Congressional township 98, range 15, except one eighty acres in the extreme southwest corner, is known as Douglas Civil Township. It is bounded on the north by Jenkins Township, on the east by Howard County, on the south by East Lincoln and on the west by Burr Oak and East Lincoln townships. The Little Cedar River flows through the western part of its territory with its tributary, Soap Creek. The Wapsipinicon River touches sections 1, 12 and 19, thence out into Howard County. Originally, considerable timber was found along the streams, but the general surface is beautiful level prairie land, possessing a wonderful productive soil.

     This township was settled in the spring of 1855 when F. A. Sprague and M. W. Cummings came in. Eben Cummings had entered land in section 29, township 98, range 15, while the land office was still at Dubuque. The first night they camped in Burr Oak Township and the night was cold and frosty. The following day they took possession of the old Brink House in the northern part of the township and then the only house within the township, far as now known. F. A. Sprague and family remained there one year and his humble place was a resort and resting place for many a weary traveler. The next spring Mr. Sprague preempted land in section 31, and built a house of logs sufficiently large to accommodate the travelers and land seekers. Beavers were then plenty and one of the logs in this house twenty feet long was felled by the beavers and hauled from Jenkins Township on Beaver Creek.

     The next settlers to invade the township were John De Ford and family and the brothers, Alexander and Milford, Hunt and family; also A. M. and Henry A. Goodrich all from New York State. They bought a large tract of land from Reverend Ladue, a preacher who had come to the township. After ten years F. A. Sprague sold and went to Wisconsin where he formerly resided. Eben and M. W. Cummings went to Chickasaw County, remained for three years then returned to Mitchell County and became permanent citizens. At that date the country between the "Wapsie" and Little Cedar was one vast "green glad solitude"-a prairie wilderness-and the first comers often sighed and asked one another whether that section would ever be settled up.

     Both Eben and M. W. Cummings were famous hunters and killed many deer in this part of the county in the '50s and '60s. Prairie chickens were shot and trapped in large numbers and made excellent meat for the pioneer tables; quail were also thick for a number of years. While out deer hunting one time, just at dusk, M. W. Cummings shot a large deer and aided by another dragged it to his home. The following morning it was discovered that the prairie wolves had been on his trail in large numbers, having caught the scent of the blood from the wounded deer. Without going too far into detail concerning the early settlers many of whom have long since passed from earth's shining circle, let it be recorded that among the pioneer band in Douglas Township were the following: Aside from the first comers already named, were Caleb Maxham, who purchased land in section 6, in 1856. Frederick Stark, a native of Prussia, settled here in 1859, and John and James Murphy (the latter born in France in 1816), son of an English officer who was wounded at the famous Battle of Waterloo. When grown to manhood he made an overland trip to California being 136 days on his journey. In 1863 James settled in section 17, of Douglas Township.

     Charles Murray settled in section 7, in 1864. Peter Carroll, of York State, located first at St. Ansgar in 1856, remained there till 1867, then moved to his land in section 8, this township. Other settlers of an earlier date were: Messrs. Richard Pritchard, P. J. Griffith, David Marley, John Murray, J. B. Schultheis, William H. Keefe, Edgar T. Mosher, John A. Mosher, Daniel H. Eagle and many more whose names are unknown to the writer of this narrative. The largest land owner in this township is Robert J. Murphy, son of John Murphy. He owns 160 acres of fine farming land in the center of the township.

     G. N. Holbrook and family settled in the northern part of the township in section 15, in 1855. He kept tavern there several years. His son, A. N., moved to Charles City, in 1857, built a saw mill there and in 1862 moved upon land entered by his father in section 15. He was a soldier in the Civil war and fought Indians in Dakota and Minnesota. There were five daughters in the family: Jane, Chloe, Carrie, Annie and Emma. Annie married Charles Sweney, and now lives in Osage; Emma married E. P. Foster, and now lives near Orchard; Chloe recently died in California. The son and all his sisters, except as stated, are now deceased.

     Frederick A. Sprague broke the first land in the township in section 19, in 1856. The first marriage was that uniting Walter B. Talcott and Chloe S. Holbrook, July 4, 1856. They were married by Squire Hugh Sweney. Mr. Talcott was a member of the Seventh Iowa infantry, went to the frontier and was killed by the Indians in 1864.

