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 56
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OTTUMWA, IN 1844,
contained nine log cabins, and one small frame house, built by Elder Jameson, a pioneer Methodist preacher, who had a large circuit. Seth Richards built the first store-building this year, and Heman P. Graves had a stock of goods therein. The Ottumwa House, near this store, was put up that summer, under the direction of David Hall, the pioneer landlord.
THE FIRST HOUSE
was erected May 10, 1843.
INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION.
The first Fourth of July celebration in the county was held at Ottumwa, in 1844. George May read the Declaration, and H. B. Hendershott and Charles Overman made the speeches. We do not learn of this from the Judge himself, but from one of the ladies who was present. . The day passed off with great success, and the night following was enlivened with a dance, in the only build- ing large enough to be called a hotel, and then known as the "Ottumwa House." The tavern was a double log edifice, and is still standing.
FIRST PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
In a paper published in the "Annals of Iowa," in 1867, Mr. G. D. R. Boyd said :
" The first building used for the sessions of the Commissioners' Court, and which was occupied by their clerk in vacation, was a very ordinary log cabin of limited dimensions, one story high, built of round, unhewn logs, chinked with clay and sticks and covered with clapboards. It was situated between Fourth and Fifth streets, immediately east of the public square, on a lot now the prop- erty of Mr. Inskeep, in Ottumwa. The old log house was torn down and removed some years since, and the spot would scarcely be recognized by the ' oldest inhabitant' as the place from whence emanated the acts of those intrusted with the guardianship of the civil affairs of the people of the county -the place where roads were legally located, ferries and dram-shops licensed, allowances made for juries and bailiffs, judges and clerks ; for commissioners, their clerks and attaches, etc .; in short, the grand fountain-head of county organ- ization, wherein assembled the combined wisdom, the helmsmen, the real, live, genuine gubernators of the sovereign county of Wapello. But the last remnant of that rude temple of sovereignty was some years since swept away. Not a vestige remains to mark or perpetuate the remembrance of that inter- esting locality, and, in a very short time, those who retain the remembrance of its whereabouts will, like it, have passed away, and, like it, their dust will mingle in common with the mother-earth of both.
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY.
" The room occupied by the District Court, at its first session, is still stand- ing (1867). It was, at that time, a respectable-looking hewn-log house, a story and a half high, covered with shingles and neatly chinked. Compared with the room occupied by the Commissioners, it was a splendid building-about the best that Ottumwa then afforded. It was, some years since converted into a ware-room, and the place where justice was first administered to the Wapellos is now a dilapidated, sway-backed looking repository of divers goods and mer- chandize. This building, this primitive fountain-head from whence flowed the first stream of justice for the people of Wapello, that sent abroad its equitable decisions, its mandates and executions, 'without fear or favor,' gently settling their disputes, and gently, very gently, curbing the tumultuous and riotous dis- orders of the times, is situated in the rear of Mr. Thomas Devin's store, on Front street, in Ottumwa."
PRIMITIVE JUSTICE.
Mr. Boyd also writes, concerning the administration of early law :
" During a period of seven years, from 1844 to 1851, our statistical infor- mation is extremely limited, and almost wholly disconnected. From the county records it is impossible to ascertain a correct statement of the population and wealth of the county for any of those years. Nor do we deem it very impor- tant. The increase was very gradual, and proportionably about the same for each of those years. The population of the county in 1844, was about 800; in 1848, 7,000; in 1850, 8,471. During this period, there are a great many incidents that demand notice, as being intimately connected with the first settle- ment of the county, and showing the temper of the people and the state of society in those early days. The most important event connected with the early history of this county, was the organization of the 'Claim Regulators,' an organization peculiar, we believe, to the first settlement of Iowa, and which was, as is well known, the lex loci throughout this portion of the country, from the appearance of the first infant colony of settlers until all the public lands were entered ; and the necessity for its existence only ceased by the extinction, in this manner, of the old pre-emption claim rights. These organizations per- vaded the entire community, and in many places there would be two or three clubs of this character in one township. At these club meetings, mutual pro- tection was pledged, and joint assistance guaranteed to every bona-fide settler who had a land ' claim,' and summary vengeance was threatened to be inflicted on the stranger, the speculator or even their own neighbor who should dare infringe upon the claim laws, or have the audacity to purchase from the Govern- ment any lands which had already been claimed or taken possession by one of their own number. This pre-emption law gave the claimholder the exclusive privilege of entering the land whereon he had made a residence, within a given period-we believe one year-but if, at the end of that time, the occupant did not pay for it, then any other person was privileged to do so, and he not only became the possessor of the land, but all the improvements hitherto made by the delinquent claimant. Very few of those settlers were able to pay for their lands within the time specified, and to forcibly resist the operations of greedy speculators, who continually manifested an impatient avidity for immediate gain at the expense of the hard-working settlers, whose inability to enter their lands within the given time was almost universal, was the immediate and primary object of the ' Claim Club Laws.'
