USA > Iowa > Marion County > History of Marion County, Iowa, and its people, Volume I > Part 9
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4. Pleasant Grove precinct, which included "all of Marion County and the attached portion thereof south of the Des Moines River and north and west of the White Breast Creek." The election was to be held at the house of William Glenn, who was appointed one of the judges, the other two being John P. Glenn and William M. Young. This was the largest of the election precincts. It in- cluded all of the present townships of Union, Swan and Pleasant Grove, and parts of Polk, Knoxville, Franklin and Dallas, as well as that part of the present County of Warren lying between the streams named in the order.
5. Knoxville precinct, including township 75 of range 19. all of township 76, range 19, south of the river and east and south of the White Breast Creek, and all of townships 75 and 76, range 20, east of the old Indian boundary line. Lawson G. Terry, Moses Long and Landon J. Burch were appointed judges, and the election was to be held "at the place of holding the district court."
6. English precinct, which included "all of the county and at- tached portions thereof west of the old Indian boundary line and south and east of the White Breast Creek." William Tibbett's house was named as the voting place, and Samuel Nicholson, Elisha B. Ryan and William Tibbett were appointed judges.
7. Round Grove precinct, embracing township 74, range 19. and all of township 74, range 20 east of the old Indian boundary line. John T. Pierce, Jeremiah Gullion and Alexander May were appointed judges, the election to be held at the house of the last named.
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8. Cedar precinct, located in the southeastern part of the county, included township 74 of range 18, and all of township 75, range 18 south of the Des Moines River. Joseph Clark, Francis A. Barker and David T. Durham were appointed judges, and Jasper Koons' house was designated as the voting place.
ROAD DISTRICTS
On April 14, 1846, the county commissioners divided the county into ten road districts and appointed a supervisor for each, to-wit :
District No. 1 included township 77 of range 18, and all of town- ship 76, of the same range, north of a line running west from the southeast corner of section 12; Samuel Peters, supervisor.
District No. 2 included all of township 76, range 18, south of a line running west from the southeast corner of section 12 and north of the Des Moines River, and all of township 75, range 18, north of the river. William Welch was appointed supervisor.
All the other districts, with the exception of the ninth and tenth, corresponded to the election precincts. No. 3 included the Red Rock precinct, with Claiborne Hall as supervisor; No. 4, Gopher Prairie precinct, with Joshua Lindsey as supervisor ; No. 5, Pleasant Grove precinct, with William M. Young as supervisor ; No. 6, Knox- ville precinct, with Lewis M. Pierce as supervisor; No. 7, English precinct, with William Tibbett as supervisor; No. 8, Round Grove precinct, with David Sweem as supervisor.
District No. 9 included all of townships 75 and 76 of range 18 lying south of the Des Moines River. John Wise was appointed supervisor of this district.
District No. 10 embraced township 74, range 18, which now forms Liberty Township. Hugh Glenn was named as supervisor.
THE SECOND ELECTION
It will be remembered that the officers who established the county government were elected at the special election held on Sep- tember 1, 1845. The first regular election under the territorial laws was held on the first Monday in August, 1846. Besides the election of county officers, this election was of more than ordinary interest, on account of the first constitution framed for the admission of Iowa into the Union being at this time submitted to the people.
Hugh Glenn, David Durham and Samuel Tibbett were elected county commissioners; Joseph Clark, commissioners' clerk; Francis
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A. Barker, probate judge; William Pilgrim, representative to the Legislature; George Gillaspy, sheriff ; David T. Durham, treasurer ; J. F. Monohon, recorder; Allen Lowe, assessor; Claiborne Hall, surveyor; Asa Koons, coroner. The highest number of votes cast was 295. The vote on the constitution was 174 in favor of its adop- tion and 76 against it.
With the induction into office of the new officials, the business of Marion County was firmly established. Since then some changes have been made in the manner of conducting county affairs. In 1851 the offices of county commissioner and probate judge were abolished by law and the duties of the two positions merged in the hands of a county judge. Joseph Brobst was the first county judge, as well as the last. He was first elected in August, 1851, and served until August, 1855, when he was succeeded by F. M. Frush, who in turn was succeeded by William B. Young in 1861. In 1865 Judge Brobst was again elected and held the office until its business and duties were turned over to the circuit judge in January, 1869.
