USA > Iowa > Floyd County > History of Floyd County, Iowa : together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 52
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May 15, 1856, in answer to a memorial of the General Assembly of the State of Iowa, a grant of land was made to said State to aid in the construction of three of the four railroads named in said memorial. That one of the railroads, to wit, that from McGregor westward, named in said memorial of the General Assembly of lowa, was omitted from or left out of the said grant. That the " route of said railroad from McGregor westward, would follow very nearly the forty-third parallel of north lattitude, and would com- mence at a point at least eighty miles north of Dubuque, by the course of the Mississippi River, and in its entire length would traverse a line about forty miles north of that of the Dubuque & Sioux City Railroad.
That, in our opinion, a great portion of the northwestern part of the State of Iowa, and the southwestern portion of the State of Minnesota, must remain for a long time unsettled, unless encour- aged by railroad facilities. That it is believed that the granting of alternate sections of land to this State under proper restrictions, for the purpose of aiding in the construction of the railroad above mentioned, will have a direct tendency to promote, not only the best interests of the State of Iowa and Minnesota, but of the General Government. Therefore,
Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Iowa, That our Senators in Congress are hereby instructed, and our Repre- sentatives requested, to use their best endeavors to procure the passage of a law granting to the State of Iowa alternate sections of land along the line of the proposed railroad, to an equal extent and under like privileges and restrictions with the grants made to the said other railroads of Iowa, by said act of May 15, 1856, exempting and excepting all lands heret fore granted by Congress to the State of Iowa, or claimed by actual settlers, to-wit : Com- mencing at McGregor, on the west bank of the Mississippi River, thence running westward on or near the forty-third parallel of north latitude, to a point in the western bounds of Iowa between Sergeant's Bluffs and the north boundary of the State, and that the lands likely to be within the scope of the applied-for grant, now for sale, be immediately withdrawn from market; and wherever the lands are not in market, the same be withheld from sale until suffi- cient time shall have expired for the particular location of this rail- road, and the selecting of the lands to be conveyed in said grant.
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Resolved, That the Secretary of State be, and he is hereby in- structed to forward a copy of the foregoing memorial and resolu- tions to each of the Senators and Representatives in Congress, to the Secretary of the Interior and to the Commissioner of the Gen- eral Land Office.
JACOB BUTLER, Speaker of the House of Representatives. ENOCH W. EASTMAN, President of the Senate. W. M. STONE, Governor.
Approved March 8, 1864.
OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF STATE.
I, James Wright, Secretary of State of the State of Iowa, hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the original roll on file in my office.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand
[L. S.] and affixed the Great Seal of the State of Iowa.
Done at Des Moines, this 9th day of March, A. D. 1864.
JAMES WRIGHT, Secretary of State.
This memorial received favorable action on the part of Congress. During the progress of the memorial through the two branches of the General Assembly, Mr. Hildreth was in constant correspond- ence with the Iowa delegation in Congress, and after its passage, Hon. James Wright, then Secretary of State, printed the memo- rial in neat pamphlet form and mailed a copy to every member of both Houses of Congress, as provided in the closing resolution. Hon. James Harlan, then a Senator from Iowa, in obedience to in- struction given in the memorial, introduced a bill in Congress, pro- viding for a land grant, as prayed for, to aid in the construction of a railroad from McGregor westward, on or near the forty-third parallel of north latitude to a point on the Missouri River between Sergeant's Bluffs and the northern boundary of Iowa. The bill gave every alternate section of public land, de ignated by odd numbers, to the amount of five alternate sections per mile on each side of the said railroad. . If this amount of land could not be found along the line of the road, then it should be the duty of the Secre- tary of the Interior to select in alternate sections or parts of sec- tions, from the public lands of the United States, nearest to the tiers of sections above specified, so much public land of the United
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HISTORY OF FLOYD COUNTY.
States as should be equal in amount to such lands as the United States had sold or otherwise appropriated. It provided that the lands should in no case be located further than twenty miles from the road. The bill passed both Houses of Congress, and was ap- proved by President Lincoln, May 12, 1864.
