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1914 History of Boone County
Chapter XXI
  Pilot Mound Township

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At the time of the organization of the three original townships of Boone County in August, 1849, the present Township of Pilot Mound was contained in Boone River Township. It continued to be a part of Boone River Township until March 8, 1852. At that date Boone River Township was discontinued and Yell Township was organized. In this division, Yell Township contained all that part of Boone River Township which was situated west of the Des Moines River. At this date the present Township of Pilot Mound became a part of Yell. This division continued until September, 1858, when Pilot Mound Township was organized and named by County Judge S. B. McCall. It was named after the very prominent mound of that name situated near the central part of the township. This mound is by far the largest and most interesting one in the borders of Boone County. At the date of its organization Pilot Mound Township contained all of its present territory and all of the present Township of Grant. This division continued until 1871, at which time the complete organization of all of the townships of the county was effected by the board of county supervisors and at which time Pilot Mound Township was reduced to its present boundaries. It contains less than two-thirds of a congressional township. It is bounded on the east by the Des Moines River, on the north by Webster County, on the west by Grant Township and on the south by Yell Township. Douglas and Cass are the only townships in the county having less territory than Pilot Mound. The first board of trustees elected in the township was as follows: Bethel Owen, A. Abercrombie, Peter Runyan. M. F. Schleight was the first clerk and J. M. Carson was the first assessor. The first official meeting of the township board was held at the house of A. Abercrombie. The first settler in the township was Matthias White, who moved from the State of Indiana and settled in section 15 in 1847. Solomon Tomlinson moved from the State of Ohio and took up a claim in section 10 in 1847. The first marriage was that of John Atkinson and Mary Peterson, tlie ceremony being performed by Judge S. B. McCall. Rev. William Sparks preached the first sermon in the township at the house of J. M. Carson. The first schooi in the township was taught by Sarah Scott in a little log liouse on section 3, township 85, range 27. The first schoolhouse was built on section 3 in 1850. It was a log building, roughly finished and crudely furnished. It cost, besides the volunteer work put upon it, fifty dollars. The early settlers of Pilot Mound Township were subjected to many hardships. They had to go to Des Moines for all of their supplies and they had no road but the old Dragoon trail to travel on. They had to go to Oskaloosa to find a mill that manufactured breadstuff. This was a distance of one iiundrcd miles. Pleasant Chitwood took up a claim in this township in 1848. He hired Thomas Sparks to break some prairie for him in the spring of 1848. The river had to be crossed to get to his claim. He undertook to move his family across the river, which had to be done by forcing the team to swim the river and by taking the family and household goods across in a small boat. In the attempt to force a span of oxen into the stream, Mr. Chitwood was accidentally thrown into the stream with them. The river was bank full and Mr. Chitwood could not swim. He clung to the ox yoke, and team and man were carried down the river. Finally they reached the top of a tree which had fallen into the water and taking hold of the branches he succeeded in reaching the dry land. Just then he saw his wife going down the river in a boat, intending to use her best efforts to save her husband. Almost frantic at the sight, Mr. Chitwood seized a long pole and ran along the bank of the river to a place where the channel came near the bank. There he succeeded in reaching the boat with the pole and brought it with its precious cargo to the shore. There was great rejoicing when they realized that both were saved. The team was drowned. The family postponed the time of crossing the river until the water sunk to a level that permitted them to cross in safety. Thomas Sparks, who was present at the tune, related this incident at an old settlers' meeting in Boonesboro some years before his death. He trieil to persuade Mrs. Chitwood not to go into the river with the boat but she would not listen. After this incident both Mr. Sparks and Mr. Chitwood served as county officers, the former as county surveyor and the latter as sheriff. Bluff Creek, which rises near the north line of the township, extends through it from north to south. There are six school districts and six good schoolhouses in Pilot Mound Township. School is taught eight months in the year. Good teachers arc employed and the schools are in a prosperous condition. These school districts and schoolhouses speak well for the intelligence and the progress of the people of the township. This township has fine drainage facilities and the soil is very fertile. The farmers are up-to-date, energetic and industrious. They have splendid farms, beautiful and inviting homes and such things as make a country prosperous and valuable. Among the number who were soldiers in the Civil war were W. M. Petty, Robert C. Petty, A. Shaffer, William Tomlinson, H. Abercrombie. At the time of the Civil war Pilot Mound Township had but a small population. The township had been organized less than three years at the commencement of the war. According to the census of 1910 the population of Pilot Mound Township, exclusive of Pilot Mound Town, was 498. The present officers of the township are: Trustees, D. W. Crouch, William Larson and J. O. Youngren; assessor, J. F. Butoph; clerk, A. J. Wolf; justices of the peace, J. C. Peterson and M. D. Schoffstall; constables, R. J. Hunt, William Stark. There are two railroads within the borders of Pilot Mound Township. One of these is the Minneapolis & St. Louis, which runs through the township from north to south, and the other is the Interurban, or Newton & Northwestern, which runs through the south part of it, crossing the Minneapolis & St. Louis two miles south of the Town of Pilot Mound. This crossing is called Fraser Junction. As a rule the people of Pilot Mound Township have been as peaceable and law-abiding as those of any other township in the county. But there is an assumed story which comes down to us from the early times that a band of horse thieves and counterfeiters had headquarters among the hills along the river between Centerville in Yell Township, and the center line