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A glimpse into the past...
Lancaster.
The building was two stories high and was 20 x 30 ft. There was also a
jail erected at that place.
After
considerable litigation and controversy the county seat was returned to
Sigourney from Lancaster. The next courthouse was built in the center
of the public square at Sigourney, at a cost of $16,000, and was
dedicated the night of July 4, 1859. At this time there were only 12
business houses in Sigourney. All but two were small frame buildings.
When the
Keokuk County courthouse built in 1859 was torn down in 1909, the
present day courthouse was erected. The corner stone was laid June 8,
1909, and the building was dedicated Sept. 12, 1910.
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Present day courthouse..Built in 1909.
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Lancaster Court House. When this picture was taken it was being used as
a home by the Corbin Utterback family. |
The first
sheriff of Keokuk County was George W. Hayes. He was a very eccentric
individual, and some of his peculiarities, as exhibited during the days
of his official dignity, are cleverly delineated by one who then knew
him:
"In weather
hot or cold, wet or dry, he always wore the insignia of his office in
the shape of an old blue blanket overcoat.
"To see him
the first time was to know him at any other time or place. We had
occasion one day to place in his hands a subpoena in which several
persons were defendants. To avoid the repetition of all their names, we
added, as is usual after the first name, the abbreviation, et al,
meaning, also others.
"In the
course of a week, Hayes returned the writ, declaring that neither he,
nor any other of the witnesses he had notified, were acquainted with or
knew anything of this man et al."
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Next court house built in the center of the square at Sigourney.
Dedicated July 4, 1859. |
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The
Keota Lions Club
MEMBER
OF LIONS INTERNATIONAL
Is
Proud To Be A Part Of Keota
and Its l00th Anniversary
DEDICATED
TO
Community Service
lOWA
LIONS SIGHT CONSERVATION FOUNDATION
1973
OFFICERS
| Ron Shafer - President |
George Chase - 1st Vice-Pres. |
Bob Schreurs - 3rd Vice-Pres. |
| Joe Harding - Tail Twister |
Raymond Herr - 2nd Vice-Pres. |
Keith Kent - Lion Tamer |
| |
Bill Henderson - Secretary-Treasurer |
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1973
DIRECTORS
| Doyle Palmer |
|
Keith Herr |
Dale
Singleton 1
year
|
|
Mel
Leiting 2
years |
| Bob Adams |
|
Norbert Flander |
| |
Bill Werning - Retiring President |
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1973
MEMBERS
| |
Tom Mills |
|
| Don Bermel |
Deane Morris |
Wesley H. Jones |
| Dorvin Bohr |
O. D. Palmer |
C. D. Kirkpatrick |
| Don Callen |
Lewis Powell Jr. |
John E. Klein |
| Richard Carmichael |
Roger Richardson |
Donald Laing |
| Clifford Conklin |
Walter A. Smith |
Elvin Luers |
| Maurice Conrad |
Bruce Stoutner |
Richard Lyle |
| Clayton Funston |
Marion Stoutner |
Bob McDowell |
| Paul Hammes |
Forrest Tucker |
Keith Wells |
| |
Wayne Zehr |
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4
A glimpse into the past...
The following story of Pioneer life in Lafayette
Township before and after the town of Keota was founded refers to
ancestors of families who are residents of this community. Hosea N.
Newton mentioned in the story was the great grandfather of Mrs.
Genevieve Newton White and great-great grandfather of Chas. N. (Chuck)
White. This original Newton farm remained in the Newton family until
1969 when it was sold; however, Mrs. White still occupies the home.
Another great-grand-daughter of Hosea N. Newton compiled the following
story of events from the diaries kept by Hanno P. Newton. The original
diaries have recently been donated by the family to the Wilson Memorial
library, Keota, Iowa.
PIONEER
EXPERIENCES IN KEOKUK COUNTY
1858-1874
"On the N.Y.
