USA > Iowa > Crawford County > History of Crawford County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 20
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 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52
176
HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
way, one of which was occupied by R. Knaul as a drug store until he moved into his own building on Court avenue, in 1879. It was in 1879 also that A. D. Wilson bought the interest of Mr. Wall in a hardware stock and the firm became Wygant & Wilson. It was in this year that Mr. Cassaday leased the Commercial House, of which he was proprietor for a number of years. During the later years of this decade M. Goldheim, one of the most successful merchants Denison has ever know, came to the city. His coming revolutionized the business ideas of the community and in fact benefited all the merchants by inspiring them to added activities. Mr. Laub also retired from the mercantile business, being succeeded by Kirkwood & McCall. J. B. Romans came first as a clerk for Mr. Laub and later established the great hardware and agricultural implement concern which still bears his name.
In closing this decade of our county history we quote at some length from a so-called boom edition. The Review says :
"Denison is a village of fifteen hundred inhabitants ; we have no municipal or school debts, and we have two schoolhouses with ample facilities for six schools. We have six churches, all very nearly free from debt, German Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist and Episcopalian. Crawford county has a population of only twelve thousand, which is less than seventeen inhabitants to every section of land. Only one-third of the land is in cultivation and much yet remains in the hands of non-residents. Uncultivated lands range in price from four to twelve dollars per acre. The most competent judges esti- mate the yield per acre of the late wheat crop at eighteen bushels, and of the corn crop at forty bushels. This is, at the rate of one dollar per bushel for wheat, eighteen dollars per acre. Making every allowance for the cost of production, marketing, etc., it leaves ten dollars clear, or more than the average cost of the land. Corn is about twenty-five cents per bushel and, aside from the corn stalks, the income is ten dollars per acre. But it is when corn, oats, etc., are fed to cattle, hogs and sheep that the farmer reaps the greatest reward. Crawford county has ten thousand sheep and their number is rapidly increasing. There are several farmers whose income from sheep alone has been from two thousand to three thousand dollars per year. This county has a comfortable courthouse which, with the square, is worth thirty thousand dollars. It has a poor farm worth ten thousand; it has more than two hundred buildings, worth one hundred thousand dollars; it has nearly one hundred schoolhouses, worth eighty thou- sand dollars; it has twelve or more churches, worth thirty thousand dollars; it has many good roads and a staple and respectable society, and no county debt. All warrants are at par and what we have is substantially paid for. Men who came from England, Germany and the east five years since, not worth a dollar, have opened up fine farms and have mostly paid for the same. The man who cannot get his living in Crawford county will find the cause of failure within himself and not in the situation."
This "boom" edition was a great Christmas advertising number and we give the list of advertisers as an index to the business of the town and county. The list is as follows :
"E. S. Plimpton, clothing; W. A. McHenry's Bank, successor to McHenry Brothers; The Crawford County Bank, R. Heffelfinger, proprietor, D. W. Shaw,
177
HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
assistant cashier; Bond Brothers, furniture; O. C. Johnson, music store; A. E. Wilbur, general merchandise at Deloit; J. F. Powers, furniture at Vail; A. L. Strong, general merchandise, Vail; J. P. Fitch, lumber yard, Vail; E. M. Gregory, drugs; Greenough & Bullock, drugs; J. T. Marriott, general merchan- dise, Dow City; L. E. Hardy & Co., general merchandise, Dow City; Dow, Graves & Company, lumber and implements, Dow City ; Evans & Louthan, drugs, Dow City ; N. Staininger, jeweler ; C. H. De Wolf, lumber ; J. B. Romans, hard- ware and implements; Claus Sievers, harness; J. F. Holst, B. Robinault, and C. Griffiths, shoe makers ; John Peterson, wagon maker ; attorneys, I, T. Roberts, Tabor & Tabor, M. S. Sayre, at Denison; Franklin C. Platt, Dow City ; A. A. Leachey, Vail; Burch & Van Kuran, Dunlap; C. Haldane, West Side ; physicians, H. H. Hoagland, William Iseminger, Mrs. Dr. Emma Cornwall, Denison; B. S. Louthan, Dow City; Ed. Darling, Vail; L. L. Bond, West Side; Dr. D. H. Gill, dentist; Harry Wade, house mover; W. J. Wagoner, real estate; L. T. Carr, bookstore; S. H. Clausin, jewelry; R. Knaul, druggist; S. P. Gardner, insurance; Miss S. Schmeutsch and Mrs. Stocks, dry goods and millinery ; Hotchkiss & Hunt, painters ; J. H. De Wolf, Citizens Bank, Vail; John S. Lewis, hotel, Dow City ; W. C. Hillas, general merchandise, Dow City; Taylor & John- son, hardware, West Side; J. E. Rule, harness, Dow City ; Kirkwood & McCall, general merchants, Denison; M. H. Hendricks, groceries; Wygant & Wilson, hardware; M. Goldheim, king clothier; J. P. Miller, general merchandise; Jacob Peterson, variety store; E. S. Plimpton, general merchandise; A. Lewis, bakery ; Darling & Steel, furniture; Ed Eaton, harness; D. M. Goodale & Company, general merchandise; B. F. Lesher, restaurant; the J. B. Close land agency, in charge of D. M. Wallace; Mrs.J. C. White, millinery ; Mrs. Familton, millinery ; Mrs. J. W. Denison, fancy goods ; and J. S. Nesbit, restaurant at Vail."
