On January 10, 1840,
Governor Lucas approved an act of the Territorial
Legislature providing for the division of the several
organized counties of Iowa into civil townships.
Pursuant to the provisions of this act, the county
commissioners of Lee County, at their regular session
in January, 1 841 , divided the county into ten
townships, to wit : Ambrosia, Denmark, Franklin, Green
Bay, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Van Buren,
Washington and West Point. Ambrosia Township has
disappeared, the territory once comprising it being
now included in the townships of Montrose and Des
Moines. Changes have been made in the original
boundaries of some of the first townships and new ones
have been erected until at the present time there are
sixteen civil townships, viz. : Cedar, Charleston,
Denmark, Des Moines, Franklin, Green Bay, Harrison,
Jackson, Jefferson, Madison, Marion, Montrose,
Pleasant Ridge, Van Buren, Washington and West
Point.
Cedar Township
This township occupies the northwest corner of the
county. It was originally a part of Harrison Township,
but in the spring of 1844 a petition was circulated
throughout the northern half of that township asking
the county commissioners to erect a new one. In
response to that petition the board, on July 3, 1844,
issued an order that "All that portion of Harrison
Township included in Congressional Township 69 north,
of range 7 west, be set off as a separate township, to
be hereafter known and designated by the name of Cedar
Township." It was also ordered that the first election
in the township be held at the house of Charles
Brewington on the first Monday in April, 1845. The
judges at that election were Andrew Dye, Isaac
McDaniel and William Mottley; the clerks, John C.
Atlee and Ephraim Allen, but the returns of the
election and the names of the first township officers
then chosen can not be found.
The first white settlements in the township were made
in the year 1836. It is not certain just who was the
first settler, but the honor is claimed for Isaac
McDaniel, a North Carolinian, who came from his native
state and located in that part of Lee County, where he
continued to live for more than forty years. He was
soon joined by Nathaniel Anderson, William and
Benjamin Warren and Paul Brat- ton, all from Illinois.
Perry McDaniel, a son of Isaac, was the first white
child born in the township and the second was a
daughter of Nathaniel Anderson. The first marriage to
be solemnized was that of Ephraim Allen and Aylsie
Rowland. George Holt and Jane Warren were united in
marriage a little later. Nathaniel Anderson died in
1834 the first death to occur in what is now Cedar
Township.
In 1837 a log schoolhouse was erected by the settlers
in section 6, near the northwest corner of the county,
and the first school was taught there in the fall of
that year by a man named Hall. In that year the
government survey was completed through that part of
the county and the settlers secured the title to their
lands in the fall of the succeeding year at the land
sale in Burlington.
The first church building was erected by the settlers,
without regard to denominational affiliations, in
1843. It was a log house and stood near the
schoolhouse erected in 1837. The Baptists were the
first to use the building, though religious services
had been held in the homes of some of the pioneers
some time before the house of worship was built.
Cedar Township is six miles square, embracing
Congressional Township 69 north, range 7 west. It is
bounded on the north by Henry County; on the east by
Marion Township; on the south by Harrison, from which
it was taken, and on the west by the County of Van
Buren. Its area is thirty-six square miles, or 22,040
acres, nearly all of which is capable of being
cultivated.
In the auditor's report of the financial condition of
Lee County for the year 19 13 the value of taxable
property in Cedar Township is given as $625,639, the
highest of any township in the county, except Madison
and Jackson, which include the cities of Fort Madison
and Keokuk, and higher than these if the two cities
mentioned be excluded. The township has a little over
ten miles of railroad, and nearly seventy miles of
telephone lines. It is divided into ten school
districts, in which fourteen teachers are employed.
The ten school- houses are valued at about one
thousand each, exclusive of the ground upon which they
stand, and the enrollment for the year ending June 30,
1 91 4, was 171.
The officers of Cedar Township, elected in 1912, were
as follows: Peter Mertens, A. E. Dick and R. S. Pease,
trustees; A. B. DeRosear, clerk; R. E. Bell, assessor;
A. H. Heaton, justice of the peace; Allan H. Heaton
and Fred Smith, constables. According to the United
States census for 1910 the population of the township
was then 863, and Cedar enjoys the distinction of
being the only township in the county to show a gain
over the census of 1900.
Charleston township
On January 2, 1844, the board of county commissioners
issued and entered upon the records the following
order: "That portion of Jefferson and Van Buren
townships lying in Township 67 north, range 6 west, be
stricken off and form a new township, which shall be
known by the name of Charleston Township." It was also
ordered that the first election should be held at the
house of R. B. Robinson on the first Monday in the
succeeding April, but the returns of that election
seem to have disappeared.
As established by the above order, Charleston Township
includes all of the Congressional Township 67 of range
6, and has an area of thirty-six square miles. It is
bounded on the north by Franklin Township; on the east
by Jefferson; on the south by Des Moines, and on the
west by Van Buren. Sugar Creek flows through the
western part and Jack Creek through the eastern part,
the latter rising near the Town of Charleston. Along
the streams the land was originally well timbered, the
central portion being chiefly prairie. Through this
prairie now runs the Keokuk & Mount Pleasant
Division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Railroad, upon which New Boston and Charleston are
stations.
The first white settlements within the limits of
Charleston Township were made in 1834, when Thomas
McGuire, William Kilgore, David Coon, George Moore,
John Robinson, Robert Grewell, and perhaps one or two
other families located in the Sugar Creek Valley.
William Simmons was the first white child born in the
township. At the time the first settlers came the
half-breed tract, which includes the greater portion
of Charleston Township, had just been placed on the
market, under an act of Congress approved on January
30, 1834. It was not long, however, until litigation
over titles to the land arose, and this retarded the
settlement of all the southern portion of Lee County.
This is the main reason doubtless why the Township oi
Charleston was not erected and organized until some
years after the establishment of the first civil
townships in the county.
According to the county auditor's report for the year
1913, Charleston Township had at that time five school
districts, with an enrollment of 156 pupils, five
teachers employed and five school- houses, the
estimated value of which was $4,700. There were eight
miles of railroad and about seventy-five miles of
telephone line, and the taxable property of the
township was assessed at $397,920. The population in
1910, as reported by the United States census, was
786.
Jacob Hopp, Fred Heiser and Charles Klingler were the
trustees in 1914; J. H. Vermazen, clerk; J. G. Renz,
assessor; H. G. Kirchner and D. A. Hancock, justices
of the peace, and W. C. Pickard, constable.
Denmark Township
Denmark was one of the original ten townships
established by the county commissioners in January, 1
841 , and the first election was ordered to be held at
the house of L. L. Thurston. At that election, which
was held on the first Monday in April, 1841, Daniel
Newton and James N. Hamilton were chosen justices of
the peace, and John G. Field and Thomas M. Clark,
constables. These were the only officers
elected.
