USA > Iowa > Crawford County > History of Crawford County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 25
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1901.
The year 1901 opened with a blaze of another kind. It was in the basement of St. Rose of Lima church at Denison and the loss was one thousand dollars.
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During January Denison became interested in a project to establish a can- ning factory. The business men appointed a committee to investigate the propo- sition, but a large bonus was asked and it was felt that it was not justified so the matter was dropped.
In March the Denison fire companies issued certificates of honorable retire- ment to the following old-time members: W. J. McAhren, B. J. Sibbert, J. B. Romans, Geo. A. Richardson, C. C. Kemming, J. I. Gibson, O. W. Wheeler, A. Aebischer, and L. Seemann.
At the city election almost an entire new council was elected, those chosen being Samuel Luney, C. Sprecher, U. G. Johnson, T. J. Garrison and W. T. Wright.
In April came the impetus for a new library through the gift of Mr. Schee of Primghar. There was some opposition to the conditions of this donation but the demands were quickly met by the generous people of the town and a start was made for improved library conditions.
There were many new buildings, R. Knaul built on Court avenue, R. Lehfeldt erected his handsome home and there were numerous other dwellings.
By May the Fairmount Creamery had progressed so that it manufactured the enormous quantity of 2,000 pounds of butter a day. The average output to-day is about seven thousand pounds.
May 15th was the date of the establishment of the first rural free delivery routes in the county. Five routes were established out of Denison the first car- riers being D. Partridge, E. E. Ransom, Fred Marshall, Ira Gillmor, and B. F. Foderberg. E. E. Ransom and Fred Marshall are the only ones of the original carriers now in the service.
190I was a year of great baseball activity. The team was composed of Baer, Scharnweber, Wilson, Broadus, Rudd, Hester, Branaka, Klock and Kelly, of course. This was a strong team and won many victories. In July the proposi- tion for the establishment of a city library was carried at a city election by a vote of 84 to 50. In August Mr. J. H. Carstens commenced the first brick build- ing on the south side of Broadway, having sold his corner hotel to Mr. Thos. Nielsen.
The year 1901 witnessed the close of Gov. Shaw's administration as chief executive of Iowa and the people of Denison were congratulating themselves that this valued citizen was soon to return to his old home, when the city was electrified by the news that President Roosevelt had honored the Denison man by selecting him as a member of his cabinet in the important position of Secre- tary of the Treasury. Denison appreciated this honor deeply and still more it appreciated the vast ability which the man from Denison showed in his appointed task.
In September Denison was the scene of the meeting of the editors of western Iowa and this served to give additional advertising to the booming town.
Agitation for a new court house had been active in 1900 but in 1901 it was submitted to the people and was defeated by a majority of 172. Among the closing notable events of the year was the erection of the Germania Halle at Manilla, the formation of the new law firm of Conner and Lally, the opening
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of the "Peoples Store" by J. P. Shuler, and the railroad activity caused by the double tracking of the Northwestern system.
1902.
The year 1902 was another year of progress. During the latter part of Janu- ary a reception was tendered Gov. Shaw on the eve of his departure for Wash- ington and Denison felt that it had at last become a part of the great National government. The year opened with a series of tragic accidents which will be related in another chapter. The sensational failure of E. S. Barnes, his arrest and the subsequent litigation were topics of absorbing interest during the spring months. In March occurred the fire by which the West Denison mills owned by King and Jordan were destroyed, with a property loss of some $6,000.
At the municipal election J. T. Carey was elected mayor, C. L. Voss, Treas- urer, Wm. McLennan, Solicitor, A. J. Bond, Assessor, and Geo. Davis, Thos. McGrin and J. G. Wygant as Councilmen.
April saw the commencement of the handsome brick block erected on Main street by E. Gulick, T. J. Kelly and J. L. Warbasse and in June two special elec- tions took place, at one of which a franchise was granted to the Crawford County Telephone company and at the other by which the corporate limits of the city were increased to more than twice their former size. This proposition carried by a majority of but three votes. This was a year of many rains and, in July, it is recorded that the flood in the Boyer valleys was the highest since 1888. Considerable damage was done throughout the county.
