USA > Iowa > Johnson County > Leading Events in Johnson County, Iowa, History > Part 15
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One of the most interesting plats of the first road book of the county is of the "Pleasant Harris Road," running on the west side of the Iowa river to the south line of the county and called by this name when petitioned for by the citizens residing near the south line. It runs practically parallel to the Burlington road on the east side, having been established in 1842, by the viewers appointed for that duty, Wm. Massey, David Switzer, and Nathaniel McClure, with David Switzer as surveyor. This began at the south line and passed near the home of John Fesler, from there to Switzer's sawmill, and came as near directly north as the ground would permit to the Dubuque Ford, just north of the mouth of Ralston's creek.168
The Wyoming territorial road reached Iowa City from the southeast and intersected the road from Iowa City to Bloom- ington, having only ten miles and seventeen chains in this county. John C. Hesler and John Sherfly were the commis-
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sioners, and the latter was the surveyor. However, by an act of the assembly approved January 24, 1843, the county com- missioners were authorized to relocate this road, and they sum- moned Cyrus Sanders to do the surveying. This was simply a matter of squaring the road and cutting out angles at the south end of Dubuque street.169
At this time, in 1843, the number of road districts had in- creased to fifteen with a supervisor for each. In estimating the allowance for work on roads the figures are as follows: for one yoke of oxen, plough or scraper and man to manage the same two days' work; for "waggon," two horses, harness and man to manage the same, two days' work; for each additional yoke of oxen, one-half days' work.170
The Wapsinonock, or West Liberty road, was established by the territory, and when Elisha Henry, William Maxson, as commissioners, and Jacob Halter as surveyor, presented the bills to Johnson county, the board refused to allow them be- cause the act authorizing the same provided that all expenses should be paid by the petitioners.171 Andrew Brisbane was one of the commissioners appointed by the assembly, but he failed to act according to this record. The allowance for each member was one dollar and twenty-five cents per day, but one may conclude that collection was not an easy matter under the above plan of payment. On the plat of this road as found on page fifty-one of Road Book I, two "slues" are marked as important items in transportation. Usually "sloughs" were understood to be crossed without bridging them, for the ques- tion of bridges came somewhat later in history. Only streams were bridged, and they were crossed by various methods until roads were generally established over the county.
The first railroad in Johnson county is mentioned in 1843 at the July session of the commissioners. It is at first some- what startling to come across this record when the facts would bring the real railroads more than ten years later in entering the state. It is marked plainly on the plat, "Edwin Brown's Railroad," and is referred to in connection with the survey and platting of the "Isaac T. Pope road," which began at the line of Cedar county at or near a bridge crossing Coon creek, and crossing the Cedar river in a northwesterly direction at Sut- liff's Ferry, then turning south to intersect the military road,
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or Dubuque road, at some point between Solon and "E. A. Brown's Railroad." 172 Warner Spurrier, James Buchanan, Julius G. Brown, were the viewers. However, it must be understood that "Brown's Railroad" was really made of rails and probably made for "toll." It was in 1843 that a new movement began, when it appears that Washington street had a special force appointed to put it in repair. Henry Murray, G. J. Huey, A. E. McArthur, Anson Hart, D. Holt, Luther Frost, Samuel McFaddin, and A. H. Haskell, were authorized to perform all the work and expend all the money which might be required of them for the year, upon the street mentioned. A. E. McArthur was to direct this work and Jacob Stover was the supervisor who should accept it in lieu of all claims from these parties for any road work.178
As the open country was settled the conveniences of the old roads became less satisfactory, and petitions came in to the board of commissioners to change the route that it might pass the new homes established. An alteration in "John Eagan's road" suggests the improvements then beginning, for it reads : "Commencing at the public square in Iowa City, thence on the nearest and best route to Walter Butler's house, or the mill dam now erecting on the Iowa river at that place; then to cross the river and to run to Evan Dollarhide's house, then on the nearest and best route so as to intersect the Eagan road where the same crosses the Iowa river, or to cross at the most suit- able point above." A certain number of signers to such a petition was necessary, and they must furnish bond, as the law required. Henry Felkner, Abner Arrowsmith, and Samuel H. McCrory were the viewers on this alteration, and Cyrus San- ders surveyor.174
This road was to leave the one established on the east side of the river, which began at Iowa City on Dubuque street, just above the Terrell dam, and followed the bend in the river at Butler's house near the dam, now called Coralville, where the Iowa City Manufacturing Company established their water power. Then the line ran almost due north after crossing Buf- falo creek, passing Dollarhide's, Crozier's, Chamberlain's, Conner's, and Clark's fields. The plan was well made, but it never completely matured according to the record, since a re-view was ordered soon after.
