USA > Iowa > Hancock County > History of Winnebago County and Hancock County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 13
USA > Iowa > Winnebago County > History of Winnebago County and Hancock County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 13
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The first settler was William Gilbert, who located on the northwest quarter of section 31 in the spring of 1855. He built a log cabin and developed a farm, but about 1863 sold out and went to Dakota. Very few located in the township until after the close of the Civil war. Charles Belt, Edward Dubeau, William Higginbotham and a few others came in 1865. Belt remained but a short time, Dubeau went to Kan- sas about 1872, but Mr. Higginbotham remained and was for years actively identified with Winnebago County affairs. He was a native of West Virginia, having been born near Wheeling, May 6, 1836. In 1843 his parents removed to Licking County, Ohio and two years later to Clark County, Illinois. During the Civil war he served as a private in Company F, Seventy-ninth Illinois Infantry, and took part in the Atlanta campaign of 1864 and the subsequent military operations in Tennessee until wounded at the battle of Franklin. Soon after receiving his honorable discharge he came to Mount Valley Township. He was one of the first trustees when the township was organized and was at one time a member of the board of supervisors.
Peter Hanson, who suggested the name for the township, came in 1866. He was born in Norway in 1834 and came to America when nine- teen years of age, locating in Wisconsin and farming there until he came to Winnebago County. Other settlers of 1866 were: Nels
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Olson, Harres Olson, Halvor Paulson and Nels Brones. During the next three years a number of Norwegians settled in Mount Valley, among them being Gunder H. Onstadt, Hans Johnson, Ole Bottleson, Lewis Jacobson, T. K. Rusley, Hans Rwgmyr and the Rulson family.
The first white child born in the township was John, son of William and Rachel Higginbotham, the date of his birth having been November 29, 1865. The first death was that of Mrs. Harres Olson in 1866, and the first marriage was that of Harres Olson and Anna Gurgunson in 1867. The first school was taught in 1866 by Amelia Steadman, in the house of Isaac Mercer. The first schoolhouse was built in the same year. The first township officers were as follows: William Higgin- botham, Ole Bottleson and Thomas L. Fellen, trustees; S. K. Revland and B. K. Solverson, justices of the peace; Gunder H. Onstadt, con- stable. Mr. Onstadt was also the first postmaster in the township, having been appointed to that position when the postoffice of Mount Valley was established in 1877. The office has since been discontinued.
Mount Valley has no railroad, Forest City being the most conven- ient station. In 1915 the population was 969, and in 1916 the prop- erty was valued for tax purposes at $339,988. There are nine public school districts in the township.
NEWTON TOWNSHIP
Prior to April, 1881, Newton formed a part of Center Township. Then O. T. Seevers presented a petition to the board of supervisors asking that a new township be established. The board granted the petition and ordered that congressional township 99, ranges 24, 25 and 26, should thereafter be known as Newton Township. As at first created, the township included the present townships of King and Buffalo. It was reduced to its present size by the establishment of King Township in January, 1886, and now embraces congressional town- ship 99, range 24. It is bounded on the north by Logan Township; on the cast by Center; on the south by Forest, and on the west by King. The township is mostly prairie and the surface is rolling, in some places being what might be termed hilly, but nearly all the land is capable of being cultivated. Lime Creek flows in a southerly direction across the southeast corner, and a small stream called Pike Run, which rises in King Township, flows in a southeasterly direction through the central part. The latter has been made a part of Drainage District No. 1.
The township is said to have derived its name from Newton H. Bailey, a son of John and Nancy Bailey, early residents of the town- ship. At the time the township was created the board of supervisors ordered the first election to be held at the Burnap school house, and
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appointed H. O. Sunderland, N. B. Thompson and J. J. Sharp judges ; Andrew Seevers and Newton H. Bailey, clerks. The election was held in October, 1881, and resulted in the election of the following officers : Newton H. Bailey, J. J. Sharp and H. O. Sunderland, trustees ; N. B. Thompson, clerk; Michael Ragan and Andrew Seevers, justices of the peace; Gilbert Olson, assessor; C. O. Rose and Ole Johnson, constables ; John Bailey, Iver Qualle and John Christianson, road supervisors.
The first settler was a man named Benson, who located in a small grove in section 36, in the early part of 1855. The place afterward became known as "Benson's Grove," and a postoffice by that name was established there in July, 1864, with J. B. Hill as postmaster. Mr. Ben- son lived in the county only about eight months, when he sold his claim to Jeptha Adams, who sold out and went to Minnesota in the spring of 1857.
