This county, which is in the middle tier, and the fourth east from the Missouri River, is on the forty-second parallel of north latitute, the same as ancient Rome, is twenty-four miles square, and contains five hundred and seventy-six square miles.

The North Racoon River, which flows diagonally across the county from the northwest to the southwest with its affluents, water and drain the greater portion of the surface, except in the extreme southwest, which is drained by the Mosquito and Willow Creeks, tributaries of the Middle Raccoon. The principal tributaries of the North Raccoon enter that stream from the North, and are Burrick, Hardin and Cedar Creeks, while the Greenbrier Creek rises in the southern tier of townships and joins the main river just below the southern boundary in Dallas County. Good springs of pure cold water are of frequent occurrence, and are found issuing from the gravel deposits which overlie the drift clays in the steep slopes bordering the streams. There is no difficulty in obtaining wells at all points, particularly upon the uplands, where the impervious glacial clays lie at a much less depth from the surface than in the case of the margins of the uplands, and in the benches, or second bottoms. The streams enumerated, with numerous smaller spring branches and brooks, most of which are supported by living springs, afford an abundant supply of water for stock and other purposes. The North Raccoon is the only stream that furnishes sufficient water to run machinery at all seasons of the year, and has some excellent mill powers, only a few of which have as yet been improved.

The surface configuration of this county is more level and plain-like than that of most portions of Central Iowa, the undulations being so slight as to scarcely relieve the monotonous sameness of the almost boundless prairie landscape. The waters of the North Raccoon have cut a channel into the detrital material of the drift to a depth of from fifty to one hundred feet, so that it is bordered by abrupt acclivities, which give to the valley the peculiar canal-like appearance common to all the larger streams in the central portion of Northern Iowa. The valleys of the smaller water courses are, however, generally shallow, their beds being but little below the general level of the prairie.

Th soil is a dark gravelly loam, is uniformly distributed over the uplands, and is composed of vegetable deposit, from two to eight feet in depth, with clay sub-soil. Perhaps no county in the Union gives the farmer greater rewards for his labor than this. For ages the annual crops of grass, untouched by scythe, and but partially kept down by herbiverous animals, have accumulated organic matter on the surface of the soil to such an extent that a long succession even of exhausting crops will not materially impoverish the land. It produces wheat, corn, oats, rye, barley, buckwheat, sorghum, potatoes, flax, and in fact all the grains and vegetables common the the Northern States in great abundance. There is some low, wet land, that intersects the uplands in the form of swales or sloughs, which can easily be drained and converted into the finest meadow and arable lands. The forests are wholly confined to the valleys and their immediate vicinity, being largely along the line of the North Raccoon and its branches. Although the supply of fuel from this source has been ample in the past yet with a rapid settlement of the county these native forests will scarcely prove adequate for the increased consumption of timber for fuel and building purposes, and the inhabitants will be compelled to rely upon coal, or make early provision for future demands by planting groves which thrive well. Numerous farmers, realizing the necessity, have already planted groves of fast growing woods, which now greatly beautify the landscape, and will ultimately be a source of great wealth to the county.

Fruit trees have not as yet been cultivated to any considerable extent, yet enough have been planted to show that with reasonable care and judgment a supply more than sufficient for home consumption may be grown with certainty. Nearly all kinds of small fruits are indigenous, grow luxuriantly, and produce bountifully, fruit which for quality and flavor can not be excelled in the West.

Coal has been mined to some extent, yet so far as it has been investigated it is not widely distributed over the county. The beds that have been discovered at the surface are thin, and not of as good a quality as most Iowa coal. Doctor White, State Geologist, thinks that it is quite probably that better beds may be found by shafting and that a greater portion of the county may be underlaid by the coal-producing formation; but as yet sufficient investigations have not been made to enable him to form an opinion. Peat is known to exist in some of the swales in the uplands, but the deposits are so shallow, and it is intermixed with so much sand, washed from the adjacent drift deposits, that it is valueless for fuel.

Building stone is scarce, there being comparatively little good quarry rock in the county, the sandstone usually being too friable to answer even for the ordinary purposes of masonry. Clay for the manufacture of good common brick is abundant, and from this source the main supply of local building material must be drawn.

In the bottom, upon the west side of the North Raccoon, about seven miles above Jefferson, there are several symmetrical mounds which have every appearance of being of artificial construction. The largest one is some twelve feet high and seventy-five feet in diameter, and is composed of the gravelly soil found in the bottoms upon which it rests. Several of the smaller ones have been leveled by the plow, while on the bluff opposite other mounds are found, which are said to have contained human remains.