" But however pure the motives of those who belonged to this organization, and however moderate they were in enforcing its mandates, it was yet liable to
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY.
abuses, and neither the justice nor the policy of its measures can be defended. It was fundamentally wrong, and struck at the very root of our most sacred and cherished institutions, being a forcible resistance to the legally-established laws of the land, a premeditated opposition to municipal regulations, and a determina- tion to carry out their own designs in violation of law and the well-established principles of sound policy and good government. It was the action of a mob, of a faction, upon whose caprice and passions and wild, ungovernable prejudices there was no restraint, no check, no limit. The mild voice of reason pleaded subordination to established authority, and the cause of a more enlarged and a more permanent interest is drowned in these assemblies by the clamors of an impatient thirst for immediate and summary vengeance. The supreme majesty of the law is a proposition that should receive the assenting voice of every good citizen, and the direful consequences of its violation should ever be uppermost in his thoughts that he may cherish toward it a due attachment, and be able to set a due value upon the proper means of preserving it.
" Yet we doubt not but that the operation of these club laws, in some instan- ces proved salutary, and that in those days, under the circumstances, it became apparently necessary to make an occasional example in order to admonish and terrify others, but it opened a boundless field for abuse, established a dangerous precedent, and there is a contagion in precedents which few men have force of mind to resist."
In 1845, the appearance of the town was primitive enough. From a series of papers, published in the Democrat in 1876, from the pen of J. W. Norris, many facts are gleaned, and, among others, this description of the place at that time : " No streets had been opened. Paths ran across lots, every which way, like they were made by cows going to pasture. Indian wickeups were scattered over the bluff, a cluster of them being on the lot where we now live, on College Hill. There was
ONLY ONE BRICK BUILDING,
a one-story residence, built by Dow Davis and occupied by Charles F. Harrow, on the lot where Lawrence & Garner's store is, on Main street, between College and Union. Thomas Sinnamon had a log house and brick-yard. James Tolman and A. M. Lyon commenced a tannery this year (1845) on the lot cor- ner of Main and College. D. P. Smith had a log cabin and blacksmith-shop on Main street, where Union Block is. James McFarland had a log residence and tailor-shop on lot opposite where Union Block is. Peter Barnett had a log tavern on the Bigham lot. Seth Richards had a log store near where the First National Bank stands, and commenced a frame store nearly opposite, that year. H. P. Graves lived in a cabin where Dr. Warden's store is, on Main street. H. B. Hendershott and Judge Jeffries lived in a log house on the site now occupied by them. On each of the corners of Market, on lower side of Fourth. were cabins. John Lewis had a cabin on the William Daggett place, and Charles Overman had a cabin between Mrs. Hawley's property and Third street.
THE OTTUMWA HOUSE,
built and managed by David Hall, was a story and a half house."
THE FIRST FERRY.
The Board of Commissioners granted the first ferry license in the county, at their extra session-the first one-held May 10, 1844, to J. P. Eddy. The loss of the Commissioners' minutes prevents our giving a copy of the rates of ferryage imposed.
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY.
FIRST JAIL.
In 1845, a contract was written by the County Commissioners for the erec- tion of the first Jail, a very primitive affair, in Ottumwa.
SAMANTHA SHAFFER
was the first white woman in Ottumwa, and a street was named Samantha, in honor of her.
A GLANCE IN 1845.
