USA > Iowa > Linn County > History of Linn County Iowa : from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume I > Part 40
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"During the early days of the new congregation, Mr. McKinnon rendered valuable serviees as leader in the singing. His clear and distinct voice could be heard and followed with ease by the body of the congregation.
"Mr. and Mrs. John MeGregor were both born in Scotland, he May 11, 1801. in Callander, she August 13, 1806, in Bo'ness. They came to America in 1852, settling in New York, and in 1857 came to Iowa where they settled on a farm west of the grove. Mr. MeGregor was active in the work of the church and especially in the raising of funds for the new church building. Both were loyal supporters of the church, and were among those who kept their membership in the congregation till the time of their death.
"The same vessel that brought them to America brought Mr. Jas. Mitchell. It was a sailing vessel and required six weeks to eross the ocean. This past summer their great-granddaughters made the voyage in the Lusitania in less than five days.
"In 1877 they celebrated their golden wedding at their home, the same home they chose when first coming to Scotch Grove. Mr. MeGregor died November 8, 1894, at the age of ninety-three years, the greatest age reached by any of the early members. August 13, 1880, Mrs. MeGregor died, being just seventy-four years old. Both were buried in the Fairfax cemetery.
"Conditions then and now are quite different. Railroads were not yet built into the community. At one time the produce had to be hauled to Davenport and Muscatine. It took a week to make the trip and when one got back home, little was left to eneonrage another trip. There were no roads in many places, and the oxen, which were often used in those days, frequently left the wagon stuck in some slough. Before railroads were built into Cedar Rapids, a steam- boat came up the river from the Mississippi, bringing groceries and dry-goods and carrying the produce back. No money could be had for the grain and stock. One must take in exchange for them groceries and dry-goods. The panie of 1857 had not yet spent its force. Such were the conditions surrounding the early pioneers when the congregation was organized.
"These members were not only pioneers in carving out homes in a new country, but they were pioneers of the faith. Religious services, Sabbath school and prayer meetings were held at Conley school house, at Norway, and at Livermore school house, besides those held at the church. They cherished the hope and faith in the divine which they had brought with them to the new country, and were persistent in offering to all who might come, the advantages of the sanctuary.
"The early pioneers are always men of firm faith, sturdy and strong in their beliefs, set in their opinions. It is not to be wondered at, that when the question of where to ereet the new church building arose, there were differences of opin- ion. Some wanted it located at Brownlie's corner, some at Conley's school house and some just west of the present site. It was at such times that William Ure stepped into the threatened breach and by his calm counsel brought unity to the opposing opinions. Although not a member of the Fairfax congregation Mr. Ure rendered serviees as valuable as any of its members in giving financial aid and in other ways.
"Of these fifteen charter members, Mr. and Mrs. James Mitchell, James and Margaret Ure, William MeKinnon and John Mitchell were all born and lived during their childhood in the same community in Scotland. They were all bap-
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tized by the Rev. Mr. Russell, and they attended the same church and school. In coming west to the new country they chose out a beautiful spot, fertile and productive. During the fifty years, within the memory of one of the charter members, land that was bought from the government for $1.25 per aere has been sold for $150 per aere.
"Four of these couples, Mr. and Mrs. Jas. Mitchell, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Hall, Mr. and Mrs. Jas. Ure, and Mr. and Mrs. John MeGregor, have celebrated their golden weddings. Of these early pioneers of Scotch Grove, one has passed the age of ninety years, six have passed the age of eighty years, and but two died before reaching the age of seventy, a beautiful commentary upon their rug- ged and sturdy character and habits.