This township is situated in the northeastern part of
the county and embraces that portion of Congressional
Township 69, range 4, lying south of the Skunk River.
It is bounded on the north by the Skunk River, which
separates it from Des Moines County; on the east by
the Township of Green Bay; on the south by Washington,
and on the west by Pleasant Ridge. Its area is about
twenty-four square miles.
Some of the earliest settlements in Lee County were
made within the present limits of Denmark Township. As
early as the spring of 1833 John M. Forrest located on
section 25, near the present Village of South Augusta.
He was a native of Tennessee, a surveyor by
profession, and came to Iowa with the expectation of
assisting in the survey of the lands of the Black Hawk
Purchase. In 1837 he sold his claim and removed to
Arkansas.
John O. Smith, who is credited with being the second
settler, came in March, 1835. His experience in
getting located and providing shelter for his family
shows the hardships to which the pioneers of Lee
County were sometimes subjected. Mr. Smith was a
native of North Carolina, but was living in Hancock
County, Illinois, when the Black Hawk Purchase was
opened to settlement. Hearing flattering reports of
the country he started upon a tour of investigation,
selected a claim about a mile east of the present Town
of Denmark, cut logs for a cabin and then returned to
Illinois for his family and team to haul the logs to
the place he had selected for his dwelling. With his
wife and child he set out with an ox team and wagon,
taking what he supposed would be sufficient corn to
feed the team while the cabin logs were being hauled,
but he encountered so many delays that the corn was
all gone before they reached their new home on April
i, 1835. As there was no feed to be had west of the
Mississippi, Mr. Smith sent his oxen back, split rails
and built a pen, which he covered with clapboards, and
this was his first dwelling place in Iowa. The cracks
in the pen were covered with quilts, blankets, etc.,
and in this rude shelter the family lived for nearly
two months before a better house could be provided.
Mr. Smith afterward became one of the prosperous and
influential citizens of that part of the county and
was for a time the postmaster at Denmark.
The next settlers, of which there is any authentic
account, were Joshua Owen and Isaac Briggs, relatives
of John O. Smith, who came some time in the summer of
1835 and settled on Lost Creek. Briggs soon afterward
removed to Washington Township and Owen was the first
sheriff of Lee County.
In 1836 Timothy Fox, Curtis Shedd and Lewis Epps came
with their families and settled where the Town of
Denmark now stands. A little later they were joined by
William Brown, of Massachusetts, and the four men laid
off the Town of Denmark a year or two later, Other
early settlers were Samuel Briggs, David Tibbetts,
Carroll Payne, John Wren, Silas Gregg and Barzilla
Mothershead. The first death was that of a man named
Pedigo, who settled near the Skunk River, his death
occurring in the fall of 1835. A son of John O. Smith
died in August, 1837, and a funeral sermon was
preached by Rev. Micajah Rowland, the first sermon of
that nature in Denmark Township.
The first school was taught in 1837 by a man named
Williams. The schoolhouse was a log cabin on the farm
of David Tibbetts. At the close of the school year of
1913-14, the county superintendent of public schools
reported five schoolhouses in Denmark Township, valued
at $4,300, exclusive of the ground. There were nine
teachers: employed at salaries ranging from forty to
eighty-five dollars per month, and 180 pupils were
enrolled in the five districts.
Denmark is the only township in Lee County without a
railroad. Sawyer is the most convenient railroad
station for the people living in the western part, and
Wever for those living in the eastern part. The
township has about twenty-five miles of telephone
lines and the value of taxables for the year 1913 was
$235,717. In 1910 the population was 674. The officers
for 19 14 were: J. P. Klopfenstein, C. E. Lewis and
Harry Houston, trustees; Joseph A. Maxwell, clerk; T.
H. Burton, assessor; F. P. Whitmarsh, justice of the
peace.
Des Moines Township
As stated in the opening paragraph of this chapter,
Des Moines Township was originally a part of the
Township of Ambrosia, which was one of the original
ten ordered by the board of county commis- sioners in
January, 1841. At the first election in Ambrosia
Township, on the first Monday in April, 1 841 , Cyrus
Peck and Moses Martin were elected justices of the
peace, and William W. Willis and Samuel Smith,
constables. These men were still in office when, on
August 4, 1842, the commissioners ordered that "the
Township of Ambrosia shall hereafter be known as Des
Moines."
This township is situated in the southern part of the
county and includes that part of Congressional
Township 66, range 6, lying in the State of Iowa. It
is bounded on the north by Charleston Town- ship ; on
the east by Montrose ; on the south by Jackson ; on
the south- west by the Des Moines River, which
separates it from the State of Missouri, and on the
west by the Township of Van Buren. Its area is about
thirty-three square miles, or 21,120 acres.
The first settlers in Des Moines Township came in
1836. Among them were Charles Stearns, James and
William Allen, William and Robert Mix, John Billips,
Johnson Meek and Samuel Hearn. Mary Billips, who was
born on March 23, 1837, was the first white child born
in the township. The first marriage was that of Robert
Meek and Mary Ann Allen, in 1838. Samuel Hearn settled
near the state line and established a ferry across the
Des Moines River. "Hearn's Ferry" was a favorite place
for holding meetings in early days. At the first
election for officers of Lee County, in 1837, Mr.
Hearn was elected one of the commissioners of highways
and his residence was one of the voting places. John
Billips and Johnson Meek were judges at that
election.
Des Moines Township is well supplied with
transportation facilities. Along the southern border
runs the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, through
the villages of Vincennes and Hinsdale, while the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe runs from northeast to
southwest across the northern portion, via Argyle, and
crosses the Des Moines River not far from Hinsdale.
Altogether, the township has a little over nine miles
of railway. Telephone service extends to all parts of
the township, there being about fifty-five miles of
telephone lines.
According to the county superintendent's report for
the year ending on June 30, 19 14, there were then six
school districts in Des Moines Township, the six
schoolhouses being valued at $4,600 a very low
estimate. Seven teachers were employed during the
preceding school year, at salaries varying from forty
to sixty dollars per month, and 139 pupils were
enrolled in the schools.
The value of the taxable property in 1 913 was
$574,700 and the population in 1910 was 799. The
officers of the township for 1914 were as follows: F.
J. Brodsky, L. Meister and J. W. Sunden, trus- tees;
John Cruze, clerk; Vandale Marsh, assessor; Gust
Peterson, justice of the peace; Frank Roush,
constable.
Franklin Township
Franklin was one of the first ten townships,
authorized by the board of commissioners in January,
1841, and the first election was ordered to be held in
the Town of Franklin on the first Monday in the
following April. At that election John Gandy and Jesse
H. Catting were chosen justices of the peace ; James
McVey and Andrew Sample, constables, no other officer
being elected.
The township is situated in the central part of the
county, embracing Congressional Township 68, range 6,
and has an area of thirty- six square miles. It is
bounded on the north by Marion Township; on the east
by West Point; on the south by Charleston, and on the
west by Harrison. The Government survey was made in 1
836-37 and the settlers obtained patents for their
lands in 1838. Charles B. and Edley McVey, Alexander
Cruickshank, George Perkins and Miles Driscoll were
among the first settlers. Edley McVey and Miles
Driscoll settled near the present Village of Dover,
but subsequently removed to Jefferson County. In 1836
Henry and Jacob Abel, Germans, located claims near
Franklin.
The first schoolhouse was built on the Cruickshank
farm in 1839 and a term of school was taught in that
year by a man named Turner. At the close of the school
year in 19 14 there were five schoolhouses in the
township, five teachers were employed and the number
of pupils enrolled was 107.
In 1842 the Methodists built a church at Franklin or
Franklin Centre, as it was then called the first
house of worship to be erected in the township.
Franklin is well supplied with transportation
facilities. The Burlington & Carrollton division
of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad runs
east and west across the southern portion, through
South Franklin and Donnellson. At Donnellson it is
crossed by the Keokuk & Mount Pleasant division of
the same system, which runs north and south. The
township also has over fifty miles of telephone
lines.
In 1 913 the taxable property of the township was
assessed at $535,270. The officers then were as
follows: Peter Lang, Jacob Frueh and A. T. Cruikshank,
trustees; August Fey, clerk; J. P. Galli, assessor; J.
G. Krehbiel, justice of the peace; John Gibson,
constable. The population in icjiowas 1,290.
Green Bay Township
This township is the most eastern in the county. It
was erected as one of the first ten civil townships in
1841, but the boundaries between Green Bay and Denmark
were readjusted in January, 1843. On the north it is
bounded by the Skunk River, which separates it from
Des Moines County; on the east and south by the
Mississippi River, which separates it from the State
of Illinois; and on the west by the townships of
Denmark and Washington. Its area is about thirty
square miles, embracing all that part of Congressional
townships 68 and 69, of range 3, lying in Lee County.
The soil is a deep, black loam, very fertile, though
some parts of the township are so low that the land
has to be protected by levees. It is one of the
leading agricultural townships of the county. In the
southern part is the body of water called Green Bay,
about four miles long and one-fourth of a mile in
width. Lost Creek flows in a southeasterly direction
across the township and empties into this bay.
The first white settlements in Green Bay Township were
made in 1835 by William Saucer and the Smalls. Thomas
Small was elected one of the thirteen constables of
Lee County in March, 1838. William Franklin came to
the township in the spring of 1837, and the population
was soon afterward increased by the arrival of Joel
Smith, J. C. Poole, John Haynes, William Lucas and the
McCowen family. William Saucer was a member of the
first petit jury impaneled after Iowa Territory was
organized in 1838. It is said that the name "Green
Bay" was suggested by William Lucas when the township
was created in January, 1841.
The Burlington & St. Louis division of the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad runs through
this township, and the stations of Wever and Wescott
are located within its limits. There are about five
and one-half miles of railroad track and forty miles
of telephone lines in the township, which is divided
into five school districts, in which 163 pupils were
enrolled during the school year of 1913-14. According
to the county auditor's report for the year ending on
December 31, 1913, the value of the taxable property
of Green Bay was $338,995, and the United States
census for 1910 reported a population of 744.
When the township was first erected in 1841, it was
ordered by the board of county commissioners that the
first election should be held at the house of Wesley
Hughes on the first Monday in April. At that time
James D. Gedney and John Pomeroy were elected justices
of the peace, and Enoch Morgan and Ephraim B. Hughes,
constables. The officers of the township in 19 14
were: Horace E. Hyter, H. E. Lange and Fred Schulte,
trustees; Fred O. Tucker, clerk; E. H. Liddle,
assessor; William Sweeney, constable.
Harrison Township
Harrison Township, one of the original ten created in
January, 1 841, is situated in the western part of the
county, and as at first established it included the
present township of Cedar. It was named for Gen.
William H. Harrison, who was elected President of the
United States in 1840. It now embraces Congressional
Township 68, range 7, and therefore has an area of
thirty-six square miles. It is bounded on the north by
Cedar Township; on the east by Franklin; on the south
by Van Buren, and on the west by Van Buren County.
Sugar Creek rises near Big Mound, in the northwestern
part, and flows diagonally across the township toward
the southeast. There are also some smaller streams.
Along the watercourses the land was originally covered
with a growth of timber, but the greater portion of
the township is composed of prairie.
James and William Howard are credited with having been
the first white settlers in what is now Harrison
Township. They came there before the Government survey
was made and staked out their claims in the Sugar
Creek Valley. A little later Isaac Renfrew and his
brother located near the Howards. Isaac Beller,
Stephen Perkins and his son, George, and the Lorey and
Schweer families were also early settlers. Exum S. and
D. T. McCullough, the former from Tennessee and the
latter from South Carolina, came in 1836. E. S.
McCullough became one of the active and influential
citizens of Lee County. He served in both branches of
the State Legislature, and was otherwise identified
with public affairs. His death occurred in 1876.
Melinda Schweer was the first white child to be born
in the town- ship, Joseph Lorey and Cyrus Howard being
born a little later. The first death was that of a Mr.
Stewart.
In 1837 tne Government survey was completed in the
township and the pioneers purchased and received
patents for their lands between that time and 1840.
The first school was taught in the "Howard
Settlement," about 1838, but the name of the teacher
appears to have been forgotten. In 1914 there were six
school districts in the township, in which seven
teachers were employed and 172 pupils were
enrolled.
Across the southern portion runs the Burlington &
Carrollton division of the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy Railway System, about six miles of track lying
within the township. Warren is the principal ralroad
station. Harrison also has about fifty-five miles of
telephone lines. The value of the taxable property in
1913 was $488,858, and in 1910 the United States
census reported a population of 614.
The first election in Harrison Township was held at
the house of Jesse Johnson on the first Monday in
April, 1841. Stephen H. Graves and Henry Dye were
elected justices of the peace, and William L. Graves
and R. P. King, constables. Stephen H. Graves was
elected one of the first assessors of property in Lee
County, in April, 1837, an d in March, 1838, was
chosen one of the first board of county commissioners.
