USA > Iowa > Clinton County > Wolfe's history of Clinton County, Iowa, Volume 1 > Part 6
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"Land speculators are watching our movements and I feel certain that within twelve months from this not an acre will be purchasable near us except at double the government price.
"GEORGE SHEPPARD."
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CLINTON COUNTY, IOWA.
DOMESTIC LIFE.
Compared with the pioneers in the forest regions of the East, or with those who have of late years occupied the treeless plains beyond the Missouri, the early settlers of Clinton county were exceptionally favored in their facil- ities for sheltering themselves. The abundant timber belts along the numerous watercourses, referred to elsewhere, furnished material for many substantial log houses that sufficed until more commodious structures could be erected. These picturesque log houses were more numerous in the western than in the eastern part of the county, for the reason that, in the latter sections, pine lum- ber was much sooner and easier obtained from the yards and mills on the river and wrought into the earlier habitations. But much quicker than in most other sections of the United States, these primitive structures were replaced, often by stately mansions, in some cases as comfortably appointed as English manor houses, and nearly everywhere by elegant and cheerful homes. In many cases, the old houses have been allowed to remain in mute and eloquent contrast with the new homes. To the older members of the family, those un- pretending old homes are full of sacred memories and tender reminiscences. Every nook and corner about them is filled with shadows and lights of the past wherewith "all houses in which men have lived and died are haunted." In- convenient, cramped and rugged as they were, about them rests the halo of the fireside, the family altar, the cradle, and possibly the deathbed of dear ones.
To the housewife of these days, who, in her admirably equipped kitchen, reinforced with all the helps presented to her by modern invention, and even where aided by a corps of domestics, is still "cumbered with much serving," it must always be a great marvel how the now venerable matrons of bygone days accomplished their tasks, and still live, sprightly and vigorous. It may well be a wonder to the ladies of this generation how, without cooking ranges or refrigerators, or the multifarious conveniences few kitchens or dairies are now without, they managed not only to feed their large families, with often a large force of hired men in addition, but also to rear and assist in making clothing for goodly numbers of sturdy children. However, the lot of the first settlers of Clinton county was fortunate in comparison with many in the coun- ties and states farther westward. There was no positive suffering except of an accidental or unusual nature. Privation, except in possibly some rare and unreported cases, was unknown. The first crops were visited by neither drought, blight nor hail. Aided by the spontaneous products of the prairie, grove, and waters, even if they did not fare sumptuously every day, old and young throve apace, and waxed fat on the fruit of their own labors. For
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many years after the settlement of the county, such an object as a pauper was not known within its boundaries. As far as the average condition of its in- habitants, in regard to material comfort, was concerned, Clinton county, while still sparsely settled, was about as near a Utopia as the boldest social reformer would dare to hope for. It is a common remark among the older residents that they never lived better in their lives than they did in the early days of the county, before the dawn of railroad communication and the influence of travel and transient population. The river furnished a reasonably accessible market, and fish, flesh and fowl were supplied in abundance by the rivers, lakelets, prairie and timber; prairie chickens, ducks, wild turkeys and deer replenished the larder and strengthened the frames of the pioneers for their labors. There was never any lack of wholesome, if sometimes a rude, plenty. Blackberries, wild plums and crab-apples grew in spontaneous profusion, and furnished welcome luxuries till fruit orchards and gardens could be planted and brought to maturity. With abundance of these, many of which would now be esteemed as the rarest delicacies, supplemented by corn, milk and home-fed pork, and appetite sharpened, digestions strengthened by the keen prairie air. it was small wonder that both elders and children were robust, families prolific, and there was much less sickness than is usual in a county where the original soil, con- taining a mass of vegetable humus, is being, after ages of repose, exposed to the decomposing influences of sunlight and air.
