USA > Iowa > Poweshiek County > The History of Poweshiek County, Iowa : containing a history of the County, its cities, towns, &c.,. > Part 60
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"1st. We shall be true to our patrons, giving them the full value of their money, if possible, in a good family newspaper.
"2d. No live question will be dodged in discussion, and our columns will be open for short articles and replies.
"3d. To build up the interests of the city and country surrounding will be our great aim, and to awaken a thirst for good reading and the latest news.
"As to our politics, they are national. We hold that offices are for the government, and are to be held for the whole people.
"It is yet early to talk of a Presidential campaign, but when that time arrives, we shall be found for an open policy and the best man, without regard to old party names. With President Hayes we are in accord, as an honest, one term executive, seeking to mould all sections into a harmonious whole, and while he pursues his present course will gain our hearty ap- proval.
" In the county we want economy as well as in the administration of the affairs of the State and Nation.
"Our motto is, keep the bond as to promises, but restore us the silver dollar of the fathers, and as a policy seek the easiest honest way of meet- ing our government debt.
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"We are not of those who entertain the belief, founded upon some vague and undefined idea of social, religious or political duty, that the public should support a newspaper, though it be at a sacrifice. While we anticipate a generous support, we expect to render a full equivalent. We launch our craft amidst financial depression, but with industry, courage and the smiles of Heaven, hope to bring all who take voyage with us into port, with flags streaming and good cheer for citizens of city and country who take passage with us."
The circulation was encouraging during the first year. Mr. Sherman sold a half interest in the office on January 1, 1879, to Mr. Michael Sny- der, President of the Grinnell and Montezuma Railway, and the paper was enlarged, as aforesaid, February 6, following.
Under the heading "To the Public," dated January 16, 1880, occurs the following:
" We take this opportunity of informing the public that the undersigned have formed a copartnership for the publication of the Grinnell Independ- ent and carrying on a general printing business. We shall enlarge and otherwise improve the paper, add to our facilities for doing job printing, and in fact make the office second to none in central Iowa. The paper will be conducted as it has been heretofore, politically independent. Our columns will be open to all, and we solicit articles on political and other subjects. We shall spare neither time nor means to make the Independent the people's paper, and would ask a liberal share of the public patronage.
" M. SNYDER.
"J. T. SHERMAN."
The following extract from a carrier poem, written by Dr. Kennedy and printed by the Independent, will give the reader an idea of some of the business enterprises of the city, as well as poetical genius:
Of ye I sing, strong men of toil, Whose ev'ry moment spent In work and labor patiently Brings honor and content.
Of you great men! who science teach, And midnight oil consume, Or expound law without a flaw, Our darkness to illume.
Grand Header Works, beheading grain, Give fifty hands employ; Is not each morn, at dawn of day, Heard your shrill note of joy ?
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Ye lumber yards! your wooden walls Enclose the world around; Ye fence the farms, ye grace the halls Where learning doth abound.
Carhart & Son and Stephen Goss Have made their piles so high That sighting Hobart's yard across The three most reach the sky.
New goods! new goods! from twenty stores, The joyous cry goes forth; The sweat rolls down from thousand pores To tell us of their worth.
Kimball, you know, & Merrill, too, And Union, Number Three, Where Bayer keeps; that's so! that's so! We herald it to thee.
There's Mahler, sir! & Sutherland, A land without a storm; Their goods and groceries abound, And fire to make you warm.
Now Hammond is with Andy join'd In an extensive trade; Their fresh arrivals we may find At lowest price is made.
The farmers' store! Preston & Son Outsell the world 'tis said, While wintry blasts from old Grange sides Make home and fireside glad.
Ribbons and lace at Higbee's place, Like Herrick's splendid styles, Float in the breeze, 'round many a face, To tinge its charming smiles.
The fashion store of G. M. Hatch, As grand as can be found; Just walk in there; please lift the latch, And take a look around.
