USA > Iowa > Delaware County > The history of Delaware county, Iowa, containing a history of its county, its cities, towns &c., a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers > Part 62
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84
The congregation has a Sabbath school, in which there are nine teachers and about one hundred and twenty-five scholars.
The Presbyterian .- This church was organized with seven members by Rev. Prof. Kerr, then of Dubuque, about the year 1855. Soon after its organiza-
542
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
tion, Rev. Merit Harmon became Pastor, and preached for some time. He was succeeded by Jerome Allen, who held the position of Pastor of the church and Principal of Bowen (now Lenox) Collegiate Institute together for about ten years, and was succeeded by Rev. Samuel Hodge, who has officiated ever since until about a year ago, when the church, becoming able to support a minister independent of the school, engaged the services of Rev. T. M. Stevenson, under whose ministration the church has increased its membership to 140. Rev. Mr. Stevenson is the present Pastor.
The church edifice is of briek, and is very tasty in appearance. The con- gregation is large and influential.
Rev. M. Harmon, referred to above, is still living at Hopkinton in peace and quietude, almost at the end of life's journey, having reached the ripe age of 82, in possession of all his faculties. His age and long residence in the county entitle him to this paragraph of recognition.
The Methodist Episcopal Church is under the charge of Rev. T. Thompson, who resides in Hopkinton, and has care of the church at Sand Spring also. The present church edifice was dedicated on Sunday, September 10, 1865, Rev. A. J. Kynett officiating. The attendance was very large. It is worthy of note that Rev. R. Swearingin was the first minister who preached to the people of Hopkinton. he being an itinerant in this county from 1850 to 1854.
The Baptist Church was organized in 1859, and was cared for several years by Rev. James Kay, of Cascade. It is now dormant.
MASONIC.
Rising Sun Lodge, No. 187, A., F. and A. M .- This Lodge was first organ- ized in Worthington, January 8, 1866, R. B. Dands, Master, and J. B. Bailey, Secretary. The Lodge was removed to Hopkinton in the early part of 1874, its first regular meeting at the latter place being held April 28, 1874. The first set of officers in Hopkinton were as follows : A. B. Wheelis, W. M .; T. N. Williamson. S. W .; C. Cook, J. W .; II. N. Hendce, Secretary ; C. P. McCarty, S. D. ; I. G. Quackenbush, J. D. ; Aaron Richardson, Tyler ; J. T. Davis. Treasurer. The present officers are as follows : C. E. Merriam, W. M .; C. M. Shimeall, S. W. : N. E. Pearce, J. W. ; J. T. Davis, Treasurer ; J. J. Wallace, Secretary.
A. O. OF U. W.
Hopkinton Lodge, No. 91, A. O. of U. W., was organized January 20, 1877, the charter being issued to the following officers: HI. C. Merriam, P. M. W .; John Rush, Jr .. M. W. ; G. II. Crawford, G. F .; J. C. Kirkwood, O .; James C. Campbell, Recorder ; M. E. Spalding, Financier ; J. H. Campbell, Receiver ; D. A. Tate, G. ; W. P. Gerry, I. W. ; E. W. Harvey, O. W., and the following charter members : J. T. Williamson, W. H. Finley, A. F. Kirkwood, Charles Lathrop, HI. N. Hendee, J. R. Schlemlein, J. J. Wallace, A. Hamlin, C. E. Merriam, W. H. Taylor. The present officers are : John Rush, P. M. W .; G HI. Crawford. M. W. ; D. A. Tate, G. F .; W. II. Taylor, O .; C. F. Shim- eall. Recorder ; J. R. Schlemlein, Financier; J. H. Campbell, Receiver ; A. F. Kirkwood, G. : J. H. Lough, I. W. : E. L. Abbott, O. W.
543
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
SAND SPRING. (South Fork Township.)
