USA > Iowa > Johnson County > Leading Events in Johnson County, Iowa, History > Part 10
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ORGANIZATION OF TOWNSHIPS
southeast quarter of section sixteen, township seventy-nine; then it proceeds north along the east line of the west half of sections sixteen and nine to the north side of the State Road to Newton and follows the north side of this road to the west line of section nine; thence it runs north to the west bank of the river; then follows the river to the northeast until the north line of section nine is reached; then runs east to the northwest corner of section ten; and thence north to the west bank of the river. At this point there is a confusing problem that compels one to retrace his steps, following the west bank of the river in a southwesterly and finally northerly direction around the bend until the north line of section four, township seventy-nine north, range six west, is reached. The description from this point is the same as for West Lucas township in 1891, namely : west from the river on the township line between townships seventy-nine and eighty to the range line between ranges six and seven; then south to the southwest corner of section eighteen; then east to the northeast corner of the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter of section nineteen; then south on the east line of the west half of the east half of sec- tions nineteen, thirty, and thirty-one to the township line; and then east to the starting point on the river. (See Map XVI).
The East Lucas boundary commences at the southeast cor- ner of section thirty-six and follows the township line between townships seventy-eight and seventy-nine to the river. Then it runs north to the city limits and east to the right of way of the main line of the Rock Island railroad. It follows this right of way in a southeasterly direction until the east line of section fourteen is reached, then it runs north along the east line of this section to the northeast corner of the same, then west along the north line of section fourteen to the northwest corner of the northeast quarter of section fourteen, then north along the east line of the west half of sections eleven and two of township seventy-nine north, range six west, to the south side of the Dubuque road in section two, then in a westerly direction along the Dubuque road, on the south side to the southeast corner of the northwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section two, then west to the southwest corner of the northwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section three, then south on the west line of section three to the east
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114 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
bank of the river. It follows the east bank of the river until the north line of section thirty-four, township eighty north, range six west, is reached, then runs east to the northeast corner of the same section thirty-four, then south to the south- east corner of the same section, then east to the northeast corner of section one in township seventy-nine north, range six west (the original Iowa City township), and finally runs south on the range line between ranges five and six to the place of beginning.119 (See Map XVI).
SUMMARY
BIG GROVE: Established by order of the board of commis- sioners under date of April 9, 1845; first election held on first Monday in April, 1946; subsequent changes in boundaries oc- cur in 1846.
CEDAR: Established by order of the board of commission- ers under date of January 7, 1846; first election held on the first Monday in April, 1846; no subsequent changes occur in boundaries.
CLEAR CREEK: Established by order of the board of com- missioners under date of February 10, 1846; first election held on the first Monday in April, 1846; subsequent changes in boundaries occur in October, 1847, August, 1852, March, 1856, and July, 1857.
FREMONT: Established by order of the judge of the county court in the early part of 1857; mention of the township made in connection with special election for railroad tax held on April 6, 1857; no subsequent changes occur in boundaries.
GRAHAM: Established by order of the judge of the county court under date of January 5, 1857; first election held on April 6, 1857; no subsequent changes occur in boundaries.
HARDIN : Established by order of the judge of the county court under date of January 4, 1858; first election held on April 5, 1858; subsequent changes in boundaries occur in February, 1858.
IOWA CITY: Established by order of the board of commis- sioners under date of February 10, 1846; first election held on the first Monday in April, 1846; subsequent changes in bound- aries occur in January, 1859, January, 1873, and September, 1910.
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ORGANIZATION OF TOWNSHIPS
JEFFERSON : Established by order of the judge of the county. court under date of March 6, 1854; first election held on April 3, 1854; no subsequent changes occur in boundaries.
LINCOLN: Established by order of the board of supervisors under date of June 8, 1870; first election held on second Tues- day in October, 1870; subsequent changes in boundaries occur in April, 1871.
LUCAS: Established by order of the board of supervisors under date of January 15, 1873; first election held on second Tuesday in October, 1873; subsequent changes in boundaries occur in April, 1891.
