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 54
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A. D. Young, dealer in lumber, grain and coal, was born in Scotland, in June, 1832; came to America in 1853, and settled in N. Y .; learned the carpenter's trade; removed to Canada; thence
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to Mo .; thence to Clarence, Cedar county, Ia., and engaged in the lumber business. In 1873 he came to Crawford county and bought 200 acres of land, and established his present business at Vail. He married Agnes Ferguson, a native of Scotland, in 1860. They have had four children, three of which died in 1877. Robert is engaged on the railroad.
WEST SIDE.
W. N. Becker, Jr .. editor of the West Side Dispatch, established the paper in April, 1881. It is republican in politics, and already has a large circulation.
L. L. Bond, M. D., was born in Va .; moved to Wis. in 1848 with his parents. He began the study of medicine in 1865, and graduated from the Rush Medical College in the class of '70. He first began the practice of his profession in Clinton county, Ia., and in 1875 came to West Side.
Henry Greves, proprietor of livery stable and sample room, was born in Germany in 1849; came to America in 1869, and settled in Clinton county, Ia. He engaged in his present business at West Side in 1878.
C. Haldane, attorney at law, is a native of England; came to America in 1873 and located in Crawford county, la, where he engaged extensively in farming. In 1877 he moved to Carroll, and began the practice of the law. Two years later, he opened an office at West Side.
E. C. Haywood, dealer in grain and stock, also agent for the Iowa Land Company, was born in England in 1841; came to Amer- ica in 1852 and settled in Clinton county, Ia., where he engaged in farming, also dealing in stock and machinery. He came to West Side in 1875, and in 1881 engaged in business as above.
Albert Johnson, wagon-maker, is a native of Sweden; came to America in 1872 and engaged in wagon manufacturing, at Chicago, Came to Iowa in 1875 and engaged in present business; also has a branch establishment at Manning.
C. H. Langbehn, proprietor of Farmers' House and billiard hall, is a native of Germany; came to America in 1864 and settled in Clinton county, Ia. In 1880 he came to West Side, and engaged in business as above.
E. D. Mereness. foreman in I. B. Nelson's flouring mill, is a native of N. Y .: moved to Mich. in 1864; afterwards went to Chicago, where he was employed in the Oriental flouring mills. In 1870 he went to the Pacific coast and remained six years. then located at West Side, and has since been employed as above.
C. E. Miller, banker, was born in Boone county, Ia., in 1855; moved with parents to Ill. in 1858 and returned to Ia. in 1874. He engaged in the drug business and studied medicine, which he
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practiced at Arcadia for three years. In 1878 he came to West Side and engaged in the drug business, until 1880, at which time he became proprietor of the Exchange Bank.
J. H. C. Peters, of the firm of Peters & Suhr, lumber dealers, was born in Holstein, Ger., in 1846; came to America in 1870 and settled in Clinton county, Ia. He was engaged for several years as carpenter and builder in Chicago and various places in Neb. and Ia. In March, 1881, he located at West Side and engaged in business as above.
John Rohwer, dealer in general merchandise, is a native of Germany; came to America in 1871 and settled in Clinton county, Ia .; came to West Side in 1875, and in 1880 engaged in business as above.
W. L. Spottswood, postmaster, was born in Pa .; moved to Clin- ton county, Ia., in 1866 and engaged in the harness business. He moved to Harrison county; thence, in 1875, to West Side, and'en- gaged in harness making. Was appointed postmaster in 1877.
R. B. Taylor, of the firm of Taylor & Johnson, dealers in gen- eral hardware, is a native of Ill .; moved to Ames, la., in 1869, and engaged in the mercantile business. He came to West Side in 1874, engaged in the drug business, and is now a member of the above named firm.
Walz Bros., proprietors of the meat market, are natives of Ger- many. A. W. Walz came to America in 1869, and his brother came the next year. They located in O .; removed to Ill .; thence to Arcadia, la., and engaged in farming and stock raising; came to West Side in 1881, and engaged as above.
DOW CITY.
W. Beatty, M. D., is a native of Canada; came to Iowa in 1880 and located at Dow City; engaged in the practice of medicine. He is a graduate of Toronto University and graduated from Trinity College in the class of '80.