In June, 1865, there was a reorganization of the McGregor West- ern Railroad Company, or rather a new company was formed, and all the rights, franchises and property of the old company were transferred to the new one. The new organization had for its offic- ers, George Green for President ; H. H. Boody, Vice-President ; and H. B. Whitehouse, Secretary. These, with William B. Ogden, John M. Brink, D. Hammers, F. Andros, William Green, and John Lawler, were constituted the Board of Directors.
The land grant soon became a bone of contention and strife be- tween different parties having different interests. The course taken by the new company, under the leadership of George Green, illus- trates that passage of scripture which states that "another king arose who knew not Joseph." Green proposed to run the railroad from McGregor to St. Paul, and leave Chickasaw, Floyd, and the counties west of them out in the cold. But before disclosing this treachery he desired to make a big grab or steal of the land grant. The law of Congress provided that when fifty miles of the Mc- Gregor Western road were completed a certain portion of the lands should be certified to the company by the Governor of Iowa. But not half that number of miles of the road had been completed when President Green began to intrigue with Governor Stone, of Iowa, to secure these lands, with no intention of ever building the road west of Calmar, in Winneshiek County, but intending, after ob- taining the lands, to build the road from there to St. Paul, as was afterward done.
To defeat this chicanery, concocted by Green and Stone, the most vigilant and active efforts were put forth. The plot was discovered by Senator Patterson, of Charles City, while at Des Moines, by the merest accident. He at once notified his friends at home of the game those two conspirators were playing, and remonstrances and legal arguments, addressed to Hon. James Harlan, then Sec- retary of the Interior, at Washington, were prepared, signed, and forwarded with the utmost promptness. When President Green arrived at Washington with his certificate from Governor Stone, he found Mr. Harlan prepared for him, and he did not get the lands.
"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." Hardly had the
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HISTORY OF FLOYD COUNTY.
Floyd County people defeated one conspiracy before they found another set up against them. During the session of the General Assembly of 1868 the munificent grant of lands made by Congress for the railroad west from McGregor was sought by a new party, organized and called the Forty-third Parallel Railroad Company. For some months before the session, men had been active in laying schemes to obtain the grant. These men were interested in secur- ing a railroad from McGregor by way of Clermont, West Union, Bradford, Clarksville, etc. The West Union people contributed $3,000, Clermont $1,500, certain men in Clayton County $1,600, and other localities smaller sums, all to influence legislation in favor of the West Union line. Lobby members by scores attended the session of the General Assembly from the beginning.
To resist successfully this powerful West Union influence seemed like hoping against hope. However, something must be done. A public meeting was held at Charles City, and Milo Gilbert and E. C. Chapin were appointed to represent the interests of Floyd County at Des Moines. They were ably assisted by General John Lawler and one or more railroad capitalists from New York City ; and the result was that a law was passed giving the land grant to the McGregor & Sioux City Railroad Company, and requiring them to build the road within one mile of the county seats of the several counties through which the road was to pass: namely, New Hampton, Charles City, Mason City and Algona.
On the return of Messrs. Gilbert and Chapin from Des Moines, a crowded meeting was held at the court-house in Charles City, when these gentlemen gave an account of their stewardship. They gave especial credit to the members of the Assembly, who resided on or near the specified line. On the final passage of the bill in the Senate, Hon. J. G. Patterson, then a member, made a two hours speech, clearly and ably setting forth the propriety and necessity of giving the lands to the above named McGregor & Sioux City Company. Six different bills had been introduced to obtain this land grant ; but when the vote was taken in the Sen- ate the bill favoring this last named company received forty-five yeas to three nays. The vote on the bill in the House of Rep- resentatives stood, yeas ninety-five, nays three.
The history of the McGregor railroad enterprise, for the preced- - ing twelve years, had much of it been one of fraud and ill fortune ; but a brighter day now commenced to dawn.
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HISTORY OF FLOYD COUNTY.
