USA > Iowa > Johnson County > Leading Events in Johnson County, Iowa, History > Part 17
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
A freshet in the spring of 1849 took the Clear creek bridge away bodily, and a plea came before the commissioners for its reconstruction. The petition was signed first by S. H. Knapp, E. K. Yost, and one hundred and thirty-two others. No action was taken on this until the April extra session, 1849, when an order was made appropriating one hundred and twenty-five dollars to erect "a substantial frame bridge," which sum was to be expended under the direction of Martin M. Montgomery, as agent for the commissioners. In July of the same year the order was rescinded, since no action had been taken. Then a new petition came up asking for two hundred dollars, "that the inconveniences suffered by the citizens of that part of the county might be removed." This amount was to be in addition to any amount raised by private subscription. It was signed by Thos. H. Benton, Jr., and one hundred and twenty-two others.
This moved the commissioners to allow the amount asked, and Ezekiel Clark and Chauncey R. Ward were appointed a committee to solicit subscriptions and to let the work. Archi- bald Gilleland was to "receive" the finished bridge and draw on the treasury for the amount after the structure was com- pleted, at the old site near "the Company's Mill." But this was not the end of the Clear creek bridge matter, for not until the October session after the freshet in April, 1849, was any contract made for the reconstruction, and then for two hun- dred and seventy-five dollars one Edmund C. Cole agreed to perform the work. Combinations refused to work even when the name of "Thomas H. Benton, Jr.," was affixed to the peti- tion, and the county had to assume responsibility for the entire amount. A special session was called in November following to accept the completed work and Cole was paid in eleven or- ders of twenty-five dollars each. He could use small orders the same as cash, with possibly a small discount, while one large one would be inconvenient.
Specific instructions were given for a bridge on Iowa avenue across Ralston creek in 1850, which was to have stone abut- ments and to be sixteen feet between these, with four stringers covered with two-inch plank. An appropriation of fifty dollars was made to "assist" only in its construction. Unless such directions were followed no allowance would be made.
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The same sum was allowed for a frame bridge on College street in Iowa City, provision being made that John D. Abel and Geo. S. Hampton were to make the payments in the latter instance, and Wm. Windrum and C. H. Buck in the former.207
As a method of capitalizing a road district the sum of twenty-five dollars was allowed from the county treasury on the order of E. Foster to build a bridge "across the run near Robinson's house." The county should be reimbursed by re- ceiving all the road tax due the district in which the bridge was situated. This could not, therefore, be called a "county bridge."
There was a great freshet in June, 1851, which caused the commissioners to meet in extra session to consider means by which the destroyed bridges on the main roads could be re- paired. The task was too great for the money and they ad- journed without making any appropriations. This was the last action on bridges by the commissioners, for they ceased to govern the county affairs in July, 1851. In August of this same year the county judge, F. H. Lee, took charge of affairs, and he, with Geo. McCleary, filled this office until 1861, when the duties attending roads and bridges fell to the county super- visors.
During the fall of 1851 the sum of three thousand dollars was pledged by individual subscription for the building of a free bridge across the Iowa river at Iowa City. On this basis Judge Lee called an election for October 27, 1851, on the ques- tion whether a tax should be levied for the construction of a free bridge with the aid of the three thousand dollars. The tax proposed would yield five thousand dollars in two years, one-half in 1852, and one-half in 1853.
In the vote by townships [ there were only eleven then], Big Grove, Cedar, and Pleasant Valley voted unanimously against the proposition, Washington and Clear Creek were just as positive for it. Iowa township stood 136 to 30 in favor of it, and the proposition carried by a majority of 29 votes.
What causes people to change their minds on such public questions is somewhat mystifying, but the affirmative vote on almost any question proposed seems to be easily secured and immediately some reaction occurs causing them to regret their action. In this instance a new election was called the very next
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April [1852] to vote on the question "whether the tax voted in the previous October should be rescinded," and this, too, carried, and with it the prospect for a free bridge across the Iowa river for many years to come. The majority this time was one hundred and eighty-six against the bridge, indicating much activity on the part of the "opposers." 208
Enos Metcalf owned the land on the west side of the river opposite Harrison street and conducted a ferry at that point. In March, 1853, he presented a petition to the county judge for a license to construct a toll bridge across the river at this same point. After due consideration, it was granted on con- dition that certain requirements were followed providing for the proper approaches, repairs as needed, and especially not to obstruct navigation of the Iowa river at this point. His bond was fixed at five hundred dollars and he was allowed to charge for the first five years fees as follows: For a carriage, wagon, or other vehicle with two horses or yoke of oxen at- tached, twenty-five cents; for each additional span, or yoke, ten cents; each "buggy" with one horse, fifteen cents; man and horse, ten cents; footman, five; cattle or horses in droves, four cents a head; and sheep or hogs, two cents each. At the end of five years these fees might be reduced by the "county court" to not less than one-half.
On the same date Le Grand Byington and associates peti- tioned for a license to erect a bridge at the foot of Washington street. He owned the land on both sides of the river at this point, and the license was granted on the same conditions as for Metcalf. The period, however, was fifty years instead of ten, and the rates for passage were different. Why this should be so, both being granted on the same date, is not explained, unless the time was the consideration.
The rivalry among owners of land along the river to estab- lish toll bridges appears to have increased during 1853, since in July of this year Gilman Folsom asked for license to con- struct and operate a bridge of this class across the river "at or near the crossing of a continuation of Iowa avenue in Iowa City." He also owned the land on both sides of the river at this point, which is near the Iowa avenue bridge as now lo- cated.209
There was now an interval of two years before any more
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requests were made for license to build bridges across the river at Iowa City. Then G. S. Hampton proposed one at the point "where Front street first strikes the river at the south end." The further consideration of the question was continued until the next session of the county court.
Hampton owned the land on the east side of the river and Francis M. Hepburn on the opposite side. The judge being satisfied with conditions as presented at an extra session held in May, 1855, granted this, the third license for toll bridges across the river at Iowa City. Metcalf renewed his petition in 1855, and changed his location to "the foot of the lane running west from the river between lots two and three, section six- teen." He was allowed fifty years of privilege at this time.210
The Iowa City newspapers used a neighboring town as an example in urging a free bridge in 1856. Waverly, the young- est town on the Cedar river, located in Bremer county, opened a free bridge that year. The citizens of Johnson county were urged to consider this matter, and cease the continual traveling across toll bridges, for when a town of so much less population could establish a "free bridge" it must seem strange to those who came to the city to trade to find an embargo placed on their goods by the everlasting toll across the river from the west.
Some years after this appeal, as many as six or seven hun- dred citizens of the county met at the old court house on a June evening in 1859 to urge the county judge, Geo. McCleary, at that time, to let the contract for a free bridge across the Iowa river, or to purchase the old ones then there and called from the fees collected "toll bridges," structures built with private capital. At this meeting Dr. Murray was made chair- man, and he explained the object of the assembly. Hon. Peter A. Dey addressed the gathering, as did also Rev. C. B. Smith and R. H. Kelley. Following these speakers W. S. Kinsey in- troduced a resolution which reveals better than any further account the purposes of these assembled citizens. In substance it stated, that in the opinion of the citizens then present the county judge should immediately proceed to let the contract for the free bridge from plans and specifications then in his hands, that it might be constructed without delay. This was almost unanimously adopted, and another item of the same
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date indicates that the judge acted on the suggestion of so many fellow citizens and did let the contract to Prather and Ealy for the sum of $8,688, the bridge to be built on two piers and one abutment. There were two spans of 160 feet each, and an extension on the east end of 325 feet to reach to the foot of the bluff on Burlington street. The total cost was to be some- thing more than ten thousand dollars.
