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1914 History of Boone County
Chapter XXVIII
Harrison Township

Harrison Township has not undergone as many changes and divisions as some of the other townships of the county. From the organization of the county, August 6, 1849, to March 8, 1852, it was entirely included in Boone River Township. At the last named date Boone River Township was discontinued and Dodge Township established and named by S. B. McCall, county judge. The present Township of Harrison was at that date included in Dodge Township. Harrison continued to be a part of Dodge Township until 1857, in which year Jackson Township was organized and named. At this last named date the present Township of Harrison was included in Jackson Township. It continued to be a part of Jackson until 1871, when it was organized and named as a separate township. It was named in honor of Gen. William H. Harrison. Harrison Township is bounded on the west by Des Moines Township; on the south by Jackson Township; on the east by Story County; and on the north by Hamilton County. The surface of Harrison is generally level except along the Squaw Creek, where it is somewhat broken. The soil is very fertile and produces bounteous crops every year. The farmers of Harrison are energetic and industrious and they have made nice farms and built beautiful homes, of which they have good reason to be proud. From an uninhabited prairie of fifty years ago, Harrison Township has been changed to a solid block of nice farms, placing on the markets a vast amount of grain and stock every year. The only streams of this township are Squaw Creek and Montgomery's Creek. A sketch of these is given in another article in this work. Squaw Creek affords a fine drainage for the whole township. This little stream runs almost diagonally through the township from northwest to southeast. The drainage of Harrison and Jackson townships passes to the east into the Skunk River, while the drainage of all of the other townships of the county goes into the Des Moines River. The name given to the Squaw Creek, as it appears on the map published by Lieut. Albert M. Lea, is called Gaston's Range. This map was published in 1836 and the material for making it was mostly gathered up during the expedition of the three companies of Dragoons through the Territory of Iowa in 1835. Mention of this expedition is made in the article on organization in this work. C. W. Gaston was a member of Company I and on account of the illness of Capt. Jesse B. Browne, Lieut. Albert M. Lea commanded it on the expedition across Iowa Territory in 1835. The three companies of B, H and I left old Fort Des Moines in Lee County on the 7th of June, 1835. These three companies were under command of Col. Steven W. Kearney. According to the map above referred to, the encampment on the 21st day of June, 1835, was in Dodge Township, Boone County, Iowa, and near the west line of Harrison Township. It was onlv a short distance to the east of the camp to Squaw Fork, the trend of which was outlined by the trees that stood along its banks. Of course Lieutenant Lea wanted the little stream located and named in order to place it on his map. Mr. Gaston and a few of his comrades were sent out on the morning of the 22d to get an idea of the size and source of the stream. As a reward for his work the stream was named Gaston's Range. He also named Cario Lake, "Swan Lake," and the Skunk River was named "Chicaqua River." But none of these names is retained upon the maps of the present time. The wording of the journal kept of this expedition of the Dragoons, so far as it relates to the encampment in Boone County, is as follows: "Sunday, June 21, 1835: Marched twenty-one miles over handsome rolling prairie. The weather cold even for this season in a northern latitude. We expect to reach the Raccoon Fork tomorrow." The march of the Dragoons was on the divide between the Des Moines River and its tributaries and the Skunk River and its tributaries. The next note of the journal is as follows: "Monday, June 22, 1835. Came only twelve miles. It is supposed we have passed the Raccoon Fork and come forty or fifty miles out of the direction. What course our Colonel Kearney will pursue is uncertain." From the above it appears that the half-breed guide and interpreter, Frank Labashure, had mistaken the Boone Fork of the Des Moines River for the Raccoon Fork. The encampment on the evening of the 22d was near the mouth of the Boone Fork and about fifty miles north of the Raccoon Fork. The line of march on Lieutenant Lea's map shows that the Dragoons went from the mouth of Boone River the most direct course to Wabasha's village, which was located on the present site of the City of Winona, in Minnesota. The march on the 23d of June shows tliat the Dragoons passed on the south side of Swan Lake (now Cario Lake) between it and the present site of Jewell Junction. These Dragoons were the first white men to set foot upon the soil of Boone County. The people of Harrison Township may rest assured that C. W. Gaston rode along the banks of the little stream that runs diagonally across their township over ten years before he became the first settler of Boone County. The journal of the three companies of United States Dragoons from Old Fort Des Moines, in Lee County, Iowa, across the Iowa Territory to Wabasha's village and back again during the summer of 1835, is now in possession of the Madrid Historical Society. It is a very valuable and interesting document. The first permanent settler ofthe township was S. Mackey, who located at what has since been called Mackey's Grove, where he improved a farm of over four hundred acres and for a number of vears was the leading farmer of the township. He came from Piatt County, Illinois, in 