The New York store could not hold more Of clothing splendid! grand! Suits of all kinds D. Schulein finds And sells throughout the land.
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HISTORY OF POWESHIEK COUNTY.
My song is through, I bid adieu, No songster could be shorter, So friend please pay your honest due, The quarter! Oh! the quarter!
ALONZO A. SHERMAN, Carrier.
A Washington hand press No. 7, 1874, is used for the newspaper, and a Peerless quarter medium press for job printing. In connection with the office the proprietor has a stereotyping machine, which is a great saving of time and type.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK.
Organized June 6, 1865; commenced business March 8, 1866; author- ized capital $150,000; present paid in capital $100,000; surplus $25,000. Officers: Alonzo Steele, President; J. P. Lyman, Vice-President; Charles H. Spencer, Cashier; Henry C. Spencer, Assistant Cashier. Directors: Alonzo Steele, J. P. Lyman, R. M. Kellogg, G. F. H. Stevens, H. K. Ed- son, S. A. Cravath, Charles F. Craver, Charles H. Spencer.
No town can with facility carry on business without a bank, and the financial condition and prosperity of a town has a fair indication in its bank. The growth of banking business in Grinnell has been very rapid. To-day there are two banks with aggregate deposits of $200,000; at first, when Mr. Spencer and Dr. Holyoke commenced the business the deposits would scarcely amount to $10,000. Now, several men are constantly em- ployed at the counter or on the books; but then, Mr. C. H. Spencer could, by using only a little of his time, attend to all the business in an obscure corner of a general store. The first banking firm was known as the " firm of Thomas Holyoke & Co." Mr. Spencer, however, did pretty much all the banking for years in Grinnell. Small means at first, but gradually in- creasing to the present time. There have been four presidents, but only one cashier. Erastus Snow, J. B. Grinnell, Thomas Holyoke and Alonzo Steele have acted as presidents. Mr. Charles H. Spencer has continued in the office of cashier. This is the only national bank in the county.
GRINNELL SAVINGS BANK.
Organized July 2, 1877; commenced business in November, 1877 ; capi- tal $50,000; Erastus Snow, President; J. P. Lyman, Vice-President; Henry Lawrence, Cashier. The business is principally loaning, exchange and col- lecting. The business is prosperous and growing.
RAILROADS.
At present Grinnell enjoys communication with other parts of the State
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HISTORY OF POWESHIEK COUNTY.
by means of three railroads. All points north and south are reached by the Central Railroad of Iowa, and east and west by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, while the Grinnell and Montezuma Railroad places the county seat within easy access. There is a union depot at the junction of these roads, within two blocks of the post-office and business portion of the town. Passengers, express and freight are readily transported in any di- rection without delay.
The C., R. I. & P. R. R. runs directly through the city east and west, furnishing an unbroken line from Chicago to Council Bluffs. It is a powerful corporation, well-managed and its employes are very considerate to the wants of the general public. Express trains, except on Sunday, leave for Iowa City, Davenport, Chicago and the east, at 2:15 A. M., and at 3:45 P. M .; for Des Moines, Council Bluffs, Omaha and the west, at 11:30 A. M., and at 12:20 A. M.
Besides these express trains, there are daily more than twenty regular accommodation and freight trains, passing this station on the Rock Island Railroad. A short distance west of the passenger depot, stands the large freight house and grain elevator.
The Central Railroad of Iowa was constructed through this city to Ottumwa on the south, and Mason City on the north, in the year 1869. Express trains, except on Sunday, leave for Marshalltown, Mason City and the north, at 5:10 A. M., and at 3:45 P. M .; for Oskaloosa, Ottumwa and the south, at 12:05 P. M. and at 7:50 P. M. Besides these trains there are sev- eral accommodations and freights each way daily. Just south of the union passenger depot, there are grain elevators and freight houses of abundant capacity.
Trains leave on the Montezuma Railroad, at 7:45 A. M. and at 3:55 P. M.
