USA > Iowa > Louisa County > History of Louisa County, Iowa, from its earliest settlement to 1912, Volume I > Part 19
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The treasurer's receipt for the tax list delivered to him November 2, 1874. shows :
State tax $ 7.066.23
County tax 14.132.46
Bridge tax 7,066.23
District school taxes 26,985.01
County school taxes
3.533.12
Insane hospital 1.766.55
Railroad bond
35.331.15
The total of this list amounts to $101, 145.56.
The treasurer's receipt for the tax list delivered to him November 2. 1875. shows :
State tax $ 7.287.64
County tax 18,219.10
Bridge tax 5,465.73
District school tax 21,125.42
County school tax
3.643.82
Railroad bond
18,219.10
The total of this list amounts to $81,314.40.
The treasurer's receipt for the tax list delivered to him October 23. 1876, shows :
State tax $ 7,455.20
County tax 22.365.58
Bridge tax 5,591.40
Railroad bond 18.638.00
District school tax 22,765.03
County school tax 3.727.60
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HISTORY OF LOUISA COUNTY
The total for this list for all purposes is $88,606.05.
The treasurer's receipt for the tax list delivered to him November 2, 1877, is not materially different from the preceding, the total being $93.855.62. The railroad bond tax on this list was $11,069.52, and there was also a pauper tax of one mill on the dollar, amounting to $3,689.84.
The treasurer's receipt for the tax list delivered to him November 1, 1878, shows substantially the same as the preceding, the total being $92,057.81; the railroad bond tax was $10,937.08, and there was also this year a pauper tax of $3,645.69, being one mill.
The treasurer's receipt for the tax list delivered to him November 3. 1879, shows a total of $84,810.02, being for
State tax $ 7,086.26
County tax 21,258.77
Bridge tax 10,629.39
District school tax 24,211.29
County school tax 3,543.13
Railroad bond tax 8,857.82
We may note in passing that the railroad bond tax levied in 1879 was the last of that tax levied and that the total amount of railroad bond tax levied beginning with 1869 and ending with 1879, was $285.217.24. It will be seen by the article on the Air Line railroad that the total expense of that project to the people of the county is placed at $298,665.52. The addition of the $13,448.28 represents the interest and penalties which accumulated on the taxes levied in 1869, 1870 and 1871.
The receipt for tax list for the year 1891 shows a total tax for all purposes, including corporation taxes, road taxes, etc., $77,424.14. Of this the
District school taxes were $31,255.46
County school tax 3,731.93
State tax 7,463.87
County tax 14,927.74
Bridge tax
9.329.84
The treasurer's receipt for tax list delivered to him on December 30, 1893. shows a total tax levy for all purposes, including schools, corporations, roads, etc., $93,700.65. Of this the
District school tax was $32.794.38
County school tax 3,862.02
State tax 7,726.68
County tax 23,172.1.4
Bridge tax
11,586.07
The treasurer's receipt for the tax list delivered on December 1. 1895. shows a total tax levy for all purposes of $96,158.74. Of this the
164
HISTORY OF LOUISA COUNTY
District school tax was $36,212.04
County school tax 3.797.09
State tax 9,492.60
County tax
22,782.49
Bridge tax 1 1,391.27
The treasurer's receipt for the tax list delivered on December 31, 1898. shows a total for all purposes of $98.300.05. of which the
District school tax was $36.395.32
County school tax 3,475-74
State tax 11,122.37
County tax 15,640.82
Bridge tax 10,427.22
Relief for the poor
5,213.61
The treasurer's receipt for the tax list delivered December 31, 1900, shows a total for all purposes of $119,272.79, of which the
District school tax was $40,240.33
County school tax 3.654.95
State tax 9,502.39
County tax 18,274.84
Relief of poor
3,654.95
County farm improvement fund 10,967.43
Bridge tax 10,964.81
The insane tax on this list was $7.309.83, which is fully twice as large as it was on most of the lists previously noted.
The treasurer's receipt in December, 1902, for the tax list of that year shows as follows:
Poll tax $ 1,699.00
State tax 13,601.09
State university 777.20
State normal school 388.60
State college 777.20
County fund
15.545.10
Poor relief
7,772.05
Bridge fund
11,659.07
Insane hospital
1,943.01
County insane
971.50
County school
1,336.03
District school 47.456.71
County road tax 562.50
Delinquent road tax
3,003.27
Corporations 8,088.82
County board of health 906.41
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HISTORY OF LOUISA COUNTY
There are a few small items such as cemetery tax, dog tax, repairs on the Hoffman levee, etc., these latter amounting to about $2,000. The total of the tax list for this year was $123.653.71.
