USA > Iowa > Winneshiek County > Past and present of Winneshiek county, Iowa; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 12
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Fort Atkinson was abandoned as a military post in 1848, but it remained in charge of the Government until 1853, when it was sold at auction.
In 1849, first settlement of Decorah by Win. Day and family-a notable event in county history.
THE SPANISHI-AMERICAN WAR
For many years no company of militia has been credited to Winneshiek county, and for that reason more than any other there is no record that will give accurate
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details of the number who enlisted from this community in the Spanish-American war of 1898.
The patriotic spirit was not lacking, however ; we recall a number who joined the company at Waukon. There were others, claiming Decorah as their home, who were members of the United States troops or of the militia in other states who saw service in the Philippines. The records do not disclose any fatalities among those who went from Winneshiek, although several contracted fever in camp.
CHAPTER IX
AGRICULTURE AND DAIRYING
It seems to have been ordained from the first that Winneshiek county would be an agricultural community. As is generally the case in newly opened country, the first settlers came here in search of land. There is a sense of security about the possession of a farm that begets confidence, and when one adds to this the courage and resourcefulness of the average pioneer there is formed a partnership that fails less often that any that may be found in the line of mercantile pursuits.
History repeats itself each year, when the country is new, in the endeavor of the settler to raise a wheat crop. He must eat to live and his first thought, even though it may not be breathed in prayer on bended knee, is-"Give us this day our daily bread." Forthwith he sets about breaking a patch of ground and from the little store of grain he has brought with him he sows it to wheat, trusting that Providence will smile upon his efforts and in due time he will be able to take to the mill a crop that will furnish his family with the staff of life during the long winter months before he can again reap a harvest.
The early comers to Winneshiek county found a country that was fair to look upon. First and all important there were streams of clear, pure water. Whether it was on upland prairie or along the banks of the streams there was an inviting growth of trees, shrubs, grass, and flowers, that told their own story of a fertile soil that only awaited the efforts of mankind to start it on its mission of feeding the thousands that were soon to make their homes here.
Wheat raising was at first the chief industry. The soil seemed to be espe- cially adapted to this grain, and while in some years the crop was lighter than in others, there was a general increase in yield that soon made Winneshiek one of the banner wheat counties in Iowa. It is a matter of record that at one time our county was rated as fourth in wheat production in the United States. So confident were the majority of settlers in the ability of the soil to maintain its fertility that a system of re-cropping was followed that amounted to what today would be considered the most ruthless soil robbery. There could be but one result from this course. Failure was bound to come, and come it did along in the middle seventies. Many were the farmers who were caught in the net of over-confidence and mismanagement. Some were unable to finance the change
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from one method of farming to another and as a result they were compelled to gather together what they could from the wreck and try their fortunes in a new country. Minnesota and the Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas claimed the larger number of these, and many of them, profiting by their experience here, won enviable success as pioneers in their new homes.
While the exodus was of considerable proportions Winneshick county was by no means depopulated. There remained behind that element that had been satisfied to make less haste, but more permanent footing on the road to success- thoughtful, prudent men who had learned the lesson of doing well that thing that was worth doing at all, and knowing first the course they wished to pursue and then following it with all the force and intelligence they could bring to bear. These men had early seen the trend of events and while their grain-raising neigh- bors were bending all their efforts toward the production of one crop, they had quietly been busy trying out other grains-barley, oats, corn, flax, clover,-with some pigs and chickens, horses, cows and sheep, intelligently sandwiched in be- tween. These were the pioneers in diversified farming in this community. Soon they began to give their attention to dairying and when a copartnership with Madam Cow had been firmly established Winneshick county began to come into her own.
