THE STORY OF DAYTON TOWNSHIP
CEDAR COUNTY, IOWA

We usually think of history as having to do with wars and dates when certain events happened. The really important phase of American history is the emigration westward of families of people with their subduing of forest and prairie and bringing the land into cultivation. Such is the case with the history of the township in which we live.

In 1831 Antoine Le Claire, the Indian interpreter and first citizen of Davenport, laid claim to the timber tract northeast of Clarence. He never lived on it to prove up his claim, but at that he is the first claimant to land in the vicinity.

When the surveyors came through in 1837 laying out the township and section lines it was their duty to put down the names of white settlers and where they were living. From these surveyor's notes, we ascertain that families named Nesbit, Poston and Stiles were living in Onion Grove at that time. They were the earliest but not permanent settlers in the township.

It has been more than 100 years since the first white people came to make permanent homes in the township. In 1844 Thomas Robinson and his wife, nee Margaret Spear settled in the timber on the banks of Mill Creek, now owned by Alvina Larick. They were the grandparents of the late Ernest Robinson, Rena Buckley and Willie Robinson of Clarence. In 1847 a son, William S. was born to them, the first white child born in the township. Mr. Robinson was also the first postmaster. The early settlers found quantities of wild onions growing along the banks of Mill Creek. From this circumstance they called this body of timber, Onion Grove. It formerly extended almost half a mile further south and west, but has been cut off to provide more farm land. Other than the body of timber along the creek, the earliest settlers found the rest gently rolling prairie covered by rich, tough grass. At one time it was possible to drive across country to Tipton without being hindered by fences or roads at all.

In 1847 the Moses Garrison family coming from Jones County, settled where Melvin Hasselbusch lives. As near as can be ascertained they were the second family to settle here. They were the parents of the late, Mrs. Martha Van Wormer. Other families soon followed. The Wm. Laughrey family settled where Chas. Starr now lives. There was also a family named Snow that lived on the McConkie farm now tenanted by Chester Noble. Mrs. Snow is credited with bringing the butter print to this locality. It was a door yard plant to her in Ohio which she admired and in order to enjoy its bright yellow flowers, she brought some seed to Iowa. In the rich soil it multiplied until it has become a weed that is almost impossible to eradicate. The James Girard family lived where Donald Ruther does now. Mr. Girard erected in 1855, a store building which stood on the north side of the lane leading to that set of buildings. When the railroad came through it was moved to town and stood for many years on that location until in 1882 when the present brick building was erected by the late George E. Smith to house his drug store. It was moved to the location on the Dr. H. A. Bouschlicher property where it served as a barn. A few years ago it was torn down. Till then it was the oldest building in the community. The Girard family above referred to moved to Kansas where they gave their name to the city of Girard, Kansas.

A post office was established in the community which was served by the carrier on the route which led from Iowa City to Dubuque. Mail was carried by horseback in saddlebags; deliveries were weekly or bi-weekly at the most.

At an early date, a cemetery was laid out on a knoll in the timber. It was never generally used because of its being unwisely chosen on a ledge of rock coming close to the surface, making the graves shallow in depth and also the fact that the Diamond Cemetery was established in 1856 and the Clarence Cemetery in 1868. However it contains the graves of the earliest settlers, the Robinson family, the Laughreys, a family named Brown, who lived in the timber east of Kellys, members of which died within two years time of tuberculosis, a sister of Mrs. Martha Van Wormer, some children named Dorr and a few others. The grave of no person there can now be identified.

In 1853 the Frink and Decker families settled on the banks of the Creek in what we know as Dayton Valley. This brought a large number of settlers of a substantial character in to the northeast part of the township. Descendants of these people still occupy farms in that neighborhood, one of the most beautiful rural spots in the middle west.

For election purposes the three townships in the northern tier of the county were combined in one called Polk township, named in honor of President James K. Polk. One of the early elections was held at the house of a man named Ayres, who lived where John Feddersen does now. The late Mrs. Eunice Cartwright is authority for this, that the ballots were strung on a needle and yarn as they were counted, in order to keep them together. As the county became more fully settled, these townships were separated and the eastern one of them called Massillon for the village of that name which in turn was named for Massillon, Ohio. The other two were called respectively, Fremont and Dayton, for the first Republican presidential and vice presidential candidates in the election of 1856, John C. Fremont and William Dayton.

In 1856 regular religious services began to be held in the Dayton Valley neighborhood. This was the origin of the Dayton Valley Wesleyan Methodist Church, the oldest religious organization in the township. The building was erected in 1869 and has had an unbroken existence till the present. Incidentally, this church is the oldest one of its kind in Iowa and perhaps west of the Mississippi River.

