USA > Iowa > Allamakee County > Past and present of Allamakee county, Iowa. A record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. I > Part 12
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55
-
THE ELEPHANT
.
THE OWL'S HEAD
CHAPTER XII
THE COUNTY SEAT
A volume might be written of the ten or more county seat contests in Alla- makee county in the first quarter century following its organization, and it would be interesting to go into the details, although unprofitable from any point of view. Even at this late date, thirty-eight years since the last county seat election, it is a delicate matter to treat of them in such a manner as would seem to all parties strictly impartial, so bitter was the sectional feeling aroused in the early days. Of course the location of the seat of county government at any place was considered a great advantage. and numerous hamlets at one time or another entertained high hopes of securing a lasting prestige thereby. But when the contest narrowed down to the principal towns of the county, the other sections turned in on one side or the other according as they were moved by feelings of local advantage, public weal, or disappointment and revenge, and the contest between Lansing and Waukon beame prolonged and bitter, until repeated decisions at the polls settled the question permanently in favor of the present location at Waukon.
In the second General Assembly an act was passed organizing the county of Allamakee, and approved by Gov. Ansel Briggs-the first state Governor-Jan- uary 15, 1849. Under this act the first election was held-as heretofore stated. Commissioners were also appointed to locate the county seat of said county, consisting of Wm. Linton, John Francis and James Jones and they performed their duty by selecting a location in Jefferson township, about a mile and a half northwest of the present village of Rossville, on the road from there to Waukon, near the Pettit place. It has ever since been known as "The Old Stake." This selection was never utilized, however, and at the April election of 1851 the ques- tion was submitted to a vote of the people, the contesting points being : Vailsville, on Paint Rock Prairie (now Harper's Ferry), "Smith's Place, sec. 12," in Post township, and Columbus, at the mouth of Village creek in Lansing township. As neither point received a majority another vote was taken on the first Monday in May following, between Columbus and Smith's Mill, Vailsville being out of the contest, resulting in a small majority-14 it is said-for Columbus. We have no means of ascertaining the number of votes cast; neither do we know how many polling places there were in the county at that time; but if we are not mistaken Reuben Smith's place (one of the contesting points) was one of these. He stated in the fall of 1877 that a county seat election in '51 was held in a log cabin of his, and that voters came there from a distance of many miles,
131
132
PAST AND PRESENT OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY
of whom he remembered Shattuck and Bush from what is now Makee township among others.
About this time there existed a spirit of rivalry between Lansing and Colum- bus, which developed into a jealousy on the part of Lansing (which had become an aspiring little town) toward her next door neighbor, and induced her to attempt to deprive Columbus of her honors and the advantages accompanying them. Although Columbus had really no natural advantage which would entitle her to the county seat, except that of a boat landing, her proprietors and their friends were too powerful to warrant a direct issue, and so Lansing resorted to strategy, and urged the property of a relocation of the county seat at the geo- graphical center of the county. Of course the settlers in the western portion were nothing loth to enter into this movement, and a meeting was held at Ezra Reid's, in Ludlow township, December 4, 1852, to consider the matter. Edward Eells was selected as chairman of the meeting, and John W. Remine, of Lansing, and C. J. White, of Makee, were secretaries. The result was that the General Assem- bly was petitioned to have another point designated as the future county seat of the county. In January, 1853. the Legislature granted the petition, and for the purpose of selecting such point, appointed a commission consisting of Clement C. Coffin, of Delaware county, John S. Lewis, of Clayton county, and Dennis A. Mahony, of Dubuque. The third section of the act establishing this commission, reads as follows :
"Said commissioners shall locate the county seat of the county aforesaid as near the geographical center as a due regard for the present and prospective interests of the county shall appear to them just and proper ; they shall, also, be influenced by the comparative eligibility of locations, and the convenience of water, roads and building materials as also by the comparative facilities of acquiring for said county suitable building lots, or blocks, if the county seat should be located by them on private property."