BOULDER TOWNSHIP
Boulder township is located in the northern part of the county and despite its name is one of the most fertile and productive portions of the county. The surface is generally rolling, dotted in an early day with excellent groves of native timber. Buffalo ereek in the days before windmills were in common use was a much prized stream which was used by farmers near and far, for the use of their stoek. William Wagner is supposed to have made the first settlement in 1850. He was shortly followed by William MeQueen and Silas Edington. Later eame the following named persons: John Wagner, Will Ward, HI. B. Brown, Frank Cooly, J. Wilds, J. Barnhardt and Ben Harrison. In the early fifties came an itinerant Methodist minister, John Bell, and organized a small congregation, ser- viees being held in a school house near the present site of Prairieburg. The John MeQueen grist mill which began operation about 1854 on Buffalo ereek, a mile southwest of Prairieburg, was a noted mill in its day and was largely patronized by the early settlers. The town of Prairieburg was named by Henry Ward, the first postmaster. The first house was a log structure built by Joe Barnhardt in 1853. N. Parsons ereeted the second house and Henry Wayne the third, which was a store building where he opened a store. In 1856, Will Wagner started a shoe shop, and other buildings, such as hotels and blacksmith shops eame later. The reeent advent of the railroad has boomed the town and the price of land has in- ereased greatly. A number of the early settlers and their descendants are still land owners in this township. Coquillette, Whitney, Paul, O'Rourke, Carpenter, Walker, McQueen, Burke, Rundle, Pillard, Nelson, Laey, Leonard, Le Clere, Smith, Cushman, Hill, Soeshe, Garvis, Drexler, Tear, Considine. Matsel, and other well known families.
CLINTON TOWNSHIP
Clinton township, with a population of 1,000 people, located in the western tier of townships, has a rich, productive soil and has been farmed continuously for sixty years and the soil shows no sign of deterioration. The farmers resid- ing in Clinton township have well improved farms, good roads and a number of fine sehool houses and churches. For many years the road known as the Toledo road, as well as the Marengo road, were the two chief thoroughfares for travelers, gold seekers, and others, and consequently it was early well advertised.
Among some of the early settlers in this township may be mentioned John Conley, Hiram Usher, Joe Brown, Dyer Usher, George Buchanan. Reese and the Langhams, and seores of others who came here in the '40s.
James Yuill, Henry Maurer, John Fox, Whiteneck, Sisley, Kuhn, Wieneke, Lederman, O'Connell, the Miller family, Misners, Scotts, Swetts, Hall, Snell, and many others of the early settlers came here in an early day, building up the community. They have long since passed away leaving their children and grand- children large tracts of produetive land.
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Sisley Grove was at a very early time a place where all the settlers, as well as travellers, congregated. The grove at that time was much larger than it is at present, and many of the farmers adjoining owned small tracts of land in this grove where they cut rails and fence posts for their farms during the winter.
Here is also located a cemetery where many of the old settlers are buried, and at an early day a church was built at which the early pioneers congregated once a week to hear the word of God preached. In the absence of any regular preacher frequently the pioneer farmers preached to the congregations. This church was abandoned some years ago and the congregation has since worshiped at Fairview, a few miles further east.
Here, also, was located Kuhn's blacksmith shop and hotel. Kuhn was a queer old fellow, who not only was an expert blacksmith but the only one for miles who was competent to shoe oxen, and consequently during the winter months he was a very busy man. Kuhn not only was a good horseshoer and blacksmith, but he was a dentist as well and pulled teeth when blacksmithing was slack. At one time he pulled a tooth for an old settler with an instrument used in those days and as it was pretty severe he gave a drink of whiskey to stop the pain. After the fellow fully recovered his senses the tooth ached as before and the patient learned that the dentist had pulled the wrong tooth and so informed the blacksmith, to which the blacksmith replied, "That will be easy to remedy, just take another drink and we will go at it again, and you will not be out very much as my charges are only ten cents a tooth." Old Mr. Kuhn seemed to know the wants of the community, for he kept a barrel of whiskey in his blacksmith shop and sold the stuff at thirty cents a gallon, and served free drinks to anyone on paying liis bill. The hotel was not a modern kind of a house, but was generally full, as travellers in those days were plentiful. The old man also sold feed to travellers and consequently he generally got a little something out of every travel- ler who passed by Sisley Grove.
The grove was named in honor of the first settler who owned most of the land on which the grove is situated. During the early '50s and '60s Clinton township produced more wheat, it is said, than any other township in the county, all of which was hauled to Cedar Rapids.
BUFFALO TOWNSHIP
Buffalo township was first settled by George C. Perkins, who came here in 1839 and made a claim which he occupied thereafter during his lifetime. In the early days it was well wooded and consequently much of this land was sold in small strips to adjoining farmers.