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After main roads were run, in order to join centers of popu- lation, petitions came to the petitioners for connections be- tween the main thoroughfares. Of this type was the Henry road, connecting the military and Prairie du Chien territorial roads. It ran diagonally through the present township of Big Grove, commencing at the southeast corner, crossing Jordan and Mill creeks and passing the house of Henry, which was about half way between these two streams.175 It was not above five miles in length but is illustrative of the demand at this date, April, 1844, for ready communication. It also suggests the rapid rate of settlement and the points selected by the first arrivals.
It was not common for viewers to disagree, yet one case oc- curs where a minority report came in, and the commissioners refused to establish the highway. In this case the petitioners had to pay the costs of the "view, survey, and marking" of the road. Two viewers, I. S. Gobin and Joseph Stover, reported against the road, and John Matthews was for it.176
The Clear Creek road, established in 1840, came before the commissioners for alteration in 1844. The plat shows the plan and report of viewers. In this case the commissioners acted in opposition to the report, for while Bryan Dennis, Virgil Lan- caster, and J. N. Headly, the viewers, reported against the location, it was, however, established. Six bridges are designated on the plat, across Clear creek, near Keeler's field, at Gilleland's, Dennison's, Evan's, and Douglass'. Two of the viewers were directly on the line of the new location, Lancaster and Headly, and it may have been through some personal in- terests that they reported against the new route.177 Again, a redistricting of the county for road supervision was made in 1844, and a detailed outline of the boundaries for the entire county was provided by the commissioners. It will be remem- bered that the county commissioners refused to allow the claims of the persons employed on the West Liberty road, be- cause the law required the petitioners to pay the expenses. One year later, July, 1844, they allowed the claims in full, under the act of the territorial legislature approved February 12, 1844.
A second section of the Clear Creek road was surveyed and platted in September, 1844. Its limits were, "commencing
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near the residence of James Douglass, which was the termi- nation of the last alteration in the Clear Creek road, and ending at the farm of James McCorkle, and junction with the county road on the north side of the Iowa river." Bryan Den- nis, Joshua Switzer, and I. N. Headly viewed and reported on this section.178
By an act of the territorial legislature approved February 13, 1844, the territorial road from Iowa City to the county seat of Mahaska county [Oskaloosa] was provided for, begin- ning at the "west door of the capitol" and passing by way of Wasson's and Walter's mill on English river in Washington county westward. All the charges against this county were allowed at the October session, 1844. Surveyors, chainmen, flagman, stake maker, and stake driver, and teamster pre- sented claims of various amounts.179 On the present county map this road retains its original name, "Oskaloosa Road," and runs southwest from Iowa City to the corner of the county. It probably includes fractions of roads platted in an earlier day.
When the Iowa City Manufacturing Company had complet- ed its plant, a modification was made in the plan of the road running to that point on the Iowa river. It was to commence on Capitol square, on Capitol street, and run along the east side of the river past Terrell's mill, crossing Butcher run, just north of the city. The Iowa river was to be crossed at the man- ufacturing company's plant, and then the road was to run south to the bridge near the mouth of Clear creek.180 This made two roads along the east side of the river, covering al- most the same territory, and this condition of affairs led to a petition filed by Walter Terrell and others "for the vacation and reducing the width of certain roads therein named." One of these roads was known as the "John Eagan," the other as the "Mill Company's." The petitioners believed "one to be sufficient and that the injury to the land on account of the two is unnecessary." They requested the discontinuance of the John Eagan road, from its intersection with the other one mentioned leading to the city, and further asked that the com- pany's road be limited to thirty feet in width.181 The viewers appointed in this case reported favorably on the discontinu- ance, but refused to recommend the reduction of the width of
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the "Mill Company's" road. A compromise on the width to forty feet was ordered in 1845.
