USA > Iowa > Harrison County > History of Harrison County, Iowa, including a condensed history of the state, the early settlement of the county together with sketches of its pioneers > Part 13
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I do not know that it would be out of place to here remark that there is in the State of Iowa, at the present time, $3,484,411 as permanent school fund, the interest of which annually amounts to $282,902, which sum is divided among the different counties in the state in proportion to the number of persons therein, who are between the ages of five and twenty-one years.
SWAMP LAND.
By act of Congress approved September 28, 1850, providing that all swamp and overflowed lands within the State of Arkan- sas and other states be transferred and patented to the several States in which the same might be, gave to Iowa all such character of lands as were within her boundaries, and the Fourth General Assembly of Iowa, by chapter 12, and becoming a law February 2, 1853, ceded these lands to each of the several counties in which the same were situated. The legislative act declares that these lands, or the proceeds resulting from the sale thereof, should be used in the construction of " levees and drains to reclaim the same, and the balance, if any, to be expended in the construction
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY.
of roads and bridges across said lands, and if any remained there- after, then the same to be laid out in the building of roads and bridges within the several counties in which the lands are situated." Under this act, as above stated, the County Judge on the 9th of January, 1854, appointed Geo. W. White as agent of the county, to survey, select and report all the lands of this char- acter. Mr. White proceeded to the discharge of his duty, and as a result, on July 5, 1854, reported back as lands of a swamp character within and belonging to the county, 120,635.93 acres.
This land which was donated to the several states as by the pro- vision of act of Congress herein stated, that portion thereof which was within the boundaries of the State of Iowa, was by the said State patented to the several counties varying in time, but Harrison county received her patent for that so selected, reported and accepted, which is manifest by virtue of a written document, of date of October 17, 1859, and which was received and filed for record and recorded in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of Harrison county on the 24th day of January, A. D. 1860, and appears of record in book number 2, on pages numbers 1 to 11 thereof.
Hence, Harrison county came into the county sisterhood of this ninety-nine countied State with a marriage portion, all in the form of realty (which at least in these more degenerate days would develop admirers) to the extent of 120,635.93 acres, as aforesaid, which if sold (as it subsequently was) at the rate of $1.25 per acre, equalled, in the form of dollars and cents, the snug sum of $150,794.914, which amount at the present day all would be willing to wager an opinion that such sum would, at least, be a reasonable advancement for starting to keep house.
But where is now all this vast treasure; this munificent dower? This land is at the present time the most valuable land in the county, as well as the most productive in the entire State, and any person not conversant with the history thereof, would not for a moment presume that the matchless farms all along the
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY.
Pigeon, Boyer, Willow, Soldier, Little Sioux and Missouri rivers were once overflowed with water and regarded as worthless. If such a presumption should be for a moment indulged, it would be the indulgence of a fancy at the expense of fact, for the reason that the greater portion of these lands at the time of the selection thereof were then, as now, the most valuable and quite free from overflow; but because they were contiguous to lake, or subject to overflow from surface water, when there was no channel to carry off the same, or perhaps away back in the past the " Big Muddy" had so wickedly broken from all restraint as to inundate the entire Missouri bottoms, or that there would no damage result to the county where all the lands denominated bottom lands, and reported as overflowed and swampy, for by such measures the good would pay for the reclamation of the bad, and thus procure the earlier drainage, as well as be a means by which the sanitary condition of the county would be im- proved.
The agent of the county had, unquestionably, in view the maxim delineated by one of the characters in the "Hoosier School- master," viz .: "When you are gittin', git plenty"; but the fact is that up to the present time none of the citizens of the county, nor any person within the borders of the State, have as yet ever questioned the honesty and fairness of the report of the select- ing agent, who acted in the capacity as above designated.
