USA > Iowa > Hancock County > History of Winnebago County and Hancock County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 35
USA > Iowa > Winnebago County > History of Winnebago County and Hancock County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 35
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35
November 3, 1762. France, by the Treaty of Fontainebleau, ceded all that part of the Province of Louisiana west of the Mississippi to Spain. Iowa thus became a Spanish possession.
February 10, 1763. The Treaty of Fontainebleau was ratified by the Treaty of Paris, and at the same time France ceded all that part of Louisiana east of the Mississippi to Great Britain.
September 3, 1783. Conclusion of the treaty that ended the Revo- lutionary war and fixed the western boundary of the United States at the Mississippi River.
-, 1788. The first white settlement in Iowa was made by Julien Dubuque on the site of the city now bearing his name.
October 1, 1800. Conclusion of the Treaty of San Ildefonso, by which Spain ceded back to France that part of Louisiana west of the Mississippi River.
April 30, 1803. By the Treaty of Paris the United States purchased Louisiana. Iowa by this treaty became the property of the United States Government.
October 31, 1803. Congress passed an act authorizing the President to take possession of Louisiana and establish a temporary government therein.
December 20, 1803. The United States commissioners took formal possession of Louisiana at New Orleans.
October 1, 1804. Louisiana divided into the Territory of Orleans and the District of Louisiana. Iowa was in the latter, which was placed under the jurisdiction of Indiana Territory.
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November 4, 1804. First treaty with the Sac and Fox Indians con- eluded at St. Louis by Gen. William H. Harrison.
January 11, 1805. The Territory of Michigan established by act of Congress.
August 9, 1805. Lieut. Zebulon M. Pike left St. Louis to explore the upper Mississippi River. On the 21st he held a council with some of the Iowa Indians about where the town of Montrose, in Lee County, now stands.
-, 1807. Iowa attached to Illinois Territory by aet of Congress.
June 4, 1812. The Territory of Missouri was created and Iowa attached to the new territory.
September 13, 1815. Treaty of peace with the Sae and Fox Indians concluded at Portage des Sioux.
March, 1821. Missouri admitted into the Union as a state and Iowa left without any form of civil government.
1824. A trader named Harte established a post where the City of Council Bluffs now stands.
July 15, 1830. Treaty of Prairie du Chien establishing the "Neu- tral Ground" between the Sioux tribes on the north and the Saes and Foxes on the south.
August 2, 1832. Last battle of the Black Hawk war, in which the Indians were defeated.
September 21, 1832. A treaty was concluded at Davenport, Iowa, by which the Saes and Foxes ceded to the United States a strip of land forty miles wide across the eastern part of the state. This cession, known as the "Black Hawk Purchase," was the first land in Iowa to be opened to white settlers.
June, 1833. The first postoffice in Iowa was established at Dubuque.
June 28, 1834. President Jackson approved the act attaching Iowa to the Territory of Michigan.
September, 1834. The Michigan Legislature divided the present State of Iowa into two counties-Dubuque and Des Moines. Winne- bago and Hancock were included in Dubuque County.
April 20, 1836. President Jackson approved the bill creating the Territory of Wisconsin, which included all the present State of Iowa, the act to take effect on July 4, 1836.
May 11, 1836. The Dubuque Visitor, the first newspaper in Iowa, established by John King.
May, 1836. The first census in Iowa was taken by order of Gover- nor Dodge of Wisconsin. Population, 10,351.
October 3, 1836. First election ever held in Iowa, for members of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature.
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November 6, 1836. A convention met at Burlington and adopted a memorial to Congress asking for the establishment of a new territory west of the Mississippi River.
June 12, 1838. President Van Buren approved the act of Congress creating the Territory of Iowa. The first capital was located at Burl- ington later in the same year.
October 3, 1838. Death of Black Hawk, the great chief of the Sacs and Foxes.
May 9, 1843. Capt. James Allen came up the Des Moines River with a detachment of troops and selected a site for Fort Des Moines where the capital of the state now stands.
October 7, 1844. Iowa's first constitutional convention met at Iowa City. That constitution was rejected by the people.
May 4, 1846. Second constitutional convention met at Iowa City. The second constitution was ratified by the voters on August 3, 1846.
November 30, 1846. The first State Legislature met at Iowa City.
December 28, 1846. President Polk approved the act of Congress admitting Iowa into the Union as a state.
January 28, 1850. Gov. Stephen Hempstead approved an act of the Legislature creating fifty new counties, among which were Winnebago and Hancock.
August 5, 1851. Treaty of Mendota, by which the Mdewakanton Sioux relinquished their claims to lands in Northern Iowa.