On the sixth day of October, 1845, Robert Lucas presented his petition asking for an alteration in a part of the Wyoming road. This, it will be recalled, was a territorial road, and re- quired the approval of the legislature when changed. Hence, after its view and survey and report upon the same made at the November session of the commissioners, they refused to recommend the change at the Lucas farm and Robert Lucas was required to pay the costs.182 However, an act of the legis- lature approved January 9, 1846, authorized this change. This alteration made the distance one chain and thirty-five links far- ther in going from Iowa City to Wyoming in Muscatine county, and notwithstanding the refusal of the county commissioners, the approval of the higher authority caused the change to be- come effective at once.
A special case of the payment of damages for a public road is illustrated by the appointment of appraisers, where the " Alt road" passed through the farms of Jonathan Harris and John Earhart. David Switzer, Henry Felkner, and William Hench were appointed to estimate and assess the damages, where- upon they determined the damage of Harris at twenty dollars, and Earhart at sixteen dollars. The county board refused to pay the damages, deeming the road of insufficient benefit, and it would not be so ordered unless the petitioners would pay all the damages and expenses of assessment.188
A plat of the Linn Grove territorial road indicates its sur- vey on the northern boundary in the present township of Big Grove, where it joined the Dubuque, or military road not far from the present site of Solon. The report of the territorial surveyors is usually quite complete in description of the land passed over. To illustrate: "The face of the county [John- son] in this particular locality is dry and rolling; from the county line to Wolf Creek Timber it is prairie with patches of hazel, and after leaving the creek timber it is smooth prairie. '' 184
A special order was issued in the spring of 1846 to the super- visor of the district in which the north end of Dubuque street lay, to improve said street and "the road leading from this street into the road by Terrell's mill to the Iowa City Manu-
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facturing Company's mill, that travel might be convenient for the public." 185
An outright purchase of a highway was made in 1848, from Nicholas H. White who owned the "Graveyard lot" in the county seat. Ten dollars were paid him in full compensation for seventy feet off the east side of his property, which pur- chase was to be a continuation of Shoup street in a southerly direction.
The Francis Bowman road commenced at Eagan's, or the county road in what is now called Penn township, and followed the ridge westward south of Elm Grove until it intersected the state road running from Iowa City to Marengo. This was surveyed in 1848, and there were no territorial roads now, since Iowa had become a state. Francis Bowman was the sur- veyor in this instance.186
Running southwest from Iowa City through Union and Sharon townships is the Scurlock road which takes its name from Hugh Scurlock, one of the men who presented the peti- tion. Allison Davis was in company with him at the time, and on the records of 1849 it is called the "Scurlock and Davis road." The petition was signed by David Jones and thirty- three others, which seemed a sufficient number to impress the three commissioners of 1850, A. Gilleland, Geo. Fesler, and Henry MeDowell. Abel Stevens, Matthew Carson, and Syl- vanus Johnson were appointed viewers on this road, with the second named as surveyor. The report on this road is very complete. It commenced at "the forks in the road between E. T. Williams' and Iowa City and passing by way of Davis' and Jacob Rossler's fields on the south line of section sixteen by the half-mile stake," [about Sharon Center now] then to the south line of the county. Reasons for this road being ad- visable were enumerated as follows: First, it would not injure any individual; second, it would add much to the convenience of those living in the vicinity of Bunker's mill and Richmond and those traveling from Washington to Iowa City, it being the most direct route; and third, the general location was on high and dry land.187
In 1853, during the period of the first county judge, a state road is mentioned as running "from Iowa City to Snook's Grove." No petitions or reports are found in the records of
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the judge. Bills are allowed for services, and the name "Snooks" appears now on the map as belonging to the road west from Iowa City past the poor farm. This road damaged the land of Le Grand Byington, according to appraisers, to the extent of sixty dollars, which the county paid, by order of the county judge.188
The main thoroughfares once established, there remains the gradual development of branches, very similar to the feed- ers of a trunk line of a railroad, and the volumes of road books indicate the long time required to fix upon routes of travel for the growing population. At this date the constructive history of roads is past, so far as the laying out of routes is concerned. There remains, however, the improvement under modern su- pervision and through the expenditure of county funds until the ideal of the original surveyors is realized.