of Pilot Mound Township. Much has been said and written about this headquarters of the band of thieves, but nothing of a definite character has yet been brought to light. No one has been able to give the exact location of the habitation of these bold, bad men, nor to prove that any stolen horses were ever kept hidden among the hills of that region of the country. Nor have the tools or instruments used in the manufacture of counterfeit money ever been found there. The story is simply a fabrication, it seems to be a well established fact that there was the head of a family in that part at one time in the habit of concealing guilty men and stolen horses in his barn, but when this fact became known to the citizens they gave him notice to leave the countrv by the expiration of a certain time, and at the termination of that period he had taken his departure. From this must have originated the story above referred to and which had been published in some leading papers of the state. The postoflice at Pilot Mound is now the only one in the township. There was a postoffice in the north end of the township, at Casady's Corner, but it has been discontinued since the people in that part have been supplied bv the rural delivery lines. There is an old settlers' association in Pilot Mound Township which has been holding annual meetings. One of the places of meeting is Owen's Grove, in section 4, near the Webster County line. It is a pleasant place for holding meetings. Mr. Owen found the skeleton of a bufifalo in the bed of a small creek on his farm a few years ago. He still has the bones of the animal in his possession. Pilot Mound Township is connectecf with Dodge Township by two county bridges that span the Des Moines River. One thing that makes this township more historic than the other townships of the county is the fact that it contains the great battleground where the Sac and Fox Indians under Keokuk gained a great victory over the Sioux, under Wamsapasia. The many human bones tound there prove that a battle was actually fought. The large pond or lake in sections 6 and 7, township 85, range 27, has attracted much attention for many years. The old Dragoon trail which trended north from Fort Des Moines at the Raccoon Fork, passed a short distance east of this body of marsh land and water. The Dragoons afterward made mention of it. At that time (from 1843 to 1845), it was seven miles long and from one to three miles wide. The outline given of it on a map of the county published by the Union Historical Company in 1879 shows that it was six miles long and three miles wide across the center at that date. Its complete drainage and cultivation will soon be accomplished. PILOT MOUND The Town of Pilot Mound was laid out September 8, 1881. There had been a postoffice established there for a number of years before the town was laid out, which was named Pilot Mound, so when the town was laid out it was very appropriate to name it Pilot Mound also. Here are four different things having the same name. First the big upheaval of earth which towers above the surrounding country was very appropriately named Pilot Mound. When the ownship was laid out the name was applied to it. So with the postoffice and town. Here are a combination of names the like of which cannot be elsewhere found in the state. Pilot Mound has two general stores, one drug store, one restaurant, two garages, one barber shop, one harness shop, two grain elevators, one lumber yard, one blacksmith shop and a bank. The latter is the Pilot Mound Savings Bank, of which S. L. Moore is president and A. M. Kenyon is cashier. The latter is a brother of Senator W. S. Kenyon, one of the noted men of the nation. The town has a weekly newspaper, which is a true reflector of the town and the country around it. The paper is named the Pilot Mound Monitor, its present editor being J. C. Burton. It is now rounding out its sixteenth year. The Pilot Mound Monitor was established in October, 1898, its founder and first editor being August Samuelson. He had only gotten fairly started on his editorial career when he sold the paper and printing outfit to A. J. Wolf. The paper was one year old when Mr. Wolf took charge, and he continued in the editorial chair, giving his patrons a good local paper until 1905, when he sold the plant and fixtures to George Kick. The latter continued to give the readers of the Monitor a good home paper for about eight years. In that time he made many friends and, doubtless, some enemies, as is usually the case. In 1913 he sold the Monitor to J. C. Burton, the present editor and proprietor. Mr. Burton is a genial and accommodating gentleman, who has improved the office by adding many new fixtures to it. Mr. Burton is himself a practical printer and will no doubt prosper in his business. Pilot Mound has a school building with two departments. The present enrollment is about one hundred. There were ten graduates at the close of the last term. The schools are in good condition. The principal for the term of 1914 is E. E. Bentley. There is an Odd Fellows lodge of fifty members. The present ofiicers are: Elmer Germer, N. G.; E. E. Durrel, secretary. There is also a Masonic lodge of thirty members. The officers are: W. M., A. S. Kirkman; secretary, E. E. Bentley. The Woodmen's lodge has thirty-five members. A. J. Wolf is chief councilman, and D. C. Wiley, clerk. Pilot Mound has four churches and four church buildings, as follows: Methodist Episcopal, Swedish Mission, Adventist and Baptist. It is said that each of these churches has a good working congregation and that each has a good Sunday school. Drs. W. G. Laidley and R. S. Shame are the practicing physicians here. There are also two dentists and one specialist located here. According to the census of 1910 Pilot Mound had a population of 347. The state census to be taken next year may increase the population to 500. The present city officers are as follows: Mayor, Arthur Alban; clerk, L. C. Carlson; councilmen, George Carlson, E. E. Bentley, Elmer Cartwright, William Forney, O. W. Tornell. There are no coal mines in operation in Pilot Mound Township, but there is no doubt but that much of the land in the township is underlaid with valuable beds of coal which some time will be mined. There are also vast beds of gravel which will in time be used. Among those who were honored with county offices and who were citizens of Pilot Mound Township were Peter Shaffer, Pleasant Chitwood, George E. Jones and B. P. Hoist.

Source: History of Boone County, Iowa
N. E. Goldthwait, Supervising Editor
Illustrated, Volume I
Chicago, Pioneer Publishing Company
1914

Transcribed by Lynn Diemer-Mathews and uploaded August 1, 2024.

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