Sand Spring was laid out January 26, 1858, by T. H. Bowen and L. H. Langworthy, who employed George Welch as surveyor. The Southwestern Railway Company had located their depot grounds in 1856, says T. H. Bowen. The Bowens owned a very large tract of land surrounding the site. The first house (of logs) was built by Asa C. Bowen, in 1852.
The first important event in the history of the town was the accession of ten members of the " Exodus Colony," who arrived May 1, 1858. This asso- ciation was formed in Massachusetts, and was composed of about forty families -twenty-five of the number intending to occupy small farms, and the others, to follow the trades they had learned.
In 1857, Rev. Mr. Bolles was delegated to go West to purchase the land near some suitable village, and to arrange for the reception of the families at their future home. Rev. Mr. Bolles took a fancy to Sand Spring, and pur- chased 1,000 acres of land from the Bowens, paying $5.00 an acre. Included in the sale was a forty-acre tract, belonging to T. H. Bowen, which had been surveyed into lots ; this became the "Colony Addition " to Sand Spring. Bolles erected the " Colony House," on the ridge, overlooking the town. The structure contains sixteen rooms, and was intended as a temporary home for the colonists as they came.
The Exodists referred to above were the only ones who ever came, the hard times preventing their associates from following them. The colonists were : Messrs. Olmstead, L. A. Hubbard, Otis Battles, A. J. Douglas, Win. McCaus- land, with their families, and Mr. Pease.
Asa C. Bowen says that Mr. Bolles preached the first sermon in Sand Spring, in June, 1858, in the building erected for a hotel, from the text, "I will be to thee a God, and thou shalt be to me a people." The different houses built during that Summer were also used for religious services, before being occupied by their owners. A notable case was that of a very large meeting that Summer, in a barn now owned by Charles Crocker.
Mr. Bolles is said to have been quite successful in the pulpit. He dis- charged his responsible trust in purchasing the colony lands, and his subsequent duties connected therewith, with scrupulous fidelity. He remained with the colony three or four years. Bolles afterward renounced the Methodist creed, and became a member of the " Oneida Community," in New York. He is said to have died in an insane asylum.
The colonists,' most of whom remained at Sand Spring, have proved valua- ble and exemplary citizens. There can be but one reasonable conclusion as to the result of this colonizing scheme, had the other families been able to follow those who came. As it was, they were not able to raise money for the purpose, and their lands were transferred to other owners. Some of the village lots were sold for taxes, and never redeemed. The Colony Building is now owned by Ex- Gov. Claflin, of Massachusetts.
Religious meetings were held by Rev. James Kay, of the Baptist Church, and by Rev. Mr. Whitmore, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, about the same time.
The first school was opened in Sand Spring in the Summer of 1858, Miss Lucy Battles, a member of the Exodus Colony, being the teacher.
As an instance of Western sympathy with enterprise and courage, wherever displayed, it is proper to record that on September 1st, 1858, the citizens of
544
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
Sand Spring and vicinity celebrated the laying of the first Atlantic cable by a dinner and speeches from Rev. Dr. Roberts, of Hopkinton, Dr. Gage and T. H. Bowen. The crowd was a large one for that early day, and the celebration was successfully carried out in all its details, echoing back in its truest meaning the glad dispatch, " Glory to God in the highest, on earth, peace, good will to men.'
The Southwestern Road stopped three miles short of Sand Spring in the Fall of 1858. The people had contributed to the utmost of their ability, but the company was able to make only slow progress, owing to the great scarcity of money. In the Spring of 1859, the people of Sand Spring turned out and helped lay the ties and rails over the gap between their town and the big world outside, and several ladies, among whom were Mrs. Asa C. Bowen and Mrs. Peter Karst, helped carry and place the ties.
The school house. which is a conspicuous object in the town, was built in 1868. E. P. Couser was the first Principal of the graded school and T. II. Bowen occupied the same position two years after. Mr. Paddock is now the principal and is assisted by Miss Celia Mellor.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was built in 1865, and Rev. T. Thompson is now in charge. The Baptist Church was erected in 1868, but has no Pastor at present.
