USA > Iowa > Hardin County > History of Hardin county, Iowa, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 33
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110
S. Stratton and forty-six other citizens of Ellis township presented a petition to the Board, praying for a division of said township, the division to be made in
241
HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.
accordance with the government survey dividing township No. 88, range No. 21, from township No. 88, range No. 22, and that township No. 88, range No. 22, be designated as Buckeye township. The matter being duly considered, the prayer of the petitioners was granted.
On the 1st day of the June session a com- mittee that had previously been appointed by the Board on the equalization of sol- diers' bounties made the following report:
Be it resolved, by the Board of Supervisors of Hardin county, Iowa, That the Board refund all bounty tax, and exempt from all bounty tax on all privates or non-commissioned officers at the time of enlisting in the service of the United States from this county, except those who have received the bounty of $175; and that said tax be paid out of the county fund. We, your committee, consider it no more than justicc that those who went out early in the struggle for freedom, for little or no bounty, should not be called upon to help pay the large bounties of those who went into the service at a later day.
Your committee, in making this report, do not wish to be understood that they consider it in any way equalizing the bounty, but as an act of simple justice to the brave soldier. Your com- mittee would further say that when the county gets in a better financial condition, that all bounties will be equalized.
While J. D. Gourlay was County Treas- urer, the office was broken into, safe .blown open, and the county robbed of a large sum of money. Although settle- ment had been made with Mr. Gourlay, the following resolution was passed by the Board, June, 1867:
Resolved, by the Board of Supervisors of Har- din county, Iowa, That suit be commenced against J. D. Gourlay, upon his official bonds as said Treasurer, for any liabilities found against him from the time of his entering upon his official dutics as Treasurer of said county up to
the time of the safe robbery, September 14, 1865; and that E. W. Eastman be employed as counsel in behalf of said Hardin county to prosccute said suit.
The Board, in September, 1867, received . the resignation of A. F. Wood, as Sheriff of Hardin county, and appointed. George W. Thompson to fill the vacancy.
The Board again met in session January 5, 1868. In addition to those serving the past year, the following new members appeared in place of those whose terms had expired:
W. Dyer Etna
J. L. Hoag Hardin
M. Pritchard Alden
L. T. Beard Buckeye
A. J. Carr Pleasant
At this session steps were taken looking to the erection of a jail building; and as the maximum sum permitted the Board for any appropriation was $5,000; it was resolved to submit the question to a vote of the people at the next general election, whether the amount of $10,000 should be appropriated for that purpose. The vote was taken by the people and lost.
A special session of much interest was held in March, 1868. The decree of the District Court for Grundy county, to which point the case had been taken on a change of venue, was presented to the Board setting forth the fact that the court had heard the case, and had decreed that Point Pleasant was, and ought to be, the county seat.
A committee was appointed to learn whether suitable room could be had in Point Pleasant for the use of the various county offices, which committee immedi- ately reported that rooms could be had for a term of five years for the consideration
-
242
HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.
of one dollar. On motion, the chairmain of the Board and clerk were authorized and instructed to sign a lease for the rooms.
A committee was appointed to see to the removal of all books, papers and other property belonging to the county, to Point Pleasant, and, on motion, the Board ad -. journed to meet at the same place at 6 o'clock that same evening, March 26, 1868.
The next meeting of the Board was held at Eldora, June 1, 1868, which time and place the committee appointed to remove the county property to Point Pleasant, reported that an injunction had been served on the chairman of the Board and also the clerk, against removal.
At this session the Board passed a resolu- tion to encourage the growth of timber, fruit trees, shade trees and hedges, pursu- ant to an act of the legislature.
Messrs. Carr, Pritchard and Durham, were appointed a committee to ascertain if a suitable location could be procured for a poor-farm for the use and benefit of Hardin county, and to report all the infor- mation in regard to location, cost and terms of payment of such tract of land.
On the 4th day of January, 1869, the Board met with the following named new members present:
E. S. Ensign. . Etna
M. Pritchard. Alden
J. C. Simpson .Ellis
William P. Hiserote. .Jackson
S. B. Cunningham Clay
V. R. McFarland Pleasant
L. Van Patten Tipton
P. Shintaffer .Grant
O. B. Chapin was elected chairman.
During the year 1869, no business out- side the ordinary channel was transacted bythe Board.