GRANT TOWNSHIP AND WALKER
For the following interesting sketch of the early settlement of northwestern Linn county we are under obligations to Justin Barry, editor of the Walker News.
Grant township, forming the northwest corner of Linn county, was organized in 1872 as the result of a struggle over the levying of a tax in aid of the construc- tion of a railroad. The B., C. R. & N., since incorporated into the Rock Island system, had projected a line from Cedar Rapids north toward the Minnesota line. Washington township, then embracing much more territory than at present, had voted a five per cent tax in aid of the road. Those living in the northern portion of the township rebelled, and in an effort to escape the tax petitioned for a division of the territory and the formation of a new township. They succeeded in the latter effort and the new township was designated Grant, in honor of Gen- eral Grant, who was then president. However, the people did not escape the tax, and some of those who most vigorously opposed it later embarked in business in
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the new town of Walker, which sprung up with the coming of the railroad, and thus their defeat became in fact the foundation for modest fortunes, which came from the large territory and the equally large profits of pioneer business days.
As the earlier settlers sought out the timbered sections regardless of the quality of the land, what is now Grant township, comprised as it is almost wholly of prairie, was one of the last portions of the county to be developed. Some few settlers came early, but progress generally was slow. A family named Norris was the first to settle within its territory, being already located along what is now its southern border when John K. Speake and family came in 1840. The Nor- rises have since disappeared and no one seems to know whither they went. James Buforde Speake is now the oldest living settler in the township, and though past eighty years of age he continues to operate the farm in seetion 19 on which his father filed when the family arrived here from Illinois in 1840.
Other settlers eame at long intervals, but for many years after the arrival of the first it was predieted with great assurance that the northern portion of the township never would be settled but would always remain a wilderness. And yet this valley, including the present town site of Walker, lying north of what in the early days was called Wright's Grove, now Fox's Grove, must have presented an attractive picture and one of rare beauty in its wild state, viewed from the sur- rounding hills, a little ercek winding its way through the center, flanked all about by great rolling ridges and fringed on either bank with willows, with here and there a giant oak towering above all else.
William Davis settled in the southwest portion of the township in 1841. and on his farm in about 1850 or a little earlier was laid ont the first cemetery in the township. It is still in use for that purpose and many of the monuments erected in the early days bear quaint inseriptions. Mr. Davis died in 1866, leaving a large estate to his sons, Hezekiah and Edward, who carried on extensive farm operations. The former kept a paek of hounds and for many years seonred the country for miles around in search of wolves. The Davises later met with reverses and left the county years ago shorn of a large share of the princely estate, which once had embraced many hundreds of aeres of land in Benton and Linn counties.
E. D. Hazeltine, who died only a few weeks ago at his home in Center Point, was another early settler in the southern portion of the township, and he was long active in all its interests. He served for some time in the early days as a county commissioner. During the '50s numerous pioneer families arrived, in- elnding those of Thomas Fee. W. C. Ring, C. G. and Benjamin Gitehell, W. S. Bliss, Chorydon Gilchrist, Christian lehl, and others.
Following the close of the Civil war development was more rapid, a number of soldiers fresh from the service joining the pioneers in their work of subduing the wilderness. In 1873 when the railroad arrived settlement had reached the northern border of the township, where James A. North, Walker Purvianee, William Moses and others were located. The building of the railroad brought the establishment of a new town on seetion 4, which was called Walker, in honor of W. W. Walker, then chief engineer and afterward superintendent and receiver of the road.
James K. Hotchkin built the first business building, opening a general store, and he was also appointed as the first postmaster. The second business building was ereeted by Theo. Hamblin, present mayor of the town, who engaged in the grocery business. O. C. Barnes built a hotel on the site now occupied by the Walker News office, and Fred Hoffman creeted the store building now occupied by S. biddle. The first residence was built by C. G. Gitehell, who leased his farm in section 21 and engaged in the lumber and grain business in partnership with Fred Hoffman, and Mrs. Gitchell was the first woman resident of the town. Messrs. Gitchell and Iloffman prospered greatly in business. amassing modest fortunes, and both remained for many years among the leaders in business affairs.