The question of bridges over the smaller streams was not so long under discussion, as the greater problem of building one over the Iowa river to care for the immense traffic that began to pass east and west through the county. Toll bridges were the first proposals and it has been mentioned that Dr. Enos Metcalf built the first one over the Iowa river between the present railroad bridge of the Rock Island and the Bur- lington street structure, in 1855. The Folsom pontoon bridge followed this, and was located on or near the site of the present Iowa avenue bridge, or the one now known as the "Centennial Bridge," by the older people because it was built in 1876. After the pontoon bridge, a wooden truss bridge was built on the same site. Many private subscriptions were made for the erection of the first bridges, as the county had not sufficient funds to warrant full payments for so many improvements.
The first iron bridge to be built in this county was on the Burlington street site, built in the early sixties as a free bridge, and with this the ferries and toll bridges became a thing of the past.211
In reference to the truss bridge mentioned above, the offer was made by Gilman Folsom to make it a free bridge in con- sideration of one hundred and fifty dollars per year paid by order of the county supervisors, under agreement made in February, 1861. This agreement was renewed under the same terms for one year in January, 1862. However, we find that in the following June, the clerk of the board, or county audi- tor, the offices being identical now, was ordered not to make any further payment to Gilman Folsom until "his bridge" was made passable for travel in carriages and on foot.
There was formerly, in 1858, a bridge company organized in the northern part of the county known as the Iowa River Bridge Company. This was to be built at what was then known as the county ford on the Iowa river. A committee who
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had the preliminaries in charge reported it "as a work of ma- terial importance, connecting Iowa City and Cedar Rapids by the shortest and best route." This was to be one of the float- ing kind, pontoon it is supposed, only a little more permanent, and one of the boats was planned to be used as a ferry until the whole could be completed.212
When Johnson county was first settled all roads for many miles in every direction led to Iowa City. To the north, east, south, and west was a wild country with few if any inhabitants and giving little promise of its future fertility and great wealth. When the settlers from Ohio, Indiana and other east- ern states first came to the county, after Iowa City was found- ed it became their trading point, since this was the nearest market and point of distribution for supplies teamed from the Mississippi river, or brought up the Iowa river by boat. It was during these days that Allan Sutliff, who came to the county in 1838, established his ferry across the Cedar river where the Sutliff bridge now spans the stream.
For many years the people living in the part of the county cut off by the Cedar river made use of the ferry, but in time a sandbar formed in the center of the stream and left the ferry partly on dry land. From this time on they must go many miles to the north or as many more to the south to find a crossing if they attempted to reach the county seat. It was then that demands for a bridge became insistent, and after a number of years of waiting and as many disappointments the board of supervisors in December, 1896, voted to erect an iron bridge at the crossing of Sutliff's ferry. The following season the contract was let to J. R. Sheely and Co., of Des Moines. Not until April, 1898, was the job completed and ac- cepted by the county authorities. Almost forty years had elapsed since a bridge was needed at this point in the county, but as all history shows the demands the most urgent came from main traveled roads east and west, and the first bridges had to be built across the Iowa river at Iowa City.
This new bridge, completed in 1898, was about nine hundred feet long counting the approaches, and was then the longest bridge in the county. The contract price as indicated by the bid of Sheely and Company was about $12,000. At the time of the dedication a more than ordinary event was made of it,
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since people were invited from distant points to help celebrate the occasion, in considerable contrast to the first ones erected. One of the largest gatherings ever held in Johnson county assembled at the west end of the bridge, where the people were entertained by the citizens of Cedar township, especially the ladies, who furnished the dinner to the invited guests. Three hundred of the best known men in Johnson county were present from the county seat and elsewhere. The attraction of a "picnic dinner" served by the farming community of Cedar township was more than any hungry man could resist.