HOTELS.
Chapin House .- George M. Christian, proprietor; Ed T. Rowse, clerk. The building is a three story brick, situated at the junction of the C., R. I. & P. R. R. and the C. R. R. of I. It was built by Mr. Snyder and sold to Mr. Christian in 1876. It contains thirty finely furnished bed-rooms besides a neat sitting-room, three large sample-rooms, a dining hall that will accommodate one hundred guests, office, bath-rooms, laundry, barber's shop; there are fifteen servants. It is heated by steam and lit by gas. It is a very popular place or commercial men to remain over the sabbath, often traveling a long distance to reach the Chapin House on Saturday even- ing. Passengers and train employes on both roads take their dinners here. It is the most popular house in the county and one of the best in the State.
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HISTORY OF POWESHIEK COUNTY.
Grinnell House .- Situated on Main Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues. D. W. Christian, Proprietor. This house was built and kept for a hotel on the south side of the C., R. I. & P. R. R., but afterward removed to its present location. It is an old and reliable house. It was bought by Christian & Johnson several years ago for $12,000, who made an addition to the west part. It has forty rooms, and is larger and can accom- modate more persons than any other house in the city. Been used for hotel purposes about twenty years. There are at present twenty-five board- ers and nine servants.
Hawk-Eye House .- On Main Street, between Fourth and Fifth Ave- nues. Mr. W. R. Boyd, Proprietor. The several proprietors of the Hawk- Eye are as follows: Chambers, A. K. Lowry, Pratt, A. Bailey, Mrs. Bailey, Johnson, H. D. Works, J. Brown, E. Mercer, W. R. Boyd, Charles Ridley, C. Scheeler and W. R. Boyd. The house has been built twenty-six years, and is the oldest in the city and township. There are fourteen rooms besides office and parlor. The custom is generous and the house popular.
GRINNELL POST-OFFICE.
Grinnell post-office is at present on Third Avenue, one door west of Main Street. It is most satisfactorily administered under the present post- master, Mr. W. S. Leisure, who has held that position uninterruptedly for the past twelve years. Mails are sent out and received to and from all directions several times during the day and night. The office was first obtained in 1856, when Mr. A. K. Lowry was appointed postmaster, Mr. C. H. Spencer acting as assistant. The office was then in a small building situated on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Main Street, opposite the Hawk-Eye House. Mr. Charles G. Adams was appointed postmaster in 1856, John Delahoyde in 1859, L. C. Phelps in 1861, and W. S. Leisure in 1869, who has held the office since that date, a length of time seldom occu- pied by the same public servant.
THE PUBLIC PARK.
The Grinnell City Park was laid out in the original plat, and has since become an ornament to the city. It contains a forest of over three hundred shade trees, many of them more than a foot in diameter and fifty feet high. Soft maple and cottonwood predominate. There are some pines, cedars and elms. Walks through all the grounds are laid out in all directions. A tall liberty pole and handsome pagoda for the cornet band are at the center. Numerous celebrations and political meetings are held here. The
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great quarter-centennial celebration of the town, on July 4, 1879, was held here, when there were at least ten thousand in attendance, and the speakers- addressed the people from the pagoda.
GRINNELL MILITIA COMPANY.
Company B of the Eighth regiment Iowa National Guards was organized in 1877, and now has forty-one men uniformed and equipped. They have a good armory in Stewart's Block. The company has participated in sev- eral battalion drills at Marshalltown and Oskaloosa. Mayor C. H. Spencer called the boys to arms for the purpose of driving about one hundred tramps from the city one day at the beginning of harvest in 1878. The Mayor first made the tramps a short speech, advising them to leave the town peaceably, and when they saw the soldiers they obeyed him without a violent demonstration. The officers of the company are:
Captain-H. D. Churchill.
First Lieutenant-H. C. Spencer.
Second Lieutenant-John Ellsworth.
First Sergeant-C. M. Black.
