USA > Iowa > Allamakee County > Past and present of Allamakee county, Iowa. A record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. I > Part 24
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A store with general merchandise for the convenience of the neighborhood is now kept by Thos. Delaney on the south side of section 26, on the Waukon road.
SCENE ON MAIN STREET, NEW ALBIN
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NEW ALBIN STATION
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Hanover township had a population of 211 in 1856, and only 458 at the census of 1910. The township officers are: Clerk, E. L. Cunningham ; trustees, Thos. Lyons, Jerry O'Hare, Michael F. Burke ; assessor, Henry Quanrud; justice of the peace, O. H. Monson.
IOWA TOWNSHIP
Occupies the extreme northeast corner of the state of Iowa. It was taken from the previously organized township of Union City, and was organized under a warrant from the March, 1855, term of County court. It was not settled up so early nor so quickly as some of the townships, and had a population of only 128 as enumerated in 1856. But it has made the steadiest growth of any township in the county, and in 1910 it had 961 souls, including of course the town of New Albin, with 588.
Among the earliest to take government land in this township were: John Ross in sections 10 and 11 ; James Brookman, section 15: Thomas McMahon, section 19; Hugh Hardy, section 20; Eugene Kerrigan, section 20; Nancy J. Jenks, section 31 ; Frederick Weymiller, section 32; Martin Moore, section 33; James A. Botts, section 34. It is impossible to tell from the records who the earliest settlers were, as the government survey of this township was not made until 1853 and the original entries date subsequent to that, although some may have occupied their selections long before.
October 2, 1853, the County court granted a license to James Brookman to . operate a ferry across the Iowa river in the southeast quarter of section 15, township 100, range 4. It is claimed that the first bridge over this river was built at this place in 1858, which would antedate the Chilson's Ford bridge in Union City, built in 1859. That veteran contractor as well as soldier, Capt. E. B. Bascom, of Lansing, recently wrote us: "I was sent to locate a position for the bridge and selected the place where the bridge is at present, but Brook- man had a pull on the authorities and it was built near his house. I built the bridge for G. W. Hays to settle a matter growing out of the 'Fleming war' as it was called at that time. This bridge was all right but went out the first high water for the reason it had nothing to stand on; it was built according to in- structions, to pay for a 'dead horse,' as the saying is." The next bridge at Brook- man's Ford, or ferry, was built by Salmon Wood, in 1863, while Captain Bascom was in the army. It cost $840, mostly raised by subscription in Lansing, but the county made up a deficiency of $200 on this in January, 1864.
Iowa township was the seat of considerable early Indian warfare, the Sacs and Foxes having had villages here at various times, as well as the Sioux village of Wabasha's band as told about in a previous chapter. It is claimed also by some that the prominent bluff known as Brookman's Bluff was actually the place of capture of Black Hawk after the battle of Bad Axe in 1832, and not the Dells of the Wisconsin as the authorities mostly agree to be the fact, and as stated in a previous chapter, on this war. In regard to this matter Captain Bascom writes us:
"There is another matter of history that I think ought to be corrected. I claim that Black Hawk surrendered to the Winnebagoes at the Brookman Bluff, which is the central point of the neutral ground established in 1825. It was
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also a signal station used by the Indians, and directly opposite Battle Island, where the remnants of Black Hawk's band retreated when he gave up. I had the story as long ago as 1856, by Brookman, and the story was confirmed by the old Indians living here at that time. John Waukon, Jim Brown, Indian Doc and others have told me the same story. Colonel Hitt, of Dixon, Illinois, was here about twenty-five years ago, who was an early settler in that state and a surveyor, and was also in the Black Hawk war. He went with me to the Brook- man Bluff and after looking it over said he believed my story was correct. If you and others will go with me to that point I will give the story as I got it from the Indians and Brookman. Townsend, who was in the fight at Battle Island, and who delivered an address at the first meeting of the Battle Island Association, said on that occasion that Black Hawk was a coward and ran away at the first fire of the artillery from the boat. and was seen on top of the Wis- consin bluffs after the battle. That story will do to tell the marines, but not old soldiers. He said that part of Black Hawk's band had crossed the river before they overtook him. Now, the most reasonable thing to do was to retreat to the first high point of land on the Iowa side, which is the Brookman Bluff, and right there was then a large village of Winnebagoes, and it would be a very easy matter for three Indians to take him to Prairie du Chien."