Gen. John Lawler, of Prairie du Chien, was the President and active manager of the new company, and he at once took measures for building the road. In the spring of 1868 he visited New Hampton and Charles City for the purpose of obtaining local aid. Many of the citizens manifested indifference, feeling certain that the road would be built without effort on their part. This was discouraging to General Lawler, and he started off for West Union to see what could be done in that direction. By advice of certain men at Charles City, Milo Gilbert was delegated to go in pursuit of General Lawler, and, if possible, to bring him back. His mis- sion was successful, and the next day Mr. Gilbert, Mr. Hildreth and General Lawler went to Chickasaw County, assembled the peo- ple together at the court-house in New Hampton, and had a free and full discussion of the railroad question in all its phases. They received so much encouragement there that they came back to Charles City very much elated. At the latter place a public meet- ing was held, and an amount equal to two and one-half per cent. upon the assessed valuation of the township of St. Charles was pledged to aid in building the road, and the right of way was granted. Subsequently St. Charles Township voted the two and one- half per cent. tax, as agreed by her citizens, to aid in building the road. Other towns along the line of the road contributed aid to a greater or less extent, either in taxes or individual subscrip- tions. The road subsequently took the name of the "Iowa and Dakota Division of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St.Paul Railroad."
Work upon the road now commenced in earnest, and as General Lawler stated : "You will be astonished to see how fast the road will be built." The first train of cars came into New Hampton at 5 o'clock P. M., Aug. 11, 1869, and on the 1st of September, 1869, a train reached Charles City. The depot building erected at this place, in the fall of 1869, was 120 feet long and 30 feet wide. The warehouse was 82 by 29 feet ; freight office 20 by 23 feet ; ladies sitting-room 12 by 14 feet ; gentlemen's room 19 by 15 ; baggage room 9 by 16 ; length of lower platform, for passengers, 340 feet ; high platform for freight 190 feet. The water tank, near the depot, was 20 by 34 feet, and 22 feet high, operated by a windmill. A short distance east of the depot was a large and convenient cattle yard for shipping stock ; and near by was one or more grain ele- vators and warehouses. E. J. Gilbert, son of Milo Gilbert, was appointed station agent.
563
HISTORY OF FLOYD COUNTY.
But the work of building .the road did not stop here. It was pushed on westward with little or no delay, through the counties of Cerro Gordo and Hancock, and as far west as Algona, the county seat of Kossuth County, before there was any suspension of the work.
Meanwhile the two and a half per cent. tax voted by the St. Charles people had been levied, and a large portion of the heavier tax-payers had settled the same. But there were some dis- cordant spirits, who, by advise of a disaffected attorney of Charles City, refused to pay, notwithstanding the railroad company had fulfilled all their agreements-had built the road on time, placed the depot where requested, and were operating the road in a first- class manner, and all the relations between the company and citi- zens were of the most friendly character.
On Dec. 8, 1871, Judge Ruddick, of the District Court, issued an injunction restraining the County Treasurer from collecting the tax for the McGregor & Sioux City Railway Company. The rail- road company, as defendants, appcaled to the Supreme Court, the appeal being perfected April 24, 1872. The plaintiffs in this action, who were resisting the tax, were John Mahara, B. F. Wright, A. L. Collins, D. H. Ferguson, Jackson Spriggs, S. Geismar and Orrin Allbee. Pratt & Ruth were their attorneys. Starr & Pat- terson conducted the defense.
As this case was one of considerable interest to the people of St. Charles Township, involving, as it did, the payment of some seventeen thousand dollars ($17,000), we give a detailed history of it. On the 27th of March, 1868, the General Assembly passed an act, enabling towns and cities to aid in the construction of rail- roads, by voting taxes for such purposes. On the 30th day of March, 1869, an election was held in St. Charles Township, at which a two and a half per cent. tax was voted, to be levied on the taxable property of the township, to aid in the construction of the McGregor & Sioux City Railway. The clerk, by order of the trustees, made out and returned to the county auditor a list of the taxable property, but, before the auditor could deliver the tax levy to the treasurer for collection, an injuntion was prayed for by John Mahara and others, and granted by Wm. B. Fairfield, then Judge of the District Court. The injunction was issued by the clerk of the court, Nov. 11, 1869, restraining the collection of the tax. The suit, so far, was against the county officers alone, but, on April 24, 1871, the McGregor & Sioux City Railway Com-
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HISTORY OF FLOYD COUNTY.
pany (the construction company), were permitted to intervene as a party defendant. On the 22d of April, 1871, a motion had been made to dissolve the injunction, and, on the 4th of May thereafter, the cause came on to be heard before Judge Roddick (the successor of Judge Fairfield), who dissolved the injunction.
