USA > Iowa > Muscatine County > History of Muscatine County, Iowa, from the earliest settlements to the present time, Volume I > Part 58
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December 23, George Wright was given a life sentence or killing Mrs. Nellie Crippen.
1900-January 4, Eugene V. Debs delivered an address at Stein Music Hall. February 2, Riverview addition was platted. Biennial election law drafted by Senator Titus passed legislature.
February 6, Grand opera house was assured for the city.
February 13, Dr. D. Powell Johnson died.
February 23, Boer sympathizers held a mass meeting at the city hall.
March 3, Z. W. Johns was acquitted of the murder of Walter Boot.
March 4, Barney Schmidt was elected mayor.
April 9, George W. Dillaway died. .
May 9, golf links were platted in the fair ground property.
June 4, P. M. Musser offered library to the city.
June 9, the city agreed to purchase the waterworks.
July 10, city voted in favor of municipal ownership of waterworks plant.
July 16, Gilbert Kepler drowned in the river.
July 22, a fire at the Huttig plant did $100,000 damage.
September 19, erection of Greenwood chapel was commenced.
September 22, Grace Lutheran congregation decided to erect a church.
October 23, State Baptist Convention opened in Muscatine.
1901-January 3, first banquet of the Pan Hellenic Club was held at the Grand Hotel.
January 15, George H. Johnston sold Grand Opera House to C. W. Kem- ble for $20,000.
January 15, William Luedtke died from accidental gunshot wounds received the day before at the hands of his son, while hunting.
January 10, contract is let for electric station at Oak and First streets.
January 26, liquor dealers of Muscatine organized a protective association.
February 2, J. E. Howe secured the contract for Musser library, which cost $30,000.
February II, Carrie Nation arrived in town, causing much apprehension among saloon keepers. Her visit here was immediately following her notable cyclone in Topeka, Kansas, where she started on her smashing career.
February 18, ministers appealed to better element to bring about a reform as the result of the crusade started by Carrie Nation.
March 4, Ruth Nollard, a former Muscatine girl, was shot by a baseball player sweetheart in Kansas City.
May 3, the mayor appointed a committee to investigate the matter of building a city hall.
May II, Zenas W. John, found guilty of perjury while on trial for the mur- der of Walter Boot, was released on $5,000 bond.
May 12, the beautiful cemetery chapel, given to the city by Peter Musser in honor of the memory of his wife, was dedicated with ceremony.
May 28, the steamer Dubuque struck a snag at Oquawka and sank. Vol. I-31
482
HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY
June 27, Theodore S. Parvin, for many years a resident of Muscatine, died in Cedar Rapids.
July 27, Thomas Selman, of Andalusia, Illinois, died in the county jail by reason of excessive heat.
August 2, Superintendent-elect Chevalier presented to the school board the proposed course of study, including a business course and it was adopted by the board.
August 3, McKee and Bliven's button factory burned.
August 12, work started on Hershey Hospital.
August 21, announcement was made that the contract was let for the con- struction of the Milwaukee cut-off.
September 3, three men were scalded and badly injured by an explosion in Musser's sawmill.
September 5, camps were established and work on the Milwaukee cut-off expected to begin soon.
September 14, Muscatine people appalled at news of death of President McKinley.
November 5, republicans in the county elected every man on the ticket.
November 7, Father Laurent celebrated fiftieth anniversary of his pastorate.
December 20, Musser library was formally dedicated.
1902-January 3, first annual banquet of Young Men's Christian Association was held. 'A' $40,000 building was assured.
January 21, Tom Morgan was killed by Kid Noble.
February 20, a golf club was incorporated and plans made to build a club house.
March 4, R. S. McNutt was elected mayor of the city.
April 4, $22,000 was raised for the Young Men's Christian Association building.
May 15, little Hilda Lemkau, of South Muscatine was fatally burned while playing with matches.
May 19, Noble was found guilty.
June 5, The Rock Island got control of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad.
June 12, Colonel D. V. Jackson was nominated as a candidate to succeed Hon. W. F. Brannan as judge of the district court.
July 5, Hershey Memorial Hospital was opened.
July 10, a $40,000 building fund for the Young Men's Christian Association was secured.
