USA > Iowa > Humboldt County > History of Kossuth and Humbolt counties, Iowa : together with sketches of their cities, villages, and townships, educational, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 78
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When Iowa was admitted into the Union, as a State, Dec. 28, 1846, with a population of 100,000, and a reported school population of 20,000, about 400 dis- tricts had been organized. From this time the number of districts rapidly in-
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creased, reaching 1,000 in 1849, and 1,200 in 1850. In 1857, the number of organ- ized school districts had increased to 3,265. The Hon. Maturin L. Fisher, who" then so ably filled the office of superin- tendent of public instructions, in his re- port, dated November, 1857, urged the re- vision of the school law, and of the re- duction in the number of school districts.
The 7th General Assembly again took up the subject of the revision of the school laws, and on the 12th day of March, 1858, passed " An Act for the Public Instruction of the State of Iows," the Ist section of which provided that "each civil township in the several counties of this State is hereby declared a school district, for all the purposes of this act, the boundaries of said township being the boundaries of said school dis- trict; and each district, as at present or- ganized, shall become a sub-district for the purpose hereinafter provided : Pro- vided, that each incorporated city or town, including the territory annexed thereto, for school purposes, and which contains not less than 1,000 inhabitants, shall be, and is hereby created a school district." This law took effect March 20, 1858, and reduced the number of districts from about 3,500 to less than 900.
In December, 1858, a law was enacted providing that any city or incorporated town, including the territory annexed thereto for school purposes, may constitute a school district by vote of the majority of electors residing upon the territory of such contemplated district. In 1860 the pro- visions of this act were extended to the unincorporated towns and villages contain- ing not less than 300 inhabitants.
By an act passed April 3, 1866, this privilege was further extended to any city or sub-district containing not less than 200 inhabitants, and certain territory contigu- ons thereto. It soon became evident that by this amendment a serious innovation would be made in the district township system, by the formation of independent districts in the more thickly settled and wealthier portions of the townships. The amendment was repealed early in the ses- sion of the following General Assembly.
Hon. D. F. Wells, in his report, dated December, 1867, says that, "the advanta- ges of the district township system are so numerous and apparent that prominent educators in other States, where it is not yet introduced, are laboring earnestly for its adoption."
Hon. A. S. Kissell labored assiduously to secure such a change as would remove the sub-district feature of our system, which has proved a fruitful source of dis- cord and dissatisfaction, and was every year making the system more unpopular as it became more difficult of administration. He desired to abolish the sub-district meet- ing and the office of sub-director, and make each township a single school district, to be governed by a board of directors elected at the annual district township meeting for the term of three years. In his report, dated January 1, 1872, he says: "In this system every township becomes a school district, and all sub-district bound- aries are abandoned; and if this plan w ere carried into effect in this State, it would allow no other school divisions than those of the independent and township districts.
The most experienced educators of the country have advocated this system.
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HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY.
Among these are such men as Horace Mann, United States Commissioner Bar- nard, ex-Gov. Boutwell, Dr. Newton Bate- man, of Illinois, Dr. Gregory, late super- intendent, of Michigan, and the county and State superintendents of one-third of the States in the Union. The argu- ments advanced by many of these ex- perienced school men are unanswerable. Massachusetts and Pennsylvania have texted the system practically for several years; it is pronounced by these States as a success, and this successful experiment of three or four years should have greater weight with us in this young and growing commonwealth than any theoretical argu- ments that could be advanced."
Notwithstanding the efforts and array of argument, and the conviction on the parc of those who had made a special study of this subject, the General Assembly, which convened Jan. 8, 1872, enacted a law providing for the formation of inde- pendent districts from the sub-districts of a district township. This law has ever been a plague to county superintendents, and several efforts have been made to ef- fect its repeal, but without avail.