Judge Dean, writing in 1880, narrated the sequence of events thus: "Their commission required them to meet at Columbus, then the county scat, about the first Monday in March following, take the oath of office and proceed to select a point for a new county seat as near the center of the county as was practi- cable. This they did, and in selecting the spot they took into consideration the place where the original liberty pole was planted at the head of Union Prairie, as mentioned in Chapter 5. Makee Ridge, and some other points ; but the absence of water at those places made them objectionable.
"At this time there were several splendid springs bubbling out of the prairie sod where Waukon now stands, and Father Shattuck then living here offered to give the county forty acres of land for county seat purposes if the commis- sioners would locate the county seat thereon. The stake was driven by them on the land thus donated, and the proposed town site was named at the time, the commissioners requesting Mr. John Haney, Jr., who was present and took an active part in the matter, to christen the spot. He having been a trader among the Indians and having a good friend among them in the person of John Waukon, a chief of the Winnebago tribe, gave it his name and it has been called Waukon from that time.
"The spot for the new county seat having been selected as narrated in the last chapter, it became subject to ratification or rejection by the legal voters of
133
PAST AND PRESENT OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY
the county at the ensuing April election; and in order to create for the new location as favorable an impression as possible, a mass meeting was called at the selected spot two days before the election, and assembled near where the Episcopal church now stands. This was the largest white assemblage ever seen in the county, there being present nearly three hundred persons. The meeting was organized by electing John Raymond of Union Prairie president, and A. J. Hersey and Mr. Beeman, secretaries. John A. Wakefield, who owned the farm on the Lansing Ridge that Hugh Norton now owns, and John W. Remine, a lawyer from Lansing, made speeches in favor of the new location; and Thos. B. Twiford of Columbus, the then county seat, against it; after which Father Shat- tuck drove on to the ground with a large supply of cooked provisions, among which were a plentiful supply of baked beans, and from the wagon fed the multi- tude of three hundred.
"On the following Monday, April 4th, 1853, the voters of the county ratified the choice of the Commissioners by a majority over Columbus of two hundred and forty-five votes, there being seven voting precincts in the county."
That the relocation of the county seat at Waukon was not accepted by the proprietors and friends of Columbus without a struggle, may be imagined. At the first term of District court held at Waukon in June, 1853, Hon. Thos. S. Wilson, Judge, the matter was at once brought up, and we quote from an old file of the Lansing Intelligencer relating to it, as follows :
"A motion was made by Ben M. Samuels, Esq., who appeared on behalf of the proprietors of Columbus, to adjourn the court to that place. The grounds stated for this motion were: first, that the law providing for the relocation of the county seat, was unconstitutional, relying in support of the position, on the IOth article of the Constitution of the United States, wherein it is declared that no State shall pass any law impairing the obligation of contracts.' It was argued that the proprietors of Columbus, by deeding to the county two acres of land under the act of 1851, providing for the location of the county seat of Allamakee county, thereby made a contract with the county, and that the Legislature had no right to pass a subsequent act providing for a relocation. It was further argued that the town of Columbus was a close corporation and had acquired a substantial legal interest in the county seat, and that the Legislature, in passing the original act for the location of the county seat, had an eye to the permanent benefit of the town of Columbus. The act of 1851, authorizing the people to vote on the question, declares that `the point receiving the largest number of votes shall be and remain the permanent seat of justice of said Allamakee county, provided that the owner or owners of such town or point, shall, within ten days after the result of said election has been declared, make and execute to the Board of Commissioners of said county, a satisfactory and sufficient deed for at least two acres of land in said point.' Considerable emphasis and reliance were placed on the word 'permanent,' which appears in the clause quoted, and it was argued that inasmuch as the word appeared in the act, the Legislature had thereby forestalled all subsequent action with regard to the matter. The other objections which were made, more particularly pertained to the action of the county judge, who, it is well known, had refused to discharge any of the duties enjoined on him by the act of the Legislature. Some other reasons, of minor importance, were adduced, but the foregoing were the most noticeable.
