First Settlers Arrived in Lynn Grove Area During ‘44

ALLEN, ARNOLD, ARNOLD, BURNHAM, BURTON, CAMERON, CAMPBELL, DAVIS, DILLEY, EDWARDS, ELSCOTT, FENNER, GAUSE, GERTSMA, HAMMER, JAY, JOHNSON, LANE, LAWRENCE, MACY, MATHEWS, MAYFIELD, MEREDITH, QUIRE, SHOEMAKER, SMITH, SPAIN, SPARKS, STALLINGS, STARR, SWAN, SYLVESTER, THOMPSON, TREASE, WAGAMAN, WHITE, WILDMAN, ZIMMERMAN

Posted By: JCGS Volunteer
Date: 2/17/2014 at 20:59:05

First Settlers Arrived in Lynn Grove Area During ‘44

In the spring of the year 1844, traveling slowly with teams of oxen, Wesley Stallings, his son William and David Campbell came to Lynn Grove to establish a home. But prior to these pioneers, had come five men who had taken claims, two of whom had built cabins. Concluding that this country would never become settled, these two abandoned their claims and went to greener pastures.
On the arrival of Campbell and Stallings, the father of Wesley Stallings of Lynnville, they took the two claims on which the cabins had been built. These pioneers broke about 20 acres of prairie, and when their plow became dull, were forced to travel seventy-five miles to get it sharpened.
While on this trip, they chanced to meet William Tandy Mayfield, his wife, Nancy, and their six children. Campbell and Stallings urged them to locate in this section of the country, which they did, arriving in the month of August. Thus, it can be said that the Mayfields, whose homestead included the Old Settlers Park, were the first permanent residents of the Lynn Grove Township.
The Stallings returned and sowed some turnip seed and made many other improvements on their claim, then, went back to their old home in Illinois. When Mr. Stallings returned, he and his wife and five children had one dollar and seventy-five cents in cash.
On April 19, 1845, David Campbell and his family returned to his claim.
Other pioneers were beginning to locate in this part of Iowa. John R. Sparks and wife with eight children arrived in 1845, during the month of March.
He possessed twenty-five dollars, a team of horses, two yoke of oxen and two yoke of steers. They located in section 10 and he lived and died on that claim. This was just west of the Old Settlers Park. John R. Sparks was the grandfather of the late Mrs. Joe Burnham, Vada Fenner’s mother.
With Mr. Sparks came his brother-in-law, Mathew T. Mathews and family of five children who began housekeeping in a log cabin without doors and windows. Mrs. John Lawrence, Mrs. Homer Jay, Mose Sparks, G. Elsworth Mathews, Mint Burton and Cal Trease were the grandchildren of these faithful pioneers.
J. W. Swan, father of George Swan of Lynnville, also located here in the year of 1845. His business in early days was to make coffins for people who died in this part of the country.
Two years later, Jabez Starr, father of Benson Starr – (Cecil Gertsma farm) and eight children, with a yoke of oxen and no money, settled in this locality, having plenty of faith in the future of Jasper County.
Following these earliest pioneers came the families of Jesse Arnold, Jarvis Johnson, Henry Zimmerman, Solomon Edwards, Truelove Sparks, Joshua M. Trease, T. J. White and many others.
In the spring of 1846, a Claim Protection Society was formed by these old settlers of Lynn Grove. The meeting place was by a pile of logs in a clearing on the farm of John R. Sparks. Here the people met and made a plat showing the claims of the early settlers. The many linden trees growing here gave this section the name of Lynn Grove.
The original township included parts of Rock Creek and Richland but by the year 1860, it was subdivided, receiving the present boundary lines.
The first mill of any kind in Jasper County was the sawmill. Construction commenced in the fall of 1846 by John R. Sparks. Here logs were sawed into lumber to be used for the homes of the pioneers. The mill was located on the bank of the North Skunk River in Lynn Grove. By harvest time in 1846, Mr. Sparks had added machinery by which a fair grade of flour was produced. This mill was much superior to those built by other pioneers and was a good flouring mill for those days. It was greatly prized by the people of the entire county, saving as it did three days drive to Oskaloosa over very uncertain streams and poor highways and avoiding the dangers of a winter trip. Later Sparks sold the mill to Jesse Arnold, the great grandfather of the late Mrs. Harold Macy. Mr. Arnold, with the help of his son, Joseph, operated it for many years.