By this you will see that the close of the year 1879 saw all lines of business well represented and that it marked the close of what must really be considered the most prosperous decade of Denison's history.
While Denison prospered during these ten years the county as a whole had not a few discouragements. Whereas corn sold for a dollar a bushel in 1869, by 1876 the price had fallen so that we find the following newspaper reference : "We place it on record for future reference that the cash price of corn on the cob is twenty cents per hundred lbs., or four dollars a ton. As soft coal is five dollars a ton we are not sure but that corn is the cheaper fuel."
Not only were market conditions bad during these years but the county suf- fered from severe winters, devastating hailstorms, disastrous prairie fires and terrific winds and cyclones. In 1874 there was a hailstorm in the southern part of the county in which the hail fell in ragged chunks of ice of large size, that easily penetrated the siding of houses, knocked the shingles off buildings and almost utterly destroyed the crops. According to newspaper report one boy who was caught out in this storm had an arm broken by the hail, besides sus- taining other injuries on account of which his life was despaired of. On July 24, 1874, there was another severe hailstorm. It crossed the Boyer at George Buss' place in the western part of the county, injuring his crops and those of George Biddle, Joel Ernst, Will and Vint McHenry, Butterworth, Young and others, then it went over Pretty Prairie, in the vicinity of Edmund Howorth's Vol. I-12
178
HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
place, and thence to the Nishnabotny. The crops on the W. A. McHenry farm were almost totally destroyed and in the Swede settlement there was a light visitation. In the spring of 1874 there were several floods, the highest since 1867.
Prairie fires were a great menace and great losses were sustained in 1872. In October, 1874, prairie fires swept nearly every part of the county and the damage caused was estimated to be thousands of dollars. There was a high wind and the old settlers claimed that they had never seen such prairie fires as on that day. In Otter Creek township a heavy fire came up from the west. A vacant house on the Baker farm was destroyed and all the people of the town- ship had to turn out and fight the fire. At Vail Mr. Forest, Mr. M. H. Smith and Mr. J. Clark sustained losses. At Dow City Judge Dow lost one hundred tons of hay and the fire raged through Buck Grove and Coon Grove. Near Dunlap little Eva Atwood, aged five years, daughter of Dr. H. S. Atwood, while looking at the blaze was frightfully burned by being overtaken by and falling down in the fire. Her little brother, with great presence of mind, divested her of all clothing, but the fire had done its work too well as the child had breathed the flames and died within twelve hours. As late as 1879 the whole northern portion of Denison was endangered by a sweeping prairie fire.
Still another great discouragement which had reflex action upon the pros- perity of Denison, was in the great grasshopper plagues which swept the county in 1873, 1874, 1875 and 1876. In August, 1873, it is reported that "There is no more humbug about the grasshopper business. They have come for certain this time and reports reach us from neighboring towns that they are doing much damage in the way of destroying crops." A correspondent under date of Au- gust 4th says, "The grasshoppers have arrived safely at Dowville and are foraging in regular army style. They seem to be as fond of radishes, onions, and mustard as of the milder varieties of vegetables. One farmer says he has twenty-five acres of corn manufactured into bean poles ; another says his forty acres of corn will not be worth harvesting. The air is thick with them as they come down like showers of snow. We just received an order from Bond & Hendricks for a barrel of cabbage, but we are sorry to say we have disposed of our entire crop to the grasshoppers. The width of territory they are covering is about twenty miles and reaches from about three miles west of Denison to three miles west of Dunlap."
