USA > Iowa > Dickinson County > History of Dickinson County, Iowa, together with an account of the Spirit Lake massacre, and the Indian troubles on the northwestern frontier > Part 31
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As before stated, Mr. Barkman obtained title to this June 10, 1865, but it was nearly five years after this his first survey and plat were made. This survey and plat covered but eighty aeres. The southeast one-fourth of the northwest one-fourth and the northeast one-fourth of the southwest one-fourth of
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SECURING THE TITLE
section 4, and was made by Emmet F. Hill some time in 1870. This plat had been filed but not recorded, and was lost at the burning of the courthouse in February, 1872. At the next term of court Mr. Barkman procured from the judge an order authorizing him to file for record a copy, the original having been destroyed, which was done.
Previous to proving up his claim, Mr. Barkman had prom- ised those having interests in the town site that in consideration of their not putting any obstacles in the way of his securing title, he would deed to them without further consideration the premises to which they laid claim or to which they were entitled. This part of the bargain was honestly kept, and those having buildings on the town site received title to the lots on which they were located. It was in fulfillment of this promise that the county received title to the block on which the courthouse is located, and the school district the one on which the schoolhouse stands.
Somehow the idea has gained credence of late that Mr. Barkman deeded the courthouse block to the county in consid- eration of being released from the old swamp land contract, of which he was one of the assignees, and that he be allowed to make a new contract whereby all of the swamp land should come to him. Now this is a mistake. The old swamp land contract had nothing to do with the title to the courthouse lot. Mr. Barkman had nothing to do with the town site when the courthouse was built, and it was not until after the town site was abandoned by its original projectors that he conceived the idea of proving it up as a private claim. He had not observed the details of the preemption law very carefully and had any determined opposition been made could not have proved up. and he was only too glad to agree to any reasonable proposi- tion that those living on the land to which he sought to perfect title saw fit to make. He had never lived on the land at all.
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There were others who had lived on it for years, and had any of them offered any serions opposition he could not have per- fected his title, and for that reason he promised to protect the rights of all parties, and to carry out the agreements previ- ously made by the original projectors relative to streets and public grounds, which promise was kept to the satisfaction of all concerned.
As before stated, Mr. Barkman proved up his claim on the tenth day of June, A. D. 1865, and the patent to the land issued April 2, 1866, but it was not until the summer of 1870 that the first survey and plat of the town site were made. Mr. Barkman, in deeding to those having prior interests in the town site, did not in all cases make his descriptions by lots and blocks, but deeded in patches of different dimensions describing them by metes and bounds. This accounts for so many additions, some of them being on ground covered by the original plat. The measurements of these tracts were often carelessly made, which has been a source of mneh perplexity in adjusting lines and corners and determining the rights of parties. As regards the southwest one-fourth of the northeast one-fourth of the sec- tion, Mr. Barkman never laid that out in lots and blocks at all, but sold it off in patches of from one to ten aeres. These tracts were afterwards laid out and platted by their respective owners as additions to the town. It was in this way that Rices, Crandalls, Whitloeks, Shrovers and the several other additions on that forty were made.
The military operations and defensive measures for the pro- tection of the frontier have been quite extensively noticed. After the withdrawal of the troops, in the summer of 1865, Spirit Lake as a town presented a sorry appearance. All of the original promoters of the enterprise had gradually aban- doned it, Mr. Parmenter being the last to go, and he left about 1865. No buildings had been put up since 1860, and some
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COMMENCING ANEW
that had been erected previously to that time were now moved to adjacent claims. The war was over. The life and excite- ment incident to military occupation gradually died out. 1 majority of the soldiers enlisting from here came back to their places, but many remained away permanently. It was like commeneing anew. About the first move made so far as the town site was concerned was the moving of the old Lake View House from the north end of the town to the present site of the Crandall House, by Mr. Wyckoff in 1866. He did not re- tain the ownership of it long, but soon sold it to Orlando Cran- dall, who thoroughly overhanled it and soon made it one of the best known and popular stopping places in this portion of the state.