The treasurer's receipt for the tax list delivered to him in December, 1903. shows as follows :
Poll tax
$ 1,656.00
State tax
12,630.80
State university
842.05
State college
842.05
State normal school
421.03
County fund
16,838.28
Poor relief
8,420.53
Bridges
12,630.80
County insane
1,052.56
County road
4,210.27
Township road tax 13,251.89
Delinquent road tax 5.421.54
County school tax
4,210.27
District school tax 49,155.29
Soldiers relief
1,032.56
Corporations 8,542.10
There are a few smaller items, amounting to a little over $1,000, which bring the total for this year up to $144.474.73.
It will be noticed that the total tax levy took a jump of over $20,000 from 1902 to 1903. It was not long after this increase was noticed until certain county politicians were blaming the gentleman who then happened to be gover- nor, for the enormous increase in taxes in this county. A coniparison of the items of tax for the two years, however, will show that there was an actual decrease in the tax levied for state purposes and an increase in almost every- thing else.
It will also be interesting to note the corporation taxes for 1903 for principal towns in the county and also the school taxes for school districts which em- brace these same towns. It must be borne in mind, however, that the boundaries of the school districts and of towns are not identical, there being considerable land included in the school districts which is not included in the towns.
Columbus Junction school district $5,037.96
Columbus Junction corporation 2,756.31
Columbus City school district 1,860.21
Columbus City corporation 211.59
Letts school district 1,847.81
Letts Corporation 416.60
Grandview school district 766.44
Grandview corporation
170.46
166
HISTORY OF LOUISA COUNTY
Morning Sun school district 3,956.27
Morning Sun corporation 1,933.87
Oakville school district 671.57
Oakville corporation 462.51
Wapello school district 7,162.09
Wapello corporation
2,760.30
The treasurer's receipt given in December, 1905, for the tax list of that year shows a total of $148,296.02, the principal items of which are as follows :
State tax $13,697.39
County tax 21,404.51
Bridges 17,123.56
County school tax 4,280.89
District school tax
56,592.86
Township road tax 12,964.77
County road tax
1,070.22
Delinquent road tax
452.00
The treasurer's receipt for the tax list delivered to him in 1907 shows a total of $146,163.34, the principal items of which are as follows :
State Tax
$15.296.93
County Tax 19,796.03
Poor 2,249.55
Bridges 17,996.39
County School Tax
4,499.10
School Districts
50,853.03
Total Road Tax
14,403.40
The treasurer's receipt for December. 1909, shows a total of $168,873.26. We note the following items :
State Tax
.$15,887.68
County Tax
21.788.82
Poor 2,269.97
Bridges
18,157.36
County Road Tax
2,269.67
Township Road Tax
15,012.16
Soldiers Relief
907.99
Poll Tax
1,584.00
Dog Tax
1,166.00
County School Tax
4,539.34
District School Tax
55.532.47
Total tax for this year
$168,873.26
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HISTORY OF LOUISA COUNTY
We note also for 1909 the tax levy for the same school districts and incorpor- ated towns as are given for 1903.
Columbus Junction School District
$ 6,613.51
Columbus Junction Corporation 3,243.01
Columbus City School District
1.397.42
Columbus City Corporation 617.78
Letts School District
2,160.32
Letts Corporation
604.96
Morning Sun School District
10,967.53
Morning Sun Corporation
2,693.26
Oakville School District
1,083.84
Oakville Corporation 698.05
Wapello School District
5,249.46
Wapello Corporation
5,418.00
Grandview School District
1,652.78
Grandview Corporation
426.88
The treasurer's receipt for the tax list delivered to him in December, 1910, shows the following :
State Tax
$16,064.37
County Fund
23,366.36
Bridges
19.471.96
Poor
3.894.39
Soldiers Relief
1.460.40
State University
973.60
State College
973.60
State Normal School
486.80
County School Tax 4,867.99
73,234.20
Township Road Tax
15,245.05
County Road Tax
2,434.00 1,616.50
Dog Tax
1,126.00
Delinquent road and some state taxes
2,310.59
Corporation Tax
17,413.90
Township Cemetery Tax
1,779.59
General Purposes
296.01
District Schools
Poll Tax
Total exclusive of drainage taxes $188,434.63
The drainage taxes levied at the same time to be paid in 1911 amounted to $19,640.86, making the total contribution of the people of Louisa county for the benefits of state, county and local government, $208,175.49.