In 1874 a determined fight was made against the grasshoppers. Otis Grout, of Paradise township, made a grasshopper crusher which was ridiculed by many who were afterward glad to borrow it. The machine is described as follows: "Imagine three hogsheads, or large barrels-two in front four feet apart, and one following four feet in the rear, between the rear and front sits the driver. This machine is drawn by two horses over the wheat fields and the grasshoppers seeing it coming try to escape by jumping between the two front rollers, but are caught by the rear roller before they have time to make another jump. On Saturday this combination of rollers was used all day on Mr. Dow's farm and was kept continually greasy with the mutilated bodies of grasshoppers."
In 1875 there was another visitation, although the insects lighted for the most part in Harrison, Cass and Pottawattamie counties. In June of 1875 the grasshoppers passed over Denison in countless millions. Immense numbers of
179
HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
them dropped and commenced their havoc in gardens, eating out cabbages, onions, peas, etc., clean and smooth. Many fields of grain within a few miles of town were completely destroyed. Toward evening of the second day, however, they commenced to rise and the farmers were greatly rejoiced. In 1876 state and national subsidies were urged to exterminate this plague and the farmers were urged to spend the fall season in dragging their fields in order to destroy the grasshopper eggs. In 1879 millions of grasshoppers emigrated in a southeasterly direction high over Denison. The newspaper reporter fervently adds, "May they have a safe journey clear down to the Gulf of Mexico."
High winds swept frequently over the prairies and many will remember the severe storms which struck Denison. These were sometimes in the nature of a straight blow, and at other times in the nature of a cyclone. It was a straight blow which moved the Catholic church more than a foot from its foundation while it was filled with people one evening during a mission service. A small cyclone destroyed a barn on the Woolston farm south of town. In June of 1879 a small tornado passed over Charter Oak and Hanover townships. It blew down a house and severely injured a Mrs. Edwards. Edward, the nine year old son of Charles Weed, was blown from his horse and rendered unconscious. The great cyclone and the only one of first magnitude which this county has ever known, passed over the northwestern part of the county in the spring of 1878.
This cyclone swept through Hanover, Goodrich, Otter Creek and Stockholm . townships. Six lives were lost and the freaks of the great storm were many. Mr. E. Fink, who saw the wind cloud as it swept along tells us how it dipped down to earth here and there destroying everything in its path and then rose again. Ample relief was afforded the sufferer both by the county and by private benevolence and it is sincerely to be hoped that the county will never again suffer from a like visitation.
It is indeed a wonder that in spite of these many discouragements the town of Denison grew as if by magic, the county filled constantly with settlers, land values increased, and this became one of the most prosperous and promising counties of the state. It is no wonder that the Denison optimist proclaimed that "when the next census is taken, in 1880, it will be found that Crawford county will have more than doubled its population in ten years. In 1870 its population numbered 6,039; in 1880 it will number 13,000 in any event and should we have a prosperous harvest and a heavy emigration next spring it will reach 14,000."
CHAPTER XX
A YEAR BOOK OF HISTORY.
1880-1900.
Strange as it may seem the most difficult portion of this history is that re- lating to comparatively recent years. Sufficient time has not elapsed for the value of accurate data to be apparent, and in the busy rush of modern life few people take time to make a permanent record of current events. In this respect we are like the famous Arkansas farmer, who found that he did not need to mend his roof in dry weather and that he couldn't mend it when it rained. So long as we remember things there seems to be little need of recording them, and when they are forgotten, we can't. The writer has, therefore, been obliged to rely very largely upon such newspapers files as could be obtained. Unfortu- nately, entire volumes of these are missing and it is thus impossible to write a connected story of the later years of Denison and of the county. The best that can be done is to give a series of somewhat disconnected facts, that will, how- ever, give a picture of the changing conditions and the gradual development of the last thirty years.
This is not to be an essay but it is hard to refrain from commenting upon the surprisingly small value of the newspaper as an historical document. How quickly the events of the day become unimportant, how soon the "burning issues" burn themselves out and how after the lapse of a few years the personal squabbles, the political debates, the continued criminations and re-criminations become absurd and beneath the dignity of the writers and of the community. In preparing this history, hour after hour has been spent with the newspaper files and one cannot but be tempted to philosophize over the great waste of brains and ink and paper, over the heart burnings which must have been felt, over the bitternesses engendered, over the time and thought and reading power that has been expended in following the play of politics and personalities in our county press.