Every governor that Iowa has had has given his warmest approval of the. com- mon school system. Gov. James W. Grimes, in his inaugural message, Dec. 9, 1854, displays broad statesmanship, advanced and liberal views and eminently sound philosophy in the following lan- guage:
"Government is established for the pro- tection of the governed. But that protec- tion does not consist merely in the enforce- ment of laws against injury to the person and property. Men do not make a volun-
tary abnegation of their natural rights, simply that those rights may be protected by the body politic. It reaches more vital interests than those of property. Its great- est object is to elevate and ennoble the citi- zen. It would fall far short of its design if it did not disseminate intelligence and build up the moral energies of the people. It is organized to establish justice, promote the public welfare and secure the blessings of liberty. It is designed to foster the in- stincts of truth, justice and philanthropy, that are implanted in our very natures, and from which all constitutions and laws de- rive their validity and value. It should afford moral as well as physical protection, by educating the rising generation, by en- couraging industry and sobriety; by stead- fastly adhering to the right; and by being ever true to the instincts of freedom and humanity.
"To accomplish these high aims of gov- ernment, the first requisite is ample provis- ion for the education of the youth of the State. The common school fund of the State should be scrapulously preserved, and a more efficient system of common schools than we now have should be adopted. The State should see to it that the elements of education, like the ele- ments of universal nature, are above, around, and beneath all.
"It is agreed that the safety and perpe- tuity of our republican institutions depend upon the diffusion of intelligence among the masses of the people. The statistics of the penitentiaries and alms-houses throughout the country abundantly show that education is the best preventative of pauperism and crime. They show, also, that the prevention of those evils is much
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HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY.
less expensive than the punishment of the one, and the relief of the other. Educa- tion, too, is the great equalizer of human conditions. It places the poor on an equal- ity with the rich. It subjects the appetites and passions of the rich to the restraints of reason and conscience, and thus prepares each for a career of usefulness and honor. Every consideration, therefore, of duty and policy impels us to sustain the schools of the State in the highest possible effi- ciency."
Humboldt county is in no respect be- hind her sister counties of the State of Iowa in regard to educational facilities, and the endeavor is here made to present the inception and development of the present schools of the county, together with the sketches of the various gentle- men who have filled the office of
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
This office was created in 1858, and the duties and work was the same as at the present day, visiting schools, holding ex- aminations and looking after the interests of educational matters in general. The first to fulfill the functions of this office was George W. Mann, whose term of office began with his election in April, 1858.
Mr. Mann was a native of Erie Co., N. Y., and came to the Hand settlement in 1857. He rented part of the Cusey farm and tilled it for a time. In about 1858 he was married to Laura Bellows, a sister of S. B. Bellows, and came down and rented a portion of the farm owned by his brother- in-law, and lived in the old Eber Stone log cabin. A good story is told of him in his courting days. Coming down on the west side of the Des Moines river, and as there
was no bridge, like Leander, he plunged in, and breasting the swollen waters of the overflowing river, swam over to see his intended bride. He taught the first school in Grove township in 1859, and is now a resident of Irvington township, Kossuth county.
F. W. Hanchett was the successor of Mr. Mann, being elected in 1860 at the spring election, but when, in November of the same year, he was chosen by his fellow citizens to fill the office of county judge, he resigned the superintendency of the schools to assume the judicial robes. Mr. Hanchett came to this county in the fall of 1857, and in about 1865 moved back to the State from which he came, Indiana, stopping for a short time in Ken- tucky.
In 1863 Dearman Williams was elected to this office,and labored hard in the inter- est of the advancement of the youth of the county on the "rugged road to learn- ing." Dr. Williams was the first physi- cian in the county, and as such a sketch in full detail may be found in the chapter representing the medical fraternity.
G. D. Coyle was elected in 1865, and filled the position for two year. A whole- souled, genial gentleman, much given to pleasure and companionship, he never made much success during his stay here. After his retirement from this office he built a store building in Humboldt and essayed to run a drug business. In this he failed, and shortly after he left the county.
Eber Stone, one of the most prominent men of his day, was the next occupant of the office, having been elected in 1867. He served as such for two years.
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HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY.
