USA > Iowa > Wapello County > History of Wapello County, Iowa, Volume I > Part 32
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Elias Myers was in Agency Township a short time after the "opening."
G. W. Knight was on the ground at the opening of Wapello County to settlers in 1843. He was a native of Maryland. The farm he entered some years later became known and was designated as the old Rail place. Here Z. T. Knight, a son, was born March 8, 1847, and this was among the earliest births in Wapello County of a white child.
J. S. Phillips, a native of Indiana, moved to Van Buren County, Iowa, in 1839, and with the opening of Wapello County to settlers in 1843, took up a claim in section 27, Agency Township. On this land Mr. Phillips built a log cabin and lived there until 1856, greatly improving his property in the meantime. In the year last mentioned he removed to Pleasant Township and became a valued member of the community.
Mary A. Harrow, daughter of Charles F. Harrow, came with her par- ents to Wapello County in 1843 and was married to James Stevens in 1844. Mr. Stevens died in 1868 and the Widow Stevens took for her second hus- band, John Hardin, who settled in Wapello County in 1855. All of these pioneers settled in Agency Township.
Charles Dudley was among the first settlers in Wapello County. He located on section 30, Agency Township, in 1843, having entered land there, which he tilled and improved. Mr. Dudley was a man of intensive activity and good judgment. He became a large landowner and influential in the
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growth and prosperity of the community. Among other offices ably filled by him was that of state representative.
James Daniels and Thomas W. Bradley were residents of Agency City in 1843. Octavia Daniels, daughter of James Daniels, married Thomas W. Bradley in 1845. As will be seen, these people were among the first settlers in the county.
Among the pioneers who settled in Wapello County in 1843 was Daniel Traul. He first located in Agency Township and then in Center.
Stephen Boyce was also of the band of 1843, who settled in this county and converted the prairie soil into cultivated fields. Mr. Boyce entered land in section 22 and remained there for many years.
David Clodfelter was early on the scene, coming to the township in 1844, from Indiana, although he was a native of North Carolina.
Charles H. Smith settled on section 30, Agency Township, in 1844, and was the father of eight children. He died in 1861. Two sons, Charles N. and James S. Smith, began merchandising in Agency City in 1858 and long continued in the business.
S. K. Cremer came here in 1844 and entered 160 acres of land. With several hundred acres later in his possession he also owned fifteen acres in Agency City. Mr. Cremer was one of the representative men of the county and among other offices he ably filled was that of a member of the General Assembly. L. K. Cremer was born here in 1851.
W. W. Connelly settled on the old "Agency Farm," intended as an experiment for the Indians, in 1845. Charles Connelly was born in the town- ship in 1848.
James E. Dedell immigrated to this county from Indiana in 1846 and took up farming in Agency Township.
D. S. Farnsworth was one of the first millers to locate in Wapello County. He bought a horse-power circular sawmill at Agency City in 1847 and in 1851 erected a steam sawmill, to which he attached a grist mill in 1852. Two years later he built a more modern mill, both for grist and lumber, which was long known as the Agency City Grist Mill. This he sold in 1864 and in 1871 built another mill that was operated by him many years.
Edward Dudley was born in Charleston, Maine, and immigrated to Ohio. He located in Agency Township in 1847. He was a minister of the Freewill Baptist Church at Agency City several years.
N. A. Woodford peddled clocks in Wapello County in 1847, making his headquarters at Agency. He then opened a general store and became one of the leading men of the place.
H. C. Van Zant settled in this county in 1848 and in 1850 went on to a farm in section 36, which he cultivated for a long period of years.
Elijah Johnson, an Indianian, settled here in 1848.
J. S. Smith was born in Wapello County in 1849.
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David Sautbine was a "Buckeye" and served in the Mexican war. His natural bent was tilling of the soil and in 1849 he came to Wapello County and found land in Agency Township that suited well his purpose. He purchased a farm and lived to see the township thickly populated and thriving.
Joseph Foreman removed from Ohio to Iowa in 1844, and in 1850 became a citizen of Wapello County. His first activity was that of farming. In a few years after his arrival he opened a bakery in Agency City, one of the first in the county.
S. M. Brown, a native of Indiana, engaged in farming in this township in 1850.
William Reeves and wife, who was a daughter of William Murphy, settled on section 22, this township, in 1850. Mr. Reeves died in 1876.
George Springer became a settler of this township in 1850, coming that year from Maryland.
Andrew J. Headley is the name of an Agency pioneer of 1851.