134
PAST AND PRESENT OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY
Mr. Samuels made quite a pathetic oration in behalf of Columbus (as a close corporation ), and spoke in a very affecting manner of her alleged rights.
"The motion was opposed by John W. Remine, Esq., of Lansing, and Jas. Burt, Esq., of Dubuque.
"The court overruled the motion, and gave at length, and in a very plain and clear manner his reasons. As to the objections on account of the unconstitution- ality of the act, he said, that the town of Columbus had, in law, acquired no interest in the matter of the county seat, that no contract existed between the pro- prietors of the town and the county.
"With regard to the word 'permanent.' which appears in the act of 1851, he said that the Legislature did not by that word intend to make the act immu- tably durable-that even if the Legislature had so intended it was an excess of legislation and consequently void. The Legislature could not pass a law and make it impossible to change or repeal the same by subsequent legislation.
"He further said that the duties required of the county judge in the act, providing for the relocation of the county seat, were not discretionary. The District court could compel the county judge by mandamus to perform the duties required of him in the act-that if he refused to reconvey the land and lot spoken of in the act, to the proprietors of Columbus, he could be compelled."
At the March term of the County court, 1856, a petition was presented, pray- ing that the question of removing the county seat from Waukon to Rossville be submitted to the people, and John T. Clark, prosecuting attorney and ex-officio county judge (Judge Topliff at the time being in temporary suspension pending a suit for official neglect ) decided that the question should be so submitted at the April election. A similar petition was also presented in favor of Whaley & Topliff's Mill, in Center township, and was likewise granted. This made a triangular contest, and Waukon received a large majority over both the other points, the vote being, Waukon 717, Whaley & Topliff's Mill 314, and Rossville 144.
Early in 1859 a petition was circulated by Lansing for submitting the question of removing the county seat to that place, and her citizens offered to donate suitable lots (Park Block) and erect a courthouse thereon to cost $8,000. At the same time $5,000 was offered by Waukon to aid in the erection of county buildings at that place. A meeting was held at the latter place and a committee appointed, consisting of A. J. Hersey, John T. Clark. L. O. Hatch, W. S. Cooke, A. Hersey, L. T. Woodcock, W. W. Hungerford, J. C. Smith and Jehial John- son, to select an eligible point on the Mississippi other than Lansing, through which Waukon might transact her shipping business. At a later meeting the committee reported that there was no one point to which they could in good faith pledge their entire support, but suggested that Columbus was the nearest and most accessible point at which to transact river business, provided she would furnish the necessary facilities; and that Johnsonsport was the best point for the transaction of railroad business, provided she would furnish ferry-boat connection with the railroad at Prairie du Chien, and other facilities. On March 7th the petition was presented to the county judge (G. M. Dean) by S. H. Kinne.
A motion was made by John T. Clark that the petition be dismissed on the ground that the court had no power to order an election in April, as the law for
135
PAST AND PRESENT OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY
the regular April election had been repealed. Messrs. Clark and Hatch argued the question for the dismissal and G. W. Camp and L. H. Howe on the part of Lansing. Judge Dean reserved his decision until the following morning, when he granted the petition and ordered an election to be held on the 4th day of April. The contest was a hot one. It was originated by the most honored and influential citizens of Lansing; and all the means at their command were used on both sides to win the public favor. On the part of Lansing, John Haney and H. W. Houghton entered into bonds to the amount of $15,000 to guarantee the use of Park Block to the county as long as the county seat should remain in Lansing, and a number of her best citizens gave similar bonds for $16,000 that in case the county seat should be removed to Lansing they would expend $8,000 in the erection of public buildings on said block, to be the property of the county so long as the county seat should remain at that place. While on the part of Waukon, seventeen of her most substantial men bound themselves in the sum of $10,000 that in case the county seat should remain where it then was the citizens of Waukon would pay $5,000, to be expended in the erection of county buildings on the land already owned by the county at that place. The verdict of the people was in favor of Waukon by a majority of 420. Waukon, 1,248; Lansing, 828. Regarding this result as the end of controversy, and as evidence of the wish of the people that our donation should be used for the purpose for which it was offered, the county judge, on the 2d of August, 1859, let a contract for the erection of a permanent courthouse (including a jail ), at a cost of $13,655, $5,000 of which sum was paid by a transfer of the proceeds of the Waukon bond, and the remainder of which was paid by the county. The contractors were J. W. Pratt and C. W. Jenkins, and the building was erected and completed during the years 1860-61.
