USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Containing a history from the earliest settlement to the present time biographical sketches; portraits of some of the early settlers, prominent men, etc. > Part 37
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The mill driven by water-power is an im- portant matter in the industry and prosperity of the place. It is forty by sixty feet, with two stories and an attic, and has a wheel- house, sixteen by forty, and a two-story stor. age room, eighteen by forty. Its capacity is four run of buhrs, and the product is about forty barrels of flour per twelve hours' run. The treacherous nature of the banks and bot- tom of the streams of Western Iowa has al-
ways been a source of constant peril to mill- owners. In this instance, it is so fixed that all danger in that respect is avoided. The front or breast of the dam is fastened from top to bottom with stanch iron rods strongly bolted through the heavy timber, and heavy and numerous rods extend from front to rear. connecting with the mud-sills, and making the structure a solid mass.
Honey Creek is a small hamlet, a railroad station and a post office. It is near the south line of the township, and has a general store, kept by Alfred Frazier, who is also the depot master and the Postmaster.
In dismissing the annals of this town- ship the note is made, that the present officers (1882) are Lewis Jones, Calvin Crispin and Hardin Aldridge, Trustees ; Henry Goss, Township Clerk; Joseph Moss and William Hoit, Justices of the Peace. and B. P. Spencer and Seth Crowder, Con- stables.
CHAPTER XXXIX .*
CRESCENT TOWNSHIP-ORIGIN OF NAME-THE INDIANS-FIRST SETTLERS - ORGANIZATION- FIRST ROAD-FIRST BRIDGE-FIRST MILL-SCHOOLS-FIRST POST OFFICE- MUTUAL PROTECTION SOCIETY-CRESCENT CITY-THE PRESS -INDIAN INCIDENT, EARLY JUSTICE, ETC.
C' YRESCENT is a singular name for a township, and yet, when the facts of its location are known and understood, it is not so singular after all. It borders the Mis- souri River just north of Kane Township and Garner, and therefore lies north of Council Bluffs. Back from the river several miles are the bluffs which characterize all this re- gion. A little north of Council Bluffs, these bluffs and the Missouri River are so close to- gether that there is no more than room for the North- Western Railway track, which runs
here in a northerly direction. The bluffs between Council Bluffs and Crescent Station, about six miles distant, lie facing the west, and keep a northerly course. A few hundred yards north of this station, they make quite a sharp curve eastwardly, and then sweep back again toward the river, reaching its general direction in the form of a crescent, and from this circumstance is derived the name applied to the township-a poetical stretch of fancy not often indulged in in pioneer days.
As stated in the sketch of Council Bluffs, the territory now included in the site of the
*By Col. John H. Keatley.
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IIISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY.
city was made the Pottawattamie Indian Res- ervation until their removal to Kansas. Up to the date of the arrival of the Pottawatta- mies, no Indians made this and the soil of Crescent Township an abiding-place. The Omahas frequently crossed over to this side on hunting expeditions, but made no claim to the soil. After the Pottawattamies were established on their reservation, a band of the Omaha tribe took possession of a tract of land in Crescent Township, on Little Pigeon Creek, and established a small village, and remained there until the removal of the tribe to Kansas. These Omahas were never the foe of the whites, and proved steadfast under all circumstances. The roving bands of Om- ahas on their hunting and trapping expedi- tions, were perfectly honest, and molested nothing belonging to the settlers. When stock was lost or stolen, they most cheerfully assisted in the search, and showed their friendly dispositions in a thousand percepti- ble ways. The neighborly character of the Pottawattamies was as strongly marked as that of the Omahas.
The first settlers in the township were members of the church of Latter-Day Saints, and formed a part of the exodus and emigra- tion which resulted in the foundation of Conncil Bluffs. Among the number were David Wilding, who was born in England; Robert Kirkwood and William Strang, the latter of whom died in 1880, highly respected by the whole community; both were natives of Scotland; and H. A. Terry, S. M. Hough and Joseph McCoid, born in New York. Mr. Hough died a few years ago, at an advanced age, leaving behind him a large family of grown-up children. Joseph McCoid still lives in the township, and is one of the most prosperous citizens of the county.