.It is now almost impossible to comprehend the difficulty, at an early day, of procuring the most necessary household utensils. Of course, for the first few years fire-places were almost universally used; but, with the help of tin or brick ovens, from their capacious recesses came forth the most appetizing roasts of which epicure ever dreamed, flanked by pies, bread and cake never excelled by the most famous metropolitan caterers. A broken dish could not then be replaced in a few minutes, and accordingly earthen and tinware was cared for as if it had been china or silver. Culinary skill and "elbow-grease" atoned for the lack of the elaborate appurtenances that have since become so common as to be scarcely regarded. Washing machines, clothes-wringers and sewing machines were undreamed of here and their absence was supplied by in- creased strength and energy on the part of the female portion of the household. Too frequently was their task rendered unnecessarily arduous by the indiffer- ence of the "men folks" to providing proper facilities for lightening domestic cares. Water frequently had to be brought from too great a distance. In some cases, considerate husbands hauled it on sleds, in hogsheads, from limpid springs at some distance. The supply of firewood was too often in unmanage- able shape, and brought in from the piles by the women, exposed to the
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weather, and heated by exercise and fires during cold and raw weather, a practice that indirectly led many a blooming maid and useful matron prema- turely to their graves. The spinning-wheel and loom were for many years found in many homes, and the household kept warm and dry by the industry of the mothers, wives and sisters.
The labors of the settlers in procuring a food supply did not end with the harvesting of the ripened ears. The problem was how to get them ground to flour. Though the pioneers did not have to submit to the privations and makeshifts of those in the interior counties, where they for many tedious months had to prepare grain for baking by pounding it in rude mortar-mills, they many times and oft underwent great inconvenience and labor to procure flour. The first mills were located where the streams descended from the upper levels to the river valleys, and though they did not grind as close as the improved structures, there are few old residents who will not affirm that the flour therefrom made sweeter and more wholesome bread than any new patent process whatever. Corn fixings, of course, figured largely in the domestic bill of fare, and no one thought himself poisoned by a few atoms of golden meal being mixed with wheaten flour. Many heavy boatloads of grain were propelled by oars, handled by muscular pioneers, against the swift Mississippi current from Lyons up to Sabula, there to be ground at the custom mill which for a long time supplied the settlers along the river margin of Clinton county.
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CHAPTER V.
COUNTY GOVERNMENT, PAST AND PRESENT.
Here in Clinton county, as in many other parts of the great Hawkeye state, the foundation stones of good county government were laid deep and of excellent material. Its early officers were not all of the learned type of men. but they possessed that invaluable trait of character known as strict in- tegrity-at least a large majority of those who had to do with the first period of the county's history were of this class. As time rolled on, and the county was developed by the advent of settlers who selected homes in the various townships, the spirit of rivalry, of course, obtained to quite an extent. It was the Lyons and Clinton river interests as against the Camanche and De- Witt factions. The question of a county seat early engaged the minds of the citizens and tax-payers. Several good sites wanted to be chosen as the place of the seat of justice. Naturally, the re-locating commissioners, all disinterested parties, wisely selected De Witt, which held the county seat many years, but, with the growth in population along the Mississippi river, the Lyons-Clinton interests naturally prevailed and the county seat was changed to Clinton, to the great dissatisfaction of many who lived nearer the center and western portions of the county. It was ever thus, for in a demo- cratic form of government, the majority rule, and good, worthy citizens all believe it brings about the best results, all things considered. The contest for supremacy in this court house matter in Clinton county was never car- ried to the bitter extreme that it has been in other nearby counties, especially in Whiteside county, Illinois, just over the Mississippi.
COURT HOUSE HISTORY.