     The first death was that of a child of Richard Pritchard, 1863, who was buried at Burr Oak. The next was a child of John De Ford in 1865.

     Up to 1904, what is now styled East and West Lincoln Townships was all included in one civil sub-division of Mitchell County, the original territory comprising parts of Congressional townships 97 and 98, in ranges 15, 16 and 17, and contained forty and one-half sections. It is bounded on the north by Osage, Burr Oak and Douglas townships, on the east by Howard County, on the South by Floyd County, and on the west by Cedar Township. Its water courses include the Little Cedar river and Spring Creek, and their numerous tributaries Another streamlet is Fish Creek. The soil is exceptionally fertile, and the land is, for the greater part, prairie. Considerable timber grew originally along the streams, but much of that has been cut off since the settlement was effected.

     By an act of the county supervisors in 1904, the above territory was divided into East and West Lincoln townships. West Lincoln now comprises almost nineteen sections in township 97, ranges 16 and 17, while East Lincoln has twenty-two and a fraction sections in the southeast corner of the county, with parts of Douglas and Burr Oak townships at its north.

     The Hart family were the first to locate within, Lincoln Township. They were not permanent there, but moved to Osage Township as shown in that township's history. The first permanent settler in this township was Moses Orchard, for whom the pretty village was named. He came in from La Porte, Ind., in August, 1852, accompanied by his wife and children. They moved with two yoke of oxen, bringing their tools and provisions with them. After a month's constant exploring, he finally located a claim in the southwest quarter of section 8, township 97, range 16. Their covered wagon served as a dwelling place until a cabin could be constructed. This house was covered with shakes and floored with thick puncheons. Mr. Orchard claimed, in all, 480 acres in sections 7, 8 and 18, and purchased a half section when the land came into market, borrowing money and paying 40 per cent interest with which to pay for the same. He evidently saw a great future in Mitchell County! Thirty-one years after he came the station on the railway known as Orchard was built about eighty rods from where he first set stakes in 1852.

     L. S. Cutler was next to invade this township for settlement. He was a York State Yankee, who arrived in 1853, claiming land in township 98, range 16, where he built a cabin and remained a year, sold and purchased other lands in township 97, range 16, making his permanent settlement in 1858. The same year came Horatio and Erastus Huntington, brothers, who claimed land in sections 10 and 15. Other pioneers here are recalled as George Colton, 1854; John Skinner, 1854; John Backus, 1854; L. Rood, 1855; John Lewis, 1854; Daniel Felky, 1854; Harvey Miner, 1854; Isaac Large, 1854; John A. Wright came in 1855, as did also W. D. Murray.

     In 1856 the settlers who came included James H. Clark, J. B. Worseldine, Nelson Lewis, Silas Yount, George M. Stoughton and Aaron Thornburg.

     In 1857 these came, and possibly others, Gustav A. Wright, M. L. Keefe, John Marshall, Franklin W. Westfall, John B. Caswell and Danford W. Butterfield.

     The first marriage in the township was Newton Seward and Sarah J. Orchard, April 12, 1856. The first death in the township was John Orchard, son of pioneer Moses and Sarah Orchard, who died January 27, 1857. His remains rest in the Orchard cemetery at present, having been removed from his first burial spot in section 13, township 97, range 17.

     When the Illinois Central Railway was constructed through the county in 1869, a station was established in what is now West Lincoln Township, in the northeast quarter of section 18. It took the name of the pioneer, first permanent settler (Moses) Orchard. W. D. Murray erected the first building on the plat in 1870; later this, with an addition, served as a hotel. E. F. Atherton had the first general store, and Dr. Henry Rulison was the pioneer physician; he also had a drug store in 1877. G. A. Wright bought the first grain shipped out of Orchard station in 1869. A postoffice was established here in 1869. In 1883 the village was not as far advanced as it was in the first years of its history, but as the years went by it again resumed its growth, and today the business interests are as follows:

Blacksmithing - "Sig" Harlis.
Confectionery and Books - John Eldridge, also postmaster.
Drugs - William Constantine.
Farm Implements "Sig" Harlis.
Garage - Frank Morse.
Grain, Lumber, Coal and Seed - J. M. Roe.
General Dealers - H. L. Morse & Co., Farm Supply Company.
Hardware - Morse Brothers.
State Savings Bank - See Banking chapter.
Meats and Groceries - O. H. Evans & Sons.