July 17, Muscatine Journal issued a Jubilee edition, the paper having been edited by John Mahin for fifty years.
July 25, council stated saloons could not open on Sunday.
August 1, James Selden received the contract for construction of the new champion hose house.
August 5, Geneva Golf and Country Club house was formally opened.
August 16, the body of Mrs. Jessie Tuman was found in the woods and hus- band unconscious in cabin.
August 18, Mr. Tuman died at the hospital.
483
HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY
August 19, Henry Gerth was drowned in Mad creek.
September 15, Kaiser box factory burned, loss $25,000.
October 27, Arthur Wilhite accidentally killed Curtis Deems while hunting. December 16, it was reported that Muscatine North & South would extend to Burlington within six months.
December 22, Major F. W. Bishop was elected lieutenant colonel of the Fifty- fourth Regiment.
December 31, the last stroke of the midnight bell closed the judicial career of Judge William F. Brannan.
1903-January 4, Charles R. Fox, pioneer lumberman, died.
January 24, Mart Woods, found guilty of dynamiting Kessinger home, com- mitted suicide.
March II, Muscatine North & South went into the hands of a receiver.
April 13, F. W. Swan announced that he would give a pipe organ to the Baptist church in memory of his wife, Mollie C. Swan.
May 30, Citizens Railway Park was opened.
June 4, Fay Bennison, of Muscatine, broke the world's record for shot put.
June 14, Mrs. Ella H. Goodrich committed suicide by jumping from the high bridge.
July I, tax ferrets unearthed $85,000 withheld from taxation.
July 15, J. F. Boepple instituted action against William Huttig for $50,000 damages.
August 6, Iowa avenue saloons closed their doors.
September 7, Milwaukee cut-off was opened.
October 16, White caps pounded Charles Girard of Conesville.
October 16, the city council passed an ordinance providing for three hundred gas and gasoline lights.
October 30, Captain A. K. Raff, city recorder, dropped dead.
October 30, Rev. P. Laurent, pastor of St. Matthias church for fifty years, died at Dijon, France.
December 3, fire destroyed car barns and twenty-five cars, entailing a loss of $53,000.
December 4, H. W. Huttig confirmed rumor that he and William Musser had secured control of the railway and light company.
December 26, Mathias Matters was so overjoyed at seeing his son that he dropped dead.
December 28, the Young Men's Christian Association building was formally dedicated.
1904-February 2, seventh annual convention of the Southeastern Iowa Lum- bermen's Association was held in Muscatine.
February 23, William Neff was killed by a train in the Rock Island yards.
March 7, R. S. McNutt was reelected mayor of Muscatine.
May 8, celebration of golden anniversary of founding of the German Evan- gelical church was held.
May 24, firemen held an annual celebration. Many factories closed and R. S. McNutt delivered an address.
484
HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY
July 7, island levee contract for $50,000 was let by government engineers. August 7, cornerstone of $30,000 Lutheran Old Folks Home was laid.
August 18, $125,000 was levied by the city council to meet expenses during the year 1904.
August 25, Muscatine County Veterans Association met at Weed Park. One thousand soldiers, their families and friends were present.
September 14, a freight train collided with a switch engine in the local yards. Nine cars and three engines were wrecked.
September 2, German American Press Association met in Muscatine.
September 25, Rev. J. L. Murphy, pastor of Grace Lutheran church, resigned.
October 22, H. W. Huttig bid $60,000 for Muscatine North & South Railway. October 24, Mrs. Croft was awarded $20,000 for injuries received in a wreck at Buffalo.
November 22, Byron Lord was fatally injured in a street car accident.
December 3, Michael Godfrey and son Leith, and Grover Eis were drowned in the Mississippi river.
December 8, first class of nurses to receive diplomas in Muscatine graduated from Hershey Hospital.
December 15, Henry Jayne purchased Muscatine North & South Railway for bondholders for $104,000.
1905-February 6, P. H. Eagleton met death on the railroad.
March 23, J. H. Slattery, a former Muscatine man, was killed at West Liberty.
March 24, Mrs. James Weed offered to turn Weed Park over to the city.
May 13, William Weigand was killed by a train at Wyoming Hill.
July 2, the German Lutheran Home for Aged People was dedicated.