This was the year of Denison's first and greatest street fair. President Roosevelt was billed to be in the city for a short time on September 26th, but on account of a minor accident he was unable to make his western trip as planned. In spite of this disappointment the street fair was a great success. There were many fine attractions and two beautiful parades, one in the daytime and one at night. For the purpose of the parades a contest was held throughout the county for the selection of a Carnival Queen and for Maids of Honor from the various towns of the county. The contest excited much interest and came to a whirlwind finish at an amateur performance given for the benefit of the street fair. Miss Alice White, now Mrs. C. P. Lorenzen, of Denison, was chosen as Carnival Queen and the Maids of Honor from the various towns were Clara McAndrews, Vail, Lydia Benson, Kiron, Ethel Huckstep, Deloit, Miss Gigax, Buck Grove, Clara Roberts, Charter Oak, Tillie Frahm, Schleswig, Miss Talcott, Arion, Marie Rid- dle, Dow City, Marie Herre, West Side, Nettie Bidlack, Manilla, and Freda Voss, Ricketts. The attendance at this fair was very large and it was perhaps the most successful event of the kind Denison has ever known.
Late in the fall Denison made its first real steps towards a modern sewer system and in November the entire town jubilated over the fact that the court house proposition was carried at the general election by a majority of 517. This provided for the issuance of bonds to the amount of $75,000 for the erection of the new building and the board of supervisors at once took action to carry out the will of the people.
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The fact that Denison was soon to be graced by a new court house encouraged its people to dream of a Greater Denison and in the latter part of November a number of the prominent business men began to plan together the building of a new hotel. Thus another year passed with the entire county in a prosperous condition and with its county seat thrilling with new hopes and with large plans for the future.
1903.
The year 1903 opened with many business changes : Mr. John Rohwer retired from the Nicholson Produce Co. The lumber firm of Stone and Temple dis- solved partnership, Mr. W. R. Temple continuing the business; Roeh Bros. sold their blacksmith shop to Max Wulf. It was announced that W. R. Bamford of Charter Oak would establish a new dry goods and millinery store, a new attorney was announced in the coming of Mr. P. W. Harding, also of Charter Oak. The most important business announcement, however, was that Mr. J. P. Miller had sold his interest in his general merchandise business and that a new firm to be known as the Balle-Brodersen Co. had been founded to carry on the business. The Miller store was then in its twenty-ninth year and its history had been one of marvelous success. During the later years Mr. Miller had not given the business his personal attention and it had been under the control of Mr. A. C. Balle and Mr. B. Brodersen who now became the chief members of the new firm.
The very first week of the new year, 1903, Denison was visited by a terrific blizzard and wind storm. During the erection of the new block on Main street the city had granted permission for the owners to locate the old frame buildings on the streets so that business need not be interrupted. These buildings were moved and set up on temporary foundations of house-moving blocks. The old Warbasses building was located on the corner of Main and Tremont streets next the Bulletin office. With its open foundation this building formed an admirable target for the wind and it was completely wrecked, being blown over against the Bulletin office and damaging that property to some extent.
January 19th was the day when the Crawford County Telephone exchange was first opened for regular business and this gave the people something which they had not had before, telephonic communication with the farmers.
On January 19th the court house bonds were sold, bringing a premium of $450 and on February 9th, after a close competition in which a large number of architects participated, the plans presented by Mr. George A. Berlinghof of Bea- trice, Nebraska, were accepted and he was appointed to superintend the erection of the building. In March the old court house building was sold at public auc- tion to Mr. Henry Hoefer for $302. Later this building was purchased by Mr. F. P. Timm and was moved to the corner of Broadway and Dyer streets where it now stands. This was the largest brick building ever moved in the county.
In April the county offices were removed to a temporary structure built on ground donated by the city, just west of the court house square ; here these offices remained until the new building was completed. On June 1Ith the contract for the court house building was let to J. H. Sparks of St. Joseph, Mo., for the sum of $74,740.00. Later Mr. Sparks found that he could not furnish the necessary
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bond and the contract was canceled and the certified check which he had de- posited was forfeited. A new advertisement for bids was published and on October 13th the contract was let to Marxen and Rokahr of Atlantic, Iowa. This time the specifications were greatly modified, however. It was proposed to eliminate the tower, do away with the marble wainscoating and otherwise to cut down the expense. The contract price was $75,000.00 and the first actual work on the new court house was done on November 10th, 1903, little more than a year after the election which authorized the building.