No citizen of the county is better known throughout the State than H. A. Terry. To
him are the people of Iowa largely indebted for a demonstration that the State, and es- pecially the western portion of it, is adapted to fruit-growing, and especially those tender varieties that were popularly supposed inca- pable of cultivation in this climate. He was born in Cortland County, N. Y., in 1826, and came to Iowa in 1846, and to Pottawatta- mie County in 1847, several years before the county was organized. He was emphatically one of its pioneers. His first vocation after coming here was that of selling goods, near what is now the village of Crescent City. Giving some attention before that to fruit culture, by careful study and observation he came to the conclusion that it was practica- ble here, and to that end, in 1855, started in business in Council Bluffs, in the sale of seeds and nursery stock. He continued to do so until 1857, when he removed to the vi- cinity of Crescent City, where he still re- sides, to engage in the nursery business. He was among the original members of the first agricultural society ever organized in the county, of which L. M. Kline was President; D. S. Jackson, Vice President; J. E. John- ston, Treasurer; and H. A. Terry, Secretary. 1 This organization was effected in 1856, and its operations have been included in the an- nals of Council Bluffs. For many years, his seed business and traffic extended from St. Joseph, Mo., to Fort Pierre, D. T. In 1860, he abandoned the seed business and gave his whole attention to the nursery business. Not only did his efforts become the nucleus and source of the many thriving orchards of Western Iowa, but, rearing an orchard of his own, he has demonstrated that the tenderest fruits, such as peaches, can be successfully cul- tivated in this climate, and with profit. Mr. Terry has also taken part in every movement organized in the State for the benefit of its agricultural interests. He is emphatically a
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CRESCENT TOWNSHIP.
public-spirited citizen, and is still in the prime of life, enjoying the fruits of his con- fidence, skill and industry.
Robert Kirkwood is a plain farmer, and, ever since he came into the county, has made that his business, and in that he has emi- nently succeeded. He has never had any ambition to be anything else, but on any oc- casion, when called upon by his fellow-citi- zens, whether in his own township or in the county. he has cheerfully and prudently served the public as he has always managed his private affairs. Besides discharging pub- lic duty in connection with the schools and township affairs in Crescent, Mr. Kirkwood served one term as a member of the Board of County Supervisors, his term expiring on the ¿st of January, 1881. As a test of his per- sonal popularity, based upon the confidence reposed in the man, it may be stated that, as a candidate on the Democratic ticket, in a county at that date giving a large Republican majority, Mr. Kirkwood defeated his compet- itor by a satisfactory majority. The Demo- cratic County Convention, on the 15th of Sep- tember, 1881, nominated him as one of the candidates for Representative in the Legis- lature of the State, but he felt it his duty to decline the honor. The County Democratic Convention of 1882 again nominated him as one of the candidates for member of the Board of Supervisors of the county, and at the elec- tion, on the 7th of November, 1882, he was again elected to that position, to take effect January 1, 1883, his associate on the ticket, S. A. Dye, being defeated by the Repub- lican candidate. Mr. Kirkwood's opponent was Jerome Turner, of Washington Town- ship, one of the most esteemed citizens of the county.
The gentlemen just named were followed as settlers, in 1852, by David Dunkle and Henry McMullen, who are still citizens of the
township. Emigration set in quite actively after that date, and by 1857, large quantities of land were under cultivation, and comfort and thrift characterized the community. They had refused allegiance to the hierarchy of Brigham Young, and had resolved to make the rich lands of the Missouri Valley their homes, and were abundantly content with that lot. They have all prospered, and thus justified their choice of location. In 1857. · Joseph E. Johnston, who is mentioned in connection with Council Bluffs as a pioneer newspaper publisher, and who opened up Ellisdale farm, near Crescent City; A. J. Williams, S. Eggleson, L. J. Goddard, A. M. Lewis, William Menary, L. O. Little- field, Alexander R. Prentiss, Nelson Swanson and O. H. Dutrow were the most prominent settlers. aside from those already mentioned. Joseph E. Johnston now lives at Fort George. in Southern Utah; William Menary died about three years ago; Nelson Swanson also died in Crescent City four years ago, leaving a family to revere his memory for his good qualities as a man and a citizen; and Alex- ander S. Prentiss, a Scotchman by birth, still has his pleasant home where he founded it years ago.
