Part 8 (1/2)
The editor also mentions that the learned professions were represented by ten clergymen, thirteen doctors, and about fifteen lawyers.
He also mentions J. Bell's stage line running daily between Iowa City, Solon, Western, and Cedar Rapids, and also of a line to Vinton.
The following as seen by a traveller may be of interest. It is from _A Glimpse of Iowa in 1846_, by J. B. Newhall, Burlington, Iowa, _W. D.
Skillman_, publisher, 1846:
”Linn county has become proverbial for the excellence of its soil, its salubrity of climate, abundance and admirable adaption of woodlands to the wants and convenience of the settler. The prairies are remarkably fertile, and of moderate extent; the timber equally and amply apportioned, generally of full growth, consisting, princ.i.p.ally, of red and white oak, black and white walnut, linn, sugar, maple, etc. Linn county is famous for its extensive sugar orchards, from some of which 500 to 1,000 weight have been annually made. It is well watered by the Red Cedar and its tributaries, affording abundance of mill power, much of which is already improved.
”Marion, the seat of justice, is located near the center of the county, about four miles east of the Cedar, at the edge of a beautiful grove, on a gentle prairie roll. It contains several stores, a commodious hotel, postoffice, various mechanical establishments, and is a place of considerable importance.”
The modern traveler speaks of broad meadows, of rich corn fields, and of large manufacturing interests. This traveler of sixty-five years ago speaks of timber which has disappeared and of maple sugar orchards which makes us wonder what they were like.
From Bailey & Hair's _Iowa State Gazetteer_, 1865, we gather these facts:
”The county of Linn is so named in honor of a distinguished senator of the United States, the Hon. Louis F. Linn, of Missouri. It is situated centrally in the eastern half of the state, and from fifty to sixty miles west of the Mississippi river.
”It was defined by act of the Territorial Legislature of Wisconsin, at its session of 1837 and '38; that Territory then including the whole of Iowa within its jurisdiction.
The county limits were the same as they now remain, consisting of twenty Congressional towns.h.i.+ps, containing an area of 720 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Buchanan and Delaware counties, east by Jones and Cedar, south by Johnson and west by Benton. It is now divided into nineteen civil towns.h.i.+ps, as follows: Bertram, Boulder, Brown, Buffalo, Clinton, College, Fairfax, Franklin, Fayette, Jackson, Linn, Marion, Maine, Monroe, Otter Creek, Putnam, Rapids, Spring Grove, and Was.h.i.+ngton.
”The county was duly organized by the Board of County Commissioners at their first session held September 9th, 1839, at the farm house of Mr. James W. Willis, one-half mile north of the present town of Marion. The board consisted of Samuel C. Stewart, President, Peter McRoberts, and Luman M. Strong, Commissioners; Hosea W. Gray, Sheriff; and John C. Berry, Clerk.
”This Board also approved the selection of the county seat, which they ordered to be called Marion; divided the county into election and road districts; and appointed Andrew J.
McKean and William H. Smith, Constables. Of the officers and persons above named, but two, Messrs. Gray and McKean, remain residents of the county, the latter being the present Clerk of the District Court.
”The first white settler in this county was John Mann, who erected his cabin on Upper Big Creek, in Linn Grove, in the month of February, A. D., 1838. He was an emigrant from the mountainous region of southwestern Pennsylvania. He was an honest, industrious, unlettered, rude sort of man.
Subsequently he built a small flouring mill. A great flood in the spring of 1851 carried away his mill and himself together. The unfortunate man was drowned, and his body recovered only after several days had elapsed. The flood was unprecedented, and was thought to have been caused by a water spout. The Little Creek is said to have risen twenty feet in about as many minutes.
”The next permanent settler was John Crow, a North Carolinian, who made his home near the east line of the county on the Wapsipinicon river, in April, 1838. He was a very gentlemanly person, of more than ordinary intelligence, wealth and enterprise. He died about five years afterwards, much respected. His son, Edward Crow, Esq., now a member of the Board of Supervisors of this County, and other descendants remain. During the summer of 1838 the settlements gradually extended in the east part of the county. The only persons now recollected, of that early period, as remaining, are John Gibson, of Mount Vernon, and Andrew J. McKean, and Hosea W. Gray, of Marion. The first family west of Big Creek was that of Jacob Leabo, from Kentucky. The first west of Indian Creek was that of James W. Ba.s.sett, from Vermont. The first Justice of the Peace was John McAfferty, commissioned in 1838. The first Judge of Probate was Israel Mitch.e.l.l, a Tennesseean, now residing in Oregon. The first Sheriff was Hosea W. Gray. The first Clerk of the District Court was Joseph Williams, a Pennsylvanian: now said to be in the military service at Memphis, Tennessee.
”The first officiating minister was the Rev. Christian Troup, a German Lutheran, who preached regularly in his own cabin near the mouth of Spring Creek every Sunday during the latter part of the summer of 1838. The first marriage was that of Richard Osborn and Sarah Haines, in the spring of 1839. The first birth was that of a daughter of Mrs. Samuel McCartney, in July, 1838. The first death was that of Mrs.
Haines, an invalid elderly lady, who died from the effects of an accidental fall in July, 1838. The second was that of James Logan, an Irishman, who was killed by the caving in of a well which he was excavating in Marion, July, 1840.
”The first selected town site was called Westport, of which Israel Mitch.e.l.l was proprietor. It was near the present site of the village of Bertram, and was selected in July, 1838.
This was afterwards abandoned. The next in order of time, was called Columbus, built by William Stone, in September, 1838. He abandoned his town the next spring, there being only a single log cabin. The site was that occupied by the present city of Cedar Rapids. The next was Ivanhoe, by Anson Cowles, in October, 1838, since vacated. The fourth was Marion, the present county seat, in April, 1839.
”The first election was held at Westport in October, 1838, that being the only poll opened for the county. The only candidates were for members of the a.s.sembly; thirty-two votes were cast. The first member of the General a.s.sembly elected from this county was the Hon. George Greene, member of the Legislative Council, elected in 1840. The first store opened was at Westport, by Albert [John] Henry, in the fall of 1838. The second at Ivanhoe, in the spring of 1839, by Col. William H. Merritt.
[Ill.u.s.tration: GOING SHOPPING IN THE EARLY DAYS FROM CARROLLS'S PIONEER HISTORY]
[Ill.u.s.tration: INDIAN BOYS]
[Ill.u.s.tration: INDIAN TEPEE]
[Ill.u.s.tration: LATER INDIAN HOUSE]
[Ill.u.s.tration: INDIAN GRAVE]
”The first celebration was on the 4th of July, 1839, at Westport, Judge Mitch.e.l.l, Orator. There was a dinner, toasts, and a ball, whereof William H. Smith, Andrew J.