NEW ALBIN
The history of this enterprising young town dates from the construction of the river railroad in 1872, or rather from its inception shortly before that year. It is located on the northwest quarter of section II, which was bought of the government by John Ross, August 21, 1854. In March, 1871, Mr. Ross contracted with S. H. Kinne to sell an interest in this land to him and J. K. Graves and J. A. Rhomberg, of Dubuque, for the purpose of a town site on the Chicago, Dubuque & Minnesota Railroad, originally the Dubuque & Minnesota, the construction of which had been begun at Dubuque the fall before. Septem- ber 16, 1871, Mr. Ross executed his deed to said parties in accordance with the contract, and died twelve days later. The arrangement for the platting of a town was carried out by his widow, Hily Ross, as administratrix and in her own right, who together with said other parties executed the town plat in November, 1872, the road then being in operation.
Previous to 1868 the surplus grain harvested on the prairie farms out in the Portland prairie region on both sides of the Minnesota line had been hauled to Lansing as the most available market town on the river. In that year Wm. Robinson and Hays built a stone warehouse on the banks of the slough north of Winnebago creek, across the Minnesota line, a mile or so north of the site of New Albin which was then a farm. A house or two and a store were built nearby; and lumber to sell to farmers was barged in there, the place being called the "New Landing." There was not space for a town at the foot of the bluff, while at "Ross's Bench" was an ideal site for a large town. This caused the new town to be located there, by those interested in the railroad, and after some four years of uncertainty the upper warehouse was abandoned.
From the very start the village was a live one, the population increased rap- idly, stores were built, and elevators and warehouses for the handling of grain
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and produce, the town becoming an active market at once. The Tartt & Palmer elevator was built in 1874. A new schoolhouse was completed in the fall of 1874, at a cost of $1,800; and a Catholic church building was raised in September of that year, 35x60, to cost $4,000.
At the April, 1895, term of the District court a petition of C. J. Travis and twenty-eight others was presented asking an order of the court for the incor- poration of the town of New Albin, to comprise the northwest quarter of section II and the west half of fractional section 2, and showing the number of in- habitants within said territory to be 489. On the 18th of that month the court granted the petition and appointed the following named commissioners to order an election : John Haugh, Ben Pohlman, William Ions, Sr., C. A. Petrehn, and L. Ferris. The commissioners caused an election to be held on the 20th day of May, at which the proposition was carried by a vote of sixty-eight for and twenty-eight against. At the ensuing election for town officers, in June, the fol- lowing were elected, viz : Mayor, Wm. Coleman, Jr .; recorder, Louis Fritz ; trus- tees, H. Martin, R. Thompson, G. A. Erickson, M. Moore, Fred Meyer, and A. Sahli.
The present corporation officials are : Mayor, Fred Wild; clerk, Reuben May; assessor, Michael Moore. The Iowa township officers are: Clerk, Michael Moore; trustees, Fred Meyer, Thos. F. Reburn, L. P. Weymiller; assessor, Dan Kelly; Justices, J. W. Irons and G. A. Erickson ; constables, Ed Fish and Chas. Dougherty.
The town has no waterworks system as yet, but there is plenty of water at hand for all purposes, supplied by eight artesian wells, 470 to 550 feet in depth, with a good head above the curbing. A volunteer fire company is organized, with equipment of a hand pump and three and five-gallon extinguishers.
The population of New Albin by the census of 1910 was 588. Of Iowa town- ship, exclusive of the town, 373, as against 128 at the first enumeration, in 1856.
The present township official roster is as follows: Clerk, Michael Moore ; trustees, Fred Meyer, Thos. F. Reyburn, L. P. Weymiller ; assessor, Dan Kelly ; justices, J. W. Irons and G. A. Ericson; constables, Ed Fish and Chas. Dougherty.
CHURCHES
The Catholic church of New Albin was established at an early day, the exact year of which we have not been informed. Father Haxmeier of Lansing. had charge of this church also, from 1880 to 1903. A good substantial building was erected about 1875, but was replaced in 1910 with a much larger and finer edifice at a cost of $16,000. The incorporation of this, St. Joseph's church, was effected December 9, 1911, Archbishop James J. Keane, ex-officio president, the resident pastor, Father E. Ryan, ex-officio vice president, with Vicar General Roger Ryan, being the incorporators. They together with the associate lay inembers in the corporation, Herman Martin and John Bacon, constituting the board of directors : the secretary and treasurer to be elected by the board. Father Ryan is still the resident pastor.
St. Joseph's Court, Catholic Order of Foresters, was organized here some years ago, and is a flourishing institution.
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Methodist Church-The New Albin class was organized in January, 1874, by Rev. H. W. Houghton, W. H. Tuthill being appointed leader. From this time until 1895 Lansing and New Albin were one charge.