It was about this time that George C. Bellows bought the old store which he moved to the present site of the Stevens Block and fitted up for a shoeshop. In December, 1868, R. A. Smith made an arrangement with Mr. Bellows whereby he put in a stock of goods in the front of the building, while Bel- lows conducted his shoe store and repair shop in the rear. R. 1. Smith was in business here until the fall of 1870. when he built a store at Milford and moved his stock down there. Mr. Bellows then occupied the entire building, where he continued in business for three or four years, but his health failing, he disposed of his goods, and the store was next occupied by II. C. Nims as a drugstore. This was the first drugstore in the county conducted by a competent druggist. There had been irregular dealers previous to this time, both in Spirit Lake and Milford, but they knew little or nothing of the business and soon threw it np.
Mr. Nims was succeeded by George Haskins of the firm of Haskins & Ballard, of Estherville. About this time the build- ing became the property of Mareus Snyder, and after Mr. Has- kins moved away, which was in 1876, he moved it up by the
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side of the old postoffice building to make room for the Beacon Bloek. Here Mr. Snyder opened up the first banking house in the county. He associated with him William M. Smith. since prominent in banking cireles, and commenced doing a regular banking business February 1, 1877. It will thus be seen that this little insignificant sixteen by twenty-four, one- story building has had transacted under its roof more business and more different kinds of business than usually falls to the lot of many more pretentious edifices, and in all the different lines it was the pioneer. It was the first general store; the first boot, shoe and leather store; the first drugstore, and the first bank in the county, and in each of these several lines the volume of business transacted was exceptionally large.
In the summer of 1869, Roscoe Brown built quite a roomy house and fitted up the front room as a restaurant, which he conducted for several months. It not proving profitable, he sold the building to A. W. Osborn, who moved it down town and fitted it up as a residence. Another of the early day build- ings was erected by Dan Bellows for saloon purposes, and was occupied several years that way, first by Bellows and later by E. P. Ring. It was afterwards bought by George Edwards, who moved it back to make room for the Minnie Waukon Hotel, which he built on the site, using the old saloon building for a dining room. The Minnie Waukon Hotel was built by Mr. Edwards in 1874. Later it came into possession of E. P. Ring, who completed it and opened it up to the public, his first advertisement appearing in the issue of the Beacon of March 30, 1876. The buildings erected at this time were most- ly of native lumber, although a great many loads of shingles. finishing lumber and siding were brought through from Man- kato, which was then the railroad terminus. The road was eon- tinned to St. James in 1870, and Le Mars in 1871.
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EARLY BUSINESS SCHEMES
It was in 1869 that the movement for taking homesteads on the prairie away from timber first set in. This has already been noticed. Simultaneously with that move came increased activity in the work of building up the town. One of the first and most important moves in that direction was the building of the old concrete store by Dan Stone on the northeast corner of Hill and Lake Streets. The work on the building commenced in 1870, and it was ready for occupancy the same fall. It was here that A. M. Johnson in 1870 commeneed his career as a merchant. Another of the more important buildings of 1870 was the one erected by E. Palmer and H. Barkman, after- wards known as the postoffice building. This was the most pretentious affair that. had been attempted up to that time. It was about twenty-four by fifty feet in size, and two stories high. Mr. Palmer put in a stock of hardware, in addition to which he handled agricultural implements. The Beacon print- ing press was at one time set up in the upper story. This building afterwards fell into the hands of Henry Baxter and is a part of the Baxter House.
The burning of the courthouse in February, 1872, has been noticed in the history of the county at large, also the rebuild- ing of it the following summer. It was about this time, or shortly after, that the school district erected a building south of the Crandall House and finished off the lower story in two schoolrooms, while the upper story was rented to the Masons and used by them for a lodge room. Several years later this building was moved to the schoolhouse lot and was fitted up and used for school purposes until 1883, when it was torn down to make room for the present structure.
The pioneer blacksmith shop of Spirit Lake was established by Jemerson & Chisholm, their first card appearing in the paper December 6, 1870. Others had been here previous to that time and made a show of starting in business, but they soon played
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out. Jemerson retired after the first year, his health failing. since which time Chisholm has continued the business in his own name.