In the meantime the office of county judge was shorn of much of its power by the establishment of the county supervisor system in 1860. The first board of supervisors was elected on October 9, 1860, and was composed of one member from each of the civil town- ships, to-wit: Clay, Joseph Clark; Dallas, H. R. Clingman; Frank- lin, D. F. Smith; Indiana, Daniel Sherwood; Knoxville, Joseph Brobst; Lake Prairie, E. F. Grafe; Liberty, J. B. Davis; Perry, William P. Cowman; Pleasant Grove, J. Thornburg; Polk, George W. Martin; Red Rock, Edwin Baker; Summit, John F. Baldwin; Swan, J. A. Logan; Union, William Blain; Washington, Brom- field Long.
This system of county government continued until 1870, when the board composed of one member from each township was found to be too unwieldy for the speedy transaction of business and the present system of three county supervisors was adopted by an act of the State Legislature. William Blain, S. Y. Gose and S. L. Collins constituted the first board of supervisors under the new regime.
In this chapter the aim has been to give some account of the early settlement and political organization of the county. An account of the early courts will be found in the chapter devoted to the Bench and Bar, and in other chapters will be found the history of early schools, churches, the building of roads, etc.
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CHAPTER V
PUBLIC BUILDINGS, ETC.
NO PUBLIC BUILDINGS WHEN MARION COUNTY WAS ORGANIZED-THE FIRST COURTHOUSE-ITS COST AND LOCATION-THE SECOND COURTHOUSE- CONDEMNED AS UNSAFE IN 1895-PRESENT COURTHOUSE-BONDS VOTED TO BUILD IT-COMPLETED IN 1896- THE JAIL-THE COUNTY FARM-HOME FOR THE AGED-THE INEBRIATE HOSPITAL.
When Marion County was organized in 1845 the first settlement within its limits was only about two years old. The population did not exceed 1,500, none of whom paid taxes on any considerable amount of property. Consequently the county was without any pub- lic revenue with which to provide suitable quarters for the various county officers. Donnel relates that when the county commissioners, in the spring of 1846, ordered a quire of foolscap paper, a bundle of quills and a bottle of ink from Oskaloosa, they were required to become personally responsible for the debt before the goods would be sent. The first meeting of the county commissioners and the first session of the district court were held in the dwelling of L. C. Conrey. For some time after the organization of the county the several offi- cials kept their records and performed their work at their residences or boarding houses.
Notwithstanding the financial condition of the county, the board of commissioners saw that it was absolutely essential that some place be provided for the transaction of the public business, and in Jan- uary. 1846, authorized the clerk of the board to advertise for pro- posals for the erection of a frame building "24 by 30 feet square, two stories high, to be completed on or before the 20th day of May next." The records for January 29, 1846, contain the following entry :
"The court having met for the purpose of opening the bids for building the courthouse, proceeded to open the bids, and upon com- paring the bids received it was found that the bid made by Lewis M. Pierce was $100 less than any other bid received ; whereupon it was ordered by the board that the bid of Lewis M. Pierce be accepted Vol. 1- 6
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and that the building of the courthouse be let to said Pierce at his bid, four hundred and fifty (450) dollars, and that he be required to enter into bond with security to be approved by the court in the penal sum of nine hundred (9co) dollars, conditioned upon the faithful performance of his contract."
Mr. Pierce's bid included only the carpenter work, and, all things considered, it was remarkably low. At that time there were no sawmills anywhere near Knoxville and the lumber had to be hauled a long distance. The timbers for the framework had to be hewed from the forest and conveyed to the site of the building. The hewing was done by Jeremiah Gullion and the broad-ax he used is still in the possession of Austin A. Davis, who lives near Attica, in Liberty Township.
It seems that Mr. Pierce took Noah Bonebrake into partnership and that the time for the completion of the building was extended, as on August 25, 1846, it was "Ordered that Lewis M. Pierce and Noah Bonebrake be allowed the sum of four hundred and fifty (450) dollars out of the town lot fund for building the courthouse according to contract."