The officers of the township for 1914 were as follows:
L. H. Schweer, John Bargar and Joseph Kelly, trustees;
William C. Smith, clerk; E. J. Warson, assessor;
Joseph Carver and S. R. Hampton, justices of the
peace, and Fred C. Winters, constable.
Jackson Township
This township occupies the extreme southern part of
the county, in the triangle lying between the
Mississippi and Des Moines rivers. It is one of the
ten townships erected by the board of county com-
missioners in January, 1 841 , and includes
Congressional Township 65, range 5, except such
portions as are cut off by the river boundaries, and a
little of the eastern part of township 65, range 6.
Its area is about thirty-eight square miles. On the
north it is bounded by the townships of Montrose and
Des Moines; on the east and southeast by the
Mississippi River, which separates it from the State
of Illi- nois; on the south by the Des Moines River,
which separates it from Missouri, and on the west by
the township of Des Moines.
The first habitation built by a white man in Jackson
Township was the log cabin erected by Dr. Samuel Muir
in 1820, within the limits of the present City of
Keokuk. Much of the early history of the township will
be found in the chapter on the City of Keokuk, where
the first settlers located. In the extreme northeast
corner of the township is the little Village of
Sandusky, where Lemoliese, the French trader,
established his trading post in 1820. Owing to the
fact that Jackson lies within the limits of the old
half-breed tract, where titles to the lands were a
subject of litigation for so many years, settlers were
somewhat slow in coming in and forming permanent
settlements. The first township election was held in
the Town of Keokuk on the first Monday in April, 1841,
when Alexander Kerr and L. B. Fleak were elected
justices of the peace, and Leroy P. Gray and Emery
Jones, constables. In 1914 the officers of the
township (outside of the City of Keokuk) were: Henry
Thieme, A. H. Linnenberger and Henry Peters, trustees;
Will D. Turner, clerk; Luman Van Ausdall, assessor. In
the city, John Leindecker and James S. Burrows were
township justices in 1914, and Austin Hollowell and
Henry Reichmann held the office of constable.
The township was named for Andrew Jackson, the seventh
President of the United States. It is well supplied
with railroads. The Burlington & St. Louis
division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
system runs along the Mississippi River; the Keokuk
& Mount Pleasant division of the same system runs
northward from Keokuk through the central portion; the
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific runs along the
southern border, and Keokuk is the terminal city for
divisions of the Wabash and the Toledo, Peoria &
Western railroads. Altogether there are nearly
seventeen miles of track in the township, which has
over sixty miles of telephone lines, so that
facilities for transportation and communication are
unsurpassed by any township in the county.
Outside of the City of Keokuk, the value of the
taxable property in 1913 was $499,927. The nine school
districts in that part of the township employed ten
teachers and enrolled 273 pupils during the school
year of 1913-14, and the estimated value of the
schoolhouses was $11,000. The population in 1910,
exclusive of the city, was 1,438.
Jefferson Township
Jefferson Township is one of the original ten
townships erected by order of the county commissioners
in January, 1841. As originally established it
included the present Township of Charleston. It is
bounded on the north by the Township of West Point; on
the east by Madison and the Mississippi River, which
separates it from Illinois; on the south by Montrose
Township, and on the west by Charleston. Its area is
about thirty-three square miles.
The pioneer settler in Jefferson Township was William
Skinner, who came to Lee County in the spring of 1834
and soon afterward selected a tract of land on Sugar
Creek, in section 5, for which he afterward obtained a
patent from the Government. Mr. Skinner was born in
Franklin County, Pennsylvania, in 1795. In 1816 he
married there and soon afterward removed to
Cincinnati, Ohio, where his wife died, leaving three
children. In 1830 he married Elenora Ferre and in the
spring of 1834 came to Fort Edwards (now Warsaw),
Illinois, making the trip by steamboat down the Ohio
and up the Mississippi. After a residence of about two
weeks at Fort Edwards, he decided to "try his luck" in
the Black Hawk Purchase. Securing two canoes, he
lashed them together and with this homely craft
brought his family and effects across the river at the
foot of the rapids. His first residence in Iowa was
the frame shanty that had been erected by Moses
Stillwell on the side of the hill at Keokuk, but which
was then unoccupied.
About that time Lieutenant Crosman came up from St.
Louis and began work on the buildings of Fort Des
Moines, where the Town of Montrose is now situated.
Mr. Skinner was employed to make 20,000 clapboards for
roofing the barracks and other buildings, for which he
was paid $20 per thousand. After this contract was
completed he was employed to superintend the erection
of the log houses for the military quarters, because
not one of Lieutenant Crosman's men knew enough about
"mechanics" to erect a plain log cabin. For this work
Mr. Skinner received a salary of $60 per month in
"real money," as he afterward expressed it. He also
assisted in cutting grass and laying in a supply of
hay for the horses of the dragoons, and later built a
residence for Colonel Kearney, the first commandant of
the fort. With the money received from the Government
for this work he paid for his land.
In December, 1834, he removed his family to his claim
on Sugar Creek. As he had been engaged by the
Government practically all summer and fall, he had not
erected a cabin on the land selected some months
before. The family therefore took possession of a
small hut that had been built by Chief Black Hawk
during the sugar making season. This hut, the walls of
which were of small poles and the roof of bark, stood
on the east bank of the creek, not far from the
present railroad bridge. Subsequently Mr. Skinner
erected a cabin of his own on the west side of the
creek the first habitation of civilized man within
the present borders of Jefferson Township.
Hugh Wilson was the second white man to establish a
claim in the township, coming a little while after Mr.
Skinner and locating in the Sugar Creek Valley. A man
named Baker came a little later and in 1838 Mr.
Skinner sold his first claim to Henry Applegate and
bought Baker's place, the latter going on farther
west.
Concerning early conditions in Jefferson Township,
William Skinner some years afterward said: "People
hadn't much time for amusement or social intercourse.
They were too busy making rails, building fences,
cutting and hauling logs to build cabins, etc., to
fool away their time hunting after anything that did
not promise to add to their hopes of an easier day in
the years to come. The settlers were always friendly
and frequently visited each other, and while the men
indulged in the discussion of such themes as
interested them, the women knitted, talked and smoked,
for in those days it was not considered unladylike for
women to smoke. In fact, smoking was more commonly
indulged in by the women than by the men. People lived
plain and didn't put on any style then. They made no
attempt at display, and when some of the young people
concluded to leave the old folks and set up for
themselves, they did not receive much of a 'setting
out.' Brides didn't receive presents then as they do
now. Some who had nothing but a single suit of clothes
each when they were married settled right down to hard
work and economy, and in a few years were well to do.
Young people married for love then and worked to earn
homes."