GARAGE
QUAKER OATS PLANT, CEDAR RAPIDS
STREET RAILWAY STATION AT BEVER PARK, CEDAR RAPIDS
مجيب؟
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SOME TOWNSHIP HISTORY
Mr. Gitchell later represented his county for two terms in the lower house of the General Assembly of Iowa.
The town grew steadily and at once became an important market point, tapping a wide territory of rich farming country, and for many years it has been recog- nized as the best shipping point on the Decorah division of the Rock Island, barring only one or two of the larger cities. The farmers soon turned their atten- tion largely to dairying, and in the town now is one of the finest creamery plants in the state, "Walker" butter having gained a wide fame in the city markets.
Municipal affairs have been wisely and economically administered ever since the incorporation of the town in 1891, when the following were chosen as the first officers : Mayor, W. A. Jones; councilmen, C. G. Gitchell, J. P. Bross, H. J. Nie- tert, J. N. Keys, Theo. Hamblin and P. L. Hutchins; recorder, O. C. Swartz; treasurer, M. B. Dodge; assessor, E. R. Wheeler ; marshal, J. M. Peyton. Walker now has a pretty park embracing about two blocks of ground, a complete muni- cipal water-works system affording fire protection to all portions of the town, and a well equipped fire department. The water-works system has just been re-en- forced by the sinking of a second deep well, affording an inexhaustible supply of water, and the installation of a second pumping equipment.
The town's graded school system has reached a high standard of efficiency, and its graduates rank well as teachers and as students in higher institutions. The school has four departments, all of them crowded to their full capacity, the en- rollment including many tuition scholars. Several thousand dollars have already been set aside as the foundation of a fund for the erection of a new brick school building, which will be a necessity within a few years.
The town is well supplied with churches, having four protestant and one Catholic society. In the order of their organization they are: Methodist Episco- pal, Free Methodist, Catholic, Presbyterian, Christian. The first church organ- ized in the town was in 1874 by the Wesleyan Methodist, but that denomination has since passed from the field.
That the town and surrounding country are prosperous and rapidly growing in wealth is shown by the fact that Walker now boasts of two strong banks having resources reaching a half a million dollars, and with deposits steadily increasing. Its business men are enterprising and progressive.
Regularly laid out, its streets lined with shade trees, bordering permanent walks and well kept lawns, the town presents a pretty appearance, and town officials and citizens seem to vie with each other in their efforts to maintain its reputation as being one of the prettiest towns in the county.
MAINE TOWNSHIP
We are indebted to a loyal citizen of the county for the following historical sketch of one of the finest districts in the county - Maine township. Dr. Ward Woodbridge has treated sympathetically the early days in and around Central City. He long has lived there, has been a potent factor in the development of his community, and knows whercof he speaks.
Maine township geographically is located in the northeast corner of Linn county, being in the second row of townships from both the north and east.
Its shape is an irregular triangle, containing forty-seven square miles, making it one-third larger than the average township. This is due to an early arrange- ment whereby a portion of Buffalo township became a part of Maine. The Wapsio river divides Buffalo township nearly in the middle. In its early history the larger number of people resided south of the river, as there were no bridges in those days, and the river held a high stage of water, making it difficult to cross. These people finally asked to be attached to Maine township for admin-
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istrative purposes, and all that portion of Buffalo on the south side of the river was made a part of Maine, and has never been restored.
The Wapsie river runs along the northeastern border of Maine, and is the dividing line between it and Buffalo.
Along the river, and from one to three miles in width on either side, the land is somewhat hilly, sandy, and has been heavily timbered. When the more level country is reached it becomes a gently undulating plain, rieh blaek loam and very productive.
As we turn in retrospeet, seeing its growth and development, we can see the work of the hardy and determined pioneers on every hand. It was they who blazed the way. It was they who built this Appian way of progress. It was their devotion and privation, patiently endured, that have eaused not two, but myriads of blades of grass to grow where hitherto the one blade was trampled under foot by the roving Indian and buffalo, and although their forms have vanished and their voiees are stilled, and the hands roughened by honest toil lie quiet, yet their work lives after them. They left that imprint on both descendants and admin- istration which makes of the Maine township citizenship today a sturdy, hard- headed class, whose public opinion always erystallizes on the side of righteousness, of truth and justice. Its people never have to apologize for their course.
