USA > Iowa > Johnson County > History of Johnson County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, and its townships, cities and villages from 1836 to 1882 > Part 23
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The cabin was built as a claim cabin, in 1837, and was first occupied by John Morford, in 1838, and afterward by Peter Smith, whose wife gave birth to a daughter in it, in July or August, 1838. The frame house was built by the projectors of the Napoleon town site, and was intended for the court house. It was here the first and second county elections were held. This frame building was 20x32 feet, and two stories high.
HOW THE COUNTY SEAT WAS REMOVED.
In 1839 the county commissioners were Henry Felkner, Robert Wol- cott and Philip Clark. On October 7 the county court opened in due form at Napoleon, with all the officers present. The record says: "Court having come to order, the sheriff announced the court in session." After business was disposed of, this record appears:
Ordered, That this court now adjourn, to meet to-morrow morning at eight o'clock, at the house of F. M. Irish, in Iowa City.
And the next record is:
October term, Oct. 8, 1839. Court in session. Present, Hons. Henry Felkner, Robert Wolcott and Philip Clark, commissioners.
The original record does not state that this day's session was at Iowa City, nor does it even mention that the court met pursuant to adjournment,
177
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
which would have served to authenticate the change. But in the tran- scribed record pains were taken to add the statement, that "Court met pur- suant to adjournment."
This action of the county board was before the legislature had author- ized the removal.
"An act to re-locate the seat of justice of Johnson county" was passed by the legislature, and approved Dec. 31, 1839. This act recites, " That the board of county commissioners in the county of Johnson are hereby authorized to re-locate and establish the seat of justice for the county of Johnson, being first sworn by any judge or justice of the peace thereof, faithfully and impartially to re-locate and establish the seat of justice of said county, taking into consideration the future as well as the present popula- tion of said county."
The county board was required to attend to this " at or within ninety days" after their next regular meeting. And when they had so done, and their acts were "spread upon their records by the clerk," "the place selected shall be the seat of justice for said county."
At a county board meeting, on January 27, 1840, these proceedings were had:
On motion of Henry Felkner, Esq., the board of commissioners repaired to view the several adjoining quarter sections of land to the seat of govern- ment, and upon examination the commissioners decided upon the north- west quarter of section fifteen, in township seventy-nine north, and range six west, of the fifth principal meridian, for the seat of justice for said county.
Ordered, by the board of commissioners, that Philip Clark be author- ized to repair to Dubuque, and enter, if possible, the aforesaid quarter sec- tion of land for county purposes.
Then the court "adjourned for one hour." On re-assembling, the orig- inal record gives us this entry :
Ordered by the court, that a memorial be sent to the Congress of the United States, requesting the authority for them to locate the county seat of said county on the quarter section aforesaid.
The transcript of this record, which was made six or eight months afterward, changed the wording of it considerably, but the point and pur- pose remained the same; and it appears from the transcribed record that the memorial was forwarded, " directed to the care of the Hon. W. W. Chapman, our delegate in Congress." But Congress was not in the busi- nesss of " locating" frontier county seats, and of course never paid any attention to this document.
Philip Clark went to Dubuque as instructed, and secured pre-emption of the quarter section desired, which is that where the Iowa City court house and jail now stand.
On October 14, 1840, the records show that he was "allowed twenty dollars for services in going to Dubuque, to pre-empt the quarter section
178
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
of land on which the county seat of Johnson county is located." He was also allowed another item of sixteen dollars for "his expenses in the afore- said trip to Dubuque."
On the same day the record says: "Ordered, that Samuel C. Trow- bridge be allowed $15 for his trip to Dubuque with Philip Clark, to obtain pre-emption for county seat."
LAYING OUT THE NEW COUNTY SEAT .- NOV. 9, 1840.
It is ordered by the board, that the northwest quarter of section fifteen be laid out into blocks and lots, as follows: Twenty-four blocks to be surveyed off the north side at present, each block to be three hundred and twenty feet square, including alleys, the north and south streets to correspond with the streets which run north and south in Iowa City; and the streets running east and west to be eighty feet wide, each block to be divided into eight lots, and alley to be twenty feet wide. Under the superintendence of Philip Clark and said commissioners."
FIRST SALE OF LOTS.
Ordered by the board, [Jan. 6, 1841,] that a sale of lots in the county seat of Johnson county, shall take place on Monday, May 24, 1841, and continue from day to day until all are sold, or, at the discretion of the commissioners.