At the city election George Davis, U. G. Johnson and W. T. Wright were re- elected as councilmen. In the meantime the city hummed with life and activity. The residences of Z. T. Hawk, N. L. Hunt and R. Shaw Van were under erec- tion, simultaneously, within a block of each other and many other beautiful residences were erected. Base ball flourished with a team composed of Freed, Klock, Robinault, Faul, Petersen, Branaka, McAlpin and Kelly. In June came the long deferred visit of President Roosevelt. The people were gathered from far and near. There had been heavy rains, washouts on the railroads and heavy roads for the farmers, but nothing deterred the great crowd from coming. The Presidential train arrived early in the morning over the Illinois Central from Council Bluffs, but it was not until 8:30 a. m. that the President left his car and entered the carriage provided for him. Secretary Shaw was with him, proud to show the President the town from which he hailed. The streets were beautifully decorated and the line of march was lined with shouting thousands. The Presi- dent drove through the city, greeted the school children who were drawn up in battle array with colors flying, and noted the progress of the beautiful city. The Sac City company of the Iowa National Guard acted as military escort and five bands added to the general joy. Returning to the Illinois Central station Presi- dent Roosevelt spoke for some time from an improvised platform and then fought his way through the crowd and was carried onward on his journey. An all day program had been provided by Denison and the ten thousand visitors enjoyed themselves greatly in spite of mud and heat.
On August 20th occurred the dedication of the new Catholic church which had been erected at a cost of $12,000.00. Bishop Garrigan delivered the dedi- catory sermon and a number of high officials of the church were present at the impressive ceremony.
This also was the year when oil was discovered (?) in Sac county and wily promoters struck several "gushers" in the county of Crawford. It was also the year of the second street fair. This would have been as successful as the first, perhaps, but Jupiter Pluvius interfered and the fair was fairly flooded out. This was also the fate of Forepaugh's circus which came to the city but which was unable to unload its cars on account of the floods.
In October the city let the first of its sewer contracts to G. M. McAhren for the sum of $2,180 and this good work was rapidly pushed. In November oc- curred the fire which destroyed the third story of the old Wilson House and put that hostelry out of business. In the same month Mr. Geo. Menagh purchased a store on Broadway and commenced the merchantile career which has proven so successful. Taken all in all the year 1903 left Denison and the entire county in
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much better condition than it found it and it must be credited as being one of the best years in our history.
1904.
A scarlet fever scare opened the following year very inauspiciously but this was dispelled as spring approached and the business of the town had time to draw a long breath before the activities of the coming season.
The first note of progress was when it was announced that the Balle Broder- sen Co. had bought the Nielsen hotel property on the corner of Main and Broad- way and would erect a modern dry goods palace thereon. This was soon fol- lowed by the announcement that Mr. Nielsen had bought lots to the west and would erect a brick hotel. Among the business changes at the first of the year was a change in the J. B. Romans Co. by which F. O. Ivens and Ernst Sibbert became interested in the concern. W. E. Terry also sold his grocery to Geo. H. Vincent. The Luney Mills had been sold and had been closed down the year before. C. Jungerman opened a bakery and there were other minor business changes.
At the city election J. T. Carey was re-elected Mayor without opposition, the first time this has happened in the history of Denison. Geo. Davis, J. H. Jones and J. G. Wygant were elected councilmen.
In April came the failure of the Green banks at Dow City and at Buck Grove. These failures caused great hardship to the people in those vicinities but did not affect the prosperity of the county as a whole.
Denison purchased new fire equipment in the shape of a chemical engine and pushed its work of sewer building. The state declamatory contest was held here and attracted much attention.
Mr. John Saggau commenced the erection of a fine brick block on Broadway early in the spring and as these were nearing completion a number of the younger business men conceived the idea of renting the second story of one of his build- ings for a permanent home for a Commercial Club. The idea was carried out and very soon some fifty members were secured. The dues were ten dollars for initiation and one dollar per month thereafter. With this fund the rooms were handsomely furnished and this club has been the center of Denison's activities since that time. The first president of the new club was Mr. J. E. Balle.
On June 23rd a Denison paper makes extended mention of the coming of a Moores four cylinder, thirty horse power automobile through Denison, en route from Omaha to Chicago. This was perhaps the first auto tourist on the Transcontinental route and it attracted great attention. A crowd gathered in Main street and the obliging chauffeur stopped and explained just how the ma- chine worked and its every movement was followed by wondering eyes. The Denison paper states that a number of these machines are owned in Chicago and the large cities and that it is learned that Denison parties are thinking of buying one. Mr. E. C. Chamberlin was the pioneer autoist of the county, buying a machine in the fall of 1904. It was a wonder to all the people and it was an object of the greatest aversion to the drivers of horses.
