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 29
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265
HISTORY OF IOWA.
this time until the year 1869, was very slow, and but little worthy of record transpired. In 1868, the population numbered 227. The general election was held in the fall of this year, at which sixty- four votes were polled. Hon. Eli Johnson, of Cherokee, was elected to the State Legislature by a handsome majority. Mr. Johnson is at present a resident of Cherokee, where he is publish- ing a paper, the Cherokee Free Press. During this session of the Legislature, the preliminary survey for the Dubuque and Sioux City Railroad was run through Cherokee county, and the line es- tablished. The work of building the road was immediately com- menced, and pushed forward with all possible vigor. In the Spring of 1869, immigration commenced to pour into the county, and it seemed, indeed, that an era of prosperity had at last been inaugu- rated. About this time a store was opened in the old village by a Mr. Foskett. He was soon followed by Mr. Van Eps. A saw mill was also erected in Pilot Township by Mr. Rodgers.
During the year work on the railroad progressed with great vigor, and in May, 1870, the road was completed, so as to admit of through trains, but as the road left the village of Cherokee about a mile to the east, an effectual stop was put to its growth. As soon as it was known exactly where the road would run, it was de- cided to establish a new town site, and in March, of this year, Carlton Corbett and G. W. Lebourveau laid out the new town of Cherokee in the immediate vicinity of the site selected for the de- pot. The citizens of the old town immediately removed their buildings to the new site, where all was bustle, life and activity. The spring was one of remarkable activity; immigrants flocked in by the hundreds, and busy industry soon converted the bleak prai- rie into a thriving, prosperous village; and, by December, there were at least ninety new buildings in the town. In June, of this year, there were in the county 1,244 cattle, 444 horses, thirty-six mules, thirty-nine sheep, and seventy swine. The entire valua- tion of all personal property was $79,979.55.
At the opening of the year 1871, the prospects for Cherokee County were brighter than ever before in her history. The many struggles of fifteen years to obtain a foot-hold had at last brought forth their legitimate fruit,and from this time forward, unparalleled prosperity has been the portion of Cherokee County.
New villages sprang into existence as if by magic, and the rich prairie land was soon dotted over with well tilled farms and good farm buildings. In 1870 the foundations were laid for the first building in Hazard, and in 1871, the first house was erected in Marcus, and Aurelia was started in 1877.
We have thus sketched in brief the more important points in the history of Cherokee County; have seen it transferred from a wild, unbroken prairie into one of the richest and most thickly settled countries in all the great North west; have noted the almost superhuman exertion necessary to accomplish this task; have
18
266
HISTORY OF IOWA.
chronicled the repeated failures, the renewed efforts and the final triumph. It is now proper to describe this, one of the most fertile and picturesque sections in all the great State of Iowa.
Cherokee County is situated in the third tier of counties south of the Minnesota line, and the second west of the Dakota line, lying between Plymouth and Buena Vista counties; is twenty- four miles square, and contains 368,640 acres of rich and fertile land. It is well watered by innumerable clear, sparkling brooks, springs and dashing rivers, the largest river, the Little Sioux, passing diagonally through the county, making its exit near the southwest corner. Every township in the county has a stream running through it, and all of these streams abound with fine fish. The Maple has its headwaters on the northeastern border of the county. Along the banks of the Little Sioux considerable timber is to be found. The general surface of the country is rolling; there are but few acres of the land too broken to be tilled, and Cherokee ranks among the best agriultural counties in the State. Its numerous valleys, formed by clear, running streams, have a soil especially adapted to the cultivation of cereals. For stock raising it is superior to most counties in the northwest, as its numerous running streams afford an abundance of pure water, and the nutritious grasses, which grow so luxuriantly, afford an excellent pasturage, and stock can be kept in good condition the entire year with but little trouble or expense. The climate is very similar to that of other counties in Northwestern Iowa -- healthy and invigorating; extremes of heat and cold are the ex- ception, and not the rule, mild weather generally characterizing the entire year. The air is dry and bracing, and lung diseases are almost unknown. The soil is a drift deposit, covered with a deep, rich vegetable mould. Along the streams, it is alluvial, and every where capable of producing the most luxuriant vegetation. Chero- kee County has 1,085 acres of natural timber, and 1,275 of artificial. The inhabitants embrace all nationalities, though the original stock from Massachusetts and other Eastern states is largely in the ascendancy.