At the first meeting in January, 1870, the following named took the oath of office as members of the Board:
J. L. Hoag. Hardin
J. S. Hadley .Providence
Phillip Shintaffer. .Grant
T. N. Hauser. . Union
J. W. Kinney .Buckeye
A. G. Barnum .Etna
De Roy Ellsworth Eldora
J. L. Hoag was elected chairman for the ensuing year.
At the June session, S. A. Reed offered his resignation as clerk of the courts, which resignation was accepted and J. M. Boyd appointed to fill the vacancy.
De Roy Ellsworth offered the following resolution, which was adopted:
Resolved, That the Auditor be authorized to issue a proclamation, submitting to a vote of the legal voters of the county at the ensuing election, the question of prohibiting the sale of ale, wine and beer.
The yeas and nays were called for on this resolution, resulting in nine votes be- ing cast for the resolution and four against it.
The General Assembly having provided for the funding of the debts of the several counties, where the amount exceeds $5,000, and where the county has a population of over 3,000 persons, the Board passed a res- olution providing for a careful estimate of the indebtedness of the county, and the issuance of bonds to cover the entire amounts, the bonds not to run longer than ten years, with the privilege of redemption at the option of the county, at any time within that period.
243
HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.
A resolution was passed inviting propo- sitions for the location of the county seat at any point in the county, which invita- tion was accepted on the part of Iowa Falls by agreeing to donate the sum of $32,500 toward the erection of suitable buildings. (See County Seat Contests.)
A special session of the Board was called by a decree of the District Court, and was held November 19, 1870, for the purpose of determing the term of office of the members elect of the new Board, whose terms of office commence January 1, 1871. That duty performed, the Board adjourned sine die.
The General Assembly having passed an act ·limiting the number of members of the Board of Supervisors to three, which might be increased to five by vote of the people, the election was held in October, resulting in the election of the following named : A. G. Barnum, one year; O. B. Chapin, two years; S. B. Cunningham, three years. The members were elected by vote of the entire county, and not by the townships in which they resided, as heretofore.
A. G. Barnum was elected chairman of the Board for the ensuing year.
O. B. Chapin was appointed a committee to confer with the stockholders of the Court House Association, to ascertain on what terms the stock of the Association could be secured and tranferred to Hardin county.
Mr. Chapin subsequently reported that no arrangements could be made that would be for the interests of the county, but two days thereafter he offered the following resolution :
Resolved, By the Board of Supervisors, in be- half of the tax-payers of Hardin county, that we tender our thanks to the citizens of Eldora, for the free and public gift of Court House and grounds to Hardin county, which can, by proper repairs, be made suitable for use of county for several years.
The gift was a surprise to the Board.
On the first day of the January session, 1872, the Board met at Eldora, with S. B. Cunningham and O. B. Chapin present. Mr. Chapin was elected chairman for the ensuing year.
C. M. Nagle, member elect, came for- ward, on the morning of the second day, and was duly qualified.
At the June session the township of Grant was divided, the east half, being township 86, range 21, retaining the name of Grant, and the west half, being town- ship 86, range 22, to take the name of Concord, its first election to be held at the time of the general election in November following.
O. B. Chapin being re-elected at the November election as a member of the Board of Supervisors, met with the same at its first meeting in January, 1873, at which time C. M. Nagle was elected chair- man of the Board for the ensuing year.
At the September session the Auditor was instructed to issue a proclamation for a vote for or against the appropriation of $8,000 for the purchase of a poor-farm for the use of the county, the question to be submitted at the general election in October. The question was voted down.
O. B. Chapin tendered his resignation at this time as a member of the Board, which resignation was accepted.
244
HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.
At the December term the Board passed a very complimentary resolution to A. E. Arnold, the retiring Auditor.
.
The resignation of O. B. Chapin not being filed in the office of the Auditor until December 15, 1873, although the Auditor was notified, and an election held to fill the vacancy, in order to avoid any doubt as to the legality and right of R. C. Kyte to discharge the duties of the office to which he had been elected, he was appointed a member of the Board under provision of an act of the General Assem- bly, by J. M. Boyd, Clerk of the Courts; A. E. Arnold, County Auditor, and Job Stout, County Recorder.
The first meeting of the new Board was held on the 5th day of January, 1874, S. R. Edgington and R. C. Kyte appearing and taking the usual oath of office.