In the fall and winter of 1898, W. K. Wagaman, who purchased the business, built a first class flour mill on the same site to take place of the old structure. Following his death in 1905, his son J. A. Wagaman operated the mill until shortly after World War II and then passed it on to his son Harris (Huck) Wagaman, who is still operating the mill to the present day.
Politics were not neglected in early days. The first township election was a primitive affair with a tin-cup as a ballot box and a spelling book as its cover. This election was held at the Sparks’ sawmill with Mathew T. Mathews, Wesley Stallings and J. W. Swan as judges. In the evening the ballots were counted, and it was found that fourteen votes had been cast. Jabez Starr had been elected Squire.
Mr. Starr, while serving as Justice of Peace, married the first couple in Lynn Grove, Alexander Davis and Mrs. Mercy Shoemaker. During the same year, 1849, occurred the marriage of Jesse Hammer and Margaret Sparks, grandparents of the late Marion Hammer of Newton, who for over twenty years was President of the Day at the Old Settlers Reunion. In the first Jasper County election, two men from Lynn Grove were elected to office: John R. Sparks as a member of the Board of Supervisors and J. W. Swan as County Treasurer.
Education of the children of these pioneers was regarded as very essential. In 1846 or 47, the first schoolhouse was built of logs with paper windows and pine puncheon for floors. It was located a few rods west of the “Old Settlers Park”. Seats and writing desks were made of sawed logs. Mr. Joshua Trease, grandfather of the late Mrs. Homer Jay and the late Cal Trease, was the first teacher and it is said that he wielded the rod literally.
Reverend John Cameron, a Cumberland Presbyterian Minister, preached the first sermon in Lynn Grove, the service being held at the John R. Sparks home. In the year of 1850 or 51, a Camp Meeting, conducted by three Methodists ministers, was also held at the Sparks home. This was probably the oldest camp meeting in the county.
Some early churches which served the community were as follows. The Christian Church, built in the year of 1879 was located west of the Lynnville schoolhouse. It was quite an active meeting until the early 1940’s when services were discontinued and the building was torn down.
The Methodist Church was organized at Lynnville in the year of 1865. Six years later the society bought the district schoolhouse which was converted into a little church. Later, a more suitable and larger structure was built. Meetings were held here until January, 1924. Four years later (1928) the building was torn down and an attractive home was built by J. C. Trease. Mr. and Mrs. Dwight Sparks are the present owners of this home.
As early as the year 1851, the Society of Friends was formed. In 1866, a “Friends Academy” was erected just outside of Lynnville, east of the Friends Cemetery. In 1871, the building was moved to Lynnville and arrangements were made with the Public School District to use the upper story of the frame building for school purposes, while in the lower part services were held. Later the building became a part of the Old Friends Church which was used until the year 1920 when the present church was erected.
The town of Lynnville, also getting its name from the linden trees in this locality, was laid out by John and Mary Arnold and John R. Sparks in the year 1856. It is located in Section 11 on the right bank of the North Skunk River.
The first house built in Lynnville was made of native lumber and erected by Jesse Arnold in the year of 1856. This was used for many years as a hotel. During the Civil War, it served as a refuge for runaway slaves. Slaves would be ferried across the river, hidden in the Jervis Johnson house east of town, then taken to Grinnell where friends would help them to reach Canada. The first house was destroyed by a fire a few years ago and the home of George Smith was built to replace it. The house is now owned by Gail Elscott.
Lynnville was incorporated in 1875 for the purpose of controlling the liquor traffic. It is said that the saloons had a flourishing business in the early days. The first mayor was O. C. Meredith, father of Fred Meredith of Newton. Joseph Arnold, the third mayor, served fourteen years, probably the longest period for anyone to hold that office in Lynnville.
Some of the earliest business houses included those of Meredith, Moody and Co., a mercantile store; Henry Zimmerman who operated a hardware store, a Mr. Allen and later Joseph Arnold, who ran the hotel; David Edwards sold and made boots and shoes in connection with this and had a meat market; Addison White owned the furniture store and Zachary Gause and Calvin Macy operated a dry goods and grocery store and also did some banking.