In 1874, the population was estimated at 5,000, while in the same year 80,000 acres were under crop. In this year about 1.100 cars of wheat were shipped from the county, while the total assessa- ble value of the property of the county footed up in round num- bers to $1,600,000. In this year there were 1,200 farms in the county with an average cultivation of sixty-six acres, located in all the townships in the county. During the same year there were sixty-four schools in the county, the total value of the school houses being $32,241. Though statistics are unquestionably rather dry reading, in this case, at least, they show conclusively the rapid strides Cherokee County is making towards supremacy.
If the figures given above afford occasion for congratulation, those for 1881 are still more satisfactory. The taxable real estate
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
of this county this year amounts in round numbers to $1,800,000; personal property, $375,000, based as near as possible on one-third their actual values. The bonded indebtedness of the county is $48,- 300.
The educational interests, the criterion of a county's pros- perity, are in a very flattering condition. There are ninety-two frame school buildings in the county, valued at about $50,000, while the value of the school apparatus is in round numbers $3,- 000. One hundred and sixty-nine teachers are employed, and 3,- 200 children are enrolled, the averaged attendance being 2,110. Of the general funds on hand, the last report has the following: School house fund, $4,500; contingent fund, $5,500; teachers' fund, nearly $12,000.
The present officials of the county are: Hon. H. C. Lewis, Dis- trict Judge; Hon. J. R. Zuver, of Sioux City, Circuit Judge; R. L. Robie, Auditor; Eli Eshleman, Treasurer; E. Miller, Recorder; W. C. Bundy, Clerk of Courts; R. J. Smythe, Sheriff; Miss Ella M. Slater, Superintendent of Public Schools, and J. H. Davenport, Surveyor.
With all the advantages we have cited, land can be purchased in this county at from $5 to $15 per acre, according to location. As a general rule, the farmers of the county are devoting unusual at- tention to stock raising, not because grain cannot be grown suc- cessfully, but because stock pays better.
CHEROKEE.
The county seat of Cherokee county, much of whose history ne- cessarily appears in the above detailed county history, is in every respect a handsome, substantial and growing city. It is located nearly midway between Fort Dodge and Sioux City, in the midst of a prosperous and fertile county. . As a writer in a former simi- lar work expresses it, "Cherokee has a surprisingly beautiful site, skirted on all sides by gentle bluffs, that swell just enough to shield it from the blasts of winter, yet not to impair the beauty of the landscape. Through the vale and to the south of the village the Sioux River winds its devious way in search of the great Mis- souri, where her crystalline waters are swallowed up in the current of mud. The banks of the Sioux are lined with timber, the first of any consequence that greets the eye of the traveler after leaving Fort Dodge. This greatly adds to the picturesqueness of the scene, and preposseses the traveler in its favor.
Cherokee was located in August, 1870, a small number of build- ings having been erected prior to that date, however, but of a character which admitted of their being moved to the future coun- ty seat. The facts as to the settlement upon the permanent loca- tion of the town appear elsewhere. The residence of E. Cowles is stated to be the first building moved from the "old town," in
26S
HISTORY OF IOWA.
March, 1870, and was the first dwelling in the new village; but the farm residence of G. W. Lebourveau, adjoining the village, was erected prior to that date. The growth of Cherokee has been rapid and healthy, and to-day it is deservedly ranked among the most substantially prosperous of Iowa's many prosperous villages.