LUCAS, EAST: Established by order of the board of super- visors under date of April 8, 1891; mention of the township made in connection with the general election of 1891; subse- quent changes in boundaries occur in September, 1910.
LUCAS, WEST: Established by order of the board of super- visors under date of April 8, 1891; mention of the township in connection with the general election of 1891; subsequent chang- es in boundaries occur in September, 1910.
MADISON : Established by order of the board of supervisors in 1860; first election probably held on the second Tuesday in October, 1860; no subsequent changes occur in boundaries.
MONROE: Established by order of the board of commis- sioners under date of February 10, 1846; first election held on the first Monday in April, 1846; subsequent changes in bound- aries occur in March, 1854.
NEWPORT: Established by order of the board of commis- sioners under date of February 10, 1846; first election held on the first Monday in April, 1846; subsquent changes in bound- aries occur in October, 1847, January, 1857, and January, 1859.
OXFORD: Established by order of the judge of the county court under date of March 3, 1856; first election held on April 7, 1856; no subsequent changes occur in boundaries.
PENN: Established by order of the board of commissioners under date of February 10, 1846; first election held on the first Monday in April, 1846; subsequent changes in boundaries oc- cur in October, 1860.
PLEASANT VALLEY: Established by order of the board of commissioners under date of February 10, 1846; first election
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
held on the first Monday in April, 1846; subsequent changes in boundaries occur in June, 1870.
SCOTT: Established by order of the board of commission- ers under date of February 10, 1846; first election held on the first Monday in April, 1846; subsequent changes in boundaries occur in October, 1847.
SHARON : Established by order of the judge of the county court under date of February 1, 1858; first election held on the first Monday in April, 1858; no subsequent changes occur in boundaries.
UNION : Established by order of the judge of the county court under date of August 30, 1852; first election held on April 4, 1853; subsequent changes in boundaries occur in March, 1854, July, 1857, February, 1858, and some time between 1858 and 1870.
WASHINGTON : Established by order of the board of com- missioners under date of February 10, 1846; first election held on the first Monday in April, 1846; subsequent changes in boundaries occur in October, 1847, August, 1852, March, 1854, January, 1858, and February, 1858.
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CHAPTER VII
Early Events in the New Capital of the Territory
T HE complete separation of topics in preparing an account of the survey, settlement, or growth of a community is practically impossible, so that what may seem to have been omitted in one connection may be found, perhaps, in another, since it has not been considered advisable to repeat where there seemed to be no necessity for it. However, it will be found quite proper to secure connections in some cases by duplicating names and places.
The survey of the county by the government of the United States, which occurred in a general way about the year 1837, the sectional survey about 1839 and the immediate year follow- ing, was preliminary to the land sales, and therefore to the per- manent location of settlers or the drawing of lines for towns or civil townships. An interesting study may be found in the copies of the original plats of the townships as indicated in the accompanying letter of transmittal, which might have pre- ceded the discussion of township organization, although it is introductory to what follows :
"Dubuque, Iowa, Sep. 18th, 1844.
"Commissioners of Johnson County,
"Gentlemen :
"I herewith transmit you, the Field notes and township Plats for the County of Johnson, consisting in all of Seven- teen Plats, and as many sheets of descriptive notes.
"I regret exceedingly that pressing and unexpected busi- ness in my own County Surveys has prevented the completion of your work sooner, and as it is, I assure you, I have worked night and day to finish them.
"You will find the numbers of all entered lands written within their limits and may distinguish them from the Con- tents by their having no decimal point, nor the letter A at-
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
tached. I have adopted the U. S. signs of topography, viz: Prairie thus - Marshes thus - Ponds and Sloughs thus - Roads thus -, etc., etc.
"You will please inform me as soon as you receive this, and forward the amount agreed upon $100.00 in County Orders, as soon as possible.
"I am Gentlemen,
"Your obt. servt.,
"ALFRED L. BROWN.
"P. S. For the entries in Township 77 north, Range 5 west, I refer you to the Land Office at Fairfield, as they are out of this District. A. L. B."
