USA > Iowa > Wapello County > The history of Wapello County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., a biographical directory of citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics history of the Northwest, history of Iowa > Part 55
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OTTUMWA.
Ottumwa, the city of perseverance or self-will, as the name implies, according to authorities cited further on in this chapter, stands on more hills than Rome can boast, and is beautiful for situation. Before we enter upon the work of telling how the hand of man wrought the mighty changes everywhere apparent, let us step upon one of the commanding eminences and view the scene of to-day.
Here, from this hill, can be seen the river, winding far away. The valley at our feet teems with life. To the northward, the enterprise which gives move- ment to the industrial institutions of the town-the water-power-utilizes the vast force of the river and brings it under the control of man. Southward, along the lowland, are seen the nucleus of future developments. Unfinished walls tell of the confidence reposed in the locality by men of capital, and attract to themselves still other manufacturing interests. Like unto the mysterious influence of the magnet are those silent forces with which investments are con- trolled by preceding ventures. Where once the movement is begun, the tide of prosperity is almost certain to flow. And all this is natural enough, since the first effort is likely to be made only after serious consideration of advantages to the investor. Let that vital question be once decided and it remains settled for all time, or at least for so long a period as the leading local agencies prove worthy of foreign aid. Ottumwa is fortunate in the character of her leading men. They are alive to modern enterprise and court the sustaining power which foreign wealth can impart to the town.
Hence, we notice from our post of observation the evidences of two essen- tial elements of prosperity. First, the work which nature did in this region was well performed ; and second, the men whom fate located here are of the right stamp to use the gifts of nature prudently and to their full value. The river is broad, the supply of water is practically limitless and the means of diverting it into practicable channels for daily use are both economic and easy of control. The region roundabout is fertile and, as yet, in its infancy of pro- ductiveness. Beneath the surface of the earth lie vast beds of rich coal, which can be employed readily for fuel or as an article of commerce.
As we stand here, gazing at this busy town, with the churches and school houses, its streets of business blocks and its homes of elegance and refinement,
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY.
which betoken so high a degree of prosperity among its people, we find ourselves asking : From whence came all this ? Let us take up the answer in its fullest sense.
THE APPANOOSE RAPIDS COMPANY.
When it became apparent that the flood of emigration was moving in the direction of the Des Moines, westward from Jefferson County, there were shrewd men ready to perceive the possibilities incident to so marked a growth in settlement. Before the binding acts of legislation had been approved, by which the boundaries of this county were defined, it was practically decided that the new counties west of Jefferson were to be of uniform size. Each division was to be twelve Congressional townships, or eighteen miles north and south by twenty-four miles east and west. In 1842, the cession of Indian land included a range westward almost to the western line of what is now Monroe County, and left Wapello in full possession of the whites after the expiration of the date of limit, May 1, 1843. Ample time was afforded those who were speculatively inclined to consider ways and means of effecting judi- cious investments. Such men brought to their aid the well-known facts that the new counties would be regular in shape, as intimated above ; and, also, that it was the intent of those in authority to locate the seat of justice in each county as near the center of the county as natural conformation of the land would permit.
Wisely basing their calculations on these premises, a company of men per- fected an organization for the purpose of improving the opportunity offered for investment in the lands soon to become part of the public domain. The re- strictions placed upon the people by the terms of the treaty prevented an accurate survey in the lands of this county prior to the 1st of May, but, notwithstanding the vigilance of the dragoon, it is a fact that a random line was run westward from Jefferson County through this section, in the fall of 1842 or winter of 1843, by John Arrowsmith, and the geographical center of the county thereby established. It was the intention of these men to lay claim to the lands at the center and in the vicinity thereof, and patiently await the inevitable location of a town thereon. No records could be made or permanent organization accomplished until the all-important 1st of May, but the unwritten history of those days shows a spirit of watchfulness that must ever eventuate in success.
The time arrived when overt acts were possible. The claims were made on what was estimated to be the center of the county.
On the 20th day of May, 1843, J. R. McBeth, Uriah Biggs, John Lewis, Thomas D. Evans, Paul C. Jeffries, Hugh George, David Glass, Sewell Kenny, William Dewey and Milton Jamieson met in the embryonic metropolis of Ottumwa, and entered into formal articles of association "for the better organi- zation of the Appanoose Rapids Company."