Among the early couples to get married were Thomas
McGuire and a Miss McCullough. Mr. Skinner told how he
happened to pass McGuire's cabin soon after the young
couple went to housekeeping and stopped for a brief
visit, "just to see how they were getting along." He
found McGuire and his wife seated on the puncheon
floor before the fireplace, eating mush and milk out
of an iron pot that stood between them. Each had an
iron spoon and a tin cup, but were without either
chairs or table. Such cases were not uncommon back in
the '30s, yet the men who lived after this fashion
were the ones who laid the foundations of Lee County's
subsequent prosperity.
The first election in Jefferson Township was held at
the house of Cyrus Peck on the first Monday in April,
1841. Arthur Hafferty and Gershom Dawks were elected
justices of the peace, and Daniel Dodson and William
Grimes, constables. The township officers in 1914
were: Thomas Wilson, George Haeffner and George Smith,
trustees; J. M. Kudebeh, clerk; Z. T. Lyon, assessor;
August Burg- dorf, justice of the peace.
The first school was taught in the Skinner
neighborhood in 1837.- In 1914 the county
superintendent reported seven school districts,, in
which 1 18 pupils were enrolled during the preceding
school term.. The seven schoolhouses were estimated by
him to be worth $4,600,. exclusive of the grounds, and
the teachers received salaries varying, from
thirty-five to fifty-five dollars per month.
Jefferson Township has more miles of railroad and more
miles: of telephone lines than any other township in
the county nearly eighteen of the former and over
seventy-five of the latter. The St. Louis &
Burlington Division of the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy Railway System runs north from Keokuk to Viele,
where it turns east. At Viele it forms a junction with
the Burlington & Carrollton Divi- sion of the same
system, and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe also
crosses the township. In 19 13 the value of the
taxable property was $605,003, and the population in
1910 was 607.
Madison Township
What is now Madison Township was originally a part of
the Township of Washington. The records of the County
Commissioners' Court for April, 1841, contain the
following entry: "Ordered. by the board that
fractional township sixty-seven (67), range four (4),
be, and the same is hereby, set off into a separate
township, for the purpose of carrying into effect an
act entitled 'An act to provide for the organization
of townships, 1 approved January 10, 1840; and it is
further ordered that said township shall be known by
the name of Madison Township. The first meeting of the
electors of said township shall be at the Washington
House, in the Town of Fort Madison, on the first day
of May next."
The name was adopted from Fort Madison, and indirectly
for James Madison, who was President of the United
States from 1809 to 1817. For some reason the election
was changed from the first day of May to the first
Monday in that month, which fell on the third. John A.
Drake and William F. Nelson were elected justices of
the peace, and Isaac R. Rose and John D. Williams,
constables. In 1 9 14 the justices were Joseph S.
Buckler and Joseph A. Nunn, and the constables were C.
H. Perry and William F. Kumleh.
Madison Township is situated on the eastern border of
the county. It is bounded on the north by Washington,
from which it was taken; on the east and south by the
Mississippi River, and on the west by the Township of
Jefferson. Its area is about seven square miles, prac-
tically all of which is included within the corporate
limits of the City of Fort Madison. Much of the early
history of the township is therefore included in the
chapter relating to Fort Madison, where a majority of
the first settlers located. Among those who settled in
the township outside of the town were Dr. Campbell
Gilmer, near the northwest corner; James Billiard, two
miles west of the site of the old military post; John
G. Schwartz, Michael Seyb and Harmon Dingman, Germans,
who came from the Fatherland in the latter '30s and
settled at Fort Madison or in the immediate vicinity.
John G. Kennedy and Peter Miller were also pioneers of
this township, the former coming from Tennessee and
the latter from Maryland. Peter Miller was the second
mayor of Fort Madison after the town was incorporated.
He likewise served as county commissioner, treasurer
and sheriff at different times.
In the reports of the county auditor, county
superintendent and the United States Census Bureau,
Madison Township and the City of Fort Madison are
treated as the same jurisdiction. From the first of
these reports it is learned that the taxable property
was valued at $1,034,248 in 1913; that there were then
about eleven miles of railroad in the township, and
forty-six miles of telephone lines. The report of the
county superintendent shows forty-one teachers
employed in the public schools, 1,198 pupils enrolled,
and five school buildings valued at $65,000.
Marion Township
At the April session of the county commissioners in
1841, it was ordered that congressional township 69,
range 6, be cut off from Franklin Township and erected
into a separate township, to be known as Marion. As
thus established, and as it has since remained, the
township includes the congressional township described
in the order and contains an area of thirty-six square
miles. It is situated north- west of the center of the
county; is bounded on the north by the County of
Henry; on the east by Pleasant Ridge Township; on the
south by Franklin, and on the west by Cedar. Sugar
Creek and some of its tributaries flow in a
southeasterly direction across the township, affording
good natural drainage and water for live stock, etc.
Along these streams the surface was originally covered
with a growth of timber, some of which is still
standing, but the most valuable trees have long since
been cut down and manufactured into lumber.
It is believed that the first white settler in what is
now Marion Township was Alexander Cruickshank, who
selected a tract of land in what afterward became the
Clay Grove Settlement. He had formerly located in
Pleasant Ridge Township, where he cleared a piece of
ground and raised a crop of corn in 1834, and in the
fall of that year changed his residence to Marion. His
son, James Cruickshank, was the first white child born
in the township. His birth occurred on May 7,
1835.
Several settlers came into the township in 1835. Among
them was Samuel Paschal, a native of Tennessee, but
who removed to Illinois in 1825, and who remained a
resident of the township for nearly half a century
before his death. A man named May started with his
family from Illinois, but died before reaching the
Black Hawk Purchase. His widow and children came on
and located in Marion, where one son, William M. May,
became a successful farmer. James and Elias Overton,
Solomon Jackson, Luke Alphin and Joseph Carmack all
settled in the Clay Grove neighborhood before the
close of the year 1836.
In that year the government survey was made in the
township by Captain Parks, of Michigan, who was
employed as a government surveyor for twenty years or
more, and the settlers soon afterward obtained their
titles to the lands they had selected. Another pioneer
was Lindsey Ware, who selected and cleared a farm in
the Clay Grove Settlement. His daughter,- Anna, was
married to Zedekiah Cleve- land in the winter of 1836
the first wedding ever solemnized within the limits
of what is now Marion Township.
The first store was opened at Clay Grove by a man
named Harlan ; the first school was taught by a man
named Turner, in a log cabin on the farm of George
Taylor, in the summer of 1839; the first death was
that of Lindsey Ware's wife, in August, 1838. Her body
was buried upon her husband's farm, but some thirty
years later was removed to a cemetery.