During the summer of 1856 James Collier, James Redmile, Philip A. Pulver, Allen T. Cole and a man named Lee all settled in the town- ship. Collier and Lee both tried to claim the same tract of land in section 36 until a prairie fire burned Lee's cabin and he went away, leaving his adversary in possession. In 1857 he sold the land to James Turner and located in Center Township.
James Redmile was a single man when he came to the county and boarded with Jeptha Adams. In August, 1856, the young man and Jane Adams, daughter of his host, went to Mason City, where they were married. That was the first wedding between residents of the town- ship.
The first white child born in the township was a daughter of Rev. John B. Hill, who was born in the summer of 1859 and died before she was a year old. The first deaths were those of three men who were frozen to death in a blizzard in December, 1856. They were not resi- dents, but were passing through when they encountered the storm which cost them their lives. Two of the men were named Porter and Snyder, but the name of the third man has been forgotten.
Between 1865 and 1870 quite a number of people located in Newton. Among them were John Millington, John and Newton Bailey, and Henry Bushnell. Millington went to Hancock County after a residence of about eighteen months and later removed to the southern part of the state. The Baileys settled in section 7, in what was long known as "Coon's Grove." They came from Cook County, Illinois. John Bailey was a bricklayer and shoemaker by trade. After the railroads were built he shipped the first cattle from Winnebago to Chicago.
The Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad crosses the southeast corner of Newton and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific crosses the southwest corner, but there is no station within the township borders. Leland,
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on the former road, and Thompson, on the latter, are the most con- venient railroad towns. In 1915 the population was 725, and in 1916 the assessed valuation of property was $363,692. There are eight public schools in the township.
NORWAY TOWNSHIP
This township was first established on June 6, 1864. Its boundaries were changed on June 7, 1875, and then included all of the northern tier of townships. When Logan Township was created in April 1881, Norway was reduced to its present extent-congressional township 100, range 23. On the north it is bounded by the State of Minnesota; on the east by Worth County; on the south by Center Township, and on the west by the Township of Logan. Its area is about thirty square miles and it occupies the extreme northeast corner of the county. The name was derived from the nationality of the early settlers, most of whom came from Norway.
The surface is rolling prairie and the soil is exceedingly fertile. There was originally some timber along Lime Creek, but most of it has disappeared, the ax of the woodman and the sawmill having done their deadly work and converted most of the trees into fuel or lumber.
The first settler was William Tennis, who located in section 21, near the center of the township, in 1856. He was born in Allen County, Indiana, September 30, 1832. He came to Winnebago County in 1855, when he located a claim on Bear Creek, a short distance east of where Forest City is now situated. This claim he sold to Robert Clark in 1856 and moved up to what is now Norway Township. His cabin, which was the first house built in the township, was 18 by 24 feet and the one room served as kitchen, dining room, parlor and bed room. He obtained a title to his land in May, 1857, after which he spent about two years in his native state of Indiana. In 1859 he went to the "Pike's Peak Country," as Colorado was then called, and there be- came interested in some gold mines. During the next fifteen years he divided his time between his farm in Winnebago and his Colorado mines. His parents came with him to Iowa in 1856 and both lived to a ripe old age at their son's home in Norway Township.
Other settlers of 1856 were: Colburn Larson, Hans Knudson, Lewis Nelson, Archibald Murray, Jasper Fricker, Heinrich Larson and a man named Harvey. Joseph Tennis came in 1857 and between that time and 1860 several families settled in the township. Among them were Christian Anderson, John Iverson, Halvor Peterson, and another family of Larsons.
H. S. Botsford came in 1863 and took an active part in the organi-
RESIDENCE OF JOHN BACHELOR, THOMPSON
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zation of the township when it was first established in 1864. The board ordered the first election to be held at the schoolhouse-there was then only one schoolhouse in the township-and appointed Mr. Botsford to post notices of the election. The election was held in October, 1864. Samuel Tennis, Halvor Peterson and John Iverson were elected trustees ; H. S. Botsford, clerk; Samuel Tennis, justice of the peace.
