Avery
Township is located in the most western of the central tier of
townships in Humboldt Count. The west fork of the Des Moines
River enters the township on the west line of Section 6 and flows
southeasterly across the entire breadth of Avery leaving at Section
25. The land is mostly of gentle rolling prairie with the bank
of the river fringed with a heavy growth of trees. The soil is a
rich alluvial deposit of dark loam with just the right mixture of
sand. Avery Township also has a fine grade of building stone and
top quality agricultural lime.
A man named Fenton was the first
white person to settle within the limits of Avery Township and he
built a cabin in 1857. However, he did not stay long and moved
to Fort Dodge. Others came and went during 1857-1860. The
first settler coming to farm was O. F. Avery, after whom the township
was named. he settled on a bluff west of Bradgate. In
November 1859 he began to build a home, sawing his own lumber.
he also built the first bridge across the West Des Moines River.
Avery erected the first schoolhouse, a temporary one, in 1864 at a
cost of $35. he also planted the first corn and wheat in the
area. A native of Herkimer County, New York, he became the first
postmaster when the station of Park Grove was established in his home.
Charles Jarvis came in 1861, as did Charles Sherman, d. W. Rider also
came in 1861 driving a drove of cattle and sheep and built the first
frame building in Avery Township.
The first birth in the township
was that of Minnie G. Avery who was born July 21, 1866. The
first marriage was that of Charles Sherman to Sylvia Ingham which took
place in November 1864. In the early days there was a big spring in
the river about a mile south of Bradgate and many of the early
pioneers were baptized in the shallows near it.
Avery Township has
always been one of the best hunting, trapping and fishing areas in the
state of Iowa.
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