This county has very good railroad facilities, the Chicago & Northwestern passing east and west through the center of the county, while the Des Moines & Fort Dodge runs north and south through the eastern tier of township, crossing the Chicago & Northwestern at Grand Junctions

The first white settler in Greene County was Truman Davis, who in 1849 located near where the village of Rippey now stands. Enos Butrick settled at the mouth of what is now known as Butrick's Creek, while Richard Martin located near the mouth of the stream which has since borne his name. Messrs. Wood, Valentine, Wm. R. Babb and William Crumley came in 1850 and located along the Raccoon River, while Josiah Bluncett, Thomas Greenup, and John Barr settled farther up the River in 1850-1.These hardy pioneers were subject to many inconveniences, their nearest post office being at Ft. Des Moines, fifty miles distant, their mills being from fifty to one hundred miles away, and they were compelled to go to Warren, Marion and Mahaska Counties to obtain their supply of provisions and other necessities, with no roads to mark their course or bridges to cross the streams. Many are the hardships related of the early settlers. It is stated that one of the settlers left his family with a scanty supply of food and went down, in the spring of the year, below Des Moines for a fresh supply of provisions. While he was gone the streams all raised so it was impossible for him to return for several days. The scanty provisions of the family gave out, and they were reduced to the extreme necessity of living on soap grease for a number of days. Another instance is related, by one of the citizens of the county, of a settler who left his family to go in quest of provisions. The high water detained him, the provision of his family gave out and they were on the verge of starvation. An Indian came to the house one day and asked for food. The lady of the house took him to the cupboard and the meal chest, and showed him that they were without a morsel of food. The Indian asked for the gun--it was given him--he left with it, and in a few hours returned with a couple of deer and gave them to the starving family. In a few days he returned again, and found to the joy of the family that the settler had returned with a bountiful supply of provisions, over which he seemed to rejoice greatly.

Game, such as deer and elk, was in great abundance until the Winter of 1855-6. The snows of that Winter were so deep that it was impossible for them to escape the pursuit of men and dogs, and the number destroyed seems almost incredible. It is said that they were overtaken by men, boys, and even women, in the deep snows, and beat to death with clubs. Since then there has scarcely been an elk or deer seen within the county. Their rapid and sudden disappearance astonished every one.

The county was organized in 1854, having previously been attached to Dallas for judicial revenues and election purposes. The first election held in the county after its organization was on September 14th, 1854, for township officers. G. S. Walton and Elijah Norman were the first justices of the peace elected in the county, and S. G. Crumley and Leonard Chance first constables. The first democratic convention was held on the banks of Hardin's Creek, in the woods back of Phillips' house, three miles below New Jefferson, to nominate candidates for county officers, to be filled at the August election in 1855. Every person present was nominated for some one of the county offices. The following is the ticket put in nomination: For County Judge, William Phillips; Clerk, S. G. Crumley; Treasurer and Recorder, James H. Phillips; Sheriff, Isaac D. Crumley; Prosecuting Attorney, Norman S. Daniels; County Surveyor, Allen J. Currence; Coroner, John Barr. The ticket was successful, and the organization of the county. Politicians appear to have been as eager for the county officers when the salary was only $50 a year, as they are now.

The first county court was held August 25, 1854, and an order made for an election to be held the 12th day of September, 1854, for township officers.

The following is a copy of the record of the first marriage license granted by William Phillips, County Judge:

"This court has this 4th day of September, A. D. 1854, granted license for the marriage of Moses Bowers and Mahala Young, and not being acquainted with the parties, Charles Hathway was sworn, who declared them both of age and of sound mind; whereupon this court issued license for the marriage of the above parties."

The second license was to David Rodgers and Margaret Young, October 19th, 1854. Judge Phillips solemnized the marriage.

The first tax levied was as follows: For state purposes, three mills on the dollar; for county purposes, six mills on the dollar; school purposes, one and a half mills on the dollar; road tax, three mills on the dollar; poll tax, 50 cents.

Moses Bates appears to have been the first person that died in the county, whose estate was administered upon. Charlie W. Johnson and B. F. Robinson were the first administrators appointed. Jacob Young made the first will, and Rezin McDaniels the second. The first money paid out an order from the county treasury was September 27th, 1854, to C. J. Niles, $20; Henry Owen, $15; Cornelius Beal, $36, for services in locating the county seat.