J. Q. A. Dawson was born in Maryland. From Ohio he crossed the plains to California in 1850. He returned to Ohio in 1851 and the same year located in Agency City, where he was a general merchant for many years. He had a good Civil war record and held most, if not all, the town- ship offices.
John Green was a giant Kentuckian, who located in Agency Township in 1851. For five years he followed farming and then opened the Quiet House in Agency, presiding over its destinies ten years. Again he took up farming, this time on a tract of land about a mile southeast of Agency. The Greens moved to Kansas in 1878.
Leaving his native state, New York, in 1851, William Reeve arrived in Wapello County, and on the 22d day of March purchased a farm in Agency Township, where he resided until the day of his death. A son, William, who came to the county with his parents, lived on this farm for several years after the death of his father.
Joseph P. Grout took up his home in this township in 1853, going onto a farm and greatly improving its resources. He later manufactured the Challenge churn.
In 1856 Andrew Timonds of Maryland settled on a farm of 400 acres in this township, which he rented. He went to the Civil war, returned to this township and prospered.
THE TOWN OF AGENCY
The land upon which the agency was located, and the "Pattern Farm," mentioned in Major Beach's article, was entered under authority of the government, and for its use by Capt. George Wilson, son-in-law of General Street. The agency, until the land was opened to settlement, was made up
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SILOS, BARN AND FARMYARD OF N. O. JOHNSON, AGENCY TOWNSHIP
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of a number of buildings belonging to the Government, but in 1843, Shap- hat Dwire put up a building, and about the latter part of the year, or early in 1844, opened a general store. He was the pioneer merchant not only of Agency, but of Wapello County. This was the beginning of Agency, sepa- rate and apart from the Indian agency. The original plat of the town is not in existence, but it is presumed that Agency was laid out in the spring of 1844. The oldest plan extant was made in 1848, by Capt. George Wilson, who was a civil engineer, and a graduate of West Point. The drawing was made in a skilful manner, and had also attached a map of the county.
Rev. B. A. Spaulding, who figures so largely in the church history of Wapello County, visited the agency in 1844 and established a Congrega- tional Church. Subsequently, he wrote entertainingly of the occurrence. He says : "We went to the Indian agency in Wapello County, on the New Purchase. On our way to that place, we passed through a part of the country which had been settled but two or three months. It was literally a new country. Many of the settlers had not struck a furrow or erected a fence. All that reminded us that we were in a settled country was the oc- casional sight of an uncompleted cabin, in which we found families staying rather than living. They were not only destitute of conveniences, but were so open that the family could be seen about as well from the outside as by going into the door, or rather the hole that was left for a door. How those families were to be kept comfortable, and how they were to be supplied with provisions during the inclement season, were questions that often occurred to us. We found but few inhabitants at the agency. A few were anxious to have the Gospel preached to them at that place, and expressed a strong desire to have one of our number settle amongst them. It will probably be a thickly settled place within a few years. A town has been laid out near the agency house, and such is the character of the land and the facilities for procuring timber, that settlers will soon be induced to come in. A good, faithful, persevering minister might, in the course of a few years, build up a flourishing church there. We visited the grave of Gen- eral Street, the late Indian agent, and also the grave of Wapello, an Indian chief, which are side by side. The tribe of which Wapello was chief was devotedly attached to General Street and his family, and, as an expression of their friendship, they presented him with a section of land containing 640 acres, which is now in possession of his widow."
On another occasion Reverend Spaulding gives one a further insight into the early efforts of the people of the community toward forming religious societies, in the following words :
"On the 27th of October, a Congregational Church was formed in this town, consisting of six members, three males and three females. There were, however, seven other candidates for admission, who were unable to be present. Meetings held on Friday and Saturday nights and on Sunday during the day and at night were large and interesting. On the next Sab-
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bath, a Methodist class was formed, embracing about twenty. A county bible society has been formed in this place, and also at Ottumwa, the county seat of Wapello.
"There has been a good degree of religious feeling in the circle in which I have labored, with some interesting cases of revival in individual hearts, both of professors and non-professors. A small Congregational Church has been formed in this place (Agency City), and the prospect is that it will be considerably increased within a few weeks, chiefly, however, by those who are already professors of religion. There has also been consid- erable interest among the Methodist and Baptists, and several additions to their churches. There is also a Sabbath school connected with the Metho- dist Church in the southern part of the county."