This letter is bound with the "Field Notes" mentioned in the letter, and one may find in these the estimate of the kind of land, a description, and the fixed points of every section in the county excepting the fractional part of township seventy- seven north, range six west, which is found in another connec- tion when reported from Fairfield as suggested by Mr. Brown.120
The first settlers of the various sections of the county are usually the organizers of the local government, and many names have already been mentioned, but as the population in- creased the groups became more numerous and towns became more desirable, resulting in the platting and recording of vil- lages that are so nearly related to the townships that separa- tion is unnecessary.
Iowa City, as the central point about which the population gathered, comes first in organization under the authority of the territorial government, and its history must be found in con- nection with many forms of the development of the county. As seen by different persons at the time of its location, it pre- sented much the same appearance to all, and left impressions that are similarly expressed. In the following the actual story by those who put their impressions in writing has been pre- served :
"This county borders upon the Indian country, the princi- pal part of it being embraced in the purchase of 1837. It was organized in 1839, and is [1841] attached to the second district for judicial purposes. Its area is about 610 square miles [increased in 1845]. Linn bounds it on the north, Cedar and
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119
EARLY EVENTS IN THE NEW CAPITAL
Muscatine on the east, Washington and Louisa on the south [the west was Indian country].
"As a whole, Johnson county is a good county of land, well watered and timbered, and abounding with excellent springs, although it is somewhat more broken and uneven than adjacent counties. It has the character of being a very healthy county, there existing no local causes to produce disease, and at the present time [1841] is as rapidly populating as any county in the territory.
"The location of the permanent seat of government of the territory having been established in this county (at Iowa City) has directed the attention of hundreds of enterprising and in- dustrious emigrants hither, many of them possessing wealth, refinement, and influence, and perhaps the results witnessed in a few short months, from the settlers of this county, is without parallel in the growth of countries." 121
It was on May 13, 1839, that Judge Joseph Williams and T. S. Parvin set out from Bloomington to attend court in John- son county, and on May 17, 1839, Mr. Parvin wrote in his diary : "Made a map of the city of Iowa," which is probably the only reference found in which the name is so applied, beyond the slab marking the spot in 1839. On January 3, 1840, he says : "Departed with Mr. Gillet and others for Iowa City on an ex- cursion to view the country ; good sleighing; stopped at Hud- son's, at Mr. Van Hagen's at noon. Came upon a flock of prairie chickens and slew half a dozen, or one apiece. Spent the night with Mr. Snyder, a Buckeye, who resides 5 miles this side of Iowa City; found there Dr. Murray, a recent ac- quaintance." "January 4. Turned our course down the Iowa river. Called at Mr. Morford's, Esq., Caleman's and Mr. Storrs'; had a fine view of the Iowa river bottoms; p. m. turned toward the city, which we reached near night. Called on C. Swan, Esq., commissioner of public buildings, etc." "January 5, 1840. Kept close at the hotel. Evening attended church; in the absence of the regular pastor, Rev. Mr. Baum- gardner (who went in our company) preached to a considerable sized audience."
"What a change! In May last [1839] I was upon the same ground, where now is located Iowa City, the capital of this territory. Then there was no houses where now stand near 30;
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6 J.Y. Stovin TeMany Ritten, ALL- Came-To-LowAciN-1338
13MS M
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EARLY EVENTS IN THE NEW CAPITAL
all around was an extensive waste of prairie; now improve- ments are springing up in every direction; success to the enterprise." 1
"January 6. Made an excursion up the river; found abun- dance of timber; visited the marble quarry ; found men hard at work and obtained some specimens of the bird's eye marble; visited the mineral springs, but being situated at the margin of a creek [Ralston's] the snow and ice prevented us from hav- ing a good view of them. Attended the board of county com- missioners and presented my account for services as Dist. Atty. Allowed $65.00 county orders. Evening called on Miss Van Hagen, a young lady whom I knew in Cincinnati."
The following year, June 1, 1841, he writes: "Read New- hall's sketches of Iowa, just published; its descriptions too highly colored." 122
The claims on sections ten and fifteen, township seventy- nine north, range six west, or any part of them made before the location of Iowa City and before the land came into market could not be maintained in all respects as against the United States, or territorial claims. While the Claim Association of Johnson county sought to protect the rights of all claimants who were members of the organization, it could not, in this case, be of any assistance. It appears there were several claimants to parts of these two sections, section ten in its en- tirety having been set apart as the location of the territorial capital, and the northwest quarter of section fifteen as the location of the county seat.
