USA > Iowa > History of western Iowa, its settlement and growth. A comprehensive compilation of progressive events concerning the counties, cities, towns, and villages-biographical sketches of the pioneers and business men, with an authentic history of the state of Iowa > Part 23
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It would be an error to suppose from the active demand for real estate that the country was becoming crowded. A careful study
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
of the plats in the office of any Sioux City land dealer will show that not more than one-sixth part of the land in Woodbury County has yet passed into the hands of actual occupants. The county is capable of sustaining a population equal to that now scattered out over the entire northwest quarter of the State.
AS A DISTRIBUTING POINT.
Sioux City, situated as it is, on the convex side of the Missouri River, on its first great bend north of Kansas City, the waters of that great river flow toward it from an almost due westerly course for 150 miles, when they turn southward, while smaller streams flow toward it from the north and east. Its location thus seems to have been designed by nature as the natural spot for the great metropolis of the Upper Missouri, and the commerce of this rapid- ly growing empire flows as naturally toward this point as the waters have for ages. The natural advantages of this location for a commercial center, were seen and fully appreciated by the en- terprising, intelligent men who selected it for a city, and they not not only laid it out on a grand scale for substantial business blocks and stately residences, but they worked to bring to the aid of its natural resources all the helps that the artificial arteries of com- merce can command.
Its commanding geographical position, coupled with its eight lines of railroad and mighty river, has made it the distributing point for Dakota and Nebraska. All the supplies for the vast ter- ritory to the north and westward are necessarily handled by the railroads centering here, and the business thus brought to her very doors has contributed not a little to the upbuilding of the city, as it necessitated the erection of warehouses and the investment of capital in the wholesale and distributing business. The following table, prepared by the Secretary of the Board of Trade, will give some idea of the extent and character of this business during the year 1881:
No. Employes.
Wages paid.
Gross sales.
General Merchandise
320 $
148,225|$ 4,541,304
Grain. .
18
15,500
549,322
Hides, Tallow and Furs
10
6,000
654,000
Wood and Coal
16
5,000
188,000
Lumber ..
23
12,400
375,000
Agricultural Implements, etc.
25
30 0
170,000
Total
412 $
197,425
$6,477,626
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
These figures can be accepted as being as nearly correct as it is possible to give them, and if the yerr at all it is in being too small, and that they are too small is clearly indicated by the amount of exchange sold by our three banks during the past year, as per figures furnished, which was $10,256,127.02.
Especially is this true of grain, as one firm, during the period covered by this table, purchased 600,000 bushels of wheat alone, and the shipments of corn and oats to the up-river military posts amounted to 15,000,000 pounds. The general merchandise sales of the city during the same year reached the gratifying total of 4,500,000 of dollars. Of this amount $1,456,000 was sold by the three wholesale dry goods houses, and about $100,- 000 in round numbers by the two wholesale grocery establish- ments. Of the other lines of trade engaged in the distribution business, of the magnitude of whose operations no definite figures can be given, may be mentioned:
The Standard Oil Company has put in tanks and a warehouse, whence illuminating and lubricating oil is distributed all over this part of the northwest.
The firms of F. H. Peavey & Co., H. G. Wyckoff, Booge Bros., and Knud Sunde send out coal, lime and plaster by the ton, car- load or single barrel.
Two wholesale grocery houses, E. C. Palmer & Co. and Tacka- berry, Van Keuren & Floyd, represent their line. One of the firms stated that its business in 1881 amounted to over $500,000, and the other refused to give figures.
The wholesale drug business is carried on by John Hornick and F. Hansen.
Liquors are sold in job lots by John Hornick, E. Ressegieu and Joseph Marks.
The cracker factory of Goodwin & Mosseau employs seven men, and has a trade extending throughout the Northwest.
In the wholesale saddlery hardware line there are J. M. McCon- nell & Co. and L. Humbert.
Dry goods and notions are wholesaled by Tootle, Livingston & Co. and by Jandt & Tompkins.
The jobbing of hardware is conducted by Peavey Bros. and Geowey & Co., the former firm selling only at wholesale.
Agricultural implements are sold in lots to dealers by Peavey Bros., W. L. Wilkins and Cottrell, Bruce & Co.
The shipping of grain is the specialty of F. H. Peavey & Co. and Davis & Wann, and is one of the lines of John H. Charles and Jas. E. Booge & Co.
