USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume I > Part 12
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Hunting at the present day is called "sport," but it is doubtful if the pio- neers considered it such when driven to the forest, in all kinds of weather, to replenish the depleted larder. However, it is probable that they enjoyed this kind of "labor" to a greater degree than any other requiring an equal amount of energy and self-sacrifice. With the earliest pioneers there was an element of danger in plunging into the forest alone and unsupported, in that the Indi- ans were removed from the county under the terms of three different treaties, and some lawfully occupied portions of the county for several years after others had been removed. They were exceedingly sensitive over the question of trespass and resented any encroachment upon their rights. But a party of several well-armed white men were usually safe from molestation, while one or two were in danger.
There were some buffalo in Fayette county in an early day, and deer were plentiful, likewise the smaller game, wild fowls and fish in great abund- ance. It is believed that the extremely severe winter of 1857 killed off most of the deer, either from their inability to get food or from their helplessness in wading the deep and heavily crusted snow. The latter condition placed them at the mercy of the wolves and other flesh-eating animals, while even the human "animal" was not slow to take advantage of a helpless deer wherever found, even though he could use nothing but the hide !
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The comparatively few buffaloes were soon slaughtered or driven across the Missouri, the deer were soon annihilated, and the hunters had to be con- tent with the small game and fowls and the slaughtering of the prowlers that have infested the country from pioneer days to the present, though the wolves have not been a source of much damage in recent years. They afford the oc- casion for periodical hunting parties whereat the men engaged in this class of sport have opportunity to show their powers of endurance and the careful training of their dogs. Such events now-a-days usually wind up with some kind of a feast provided by the defeated parties. Prairie chicken hunting has been a fad for many years, and the proficiency of the "wing shots" has become a matter of comment. This species of fowl was very plentiful until within comparatively recent years, and even now some are found in the grain fields; but, like the quail and other game birds, they need the protection which the law has given them. But in the early days the prairie chicken was always a source of helpfulness to the hungry hunter, as it was, also, the harbinger of spring time, and the nearest neighbor to the occupants of the isolated cabin. Their crowing and cackling by day was a compensating offset to the howling of wolves by night.
CHAPTER VI.
COURT HOUSES, JAIL, POOR FARM.
A plat of ground, four hundred feet square, was donated to the use of Fayette county for public buildings, to be used for such purposes so long as the county-seat remained at West Union ; but in case of removal, the "Square" was to revert to the village. The proprietors were William Wells, Jacob Lybrand and J. W. Rogers. The ground was surveyed and platted by John M. Gay, county surveyor of Clayton county, on the 29th of April, 1850. The construction of the first court house was commenced in the fall of 1856, and was completed and occupied the next year. Its ground dimensions were forty by sixty feet, two stories in height, built of brick, and cost eight thousand dol- lars. It was destroyed by fire September 15, 1872. The county realized five thousand nine hundred and one dollars and fifty-six cents from insurance on the burned building. Many of the county records were destroyed in the fire, as there was not a fire-proof vault in the building.
This is, in substance, the history of the first court house, and yet the de- tails of this procedure would cover many times as much space and not be of any material interest. It seems that no less than three contracts had been let for the building of the court house, first, by acting-County Judge Burdick, with one Hutchinson, who was to erect the walls of a brick structure, but this pro- ject was abandoned in 1854. At the August election of that year Gabriel Long became county judge, and the effort to build a court house was renewed. The people subscribed liberally in money, and J. W. Rogers and William Wells had previously donated town lots and other lands in furtherance of the enterprise. In February, 1855, Judge Long entered into a contract with Samuel Hale to build a court house, this bid being accepted from among a number submitted. Mr. Hale gave a mortgage on four hundred and sixty acres of land as a guarantee for the faithful performance of the conditions imposed in the contract, this in lieu of personal security by bond. Mr. Hale at once made a contract for the brick with Mr. Eggleston, and proceeded to hew and prepare the building timbers, but did not deliver them on the ground. It appears that Mr. Hale was paid for this labor by Judge Long, on the 14th of March, 1855, when two hundred dollars was paid him on court house con- tract.