The location of the Davenport & St. Paul Railroad operated to the detri- ment of Sand Spring, by stimulating the growth of Hopkinton. In 1872, the people of South Fork Township voted a tax of five per cent. to aid the construc- tion of the Davenport Road. This was opposed by the people of Sand Spring, who could foresee the bad result to themselves, but they were out-voted. The citizens of Sand Spring then held a meeting and resolved to resist the payment of the tax. They had invited a Waterloo attorney to attend and advise them. At the meeting he was retained to bring the suit, in which a hundred and fifty property holders joined as plaintiffs in a petition for injunction. The case was fought through to the Supreme Court, where the injunction was made perpetual. The litigation cost them about $2,000, but saved them some $6,000 in taxes.
In the Winter of 1875-6. a flurry was created at Sand Spring by an effort on the part of Dubuque to have the route of the Southwestern Road vacated from Farley to Monticello, and rebuilt from Dubuque, by way of Cascade. This, had it been successful, would have had the effect of killing Sand Spring and Worthington. Asa C. Bowen, as soon as he heard of the scheme, promptly procured a numerously signed petition against the project, which he forwarded to HIon. Joseph Chapman, at Des Moines, who succeeded in defeating the bill permitting the change of route to be made, by having it amended so as to require the road-bed, if abandoned, to be put in its original condition.
The post office at Sand Spring was established June 19, 1858 and Truman HI. Bowen was appointed Postmaster.
BUSINESS INTERESTS.
The business now carried on at Sand Spring is indicated below : Dry Goods and Groceries, L. Loeffelholtz. Groceries, G. H. Brown. Broom Factory, W. Molthorp. Blacksmith and Wagon Shop, B. A. Barton. Wagon Shop, E. Overing. Washing Machine Factory, Wm. Overing. Physician and Surgeon, S. Cummings. Notary Public and Conveyancer, O. Henry. Justice and Conveyancer, A. Tuttle. Hotel, Thomas Jones. Butter and Cheese Fac- tory, John Stewart. Postmaster, Gilbert H. Brown.
GREELEY
547
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
The manufacture of brooms, which has been an important industry at Sand Spring ever since the town was founded, was begun by T. H. & Asa C. Bowen, at Hopkinton, in the Summer of 1856, they having induced some workmen in Schoharie County, N. Y., to come West and work for them. The making of the first broom was the occasion for a village jollification.
This industry has been a source of considerable revenue to the farmers of South Fork Township, and the brooms, being made in the best manner, meet with ready sale.
SOCIETIES AND ASSOCIATIONS.
The Cemetery Association of Sand Spring completed its organization by recording its articles of incorporation.
The funds used in the purchase of grounds were raised by the ladies of the Sewing Circle of the town, who were materially assisted by Mr. Asa C. Bowen, who owned the land on which the cemetery is located. The grounds are situ- ated on a slight elevation east of Sand Spring.
In February, 1865, a Temperance Society was formed, and the Washing- tonian pledge signed by about forty citizens. The following officers were elected : William Spence, President ; Adelbert Olmstead, Vice President ; Stephen T. Bowen, Secretary ; Peter Karst, Jr., Treasurer.
In 1865, Wilson's saw-mill, log and dam at Sand Spring were carried away by the flood.
FORESTVILLE.
(Richland Township.)
The first settler to locate in Township 90 north, Range 6 west (Richland Township), was Mr. William Turner, from Chautauqua Co., N. Y., who settled on the east bank of the Maquoketa, in the east half of Section 22. In 1847, he built a saw-mill, and Mr. Stephen R. Reynolds settled near him.
In 1848, Hiram D. Wood settled on Section 26; and Abiather Richardson and Augustus Jones purchased land in the township.