The preceding chapter has shown that the act organizing Clinton as a county fixed the seat of justice at Camanche, where the business of the new county was transacted from the first to April, 1841, or about one year. The first board of county commissioners was in session at Camanche, in the pioneer hotel owned by Samuel Doolittle, during the first week in January, 1841. The next board meeting was held in the same house, in April of the same year, and at that session the bills were allowed to the commissioners appointed by the territorial Legislature for re-locating the county seat of this county. The
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county seat having by this commission been fixed at De Witt (Vanderburg), government land to the extent of a quarter section was secured at the Du- buque land office and the new county seat was at once platted and lots sold. In the month of July, 1841, the board of county commissioners again as- sembled for business purposes at the house of Mr. Doolittle in Camanche, as was also the meeting in October of that year, when the following resolution was passed : "That the Hon. Thomas S. Wilson be notified that there are suit- able buildings now erected at the town of Vanderburg, to accommodate the court and suitors of the district court for the county of Clinton, at the October term, 1841."
These "suitable buildings," as a matter of historic fact, consisted of one structure erected by Loring Wheeler, Lyman Evans, Alvin G. Harrison and a few others, and the use of it was donated to the county providing the county would hold the fall term of court at that point, and as long as they choose to occupy it. This building was built of basswood timbers, about thirty-two feet long and about twenty feet wide. It was divided into a court room and a jury room. It also had an attic story, and, in the language of one of the old pioneers, "here the jurors and witnesses, many of them, slept, bringing their blankets with them, doing their cooking outside and using the court room for their common dining hall."
Usually Uncle John Buhler, a jolly German, acted as cook for the crowd. He lived and died at Camanche and his only daughter, Sarah, married John Dillon. "Uncle John" was an excellent cook and respected by all.
An incident is related of the removal of the county seat well worth the chronicling in this conection. It was told at the time by Col. Lyman Evans. On going to Camanche preparatory to moving the county seat and its small effects,-a few records, furniture, consisting of a home-made long table, and a few books,-the good Colonel was met by John Buhler, a former landlord at Camanche, who asked him, "Be you going to move him, the county seat?" The Colonel said, "Yes, I thought I would." "Well," said Buhler, "take him along."
Later, the attic mentioned was used for the court room, and, as the busi- ness of the county increased and it became inconvenient for the county officers to keep their offices "in their hats," a portion was devoted to their use.
Bills were allowed for surveying the new town plat, and an order given reading as follows :
"Ordered, that John R. Sloan be requested to deliver to James D. Bourne, sheriff of Clinton county, the property belonging to the county to-wit : One long table, one platform and nine wooden benches, and that a copy of this order be served upon him forthwith."
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CLINTON COUNTY, IOWA.
The order to Mr. Sloan was not complied with, for it appears of record. that on October 5th it was ordered that an action be commenced against him for its recovery.
The following morning, the clerk is directed by resolution to certify to the postmaster-general, at Washington, D. C., that the town of Vanderburg, for which there had been a petition that a postoffice be established there, is really the seat of justice for Clinton county, Iowa. The same day, the clerk is directed to transfer all books, papers and documents to the town of Vander- burg within thirty days.
The next meeting of the county board was at the house of R. R. Bedford. in the town of Vanderburg, the date being January, 1842. At that time a bill was allowed to Martin Dunning for a table for the use of the court, the amount being twelve dollars. The spring election was also ordered for April.
The court house, already named as being the first in De Witt (Vander- . burg), served until 1846, when more room was demanded for the carrying on of the increased county business. Then the frame building known as the Exchange Hotel was used for the county offices, as well as for court room purposes. This building was erected in 1843 by John Snow and was situated on the northeast corner of the public square, and was burned in 1865. The first court house served until 1854.
THE BRICK COURT HOUSE AT DE WITT.
De Witt's second court house, proper, was on the east side of the public square and was completed in 1854, the contract having been awarded by Judge E. Graham to S. N. Bedford and John Butler, for the sum of six thousand dollars. A jail was built costing four thousand dollars; this was erected by William Lawton and it had a jailor's house in connection. This court house and county jail served the people until the county seat was re- moved to Clinton, in 1869. Of this structure, it may be said that it was to be "forty by fifty feet, with a front projection for a portico, walls of brick, the lower story to be nine feet in the clear, the upper story to be fourteen feet in the clear, and brick partition walls, equal in style of architecture, mechanism and construction to the Scott county court house." In the building of this court house-the temple of justice of Clinton county-only fifty dollars were asked by the contractors for "extras." John Cotton, James D. Bourne and Thomas Butterfield had been appointed by Judge Graham to act in conjunc- tion with him in superintending its construction.