The quoted portion of the above paragraph proves that a preliminary organization had been made. By these articles, the original of which is before the writer, it is shown that the Company were " proprietors of the following prop- erty or claims near and adjoining the Appanoose Rapids of the Des Moines River, known by the Indian name of Ottumwa, in Wapello County, Iowa Territory, viz .: What is supposed to be the northeast quarter and the southeast quarter and the east half of the northwest quarter and the east half of the southwest quarter of Section 24; and so much of the north half of Section 25 as lies on the left bank of the said river, including the island therein, in Town 72 north, Range 14 west; and also the west half of Section 30, Town 72 north, Range
463
HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY.
13 west, and the southwest quarter of Section 19, Town 72 north, Range 13 west." The articles of agreement continue as follows :
Each of said proprietors, or their successors, shall pay a portion of the expenses and debts of the Company, proportionate to the share held by him, whether said debts and expenses may have been previously contracted in the prosecution of the designs of the Company and for their benefit. or may be hereafter incurred to carry out this agreement. It is further agreed that the aforesaid proprietors shall continue to lay out, and cause to be platted and numbered, the town now in part surveyed by John Arrowsmith. And the aforesaid proprietors hereby bind them- selves and their assigns to use all legal and honorable means, jointly and separately, to procure the location of the seat of justice for the said county of Wapello at said town ; and in furtherance of this object, the aforesaid proprietors do hereby bind themselves, their heirs and assigns, to donate to said county of Wapello every alternate lot in said town, or that may be laid out in said town, the proprietors holding the one-half of said town, and the said county the other half, so as to make as legal a division as practicable ; provided that the county seat shall be located in said town ; and provided, also, that the said donation shall not exceed one quarter section (160 aeres). including streets, alleys and public grounds. It is also agreed, and the said proprietors hereby bind themselves, their heirs and assigns, to donate the mill seat at the rapids aforesaid, with a suffi- eient quantity of ground for milling purposes, to any good and sufficient person or persons who will bind him or themselves to ereet a flouring or saw-mill thereon, at such time as the Company may hereafter determine. and build a dam and sufficient loek. [The ambiguity of that last sen- tence has been explained to mean that the building of the dam and lock also devolved on the party accepting the donation of lands for milling purposes .- ED. ] It is also agreed that the parts of the claims not laid out in town lots shall be held as the joint property of the Company, as tenants in common, and is hereby reserved from sale as a fund to insure the perfecting of the title to the land sales, and then to be divided between the parties, or their heirs or assigns, agreeably to the shares they may represent.
Any proprietor, or his heirs or assigns, failing to furnish and pay his due proportion of the purchase money when the said claims are offered for sale by the General Government, he or they are to forfeit his or their right and share to those who pay.
The Company shall hold regular stated meetings for the transaction of business, and the officers of said Company shall be a President and Secretary. The duties of the President shall be to preside at all meetings of the Company for business, etc., but in his absence the Company may select one pro tem. The duties of the Secretary shall be to keep a record of the proceed- ings of the Company, and such other duties as the Company may direet. A majority of the Company shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and any number may call a special meeting at any time by giving reasonable notice to the different members of the Company of the time and place of meeting. For convenience in the transaction of business, it is agreed that the aforesaid claims shall consist of twenty-four equal shares, to be held by the proprietors as ten- ants in common, to wit : J. R. McBeth shall hold and be entitled to two shares, Uriah Biggs two shares, John D. Elbert two shares, John Lewis two shares, Paul C. Jeffries four shares, Hugh George two shares, David Glass two shares, William Dewey one share, Sewall Kenny one share, Thomas Devin two shares, and Thomas D. Evans four shares.
Then follow the attestation and signatures. The inconsistency in the apportionment of shares is not explained. The four shares assigned to Mr. Jef- fries were to be divided between himself and Milton Jamieson whenever Mr. Jamieson should sign the articles of agreement. The shares held by Uriah Biggs were to be transferred to Thomas Devin on the same conditions.
At this first meeting, Uriah Biggs was appointed President pro tem., and J. R. McBeth, Secretary pro tem.
The second meeting of the Company was held May 22, or two days after the signing of the articles of association. At this time the following bills were allowed :
J. R. McBeth, cash paid out for Company in 1842. $11 88 Urialı Biggs, for same [meaning similar service]. 3 37}
John Arrowsmith, for surveying .. 29 00
The latter claim, coupled with the facts set forth below, are evidence that the statement in the body of the articles, viz .: " the pro- prietors shall continue to lay out *
-X the town," implied the platting of the town site early in May of that year, by Mr. Arrowsmith.