Mr. Norris described the village in 1845 as given below. The sketch was written in 1876 :
" Ottumwa, up to 1845, though having the advantage of central position in the very heart of the great Des Moines Valley, and the prestige of prophetic pre-eminence, at least-for it was conceded that here was to grow up the large town-had not made any special progress toward material prosperity. But in 1845, new settlers began to come in in considerable numbers. In the spring of that year there was but one store, that of Seth Richards. Mr. Heman P. Graves had charge of the establishment, as he continued to have for many years afterward, since Mr. Richards was not a resident of the county. The post office was kept in this store, Paul C. Jeffries being Postmaster, and the first one holding that office in Ottumwa. Some time in 1845, Richards' store was removed to the opposite side of the street, into another log building, on one of the lots-the northwestern one-on which the present Richards Block is built. The building on the bank corner which Mr. Richards vacated was almost immediately occupied as a store by Mr. Thomas Devin, of Pittsburg, Van Buren Co., the business being in charge of his son, Mr. Thomas J. Devin. There was another store, on the lot now occupied by George Haw & Co., also a log building, with which Tolman, Lyons and Albert Mudge were connected. This house subsequently became A. J. Davis & Co., and finally A. Mudge & Co., Davis being a resident of Van Buren County. These were the thrce mercantile establishments where the settlers in town and the surrounding country got their domestic supplies, and, to a large extent, upon credit, their accounts being settled at the end of the first year by note, bearing 10 per cent interest, and finally, if not paid at maturity, being extended with mortgage security on real estate. This system, though very convenient at first. finally resulted in many a farm being lost to its owner by foreclosure.
" If a photograph could have been taken of this infant city at that time, it would have afforded a striking contrast to the present stalwart young giant. There were three stores, and, besides, a tin-shop, a blacksmith-shop, a tailor- shop, two hotels, a whisky-shop, and about fifteen log houses, more or less, scat- tered about. There were no churches, no schoolhouses, and no public build- ings except a little temporary jail, though there was a civil corporation, a county organization, with the various offices and officers and courts and terms of court. Ottumwa had not long to wait, however, for public improvements.
THE FIRST COURT HOUSE.
" In 1846, a Court House was built, in compliance with a contract of the Town Company with the county, at the time of the location of the county seat. It was situated on the corner of Market and Third streets, was built of wood, twenty-four feet square, two stories high-the lower story being used to hold court in, for preaching, by all denominations, and for school purposes. The second story was divided into three rooms, and occupied by the Clerk of the
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY.
Courts, the County Treasurer and the Recorder. It was a very necessary and useful building when first erected, and, indeed, continued to be so for many years. Besides its legal uses, it served a multitude of purposes, for all sorts of public gatherings were held there-political, agricultural, plankroad, railroad and river-improvement meetings. The first meeting in behalf of the Burlington & Missouri Railroad enterprise was held there.
" When the county built the present Court House, the old one was sold to the Christian Church, and was used by them for a place of worship for several years, until it was purchased, with the lot, by W. C. Grimes. It was incor- porated by Mr. Grimes, with other structures erected by him, for a wagon man- ufactory, and was consumed by fire on the 22d day of October, 1872."
THE FIRST MILL BUILT.
The records of the Appanoose Rapids Company show that an effort to secure grist and saw mill was early made. The men who really accepted the donation of lands and erected the mill were John Myers, David Armstrong and T. C. Coffin. The lands granted them are now the most valuable in the city. The area bounded by Market, Main, Green streets and the river was the. selection made. The mill was begun in 1845, and was completed in 1846. It stood on the margin of the river, under the bank, at the foot of Market street. The western half of the plat was used as a mill-yard for several years. Upon the logs therein scattered about, the people used frequently to assemble for public meetings, or for the purpose of passing leisure moments in conversation.
THE FIRST SETTLERS OF OTTUMWA.
The prominent men of the first years in Ottumwa were H. B. Hendershott, Paul C. Jeffries, Dr. C. C. Warden, S. W. Summers, Rev. B. A. Spaulding, H. P. Graves, Peter Barnett, Joseph Hayne, George May, John Lewis, N. C. Hill, Charles Overman, David Glass, David Hall, Uriah Biggs, Hugh George, William Dewey, Sewell Kenny, John Myers, J. Tolman, A. M. Lyon, Paris Caldwell, David Armstrong, William H. Galbraith, Levi Buckhalter, John W. Ross, John Harkins, S. S. Norris, Thomas Sinnamon, William Snodgrass, David P. Smith, James McFarland, John Newman, Bela White, Charles F. Harrow. Most of these men had families.
In the country adjacent and tributary to Ottumwa were many whose names are still remembered. Among others were William Fisher, J. M. Peck, R. R. Harper, Clark Williams, David Whitcomb, Farnam Whitcomb, Nason Roberts, Peter Hall, Seth Ogg, Michael Tullis, John Tullis, John Overman, J. W. Hol- lingsworth, William McIntire.
