USA > Iowa > Polk County > The history of Polk County, Iowa : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., biographical sketches of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men > Part 56
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At that time there were quite a number of settlers scattered along on both sides of the Des Moines a distance of fifty or seventy-five miles north
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HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.
of the north line of Polk county. When election day came around these settlers had a right to cast their votes for national, State and county officers the same as those who resided in Polk county. People were moving into that country and leaving all the while, and it was exceedingly difficult for the politicians of Polk county to keep the track of this floating vote which in many instances held the balance of power. An instance has already been related wherein Barlow Granger sent an agent up into that country which had been entirely neglected by the other party, and thereby succeeded in electing his man. In 1849 Boone county ended its period of probation and ceased to be dependent upon Polk county. At that time it was organized and set up for itself. By reason of an oversight on the part of the General Assembly which enacted the law for the organization of Boone county, matters then became still more complicated with regard to the people who had settled in the region of country north and west of Boone.
It seems that the act providing for the organization of Boone county failed to make any change in the relation which all that unorganized territory northwest of Boone county originally sustained to Polk; consequently as far as the statutes were concerned that territory was still a part of Polk, while practically it was totally cut off from Polk by the organization of the new county of Boone. The jurisdiction of the civil officers of Polk county could not extend across the territory of the newly organized county of Boone, neither could the jurisdiction of the civil officers of Boone extend into the unorganized territory north and west. Thus matters stood when Judge McFarland went before the people for election to the office of judge on the expiration of the term which he held by appointment. There were quite a number of settlers scattered throughout the unorganized territory north and west of Boone county, and according to the provisions of the leg- islative enactment they belonged to the Fifth Judicial District, and being of proper age and citizens of the United States, they had a right to vote. When the day of election came no provisions had been made by the au- thorities of Polk county for the opening of the polls in this territory; there were no places designated for holding elections, no judges nor clerks of elec- tion, and no poll-books. Notwithstanding this the settlers gathered to- gether by neighborhoods and voted; those who were in favor of McFarland took their position in a row on one side of an imaginary line, and those op- posed to him took their places on the opposite side of the line. Nearly all the people throughout that region voted for McFarland, and although the election was conducted without any of the forms of law, the result was nevertheless transmitted to headquarters by a board of canvassers, and was counted the same as returns from the regularly organized counties. The result of the canvass showed that McFarland was elected, counting the vote of the unorganized territory, but by throwing out that vote his opponent was elected; he was declared elected, however, by the board of canvassers, and received his commission from the Governor. Steps were taken to con- test the election, and J. A. Hull, Esq., of Boonesboro, in connection with other counsel, carried the case before the proper tribunal. It was shown that the vote in the territory in question had been cast without any form of law, but the judges decided that unless the contestants could show fraud the vote must be counted, even though it was informal. It seems that a short time prior to this election, J. A. Hull had borrowed a barrel of lime from the Judge. When the latter ascertained that Hull was taking active measures to defeat him the latter sued him for the lime. Hull paid the bill
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HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.
to the justice, but in the mean time the irate judge was somewhat pacified and refused to receive the money from the squire; Hull, also refused to take it, and the proceeds of that judgment still constitute a portion of the assets of that justice or his heirs.
In April, 1847, Four Mile township was organized by order of the Board of County Commissioners, the following being a copy of the order:
Ordered, That so much of Des Moines township that is in township 78, range 23, that lies on the north side of the Des Moines river, and township 79, range 23, and that part of Skunk township, which is in township 80, range 23, shall constitute, and be known and called, Four Mile township from, and after the first day of July next, and the place of hold- ing elections shall be at the house of Jacob Frederick, in said township.
Jacob Frederick, Montgomery McCall and Thos. H. Napier were ap- pointed judges of election in said township.
The next change made in the civil townships of Polk county occurred in January, 1848. The following orders adopted by the County Commission- ers at that time will show what those changes were:
Ordered, That so much of township 77, range 22, as lies on the northeast side of the Des Moines river be and the same is hereby attached to Camp township for election, judicial and all political purposes.
Ordered, That so much of township 77, range 22, as lies on the south side of the Des Moines river shall constitute one township for election, judicial and all political purposes; the name of said township shall be Richland, and the place of holding elections shall be at the school-house, situated near the house of Benjamin Phillips, in said township.
Ordered, That the congressional township 77, range 22, be known by the name of Allen township, and so much of township 78, range 23, as lies on the southwest side of the Des Moines river shall be and hereby is attached and made a part of Allen township; the place for holding the first election in said township shall be at the house of Thomas Reese.
Ordered, That so much of township 79, range 24, as lies on the east side of the Des Moines river and the south half of township 80, range 24, shall constitute one township for election, judicial and all political purposes; the name hereby given said township is Saylor township, and the place for holding the first election shall be at the house of John Saylor.
Ordered, That Madison township include all of township 81, range 25; all of township 80, range 25; all of township 81, range 24, and the north half of township 80, range 24.
Ordered, That Des Moines township shall consist of township 79, range 25; township 78, range 25; township 78, range 24, and that part of township 79, range 24, which lies on the west side of the Des Moines river.
Ordered, That Lynn township shall consist of township 77, range 25, and township 77, range 24, and the place for holding the first election shall be at a place hereinafter pro- vided.
Ordered, That Camp township shall consist of township 79 north, of range 22 west, and so much of township 78 north, of range 22 west, as lies on the northeast side of the Des Moines river; the place for holding the first election in said township shall be at the house of Patrick Kelley.
Ordered, That Skunk township shall consist of the following congressional townships, to- wit: Township 81 north, of range 23 west; township 81 north, of range 22 west, township 80 north, of range 22 west; township 80 north, of range 23 west; the place for holding the first election shall be at the house of Henry Berge.
The subdivision of the county into eight townships, as made in the be- ginning of the year 1848, remained for some time with a few unimportant alterations. In the course of time, however, as the unimproved parts of the county began to be settled up, important changes were made. Thus we see that the subdivision of the county at the present time into twenty-two civil townships is very different from the arrangement at that time. These changes did not occur all at one time, nor at remote times, the changes be- ing gradual and from time to time, as the wants of the people demanded. Some of the more marked changes have been made in comparatively recent
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HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.
times; thus in 1861 the county consisted of seventeen townships, as fol- lows: Allen, Bloomfield, Beaver, Camp, Des Moines, Delaware, Douglas, Elkhart, Franklin, Four Mile, Jefferson, Lee, Madison, Saylor, Valley, Washington and Walnut. The history of each township, as it formerly existed as a part of one of the original eight townships, already mentioned and whose formation has been detailed, on down till the present time as they became the parts of newly organized townships, and finally, became separate organizations as we now find them, would not only be interesting, but exceedingly valuable. Such a history will be found further on, where the general history of each township is narrated at length.
COUNTY JUDGE SYSTEM.
We have given a very full account of the proceedings of the Board of County Commissioners during the first two years after the organization of the county.
To some it may seem as if more space has been devoted to the doings of that body than the importance of their acts would seem to warrant. It must be remembered, however, that aside from the intrinsic importance of their official acts, there is a relative importance which inheres in the doings of this Board of Commissioners, seeing that they were the first executive officers of the county, and the first beginnings of things have clustering around them interests which do not attach to later and even more momentous transactions.
In 1851 the Board of County Commissioners was superseded by the office of County Judge. The gentleman first exalted to the honors and emoluments of this office was Byron Rice.