The first district court held in Greene County was by Hon. C. J. McFarland, Monday, May 19, 1856. There were three state cases and eight civil cases on docket. The court was held in a new building that had neither doors or windows. The grand jury held their session out on the prairie. The state cases were against three young women for assault and battery. It seems that the girls got to disputing about something, perhaps, some nice young man. At last one gave the other a saucy word or two, and she returned the insult by throwing an egg. The affair then commenced in earnest; a basket of eggs was soon used up, when they went at each other with fist and muscle. The combatants were parted, and it is agreed on all sides that it was one of the most fierce and terrible battles that has ever been fought on the North Raccoon River in the shape of a fist fight.

In 1858 a report came to New Jefferson that gold had been discovered in a run on Uncle Johnny Barr's farm, twelve miles west of town. The merchant threw down his yard stick, and locked his store, the physician his pill bags, the lawyer his Blackstone, the farmer left his plow, and all seized picks, shovels and tin pans, rushed to the new Eldorado, expecting soon to dig out fortunes, and return millionaires. After digging and washing a few days--some say they got the color, others say they found small particles of gold--they all concluded to return to their former occupations, thinking that they were more profitable than digging for nuggets in Greene County.

The Jefferson Bee, the only newspaper at the county seat, was established in 1866 by M. L. & H. Money, who sold to Swaim & Irwin, and they to Swaim & Rhoads, and is now owned and conducted by Rhoads & Aliexander. It is a neat, well printed seven column quarto sheet, politically black republican, and has a large and growing circulation.

The Grand Junction Head Light was established January 1, 1870, by Mills & Co., of Des Moines, who January 1, 1872, sold to the present editor and proprietor, S. C. Maynard, who is making it a wide-awake, popular local paper, that deserves and is receiving a good patronage.

This town, the county seat of Jefferson [should say Greene] County, is beautifully located on high table land between the North Raccoon River and Hardin Creek, being about half a mile east of the former and two miles west of the latter, and near the geographical center of the county. The town site has an elevation of some seventy-five feet above the level of the river. It was laid out in 1854, at a time when the financial condition of the county was such that it was necessary to effect a loan of two hundred dollars for the purpose of purchasing the site. The amount was borrowed of Hoyt Sherman, of Des Moines. At the first sale of lots those around the square brought $10 apiece, while those not so advantageously located were sold from $1 to $5 a lot. The first building erected on the town plot was by G. S. Walton, the second by Captain R. M. Rippey in 1855. It is said that after the survey of the lots that Judge Phillips and B. F. Robinson wrestled to see who should have the first choice, and that Phillips throwed Robinson, and had the honor of purchasing the first lot in Jefferson. Building commenced in June, 1855, but in consequence of there being no improved road, and the travel all going south through Adel to Council Bluffs, Sioux City, etc., it improved but very little for several years. The first mail route through the county was established in 1857, from Adel to New Jefferson, once a week. The town was named in honor of Thomas Jefferson; but in consequence of there being an old town of that name in Dubuque County, Iowa, the department refused to grant another office of the same name in the state, and suggested that the name be changed. Captain Rippey then gave it the name of New Jefferson, and the Post Office Department granted the office. The prefix "New" has since been dropped, and it is now known as Jefferson, as was at first intended.

It is a place of considerable importance, having one of the largest and best court houses in Western Iowa, an elegant public school building, and numerous substantial and commodious business houses and residences. Being the center of a fine and valuable farming country, having good railroad facilities, and a class of honorable, energetic business men, Jefferson is certain to become at no distant day one of the most important towns in the western part of the state.

GRAND JUNCTION.--This place is located at the crossing of the Chicago & Northwestern and the Des Moines & Fort Dodge Railroads, about seven miles from Jefferson, in the eastern part of the county. The place has grown up since the completion of the last named road, and has considerable business.

SCRANTON.--This is a station on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, in the western part of the county, and is a shipping point for stock and produce. It is about nine miles from Jefferson, in the middle of a well settled portion of the county.

RIPPEY.--This is a station on the Des Moines and Fort Dodge Railroad, in the southeastern portion of the county. The original town of Rippey was laid out in 1855, by Judge Daniels and Mr. Crumley, and named in honor of Captain R. M. Rippey, of the 39th Iowa Infantry. The present station of this name on the railroad is some distance from the site of the original town.

PATON.--This is a station on the Des Moines & Fort Dodge Railroad, in the northeast part of the county.

Transcribed July 2018 by Cheryl Siebrass from "A. T. Andreas Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Iowa" Chicago: Andreas Atlas Co., 1875, pg. 488.