THE LAND SALES.
On the 16th of September, 1848, the citizens of Center Township met to make arrangements for attending the land sales at Fairfield in the coming Octo- ber. Their purpose in so doing was one of mutual protection against specu- lators and claim-jumpers. James Baker, John C. Evans, J. Thompson, N. Bell and R. Fisher were appointed to draft resolutions expressive of the sense of the meeting. They were, in effect, that the settlers' interests, being endan- gered by Eastern capitalists and moneyed land-sharks, must be summarily pro- tected ; that the claimholder was entitled to have his land at $1.25 per acre ; that they regarded any one who should enter or jump a claim or improvement, without paying a good and sufficient consideration to the claimholder, in no other light than a thief and a robber, and that they would deal with them
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY.
accordingly. And, furthermore, they pledged themselves to attend the land sales and not permit any person to bid on a settler's claim, except the owner, under the above penalty. A mass-meeting of the citizens of Pleasant Grove Township was held for similar reasons, and a "caution" given the public through the Courier.
MAIL CONTRACTS.
In the issue of the Courier, of October 6, 1848, mention is made that the enterprising contractors on the route from Keokuk to Fairfield, and from Fair- field to Oskaloosa, via Ottumwa, carry the through mail three times a week, when they are paid for only carrying it once a week from Keokuk to Fairfield, and twice a week from Fairfield to Oskaloosa. Here, too, are to be found the germs of that California gold fever which spread throughout the State, in such paragraphs as this: "Gold-mines of very productive character, it has been stated, have been discovered in California. Some of the laborers working there make as high as $60 and $70 per day with an iron spade, which are very scarce and valuable. It is said, too, that men with nothing but a rude wooden shovel make as high as $20 per day. The population of some of the principal towns are forsaking every other pursuit to engage in this golden harvest. The mine is said to be from ninety to one hundred miles in length, and about twenty in breadth. We hope everybody wont emigrate."
OTTUMWA IN '49.
In the spring of 1849, building in Ottumwa was very brisk, hindered, how- ever, by the extreme scarcity of lumber, owing to a lack of saw-mills. Bread- stuffs, too, were very scarce, for though there was an abundance of grain in the country, there was difficulty in getting it ground. The mill at this place had not been able to grind for more than a month, on account of high water. Messrs. Coffin & Myers were planning to build a large flouring-mill during the season. A large flatboat went down the river from Eddyville to the mouth of the Des Moines, heavily loaded with grain, and she took on besides, at Ottumwa, 800 hides and a large quantity of wheat. Steamboat arrivals began to be quite fre- quent, bringing in freight and carrying out grain. This lasted as long as the high water continued, and gave unusual bustle and activity to the business of the town. Mention is made at this time of the death of Mrs. Carter, about six miles below this place, on the south side of the river. She started on a horse, with her only child (quite small) in her arms, to go to a neighbor's. There was a slough in her path, which, as it was quite narrow, she attempted to cross, but it proved to be twelve feet deep, and she and her child were drowned.
" MARINE."
Quite an excitement was created in Ottumwa early in April, 1849 by the arrival of the steamer Revenue Cutter, it being the first steamer to come up the Des Moines for several years. The water was unusually high, and in that way she was enabled to get over the dams near the mouth of the river. She came in sight a little after daylight, and as the noise of her escape-pipes echoed through the town, its citizens, just aroused from their slumbers, might be seen, young men and old, and boys in plenty, pouring from the houses and taking a bee-line for the boat. A large party of ladies and gentlemen from Ottumwa joined a similar one from Farmington and Keosauqua on board the steamer, and she proceeded to Eddyville. The day was warm and pleasant, they had a fine brass band on board, and the novelty of a steamboat excursion on the Des Moines added a zest to the pleasure. The farmers and their families, living
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY.
near the river, lined the shores, anxious to see the novel sight. At Eddyville she took on board a large quantity of lard and wheat, as at Ottumwa, on her return, she also took in a quantity of wheat.
LYCEUM.
