USA > Iowa > Winneshiek County > Past and present of Winneshiek county, Iowa; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 21
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At an early date land was selected and purchased of an earlier settler for $4.50 per acre and preparations were made for settlement in the spring follow- ing. The horses were sold and the return trip was commenced on foot as far as Dubuque, where transportation was taken back to Pennsylvania. He with his family and some of the necessaries of life removed in April by rail as far as Galena, Illinois, thence by boat to MeGregor and overland the rest of the way.
Wealth was not sought by these people. They were simply looking for a home in which they could secure a competence in their later years, and an opportunity for their offspring. Their surroundings were primitive, indeed. A log house twelve by thirteen feet, with no attic, was kitchen, dining room, bed room and pantry combined. A small lean-to and an attic were afterwards added and in these surroundings seven children, all robust and healthy, were reared until better accommodations could be afforded. Not alone the family, but visitors were entertained and strangers were often sheltered within its walls. And those were the days of hoop skirts, and who can imagine the neighborhood ladies gathered together for an afternoon visit with good old-fashioned families added. The roof was protected by oaken shingles which shed water well enough, but when a genuine blizzard raged much snow was sifted through the chinks and our urchin brothers and sisters upon arising in the morning would have to seek a place to plant their bare feet to miss the little snow banks scat- tered promiscuously upon the floor.
The spinning wheel and loom were also in evidence, for no home was com- plete without the wherewithal to be self-supporting. Long strings of oxen were hitched to large breaking plows and the natural sod was broken, crops were put in by hand and harvested with the cradle. The building of flour mills quickly followed the advent of the pioneer and a sustenance was achieved within the reach of all. The next thing was the market for the surplus. This was found at McGregor, a drive of forty miles, which took three days. While the man of
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the house was gone on these necessary trips the wife and mother was governor- general and general roustabout combined.
In the spring of 1856 a small prairie fire started in the southern part of the township and extended nearly the whole length north and south, destroying fences and numerous buildings in its path. When we consider that fences were made from rails split from burr oak we can realize what loss they were to the farmer of those times.
Following this we have the terrible winter of 1856 and 1857, a winter never to be forgotten by the pioneer. Snow fell to a depth of four feet, followed by rain which formed a crust on the snow, encasing everything in its grasp. It became impossible to get a horse or ox off from the beaten path, and fire wood had to be procured by hand. This also marked the fall of the deer and elk. They became famished and were an easy prey to hunters on foot, the crust not being strong enough to sustain the deer's weight. The settlers here, as in nearly every other place, had their Indian scare. It was reported the Indians were coming slaughtering and burning all before them. Many people turned out their stock to shift for themselves, and loading their valuables and families into their wagons started for McGregor; others, whether from more thoughtful disposition or more stubborn, refused to leave and prepared to stand a siege if such there came, but it proved only a rumor enlarged by nervous people and everyone soon returned and resumed his place and pursuits.
In times of adversity when prices were low, many times a man would be compelled to go home without a much-needed article on account of the expense of the trip.
OSSIAN
Of the town of Ossian "Sparks' History" gives the following facts :
"The original town site of Ossian was laid out by its founder, John Ossian Porter, on the southeast corner of the section. It consisted of three blocks, in all fourteen lots. It was acknowledged by J. O. Porter and wife on the 13th of April, 1855, and was filed for record in the recorder's office of Winneshick county on the 30th of April, the same year. Mr. Elijah Middlebrook did the surveying. Two years later, on the 8th of April, Capt. C. E. Brooks acknowl- edged the plat of the first addition to Ossian, which was accordingly placed ou the proper record. It consisted of six blocks, containing sixty-three lots. On the 8th day of October, 1864, Capt. C. E. Brooks acknowledged the plat of his second addition to Ossian, which consisted of thirty blocks, divided into lots. This plat was properly recorded. On the 4th day of May, 1869, he laid out ten additional blocks, and called it Brooks' Western Addition to Ossian. This, so far as the records show, was the last addition to the place, and, minus the vaca- tion of a few blocks by Mr. Brooks, is the Ossian of today.
"The year 1865 marked a new era in the history of Ossian. That which was the death-blow of Frankville-the railroad-gave fresh life to Ossian. During this year the railroad was built past its door. The year before, C. E. Brooks made a fresh addition to the place, which was far-sighted, for town lots were in demand immediately. The following year the construction of numerous dwell- ings was commenced, and business interests of various kinds multiplied.