The grasshopper invasion (1873 to 1877) has been quite extensively noticed. For the five years preceding this time the growth of the town was steady but not rapid. The depress- ing effects of that terrible scourge were fully as disastrous to the town as to the country, and the only wonder is that any one attempting to do business was able to pull through. In 1874 Mr. Johnson abandoned the old concrete and moved into the new store he had just erected on his lot opposite the court- house. Here he fitted up what was at that time the best equip- ped general store in this portion of the state. The necessity for more roomy quarters soon became apparent, and he met the emergency by erceting an addition the same size as the orig- inal on the north side of the building.
The next building of importance was erceted by Philip Doughty, during the summer of 1873. This was the largest and most imposing structure that had yet been attempted. It was sixty feet long, twenty-five feet wide and two stories high, with a basement full size of the building. The main building was finished off as a general store and occupied as such, first by Philip Doughty, then by J. A. Doughty and later by Palmer & Doughty. It was at this time known as the New York Store. Later still it came into possession of W. S. Beers. After his death it was occupied for several years by J. P. Calvin as the "Variety Store," and was at last moved away to make room for the Stevens Block. The basement was furnished and used for a time by E. P. Ring as a billiard room. It was afterwards fitted up and occupied as a residence, first by J. A. Donghty, and later by W. S. Beers. The upper story was for a time used as a public hall. It was afterwards rented to the Masons and used by them as a lodge room.
CHAPTER XXXV.
SPIRIT LAKE TOWN CONTINUED-THE EARLY MER- CHANTS-THE EARLY BUSINESS HOUSES GENER- ALLY-THE BEACON BLOCK-THE NEW CRAN- DALI. HOUSE-THE COMING OF THE RAILROADS- THE ROLLER SKATE CRAZE-INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN-THE FIRST OFFICERS THE NEW COURTHOUSE-THE FIRST BRICK BUILDINGS-THE STEVENS BLOCK-THE ELECTRIC LIGHTS-A. M. JOHNSON'S STORE-THE ROLLER MILL-THE COLD STORAGE PLANT.
N MAY, 1877, O. S. Jones and J. A. Ellis formed a part- nership for the general trade. Previous to this time each of them had been carrying on the grocery business "on his own hook." but now they consolidated and rin a general store. They started in the old Baxter concrete, but finding that too much to one side, they soon moved up on Ilill Street, and when the Beacon Block was completed in 1879, were the first to ocenpy the store rooms. They sold out in the spring of 1880 to F. W. Barron.
The fact that Snyder, Smith & Company started the first bank in the county has already been noticed. During the same summer B. B. Van Steenburg erected the small briek building on the north side of Hill Street, which he afterwards used as a home for his bank. His card first appears in the paper August 23, 1877. These two institutions had their origin in grasshopper times and grew up side by side, until finally, after many changes and vicissitudes, the Snyder, Smith & Company Bank became merged in the Dickinson County
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From a photograph In possession of J. F. Dare, taken about 1×76. SPIRIT LAKE.
Bank and the Van Steenburg Bank the First National Bank of Spirit Lake.
Dr. E. L. Brownell purchased the Willard property in 1887 and commenced practice that season, dividing his time between Spirit Lake and Jackson. Later he improved a building which had originally been erected as a granary by putting on an ad. dition and finished the whole off as a drugstore, where he com- menced business in the summer of 1878, his advertisement first appearing in the issue of August fifteenth of that year, and it is only natural to suppose that it has appeared in every issue since, and may be considered the pioneer druggist of the county, as those preceding him had but imperfect stocks and remained in business but a short time. The old Willard store he used as a dwelling house until he built his residence in the
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NEW IMPROVEMENTS
east part of town when the old store was torn down to make room for better improvements.
In the spring of 1877 T. J. Francis and. S. P. Middleton erected a blacksmith and machine shop, making a specialty of wagon work and repairing farm machinery.
A. L. Sawyer and P. S. Mott were the first to start in the livery business, beginning in 1874. They were succeeded by Johnston & Gilbert the following year, who in addition to the livery business, had the Spirit Lake and Sibley and the Spirit Lake and Worthington stage lines.