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Judge Long was succeeded by C. A. Newcomb, as acting county judge, about the middle of April, 1855. The southern part of the county made de- termined opposition to the building of a court house at West Union, and such strong pressure was brought against the project that Judge Newcomb finally decided that he would not confirm the Hale contract. About this time the town of Fayette offered liberal inducements to have the county-seat removed to that place, among which was an offer to build a court house without ex- pense to the people. The question of voting a tax to build a court house at West Union had previously been decided adversely by a very substantial ma- jority ; and this decision, rendered by the people on the first Monday in April, 1854, was taken as an indication that the voters were undecided as to where the county seat should be located, and this was made the ground work of the present opposition to building at West Union. On the other hand, the people in the northern part of the county felt that the building of a court house at West Union would serve as an "anchor" to hold the county-seat at that place.
It is probable that the action of acting-Judge M. V. Burdick was hasty and not authorized by the circumstances, in that he made the contract with Amos Hutchinson during the absence in St. Louis of his principal, Judge Woodle, and in face of the fact that the people had recently voted against the proposition to tax the county to build a court house.
When Judge Woodle returned he refused to ratify the contract made in his absence between his assistant, Burdick, and Amos Hutchinson, and it is said that the Judge was soundly abused by Hutchinson in consequence. Judge Woodle died of typhoid fever, May 12, 1854, and Burdick became acting judge until the August election, when court house contract number one be- came a thing of the past, and retired with its promoter.
Judge Long was the successor of Judge Woodle, and with his induction into office the court house matter was urged upon him, resulting in the contract with Samuel Hale, as previously mentioned. Then followed the rescinding of the Hale contract by Judge Newcomb, who succeeded Long by appointment and served as acting county judge until the general election in August, 1855. Newcomb was a candidate for the office which he was holding, and the ques- tion of building a court house at West Union became the paramount issue in a heated and animated campaign. Mr. Newcomb was unquestionably between two fires, and it is said that he adopted the policy of many other politicians in the matter of ante-election promises. But he was elected, and at once pro- posed to the people of West Union that if they would raise three thousand dollars by popular subscription to aid in the erection of a court house, he would proceed to pay the balance out of the county funds. The people, fully
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aware of the importance of prompt action, soon raised the required amount, with the stipulation that if the county-seat should be removed from West Union within ten years, the amount subscribed should be returned to the sub- scribers, with ten per cent interest per annum. Late in the year 1855, Judge Newcomb made a contract with William Redfield and Dr. J. H. Stafford for the erection of a court house ; and during the winter of 1855-6 the contractors got out the timbers (previously prepared by Mr. Hale), provided other necessary materials and made preparations for a vigorous effort when spring opened. Plans and specifications had been before all the county judges, who awarded contracts, and it is reasonable to suppose that this matter had been pretty thoroughly canvassed ; but whether these were available in the present case does not appear. However, on March 12, 1856, William R. Montgom- ery was allowed three dollars for "making specifications on court house con- tract and draughts." On the same date, William Redfield and J. H. Stafford were allowed two thousand five hundred dollars, as first payment on court house contract.
Work was commenced in April, 1856, and on the 29th of May the first stone was laid in the foundation. The building was to be completed in Sep- tember, 1857. Ezra Crosby made the brick and laid the stone work. Judge Newcomb went out of office in August, 1857, and the building was then so nearly completed that his successor, Judge Rogers, commenced his official term in the new building. Judge Newcomb had not settled with the con- tractors, and Judge Rogers objected to taking the responsibility of auditing accounts for work over which he had no jurisdiction. By mutual agreement three arbitrators were appointed, whose decision should be final, these being Samuel F. Shepard, William T. Perry and D. J. Marvin. They met on the 26th of August, 1857, and awarded to William Redfield and J. H. Stafford one thousand eight hundred and forty-five dollars in full settlement of all their then existing claims against the county. County warrants were drawn in favor of these contractors for the net sum of seven thousand eight hundred and twenty dollars; but it is not definitely known whether this amount in- cluded the pay for the timber hewed by Hale, as an order was drawn in his favor by Judge Long, on "court house contract," March 14, 1855.
