USA > Iowa > Pocahontas County > The pioneer history of Pocahontas County, Iowa, from the time of its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 36
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122
BEAVERS.
The beaver is the most industrious until July, 1871, when the entire herd and sagacious of all fur bearing ani- was driven southward from its place mals. A colony of them still exists of seclusion, and scattered into frag- on the south branch of Lizard Creek. ments that were overtaken and killed The residents of the neighborhood, before they reached the Missouri river. where for years they have made their One of the fragments of this herd containing about eighteen elk passed southward through Pocahontas county following in general the course of *Manson Democrat. abode, guard them from trappers with jealous care. Every fall they build anew their dam across the creek. The dam built in 1895, the season of
-
277
SECOND PERIOD, 1870-1882.
Cedar creek. They were seen on sec.
When Nelson Palmatier was build- 19, Marshall township, and on sections ing the schoolhouse in the Tollefsrude 1 and 10, Cedar township, by L. C. district, Grant township, he expressed Thornton, Wm. Lynch, David Wallace, a desire to see some deer. Mr. Norton sr., and his son Samuel, respectively; took him to Devil's Island and they and by several persons at intervening killed three deer that day, and on a points.
A few years previous a drove of a half dozen elk sauntered near the home of Ora Harvey in Clinton township and his wife who was alone, mistaking them for Indians, hastily ran into the house and locked the door. Mrs. C. M. Saylor and others, while riding to old Rolfe in a sleigh, saw about the same number and in all probability the same lot. Seeing at first only their antlered horns above the snow beyond the brow of a little hill, they also thought they were Indians by reason of the resemblance of their horns to the tops of tepee poles.
In the fall of 1868, John W. Wallace and Garret Schoonmaker killed an elk on the west branch of Lizard creek near the center of Lincoln township. It weighed 400 pounds and, as it had been seen a day or two previous, it was the special object of their hunt.
DEER.
During the early '70's, deer were quite plenty in the central part of this county and during the summer when they were undisturbed they would even linger in the vicinity of the home
subsequent afternon Mr. Norton and Robert Russell shot three more. As late as the fall of 1877 Messrs. Norton and Hughes killed four deer in five days, and the next season five deer in six days, in Grant township. These instances show that a number of deer lived here, and that these men met with as good success, as those who make deer hunting a specialty. While Mr. Hughes was recognized as the best shot in all this section, he was free to attribute their success in killing deer to his friend Norton, who, he said, "was a scientific hunter and experi- enced in killing deer; rather slow on the trail but sure to overtake them." They killed one after the severe snow storm in October, 1880 and another one in 1882; and these seem to have been the last ones killed in this county. C. H. Tollefsrude and his brother Elisha, by concealing themselves in an old well, partly filled and located between a great stretch of tall slough grass and a patch of buckwheat, had the pleas- ure of capturing a deer in the winter of 1874-75.
WILD DUCK AND GEESE.
In 1869 and 70 this section of the of the settler, mingle with his cattle country, twice a year, was not only and feed in the unprotected corn full of wild ducks, brandts and geese, fields. During the first two seasons but their tameness was the subject of that D. M. Woodin was a resident of frequent remark. At that time one section 24 Dover township, five deer could shoot at them in the sloughsand, frequently mingled with his cattle in missing them, could reload and shoot the open pastures and three of them a second time before they would fly were killed by Garrett Gibson, who, away. This statement is made by the in the fall of 1873 and winter following men who laid the track on the Illinois shot eighteen deer in this county. Central railroad and by Rufus Greene, Nearly all of the deer then killed a resident of Marshall township.
were captured in Grant township, and the other most successful hunters were Herkimer L. Norton and Geo. E. Hughes.
THE CRANES.
"Of homely form and solemn mien,
With dagger beak and legs so slim, One thinks of him as visions seen
·
278
PIONEER HISTORY OF POCAHONTAS COUNTY, IO WA.