It is ordered, that the following shall be the terms of sale, to-wit: One fourth of the purchase money to be paid in hand, one forth in six months, one fourth in twelve months, and one fourth in eighteen months from the day of sale.
FIRST REPORT OF SALES OF LOTS.
Oct. 9, 1841, appears the first record of the results of the sale of lots in the county seat, as follows:
Wm. R. Harrison, this day, Oct. 9, 1841, produced his books, and it appears from the same that the lots sold in the county seat of Johnson county, and paid for as required by the terms agreed on by the board of commissioners of said county seat, in May, 1841, including the 24th and 25th of May, 1841, and lots sold since that time, amount to-
First payment being one-fourth in hand $725.873
Amount of notes due in 6 months from 1st payment. 725.87
Amount of notes due in 12 months from 1st payment. 725.87을
Amount of notes due in 18 months from 1st payment. 725.87를
$2903.50
FIRST COUNTY SEAT AGENT.
April 7, 1842. "Ordered, that Fernando H. Lee, be and he is hereby appointed agent of said county, agreeable to the provisions of an act of the legislature, authorizing the commissioners of Johnson county to appoint an agent for said county, etc."
179
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
CHAPTER I .- PART 2.
EARLIEST CIVIL SUB-DIVISIONS.
First Election Precincts-First Road Districts-Complete List of Present Civil Town- ships, their dates of Organization, Post Offices, etc.
FIRST DESIGNATION OF ELECTORAL PRECINCTS.
March 6, 1840 it was-
Ordered by the board, that the county of Johnson be divided into two electoral precincts as follows: The south part or precinct No. 1, the elec- tion to be held in Iowa City, and John Parrott, John Hawkins and J. N. Sanders, Esqrs., be appointed judges of the election in said precinct.
The north part of said county, or precinct No. 2, the election to be held at the house of Warren Stiles, Esq., in said precinct, and Allen C. Sutliff, Leander Jewit and Jesse Magrue, to serve as judges of the election in said precinct.
At the session of July S, 1840, the following additional order was made, to define precinct boundaries more closely:
Ordered, that the election precincts of the county of Johnson be divided by a line as follows: Commencing at the north east corner of section 24, township 80 north, range 5 west, thence west on the section line between sections 13 and 24, and continuing the same line until it strikes the Iowa river, thence up the river to the county line.
COMMISSIONER DISTRICTS.
County board session, April 7, 1841:
Ordered, that all that part of the county of Johnson which lies north of the center of township 80, shall be hereafter constituted and known as district No. 1.
Ordered, that all that part of the county of Johnson which lies south of the center of township S0, and north of the center of township 79, shall form and constitute the second commissioner's district of Johnson county.
Ordered, that all that part of Johnson county which lies south of the center of township 79, shall form and constitute the third commissioner's district of said county.
ELECTORAL PRECINCT NO. 3-CLEAR CREEK.
April S, 1841. Ordered, that all that part of Johnson county, which lies west of the Iowa river, shall form and constitute one electoral pre- cinct, and be known as precinct number three, and that the elections in said precinct be held at the house of John Hawkins, Esq., on Clear creek.
Ordered, that David Switzer, Nathaniel Fellows and Jesse McCart, be and they are hereby appointed judges of elections in the said electoral precinct for the year 1841.
The next action on election precincts occurred January 7, 1842, as fol- lows:
No. 4. Ordered, that all that portion of Johnson county lying west of the Iowa river and south of the section line dividing sections twenty-two and twenty-seven, embracing all the settlements on Old Man's Creek in
180
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
said county, be and the same is hereby established into an electoral pre- cinct to be known as election precinct No. 4, and that the place of holding elections in said precinct be at the house of Jacob Fry. And it is further ordered, that Jacob Fry and James McCrae, be, and they are hereby appointed judges of elections, in and for said precinct.
No. 5 .- Ordered, that all that part of Johnson county, lying north of the Iowa river, and west of a line which is one mile east of the township line dividing ranges six and seven, be and the same is hereby established into an election precinct to be known as election precinct No. 5; and that the place of holding elections in said precinct shall be at the house of M. P. Mc Allister.
And it is further ordered, that William Dupont, Wm. M. Stuart and David Ray, be, and they are hereby appointed judges of elections in said precinct.
THE ELECTION PRECINCTS.
Up to 1842, the election precincts were still known only by numbers. On April 6, 1842, the following record appears:
Election Precinct No. 1 .- Ordered, that A. J. Willis, William R. Har- rison and Chauncey R. Ward be and are hereby appointed judges of Elections for Precinct No. 1., or Iowa City precinct, for one year from the 1st day of April, 1842.