Following up the thought of this grand donation of swamp land to the county, our first thought is riveted on the act of the guardians of this splendid fund: At and about the month of Au- gust, 1862, at the time when the very life of the Government was in imminent peril; at a time when the Southern States were threatening, and with apparent possibility of carrying the threat into execution, of occupying the very Capital of the Nation; at a time when volunteers were greatly needed to march to the front, and at all hazards defend the flag and liberties so dearly purchased by the Fathers, and transmitted to us; to maintain
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this Union of States "one and inseparable "; in calling a meet- ing of the Board of Supervisors of the county (for at this time the care, custody, management and sale of these lands, and the keeping of this fund, had passed to the said board); and in re- membrance of the charity of the parent Government in donating these to the county; and by resolution passed at that time by them to the following effect, viz .: Resolved, That all able-bodied male citizens, or those not yet having become citizens, who should enlist in the volunteer service of the United States, and be by the proper authorities accepted as such volunteers, and be ac- credited to this county, should receive a quitclaim deed to any vacant eighty acres of this land in the county; or in lieu thereof, if they so desired, they should have a warrant on the swamp land fund for the sum of $100.
The only depreciation of this fund in consequence of this commendable action of the board was the sum of $22,000, Jeav- ing as a balance the snug sum of $138,794.91} for the uses and purposes for which the same was donated. At the present date not one cent of this munificent fund remains as a separate fund of the county. Some of the persons who resided in the county at the time the county became the owner in fee of all this vast domain, now have the recollection of the vastness thereof, and though thirty-five years have elapsed since the time the same was selected, and twenty-eight years have passed since the county received a patent therefor, ask (and not unreasonably) what has become of all our " swamp-land and swamp-land funds?"
The lands are still here, except that portion thereof which have been carried away by the turbulent and unmanageable current of the Missouri river, and right here let it be known, that while "the wind bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth," so it is with the falseness and depravity of the Missouri river.
At certain times this unmanageable river will be on her good behavior, and then she will manifest such a wild and ungovern-
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able course of conduct as will compel the most unscrupulous to a belief in the doctrine of "total depravity " of rivers. This peculiar river has, within the memory of a vast number of the people of this county, played such "fantastic tricks," as made the owners of land lying on and near her banks weep for losses sustained by reason of their entire farms and buildings being carried away by her treacherous current. Then, again, her crazy current will make a dash for the shores of Nebraska, and in spite of legislative action and the blow and brag of poli- ticians, the banks on that side melt more rapidly than the snow drifts when attacked by an April thaw. Within the past thirty years the cuttings of this river have encroached into the Iowa side to the extent of two miles, and in the same period, at other places the foreclosure on the Nebraska side has been even greater.
At the present date there is but little to show, in the way of bridges, ditches and levees, that $138,894.91} has been expended in that direction. The $22,000 righteously donated to the volun- teer soldier meets the full approbation of all, but as to the bal- ance, as above stated, echo asks, where is it? True, there are three or four levees in the county which furnish a means of travel from and to the different portions of the county, but when I assert that there is not, to-day, a ditch in the county, con- structed by funds arising from the sale of swamp lands, that is of any practical benefit to the lands or public, or is other than dry cavities, I believe I voice the honest observation of every observing man in the limits of the county; but they who ques- tion this assertion must not confound or count in the real ditches constructed by special tax on the adjacent owners of contiguous territory, where these ditches are, which have been constructed by the special tax.
It is now impossible from the records or from memory to make a correct statement how and for what this fund had been ex- pended, from the fact that three decades have passed since the
-
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same came into being, yet let it suffice to say that the character of the men who had the same in charge is sufficient guarantee that all thereof was legally and justly laid out in the way and for the purposes designated by the letter and spirit of the law.
The condition of the different portions of the county must be taken into consideration when investigation is made as to the fairness of all outlays of this fund. Nor should it be forgotten that the principal streams and sloughs were of such make-up that at the early settlement of the county they were unfordable, and that lumber at that time was exceedingly scarce, and to pro- vide for the wants and necessities of the traveling public, bridges ' were to be constructed, and in providing for this contingency, large portions of this fund were used, and at prices which to-day many might think could be largely discounted, but such as now question this are forming opinions from the present con- dition of transportation, backed by railroad facilities, while the expenses and cost of these bridges must be calculated from a standpoint when there were but very few saw mills in the county, no railroads within three hundred miles, and prices were double that of the present day.