Mr. Nagle, the chairman of the Board, not being present, S. R. Edgington was elected president pro tem.
After approving the bonds of several of the officers elected, the Board adjourned till the following day, at which time Mr. Nagle appeared and was elected chairman for the ensuing year.
At the July session it was agreed that a contract should be entered into with J. W. Hartwell for the erection of a vault, and with the Hall Safe and Lock Company to furnish doors, window-frames, shutters and sash for the same, at a total cost of $837. Mr. Hartwell, for some reason, did not enter into bond for the fulfillment of the contract, and the contract was awarded to Henry Weaver, at the September ses- sion, for $216.
At the election in October, M. J. Davis was elected Supervisor in place of R. C.
Kyte, resigned, and J. S. Hadley was elected in place of C. M. Nagle, whose term had expired. Both gentlemen ap- peared on the first day of the January term, 1875, and were duly qualified. S. R. Edgington was elected chairman for the ensuing year.
But little business was transacted out of the usual routine. The question of the purchase of a poor-farm was again sub- mitted to the people, at the October elec- tion, which resulted favorably, by a vote of 653 for and 432 against. Proposals were then asked for by the Board, to be submitted at the January term, 1876.
M. J. Davis, whose term of office had expired, was re-elected Supervisor for the term of three years, at the October elec- tion. On the first day of the January term, 1876, he qualified for the term. S. R. Edgington was elected chairman for 1876.
Isaac S. Moore and wife were employed as superintendent and matron of poor- house, for one year, at a salary of $400.
The town trustees throughout the county were notified to send the paupers of their respective townships to the farmn.
Solon F. Benson was elected Supervisor in place of S. R. Edgington, whose term Anad expired. Mr. Benson appeared the first day of the January session, 1877, and took the oath of office. J. S. Hadley was elected chairman for the ensuing year.
A report to the Board, at the January session, showed there had been 22 inmates at the poor-house in the past year, six of whom had been discharged, leaving 16 then inmates of the institution.
At this session the Auditor was author- ized to advertise for sealed proposals for
.
245
HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.
a county poor-farm, to consist of not less than 80 acres.
At the June session the Board ordered the purchase of the east half of the south- west quarter of section 26, township 88, range 20, of L. F. Wisner, for the sum of $1,100. S. F. Benson was appointed a committee to complete plans and specifica- tions for poor-house, and to let contract for the erection of a building in accord- ance therewith, and to employ a compe- tent superintendent. He was also author- ized to procure the breaking of from 20 to 40 acres of land upon the poor-farm.
A contract was awarded for the building of a poor-house to D. E. Hughes, for $2,225.25.
A charge having been publicly made in the Eldora Ledger accusing E J. Hauser of being indirectly concerned in the discount- ing of county warrants and other irregu- larities, on the request of Mr. Hauser the Board investigated the charges at its Sep- tember term, reporting that, in its judg- ment, no wrongful or illegal use had been made of the county funds or any part thereof, and that the treasurer had not directly or indirectly been concerned in the discounting of warrants.
In October, 1877, J. Q. Patterson was elected to fill vacancy, and E. R. Wright for the term of three years. These mem- bers were duly qualified at the January session, 1878, on the first day. M. J. Davis was elected chairman of the Board for the year 1878.
After approving of a number of bonds and auditing claims, the Board appointed Dr. Henry Fritcher to the office of Coro- ner, vice M. J. Upright, who had removed from the county.
On the first day of the session, January, 1879, Horace Alvord, who was elected in place of M. J. Davis, took the oath of office. J. Q. Patterson was elected chair- man for the ensuing year.
During this year no business was trans- acted by the Board out of the usual routine work of auditing bills, building and re- pairing bridges, and such like work.
John Rath was the member elected for 1880, and on the first day of the session, in January of that year, took the oath of office, and commenced the discharge of his duties as Supervisor. The Board organized by electing E. R. Wright chair- man for the year 1880.