In olden dreams, now vague and dim." the privilege of giving names to the
In the early day as many as one towns on it north of Rolfe. He was hundred cranes would occasionally be fond of hunting and named them seen in a flock. On one occasion about Plover, Mallard, Curlew and Widgeon, twenty alighted near the home of in honor of favorite native birds of Rufus Greene, and his little daughter this section. When other members of about six years old went out and played the railway company proposed to call among them a considerable time, the new town in Clinton "Whitehead" many of their heads being higher than to commemorate his own name, he hers.
politely declined the honor and, trans-
The cranes, when dancing on the ferring the name of the first county prairie, presented a very ludicrous seat, called it Rolfe. appearance. Some, who saw them PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. and were familiar with the figure, said their movements resembled a "French Four." They danced at other times but the finding of a little snake was sure to be the occasion for a lively dance. One crane would catch the snake and fling it into the air, sometimes as high as ten feet. An- other one would then give it a fling, and while they continued to repeat this snake performance, it was per- fectly comical to see them stepping around fantastically on tiptoe.
"A weird shape winging hurriedly, A fleeting shadow-nothing more." OTHER NATIVE BIRDS.
The mellow goose and mallard duck, the swan and the crow, used to come from southern lands to watch the cornfields grow; the hungry hawk and "thunder pump" came along, to join the cheerful racket with the frog's tuneful song. Numerous hunters
"Had watched the beaver build like men,
Killed the wild duck and marsh hen; Caught wolves and badgers, lynx and raccoon,
And shot on Lizard lake the lofty loon." -
The increase in the population of this county in 1870 resulted not merely in the organization of new townships and an increase in the membership of the board of supervisors, but quick- ened interest in the publie improve- ment of the county, which consisted chiefly in the establishment of new highways and the ereetion of bridges across the streams and sloughs. In 1871, on the petition of David Slosson and others, the board of supervisors established highways on all the sec- tion lines of the county except a few that were named, but many of them were not opened until they were needed ten or fifteen years later. That same year arrangements were made for the erection of bridges across the Cedar at Fonda by B. B. Moore, across the same stream four miles north on the Bell and Hauson road by J. II. Vosburglı, across Fast creek, near Gar- loek's by John A. Hay and across the north and south Lizard streams by B. B. Moore. In May following the last one was washed out and it was then replaced by J. J. Bruce.
On January 2, 1872, it was decided It remained, however, for Charles E. Whitehead of New York City, presi- dent of the Des Moines and Fort Dodge, now Rock Island, railway com- pany, to place the names of some of to change the method of contracts for the erection of bridges by arranging that the county furnish all the mater- ials used during that year, and Thos. L. MacVey was appointed a commis- the most numerous and favorite birds sioner to locate all bridges that might of this locality in an historic setting. be deemed necessary, to furnish the When this line of road was built plans for them and inspect them when through this county, he was assigned completed, to purchase the lumber and
279
SECOND PERIOD, 1870-1882.
employ all workmen needed in their a great improvement, and, at the rate construction. He held this position of $4 95 per lineal foot, erected bridges until April first following when he re- in 1882 over the Des Moines river, signed so far as related to the pur. Cedar ( Woodin's) and Pilot (Rolfe) chase of material and the employment of labor.
creeks, two on Beaver creek (Hancher's and sec. 9, Des Moines township) and three on the north branch of Lizard creek, in Lake, Center and Washing- ton townships. He was also accorded all the repair work on the old bridges.
In 1874 the first pile driver was pur- chased by the board of supervisors for the use of the county in building bridges. In 1881 the board directed that all bridges across the several In 1889, two wrought iron bridges streams in the county be bridged by were built, one over Cedar creek at piling, and in January, 1882 that all Fonda and the other over the Des
THE FIRST COURT HOUSE 1860-1876, OLD ROLFE.
contracts for their construction be Moines river in the northeast part of upon the basis of the number of feet the county. in length, the county to furnish all the CHANGE OF COUNTY SEAT. material and the contractor to furnish all the labor and erect all the bridges needed that year.
As early as June 3, 1873, petitions were presented to the board of super- visors asking that a vote be taken for the removal of the county seat to the
The first contractor under this new arrangement, and for a number of northwest corner of the sw } sec. 18 of years afterward, was N. B. Post of Lincoln township. These petitions Fonda. He introduced the use of were rejected because of certain de- cedar piling instead of pine, which was fects in the signatures, and the lack
4
280
PIONEER HISTORY OF POCAHONTAS COUNTY, IO WA.
of affidavits to establish their gen- Marshall, surveyor.
uineness.