Central R.R. going along at a great rate, reached Cleveland. Ohio about
sundown but still kept a-traveling." Thus wrote Hanno Newton in his
diary in 1858 when he, with his parents, were enroute from Connecticut
to Iowa to establish a home in the section of Keokuk County then known
as Dutch Creek and now the site of the town of Keota: Hanno had started
to keep a diary two years before, and he continued this day-by-day
account of events until his death at the age of ninety.
Hosea N. Newton
and MaryAnne Bolles Fiske, natives of Cheshire County, New Hampshire,
were married in Hinsdale, where their son Hanno was born in 1838.
Hosea, who was engaged in the business of making oyster kegs in
Hinsdale, moved his family to Fair Haven, Connecticut, in 1840, where
he continued to engage in his business as cooper and where he taught
his son the trade.
The pioneer
spirit which had brought Richard Newton to Massachusetts from England
in 1638 imbued his descendant, Hosea. After hearing reports from
friends about the opportunities in Iowa, he made an exploratory trip in
1856 and bought 160 acres of prairie land at $1.25 per acre. Two years
later he moved his family to Iowa.
Even though the
family did not travel by covered wagon, as so many of the immigrants of
that time did, the account of their trip makes interesting reading.
From Fair Haven they took a stagecoach called the "King's Omnibus" to
the dock at New Haven, where they boarded a steamboat at ten o'clock at
night; nine hours later they arrived at New York, "two hours behind
time on account of the heavy fog on the sound." They took a hack to the
Gerard House, where they remained until six o'clock at night when they
took "the cars" for Albany, New York, arriving there about midnight. At
two o'clock in the afternoon of April 8, three days after they had left
their home at Fair Haven, the Newtons arrived at Chicago. After
visiting a few days in and around Chicago, they boarded "the cars" at
Aurora at ten o'clock in the morning and that night at 6:30 they were
met by friends at Davenport. Finally, on April 16 they arrived at
Columbus City in Louisa County, the end of the railroad. They hired a
man with team to take them to Washington that afternoon, and the next
morning hired the same man to take them on to Lafayette Township in
Keokuk County, about 22 miles. They lost their way and did not reach
their destination until five o'clock in the evening. They "stoped (sic)
at Hinman's (a hard place). Evening called upon a Mr. Farrand."
The Newtons had
come to what must have seemed the end of the world. They had a farm,
but there were no buildings on it, not even a tree or a stick of wood,
as they were to discover when they started to mark out the places where
the buildings were to be placed. They had left the civilized and
populated East, had brought all their personal belongings and perhaps
some furniture with them, but they had no place to live and no place to
bring their "goods," making it necessary to leave them at Columbus City.
After looking the
situation over on Sunday, the day after their arrival, they decided
that the Farrand's looked like a good place for them to stay, so early
on Monday morning,"before breakfast," Hanno wrote, "Father went over to
Mr. Farrand's and arranged boarding for us." It was here that they
stayed for three months, and it would appear that Mr. Farrand was very
cooperative and helpful in getting the new family adjusted and started
on their new venture. He is mentioned in many subsequent entries as
accompanying them on trips for supplies and as working with them on
various farm operations.
Their next step
was to buy a team of horses for $250 and a cow for $20. They then
borrowed a wagon and went to a sawmill, nine miles south on Skunk
River, for lumber, getting their loads stuck in the mud twice on their
way back to Mr. Farrand's. The day after this strenuous trip they built
a stable for the horses and cow. None of their land being broken that
first year, they rented a small piece of plowed ground for corn, but it
was a very wet season and they did not get their corn planted until
June 10.
Supplies were
difficult to obtain because of the long distances which they had to be
hauled. About two weeks after their arrival, Hanno, in company with Mr.
Farrand and Mr. J. D. Batterson, went to Iowa City, about 40 miles
away, to buy some necessary equipment. Leading Hanno's team and driving
Mr. Farrand's, they made the trip to Iowa City in 11 hours. On the
return trip the roads were muddy and their loads were heavy. They spent
the better part of two days driving home. Getting through mudholes
really took patience. For example, one line in the diary states quite
simply what must have spelled patience as well as brute strength: "got
stuck in a mud hole so that I did not get out for over two hours."
