USA > Iowa > Crawford County > History of Crawford County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 49
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C. & N. W. Bridge
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High Water Scene
C. & N. W. and I. C. Depots
Methodist Episcopal Church
Baptist Church
DOW CITY VIEWS
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it had ever boasted. Writing of the old settlers, the well beloved correspondent, G. C. Lawson, has this to say concerning Judge Dow :
"In the summer of '55 a number of men might have been seen busily employed in mowing the deep, rich, luxuriant grass where Dowville now stands. Never before had grass in this vicinity been cut by pale faces. A little above where the men were mowing was a small cabin, fourteen feet long by twelve feet wide. We will take a look at the cabin and its occupants. As we approach we per- ceive that the cabin had two small holes left in the sides as a substitute for win- dows; these apertures filled the bill. On one end was a mud chimney, in genu- ine frontier style. We enter the cabin and find that the occupants are a lady and a sweet little girl; the lady is seated on a stool and weeping. As she looks up we perceive that she is a lady of more than ordinary intelligence. She has been alone for a short time and has been taking a retrospective view of the happy past and also a prospective view into the unknown future. She tells us she has just arrived and wonders why Providence should be so cruel as to bring her from a comfortable home to such a dismal region as this. While she is speaking, her husband enters bearing in his hand a cup of water from a spring which he had discovered and which he said was one of the strongest veins of water he had ever seen. He presents the cup to his wife to taste the clear water, but instead of drinking she gives vent to her full heart by a flood of tears. Her husband, who is a man devoted to his family and full of never failing energy, endeavors to cheer and comfort his despairing partner. He speaks of the richness of this beautiful valley and with a prophetic eye he looks forward a few years and tells her that although Crawford county is in the far west it will soon be in the center of this great country. He tells her that she will yet see a town on that very farm and the iron horse will travel up and down the Boyer valley. But all was of no avail; she still wept. Could this lady have seen through the future to the present time (May 6, 1874) she would have seen the hand of God had led her husband there. If she could have seen the many hearts which would be filled with gratitude by the kindness of herself and husband, if she could have had but a moment's peep at the year 1874 she would have exclaimed :
Deep in unfathomable mines, of never failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs, and works his sovereign will.
"The industrious and energetic husband soon has a new log cabin erected, of large dimensions. Another link is added to make the place more attractive by the advent of a little baby boy. Winter comes early but it finds the husband pre- pared ; the house is full of all necessaries. There are many who remember this terrible winter which is said to have been the coldest in the memory of the old- est inhabitants. Many settlers were not prepared when the winter came upon them and their sufferings were great."
Mr. S. E. Dow was born in Hopkinson, New Hampshire, April 17, 1821, of sturdy New England stock from whom he inherited those sturdy traits of char- acter which helped him throughout his entire life. In his early manhood he went with his father's family to Michigan, and he was married in western New York on the 28th day of October, 1846, to the lady who survives him. To them four children were born, of whom two sons survive, S. A. and W. E., one daughter,
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Mrs. Abner Graves, dying a few years before her father, and one child dying in infancy.
During the season of 1854, Mr. Dow started to go to California, but on reaching Council Bluffs, he concluded that the prairies of Iowa were good enough for any one. He returned as far as Harris grove, in Harrison county, where he spent the winter, coming to Crawford county the year following. Here he se- lected a beautiful tract of land, which he so long occupied, beginning immedi- ately to improve and build a home for himself and family. This proved the nu- cleus around which grew the settlement of Crawford, later Dowville, and now Dow City. He was elected county judge and county treasurer and held many minor local offices. The one that he appreciated most was that he was the first postmaster of Crawford. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Dow was noted for its hospitality. When so many of the settlers needed assistance they always found it, and a cordial welcome awaiting them at the Dow home. On the establish- ยท ment of the station on the Northwestern railway, Mr. Dow began business form- ing a partnership with Mr. Abner Graves, his son-in-law. For many years this was the leading business concern of the western part of the county. Financial reverses came and Mr. Dow was reduced from affluence to comparative poverty, but he never lost the good will, esteem, and confidence of his neighbors, and no man has held a more honored position among those who knew him best. His later years were spent in retirement, although he continued to take an active in- terest in the affairs of the community and his judgment was respected by all. Mr. Dow died October 30, 1906, at his home at Dow City. Impressive funeral services were held, people from all parts of the county being in attendance. What Thomas Dobson was to Deloit, what J. W. Denison was to Denison, S. E. Dow was to Dow City-the founder and the constant friend.