The management of county affairs thus being left in the hands of one individual the County Judge was in a small way a veritable despot; his word was final in the adjudication of claims against the county; he located roads, levied taxes, built bridges, erected court-houses and jails, and was amenable to no one except on day of election. Notwithstanding the almost unlimited authority exercised by this official, and the large amount of money constantly at his disposal, we do not find that the trust was fre- quently betrayed. During the whole time that county affairs were in the hands of the County Judge there was but one case, throughout the entire State, in which this official proved corrupt and was false to the trust con- fided in him. This seems to be remarkable and we are led to inquire the cause. Was it because the people were particularly fortunate in the selec- tion of men for that office? Men whom the consciousness of power could not corrupt and money could not buy? Or is there some philosophy whereby may be explained this wonderful purity of one man power? We are inclined to the latter opinion. It is a law of social being that men are more swift to go with the multitude in the way to do evil than to individually assume the responsibility of an evil act, and the risk which few men would be willing to individually assume there are many who would be willing to divide. Thus it is that the County Judge was more than usually accommo- dating, careful and particular. Should he make a mistake he must alone assume the responsibility; should he arrogate authority or misappropriate funds, he alone must bear the odium of crime. Thus it followed, too, that County Judges enjoyed to a remarkable degree the confidence of the people,
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HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.
and their tenure of office was longer than other officials; they generally having been elected for several terms.
Polk county does not furnish an exception to the rule of long time in this office. During the ten years that this office was in existence there were but three different incumbents. Byron Rice held the office four years; Thomas H. Napier, four years; and John H. McClelland, two years, until he was legislated out of office. There was an officer elected after 1861 called a County Judge, but his duties were chiefly clerical, the Board of Supervisors who came into office at that time becoming the executive head of the county. The County Judge's duties, from 1861 to 1869, were ident. ical with those of the County Auditor, the name given to the office at the lat- ter date. Among these County Judges doing the work of an Auditor from 1861 to 1869 were W. G. Bentley, J. G. Weeks and J. B. Miller. It was during the administration of Judge Napier that the first steps were taken toward the building of the present court-house, and two prop- ositions to bond the county in aid of railroads were submitted to the people of the county during the administration of the County Judge; the first was in 1853, when Byron Rice was incumbent of the office, the proposition being to issue bonds to the amount of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to aid in the construction of the Lyons and Iowa Central Railroad; the other was in 1856, under Judge Napier's administration, the proposition being to issue bonds to the amount of two hundred thousand dollars in aid of the Mississippi Railroad.
Both of these propositions carried; the former by a vote of 366 in favor of the proposition to 162 against it; the latter proposition was carried by a majority of 229 votes.
Judge Napier was born in Virginia in the year 1809, and was one of the first persons who emigrated to the county after the departure of the Indians. He came to the State in 1839, and to this county in March, 1846, where he has constantly resided ever since. He is a resident of Des Moines at present, and now holds the office of justice of the peace.
THE TOWNSHIP SYSTEM.
In 1861 the County Judge system was succeeded by a board of super- visors. This Board consisted of one member from each civil township. The first session of this Board was held in January, 1861, on the first Mon- day, it being the 7th day of the month. The following named gentlemen constituted the Board:
Allen township, A. Kinworthy; Bloomfield, S. Gray; Beaver, Thomas Mitchell; Camp, A. Fouts; Des Moines, John Mitchell; Delaware, James O. Mason; Douglas, James H. Mathes; Elkhart, G. W. Gurnea; Frank- lin, James Barrett; Four Mile, B. Hawley; Jefferson, John McClain; Lee, H. H. Griffiths; Madison, George Beebe; Saylor, W. S. Fisher; Valley, W. W. Jones; Washington, S. J. Batchelder; Walnut, David Wright.
On the assembling of the Board John Mitchell was elected chairman and S. A. Ayers was appointed clerk.
There were material changes in the membership of the Board each year, old members annually retiring and new ones being elected. The Board elected a new presiding officer on the first Monday of January, each year, whose duty it was to serve during that year.
This miniature legislature had charge of county affairs during the most
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HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.