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This court house, though a fine one in its day, created much friction in some parts of the county, as it had been erected not by a voice of the people, but by the "one man power" of the county judge, who at that date had the power to "provide suitable buildings," and, backed by this law, Judge Gra- ham went ahead and erected the building, though opposed by many.
COUNTY SEAT REMOVED TO CLINTON.
At last the climax came. The county seat at De Witt was forever doomed and the eastern portion of the county, that most densely populated, won a victory. To show that feeling ran high between the east and central west portions of the county over this matter, the following rather clever burlesque petition was printed in the De Witt Observer, on February 2, 1866, the year after the Civil war ended :
"To the Honorable Body of Supervisors of Clinton County, now Running at Large :
"Your petitioners would respectfully represent that,
"Whereas, The Hogle House (vulgarly called the jail), in this place, is patronized to a great extent by the city of Lyons, an uneasy little village at the Mississippi river, at the extreme eastern end of the county; and,
"Whereas, There is a numerous brood of attorneys in the aforesaid vil- lage who, occasionally, have a tax to pay ( for a neighbor), or a case in court which requires their personal attention, and which is attended with the ex- pense of a journey to the county seat; and
"Whereas, There are a righteous few men there who for the sake of the public good, would consent to hold office if the court house were near enough to be convenient ; and
"Whereas, There are a few persons there who, to make capital for, and those who seek to promote the public good by being willing to sacrifice them- selves and their friends, and if not stayed, will surely rush to destruction and future oblivion; and
"Whereas, It is of no consequence to the inhabitants of the western end of the county how far they will have to travel, or at what expense, as they are nothing but mudsills of society and spend their own money; therefore,
"To save feelings and promote the interests of the inhabitants of the aforesaid village of Lyons; to save them from anguish by day and nightmare o' nights; to spare their pockets in the matter of railroad fares, and to gratify their laudable desire to promote the public good and save expense to the county at large, your petitioners would pray that you take into consideration
(5)
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and submit it to a vote of the people whether-as the town of Elvira is suffi- ciently near for a short buggy ride from Lyons-the county seat be not located at the flourishing town of Elvira, or whether, as a matter of compromise, we cannot surmount the difficulty and gratify their ambition of serving the pub- lic by removing the Hogle House (ycleped jail) to the village of Lyons, and thus divide the honors in the manner that they will most appreciate."
Prior to 1869-about 1866-67-a movement was set on foot at Lyons to secure the coveted plum, the county seat. No active steps, however, were taken until the early spring of 1869, when efforts assumed a real live appear- ance. The movement first started among the numerous attorneys, who had tired themselves out by running back and forth to De Witt to try cases, large- ly from Clinton and Lyons. A sharp rivalry then sprung up between the two cities last named. Mutual conference committees held meetings at both points and argued pro and con. At the start, Lyons selected Ringwood as a suitable location for a new county building, and Clinton insisted that the correct place for a new court house was De Witt Park, Clinton. Block No. 8 was then named as a proper compromise. Things ran on until a committee was appointed by the Clinton city council, consisting of three members, who were instructed to confer with Lyons as to time and place for a joint-meeting of the two cities. This date was March 24, 1869. Various meetings were held in the twin cities and on April 14, 1869, the Lyons faction reported in favor of the slope near Mr. Fields' residence in Ringwood; while Clinton pro- posed as her choice Block No. 8, which location was opposed as low and unfit for the purposes designed. Finally, the following resolutions were offered :
"First, that the two cities unite with those towns favorable to the project, in removing the county seat to block 8, North Clinton; that we guarantee that said block, containing between four and five acres, shall be donated to the county for the purpose of erecting a court house and other necessary build- ings thereon; that the said city of Clinton will grade, fill and properly improve Second street to the north line of the city of Clinton; that upon the removal of the county seat, we agree to furnish to the city of Clinton, free of charge, convenient apartments for holding court, and for the use of the county offices, until such time as the county buildings shall be erected and ready for occu- pancy; provided that the time of this portion of the proposition shall not exceed three years; and that we will guarantee a contribution of ten thousand dollars toward the erection of said county buildings; provided the citizens of Lyons will guarantee a contribution, for the same purpose, of five thousand dollars, or in like proportion should any other sum be agreed upon.