S. E. Dow, of the firm of Dow, Graves & Co., dealers in lumber, grain, stock and farm machinery, was born in N. H .; moved to Mich. in 1832 and engaged in the mercantile business. In 1852 he moved to Harrison county, Ia .; thence to Crawford county in 1855, and located near the present site of Dow City, In 1864 he moved into the city and engaged in stock and grain business.
W. C. Hillas, dealer in general merchandise, was born in St. Albans, Vt. He went to sea when quite young and followed sail- ing for eighteen years. In 1860, he went to California, where he remained ten years, and then located at Dunlap, Ia., where he en- gaged in business with his brother. He came to Dow City in 1875 and engaged in business as above. He has a very fine store and carries a large and complete stock.
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
M. B. Lewis, postmaster and druggist, is a native of Canada; came to the states in 1863 and located at Red Wing, Minn., in 1865. In 1874 he came to Dow City and engaged in the drug business. Was appointed postmaster in 1879.
W. H. Morton, proprietor of the Dow City House, is a native of Ohio; moved to Rock county, Wis., in 1853; thence to Freeport, Iil., where he engaged in milling. He next moved to Linn county, Ia., and came to Dow City in 1879 and engaged as above. He in- tends building a new hotel during the spring of 1882.
T. J. Rasp, of the firm of T. J. Rasp & Co., dealers in general merchandise, is a native of Canada; came to Iowa in 1848 and set- tled near Davenport. He came to Dow City in 1875 and was em- ployed as book-keeper by Dow, Graves & Co., until engaging in business as above in 1881.
W. V. Whaley, of the firm of Whaley & Bell, proprietors of the meat market and provision store, is a native of Ohio; came to Dow City, Ia., in 1874 and engaged in the stock business. In 1879 he entered his present business.
C. M. Wilder, proprietor of restaurant, was born in Ohio; moved to Iowa in 1854 and settled in Clayton county. . In 1865 he came to Dow City and engaged in teaching until 1881, when he engaged in business as above.
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CARROLL COUNTY
This county, which is twenty-four miles square, and contains sixteen congressional or land survey townships, is the third east of the Missouri River, and in the fifth tier of counties, both from the northern and southern boundary of the State.
Carroll is emphatically a prairie county, the entire portion being composed of a gently undulating surface sufficiently rolling to break the monotonous sameness of the level plain, while to the westward of the Middle Raccoon River, the surface is more broken and uneven, in many places rising into hills of considerable promi- nence. The great watershed dividing the waters which flow into the Mississippi from those which flow into the Missouri passes through this county, and at the highest point is 858 feet above Lake Michigan and 800 feet above the Mississippi River at Clin- ton. From this summit can be obtained a fine view of the sur- rounding country, extending in every direction as far as the eye can reach. On the east and on the southeast is seen in the dis- tance the rich, fertile valley of the Raccoon River, on the south the unsurpassingly lovely country surrounding the Nishnabotny, and on the west the magnificent vale through which flows the Boyer. All of which in a clear summer's day afford scenery at once grand, beautiful and picturesque.
Being situated upon the great dividing ridge or watershed, this county is watered and drained mostly by small streams which flow both into the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. The largest stream is the North Raccoon, which cuts across the northeast corner of the county, while the next two in importance are the Middle Rac- coon and Brushy Fork, which take their rise in the watershed divide in the northwest, and flowing nearly parallel from four to six miles apart in a southeast direction, make their exit near the south- east corner of the county. Storm Creek, a tributary of the Mid- dle Raccoon drains a large tract in the northern-central as does the Willow Creek in the eastern border. The North Raccoon is deeply excatated into the drift deposit, and its valley is bordered by rather steep acclivities from seventy to one hundred feet in height, while the Middle Raccoon is bordered on the west by high bluffs capped slopes, and on the east by drift hills, which gain the interior heights by more gradual ascents. Brushy Fork possesses a beauti- ful valley with gentle acclivities on either side, as does the East Nishnabotany and Boyer River and Whitted's Creek, which are on the west side of the watershed divide. The upper course of all of these streams are little more than diminutive prairie brooks, with gravelly beds, and clear, rapid currents, many of those having
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their headwaters in the great divide interlocking, as it were, being separated by a narrow crest as sharply defined as a gable ridge. Springs issue from the gravel deposits along these water courses, furnishing them with an abundant supply of limpid, pure water at all seasons of the year. East of the Middle Raccoon River wells are easily obtained, while in the uplands west of that stream, those seeking water must go to a much greater depth, though the cer- tainty of finding a never-failing supply is just as good.
In a shallow depression or plain below Carrolton, on the east side of the Middle Raccoon, several interesting spring mounds oc- cur, which have excited much attention and are described as fol- lows by Dr. White, in the Iowa State Geology: The plain is thirty or forty feet above the present level of the river, from which it is separated by a well-defined drift ridge, which, in places, rises into considerable knob-like eminences from one hundred to one hun- . dred and fifty feet above the streams. The plain, however, com- municates with the valley both above and below, and was probably once the channel of the river. The spring mounds are situated along an irregular line more or less in the middle of the depres- sion; they are from four to six feet in height and as many yards in diameter, and are apparently entirely composed of vegetable mat- ter, forming a peaty deposit which is largely mixed with the exu- viæ of shells and other animal remains. The crests of the mounds are covered with tall, rank flag or marsh grass, but upon the sides are usually two well marked bands of short herbage and moss en- circling the mounds and separated by a narrow belt of tall grass. The deposit of the vegetation upon these places is exceedingly in- teresting, though the mounds themselves, doubtless, owe their ori- gin to the existence of pools of water, indicating more or less ac- curately, the course of the former water channel, and which, being fed from higher sources, the tendency is what we observe-a gradual building up of a peaty formation. The surface of the plain beyond the limits of the mounds is perfectly level, and the deposit consists of decayed vegetable matter mixed with sand form- ing a sandy muck."
Like that of Guthrie County, which lies on the great divide just southeast of Carroll, the soil of this county presents two well marked varieties; that on the east side of the Middle Raccoon be- ing of the drift formation, is a gravelly loam of great strength and productiveness, while to the west of that stream the uplands are deeply enveloped in the bluff formation, which has imparted to the soil of this portion of the county its own peculiar characteris- ties. Small groves of native timber are found on the principal streams; and in favorable locations, even upon the uplands, forests of young oaks are springing up. Some two or three small patches are met with in the valley of Brushy Fork, and between Raccoon Rapids and Carrollton: on the Middle Raccoon more extensive tracts are covered with a fine growth of young timber.
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
No beds of coal have as yet been discovered; though it is not deemed improbable, says Dr. White, that the coal-measure forma- tion underlies at least a portion of the county. The only speci- mens yet found have been discovered in digging wells and making other excavations, and are only small fragments associated with the loose material of the drift deposit. Peat is known to exist in several places in the county, some of which are of considerable ex- tent, and should they be found to be free from sand and gravel, they will eventually become of some value as a resource for fuel. Good building stone is not found within the limits of Carroll County, the cretaceous sandstone being too friable to answer for ordinary building purposes, except some of the harder layers, which are employed in laying up rough under-pinnings, in walling wells, etc. Material for the manufacture of brick is found in abundance, yet care is necessary in selecting clay in the western portion of the county, in consequence of the prevalence of calca- reous matter derived from the disintegration of the bluff deposits on the surface of the lower slopes. The lime thus mixed with the earth is converted into quicklime in the process of burning the brick, and on exposure to moisture the lime slakes and bursts the brick.
Enos Buttrick made the first settlement in Carroll County in 1854, on section 2, township 84, range 33. Buttrick came from Greene County. The first election was held at the house of Henry Coplin, on section 12, township 82, range 34, on the first Monday of August, 1855, when the following county officers were elected: A. J. Cain, County Judge; Levi Thompson, Clerk; James White, Treasurer and Recorder; Robert Lloyd, Surveyor; L. M. Curdy, Prosecuting Attorney; and J. Y. Anderson, Sheriff. The county was organized by S. L. Loomis, July 16th, 1855, under a commis- sion from James Henderson, County Judge of Guthrie County. At this time the entire population was about 100.
Jane L. Hill taught the first school in Carroll County, at Carrol- ton, in the spring of 1856, and the first newspaper in the county was published at what is now Carroll City, by O. H. Manning, the present Lieutenant Governor of the State, in 1868. The paper was called the Carroll Enterprise. It was printed at Jefferson, Green County, and issued to subscribers from Carroll. An associ- ation of citizens subsequently purchased a printing press and ma- terial, and brought it to Carroll, with results as indicated in that part of the history of Carroll City which relates to the news- paperial enterprises of the town.
The Methodists organized the first religious society at Carrolton. The first District Court was held November 23d, 1858, Hon. M. F. Moore, District Judge. The first grand jury were Cornelius Hig- gins, Benj. Teller, Matthew Borders, Lafayette McCurdy, Crocket Ribble, Robert Morris, William Short, Robert Dickinson, Elijah Puckett, Cyrus Rhoads, James Colco, David Scott, David Frazier,
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Samuel Lyon and Amos Bacon. James Colco was appointed fore- man. First case on docket was Nehemiah Powers and John Wat- son vs. Cornelius Higgins. Noah Titus was the first person licensed to practice law in the county.
The first marriage license was granted September 16th, 1855, to Joseph Ford and Sarah Ochempaugh. They were married September 23d, 1856, by A. J. Cain, County Judge. First estate administered upon was Wesley H. Blizard's, May 3d, 1858. First administrator appointed was James H. Colco. The first deed was made by Thomas Ford to Nancy Ford, for the east half of section 17, town- ship 85, range 33, September 3d, 1855, and acknowledged by A. J. Cain, County Judge.
The old Indian trail known as the War Path, or the dividing line between the Sioux and Pottawattamie Indians' hunting grounds, runs through townships 82, 83, 84 and 85, range 36, in this county. It is plainly visible, and is as straight as an arrow. It was a death penalty for an Indian of one tribe to cross the path and be found hunting on the lands of the other.
An early settler relates that an old Indian chief told him there was once a terrible Indian battle fought near Crescent Lake, about one mile south of Carroll Center, between the Sioux and Pottawat- tamie Indians. There had been a feud for a long time existing between the two tribes in regard to the infringement of the law in relation to the hunting grounds by disloyal Indians. The Sioux determined to exterminate the Pottawattamies. A large party of the latter were encamped near Crescent Lake, in the grove of timber. One morning a powerful party of the Sioux attacked them, and a terrible and bloody battle ensued, resulting in the death of all the Sioux warriors, and all but three of the Pottawat- tamies. The remains of the dead warriors were left to be eaten by the wolves, or rot, and their bones to bleach on the prairie, until the annual prairie fires consumed them.
The vote of Carroll county for Governor in the State election of 1881, was 2,219; its population. according to the census of 1880, was 12,351. It is now, undoubtedly, a low estimate to place the population of Carroll County at 15,000.
It will be seen by the above that Carroll County is not only, with reference to its comparatively recent settlement, a populous one, but also that it possesses all the requisite elements that in- sure permanent and progressive prosperity. Its towns and other more especial features will be found to be described in detail as we progress with the development of its history.
The present county officers of Carroll County are: Auditor, H. E. Russell; Clerk of Courts, W. Lynch, Jr .; Treasurer, W. R. Ruggles; Recorder, J. L. Messersmith; Sheriff, R. J. Hamilton; Superintendent of Schools, C. C. Colco; Surveyor, G. R. Bennett; Chairman of Board of Supervisors, J. Thompson.
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CARROLL CITY.
Whether or not first impressions are lasting, and whether or not first impressions are generally correct, are two questions which the writer cheerfully abandons to discussion by those who may be ar- gumentatively inclined. In so far as Carroll City is concerned, it is certainly true that the general appearance of this thriving town can not fail to favorably impress all who visit it, and that this im- pression is more than confirmed by careful investigation. Probably no town of its population in Iowa has so many extensive and sub- stantial business buildings as has Carroll City. A special corres- pondent of a leading Iowa journal, writing in the summer of 1880, has these things to say of Carroll City, to which, it may be pre- faced, the brief lapse of time since then, has added many things of gratifying importance:
"It is seldom that the stranger has the pleasure of visiting a more interesting town than this, and when that privilege falls to his lot, there is but one sentiment to express and that is, astonish- ment-as so many evidences of thrift, prosperity, individual enter- prise, social and business advancement, and the general harmony that seems to prevail in all matters of public benefit.
"A young city in the West is looked upon by eastern parties with a critical eye, and every advantage that a town possesses is carefully canvassed by those who contemplate locations for busi- ness enterprises, agricultural and stock pursuits, or manufacturing purposes. Carroll certainly possesses these, and many other ad- vantages are to be made apparent in this work.