     Orchard became an incorporated town in 1913, and is now making several much needed improvements on its streets, etc. The present mayor is "Sig" Harlis, and the clerk of the incorporation is Verne Evans.

     On the eastern line of Mitchell County and the second from the north line of the county, is situated Jenkins Township, comprising all of Congressional Township 99, range 15,'thus being six miles square. It is bounded on the north by Wayne Township, on the east by Howard County, on the south by Douglas Township and on the west by Liberty and Burr Oak townships. It has two railway stations, Riceville and David. Its railways are two lines of the Great Western system, one of which enters Osage and the other Riceville. The Wapsipinicon River flows through the eastern part of the territory of this township, entering in section 3, and leaving the township from section 36. Other streams are Beaver Creek and Soap Creek. The general surface is undulating and the soil is rich loam, with a clay sub-soil. The township is well watered and has numerous small streams and spring brooks, many of which at an early day were much more filled with running water than at present. The timber skirting the streams is made up largely of red, jack and burr oak, hard and soft maple, red and water elm, basswood, with poplar groves through the central portion of the territory. At an early day much timber was cut to build log houses and stables and to use for fuel. The heaviest belt of timber is found on the east side of the Wapsipinicon River, where it is about a mile wide and extends down the entire length of the stream. The eight or nine hundred acres of timber in the Beaver Creek Valley, in sections 30 and 31, was utilized to great advantage by pioneers. The streams were originally well stocked with fish including pickerel, bass, rock-bass, red-horse and suckers. Prairie chickens, a few elk, many deer, thousands upon thousands of ducks, geese and brants remained most of the summer season here. Of fur bearing animals, the wolf, wildcat, mink, weasel and coon, the beaver and muskrat all were here in goodly numbers, and made trapping profitable in the first and second decades of settlement.

     The first man to settle in township 99, range 15, now included in Jenkins Township, was S. Brown Scott (commonly known as Brown Scott), who made his claim and located in section 3, in the spring of 1853, moving his family to their new frontier home in July that year. This was on the east bank of the Wapsipinicon River. They were accompanied by Mr. Scott's brother, Joseph, with his son, James. Joseph located in the northwest quarter of section 3. Both Scotts filed on land which they purchased in 1857 at the Osage Land Office.

     Brown Scott remained in Mitchell County until 1860, then moved to southern Iowa. His wife was the first white woman to make a home in this township, when she came she was the fond mother of five children and several more were born to her here. James Scott continued a resident here until 1875, then moved to Minnesota. His father, Joseph Scott, was the original explorer of this county, paid the county annual visits, looking after his lands, and finally, in 1863, moved here, settling on the exact site of his original camping ground.

     The next to become settlers in Jenkins Township were James Foster and Daniel Woodsworth, from Michigan, locating in sections 14 and 23, township 99, range 15. They arrived and set first stakes October 1, 1854. They flattered themselves that they were the first in the township, the timber along the river not allowing them to discover the cabin of the Scott family on the east side of the river. These two men hastily made improvements enough to show good faith in taking a claim and then returned to the pineries east of the Mississippi River and came down in the spring "drive" and returned to Mitchell County. During the time of their absence the Scott family, not knowing these men had built a "shack and intended to hold down a claim, partly finished a log cabin on the same tract, and only in the spring time did they discover their mistake. There was no attempt at claim jumping and the house was finished up for the Foster-Woodsworth party, who were ever fast friends of the Scotts.

     Robert Foster, born in Erie County, Pennsylvania, 1809, came to Iowa in 1855, locating in the southeast quarter of section 15, Jenkins Township. He was one of the township's organizers and ever active in township and especially in school matters. The case wherein was had the first conviction within the township, was tried before him as justice of the peace. John B. Rhyndes was another who aided in organizing the township. He preempted in 1855 in section 31, served in Company K, Twenty-seventh Iowa Infantry during the Civil war period. Politically, he was a stanch republican.