From February 12, 1853, to March 2, 1857, Crescent Township formed a part of Rockford, or, as it was then called Rocky Ford. At the latter date, a petition, signed by A. J. Williams and thirty-seven other set- tlers in the territory comprising Crescent Township, was presented. asking that the territory be set off as a new township. and this was done. The territory thus assigned were Congressional Townships 76, Range 42. and 76, Range 43, and a fractional part of 76, Range 44. It was also ordered that the first election for township officers be held at Crescent City in April, 1857. The limits thus defined are not those of the present town-
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HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY.
ship. for since that date Hazel Dell and Nor- walk Townships have been created. depriving Crescent of a considerable portion of her ter- ritory. This change was made in 1873. Four petitions were filed with the Board of Supervisors on the 7th day of June, 1873, asking them to organize the township of Ha- zel Dell and Norwark from the eastern end of Crescent Township. J. P. Boulden and W. H. H .. McGinnis, both old citizens, repre- sented the petitioners before the board, and urged the change. Those opposed to it with- in the limits of the present organization were David Dunkle among others, Dunkle repre- senting them before the board and L. W. Ross, a lawyer of Council Bluffs. After the hearing, the matter was postponed until June 9, 1873, when the order was made in accord- ance with the petitions, having Crescent Township bounded as at present-on the west by the Missouri River, on the north by Rock- ford, on the south by Garner and the east by Hazel Dell.
At the first election, as provided by the or- der of the Board of Supervisors, the Trustees elected were S. MI. Hough, L. O. Littlefield and L. J. Goddard; A. M. Lewis was made Township Clerk; Thomas Allison, Assessor; A. J. Williams and Samuel Eggleson, Justices of the Peace; and David Dunkle and James Hopkins. Constables. The present officers of the township are: L. M. Aylesworth, C. G. McIntosh and John Currie, Trustees; W. M. Hongh (son of the late S. M. Hough), Town- ship Clerk: S. M. Swanson (son of the late Nelson Swanson), Assessor; C. F. Pratt and W. A. Robinson, Justices of the Peace; and Denver Hough and R. C. Menary, Constables. The Road Supervisor is L. Hamilton.
The first highway opened in the township was the one from Crescent City to Council Bluffs, through the valley of the Little Pigeon Creek, crossing that stream a little east of the
present residence of P. Waldo; the first bridge was at this crossing. There are now seven combination bridges. wood and iron, in the township, built at the cost of the county- one crossing Boyer River, two across the Big Pigeon, one across Little Pigeon, one over Mill Creek, and one across the neck of Haw- thorn's Lake, on the Missouri River bottom. The first mill built in the township was in 1848, when Jerome Bentou established a small one for the use of the settlement in Section 13, on Pigeon Creek. It afterward became the property of H. S. Williams, who, after running it awhile, took out the princi- pal part of the machinery and allowed the mill to go to ruin. Messrs. Allison & Nut- ting built a saw-mill in Section 25 in 1857, and in 1859, added a custom grist-mill to it. It was afterward transferred to Wilbur & Porterfield as a merchant mill. in 1864. The latter carried on operations until 1874, when the machinery was removed and the mill abandoned. Wilbur & Porterfield also, about the same time, had a saw-mill in the north- ern part of the township. Capt. C. F. Pratt brought his steam saw-mill from Rockford Township into Crescent Township in 1576. Henry Conant, William Clark and James Gor- don began making the first brick in 1857. on what is now H. A. Terry's nursery. This enterprise was in view of the expectations of Crescent City becoming the terminus of the Mississippi & Missouri Railroad, and when the town fully believed in its destiny as the principal point in the county.