Denison in 1880 was a town of less than 1,500 inhabitants. The county boasted a population of about 13,000. Good lands were available at $10.00 an acre. Captain Familton reports that "inquiries for land are brisk" and adds that "when a $10.00 bill will buy an acre of the most fertile land in the west, who would not invest for himself and children." It was the wise man who followed
181
182
HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
this advice who is the wealthy and substantial citizen of the county to-day. At the opening of the period of which we write only one-third of the land of the county was under cultivation and much land remained in the hands of non- residents. Uncultivated lands ranged in price from $4.00 to $12.00. These were mostly rolling prairies, their rough appearance frightened many farmers and it was not until a few of the most venturesome proved the value of our uplands that they were generally utilized. The average wheat yield at that time was estimated at eighteen bushels to the acre and of corn, forty bushels. Wheat sold at $1.00 per bushel and it was estimated that one successful crop would almost pay for the land. There were 10,000 sheep in the county at that time and the cattle industry was assuming large proportions. The county was out of debt, and the people were eager, full of life, and energy. There were com- paratively few old people in the county and there were none who had voluntarily retired, all were active and striving, with their fortunes still to make. Denison was a shipping point of much importance. Four hundred and fifty-four car- loads of grain was shipped from Denison during the last four months of 1879 and during the same period the stock shipments were fifty-four carloads, while one hundred and thirty-seven carloads of lumber were received. The leading manufacturing industry of Denison was the Luney Foundry and Machine Works. This was operated by water power and a mill was soon built in con- nection. The chief industries of the place were the banks, the land agencies, and retail merchandise.
The main line of the Chicago Northwestern was the only railroad in the county. The towns were West Side, Vail, Denison, Dowville, while there were beginnings of settlements at Old Kiron, in the German township of Morgan and in the vicinity of Charter Oak. The early 80's were times of great prosperity. The German immigration was the chief factor. This ever increasing tide of new people brought new money to the locality, stimulated activity in all trades and in every line of business. It will be found that the majority of the farm houses now standing in Crawford county were erected between 1880 and 1890. We have previously recorded when the daring merchant J. P. Miller flung the first German sign to the breeze in Denison, but by 1880 the German influence was the predominating one in the county. It was during these years that the Ger- mania Verein was organized and the opera house erected, the officers at that time being Rudolph Knaul, H. Schwartz, H. C. Schluter, J. P. Miller, J. F. Holst, Julius Lehfeldt and Herman Schultz.
1884.
The year 1884 was marked by a cyclone which devastated parts of Union and Washington townships and which recalled that ever memorable Easter Sunday when the most destructive cyclone of our history made such sorry work in the northern part of the county, killing several citizens, destroying the homes of more than a dozen settlers, and striking terror to the hearts of all and putting our people in constant fear of a repetition of the great disaster. Among other events of 1884 was the death of Isaac C. Goodrich, who was one of the oldest and most honored settlers of the county, having lived here 29 years and having
183
HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
played a large part in the early development of the county and of the township which was named for him.
It was in the early 80's that the second railroad was put through the county. This was the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul, which constructed a line from Chicago to Council Bluffs. This railroad created two new market towns in the southern part of the county, one at Aspinwall in Iowa township, the other at Astor in Nishnabotny township. It was in 1884 that this railroad pro- posed a branch line to Sioux City. It was at first intended to run this line out of Astor via Denison to the vicinity of Charter Oak and then on to Sioux City. It was at this time that Denison made the greatest mistake in its history. In- stead of realizing that the advent of another railroad would give it great added importance, advantage in freight rates, and make it at once an important center, it was felt that it would but establish new market places, draw trade from Deni- ison, and be an injury to the city. A public meeting was held at which it was decided that Denison did not want the new railroad and such opposition was made that the line was surveyed, and later was built, as it now stands, via Arion and Charter Oak. There is no reason to believe that our citizens did not act according to their best judgment, but it is nevertheless a fact that had this line been built as originally intended Denison would have been a city of much larger population and of much more importance as a shipping point than it is to-day. The history of Denison like the history of any individual shows many mistakes as well as many good deeds, but we consider that this was the greatest mistake which Denison as a city ever made. The result was that the line was built creat- ing the competitive market points dreaded, and giving to Denison none of the advantages which it would have had had it been on the great Milwaukee system. It was in this way that the southern and western parts of the county were shut off from direct communication with the county seat, a thing which has cost Denison many thousands of dollars and much loss in its predominating position in the county.