Eber Stone, deceased, was born at Milo, near Penn Yan, in the State of New York, March 8, 1824. At a very early age he began to develop a marked taste for edu- cational and literary labors, soon leading his classes in those pursuits. Before he was fifteen years old he began teaching in the public schools of his native place, with the intention of making that occupation his profession through life; but after teaching a few years the confinement of the schoolroom, with its attendant duties, proved too much for his health, and he was forced to partially give up his chosen avocation; although he continued to teach occasionally all through life. The lung difficulty that was contracted in early life never left him. In 1854, thinking that the climate of Iowa might be a benefit to him, he came west, resigning the office of superintendent of public schools of Yates county, in which position he was then serving his second term. After looking the State over pretty thoroughly he decided to locate in Humboldt county, and made his claim upon land now owned by S. B. Bellows, in Grove township. The follow- ing spring his sister, Lucy A. Stone, now residing at Livermore, came on to keep house for him, but after trying frontier life for a year became so thoroughly home- sick, and Mr. Stone too, perhaps, feeling a little that way, he decided to sell his claim and return to New York. He sold, packed his goods, and was within forty- eight hours of starting when his father and mother arrived, they having sold without letting their son and daughter know of their intention to do so. The whole family now being here, homesick- ness vanished and Mr. Stone began again
to look for a home on the fertile prairies of Humboldt county, and finally bought what was long known as Johnson's Point, on section 16, in Humboldt township. Here he continued to live until the time of his death in October, 1875. Mr. Stone was a ready and graceful writer, contrib- uting frequently to the leading educa- tional and other publications in the State. Though conservative in his opinions, the friends of progress always found in him a willing assistant, ready to do his share in every good work. No man could become acquainted with him without respecting him, and those best acquainted valued him most highly. He was married to Lncý L. Knowles, Sept. 27, 1868.
At the fall election of the year 1869, the two contestants for this office, Harlow Miner and E. C. Miles, had a tie vote. For some reason, not given, the office was given to Mr. Miles, who entered upon the duties of the office, Jan. 1, 1870, and served two years. Rev. E. C. Miles, came to this county a few years before this. as the pastor of the Unity Church, and offici- ated as such for two or three years. He had been a Congregationalist and received his religious training from the teaching of that good and true man, Rev. Chaunoy Taylor, of Algona. Feeling that his views on religion had undergone a great change in regard to the inspiration of the Srip- tures and the Divine mission of Jesus Christ, he informed his congregation, and requested that he be allowed to depart, as he could not teach that which he did not believe. An honest man, an indefatiga- ble worker and a highly educated gentle- man it was hard for his Church to give him up, but he would go. He went from
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HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY.
here in 1870 to Colorado, from there into California, where he is engaged in mer- cantile pursuits, having given up preach- ing.
A. D. Bicknell was chosen by the poo- ple, at the election of 1871, to fill this of- fice, and served as such for two years.
Rev. Julius Stevens, now a resident of Humboldt, was elected to this office and served for two years, until the qualifica- tion of his successor.
L. J. Anderson was the next incumbent of the office, being elected in the fall of 1875, and held the office for two years, when his successor was elected. He is now engaged in the drug business in the thriving town of Humboldt.
J. A. Marvin was elected in 1877, was re-elected in 1879, occupying the position for four consecutive years, and made a most admirable officer. Mr. Marvin is engaged in business in the town of Hum- boldt at the present, and is an intluential man in that community.
John McLeod, the present superintend- ent of common schools of Humboldt county, was elected in the fall of 1881, and is a most exemplary officer.
John McLeod, superintendent of public schools, was born in Scotland, Sept 24, 1832. His parents were Murdock and Catherine McLeod. They emigrated in 1841 to Prince Edward Island, where John grew to manhood and received his education. When twenty-one years of age he commenced teaching school, which work has engaged his whole time and at- tention since, excepting three years spent in special studies, and three years in the War of the Rebellion. In 1857 he came to Iowa. In August, 1862, he enlisted
in the 33d Iowa Volunteer Infantry, com- pany G. On arriving in St. Louis he was detailed at headquarters, district of St. Louis, where he remained through his term of service. He was married in 1865 to Melvina L. Noble, a native of New York. They have three children-Ida, Walter and Mary, In the fall of 1875 Mr. McLeod came to Humboldt county. He was elected to his present office in the fall of 1881, and re-elected in 1883.
The following exhibit of the educational matters of the county was taken report of John McLeod, the county superintendent for the year 1883:
Number of district townships in the county ...
10
Number of sub districts .. 79
Number of independent districts .. 9
Number of graded schools .. 8
Number of schools of all kinds in the county ... 82
Number of teachers employed.