The wisdom of this act of the government in donating her public domain for the purposes mentioned in the act referred to has been by some quite severely criticised; however, to the ordi- nary casual observer, it is fully exemplified by figures, that the revenue received by the government by way of taxes has long since over-reached the purchase price of $1.25 per acre, besides carrying into effect that which is the pride and purpose of all good governments, providing homes for the homeless and lands for the landless, thus bettering the condition of the citizen and at the same time largely increasing the wealth and prosperity of the nation.
These lands in the condition in which they were at the time of the early settlement of the county, was most fortunate for the settler, because the same were not in the market until in 1858,
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and had the same been put up for sale, many of the citizens who now are in exceedingly good circumstances in a financial stand- point, could never have secured the homes which they now are possessed of.
The Shylocks of the country at that time were ,furnishing money to enter lands, taking the certificates of purchase in their own names, and giving back to the real owner and persons for whom they were entering the same, a bond for a deed, which pro- vided that they would re-convey upon the owner repaying them the $200 purchase for the 160 acres, and forty per cent per year for the use of the money thus advanced, or in other words, they were furnishing $200 for one year, and at the end of that time would receive $280 therefor, or keep the lands thus entered.
To remedy this usurious exaction, the guardians of these lands provided a way by which the settlers would be benefited, and at the same time the county perfectly secured, and it was this: every person who was a settler upon these lands, or those about to settle thereon, were permitted to enter the same by paying one- fourth down and taking a deed from the county for the same, and then executing back to the county a mortgage to secure the payment of the remainder. This remainder was evidenced by certain promissory notes, made by the purchaser, and these did not mature for ten years, though the maker paid to the county interest on the unpaid purchase money at the rate of ten per cent. Thus the settler was benefited and the county abundantly secured, for the reason that of all the prairie lands thus entered, the greater the improvements placed thereon, the better was the purchase money secured.
It is a gratifying fact, that nearly all of the persons, wealthy in lands and stock, in the county at the present, are those who settled here at or about thirty years since, and in addition to brave hearts and strong arms, did not have in cash over $500 to the head of each family.
The Fifth General Assembly, by chapter 156, passed January
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY.
25, 1855, and becoming a law on the 31st of the same month and year, authorized pre-emptions on swamp lands, and this re- mained in force until its repeal by chapter 115, of acts of the Sixth General Assembly, which last became a law by operation of statute on the 1st of July, 1857.
The County Judge of this county, for this interim, made cer- tain rules and required certain things to have been performed by the pre-emptor upon the land before he, in his official capac- ity, would issue to the applicant a certificate, showing that the land had been pre-empted, among which were the following: "A house must be built or foundation thereof laid, not less than 10x10 feet, and in addition thereto improvements in the way of at least a commencement to break prairie, or the foundation for a dwelling house to be laid and at least twenty rods of fence placed upon the land sought to be pre-empted. This only applied to males of voting age; the female was unprovided for, and in- gloriously left out in the cold, homeless and landless.
Notwithstanding these requirements were made for the pur- pose of preventing frauds and impositions upon the Judge, and to have this inure to the benefit of the bona fide settler, still the sharpest ingenuity of the guardian of these lands was, ninety- nine times out of a hundred, nearly wholly ignored. Instead of bona fide actual settlement, and the requisite quantum of "im- provements" upon the land sought to be pre-empted, the pre- emptor would have at his command some individual possessed of an elastic conscience, who, for friendship, favor and affection, when properly sworn, would testify that the foundation for the dwelling house was laid; that twenty rods of legal fence had been placed thereon and the requisite quantity of breaking had been done, while in fact four willow fish poles constituted the foun- dation for the "mansion," and twenty fish poles, sixteen and one-half feet long were placed on twenty-one willow posts, not larger than a walking cane; and the breaking only a path broken through the show.
