USA > Iowa > Iowa County > The history of Iowa County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. > Part 32
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The war of the Rebellion, another great national contest, began in 1861; at that time most of the counties were already named, and with the excep- tion, probably, of Lyon county, in the extreme northwest corner of the State, there is nothing in the names of counties to commemorate names made illustrious in that contest. With townships, the case is different, as they organized after the war, and are now being organized. In Iowa county, we have a Lincoln township and a Sumner township, while probably nearly half of the counties in the State have either a Lincoln or a Grant township.
Again, it is proper to state a fact which is particularly applicable to the matter in point; in naming newly discovered countries and streams of water, the discoverers and first settlers of America originated the plan of adopting Indian names. As new streams of water were discovered, new Territories formed and new towns laid out this plan was adhered to. The precedent thus formed by the fathers, grew into an established custom, the wisdom of which has become more and more apparent as by use the ear be- comes accustomed to the sound, and eye familiar with the sight of them.
In naming newly discovered countries and streams of water, the first set- tlers of Iowa followed the custom of adopting Indian names. The custom
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HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
doubtless had its origin in the precedent adopted by the first discoverers of America.
By following the custom our language has become greatly enriched, and each successive generation is reminded of a race of people once numerous and powerful, but now so weak and abject as to be virtually eliminated from the family of nations. These names have invariably a pleasing sound, when the ear becomes accustomed to them, and their adoption is a most be- fitting tribute to a race of people which, although savages, possessed cer- tain characteristics which make the story of their misfortunes the most re- markable to be found on the pages of history, and the most pathetic which has been wrought by the stern vicissitudes of time.
It has been intimated by one that there is nothing in a name; but a name sometimes means a great deal.
Names are sometimes given to towns and countries by accident; some- times they originate in the childish caprice of some one individual, whose dictate, by reason of some real or imaginary superiority, is law. Those counties and cities of our State, however, which were named after distin- guished aboriginal chieftains, or to commemorate great national events, have great real significance, and in this instance the county and its chief city did not receive a name by accident; neither did it originate in the childish caprice of one man, but the christening took place after mature deliberation and by general consent.
The Territory had been formed and a name taken from the language of the original possessors of the soil applied to it; this name both in its signi- fication and its appearance to the eye and sound to the ear was "beauti- ful." Upon the discovery of the first stream of importance in this newly discovered country the name Iowa was again called into use, and the Iowa River first became a part of the geography of the world.
In the course of a few years the best tracts of land along the western banks of the Mississippi River were taken up and the restless pioneer pushed westward and northward along the Iowa River beyond the limits of the then known world. Johnson county had been surveyed, organized and named. A city sprang up and in consideration of the anticipated fact of its becoming the capital of the Territory, an anticipation which was soon realized, it was named Iowa City.
Time passed on rapidly, as time always passes, but not fast enough, seemingly, to keep pace with the advancing tide of events. The pioneer pressed westward and the extent of this Iowa-beautiful-land was far be- yond what the founder of the first capital city on the banks of the Missis- sippi had dreamed of, and even the founders of the second capital city cast their eyes timidly westward fearful of the formidable rival which must in- evitably enter the lists and contend for the honors of head city of the State. Then it was that the beautiful region of country of which we write began to be settled; it was supposed to be not far from the center of the Terri- tory; it was destined to become the center of wealth and population; it bid fair to become a representative, if not a leading county of the State; it was located partly on both sides of the beautiful river, and the beautiful State with its beautiful city and beautiful river needed but a beautiful-Iowa- county to carry out to its conclusion the principle laid down in the naming of the Territory. And so was formed and christened the beautiful county so favorably situated, and so appropriately named, and no less fortunate in the character of its citizens than in its name and location.
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i
1
"HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
CHAPTER II.
PHYSICAL FEATURES.
Situation-Extent-Surface-Rivers-Timber -Climate - Prairies -- Soil - Geology - Eco- nomic Geology -- Coal -- Spring and Well Water.