August 5, Brady's body was found in a cave on Island B.
August 27, Isaac Stark, a former Muscatine boy, was drowned in Lake Michigan.
August 30, William Jennings Bryan spoke at the Opera House on the sub- ject, The Value of an Idea.
September 14, Jeanette Derby was murdered by Arthur Webb, who then committed suicide.
September 27, Weed Park Club House was opened.
September 20, Wm. Nagel and Josephine Collette were indicted by the grand jury for the murder of Brady.
October 15, natural gas was discovered west of the city.
October 31, the new soap factory filed articles of incorporation.
November 5, O. R. Schaeffer was fatally injured by a train east of the city.
November 15, May Muenz was accidentally shot by her sister on East Hill and died the day following.
1906-January 2, William Nagel and Josephine Collette case was proved to be invalid in Rock Island county, but on the IIth were reindicted.
January 13, property of the Citizens Railway & Light Company was sold to eastern capitalists.
January 21, St. Matthias congregation decided to remodel the school.
485
HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY
January 29, Pearl Levin was burned to death.
February 3, William Slattery was killed by a falling tree.
February 21, the contract was let for the erection of the waterworks on the island.
March 4, Jacob Osthalter was elected mayor.
March 15, Company C entered A. A. U. basketball championship.
April 19, the contract was let for piping natural gas to the city.
May 2, Walter Kiefner was stabbed by an Italian in the railroad yards and died.
May 8, survey of the Muscatine-Davenport Interurban was started.
June 3, Jesse Mosier was drowned at Fairport.
June II, Roach Timber Company incorporated for $1,000,000.
June 25, Muscatine postoffice included in omnibus bill before congress for $75,000,000 public building.
June 30, president signed a bill giving Muscatine a postoffice.
July 16, Fifty-fourth Regiment held an encampment in Muscatine.
July 17, Battling Nelson appeared at the Grand Opera House.
August 10, eastern capitalists visited the city, investigating Moscow canal. August 23, Bankers Reserve held a state picnic in the city.
August 27, Rev. Potter announced his decision to leave Muscatine.
August 30, H. J. Heinz visited the city and announced that extensive im- provements would be made at the pickle works.
September 4, James Wilson was killed by a train.
September 10, Joe Keck and Luke Sylvester were killed by a train near Fairport. John Holsten shot his daughter and tried to kill himself. W. P. Stoddard was appointed pastor of the Methodist church.
September I, Rev. Beckerman resigned the pastorate of Trinity church.
September 15, Robert Gladstone was killed at the oatmeal plant.
September 17, John Holsten was bound over to the grand jury.
October 3, reunion of the First Iowa Infantry was held in Muscatine.
October 15, Bessie Holsten died at Hershey Hospital.
October 19, William Nagel was freed from murder charge.
October 21, Patrick Nevens was burned to death at his home south of the city.
November 13, Muscatine County Bar Association was formed.
November 20, American Pearl Novelty Company was incorporated for $100,000.
November 30, Josephine Collette was released at Rock Island county, Illinois. 1907-January I, interurban survey from Muscatine to Davenport was com- pleted after days' trip by engineers.
January 6, Rev. A. I. E. Boss preached his first sermon at Trinity church.
January 8, R. S. McNutt was appointed postmaster by President Roosevelt.
January 14, Congressman Dawson took up the matter of propagation of the clam.
January 20, Mulford Congregational church was dedicated.
January 26, Walter L. Lane, publisher of the Muscatine Journal, died.
February 2, First Congregational church was ruined by flames.
486
HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY
February II, initial step was taken toward the erection of a new county building.
March 18, James J. Corbett, ex-champion pugilist, visited Muscatine.
April 17, fiftieth anniversary of founding of Presbyterian church was celebrated.
April 2, Muscatine Launch Club was organized.
May 7, proposition to build court house and jail carried.
July 24, injunction was made against the city saloons by anti-saloon men.
August 6, Louis Heberly drowned south of the city.
September 27, work was begun on the new court house.
October 6, John Wilson, Sr., drowned in the Mississippi river.
October 15, Conrad Bahr was crushed to death by falling lumber at Roach & Musser plant.