At the September session the following preamble and resolutions were adopted:
WHEREAS, The pauperism and crime suffered and committed in this county, and, as a conse- quence thereof, a large part of the expenses borne by the tax-payers of the county are directly and indirectly attributable to the traffic in and use of intoxicating liquors and like bever- ages; therefore, bc it
Resolved, That John Porter be and is hereby delegated and appointed attorney for and on be- half of this county to prosccute by action, civil or criminal, all persons violating the provisions of section 1539 of the Code of Iowa, and other statutes of the State, to the end that crime and suffering may be, in that regard, avoided, and a due respect for the law maintained; provided said attorney shall retain of the sum so collected not exceeding one-fourth part thercof, and make no other or further charges against the county for fees, nor any costs against the county what- ever.
The report of the committee on poor- farm showed a very favorable state of affairs.
At the annual election in November, Charles Hoelscher was elected for the
246
HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.
term of three years. Mr. Hoelscher took his seat as a member of the Board the first day of the session, in January, 1881. Horace Alvord was chosen Chairman of the Board for the ensuing year.
The business transacted during the year was'of a general nature.
F. H. Simpson was the newly-elected member of the Board, who took the oath of office the first day of the session of the Board in January, 1882. John Rath was chosen Chairman.
A petition of sixty citizens of Iowa Falls, asking that a telephone communica- tion be made between the court house and various towns in the county, was presented to the Board; and also a proposition by the said telephone company, proposing to place the court house in telephonic con-
nection with other towns in the county at a yearly rental of $36 for one instrument. John Rath, Chairman of the Board, was authorized to accept the proposition.
The report of the committee on poor- farm, was made at the January session, showing that on the 1st day of January, 1881, there were eleven inmates, and there were admitted during the year, twelve. There were eleven discharged and two died, leaving ten at the farm on the 1st day of January, 1882.
At the June session the Board, upon application, divided the township of Har- din, making all outside the incorporated town of Iowa Falls one township, to retain the name of Hardin, and the town of Iowa Falls, a township, to be known as Iowa Falls township.
CHAPTER IV.
PIONEER LIFE.
One of the most interesting phases of national or local history is that of the set- tlement of a new country. What was the original state in which the pioneer found the country, and how was it made to blos- som as the rose?
Pioneer life in Hardin county finds its parallel in almost every county in the State, and throughout the entire West.
When Greenberry Haggin, Thomas N. Hauser, and others of that noble band of pioneers settled here, they found an un- broken wilderness. Wild beasts and but little less wild savages, roamed at will over the prairie, through the forests, and along the waters of the Iowa river and its numerous tributaries. Forests were to be felled, cabins erected, mills built, and the
-
249
HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.
river and creeks made to labor for the benefit of mankind. The beautiful prairies were to be robbed of their natural orna- ments, and the hand of art was to assist in their decoration. Who was to undertake this work? Are they qualified for the task? What will be the effect of their labors upon future generations?
The Hardin county pioneers had many difficulties to contend with, not the least of which was the journey from civilization to the forest homes. The route lay for the most part through a rough country; swamps and marshes were crossed with great exertion and fatigue; rivers were forded with difficulty and danger; nights were passed on open prairies, with the sod for a couch and the heavens for a shelter; long, weary days and weeks of travel were endured, but finally "the promised land" was reached.
EARLY MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.
The young men and women of to-day have little conception of the mode of life among the early settlers of the country. One can hardly conceive how great a change has taken place in so short a time The clothing, the. dwellings, the diet, the social customs, have undergone a total revolution, as though a new race had taken possession of the land.
In a new country, far removed from the · conveniences of civilization, where all are compelled to build their own houses, make their own clothing and procure for them- selves the means of subsistence, it is to be expected that their dwellings and garments will be rude. These were matters con- trolle ] by surrounding circumstances and the means at their disposal. The earliest
settlers constructed what were termed "three-faced camps," or, in other words, three walls, leaving one side open. They are described as follows: The walls were built seven feet high, when poles were laid across at a distance of about three feet apart, and on these a roof of clapboards was laid, which were kept in place by weight poles placed on them. The clap- boards were about four feet in length and from eight inches to twelve inches in width, split out of white oak timber. No floor was laid in the "camp." The structure required neither door, window, or chimney. The one side left out of the cabin answered all these purposes. In front of the open side was built a large log heap, which served for warmth in cold weather and for cooking purposes in all seasons. Of course there was an abundance of light, and, on either side of the fire, space to enter in an out. These "three-faced camps" were probably more easily con- structed than the ordinary cabin, and was not the usual style of dwelling house. .