The first ground was broken by William Tennis in 1856. The first child born in the township was Annie, daughter of Colburn Larson, in the spring of 1857. The first death was that of Mrs. C. L. Nelson, March 14, 1857. The first school was taught in the winter of 1859-60 by Mrs. Nellie Hinman, in a house that had been erected for the pur- pose the fall before in section 15. There are now five public school districts in the township, exclusive of the Scarville independent dis- triet and a small section in the southeastern part that is attached to the independent district of Lake Mills.
Norway has two lines of railroad. The Minneapolis & St. Louis runs along the eastern border. The little village of Norman, in the extreme northeast corner of the county, is a station on this road. The Chicago & Northwestern crosses the southern boundary in section 34 and runs in a southwesterly direction to section 19, where the village of Scarville is situated, part of it being in Norway and part in Logan Township. The stations of Norway and Scarville, and that of Lake Mills, which is just across the southern border, afford excellent shipping facilities to all parts of the township.
In 1915 the population, according to the state census, was 680 ex- clusive of the incorporated town of Scarville. The assessed valuation of property in 1916 was $394,030.
CHAPTER IV
FOREST CITY
EARLY TOWNS-PLATTING OF FOREST CITY-FIRST SETTLER-FIRST EVENTS-
EARLY BUSINESS-INCORPORATION-BANKS-FIRST LODGES-BUSINESS DIRECTORY, 1883-MUNICIPAL IMPROVEMENTS-A SKETCH OF THE CITY, BY EUGENE SECOR-PUBLIC SPIRIT-LIBRARY.
EARLY TOWNS
In the early settlement of the West every state had its quota of land speculators, whose principal object seems to have been the laying out of towns, without the slightest regard to the geographical import- ance of the site or its possible future commercial advantages. The great aim of these speculators was to sell lots to new immigrants. An early Iowa writer (Hawkins Taylor in the Annals of Iowa) says : "Everybody we met had a town plat, and every man that had a town had a map of the county marked to suit his town as the county seat."
Many of these prospective towns were advertised throughout the East in a manner that did not reflect much credit upon the veracity of the advertisers. The proprietors of some of the towns along the Des Moines River sent out circulars showing a picture of the town, with a row of three or four story buildings along the river front, large side- wheel steamboats lying at the landing, etc., when the truth of the matter was that only an occasional steamboat of very light draft was able to navigate the Des Moines, and the town consisted of perhaps half a dozen small cabins. A few of these towns, by some fortunate circumstance, such as the location of the county seat, the development of a water power or the building of a railroad, have grown into con- siderable commercial centers. Others have continued to exist, but have never grown beyond the importance of a neighborhood trading point, a small railroad station, or a post village for a moderate sized district. And some have disappeared from the map altogether.
Fortunately for Winnebago County the mania for founding towns had about spent its force before the first settlements were made within its borders. The pioneers who settled and organized the county were more interested in the development of its natural resources than they
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were in speculation. A few towns were laid out for purely speculative purposes, but those of the present day, with a few exceptions, are laid out upon railroad lines and have at least some excuse for existing. Many of them were founded after the railroads were built.
PLATTING OF FOREST CITY
Forest City was platted and laid out on the 14th, 15th and 16th of September, 1856, on the east half of Section 35, in Township 98 North, Range 24 West of the Fifth Principal Meridian, at the request of Robert Clark. Lots on the plat were 132 feet long by 66 feet wide; the streets were 66 feet in width and the alleys 33 feet. Robert and Rebecca A. Clark were the proprietors and A. B. Miller was the sur- veyor. The plat was beautifully located on Lime Creek and the city proper was situated upon the hills which have often caused the com- munity to be called the Hill City.
FIRST SETTLER
The first man to settle within the limits of the present Forest City was Robert Clark, who located on the northeast quarter of Section 35 in the spring of 1856. In March he laid out the plat of the town and in April built the first log cabin. This log shanty stood until 1870, when it was torn down.
The second log cabin was built by A. T. Cole in June, 1856. Mr. Cole was the first man to bring a family to Forest City. The next building was constructed of logs and was used to accommodate a store. It was erected in the fall of 1856 by Alexander Long on the later site of the City Bank. Long & Moreland kept store in this building for several months.
The fourth building was built for hotel purposes by Samuel Akers, in the fall of 1856. This hotel occupied a corner lot, in fact, two lots, for one of which Akers paid Mr. Cole the sum of $5.