SOCIETIES.
Masons .- Hermon Lodge No. 273, A. F. & A. M., chartered June, 1870. Officers: Willis Davis, W. M .; Geo. W. Clark, S. W .; D. W. Norris, J. W .; S. Needham, S. D .; G. W. Christian, J. D .; G. W. Crain, Tyler; F. Wyatt, Organist. Regular communication Saturday evening, on or before the full moon in each month. Hall in third story of Preston's Block. There is considerable interest manifested.
Odd Fellows .- Grinnell Lodge, No. 358, I. O. O. F. Organized Decem- ber 13, 1876. Officers: H. W. Williams, N. G .; W. W. Simons, V. G .; Geo. Mahler, Rec. Sec .; G. A. Parker, P. Sec .; W. A. Propst, Treasurer. Regular meetings every Wednesday evening. Hall third floor of Grinnell Block, corner of Broad Street and Fourth Avenue.
Patrons of Husbandry .- Grinnell Grange, No. 183. Hall in Stewart's Block. T. H. Bixby, Sec.
Ancient Order United Workmen .- Lebanon Lodge, No. 66, A. O. U. W., organized May 15, 1856; hall in Preston's Block, third floor. Officers: W. W. Sargent, P. M. W .; Matt Phelps, M. W .; L. C. Phelps, Foreman; R. Ricker, O .; Willis Davis, Recorder; C. N. Perry, Receiver; H. Wheeler, F .; P. W. Leffler, G .; J. Seibirth, I. W .; M. Vondraska, O. W. Regular meeting, second and fourth Tuesday evenings in each month.
Iowa Legion of Honor .- Guardian Lodge, No. 31. Meet in Odd Fel-
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HISTORY OF POWESHIEK COUNTY.
lows' Hall on second and fourth Monday evenings of each month. Organ- ized July 29, 1879, with 35 members. Officers: W. S. Simpson, President; T. T. Worthington, Vice-President; H. Wheeler, Jr., Recording Secretary; W. H. Day, Financial Secretary; C. N. Perry, Treasurer; Chas. Porter, Chaplain; G. B. Griswold, Usher; T. Worthington, Door-keeper; C. J. Bayer, Sentinel.
V. A. S. Fraternity .- Its object is to afford aid and benefit to widows, orphans and heirs or assigns of deceased members of this Fraternity. The Chief Collegium of Iowa was organized in Grinnell, October 7, 1879. The Fraternity now numbers about 2,000. The officers of the Chief Collegium : G. F. H. Stevens, C. R .; J. P. Clement, V. C. R .; J. H. Pierson, O. Q .; W. B. Mumbrue, C. S .; F. S. Bodle, C. U. and C. E .; J. T. Sherman, C. S .; S. W. Maltby and D. Maltby, D. C. R. The Local Collegium, the first in the State, was organized No. 1, December 1, 1879, with 25 mem- bers; subsequently, the membership has increased to 50. Officers: J. H. Pierson, Rector; W. H. Day, Vice-Rector; J. P. Clement, Questor; H. B. VanNest, Scribe; George Sherman, Usher; C. M. Cloud, Speculator.
Poweshiek County Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company .- E. Snow, President; L. G. C. Pierce, Secretary.
SNYDER'S CORNET BAND.
Grinnell may well feel proud of her excellent band. They are experi- enced musicians and uniformed with exquisite taste. For parades and cel- ebrations they present a most attractive appearance, and discourse popular and classical music. The members: J. W. Kendall, Leader; S. Snow, C. Janes, H. B. Black, George Perry, David Sutherland, Samuel Davis, Allen Bruner, A. C. Harriman, E. Moore, Harry Churchill, Drum-Major; James Stewart, William Stewart, S. A. Robinson, William Clark.
GRINNELL FIRE COMPANY, "TORRENT NO. 1."