The question of taxation for county buildings had been decided unfavor- ably by a decisive vote of the people, and as the county had no jail or suitable place to confine criminals, it was decided to improvise one. The matter of voting a tax to build a jail had been three times decided adversely, first at the general election in 1859. when there were one thousand one hundred and fifty- one votes cast against the proposition to two hundred and seventy-six for it;
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in 1863 the same question was before the people, and with like results as for- merly, except that the majority against the proposition was somewhat reduced; in 1866 another vote was taken, and the jail matter was again decided ad- versely, by a majority of over one hundred votes. It was then decided by the board of supervisors that they would appropriate five hundred dollars to build a substitute, and this "substitute" proved an expensive luxury, as will appear later. The deciding vote of the people was cast on the second Tuesday in October, 1866, and on the 17th of that month the board appropriated the money and let the contract for building a "cell." This was located in the northwest corner of the court house, and the inner wall was constructed of oak boards laid flatwise upon each other and spiked together. The boards being six inches wide, they presented a rather formidable barrier to the liber- ties of those confined within, but it was not impervious to fire! On Sunday morning, September 15, 1872, one James Thompson, alias Benson, was con- fined in the single cell in this improvised bastile, and burned his way to liberty by setting fire with matches and enlarging the stove-pipe hole until he could crawl through. It was then an easy matter to knock a hole through the brick wall of the court house and make his escape. This he did, but he left the building on fire, and the court house and many valuable records were de- stroyed. R. D. Williams and C. C. Zeigler were sleeping in the treasurer's office, guarding the county's strong box, and were aroused by some noise in the direction of the "jail." An investigation found the prisoner escaped and the jail on fire. The alarm was given, and the two men commenced to throw out the books and records. When re-arrested, four or five days after his escape, Thompson denied any intention of burning the building, and said the fire crept beyond his sight and reach, but his "good intentions" did not restore the county's loss. Temporary quarters were soon found for the county offices, and after some delay in preparation of a building, they were installed in the "Stone block," opposite the northwest corner of the public square, where they remained, at an annual rental of four hundred dollars, until re-installed in the new court house.
But the burning of the court house re-opened the county-seat controversy with renewed vigor, and precipitated the most animated campaign in the his- tory of that long-continuing contest. The "North" and the "South" became fully alive, and though the capitulation at Appomattox had nominally obliter- ated "Mason and Dixie's line," its effect had not yet reached the northeast corner of Iowa! Petitions and remonstrances, and re-petitions and re-re- monstrances, were filed with the board of supervisors with surprising rapidity, and apparently every able-bodied man was employed in arraying the people on
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one side or the other. A legal controversy finally arose, and the determination of the vexed question went into the courts, where it remained in "statu quo" until the "time limit" placed an embargo on further proceedings, and the final vote on the removal of the county-seat was not taken. But it was an animated campaign of red-hot speeches, and the best talent of both sides had nightly engagements at the country school houses and in the towns. Rev. J. L. Paine, of Fayette, was an active speaker and worker for "removal," while Capt. C. H. Miller, then a promising young lawyer, usually met him in joint debate. Dr. Levi Fuller was one of the most active defenders of West Union's interests, and devoted much time to the work, though others were equally as zealous as he in other lines of "defense."