The next building was erected in November of the same year by Robert Clark. It was a frame structure, 18 by 24 feet. In 1861 Samuel Tennis purchased the building, moved it, and also used it as a hotel. Mr. Tennis owned the building for two or three years, then sold out to DeWitt C. Hayes, who refitted it into a home. J. C. Har- wood became the next owner and he in turn sold out to John Plummer The latter used it as a residence for several years, then transported it out of town and constructed a new home.
In 1857 quite a number of houses were built, among which were the residences of Nathan Jefford, Thomas Bearse and A. P. Harper.
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During this year and the following, 1858, many structures were erected in Forest City. It was in October of the latter year that Forest City became the county seat of Winnebago County and naturally this gave a decided impetus to the growth of the town.
The following is a list of the citizens here at that time: Robert Clark, Charles H. Day B. F. Denslow, A. K. Curtis, N. G. Curtis, William Gilbert, B. A. Hill, Cornelius Baker, Avery Baker, John S. Blowers, A. T. Cole, James Church, Charles Church, James Lackore, William Lackore, George Lackore, C. H. Lackore, Harrison Beadle, George Beadle, John Maben, Charles Lutz, David Lutz, David Stancliff, Nathan Jeffords, Charles Bice, Thomas Bearse, A. P. Harper, Sylves- ter Baker, Sylvester Belcher, Martin Bumgardner, H. S. Botsford and George Strong.
Among those who came in 1859 were: David Secor, George Butts, John H. T. Ambrose, Simon, Johnathan and Edwin Trumbull and Ethan Ames. George Butts married Sarah Beadle in 1861 and moved to Des Moines.
FIRST EVENTS
The first child born in Forest City was Brentner Clark, son of Robert and Rebecca (Brentner) Clark, in the summer of 1858.
Shortly ater the organization of the county in October, 1857, Judge Clark officiated at the first marriage ceremony, either in the city or county which was that of Sylvester Belcher and Viola Lackore.
The first death in Forest City was that of Samuel Jeffords in the fall of 1859. Tuberculosis caused his demise.
Reverend Hankins, a Methodist minister, preached the first sermon in a little building used by the county officers and called the "court house."
The first title to lots in the village was acquired by A. T. Cole. Robert Clark, owner of the town plat, offered to give two lots to every person who would build thereon and Cole was the first to take advan- tage of the offer.
Forest City postoffice was established in 1857 with Robert Clark as the first postmaster. The office was then held by Keeler Curtis, David Secor and J. W. Mahoney. In 1874 the office was made a money-order office and the first money-order was issued July 6, 1874 by Marcellus Halvorsen to J. W. Phillips of Clear Lake, the amount being $6.
EARLY BUSINESS
During the spring and summer of 1856 Robert Clark kept a small stock of goods in his shanty on what was later the site of the Blenner- hassett Block. Alexander Long and Joshua Moreland opened the
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first regular store in November, 1856. They had a large stock of goods for that early day and their store was the headquarters for all trading for some time. They occupied the building constructed by Long. In December, 1856, Alexander Long was frozen to death and Moreland continued alone in the store until the following spring when the stock passed into the hands of Robert Clark. In the fall of 1857 Clark sold out to Blowers & Byford, who continned the business for nearly a year. About this time Byford pocketed all the money he could find and shook the dust of the town from his heels, leaving Blowers nothing but the residue of the stock, which the latter shortly afterwards sold to Robert Clark, who moved it to his own store. After six or eight months A. K. Curtis became the owner of the stock and removed it to a frame building which he had constructed for the purpose. He continued the business about one year, then sold out to C. H. Day.
In the spring of 1859 Martin Bumgardner opened up a store. He operated for about two years, then sold out to Day, who merged the stock with that which he had purchased from A. K. Curtis. In 1863 Day sold to a Mr. Cummings; after another year Cummings disposed of the business to A. L. Plummer. Plummer took into partnership a person of Hebrew nationality who soon departed, owing to the gov- ernment draft about this time. In the spring of 1866 Hiram K. Landru became proprietor and after four months alone took in Samuel Herrick as partner. Within a few months Herrick retired from the firm and then Landru sold the entire stock to A. L. Plummer. Mr. Plummer added to the stock and built an addition. In 1868 B. A. Plummer purchased an interest in the store and the firm was Plummer Brothers until May 1, 1869, when J. W. Mahoney and B. A. Plummer became the owners. After a year and a half Mahoney became the sole proprietor.