The first Methodist society organized in the county was that of the Agency church, which was founded by Rev. Thomas Kirkpatrick, whose name is indissolubly associated with all early Methodist movements in this region. He organized the church in 1844, at about the same time that Reverend Spaulding was active in bringing his flock together. The Congre- gational society has long ceased to hold meetings in Agency. The Metho- dist and Baptist societies are still in existence and have good substantial houses of worship. The former was erected in 1854, and the latter in 1858.
The first schoolhouse in the township was built in 1844. It was 16x16, and constructed of logs and clapboards. This was also the first schoolhouse built in the county, and the school was presided over by Mary Starr. Among her pupils were Dan A. and James La Force; George, Wesley, Alexander, Emeline, Pearl, Julian and Caroline Griggsby; Edwin, Cather- ine, Elizabeth, Eli, Gideon, Chris, J. R. and George Myers. This old log building soon gave way to a frame and then a splendid brick structure was erected, where the children of the community are afforded educational advantages not thought of by their forebears.
E. D. Myers was born in this township in 1844. This was probably the first birth in Agency Township. The first death was that of Gideon Myers.
The first marriage ceremony was performed at the wedding of Emeline Griggsby and Eli Myers.
The only industry started in the township was a grist mill, built by David Farnsworth, who run it by horse-power. Some time in the '60s C. A. Bryan and sons purchased the Farnsworth Mill, in which a run of stone was installed, and later machinery was set up for the manufacture of woolen yarns.
The town was quite a busy little trading center for a number of years, but the construction of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad brought the place nearer to the county seat, and the greater part of the business was transferred to that place. However, Agency is situated in the midst of a splendid farming region, and still has a comparatively good trade in
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that locality. It is a station on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- road, with a good depot building, and the population is 322. In 1875, there were 658 souls in the town. Agency is also an attraction to visitors to this section of the country on account of its historic interest, and the fact that the graves of the old Indian agent, General Street, and the Indian chief, Wapello, after whom the county is named, are valued spots in the village burial ground.
POSTOFFICE
The Sac and Fox Agency postoffice was established December 23, 1843. William B. Street was appointed postmaster on that date. He was suc- ceeded, November 21, 1844, by Shaphat Dwire, the pioneer merchant. He remained in office until November 28, 1845, when he gave way to James C. Ramsey, and on May 14, 1849, the name of the office was changed to Agency City, with Thomas M. Mackerel as postmaster. His successors are as follows: Joseph Myers, September 15, 1849; William B. Street, June 30, 1851 ; Joseph Myers, November 17, 1851; F. M. Knight, April 9, 1861 ; George F. Knight, April 2, 1862; James Montgomery, November 27, 1863; Joseph Myers, September 3, 1866; J. C. Johnson, March 19, 1869; H. B. Wagers, March 7, 1871. On June 14, 1883, the name of the office was again changed, this time to Agency. H. B. Wagers was the first postmaster, succeeding himself. He was followed by E. T. Sage, July 23, 1885; John T. Reynolds, March 25, 1889; E. T. Sage, July 3, 1893; John Fullen, June 26, 1894; George L. Nye, October 27, 1897. Mr. Nye has now been in the office seventeen years continuously.
AGENCY IS INCORPORATED
Agency was incorporated as a town January 6, 1859, upon application of a committee of citizens composed of J. Q. A. Dawson, B. B. Allen, J. T. Rowe, Thomas Lyon and Joseph R. Myers. The first election was held in March, 1859, and Jesse Myers was chosen mayor; J. H. Cartwright, recorder ; J. Q. A. Dawson, Edward Dudley, Samuel Packwood, Matthew Hixon, E. D. Black, trustees; E. F. Hoffslatter, marshal; J. S. Wheaton, treasurer.
THE PRESS
Agency had a newspaper as early as the year 1869, when the Agency City Newsboy was established by William Axline. The publication was continued until the spring of 1871, when the plant was moved to Chariton.
The Agency Independent was brought from Eldon in the spring of 1874, and was edited by C. L. Morehouse. W. F. Moeller had the paper in
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1875. C. J. Best became the proprietor in February, 1878, and after a few years of indifferent success discontinued its publication. Since then Agency has depended upon her neighbors for the news.
LODGES
The Masons organized a lodge in Agency on June 6, 1850. Its name is Olive Branch, No. 21. The charter members were: S. P. Yeomans, W. M .; Willis Griffing, S. W .; S. E. Griggs, J. W .; Luther M. Davis, S. D .; John Wiley, J. D .; James Weir, secretary; John Priest, treasurer; William Griggs, tyler.
Magnolia Lodge, No. 24, I. O. O. F., was chartered October 27, 1852. The encampment was chartered October 21, 1874.