Reverend Houghton carried on the pastoral work until 1878, without any salary. He was succeeded by Dr. R. C. Ambler, who supplied for the year end- ing October, '79, his salary being $75.
Rev. A. M. Sanford, the next pastor, remained three years, at a more respect- able salary. Rev. L. N. Green was appointed as his successor, also remaining three years. The ensuing year there was no pastor. The Sunday school work was kept up by A. P. Petrehn. The next year Rev. F. J. Heatly was appointed. He supplied both New Albin and Lansing from May until conference time, when H. J. Bowder took up the pastoral work and carried it for three years. J. B. Wyatt, the next pastor, remained two years, and his successor. W. A. Allan, one year.
In 1894 it was decided that the work was too heavy for one man, and Squire Heath was appointed assistant to the Lansing pastor, E. D. Hall. This arrange- ment lasted one year, after which Mr. Heath assumed full control and New Albin became an independent charge. Mr. Heath remained two years, with an- nual salary of $600.
Rev. R. L. Finney was appointed his successor and remained for one year, till 1897 conference, when W. G. Crowder became pastor for one year only. A. A. Hallett succeeded him, in 1899. B. C. Barnes followed and stayed two years ending with 1901 conference, when H. E. Kester was appointed, remaining through 1904. W. Lease, 1905-6; C. C. Casper, 1907-09: Henry Allshouse, 1910-11 ; E. T. Gough, 1912-13.
Quarterly conference roll : W. O. Bock, C. J. Travis, Ed. Bock, R. C. May, II. Riser, Wm. Thompson, R. G. May, C. M. Steele, Mrs. W. Thompson, Mrs. J. F. Goble, Cora Thomson, Mrs. O. C. Tartt
The church sustains a flourishing Sunday school, of which W. O. Bock is superintendent.
In the year 1902 this church built a parsonage at a cost of $2,500, located upon as fine a site as there is in town.
German Evangelical-In the year 1885 was organized the German Evan- gelical St. Peter's church at New Albin, with the following named trustees : Henry Burmester, Henry Luetschens. Louis Missall, Ferdinand Kubitz. L. Missall was the clerk.
POSTOFFICE
The New Albin public schools comprise about eleven grades, and employ five teachers. No data being at hand regarding the beginning of the schools here. a list of those who have had charge cannot be given. Prof. Frank Rice was principal in 1884, and since that time some of the more prominent ones have been J. R. McKim, J. P. Conway, C. E. Wright, - Craig, and numerous others, mostly remaining but one year each. The present incumbent is now on his sec- ond year, Prof. Erich C. R. Jordan. There is a good school building, and a good interest manifested, the enrollment being 16: out of a possible 220 of school age in the district. The officers of the school board are : President, E. Rice ; secretary, R. G. May ; treasurer. G. F. Wild.
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BANKS
The New Albin Savings Bank was incorporated April 14, 1898, with a capital of $15,000, and the following officers : president. H. Martin ; vice president, Wm. Coleman; cashier, L. H. Gaarder ; directors, the foregoing officers and G. A. Erickson, R. H. Thompson, F. C. Meyer and W. O. Bock. After a period of about ten years the capital stock was increased to $30,000, March 3, 1908; and the present officers are: President, A. T. Nierling of Waukon; vice president, O. J. Hager of Waukon; cashier, L. H. Gaarder, and assistant cashier, Carl E. Weymiller of New Albin. In April, 1913, their total assets were $418,627.18. Deposits, $332,959-75. Undivided profits, $8,602.85.
The Farmers' Savings Bank of New Albin, organized in 1909, became in- corporated November 27th of that year. Its capital stock was $20,000, and the first officers were : President, Joseph Coleman ; vice president, Henry Wuennecke ; cashier, William Lager. Directors, the officers as before named, and George Muenkel, Albert Kuehn, Henry Vonderohe, and Dennis J. Ryan. Present offi- cers : President, J. C. Coleman ; vice president, H. Wuennecke ; cashier, M. J. Cavanaugh ; assistant cashier, A. H. Frieberg. Assets in April, 1913, $187,814.63. Deposits, $110,071.10. Undivided profits, $454.03.
POST OFFICE
The first postmaster of New Albion was, we believe, Jacob Fitschen, who was followed by Wm. Coleman, who held the office until in the Harrison regime in 1889, when he was succeeded by Wm. O. Bock. In President Cleveland's second administration Michael Gabbett went in, July 1893, and he gave place to G. A. Ericson in President Mckinley's time, sometime in 1899, we believe. Mr. Ericson served about four years, being succeeded by W. O. Bock, in January, 1903. who has served since and is the present incumbent.