The following as to the natural features of Cherokee and vicinity will prove of interest:
"Cherokee county lies wholly in one large valley, the highest point on its eastern border being 908 feet, and on its western bor- der 877 feet; the city of Cherokee being the center of the depres- sion is only 565 feet. Through the center of this valley from northeast to southwest flows the Little Sioux. This peculiarity, nowhere else found in the west, gives the surface of the country a slightly rolling appearance, and with gentle slopes to the river bed underlying the prairie proper about 100 feet. The valleys formed by the river being particularly rich, are very desirable. The soil is very loose and mellow, and never 'bakes,' and is much easier cultivated than the soil of the eastern states. It is what is. parti- cularly known as the 'bluff deposit,' varying in depth from two to three feet. Being slightly tinctured with sand, it matures crops rapidly. Read what eminent geologists say of it. Prof. Owen, in his Geological Survey, says: 'It is a silicious marl closely resemb- ling the 'loess' deposit in the valley of the Rhine, famous the world over for its richness.' As far as known this deposit covers an area of nearly two hundred miles drained by the Missouri. Prof. White, in his Geological Survey of the State, says: 'The fortunate admixture of soil materials gives a warmth and mellow- ness to the soil, which is so favorable to the growth of crops that they are usually matured as early as they are upon more clayey soils of the southern part of the state, although the latter are more than 200 miles to the southward.' Impassable roads are never known. A few hours of sunshine after the most severe storm, make a road dry and passable for loads. The drainage is so good that 'muddy' roads are impossible. The county has a most perfect water system. Through the center of the county flows the Little Sioux; on the west Rock Creek and Willow Creek; on the north Mill Creek and Gray Creek, and on the east the Maple, while on the south is Silver Creek. All of these having more or less tribu- taries, give bountiful supplies of water for stock-raising and other purposes. In fact there is hardly a section of land but what there exists upon it flowing streams or living springs. Pure, healthy water is obtained everywhere at a depth of fifteen to thirty feet."
Not the least of the attractions which Cherokee affords, is her famous
MAGNETIC SPRING,
one of the most remarkable curiosities in nature, the essential par- ticulars concerning which are as follows:
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
This spring was discovered in 1879, while prospecting for coal; when the depth of 200 feet was reached, a stream of crystalline water two inches in diameter flowed to the surface with a force that projected it several feet above the level of the ground.
The stream was so great that the prospector had to abandon his work. Unaware that he had tapped a spring superior in curative properties to any other in America, he felt disappointed and dis- pirited. Several weeks afterwards, in fastening an iron rod a quarter of an inch thick and ten feet long to a cord, with the in- tention of sinking the rod to the bottom in order to raise the sedi- ment which had accumulated in the tube, to his astonishment the rod fastened itself to the iron piping, and so far from sinking it re- quired considerable strength to detach it and bring it up.
This accidental discovery paved the way for future experiments, which resulted in demonstrating that the water of this spring was heavily charged with magnetism, so much so that by immersing a steel instrument in the waters it shortly becomes a perfect magnet, capable of suspending needles, nails, watch keys and iron sub- stances of greater weight.
The sceptical at first said the magnetism was in the iron tubing, and that it had been charged artificially, but as the pipes were those purchased to conduct water by.a hydraulic ram and re-pur- chased from a neighbor who knew nothing about the spring, the doubters had to give that theory up. It was next charged that any iron tube sunk in the earth to a great depth becomes charged with magnetism; that the magnetism was not in the water. This was disproven by scientific tests, viz: taking the water from the spring and immersing in it steel bars, tested by a galvanometer and pronounced free from electricity; after a short interval of time these were found charged with magnetism, capable of suspending other bodies of iron. The mechanical action of the water upon the iron, is too obvious to be denied, and so manifest that the most illiterate can readily see it. It requires no theoretic demonstration to convince the observer that it must have an effect upon living tissue which is well known to be an electrical conductor.
Invalids began drinking the water, and the results were at once of a highly favorable character. Dyspeptics were greatly benefited by their use, they afforded relief to every form of constipation, and their ærated qualities proved an antidote to acidity and distention of the stomach. A demand for bathing facilities was made on the proprietors, and the fame of these wonderful healing waters spread to every State of the Union. Letters of inquiry poured in, and the water became a standard article of export to hundreds of towns and cities.
Thus far the well had, by its inherent virtues, forced itself on the public, and the public in return, by their urgent demands, in a manner compelled the proprietors to fit up a bathing establish-
270
HISTORY OF IOWA.
ment, which they have added to from time to time, until it now has a sufficient capacity to meet all ordinary demands, while the surroundings have been improved and beautified so as to make it a really interesting spot.
Like most other institutions, it had to encounter opposition. This mainly sprang from the jealousy of the profession, since the many remarkable cures, and general improvement of chronic sufferers, wholly due to a continued use of these waters, seemed a rebuke to the ordinary methods of treatment, but opposition was silenced by the voices of the many who drank health from this magnetic fountain. Physicians found the waters had intrinsic, health-giving qualities, and soon learned to recognize them among the potent agencies in the cure of a long train of diseases.