Meanwhile the matter had not been allowed to rest, and in February, 1860, petitions were circulated asking for the submission of the question of removal of the county seat to Rossville. A largely signed remonstrance was presented at the same time, defeating the object of the petition, and it was charged that this was accomplished by sharp practice on the part of Waukon interests. Be this as it may, the affair had its unfavorable effects for Waukon in the next contest. The fact is that both sides used some questionable means at times, to attain their ends in these struggles for supremacy.
Again, on the 3d day of December, 1860, a petition was presented to the County court, Judge John A. Townsend, praying for the relocation of the county seat at "the point" between Lansing and Capoli, and an election was ordered, in accordance therewith, on the 8th day of April, 1861. This time one of the points raised was the legality of the contract for the erection of the county building at Waukon without first submitting it to a vote of the people, but this was vir- tually set at rest by an opinion expressed in a letter from Hon. Milo McGlathery, district attorney, in reply to questions submitted by Moses Hancock, then chair- man of the Board of Supervisors.
However, a certain effect remained, which, together with the combination of Columbus with Lansing, a bond entered into by their people to erect a courthouse at "The Point," without expense to the county, and the dissatisfaction of Ross- ville people resulted in a relocation by a vote of 1,257 for the Point, against Vol. 1-7
136
PAST AND PRESENT OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY
1.231 for Waukon-a majority of 26 votes, and the county records and furniture were immediately removed to that place.
Believing that this combination of circumstances would not operate a second time, the people of Waukon the same year circulated a petition for the removal of the object of controversy to the new building at Waukon, and it was presented to the Board of Supervisors, October 14, 1861, and another election ordered to be held in April, 1862. Again was the ground hotly contested, and again was "The Point" victorious by a majority of 22-that place receiving 1.332, against 1,310 for Waukon.
Once more, in 1864, Waukon decided to make an effort to regain the seat of justice, and the contest waxed hotter than ever before. At this time there was a project to build a railroad up the valley of Paint creek, by the Prairie du Chien and Cedar Valley Railroad Company, and a great deal of sport was made of this "paper railroad" on the part of Lansing people, who declared it to be an electioneering dodge to make votes for Waukon. In June the Board of Super- visors ordered an election to be held at the time of the general election, Novem- ber 8th. Again the fight was very close, and when the board inet to canvass the returns, the result was found to depend upon Franklin township, from which no record of the vote had been received, so the canvass was made without it, giving "The Point" a majority of 69-1.205 for "The Point," and 1,136 for Waukon, and the matter was carried into the District court, E. H. Williams, judge. "The Point" took a change of venue to Delaware county, and when the decision there was rendered adversely to their interests, appealed to the Supreme court, by which it was not decided until 1867, when it was adjudged that Waukon was rightfully the county seat, and the records were once more removed to that place, where they have since remained.
The records and all portable property were transferred on the 3d to the 6th of September, 1867, and the officials took up their duties in the new courthouse on the latter date.
Pending this decision, in June, 1866, occurred the attempted removal of the documents from Lansing by Sheriff Townsend and a posse of about thirty men from Waukon, which created a great deal of excitement at the time, and has since been a prolific topic for good natured raillery. After the case had been heard before the District court in Delaware county, decision was rendered in favor of Waukon, and a writ of mandamus issued, ordering the board to count the vote of Franklin township-the returns having been obtained-giving Waukon a majority of 23 votes. Whereupon the board appointed Sheriff Townsend as a committee to remove the records, which he proceeded to do. Meantime Lansing had taken an appeal to the Supreme court, a writ of supersedeas was issued and served upon the board June 7th, only eight of the eighteen members accepting such service, however. The sheriff received no orders countermanding his author- ity to remove the records, and early on the morning of June 9th the "raid" was made.