The cabin was considered a material advance for comfort and home life. This was, in almost every case, built of logs, the spaces between the logs being filled in with split sticks of wood, called "chinks," and then daubed over, both inside and outside, with mortar made of clay. The floor, sometimes, was nothing more than earth tramped hard and smooth, but com- monly made of "puncheons," or split logs, with the split side turned upward. The roof was made by gradually drawing in the top to the ridgepole, and, on cross pieces, laying the "clapboards," which, being several feet in length, instead of being nailed, where held in place by poles
250
ILISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.
laid on them, called "weight poles," reach- ing the length of the cabin. For a fire- place, a space was cut out of the logs on one side of the room, usually about six feet in length, and three sides were built up of logs, making an offset in the wall. This was lined with stone, if convenient; if not, then earth. The flue, or upper part of the chimney, was built of small split sticks, two and a half or three feet in length, car- ried a little space above the roof, and plastered over with clay, and when finished was called a "cat and clay" chimney. The door space was also made by cutting an aperture in one side of the room of the required size, the door itself being made of clapboards secured by wooden pins to two crosspieces. The hinges were also of wood, while the fastenings consisted of a wooden latch catching on a hook of the same material. To open the door from the outside, a strip of buckskin was tied to the latch and drawn through a hole a few inches above the latch-bar, so that on pull- ing the string the latch was lifted from the catch or hook, and the door was opened without further trouble. To lock the door, it was only necessary to pull the string through the hole to the inside. Here the family lived, and here the guest and wayfarer were made welcome. The living room was of a good size, but to a large extent it was all-kitchen, bed-room, parlor and arsenal, with flitches of bacon and rings of dried pumpkin suspended from the rafters. In one corner were the loom and other implements used in the manufacture of clothing, and around the ample fireplace were collected the kitchen furniture. The clothing lined one side of the sleeping apartment, suspended from
pegs driven in the logs. Hemp and flax were generally raised, and a few sheep kept. Out of these the clothing for the family and the sheets and coverlets were made by the females of the house. Over the door was placed the trusty rifle, and just back of it hung the powder horn and hunting pouch. In the well-to-do families, or when crowded on the ground floor, a loft was sometimes made to the cabin for a sleeping place and the storage of "traps" and articles not it common use. The loft was reached by a ladder secured to the wall. Generally the bedrooms were sep- arated from the living-room by sheets and coverlets suspended from the rafters, but until the means of making these partition walls were ample, they lived and slept in the same room.
Familiarity with this mode of living did away with much of the discomfort, but as soon as the improvement could be made, there was added to the cabin an additional room, or a "double log cabin," being sub- stantially a "three faced camp," with a log room on each end and containing a loft. The furniture in the cabin corre- sponded with the house itself. The arti- cles used in the kitchen were as few and simple as can be imagined. A "Dutch oven," or skillet, a long-handled frying pan, an iron pot or kettle, and sometimes a coffee pot, constituted the utensils of the best furnished kitchen. A little later, . when a stone wall formed the base of the chimney, a long iron "crane" swung in the chimney place, which on its "pot-hook" carried the boiling kettle or heavy iron pot. The cooking was all done on the fire-place and at the fire, and the style of cooking was as simple as the utensils. Indian, or
251
HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.
corn meal, was the common flour, which was made into "pone" or "corn-dodger," or "hoe-cake," as the occasion or variety demanded. The "pone" and the "dodger" was baked in the Dutch oven, which was first set on a bed of glowing coals. When the oven was filled with the dough, the lid, already heated on the fire, was placed on the oven and covered with hot embers and ashes. When the bread was done it was taken from the oven and placed near the fire to keep warm while some other food was being prepared in the same oven for the forthcoming meal. The "hoe-cake" was prepared in the same way as the dodger-that is, a stiff dough was made of the meal and water, and, taking as much as could conveniently be held in both lands, it was moulded into the desired shape by being tossed from hand to hand, then laid on a board or flat stone placed at an angle before the fire and patted down to the required thickness. In the fall and early winter, cooked pumpkin was added to the meal dough, giving a flavor and richness to the bread not attained by the modern methods. In the oven from which the bread was taken, the venison or ham was then fried, and, in winter, lye hominy, made from the unbroken grains of corn, added to the frugal meal. The woods abounded in honey, and of this the early settlers had an abundance the year round. For some years after settlements were made, the corn meal formed the staple commodity for bread.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.