Election Precinct No. 2 .- Ordered, that Peleg C. Brown, John Calkin and Robert W. Orr, be and they are hereby appointed judges of elec- tions for Precinct No. 2, for the present year.
Election Precinct No. 3 .- Ordered, that Evan Dollarhide, Martin Harless and Samuel Houston be and are hereby appointed judges of elections in the third election precinct for the present year, and the elections in said pre- cinct shall hereafter be held at the house of Evan Dollarhide.
Election Precinct No. 4 .- Ordered, that the judges of election appointed at the January session, 1842, be continued for this precinct during the present year.
Election Precinct No. 5 .- The judges of elections for this precinct appointed at the January session, 1842, are hereby continued for the pres- ent year.
In 1842 these names are used unofficially in the newspapers-Clear Creek precinct, Old Man's Creek precinct, Dupont's precinct [Monroe], Big Grove precinct, Iowa City precinct.
April 5, 1843, election precinct No. 1, is called Iowa City precinct; No. 2 is called Big Grove precinct; No. 5 is called Monroe precinct ; but Nos. 3 and 4 are not designated by any name.
FIRST TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATIONS.
At the January session, 1844, (Jan. 1 and 2,) there were petitions pre- sented for the organization of three civil townships on the west side of the river. But it was found that the boundary lines described conflicted with each other, cut across or lapped over, so that they had to be referred back to the petitioners for revision.
April 2, 1844, it is recorded: On the petition of sundry citizens of Clear creek precinct, for the organization of a township, with the following
181
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
bounds, to-wit: Commencing at the southeast corner of township 80 --. And here the record stops, without then or thereafter any explanation as to why it was chopped off so short.
The next record bearing on these matters is dated April 5, 1844, and reads:
Ordered, that the range line or that part thereof north of the Iowa river, dividing ranges six and seven west, shall hereafter be the dividing line between election precincts 2 and 5, or Big Grove and Monroe pre- cincts.
Clear Creek Precinct .- Ordered, that the place of holding elections in Clear Creek precinct shall hereafter be held at the house of James H. Frost in said precinct.
The next record is July 3, 1844, and is the first time that all the election precincts are designated by a local name, instead of by number. Hence we quote:
Iowa City Precinct .- Ordered, that James Robinson, Curtis Bates and Cyrus Sanders be and they are hereby appointed judges of elections for Iowa City precinct for the ensuing year.
Big Grove .- Ordered, that Abner Arrowsmith, Timothy Clark and Frederick Kessler be and they are hereby appointed judges of elections in Big Grove precinct for the ensuing year.
Clear Creek .- Ordered, that John Keeler, John Conn and Bryan Dennis be and they are hereby appointed judges of elections for Clear Creek pre- cinct for the ensuing year.
Old Man's Creek .- Ordered, that Pleasant Harris, Asby D. Packard and Sheldon N. Canda be and they are hereby appointed judges of elec- tions for Old Man's Creek precinct for the ensuing year.
Monroc .- Ordered, that William Dupont, William Foster and William Winterstein be and they are hereby appointed judges of elections for the ensuing year.
IOWA COUNTY PRECINCT.
The territory which now constitutes Iowa county remained attached to Johnson county until 1845. On January 8, of that year, the county board-
Ordered, That the county of Iowa be and the same is hereby estab- lished into one election precinct, and shall be known as Iowa County Pre- cinct, and that the place of holding elections in said precinct shall be at the house of A. P. Kitchen, or the old "Trading House," and it is further ordered, that James M. Price, A. D. Stephens and Stephen Chase be and they are hereby appointed judges of elections for said precinct for the present year, 1845.
July 9, 1845, it was
Ordered, That Geo. W. Kitchen be allowed ten dollars and fifty cents for assessing Iowa county precinct.
Thus, Iowa county was still under the jurisdiction of Johnson county in that year.
12
182
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
PROPORTION OF JURORS, 1845.
February 18, 1845, the jury list was apportioned to the several precincts as follows:
From Iowa City precinct, seventy.
70
Big Grove precinct, twenty-five ..
25
Old Man's Creek precinct, twenty-eight.
28
Clear Creek precinct, twenty
20
Monroe precinct, seven. 7
PROPORTION OF JURORS, 1846.
The jury list made on the first Monday in April, 1846, was apportioned to the several townships as follows:
No. 1. Monroe township. 7
No. 7. Clear Creek township. S
2. Big Grove 16
S. Washington 12 .
3. Cedar 6
9. Liberty
· 11
66
4. Newport
10
10. Pleasant Valley · 14
5. Scott
7
11. Iowa City
· 50
66 6. Penn
9
Total
150
FIRST DIVISION INTO ROAD DISTRICTS.