Long ere this some of the men of investigating turn of mind had begun to give their attention to the development of corn and in several instances with marked success. One of the most notable efforts in this direction was conducted by A. 1 .. Goddard, one of the sons of Josiah Goddard, prominently mentioned in connection with the organization of the county. The Goddards brought to the county some of the first, if not the very first corn of more than passable quality. They appreciated fully the value of good seed and each year made careful selec- tion so that the succeeding crop would not fail. A few years later \. L. God- dard became impressed with the idea of developing a kind of corn that would be especially adapted to this climate, and his efforts were crowned with success in the production of "Pride of the North," a variety that was eagerly sought by farmers throughout this section. One of the most prominent seed handling firms in the United States purchased Mr. Goddard's entire erop one year and through this avenue "Pride of the North" became known throughout the corn producing states of the Union. Great as was Mr. Goddard's success with this variety, he was satisfied that he could produce a better, and straightway set about the task. Today his "Silver King" white dent corn is grown in a wide area, and at the agricultural experiment stations of the middle west it is regarded as superior in its qualities for the northern climate.
In paying this tribute to the work of Mr. Goddard. I have degressed some- what from the main subject of this chapter. But it is not a long stride from the days of those early efforts in diversified farming to the present time. Those clear-thinking men who saw in the distance a day of better things for the farmer in this community showed the courage of their convictions by adding to their possessions some of those farms that were abandoned by the wheat farmers, and today their judgment is confirmed by the wealth that is everywhere in evidence as one drives up the valleys and out into the high lands.
Along with better farming has grown the live stock industry. At one time Winneshick county boasted of some of the best and largest herds of full blood
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cattle in Iowa. It was not an uncommon thing then for a particularly choice animal to sell at $250.00 to $350.00. The writer remembers with much interest of listening to the negotiations that took place one day at the county fair between Samuel Aiken of Decorah and Mons Foss of Canoe township for a cow owned by the latter. These men were rival exhibitors in the Holstein classes, but Mr. Aiken had the larger and better herd. The cow in question was an exceptionally handsome one, and no one-not even Mr. Aiken-could resist admiring her. It was while he was thus engaged that I heard him say :
"That's a pretty nice cow you have there, Mons. Is she for sale?"
"Yes, I think she is a nice animal, but I don't care to sell her," replied Mr. Foss.
"How much will you take for her?" was Mr. Aiken's next question.
Mr. Foss was reluctant to set a price, but finally he said that he would have to have $360.00 for her. Gently rubbing his hand over her broad hips Mr. Aiken replied in a quiet tone, "Well, Mons, I guess she's mine."
I was the only witness to the transaction-no others were near-and it was not a trick of the trade to gain publicity, for at that time I was only a boy and my "nose for news," as the expression goes among newspaper men, had not been developed.
It was such transactions as these that made the fancy stock business boom. Other herds that were located or owned in the county were the Shorthorns of L. R. Brown and William Goocher of Orleans township, and John McHugh, who resided in Cresco, H. L. Coffeen and Capt. Gardner of Decorah, A. Lincoln and John Wingate of Hesper, the Red Polled cattle of S. A. Converse of Cresco, the Black Polled cattle of Robert Simpson of Burr Oak, and the Jerseys of D. A. Leach of Freeport. These were notable herds that are readily recalled by all who were familiar with county affairs at that time. Others were engaged in a less pretentious way.
There were also numerous individual horses of standard or draft breeding that helped to sustain the prestige of the county as a breeding center.
The prices of blooded cattle throughout the country became so inflated that a slump was inevitable, and when it came, nearly all the herds above mentioned were dispersed, but the value of good stock had been so thoroughly demonstrated and prices became so reasonable that many were encouraged to improve their holdings by the addition of full blooded animals, and it is a fact beyond contra- diction that today there are more full blood animals on Winneshiek county farms than at any previous time. This is notably true of cattle, swine, and sheep, while the improvement in horses has been very marked and has resulted in mak- ing this an exceptionally good horse market.
During the past three years interest has been developed in the growing of alfalfa. In 1911 there were but two and three-quarters acres reported by assess- ors, but the reports of 1913 show a total of forty-three acres. The interest in this crop is growing and the next two or three years will see a large increase in the acreage devoted thereto.
Probably no one industry has done more to develop the worth of Winneshiek farms than dairying. It may be truthfully said that William Beard, one of the pioneer settlers of Frankville township, was the foster parent of the business. Always a great lover of cattle, long before the agitation that developed the
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creamery, he was engaged in making and selling from his farm what was. for those days, a large amount of superior butter. Early in the seventies he began to give serious consideration to the establishment of a creamery in Decorah and, encouraged by some of the influential business men, he finally embarked in the enterprise. Like all other new undertakings there were many obstacles to be overcome. It was not always easy to secure cream, and especially in the con- dition required, while on the other hand there was a prejudice in the minds of many against man and machinery-made butter. It is no secret that many times Mr. Beard was thoroughly discouraged and sorely tempted to give up, but it was not his nature to be overcome by a project, once he had convinced himself that he could make it succeed, and ere he passed to his reward he had the satisfaction of knowing that his confidence in the ultimate development of the creamery busi- ness had been vindicated. Since that day many changes in methods have taken place and what was then a model in completeness would not now be considered for an instant. Then there were numerous small concerns working independ- ently, with an uncertain market for their product. Today the industry has grown to such proportions that nearly every state has its dairy commissioner. lowa was one of the first and foremost states in the movement, and Winneshiek was a pioneer in the enterprise. There may not be today as many creameries within our borders as there were a few years ago, but each year sees a steady upward trend in quantity and quality, while the demand for good butter has had the tendency to develop a host of good butter makers who depend entirely upon the local market for the sale of strictly dairy butter to people who for economic as well as other reasons prefer it to the creamery product.
Fifth Ward School
Breckenridge School
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Public School A GROUP OF DECORAH SCHOOL BUILDINGS
CHAPTER X
THE SCHOOLS
The history of education in Winneshiek county, in most respects, is not unlike the history of every other county in lowa or in the United States, for that mat- ter. It may be claimed that it was dissimilar in the early days, prior to the com- ing of civilization, in that the first school was a mission school conducted by Rev. Daniel Lowry, a Presbyterian minister sent here by the Government to work among the Indians. As is related elsewhere in this volume, he built the schools at the mission five miles south of Fort Atkinson and conducted them for several years. There is no record to show that any other school existed in the county between the time of his coming in 1842 up to 1852, except as a school for the children of the post may have been maintained at Fort Atkinson.
THE FIRST PUBLIC SCHOOL
In 1852 the first school in the county was taught by Mary Hanson, in a stone schoolhouse erected almost on the spot where the corners of Decorah, Glenwood, Springfield and Frankville townships meet. Here the youths of that section were given their first introduction to the English language. One of these youths, now a man well along in the sixties, tells me that in this public school he learned his "a b e's," while in private from Miss Hanson he also learned his first Eug- lish sentence. It was "Blow your nose, John," and he says during the interven- ing years his teacher has often reminded him of this incident.
Credit for the existence of this school is due to the sturdy Norwegian settlers who acquired homes in that section in 1850. This may be considered a private undertaking, for at that time the school system was not sufficiently organized to be on a substantial footing.
Miss Hanson became the wife of Lieut. Ole A. Anderson, and today is living a serene old age at her home in Decorah, honored by all who know her for her devotion to her husband. When he enlisted in the War of the Rebellion he was considered one of the most promising young men in Winneshiek county. In an early engagement he received a wound that, though he lived until some four or five years ago, incapacitated him for the balance of his life.