November 10, Rev. William Sunday opened evangelistic meetings in Musca- tine. December 4, Harry Jones murdered Mr. and Mrs. Will Van Winkle at Fairport.
December 15, Sunday meetings closed with 3,579 conversions.
December 30, Law Enforcement League was organized.
1908-January I, city welcomed new year by going dry. All saloons were closed indefinitely by Law Enforcement League.
January 21, Mississippi Valley Power Boat Association was formed in Muscatine.
February 4, erection of the Family Theater on Third street was commenced.
March I, Knights of Columbus was organized in Muscatine.
March 24, Muscatine Tourist Basketball Team returned from a continental tour.
April 4, Andrew Davidson died.
May 17, Judge J. Scott Richman died.
May 22, Philip Stein passed away.
June 27, Emil Dittman drowned in the Mississippi river.
July 4, First annual regatta of Mississippi River Power Boat Association was held.
August 30, Rev. A. J. Kempton passed away at Madison, Wisconsin.
October II, Theater managers and actors were arrested by the Ministerial Association for conducting Sunday theaters.
October 12, S. R. Chase, oldest resident of the county, died.
November 15, Judge Bollinger hands saloon petition knockout blow by his decision, holding the names on the paper void and that the saloons have been operating for several months against the law.
November 19, Colonel J. H. Monroe, a well known business man, passed away.
November 30, Will J. Hunt residence was destroyed by fire.
December 13, fire destroyed Charles Schmelzer's property.
1909-January I, Muscatine Rural Mail Carriers' Association was formed. January 20, Commercial Club secured Ziegler Canning Company.
January 24, Harry Jones, alleged Van Winkle murderer, was captured at Milan, Kansas.
487
HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY
February 20, Frank Nadler was killed and others injured in Muscatine North & South wreck.
March I, trial of Harry Jones was begun.
March 10, Harry Jones committed suicide in cell at the county jail.
March 16, Lowe jewelry factory was secured for Muscatine.
March 27, Mayor Barney Schmidt died.
April 1, William Grossklaus was appointed mayor to succeed Barney Schmidt. April 6, old Muscatine county court house was sold at auction.
May 6, Earl Walker was killed on a Rock Island train east of the city.
May 20, Law Enforcement League started war on bootleggers.
July 19, Walter Kautz, aged twelve, was drowned in the river.
July 25, William Jennings Bryan addressed seven thousand people at the Chautauqua grounds.
August 4, contract for the new Cook-Musser building was let.
August 26, Charles Howard, president of Muscatine North & South Rail- road announced that the road would be extended to Burlington.
August 31, circulation of the third mulct petition began.
October 14, Charles Knott met death on Muscatine, North & South Railroad.
October 18, James J. Mayes, veteran newspaper man, died in Kansas City.
November 4, the lifeless body of John Degler was found at his home. A bullet hole in the head indicated murder.
November 5, Frank Degler was charged with the murder of his father.
November 14, Fisch building, occupied by the Citizens Railway Company, was damaged by fire to the extent of $35,000.
November 27, announcement was made of the proposed erection of a mag- nificent church by St. Matthias congregation.
December 5, Fifty-fifth anniversary of the German Congregational church was celebrated.
December 12, the German Baptist church celebrated their golden jubilee.
December 15, a clam hatchery was established at Fairport.
The first watchmaker was A. L. Beatty.
The first hatter was A. M. Hare.
The first gunsmith was Henry Molis.
The first tinner was James Brentlinger.
The first druggist was John B. Dougherty.
The first cigar maker was P. W. Hamilton.
Muscatine's first postmaster was Edward E. Fay.
Hinds & Humphreys started the first book store here in 1849. Bloomington was incorporated January 23, 1839. Population 70.
The first railroad-now the Rock Island-was built in 1855.
The name of Bloomington was changed to Muscatine in 1849.
Robert C. Kinney was granted the first license as a ferryman.
Theodore S. Parvin was the first person admitted to the bar in the state of Iowa.
Judge William F. Brannan was the first county superintendent of schools- elected in 1858.
The first permanent storekeeper in Muscatine was Adam Ogilvie.
488
HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY
The first exclusive boot and shoe store was opened by Charles Neally in 1850.
In 1849 the first exclusive clothing store was established by Heilbrun & Silverman.