Some of the road district divisions ultimately grew into townships or electoral precincts. There were numerous roads viewed and laid out as general county business prior to any designation of separate road districts ; but on July 8, 1840, the first lay-out of road districts was made, as fol- lows:
No. 1 .- Ordered, that all that part of the county inclosed in the second or upper electoral precinct, shall constitute the first road district, and that Warren Stiles, Esq., be appointed supervisor of said district.
No. 2 .- Ordered, that all that part of the county of Johnson lying between the base line between 78 and 79, and the upper or second electoral precinct, and east of the Iowa river, shall constitute and form the second road district, and that Wm. B. Snyder be appointed supervisor of the same.
No. 3 .- Ordered that all of that part of the county of Johnson lying south of the base line between townships 78 and 79, shall constitute one road district to be called the third district, and that Robert Walker be appointed supervisor of the same.
No. 4 .- Ordered, that all of that part of the county lying north of the base line and between townships 78 and 79, north and west of the Iowa river, shall form the fourth road district, and that John Hawkins be appointed supervisor of the same.
RE-ARRANGEMENT OF ROAD DISTRICTS.
County board session, April 4, 1841: Ordered, that all that part of Johnson county lying south of the line dividing townships 78 and 79, and east of the Iowa river, shall constitute the first road district in said county; and that Eli Myers be, and he is hereby appointed supervisor of said district for the present year.
183
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
Road District No. 2 .- Ordered, that all that part of Johnson county lying north of the line dividing townships 78 and 79, and east of the Iowa river, and south of Iowa Avenue and the Bloomington road, shall form the second road district in said county; and that William B. Snyder be appointed supervisor of said district for the year 1841.
No .. 3 .- Ordered, that all that part of Johnson county which lies north of the south side of Iowa Avenue and Bloomington road, (including said avenue and road) and east of the Iowa river, and south of the center of township 80, shall form the third road district in said county; and that Samuel H. McCrary be appointed supervisor of said district.
No. 4 .- Ordered, that the following bounds shall constitute the fourth road district of Johnson county, to-wit: Commencing on the eastern boundary of said county, at the center of township 80, thence west on said line eight miles, thence north to the county line; and that John West be appointed supervisor for said district for the year 1841.
No. 5. - Ordered, that the territory contained in the following bounds, shall constitute the fifth road district, to-wit: Commencing on the Iowa river at the center of township 80, thence east to the section line dividing sections 14 and 15, in range 6, thence north to the boundary line of said county, including all that part of Johnson county east and north of the Iowa river; and that Charles Connelly be appointed supervisor of said dis- trict for one year.
No. 6 .- Ordered, that part of Johnson county lying west of Iowa river, and north of the center of township 79, shall constitute the sixth road dis- trict; and that John N. Hedley be appointed supervisor of said district for the year 1841.
No. 7 .- Ordered, that all that part of Johnson county which lies west of Iowa river, and south of the center of township 79, shall constitute the seventh road district; and that Jacob Fry be appointed supervisor of said district. for the year 1841.
No. 8 .- On April 7, another turn was taken at road districts, which resulted thus:
Ordered, that all that part of road district No. 3, which lies east of Dubuque street in Iowa City, and the Dubuque road in said district, and in township 79, in ranges five and six west, shall hereafter constitute one road district, and be known as road district No. S, and that James Trem- ble be and is hereby appointed supervisor of said road district.
No. 9 .-- Ordered, that all that part of road district No. 5, which lies west from two miles west of the range line dividing ranges 6 and 7, shall hereafter constitute the ninth road district; and that William Dupont be appointed supervisor of said district.
No. 10 .- Ordered, that all that part of road district No. 6, which lies west of lowa river, commencing one mile north of the township line divid- ing townships 79 and 80, thence west to the range line dividing ranges six and seven, thence north one mile, thence west to the boundary line, shall constitute, and hereafter be known as the tenth road district; and that Geo. Wein be and he is hereby appointed supervisor of said district.
No. 11 .- Ordered, that all that part of road district No. 7, in the fol- lowing bounds, to-wit: Commencing at the northwest corner of section 15, township 79, range 6, thence west three miles, thence south to the county line, shall hereafter constitute road district No. 11; and that David Switzer be and he is hereby appointed supervisor of said district.
184
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
HISTORY WRITING AND RESEARCH.
.