On October 7, 1846, the contract for plastering the court-house was awarded to James H. Parks for $195, and the. next day the board allowed Lysander W. Babbitt $23 for setting the studding, etc., for cutting off a room 12 by 18 feet in the southeast corner of the structure. These additional allowances brought the cost of the first courthouse up to $668, and there were some other expenses connected with the erection of the building that made the total cost about seven hundred dollars.
The courthouse erected by Pierce & Bonebrake was located opposite the northwest corner of the public square, on the lot occu- pied in 1914 by the Marion County National Bank. It remained in use as the courthouse for about twelve years, when it was super- seded by a new building. After that it was occupied by various businesses, the upper story having been used for some time as the publication office of the Marion County Democrat. Even while it was used as a courthouse, school was taught and religious services were frequently held within its walls. In June, 1864, it was sold to A. B. Miller for $928, who divided the lower story into two business rooms, one of which was occupied by B. F. Williams as a marble-cutting establishment, and the other by Rufus Eldredge, a dealer in produce. The upper story was occupied as a dwelling until the building was finally torn down.
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY
THE SECOND COURTHOUSE
There was a large immigration to the states west of the Missis- sippi during the years 1855 and 1856 and quite a number of the immigrants located in Marion County. Money became more plen- tiful than during the early years of the county's history, lands and lots sold for better prices, and on every hand were to be seen evi- dences of prosperity. Under these conditions many of the people grew dissatisfied with the old frame courthouse, because it did not properly represent the wealth and importance of the county. The old board of county supervisors had been abolished by law, and the responsibility for the erection of a new courthouse fell upon F. M. Frush, at that time county judge. As there was no law making it his duty to call a special election to submit the proposition to the people, he assumed the responsibility and early in the year 1856 employed D. H. Young as an architect to make plans and specifica- tions for a new courthouse. The records of Judge Frush's court for September 16, 1856, contain the following entry :
"Now, in the matter of erection of courthouse in the city of Knoxville, Marion County, Iowa, for the use of said county, the following proceedings among others have been had: From the manifest necessity of a better house and also from a recommenda- tion of the grand jury, it became obviously necessary as well as ex- pedient to make arrangements for the erection of said courthouse at as early a date as the best policy would warrant; therefore, in accordance with the duties imparted and the rights and privileges conferred upon the several county judges, within their respective counties in the state by chapter XV of the Code of the State of Iowa, F. M. Frush, county judge of said county, caused notice to be given in the three newspapers of said county to the effect that proposals would be received up to the 16th day of August, 1856, at the office of the county judge of said county for the erection of a courthouse in Knoxville, Marion County, Iowa; to be of brick, built two stories high upon stone foundation, and to be 48 by 70 feet in dimensions. Said notice was dated July 16, 1856. Subsequently, on account of giving more ample time to prepare specifications and design for the house, the time for the reception of proposals was prolonged till 4 o'clock P. M. of the 10th day of September, 1856. Of this ex- tension of time notice was also caused to be given by the said county judge, which notice was published in the public newspapers of the county.
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"And at the expiration of the time for the reception of proposals, there were found to be cight sealed proposals for said work; where- upon they were opened by the said county judge in the presence of J. B. Hamilton, clerk of the District Court of Marion County, Iowa, and in the presence of A. B. Miller, former clerk of said court, and were found to be as follows :
"James H. Parks. $27,000.00
Lee & Kennedy. 24,977.00
John W. Jones. 23,300.00
Hashett & Hamilton 20,978.43 Metz & Stambaugh 19,800.00
John Henderson 17,975.00
Dyer & Woodruff 17,789.00
Wisner 17,631.00
"No one of the foregoing proposals being yet accepted, it was proposed by the county judge to Lewis Dyer and S. W. Woodruff that they take the contract of the building at $17,500, to be paid in such payments as were named in the specifications, which terms were : one-fourth as nearly in advance as was required in procuring material and labor; one-fourth on or before the ist day of April, 1857; one-fourth on or before the ist day of April, 1858; and one- fourth against the Ist day of April, 1859.