. critical period of the county, and while the management was in the main satisfactory the body proved to be too cumbrous, and while theoretically each section of the county was represented in the Board, practically it was usually the case that one man of more than average intelligence and force of character controlled the entire Board, and if he inclined to engage in somne little job he had the less hesitancy in doing so from the fact that there were sixteen others with whom he could share the responsibility. After an experiment of ten years the township system was legislated out of existence and in its stead was introduced the present system of three Supervisors, which is virtually the same as the first Board of County Commissioners. Thus, after years of experimenting, first with a Board of one, and then with a Board of seventeen, they got back to the original plan, which in all respects is probably the best which can be devised. While it does not leave the management of affairs in the hands of a single individual, it still leaves the matter in the hands of a Board which can transact business with expe- dition, and is a body of sufficient dignity and standing to secure as repre- sentatives men of intelligence and ability.
THE NEW BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
According to the law which went into effect in 1871, the management of county affairs was placed in the hands of a board of three supervisors. This Board of County Supervisors took the oath of office and entered upon the discharge of their duties on the first Monday of January, 1871. By the provisions of the law creating this Board of Supervisors the County Auditor became clerk of the Board .. The first Board consisted of Brian Hawley, Edwin Oakes and P. D. Ankeny. In the course of a few years a new law was enacted providing that counties of more than a certain population should be entitled to a greater number of Supervisors. According to the provisions of this law Polk county was entitled to five members, and the law also provided for the subdivision of the county into Supervisor's dis- tricts, each district being represented by one Supervisor, who was to be a resident of the district which he represented. The county was then at the next meeting of the Board so subdivided into districts as follows:
District No. 1, Des Moines township; population, 9,190.
District No. 2, Lee township; population, 5,871.
' District No. 3, Madison, Jefferson, Lincoln, Elkhart, Crocker and Doug- las townships; population, 5,6 07.
District No: 4, Washington, Franklin, Beaver, Camp and Delaware town- 1 ships; population, 5,097. :
District No. 5, Walnut, Saylor, Valley, Bloomfield, Allen, Four Mile and Grant; population, 5,128.
The county at present has the same number of Supervisors and the dis- tricts remain substantially the same; while some new townships have since been created, the territory composing each district has undergone little or no change. During the time that the administration of county affairs has been in the charge of the Board of Supervisors the county affairs have been, in the main, honestly and economically administered.
. Owing to the rapid growth in population and wealth of the county, the amount of revenue collected and expended has been so much larger than formerly and the responsibilities and duties of the office of county super-
Barlow Granger
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HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.
visor have so increased, that now the office is become to be regarded one of the most responsible and honorable ones in the county.
COURT-HOUSE.
It has been remarked that when Fort Des Moines ceased to be a govern- ment post and the garrison was removed, a certain portion of land, together with all the government buildings, was donated to the county. It was in one of these old government buildings that the various county offices were at first located. It was not long, however, after the organization of the county till some of the county officials, as well as others not officials but very ambitious for the prosperity of Fort Des Moines, began to agitate the erection of a court-house. Many of the county seats in the older settled counties began with a court-house, and it was thought that the dignity of Fort Des Moines was suffering in that other seats of justice, much less pre- tentious, had court-houses, while the capital of Polk had none.
Notwithstanding the fact that a large number, probably a large majority, of the people in every county have very little practical experience in the courts, and although they have the legal capacity to sue and be sued, never improve their opportunities, and never appear in court unless it be on com- pulsion as witnesses or jurors, yet, as the one great conservator of peace, and as the final arbiter in case of individual or neighborhood disputes, the court is distinguished above and apart from all and every other other insti- tution of the land, and not only the proceedings of the court but the place of holding court is a matter of interest to the average reader. Not only so, but in many counties the court-house was the first, and usually the only public building in the county. These first court-houses were not very elab- orate buildings, to be sure, but they are enshrined in memories that the pres- ent never can know; their uses were general rather than special, and so constantly were they in use, day and night, when court was in session and when it was not in session, for judicial, educational, religious and social purposes, that the doors of those court-houses, like the gates of gospel grace, stood open night and day, and the small amount invested in those old bass- wood logs or walnut weatherboarding returned a much better rate of inter- est on the investment than do those stately piles of brick or granite which have taken their places. The memorable court-house of early times was a house adapted to a variety of uses, and had a career of great usefulness. School was taught, the gospel preached and justice dispensed within its substantial old walls. Then it served frequently as a resting place for weary travelers, and indeed its doors always swung on easy hinges.
