give proper notice, and submit to the people at the next general elec- tion, the question of levying a special tax of six mills on the dollar. As to whether this election was carried out, the records are entirely silent. .
At the January session, 1863, of the board, a resolution was adopted, donating all the swamp lands, belonging to the county,
348
HISTORY OF HOWARD COUNTY.
to aid in the construction and equipment of the McGregor West- ern railroad, on condition, that the aforesaid railroad should build a road from North McGregor, westward, to intersect the said county, from east to west. The resolution was to be submitted to a vote of the people, for ratification, at the next general election, and the clerk ordered to make the necessary proclamation.
At the general election held October 19th, 1863, the people rati- tified the above, by a heavy majority.
At the January session, C. E. Berry resignel the position of county judge and the board appointed D. Seeley to fill the va- cancy.
The treasurers report for January, 1863, shows as follows:
To cash on hand, last report. $ 17.89
To amount collected during year 34351.72
Total.
$32369.61
By warrants redeemed
22934.78
By cash refunded.
24.62
By delinquent county tax.
9225.67
By rebateable county tax
454.39
By delinquent bridge tax
975.12
By rebateable bridge tax.
19.38
By, delinquent poll tax
443.00
By rebateable poll tax
292.75
Total $34369.61 At the June session, 1865, of the board of supervisors, C. E. Brown, resigned, his position on the board, and James G. Upton was admitted in his place.
June 6th, 1865, S. W. Seeley, resigning his position, as county judge, the board of supervisors appointed D. O. Preston, his suc- cessor, P. T. Searles also resigning the office of sheriff, C. S. Thurber was appointed, to fill the vacancy.
The following resolution, adopted by the honorable board, at the September meeting, 1865, explains itself:
"Whereas, the building, now occupied by the county officers, of Howard county, has become so dilapitated by age, as to render it unfit for office purposes and an unsafe repository for the records of said county." And as the county is offered the first and second buildings, in his stone block, in the village of Vernon
HISTORY OF HOWARD COUNTY. 349
Springs, by L. L. Halstead, for the use of the county as a court house with lease and receipt for one years rent, therefore the board ordered the records to be removed thither with the county officers and ordered also that such building be considered the court house.
October, 1865, a resolution was adopted by the board, submitting to the people the question of extending the time in the contract with the McGregor Western railroad in which to construct the railroad through the county; also in giving the said railroad the benefit of all the swamp lands in the said. Howard county.
It seems, from the record, that this session of the board of sup- ervisors, was held at Vernon Springs although the seat of county government was not removed thither. Every effort was made to have the county seat relocat :d. Vernon Springs renewing their offer to give the use of the Halstead block for a courthouse with sundry inducements, while New Oregon village in turn made the offer to erect in their place a brick building, and give the use of the same free of charge.
At the June session of the board, the New Oregon Plaindealer was made the official organ of the county
At the same meeting the following resolution was adopted:
"Resolved, that a committee of 3 consisting of the chair and 2 other members,to be appointed by the chair, to solicit terms for the purchasing of a suitable farm for the support of the poor of Howard county, Iowa. That said committee report prices, location, terms, advantages, etc., of lands by them thought suit- able for said purpose, at the next meeting of this board; said land not to be less in amount than one hundred and sixty acres.
-
The committee was also given the power, to advertise for sealed bids, for the same purpose. At the September meeting the above appointed committee submitted the following report, which was adopted, and the committee discharged: "That they have received several proposals, of farms for sale, but not any in their judgement answering the purposes of the county. Your committee further report, that in their judgement, they cannot purchase a farm,with the necessary improvements, and therefore, would recommend, if the board see fit, to purchase a piece of unimproved land and make the necessary improvements.
STEPHEN RADFORD,
C. W. FIELD, Committee. C. S. THURBER,
-
-
350
HISTORY OF HOWARD COUNTY.
The honorable board of supervisors, at the September meeting, 1866, fixed the tax levy for the year, as follows:
State, two and a half mills on the dollar; county, four mills; poll tax, fifty cents; school, one mill: bridge, three mills; insane, one mill; bounty, seven mills; relief, one mill.
The first mention of the town of Cresco, the present county seat, occurs in the record of the January session of the board of supervisors; a resolution making the Cresco Times the second official paper of Howard county. At the same meeting a petition was read, signed by Augustus Beadle and others, praying that the county papers, records, files, etc., be removed to Cresco, and making sundry proposals to build for the accommodation of the county officers and their books and papers a suitable court house.