The first schools were private ones, estab- lished and sustained by the Mormon settlers. They were taught at some of the residences of the patrons. The first movement to establish a public school was in September, 1855, when Reuben Barton, David Dunkle, William Mc- Mullen, Henry McMullen and Solomon Mc- Mullen met at the house of William McMul-
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len, where Solomon McMullen now lives, in Hazel Dell, and organized the school town- ship of Little Pigeon District, No. 7. At this meeting, L. J. Goddard was elected President of the Board of Directors; David Dunkle, Secretary; and Reuben Barton, Treasurer. Reuben Barton, the Treasurer, was also authorized to employ a teacher, and, in carrying out that intention, he made a contract with the newly elected President by which the latter took charge of the school at a salary of $30 per month, for a term of two months. The people. however, were not fully satisfied with this system of education, and gave it little encouragement at first. A log schoolhouse was soon built and fitted up near the present line between Crescent and Hazel Dell Townships. It had a turf roof and a puncheon floor and door, dressed out with a common adz. The seats were made of the same material and in the same way, and were simply made by putting feet in with an au- ger, and they were ranged around the sides of this primitive building. Each pupil had a certain portion of the bench set apart to him, and designated by a chalk mark. The next summer, Miss Sophronia E. Whitcomb was the teacher. The system had come into favor, and the school was then crowded. For several years this was the only school in a radius of seven miles. The second building for that purpose was erected on Pigeon Creek, near the site of the Parish Mill. The build- ing was of a better class than the first one erected. From that date there was no lag of interest in the public school system in the township, and, before the division, Crescent contained eleven subdistricts, all provided with comfortable buildings. The last board before the separation were H A. Terry, Dan- iel Bronson, J. H. Grigg, D. E. Wightman, John Currie, O. H. Dutrow, Joseph Butler, M. H. Dial, W. H. McGinnis, MI. Didia and
D. Parish. In the division of Crescent, the latter retained five of the schoolhouses, and two have since been added, making seven in all. The present School Board are David Dunkle, President; Robert Kirkwood, Treas- urer, and Robert Adams, Secretary.
It may be of some general interest in the future to know the present condition of the public schools of this township, and the year 1881, is taken as the basis. The number of subdistricts is six. and the same number of ungraded schools. The average number of months taught were six and five-twelfths; ten teachers were employed-four males and six females; the average compensation per month was, for males, $33.33; and females, $35. There were 112 male pupils between the ages of five and twenty-one years, and seven- ty-five females between the same ages. The average attendance in the entire district was sixty-six, and the average cost per pupil per month, $4.33. An attempt was made to build a $3,000 school building in Crescent City, but the proposition failed to receive the authori- zation of the tax-payers of the township.
The first post office was authorized at Ellis- dale Farm, two miles south of Crescent City. April 3, 1856, and L. J. Goddard was ap- pointed Postmaster. and he held the position until 1859. The office was, however, changed to Crescent City shortly after his appoint- ment, and the name of the post office also changed to Crescent City. On the 1st of January, 1859, Samuel Eggleston was made Postmaster, and held it until November 11. 1859, when David Dunkle was appointed. and the latter discharged the duties of the office until October 16, 1861, when J. B. Blake, now Postmaster of Avoca, was appoint- ed in his stead. Blake was succeeded by G. W. Mckeown, David Wilding, John Currie. T. J. Spangler and Nelson Swanson, the lat- ter of whom was appointed October 22, 1879.
290
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY.
Only one secret society exists in the bounds of Crescent Township. This is in the nat- ure of a police force. This section of the State, like many others, was subjected to dep- redations from cattle and horse thieves. The citizens of Crescent Township, in 1872, re- solved to organize secretly in a most effective manner for mutual protection in this respect, and for that purpose, about thirty of the best citizens constituted the organization known as the " Mutual Protectionists." They have a secret ritual, and signs and pass words in use in carrying out the plan and design of their organization. Its object is to recover stolen property, and to bring thieves to jus- tice and punishment, and in this respect it has done a good work. On one occasion, a few years ago, the citizens of Council Bluffs were surprised to see coming down Broadway a large body of horsemen, mounted as caval- rymen, with a flag at their head, and each mounted man wearing a red sash. It was the first intimation that there existed in the neighborhood any such an organization, and its object was soon understood. After parad- ing the streets, the mounted society returned as they came, to their lodge room at Crescent City. The present officers of the association are: Robert Kirkwood, President; C. F. Pratt, Vice President; William Currie, Cap- tain; I. A. Brown, Assistant; O. H. Dutrow, Treasurer; Robert Adams, Secretary; and H. S. Gideon, Janitor.
A branch of the re-organized church of the Latter-Day Saints was established at Cres- cent City in 1861, by William Blair, one of the most distinguished ministers of that re- ligious society. It had a membership of twenty members, and Mr Kuykendal was President, with J. B. Boren, Secretary. It ceased to exist in 1872. It was, however, re- established afterward, and has a membership of seventy persons, H. Hansen being Presi-
dent, and Robert Kirkwood, Secretary. They also maintain a flourishing Sunday school. but as yet they have no church edifice, though they are making strenuous efforts to acquire one. No other religious society has an or- ganized existence in the township, although there are many members of other churches who are residents, and whose church affiliations are outside of the township.