In September, 1855, S. J. Comfort settled on section 5, and erected a little cabin home in which that well known family began life in Union township. Speaking of the early days, Mrs. Bruner says deer, wolves and wild turkeys came to our very door. I well remember a herd of eleven deer that came to the door when there was no one at home but Mother and us children. Mother took the shot gun, putting the muzzle in the crack in the chinking, and fired at them. They bounded away through the tall grass, making a very pretty sight. My old- est sister declared my Mother shut her eyes when she fired for fear she would hit one. We children imagined every one we saw coming was an Indian, and Mother used to fear we would get lost in the tall grass when we went for the cows, for the grass on the bottoms was higher than our heads. In the spring of '56 my father sowed a small patch of wheat on Robt. Butterworth's land, our own land still being wild prairie. Thus we had wheat bread for the following year, the wheat we had raised in Harrison county in '55 having burned in a prairie fire. Corn bread had ceased to be a luxury. Later the supply of flour ran very low, but my sister kept a teacup full so she could say we were never out of flour.
In the summer the breaking plow was kept busy and my father set up a forge where he sharpened the lays and did what blacksmithing the neighborhood re- quired. We raised some sod corn and pumpkins. December of 1856 brought the first blizzard of that year and every old settler well remembers the severity
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of that winter when deer and elk starved to death and some were eaten alive by the wolves.
I remember that winter that Mr. Dow and my father each took a sack full of buckwheat, loaded them on a large home-made handsled and hauled it to the ridge road, where John Vore took it to the mill for them, the bottom roads being being impassible for a team. In March '57, they took this same hand sled, put in a tongue long enough to hitch a horse to and with a boot box for a seat drove to Council Bluffs for groceries, as our supply was almost exhausted. In 1856, B. B. Bishop came with his wife, daughter and mother. He settled on section 19, where he remained until his death. Wm. Wilke settled on the present site of Arion in this year. He remained a few years and then returned to his native Scotland. Henry Lyman, came in '56, living in a cabin in North Grove, after which he moved into Boyer township. Samuel and David Young also came in the fall of this year. They settled on section 17, at which place Samuel built him a home and spent the remainder of his life. 1857 witnessed the coming of a number of new settlers. James Welsh, settling on section 7, with his wife, three daughters, and his wife's sister, Rebeccah Richardson. Lucius Brett set- tled on the Martin Conroy place, with his wife and three daughters, remaining a year and then returning to Illinois. June 8, 1857, Levi Noll, settled at North Grove, staying for a time and then returning to Ohio. Samuel and Alexander Patton also settled at North Grove in 1857. Barney Hinsdale and wife came in 1858 living on section 31.
C. F. Buss, one of the prominent and best beloved citizens of Union town- ship today, first bought land in Crawford county in 1854, but he did not make this his permanent home until 1859, when he settled on his farm, section 7 and 18, built a log cabin and remained with us through all the years, although the log cabin has long since been outgrown.
The first school in the township was taught in the summer of 1858, in a log house standing in section 9. The teacher was Miss Elizabeth Kenedy, daugh- ter of Chas. Kenedy.
The school fund commissioner, I. B. Goodrich, appointed H. C. Laub and Morris McHenry to examine her as to her qualifications as a teacher. This school was taught in the spring and in June there was a great freshet. The only bridge in the vicinity was swept away. The teacher and one scholar were on one side of the river and the other eight of us on the opposite bank. We were used to hardships, however, and my father soon had a boat built. The scholars all came to our house and father rowed us over the river night and morning.
"The first sermon was preached in '57, by Wm. Black at the home of S. J. Comfort. The first bridge over the Boyer, in this township, was built by Com- fort and Dow with the assistance of a few days' work by some of the neighbors. This bridge was built in February and March, 1856. It was struck by a cyclone the following May, and damaged to some extent, but soon repaired. It was swept away in the freshet of June, 1858. This bridge was located near the cor- ners of sections 4 and 5, 8 and 9, on land belonging to S. J. Comfort. Don Butler, son of James M. and Catherine Butler, was the first white child born in the township. The first election held in the township, was in a log house in section 32, then and now owned by Reuben Vore.