Once home,
however, Hanno and Hosea lost no time in getting started on their
building program. The next morning they "took the loads down to our
place, unloaded them, afterward commenced digging the cellar."
While the Newtons
had arrived on their farm on April 17, it was not until June 21 that
they went to Columbus City
for the rest of the "goods." Since their barn was not ready for "living
in" for another month, we can only conjecture
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A
glimpse into the past...
as to what they
did with their "goods" during that time. The trip to Columbus City and
back is an interesting little story in itself. Mr. Hinman and Mr.
Miller went along, driving their own teams, making three wagon loads
that they hauled the 35 miles. They made the trip to Columbus City in
one day, then were delayed in getting started back the next day
because, in the words of the diary, "The Freight Agent being away..
could not get our goods untill (sic) about 11 o'clock." Once the goods
were loaded on the wagons and the return started, troubles multiplied.
First, the roads were very bad. and their loads were heavy, Hanno's
being 1,800 pounds; then Hanno lost his "pail and halters"; the next
day "Mr. Hinman broke a whiffle tree"; and finally, on their second day
out from Columbus City, darkness overtook them when they were only five
miles from home. The "roads being so bad we concluded not to go any
farther tonight, borrowed a sythe (sic) and cut some grass for the
horses, then went into an empty house and camped on the floor."
Altogether, it took them three and a half days to make the round trip
of 70 miles.
Many loads of
lumber from the sawmill were needed before they had enough to complete
the farm buildings. Finishing lumber and other supplies had to be
hauled from Iowa City, each trip usually consuming two or three days.
But at last, three months from the date of their arrival, the barn was
finished, and, in the words of the diary: "We quit boarding out...moved
into our barn, it is quite comfortable."
For four months,
then, the barn was their home. On September 21 they "got ready to raise
our house," and on October 9," moved into the chambers of our new
house, seems some better." The finishing work on the house continued
until November 24, Thanksgiving Day, when the diary reads: "Run off
lime for plastering. Never worked before (on) Thanksgiving day." They
were working against time now, for the winter was soon to set in. On
November 29 they "laid chimney," and on December 2 they plastered the
lower part of the house. Snow began to fall about four o'clock that
afternoon, and they did not get the plastering finished until eight
o'clock. They then brought the stove down from upstairs, and by eleven
o'clock had it set up and "a fire going hot."
The fact that the
Newtons first built their barn—a barn substantial enough for them to
live in for several months— and then erected a plastered house
indicates that they differed from the typical pioneer of the fifties.
Most of the early settlers first built a rude cabin, heated by a
fireplace, for their family shelter; later, they might build a rough
leanto shed to house their animals. That the Newtons were building on
such a grand scale must have been a cause of wonder and envy to their
neighbors.
Hosea turned his
skill as cooper to that of carpenter and thence to cabinet maker. He
became known. ultimately, as an excellent cabinet maker, and we know
that he had plenty of practice in the trade. He made their own
furniture, such as bedsteads, bureaus, washtubs, and a bookcase with
pigeonholes; he also made machinery such as wagons, sleds, a seeder and
wheelbarrow, and plows. Not only did he use his skill at carpentry for
his own work, but he was called upon to do a good bit of that kind of
work in the neighborhood. When the Newtons became firmly established.
there were many entries in the diary, such as the following: "Father
went to work for Mr. Jones—frameing (sic) his house." Even during that
first summer, when they were so busy with their own house, they were
called upon to help their neighbors with building projects, one such
call being to help "raise" a neighbor's house. But there was fun as
well as hard work at those house-raisings. After the Newtons had raised
their own house, Hanno wrote in his diary: "haveing (sic) plenty of
watermelons when we got through we eat some."
From time to time
other buildings were added to the Newton farm homestead: on August 11,
1869, they "raised the Granary," and a month later they finished a
cowshed. By 1867 the family had outgrown the original house, and an
addition was built.