A literary lyceum was organized in Ottumwa, November 23, 1849. The citizens were requested to get together at early candle-light. Already over $75 had been subscribed toward a library. The following officers were elected : Rev. B. A. Spaulding, President ; H. B. Hendershott, Vice President ; Ber- trand Jones, Recording Secretary ; J. W. Norris, Corresponding Secretary ; R. H. Warden, Treasurer; James Leighton, Librarian. Their meetings were to be held weekly during the winter, and the programme was to include a short lect- ure on some interesting topic, which was to be followed by debates. The open- ing lecture, by Rev. Mr. Spaulding, was upon the "Influence of Literary Insti- tutions." The committee who drafted the Constitution and By-Laws consisted of Messrs. Baker, Norris and Warden. The first question discussed was: "Does the true policy of this country consist in the further extension of its territory ?" At this first meeting, after organization, on the 7th of December, the audience was not large, owing to the tempestuous character of the night, but it was otherwise very satisfactory.
PLANKROAD FEVER.
In February, 1850, after some previous agitation on the subject, a plank- road meeting was held to discuss the construction of a plankroad from Ottumwa to intersect the Burlington & Mt. Pleasant Plankroad at Mt. Pleas- ant. Uriah Biggs was appointed President of this meeting; Thomas Ping and John C. Evans, Vice Presidents, and Bertrand Jones, Secretary. There was a universal sentiment in favor of such a road, and a committee of prominent citizens was designated to represent the county at a Plankroad Convention to be held at Mt. Pleasant on the 27th of February, consisting of J. W. Norris, J. D. Devin, H. B. Hendershott, J. C. Ramsey, Thomas Ping, F. Newell, J. H. D. Street, S. M. Wright, Judge Baker, Dr. Flint, Gideon Myers, B. Boys- ton, B. Jones, Joseph Hayne, J. M. Peck, Dr. Yeomans, Uriah Biggs, G. B. Savery, Dr. Wood and W. S. Carter. When the subscription-books were opened, Ottumwa responded with $8,700, Agency City with $5,000, and Ash- land with $4,500. At a subsequent meeting, ten more names were added to the delegates to represent Wapello County at Mt. Pleasant, as follows : Dr. James Nosler, Madison Wellman, J. G. Baker, D. P. Inskeep, E. G. Mckinney, W. G. Martindale, A. Ingraham, Andrew Major, William M. Dunlap and Joshua Marshall.
At the same time of the plankroad interest, the people of Eddyville were wrought up to a fine fervor of enterprise over the construction of a toll-bridge across the Des Moines River at that place.
STAGING IN 1850.
The Courier of June 7, 1850, says : " On Tuesday last our citizens were delighted to see a splendid new four-horse coach rolled into town by four fine bays, bearing the name of the present indefatigable Second Assistant Postmaster General, F. H. Warren, formerly of this State. This coach belongs to those prompt, obliging and gentlemanly men, Frink, Walker & Co., to whom this part of the country are so much indebted for the promptness and regularity of the mails and kindness and attention to passengers. By the way, we have neglected
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY.
to notice the highly praiseworthy exertions of the agent on this line, Mr. Wal- ter Cross, of Eddyville. He has by his industry and perseverance in making contract time at all times, in all sorts of weather and roads, and by his atten- tion and kindness to passengers, won for the line a high character and for himself an enviable fame."
OTTUMWA IN 1853.
In November, 1853, Ottumwa was a thriving village with busy streets and an active, wide-awake population. One sign of prosperity was constantly intruded upon the citizens, and that was the eager inquiry for houses and places of business to rent, which conveniences could not be had, as the town was com- pletely full. There were then eight dry goods stores ; two drug stores ; one clothing store ; one grocery store ; one stove store and tin-shop connected ; one saddle and harness shop ; two hotels ; two churches-Congregational and Cath- olic-and a Methodist Church in process of erection ; an excellent tannery ; two steam saw and grist mills; a carding machine; one wagonmaker's shop; three cabinet-shops ; one chair-shop ; one gunsmith-shop ; also a wheelwright ; three blacksmith-shops ; four shoe-shops ; three tailor-shops ; one bakery and confectionery ; one printing office, the Courier; a land office, for the sale of river lands, and one daguerrean gallery. The various charitable orders were well represented, as there was a Masonic Lodge, an Odd Fellow's Lodge, a Divi- sion of Sons of Temperance, and a Section of Cadets of Temperance. There were seven lawyers and six physicians. An excellent chain ferry was kept con- stantly running immediately opposite the town by T. Sinnamon. There was a railroad actually surveyed from there to the Mississippi, where it was to connect with the Peoria & Burlington Road. In the neighborhood of $600,000 had been subscribed to build this road. Another railroad had been surveyed to the mouth of the Platte on the Missouri, but this was not in expectation of being completed so soon as the one first named.
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