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While the horses of the community were being broken in to their new rivals, the library project had not languished in Denison. Mr. Andrew Carnegie donated $10,000.00 for a building and Mr. J. P. Miller donated the site. Mr. Carnegie's donation was afterwards increased to $12,500.00 and with this money the hand- some building was erected. The work on the court house also progressed and as it seemed a pity not to complete the plans of the architect, a proposition was submitted to the people asking for $40,000.00 additional for the completion of the building. The result of the election was favorable.
The corner stone of the new court house was laid July 30th, 1904, with ap- propriate ceremonies. Rev. G. E. Morphy of the First Baptist church led in prayer. Auditor M. J. Collins presided. Addresses were delivered by Hon. J. P. Conner who spoke in behalf of Denison. E. H. Swasey spoke in behalf of Dow City, Theo. Rohwer in behalf of Schleswig, M. O'Connor in behalf of Vail, W. S. Moore in behalf of Manilla while Mr. J. F. Harthun represented the Ger- mans of the county. The corner stone was laid by Hon. H. C. Schroeder, chair- man of the board. The stone was thirty inches square and contained two metallic receptacles in which were enclosed the following articles: a map of Crawford county, the financial report of the auditor for the preceding year, a copy of the illustrated Review, issued in 1897, current issues of the Denison Review, the Denison Bulletin, the Denison Zietung, the Denison Demokrat, The Dow City Enterprise, The Denison College Star, programs of the Friday Club, account of the organization of the D. A. R. Catalogue of Denison College, picture of the old court house presented by F. P. Timm, numerous business cards, a list of the members of the chorus and of the Kiron-Schleswig band which took part in the exercises and a program of the day. Rev. J. H. Sharpe of the Presbyterian church closed the exercises with prayer.
In August followed the dedication of the Carnegie library, with state librarian Johnson Brigham and Hon. M. J. Wade as the principle speakers. In August, also, the contract for the Balle Brodersen block was let to Mr. Frank Fee for the sum of $21,000.00.
The coming of Vice President Fairbanks in October was a political event, but it drew a large crowd to Denison and accentuated the importance of the town as a political center. The year closed with a blizzard in which T. W. Butler of Arion was killed.
1905.
In January, 1905, the board of supervisors proceeded to carry out the will of the people by letting additional contracts for the completion of the court house. The building of the dome was let to Marxen and Rokahr, the original contractors. The Chicago Gas and Electric Fixtures Co. secured the contract in their line for $1,600.00, the Art Metal Co. of Johnstown, N. Y., secured the con- tract for vaults and metal furniture for $4,227.50 and Mr. John Fastje of Deni- son secured the contract for the wood furniture for $6,535.00.
At the Commercial Club, Mr. J. E. Balle was re-elected President. In news- paper circles, The Leader, which had been established by Mr. W. S. McVey, sus- pended publication, the Denison Review fulfilling its subscription contracts. It
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was during this spring that W. A. Lamborn began his successful career as a Denison merchant.
In March, Prof. Holden visited Denison with his Seed Corn special and there is no doubt but that his coming gave renewed impetus and intelligent direction to the agricultural interests of the county.
The municipal election resulted in the choice of M. D. Wright, Julius Mahler and John Schnoor as members of the city council.
On the second day of April the county poor house was burned to the ground and the county was confronted with the problem of providing for its paupers else- where. This is being done up to the present time, although the new county home is now nearing completion.
E. C. Petersen, who had been the proprietor of the Hub Clothing store for several years, left this spring for Kansas City and his store was later sold to Huettmann Bros.
On April 20th, Prof. King came to Denison and gave exhibition of the work of the famous King Drag. There is no question but that this simply revolution- ized the road work of the county, and while its use is still much too limited, it has made good roads wherever used and has been worth thousands of dollars to the people of this county alone.
In June the results of the state census were made known. This census showed the county at the high tide of its prosperity. The population of the entire county was given as 20,981, and of the towns of the county as follows: Denison 3, 188, Manilla 795, Schleswig 425, Arion 194, Dow City 541, Vail 676, West Sde 449.