C. H. Ayers was the pioneer insurance worker, he commene- ing as early as 1872 or 1873. Previons to that time but little had been done in insurance and that little by outside parties. Mr. Ayers was at the same time doing quite a stroke of busi- ness in farm machinery. A. L. Sawyer was at the same time working insurance and farm machinery, part of the time in connection with Mr. Ayers and part of the time on his own account. By the way high freights and bad debts beat most of the carly dealers in farm machinery.
After Mr. Bellows retired, Sam Campbell carried on the boot and shoe business. J. F. Dare was the pioneer furniture man and the first in the undertaking business. Fred Phippin was the first in the harness business, he having started a shop in 1878, and has stuck to it ever since when his health would permit. Varions other business schemes were inaugurated about this time, but most of them were short-lived.
During the early days the legal profession was represented first by Orson Rice, who commenced practice as early as 1864, R. L. Wilcox in 1869, A. W. Osborne in 1870, J. W. Cory in 1874 and W. IT. Bailey a few years later. There were others, but they came later or remained but a short time and can hardly be said to have worked up a practice.
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The papers of this period mention several other business schemes and enterprises of minor importance, which have not been noticed in detail, which, though not very important in and of themselves, help to make up the sum total of the limited business that was possible under adverse cirumstances.
Of course as the business increased, better buildings were required. The Beacon Block was erected in 1879 by II. L. Owens, and was calculated to be a little ahead of anything that had preceded it. There were three business rooms ou the ground floor, one of which was occupied by the Beacon office and the other two were finished off as store rooms, and were first occupied by Jones & Ellis as a general dry goods store. The upper story was finished off as a music hall and opera house, and at that time answered very well the purpose for which it was intended. The building was known as the Beacon Block by reason of an arrangement made by Mr. Owen and the Beacon proprietors whereby the Beacon was to have per- manent quarters in the building, and it was the desire of Mr. Owen that it should be called the Beacon Block. This arrange- ment remained in force until after Mr. Owen disposed of the property and the Beacon had secured quarters of its own. The Immilding was shortlived and was torn down in 1893 to make room for the Stevens Block.
The old Crandall House, the hotel of the pioneer days, was in 1880 moved back to make room for the present structure, Mr. C'randall having become interested in making improve- ments at the north side of the lake, the hotel property in town fell into the hands of T. L. Twiford, who moved back the old building and erected the new one on the same site. It was opened to the public in the spring of 1881. The old building being afterward torn down. Since the above was written the C'randall House has been torn down and the site cleared up preparatory to building a modern, first-class hotel, to cost abont
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OTHER ENTERPRISES
$40,000. This enterprise is being managed by Mr. J. Bur- mister.
In 1882 B. B. Van Steenburg and George Baxter erected the double building on the north side of west Lake Street and Van Steenburg moved his bank into the east room of the build- ing, while the other was finished off as a drugstore. There were also other business buildings, together with numerous resi- dences, but they cannot be noticed in detail.
The census of 1880 was the first in which the population was returned separate from the township at large. That can- sus showed the population of the town to be 277. The Bur- lington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad was built into Spirit Lake in July, 1882, and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul the following spring. Of course, from this time on things were changed. Each of the roads built commodious depots and stockvards, and warehouses and elevators were added when needed.
Two lumber yards had been started in anticipation of the completion of the roads, one by F. W. Barron and the other by D. L. Riley, both of which did a rushing business. Many new buildings were erected, both residences and business blocks. Indeed, there seems to have been a craze for business buildings, and more were erected, as it later proved, than were needed for the legitimate business of the town. The better ones and those in the more desirable locations were used in the business for which they were intended, but some of the cheaper ones have never been used at all except temporarily for store rooms, or something of that nature.
Many new firms appeared in the advertising columns of the paper in 1882 and 1883. J. A. Ellis about that time built what has since been known as the Dimond Store, and started again in business, but before he was fairly settled, he sold out his store and stock to John Dimond and soon afterward moved to
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DICKINSON COUNTY - IOWA
Milford. Henry Baxter bought the old postoffice building and. one or two others and moved them together, and out of the combination he constructed the Baxter House, which under his management achieved a good reputation and was liberally patronized.