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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
The year of 1860 brought to our midst, James Balentine, and Geo. Bird. They moved on a piece of land owned by Mr. Dow, in section 9 at which place they resided until '67. In 1861 James Foster with his wife and three children came and settled in Sec. 7. He was a blacksmith, he set up shop and worked at his trade for several years, then moved to Woodbine. We had very few new settlers during the years of the war. In '62, Thos. Binnal came to us from Shelby county. He with his family, settled at North Grove. In the year of '63, Sandlander Bell moved from Paradise township into Union, he having resided just across the line since 1856. He was one of us all these years. S. J. Comfort came back to his farm from Denison where he had been living in order to send his children to school. This year did not bring us any new settlers, the war being the absorbing theme, but if we did not have any newcomers, we had what we prized very highly and that was school houses. There were three built in the township this year, one in Sec. 4, one in Sec. 9 and the other in Sec. 31. We had preaching during this summer in the school house in Sec. 4, the first we had since the December of '57. The year of '64, was kinder than those preceding it. This year came John Pett with his wife and eight children, and his wife's mother. They settled at North Grove, where he lived four years, then bought and moved to his present home in Sec. 26. This year also brought us John Rolls and family, father of our John Rolls. He lived at North Grove for a time.
So far as I can ascertain all that came to our township during 1864, settled temporarily at North Grove, for C. B. Whaley, came there this year making his home with his sister, Mrs. Vore, and taught school over the line in Shelby county, settling in Sec. 5 in '67.
The year of '65, being the close of the war, settlers were more plentiful. Martin Talcott came with his family, settling in Sec. 7. Adam Dosier settled in Sec. 16, where his wife and children still reside. Louis Scliwab came with his wife and three children. He settled in Sec. 16, the farm now owned by Joseph Dosier. J. H. Woodruff also came, leaving the school room for the farm and settling in Sec. 31. During this year Frank Thompson, was brought by his grandfather to the home of John Rolls where he made his future home. The Hon. George Rae, came to us in the fall of 1865, bringing his wife and making his permanent settlement in '67, in Sec. 2, his present home. Joseph Ahart, came in '66. As his family was small consisting of his wife and one child, and his household goods meager, he loaded them and the baby on a wheel barrow and wheeled them from Boone to this township, himself and wife walking. He settled in Sec. 16. Orville Woods came this year with his family, this being the year that the N. W. R. R. was built ; he settled in the section house, boarding the section men until he moved onto his farm in Sec. 35. There was a stage line established from the end of the R. R. route to Council Bluffs, a telegraph line was built, and altogether we were coming in touch with the outside world. The following year, Benjamin Wilder came with his wife and three children and commenced life in the west in Sec. I, as did Frank and Solomon Gibson. They settled on the farm now owned by L. A. Vore in Sec. 7. Here they enjoyed all the freedom of bachelorhood for a year, at the end of which time Solomon decided it was not good for man to be alone so he hied him away to Canada, his
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native place, and procured him a help-mate and subsequently moved to their present home in the same Section.
This same year Thomas Rae came and settled in section 3. He brought with him his wife and one child. We gladly welcomed Mr. Rae to our midst and have kept on welcoming him ever since. He still lives in Sec. 3, where you will receive a hearty greeting if you pass that way. Peter Martin and wife came in '69, they stayed at the home of S. Gibson for a time and then moved to North Grove and subsequently went west. Wm. Scott brought his wife and seven children and settled among us this year. His abiding place was on a tract of land owned by Mr. Dow, in section 4. Here the children were reared to manhood and womanhood and went out to homes of their own. R. M. Smith and R. F. McMeans bought 160 acres of land of S. J. Comfort in sec- tions 4 and 9 and moved their families here during the summer, Mr. Com- fort moved to Denison. Mr. Smith was familiarly known as Budd Smith. The G. A. R. post of this place being named for him. G. W. Huntington came this year bringing his wife and one child and settled in section 5. This brings us down to the year 1870.
The coming of George Rae in 1866, was an event worthy of more than pass- ing notice, as Mr. Rae became one of the most prominent citizens of West Crawford, and was in every respect an ideal citizen.