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HISTORY OF LOUISA COUNTY
The school taxes and corporation taxes for the same districts and towns as heretofore given for 1903 and 1909, were on the 1910 tax list as follows :
Columbus Junction School District $ 7,165.69
Columbus Junction Corporation 5,169.70
Columbus City School District 2,027.14
Columbus City Corporation 904.23
Letts School District
2,668.74
Letts Corporation
802.40
Grandview School District
1,289.26
Grandview Corporation
790.19
Morning Sun School District
9,151.28
Morning Sun Corporation
3.276.66
Oakville School District
4,219.07
Oakville Corporation
614.40
Wapello School District.
7,475.02
Wapello Corporation
7,136.14
Following is a list of the assessed valuation of all the property in the county for the years from 1900 to 1901, and of the total taxes levied in the county for all purposes for the years from 1900 to 1910:
Popula- Assessed Value of Total Taxes of
tion Year
County
County
State Taxes $ 9.502.39
11,873-1900
$14,619,068.00
$119.389.18
15.330,664.00
118,945.48
1902
15.544,100.00
123.653.71
1903
16,841,068.00
144,474.73
1904
16,980,092.00 145,691.40
12,893-1905
19,241,996.00
148,296.02
1906
17,236,292.00
143,010.28
1907
17,985,144.00
146,162.04
1908
16,525.088.00
153.715.76
1900
18.307,224.00
168,873.26
12.355-1910
208,175.49
16,064.37
SWAMP LAND AND DRAINAGE.
Closely related to Finances and Taxes is the subject of swamp land and drainage.
This matter has been of considerable importance to Louisa county from a com- paratively early date. Our first County Judge. Wright Williams, seems to have made the first move in the matter, soon after the first swamp land legislation was enacted by the Iowa Legislature. We next find that County Judge. Fran- cis Springer interested himself in the matter, and the records contain a copy of a letter addressed by him to the commissioner of the general land office at Wash- ington, complaining of the fact that the swamp land selections for Louisa County were not made available to the county. It seems from the letter, that
169
HISTORY OF LOUISA COUNTY
the land office had adopted a rule not to confirm the swamp land selections for any of the counties in Iowa until reports had been received from all of the coun- ties. The letter points out that at that time a large part of the state was sparsely settled, and many of the counties not yet fully organized. It is stated in this letter that the swamp land selections in Louisa county embraced some 46.000 acres. This letter was dated April 20, 1865.
About 1857 the county began to realize something from its swamp lands. It is difficult to get at the exact facts and figures. A part of the confusion is due to the fact that the Swamp Land Act passed by Congress September 28. 1850. under which the State of Iowa secured title to the swamp lands, was at first believed only to include such tracts as were designated on the plats of the govern- ment surveys as swamp lands and unfit for cultivation. This was the form of the bill as originally reported, but it had been amended to include overflowed lands without reference to their description on the government plats. While the country was settling up, thousands of acres of lands which were in fact subject to overflow, but which were not designated as swamp land on the government plats, were settled upon. Of course these lands afterward were selected as swamp lands and claimed by the various counties in which they were situated. Several thousand acres of swamp.lands in Louisa county were settled upon prior to their selection, and many others had been sold by the government for cash. Eventually the county was compensated for these lands, compensation for those sold by the government was in cash, and other lands were granted to Louisa county in lieu of the Louisa county swamp lands which had been sold before the selection. Most of these lands .were situated in Emmet and Hancock counties, and were afterwards sold by the county for prices ranging from $1.25 to $2.50 per acre.
Under the act of Congress it was contemplated that the proceeds of the sales of swamp lands should be used toward reclaiming them and for making roads and bridges. The first enterprise of this kind undertaken by the county was in Eliot township. The matter was brought to the attention of Francis Springer, County Judge, by a petition signed by William Stewart and a number of other residents of that locality : at this time Alexander Ross was Drainage Commissioner. and on July 7, 1857, he issued a notice stating that in accordance with an order of the County Court, the work on Section number one of the swamp land improvement in Louisa county would be to let to the lowest bidder on August 8, 1857 : the work was described as being the construction of an em- bankment commencing 2,000 feet west of the lowa slough on the south side of the Iowa river, and running east and north three miles according to the report of the county surveyors then on file: or so much thereof beginning at the initial point at the west end as the means at the disposal of the County Court would allow. Contract for the work was let on August 8, 1857, to Michael Buckley & Co. at 171/2 cents per cubic yard. The surveying was done by engineers G. P. Sherwood, W. S. Kremer, T. W. Bailey and A. B. Miller at different times, the principal part of the surveying seems to have been done by G. P. Sherwood.