NEWSPAPERS
The New Albin Herald, a small folio sheet, was established about June 1, 1873, by Dr. J. I. Taylor of Lansing, who placed his son, James E. Taylor, in charge of it as publisher. It was discontinued the following year, and the Spec- tator, an eight-page paper, was established by E. S. Kilbourne, who continued its publication for about five years, when he removed to a new town in the West, in May, 1879, and the paper was discontinued.
About the year 1893 the New Albin Courier began publication, by Walter Travis, but it was discontinued in 1898, and the material (with the excep- tion of the press) sold to Coffeen & Bock, who added it to their plant of the Waukon Republican. Soon after this, in the same year, 1898. H. J. Metcalf began publishing the New Albin Globe, continuing it for three years when it was, in the latter part of 1901, consolidated with the Mirror at Lansing, which continued for some time to run a New Albin page. After an interval, of three years the New Albin News entered the field, the first number appearing in December, 1904, and under the practical management of the proprietor, Ludwig Schubbert, this venture appears to have proven a success and a needed adjunct to the business of this thriving little town.
Vol. I-13
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FRATERNALS
St. Joseph's Court, Catholic Order of Foresters, was organized here some years ago, and is a flourishing fraternal institution.
New Albin Camp, No. 3309, Modern Woodmen of America, chartered in the latter part of 1895, proved popular here, as the order has elsewhere in the county.
PATRIARCHAL PIONEERS
A remarkable figure in the history of New Albin was the venerable Charles L. Poole, who died at the home of a daughter, Mrs. H. H. May, December 10, 1893, nearing the completion of his one hundred and eighth year. Born in Congrasbury, Somersetshire, England, March 15, 1786, he came to this country in 1849, at the age of sixty-three, with his second wife and ten children, leav- ing his eldest son in England. They settled first in Kane county, Illinois, where his wife died in 1850, and in 1851 he came to Allamakee county which continued to be his home until his death, except for one year in Dakota, where he took a homestead to "grow up with the country." He left seventy living descendants, seven children and sixty-three grand and great-grandchildren. A month before his death Mr. Poole walked to the polls as usual to cast his vote at the general election disdaining aid from the kids of sixty and seventy with their carriages. At one time he owned several hundred acres of land near here, but lost it all, largely it is said through his helpfulness to others.
Another aged and respected resident of New Albin died carly in the same year as Mr. Poole, namely Mr. Il. G. Smart, who passed away January 17, 1893, at the age of ninety. He had lived here twenty years, and was a teacher in the pioneer days in Clayton county.
NAME-IOWA: ONEOT.A
It has been stated in an early chapter of this volume that the Iowa tribe of Indians left their name on three streams as laid down on the early maps. One of these was the Upper Iowa, now usually referred to as the Oneota. In Salter's history of the state it is said that the earliest appearance of any form of the name Iowa is in a letter of Father Louis Andre, written from the Bay of Puants ( Green Bay), April 20, 1676. He says: "This year we have among the Puants seven or eight families from a nation that is * * called Aiaoua, or Mas- coutins Nadoessi. Their village, which lies 200 leagues from here toward the west, is very large, but poor; for their greatest wealth consists of ox-hides and red calumets. They speak the language of the Puants. I preached Jesus Christ to them. They live at a distance of twelve days' journey beyond the great river called Misisipi."
Perrot speaks of the stream now called the Upper lowa as "about twelve leagues from the Ouisconching, and named for the Ayoes savages." and says that he maintained friendly relations with them when he established himself on the Mississippi ( 1685).
The substitution of the pleasing Indian name Oneota for the Upper Iowa was first made in print about 1889, so far as we can ascertain, by Government
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geologists ; and was further authorized and urged soon after by Professor Calvin, lowa State Geologist, who applied the name also to a prominent rock formation along the bluffs of this stream. It has the recommendation of avoiding confusion in the use of the name lowa for two rivers in the state, and preserving the original local Indian name of this picturesque river.
JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP
According to the best authority available this township was constituted April 1, 1852, being taken from Taylor township, which at first included both this and Paint Creek. Its boundaries, identical with those of Congressional township 97-5. were confirmed in December, 1853, at the same time as those of other townships to the south and east. The population in 1854 was 371; in 1880, 1,135; and 826 in 1910.