The morning of June the third was a fine one, as many June mornings in Iowa are, and early on that date the celebration began with a royal salute under the supervision of William Zimmerman and Fred Gabbert. The address of welcome was later in the morning delivered by H. S. Sutliff, who told of the long struggle for a bridge in that part of the county, and ex- tended a hearty welcome to the company assembled. Stephen Bradley replied in a characteristic address, and from that time on until the middle of the afternoon, with probably an hour or more for the picnic dinner, the speeches continued. Judge Wade congratulated the community and the county for their good fortune, "Uncle Isaac Weeber," who was called "the father of the bridge," made some remarks, and many other speakers indulged in some comment on the occasion. It was estimated that fully one thousand persons were present on this occasion, the dedication of the Sutliff Bridge.218
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CHAPTER XII
Stage Routes and Railroads
T HE stage service of Frink and Walker began in 1840, when they put on the line between Bloomington and Iowa City, which was tri-weekly, with a two-horse coach. The fare was three dollars for adult passengers and half fare for chil- dren. Trunks and baggage went for three dollars per hun- dred weight. Most of the passengers were men of course, as few women were found on the overland journeys then. This company carried the mail and from records left of their career the accommodation was good. The weekly arrival of mails included an average of "ten letters a week in Iowa City," and in the entire period of two years, "only forty-one transient newspapers came to the city by mail," indicating the isolation of the point so far as the outside world was concerned. There was "time" then for social duties and the "hurry period" had not come.
In 1846 the Frink and Walker company put on a four-horse coach to run daily between the two points mentioned, and from this time on the increase in accommodations of the kind was rapid. The ox team for transportation was soon superseded by the horse team, as the former was too slow to meet the demands of the time. In 1853, the Western Stage Company purchased the outfit of the old line, and sent W. H. McChesney to manage the Iowa City end of the equipment. It is said that the affairs of the old company were not in good shape and the work of reorganization was undertaken by the new manager. He rented rooms and furnished the employes of the former company with comfortable quarters, instead of requiring them to "lodge with the horses as heretofore." On block twenty- five, which is bounded by Jefferson, Dodge, and Iowa avenue, and Johnson street, the company began the construction of stables, with Finkbine and Lovelace as contractors, and here
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. manufactured all the required articles in use by the concern; coaches, harness, and minor articles were made on the ground. It is said that the company conducted the business it under- took in a remarkably efficient way, through its manager.
In 1844, the express business began in the county by the service of J. Parker, who conducted the "company" until 1858, when the American and United States companies entered the field after the railroad reached this section, and soon ab- sorbed the business of Mr. Parker. The stage company began to do express business in 1853, and employed many extra men in this lighter work. Among them we find the names of Wil- liam North, Joseph Gimble, T. Strahle, John Tantlinger, James German, Samuel Shellady, and many others who had teams. The years 1854 and 1855 are said to have been banner years in the stage business, since the immigration had com- menced in earnest. Railroads were projected in all directions, but without yet accomplishing any results that made transpor- tation more convenient or rapid. Just as soon as the "M & M" track was laid to Iowa City the stage business began to dwindle and soon became a thing of the past.214
The early stage and mail routes leading out from Iowa City are subjects worthy of extended consideration. While the lines east and west were probably the most important, the transportation of mails and passengers was provided for in many directions. Commencing about 1844 and 1845, mail routes were opened by the government very extensively, and a list of new lines of mail service mentioned at this time is sug- gestive. First, "from Galena, Illinois, via Bellview [Belle- vue], to Andrew, Makokety [ Maquoketa ] postoffice, Thorn and Anderson's Mills, on the Wapsipinicon, and Tipton to Iowa City;" second, "from Dubuque, in two-horse coaches, via Cas- cade and Marion to Iowa City;" third "from Iowa City to the county seat of Poweshiek county;" and "from Iowa City to the county seat of Mahaska county." The postoffice depart- ment in Washington received proposals for carrying the mails on all the routes in the territory, and in these contracts the time of trips was distinctly specified. For instance: The route from Galena to Iowa City, number 4556 in the official records, was ninety miles. The trip was to be made once a week. The contractor must leave Galena every Monday at six a. m., and
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arrive at Iowa City the following Wednesday at 6 p. m .; leave Iowa City Thursday at six a. m., and reach Galena the next Saturday at 6 p. m. In this case proposals for service once in two weeks would be considered.