Evening Star Lodge, Rebekah degree, No. 81, was organized October 19, 1876, with the following members: G. L. Littler, Mrs. M. J. Littler, F. G. Turner, Mrs. M. V. Turner, A. Wing, Mrs. M. J. Wing, William Hill, Mrs. N. Hill, E. T. Sage, Mrs. E. J. Sage, G. W. Shaw, William Hat- field, Mrs. M. E. Hatfield, William H. Brooks, Mrs. L. Brooks, S. Ryan, Mrs. M. Ryan, William Cole, Mrs. M. Cole, J. Hardin, Mrs. M. Hardin, N. J. Richards, Mrs. M. Richards, C. Wood, Mrs. J. Wood, M. J. Warren, Mrs. D. Warren, G. W. Clevenger, Mrs. M. Clevenger, and J. W. Dunbar.
Crystal Lodge, No. 30, Knights of Pythias, was organized February 8, 1876, and had the following officers: J. A. Israel, P. C .; Eugene Chilson, C. C .; C. L. Littler, V. C .; G. B. Wheaton, P .; W. J. Warren, M. of E .; N. I. Richards, M. of F .; S. Ryan, K. of R. and S .; A. Wing, M. at A .; J. Q. Wood, I. G .; John Hannawalt, O. G.
BANK
The Agency Bank was established in 1906, with a capital of $10,000. Sam Mahon is president; J. D. Newell, vice president; Watson Enyart, cashier ; Retta Enyart, assistant cashier. It has a surplus of $5,000, and deposits of $160,000.
Photo by C. H. Shearer
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, AGENCY
Photo by C. H. Shearer
BAPTIST CHURCH AT AGENCY. BUILT IN 1858
CHAPTER XXVIII
DAHLONEGA TOWNSHIP
Dahlonega Township was organized June 4, 1844. The judges of the first election were Edward Haggard, Isaac Hill and C. Gleason. The town- ship is situated in the central part of the county, and is bounded on the west by Center, on the north by Highland, on the east by Pleasant, and on the south by Center and Agency townships. It has but fifteen sections, which are drained by Sugar and Little Cedar creeks. The land is good prairie soil, and about three-fourths of the township consists of well tilled fields. There is some coal. From its 8,379 acres of farm land were pro- duced in 1913, 109,000 bushels of corn; 45,000 bushels of oats; 7,500 bushels of wheat; 1,300 tons of hay; 2,500 bushels of potatoes ; 600 bushels of apples ; 2,315 head of hogs, and 660 head of cattle.
It is claimed that William Giltner, who presided over the old "Hoosier House," which stood about two and a half miles southeast of Dahlonega Village, was the first white man to cross the line at Agency, when the New Purchase was opened to settlers, at midnight, May 1, 1843. A number of others came in, however, at about that time, among them the Godfreys, Kittermans, Lewises, Sharps, Hills, Haggards, Gleasons, William Brims, Wesley Hedrick, Joseph H. Hedrick, Martin Koontz, James Woody, W. B. Woody, Benjamin Brattain, John Moore, N. D. Earl, N. H. Gates, Peter White, John and Joseph Kight, John W. Caldwell, the Whitners, McClungs, Wrights, Gossages and Lowenbergs, who came in the '40s and '50s.
George Godfrey entered Dahlonega Township in 1843. In 1848 he married Margaret West, daughter of a pioneer. George M. Godfrey, one of the children, was born in this township in 1850, and in 1863 removed to Ottumwa with his parents and became a jeweler.
Elias Kitterman was born in Virginia in 1809. He immigrated to Indiana with his widowed mother and in 1842 they were in Princeton, Illinois. At the time of the "New Purchase" opening, in May, 1843, Elias Kitterman settled in the county, choosing a tract of land in Dahlonega township, on which he located and farmed until 1874, when he removed to Ottumwa.
Alvin Lewis was one of the hardy and venturesome sons of the soil who came out from Ohio in the year 1837, and began life on the prairies of Jefferson County, Iowa. In May, 1843, he came into the "New Pur- chase," and located in Dahlonega Township on section 5, where he re-
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mained fifteen years. He then removed to Ottumwa and conducted a drug store a couple of years.
Peter Kitterman was among the two thousand or more pioneers who came into the "New Purchase" in 1843. He located in Dahlonega Town- ship and took part in the "Dahlonega War" so called, which was a hand- to-hand fight among settlers over land claims.