Of which are males.
89 15 74
Females .. ..
Average compensation of teachers, per month-males.
$29 87 $27 96
Females.
Average number of months of school each year ..
7
Numberof males in the county between the ages of five and twenty-one ....
1,352
Number of females between five and twenty-one years
1,281
Number of pupils enrolled.
2,098
Average daily attendance ..
1, 258
Average cost of tuition per month, for each pupil. .
$2 61 82
Number of school houses in the county Value of same. $46,730
Value of apparatus in the schools .. $2,757
Number of teachers certificates granted in 1883.
117
Of which are males.
29
And females. .. 88
Number of applicants rejected. 16
Average age of male teachers .. 2
Female teachers 14
The financial condition of the county educational funds are in a most satisfac- tory form, as the following summary will show:
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653
SCHOOL HOUSE FUND.
Cr.
Paid for rent and repairs.
$2. 115 50
Paid for fuel ..
1,700 87
Paid secretaries and treasurers. 512 25
Paid for records, dictionaries etc. ..
150 17
Paid for insurance and janitors .. . .
265 00
Paid for supplies. 497 74
Paid for other purposes
1,682 88
On band.
3, 256 17
Total. $9,652 90
TEACHER'S FUND.
Dr.
On hand, as per last report
$5, 254 14
Received from district tax ..
16, 647 52
Received from semi-annual appor- tionment ... .. 1,355 94
Received from other sources 886 96
CONTINGENT FUND.
Total.
$24,044 56
Cr.
On hand, per last report.
Paid teachers.
$15, 827 57
Received from district tax.
6,120 98
Paid for other purposes.
392 55
Received from other sources
1,059 71
On hand
7,824 44
Total
$10,180 48
Total
$24, 044 56
CHAPTER XIII.
SWAMP LANDS AND RAILROADS.
COMPILED BY REV. S. H. TAFT.
The controlling influence which the swamp lands of the county exercised in the location and building of the first rail- road, makes it necessary to refer to them in connection with the road.
On the 28th of September, 1850, the general government granted to the State of Iowa certain lands known as swamp lands, which the State distributed among the several counties, under provisions that they were to be used for drainage purposes or other public improvements. Between 15,000 and 20,000 acres fell to the share of Humboldt county. So little
was at first understood of the value of these lands that, in 1862, the supervisors of the county entered into a contract with the American Emigrant Company to con- vey them toit, on the payment of $1,000 in some substantial improvement, to be des- ignated by said supervisors. This con- tract, on being submitted to a vote of the citizens in October, 1862, was rejected, the vote being seventeen for, and forty-one against the proposition. Had that contract been ratified it would have changed the financial and social current of events in the county, from their present lines, for
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Received from district tax ....
5,809 85
Received from other sources
2,314 24
Total
$9,652 90 Cr.
Paid for school houses and sites.
$6, 219.45
Paid for apparatus ...
46 00
Paid on bonds and interest.
284 83
Paid for other purposes.
742 28
On hand.
2,360 34
Total.
$9,652 90°
Dr. $2, 999 79
Amount for hand, per last report ...
Dr. $1,528 81
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HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY.
all time. Since withont these lands as a subsidy, the Minneapolis & St. Louis road would have been built from Britt, in Hancock county, straight to Fort Dodge, midway between the Boone and Des Moines rivers; and but for the importance which attached to the towns of Humboldt and Dakota, by reason of this road run- ning through them, the Chicago & North- western Company would have run their road through three or four miles north of the towns, thus avoiding the great ex- pense involved in building it where at present located.
With no railroads communicating with . the place, having natural advantages for promoting the growth of a town, such as water power, stone quarries and con- verging roads, the county, while having numerous small stations, would have had no important commercial or social center, and would have even been dependent upon Algona on the north, and Fort Dodge on the south. But with the great arteries of travel and trade as now located, the county offers to its citizens, commercial, social and edu- cational advantages equal, if not superior, to those of adjoining counties.
On the 12th of October, 1869, a prop- osition was submitted to the people for the conveyance of one-half the swamp lands to Humboldt College, when $10,000 should have been raised from other sources, and the other half to the common school fund of the county, which was defeated, the vote being 186 for, and 252 against it.