11
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY.
This evasion of the rule did not, in the end, injuriously affect the county or the settlement thereof, from the fact that when these pre-emption certificates were the most plenteous, the stringency of money matters struck the county and these certifi- cates became nearly worthless, and when the lands were ordered into market, they who held these were compelled to pay the $1.25 per acre, and failing to make payment, the pre-empt- ors' right to the land mentioned therein, caused the right of the pre-emptor to lapse back to the county, and, as a result, only that portion upon which actual settlement was made was entered under the call of the County Judge, and the certificates of pre-emption became worthless.
ORGANIZATION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
The county being organized under the provisions of the Code of 1851, gave to the people the District Court, which possessed criminal and civil jurisdiction in all matters, except that of pro- bate, and the management of the affairs of the respective coun- ties. In matters of probate and the management of the business of the county, a County Judge had original jurisdiction, which, with the superintendence of the business pertaining to the finance of the county, was the extent of his official power.
This status of affairs lasted until the county judgeship, or, as some termed the same, " the one man power," became obnoxious, perhaps made so by the abuse of the authority vested in the individual exercising the powers, when the hue and cry for a change had ripened into legislative action, as designated by an act of the Legislature of date of March 22, 1860, and taking ef- fect July 4th of the same year, which curtailed the powers of the County Judge, leaving to that office only the powers of pro- bate, and creating for the different counties a system of govern- ment by which each township in the county should be repre- sented by one representative. This did not take effect until the election and qualification of this county "legislature," which
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election took place at the fall election following, and the pre- tended act of "qualification " on the first Monday of January following. That these different persons who reported them- selves to be elected, appeared and took the oath of office, none have ever questioned, but there have always been some doubts as to whether they ever qualified or not. That they took the oath of office is beyond peradventure of doubt; but " qualification " means more than the simple act of raising the right hand and assenting " to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Iowa," while the party taking said oath scarcely could distinguish the difference between the Constitutions and the Declaration of Independence. And this brings to my mind a circumstance which took place in the very early days of the county. It was this: A certain young "saw- bones " was selected to read the Declaration of Independence on the 4th of July, 1857, at the Old Hub; the day arrived, and with it there was a meeting of nearly all the residents of the county; the place of meeting was at the present place of residence of Isaac F. Bedsaul, near the village of Magnolia. What was the con- sternation of a " limited few " when young " saw-bones " began and read the Constitution of the United States half through before anyone noticed the difference, when the "readist " was gently plucked by the coat-tail, and informed that he was off his eggs, and when given the proper document, and correctly started, did his whole duty in an admirable manner.
The reader will please pardon this digression, as I desired to illustrate the "qualification " of one individual of a professional character, and leave the reader to judge for himself as to the possi- ble qualification of those who come direct from the breaking plow.
The thought at the time of the enactment of this law, was that the county government thereby would be more nearly to the people, and therefore retrench the former seeming unneces- sary expenditures, as well as bar the favoritism heretofore lav- ishly dished to the favored ones.
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY.
There is no doubt but that the position of powers of the County Judgeship was often prostituted to further personal ends and favor a few who were within the ring; but that the new system of township representation remedied this grievance, is only answered by the fact that by the ending of the next decade there was a greater clamor for a change than there was to dispense with the services of the County Judge. This law giving town- ship representation brought to the surface an army of Black- stones, Cokes, Solons, Kents, Cooleys, Addisons, etc., etc., etc., which would have put to flight any litigant or claimant who once had experience in such a court. Instead of being a court it was a county debating society where each representative felt the weighty responsibility which rested on him to be something equal, if not greater than the burden which rested on the shoulders of Atlas while supporting the earth. The most trivial proposition was discussed by each member making an argu- ment, giving his views as to the law and the constitutionality of the case, and then this repeated for eighteen arguments, gener- ally made the subject under discussion so very plain, or buried it so deep in the slosh of argument that it was never resurrected, or was passed upon some time during the day.