John J. Sharp was a pioneer settler in 1843. He was a Virginian by birth and a miller and blacksmith by trade. Coming to Iowa in 1837, Mr. Sharp finally reached Wapello County in 1843, and at the time of the opening settled in Dahlonega Township. In 1849 he removed to Ottumwa and ran a hotel until 1853.
Caleb Miller was born in Indiana, and in the fall of 1846 settled in Dahlonega Township, on a claim which he entered. This was the pioneer's home until his death, which occurred in 1874. W. H. Miller, a son, was nine years of age when his parents located here.
William M. Dimmitt, a native of Indiana, settled in Wapello County in 1848, choosing that part of it lying within the borders of the present Township of Dahlonega. He bought a farm in section 10, and for several years he spent a busy life tilling the soil and engaging in other useful pur- suits, finally moving to Ottumwa, there to enjoy the rewards of industry and thrift. His son, William H. Dimmitt, was born on the homestead in 1851.
Alexander Vanwinkle settled on a farm here in 1850, and James Ander- son located on section 19, this township, in 1853.
L. Lively was a Virginian, who immigrated from Indiana to Wapello County in the spring of 1852, and located in Dahlonega Township, where he cultivated a farm until 1865. In the latter year he removed to Ot- tumwa.
J. C. Hinsey came to Wapello County in 1854, and settled in Dahlonega Township, where he remained until 1861. He resigned as an army sur- geon in 1863, and returning to Iowa, took up his residence in Ottumwa, where he practiced medicine. While in Dahlonega, Dr. Hinsey served as a member of the board of supervisors. He was also county coroner four years. A distinction he prized highly came to him in 1856, when he acted as chairman of the meeting at which the republican party was organized.
Joseph Schertz was born in France. He became a resident of Wapello County in 1855. He followed milling as an occupation.
J. A. Webb, a blacksmith, came in 1856, and worked at his trade.
The first white child born in Dahlonega Township was George W. Kit- terman, and Dr. McClintock was the first physician. Dr. J. C. Hinsey came some time later.
There never was but one church in Dahlonega. A Methodist Church was built a mile and a half southeast of Dahlonega. Among the early
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preachers were Reverends Hestwood, Darrah, McElroy, Joe Street and Michael Long. It is said the last named could not even read.
There always have been some coal mines operated up and down Sugar Creek, in the southwest part of the township. The first vein, however, which is about thirty-five feet below the surface, is all that has been worked.
In the early days there was a pottery shop, long operated by L. F. Stewart, not quite a mile west of the Town of Dahlonega. There was also a brick plant on the old Clapp Farm, which was in operation about a year. About two and a half miles southeast of Dahlonega there was another brick yard, which furnished the material for the brick houses in the town.
HAMLET OF DAHLONEGA
Dahlonega's history is co-extensive with the township, as it originated soon after the county was opened for settlement, in 1843, and became quite a business center, claiming at one time a population of 300, with three stores, a tavern and two small pork packing houses. It had high aspirations and made efforts, early in its history, to have the seat of justice located within its borders, but failed in attaining the coveted plum. The town is located on the northeast and northwest corners of sections 8 and 9, re- spectively, and never has been incorporated.
In the early '50s hogs were brought to the packing houses, which con- sisted of log cabins, one of which was just north of the town and run by the firm of Earl, Thompson & Tharp. The products of this concern in those early days were packed and transported by wagon to trading points on the Mississippi and there disposed of.
The farm on which Dahlonega is located was entered and platted by Jehu Moore. The first store here was opened by N. D. Earl and one Street, who called their establishment the "Red Store." N. D. Earl had settled on what is now the Jacob Lowenberg farm, situated about a mile east of Dahlonega. In the early days James Bowen ran a store on the west side of the square.
A four-story grist mill was built in the northwest part of the town early in its history, and was moved to Kirkville in 1865. There was also a tannery here in the early '50s, and three or four saloons, but no traffic in whisky has been permitted since the Civil war.
John Gillaspy was one of the early blacksmiths, also Elias Kitterman, whose shop was located just across the street from the grist mill.
Peter White was the first wagon maker in the township.
At one time Dahlonega had one of the largest hotels in this part of the country. It was a large log structure, built in the early '40s, and was pre- sided over by mine host, Clapp, a short time. There was also a pottery shop here about this time, run by one Haswell.
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The first schoolhouse built in Dahlonega was a log structure that was torn down in 1853 to give way to a brick school building. A little later this schoolhouse was abandoned and sold to a church society, which in turn disposed of the property to a society of farmers for hall purposes. It was torn down in the 'gos. The present two-story brick school building was erected on the square after the first brick schoolhouse was sold.
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