The county was now without either jail or court house; and since the legal tangle into which the county-seat question was precipitated was still oper- ating to the detriment of those favoring removal; and realizing that "posses- sion is nine points in law," the West Union end of the controversy took ad- vantage of this and at once began to canvass the matter of rebuilding the court house. A proposition was submitted to the board of supervisors, signed by nineteen of the then leading business men of the town, in which they offered to rebuild the court house on the old site for an appropriation of five thousand dollars from the county funds, the contractors to have the old foundation, brick and debris free of cost. These petitioners also agreed to cause the title to the public square to be perfected in Fayette county, Iowa. Another propo- sition was filed at the same time (April 12, 1873) and signed by nine of the business men of West Union, eight of whom were signers on the document previously mentioned, in which they proposed to reimburse the county for the five thousand dollars expended, in case the county-seat should be removed from West Union at any time within five years; the stipulation was made in this proposition that Fayette county should relinquish to them its rights in and to the court house square and the building thereon. Here followed the remonstrance signed by about two thousand five hundred voters, protesting against any appropriation being made for the erection of a court house, or other public building, until the question of such appropriation has been sub- mitted to the people of the county. On the IIth day of April, 1873, in fur- therance of the conditions mentioned in the proposition first above written, the mayor and city clerk of West Union executed a deed conveying all the city's interests in the court house square to Fayette county, Iowa, its "heirs and assigns forever." This instrument was acknowledged before Levi Fuller, notary public, April 18, 1873, by J. J. Berkey, mayor, and William E. Welsh, recorder.
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By reason of the formidable opposition to rebuilding the court house, and the legal tangle into which hasty and ill-advised action had precipitated the whole matter, nothing further was done for about a year, except to continue the "sparring" and await results.
The board of supervisors at this time was composed of Fielding Snedigar, Hiram Hoagland and Rev. H. S. Brunson. Of these Snedigar and Hoagland were favorable to continuing the county-seat at West Union, and consequently to rebuilding the court house, while Mr. Brunson ably represented the inter- ests of those favoring removal.
After a heated contest, covering nearly two years, both in the board and outside of its deliberations, the appropriation of five thousand dollars asked by the committee of citizens was granted, and the contract let May 7, 1874, to Curtis R. Bent, J. S. Sampson, H. B. Hoyt, Levi Fuller and John Owens. This committee sub-let the contract to David Winrott and William H. Houck, for six thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars, and work was commenced at once. The work was prosecuted with such vigor that by the 10th of Sep- tember, following, the house was completed and ready for occupancy. The brick work and plastering was done by George Ogsbury, the wood work by Winrott and Huyck and the painting by A. Pauch.
The building being erected on the site of the old one, the ground di- mensions of which were forty by sixty feet, two stories high, it is evident that there was no superfluous room, and the question of adding to the court house began to be agitated, almost as soon as it was rebuilt. The sheriff and county superintendent's offices, as well as jury rooms, had to be provided outside, at an annual expense of about five hundred dollars. This was considered an altogether useless expenditure of public money, to say nothing of the humili- ation of being unable to properly "house" the county's business. But the "make-shift" jail had been destroyed, and the expense of transporting and feeding prisoners in the jails of other counties had been tested, even before the building of the pen in the corner of the court house, and now must be re- sumed.
A petition was presented to the board of supervisors on the 8th of June, 1881, asking that a special election be held to decide the question of bonding the county in a sum not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars for the purpose of building a jail, sheriff's office and residence, office for the county superintend- ent and jury rooms. The election was held on the 9th of August, 1881, and resulted in one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven votes for the propo- sition and two thousand one hundred and seventy-three against it.