The first store in the township was opened about 1850 by Mr. Turner.
The post office at Forestville was established April 24, 1851, William Tur-
ner, Postmaster. The office was supplied from Coffin's Grove once a week.
Marcus Phillips was the first mail carrier, and was succeeded by Leonard Lawrence.
In January, 1851, Richland Township was created, composed of Congres- sional Township 90, Range 6, and the north half of Township 89, Range 6, now Coffin's Grove, and the County Commissioners designated the house of S. R. Reynolds as the voting place.
There are no records of township elections until 1854.
The first meeting of which any memory exists was held at the house of John Lee, in the Spring of 1852, when the following officers were elected, viz .: William Turner and Stephen R. Reynolds, Justices of the Peace ; John Lee, William Smith and George Hart, Trustees ; Andrew L. Ginger, Clerk ; A. L. Ginger and George Hart, Constables.
Turner's saw-mill was swept away by the freshet in June, 1851, but was rebuilt.
In 1852, Mr. D. Leonard purchased Turner's mill and claim and opened a store at the village.
N
548
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
The first school house was built of logs in May, 1852, on Lee's farm, in the southeast part of the township, and the first school was taught by William Wilson in this house the following Summer.
The first sermon preached in the township was in this log sohool house, in June, 1852. by Rev. John Brown.
Charles Hall, from New York, located at Forestville in 1852, and built a- tavern, the first one north of Delhi, it is said. Hall afterward built an addition to this house and opened a store.
In 1853. Daniel Leonard built a grist-mill, designed for a custom-mill, on the Maquoketa, near the saw-mill.
April 4. 1854, the town of Forestville was surveyed and platted by Joel Bailey : Daniel Leonard, propeietor.
The first school house was built in 1854, at a cost of $300. Elihu Andrews built it under contract. A portion of the money to build it was raised by taxation and a portion was borrowed from the school fund by H. D. Wood, who gave a mortgage on his land as security.
The house was located just outside the town plat on the east side; and the first school was taught in it during the same year by Mrs. Brayman.
This house was burned in the Winter of 1870-71, but during the Summer of 1870 a new school house was built of brick by Henry Doyle, contractor, at a cost of $700. Organized as an independent district in 1872.
Present School Directors, Solomon Z. Welch, Oliver Clark and William Sherwin.
In 1854, Thomas Hickox was appointed Postmaster. Hickox was a Whig, and says Mr. Wood, " every man in the village suitable for a Postmaster was a Whig also."
In 1856, the Democrats of the township petitioned for the appointment of Enos M. Littlefield, who lived about a quarter of a mile out of the town. He was appointed June 23, 1856, but he could find no person in town qualified for the position who would serve as Deputy, nor could he obtain a suitable place for an office nearer than his house, and the mail carrier refused to deliver the mail there-it was not in Forestville. Littlefield made a statement of the facts to the Post Office Department, asking for authority to keep the office at his house, and requested that the mail carrier be directed to deliver and receive the mail there also. Meanwhile, before receiving instructions from the Department, Lit- tlefield took the responsibility of taking the mail to his house. The indignant citizens determined to test the legality of this proceeding, made up a test case in which Myron Hooker was plaintiff, agreeing if he was beaten that the cost should be made up by contribution. Hooker accordingly brought suit against Mr. Littlefield for damage sustained by reason of taking his mail away from the town. The suit was brought before I. P. Powers, Justice of the Peace of Rich- land. S. G. Van Anda and James Crosier were the attorneys for the plaintiff ; and S. R. Peet, HI. D. Wood and Alpheus Scott managed the defense. Defend- ant took change of venue to Franklin Emerson, Justice of the Peace, but he was a Democrat and plaintiff carried the case to - - Heath, Justice of the Peace of Honey Creek, and then to Coolidge, also of Honey Creek. Coolidge tried the case and gave judgment for the defendant for costs, and, Littlefield having received the authority asked for from the Department, the whole matter was dropped. It is proper to add that Hooker did not realize much from the promises made and was obliged to pay the costs of suit himself.