George Rae was born in the Parish of Kings Kettle in Fife county, Scotland. January, 1840. He was educated in the village school, and was soon taught the art of weaving, which was the chief occupation of the valley in which he was born. He emigrated to America in 1861, and landed at Montreal. He then went to Saco, Maine, where he obtained a good position in the Pepperill mills of Biddleford, just across the river. After four years in Maine, he started West to see the country, going especially to look for land in Illinois and Missouri. He travelled nearly across the state of Missouri on foot, but this region did not measure up to his expectations, and having heard glowing accounts of Iowa, he proceeded Northwest, where he found employment with T. A. Dennis, a large land owner, who had contracts to supply heavy timber for the completing of the railroad. Mr. Rae's ability soon secured him a good position with Mr. Dennis. Among the workers at the saw mill, was a Mr. Henderson from up the Boyer in Crawford county, who was always extolling the fertility of the Boyer valley. In the winter of '65, Mr. Rae came with Mr. Henderson to see this wonderful valley, and he soon concluded that it was the best part of the west which he had seen. He stopped temporarily at the Bell home, where Mr. Butler a neighbor, soon heard of his presence. They were anxious to obtain a teacher for their new school house and they engaged the new comer. In 1866, Mr. Rae secured some land, made arrangements for breaking a part of it, and then returned to Harrison county where work was plenty. In the summer he returned to the Boyer Valley, had a 16 x 16 cabin built, and in November of the same year, returned to Saco, Maine, where he was married to Miss Jean Wilson. Their wedding tour was a trip from Maine to Iowa. They arranged to get passage on a construction train west from Boone, and were the first pass- engers to arrive by railroad, at what is now Dow City. They were received with great cordiality by the neighbors, and commenced housekeeping in their
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new home, December 6, 1866. Mr. Rae taught school in the winter and worked his farm during the summer months. He was very successful as a farmer and soon increased his holdings to 200 acres. He soon became prominent in all the affairs of the settlement. He was justice of the peace, a member of the board of supervisors, a member of the 16th general assembly serving while John Gear was speaker, he had assignments on many of the important com- mittees, and was a factor in the legislature of that year. His room-mate while at Des Moines, was Gifford Robinson, later one of the Supreme Judges of Iowa, and at present a member of the Iowa board of control.
Mr. Rae was a member of the first board of directors of the independent school district of Dow City, was a charter member of the Methodist church, in the management of which he took a leading part, and was a Free Mason, re- ceiving his degrees in the lodge at Saco, Maine. Mrs. Rae died July 12, 1904. Mr. George Rae died Jan. 19, 1907. Both of them were genuinely and univers- ally mourned by the people of Union township and the entire community.
Mr. Thos. Rae, brother of Geo. Rae, who is to-day one of the best known citizens of Crawford, writes us a description of the neighborhood when he first saw it in the spring of 1867. Mr. Rae says, "Between my home and Denison was the Butler farm and the Corbin farm at the saw mill site near Denison. There were few bridges, but many good fords. Where the creeks could not be forded, travelers were forced to go around to the head of the stream on to the ridge. thus beginning the ridge roads for which the county is famous. The only feasible route from Denison to Council Bluffs was by following the Divide, making a long road. These roads were but paths, or trails, leading in the most direct way between different homes. The scenery in the valley was very beau- tiful. Vegetation was luxurious, and the rolling prairie made a pretty sight. Outside of the few houses in the Paradise valley, there was nothing to be seen but open prairie, north, west and east, as far as the eye could reach. Across the valley to the south, were the homes of several settlers. One of the first houses to break this sweep of unbroken prairie, was that erected by a colored man named Grant, who erected a small cabin on the Upper Willow. On my first trip to Denison," continues Mr. Rae, "in order to make a few purchases and mail some letters, I found only a few straggling houses in the village. Mr. Laub had a little store building, with his family living in the back room. The post master then was Elmer Howe, who also kept a few groceries. Howe's building was completely destroyed by fire one very cold day in January, 1867. The most prominent man in Denison at that time after Mr. Laub, was A. D. Molony.
"The first pleasant Sunday after our arrival we drove to Denison to attend church services and heard J. W. Denison preach in the court house. The Bap- tists and Methodists holding services on alternate Sundays.
"Postal facilities were limited, and our first rural delivery was introduced by Jack Bell, who went to Denison an average of three times every two weeks, bringing back the mail for the entire neighborhood as an act of friendship.