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In the following year ( 1853) school matters began to take definite shape. AA schoolhouse was built in Decorah and Theodore W. Burdick, who had just come from Pennsylvania with his parents, was engaged to teach. The succeed- ing year he entered the office of the county treasurer, leaving a vacancy in the school which was filled temporarily by a man destined to be his lifelong friend. The story of how this teacher was engaged and his subsequent resignation reads now as an amusing incident and is thus toki in Alexander's History :
"The teacher employed was a young man in the greenness of his youth, fresh from Vermont, seeking a location for the practice of medicine. He had come in through Monona. and was greatly discouraged by the residents here, so far as the prospects of medical practice was concerned, but had the offer of the school at $30 per month. if he could pass examination. An examining committee was appointed and a day set for the ordeal. The day came, and with it one of the committee, who examined him, found him qualified, and gave him a certificate. Hle commenced school, taught a month, flogged a child of one of the directors, and raised quite an excitement in the district thereby. By this time his practice had commenced; he didn't care whether he taught or not. The result was, an- other man took the school off his hands and he devoted himself to his profession. His name was H. C. Bullis. The committee-man who examined him and gave him his certificate was Levi Bullis."
Dr. Bullis was followed by Charley Allen, who was for many years familiar to the carly-day residents and is still recalled by the pioneers remaining here.
To follow on down the line and make a chronological record of the changes that inevitably followed in the ranks of teachers and the methods of teaching would be attempting the impossible. The record does not exist and even if it did it would be of little value and of less interest to the readers of this book. Suffice it to say that from those early days to the present time the cause of educa- tion has not lagged in Winneshiek county for the want of ready supporters.
From the records available at this time we learn that schools were being established quite generally throughout the county by the year 1856. Pleasant township seems to have been somewhat ahead of others in that a schoolhouse was built in Locust Lane in 1854.
HIGH SCHOOL SYSTEM ESTABLISHED
Up to the later seventies all of the schools of the county were known as public or graded schools. It was due to the initiative of the late 11. L. Coffeen. then principal of the Decorah school ( in the early eighties ), that the high school system was introduced into the county. The first class was graduated in 1886, and the suc- cess that was attained in Decorah has been influential in broadening the work of the schools throughout the county generally. Where there were then meagre equip ments of apparatus, reference books, maps, etc .. today the best schools of the county have fine structures with modern appointments, equipments adequate to carry on experiments in the sciences where they are taught, libraries of the best reference and literary works, and corps of teachers competent to guide the scholars through both common and higher branches as well as music, manual training. drawing, painting, etc. In the case of Decorah high school a department of domestic science is included in the course for the coming year, and the school
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building is undergoing rearrangement to provide space for it, the building of a new heating plant and the removal of the boilers from the basement making it possible.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Another most helpful influence in local educational fields has been the private school.
In the very early days Sherman Page, a prominent educator, conducted the Winneshiek Normal Institute. It was suspended during the war and afterward revived for a short time.
DECORAIL INSTITUTE
About this time John Breckenridge came to Decorah as principal of the public school and was in all ways successful. While he was busy in this work there revolved in his mind thoughts of the country boy and girl who, for one cause or another, had failed to grasp or been deprived of the opportunities that were available in the country district, had grown almost to manhood and womanhood, were too diffident or bashful to take their places in the classes of scholars much younger than they, and who would undoubtedly ridicule them for their ignorance and mistakes. These thoughts crystallized in the founding of Decorah Institute, which opened in September, 1874. Here the young man and young woman could come, confident that they would be met by others that had fared no better than they. Mr. Breckenridge was quick to see that, in a community where foreign languages were so commonly spoken, success could be courted by acquir- ing at least a fair understanding of them. He had a ready command of German, and it was not a difficult matter for him to add to that a knowledge of Nor- wegian that enabled him to converse fluently with all who could not understand or speak English. Fortified in this manner, it was not long before his school acquired a splendid reputation for the excellence of instruction given and for the high moral and intellectual training that was given its pupils. The ranks of teach- ers throughout the middle west muster scores of men and women whose founda- tion in education was acquired in Decorah Institute-men and women who have honored the cause of education in their attainment as citizens, in business, profes- sional and social spheres.
Mr. Breckenridge died on April 21, 1899, during the height of his activities as an instructor. While the school that he founded has ceased to exist, its in- Auence is still manifest wherever its graduates may be found.