July 17, 1862, William H. Church was appointed Postmaster at Forestville, and employed M. D. Jones as Deputy.
549
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
Soon after Church's appointment. complaints began to be made of loss of mail matter. Suspicion pointed to the Forestville post office. Church and his Deputy appeared to have money in more abundance than their neighbors thought their circumstances warranted. Church presented a draft for $100 at Dubuque and collected it. A detective was sent to discover the perpetrator of these fre- quent mail robberies, who sent a decoy letter and found it in Jones' possession. Church and Jones were arrested, taken to Dubuque and lodged in jail to await trial. After some time Church procured bail and was released, but died before trial. Jones was tried at Dubuque, convicted and sentenced to the penitentiary for ten years, but after serving about eighteen months was pardoned by Presi- dent Andrew Johnson.
BUSINESS INTERESTS.
In May, 1878, the business of Forestville was represented as follows :
Country Stores, Volney Wheeler; Daniel Gilbert. Blacksmiths, Daniel Briggs ; Josiah Beach. Carpenter, Michael Cossey. Saw and Grist-mills, George Sowles.
There are four Creameries in Richland Township. The first was estab- lished by Hiram D. Wood, near Forestville, in the Spring of 1874, of capacity sufficient to use the milk of 500 or 600 cows. Mr. Wood manufactures about 20,000 pounds of butter annually, and found a ready market in New York.
Loomis & Houseman established another in the southwest part of the town- ship in 1875.
H. H. Cowles, in the western part of the Township, in the Spring of 1876, and John & William Hollister, in the northeast corner, in 1877, each manufac- ture about 20,000 pounds annually.
In the Spring of 1878, Mr. Cowles changed his creamery to a cheese factory.
ALMORAL. (Oneida Township.)
In the Spring of 1856, a company called the Stafford Emigration Company, of Amherst, Mass., sent delegates to Iowa, to join other parties of the same com- pany already here, in search of a place to locate a colony. The Eastern delegates becoming dissatisfied, or tired of the broad expanse of prairie and bottomless sloughs, as they appeared to them, returned to the East without making any selection for a location, and with an unfavorable report. When the Stafford Emigration Company was organized, the following families were living in Delaware and Jones Counties, and having joined the company, expected to locate with the colony : Rev. H. N. Gates, formerly from Connect- icut, was living at Yankee Settlement, now called Edgewood; D. B. Noble, formerly from New York State, was living at the same place ; L. O. Stevens, formerly from Hardwick, Vt., was living at Hopkinton ; Joseph Dunham, T. W. Dunham and J. B. Dunham, formerly from Franklin County, Vt., were living at Bowen's Prairie, Jones County ; William G. Strickland came from Amherst in 1856. Rev. H. N. Gates, D. B. Noble, L. O. Stevens and F. W. Dunham continued the search through Western and Northwestern Iowa, Southern Minnesota, and following the line of a railroad survey from Dubuque to St. Paul, they came upon the present site of Almoral, where they camped. Here they met with Rev. J. H. Kasson, who had the year or two previous started from Baraboo, Wis., with the intention of joining a colony at Grinnell, Iowa,
550
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
on reaching this place had grown tired and out of health, and being pleased with the location had purchased the southwest quarter of Section 11, Township 89, Range 4, and built the first frame house on the present site of Almoral. Mr. John A. G. Cattron built on the northwest quarter of the same section same year. Here these men concluded to locate, and purchasing Mr. Kasson's place, they jointly with him purchased adjoining lands, making 640 acres in all, as a nucleus for the settlement, having in view the establishment of a Congregational Church and a literary institution. They donated one-fifth of this purchase as a permanent endowment for an academy or high school, accompanied with condi- tions.