On Jan. 2, 1877 the court house at
On June 8, 1875, in response to a pe- old Rolfe was sold to Rev. Wm. Mc- tition signed by a number of the legal Cready for the use of the M. E. church voters of the county asking that the for $150. This sale was not approved, county seat be changed to the village and on the next day the court house of Pocahontas Center, situated on sec- and grounds, known as the Stockdale tion 31 Center township, it was ordered reservation, were sold at public auction that the question be submitted to the to James J. Bruce for $200. It rc- people at the next general election, mained until July, 1882, when the pur- and it was approved.
The contract for the new court house at Pocahontas was let by the new town of Rolfe.
board of supervisors in January, 1876, to J. L. Gould for $2,600.
The board of supervisors held its last session at old Rolfe on September 6, 1876, and the circuit court its last session on September 14, 1876, Judge J. R. Zouver presiding. The attorneys in attendance were J. D. Springer and platted, and arranged the lots, blocks, Capt. J. A. O. Yeomans of Fort Dodge, J. McDaid of Sac City, A. E. Clarke of IIumboldt, and members of the bar residing in this county. The most importaut case tried at this session of the court was that of E. E. Roosa vs. John H. Johnson for slander. It occupied two days, developed some pe culiar phases of human life and the jury rendered a verdict of $150 in favor of the plaintiff.
On Oct. 6, 1876 the board of super- visors held their first meeting at Poca- hontas. first as a committee of the whole to inspect the new building and then to let the contracts for the erec- tion of certain bridges.
On Dec. 3, 1876, the first session of the district court was held in the new court house at Pocahontas, Judge C. II. Lewis presiding, J. W. Wallace serving as clerk of the court and Jos- eph Breitenbach as sheriff.
The board of supervisors consisted of J. C. Strong, Bernard McCartan, Wm. Brownlee and Wm. Stenson. The other public officers were A. O. Garlock, auditor; W. D. McEwen, treasurer; Andrew Jackson, recorder; extending diagonally through the first J. F. Clark, superintendent and Wm. tler of blocks, are four streets 71 feet
chaser used the material in it for the erection of the Tremain house in the
Pocahontas, the new county seat, is located at the geographical center of Pocahontas county on the south half of section 31, Center township. The land was owned by Warrick and Buclah Price of Cleveland, Ohio. On Novem- ber 4, 1870, they had it surveyed and avenues, streets and alleys as they ap- pear in the original survey. The plat, which included one hundred acres, and was called the village of Pocahontas Center, was surveyed by Fred Iless and approved by Judge J. M. Snyder of the circuit court at Humboldt, November 9, 1870. They set apart for public use, as a court house site and public park, a rectangular plat 600x800 feet in the center of the plat, provided the people of Pocahontas county should accept it for that purpose within five years from that date.
The court house site is 400x600 feet, surrounded on each side by a court or park place 100 feet in width; all en- closed within a larger rectangle 1200x 1400 feet. The latter has two large avenues 100 feet in width, one of which, called "Buelah Avenue" after the name of his wife, runs north and south from the center of the court. house site, and the other called "War- rick Avenue," to commemorate his own name, runs east and west from the same point. From each of the four corners of the court house park,
281
SECOND PERIOD, 1870-1882.
in width that were named in memory one half years it expired in January of their four daughters as follows: 1872, without a groan. In April last The one at the northeast corner, "Ot- (1876) we purchased the Pocahontas terlia;" northwest, "Theo;" southwest Times of M. D. Skinner, Fonda, and "Elizabeth" and southeast, "Laura." have published it at Rolfe since that The two avenues north and east of the date. We have now built a new office court house park are called "Park at Pocahontas Center and shall gather Place" and those west and south up our household traps and remove "Court Place." The street running thither this week. Farewell to old east and west one block south of the Rolfe."*
court house was called "William" and the corresponding street one block
SCHOOL LANDS AND BOOKS.