VALDER COLLEGE
Another private school-one that is still in existence and whose vigor in- creases each year-is Valder College, established in 1888 by Prof. Charles HI. Vakdler. When in his early manhood Mr. Valder determined to make education his life's work, he chose first to perfect himself as a penman. His success brought him to Decorah where. for a number of years, he was in charge of the depart-
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ment of penmanship in the Decorah public schools. He, too, had a vision, but it was along the lines of business education, and he first established a school of shorthand, typewriting, and penmanship. While the attendance was small dur- ing the first three or four years, it was a notable fact that Valder graduates were in demand on account of their thorough preparation. As the success of his business school became more assured Mr. Vakler ventured into realms of normal work, aiming particularly at the preparation of teachers, and broadening the com- mercial school work. Himself an excellent teacher, he was not satisfied to employ as his faculty any who could not measure up to a high standard, and thus he has built up a school that enrolls from four hundred to five hundred students annu- ally, and whose graduates are scattered all over the Northwest, occupying posi- tions of great responsibility in every walk, but more particularly as bankers. accountants, stenographers and teachers.
During the past year Vakler College has been incorporated and Prof. Charles A. Whalen, who has been a member of the faculty for several years, has become associated financially in the institution.
DECORAH BUSINESS COLLEGE
To many who may read this book the mention of John R. Slack will probably mean nothing, but to pass on to other topics without at least briefly reviewing the work of this man as a business educator would be to ignore one who in his day was accounted one of the foremost exponents of the best methods on book- keeping. Mr. Slack was a native of Ohio and acquired his education in Jeffer- son College at Chambersburg. Pennsylvania. He came to Decorah in 1856 and for some years thereafter was a bookkeeper in the Winneshick County Bank. In 1874 he established the Decorah Business College, which he continued for a score or more of years. While at no time did his school attain to large propor- tions, those who came under his instruction were given a grounding in the fundamental principles of accounting that could be acquired in but few schools of that day. Ile was the author of "Rationale and Practice of Bookkeeping." a book which was not only the standard in his own school but was recognized gen- erally by accountants as a very reliable treatise.
LUTHER COLLEGE
A chapter on education in Winneshick county would be incomplete did it fail to include the story of Luther College, the leading educational institution of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Synod of America. Like the private schools above referred to, it has nothing to do with the work of the common schools of our county and state further than that its course of study must conform to cer- tain requirements in order that its graduates may enter the State University without passing an entrance examination. But the history of the institution is linked so inseparably with the activities of this community that it rightfully com- mands space in this chapter. The story of its founding has been told many times but for this record we rely upon a historical sketch prepared in ron by the college authorities.
Main Building Statue of Martin Luther
Entrance to Grounds Gymnasium Lanr. Larsen Hall
SCENES AT LUTHER COLLEGE, DECORAH
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"The history of Luther College is intimately associated with the history of early Norwegian immigrants in America. Norwegian immigration to Amer- ica may be said to have begun with the arrival of Mr. Kleng Pedersen and one companion, in New York, in 1821. Three years later Mr. Pedersen, filled with enthusiasm for prospects in the New World, returned to Norway, where his glowing accounts of the opportunities offered in America enabled him to organize an emigration-society. The society purchased a small sloop called 'Restaura- tionen,' which, with fifty-two people on board, set sail from Stavanger, Nor- way, on its first trans-Atlantic voyage, July 4, 1825, and arrived in New York. Sunday, Oct. gth. Some of these immigrants settled in Rochester, N. Y., but most of them went thirty or thirty-five miles farther west ; and later a number of them removed to Fox River, Ill. It was not, however, until in 1836 that the main tide of emigration from Norway to the United States began, but from that time to the present day the tide has continued, and, though spreading more or less over the whole country, has been directed especially toward the northwest and has poured hundreds of thousands of immigrants into Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, the two Dakotas, and the territory extending thence westward to the Pacific coast.
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