Furthermore, an invitation was extended to the honorable board to view the proposed site for said court house. The members of the board of supervisors, by resolution, decided to accept the / invitation, and it was so recorded. The clerk, being facetiously inclined, makes a marginal note to the record of the above, in one word, "Convivial."
At the same session, after having apparently "seen" the site of the proposed court house, the following resolution was adopted:
"Resolved, By the board of supervisors of Howard county, Iowa, that the proposition of the aforesaid Beadle and others, to build a court house and furnish it free to the county, and also a hall for the use of the board of supervisors and for court purposes, be and is hereby accepted, and the sheriff is ordered to remove the records, etc., at the time contemplated, on or before June, 1. 1867."
At the meeting held in June, 1867, Thos. Sullivan was admitted as a member of the board of supervisors. At the same time the officers of the county were directed to remove their offices, etc., to the building then being constructed by the Howard county court house association, in the village of Cresco, whenever the com- mittee shall decide to accept it as a safe and suitable place for the same. The board also laid the tax levy for the year 1867, as follows:
County fund, four mills on lhe dollar; state fund, two and a half mills; county school fund, one mill; bridge fund, three mills; insane fund, three mills; relief fund, one and a half mill.
351
HISTORY OF HOWARD COUNTY.
By a report of a committee of the board of supervisors to that body, delivered at the November session, 1867, we find the in- debtedness of the county stood thus:
Indebtedness of the county to date. $25,580.07 Deducting the amount of tax due and un- collected 10,125.00
Leaving a debt of $15,455.07
The former action of the board in regard to the poor farm hav- ing been suffered to collapse, they again move in the matter at the January session, 1868, when the following resolution was spread upon the records:
"Whereas, it is deemed advisable by this board that some pro- vision be made for the poor of the county, whereby they may be subsisted at a less cost to the county than by the present method. Therefore,
"Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to look for a feasible site for a poor house farm, improved or unimproved; ascertain the cost of the same, estimate the cost of the necessary buildings and improvements, and report to this board at the June session with a view to submit the proposition to a vote of the electors of this county, at the next general election, according to the provisions of the code of the state of Iowa."
Messrs. Thurber, Griffin, and Patterson were appointed as the committee, in accordance with the above, to carry out the wishes of the board. -
A petition from the board of supervisors, bearing the date of February 3, 1868, was forwarded to the legislature of the state of Iowa, requesting them not to pass the bill then before them, to legalize the action of a previous board, in conveying to the McGregor, Western railroad all the swamp lands of the county, on the plea that the said railroad had entirely failed to carry out the provisions and conditions of the original contract, entered into by them, with the people of Howard county.
The county has suffered, in times past, many misfortunes in the loss of money in the treasurer's office. The first of the series being upon the night of the 15th of March, 1868, when some party or parties unknown burglariously entered the treasurer's office, and breaking open the safe therein, abstracted moneys and
352
HISTORY OF HOWARD COUNTY.
securities to the amount of thirteen thousand dollars. ` The board immediately offered a reward of two thousand dollars for the recovery of the money and conviction of the thief or thieves, or one thousand dollars for either. Suspicion was rife, and able detectives, with Allan Pinkerton at their head, hunted for a clue, but the bloodhounds of law were at fault, and in spite of their manifold and strenuous efforts the abstractors were never appre- hended, whatsoever evidence was collected being of to slight a nature to warrant any such a course, and in the end the matter was dropped and the county had to suffer the loss.
The treasurer was ordered to procure a new safe, suitable for his office, made more securely burglar proof than the late one,and with this the matter rested, except the suspicion that remains in the minds of many to this day, that they could point out the thief; but beyond the suspicion nothing can be said, and it may be that many an entirely innocent man is regarded by his neigh- bor as knowing more about it than he should.
The lack of timber being a want long felt throughout the county, a resolution was adopted by the board of supervisors of the county, at their April session, to effect that the real and per- sonal property of each and every person in the county should be exempt from all taxation, except that for state purposes, who should plant and cultivate for two years one or more acres of forest trees for timber, the said exemption being to the amount of one hundred dollars per acre, provided that the trees should not be over three feet apart. This was amended at the June session so as to include an exemption from taxes at the rate of one hundred dollars per acre, all who planted and cultivated a half mile of tree hedge.