E. A. Jones, Captain; A. R. Turner, First Assistant; L. C. Phelps, Sec- ond Assistant; J. G. Palmer, Secretary; G. M. Christian, Treasurer. The city has recently purchased a large steam fire engine and are about to erect an engine house. The company are supplied with ladders, hose and all other appliances for the safety of the city.
PUBLIC HALLS.
Preston's Opera House .- This was built in 1877. It is located in the second story of the three story brick building on the west side of Main Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues. It is 40x80, with gallery on
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HISTORY OF POWESHIEK COUNTY.
three sides. It is supplied with commodious stage and elegant scenery, two scenes of which were painted by N. H. Cooper, a Grinnell artist. It will seat 800 without filling the aisles. It is heated with steam and lighted with 78 jets of gas. Every citizen of Grinnell feels grateful to Mr. S. J. Preston for supplying a want so long felt.
Stewart's Hall .- Located on Broad Street between Fourth and Fifth Avenues, in second story of Stewart's Block. It is 40x40 feet and has a very neat stage. It will seat 400.
MILLS AND MANUFACTURES.
The Hawkeye fanning mill of Grinnell, Iowa, is one of the best in use. It is manufactured by Mr. M. Chafee.
The flour mills are doing a good, though not extensive, business.
The Randolph Header Works are the most considerable manufactories in the county. The buildings are situated three blocks west of the depot. The business is rapidly increasing, as will be seen from the number of machines sold each year.
First year 100 machines.
Second year 300
66
Third year
500 66
Fourth year
800
A large addition has been recently put up. A foundry is connected with the manufactory, and all castings for the header and also many for other kinds of machines are made there. Messrs. Craver & Steele are the pro- prietors. The main building is 116 feet long, with an ell 36x52.
GRINNELL CEMETERY.
The cemetery is situated on rolling ground, one-half mile southwest of the city. There is a good road leading to it. The land was formerly owned by J. B. Grinnell, afterward conveyed to the Grinnell Benefit So- ciety for a burying ground. Now, however, the cemetery, being consider- ably enlarged, is controlled by the city.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
The city of Grinnell has been visited by two considerable fires-one when the East College building was burned, which occurred December 24, 1871, and the other the burning of the public school building, in March, 1871. The children in the public school seized some of their books and ran for their lives.
There was a severe wind-storm one evening in 1861. The wind came
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HISTORY OF POWESHIEK COUNTY.
from the northwest at about 4 o'clock P. M. It did much damage, unroofing and otherwise severly injuring many buildings. The Hawkeye Hotel was entirely unroofed, and all the tin and a portion of the boards and rafters of the new college roof were torn off.
On the 16th day of June, 1855, a severe wind-storm visited the infant colony, blowing over the house of Mr. Abram Whitcomb, and doing some other slight damage. Deacon Whitcomb at the time had just com- menced to live in his recently constructed house.
BEAR CREEK TOWNSHIP.
Bear Creek was among the first settled in the county, settlements having commenced as early as 1846.
It is of regular congressional township size, No. 80, and range 14, one of the four central townships of Poweshiek county.
Its present population, according to the census of 1880, including the town of Brooklyn, is 1,984, with 431 legal voters. Exclusive of Brooklyn Bear Creek has a population of 748.
The surface is mostly rolling, there being two creeks running from west to east through the township. The one which flows through the northern portion is called Big Bear Creek, and the one which flows through the central southern portion is called Little Bear Creek. There was formerly considerable timber in the northeast. Brooklyn is the only post-office, and there is no store except here.
The leading productions are corn, wheat, oats, barley, flax, potatoes, ap- ples and hay. Cattle, horses and hogs are raised in great numbers, and fitted for the market. The education and moral standing of the people is of true Iowa character. The farmers are industrious, and many of them have attained independent circumstances. The farms are well fenced, wire, hedge, and board being used in about equal proportions. There are in the township four wind-mills, one saw-mill, one sorghum-mill, two brick kilns, and eleven school-houses.
The main line of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad runs through the township east and west, and Brooklyn is the station.