The first regular schoolhouse was built of round logs
on Mr. Cruickshank's farm in the fall of 1839. In 1914
there were nine school districts in the township, but
during the preceding school year only six teachers
were employed and the enrollment was only sixty- three
pupils, many of the children attending the parochial
schools.
At the time the township was created, in April, 1841,
the commissioners ordered that the first election
should be held at the house of John Taylor on the
third Wednesday of the following May. No returns of
that election can be found. The officers for 1914 were
as follows: John W. Raid, Isidor Link and George
Hinrichs, trustees; George Hellman, clerk; August
Peitzmeier, assessor; John Mittendorf, justice of the
peace, and Joseph Fritzjunker, constable.
Marion has about seven and a half miles of railroad;
fifty-five miles of telephone lines, and taxable
property in 1913 valued at $587,199. The one line of
railroad is the Fort Madison & Ottumwa Division of
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway System,
which enters the township from the east near the
southeast corner and runs northwest up the Sugar Creek
Valley. The population in 19 10 was 746.
Montrose Township
This is one of the townships bordering on the
Mississippi River. It is situated in the southern part
of the county; is bounded on the north by the Township
of Jefferson; on the east by the Mississippi River,
which separates it from the State of Illinois; on the
south by Jackson Township, and on the west by Des
Moines Township. It was created by the county
commissioners on July 8, 1841, by the division of
Ambrosia Township, and includes the fractional
congressional township 66, of range 4, having an area
of about thirty-two square miles.
Montrose enjoys the distinction of being the site of
the first settlement made by a white man within the
present limits of Lee County. In 1795 Louis Honore
Tesson (sometimes written Louis Tesson Honore)
received a grant of land one league square (nine
square miles), at such point as he might select, on or
near the Mississippi River and within the Province of
Louisiana. The grant was issued by Zenon Trudeau, the
lieutenant-governor of Upper Louisiana, and was
sanctioned by Baron de Carondelet, the Spanish
governor-general at New Orleans. By the terms of the
grant Tesson was required to plant trees, cultivate
the soil, instruct the Indians in agriculture, and
endeavor to convert them to the Catholic faith.
Tesson selected his claim at the head of the Des
Moines Rapids of the Mississippi River, where the Town
of Montrose now stands, built a house and surrounded
it with a picket, planted a garden and set out about
one hundred fruit trees chiefly apples. He also
established a trading post and brought his family to
the new grant, where he lived for several years.
Through his commercial operations he became indebted
to some St. Louis parties, and on March 27, 1803, his
property at the head of the rapids was sold at public
auction to Joseph Robidoux, one of his creditors, for
$150. Robidoux died a few years later and left
instructions for his executor, Pierre Choteau, to sell
all his real and personal property and divide the
proceeds equally among his legal heirs. Pursuant to
the will of Robidoux and his last instructions to his
executor, the Tesson grant was again sold at auction
in 1809 and was bought by Thomas F. Riddick for
$64.
In the meantime the Province of Louisiana had passed
from Spain to France and had been' purchased from the
latter nation by the United States. Under the various
treaties by which these transfers were made, the
Federal Government agreed to recognize the validity of
certain land grants made by the Spanish authorities,
one of which was the Tesson grant on the Mississippi.
The question came before Congress and a commission of
three members was appointed to inquire into and report
upon the character of the claim and the legality of
the title. This commission made a report in favor of
confirming the grant, but Frederick Bates, then
recorder in the United States land office at Little
Rock, Arkansas, declined to issue a settlement right
to more than one square mile of the original one
league square, his reason being that the Indian title
to the lands had not yet been relinquished to the
United States. His action was subsequently confirmed
by the federal authorities, and on February 7, 1839,
President Van Buren issued a patent for 640 acres to
the heirs of Thomas F. Riddick. This patent was
recorded in Lee County on March 30, 1839.
Concerning the old orchard planted by Tesson, it has
been stated that the trees were carried from St.
Charles, Missouri, on the back of a mule. When the
first white settlers came to Nauvoo, Illinois, just
across the Mississippi, they would sometimes cross the
river to gather apples. In 1834 Lieutenant Crosman
established Fort Des Moines upon or near the site of
the Tesson Settlement. James C. Parrott, who was a
member of Crosman's command and afterward postmaster
at Keokuk, in speaking of the conditions at the time
the fort was built, said: "We saw many traces of a
former settlement around the camp, the most prominent
of which was the old orchard of apple trees a short
distance below. The orchard at that time contained
some ten or fifteen trees in bearing condition. The
fruit was very ordinary, being a common seedling. The
Indians were in the habit of visiting the orchard and
gathering the fruit in its green state, so that none
of it, to my knowledge, ever came to perfection. There
were also some sage bushes growing in the prairie to
the rear of the camp; and there were also remains of
dirt or adobe chimneys visible in the same locality;
which goes to prove that a settlement had existed
there at some former period."
In 1874, through the influence of Daniel F. Miller,
one of Lee County's leading attorneys, the Tesson "Old
Orchard Block" was conveyed by George B. Dennison and
wife to the mayor and board of aldermen of the Town of
Montrose, to be held in trust for the Old Settlers'
Association of Lee County as one of the historic
points of the county, thus preserving for all time the
recollections of the first white man's establishment
in Southeastern Iowa.
After Tesson, the next white man to locate in what is
now Montrose Township was Maurice Blondeau, who
established a trading post about half way between the
present villages of Galland and Sandusky. He has been
described as "a jolly, good Frenchman, weighing
considerably over two hundred pounds, and a great
favorite with the Indians."
In 1829 Dr. Isaac Galland located about three miles
below Montrose, where the Village of Galland is now
situated. Here he was joined the following year by
Samuel Brierly, William P. Smith and Isaac R.
Campbell. In 1832 Capt. James W. White took
possesssion of at least a part of the old Tesson
grant, built a log house and planted a small field of
corn. When Fort Des Moines was established two years
later, the Government purchased his claim and the
house was used as the first hospital for the post.
Late in 1834 Stephen H. Burtis built a log house about
a mile and a half below the fort. He was elected a
member of the first board of countv commissioners in
March, 1838. From that time the settlement of Montrose
Township went steadily forward. The title to the lands
of the Black Hawk Purchase had become fully vested in
the United States on June 1, 1833, and the proximity
of Fort Des Moines offered protection to the settlers
until it was abandoned in 1837.
The first school in the township which was also the
first in Iowa was taught at Galland in 1830 by
Berryman Jennings, who afterward went to Oregon and
became a millionaire. The report of the county
superintendent for the year ending on June 30, 1914,
gives seven school districts, which employ eight
teachers, exclusive of the five employed in the Town
of Montrose, with an enrollment of 185 pupils in the
township and 219 in the town.