The northwestern distributing point is at Sioux City for the Singer Sewing Machines, for which A. P. Provost is agent; the American Sewing Machines, represented by W. W. Griggs, and for Kimball's musical instruments, for which Arthur Hubbard is general agent.
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
During 1881, Smith & Farr, built an extensive butter and egg packing establishment, costing $20,000, which the growth of the trade in this produce imperatively demanded.
Oberne, Hosick & Co., of Chicago, have a branch house estab- lished here, which makes a specialty of hides and wool, and whose operations extend to the British Possessions.
Pinckney & Co., beside their retail book and stationery business, keep several men on the road selling their wares.
Cummings, Smith & Co. are exclusively engaged in the whole- sale boot and shoe trade.
J. K. Prugh, in connection with his retail crockery and queen's- ware trade, devotes some attention to the wholesale line of his business.
Beside these, three banks, two of which are national banks, two express offices and the postoffice handle the currency used in the business of a wide extent of country. Numerous firms and indi- viduals who do not figure before the public as being in the whole- sale trade, are, by force of circumstances compelled to sell goods in job lots to out-of-town customers. Thus a number of our cloth- ing merchants supply surrounding country stores, grocers send out shipments to dealers all the way between the city and Deadwood, and lumber dealers ship small lots and entire car lots to small dealers out of the city. By numberless channels the goods brought in bulk to this city are distributed, and the produce of the country collected and forwarded. Much of this business has not been cul- tivated, but has come to the city unasked. The need of more wholesale houses is the crying need of the city. The field is large, and the harvest is plenteous, but the laborers comparatively few.
INDIAN ANTIQUITIES.
When Lewis and Clark's expedition ascended the Missouri River, they found the Sioux in possession of the country on the north side of the river above the Big Sioux, and on both sides from the mouth of the Niobrara up to near where Ft. Buford now is. On the west side of the river, at the Blackbird Hills, was the Omaha village. This tribe. whose present village is about thirty miles southwest of Sioux City, had occupied the neighborhood of their present village from a time to which Indian tradition fixes no limit. Their peaceful ways had fixed the tribe not only in lo- cality, but in numbers, and from the best accounts attainable they have never varied much in the the latter, from 1,200 souls. On account of this Chinese-like fixedness, this tribe has always been considered one of the most interesting by students. At this writ- ing a cultured young lady of Boston, Miss A. C. Fletcher, is living with the tribe as a member, to study their religion and traditions. Though in the carly treaties the government appears to recognize the title of the Omahas to the country about this city, it was the common hunting ground of this tribe and the Sioux.
212
HISTORY OF IOWA.
The Sioux are, as a tribe, the opposite of the Omahas. While the Omahas have remained stationary, the Sioux have grown. From the time of Lewis and Clark's expedition to the time the first lot was staked at Sioux City, the tribe had almost annihilated the once formidable Rees and Mandans, reduced the Poncas to a petty band, and extended their dominion to the south as far as the Platte, north to the Saskatchawan. Indian tradition says that the Sioux are not an old tribe, but the descendants of a band of young braves from different tribes that banded themselves together to form a new tribe, and started from somewhere near the head of the south Saskatchawan. These Romans of the North subdued other tribes and incorporated them with themselves, taking such wives as they wanted from the conquered. The name used by the tribe in speak- ing of themselves, Dacota-friends or allies-comes from this as- sociation of young men, rather than from the subsequent proceed- ings had.
The human bones disinterred in excavating for the foundations of buildings in Sioux City, indicate that the Omahas, or some other of the older tribes, occupied the country before the Sioux came, for the Omahas bury their dead, while the Sioux expose the bodies of their deceased friends on scaffolds. Dr. Yeomans, one of the first settlers of Sioux City, mentions in a letter recently written to a resident, that. when he first saw the townsite, in the fall of 1855, the trees on the east slope of Prospect Hill were orna- mented with scaffolds, on which were the bones of Indians. The dead had been wrapped in their robes and blankets, and left there to decay.