"Said proposal being accepted by the said Dyer and Woodruff, on the 15th day of September, 1856, they produced a bond payable to the said county in the penal sum of $35,000, which bond was signed by several persons as security, and said bond was approved by said county judge and placed on file. An article of agreement was entered into by and between F. M. Frush, county judge, of the one part, and Lewis Dyer and S. W. Woodruff of the other part, conditioned that the said Dyer and Woodruff furnish the material and fully complete the house according to the specifications made by D. H. Young, architect, which specifications were made a part of the contract, which contract is more fully set forth by reference to said specifications. The building is to be enclosed and the lower story in a suitable condition to be used for offices on the Ist day of November, 1857, and the whole building is to be completed on or before the ist day of July, 1858."
The courthouse erected by Dyer & Woodruff stood in the cen- ter of the public square. A hall about ten feet in width ran the . entire length of the building on the first floor and on each side of
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OLD COURTHOUSE AT KNOXVILLE
Erected in 1837.
PUEL
A
TILDON
ATIONS
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY
this hall were various county offices, each of which was provided with a fireproof vault for the preservation of the public records. Upon the second floor was the court room, well lighted and well ventilated, with a seating capacity for about four hundred people. It was completed within the time specified, but some changes were made in the plans which increased the total cost to about twenty thousand dollars.
THE PRESENT COURTHOUSE
At the time the courthouse was completed in 1858 it was re- garded as one of the best appointed in the state. It served the county for nearly forty years, but on March 26, 1895, the board of county supervisors-then composed of L. van der Linden, A. A. Davis and Harry Horsman-met in special session "for the purpose of in- specting the courthouse, it being reported in a dangerous condi- tion," etc.
The board appointed C. C. Cross, an architect, to examine the building. He reported it in an unsafe condition and unfit to be repaired. Not fully satisfied with Mr. Cross' report, the board then engaged O. O. Smith, another architect, to make an examination and submit a more detailed report. Mr. Smith found that the walls were spreading, the room in the south end of the building used as the sheriff's office being especially in a dangerous condition. Upon re- ceiving this report, the board condemned the building, secured tem- porary quarters for the several county officers, issued orders that no one should be allowed inside the public square on account of the dan- gerous condition of the courthouse, and directed that notices to this effect be posted at each gate.
In vacating the old building the treasurer's office was located in a room immediately north of the Marion County National Bank ; the auditor, clerk, recorder and sheriff were quartered in temporary offices over the stores of S. L. Collins and Johnston & Son, on the south side of the public square, where the business was transacted during the crection of a new courthouse.
At the regular session of the board of supervisors on April 6, 1895, Mr. Davis offered the following preamble and resolution, which were seconded by Mr. Horsman and unanimously adopted by the board :
"Whereas, The present courthouse in Marion County, lowa, is wholly inadequate for the transaction of public business for the present population of the county ; and
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"Whereas, The condition of the building is such that the records of the county which have accumulated since the organization of the county cannot be kept safely therein; and
"Whereas, The present courthouse heretofore used by the county has been duly condemned by competent architects and pronounced wholly unsafe and unsuitable for occupancy on account of its dan- gerous and unsafe condition; and
"Whereas, A petition has this day been presented to the board of supervisors of Marion County, Iowa, signed by a large number of the citizens and voters of said county, praying for the submission to the voters and taxpayers of said county at a special election to be held on the 14th day of May, 1895, of the question of the erection of a new courthouse at Knoxville, in said county, at a cost not to exceed $80,000, and the issuing of the bonds of the said county for the erection of said courthouse for said sum bearing interest not exceeding the rate of six per cent, payable semi-annually, redeem- able at any time after five years, at the pleasure of the county, and payable on or before ten years after the date thereof, now, there- fore, be it