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"Ossian was nearly twenty-one years of age before a single church edifice had been erected. The Catholics erected a building for worship, which was the first, about the year 1869. About two years later the Methodists built a church."
In this connection it may be added that some years ago the Catholic congre- gation erected a magnificent new church, and this, with their priest's home and the parochial school, constitutes one of the most substantial church properties in the county.
Ossian has not in late years experienced a remarkable growth, yet at all times it has maintained its place in the progress of events, and it harbors within its borders business men of enterprise and sagacity who are ever on the alert for the best interests of their community. It has two banks-the Ossian State Bank and the Citizens Bank of Ossian-with ample capital and resources. A good representative in the newspaper field in the Ossian Bee; and ere this book is issued its streets will be lighted by electricity, as at a recently-held election a large majority was recorded in favor of granting a franchise to Ballard Broth- ers, to erect and operate a plant.
T. F. Schmitz, editor of the Bee, is serving his second term as mayor. The other city officials are: Councilmen -- E. H. Anderson, O. L. Gunderson. S. C. Oxley, L. Bernatz, J. M. Cahill; town clerk, Charles Green.
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Một
MAIN ST. OSSIAN IA
West Main Street
Main Street
Opera House
City Hall Block
SCENES IN OSSIAN
CHAPTER XXVI
BLUFFTON TOWNSHIP
Bluffton, appropriately so named, embraces in its meaning the most prom- inent natural features, which undoubtedly inspired its application, says John F. Murtha, in a sketch in "Anderson & Goodwin's Atlas." It occupies the sixth place, being in the third tier from the east and the second from the north, among the sister townships in the county, and fourth in the third supervisor's district. The village of the same name is centrally located, from east to west, and one mile north of the center, on the north bank of the Upper Iowa river. In it there is one general store and postoffice, a refreshment or club room, blacksmith shop, hotel, schoolhouse and churchi. The village's most prosperous times were her earliest, continuing on through the wheat-growing period which ended with the blight or wheat failures of 1876 and 1878. Since that time it has been going the way of nearly all the smaller towns the country over, and in these recent years the institution of rural delivery of mail is the second serious blow to its prosperity.
The passing of the mill recently sold, now razed to the ground, marks the end of its usefulness. The founders were the Morse brothers. Henry built the sawmill in 1852; the following year they built the small, or baby, grist mill, around which Lyman D. built the large one in 1856, thus keeping pace with the rapidly increasing patronage and requirements of the new settlers far and wide. Even then, in the busiest season, patrons had to wait from two to four weeks for their turn at grinding. * Settlers as far west as Albert Lea, Minnesota, used to come with ox teams to get milling done. The old mill had a good many ups and downs, Mr. Morse remaining owner until around the seventies, when he sold to Blackmarr & Meader.
In general, the land is owned by those who live here and whose well tilled fields-iron and steel bound-fine houses and barns, and herds of cattle, horses, sheep and swine; last but not least the numerous large and happy families born and reared here, in conjunction with natural advantages of native forest, good water and fertile soil, give evidence of what our fathers, the pioneers, have wrought.
The physical features of the township are strongly marked by the course of the Upper Iowa river. This enters just a half mile south from the northwest
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corner. It almost laps upon itself in three great loops, the second of which enters Burr Oak, returning, resumes its flow, while making about ten miles in every direction of the compass, has only made two miles headway, continu- ing in a southeasterly direction passes into Canoe, making about twenty miles of river in this township.
Bluffton, as a whole, is generally broken and rolling: the rougher parts being covered with native forest, insuring abundance of timber. It is fairly well adapted to general farming and stock raising and the same is now carried on in a full measure.
The population is a composite of Irish, Norwegian, German and English. They are rugged, honest, industrious, economical and prosperous.
The opportunities for the youth to obtain a common school education are as good as in any rival community. Three of her young men have gone into the Catholic ministry-Michael Foley. Peter Gallagher and John Courtney.
The first wave of immigration, setting in with George Smith, Lyman Morse, G. R. Emery, Chas. MeLaughlin, Michael Gilice, Barney Sutton and Terrence McConnell, in 1851, is considered to have existed up to the commencement of the Civil war. A great many of these came from Northern Illinois with covered wagons drawn by ox teams, and bringing a few head of cattle and other belong- ings necessary to begin life in the new country.