The growing
family is accounted for by the fact that in 1862 Hanno married Maria
DeBerard, who, with her parents, had moved onto a corner of the section
opposite the Newtons some two years before. By 1867 three children had
been born to the couple, all girls. Since they needed more male help on
the farm, they took a boy, Charlie Ames, "to raise." Add to this the
fact that there were many guests coming to the Newton home from time to
time, often staying over night—one wonders where they all slept. The
original house had a living room, bedroom, kitchen, and pantry down
stairs and four bedrooms upstairs. In 1867 a large room was added to
the back of the house and used as kitchen and dining room.
Crowded
conditions again existed in 1871. That was the year that a branch of
the Rock Island Railroad was extended from Washington through
Sigourney. It cut through the Newton farm, and the Newtons took some of
the laborers to board, which in those days meant rooms as well. There
were by this time five children, making 11 people altogether in the
family—add to this the railroad men—where would guests be put? But
guests they did have, as indicated by Hanno's entry: "today the first
time in two weeks but what there has been someone here besides our own
folks."
During the first
years in this new land, the Newtons spent much time during the winter
months in the woods over
near the river, cutting and hauling wood to burn and to make fence
posts. At times they camped over night, bringing home two loads instead
of the usual one. It is doubtful if this kind of camping was enjoyable;
to take the sting out of their problem, the Newtons, with neighbors J.
Sherman and Doty, built a "cabin to camp in" in the winter of
1862-1863. Even at that, one can be reasonably certain that the cabin
was merely a protection from the wintry blasts.
In addition to
carpentering and wood cutting, there was farm work to do, even that
first year, and while they probably did not do very much on their own
farm that first summer, they did do some farm work for their neighbors.
On June 16, "Helped Father finish planting corn over to Mr. Case's
today," which, by the way, was quite a late date to plant
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7
A
glimpse into the past...
corn. However, it
made good corn, as Hanno testified in an article in The Keota Eagle in
May, 1877.
Other farming
operations mentioned that first summer were mowing and putting up hay,
mowing buckwheat, and husking corn. It would appear that these
operations were all performed by hand, since it took two men all day to
mow an acre and a half of hay. The next year special mention is made
that they cut hay with a machine. Corn of course, was all husked by
hand. Since there were no fences, they had some difficulty in keeping
the cattle out of the corn; in July of that first summer there are
several entries in the diary indicating that someone usually stayed at
home to herd the cattle.
The pattern of
the rapid development of farm machinery from hand operated to horse
operated is clearly shown in the diary. Hay was cut by machine as early
as 1859 and 1860, while corn was still being planted by hand after the
field had been "marked" out, but in 1864 some corn was planted with a
two-horse planter. In 1859 the plowing was done with a homemade shovel
plow, but in 1863 and 1864 the Newtons made a sulky plow. They took the
"hind wheels of H. Case's wagon, set the tin, and fited (sic) them onto
the plow." Sowing wheat was done with shovel plows in 1861, but in 1863
they "bought pattern right of a seed sower," and set out to make one.
The pattern was evidently a good one, since the entry on March 30
stated that the "machine worked very well."
Threshing in 1864
was accomplished by the cradling method, but was soon changed to the
reaper except, as in 1869, when the ground was so wet that they had to
revert to cradling. Until 1871 corn was hoed by hand, all hands
helping, even the womenfolk, but that year they bought a corn
cultivator which must have revolutionized the operation.
The crops raised
by the Newtons included corn, wheat, oats, buckwheat, rye, and sorghum.
No mention is made of the varieties they grew except in the case of
wheat, when Fife, Tea, and Club were cleaned with a fanning mill in
1863.
Since there were
no native trees on the Newton land, they planted trees from time to
time. By 1863 they had a hedgerow "between Smock and us," and that year
they set out some willows. The next year they bought more "willow
cuttings at $2.00 per thousand," and also set out cottonwood sprouts.
In 1867 they started a seedling bed of maples, using seeds which they
had had sent from the East; in 1871 they set out the maple seedlings.