The year 1884 nevertheless saw many changes and improvements. The firm of Sherrard and Bamford commenced business, Hugh Menagh started a lum- ber yard, the Goldheim building was enlarged, Block and Heyman came as cloth- ing merchants, the DeWolf lumber yard was sold to Scriver and Co. of Wausau, Wis., the firm of Garrison and Roberts dissolved partnership, J. Fred Meyers repurchased the Review, from Wrigley Bros., who had been its owners for a short time. This year also witnessed the closing of the Crawford County Bank under the management of R. Hefflefinger and its reorganization by a number of the substantial business men of the town. It is noteworthy that the closing of this bank created so little disturbance in the general business of the community.
Among the advertisers in our Denison papers in 1884 we find the following : Conner and Shaw, D. L. Boynton, T. J. Garrison, Wright and Leachey, F. B. Huckstep, attorneys; physicians, Dr. Emma Cornwall, Dr. Colburn, Dr. J. J. McWilliams, Iseminger and Wright, L. L. Bond, West Side. M. L. Allan, Astor. Isaac Bixler, auctioneer ; W. J. Wagoner, real estate ; T. W. Garbe, den- tist ; M. Goldheim, clothier; Bond Bros., furniture; E. M. Hoff, photographer ; J. L. Bidlack, merchandise, Astor; Sherrard and Bamford, J. B. Romans Co., hardware; Crawford county bank, Schlumberger and Wrigley, drugs; S. E.
184
HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
Grant, marble works; C. C. Gleiser, merchandise, Astor; Alexander Ludlum, Astor ; Peace and Theobald, lumber, Astor ; L. T. Carr, book store; Penney and Morgan, merchandise; Herman Schultz, implements; Archie Steele, furniture; Abiescher Bros., meat market, Wygant and Wilson, hardware; McAhren and Evers, drugs; Mahler's boot and shoe store; A. J. Bond, jewelry. Dow City : Brake Bros., furniture; Lewis and Sims, drugs; Dow City Bank, Abner Graves, cashier ; E. W. Pierce, hardware; Mrs. Morris Chambers, millinery ; J. J. An- thony, lumber ; T. J. Rasp, merchandise ; W. C. Hillas, merchandise; Whaley and Bell, merchandise; Hardy and Robinson, merchandise; W. A. McHenry Bank, M. H. Hendricks, grocer; E. W. Blackburn, hardware, Astor; Hunt Bros., merchandise, Deloit ; C. Stoecks, millinery ; H. S. Gulick, implements ; C. Sievers, harness, R. Knaul, drugs, Jac. Stoudenmeyer, boot and shoe maker; Hugh Menagh, lumber; City Dray Co., John Driscoll, A. C. Weeks, Nora Cavett, Geo. L. Harris, auctioneer ; West Side: Ed. Detwiller, auctioneer; Thos. Saul, dray line, Denison.
One of the first things urged upon the city of Denison by Mr. J. Fred Meyers, upon his coming here in 1874, was the establishment of a free public library. Following this agitation a library association was formed which gave a series of amateur theatricals and other entertainments by which a small library fund was created. This was established in connection with the school library and was the nucleus of the Carnegie library of to-day. At a meeting of the electors of Denison township held March 10, 1875, a motion was made and caried "that we raise a sum of $500 on the taxable property of Denison and Hanover townships for the purpose of procuring a district library." A com- mittee consisting of J. Fred Meyers, L. Cornwell, and George Scott was ap- pointed to select books. March 1876, the above committee reported to the electors that the amount of taxes collected was $390.00. The cost of books selected, 80 volumes, was $135.00, and a book case costing $15.00 had also been contracted for. This library was kept at the Carr book store for a num- ber of years and later, when the independent district was created, there was some difficulty in settling with Hanover township for its share of the library. The first great impetus to the library movement, however, came when Mrs. Mary A. McKim, widow of Martin McKim, bequeathed considerable amount for the erection of what has since been known as the McKim hall. Mrs. Mc- Kim made a will in 1884 bequeathing as follows: to relatives, $12,000; to the Denison Baptist church, $4,000; Denison Baptist Sunday School, $1,000; Mis- sion schools in Alaska, $1,000; Missionary work in Iowa, $1,000; Sunday School work in Iowa $1,000; education of students for ministry, $1,000 ; poor of Denison for fuel, $1,000; McKim reading room in Denison $10,000 or the balance of the estate. It was claimed that a later will was made devising some $30,000 to E. M. Owens. These wills were hotly contested and with the result that a com- promise was affected giving $8,000 for the erection of the hall. The great in- terest in this trial, the subsequent burning of the Baptist church, which many laid to incendiarism and later the building of the McKim hall, to be maintained under the direction of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, are all in- cidents of Denison history which will be long remembered. The sum donated was thought insufficient for the erection of the building and it was allowed to
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.