Montrose is well supplied with facilities for
transportation. Along the eastern border runs the
Mississippi River and following its course is the St.
Louis & Burlington Division of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railway System, which passes
through the Village of Galland and the Town of
Montrose. Farther west is the Keokuk & Mount
Pleasant Division of the same system, which passes
through the Village of Mount Clara. These lines
provide ample shipping opportunities for all parts of
the township. Alto- gether the township has about
fifteen miles of railroad and seventy miles of
telephone lines give communication with all the
surrounding country.
In the order establishing Montrose Township, in July,
1841, it was also ordered that the first election
should be held at the Town of Montrose, but no returns
of that election are available. The officers of the
township in 1914 were: E. B. Crane, John Orth and C.
F. Fruehling, trustees; R. P. Allen, clerk; Allan
Philip, assessor; A. LeFevre, justice of the peace,
and William Braton and William Spain, constables. The
value of the taxable property in 1913 was $447,548,
not including the property in the Town of Montrose,
which was assessed at $57,939. In 1910 the population,
including the town, was 1,780.
Pleasant Ridge
Township
The Township of Pleasant Ridge was originally included
in the Township of Denmark. Late in the fall of 1842
the citizens living in the western part of Denmark
began the circulation of a petition for the
establishment of a new civil township, and on January
4, 1843, ^e board of county commissioners ordered:
"That so much of Denmark Township as is included in
the congressional township 69 north, range 4 west,
south of the Skunk River, shall be set off and
established as a separate township, to be known by the
name of Pleasant Ridge Township."
As thus erected, the township contains all of
congressional township 69, range 4, except a small
portion of sections 1 and 2 in the northeast corner,
which is cut off by the Skunk River, leaving an area
of about thirty-five square miles. It is bounded on
the north by Henry County; on the east by Denmark
Township; on the south by West Point, and on the west
by Marion. The land was surveyed in 1837 and the
settlers obtained patents in the years 1838-39. Some
coal has been mined in this township.
One of the first settlers in this part of the county
was Alexander Cruickshank, who "staked out" a claim
about two miles from the Skunk River early in 1834 and
raised a crop there that season. Dur- ing the summer
he was employed for awhile in assisting to build the
barracks at old Fort Des Moines. There he burned about
six hundred bushels of lime the first ever burned in
Lee County which he sold to the government at \2 l /
2 cents per bushel. In the fall of 1834 Mr.
Cruickshank sold his claim in Pleasant Ridge Township
and removed to the Township of Marion.
Other pioneers who came about the same time as Mr.
Cruickshank were William and Thomas Clark, Edward,
John and David Enslow, George Berry, John Burns, James
Foggy, Margaret Damon and a family by the name of
Kirkpatrick. Henry Hellman, a native of Germany, came
with his family in 1834 and settled in Pleasant Ridge
Township. One of his sons, Joseph Hellman, soon
afterward became a resident of the Town of Fort
Madison, where he resided for many years.
George Berry was a surveyor and laid off several of
the early towns in Lee County, among which are
Charleston, Saint Paul and Pilot Grove. In 1837 he
taught the first school in Pleasant Ridge Township, in
Mr. Kirkpatrick's house. The first schoolhouse, a
round log structure of the regulation frontier type,
was built in 1839 on section 16. In 1914 there were
eight school districts, employing twelve teachers and
enrolling 117 pupils.
The first sermon was preached by Reverend Mr. Pittner,
a Methodist Episcopal circuit rider, but the time and
place where the meeting was held cannot be learned.
The first church was erected on section 16, near the
schoolhouse, by Methodist Episcopal
denomination.
When the township was established in 1843, it was
ordered that the first election should be held at the
house of Thomas M. Clark. No official returns of that
election can be found, but from outside sources it is
learned that Edward Enslow was elected one of the
first justices of the peace. Following is a list of
the township officials in 1914 : Joseph Goody, William
Hunold and A. P. Fletcher, trustees; J. C. Foggy,
clerk; W. J. Niemeyer, assessor; E. A. Snook, justice
of the peace.
Pleasant Ridge has but about two miles of railroad,
the Fort Madison & Ottumwa division of the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy System crossing the
southwest corner, but there is no station in the
township. There were about fifty miles of telephone
lines in 1913, when the property of the township was
assessed for taxation at $458,414. The population in
1910 was 588.
Van Buren Township
Van Buren is the most southwestern township of the
county and is one of the original ten established in
January, 1841. It was named in honor of Martin Van
Buren, who was at that time President of the United
States. As at first created it included the western
half of the present Township of Charleston. Since that
township was cut off in 1844, the boundaries of Van
Buren have been as follows: On the north by Harrison
Township; on the east by Charleston and Des Moines; on
the south and southwest by the Des Moines River, which
separates it from the State of Missouri, and on the
west by the County of Van Buren. Its area is about
thirty-three square miles.
Some authorities give John Tollman the credit of being
the first settler. Early in the '30s, after a short
residence on the Mississippi, a few miles below
Montrose, he built a cabin on the Des Moines River,
but, from some descriptions, this location is probably
in Des Moines Township. Among the early settlers,
about whom there can be no dispute, were Lewis D.
Kent, Abraham Hinkle and Lewis Crow, all of whom were
living within the limits of the present township in
1836.
Authorities also differ as to who was the first white
child born in the township, some claiming that
distinction for Eliza Jane Hinkle, a granddaughter of
Abraham Hinkle, and others state that the first birth
was that of Lucinda Kent. Both children were born in
the year 1836.
Israel Cameron joined the little colony in 1837 an ^
in 1840 he taught the first school, using his
door-yard for a schoolroom. He had fifteen pupils in
attendance most of the time, but on rainy days the
children received a holiday. In 1913-14 the seven
school districts employed nine teachers, and the
number of pupils enrolled was 125. David Galland came
at the same time as Mr. Cameron and was one of the
early justices of the peace.
Being situated in the half-breed tract, the settlement
of the township was slow, owing to the litigation over
land titles, and when it was created in 1841 there
were probably not more than a score of families living
within its borders. After the title question was
adjusted by the courts, the settlement of the southern
part of the county was more rapid, and in 1910 the
population of Van Buren compared favorably with the
other townships of the county, being then 613.
The only railroad in the township is the Chicago, Rock
Island & Pacific, which follows the course of the
Des Moines River about nine miles of track lying
within the township. The people living in the northern
part are within easy access of the Burlington &
Carrollton division of the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy System, which runs through the southern part of
Franklin Township. There were in 1913 over fifty miles
of telephone lines in Van Buren, and the taxable
property in that year was valued at $284,206 less
than one-third of its actual value.