The State Press of August 23, 1882, contained the following edi- torial item:
Last Tuesday the Secretary of State at Des Moines, called upon the Auditor of Johnson County for a mass of historical statistics, such as date of organization of each civil township, their names, their boundaries, and any changes that have been made in these, besides other matters. The county records not having been indexed, there is no possible way to obtain the information called for, but by a competent and faithful man sit- ting down and going over the county records, page by page, from the year 1837 to the present time-a period of forty-five years-and culling out the facts desired and then tabulate them. But he would likewise have to search the various acts of the territorial legislature of Wisconsin, the territorial legislature and the state legislature of Iowa, all of which have had some dealing with Johnson county boundaries. To collect all these data and put them into shape would require a solid month's work of an expert at such business; and yet the Auditor is called upon to do it, with- out a dime of funds anywhere to pay for it. But it appears on investi- gation that the Johnson County History Company is doing just this sort of work, and has these very matters in hand and already about half completed. Hence, if the Auditor makes any response at all for John- son county, he will have to draw on the History Company for it. It appears that the matter is wanted for a volume of the State census and other civil statistics, which is being prepared by authority of the executive council, and required by Chapter 198 of Acts of the 18th General Assembly.
The following table was compiled from the work of this historian, as above referred to, and forwarded to the Secretary of State:
TABULAR VIEW OF TOWNSHIPS, POST-OFFICES, ETC., OCT. 1, 1882.
Name of Tp. When Organized. Township North. Range West. Post Offices. Big Grove. . . . April 9, '45. 81 6. Solon. Cedar .. ... Jan. 7, '46. .81 No post-office.
Clear Creek. . Feb. 10, '46. 80, 2 of 79. . 7 and 8. .. Tiffin.
[Afterwards parts of cach of the civil townships of Madison, Oxford, Hardin and Union were taken from the territory of Clear Creek.]
Fremont Apr. 6, '57 .77 5. .. ) Lone Tree, Shoo
§ Fly and River Junct.
[Record not found. See chapter on Fremont Township History.]
Graham Jan. 5, '57. 80 5 Morse, Oasis. Hardin . . Jan. 4, '58. . 79. 8. Windham. [Formerly included within the territory of Washington township.]
Jefferson . . . . . Mar. 5, '54. .81 7 Shueyville.
[The territory of Jefferson was formerly included in Monroe township.]
Liberty .... .. Feb. 10, '46 ... .78,2 of 79 .. 7, n± 6. . Bon Accord.
[All of Sharon and one-half of Union were afterwards taken from the original territory of Liberty township.]
Lincoln .. .... June 8, '70 ... ..
88. .5. . No post-office.
[Was formerly a part of Pleasant Valley township.]
185
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
Name of Tp. When Organized. Township, North,
Range West. Post Offices.
Lucas. ( Feb. 10, '46. .79. .6. . Coralville.
Jan. 15, '73
[Formerly called Iowa City township. The township is divided into two voting pre- cincts, East and West Lucas, on the two sides of the Iowa River.]
Madison . . Oct. 15, '60. . . n 12 80
7 and S. . . Chase.
[It was from 1846 to 1860, included in Penn township.]
Monroe .. .Feb. 10, '46 .81 .7 and 8. .. Gregg, Danforth.
[Jefferson township was afterward detached from Monroe.]
Newport .. Feb. 10, '46 .80 5, e 12 6. .. No post-office.
[Graham township was afterwards detached from the territory of Newport township.]
Oxford Mar. 3, '56. . . 80 S. . Oxford.
[Was formerly a part of Clear Creek township.]
w 12 of 6 ..
Penn . . . . Feb. 10 '46. .80 n 12 of 7. .. North Liberty.
[Then included what is now Madison township.]
Pleasant Val'y. Feb. 10, '46. 78. 5, e } 6 . . Morfordsville. [Then included the present territory of Lincoln township.]
Scott. Feb. 10, '46. 79 5. No post-office.
Sharon. . Feb. 1, '58. 78 7 Sharon Center.
[Formerly included in Liberty township.]
Union . .. . Mar. 6, '54. 79. 7. . No post-office. [North half formerlygincluded in Clear Creek township, and the south half in Liberty township ]
Washington. .. Feb. 10, '46. 78 and s Amish. of 79 .. 8. Frank Pierce.
[At the time of organization it included s 12 of tp 79, r 8; Oct. 4, 1847, the n. 12 of said tp. was attached also. These were afterwards detached, and formed into what is now Hardin township.
Į Feb. 10, '46. .79 .6. . Iowa City.
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