"Resolved by the board of supervisors of Marion County, Iowa, in regular session assembled, that there be submitted to the voters of this county, to be voted upon by them at a special election to be held on the 14th day of May, A. D. 1895, the question of the erection of a courthouse at Knoxville, in Marion County, Iowa, at a cost of not to exceed eighty thousand dollars ($80,000), no part of which is to be used for any other purpose than the building of such new courthouse ; and the issuing of bonds to pay for the same, bearing interest at not exceeding six per cent per annum, payable semi- annually, said bonds to be redeemable at the pleasure of the county at any time after five years and payable on or before ten years after the date thereof; and the levying of a tax to pay and redeem the said bonds with all interest thereon, and that the legal voters shall have written or printed on their tickets, 'For the erection of a new courthouse,' or 'Against the erection of a new courthouse;' and if a majority of all the votes cast at said election on said question shall be in favor of the erection of a new courthouse, then the board of supervisors of Marion County shall be authorized to contract for the erection of a new courthouse at Knoxville, Marion County, Iowa, on the site now occupied by the old, courthouse, or on some other suitable site satisfactory to the board of supervisors free from any cost or expense to the county, at an expense not to exceed $80,000. no part of which shall be used for any other purpose than the build-
MARION COUNTY COURTHOUSE, KNOXVILLE
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY
ing of said new courthouse; and also to issue bonds to raise the money for the erection of such new courthouse, bearing semi-annual interest from date at as low a rate as they can be disposed of at par or above par, not to exceed six per cent per annum, said bonds to be redeemable at any time after five years and payable on or before ten years from their date; and also to levy a special tax in addition to the usual or general tax annually levied upon the taxable property within Marion County for the year 1896, of not more than two mills on the dollar on the county valuation of that year, and to continue with a levy thereafter from year to year of not more than two mills on the dollar of such year's valuation until the whole of said bonds, principal and interest, shall have been fully paid and redeemed. And that this resolution to submit the foregoing to a vote of the people of Marion County shall be published for four consecutive weeks in the Knoxville Journal, Knoxville Express, Knoxville Educator, Pella Herald, Pella's Weekblad, Pella Advertiser, Bussey Banner, Pleasantville News, Marysville Independent and the Marion County Reporter, newspapers of general circulation printed and published within the county; and the county auditor is hereby instructed to prepare and cause to be posted up at each place of voting during the day of said election, in said county, a copy of this resolution containing the question hereby submitted to the voters of said county."
The clause in the resolution relating to the location of the new courthouse caused some adverse comment on account of its indefi- niteness, and on April 26, 1895, the board met in special session and adopted a resolution declaring that the new building should be erected upon the public square. At the same session election boards were appointed in the several voting precincts of the county for the special election.
At the election the proposition to build a new courthouse and issue bonds in the amount of $80,000 to pay therefor was carried by a vote of 2,175 to 1,817-a majority of 358-and on June 22, 1895, the board ordered its chairman, L. van der Linden, and J. D. Gamble, county attorney, "to proceed to do the necessary advertising in reference to procuring the submission of plans and specifications for the new courthouse," and certain other matters connected there- with. The plans and specifications submitted by M. E. Bell, an architect of Chicago, were adopted and bids for the erection of the building were advertised for, according to law. It was provided by the resolution of April 6, 1895, that the cost of the building should not exceed $80,000, and when the bids were opened all were
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found to be above that figure. Consequently, the board of super- visors, on October 7, 1895, took the following action :
"Whereas, Charles A. Moses was the lowest bidder for the build- ing of the new courthouse at Knoxville, Iowa; and
"Whereas, After due deliberation it was found impractical to accept or adopt the original bid of said Moses for the construction of said house; and
"Whereas, The said Moses has this day submitted to the board of supervisors of Marion County, Iowa, the following proposition or bid, to-wit:
" 'To the Board of Supervisors of Marion County, Iowa :
"'Gentlemen :- I hereby propose to construct the new court- house for Knoxville, Marion County, lowa, in full accordance with the plans and specifications prepared by M. E. Bell, architect, of Chicago, Illinois, out of No. 1 Berea (Ohio) sandstone for the sum of $76,991, the following changes to be made from the original plans and specifications, viz: 1. Omit gallery in court-room. 2. Omit tower balcony on the exterior. 3. Omit twenty-one water closets, twenty basins and three urinals. 4. Substitute marbleized cement for wainscoting in all corridors in the die course. 5. Omit one line of sewerage for wash basins. 6. Omit tile floor in court room and substitute hard maple. 7. Change all surface to rock-face work. Time of completion, one year from date.
"'CHARLES A. MOSES.
" 'Witness :
"'J. D. Gamble. "'\V. A. Clark.'
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