Joseph Arnold was the first postmaster, appointed by the president, Franklin Pierce, in the year 1853. Prior to this John R. Sparks had kept the office in a building near the old hotel. In 1903, a rural route was extended out from Lynnville with T. A. Thompson, father of Oscar Thompson, being the first rural mail carrier in Lynn Grove.
The first doctor who served the community was Dr. Dilley, who lived in a log cabin in the western part of the town. Dr. Spain practiced with Dr. Dilley for several years. In the year of 1867, Dr. C. E. Quire, father of Drs. A. F. and F. E. Quire, bought out Dr. Dilley, located here and practiced until his death.
In the year of 1881, the work of surveying for a railroad began. Seth Gause helped with the surveying. Land east of the river was also surveyed, but due to the heavy cost of building a railroad bridge across the river, it was decided to join Newton and Oskaloosa by rail running to the southwest of Lynnville. In June, 1882, this line was completed, and the Y leading into Lynnville was finished the following August after the land had been surveyed. During ’81 and ’82, the first elevator, grain house and depot were built. On August 16, 1882, the first train backed into Lynnville carrying a load of steel rails to extend the track from the depot to the coal bins.
Morris, Mauly and Co., of Grinnell operated the first grain house with Henry Lane as their first clerk. Shortly after this, Al and Elwood Johnson purchased this elevator and grain house. In connection with the grain business, banking was carried on and some of the old banking fixtures are now in Macy Brothers, Inc. grain office. After Johnsons, E. B. and C. O. Macy took over the grain business, adding to it lumber and coal. In 1900, Macy Bros. organized the Macy Bros. Bank with C. O. Macy president and E. B. Macy as cashier. Banking work was carried on by them for several years, and until C. O. Macy’s death, both were interested in what is now the First State Bank of Lynnville.
The first newspaper published in Lynnville was known as the Lynnville Gazette. It was established by Evans and B. F. Arnold and was a six column folio newspaper which was published for over six months. Other papers published in Lynnville were known as the “Iowa Interior News”, the “Lynnville Star” founded by C. W. Wildman in 1900 and the “Lynnville Leader”.
The Independent School District of Lynnville was created in 1870. Education was first carried on in the Old Friends Academy, but in 1876, bonds amounting to $2,000 were issued for the building of a two story structure, which was one of the most conspicuous buildings in the town. This served the people until 1913, when a new brick structure replaced the old frame building.
The early pioneers of this township organized what is probably the oldest “Old Settlers Association” in Iowa. The first meeting was held in the year of 1871 in the grove of J. R. Sparks, and for the next few years they were held annually in various groves.
On January 8, 1881, an Old Settlers organization was perfected. Joseph Arnold drew up the preamble, constitution and by-laws and he was chosen the first secretary with John R. Sparks as president. Mr. Arnold served as secretary of the organization until the year of 1902.
In October 19, 1881, Dixon Sylvester sold 10 acres which is now the Old Settlers Park to J. J. Sparks, J. S. Sparks, and L. T. Sylvester, trustees of the Old Settlers Association, for $175.00, this being recorded in the office of the County Recorder of Jasper County.
This tract of land on which the Old Settlers Park is located was a part of the homestead of William Tandy Mayfield. He entered this tract in the year of 1844 and secured the deed in 1848. Two years later he sold 40 acres containing the park to Joseph Trease, grandfather of Harold (Scrap) Trease.
On March 2, 1854, Joseph Trease sold the 45 acres to Dixon Sylvester from whom the 10 acres, which houses our present park, was bought.
In the year of 1901 or 1902, the old pavilion was erected under the supervision of Cal Trease and Homer Jay.
Annual meetings were held in this park on the third Thursday and Friday of August and were attended by many people from Jasper and adjoining counties. On one occasion, there was estimated to be over 10,000 persons in attendance. The train made regular excursions from Newton to Oskaloosa, bringing several hundred to attend the reunion.
Source: Newton Daily News; Tuesday, August 5, 1975, page 9