Probably the first white settler was John Jenkins, who came in 1838 and settled on the farm adjoining Central City known as the Ormus Clark farm. In 1839 Joseph Clark bought the farm of Jenkins, he being a son-in-law of Clark. It lies to the southwest of Central City, and a portion of it lies within the corporation. It is now owned by C. C. Crane.
In the winters of 1838-1840 a few trappers wintered along the banks of the Wapsie, but the names of no permanent settlers are recorded.
In the spring of 1840 two young men, natives of Maine, landed in Maine town- ship. They had left their state two years before and stopped at Peoria, Illinois, working there through the summer, and going south in the winter where they worked in the cotton yards of New Orleans. Returning from New Orleans in the spring of 1840 they bought three yoke of cattle, a big prairie plow, and what other necessaries they needed, and headed for the Mississippi river. Crossing it they drove on and on until arriving one evening at the place known as "Jordan's Grove" they camped for the night. The next morning they cooked breakfast, and while one of them went out to gather up the cattle, the other took his bearings, and when the cattle were brought up he had the plow out of the wagon. On inquiry from his partner as to what he was abont he said, "This looks good to me. Hitch onto the plow." These two young men were L. D. Jordan and Ed MeKin- ney. They broke enough to hold their elaims, went to Dubuque and filed on them, returned, built cabins, went back to Maine and married sisters, returned and made homes, and Mr. Jordan lived his whole life on the spot where he unloaded the plow, dying there in 1890. MeKinney moved from the neighborhood some years before his death. They both lived to be old men.
In 1840 the Heaton family eame, and P. A. and Will Heaton still live in Cen- tral City, together with two or three of the women of the family.
In October, 1844, Chandler Jordan arrived at his brother's place. He re- mained all night, and in the morning got on a horse and rode north through the grove to the brow of the hill overlooking the Wapsie valley.
It was beautiful Indian summer. All was purple, yellow, and gold, and the blue-joint grass stood as high as the baek of his horse all the way down the valley. He gazed faseinated, rode slowly down the valley of a small creek that meandered from its souree in the grove, to the river. In a level place on the bank of the creek he stopped, staked out a claim, returned, went to Dubuque and filed on it, came baek and began improvements.
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He broke the ground and raised crops, and in the spring of 1847 built a cabin on the spot where he first dismounted, and married Sarah D. Waterhouse in June. They went at once to the cabin and began housekeeping. Later they built more commodious quarters, and in 1860 erected the brick house in which they both died in 1909.
Harvey Powell came in 1844 also, and entered a fine tract of land on the ridge west of Central City, where he lived to a good old age.
In 1846 N. C. Gillilan came; Jennings Crawford in 1854, and the Haas family in the early fifties.
About this time settlers began coming in so rapidly that honorable mention can not be made of all of them, even if they could be traced. It can readily be seen that the earliest settlers coming from the state of Maine gave the name to the township. They were a sturdy lot of pioneers, determined to win success from their surroundings. They knew no such word as fail or can't. They knew no surcease from labor, but toiled on without murmur or complaint.
Markets were a long way off, Dubuque and Muscatine being the principal places where they sold their produce. It took four days to take a load to Dubuque and bring one back. They never made the trip with empty wagons. There were no bridges. The roads ran across the virgin prairie, and often, when sloughs were bad, they had to take off part of the load, drive through a bad place, unload what they had hauled over and return for the rest, thus delaying their journey.
Finally the Northwestern road came to Cedar Rapids in 1859, and later a road to Marion and Springville, bringing, as they felt, markets to their very doors.
They turned the virgin soil, sowed, reaped, mowed, and garnered the fruits of their labor year after year, early and late alike, working with the primi- tive tools of that day when most of the work was done by main strength instead of machinery. They formed from necessity those habits of saving every thing which, with many, later resulted in an abundance for the rainy day. These early privations, sturdy devotion to the work, with a fidelity well worth emulation has brought its rewards in one of the richest agricultural regions on earth.
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