The school lands of the county, north of the court house "John" in which embraces all of section 16 in memory of their two sons. The cor- each township, by direction of the responding streets one block distant board of supervisors were appraised from the east and west sides of the and put upon the market for sale dur- court house site are called "East" ing the latter part of this period. As and "West" streets respectively.
early as June 8, 1869, the auditor was
In the spring of 1879 the board of directed to notify the trustees of the supervisors had the park around the townships then organized to divide court house planted with trees. The section 16 into suitable tracts and ap- trees, which consisted of 50 ever- praise them according to law on or be- greens, 50 basswoods, 100 elms, 100 fore the 28th day of that month. On cottonwoods, 200 box-elders, 400 ash and 700 soft maples, were furnished by W. D. McEwen and they were planted under his direction by John W. Wal- lace. that day the trustees of Lizard town- ship, A. H. Van Valkenburgh, Henry Steckleburgh and Joseph Breitenbach, reported an appraisement of their lands at $3, $4, $5 and $6 an acre; D. W. FAREWELL TO OLD ROLFE. Hunt, Joseph Clason and A. H. Mal-
The Pocahontas Times, in its issue colm, trustees of Clinton, those of that of October 10, 1876, because of the re- township at $1.25, to $2.50 an acre; Wm. moval of the county records and offices Jarvis, Oscar Slosson and Robert to Pocahontas, thereby compelling it Struthers, those of Des Moines town- to follow suite, very affectingly bade ship at $1.25 to $1.50 an acre; and Sam- adieu to (old) Rolfe. "We leave (old) uel Booth, Henry Tilley and Geo. Van Rolfe with many regrets. For over Natta, those of Powhatan townshipat twelve years we have been actively en- $1.25, $2.00 and $2.50 an acre.
gaged in business in that town and formed many friendly relations with the people which it is hard to sever.
The auditor was then directed to sell these lands to the highest bidder, but in no instance for a less amount than We look back on these years of toil their appraised value. The conditions with feelings of pleasure because we of payment were one third of the whole remember that there were always amount in cash and the balance in kind friends to advise and willing ten years with interest at ten per cent. hands to aid whenever assistance was wanted."
Notwithstanding the apparently low valuation put upon them and the long
"In July, 1869, in partnership with time allowed for payment these lands J. J. Bruce; we commenced the publi- sold very slowly. As the sale of these cation of the Pocahontas Journal, the lands was of no special interest to any
first newspaper published in the county, but after the lapse of two and
*W. D. McEwen, editor and proprielor,
1
282
PIONEER HISTORY OF POCAHONTAS COUNTY, IOWA.
one except the county auditor, those the county was $42,000 and 40 schools from a distance who came to buy land were in session; in 1879 the taxes levied did not ordinarily have their attention were only $35,000 and over 60 schools called to them unless they met that were in session. On Jan. 1, 1874, the officer, to whom alone their sale was outstanding warrants awaiting pay- entrusted.
ment amounted to $5,000 and . there
The school lands of Dover township was no money in the treasury; but on were not appraised and exposed for June 1, 1879, there were no outstand- sale until May 15, 1878. As late as ing warrants and there were funds on June 6, 1882, some of the school land hand as follows: County, $1,900; poor, in nearly every one of the townships in $1,000; gopher, $1,000; bridge, $3.200; the county remained unsold, and by total, $7,100. During the six years in- request of the board of supervisors, cluded in this period an unusual another report of an appraisement of amount of money was spent in perma- their unsold school lands was made by nent improvements, such as the erec- the trustees of Cedar, Center, Des tion of the new court house at Poca- Moines, Grant, Lake, Lincoln, Wash- hontas, the purchase of a burglar ington and Powhatan townships. proof safe and the construction of fire
On Jan. 8, 1879, the permanent proof vaults for the preservation of the school fund of the county was $5,466.67, public records.
the number of school children enrolled was 1187 and the amount of school funds received from the state, at the rate of twenty-five cents each, was $296.75.
During that year an effort was made to secure uniformity of text books in all the schools of the county. This movement was inaugurated by R. M. Wilbur of Pomeroy, agent for the pub- lications of A. S. Barnes & Co. He first visited the county institute and secured from the teachers a report commending the movement to the di- rectors of the several townships in the county. The plan was adopted by Bellville, Center, Clinton, Des Moines, Grant, Lincoln and Lizard townships. The books were introduced at a greatly reduced price and, what seemed a very commendable feature at that time, many of them "at an extra cost of 5 or 10 cents each, were bound with an iron binding that made them so strong no two boys could tear one apart."
OUT OF DEBT CENTENNIAL YEAR.