Many laughable circumstances might be here related touching this quarterly county congress, in this county, but I will forbear naming individuals or subjects, but will remark that eighteen legislators spent nearly an entire day in discussing the allowance of a claim for a wolf scalp-at another time, half a day as to the allowance of a half dozen or more gopher scalps.
The one man power was much preferable to this eighteen man power, from the fact that the Board had more of the trade and traffic of a political convention to it, than the good of the people. "You give me my road, my ditch, my levee, my bridge, etc., etc., and I will support your measure," and so the trade went on, often regardless of the then wants of the public, but more for the per- sonal benefit of some straw man hid behind the wood pile. This
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county legislature was then thrown aside by act of the Thir- teenth General Assembly, as manifest by chapter 148, and in lieu thereof the present system of three or more Commissioners for the different counties, dependent on the population of the county.
The office of County Judge was abolished by the Twelfth General Assembly, and a Circuit Judgeship created, and this in turn dispensed with by the acts of the Twenty-first General Assembly.
At the present time probate jurisdiction is had by the District Court of the county.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
From the time of their first organization, on the first Monday in January, 1861, which, at that time was made up of the fol- lowing persons, viz .:
George H. McGavren, St. Johns township; James Hardy, Magnolia; Jonathan West, Cincinnati; James W. McIntosh, Taylor; Asher Servis, Cass; Henry Olmstead, Harrison; George Harriot, Jackson; Chester M. Hamilton, Raglan; E. W. Meech, Calhoun; C. M. Patton, La Grange; Theodore Parcell, Clay; John S. Cole, Boyer; Barzillai Price, Little Sioux; Stephen King, Jefferson.
Dr. George H. McGavren (then being a Democrat) was elected to the position of chairman of this legislative body, they, from the time of their organization, having but little to do except the auditing of claims against the county and caring for the funds belonging thereto; and those who comprised the above list hav- ing drawn straws as to who would hold for the term of two or one year, at the incoming of the coming year, 1862, a new board was organized, when the following persons constituted the same, viz .:
Joseph H. Smith, Magnolia; B. F. Dilley, Cincinnati; Lorenzo Kellogg, Harrison; Asher Servis, Cass; George H. MeGavren, St. Johns; B. Price, Little Sioux; Stephen King, Jefferson; Dr. J. S.
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY.
Cole, Boyer; A. Sellers, Union; C. M. Patton, La Grange; Wil- liam Mc Williams, Jackson; J. W. McIntosh, Taylor; Theodore Parcell, Clay; W. B. Copeland, Calhoun; Donald Maule, Raglan.
Joe. H. Smith was elected chairman, during which time noth- ing of special importance occurred, other than the ordinary busi- ness of the board, until a special meeting was called for the 11th of August, 1862, the object thereof being to take some action as to the matter of the enlistment of soldiers on the part of the Federal cause.
It will be remembered that at this date there was considerable need of additional enlistments from the fact that the Confederate cause had a little more than balanced all the accounts which the Federals had scored against them from the April days of 1861 up to that date. Furthermore, it was known to all, that many of the boys and men in the county, dating from the month of July, 1861, up to that date, had gone to other places, viz .: to Council Bluffs, Omaha and divers others places to enlist; and up to that time there had not been a company raised in the same, though, as aforesaid, an hundred or more had already gone to the front. This was partly due to the fact that certain men in power in the county, though belonging to the party in power, whose duty it was to, at all hazards, uphold the cause of the Union, wished to distribute out to their especial friends the highest positions of company offices; and as a result, any person who desired in good faith to enlist, rather than go down on all fours to this would be "big man," chose to take a position in some company then being organized at the nearest point. These or this personage may have been acting in good faith, but at this day all can readily see that if the best interest of the govern- ment was the object of their acts, that judgment was terribly warped and helplessly diseased. As a result, William W. Fuller, Geo. S. Bacon and Joe. H. Smith persuaded the board to call a special meeting of that body on the 11th day of August,
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