Rev. Frank J. Wilson came to Dayton Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1911 and remained until 1924. He was at one time president of the Conference of Iowa Wesleyan Methodist Church. In spare time he erected brick and hollow tile silos many of which are still serving in this vicinity.

In 1858 the railroad called then, the Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska Railroad, was graded and track laid as far as the lane leading to Glen Pruess' house. Here the work stopped for lack of funds and the approach of winter. A box car was switched to a side track to form the first depot. A farmer named Wm. Hoey who lived where F. J. Bachman's farm now is, was the first station agent.

The next season the track was completed into town. A celebration was held on the Fourth of July that year, the principal attraction of which was a train ride to Lowden and back. With the advent of the railroad the few buildings in the Onion Grove community were moved to the present town site. The new community was known by that name. In fact the village was platted under that name. In 1862, L. B. Gere, a merchant at that time, made the suggestion to change the name to Clarence, in honor of his native town of Clarence, New York. (Clarence, New York was named for the House of Clarence, one of the royal residences. Lombard Street was named after Lombard Street in London, which is to London what Wall Street is to New York.) Mr. Gere erected about that time the brick house now owned by Mrs. Ida Engelking. The telegraph call letters for this station are still O. G. for Onion Grove.

On Sunday, June 3rd, 1860, a most devastating tornado swept into the township from the northwest. It struck a house standing north of Robert Kellys, occupied by Mr. and Mrs. John Baker, great grandparents of Mrs. Vern Freeman, demolishing the house and killing them both. It proceeded east roughly following the creek and struck another house standing on the site of the Fred Decker farm and occupied by people named Mackie, killing the entire family. Mrs. Elizabeth Decker who had just lately been made a widow and her family, Henry, Fred, Chas. and Carrie were living in a house where Robert Decker now lives. The tornado had sucked up the water and mud from the creek and just as it got opposite the house that sheltered the terrified family, let loose a blast as from a gigantic hose and literally plastered the outside with mud and sticks. It shortly lifted and passed out of the township to descend again after dark on the town of Camanche and lay it waste, killing and injuring a number of people.

The coming of the Civil War found the people of the community ready to support the Union. Almost a whole company was raised in the Community. Company G of the 31st Iowa Infantry which saw action around Chattanooga, Tennessee. Only one person from the township lost his life in battle in the war between the states. He was Carlton Frink, a young man of 20, who lost his life in the battle of Shiloh.

ONION GROVE MOVED EVENTUALLY NAMED . . . CLARENCE

While the railroad was building, the Iowa Land Company was organized. The purpose of the company was to control the location of stations along the line of the road. When the line of the road was established, Joseph Ball was the owner of the northeast Quarter of Section 27, and the entire south half of the same section. About the time the station was established, the Iowa Land Company bought from Mr. Ball the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 27, 40 acres, for town purposes. That forty acres was south of Lombard street. James Laughrey owned the east half of the southeast quarter of Section 22, and Daniel Lesley owned the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 23. These tracts extended north from Lombard street across the railroad track, and were also purchased by the Iowa Land Company. The forty acres above referred to, as purchased from Ball, was subdivided into town lots by the Land Company, as was also a part of the eighty acres purchased from Laughrey. This survey covered the original plat of Clarence.

In 1865, Fred Hecht, M. K. H. Reed and A. Piatt bought the balance of the northeast quarter of Section 27, and all of the south half of the same section, and laid off what was known as Hecht's Addition to the town of Clarence. In 1867, Charles M. Gilbert made an addition to the east side of Clarence, which is known as Gilbert's Addition. In 1868, L. Phelps also made an addition, which is known as Phelps' Addition. Besides the above named additions, there are these several others: Huff's Addition on the northwest; Baumann's on the northeast; Phelps' Triangular Addition, which lies between Lombard street and the railroad track, and Hecht's Second Addition.

The lots laid off on the Laughrey track north of the railroad were never improved. In 1865, L. Phelps contracted with the Iowa Land Company for that part of the three eighty-acre tracts lying north of the railroad. Before the deeds were executed, he contracted the west eighty to James Huff, and the deeds were made to Mrs. Huff. The east eighty, with the exception of the part of it south of the railroad, and known as the Phelps' Triangular Addition, was deeded to George Bauman, leaving Mr. Phelps in possession of all that part of the middle eighty north of the railroad. After the title was confirmed in him, Mr. Phelps petitioned to have that part of it included in the original town plat vacated, which petition was granted, and the land is now used for farming purposes. Clarence was named in honor of Clarence, New York, at the suggestion of L. B. Gere, one of the early business men of Onion Grove Station.

The population is estimated at 800.