Jefferson County Online A part of the IAGenWeb and USGenWeb Projects Organization of Jefferson County - Geography, Names, Timber, Etc.

The Territory of Iowa was organized under an act of Congress approved June 12, 1838. The law became operative on the 3d day of July following. Ex-Gov. Robert Lucas, of Ohio, was appointed Governor of the new Territory by President Van Buren. Immediately after assuming the duties of his trust, Gov. Lucas issued a proclamation directing the election of members of the first Territorial Legislature. The election was held on the 10th of September, and the Legislature met at Burlington on the 12th of November. Soon after the organization of the Legislature was perfected, Mr. Coop introduced a bill entitled "An act to divide the county of Henry and establish the county of Jefferson." The bill became law in the words following, to wit.:

Section 1. Be it enacted by the Council and House of Representatives of the Territory of Iowa, That all that tract of country lying west and attached to the county of Henry, viz.: Beginning at the southeast corner of Township Number Seventy-one north, Range Eight west; thence north with said line to the line dividing Townships Seventy-three and Seventy-four; thence west with said line to the Indian boundary line; thence south with said line to the line dividing Townships Seventy and Seventy-one; thence east with said line to the place of beginning, be and the same is hereby constituted a separate county, to be called Jefferson.

Sec. 2. That the said county of Jefferson shall, to all intents and purposes, be and remain an organized county, and invested with full power and authority to do and transact all county business which any regularly organized county may of right do.

Sec. 3. That Samuel Hutton, of the county of Henry, and Joshua Owens, of the county of Lee, and Roger N. Cressup, of the county of Van Buren, are hereby appointed Commissioners to locate and establish the seat of justice of Jefferson County. The said Commissioners shall meet in the town of Lockridge on the first Monday in March next, to proceed to the duties required of them, or may meet on any other day they may agree on within one month thereafter, being first sworn by any Judge or Justice of the Peace faithfully and impartially to examine the situation of said county, taking into consideration the future, as well as the present, popoulation of said county; also, to pay strict regard to the geographical center, and to locate the seat of justice as near to the center as an eligible situation can be obtained; and so soon as they have come to a determination of the place where they shall locate it, it shall be the duty of said Commissioners to name the place, so located by them, by such name as they may think proper, and shall commit the same to writing, signed by the Commissioners, and filed with the Clerk of the District Court of the present county of Henry, whose duty it shall be to record the same, and deliver over the same to the Clerk of the county of Jefferson whenever he shall be appointed, whose duty it shall be to record the same and forever keep it on file in his office, and the place thus designated shall be considered the seat of justice of said county.

Sec. 4. Provided, That in the event of said Commissioners being prevented, from any cause whatever, from performing the duties required of them, or if a majority of said Commissioners shall not be able to agree upon any place for the establishment of said seat of justice, then in that case the seat of justice is temporarily established at the house of Sylvanus Harrington.

Sec. 5. That the said Commissioners shall receive, as a compensation for performing the duties required of them, the sum of three dollars per day, to be paid out of the first moneys that may come into the treasure of said county of Jefferson.

Sec. 6. That there shall be an election held on the first Monday in April next, for the purpose of electing all county officers that may be elective, the same as in other organized counties.

Sec. 7. That it shall 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 and place and officers to be elected.

Sec. 8. That the county of Jefferson shall remain attached to the original county of Henry for judicial purposes until its officers are appointed and elected, and until said county is properly organized, according to law in such cases made and provided.

Sec. 9. That this act shall be in force from and after its passage.
Approved January 21, 1839.

Having thus minutely traced the history of the county from the time the first claims were made by John Huff and his companions in 1835, to the passage of the bill under which the county was organized, we come now to consider its

The lands are what are known as rolling prairie and woodland, properly interspersed for farming purposes, building and fencing timber. The landscape from the higher ground is pleasing and attractive to the eye, inviting the stranger to a closer examination of the view before him. The abundance of streams, skirted with heavy growths of timber, give a variety and richness to the prospect. Along the larger streams, such as Checauqua (Skunk), Cedar, Walnut and Competine, the lands are to some extent broken, but none, or but few sections at least, are lost to cultivation.

The central part of the county is the highest ground, the water shedding toward the north, south and east, while the sheds of each township are well defined and reach to all parts of the land.

Few counties in Iowa are so favored as to water and timber, almost all of the streams furnishing sufficient water for motive power, as well as for stock; while timber for building purposes is found in abundance; black, white, burr and red oak, hard and soft maple, hickory, elm, ash, walnut and birch, being the principal varieties.

The streams occupy a prominent position in the topography of the county. Entering the county near its northeast corner, in Section 1 of Walnut Township, is the Checauqua River, which flows through the eastern tier of sections of that township, its course south; entering Section 1 of Lockridge Township, it changes its course westerly, touching Section 2; reversing its course, it flows through Sections 12 and 13, leaving the county at the half-section line of Section 13, watering ten sections.

Burr Oak Creek rising in Section 1 of Penn Township traversing the town- in a southeasterly direction, empties into the Checauqua River in Section 2 of Lockridge Township, watering twelve sections. The Indian name of Skunk River was Che-cau-que, and in fact the early white settlers sometimes applied that name to it. In the proceedings of the Board of County Commissioners of this county, January 2, 1843, "Che-cau-que River," is mentioned in connection with the location of a territorial road, the orthography being as here given, written in the bold legible hand of James T. Hardin, Clerk of the Board at the time. The word, in the Sac and Fox tongue, means Skunk. The white settlers of a later period certainly evince no great poetical taste by affixing to that stream the English translation. The pride of the people, however, is somewhat gratified when they call to mind that a certain great commercial emporium of the West derives its name from no better source. Chi-ca-go and Che-cau-que are slightly different pronunciations of a word said to mean the same thing.

Big Turkey Creek rises in Section 7 of Lockridge Township, its course eastward, along the boundary line of Walnut and Lockridge Townships, passing through eight sections, emptying into Walnut Creek near the junction of Walnut and Burr Oak. This creek was named by John Huff because of his killing five large turkeys on its banks in one hunt.

Little Turkey Creek rises in Section 17, Lockridge Township, enters Skunk River in Section 11, same township; watering eleven sections.

Brush Creek rises in Fairfield Township in Sections 1 and 2, flowing eastward across Buchanan and Lockridge Townships, entering Henry County from Section 36 of Lockridge Township, watering twelve sections. This creek was also named by John Huff, beecause of the thick growth of underbrush found along its banks.

Walnut Creek has three prongs west of Section 23, of Penn Township. The north prong rises in Section 3; the middle prong rises in Sections 9, 17 and 21; and the south prong in Section 29 of Black Hoawk Township. The north fork enters Penn Township in Section 7; the middle prong in Section 18, and the south prong in Section 30, watering nineteen sections in Black Hawk, ten sections in Penn, nine sections in Walnut, and two sections in Lockridge Township, empyting into Checauqua (Skunk) River in Section 2, Lockridge Township. Its general course is east. So named because of the large walnut-trees along its course.

Big Cedar enters the county in Section 18, Locust Grove Township, passing through Locust Grove, Fairfield, Liberty, Cedar and Round Prairie Townships, leaves thecounty (sic) from Section 35 of Round Prairie Township, traversing thirty-one sections, and, in its windings, makes about sixty-two miles in the county.

Lick Creek rises in Section 16 of Des Moines Township, passes through Liberty Township, and makes its exit from the county from Section 32 of Liberty Township, watering eight sections. This stream derived its name from saline spots along its course that were frequented by deer.