The amount expended by Louisa County on this particular improvement was about $9,262.85. On May 17. 1858, the County Judge notified Michael Buckley & Co., that the means at the disposal of the County Court for the construction of the Eliot township levee were exhausted and that they should discontinue work.
170
HISTORY OF LOUISA COUNTY
On September 11, 1858, it was reported to the Court that a continuance of the swamp land improvement in Section One would enhance the value of lands in Des Moines county, and that Des Moines county, at its expense, would build three- fourths of a mile of said improvement commencing at Station 128 of the original survey. An order was made permitting Des Moines county to continue the work.
About this same time, that is, in 1857 and 1858, the county expended nearly $15,000.00 in building a levee on Muscatine Island; and also expended about $1,400.00 on the road between Toolsboro and Burris City, and something like $1,000 or $1,200.00 in Wapello and Morning Sun townships. These items to- gether aggregate nearly $27,000.00 of the swamp land fund which was expended by this county in 1856, 1857 and 1858. The lands which the county received in the northern part of the state were not sold until about 1870; it appears that the county realized from these lands and a few scattering pieces of swamp lands still left in this county, about $28,000.00 more, and a considerable part of this money was expended in drainage projects in the various townships which contained swamp lands, other than Eliot and Port Louisa. The expenditures for this pur- pose at this time, were about, as near as can be ascertained from the records, $18,000.00.
A Swamp Land Commissioner was appointed for each of the various town- ships where money was to be expended. T. M. Parsons was the first commis- sioner for Jefferson township, and was succeeded by Asher Sillick. Jesse Harris was the commissioner for Wapello township, William Bell for Morning Sun, H. P. Pike for Marshall, James lligbee for Elmgrove, S. E. Wilson for Columbus City, S. S. Wilcox for Union, Phillip Thompson for Concord and Milton Car- penter in Oakland township.
Drainage work was practically at a standstill in this county from this time until the passage of the new drainage law by the 30th General Assembly which inaugurated a new drainage era. A large number of drainage districts have been organized in Louisa County under this law and the amendments that have since been made to it, and we append hereto a brief reference to those of importance. We had hoped to be able to give the figures for each of these districts showing the amounts expended for different purposes, but they are not yet available for any but No. 4 which are given.
On September 16. 1903, the board of supervisors established what has since been known as Drainage District No. I, which included all that portion of sec- tions 23, 24. 25 and 26, township 73 north, range 2 west, lying within the cor- porate limits of the town of Oakville. This took in practically all of the town of Oakville. The total cost of the work done in this district was about $2,000.00.
Drainage District No. 2 was established on the petition of W. S. Gunnels, March 22, 1906. to include about 2,717 acres. The engineer was J. A. Shriner and his original estimate of the cost was $11,311.20. The engineer originally re- ported that the main ditch in this district should be six feet deep, with a bottom width of twenty feet and the top width twenty-four feet, and the first assessment of the costs was made on this basis. Later it was agreed by all parties that the ditch be only twenty feet wide at the top and five feet deep, and six feet wide at the bottom, and the assessment was made at $9.355. the basis being at a rate of about $4 an acre for land benefited one hundred per cent. It was found after- wards that it was necessary to raise something like two or three thousand dollars
171
HISTORY OF LOUISA COUNTY
additional. This district was situated southwest of Wapello in sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, of township 73 north, range 3 west, and in sections 1, 12, 31 and 32 of township 74-3.
District No. 4 was a joint district, situated in Louisa and Des Moines counties. The part in Louisa county was situated entirely in Eliot township and about three- fourths of the land in the entire district was situated in Louisa county. Petition for this district was filed by G. W. Gale and others on June 20, 1907, and J. A. Shriner was appointed engineer. His first report seems to have been filed, Feb- ruary 20, 1908, and his estimate of the number of acres included in the district was 16,750, and his estimate of the cost was as follows:
For excavation of ditches $ 2,619
Removal of obstruction in channels 1,000
Boiler, engine, pumps and fixtures 27,189
Buildings and sitting machinery 5,000
Preliminary expenses, superintendents, etc. 3.550
Total
$39,388
M. J. Deihl, of Louisa county, and Gust A. Bergston, of Des Moines county, were appointed commissioners and they in conjunction with the engineer went over the ground and these commissioners approved the engineer's report with the addition of a number of tile drains. which would cost as estimated by the engineer, $2,926, making the probable cost of the improvements, $42,314. as estimated by these commissioners. As originally contemplated, this district included the town of Oakville, comprising District No. 1, already established and also about 4,000 acres contiguous to Oakville, mostly on the south and southwest, and a little of it immediately north of Oakville. The landowners of this part of the proposed district objected to its being taken in, with the result that when the district was established on June 24, 1908, this land was left out of the district.