Not content to let the matter rest, on the Sth of December fol- lowing, J. M. Parsons, S. G. Bryant, John Ferguson and B. F. Wright filed a new petition, asking an injunction and giving, as they claimed, a new cause of action. J. M. Parsons was their at- torney. The points of the petition were as follows:
1. That the plaintiffs are tax-payers in St. Charles Township,
2. That on March 16, 1869, the trustees ordered an election at which the question of levying a tax for the aid of the McGregor & Sioux City Railway should be voted on.
3. That on the 30th day of March, 1869, said tax of 2} per cent. was voted.
4. That the tax list was made out and delivered to the county auditor and by him delivered to the county treasurer for collec- tion.
We give the remainder in the words of the petition:
"That, at the time said tax was levied by said trustees, no as- sessment of the property of said township had been made in or for the year 1868, and delivered to the county auditor by the asses- sor of said township on the 8th day May, A. D., 1869, and that a duplicate of said book was delivered to the clerk of said town- ship by said assessor on the 12th day of April, A. D., 1868.
" That the aggregate assessment of the taxable property in and for the year 1869, was $668,955, and that the aggregate assess- ment of such property in and for the year 1868 was $438,302.
" That said railroad company had not at the time said tax be- came due and collectable, and have not had since that time, any railroad located in or through said township, or in or through any township contiguous thereto, and had not, at that time, nor at any time since, any interest in any such road, as owners, lessors or otherwise, and that said company cannot expend the money raised by said tax in the construction of any road located by them in or through said township, or any township contiguous thereto."
On December 14, 1869, the defendants filed answer, setting up as a defense that they are an actual corporation doing business in the State of Iowa. They admit each and every allegation in said petition set forth, except the tenth paragraph thereof. In answer
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HISTORY OF FLOYD COUNTY.
to the tenth paragraph of petition, defendant alleges that, at the time said tax was voted, and said tax list was being made ont, and at the time the same was delivered to the clerk of the Board of Supervisors of said county, said defendant was constructing a railroad through said St. Charles Township.
" That said defendant did, in the year 1869, construct, complete and put in operation said McGregor & Sioux City Railway through said St. Charles Township and through Floyd County.
" That, after said tax was voted, said defendant expended in St. Charles Township, more than fifty thousand dollars in the con- struction of said road, and that said tax, among other things, was relied upon by this defendant as compensation for the construction of said railway; that said railway has ever since been, and is now, in operation; and, further, that the cause had been once tried on the merits and decided in favor of the defendant."
The result of all this struggle was that the petition for re-hear- ing of the tax case was denied by the court, and thus the last hope of avoiding the payment of the tax was gone, and the treasurer proceeded with the collection of said tax as his duty required. He being confronted with the question whether interest and penalties on this tax should be collected as in the case of other delinquent taxes, the railroad company generously released the penalties and interest to all who would pay the principal or original tax.
This litigation of the railroad tax was an unfortunate affair for all concerned. Disaffection was engendered between the contend- ing parties from which the people of Charles City and vicinity have suffered immensely, and from it have not yet recovered.
Previous to building the railroad Gen. Lawler, representing the company, said to the people of Charles City, "Vote us a two and one-half per cent. tax and it is all the aid we will ask of you; we will not apply to other towns for greater support; we will lay the track so as least to injure your town, and we will locate the depot where it will best accommodate the business of the place." The company were intending to make Charles City the end of the first division of the road west of the Mississippi River, and had pur- chased ground there on which to build their repair shops. The east and west passenger trains pass each other there, usually at about noon, and that has always been the proper place for the passengers to take dinner, but no arrangements for dining them there have ever been made. No machine shops have been erected
35
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HISTORY OF FLOYD COUNTY.
there. The engine house there containing several stalls, was burned several years ago and has not been rebuilt. The depot building was recently burned and a smaller one takes its place. Stations on either side of Charles City were subsequently built, one at Bassett and one at Floyd Crossing, which deprive Charles City of considerable trade that would otherwise go there; and altogether the many are made to suffer for the sins of the few.
No special rates or contracts can be obtained from either railroad company at Charles City for the transportation of freight, the two companies having pooled their earnings at that place. It is often found that the charges on goods from Chicago to Charles City are more than twice as much as they are on the same goods from New York to Chicago. This state of things causes much dissatisfaction, and efforts are now being made to obtain a new outlet to market, with a reasonable prospect for success.