Great credit is due to the men, a very few, who in that early time made such careful records and diagrams of the original surveys and first modifications. Few who travel over the winding drives along the Iowa river and minor streams ever think of the history of this particular course of travel. It is possible to trace every foot of the surveyor from the record he has left, and there is good authority, among the pioneers, for the appearance of data concerning surveys where an old tree is cut down and split open. The blazing of the tree caused a wound which healed over and left the record, only to appear at the cleavage in the later day.189 Nevertheless, it appears that one road was at one time lost, if we may speak of roads "getting lost," for the Wyoming road survey and field notes were necessary to find it in 1854. Thomas Snyder was in- structed to re-locate it "from the first angle post, on this side of Snyder Creek, to some point near the east end of the lane east of the Lucas farm," and to employ a competent surveyor to assist him. The angle post from where he began was prob- ably at the northwest corner of section thirty-two, in township seventy-nine, range five, for Snyder's creek runs through the northwest corner of that section. The road at that point now runs directly south for nearly one-fourth of a mile, and is part of the Muscatine road.190
One man deserves special mention in the history of the roads, since he was instrumental in keeping these records dur-
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ing the time of the preliminary work, which is illustrated in the material selected from a great abundance, that would be sug- gested by a much more complete study. This man was Stephen B. Gardner, so long the clerk of the board of county commis- sioners of Johnson county.
The celebrated Dillon furrow, which was drawn from Du- buque to the limits of Iowa City, marked the trail across the country that the settler was to follow if he would escape the difficulties of travel in avoiding the low ground and possible delay in "miring down" with his load in the "sloughs" of the prairies. If the information is correct, Mr. Dillon secured his team and outfit from Eli Myers, of Iowa City, and began to turn this furrow from a little north of Butler's Tavern on Clinton street, going by way of Solon to the Cedar river at Washing- ton's Ferry, later known as Cedar Bluff and at one time as Gower's Ferry, the family of the Gowers coming to that vicin- ity when they settled in Iowa. This furrow was almost one hun- dred miles in extent, and after a quarter of a century was said to be visible in some of the counties through which it passed. The contract for making this road was taken by James L., Lu- cius H., and Edward Langworthy, of Dubuque, and with Ly- man Dillon they received their payments from the United States government. The road was aterward extended from the original contract point to Burlington by way of Iowa City.
To an eye witness, this celebrated furrow drawn by Mr. Dillon to mark the track far to the northeast in the direction of the Dubuque road, seemed perhaps quite ordinary, since the big plow was not then uncommon. This is said to have been not less than twenty-eight inches in the cut it made, and the same eye witness says that the ordinary plow was often greater than these dimensions in its furrow as drawn by the heavy ox teams of the day. The three horse plow of the prairie, later than this, did not run greater than fourteen to eighteen inches, and it might have rods or moldboard as it happened to please the purchaser, or the maker of the home-made wooden one, with its iron fittings adjusted by himself. Eight yoke of oxen were required to draw the plow that made the Dillon furrow, as it was known, and now recalled.191
The traveler of 1840 had much of variety in his experiences, and it made little, if any, difference in what part of the coun- try he set out, since roads were very uncertain, and much time
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was taken to cross the country from the state that sent the first settlers into Iowa. Among these travelers was one who experienced rather more than the average emigrant in his journey, and soon after arriving in this vicinity he told of his pleasures and trials as well. This was about the beginning of 1839, before the organization of the county government in Johnson county.