About June 1, 1882, the Lake Park House, by R. P. and D. E. Lombard, was thrown open to the public. This was in times of high water, and the lake shore and boat landing there was supposed to be all that could be desired.
About this time the roller skate craze struck the town and everybody skated. Two capacious skating rinks were built, the first one down by the lake near the bridge and the other just north of the Minnie Waukon Hotel. The craze lasted a year or two when it died out entirely. The rink down by the lake was afterwards converted into a boat house, while the other one was torn down and the material used in the construction of a warehouse near the Burlington track.
The Beacon of December 29, 1882, in giving a summary of the improvements in town for the year, enumerates a list of one hundred and seventeen buildings erected or remodeled at a cost of nearly $110,000. In the course of the article it has the following: "We find that more than $28,000 have been invested in business houses, about $12,000 in hotel structures and upwards of $50,000 have been put into residences within the corporation."
By the census of. 1885 the population was shown to be 751. Most of the increase came in 1882 and 1883. Indeed, most of the increase from 1880 to 1890 was in those two years. The census of 1890 showed a population of 782. This was dis- appointing, as it was but a small increase on that of five years before. Residences had gradually multiplied and it was sup- posed that the population had increased accordingly. That it did not is explained by the fact that the boom following the
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TOWN INCORPORATED
building of the railroads brought in a large number of me- chanies and transients generally, who were here just in time to be enumerated and left soon after. The town was incor- porated in October, 1879, and the following officers elected : Mayor, A. B. Funk; Recorder, W. F. Pillsbury; Trustees, A. M. Johnson, J. A. Doughty, W. H. Bailey, T. L. Twiford. J. T. Whitlock, Henry Baxter. The mayors since that time have been : J. A. Doughty, J. W. Cory, B. B. Van Steenburg, Silas Northey, A. W. Osborne, E. M. Betzer, E. D. Carlton, J. B. Stair, A. F. Bergman, J. A. Arnold, William Hayward. The present officers are: Mayor, A. W. Osborne; Recorder, George F. Buck; Assessor, H. Van Steenburg; Trustees, S. L. Pillsbury, Leroy Davis, C. II. Stone, J. C. Davis, Marcus Sny- der, A. Hurd.
In September, 1889, the question of issuing bonds to the amount of $15,000 for building a new courthouse was submit- ted to a vote of the electors of the county, and carried by a fair majority, but there being some informality in the notice for the election, it was decided void by the court, but upon a sec- ond submission the previous vote was ratified by an increased majority, and the courthouse was built the following season. At that time it was considered the finest one in this judicial district. Larger and more expensive ones have since been built in neighboring counties, but none better in proportion to the cost. Many fine residences were erected and the appearance . of the town was improved more than its growth in population would imply. In 1883 the old frame rattletrap which had gone by the name of a schoolhouse was torn down and in its place the present commodious structure was erceted.
While the courthouse, schoolhouse and Methodist Church were of briek, there were as yet no business blocks of that ina- terial. The first one to be erected was by E. M. Betzer, on the northeast corner of Hill and Lake Streets. Since that
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DICKINSON COUNTY - IOWA
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THIE SPIRIT LAKE COURTHOUSE.
time this block has been occupied by H. A. Miller, Jr., as a general store. About the same time E. L. Brownell, in con- neetion with the Dickinson Bank, made substantial improve- ments on the southwest corner of the same streets. Indeed, Mr. Betzer and Mr. Brownell were the pioneers in starting the boom for better buildings and after it was once started others were quick to fall in. In 1893 B. F. Stevens, of St. Louis, who had previously erected a large cottage in the north part of town, decided to build a brick block on a more exten- sive and expensive seale than any of his predecessors. In pur- suance of this plan he decided on the northwest corner of Ilill
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THE STEVENS BLOCK
and Lake Streets as being best suited for his use. The Beacon of February third has the following :
"Stephen Stevens, for his brother B. F. Stevens, of St. Louis, yesterday secured options for the purchase of the prop- orties at the corner of Lake and Hill Streets, owned by Mrs. Abbie Rice, Marens Snyder, William Hayward, F. F. Phip- pin and Mr. Ashby. This is a step preliminary to the erection of a solid brick block that shall cover the entire plat."
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