The Company proceeded at this meeting to set aside the lots designed as a donation to the county, provided the seat of justice was located thereat. The
464
HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY.
act organizing the county was not approved, it should be remembered, until the following year, or February 13, 1844. All that the Company could do was to offer an inducement for the selection of the site of Ottumwa as the seat. It was, therefore, agreed that the following-named lots be designated as county property under the circumstances mentioned herein :
Lots 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 in Blocks 1, 3, 5 and 7; Lots 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 in Blocks 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19; Lots 2, 6, 8 and 10 in Blocks 2, 4, 6 and 8; Lots 1, 3, 5 and 7 in Blocks 20, 21; Lots 2, 4 and 6, in Blocks 22 and 23; Lots 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 in Blocks 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 and 39; Lots 1, 3 and 5 in Blocks 38 and 40.
There appears evidence of certain concessions on the part of David Smith, William H. Galbraith, George F. Buckhalter and John W. Ayers, in the records at this point ; for the Company " confirmed to the donees " an undi- vided half of Lot 4, Block 37 (to Smith) and Lot 6, Block 20, Lot 10, Block 15 (to Galbraith and Ayres) and Lot 10, Block 11 (to Buckhalter). These men do not appear as proprietors of the town, but merely as having a right in equity to a certain share of the property.
The terms of sale were fixed at one-third of the purchase money in six months, one-third in twelve months, and the balance when the title became perfected in the company through formal entry. The lands included in the Indian " New Purchase," as the ceded tract was usually called, were not subject to entry for some years after the date now written about. The Company, to induce cash payments, offered a discount of 20 per cent on sales where the first two installments were met in advance, and still another discount of 15 per cent to those who should build houses on their lots within three months from the time of purchase. The houses were required to be of " hewed logs, with shingle roofs and stone or brick chimneys, and two floors of planks."
J. R. McBeth was chosen Agent of the Company pro tem., and "author- ized to sell lots and give bonds for deeds when the titles shall be perfected, and to take notes from purchasers according to the terms agreed upon " in the articles.
On the 6th of June, the Company resolved to set off three lots to each share, so that the members might act independently in the matter of improve- ment. The division was made by drawing numbered slips of paper from a receptacle of some sort. Prior to the drawing, the following lots were reserved, to be sold at the prices indicated, for the mutual benefit of the Company :
Block 20, Lot 2 $100
Block 29, Lot 12. $100
Block 20, Lot 8 110
Block 30, Lot 8 100
Block 21, Lot 2 75
Block 30, Lot 10. 100
Block 21, Lot 8
120 Block 30, Lot 12. 150
Block 22, Lot 1. 140
Block 31, Lot 6 .. 130
Block 22, Lot 5.
110
Block 31, Lot 10. 100
Block 23, Lot 1
110
Block 31, Lot 12.
130
Block 23 Lot 5.
100
Block 32, Lot 6.
100
Block 29, Lot 8.
75 Block 32, Lot 10. 75
Block 29, Lot 10
75 Block 32, Lot 12. 100
George Arrowsmith was appointed to prepare the list of lots, or to arrange as many lists of three each as there were shares represented by the Company. The drawing resulted as follows :
J. R McBeth drew Lot, Block 30; Lot 10, Block 36; Lot 9, Block 4; Lot 12, Block 13 ; Lot 6 Block 39; Lot 4, Block 29.
Uriah Biggs drew 4, 31; 8, 36; 7, 4; 8, 19; 6, 29; 12, 25.
Uriah Biggs, as agent for Thomas Devin, drew 6, 33; 10, 28; 10, 10; 12, 37 ; 8, 24; 8, 3.
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY.
Thomas D. Evans drew 8, 31; 8, 34; 2, 35; 2, 32; 12, 28; 10, 11; 6, 23; 2, 19; 6, 5; 12, 33; 8, 12; 6, 11.
Milton Jamieson drew 6, 19; 8, 28; 6, 28; 4, 30; 4, 19; 10, 3.
J. Lewis drew 8, 32; 6, 35; 8. 5, 2, 37; 12, 11; 2, 14.
J. D. Elbert drew 10, 19; 12, 24; 10, 25; 5, 21; 12, 10; 10, 5.
Paul (. Jeffries drew 8, 22; 10, 33; 6, 14; 2, 31: 12, 36; 6, 3.