CEDAR FALLS & MINNESOTA RAILROAD.
The first movement made by the citizens of Floyd County for a railroad in the Cedar River Valley, was in March, 1857. A com- pany had been formed and work begun for building a railroad from Clinton, on the Mississippi River, westward to Cedar Rapids, on the Cedar River. This company was called the "Chicago, Iowa & Nebraska Railroad Company." At the instigation of this company, meetings were held at the different towns along the Ce- dar River Valley from Cedar Rapids northward to the Minnesota State line, at which meetings propositions were made to build what was termed the " Cedar Valley Branch of the Chicago, Iowa & Nebraska Railroad."
On the 13th of March, 1857, a meeting of citizens was held at St. Charles, Floyd County, to consider the question of aiding this enterprise. The meeting was addressed at length by J. B. Peat, agent for the Cedar Valley Branch of the Chicago, Iowa & Ne-' braska Railroad Company. Sentiment was so unanimous and en - thusiasm so great in favor of the enterprise, that the meeting resolved to use their utmost endeavors to raise at least $150,000 to be taken as stock by the county, and $100,000 more by individuals, in this Cedar Valley Branch. Mitchell County voted $200,000 stock in this road, and other counties along the line were taking similar action.
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HISTORY OF FLOYD COUNTY.
On May 25, 1857, an election was held in Floyd County on the question of taking $150,000 stock in the Valley Railroad, which resulted in 254 for and 87 against, or a majority of 167 in favor of the proposition. Union and Cedar Townships gave ma- jorities against it. This project died out.
On the 16th of April, 1858, the "Cedar Falls & Minnesota Railroad Company" was organized at Cedar Falls to build a rail- road from Cedar Falls northward to the Minnesota State line. R. B. Mason was chosen President; E. Brown, Vice President; H. H. Meredith, Secretary; A. Mullarky, Treasurer; L. D. Lamp- man, Chief Engineer; and R. P. Spear, Attorney. They proposed to give the people along the line of the road an opportunity to build and own it-availing themselves of such means as they may have, labor and material, money being out of the question. This was the second or third company organized to get possession of the fertile and beautiful Cedar River Valley.
After so much "backing and filling" on the part of railroad men, whoever should now undertake to build a railroad in this valley, would find it necessary to do more work and less talk than had previously been done. It would be necessary to locate the road before undertaking to procure subscriptions to the stock. The plan of pulling upon several strings at once, and producing only discord and dissatisfaction, would not now succeed. The practical yeomanry of the valley were determined to have frank and open dealing, and as soon as they saw that earnest, honest business was intended they responded most heartily.
An engineering corps was placed in the field, and before the middle of August, 1858, a survey of the route from Cedar Falls to the Minnesota State line was completed, and was so satisfact- ory that the company did not hesitate to adopt it. Of course, St. Charles City was made a prominent point on the line.
On the 15th and 16th of July, 1858, the Cedar Valley Railroad Company had a lively meeting at Waverly, in Bremer County, discussing routes and measures, reporting progress, and making personal and other explanations.
The corporation election at this time and place resulted in making L. B. Crocker, of Oswego, President; W. B. Harmon, of Waverly, Vice President; S. C. Beaver, of Cedar Rapids, Treas- urer; and an Executive Committee, of which G. G. Reiniger, of Floyd County, was a member.
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HISTORY OF FLOYD COUNTY.
On the 9th of September, a grand mass convention was held at St. Charles City, of citizens of the whole valley between Cedar Falls and the Minnesota State line. The meeting was called to order by Willliam H. McClure of Black Hawk County, and Moses Conger of Floyd was elected President of the day. Six vice- presidents and two secretaries were also chosen. Speeches were made by Col. R. B. Mason, of Dubuque, President of the C. F. & M. R. R. Co .; L. D. Lampman, the Chief Engineer; Mr. Smith, also an engineer; Mr. Conger, Wm. B. Fairfield, and others. Resolutions were adopted expressing preference for and confidence in the line as surveyed, and recommending a popular investment of stock. The large attendance at this meeting, not- withstanding the rainy weather, evinced the earnestness of the people.
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