Historical For Muscatine County Iowa 1889

Source: Portrait and Biographical Album, Muscatine County, Iowa, 1889, page 596
County Government.

The county of Muscatine came into existence by an act of the Territorial Legislature of Wisconsin, passed and approved Dec.7, 1836. The act fixing the boundaries as follows : " That the county included within the following boundaries, to wit : Being on the Mississippi River at the northeast corner of the county of Louisa, thence up said river twenty-five miles in a straight line, thence west to the Indian boundary line, thence with said boundary line south to the northwest corner of the county of Louisa, thence east with the line of said county of Louisa to the beginning, be and the same is hereby set off into a separate county, by the name of Musquitine."

The county was formerly organized under this act, although there are no official records in existence showing this fact. According to the recollections of some of the old settlers Edward E. Fay and Arthur Washburn were members of the first Board of Supervisors. They were appointed to the office soon after the original law establishing the county took effect. This was probably in January, 1837. In October, 1837, Washburn and Fay were still members of the board, with S. C. Hastings as Clerk of the Court. In the winter of 1837-38 the Territorial Legislature of Wisconsin met at Burlington, and passed an act redefining the boundaries of the five counties created out of Des Moines : the boundaries of Muscatine being as follows : " Beginning at the northeast corner of Louisa County, thence west with the northern line of said county to the range line between four and five west, thence north with the said line to the township line dividing townships 78 and 79 north, thence east with said line to the range line between ranges 1 and 2 east, thence south with the said line to the Mississippi, thence down the main channel of the said river to the place of beginning." The seat of justice of the county was established at the town of Bloomington, now Muscatine.

On the 17th of February, 1838, the Board of County Commissioners met at the house of J. G. Coleman. The Board was then composed of John Vanater, E. Thornton, and Aaron Usher, with S. C. Hastings as Clerk. The session lasted but one day, and no business was transacted other than the allowance of accounts against the county.

On the 17th of March, of the same year, the Board met in the office of Thomas W. Isett, and was composed of Daniel Comstock, E. Thornton, and Aaron Usher, with John S. Abbott as Clerk. In July a license was granted James W. M. Neally to keep a ferry at Bloomington, across the Mississippi River, for one year, from the 1st of August, 1838. The rates prescribed were as follows : " Each footman,twenty-five cents, man and horse, fifty cents; wagon and two horses, $1.50 ; each additional horse twenty-five cents ; wagon and yoke of oxen, $1.50 ; stock-cattle at twenty-five cents ; sheep and hogs, six and a fourth cents."

Alexander Ross was granted a license for ferry at Moscow, across Cedar River. The rates for ferryage were as follows : " Each footman, twelve and a half cents ; man and horse, twenty-five cents ; wagon and two horses, seventy-five cents ; additional horse, twelve and a half cents ; wagon and yoke of oxen, seventy-five cents ; additional oxen, twenty-five cents ; loose cattle, sheep, hogs, etc., six and a fourth cents."

In October, 1838, the Board consisted of Err Thornton, AAron Usher, and John Vanater, with John G. Morrow as Clerk. At this session it transpired that Err Thornton and John Vanater, at the preceeding election, had each received the same number of votes for County Commissioner. The matter was settled by each man drawing lots for the term of two years, John Vanater being the lucky man.

In January, 1839, the Board was again in session. At this time it was ordered that a jail be erected in the town of Bloomington, on the square reserved for public buildings. The structure was described in the specifications as follows : Length, twenty-four feet ; width, sixteen feet ; floors of timber laid crosswise, each layer, one foot square ; wall of two courses of timber, twelve inches square, ten inches apart, the space between the timbers to be filled with broken stone. Posts ten feet in the clear two stories high. The inside of the rooms planked with two inch planks, driven full of 20-penny nails, one on every square inch. The partitions on lower story of three inch stuff. A trap-door was placed in the upper floor, and a door of heavy planks opened into the second story, but there were no doors opening on the ground floor. Entrance was effected by ascending the outside stairs, and passing into the upper rooms, from whence prisoners were dropped down into the lower cells through the trap-door in the floor. The doors were lined with sheet-iron, and the exposed woodwork filled with nails. Two grated windows admitted light and air into the lower rooms. The building was ordered completed by July 4, 1839, and stood until 1857, when J. P. Walton purchased it for $30, and afterward sold the solid oak timbers of which it was composed for $800. Mr. Walton still has the old door key.

Block 24 of the town plat was reserved for the use of the county, in the erection of public buildings.

In March the Board ordered a survey of section 35, and appointed George Baumgardner, Surveyor.

August, 1839, the Board was composed of John Vanater, Madison Stewart, and Moses Perrin, with J. G. Morrow, Clerk.

At the August election there were six precincts, viz., Bloomington, Wyoming, Stormes, Pine, Moscow, and Wapsinonoc.

November 4, Edward E. Fay was appointed Clerk of the Board.

The Board loaned money, obtained by the sale of lands on section 35, at the rate of 20 per cent, per annum interest.

November 6, The Board ordered that proposals for building a court-house, in the town of Bloomington be requested, by advertisement in the Burlington Territorial Gazette for the space of five weeks. The bricks were ordered to be ten inches long, five inches wide and two and one-half inches thick. The building to be completed by September 1, 1841. November 23, the plan submitted by Stephen B. Brophy was accepted as the standard of the proposed edifice. Mr. