A HISTORIC ROAD

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"Ever drive from Wapello over to Toolesboro? It's not the nicest drive in the world, especially about this time of the year, but it's historic. You strike historic ground the minute almost you get on the river, if it is right to call the river ground. The foundation of the second pier of the bridge was put in for the old Philadelphia, Fort Wayne & Air Line railroad. This was probably as early as 1855. Nearly twenty years after, the foundation was utilized in building the first bridge across the Iowa in Louisa county. This was in 1872, and the bridge was a combination affair, since replaced by steel with one or two additional spans on the east side. Going on east less than a mile you come in view of a part of the old grade of that old road, close to where 'Old Cooper' lived, and Carpenter, who was connected with the Estep-Koontz crowd. Near this point, south of the road is where young Davis was killed twenty-five years ago by a tree falling on him; while in east of that, where the road turns to the south, John Keever cut Silas Ruby to pieces .with his jack knife, one night. Then through the brush a mile and you will come to the Brendle homestead. It, at one time, belonged to the Guest estate but was first occupied by Henry Warnstaff, Henry, we think it was. Here it was that Sam Chaney got his wife, who was a daughter of Warnstaff. This was in territorial times. He came sauntering along one fine Sunday morning, with his rifle on his shoulder, as was his habit. She went with him for a walk. They went down to the river, got in his boat and floated and paddled down the Iowa to its mouth: down the Mississippi to the Missouri line, where they were married. They rowed themselves back, his rifle furnishing them the most of their food during the entire trip. This was one of the romantic weddings of the time. Just east of the old Warnstaff place was at one time, the Widow Morris' homestead. Mrs. Morris and all her folks were thrifty and a good class of citizens. She had several daughters, among them twins, Henrietta and Marietta. But these folks all had the nerve. We think it was when Perry Keever married one of the Morris girls that a party from Wapello went out to charivari them. They were invited in to take supper, but this did not suit their fastidious tastes. They preferred money to buy a keg or two of beer, or they would roast chickens on the premises. Mrs. Morris could hear her chickens squall and so could the girls. One of the twins went to the door and told the fellows that when the chickens began to squall again she proposed to begin to shoot. Of course they didn't believe she meant it, but when the next batch of chickens raised a racket, she was as good as her word and the shotgun was brought into play. That ended the banquet for the boys. Her aim had been good, and several carried away in their legs and bodies souvenirs of the occasion. One of them, we think it was Johnny Owens, had the doctors picking bird shot out of him for a day or two. Very fortunately no one was seriously injured. Some of the boys caught a brother of the girl who did the shooting in Wapello once, and pounded him up pretty thoroughly. . . .

"Just about a quarter of a mile east of the Morris home, under the hill, stood a shanty, years ago, beside a spring, now and for many years known as the 'Snake' spring. A lady reader of the Gazette writes of this spring as follows:

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"The Snake spring, situated on the farm now owned by Mrs. Korn, is still called by that name. The woman who killed the snakes was Mrs. Dan Cooper. She and her brother, Will Kominsky, killed seven hundred and eighty-three in one day, so says Mrs. John Wehmeyer, who lives about one mile west of the spring. L. K. Potter says he went to the place one warm day and the snakes began to come out by the hundreds, so it seemed to him. They were all blue racers.' . . .

"Farther down this road about half a mile still stand the remains of a little building, long occupied by 'Daniels,' or McPherson. McPherson was a very peculiar man but his neighbors all liked him for his honesty and accommodating ways. But a man must deal fair with him. It is his son who is now serving a life sentence at Fort Madison for killing the Morning Sun marshal. . . .

"At this place you go up the bluff and the first house you come to was, for a number of years, the home of James Erwin, still frequently referred to as the Widow Lowrey place. She was a daughter and partly inherited the place from her father. . . .

Next to this and only a few hundred yards south is the old Billy Clark place. This family is well worthy of mention, as Mr. Clark and his wife came here in a very early day, in 1835; his family a year later. They came from Lafayette, Indiana, and first settled in Wapello at the place now occupied by M. Carrigan and wife. There were seven children by the first wife. Of these, Mrs. Jane C. Vanloon was the oldest and only daughter. She lives in Wapello. James B. Clark is dead, as is also Samuel. John, William, R. B. and Daniel are still living, or were recently. James and Samuel both served in the Mexican war; William and Daniel in the War of the Rebellion. John and William live in Oklahoma, R. B. lives in Wisconsin, but for a number of years lived in Minnesota. There was a preacher, Clark; an uncle of William M., who came here in a very early day and helped lay out the original town of Wapello. William Clark entered the old Clark place in Jefferson township when that country was very new. They were great hog raisers, the bottoms in those days being well calculated for that business, but it took a stake and ridered fence, and a good one, to save the crops from their depredations. We hear it hinted that dogs, rifles and shotguns were often pressed into service as supplemental fences. William Clark was the last of the boys to occupy the farm. He sold it out and went southwest near twenty years ago. Frank, a half brother, still lives in Jefferson, the only one of the family of that name in the county.

Next to the Clark place is the old Willard Mallory home, which is now owned by Mrs. D. D. Parsons; then the old Judge Coe and Harmon Mallory places, all settled about seventy years ago. George Hook's son George, and young Erwin, son of Mr. and Mrs. Sam T. Erwin, occupy these places. They are two of the very few in Jefferson township who bear the old pioneer names. As you go on, about the first house in the village of Toolesboro was the one built and long occupied by William L. Toole, a prominent character in that community long before Iowa became a state. In the yard surrounding this building, in an early day, occurred the first murder, probably, committed in the county after its settlement by the whites. . . .

This puts you on the main business street of Toolesboro, the only village in the township, though there was an 'Iowa Town' up the river above Yellow Banks, platted at one time. But it was only a paper town. This historic road, however, did not always stop at Toolesboro. It was the main, in ...

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... fact, the only thoroughfare leading to the historic Burris City, which flourished about 1855, 1856 and 1857. We are told that hundreds and hundreds of dollars were expended on this road between Toolesboro and Burris City. This must have been a great convenience when it came to moving the empty houses away from the town site after the boom burst and the town became tenantless. All the houses were eventually torn down and taken to other places to be rebuilt. There is not a stone nor timber left of the town, though the old historic road continues in good repair in most places."

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