Fences very soon
became a necessity, and the work of building them was commenced in
1859. Rail fencing was the cheapest kind to build, but it was a
time-consuming job. There were countless entries made in the diary of
which the following is typical: "Father and I went to timber and split
rails." Merrill E. Jarchow cites an example of the time which it took
to make a rail fence: "it required 6,720 rails, fourteen to the rod, to
fence eighty acres, while the job of splitting the rails took one man
about 67 days. Further, it required 1,920 stakes and 960 blocks for the
support of such a fence." When we read about the times that the sheep
strayed , and how they sometimes had to hunt for several days before
they found their cows, we can appreciate the fact that they must have
been very eager, indeed, to get fences built as soon as they could. It
is not clear from the diary whether they fenced their fields or their
stock in first.
What they did for
water the first year is a mystery, but in August, 1859, they went on a
hunt for stone to "wall a well," which they were digging and in which
they installed a chain pump.
Doing a little
conjecturing from the fact that willows seemed to be a good kind of
tree for them to plant, and the fact that in 1860 they hired a Mr.
Gordon with a ditcher to make "113 rods of ditch," we can conclude that
part of the farm, at least, was quite wet. Another pretty good proof
that they had some low, wet land, as well as that there was a bit of
humor in Hanno's makeup, is an entry on March 1, 1861: "At noon heard
Frogs sharpening their teeth for the first time this year." At the
present time there is a so-called "slough" which cuts through the farm
and across which, at one place is a bridge. Probably this is where the
ditching was done. Aside from this slough, the entire farm is tillable,
and probably the slough was a very valuable factor in the worth of the
farm, since it provided water for the stock during the summer.
As was the case
with most of the farmers in southern Iowa, the corn-hog program proved
to be the most profitable for the Newtons, since that is the most
consistently reported on. Early in their farming, they sold much of
their livestock already butchered, their chief market being Washington.
One day in January of 1862 they butchered 12 hogs, the next day they
"killed two cows," and two days later "killed eight turkeys." They
established connections in the East where they could sell turkeys,
chickens, and geese: dressing as high as 60 turkeys or "51 turkeys and
28 geese" in one day. This was not easy work, and the remuneration was
very little as evidenced by one entry in 1869, after they had dressed
35 geese. Hanna wrote: "Tough work. Took geese to Washington and got 50
cents a piece for them." While frequent reference is made concerning
the dressing, packing, and shipping of fowl, no mention is made of the
price received from the East. The only mention made of the price of
dressed turkey was that which were sold in Washington in 1872 when they
received eight and a half cents per pound.
On a farm there
are many projects which one may follow to turn one's time and resources
into cash. The Newtons tried various ones, such as the dressing of fowl
and the butchering of hogs and beef. At one time Hanno tried raising
bees, but that did not turn out as well as some other projects, for he
wrote: "went to work to take care of bees, got stung so bad had to have
the doctor." Only once during this period is any mention made of the
sale of eggs when, in 1860, they received seven cents per dozen. They
may have sold butter occasionally , but only once was any mention made
of it, when they "sent 100 lb....to Washington." One project which was
successful year after year was that of
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A
glimpse into the past...
making sorghum
molasses; in 1861 they made 900 gallons, which they sold at twenty
cents a gallon. There was much work to it: cutting wood from the
timber, hauling it home, piling it in readiness for the fire which
would be kept burning continually for days; in addition, they had to
strip the cane and then boil and watch the molasses.
The food which
the pioneers had to eat, although of interest to us today, apparently
did not seem important enough to Hanno to write about, except in the
case of the special treats like oysters which were shipped them from
the East. One entry is typical: "rec'd a 2 gall. keg Oysters from H.C."
When such a shipment would arrive the Newtons would give a series of
oyster suppers, one time inviting the older folk of the neighborhood,
and a few days later the younger set. To these people who had been
brought up on seafoods such as oysters, lobsters, and codfish, a
shipment of such delicacies must have been deeply appreciated.
Having been
easterners, they, of course, had their Boston baked beans and brown
bread. As was the custom in those days, they also took wheat and corn
to the gristmill and had their own flour and corn meal made. In their
garden they raised their own potatoes, carrots, turnips (in 1864 they
"pulled" 17 bushels), pumpkins, and dry beans.