James W. Casey died in the fall of 1836, the first settler to be buried in Muscatine.
The first graded school in Iowa was opened in Muscatine, George B. Deni- son, teacher.
Robert C. Kinney erected the first hotel in Muscatine. It was opened late in the year 1836.
The first settler in Muscatine county was Benjamin Nye, who came in 1834 and located at the mouth of Pine creek.
In 1843 the first steam sawmill was erected and run by Cornelius Cadle.
The first telegraph message received in Muscatine was August 23, 1848, O. H. Kelley, operator.
In 1841, the first brick hotel was built by Josiah Parvin. The hostelry was afterward known as the National Hotel.
The first pork packed in Muscatine was by Joseph Bennett in 1840, for which he paid seventy-five cents a hundred weight.
The first school teacher was George Bumgardner, followed closely by John A. Parvin. The latter admits precedence.
The first brick building was erected in Muscatine in 1839, by Hiram Mat- thews, on the corner of Water and Cedar streets.
The first ordinance adopted by the Muscatine council was in relation to the sale of spirituous liquors.
February 13, 1837, a marriage license was issued to Andrew J. Starks and Merilla Lathrop, the first in the county.
December 7, 1836, the act was passed by the Wisconsin territorial legislature creating the county of Muscatine and defining its boundaries.
John Vanatta was the first actual settler in Muscatine, moving here from Rock Island in the fall of 1835 and buying the Farnham claim. G. W. Casey came about the same time.
The Iowa Standard, the first newspaper, was issued by Crum & Bailey, Oc- tober 23, 1840. The next week appeared the first number of the Bloomington Herald, by Hughes & Russell.
The first steam flouring mill was erected by J. M. Barlow, on the corner of Second and Sycamore streets. It was destroyed by fire November 1, 1850.
In 1851 J. S. Hatch & Company opened the first wholesale grocery house and this same year Greene & Stone started a bank-the first in Muscatine.
The year 1852 saw the first photograph gallery (daguerreotype) in Musca- tine, the artist being John Hunter. That same year Brent, Miller & Company opened the first exclusive hardware establishment.
489
HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY
The first brick building was erected by Matthew Matthews in 1839. It stood on lot 5, block 13, Water street.
In November, 1837, a child was born to a Mr. Barclow. This probably was the first birth of a white person in Muscatine county.
A man by the name of Farnham built the first house in Muscatine, a log cabin, in 1833. He established here a trading post for Colonel Davenport, In- dian agent and trader at the island of Rock Island.
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F
BENNETTSMILL
STEAMER "TOM JASPER" NORTHWESTERN UNION PACKET CO.
TOW BOAT "PEARL" AND STOCK YARDS
C. R. L. & P. FREIGHT DEPOT
CADLE & MULFORD'S PLANING MILL
C. R. I. & P. PASSENGER DEPOT
S. G. STEIN'S LUMBER YARD
OLD ISETT PORK HOUSE
CORNER PINE AND WATER STREETS
JOSEPH BENNETT'S, FLOUR MILL
PENNSYLVANIA STABLES
PANORAMA OF MUSCATINE, IOWA, IN 1869, FROM RICHIE & WHITE'S Made from a Series of Stereoscopic Views taken by J. G. Evans, Photographer, June, 186
0
BENNETTSMILL
LE
UMBER YARD OLD ISETT PORK HOUSE CORNER PINE AND WATER STREETS
JOSEPH BENNETT'S. FLOUR MILL
PENNSYLVANIA STABLES
GEO. F. FUNCK'S BOAT STORE
PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE
CORNER CHESTNUT AND WATER STREETS
CEO. SCHNEIDER'S BOAT STORE
G. A. CARRETSON'S WHOLESALE GROCERY
OGILVIE HOUSE
WORSHAM & BROWER'S LIVERY STABLE
FIMPLE WAREHOUSE. OR MCKIBBEN'S HALL
NORTHERN LINE WAREHOUSE
STEAMERS "CITY OF KIETHSBURG" AND "SUCKER STATE"
MA OF MUSCATINE, IOWA, IN 1869, FROM RICHIE & WHITE'S GRAIN ELEVATOR Made from a Series of Stereoscopic Views taken by J. G. Evans, Photographer, June, 1869
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