But before either the Omahas or the Sioux occupied the country about Sioux City, it was the home of another and more civilized people, of whom, unfortunately, but little can now be known. Their principal city was on the Broken Kettle Creek, about seven miles northwest of Sioux City. There a circular elevation, several acres in extent, rises to the height of from six to ten feet above the level of the bottom land. But few explorations of this village mound have been made, and the most that is known of it comes from observations taken of the side where the Broken Ket- tle Creek has cut into the mound. The soil of which the mound is made appears to be different from that of either the neighboring bluffs, or of the bottom land, from which it rises; nor is there any depression near the mound to show from whence came the mater- ials of which it is made. In places, and at some little distance be- low the surface, are ashes and bones of some animals, as if the mound had been built higher since it was first the site of a village. Some human bones have been found, but scattered and broken, as the animal bones were, and this gives rise to the horrid theory that the villagers feasted on elk, man and buffalo flesh with equal en- joyment. The few parts of skeletons found on the higher part of this and neighboring mounds (for there are several mounds in the
213
HISTORY OF IOWA.
same section) are supposed to be the result of Indian interments made long subsequent to the age when these mounds were the sites of populous towns. The peculiar feature of the mounds, and the one from which the creek takes its name, Broken Kettle, is the numerous remains of pottery found. These vessels, from the fragments found, (for no complete specimens have yet been dis- covered) appear to have been for all kinds of domestic use. They were made of clay found in the bluff not far off, and appear to have been moulded by hand, not turned on a wheel, before being baked. Some of them display considerable rude taste in ornamen- tation and design, and much patience in their making. A mound somewhat similar to those on the Broken Kettle, is reported to have been found on the Little Sioux, north of Correctionville, but with this exception the Broken Kettle mounds are unique, as is their pottery. It is to be regretted that these interesting remains have not been more fully explored, and it is to be hoped that at an early day some one actuated by a pure love of knowledge will investigate these relics of an earlier civilization.
THE INDIAN WAR.
In 1861, the beginning of the war of the Rebellion, fired the hearts of the pioneer patriots of Sioux City to such an extent that a company of cavalry was formed under the State law, with Capt. Tripp in command. This organization disbanded during the winter, and the following summer a company was enlisted under the name of the Sioux City Cavalry, under which name it was mustered into the government service, with A. J. Millard as Cap- tain. During the Indian troubles following the massacres at New Ulm and Spirit Lake, this company did much to give confidence and courage to the frontier. It was the presence of this company that checked the stampede of settlers that came out of Dakota in the summer of 1862, and when Cordua and Roberts were killed by straggling Indians in Bacon's Hollow, three miles east of this city, the Sioux City Cavalry followed the trail of the murderers for several days, but without overtaking them. About the same time Sioux Falls was burned, and several murders committed by the Sioux in Union and Clay counties, in Dakota.
In the winter of 1862-3, General John Cook began the organ- ization of a campaign against the Sioux, with Sioux City as a base of operations. The Sioux City Cavalry, as a company, went into the Seventh Iowa Cavalry, a part of which regiment, and all of the Sixth Iowa Cavalry, composed the force of which General Sully took command in the spring of 1863, when he relieved Gen- eral Cook. After the campaign of that year, the expedition re- turned to spend the winter of 1863-4 at Sioux City, and the sum- mer following went out on the campaign, which resulted in driving the hostile Sioux beyond the Missouri.
214
HISTORY OF IOWA.
SLOAN.
This prosperous and enterprising little place is situated on the Sioux City & Pacific Railway, twenty-one miles below Sioux City, and four miles from the Missouri River. It possesses no corporate powers in itself, but is a part of Sloan Township, which was formerly a portion of Lakeport Township, but which, in January, 1876, was organized as a separate township, the first officers of which were: F. O. Hunting, President; G. R. Beall, J. R. Coe, Trustees, and Ed. Haakinson, Clerk. The present township officers are: W. J. Wray. President; F. O. Hunting, George W. Lee, Trustees, and W. G. Williamson, Clerk. The connection of town- ship affairs with those of the village has been so close that it is scarcely possible to do justice to one without giving something of the other's history.
This place, although older than many other towns in Western Iowa, is still in its infancy, and though for several years it seemed to make but little progress, it is now rapidly building up, and bids fair to become an important point.
The date of the first permanent settlement in this section is not definitely known, but it is believed that Rufus Beall, now deceased, is entitled to that honor, as he first came here in 1856, and although he did not make his home in Sloan until 1865, he was a very large landholder in the vicinity as early as the first date given, and made several lengthy stays. George R. Beall, a nephew of Rufus Beall, is at present the oldest settler in the township, he having made it his place of residence as early as 1868. Another settler, who came the same year, was Andrew Fee.