While there are
not many accounts of trapping, hunting, or fishing, these undoubtedly
were favorite sports which often proved profitable. Traps were set for
prairie chickens, mink, and muskrat, and occasionally Hosea and Hanno
attended wolf hunts. On one such occasion, Hanno reported they "got
badly fooled...nary Wolfe was seen." Fishing in the Skunk River was
good, and "lots of fish" were caught, but the kinds were not mentioned.
Neighborliness
was one of the greatest assets which pioneers had. Although their
houses were not close together, the occupants lived in close
association with each other, being dependent upon one another for their
social life, for help in getting various farm and household jobs done,
and for assistance in times of need.
Entertainment in
those early days was pretty much of the homemade variety, and much of
it was educational in character. The singing school was probably the
most popular and the longest lived. There were also geography schools,
arithmetic schools, the spelling bees and the literary societies each
of which seemed to survive for only a year at a time.
Fairs and
circuses and neighborhood parties came in for their share of
participation, but the diary does not go into detail concerning them,
only an occasional remark such as "had a tip top time" or "had a first
rate time," indicating that the event had been pleasant.
There were two
holidays which usually called for a special celebration: the Fourth of
July and Christmas. Thanksgiving was mentioned occasionally as being a
day when they went to a neighbor's for dinner, or they had neighbors to
their place. The first account of a Fourth of July event was in 1859,
when Hanno wrote: "Afternoon 10 couple of us took a ride rode until 5
P.M. stoped at the school house about 3 hours, then came here and took
supper afterwards drove up to Scotland." And the next day the diary
continues: "Got home about 4 o'clock this morning... had a house full
of company to supper. Old folks."
Each year, it
seems, they attended the Fourth of July celebration at a different
place: Washington, Cramer's grove, Cochran's grove, Talleyrand, Keota.
One year they had the celebration in the Newton grove. There were
usually about 1,500 people at these celebrations, so it is no wonder
that one year was enough for the Newtons.
During the first
years in Iowa, Christmas seems to have been just another day; sometimes
there would be a school meeting in the afternoon, sometimes the family
went right on with their farm work, one time gathering corn, another
time going to the river for wood, and one year they "ground out 40
gall. sorghum juice for Vinegar." But from 1870 on there were more
festivities arranged for each year. The year 1873 was the first time
that a church program was attended by the Newton family, but from then
on they took a very active part in the planning and the work of
carrying out the Christmas "Festival."
Hosea and Hanno
were lodgemen, both belonging to the Masonic and Odd Fellow lodges for
many years. In 1928 Hanno laid claim to being the oldest Mason in
length of membership in southeastern Iowa. At the time of his death in
1929 he had been a Mason for 65 years and an Odd Fellow for 71.
Although Hanno had been a Mason since 1864, he did not take the
"chapter" degrees in Keota until about 1921. More important to the life
of the community than the social events, however, was the cooperation
among the members of the neighborhood. The men folk pooled their
manpower when certain farm jobs, such as haying, threshing, and even
plowing and planting, were to be done. Persons with special skills were
called upon to perform their jobs for all the neighbors. At first Mr.
Doty made their boots; they would go to him and be measured, and about
a month later they would return to get their finished boots. Later,
when the DeBerards moved into the community, Mr. DeBerard did shoe
repair work. As was mentioned above, Hosea was called upon for
carpentering and cabinet work. Hanno, who possibly had a little more
education than his neighbors, contributed to the life of the
neighborhood in the drawing up of papers such as the "draft of
LaFayette Township." He also acted as clerk at public auctions.
The weather, of
course, played a very important part in the life of the pioneer
farmers, and Hanno faithfully recorded each day's weather conditions.
For the most part these notations are short and of little interest,
except in the case of unusual storms such as the one recorded on May
22, 1873:
About
2 P.M. there came up a very heavy rain with a good deal of large hail
and a tornado started near Lancaster tore a number of houses to pieces
there and came on towards Keota destroyed a number of buildings came on
to the east side of Clear Creek. Destroyed Nick Engledinger's house and
killed his wife and child. Destroyed Mr. Carter's house and Barn
destroyed about 50 head hogs 20 head horses 1 bull 1 cow etc.
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