The committee appointed at a previous session of the board in the matter of the poor farm reported at this, the June session, 1868, that they had viewed the place of Albert Miller, at Saratoga, of which the price was three thousand dollars, and contained one hundred and sixty acres, twenty-five of which was timber, forty- five or fifty under cultivation, the improvements on the same con- sisting of a good house and a poor stable, they found the place well watered and the means of access good, being on the main road from Cresco to Osage. Also, that they had viewed the place of Kenling and Robinson, two miles south of Saratoga, found the
€
353
HISTORY OF HOWARD COUNTY!
land good and easy of access, well watered and the price reason- able, there being three hundred and twenty acres with some im- provements, and the whole could be purchased for fifteen hundred and thirty dollars. The committee considering this very reason- able, indeed, recommended that the question be submitted to the electors of the county at the next general election, as to whether the county should purchase it. They also estimated the full cost of the farm, and the necessary equipment of the same would not exceed the sum of five thousand dollars, and add the recom- mendation that the vote had better be taken on that amount.
In July, 1869, at a special meeting, the board of supervisors de- cided to withdraw all litigation now going on between the county and the McGregor Western railroad, leaving the swamp lands, the source of the trouble, in the hands of the said railroad company, on condition that the said railroad put a station at the town of Chester.
We find that the indebtedness of the county steadily increased - through all these years until in September, 1869, it had amounted to $26,459.16, that is, including all outstanding warrants and other claims against the treasury of the county.
The rate of taxation, ordered by the board for the levy of 1869, was as follows:
State, two mills on the dollar; county, four mills; bridge, three mills; insane, two mills; county school, one mill.
The contract was let by the board for the erection of the bridge . at Florence, during the year 1869, and the committee reported at the October session, the same year, that the said bridge was finished and payment ordered; the cost being $2,500, according to the contract.
In 1870, at the January session, the committee of the board of supervisors, on agriculture, reported that "they have examined the claims of persons, who have asked exemption from taxation, under the resolution of the board and under an act of the 12th general assembly of the state of Iowa, entitled:
"An act to encourage the planting and growing of timber, fruit, and shade trees and hedges."
And the committee recommend that the claims of the following be allowed:
354
HISTORY OF HOWARD COUNTY.
James Nichols,
H. C. Gardner,
C. F. Webster,
D. M. Rand,
S. A. Stone,
J. E. Webster,
William Nichols,
James Dunn,
C. F. Gardner,
Madison Taft,
W. H. Treat,
W. D. Darrow,
Henry Gardner,
Holt Nichols,
Robert Fox,
James Oakley,
I. C. Chamberlain,
We give the above with the names of the parties in detail, as they are the pioneers in the movement of arboriculture in the .county.
According to a report made by a committee to the board, Jan. 1870, the indebtedness of the county at that time amounted to the : sum of $26,459.11, divided between the general county and bridge funds, and at the same time they find no cash in the treasury to meet the said liabilities.
1
The expenses of the county were also found to exceed the revenue, thereof, about three thousand dollars per annum, and as : a measure toward liquidation of the debt and provisions for the deficit, the said committee recommended that there be submitted to the people of Howard county a proposition, at the next general · election, to levy an additional tax of six mills on the dollar, and further recommended that one-half of the insane fund, (for which there was but little use), be transferred to the general county fund. The report of the above committee was received and the committee was discharged, but the matter was not submitted to the people as a law of the state showed them a better way, in their opinion, to arrange the matter, viz: By bonding the indebtedness : and creating a sinking fund for its redemption. The board at its next session, June, 1870, passed a resolution to accordingly bond the debt of the county to the amount of twenty thousand dollars, ; the same to bear date of October 1, 1870, payable on or before October 1, 1880; interest to be not more than ten per cent., pay- :able semi-annually. The treasurer was, furthermore, instructed to negotiate the said bonds at the lowest rate of interest obtainable. The bonds were to be issued in sums of $100, and the treasurer was to take up the outstanding warrants of the county, and give in exchange the bonds.
1
355
HISTORY OF HOWARD COUNTY.
All this was in accordance with the act of the thirteenth general assembly of the state of Iowa, approved March 30, 1870.
The legislature having made a change in the number of super- visors in each county, reducing them to three, but allowing the counties the privilege of increasing that to five, the board passed a resolution, at the same session, to submit to the people of the county, at the next general election, the question: "Shall the board of supervisors be increased to five."
The bridge at Lime Springs, then in the course of construction, seems from some imperfection in the building, to have fallen; the board ordered the attorney of the county to bring suit against the contractor and his sureties, if thought advisable.
At a meeting held during the regular session of the board, in September, 1870, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:
"Resolved, that the resolution of June, 1870, providing for the funding of the county debt, be so amended as to include the whole debt of the county, on May 1, 1870."
The tax levy, for the year 1870, was laid as follows:
State, two mills on the dollar; county, four mills; bridge, three mills; insane, two mills; school, one mill; bond fund, four mills.