The western branch of Crow Creek rises in Section 24, Fairfield Township, and the eastern fork in Section 20, Buchanan Township. These branches flow in a southern direction and unite in Section 30, Buchanan Township; thence south through Cedar Township, and empty into Cedar Creek from Section 18. Crow Creek and its branches waters eight sections. This creek was first known as Balalrd's (sic) Branch, after the name of the first settler on its banks, whose name is elsewhere mentioned as one of the "squatters" of 1836. When the settlement and society began to encroach on Ballard's domain, and he "pulled up stakes" and moved on west, it came to be known as Dyer's Creek, but W. B. Culbertson and John A. Pitzer rechristened it and named it Crow Creek, from the frequent gatherings of large flocks of those birds in the timber skirting the course of the stream.

Little Competine rises in Section 18 of Polk Township, and empties into Big Competine in Section 6 of Locust Grove Township, watering five sections.

Big Competine enters the county in Section 31 of Polk Township, flows south through Locust Grove, emptying into Cedar in Section 21, watering seven sections.

An old Indian, among the Sacs and Foxes, of the name of Competine,* had a child that died in the western part of the county, near where Daniel Morris then lived. The child was buried on the east bank of a small creek which passes through Locust Grove Township, and from this circumstance, and in honor of the Indian Competine, the settlers called the creek Competine, by which name it is still known. The meaning of the word Com-pe-tine, in the Sac and Fox tongue, is -- a small office. Competine, however, had two other names -- Ma-cul-wah and Mich-la-wam-pa-tine.

*After the Indians had removed west beyond the boundary line, parties of them frequently visited the eastern part of the county, for the purpose of making sugar, and hunting along the Checauque River. At one time, in 1839, Competine and his wife were on their way to the Checauque -- the squaw mounted on a pony, with camp-kettles and all their wick-e-up (tent) paraphernalia. They stopped at the cabin of a settler in the neighborhood of the present village of Salina, where a white man's horse was tied to the fence. Mrs. Competine, unable to guide her overloaded pony, ran her wick-e-up traps against the white man's horse, badly injuring him. This so enraged the owner of the horse that he took hold of Competine's gun and wrenched it from him by force. Competine went to the Indian Agency and made complaint, and the white man, learning that he was about to get into trouble, gave a friend $5 to take the gun to its owner. The messenger proceeded as far as Fairfield, where he took a spree, lost all his money, and could go no further. In the mean time, a squad of dragoons came on from the agency, and finding Competine's gun in Fairfield, returned it to him, and let the offender off, a badly-scared man.

Coon Creek rises in Section 24 of Polk Township, flowing into Competine in Section 21 of Locust Grove Township, watering thirteen sections. This creek was so named because of the large number of raccoons that were found along its course in early days.

Smith Creek rises in Section 24 of Polk Township, flows south, emptying into Coon Creek in Section 3, Locust Grove Township, watering six sections. This creek was named after the first settler on its banks.

Richland Creek rises in Section 18 of Black Hawk, flows north, leaving the county from Section 5 of the same township, watering three sections. No origin for the name of this creek is recorded, but it was probably so named because of the exceeding richness of the land through which its course is directed.

Rattlesnake rises in Section 13 of Cedar Township, flows through Round Prairie Township, emptying into Cedar Creek in Section 33 of Round Prairie Township, watering seven sections. This creek was so named because of the large number of yellow rattlesnakes that used to den among the rocks along its course. A son of Henry Simcoe, an early settler, was bitten by one of the reptiles, from the effects of which he died soon afterward.

Wolf Creek rises in Sections 26 and 27 of Buchanan Township, flows eastward, crosses Section 1 of Cedar, passes through Round Prairie, and makes its exit from the county from Section 1 of Round Prairie Township, watering thirteen sections in its course. James McCoy, an early settler, spent much of his time hunting wolves, his most successful excursions being along a small tributary of Big Cedar, in the southeast part of the county. He therefore called it "Wolf Creek," by which name it is still known.

Troy's Branch rises in Section 27, Buchanan Township, flows south through Cedar Township, empties into Cedar Creek from Section 28 of Cedar Township, watering ten sections. Named after Troy, the first settler on its banks.