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Did You Know:

    The earliest and heaviest settlements of Cedar County were Pioneer Grove and Rochester. The county seat was Rochester at that time.

    The early settlers to this area chose to live in Pioneer Grove because of the timber and water supply and not south of the present Mechanicsville because of the open prairie.

    Grain, and during the winter, dressed hogs were taken to Muscatine and sugar, coffee and dry goods brought home in trade. Hogs were never sold live, always dressed by the farmer.

    Calico and muslin were purchased by the bolt when they went to Muscatine, calico being used for good dresses, muslin for everyday. The muslin was dyed with hazel burrs or oak bark.

    Dr. Pierce was the pioneer physician of Mechanicsville.

    The first general store was opened in the Spring of 1856 by Daniel F. Comstock. The first drug store by Dr. Abger.

    One of Mechanicsville’s first shoemakers, William Landahl, was the grandfather of Mrs. Emma Helm, a resident of Pioneer Terrace. Mr. Landahl came to America from Germany where he had learned the cobbler trade. He came to Iowa before the Civil War and after the Civil war he returned to Mechanicsville where he opened a shoe store making all the shoes he sold.

    In the early 1880’s board sidewalks were used and they became a problem when they got out of repair. About 1900 a local citizen filed a suit against the town for injuries received from a fall on a walk and won a judgment in district court. After that the sidewalks were improved.

    The first street lights in town were kerosene lamps sitting atop a 7 or 8 foot post. Each evening at dusk the lamp lighter went the rounds lighting the lamps. Each morning he went around again, putting out the lights, adding kerosene and cleaning the chimneys for in damp or windy weather they often were smoked.

    The first electricity for the town came in 1898 when a generating plant was put in by Helmer Brothers.

    The first telephone in Mechanicsville was in the drugstore. When anyone got a call, everyone would come to listen to the conversation!

    Mechanicsville has had several fires, the first extensive one occurred in 1867 and destroyed the store owned and occupied by T. C. McClelland & Co., a general store. It destroyed the store along with a large stock of goods and considerable household goods owned by the junior partner, George A. Eagerty, father of Herbert Eagerty. Total loss was listed at $41,000, the goods being insured for $8,000.

    Another fire occurred in 1868, and it destroyed a tenement house. A fire in 1870 destroyed a tavern belonging to Chapman and Rogers. In 1883 a fire destroyed the entire south side of the business district.

INCIDENTS AND BITS FROM THE PAST

    Life in a frontier community was not without unusual and exciting incidents, and interesting bits of information along this line have been gleaned from various sources.

    For example, there was the “cornstock house”. In a very early date of this town’s history, a Mr. Hoteling erected a wooden frame building for the accommodation of the public. It was located where the Page hotel building now stands, at the corner of First and Cherry streets, but that site was then a cornfield. Because this new building stood in the afore-mentioned cornfield, it was for many years known as the “cornstock house.”

    During the winter of 1858, Jacob Onstott, then 14 years old, made 5 trips to Muscatine, helping to drive hogs to market there. As many as 250 head were taken at one time, a team and wagon going ahead breaking down the snow, and the hogs followed on foot. If a hog became exhausted, it was put in the wagon and hauled. The trip took many days; all stayed overnight at a tavern or homes along the way. There surely would be no excess fat on those hogs when they reached market.

    On July 29, 1870, a drove of sheep numbering 2,500 passed through Mechanicsville. They came from Wisconsin and were on their way to Colorado territory. No wonder fences were needed to protect lawns and gardens.

1860 TORNADO

    On Sunday, June 3, 1860, a terrible tornado passed over Linn, Jones, Clinton and Pioneer Township, Cedar County and other counties in Iowa and Illinois, resulting in serious loss of life. It was the most disastrous windstorm in the history of the county. Greenfield and Rome townships were in the path of the storm, in Jones County, where nine persons met their death. The following account of the casualties was given:

     “W. Allen’s family, living in the house of William Robinson, was killed and the house blown to atoms. The family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Allen, one boy seven years old, and two girls, five and two years old.” John Niles of Cedar Rapids had stopped at Allen’s house a short time before the storm and also was killed. Mr. Allen and Mr. Niles were alive when found, but died shortly after. The others were killed instantly.

     “One of the sills of the house, 8 x 10 inches and 16 feet long was found about 30 rods west, buried 13 feet deep in the soil of the prairie. Here the storm was most destructive. The ground literally was plowed up, covered with rails and stakes standing upright, some of them buried half their length in the ground. The grass was cut shorter than it could have been with a scythe.”

    This was the house on the farm where the Quentin Robinson family now resides.

Do You Remember . . . . . .

. . . muddy streets?

. . . the old hitching rack?

. . . the town watering trough?

. . . John Cook’s ice wagon?

. . . Chautauquas and tent shows on the school grounds?

. . . Sturgess Opera House?

. . . Eagerty’s store?

. . . annual Field Day?

. . . corn was 10¢ a bushel?

. . . Sunday baseball?

. . . Wednesday night band concerts?

. . . Elis Andre’s popcorn stand?

. . . Jess Baker’s air circus?