IowA county is situated south and east of the center of the State. Ac- curately speaking, it is fifty miles east, and south about twenty-five of the geographical center of the State. The town of State Center, a station on the Northwestern Railway, in Marshall county, is very near the geograph- ical center of the State, while Marengo is somewhat east of the center of wealth and population. Numbering by counties, Iowa is in the fourth tier, counting from the east, and in the ninth numbering from the west; it is in the sixth tier from the north boundary of the State, and in the fourth from the south. It lies between 41 degrees and 30 minutes and 42 degrees north latitude, it being somewhat north of the latitude of New York City. Its longitude is about 92 degrees and 50 minutes west of Greenwich, and the center of the county is about 13 degrees west of the National Capital, or about 1,100 miles.
It is bounded on the north by Benton county, on the south by Washing- ton and Keokuk, and the west by Poweshiek. On the south; one-fourth of the county line, or six miles touches on Washington county, and three- fourths, or eighteen miles touch on Keokuk.
The county is in the shape of a square, or as nearly so as could be made by the original government surveys. It consists of sixteen congressional townships, each six miles square, and had the surveys been strictly accu- rate, would contain three hundred and sixty-eight thousand six hundred and forty acres; the surveys of necessity not being strictly accurate, the county contains more than that number of acres, probably about three hun- dred and sixty-nine thousand acres. The civil townships, as now consti- tuted, are as follows: Green, Filmore, English, Dayton, Lincoln, Pilot, Troy, York, Iowa, Hilton, Sumner, Hartford, Honey Creek, Cono, Wash- ington, Marengo, Amana and Lenox. Of these all correspond in their boundaries with congressional townships, except Iowa, Hilton, Sumner, Honey Creek, Cono, Marengo, Washington, Amana, and Lenox.
These last mentioned townships in their boundaries follow the course of streams and other natural lines, such as rivers, rather than the original government surveys.
The Iowa River forms the southern boundary of Washington and Cono townships, and the northern boundary of Honey Creek and Marengo.
On this account the boundary lines of these townships are very irregular. A strip three miles long and two miles wide is taken out of the north- eastern corner of the congressional township to which Sumner belongs, and is attached to Marengo. A strip a mile and a half square is taken out of the northwestern corner of the congressional township to which Hilton be- longs, and is attached to Marengo. A small portion of the northeastern corner of the township to which Hilton belongs is attached to Amana and Iowa. Beginning on the south four townships, Green, Filmore, English and Dayton, consist of the ranges 9, 10, 11 and 12 of congressional town- ship, 78; York, Troy, Pilot and Lincoln consist of ranges 9, 10, 11 and 12 of ¡congressional township, 79; Hartford township corresponds with con-
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HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
gressional township 80, range 12; all of Sumner is in township 80, range 11; all of Hilton is in township 80, range 10; Iowa is partly in range 9 and partly in range 10, of township 80; the other townships are so irregu- lar in their boundaries as to make it impracticable to institute a compari- son with the congressional townships.
The present arrangement of townships, all things considered, is as good as could be made. The Iowa River makes a regular division of the north- ern part of the county into civil townships impracticable. As a.conse- quence there are three cornered strips with irregular boundaries very dif- cult to describe.
It must not be supposed, however, that the present subdivision of the county into civil townships has been such from the beginning; on the con- trary it has been the growth of years, and has only become possible in more recent times. Originally, the first settlements were the basis for the formation of the first townships, and new townships were formed from time to time as the country settled up and such organizations became possible. The subdivision of the county into civil townships as they originally existed together with the subsequent changes is a matter which forms a very interesting and important part of the county's history. It will be treated more fully elsewhere.
The surface of the county is an undulating plane, there being few marked elevations and depressions except in the vicinity of the rivers.