William Dewey drew 6, 36; 10, 12; 8, 10.
Sewall Kenny drew 4, 32; 10, 24: 4, 14.
Hugh George drew 12, 19; 2, 29; 12, 27; 6, 37; 10, 34; 4, 35.
David Glass drew 10, 37; 8, 13; 8, 11; 2, 23; 8, 33; 12, 14.
At this meeting, Lot 4, Block 28, was donated to David Hall; and the undivided half of Lot 4, Block 27, half of which had already been given him, was transferred to David Smith.
On the 3d day of July, the Company forbade any one cutting timber from the " southern face of the hill in and adjoining town." It was also resolved that "' no streets and alleys be hereafter fenced in, and all fences now built on any street or alley be removed as soon as the present crops are gathered."
July 4, the Company celebrated by holding another meeting. There seems to have been but little diversion, except to meet and "transact business." John Lewis sold one-half of his interest in the Company to John D. Elbert, at this meeting.
It was agreed that a further disposition of lots be made, conditional upon each member building "a hewed-log or framed house in the town within three months," provided the same could be done out of the proceeds of the sale of lots.
The Company met on the 5th of July and proceeded to entertain itself by a second game of chance in drawing lots. As this seems to have been a favor- ite occupation, it is needless to give further record of the transfers.
A street, "66 feet wide to run around the sides and rear of town," was ordered surveyed.
August 3 was the regular date for the next meeting, and the Secretary, William Dewey, thus casts a fadeless stigma on the Company for its dereliction of duty :
OTTUMWA, August 3 (Thursday), 1843.
Present. nobody. Business, none. Proprietors not deeming the hour of sufficient impor- tance to be attended to, did not meet. WILLIAM DEWEY, Secretary.
THE FIRST MILL.
On the 11th of August, the Company received a proposition from Francis W. Harrow and others, of Indiana, to erect a dam, lock and mills, both saw and flouring, on condition of a donation of three and a half acres of land. The consent of William Ross, who owned the claim on the opposite side of the river, was obtained, and formal articles of agreement were entered into.
From November 2, 1843, to June 3, 1844, no meetings were held by the Company, so far as any records show. At the latter date, a committee was appointed to "confer with the County Commissioners in relation to the exchange of bonds for deeds to lots, etc." An important fact had been accomplished meanwhile. Wapello County had been legally organized ; a commission had been appointed by the Legislature to locate the seat of justice therein, and the Appanoose Rapids Company had been eminently successful in the attainment of its purpose.
OTTUMWA WAS CHOSEN AS THE COUNTY SEAT.
The selection was made in May, 1844, by Joseph B. Davis, of Washington County ; John H. Randolph, of Henry County, and Solomon Jackson, of Lee
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY.
County, who were designated in the organizing act as Commissioners for that purpose.
An amicable arrangement was made between the County Board and the Company, about the 1st of June, and an exchange of bonds was made.
Messrs. Kenny, Biggs and Lewis were appointed a committee to select a site for a Court House, and reported in favor of the lot nearly opposite the present City Hall.
THE FIRST COURT HOUSE.
The Company bound itself to erect a Court House, Messrs. John Fuller, Paul C. Jeffries and J. R. McBeth acting as a Building Committee.
An amusing and suggestive item is obtained from the minutes of the meet- ing of July 1, 1844. Mr. Jeffries was allowed 5 cents per folio for tran- scribing the records of the Company, and also 75 cents for a suitable book in which to write them. The book into which the important transactions were transferred was nothing less than an old hotel register, or a common three-quire blank book, which had been used in some Kentucky (we infer from the places) inn, as far back as 1839. Books and stationery were scarce articles in those days, and Mr. Jeffries was obliged to utilize such materials as were at hand.
The Recorder was allowed $7.50 for recording the town plat.
John Fuller was allowed $1.75 for carrying the surveyor's chain during the platting of the town,
Paul C. Jeffries was also paid $5.50 for driving stakes and hauling corner- stones to mark the outlots.
In the original division of lots, certain parcels of land were transferred to David Glass, Paul C. Jeffries, David Smith, J. R. McBeth and Hugh George, which were desired by the Mill Company, when a selection for that purpose was made. On that account these men relinquished their title to their first choice, and placed the lots at the disposal of the all-important mill men.
A public sale of lots was held July 4, 1844.