The first claim to any part of section ten was made by Sam- uel Bumgardner, in October, 1837, which was made on the southwest fractional quarter. This is as the record of the manuscript of the Claim Association makes it, but another record states the transfer by the said Samuel Bumgardner of the southwest quarter of section ten to J. G. Morrow. Hence it must be concluded that he claimed this quarter also. On April 4, 1839, he sold the southwest quarter to John Kight. The north half of section ten was claimed by Samuel B. Mul- holland and William Willson, and the record does not state that it was transferred.
The northwest quarter of section fifteen, as also claimed, was sold by Samuel Bumgardner to Andrew D. Stephens on
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CAPITOL VIDEBELMONT, WIS,
CAPITOL TEMPS
AASA
CAPITOL 1857, DESMOINES
EVOLUTION OF IOWA STATE CAPITOL
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CAPITOL 1841, IOWACITY.
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EARLY EVENTS IN THE NEW CAPITAL
January 3, 1839, so far as the part lying east of the Iowa river was mentioned, and on February 20, of the same year, Steph- ens sold the claim to William Willson for two hundred dollars. From the record it appears that Willson held the same for a short time, when he transferred it to A. D. Stephens and John Kight, each securing an equal undivided half.
. The records are confusing as to the real claimants on part of the county seat quarter.
Respecting the claim of J. G. Morrow, the territorial com- missioners granted to him the privilege of "bidding in" at a nominal price one among the first lots offered for sale in the capital plat.
The claim of A. D. Stephens upon the northwest quarter of section fifteen, since it is found that he resided there when it was wanted for the county seat, was settled by the county com- missioners, who granted him a half block of lots as referred to in another chapter of this volume. These appear to be the only cases where claims were respected by the locating com- missioners.123
The site of the proposed city, as indicated by the commis- sioners who made the selection, was carefully marked on that day in May, 1839, by a slab driven in the ground about the spot where the Old Capitol now stands. It bore the following in- scription :
"Seat of Government, City of Iowa, May 4, 1839. C. SWAN JOHN RONALDS commissioners ROBT. RALSTON
"Witness,
GEO. W. KELLY Des Moines
J. H. McKENNY
J. W. ISETT, Louisa
J. DILLON, Dubuque
"Sec. 10, T. 79, R. 6, W. 5th Mer."
Almost two months after the location of the capital, the sur- vey was begun, for it was ordered "by the board of locating commissioners, that Thomas Cox and John Frierson should be employed to survey Iowa City, and L. Judson to draw the
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
necessary plats." 124 In company with these men and the neces- sary assistants, Chauncey Swan, the acting commissioner, re- turned to Iowa City in the latter part of June, 1839, and on July 1 began the work of platting the city. It is said they stopped in the midst of their work to celebrate the "Day of Independence," when the declaration was read and John Frier- son delivered the address. Pioneers for miles about came to the city, and the Indians looked quietly on as they were about to move from these, their hunting grounds.
The capitol square, now the University campus, was first surveyed, the southwest corner being first located as a starting point, the west line of Clinton street being the meridian line from which surveys were made both eastwardly and westward- ly, and this appears to have been the basis of the survey, no base line having been established during the work. "The lines were run with an ordinary surveyor's compass, and were measured by a pole twenty feet long, made of two strips of board and nailed together and graduated into feet and inches by means of a carpenter's square, each end of the pole having a hoop of iron; tally pins about one-eighth of an inch in di- ameter were used, which, therefore, added about three-six- teenths of an inch to every twenty feet."125
The following may be found in the county records as the official act of the persons named in the act of the terri- torial assembly to make this survey: "Iowa City, the capital of Iowa Territory, was located May 4, 1839, by Chauncey Swan, John Ronalds and Robert Ralston, commissioners, and surveyed by Col. T. Cox, Gen. Frierson, and L. Judson, under the direction of C. Swan, acting commissioner.