1856. About the same time Mr. Madden located in the same part of the township and in time became a prominent farmer. Some other families settled along the Squaw Fork late in the '50s, and these were about all the settlers in the township until after the close of the Civil war. From 1866 the township settled up so rapidly that by the year 1880 the township was all under the plow and in a high state of cultivation. One of the chief hindrances to the early settlers of this township was the bad roads leading to the markets over which their produce had to be hauled. But now under a better system of road making this trouble is much reduced. The first board of trustees elected in the township was as follows: M. Mackey, S. Ritter and E. Starr. Their first official meeting was held in the Mackey Schoolhouse in January, 1872. No coal mines have yet been developed in Harrison Township. As there is no railroad within the borders of the township, fuel has to be hauled from railroad stations of other parts. According to the census of 1910 the population of Harrison Township was 747. The number of acres of land in the township is 23,040. This is an avcrage of a fraction over thirty acres of land for every inhabitant of the township. The Union Historical Company says: "The first schoolhouse erected in the township was located in Section 5 and was known as the Smith Schoolhouse." Nothing is said as to the date of its erection. Late in the '50s a schoolhouse was built at Mackey's Grove, which served the people for many years. Meetings of all kinds were held within its walls, from the township caucus to religious services. In those pioneer days the schoolhouses were open and free for all meetings. Harrison Township now has nine school districts of four sections of land each ,and nine schoolhouses, kept in good repair. They have well regulated schools and competent teachers, making their schools the equal of any in the county. In the first settlement of Harrison Township the nearest postoffice was Boonesboro, a distance of fourteen miles. Under the circumstances it was not often that the settlers received their mail oftener than once a week. When we think of the present facilities of getting mail every day, and the telephone system which places the people in all the rural districts in communication with all other parts of the country, the contrast between this and the pioneer davs is indeed wonderful. The people of the rural districts get tlieir mail about as early as the people of the towns and cities. This adds much to the pleasure of the country homes and country life. The Union Historical Company tells of a very serious experience which fell to the lot of two hunters and trappers, whose hunting camp was located in Harrison Township near the mouth of Montgomery's Creek: "In the early times and before there was anv settlement in the northeast part of the county two men went out there for the purpose of hunting and trapping. The name of one was Holton and of the other Merkle. Holton went away from the camp one evening and during his absence a terrible storm set in. He lost his way and before he could find his way back was terribly frozen. So badly had he been affected by the cold that some of his fingers and toes became useless and had to be amputated. Holton was unable to help himself for some time and, having no money and no relatives, was sent to Des Moines, where he was cared for by public charity. After he recovered sufficiently to get around he returned East, where he came from." Such incidents as this frequently occurred among the hunters and trappers of the early times. There are two churches in Harrison Township, one at Mackey and the other on Section 18, Township 85, Range 25. The church at Mackey is of the Methodist Episcopal denomination. It has a fairly good number of members and a good Sunday school. The minister of this church resides at Pilot Mound. The church in Section 18 is a German Lutheran. It is said to have a fair-sized membership and a well attended Sunday school. It is situated in the midst of a beautiful farming country and the people around are quiet, industrious and devoted. None of the citizens of the township has ventured upon locating a town within its borders. As no railroad has ever entered the township, there has been no hope of building up a prosperous town. The little Village of Mackey came into existence by force of circumstances. The people needed a postoffice, a store, a blacksmith shop and a harness shop. Mackey is located in the geographical center of the township. The scenery around there is charming. The little belt of timber along the Squaw Creek adds much to the beauty of the country. Both the grove and the name of the village were given in honor of Sebastian Mackey, the first settler of the township and a man held in high esteem by all his acquaintances. Mackey has a store, a blacksmith and woodwork shop, a harness and repair shop, a church and a schoolhouse. On account of being supplied by rural delivery the postoffice at Mackey was discontinued about a year ago. Mackey was never platted as a town. The people of Harrison Township have been very law-abiding, and but very few criminal prosecutions have been instituted against any of them, from first to last. Nor have there been many aspirants for county offices among them. Harrison is strictly an agricultural township and its people are an agricultural people. There are two cemeteries in the township, one at Mackey and one on Section 25. The present township officers are: Justice of the peace, Charles Scholmeyer; clerk, Albert Whalen; assessor, Anthony McCoy; trustees, Henry Ahrens, George Keller and S. J. Wheeler.

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 15, 2024.

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