     John Robins came to the township in 1855, making his home in section 1, township 99, range 15, until his death many years later.

     The Rice family, headed by Mrs. Rice with her three sons, Dennis, Franklin and Gilbert, located in the northeast quarter of section 25, township 99, range 15. Mrs. Rice conducted a hotel at that point many years and was highly respected and widely known far and near. The Fink &,Walter Stage line stopped there to change horses and eat their meals. Another settler of 1855 was L. B. Dunton, and a year later he preempted the northeast quarter of section 21; he assisted in the organization of the township, was clerk of the first board, and hired the first school teacher,

     Edmund Burke arrived in the township in 1855, claiming land in section 36, here he erected a log house in 1856, bringing his wife there a year later. He it was who drove the first team of horses into the township. After his death in 1889 his son, Thomas, occupied the old home farm. Thomas D. Moss, a blacksmith, located at Riceville in the spring of 1856; also Jacob M. Graves, George T. Brunson, Edward Burke, N. W. Moss, O. W. Willett and Luke Wells-all came in 1856. Later in the same year came L. B. Dunton, A. F. Tyrrell, Charles Zilk and sons and J. F. Young. Mr. Willett attempted to start a town in the center of the township. Lots and streets were platted, a small store was opened, two or three houses built and the spot was named "Jenkins Center." His object seems to have been to have a town site to take advantage of a law by which he might enter more public land at government price. The scheme failed and the town exists only in the memory of a few pioneers and a few lines in the county record books. All that marked the spot in later years was a liberty-pole to which travelers were sometimes sent when inquiring for "Jenkins Center."

     James C. Simpson came from Indiana in 1856, locating in section 33. He remained until 1864, when he removed to Kansas and was thus a pioneer in three states-Indiana, Iowa and Kansas. Another settler in 1856 was Joseph Watts, who erected a log cabin on the southeast quarter of, section 26, lived through pioneer times and then wended his way to Kansas.

     Joshua Pilcher, a pioneer of Iowa, settled first in Van Buren County in 1836 -ten years prior to the admission of Iowa Territory into the Union. He moved to Jenkins Township, Mitchell County, in 1856, and conducted for many years the tavern known as "Pleasant Hill House." He introduced the culture of sugar cane into this section of Iowa, and for a term of years made hundreds, if not thousands of gallons of sorghum.

     Chauncey Carpenter, a Vermont Yankee, cast his lot with the first band of Jenkins Township settlers in 1856, locating in section 34, living in a tent during the first winter-the "hard winter" of '56 - '57, at that. At the advanced age of eighty-eight years, he died in 1901. In 1861 he was appointed by President Lincoln as postmaster at Doran office, this county. He presided at the first township meeting to organize a school board, of which he was made president, serving many years.

     The Moss family were also early settlers, all coming in 1856. They included Messrs. Nathaniel W., William C. and Edwin N. Moss. William C. Moss was county treasurer one term, served in various county offices as deputy, and died in 1901.

     Daniel Schoonmaker, another settler in 1856, was a native of New Jersey. He took land in section 26, where he died in 1905. He assessed this township for thirty-five years. Politically, be was a republican.

     Matthew L. White came in 1856, claiming land in section 31, where he constructed a substantial stone-residence. He organized a Methodist Sunday School and was a great church worker.

     Thomas J. Young, born in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, 1834, was one of the 1856 settlers in Jenkins Township, taking a preemption claim in section 27, township 99, range 15. He was a soldier in the Sixth Iowa Infantry, having command of a detachment of seventy men, in Civil war days. Had the war not ended as soon as it did, he was to be commissioned captain. George Tyrrell, from Jo Daviess County, Illinois, settled upon his claim near Jenkins Center in 1856, receiving his title from the government. He developed his land and reared a large family of school teachers, then known as "school ma'ams," who became prominent in educational work in this township and county. He served on many school boards and erected some of the first schoolhouses in this township. He owned and operated this farm just referred to the remainder of his life, which was many years.