The third general store was opened in 1866 by David Secor. He occupied one of the rooms in the court house for about seven months, then moved his goods to the Abbie Secor building, where he continued for about two and a half years. Solmer & Morgan then purchased the stock, added more goods, and had a man named Brown in charge for a year. The store then became the property of E. D. Hinman, who intended moving the stock to Lake Mills, but inside of two or three days he sold out to George Lackore. The latter erected a new corner building and after there running the business for a period of six months took in J. W. Fisher as partner. This partnership lasted about a year, when Mr. Lackore retired and J. W. Fisher became sole proprietor. Jasper Thompson soon afterwards purchased a half in- terest. In six months Thompson bought out his partner and continued the business as sole owner until the summer of 1883, when he sold out
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to J. H. Lewis. Soon after the firm became Lewis & Skarie. About December 1, 1883, Jasper Thompson, holder of the mortgage, took pos- session of the store and closed out the stock.
In 1870 B. A. Plummer constructed a brick store and placed a stock of goods on sale. A few months later J. C. Harwood became a part- ner, but retired after eight months. At this time John Plummer became a partner and so continued until 1876, when he became sole proprietor, remaining so until 1879. Within the next year Myron Barton became owner.
In 1871 W. O. Hanson and A. A. Aiken brought a stock of goods from Decorah, Iowa, and opened up a store. Two years later Hanson bought his partner's interest and constructed a new building. Here he kept his general store for about a year, then sold out his dry goods and made a specialty of boots and shoes. One year later he sold out to Jasper Thompson, who merged the goods with his other stock.
Saibert & Stife opened a general store and continued in partnership for two years, when Saibert became sole owner. G. G. Onstadt was the next owner and in 1880 built a new building just north of the old site and took in John Isaacson as partner. The latter became sole proprietor two years later.
J. S. Olson and Nels George opened a general store in the George Building in 1874. They continued their partnership for about two years, then dissolved.
In 1877 Thomas Jacobs, O. B. Knudson and J. S. Olson formed a partnership and opened up a general store. This business afterward passed through many hands.
The above description of the early mercantile stores in Forest City will serve to show the unsettled condition of things at that time. It was a time when men were groping around, attempting to become set- tled and seeking the best vocation and investment. The stores were small and the amount of capital invested was extremely small in most cases. Business failures were plentiful, and for this reason each store passed through the hands of many owners and suffered various and varied fortunes.
In the spring of 1872 L. L. Brentner opened a general store in the Secor building. He ran the business one and a half years, then sold out to James Pinckney, who closed out the dry goods and continued the store as a grocery. T. Jacobs was another grocer of this period.
In the autumn of 1870 Dr. W. H. Jones opened the first drug store. In 1872 the stock was sold to James Pinckney, who combined it with his grocery business. The latter erected a building for his store in the same year. A. Blennerhassett and P. O. Koto & Company were other druggists of this time.
OLD FOREST CITY SCHOOL Beside Barton's store in the early '70s.
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The first hardware store in Forest City was established in 1870 by L. Stilson, in a little building next to the Summit office. Soon after his son, E. L., became a partner. The elder Stilson died in January, 1879, and then the son ran the business alone until the fall of '81, when H. C. Reed purchased an interest and the firm became Stilson & Reed.
The second hardware store was opened in 1876 by James Woodo- wiss, who brought his stock here from Rockford, Iowa. William Larson afterward acquired a mortgage upon the stock and sold it ont.
The first elevator was built in Forest City in 1879 by M. P. Hayes of Minneapolis, at a cost of $5,000. The elevator had a capacity of about 25,000 bushels.
Dwight E. Johnson, of Rockford, Iowa, erected a building in 1879 and established two of his sons in business here, following the hard- ware line. They continued until 1882, when H. MeCusker became the proprietor. Stilson & Reed and Wells & Company were the represen- tatives of this business in 1883.
The first carriage and wagon shop was opened in 1860 by J. J. Barker, in the north part of the town. The first blacksmith shop in Forest City was opened in the spring of 1857 by A. T. Cole. After a year he sold out to Lemuel Lackore. John Trumbull began black- smithing in his own shop sometime during the Civil War. Henry Grates next owned this shop and then came Robert Clark and A. L. Plummer as owners. Plummer sold the shop to Cole, who moved it out of town. In 1870 Lunsett & Jenson opened a blacksmith shop in connection with their carriage factory.
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