In 1870 the board of supervisors en- tered into a contract with Gen. Read, president of the DesMoines Valley Rail- road, for the conveyance of two-thirds of the swamp lands to that company when
the road should be built to a depot be- tween Springvale, now Humboldt, and Dakota, and one-third when built to a depot in the town of Rutland, which was ratified at a special election held on the 9th of August, of that year, by a vote of 356 for, and sixty-eight against. The Des Moines Valley Company, failing to build within the time named in the contract, the supervisors, in 1872, entered into con- tract with three parties, J. T. Ross, president of the Iowa & Dakota Railroad Company; S. H. Taft, president of the Fort Dodge, Humboldt, & Southern Minnesota Railroad Company, and with Mr. Mershon, president of the Iowa, Minnesota & North Pacific Railroad Com- pany, by which one-fourth the swamp lands were to be conveyed to the first named company when it should be built to a depot between the towns of Spring- vale and Dakota, one-half the lands when the second named company should build to a depot between the towns above named, and one-fourth to the last named company, when it should build to a depot in Vernon township, provided said roads should be built within two years, and pro- vided further, that if one company should build and the others should not, then all the land was to be conveyed to the com- pany so building. This agreement was approved at a special election held on the 14th of September, 1872, by a vote of 250 for, to twenty-three against it.
In the winter of 1873, while Mr. Taft was in the east negotiating for funds with which to build from Fort Dodge on the basis of the swamp lands and a five per cent. tax, voted by the townships in the south half of the county, Mr. Hewitt, of
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HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY.
655
Wright county, visited Springvale and Dakota and promised the building of the Iowa & Dakota road within six months, if the towns would transfer the five per cent. tax, voted to the company represented by Mr. Taft, to his company.
The townships made the transfers asked, on learning which Mr. Taft discontinued his negotiations for funds, and nothing was accomplished by either company within the time stipulated in the agreement with the supervisors. In 1874 Mr. Hewitt came before the board of supervisors and asked an extension of time for the Iowa & Dakota Company, which was not granted. In the spring of 1875 a home company, known as the Des Moines, Humboldt & Minnesota Com- pany, was organized, of which B. H. Harkness was chosen president; and at & special election held on the 5th of June of that year, swamp lands were voted to said company, with authority to use them in securing the building of a road either from Webster City, in Hamilton county, or from Fort Dodge, in Webster county, the vote being 280 for and 125 against the contract. This effort, like those which had preceded it, failed to secure the much desired railroad. In the autumn of 1876 Mr. Taft wrote J. J. Smart, general super- intendent of the Des Moines & Minne- sota Narrow Gauge Company, calling his attention to the valuable subsidy which Humboldt county had to give the company building the first railroad to its principal business towns. In February, 1877, Mr. Smart wrote Mr. Taft, asking that he meet him at Webster City on the 14th of the month to more carefully consider the terms of co-operation between the com-
pany and the county. The meeting was held on the day named, Messrs. B. H. Harkness, J. N. Prouty, Dr. Ira L. Welch and J. E. Cragg accompanying Mr. Taft and taking part in the conference. A satisfactory understanding was reached, and on the 7th of May following a con- tract was entered into between the super- visors and Mr. Smart. This agreement provided that the railroad should be ex- tended from Ames, in Story county, by the way of Webster City to Humboldt, thence to Rutland, within a specified time, and the whole of the swamp lands to be conveyed to the company when the road reached Humboldt. This movement alarmed the business men of Fort Dodge, who saw in its success the loss of the im- portant trade of Humboldt county. A public meeting was called, which was at- tended by men representing the various business interests of the city, and action was taken looking to the immediate build- ing of a road into Humboldt county. A company was organized, composed of the leading business men of the city, called the Fort Dodge & Fort Ridgley Railroad and Telegraph Company, and George R. Pearson was appointed as general super- intendent. The city and township voted a tax in aid of the enterprise, and the line of the proposed road was run to the south line of this county, from which point three lines were run north through the county of Ilumboldt,-all of which was done before the 15th of June, the day set for the people to act on the contract with Mr. Smart. During this time, also, much electioneering was done in the county by citizens of Fort Dodge against the pend- ing proposition. The hopes inspired by
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