     The first postoffice in the township was established at Jenkins Center and was called North Bend-this was in 1857; O. Willett was postmaster and carried the mail. The next office was at the house of N. W. Moss, who received his commission from President James Buchanan. Later this was known as Doran postoffice. In 1861 the office went to C. Carpenter, who was appointed by President Lincoln. Riceville postoffice was also established in the spring of 1861, with Dennis Rice, postmaster. A. F. Tyrrell was postmaster there from 1869 to 1883, possibly much later. The first birth in Jenkins Township was that of Willis Fuller, who died at Mr. Vice's in the spring of 1856.

     The incorporated Town of Riceville, in Jenkins Township, was settled in the '50s. It is situated on the east line of the county,-a part of the platting being in one county and a part in the other-the county line dividing Mitchell and Howard counties, dividing the Town of Riceville also. Both parts are included in the Independent School District of Riceville. It has one government, has waterworks and electric lights and three large school buildings. Its present population is (or was in 1915) 945.

     On July 20, 1901, the town met with a loss of sixty buildings by a sweeping fire, amount of loss on buildings and contents about $200,000, on which there was only $75,000 of insurance carried. But, Phoenix-like, it rose from the ashes and has been rebuilt, and mostly by good, almost if not perfectly, fire-proof structures.

     The reader may be interested to know something concerning the early business beginnings here, and perhaps no better account can be obtained at this late day than to quote from a History of Mitchell and Worth Counties, published in 1883, which says:

     "Riceville has a population of about two hundred and fifty inhabitants, It is partly in Mitchell and partly in Howard County. On the Mitchell County side there is a general store, operated by L. B. Dunton; a grocery and provision store, by J. J. Sloan; a dry goods and grocery store, kept by Weaver & Vaughn; a grocery and market place, by J. S. Potter; a harness shop, run by Enos Ricker; a shoe shop, by Howard Armstrong; a drug store, by Dr. M. J. Skiff; a flouring mill, by Nelson Pierce; also three blacksmith shops and a good creamery. On the Howard County side was the hotel, feed mill and hardware store.

     "Riceville was platted in the spring of 1855 by Rice Brothers-Dennis, Franklin and Gilbert- who, with their widowed mother, settled that year. They built a hotel on the northeast corner, at the junction of Main Street and the county line.

     "The first store was opened on the Howard County side in 1856, by Kerr & Fellows. Thomas D. Moss ran the pioneer blacksmith shop in 1856. Frank Rice and Smith Steely were among the first merchants.

     In the summer and autumn of 1917, the following comprised the business and professional interests of the sprightly Town of Riceville:

     There is at this date about one thousand population in Riceville. Its postmaster is John E. Dargan.

Attorney - Bert N. Hendricks.
Agricultural Implements - O'Connor & Hauersperger, Wood & Lauman.
Automobiles - Hinchcliffe & Mosher, R. S. Warburton, C. S. Wilbur.
Blacksmiths - Charles Hauersperger,, V. G. Montonya, Otto Bessman.
Barbers - R. A. Carpenter, George W. Miller.
Banking - Farmers & Merchants Bank, First National Bank.
Clothing - F. F. Blandin & Co.
Creamery - R. J. Gimer.
Cattle and Horse Breeder - Thomas Burke.
Cement Workers - Clark & Swancut, Fred Gamrow.
Drayage - C. A. Bowers, Eugene Bowers, A. H. Christian.
Drugs - Ed C. Richmond, J. W. Roche.
Dentists - Dr. Manley Lappin, Dr. V. G. Palmer.
Furniture - William Hubbard, A. F. Kannengeiser.
Feed Mills - J. A. Wentworth, John Burke, James Leary.
Feed Barn - Mark Sidenberg.
Garage - Jay Schultheis, Hinchcliffe & Mosher.
Groceries - J. P. Servoss, Charles E. Adams.
General Dealers - F. J. Carpenter & Son, G. Weaver.
Grain Dealers - John Burke, J. J. Leary, A. M. Davison.
Hardware - F. A. Brown & Son, Robert M. Noble.
Harness - George C. Hazlett, John McIlrevey.
Hotel - John Burke, The New Wilkes.
Ice - W. J. Tyrrell.
Job Printing - "Recorder" job department, Matt McCook, and The Stillman
Printing Company.
Jewelry - Oliver P. Yager, J. W. Griswold.
Livery - Eugene Schrode.
Live Stock Dealers - Hiram Martin, R. J. Wilks, G. I,. Griffin, Jerry Cashman.
Lumber - Chapman Lumber Company, James A. Smith Lumber Company
Meat Market - Fessenmeyer Brothers.
Millinery - M. Ure & Company, Mrs. M. Martin, Katherine Burke. Music - John Kessell.
Moving Pictures - F. A. Brown & Son.
Notions - Charles A. and Frances Smutney, Mayme Ure.
Newspaper - The Riceville Record, H. A. Yager, proprietor.
Poultry and Produce - John Burke.
Physicians - Dr. A. W. Harold, Hugh L. and T. S. Walker. Photographs - Charles E. Rositter.
Restaurants - Fred Brooking, Maxwell & Tanberg.
Riceville Equity Shipping Association.
Shoe Repairs - A. R. Walter and John Mcllrevey.
Veterinarians - R. C. Kruger, A. W. River.