But his story runs in a way to typify the journeys of those who were determined to reach the new state then forming be- yond the great river, and beyond the states that were carved from the Northwest Territory. He said:
"Leaving the state of Vermont at Bennington he came by stage to Troy, New York, then from there to Schenectady, also by stage, where he arrived just in time to catch the train to Utica, and this being his first experience on a railroad, he exclaimed: 'I was delighted with it; the rapidity with which they whirled us along was truly exhilarating to one's spirits, who had a long journey before him. It fairly annihilated space, and you had only to think where you wanted to go and you were there before you had time to realize that you were on the way.' " This was in 1838; the rapidity of trains then was probably remarkable, but could the man who wrote this have lived until the present, how he would have written is difficult to imagine. His journey from the end of the road at Utica was on a "line boat" on the Erie canal to Buffalo, which was a sudden transition to a slow pace. From Buffalo to Cleveland, then across the states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois on horse- back, because of the low stage of water in the Ohio river, he arrived at the crossing of the Mississippi at Burlington Oc- tober 22, 1838, having left his home in Vermont in September of that year. He pronounced Burlington "a smart little vil- lage, the seat of government of the Territory, where the gover- nor resides, Robert Lucas, formerly governor of Ohio, and with whom we had a pleasant interview, and from whom we re- ceived very kind and obliging attentions. We left Burlington the next day and proceeded in various directions until we hit upon a spot about fifty miles north of Burlington and west of the Cedar River, situated on the southerly side of the Wapsa- nonock Creek, which pleased us very much." Here the two men who were traveling together purchased a tract of nine hundred and sixty acres of the best Iowa land.
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CHAPTER XI
Ferries and Bridges
W HEN main traveled roads crossed streams not always fordable, the ferry was established. The first li- cense issued was secured by Sturgis and Douglass, the first of these two a member of the board of county commis- sioners and the second the clerk of the same board. It was known as "the Sturgis ferry." License was issued for one year, the fee being five dollars. The allowance for transporta- tion was fixed by the commissioners according to law: For a footman, 121/2 cents; one horse and wagon, 371/2 cents ; yoke of oxen and wagon, 50 cents ; the same for a team of horses ; horse and man, 25 cents; and 121/2 cents for each additional horse or yoke of oxen; each head of meat cattle, 61/4 cents; and sheep and hogs, 3 cents. At this same session license was granted to A. D. Stephens for a ferry where the National road crossed the Iowa on sections fifteen and sixteen in township seventy- nine, range six, this being the sections on the river where the county seat was located. Fifteen dollars was the fee, due prob- ably to the location and importance of traffic. Stephens fail- ing to erect or establish the ferry in reasonable time, his license was revoked and another issued to John Abel and rates of passage reduced in some items, while Stephens recovered his license money.192
It would appear that a ferry was established on the Iowa river earlier than the date of the first license, for it is said that the first ferry on the Iowa was near the settlement on section "twenty-two," so often spoken of, in what is now East Lucas township. Here, in the winter of 1839, Benjamin Miller "got out the material and built a ferry boat which was hauled, when completed, to the river landing by means of ox teams." The line of this ferry was about the middle of the section men- tioned and near the cabin of Miller, which was on the Stover
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farm on the east side of the river. The use of the river for other purposes than ferries in the way of transportation was very irregular and is noted in the accounts of the "steamboats on the Iowa," which covered a period of many years before the feasibility of navigation as a permanent thing was given up.193
The town of Napoleon, the prospective county seat and a near neighbor of the first state capital, secured a ferry across the Iowa in 1840 by grant of license to F. A. A. Cobbs on pay- ment of ten dollars and furnishing of bonds with freehold se- curity in the sum of two hundred dollars.
The application of A. C. Sutliff came from the extreme northeastern part of the county, where he transferred passen- gers to the opposite side of the Cedar river at the usual rate. His fee was the usual five dollars, traffic being less frequent in that part of the county.
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