April, 1852. The last battle between the Sioux and the Sac and Fox Indians on Iowa soil took place in Kossuth County.
September 9, 1854. Anson Avery, the first white settler in Hancock County, located at Upper Grove.
January, 1855. Birth of George Avery, the first white child borr. in Hancock County.
- 1855. In the spring of this year Thomas Bearse and George W. Thomas settled in Winnebago County. They were the first permanent settlers.
-, 1856. The first sawmill built in Winnebago County.
August 20, 1856. The first land entered in Winnebago County by John B. Gilchrist.
March 14, 1857. Mrs. Louis Nelson died; the first death in Winne- bago County.
May 7, 1857. Birth of George R. Blowers, the first white child born in the County of Winnebago.
October 13, 1857. First election of county officers in Winnebago County.
-, 1857. First postoffice in Hancock County established at Upper Grove, with Benoni Haskins as postmaster.
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-, 1857. First postoffice in Winnebago County established at Forest City, with Robert Clark as postmaster.
, 1857. First schoolhouse in Winnebago County built at Forest City.
June 28, 1858. First election of county officers in Hancock County.
June, 1859. First term of the District Court in Winnebago County, Judge John Porter, presiding.
May 24, 1860. Judge Porter held the first term of District Court in Hancock County.
January 7, 1861. First meeting of the board of supervisors of Hancock County.
April 14, 1861. First marriage license ever issued in Hancock County-to Thomas Wheelock and Christine Sheaf.
January 9, 1867. First Masonic lodge in Winnebago County was instituted at Forest City.
June 14, 1867. The first number of the Winnebago Press, the first newspaper in Winnebago County, was issued by Will Kelly.
1870. A postoffice was established at Garner, with Royal Lovell as postmaster.
July 27, 1872. The first Masonic lodge in Hancock County was organized at Garner.
December, 1874. The Hancock County Bank opened its doors for business. It was the first bank in the county.
April 27, 1878. The Minnesota & Iowa Southern Railroad Com- pany was organized at Forest City.
June 25, 1878. Forest City was incorporated.
December 3, 1879. The first train on the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad arrived at Forest City.
June 23, 1881. The town of Britt, Hancock County, was incorpor- ated.
October 11-13, 1881. The first fair in Hancock County was held at Britt.
March 8, 1883. First post of the Grand Army of the Republic in Winnebago County was organized at Forest City.
May 23, 1883. The first G. A. R. post in Hancock County was organ- ized at Britt.
January 6, 1897. The present Winnebago County courthouse was accepted by the supervisors.
September 14, 1899. Forest City Public Library building was dedi- cated.
June 5, 1905. The supervisors of Winnebago County purchased ninety acres of land in King Township for a poor farm.
March 3, 1917. Three buildings in Forest City, at the northeast corner of the public square, destroyed by fire.
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POSTSCRIPT-IN LIEU OF A PREFACE.
To assist in preserving a record of past events; to keep green the memory of by-gone days; to write of the deeds and achievements of those who have gone before us; to profit by their mistakes as well as to emulate their examples, is but a duty that every individual owes to a common humanity. It was with thoughts such as these in mind that this history of Winnebago and Hancock Counties was undertaken.
Less than a century ago the region now comprising the State of Towa was part of the "great unexplored" domain of the United States. The Indian and the wild beast were the only occupants. The hills and dales of Winnebago and Hancock counties were covered with primeval groves or the tall grass of the prairie. The muskrat and the beaver inhabited the swamps unmolested. An occasional hunter or trapper ventured into this wild region and the reports he carried back to civil- ization aroused an interest in the country west of the Great Father of Waters. Then came the white man with plow and ax and all was changed. The red man and the wolf have departed. The swamps have been drained and brought under cultivation. To tell the story of this change; to recount the hardships of the pioneers; to note the accom- plishments of those who succeeded them upon the stage of action, have been the objects in view in the writing of this history. How well those objects have been attained is for the reader to determine.
In presenting this work to the people of Winnebago and Hancock counties, the publishers desire to state that no effort has been spared to make the history both authentic and comprehensive. Authentic, because, as far as possible, the official records of the counties have been consulted as sources of information; and comprehensive, because, it is believed, no important event has been overlooked or neglected.
The work has been one involving great care and labor and at times no little difficulty has been encountered. Much credit is due to old residents for their ready and willing cooperation in the collection of data regarding events in the years gone by. And in bidding the reader good-by, the publishers take this opportunity to express their obliga- tions to the various county officials and their deputies; the editors of the various newspapers, who generously permitted the use of their files ; and to the librarians of the public libraries for their uniform courtesies while the work was in preparation.
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