The first recorded meeting of the town proprietors of Almoral was held September 18, 1856, with L. O. Stevens, President, and F. W. Dunham, Sec- retary. The town was laid out in 1858, by John H. Kasson, proprietor. H. N. Gates built the first house after the location was made, in the Fall of 1856, who afterward removed it to Earlville, about 1859 or '60.
The first school at Almoral was kept, it is said, in a vacated log cabin on the northwest corner of the northwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Sec- tion 11, in the Summer of 1857 ; Abbie E. Dunham, Teacher.
The Almoral Institute was incorporated under the law of the State in Septem- ber, 1857. J. H. Kasson, L. O. Stevens, Joseph Dunham, William G. Strickland, H. N. Gates, Elijah Gates, John A. G. Cattron and David Roland were the cor- porators and first Trustees, and the corporation was to commence December 1, 1857, and continue twenty years. During that year, a building 24x30 feet was built on Lot 1, Block 10, in which the first term of the Institute commenced December 1, 1857, under the charge of F. W. Dunham, with about twenty pupils. The succeeding teachers were Rev. H. N. Gates, L. O. Stevens, J. A. Marvin and F. W. Dunham in the order named, until 1860; the district school being taught in connection with the Institute, which closed in 1860.
In 1864, the present district school house was built on the west quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 11. at a cost of about $1,000. When it was completed, it was one of the best, if not the best, school house of that class in the county.
The Institute property remaining after the close of the school reverted back to the donators, who, 1872-3, deeded it to the Almoral Congregational Church, together with some other property.
The Congregational Church was organized in 1857, with H. N. Gates as the first Pastor, and W. G. Strickland first Deacon. The present Pastor is Rev. J. M. Bowers.
The post office was established March 24, 1857. The first Postmaster was F. W. Dunham ; the mails were weekly : first mail received April 28, 1857. He was followed by J. B. Dunham, November 4, 1858, who is the present incumbent ; mails, tri-weekly.
The first brass band in the county was organized at Almoral, in 1858-J. B. Dunham, Director-and did service in the Lincoln Presidential campaign. Disbanded, to enlist in the war.
The creamery started by the Almoral Dairymen's Company-which was incorporated in February, 1876, with William G. Strickland, President ; J. B. Dunham, Secretary; J. A. G. Cattron, Treasurer ; William Hockady, Agent -is in successful operation to-day.
John Cruise has established a Creamery on Section 12, near Almoral.
Almoral was laid out in anticipation of the building of a railroad from Du- buque to St. Paul, which, it was expected, would pass through the town ; or
551
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
rather, the town was laid out on the projected line of the road. It is needless to add that the road was not built, consequently the town never experienced much growth : at least, did not meet the anticipations of its founders.
ROCKVILLE. (North Fork Township.)
This ancient town is, next to Delhi, the oldest town in the county. It is located about in the center of Section 24, on the west bank of the North Fork of the Maquoketa. The town plat, containing forty-six acres. was laid out in 1845 by Oliver A. Olmstead.
The first settlers were Lucius Kibbee in 1837, and Gilbert D. Dillon in 1839. James Cavanaugh, a blacksmith, settled here about 1843, and established the second blacksmith shop in the county. About 1842, Oliver A. Olmstead. built a saw-mill on the Maquoketa. In 1843, a log school house was built about a mile east of Olmstead's on the edge of Dubuque County, where the few chil- dren in the Kibbee settlement went to school. In this house the first school was taught in the Winter of 1843-4 by John Keeler. This was the Rockville school house for some years. In 1846, the post office of Rockville was estab- lished. It was on the stage road from Dubuque via Delhi to Quasqueton and Independence. About this time, Mr. Olmstead built a small grist-mill with one run of stones, made of what is termed " lost rock," designed for grinding corn. During this year, in the Spring, Cyrus Keeler died at Rockville from the effects of taking a dose of saltpeter by mistake, supposing he was taking epsom salts.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.