From Iowa City to the county seat of Mahaska county was seventy miles. The agent on this route must leave Iowa City at four a. m., on Wednesday and arrive at Mahaska court house the next day at eight p. m .; leave Mahaska court house every Friday at four a. m., and reach Iowa City Saturday at eight p. m.
One of the contractors on the route from Galena to Iowa City is now living in Hollywood, California. He writes the following regarding his experiences: "In December, 1846, I was a successful bidder for the government mail contract cov- ering the territory from Galena, Ill., to Iowa City, Iowa, a distance of one hundred miles. The stops along the line were Bellevue, Jackson, Maquoketa, Tipton, Woodbridge, and Gow- er's Ferry, the only postoffices on the route. The contract called for one trip a week. I was awarded the route the follow- ing year [1847] and made the two hundred miles from point to point during the six days. For two years I followed this trail and drew in pay for the service $750 per year, the net returns after paying expenses being about one and a half dol- lars per day. I averaged thirty-three and one-third miles each day and always spent Sunday in Galena, although my home was in Tipton, where I kept two saddle horses.
"That seems meagre pay for the work, but it was on a par with other salaries at that period in our history. There were many pleasant features connected with the rides over the prairies, plenty of time for reflection, and meditation. Often I rode fifteen or twenty miles without passing a habitation. There was no house between Maquoketa and Denson's Ferry on the Wapsipinicon, neither was there a building between the latter place and Tipton, except at Bunker's Grove, where Captain Higginson lived. There was the same lonesome stretch between Gower's Ferry and the present town of Morse, and not even a strawstack between Morse and Iowa City, then the capital of Iowa.
"Of course the pleasant summer weather was to be expected and enjoyed, but during the winter I had to experience the
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severest kind of storms, those that are not common now where there are trees and improvements to destroy the effects of the wild wind's sweep across the prairie. I well recall riding one day from Galena to Maquoketa with the thermometer thirty- "five degrees below zero. But I was prepared for just such emergencies, being dressed for the weather in buffalo skin overshoes with the hair on the inside, a pair of Indian-tanned buckskin overalls, fur cap and coat. In 1848 I sold the con- tract to William and Robert Hanna. " 215
The first line of railroad that went so far as to make a grade in Iowa was, in the beginning, known as the "Lyons Iowa Central." Its general direction as provided for by survey and as understood by act of the assembly approved February 4, 1850, was across the state from Lyons, on the Mississippi, by way of Iowa City and Fort Des Moines to the Missouri river.216 The act surrendered the right of way one hundred feet wide through section sixteen in each township, and through any other lands the state might own, and provided for a method of securing this right of way through the lands of resident, or non-resident owners. All along the line from Lyons westward, this road was the all-absorbing topic from the time the first dirt was moved until it went out of the minds of men with the nickname of "The Calico Road," as will be learned later.
The immediate conection of this with Johnson county ap- pears first in May, 1853, when a petition came before the county judge, F. H. Lee, from many citizens asking for a vote on the question of bonds. The records indicate that the peti- tion was signed by a large number of citizens of the county. The question proposed reads literally as follows: "That the county of Johnson will aid in the construction of the Lyons Iowa Central Railroad within the limits of said county, in case Iowa City is made a point in the said road, by subscribing fifty thousand dollars stock; that the county bonds shall be issued therefor bearing interest and payable within twenty years; that an annual tax of three mills on the dollar be levied for the payment of the interest annually; and after ten years the rate of tax be increased to an amount not to exceed one per cent on the taxable property in the county, and this to continue until the bonds and interest are all paid." 217 This was a plain proposition, without any condition attached beyond
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