It appears that a certain one of the government buildings, known as room No. 26, was occupied, in August, 1846, by Miss Davis, as a school-room. Miss Davis must have been the pioneer school teacher of Des Moines, and, if a good one, her work was, doubtless, more important than that of the courts, nevertheless, she was ordered to vacate the premises and make way for her successor, the Judge of the District Court, who held the first term of court in September following. The order of the Board of Commissioners was as follows:
Ordered, That room No. 26, now occupied by Miss Davis as a school-room, be and the same is hereby reserved by the Board for the approaching session of the District Court.
35
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HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.
At the meeting of the Commissioners in January, 1847, the first steps were taken toward the erection of a court-house. At that meeting the fol- lowing characteristic order was passed:
Ordered, That the clerk of the Board is hereby authorized to advertise that the Board of Commissioners of Polk county will, at their April term, 1847, receive and examine any plans which may be proposed by any person for building a court-house, and that a liberal reward will be given to the person who shall produce before said Board the plans that may be adopted.
It is probable that no such plans were presented and no suitable rewards paid, as there is no further record relating to the building of a court-house until October, when the following order was made:
Ordered, That the Board purchase of Thomas McMullen lot number 7, in block 15, for the purpose of building a court-house thereon, which lot is purchased on the following condi- tions: The said Thomas McMullen shall deliver to this Board the bond given him for said lot, and Board shall pay the said McMullen the sum of ten dollars, and deliverto him three notes of hand given by said McMullen to said Board of Commissioners on the 21st day of July, 1847, the amount of each of said notes being $8.33, and the total amount being $24.99.
It was then decided that the court-house be built on the aforesaid lot. The house was to be a frame, 24x36 feet, and two stories high. At one end of the basement story was to be a passage-way twelve feet wide, and the re- mainder of the basement was to be divided into four rooms, each twelve feet square. The upper story was to consist of one room, 24x36 feet, and to contain a sufficient number of doors and windows.
After giving the foregoing directions with regard to the court-house, it was ordered that John C. Jones be employed to draught the plan of the house described, and deliver the same to the Board.
It was afterward decided to build the structure partly of brick instead of all frame, and the size was changed to 26x42 feet. It was a big house; the biggest at that time in Fort Des Moines, or in Polk county, or even in all Central Iowa. In it were located the several county offices, on the first floor, and on the second floor, in the room 24x36 feet, met that august as- semblage known as the District Court, where the vocal, and not unfre- quently muscular, pioneer attorneys had full scope for the employment of their varied powers, both physical and intellectual. But not only as a court room was this magnificent hall used.
If the old settlers are to be believed, the old black walnut weatherboard- ing often rang on the pioneer Sabbath with a more stirring eloquence than enlivens the pulpits of the present time. Many of the earliest ministers have officiated within its walls, and if those old walls could speak, they would tell many a strange tale of pioneer religion that is now lost forever. The preacher would mount a store box in the center of the room, and the audience would disperse themselves about on benches.
To that old court-house ministers came of different faiths, but all eager to expound the simple truths of a sublime and beautiful religion, and point out for comparison the thorny path of duty, and the primrose path of dalliance. Often have those old walls given back the echoes of those who did a song of Zion sing, and many an erring wanderer has had his heart moved to repentance thereby more strongly than ever by the strains of homely eloquence. With Monday morning the old building changed its character, and men came there seeking not the mercy of God, but the jus-
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