The surface, however, is far from being flat, and there is as perfect a system of natural drainage as can be found anywhere. From some of the higher points the eye commands views of exquisite loveliness, embracing the sil- vey course of river or creek, the waving foliage of trees, the undulating surface of prairie, with cultivated farms, with farm houses-from the log hut of the first settler, to the brick or painted houses and barns of the more. advanced cultivators of the soil, and the palatial mansions of the wealthy capitalist. A writer of considerable reputation, and a close student of nat- ural history, says:
"The real beauty of this section can hardly be surpassed; undulating prairies, interspersed with open groves of timber, and watered with pebbly or rocky streams, pure and transparent, with banks spotted here and there with timber and again with the green sward of the prairie-these are the ordinary features of the landscape. For centuries the successive annual crops have accumulated organic matter on the surface to such an extent that the succession, even of exhausting crops, will not materially impov- erish the land."
It is well watered in the north and south by many streams, the princi- pal ones being the Iowa and English Rivers with their tributaries, Old Mans' Creek, Big Bear Creek, Little Bear Creek, together with many smaller streams. All the streams are timbered especially in the northern and southern portions of the county. The surface of the earth is in some portions quite broken and uneven, but as these portions are generally cov- ered with timber they are none the less valuable. In other parts of the county the land near the stream is level, rather too level in some places, but the very superior system of drainage renders it unsurpassed for agri- cultural purposes. The high table lands away from the streams are un- surpassed for their fertility. The "divide," as it is called, embraces a belt of land about fifteen miles wide, and extends along the whole length of the county. This as well as the county generally is settled by thrifty, enter-
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HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
prising and industrious citizens. The soil is chiefly a rich black loam, composed of vegetable deposits. The depth of the vegetable deposit which has been accumulating for ages varies from two to six feet in depth and is inexhaustable in fertility. The ease with which the soil is cultivated is an important item to the farmer. One man with a team can tend from forty to sixty acres of corn. There is very little waste land in the county. Such portions as are not well adapted to the cultivation and growth of wheat, corn and other cereals being the very best for grazing lands.
The country presented to the first settlers an easy task in subduing the wild land. Its broad prairies were fields almost ready for the planting of the crop, and its rich black soil seemed to be awaiting impatiently the op- portunity of paying rewards in the shape of abundant crops, as a tribute to. the labors of the husbandman. The farms of Iowa are generally large, level, unbroken by impassable sloughs and without other obstructions, such as stumps and boulders; what is true of the State is also true of Iowa county, with the exception of this, that the farms, as a rule, are smaller and better cultivated. Corn planters, reaping machines, mowers, and all kinds of labor-saving machinery can be used with great ease.
The prairie of the county is gently rolling throughout its whole extent. The timber is of a good quality, but the original growth, not overly abund- ant at first, has almost disappeared in some parts; this is more than made up by the cultivation of artificial groves.
The highest point of land in the county is considerably below the aver- age elevation of the State. The average 'elevation of the county is not far from 800 feet above the level of the sea or 356 feet above low water mark in the Mississippi River at Keokuk. The highest point along the Chicago & Rock Island Railway, between Davenport and Earlham, in Madison county, is Grinnell, where the elevation is 993 feet above the level of the sea or 549 feet above low water mark in the Mississippi River at Keokuk .. The elevations of the following points are not far from this:
Homestead.
848 feet.
Marengo. .820 feet.
Victor .788 feet.
Millersburg .765 feet.
Hinkletown .755 feet.
Koszta.
851 feet.
The highest point in the county is near the northwest corner and is not. far from 860 feet.
RIVERS AND CREEKS.
Iowa county is well supplied with living streams of water and these are- so well distributed over the county that man could not well make an im- provement upon the arrangment were he endowed with the power of mak- ing a readjustment of the system of drainage. Some of these streams have. good mill sites, and by reason of the water-power thus made accessible the. early settler was spared many of the hardships and inconveniences ex- perienced by the pioneers of other sections. These mill sites even now constitute a very important factor in the development of the material re- sources of the country.
The streams of the county, mentioned in the order of their importance, are as follows: Iowa River, English River, Big Bear Creek, Little Bear-
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HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
Creek, Old Man's Creek, Honey Creek; besides these there are numerous smaller branches and tributaries.