The civil township was organized in 1856 and on April 7th of that year. the first election was held at the house of Lyman D. Morse in the village, choos- ing the following officers: Justices, Abner Stevenson and Alfred Jones, Con- stable, L. Il. Brink. Trustees, Franklin Fletcher and M. M. Ferguson. Road Supervisor, Win. H. MeIntosh. Assessor, Edwin Snell. Clerk. Joseph F. Nickerson. The numeration then taken shows a population of 196.
The greatest event, the one by which we feel the most honored, was the patriotic response of our boys forty-five years ago, to their country's call. The enrollment for service was John Gallagher and son, John Thomas, Asberry Lanty, Warrick Brisco. Lewis Richmond, Dan Wash. Lut Barrett, I'm. Mur- dock. Dan and Ben Lewis, Moritz Lange, Patrick Nolan and son Denis, Owen Smith, Abner Stevenson, John Jones, Jonathan Reynolds, Frank Foley, Joseph F. Nickerson, Rube and Frank Palmer, Simon Gates, Al. Perry, Harrison Stock- dale, Albert Richmond. Will Powers and Hezekiah Brisco.
That the first settlers brought with them their religion and were soon fol- lowed by ministers and priests is a well-known traditional fact, for before any churches were erected divine services were held in many of the log houses in the settlement. In 1858 the little log church was built on Mr. Nolan's land. It was considered large enough to accommodate the attendance, but in a few years a frame addition in front, making it as large again, was required by the growing congregation. This sufficed until 1877 when the present fine brick edifice was built on a new site. The parish has always been attached to Decorah. It also, in an carly day, included Plymouth Rock, and as far West as Granger. making an extensive field for the carly pastors, who could not make the regular attendance of these days. Of Revs. Father Hoar, Kinsley and DeCailey little is known. Father Farrell being frail and in poor health did not remain long. Father Lowrey ministered quite a few years, and went away universally re- gretted by his people and all who knew him. Then came Father Lenihan, who
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in late years became bishop of Cheyenne. Fathers Butler, McNulty, Garrahan and the present Father Hawe followed in succession. Religion in the village seems to have had a varied existence from the beginning. Although other points not far off had been frequently visited by ministers of the M. E. church much earlier, this place was not put on the list of speaking points until 1855. A Congregational society was organized by Rev. Chas. Wiley of Burr Oak in 1878. The Adventists started a society with Rev. John Ridley of Burr Oak as pastor in 1881. 1884 brought in the Friends society with Rev. Ezra Pierson pastor. To their efforts is due the erection of the fine frame church, dedicated at the close of the year 1889. The Baptists made an organization, an out- growth of revivals by Rev. James of Decorah in 1895. All of the foregoing church circles have gone out of existence by removal of adherents or remote residence; even the Friends society has only a nominal existence, but the church is open to the service of other denominations or those not belonging who aided its erection.
CHAPTER XXVII
CANOE TOWNSHIP
Canoe township adjoins Bluffton on the east and is immediately north of Decorah. J. C. Fredenburgh describes the township as follows :
The west half of Canoe township is very fine farming land. The northwest quarter, known as Franklin Prairie, is gently rolling, and is productive of all kinds of crops. The southwest quarter is more hilly and quite bluffy along what is known as the Upper Iowa river. The uplands on the hills are a clay soil, while the bottom lands are sandy. There is an abundance of timber on the bluffs along the streams. Canoe creek which flows from near the northwest corner of the township in a southeasterly direction, heads about three miles north of the north line of Canoe, in Hesper township.
Continuing his sketch, which appeared in the "Winneshiek County Atlas," pub- lished in 1905. Mr. Fredenburgh gives some interesting reminiscences. We quote a portion of them.
"In the year 1850 when David Kinnison and John Fredenburgh came west to seek their fortunes, they came to northwest Canoe township. They found Canoe creek with its clear sparkling waters and fish in abundance. I have heard them tell about wading through the water and the fish would part ahead of them and close in behind them, they were so thick. In those days there were springs of pure water on nearly every farm and as many as three or four on some of them.