"Mr. Rae gives us a list of the families living in south west Crawford in 1867; beginning with Mr. Coburn, who lived near the saw mill by the bridge on what is now the Balle farm, there followed Isaac Seabury, James Butler,
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Joseph Ahart, Uncle Bell, S. J. Comfort, James Welch, C. F. Buss, Hiram Ernest, S. E. Wright and the Dunham family. Coming up on the south side of the river, Cornelius Dunham, John and Reuben Vore, Sam'l Young, Dan'l Haworth, Wm. Jordan, Ben Bishop, Harry Bishop, Wm. Henderson, Cyrus Whittenmore, John Pett, S. E. Dow, John Rudd, A. F. Rudd, Reuben Strong, G. W. Jordan, who came from Maine in 1866, Joseph Woodruff and Chas. Whaley."
"Joseph Hallowell arrived in the summer of '67, from McGregor, Iowa. The timbers for Mr. Hallowell's house were hauled from the Missouri bottoms from a saw mill at the mouth of the Soldier river. James Ballentine was a renter on Mr. Dow's farm. Philetus Haverland and Al. Marshall came from Illinois in '67, camping by the river until their houses were built. This list contains every family residing within this territory, beginning at the gravel pit near Den- ison and extending down the river almost to Dunlap.
"Another character which should be added to the list is Wm. Wallace, who came in the spring of '67, living until 1881, on an 80 acre farm where Belltown is now located. He was a man of more than average ability, and will be well remembered by the early settlers."
Messrs. Dow, Comfort, Buss and Butler, may be named as the foremost settlers prior to the war. Of these, Mr. C. F. Buss is the sole survivor. Sam'l Young was a mechanic as well as a farmer and was the builder of the first three frame school houses put up in western Crawford. His fame as a good workman lasts until this day. The Bells were also strong factors in the early settlement and held a very warm place in the hearts of the community. James, the oldest son, built some of the first bridges in the county, cutting the logs, hewing the timbers for bents and mortising them, hewing upper side of logs for strings and, until the saw mill was started in Galland's grove, splitting the logs for plank for the bridge floors. Uncle Edmund Howorth is one of the old guard of '55, known and loved by all. John R. Rudd is still hale and hearty and one most worthy of mention.
The coming of the railroad revolutionized this part of the country as it did all of the West. A station was put in at a point about ten miles south west of Denison and this was called Crawford, the town lots being laid out in October, 1869. The new town was soon re-christened Dowville, in honor of Mr. and Mrs. S. E. Dow, and the Review of January 1, 1870, tells us of the beautiful plat of the new town of Dowville which Mr. Graves had handsomely framed. The railroad station rapidly drew other enterprises and Dowville became a lively little village. In August, 1871, we find record of a district meeting at which 300 were present. In September the school house was built 24 by 36, in size. In November the population of Union township is given as 98 males and 87 females. It must be remembered, however, that Union was the second town- ship formed in Crawford county and that it comprised what are now Union, Washington, Nishnabotny, and Iowa townships. That there was still some misunderstanding as to the name is shown by the fact that the papers speak of a Christmas gathering at the home of A. Wiggins of Crawford. This was in 1871.
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November 14, 1872, we find a reference to the annual meeting of the Dow- ville Cemetery Association. This association is one in which Dow City has taken much pride and interest until it has become the model cemetery of the county. Again we requisition Mr. Thomas Rae for information. He tells us that the cemetery association was organized at a meeting of citizens January 29, 1870. This meeting was held at the Dowville school house. James Bell, Chairman ; R. M. Smith, Sec'y ; S. E. Dow generously donated two acres of ground which were gratefully accepted. A committee consisting of Jos. Hallowell, Geo. Rae, James Bell, S. Young, S. Bell, drew up articles of incorporation, which were adopted February 5, 1870. We give the list of charter members of this asso- ciation because it gives the names of practically all those identified with the community at that time. They were as follows: Jos. Hallowell, R. M. Smith, C. B. Whaley, James Bell, S. Bell, Robt Bell, Geo. Rae, Benj. Wlider, Erin Hawley, Wm. Wallace, S. Young B. W. Talcott A. F. Rudd, W. Shaffer, Thos. Rae, E. L. Hammond, S. M. Graham, G. V. Jordan Peter Martin, H. Bowering, Martin Talcott, H. E. Talcott, R. D. Butterworth, J. C. Kuykendall, John Runkey, Silas Hoffman, G. C. Lawson, S. E. Dow and J. R. Rudd.
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