During a political campaign which followed the canvass of this vote one
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of the three members of the board of supervisors was a candidate for re-elec- tion. It is well known that in an emergency the board has the discretionary power to vote to expend five thousand dollars from the county funds for build- ing or improving county property, but cannot exceed that sum except as au- thorized to do so by a vote of the people. In this canvass it was stated, and generally believed, that the candidate seeking the suffrages of the people had promised that if re-elected, he would not vote to appropriate the five thousand dollars. This established the value of the proposed new jail at a lesser sum; and accordingly two members of the board voted to accept the proposition of Edward Easton, to build the jail for four thousand nine hundred and ninety- five dollars, payable in advance. The plans and specifications submitted by Mr. Easton provided for a county jail twenty-four by twenty-five feet, eleven feet high in the clear; and a jailor's residence attached, thirty-five feet one inch by forty feet six inches square, two stories high; both to be brick buildings with stone foundations, equipped with two of Pauley's steel-clad cells, and in- cluding the iron doors and iron window guards, together with a cistern and cess-pool. Mr. Easton filed a bond in the sum of twenty thousand dollars, which was approved, and he immediately began the work. On the 29th of September, 1882, the buildings were completed and accepted by the county, all members of the board voting in the affirmative. The board of supervisors at this time were T. H. Whiting, J. A. Stevens and E. B. Stillman.
ENLARGEMENT OF COURT HOUSE.
On the 16th of September, 1891, the board of supervisors passed a resolu- tion to submit to the people a proposition to build a fire-proof building to cost about twelve thousand dollars, for the better protection of the county's records and books. This proposition was decided adversely at the polls on the 3d of November, 1891, the vote standing nine hundred and twenty-four for erecting the building and levying a tax to pay for same, to three thousand and eight against it. Realizing the need of the proposed improvement, as a means of protecting the books and records from dust and fire, the board decided to again use its prerogative of appropriating five thousand dollars a year to make neces- sary improvements on the county property. June 23, 1893, they entered into a contract with William H. Houck to build two fire-proof vaults, and other- wise improve the west side of the court house. The cost of this enlargement, including the vaults, was four thousand five hundred and ninety-seven dollars and fifty cents. Members of the board were J. A. Thompson, W. L. Wells and H. M. Wing. A contract for the enlargement of offices and two fire-
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proof vaults on the east side of the court house was entered into with William H. Houck, January 26, 1894, for a consideration of four thousand nine hun- dred forty-two dollars and thirty-eight cents. These two additions, being each two stories in height, provided suitable offices for the county superintend- ent of schools, council and jury rooms. On the 5th of June, 1905, a contract was made with Kiple and Watkins for improving the front of the building, the court room, and the building of a suitable tower. The consideration on this contract was four thousand nine hundred ninety-eight dollars and thirty- five cents. After the contract was let, plans and specifications approved and material ordered, the city of West Union proposed to furnish a tower clock, keep the same in repair, and purchase the old tower for the school building, in case the court house tower was built in such a manner as to admit of the use of a clock. The plans were slightly changed to meet this proposition, the county having an additional expense of one hundred dollars, which, however, is included in the cost stated above. The city furnished a tower clock for the court house at an expense of five hundred and fifty dollars. The increase in the size of the building necessitated enlargement of the heating plant, and a new system was installed at a cost of two thousand eight hundred and fifteen dollars. Cement walks were laid across the square as needed, and guar- anteed for two years by the builder, at a cost of six hundred and ninety-one dollars and thirty-one cents. Thus it will be seen that the total cost in im- provements during the period of twelve or fifteen years, netted eighteen thousand five hundred ninety-four dollars and fifty-four cents.
NEW JAIL BUILDING.
The grand jury of 1908, after a careful investigation, condemned the old jail as insufficient, unfit and unsanitary, and recommended that a new jail be built consistent with the needs of the county. The board of supervisors, rec- ognizing this need, and the wisdom of prompt action, proceeded to invite plans and specifications, and on the 19th of June, 1908, awarded the contract for supplying the structural iron to the Pauley Jail Building Company, of St. Louis, Missouri, for the sum of eight hundred and sixty-seven dollars.
On the 7th of July, 1908, the board awarded the contract to G. L. Smith to remove the old jail and erect a new two-story building, to be completed by the Ist of October, 1908, at a cost of two thousand eight hundred forty-five dollars and forty-five cents. On the 14th of October, following, they awarded the contract to Smith Brothers for heating and plumbing the jail and residence for a consideration of six hundred and twenty-five dollars. January 6, 1909,
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