For a considerable time the proprietors were reluctant to make a heavy outlay for the benefit of invalids and health-seekers, as such a course was entirely foreign to their original purpose-that of finding coal-but the representations of the public were so con- tinued and earnest, that all objections on this score were waived, and the large investments made have been warmly seconded by an appreciative public, whose liberal patronage is the safest guarantee that the outlay has been wisely made.
The Bathing House is a commodious and well finished structure, one story and a half high, with waiting rooms and ladies' parlor. The bath rooms are neat and comfortable, and the baths are con- structed on the most recent and approved plan, and heated by steam. The ladies' rooms are reserved exclusively for their use, and are in charge of polite and attentive female waiters. The ladies' and gentlemen's bathing departments are separated by a suite of rooms insuring the most perfect guarantee that nothing need offend the instincts of the most delicate.
The flow of water from the Spring is so great that an artificial lake of over six acres in extent has been made, the waters of which average four feet deep, and are almost transparent as the air above them. One side of this lake washes the southern porch of the bath house, and flocks of wild ducks have, for the past year, been continually about the lake in their season; they have become so tame that persons may approach them within a few feet.
The grounds surrounding the Spring comprise sixty acres, have been laid out by a skilled arborist and gardner, with a view to pro- ducing the best æsthetic effect, and have been planted with native and ornamental trees and shrubbery, the lake being skirted by choice varieties. Time alone is required to make this park one of the handsomest and most interesting in the western states.
Another, and not the least interesting feature of this charming spot, is a one-half mile race course, sixty feet wide, and as level as a lake, one side bounded by the river bank, the other by the lake. A better race-course or a prettier is not easily found. The pro-
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
prietors have spared no expense to improve and beautify the grounds, which have already earned the reputation of being the most inviting known at any western watering place. In addition to the new park, the proprietors have purchased an island in the Sioux river of about one hundred acres in extent, heavily wooded with timber of large and small growth. A little work could make this as romantic a retreat as river and forest can afford.
The waters of the Spring are so pure and free from inorganic matter that they keep perfectly sweet and pure for two or three weeks after being drawn. Those who have had them shipped for hundreds of miles have been astonished to find that even after being kept for a month, no sign of pntrefaction was discernible, and that to the taste they were as pleasant as when drawn. This quality is of incalculable advantage for shipping purposes. Those who, from weakness, or any other cause, are unable to come to the Spring, can have the water shipped to them at reasonable rates, with the assurance that it will remain sweet and pure for a long time.
The boarding facilities at Cherokee are quite equal to those of any other city of sixteen hundred inhabitants. There are four good hotels, and several good boarding houses in the city. Fruits and every delicacy in its season may be had here abundantly. No one need have any hesitancy in coming to Cherokee on the ground of insufficient accommodation. The city has two excellent livery stables, with horses and vehicles in abundance, so that with driv- ing, shooting and fishing the most pleasing and invigorating recreation may be had at all times and seasons. In fact the city of Cherokee is sufficiently metropolitan to afford an ample variety of sports, comforts and recreations.
There are in Cherokee Congregational, Presbyterian, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Advent, Episcopalian and Universalist church organizations. The first six have houses of worship. The church property of the county is in valuation perhaps not less than $20,- 000. The officers of the Congregational church are: Pastor, J. B. Chase; Deacons, J. W. Coombs, J. P. Dickey, H. C. Kellogg; Clerk, W. C. Bundy; Treasurer, J. P. Dickey; Trustees, J. A. Ris- ley, F. E. Whitmore, Richard Opie; Ushers, Richard Opie, E. F. Coombs; Sexton, Fred Boddy.
The Presbyterian church society was organized in 1870. Rev. Alexander M. Darley was the first pastor. The Union Sabbath School of Cherokee has a flourishing membership of more than sixty members. The Children of Zion church organization was perfected in the summer of 1880 by Bishop D. D. Patterson, of Grand Rapids, and hold regular services, with a flourishing Sun- day School. The Baptist society dates its organization from the autumn of 1870. Services were first held in the old brick school house. Rev. A. W. Hilton was the first pastor. The church building was erected in 1873, and is 30x40 feet in dimensions.
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
Among the pastors at different times have been Revs. E. N. Jencks, W. H. Irwin, J. P. Cuffman, John Edminister, George H. Brown. An addition, 14x22, was made to the church edifice in 1881. The first sermon preached in Cherokee was delivered by Rev. Alexander Darley. of the Presbyterian denomination, in the store of H. A. Fife, in 1870.