"With the exception of along the streams, timber was scattering, with open- ings here and there. They called them white oak openings. In these openings the blue grass grew to the height of many feet. There were a few Indians here, but they were friendly. They would steal a little sometimes, but that was all the harm they did. There were some deer, bear, quail, pheasant and prairie chicken. When these early settlers wanted lumber and provisions, they had to haul it from Prairie du Chien, their one conveyance being ox teams. It usually took about a week to make the trip. As the county grew older they went to Mc- Gregor and Lansing and later to Conover and Decorah.
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"The first wheat I can remember my father marketing was hauled to Con- over, and the first train of cars I ever saw was at that place.
"Canoe has never had a town of her name to boast of. She has had some country postoffices and two taverns. One, kept by a man by the name of Har- mon and later by a Mr. Leach-The Leach Tavern. The frame is still doing serv- ice, as it has been re-sided and a new roof put on. It is owned and occupied by W. C. MeLain .* It was known by the name of the Half-way House, being about half way between Burr Oak and Decorah.
"In the early '6os we sowed our grain by hand, dragged it in with an A- shaped harrow, planted our corn with a hoe, and cultivated it with one horse and a two-shovel plow; planted our potatoes and dug them with a hoe. We cut hay with a scythe, spread it out with forks, let it dry and then raked it up with a hand-rake, and stacked it by hand. Our grain was cut with a cradle, raked and bound by hand and treaded out with horses and flail. I remember when a boy of dropping corn by hand for 25 cents per day, from half past six or seven in the morning until sundown at night.
"The first reaper I ever saw was about 1807. It took two men and a team to run it. One man drove the horses and the other, with a fork, raked the grain off in gavels. Two or three years later came the self-rake. next the har- vester. Two men stood on the platform and bound the grain. The next labor- saving improvement in this line was the self-binder, which has been improved upon and is still in use at the present time. In looking back over years that have come and gone since I first saw Canoe township. we are led to exclaim, 'what a change!' Thus we acknowledge that we have a blessed heritage and should be thankful and happy."
Lars I. Iverson was the first white child born in Canoe township and still resides on the farm where he first saw the light of day on December 7, 1852. Hle tells the following circumstance concerning the first mill stones used in that township, his father, Lars Iverson. Sr., being the man who made them:
When Lars Iverson came to Winneshiek county in 1852 the mills were few and far between. When grists were brought to the mill they would be there so long before being ground that the mice and rats would cut the sacks and waste the grain and the grist would diminish, so that the farmers would look around for something that would remedy this inconvenience and loss.
Mr. Iverson had thought of this difficulty when he left Norway and as hand mills were in use there, more or less, and being familiar with their construc- tion, he brought with him the irons for such a mill. The stone which he used was selected from rock found on his farm in Canoe township. With hammer and chisel they were trimmed into proper form. The mill was turned by hand by two men, and would grind corn fine enough so one could have corn meal mush. This was considered good enough in those days.
The mill was not only used by Mr. Iverson, but after a while the neighbors would come three or four miles to get their corn ground.
These mill stones measure two feet three inches in diameter, the lower one weighs 160 pounds and the upper one 250 pounds. They are kept as a relic of pioneer days on L. L. Iverson's farm, on section 2, Canoe township.
· Mr. MeLain has since passed away, and the farm is now conducted by one of his son4.
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IN MEMORY OF SPRINGWATER
THE TALE OF A PIONEER COMMUNITY OF WHICH ONLY TRADITION REMAINS
Not a Hint of It on the Latest County Map of Canoe Township
By Edgar Odsou
During this Home Coming time and backward glance at auld lang syne in Winneshick, a few glimpses of pioneer days and the people of Springwater may be of interest to some readers before memory of the beginnings of that settle- ment become quite extinct. In the intellectual realm, in educational matters in those days when the spelling school was a test of superiority, Springwater was a community to be reckoned withi.
Its beginning was a saw and grist mill erected about 1850. This mill soon after passed into the possession of Ansel Rogers, a preacher and leader in the colony of Quakers that gathered about it in the early '50s. A number of families of Friends were attracted to the site by a description written by a member of that denomination while on a prospecting tour beyond the Mississippi and pub- lished in a Friends paper in the East. Delighted by the picturesque beauty of the locality the writer created the impression that here might be founded an- other Eden.