Iowa River-The Iowa River rises in Hancock county, in the midst of a broad, flat or slightly undulating drift region. The first rock exposed in its valley is the subcarboniferous limestone, which occurs in the form of rocky banks to the streams in the southwestern corner of Franklin county. The river then enters Hardin county, and cuts across the northeastern corner of the Iowa coal-field in a southeasterly direction, and enters the subcarbon- iferous limestone again, which it crosses, continuing the same direction and enters the region of the Devonian strata near the southwestern corner of Benton county. It continues in the region occupied by the Devonian rocks all the way to its confluence with the Cedar River, having made an abrupt bend to the southward in the northern part of Johnson county. From the point of its confluence with the Cedar River, it is known to traverse a part of the region occupied by the subcarboniferous strata, . but they being the friable ones of the Kinderhook formation no exposures of them are to be seen along that part of its course. Below its junction with the Cedar, and for some distance above that point, its valley is broad and flat, especially upon its northern side. Bluffs of from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet in height border the southern side of the valley, near the foot of which the river runs until it enters the flood plain of the Mississippi.
Above the. point just named the valley is generally broad with gently sloping sides, seldom too steep to be readily cultivated, and everywhere very beautiful if not romantic. The exposures along its course of the subcar- boniferous and Devonian limestones are usually in the form of low cliffs or smaller ledges and long distances often occur without an exposure of rock of any kind to be seen, for the whole valley is covered with excellent soil and deep subsoil derived from the drift which profusely covers the whole region. The valley has generally a well defined flood plain, and more or less distinct traces of terraces are not unfrequently seen along its sides. Its borders are not often distinctly defined either in height or width for they gradually blend with the uplands as they slope away in the distance from the river. The slope of the river bed is much more abrupt along the upper course of the stream than along its lower course and as a conse- quence the upper course will always be the more valuable for water-power. The upper course may be said to extend from Iowa Falls to Iowa City, the ayerage slope of which is three feet and one inch per mile. From Iowa City to the mouth of the river the slope is but two feet and four inches to the mile. The general direction of the river is from the northwest to the southeast but its course from where it enters Iowa county to a point about midway across the northwestern part of Johnson county is nearly due east; at the point last mentioned it makes an abrupt turn and flows due south; this place is called the Great Bend and the large bottom skirted by the river there is called the Big Bottom. For a radius of miles from Marengo to the south and southwest stretches away a valley of ex- traordinary fertility and surprising beauty. A bird's-eye view of this val- ley with its city of thousands of busy people, storehouses, residences, with its farms and farm houses would present a picture of prosperity, industry and activity rarely equaled in loveliness.
There are but two tributaries to the river from the north in the county; they are Coon Creek and Price Creek: from the south flow Honey Creek, Bear Creek and Hilton Creek. Before leaving this stream and proceeding
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HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
with a discription of these tributaries it will be proper to speak of some remains of a prehistoric race found near the banks of the streams further down.
During the summer of 1875 Professor Pratt, of Davenport, accompanied by several others made an excursion to the Iowa River near its mouth for the purpose of excavating some mounds in that vicinity. The professor's search was in the interest of science and therefore the result of his obser- vations are not only of general interest to the scientific world, but of, spe- cial and peculiar interest to those whose homes are in the valley of the lowa River.
Professor Pratt found a group of twelve mounds situated on the edge of bluff overlooking the valley of the river, and two and a half miles from the the river's mouth. The mounds were from eight to ten feet above the natural grade and from fifty to eighty feet in diameter, composed of a very hard earth of mixed clay and black soil. They were found to be burial mounds but the bones were not very numerous and were poorly preserved. Most of them contained quantities of oak wood in logs of six or eight inches in diameter; these logs were found in the bottom of the mound, and were very much decayed. Immediately under these logs bones were found.
Two of the mounds were opened with pick and spade, sinking a shaft sixty-nine feet in dimensions to the original surface level and then drifting in different directions where the indications were the most favorable. In the first nothing was found but flint chips and scattering human bones.