The first settlers here were in 1849, in the following order. Patrick Keenan and Richard Cassiday in the spring of that year ( removing from an earlier claim made in Makee), on sections 15 and 22; William Niblock on sections 4 and 5, in June; and later, the same season, Carlisle D. Beeman on north half of section 21, and Harmon S. Cooper on the south half of the same section. Mr. Keenan's early experience is told in another chapter. He died in 1878, and Mr. Cassiday in 1879. Mr. Niblock later owned the northwest quarter of section 27. He served his country through the Civil war, in Company A, 27th Iowa Infantry, after which he resumed farm life in this township until his death, in the later nineties. Mr. Beeman became prominent in county affairs, dying in 1893. Mr. Cooper is still with us, on the farm he entered from the Government over sixty-three years ago.
Other of the earliest comers into Jefferson were: Daniel Flynn, Patrick Lane, and M. B. Lyons, in section 28; Daniel McAlpine, section 18; John Dundey, section 4; Joel Baker, section 20; Nathaniel Mitchell, Chas. B. Churchill and Samuel Pettit, section 26; E. Barlow, John Pettit, Wm. V. and Elias Hatfield, section 24; John Stull, section 35: David Skinner, Wm. T. Stull, section 25; Andrew Peck, Lorenzo Bushnell, section 9; Moses A. Ross, section 17; Reuben W. and Samuel M. Bullock, section 18; Asahel W. Hoag, section 22; Jared Palmer, section 23; John B. Koontz and Josiah R. Dart, section 34; James S. and Jackson Mitchell, section 36; Eston Mcclintock, section 33: Henry Elliott and Henry M. Stephens, section 27; Harmon Hastings, section 6; E. B. Lyons, sec- tion 5 : and Oliver Wheeler, sections 13 and 24.
THE OLD STAKE
In the year 1849 the commissioners appointed by the General Assembly of Iowa to locate the county seat of Allamakee county, which was organized at the January session of said body, looked over the ground and fixed upon a point in the south central part of the county, in the south half of section 23, in now Jefferson township, which has since been known as "The Old Stake." Just why this point was selected may never again be known, although doubtless they had reasons, some of which we may surmise. There were no settlers near there at that time, unless it may be that it was after Mr. Keenan has removed to his new location a mile or two northwest of that point, from Makee township, which he
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did in the spring of that year. Mr. Shattuck did not reach Waukon until July. There was no Rossville, nor settlement begun there. It would seem that in the commissioners' desire to get into the central part of the county they had gone as far to the north and west as the conditons at the time would warrant, the settle- ments then being wholly in the south and east borders of the county. The Gov- ernment survey of these lands was this year in progress. It may be that the owners of lands in the vicinity of Postville, Hardin, the Old Mission, and Harp- er's Ferry (later so named ), as well as possibly Columbus and Lansing, were watching them with jealous eye, and remonstrating against locating the seat of county government away off in the interior out of their reach. At any rate, where the stake was driven the lands were entered as soon as the surveys would allow by parties who did not become permanent settlers.
One good reason for this selection was the fact it was located on an old trail, evidently traveled by whites for many years, running from the Mississippi river, near the mouth of Yellow river, and following the ridge or divide between the latter stream and Paint creek, avoiding the tributaries as much as possible, and extending on to Winneshiek county and the northwest. This old bridle path was in all probability one of the "through routes" from Fort Crawford to Fort Snelling, followed by the early mail carriers mentioned in an earlier chapter of this volume. By this pathway the selection was readily accessible from the Old Mission, which continued to be virtually the headquarters of our county officials until the county seat was relocated at Columbus by the election of 1851.
ROSSVILLE
Wm. F. Ross is said to have been the first settler on this townsite, in 1850, but others followed very closely. Mr. Ross was later one of the school fund com- missioners, and at divers times himself took up school lands until he owned many hundreds of acres in different parts of the county. It may be that in settling here he had in view the possibility of making this the county seat, as was at- tempted a few years later ; but this place did not figure in the first county seat election, in 1851. Rossville is on the old road above mentioned, about a mile and a half southeast of where the old stake was planted. The plat was surveyed by Joel Dayton, county surveyor, for the proprietors of the land, comprising Wm. F. and Sarah I. Ross, David and Catherine E. Skinner, and Elias and Mary A. Hatfield, who acknowledged same before Jackson Mitchell, J. P., May 31, 1855. The following year the town aspired to county seat honors in a triangular contest with Waukon and Whaley & Topliff's Mill; Waukon, the then county seat, retaining the prize, the election taking place in April, 1856. Rossville at that time possessed a steam sawmill and several other lines of trade, and had she obtained the county seat might have had a healthy growth. (David Dial was running this steam sawmill to its full capacity in 1869.) Rossville postoffice had been established in February, 1852, presumably Mr. Ross was postmaster. The postmaster at present is E. W. Stanley.
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