"So far as the country and railroad facilities are concerned, she has but few competitors in this section of the state. The sur- rounding country is of that nature which insures an everlasting and enviable local trade that can never be wholly cut off by rival towns; while the artificial strength given her by reason of the great trunk line that spans the vast territory on each side, and connects with competing lines in every direction, will be still more strengthened by the projected branch, extending from Car- roll in a southwesterly direction through Shelby and Pottawatta- mie Counties, either to a direct connection with the great Union Pacific Railway, or, what is better, to Kansas City and St. Louis, thus giving these people an outlet for their stock, grain and pro- duce heretofore not enjoyed. At any rate the junction of these two lines, leading off through a most magnificent country, in differ- ent directions, bespeaks for Carroll a prosperity probably not an- ticipated by even her most sanguine business men."
Another equally impartial historian, writing at a date five years earlier than the above, observes: "This town which is the county seat and the most important town in the county, is very pleasantly situted on the line of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, a lit- tle north of the center of the county, and is surrounded by a fer- tile farming country. It was laid out in August, 1867, and has
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since had a steady and substantial growth; does a good retail busi- ness, and is the largest shipping point in the county. Good schools have been established; the leading religious denominations have organizations, and some of them commodious houses of worship. Being surrounded by a country having large agricultural resources, having good railroad facilities, and possessing a class of energetic, wideawake and experienced business men, who know how to make the best possible use of the advantages within their reach, Car- roll is destined at no distant day to become one of the important towns in the western part of the State.
Carroll City was incorporated in 1869, O. H. Manning, William Gilley and a Mr. Tracy being the Commissioners of Incorporation.
The first municipal officers, under incorporation, were: I. N. Griffith, Mayor; B. B. Terry, Recorder; J. E. Griffith, Treasurer; Thomas Basler, Marshal; J. W. King, D. Wayne, F. E. Dennett, L. C. Bailey, William Boots, Councilmen. The present officers are: J. W. Scott, Mayor; A. E. Smith, Recorder; J. W. Hatton, Treasurer; Samuel Todd, Marshal and Street Commissioner; W. L. Culbertson, N. Beiter, Charles Hamilton, J. P. McAllister, James Thompson, L. F. Anderton, Councilmen.
I. N. Griffith opened the hrst general store, and Daniel Gifford the first furniture store, in 1868. The first grocery store was opened by D. Wayne.
The first child born was Carroll Kidder, or " Carrie," as she was generally called, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Kidder. Mr. Kidder was the first Postmaster of Carroll. The family subse- quently moved to Utah.
The Court House was built at Carroll City in 1869. It is a large two-story frame in the center of the public square. The Blair Town Lot and Land Company donated this square to the city. It is one of the most beautiful and eligibly located public squares in Western Iowa, and is thickly planted with finely growing trees. The Court House is well furnished with fire-proof vaults, but is in appearance the one blotch upon the beauty of an otherwise excep- tionally attractive little city, and it is gratifying to note that there is a probability of its giving way for a more creditable structure at no distant time.
The population of Carroll City, according to the census of 1880, was 1,386; at present, there can not possibly be less than 1,700 in- habitants. The growth of the community, from the very nature of its surroundings, has been uninterrupted and permanent.
On the 25th of September, 1879 a disastrous fire destroyed two entire blocks of buildings and part of a third block. Nothing daunted by this weighty calamity, building was immediately re- sumed, and in the place of the "burnt district," massive and costly brick structures now attract the attention of the visitor.
The first number of the Carroll Herald was issued September 9th, 1868, and was conducted by J. F. H. Sugg for about two
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years. He was succeeded by E. R. Hastings as editor and O. H. Manning as proprietor. The paper was thus conducted about three years, when Mr. Hastings in connection with O. R. Gray, now of the Jefferson Bee, leased the office, under the firm name of Has- tings & Gray. This firm subsequently purchased the establishment, and in April, 1877, Mr. Hastings became sole editor and proprietor. On the first day of January, 1882, Mr. Hastings leased a half- interest in the office to Ed. E. Adams, the firm now being Has- tings & Adams. The paper is a seven-column quarto, and has a bona fide circulation of 1,100. The Herald is a model of typo- graphical neatness, is conducted with unusual ability, and speaks volumes in each issue for the enterprise and prosperity of Carroll City and County.
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