The original proprietors of the town of Crescent City were Joseph E. Johnson, H. A. Terry, J. R. Hough, S. M. Hough, Samuel Eggleston, L. O. Littlefield, L. J. Goddard, O. H. Dutrow, D. S. Jackson and R. W. Steele. Joseph E. Johnson erected the first business house in the spring of 1856. It was located on the north side of Florence street, west of Johnson avenue. The mate- rial for the same was brought from Hanni- bal, Mo. Johnson opened out a general store in that building. Samuel Eggleston soon followed with another building, on the south- west corner of Florence street and Johnson avenue. The third person who put up a building was a man named Piper, who built a large one only a short distance from the other two. Business was not encouraging for so large a building, and it was converted into a town hall. While other points in 1S57 were struggling with financial disaster, Cres- cent City was rapidly improving, on account of railroad prospects that were eventually blasted. The town was laid out in the fall of 1856. In 1857, few towns in the West away from railroads presented greater activ. ity. A newspaper was started called the Rock Bottom, and this little weekly journal had only a short life. Its principal business was the urging of a railroad bridge over the Missouri River between Crescent City and the then flourishing town of Florence, in the Territory of Nebraska. The Crescent City Oracle, of which Joseph E. Johnson wes edi-
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tor, and L. O. Littlefield was publisher, had a little firmer foothold, but it also disappeared when the prosperity of the town began to wane. The boom only lasted until 1858, when it became evident that Council Bluff's would be the railroad center, and not Cres- cent City. Johnson was among the first to desert the place, and took his store to Oma- ha. then a mere village. So it has dwindled away, until now only the store of Nelson and J. H. Swanson is left
Few traces remain of the Indians who laid claim to the rich soil of the township; and · few traditions survive. One, perhaps, only is remembered. Wabayo had his village a little west of what is now known as Currie's Grove. In the village were two brothers- Kobago and Wishumemeka. Kobago was the elder of the two, and both sought the hand of Kamalola. She was indifferent to both. Kobago became jealous, not only of his own brother, but of the other young men of the tribe. Kobago took his brother into his con- fidence in the plan to murder the girl and place her beyond the reach of any rivals. Wishumemeka was selected to invite the maiden to a trysting-place at the old oak, near the residence of Renben Dunkle, and there. at nightfall, the two savage brothers murdered their victim with horrid atrocity. After having buried her body at the root of the tree, they were unable to rest, and, the next morning, made a full confession to the chief. They were punished with death, ac- cording to the nsages of the tribe, and with- out delay, the means of punishment being a club. by which their brains were beaten out.
A great portion of Crescent Township is rough land. The Missouri bottom, of course. stretches along its west front, but many por- tions of this, at that point, owing to the overflows, is untillable. The high range of bluffs which skirt this bottom are fit for past-
urage only, but still the township contains great quantities of the richest, soil in the world. Council Bluffs is its market town, being reached by excellent roads. One of these passes through an immense artificial cut in the bluffs, at a point still known as the " Hog Back." On this high ridge. at an early day, many a weary settler has packed flour for his family on his back, when the bleak winds of the winter blew stinging gales into his face.
In the early days of the township, it is re- lated that curious methods of administering justice prevailed. A citizen was killed by another on the bottom, in the timber, and was arrested for the crime and taken before a lo- cal magistrate there for the purpose of an ex- amination as to whether he ought to be held to answer at the District Court. Lawyers went up from Council Bluffs to prosecute and de- fend the case. When the time came for the hearing, the attorney for the prisoner claimed that no man could be tried for so grave an offense as murder except by a jury, and de- manded that the Justice of the Peace impanel six men for that purpose. His influence pre- vailed, in spite of the eloquence of the other side that the proceeding was not a trial. but simply an investigation as to whether the prisoner ought to be held to be tried by a jury in the District Court. This line of rea- soning was of no avail. Six men were sworn to try the alleged culprit, and true deliver- ance make; and they did make it, for they brought in a verdict of not guilty. The pris- oner's counsel gained his point, which was simply to get his man off.
The following additional personal notices and mention are made of old settlers of Crescent and Hazel Dell Townships.
W. C. McIntosh, born in Kentucky, came here in 1848, and is still living in the town- ship. A. B. Boren. a native of Tennessee,
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