"Explanation - Blocks are 320 feet square. Regular lots are 80x150 feet, alleys are 20 feet, Iowa Avenue is 120 feet wide, Washington, Jefferson, Clinton, Capitol and Madison are each 100 feet wide. All others 80 feet.
"Outlots are numbered separate from the blocks." 126
In 1841 Chauncey Swan, the superintendent of the public buildings, and acting commissioner in locating the capital in Johnson county, made a report to the legislative assembly of Iowa territory that contains some interesting data. The walls of the capitol building were then unfinished and material was
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EARLY EVENTS IN THE NEW CAPITAL
yet to be found to complete it. This report was made for the summer of 1841.
"The whole amount of fine cut stone laid in the building this season was four thousand six hundred and seventy-three cubic feet. The cubic feet of dressed rock, twenty-one thousand one hundred and forty-six feet. The total amount paid out dur-
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GEOMKELLT J. H.IKKE ANY J. W. ISETT J.Diction. 1.
Sex 10. T. 79. R.G, W. SaMe
Sketch of First Slab Marking Seat of Governmen. in lowa City. Pen and ink sketch by Berthe Horack Shambaugh.
ing this time was $17,500. Sixty thousand brick were laid in the walls, and the second tier of joists was finished by the contractors, Herron and Hanby. Twenty thousand feet of oak flooring, of the best quality, was delivered by John Ronalds at the capitol, for which he was paid $600."
At that time the walls of the capitol were, on the east side raised to the cornice, or thirty-five feet from the ground, the walls of the ends and west front were thirty feet from the ground. The estimated expense of bringing the walls as high
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
as the east one, or to thirty-five feet, was one thousand dollars. The east portico was also built in 1841.
During the winter of 1841-2 the walls were protected by planking the joists, or the second tier as referred to above. When the committee from the territorial legislature visited the capitol and grounds, after their appointment in the fall of 1840, and on their return made their report to the assembly, they suggested some changes in the stone work. While pres- ent on the capitol grounds they had made the same suggestions to Commissioner Swan, the overseer of the work. He pro- ceeded to follow their suggestions, and here makes his report:
"The committee suggested the propriety of dressing the pilasters in the same manner as the water table, door jambs and other parts." Notwithstanding the difficulty of procuring suitable rock for cutting, he felt bound to follow their sugges- tion, and made an effort to find the rock in the vicinity. He said further: "The walls that had been laid were removed in the spring, in places where it became necessary to set cut rock. Instead of raising the walls of rough masonry they are made with range work and make such a contrast with the cut pilas- ters that the whole has a fine appearance."
It was estimated that it would require $8,500 to complete the capitol building, in addition to the last report made in Novem- ยท ber, 1840. While in furnishing the rock suitable for cutting it became necessary to expend more than fifteen hundred dol- lars in enlarging the quarry and in digging from twelve to twenty feet deeper, and then it was found but a small propor- tion of this rock could be used for cutting purposes or as dimension rock for pilasters.
In this work Mr. Swan examined other parts of the county in search of a quarry, but found none so economical when transportation was considered. The committee and the super- intendent of construction were commended for the change in plans in spite of the difficulties attending it and the extra expense necessary.
It was expected that the roof would be finished in the sum- mer of 1841, and it was partly completed at that time, but funds were not available to complete the work, and therefore the construction was halted, half done, for the winter season. For the winter storms the roof was put under cover under the
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EARLY EVENTS IN THE NEW CAPITAL
direction of the commissioner, and all work ceased for the cold months. The tools used in the quarry, and on the buildings, and in the shop of the blacksmith, together with "nine hun- dred pounds of iron and two hundred pounds of steel," were stored in the vault of the capitol "under lock and key." The window frames and sash delivered by Thomas Snyder were on hand, besides five hundred bushels of lime and four thousand bushels of sand. The timber for the roof, partly framed, and forty thousand feet of lumber, about enough to complete the building, were duly reported as property of the territory.127
As early as December, 1840, the territorial legislature was urged to make preparations to move to the new capital, the reasons being expressed in the following editorial :
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