John J. Talbott was the first settler in the township. He came with his wife and children from Holmes county, Ohio, to Jefferson county, Iowa, in the fall of 1845, and on April 7, 1846, arrived in the eastern part of what was afterward called Bear Creek township, and settled on section 13, two years before Poweshiek county was organized. He staked out a claim of 160 acres before the land was in the market or had been surveyed by the
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government. The grove where he lived is now called Talbott's Grove, formerly Snook's Grove.
The second settler was Robert Manatt, who settled on section 14 in the spring of 1849, coming originally from Holmes county, Ohio. Mr. Will- iam Manatt also came the same spring, and settled on section 14. He was a native of Holmes county, Ohio.
The fourth settler was Charles Coffin, who, in 1849, took a claim on sec- tion 24 or 25.
Before Bear Creek township was organized there was created what was known as Bear Creek precinct, composed of nine townships, viz .: Jeffer- son, Madison, Sheridan, Chester, Grinnell, Malcom, Bear Creek, Warren, and Lincoln. The first election in this precinct occurred at the house of Henry Snook, on the first Monday in April, 1848. Mr. Snook's house is about three miles east of Brooklyn, in the edge of Warren township. At that election seven votes were cast, and every voter in those nine town- ships was there save one. The names of those who voted are: John J. Tal- bott, Henry Snook, George Snook, J. C. Talbott, Robert Talbott, Stephen Bunker, Jonathan Bunker. Mr. Jacob Snyder was the only voter in the precinct absent from the polls.
Of these pioneers, John J. Talbott died February 20, 1849, Henry Snook died a little later. Joshua C. and Robert Talbott both are still living in the township. George Snook lives in Iowa county. The Bunkers returned to Michigan in the fall of 1848.
The first post-office was in the house of Mrs. Mary Talbott, and her son, Joshua C. Talbott, was the first postmaster. It was established in 1849, and there were at that time ten families that received their mail here. Mr. Talbott continued postmaster till 1854.
The first school was taught on section 13, in the winter of 1854-5, by Robert Shimer, for $14.00 per month, having an attendance of about thirty- five scholars.
The first regular physician was Dr. Edward Barton, who came from Ohio in the year 1852, and in the year 1865 moved to Kansas.
Edward Aldrich, from New York, was the first lawyer. He came in the year of 1861, and died very suddenly in the fall of 1863.
The first death in the township was the pioneer and veteran, John J. Tal- bott. He died February 20, 1849, and was buried on section 13, where his ashes still rest within the little burial place, occupied by only four other graves. He it was who braved the privations and experiences of a frontier home, built the first log-house for himself and family, and no person was turned hungry from his friendly door, not even stranger or Indians. On
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HISTORY OF POWESHIEK COUNTY.
the day he died the Indians, of whom many were encamped in the timber near the cabin, came about the house, wailed and lamented piteously, cov- ered their faces with their blankets, and made many other signs of deep grief, for the loss of him they had known to be their friend. He lived one mile east of the present site of Brooklyn.
The second death was a mover's child. The neighbors made it a coffin and gave it a quiet resting place by the side of the first grave. The names of the others buried there are John Farquhan, David Farquhan, and a man whose name is unknown. These graves are on section 18. There are three graves on section 17.
Isaac Drake was among the first settlers of Warren township; came in the spring of 1854, June 11.
The first marriage in the township was William Wallace and Rosa Ann Talbott, in May, 1852, the rite being solemnized by the Rev. Collins. This couple now reside in Colorado.
The first birth was Sarah Manassa Manatt, daughter of William and Mary Ann Manatt; born March 14, 1851. She now lives in Perry, Iowa.
The first minister in the county now lives in Brooklyn, Rev. J. B. Hardy a Methodist clergyman of sixty years. He held the first public religious exercises in the county in the spring of 1844, at the log cabin of Mr. Satchell, four miles south of Montezuma.
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