On June 27, 1908, the joint boards appointed Jacob A. Harmon engineer, and required him to give bond in the sum of $5,000 and entered into a contract with him, providing for him to do all the work required as engineer and to employ such additional labor as might be necessary and that the compensation therefor should be as follows: For Jacob A. Harmon. $10 per day for the time actually employed by him in such work and his necessary and reasonable traveling expenses. For as- sistant engineers and draftsmen $5 per day ; for recorders, $3 per day, ten hours to be a day's work in the field, and for all other labor employed on such work, the actual cost thereof. It was also agreed that said engineer Harmon should be paid in installments as the work progressed, five per cent of the cost of construct- ing the levee and ditches, and five per cent of the cost of the pumping plant, ma- chinery, etc. Engineer Harmon made elaborate plans for the entire work and the same was completed at a total cost of $131,664.34. The principal items of this cost are as follows :
Pumping plant complete, including machinery $46,521.31
Open ditches 31,579.81
Tile ditches 15.525.91
172
HISTORY OF LOUISA COUNTY
Engineer's residence 1,980.09
.Attorney's fees 1,280.00
Miscellaneous 1, 102.27
Printing
694.25
Damages
8,447.00
Engineering expenses
24,543.70
Total actual cost $131,674.34
Estimated when established 42.314.00
The amount stated for engineering expenses may not be entirely correct, but it is the nearest approximation that can be made from the records in the Au- ditor's office of Louisa county. The share of all the expense of District No. 4 borne by Louisa county was three-fourths, or practically that, and the Auditor has a record so made that it shows the various amounts paid by Louisa county for the various purposes, as above stated, except that there is an item of $6.246.52 being Louisa county's share of the preliminary expenses, which is not thus sep- arated. The amount paid by Louisa county, including this last item is $98.755.76, and Des Moines county's share would be about $32.918.58 making a total cost of $131.674.34.
It is possible that there were a few hundred dollars in the preliminary expense account that would not properly be chargeable to the engineering expenses, but it is safe to say that the engineering expenses of this drainage district have already amounted to considerable more than one half of the original estimate for the whole enterprise. Whatever else may be said of Drainage District No. 4, its history at least shows the wisdom, from the engineer's standpoint, of hav- ing a contract whereby his compensation will be. in addition to his per diem. five per cent of all that he can make the work cost the district.
The amount given for miscellaneous expense includes some extra work in the Auditor's office of the two counties, surveying. notices, pay of commissioners, etc.
In regard to the amount of $8,447.00 given as damages, it is probable that something like $4.000.00 of that was for the purchase of the farm which the supervisors have been leasing since that time.
Soon after the establishment of District No. 4, two levee districts were estab- lished, being Nos. 5 and 6. The two together included all of the levee on the Mis- sissippi and lowa river referred to so far as it protected any of the lands in Drain- age District No. 4. At a somewhat later period the entire levee constructed by the United States government near the mouth of Flint creek was included in one levee district, being Louisa and Des Moines District, No. 16, and this latter dis- trict absorbed the levee districts 5 and 6.
The next district established in Louisa county was Levee District No. 8, petitioned for by J. N. Dutton and others. This levee was along the east side of the Towa river southeast of Wapello and north of Oakville, and commenced near the quarter section corner on the south side of section 22. 73-2, and extended about five and a quarter miles to the north to a point on the bluff a little south and west of section 8. 73-2. This district included about 2.600. J. A. Shriner
173
HISTORY OF LOUISA COUNTY
was appointed engineer and he estimated the cost of the levee and the outlet pipe for the interior waters of the district to be $23,279.57. The contract for the work in this district was let to W. P. Bumgardner, of Wapello, and he sub-let the same to Phelps & Peterson. The improvement was completed for about the original estimate. The order of the board establishing this district was made September 28, 1908, and the work was completed within about a year.
The next district was Levee District No. 9, and was petitioned for by J. E. Dennis and others, December 29, 1906, and included the land in Oakland town- ship known as Marsh or the Big Marsh, lying in sections 3, 4, 5. 8, 9, 10, 15 and 16, in township 76, range 5, and included about 890 acres. W. S. Kremer was appointed engineer of this district. He afterward resigned and J. A. Shriner succeeded him. Mr. Kremer's original estimate of the cost of the improvement to be made in this district was $4,300. The contract for this work was taken by some of the landowners interested in it, and the total cost was not far from the original estimate.
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