Sloan proper was platted in 1870 by John I. Blair, at that time President of the Sioux City & Pacific Railway Company, and all deeds were made in his name. Blair received the land as a gift from one of the enterprising citizens of this place. Previous to the platting of the town, there was a store on the site which had been erected in 1868 by J. B. Johnston. There was also a post- office, which was known as Hamlin Postoffice; but the real place commenced, in a measure, its existence with the platting of the town. Among the settlers who came about or just before this time, were John Tully, now dead, R. C. Barnard, Fred. T. Evans, Ed. Haakinson, and others.
The population of the village is variously estimated at from 200 to 225, and it is probable that the latter figure is not too great. The nationalities represented are various, though the native Ameri- can element is in the majority, many of the latter being from the State of New York. On the outskirts of the village is a strong Scandinavian representation. Taken in combination, the people of Sloan are as good citizens as could be wished for, and they would be welcomed with open arms to any locality.
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
A movement is on foot to secure incorporation, and the desired object will no doubt become an accomplished fact at an early day. The prevailing sentiment at present, however, seems to be that the population is hardly, as yet, up to the required standard, but as that drawback is fast being remedied, it will probably not prove an obstacle for any very extended period.
Sloan is well represented in the various lines of business neces- sary to a properly balanced village, and all show signs of pros- perity.
The following are the various establishments: Three general merchandise stores, one grocery store and meat shop, a butcher shop, saloon, drug store, hardware store, blacksmith shop, black- smith and wagon shop, hotel, restaurant, barber shop, livery and sale stable, furniture store, photograph gallery, lumber-yard, stock and grain dealer. In addition to these, the learned professions are represented by one clergyman, as elsewhere noticed, and one physician. The bar has no representative here. The postoffice is a money order office. The railroad shipments, which are rapidly increasing, will average two car-loads or more per day of stock and other products of the country.
CHURCHES, SCHOOLS AND SOCIETIES.
M. E. Church Society .- The first sermon preached in Sloan, subsequent to missionary work, was delivered by the Rev. Mr. Crane, of Dakota, a representative pioneer preacher, who held ser- vices with a congregation of seventeen, in a room over Beall & Ev- ans' store. This was in October, 1870, and from that date, the Methodist Society of Sloan began its growth. Subsequent meet- ings were held in the school-house, Mr. Crane acting as supply preacher, and continuing in that capacity for several years. Mr. Crane was succeeded in his ministrations by various other itiner- ant clergymen, prominent among whom were Revs. Keister, Bil- lings, Fawcett, Drake and Cuthbert. The society which started with two members, now has a membership of forty, and has a reg- ular pastor, Rev. William Thomas, who has continued in that ca- pacity since October, 1881. The Society is no longer in need of securing public buildings for the holding of its meetings, but has an excellent church edifice, with dimensions of 35x50 feet, which was dedicated in June, 1881, and which is a credit to the community.
Congregational Church Society .- The Congregational Church Society was organized in the Spring of 1879, by the Rev. A. M. Beeman, now of Spencer, who relinquished his charge in Septen- ber, 1881, since which time the church, which has a membership of thirty-five, has depended upon supply preachers. The society has no building of its own, as yet, but a subscription has been startel for the erection of one next season, upon the completion of which a resident pastor will be secured.
216
HISTORY OF IOWA.
Sloan Lodge, I. O. G. T .- This is the only organization in the nature of a secret society in Sloan, and it, though the charter is still retained, does not hold regular meetings. It started with a small membership a year or so ago.
The organization of a Masonic Lodge in the village has been contemplated, but as yet nothing has been done in the way of work to that end.
Debating Societies .- Sloan has also a debating Society, but as yet it is small and in an embryo stage of life. The meetings are held in the school house.
Public Schools .- The public schools of the city consist of a primary and a higher school, the latter presided over by F. E. Chapin, and the former by Mrs. F. E. Chapin. The number of pupils in attendance is seventy. The school building was erected in 1881, and is a two-story, frame structure, with dimensions of 28x40 feet. Its interior arrangements consist of two large class- rooms, and a smaller recitation room. A smaller brick building had supplied the needs of the place for several years prior to the erection of the present school house. The School Board for this year consists of J. B. Crawford, President; F. O. Hunting and W. J. Wray. The school system of the place has been almost co- existent with itself, and reflects great credit on the community.
