Jefferson County Online A part of the IAGenWeb and USGenWeb Projects Location of the County Seat

In obedience to the requirements of the law under which they were appointed, Messrs. Samuel Hutton, Joshua Owens and Roger N. Cressup, the Commissioners to locate the county seat of Jefferson County, met at the town of Lockridge on the first Monday in March, 1839, and, having been the first duly sworn according to law, proceeded to discharge their trust. It had been generally believed that Lockridge would be named as the county seat, and there was some disappointment when the Locating Commissioners selected a different site. In their wisdom, and that wisdom has never been seriously questioned, the Commissioners selected the southwest quarter of Section 25, in Township 72 north, Range 10 west, and declared it to be the site of the seat of justice for Jefferson County.

In Section 3 of the act under which the county was organized, it was provided that the Locating Commissioners should commit their report to writing and file the same with the Clerk of the District Court of Henry County, whose duty it should be to record the same, and deliver over the same to the Clerk of the county of Jefferson whenever he should be appointed, whose duty it should be to record the same and forever keep it on file in his office, etc. A careful examination of the records in the office of the County Auditor (formerly County Clerk) and in the office of the County Recorder failed to discover this report, and resort was had to the old records of Henry County at Mt. Pleasant, but with no better success. That report is lost, and there are no data to be found from which even a synopsis of the report can be given.

Henry B. Notson, it is learned, had filed some sort of claim to the quarter-section on which the county seat was located, but his claim was of no vital force, and he cheerfully relinquished all "his right and title" in favor of the county.

The location selected is a desirable one, near the geographical center of the county, on an elevated prairie, skirted on the north, east and west with timber. Crow Creek rises north of Fairfield, circles to the east and south, within a short distance of the city. The natural surface is rolling, giving a good opportunity for a perfect system of drainage from the central part of the city in every direction. It is geographically situated in latitude 41° 1' and longitude 91° 57', or 14° 56' west of Washington, and 940 feet above the level of the sea. The original streets were named by the Commissioners as follows: Sears, Walnut, Madison, Monroe, Church and Chastain, running east and west; Smith, Williams, Washington, Jefferson, Jackson and Hueston, running north and south.

The land was entered on the 13th day of May, 1842, before the Land Office was removed from Burlington. There was no money in the county treasury, and the Commissioners borrowed the sum needed from Ebenezer S. Gage, with interest at the rate of 20 per cent per annum. When the Gage note became due, the Commissioners were again forced to borrow money to pay him. Each time money was borrowed, a mortgage was given on lots situated in the western part of the city as security. The first public sale of lots was held on the 15th day of May, 1839, when Alexander Kirk, by public outcry, made the sale. The deeds for these lots were signed by the Commissioners as the "Board of County Commissioners," the seal upon these documents being the liberty side of a silver dime.

Of the first sale of lots in Fairfield, Hawkins Taylor relates the following:
"With John A. Drake, then of Fort Madison, but now of Drakeville, I attended the first sale of lots in Fairfield. John J. Smith was one of the County Commissioners, and he was a Whig. The whole county attended the lot sales, and a good many outsiders were there, especially from the Agency, then a military post. Among others, there was one of the characters of that day; I do not now recollect his name, but he gambled, run horses, and was ready for anything. He had that day a sweatcloth and a chuckaluck box, and whenever he could get a crowd he started his game. That night, 'Squire Drake and I stopped with a man who, I think, was one of the Commissioners, living about two miles east of town. There was but one room, and there were others there besides us. The floor was covered with what they called beds. Drake and I laid down, but the landlord brought home a jug of 'Alston's best,' and he and his other guests were having a good time. The landlord had won 50 cents during the day, and was telling about it with much enjoyment, when I said to Drake, ''Squire, you will have to look into that gambling.' The landlord changed his tune, and was by no means certain that he had made a winning at all; in fact, he was not even certain that he had even seen any gambling that day. After he had fully denied it, Drake said to me, so that the landlord could hear him, that Jefferson County was outside of his jurisdiction, and the landlord then concluded that he certainly did win 50 cents, and could have broken the bank had he tried."

Section 6 of the act entitled "An act to divide the county of Henry and establish the county of Jefferson," provided that an election should be held on the first Monday in April (1839) for the purpose of electing all county officers that were elective; and Section 7 provided that it should be the duty of the Sheriff of said county to cause written notices to be put up at three of the most public places in each of the old precincts in said county of Jefferson, stating the time, place, and officers to be elected, etc. To carry out the provisions here quoted, Gov. Lucas appointed Frederick Lyon to serve as Sheriff until one should be elected and qualified.

At the time of the first election, there were not more than two or three precincts or voting-places within the limits of the new county. These voting-places cannot now be recalled, nor the number of voters. The poll-books, like many other important papers, have been lost.

John J. Smith, Daniel Sears, and Benjamin F. Chastain were elected County Commissioners; John W. Sullivan was elected Treasurer; James L. Scott, Sheriff; John A. Pitzer, Recorder; and William Bonafield, Surveyor. [The lands were not yet surveyed, and the survey and transfer was not completed until May 13, 1842, when Ezekiel Gilham, Daniel Sears and Barraca S. Dunn were chosen Trustees, for the purpose of transfer.