     Riceville Postoffice was established in the spring of 1861, with Dennis Rice as postmaster, under President Abraham Lincoln. Next came Smith Seeley. A. F. Tyrrell was postmaster from 1869 to 1883, possibly longer. Since then the postmasters have been: J. J. Sloan, Mrs. Amy Thorson, J. J. Sloan, P. M. Mosher served sixteen years, then came the present postmaster, John E. Dargan, commissioned August 18, 1913.

     The four rural routes are operated as follows: No. 1, carrier, W. J. Tyrrell; No. 2, Roy Holbrook; No. 3, W. E. Babcock; No. 4, M. H. Swift.

     The office transacted a business of $4,606.25 in l917, and in October, 1917, had savings deposits amounting to $2,051.

     The postoffice building was burned July 21, 1901, but no mail was lost.

     Riceville became an incorporated town in 1892 and its first elective officers were: N. M. Jewett, mayor; T. J. Henderson, clerk; P. M. Mosher, G. Weaver, C. C. Earnist, W. S. Burke, J. H. Chandler and J. C. Coles, councilmen. The present (1917) town officers are: W. H. Greeley, mayor; C. G. Potter, Robert Falteisek, T. S. Walker, R. C. Kruger and M. R. Lappin, councilmen; E. C. Willis, assessor; E. R. St. John, treasurer; H. A. Yager, clerk, appointed by the council.

     The subjoined is a list of the mayors to the present date: N. M. Jewett, T. J. Henderson, D. P. Sayles, T. J. Henderson, N. M. Jewett, S. R. Ure, C. C. Arnold, W. E. Peavey, J. P. Servoss, W. H. Greeley.

     The town has a good waterworks system provided at an expense of $15,000. Municipal bonds are outstanding to the amount of $14,400, due from 1920 to 1936-waterworks and sewer bonds. The supply of water comes from a well situated within the corporation limits, and is pumped to an elevated steel tank upon a tower overlooking the place.

     The electric lights of Riceville are now supplied by the Consumers Electric Company, on one of its transmission lines.

     This village is located on the line of the Chicago Great Western Railway, in Jenkins Township. In 1892 David E. McLaughlin gave the right of way across his land for depot and stockyard purposes, and as a compliment to him the company, E. S. Fonda and Mrs. Simpson, called the station "David." A postoffice was established the same year, with Mr. McLaughlin as postmaster. In the summer of 1917 the following were the business interests of David: Its population was about seventy-five.

Creamery - The David Cooperative Creamery Company.
Coal and Grain Dealers - Frank Griffin, Western Elevator Company.
Blacksmith - F. G. Steele.
Farm Implements - R D. Nicholas.
General Store - A. W. Harris.
Live Stock Dealers - C. Hanson.
Lumber - Chapman Lumber Company.
Poultry - H. A. Atkinson.
Bank - Farmers State Bank.
Postmaster - F. G. Steele.

Transcribed by Gordon Felland, December 2001

Updated 1/6/2003