In the second mound was a large quantity of decayed wood at different levels from six to nine feet down. Portions of several skeletons were found, but so decayed that it was impossible to preserve a skull which could be restored to any considerable extent, and near one of the skulls was discovered a neatly carved stone pipe, representing a bird with eyes of pure native copper. Also a copper awl about six inches long, hammered square instead of round, and bent at right angles near one end.
When these discoveries had been made and further search seemed un- promising, a number of citizens volunteered their assistance with horses, plows and scrapers. This offer was accepted and the mound was soon scooped out. The mound was found to be composed of mixed earth with scarcely any gravel or stone in it. Large sticks of wood were found near the base and lying in irregular position, showing no general plan. There were many irregular layers, generally of small extent, scarcely more than one-tenth of an inch in thickness, of what appeared very much like white ashes, but whose real nature is very difficult to determine as there was no charcoal or other substance found associated with it to aid in explanation except that such layer was usually found in contact with the wood on the under side. It may have been composed of lime from river shells which had been burned, but such a supposition would be a mere conjecture.
The floor on which the mound was built was a fiery, hard, light colored clay. This was covered first with a layer about one inch in thickness of very tough, dark, yellow clay, slightly moist and about the consistency of stiff putty. Immediately above this were found the bones, implements, etc. The clay was entirely wanting in the other two mounds.
There were found portions of two or three skeletons so imperfectly pre- served as to scarcely bear handling without falling entirely to pieces.
The first object of special interest was a very large marine shell-Classis Madagascaransis-which was secured with a slight fracture by the
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HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
pickax. With this, and near one of the skulls, were large earthen vessels crushed entirely out of shape which, however, the professor took great pains to secure, in hope that their original form might be at least restored. These pots had contained a quantity of river shells, only small fragments of which could be distinguished, and a considerable quantity of white powder, above mentioned. A few feet from this was found another skull and other por- tions of the skeleton and near the head, as if it had been laid on the chest was a very smooth wrought copper ax, showing very distinct traces of the cloth in which it had been wrapped, and some portions still adhering to the copper. About the neck and in the earth inside this skull were some two hundred shell beads rather poorly preserved.
A few feet further the excavators discovered two carved stone pipes : representing birds, one being of red pipestone, which is unusual, and fur! nished with eyes of pearl. Also, in close proximity to these, three more copper axes.
. Except the red stone pipe all the articles from the mounds, and relics and implements were conveyed to Davenport and are now in the posession of the Society of Natural Science, where they are on exhibition.
. Big Bear Creek-This stream rises in the southeast corner of Marshall, and enters Poweshiek county near the northwest corner. Its course is a little south of east, and it leaves that county at the southeast corner of sec- tion 13, township 80, range 13. It is second to none in that county in im- portance. No other stream in the county waters such a long extent of country, the length of its course in the county being not far from thirty miles. It affords living water the year round, and while it is of inestima- ble value to stock-raisers, it seldom overflows its banks so as to destroy crops, and it is readily forded at most places during the greater portion of the year. Originally a narrow belt of timber skirted its banks throughout the larger part of its course, and there were four or five extensive groves which afforded a good supply of timber to the first settlers. The largest of these was Snook's Grove, extending west from the junction of Little Bear Creek to a point not far from the present site of Brooklyn. This grove was about three miles wide and some six or eight miles long, and formed a nucleus for the first settlements of the northern part of the county. There was a saw mill erected on this stream at an early day, by a man named Tal- bot, and it was known all over the county as Talbot's Mill. The stream enters Iowa county at the western border of Hartford township about mid- way. After entering the county its course is north of east and passing to the west of Marengo, empties into the Iowa River about two miles north- west of the county seat. The stream is skirted with considerable timber especially after the junction with it of Little Bear Creek. The stream con- tains quite a body of fresh water the year round and during the rainy season furnishes an outlet for an immense volume of water. When this stream is swollen by the rains it is unsafe to be forded and owing to the swiftness of the current near the mouth, it is not safe to venture upon it even in boats. A sad and long to be remembered catastrophe occurred near the mouth of this stream in the summer of 1875, which will be more fully treated elsewhere.
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