In writing of this in after years T. C. Medary, then publishing the Lansing Mirror, says in his Waukon Democrat :
"They arrived at the courthouse in Lansing between 8 and 9 o'clock in the morning before the several officers had fairly settled down to business for the day, and making their business briefly known with but very little cere-
137
PAST AND PRESENT OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY
mony, proceeded at once to take possession of the contents of the several offices. Of course it did not take many moments to get the news of what was going on circulated through town and the wildest excitement was created. Darwin Shaw mounted his little cream colored pony and galloped him through the streets, arousing the patriotism of Lansingites, and it was but a short time before at least a hundred men, and not a few women, were on the spot to see the sport. The gathering of the clans seemed to have frightened the raiders and they were even more excited than the Lansing crowd was, and they did their work so bunglingly that the official papers and books were scattered all through the court- house and out in front, and the wagons were driven off only partially loaded. Lansing promptly turned out a large posse to recapture the county property, and then began a lively chase after the fleeing Waukonians. While this was going on we issued extras from the old Mirror office and distributed them about the city : "LANSING, June 9, 9 A. M.
"A messenger just arrived from South Lansing reports a large band of guer- rillas, led by Corporal General Townsend, entered that town about 8 o'clock this morning, and took possession of the courthouse, and proceeded at once to carry off the records of Allamakee county. They met with strong opposition among the county officials, but the raider forces were too strong and the officials gave way. Treasurer Healy was assaulted by one of the raiders, a brave officer who during the late rebellion rose to the position of colonel. The treasurer repelled the assault, and with his fist wounded the valorous colonel in the short ribs. The raiders finally succeeded in capturing the records and beat a hasty retreat.
"9:05 A. M.
"Lansing regulars called out, Lieutenant Generals White and Shaw in com- mand. Transportation furnished and troops in pursuit of the raiders.
"IO A. M.
"A gentleman just from the front says the Lansing regulars are closing up to the raiders and will soon have them surrounded. No chance for escape.
"IO:25 A. M.
"Another dispatch from the front says that the raiders have been overtaken near Milton.
"Generals White and Shaw formed their forces in line of battle, threw out flankers and advanced steadily upon the retreating column, whose advance had met a sudden check in the town of Milton. The command was given for a charge when the whole line moved off in fine style, descending upon the forces of Corporal General Townsend with 'one foul swoop' and putting his whole com- mand to flight. They abandoned wagon train, captured property and everything of value. Many prisoners were taken, but were immediately paroled upon their forking over all county papers in their possession.
"II A. M.
"The regulars have just returned, bringing with them the stolen property. They were enthusiastically received by the citizens. Hats were thrown skyward. handkerchiefs were waved and lager quaffed. Quiet is again restored, and the county seat remains at Lansing !
138
PAST AND PRESENT OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY
"The tables were turned, however, in after years, and it became Waukon's turn to laugh while Lansing grew rather sombre visaged and has not fully recov- ered from it to this day, as the outgrowth of Wanikon's final triumph in securing and retaining the county seat. Of course we, as publisher of a Lansing paper, did our level best for her interests, as we would have done for Waukon had we been located here then ; yet our subscriptions among those who stood for Waukon held up remarkably well, probably because they wanted to see how confounded mean we could be in the fights !
"The feeling was so intensely bitter on the part of Waukon that many of the citizens would hardly admit there was such a place as Lansing, and they ignored that town almost entirely in a business way. * * We remember of a large delegation coming down from Waukon one time during a county seat struggle to attend a republican county convention, and taking their dinners and feeding their horses out in the brush around the courthouse. So, too, this feeling predomi- nated in the election of county officers of both parties."
Another account of this episode we obtained recently from an eyewitness in the person of Mr. Geo. H. Bryant, a Lansing resident at the time, who came to Wankon in 1877 as county treasurer, and has been a resident here ever since. Asked for his recollections of the affair, he writes :
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.