The statement that showed the re- moval of the last vestige of this county's indebtedness was the one ren- dered by W. D. McEwen, county treas- urer, on June 1, 1876. This statement not only showed for the first time a clean balance sheet for the county but also that all except two of the town- ships, Cedar and Lizard-whose in- debtedness was but a trifle-were also free from debt. The fact that many of the counties of northwestern Iowa had been involved under heavy debts that generally represented no value received but only the work of a set of public swindlers, caused many land buyers to avoid for awhile this section of country, but happily for this county the centennial year found it free from debt. All the taxes collected, after the payment of current expenses, had been honestly and legitimately used in making public improvements so that each township, as it was settled, was supplied with good substantial school houses that were paid for as
A comparison of the conditions ex- they were erected.
isting in 1879 with those of 1874 shows As late as Jan. 1, 1882, of the nine- that some progress was made even teen counties in northwestern Iowa though the times were extremely dull, only two, Pocahontas and Calhoun, In 1874 the amount of taxes levied in were free from debt, the indebtedness
283
SECOND PERIOD, 1870-1882.
of the others ranging from $16,000 in of its affairs. His education and legal Kossuth to $200,000 in O'Brien county. training enabled him to prepare the Foremost among the men who labored copy for the printed forms of this to get this county out of debt and county twenty five years-1870 to 1895 keep it so were Messrs. W. D. McEwen, -and were of great advantage to him A. O. Garlock and J. J. Bruce.
and the public he served as a member W. D. McEven, from the time of his first identification with the public interests of this county as a deputy in the recorder's office in 1865, exerted a strong and positive influence in favor of a rigid economy in the administra- tion of all public matters. His excel- lent business qualifications and keen foresight, utilized through many suc- cessive years of continuous public ser- vice, were of great advantage to this county. He took so much pride in the county's welfare that, when serving as treasurer collections were slow and of the board of supervisors. He was an indefatigable worker for the best interests of the county and no respect- er of persons in resisting or exposing plans for personal aggrandizement at the public expense. On March 13. 1873, while serving as treasurer, the county safe was burglarized by some experts. On this occasion there was offered him the opportunity to have left the county suffer a considerable loss by affirming the loss of public funds, since the treasurer and his bondsmen were not liable for money outstanding warrants could not be stolen from the county safe by bur- paid, possessing ample means, he did glary. not hesitate to make use of his own private funds to bridge over the occa- sion and thus maintain the credit of the county.
He reported there were no public funds in the safe at the time of the burglary and the county did not lose a dollar. Another instance of his honest and honorable method of pro- cedure occurred on Oct. 10th following, when M. E. Owens, who two years later was a fugitive from justice, dur- ing a meeting of the board of super- visors made known the discovery that the official bonds of the county treas- urer and sheriff had been abstracted from the auditor's office and bond of the first year of his second term as treasurer of the county and as soon as
A. O. Garlock has already received well merited recognition for his effi- cient services as a public officer and constant aim to promote the interests of this county. The board of super- visors acknowledged its indebtedness to him while serving as county aud- itor, for his wise and prudent counsel, always modestly given. He never fal- record book. This was near the end tered when it became necessary for him to protect the rights and interests of the county, and his careful man- his attention was called to this dis- agement of the school fund made it a crepancy he came forward promptly source of profit to the county. He and, placing his property real and was uniformly courteous, a good judge personal at the disposal of the board of character and probably no other of supervisors by the execution of a trust deed, gave assurance he would man during this period induced so many families to settle in this county. prepare and file a new bond with the J. J. Bruce, who as county superin- same bondsmen within a reasonable tendent and member of the board of time. supervisors in 1868 began a long con- The editor of the Newell Mirror in tinued official career in this county, 1876 having occasion to make a per- was another who rendered faithful sonal investigation of some matters in cooperation in the effort to secure an this county wrote as follows; "We honest and economical administration do not believe there is a county in
284
PIONEER HISTORY OF POCAHONTAS COUNTY, IOWA.
northwestern Iowa that has been con- Nights or dream of fairyland until you ducted on more economical principles arouse to the agreeable reality that than Pocahontas under its present you are viewing the Centennial Ex- management; and the taxpayers have hibition."
stood by their public officials, because
The Centennial was the greatest ex- they have always managed so as to position the world had ever seen until lessen the taxes, as much as possible, that date, and it was opened May 10, and maintain their outstanding war- 1876, in the presence of 200,000 persons. rants at par value until the last one of Its object was very neatly expressed them has been paid."
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.