At a meeting held September 18, 1845, a bond executed by David Arm- strong, Joel Myers and Thomas C. Coffin, dated December 5, 1843, but for some reason not entered on the Company's records, was duly entered and attested, showing an agreement between the parties to erect a dam across the river at Ottumwa.
During the years 1846-47, no meetings of importance were held, but when the time arrived for the pre-emption of the land, when it was offered for sale at Fairfield, the meetings were more frequent and urgent.
In March, 1848, Uriah Biggs and David Glass were appointed agents to make the required purchase, and on the 23d of that month a distribution of the property among the shareholders took place.
No further records of the Company can be found, although careful search has been made several times by legal gentlemen interested in suits growing out of the questions of titles.
The Company no longer exists. It has gone the way of earthly organiza- tions, and has entered the great list of the majority who have gone on before. The doings and the sayings of the original band of speculators would form a most interesting chapter for those who are concerned in Ottumwa, and the absence of fuller records is to be regretted.
THE NAME.
The Indian name Ottumwa was retained by the Appanoose Rapids Company, although for a time, in 1844, the new village was called Louisville, at the sug-
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY.
gestion of the Locating Commissioners. That title was soon discarded and the original name resumed. The good sense of the proprietors in thus perpet- uating an Indian name, and attaching to their town a distinctive designation, appropriate because of its selection by the aborigines and desirable because of its dissimilarity to all other names in the country, is clearly shown. The act which made Ottumwa the name of the future metropolis of Southeastern Iowa was wise and sensible.
One authority on the signification of Ottumwa says that the name came about in this wise: There was a time when the Sacs and Foxes then residing upon the Iowa, Cedar, Skunk and more eastern streams in the State found it convenient or necessary to extend their borders toward the setting sun, and for that purpose sent out colonies, one of which located on the banks of the Des Moines, in this vicinity, the place receiving the name of "Ottumwa," or " the place of the departed." Mr. Smart, once the interpreter for the Indians, when they lived in this region, disputes the above. and says that " Ottum- wanoc" (swift water) was the name applied by the Indians to the rapids in the Des Moines River at this place. Still another version, given by one familiar with the Indian tongue, is that Ottumwa is applied to one or a small number of persons who live alone or off by themselves. Noc means place. The Indians called it Ottumwanoc, or the place of the hermits, because Appanoose and his band left the rest of the tribe on the Iowa River and built a village where Ottumwa now stands. The rest of the tribe called them Ottumwa, and the village " Ottumwanoc." The term was applied to old Appanoose by Wapello and others, one authority declares, in a spirit of disgust at his strong will, which enabled him to resist the earnest invitations of his brothers to leave his lone camp and unite with them. The "Lone Chief" was treated to many a " Ugh, ugh !" because of his'strength of mind and determination to abide in Ottumwanoc. This last interpretation seems peculiarly fitted to the place, and should be, in justice to the people of Ottumwa. esteemed the proper one. The spirit of Appanoose dwells here still. Determined, strong and devoted to their locality, the modern inhabitants emulate the example of Appanoose. They make their town an abiding-place of a powerful will, and through the exercise of that power achieve success.
Uriah Biggs, one of the original Appanoose Rapids Company, is authority for the statement that "Ottumwanoc" means "the place of perseverance or self-will," because of Appanoose's dogged determination to remain there. Mr. Biggs declared that the Indians themselves so informed him.
LOCATION OF THE POST OFFICE.
According to the statement made by Mr. Biggs in the " Annals of Iowa," October, 1865, the post office was located at Ottumwa early in 1843, while the name of the place was still Louisville. A sharp fight ensued over the question of a name, but Ottumwa was finally decided upon.
THE ORIGINAL PLAT OF OTTUMWA
contained 467 acres. It was designed to erect the Court House on the south- east fractional quarter of Section 24. The land was legally pre-empted, under the act of Congress of May 26, 1824, on the 9th day of September, 1845. The original company of proprietors no longer exists, even by succession of interests.
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY.
INDIAN CAMP-GROUNDS.
In 1840 and 1841, Major Beach used to hold Indian counsels in front of where Judge Hendershott's residence now stands, and under the shade of a tree, near a spring which bubbles forth in the rear of the present Episcopal Church. Modern improvements have not only driven the children of Nature from their homes, but they have rendered unavailable Nature's delicious fonts. The spring no longer quenches the thirst of the weary traveler. The high land north of Gen. Hedrick's house, and places near the Adams Schoolhouse, were also the camping-spots of the Indians. Several excellent springs were known to the red men at that time.
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