On the 14th day of November in the same year, the first mar- riage license in the county was granted to C. Corbett and Rosabella Cummings. A school was taught during the summer in the old school house, by Mrs. Parkhurst, the funds to defray the necessary expenses being sent from Massachusetts.
For a young city, having by the recent census only 1,522 popu- lation; Cherokee has a large local trade, and does an extensive shipping business in grain and stock. Its magnitude may be in- ferred from the following:
BUSINESS SUMMARY.
Abstracts.
3
Groceries 6
Agrl. Implements.
4
Hardware. 3
Attorneys (firms)
1-
Harness makers. 2
Bakeries.
3
Hotels .. 4
Banks.
3
Insurance agencies 15
Barbers .. 2
Jewelers. 2
Blacksmiths.
6
Livery stables 3
Books and stationery.
3
Manuf. carrg's, wgn's, etc. 1
Boot and shoemakers.
4
Manuf. of sash, doors, blinds, etc 1
Brick yards.
1
Meat markets .. 2
Carriages.
Merchant tailors. 1 Music. 1
Contractors and builders
4
Milliners.
2
Creameries. .
1
News depots
2
Coal and wood.
5
Newspapers.
3
Dentists
1
Photographers
1
Drugs.
3
Physicians ..
6 2
Elevators.
4
Produce ... 1
Feed mills.
1
Real estate and loans
Flouring mills
1
Restaurants . 2
Furniture ...
1
Sewing machines 3
General merchandise.
6
Stock
6
Grain.
1
Lumber. 4
Boots and shoes (excl.)
3
Clothing, etc., (excl.)
2
Dry goods
1
Printers (job)
Cherokee Lodge No. 322, I. O. G. T., was organized November 17th, 1879, with seventeen charter meinbers. Its first officers were: W. E. Hitchcock. W. C .; A. C. Hobart, W. V. C .; Rev. R. C. Glass, Chaplain; H. H. Henry, Secretary; W. H. Hall, F. S .; J. Boles, Treasurer; David Lynn, M .; W. Stebbins, I. G .; E. N. Corbett, O. G .; C. P. Hobart, P. W. C. T.
The Masonic Lodge of Cherokee was instituted in 1871. Cher- okee Lodge No. 188, I. O. O. F., was organized in February, 1870, with five charter members. Its present membership is forty-four. Its first officers were: C. E. Schofield, N. G .; G. W. McCoun, V. G .: J. C. Hubbard, Secretary; Z. P. Herrick, Treasurer. The fol- lowing are the present officers: Thomas McCulla, N. G .; R. H. Gross, V. G .; D. W. Benway, Secretary; R. J. Smyth, Treasurer.
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
The Advent Church Society was organized in 1873, in Afton Township, with a membership of ten, and was moved to the town in the following year: In the summer of 1875, a very successful series of revival meetings was held, and the membership steadily increased, until the Society numbers nearly fifty. A church was provided in the autumn of 1875, and Elder J. Ridley was secured as regular pastor.
T. S. Steele & Son, bankers, of Cherokee, organized their busi- ness in 1874, starting in a small wooden building. Their present building was erected in 1879, is 24x40 feet, and two stories high. T. H. Steele is cashier, and is ably assisted by D. T. Steele.
Scribner, Burroughs & Co.'s bank was organized in 1871, under the firm name of Fulton & Scribner. Mr. Burroughs became in- terested June 12th, 1872, the business having been started in a small and unpretentious building. The present building was erected in 1875. The bank's surplus capital is now $100,000, its business having increased proportionately to its capital. Mr. Burroughs came to Cherokee from Adrian, Mich., locating per- manently m Cherokee, after having successively lived at Salt Lake and other sections of the western country. Mr. Scribner is a native of Plattsburg, N. Y., and came to Cherokee in 1871. Mr. B. has a stock farm of 660 acres adjoining town, and keeps an average of about seven hundred cattle on his lands.
In 1874, Mr. Satterlee began the sinking of a coal shaft, and in the Spring of 1879, on Mr. Burrough's land, a depth of one hun- dred feet was reached, when, on penetrating a rocky stratum, flow- ing water, strongly impregnated with sulphur, was reached. At a further depth of fifty feet, another stratum containing magnesia was found, and at two hundred feet the magnetic water, which is fully described above was discovered. It is impossible to over- state the importance of this discovery to Cherokee.
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