During the summer there were the following noteworthy events: Mr. Ivens sold his interest in the J. B. Romans Co. to Mr. Ed. Reimers; the Balle Broder- sen Co. moved into its new building, July 17th, George Menagh added a dry goods department to his growing store, the Review commenced the erection of its two story brick home, Mr. Menagh bought the Sievers building on Main street and added harness and hardware departments, the Nicholson Produce Co. enlarged its plant and removed to its present location near the Northwestern depot, Mr. John Schnoor sold his harness shop to Semann Bros. who established a harness factory, both the Review and the Bulletin installed Simplex type-setting ma- chines, and, late in the year, the hotel project was revived and plans made to carry it through.
1906.
There is no need to dilate upon the achievements of 1905, the simple narrative speaks for itself and 1906 proved to be its twin in accomplishment. Denison was progressive in the true sense of the word. A gas plant was proposed but after much talk, failed to materialize. The work of promoting the new hotel was pushed and to this was added the plan to build an opera house. Still later the hospital project was added. In March, 1906, a committee consisting of E. Gulick, J. B. Romans, C. L. Voss, Sears McHenry and George Naeve was appointed to solicit stock subscriptions. A number of prominent citizens subscribed $3,000 each for the three projects' and all the business men of the town did what they could to help. There was a veritable fever of giving and before the subscription Vol. I-15
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campaign was finished it seemed that all three of these improvements were in sight. In May, the Denison Improvement Company was formed with a capital of $75,000. The officers were George Naeve, President, E. Gulick, Vice Presi- dent, C. L. Voss, Secretary, and Sears McHenry, Treasurer. It was the purpose of the company to erect and operate a hotel and an opera house. It was decided to build the hotel first and the following building committee was appointed: E. Gulick, Chas. Tabor, George Naeve, W. J. Scriver, C. Gronau, Sears McHenry, and J. F. Glenn. Plans drawn by Architect E. L. Barber were accepted and the contract for the building was let to Mr. Chas. Christensen. He commenced work, August 9th, 1906, but it was not until September 30, 1908, that the hotel was opened under the management of Mr. Dunn to whom it had been leased. The desire to have the hotel the very finest of its kind led to large expenditures and this together with the panic of 1907 compelled the temporary abandonment of the opera house project. In the meantime however the Germania Verein had turned over the old opera house property to the new company, taking stock in payment, with the exception that the Improvement Company was to pay the in- debtedness of the Verein. The Verein was also to have the free use of the build- ing for opera house purposes until work on a new opera house was actually commenced. Later, through the efforts of Hon. J. P. Conner, the government appropriated $10,000 for the purchase of a site for a federal building. The old opera house site was selected and was sold to the government by the Improvement Company, together with adjacent land owned by Mr. J. T. Carey.
Under the management of Mr. Dunn the Hotel Denison achieved a great repu- tation but was managed on too large a scale to pay and after a year the lease was given up. The Improvement Company thereupon sold the building, fur- nished complete, to Mr. Thos. Nielsen, his brick hotel on Broadway, the Nielsen House, becoming the property of the Improvement Company. This has since been leased to Mr. A. Vanderwall and is operated as the Wilbur Hotel. While the hotel was sold to Mr. Nielsen for about $20,000 less than it cost the stock- holders are well satisfied, for Denison now has the finest hotel for a town of its size in the entire United States and it is under careful and successful manage- ment. Just how soon the Improvement Company will undertake the second part of its mission, that of erecting an opera house, cannot be stated. It will prob- ably not come about until the government begins active steps towards the erec- tion of a postoffice building when Denison will find itself confronted with the fact that it has no place for public gatherings. In the meantime The Denison Hospital Company was also formed with a capital of $15,000. The officers were B. Brodersen, President; Chas. Bullock, Vice President; U. G. Johnson, Secre- tary and T. J. Kelly, Treasurer. This company proceeded with the erection and furnishing of a hospital building. The contract was awarded to Mr. Chas. Christensen and work was commenced May 10th, 1906. The building was leased to Dr. and Mrs. J. M. Johnson who had already established a private hospital, and it was occupied February 16th, 1907. The hospital continued under their management until the present year when it was leased to Dr. W. W. Holmes. the present manager. The hospital is well equipped, and while it has paid no divi- dends, and none were expected, it has proven a great blessing not only to Denison
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