At the October session of the board the county auditor was in- structed to sell all the remaining unsold lands, known as "school lands," under the provisions of the law.
January 1, 1871, the new board of county supervisors met, and drawing lots for the length of term to be held by each, D. E. Potter drew for the three years term, C. W. Wood, two years, and Aaron Kimball the one year term.
The same board laid the usual tax levy for the year 1871, as follows:
State tax, two mills on the dollar; bridge tax, three mills; general county tax, four mills; insane fund tax, one mill; school tax, one mill; bond tax, three mills.
The tax rate for the levy of 1873 was:
For county fund, four mills on the dollar; state fund, two mills; insane fund, two mills; county school fund, one mill.
We find very little of any moment in the records about this time, the business of the board being chiefly in regard to building
356
HISTORY OF HOWARD COUNTY.
and repairing bridges, and auditing the usual bills against the county, which, were we to make a faithful transcript of, would prove but dry reading.
At the election held in October, 1873, "Jerry" 'Barker received 656 votes, to W. W. White's 651, for county auditor; this the latter contested on the ground of fraudulent voting, and having possession of the office would not give up the same to Mr. Barker. The matter was carried into the courts, and was, seemingly, de- cided against Barker, but the board of supervisors, having a full knowledge of the "true inwardness" of the matter, stepped in and appointed said Barker to the office at their January session, 1874; this action was also disputed by Mr. White on the plea that he was auditor until his successor was elected and qualified, and that the board had no power, vested in them by law, to remove him. He was met by the counter argument, that as the said board had appointed him to the position of county auditor, which he now filled, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of C. S. Thurber, who was appointed postmaster, the same power could remove him. The dispute lasted some time, the board even going so for as to caution the county treasurer, by resolution, not to do business with White as auditor. In February, however, White capitulated and surrendered the office, which was immediately placed in the hands of Jeremiah Barker.
An act was passed at the regular session of the board, in April, 1875, to build a wrought iron bridge at Florenceville, at a cost of $3,500, and the contract was let and bridge erected in accordance therewith.
Again at the session of the board, in September, 1876, the matter of the county seat comes to the front, and the said board taking the subject under advisement, issued a notice that at the next general election the question would be submitted to the people of the county as to whether the said seat of the county government should or not be located at Cresco, the same being now situated half way between the villages of New Oregon and Vernon Springs, but for convenience sake, the building at the town of Cresco was occupied as the county seat. These matters are treated more in detail in the chapter devoted to the county seat controversy.
December 1, 1876, the court house, at Cresco, was destroyed by
357
HISTORY OF HOWARD COUNTY.
fire. We quote from the Howard County Times the account of the conflagration.
"On Friday morning last, December 1st, the county court house and county records were destroyed by fire. The flames were dis- covered at a little after twelve o'clock, Thanksgiving night. The festivals in Lyric hall, and Dr. Price's hall, with the supper in Caward's building (all in the vicinity of the court house), kept a large number of our citizens up later than usual. A number of young men and young ladies, returning from the supper room about midnight, discovered the fire and gave the alarm. One of the number (John G. Stradley), having the key to the treasurer's office, opened the door and entered the room with others. There was then no fire in the treasurer's office. Mr. Stradley opened the little slide door between the offices of the treasurer and auditor, and looking carefully into the latter, discovered that there was no fire therein. A further examination revealed a fire in the floor of the court room above, immediately over the blind door in the partition, between the hallway and the auditor's office, on the hall side, in line with but not over the marshal's lantern, which was lighted and hanging in its usual place.
- "The door on the south side of the court room (in the second story), was then broken in, but the room was then so full of smoke that M. L. Luther, who first entered it, was prostrated to the floor, and had to crawl out on his hands and knees. The smoke and heat were so intense that it was impossible to obtain ingress to remove and save the books, records, and contents of the court room, which the hungry flames soon devoured. Only a few days before the clerk of the courts had his books, records, and office fixtures moved to the room above, for greater convenience during the session of the courts, and with the intention of making it his permanent office, leaving his old room in the southwest corner for the use of the sheriff, juries, etc. Thus it happened that nearly all the court records were destroyed by the fire.
11
"The recorder and auditor being absent, their offices were broken into, and all their valuable records saved, as well as those of the treasurer, and all the contents of the safes of the treasurer, auditor, and recorder have been found well preserved, except in some instances slightly discolored and the bindings injured. * *
The loss cannot be estimated in dollars and cents. The money, real estate records, and all other valuable books and papers, except
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.