When the township was established it was ordered by
the board of commissioners that the first election
should be held at the house of Abraham Hinkle on the
first Monday in April, 1841. At that election John
Milliken and John Arrison were chosen justices of the
peace; John Richards and John Cuppin, constables. In
1914 the officers of the township were : G. W. Warson,
S. W. Wells and W. H. Butlin, trustees; T. C. Pollard,
clerk; William Shepherd and Robert Anthony, justices
of the peace; Winfield Scott and A. F. Thews,
constables; G. W. Ware, assessor.
Washington Township
It would require considerable research to ascertain
just how many civil townships, or other political
subdivisions, there are in the country that bear the
name of George Washington, the first President of the
United States and the "Father of his Country."
Washington Township in Lee County is one of the ten
established in January, 1841, and as originally
created it included the present Township of Madison.
Since April, 1841, the boundaries of Washington
Township have been as follows: On the north by Denmark
Township; on the east by Green Bay; on the south by
the Mississippi River and the Township of Madison, and
on the west by West Point Township. It includes the
congressional township 68, range 4, except a small
tract in sections 35 and 36, which is cut off by the
Mississippi, and has an area of nearly thirty-six
square miles.
John Box, who came to the Black Hawk Purchase in 1833
and located in what is now Washington Township, is
credited with being the first white settler in that
part of the county. In 1834 ne was joined by Ebenezer
Ayres, Joseph White, Samuel Ross, Benjamin Box, James
Smith, John Gregg, John Small, the Herring family, and
a Mrs. Palmer, with her two sons Devore and
Lycurgus.
In April, 1835, Peter P. Jones, a native of New York,
and William M. Davis, of Ohio, located lands in the
township. D. F. Box, who was born in March, 1835, was
the first white child born in the township, where he
resided for many years. In October, 1836, John Sawyer
came from Massachusetts and settled near the present
railroad station of that name.
By order of the county commissioners in January, 1841,
the first election for township officers in Washington
was held at the school house on section 16, on the
first Monday in April, 1841. At that time Samuel Ross
and David Wilson were elected justices of the peace,
and Charles Field and William C. Paine, constables. In
1914 Herman Vogt, S. F. Hughes and Gus J. Miller were
the trustees; Alex- ander Foggy, clerk; William
Mansheim, assessor; S. F. Hayes, justice of the peace,
and S. F. Ritter, constable.
The schoolhouse on section 16, mentioned above, was
the first schoolhouse built in the township, but the
name of the first teacher seems to have been
forgotten. In 1914 the county superintendent reported
nine school districts, with an enrollment of 120
pupils.
Washington has a little over seven miles of railroad,
the Fort Madison & Ottumwa division of the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy System crossing the
southern boundary near the center and running in a
northwesterly direction until it enters West Point
Township. Benbow and Summit Sidings and Sawyer are the
stations in Washington. The township had about
seventy-five miles of telephone lines in 1913, and the
taxable property was then valued at $488,856. In 1910
the population was 910.
West Point Township
This is one of the best agricultural townships in the
county. It was established in January, 1841, and was
made to include congressional township 68, range 5,
giving it an area of thirty-six square miles. It is
bounded on the north by the Township of Pleasant
Ridge; on the east by Washington; on the south by
Jefferson, and on the west by Franklin. Sugar Creek
flows through the southwestern part.
So far as can be learned from authentic sources, a
young man named Whitaker was the first white man to
locate a claim in what is now West Point Township. In
1834 he selected a tract of land in section 5, though
the survey had not then been made, and later sold out
to John L. Cotton and John Howell. This tract is now
the site of the Town of West Point, an account of
which will be found in Chapter X.
In 1835 there were several new arrivals. Among them
were two brothers, William and Isham Burton, who came
from Indiana and settled in the northwestern part.
They made the bricks with which the old Presbyterian
Church at West Point was built. In April, 1835, Lewis
Pitman came from Kentucky and settled on the creek
which still bears his name, where he lived until his
death in 1862. About the same time Zedekiah Cleveland,
a New Yorker, located near the western boundary of the
township and the following year married Anna Ware,
whose father lived in what is now Marion Township.
Some time in this year William Hunter opened a
blacksmith shop at West Point the first disciple of
Tubal Cain in that part of the county.
During the year 1836 the population was increased by
the arrival of William Patterson, Green and John A.
Casey, R. P. Creel, Hawkins Taylor and a few others.
Patterson was a Virginian; the Caseys came from
Illinois, and Creel was a Kentuckian. Both Patterson
and Creel afterward removed to Keokuk. Casey, after
locating a claim, returned to Illinois and remained
there over winter. In 1837 he again came to West Point
and made preparations for bringing his family the
following season, but soon after returning to Illinois
a second time he died. In May, 1838, his widow came to
the claim her husband had located, bringing with her
two sons John A. and Joseph M. The latter was at
that time about eleven years of age. He afterward
became one of the prominent attorneys of Southeastern
Iowa and served with distinction as judge of the
District Court.
Pursuant to the order of the board of commissioners at
the time the township was created, the first election
was held in the Village of West Point on the first
Monday in April, 1841. William Alexander and Peleg H.
Babcock were elected justices of the peace, and John
H. Rickey and John McDonald, constables. The officials
of the township in 1914 were as follows: John Rueter,
J. G. Honadel and Theodore Vonderhaar, trustees;
Herman Lohman, clerk; Henry Harnagel, assessor; John
Kempker and Herman Brinck, justices of the peace;
Joseph H. Fedler, constable.
Peleg H. Babcock, who was one of the first justices of
the peace, came to Lee County in the winter of
1837-38, having been married but a short time before.
After a short sojourn in Fort Madison, he removed to a
claim north of West Point, but two years later became
a resident of that village. He served as clerk of the
territorial council of Iowa and as a member of the
Legislature. In 1844 he removed to Fort Madison and
four years later was elected clerk of the District
Court. In 1859 ne was appointed inspector of the
penitentiary at Fort Madison, a position he held for
several years. He was a prominent Odd Fellow and when
he died members of that order came from all parts of
the state to attend his funeral.
The people of West Point Township have always believed
in education. Subscription schools were taught there
as soon as enough settlers had located to make it
profitable to a teacher, and in 1839 an academy was
incorporated. Its history will be found in the chapter
on Educational Development. In 1914 there were six
school districts, in which seven teachers were
employed, and the number of pupils enumerated was
291.
West Point has about five miles of railroad, of the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy System, and there are
over thirty-five miles of telephone lines in the
township. In 1913 the value of taxable property was
$371,819, and in 1910 the population was 1,342, which
includes the incorporated Town of West Point.
Source: History
of
Lee County, Iowa, by Dr. S. W. Moorhead and
Nelson C. Roberts, 1914
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