The people of Sloan are confident of a prosperous future, and deliberate observation by an unprejudiced observer would seem to confirm the belief. The country around is a grand one, and it would seem that nothing stands in the way of an ultimately large growth.
OTHER TOWNS IN WOODBURY COUNTY.
Smithland .- One of the early settlements in the county was Smithland, on the Little Sioux River, about thirty-five miles south- east of Sioux City. At this place in January, 1857, began, between the whites and Indians, the troubles immediately preceding the Spirit Lake massacre. The Indians made some threats against the whites, which caused the settlers to arrest and disarm some of Ink- pa-du-tah's band. The Indians stole other arms, and passing up the valley of Little Sioux River into Cherokee and Clay Counties, committed further depredations. When they arrived in Dickinson County, they committed the outrages which form so painful a chapter in the history of the State.
Correctionville-Lies in a bend of the Little Sioux River, near the line of Ida County. It was settled years ago, when Sioux City was little more than an Indian camping ground, and per force of circumstances still remains a village, though its situation and nat- ural resources would warrant it in becoming a town. A pioneer by the name of Shook came into what is now Kedron Township in Section 1, in 1853. R. Candreau, C. Bacon, and M. Kellogg came the next year. Shook sold out to Bacon, who was the first permanent settler.
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
Woodbury .- This village was formerly called Sergeant's Bluff City. The railroad station here is still called Sergeant's Bluff. It is situated on the Missouri bottom, six miles south of Sioux City. It was located in 1856, by Doctor J. D. M. Crockwell and Doctor Wright, of Independence, Iowa. In 1857-8 a newspaper was pub- lished here, of which mention has been made. In 1862 the manu- facture of pottery was commenced at Woodbury, and the business has been lively and remunerative ever since.
Danbury, Salix, and Oto are other minor settlements in Wood- bury County.
WOODBURY COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES.
SIOUX CITY.
D. D. Adams, of the firm of Devore & Adams, auctioneers and commission merchants-who established business at Sioux City in 1869-was born in 1848; served in the U. S. A. one and one-half years under Colonel La Grange, in Co. B., 1st W. C. He lost a brother at Helena, Ark., who was captain of the company. Previ- ous to coming to this place, the subject of this sketch was engaged in business three years in Wis.
A. Akin, of the firm of Akin & Shulson, dealers in staple and fancy groceries, confectionery, etc., Chicago House, 4th St., Sioux City, Ia., was born in Otsego county, N. Y., March 8th, 1810. In 1827, he moved to Penn .; removed to Belvidere, Ill., in 1844; thence to Elgin, and from there to Chicago in 1852, where he served as justice of the peace and police magistrate for seven years, and also practiced law. He received a commission from President Lincoln to recruit. In 1864, he moved to Kansas, where he was for several years register in the U. S. land office, in Augusta and Wichita; was postmaster for several years, and prosecuting attor- ney for Morris county. He then moved back to Chicago, and re- mained two years, after which he came to Sioux City, in 1878, and located permanently.
Abel Anderson, dealer in groceries and provisions, corner of 4th and Jackson Sts., was born in Sweden in 1856; came to America in 1874, and settled in Sioux City. He is now one of the leading grocers of the city; his sales average $25,000 per year.
C. M. Anderson, photographer, was born in Sweden in 1849, came to America in 1852, and located in Chicago. In 1871, he moved to Rock Island, Ill. While there he took charge of a gal-
15
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
lery, and learned the art of photography. He came to Sioux City in 1878; married Bertha Jorgenson, of Manitowoc, Wis. They have two children- Emineretta and John E.
John Anderson, of the firm of Anderson & Olson, dealers in boots, shoes, rubbers, etc., opposite High School building, was born in Sweden in 1843; came to America in 1869, and settled in Sioux City; married Anna Anderson. They have four children- Mary, Albert, Carrie and Oscar.
L. B. Atwood, liveryman, established business in 1866; was born in Livermore, Maine; came west and settled in Sioux Falls, Dakota, in 1858; and the same year came to Sioux City, which makes him one of the pioneers of this place. He has been a member of the city council, and held other minor offices. He is one of Sioux City's representative citizens.
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