People in the older communities, especially in New England, were begin- ning to move uneasily in their cramped home conditions and to turn their eyes to the West. Beyond the Mississippi was then sufficiently distant to lend en- chantment to the view and to seem what it proved to be.
Quakers in the older settlements reading about this spot which later became Springwater. with its glorious climate, its wooded hills swarming with deer- its magnificent springs-its crystal brook (the Canoe)-full of rainbow trout -decided that this was the spot they long had sought, and left their old homes to locate on it. They came in considerable numbers, without concerted action, from widely separated localities. The following names of members of the col- ony will be remembered by some of the older settlers in Winneshiek county : Ansel Rogers, Moses Gove, Lorenzo Blackmarr. Nathan Chase, Samuel King, Joseph Mott. Aaron Street, Ezra King. Amos and Henry Earle. Henry Chappell, the Gripmans, John Tavernier, David West, John Odson, etc. These were men with families more or less numerous and all but two were Quakers.
Younger, unattached members of the community were A. A. Benedict, Charles Gordon, Joseph Brownell, Nathan Rogers, Lindley, Josiah and John Chase, Lucre- tia Bean, Mary Gove, Rachel and Abbie Mott, Zilpah Gordon, Rhoda and Eunice Gripman, Lydia Grisell, Mary and Carrie Chase. Several of these young people did not long remain unattached. Somewhat later the colony was increased by the arrival of Harvey and Lovinia Benedict and their children Aiden and Eva; Washington Epley, with a family and two nephews, George and Jolm Epley ; Isaac Gidley and family ; Joseph Cook and family.
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont. Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, Michigan, England and Norway were represented among these early settlers.
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Plain living (enforced) and high thinking was the order of the day in the settlement. The years immediately preceding had been a time of political unrest in the Old World and of intellectual ferment in the New, finding outlet in rebel- lions, Fourierism and transcendentalism. Springwater did not escape the conta- gion, and so the younger set at once organized a literary society which met at stated intervals to read papers and discuss weighty matters. The society also published a paper-in longhand-which probably was the first publication issued in the county, The Atheneum Banner. At any rate it antedated the Decorah Republican published by the present owners by several years. The writer never had the good fortune to see a copy of this journal and it is doubtful if one is now in existence.
THE COLONY BUILT A "MEETING HOUSE" OF BOARDS SAWED AT THE MILL
For a number of years this served as a house of worship and as a schoolhouse. In this building Joseph Brownell-one of the first if not the first young man to be married within its walls-taught several terms of private school, public schools not having yet come into existence. In the barn-like structure the Friends met every Sunday ( First Day) for religious worship, which consisted chiefly of silence and meditation-of the right sort. The "elders" occupied the high places dur- ing the meeting-that is, the two or three benches elevated some feet above the floor of the main body of the church and facing the audience. These dignitaries sat with hats on or off, according to individual caprice. Sometimes hats were worn during the first half hour and then laid aside. The leader sat at the head on the rear bench-the benches were elevated one above the other in tiers- and when it was time to close the service he turned toward his neighbor and gravely shook his hand. This was the signal that meeting was over, eyes bright- ened, smiles appeared-especially among the younger members-a hum of voices replaced the silence and everybody became ordinary humans once more.
But these meetings were not always passed in silence. Members had the privilege of exhorting sinners and others whenever the spirit moved and as the years passed the spirit seemed to move more and more frequently. There was, of course, no ordained minister. Midweek services were held, generally on Wednesdays, and school was dismissed at HI A. M. ; pupils were expected to attend. but attendance was not compulsory.
The sexes sat separated on opposite sides of the main room, which could be divided into two distinct compartments by a movable upper partition which was lowered onto a stationary lower partition fixed to the floor. The latter was about four feet high. During religious meetings the upper section was raised-by means of ropes and pulleys-so that the whole congregation was in view. But when "monthly meetings" were held-meetings for the transaction of church business and for disciplining members who had been naughty-the sexes were rigidly separated by the partition and they could communicate with each other only by messenger. At times members were hauled over the coals for shortcomings, but not often. It was a pretty good community-and died young. The meeting house was hot in summer and cold in winter. During the latter season the feminine por- tion of the congregation often brought heated bricks to keep their feet warm and their minds in a proper state of meditation.
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