"Second, believing the location of the county seat at this point will ma-
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terially advance the progress of those projected railroads which are to have their terminus at the center hereinafter contemplated, and that the construction of roads which now lag for want of means to push them forward, will have a new impetus given them by the removal, will do all in their power, by con- tributions of material aid and otherwise hasten the completion of such roads.
"Third, believing that the construction of a horse railroad between Clinton and Lyons will tend to the advantage and prosperity of both cities, and serve essentially in wiping out the conflicting interests which might appear to exist, we agree to co-operate jointly with the citizens of Lyons in the construction of such a road as the necessities of the two cities may seem to demand.
"Fourth, that a committee of five be appointed by the president of the meeting, to co-operate with a similar committee appointed by the people of Lyons to carry out, as far as can be done, the proposition herein contained."
The resolutions were passed separately and carried by almost a unanimous vote, and the committee was forthwith appointed. A similar committee was in due time formed in Lyons, which city took exceptions to much of the plan outlined by Clintonites. Some concessions were made and finally the board of supervisors were petitioned to remove the county seat. But before that an election was held in Clinton, to see what the general voice of the community might be. This was held May 17, 1869, and resulted in favor of the project, seven hundred and seventeen being for and one hundred and eighty-nine votes against the measure. Then began the work of solicitors for the signatures of tax-payers to petitions and also another set asking for names on remonstrances to the county board. The petitioners came out ahead and at the June meeting of the board, the supervisors declared that the petitioners had three thousand five hundred and sixty-five legal voters' names, and that this number consti- tuted more than half of the legal voters in the county, hence the prayer of the petition was heard, also an election ordered (with the general election) the second Tuesday of October, 1869. The vote of the board of county super- visors stood nineteen for and two against calling the election, having this county-seat issue in it. The opposition now set to work in dead earnest. Circular sheets were sent broadcast; taxpayers were appealed to and visions of a three hundred thousand dollar court house were flashed hither and yon. Pictures of a limpid sheet of water, labelled "Block eight," with patient anglers sitting on its shores, told the story more strongly than words of what the new location for a court house would be.
Such an election was never before nor since seen in Clinton county. The result of that election was five hundred and eleven majority in favor of the relocation of the county seat, the total vote polled being five thousand eight hundred and seventeen.
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CLINTON COUNTY, IOWA.
At the October meeting of the board the county officials were ordered to remove their respective offices to Clinton as soon as possible. A stock com- pany was at once organized in Clinton and Lyons to provide for the office buildings promised the county in case the seat of justice should be moved. It was desired that the fall term of district court should convene on the newly chosen "Block Eight" in Clinton. Plans were made by W. W. Sanborn, bids advertised for, and L. P. Haradon was awarded the contract at the price of three thousand two hundred dollars, the building to be completed in thirty days, and in twenty-three days after the date of his contract the structure was completed and on November 21, 1869, the building was occupied by the first session of the district court in Clinton.
The building was a neat two-story structure, forty-four by fifty-two feet. and divided on the ground floor into offices for the recorder, clerk, auditor and treasurer. The second floor contained the court room, the jury rooms and two smaller ones for the sheriff and district attorney. This was furnished three years free of charge to the county, was then rented of the owners and later sold to the county at seventy-five per cent of its original cost. A fire- proof vault was provided later for the use of the auditor's records.
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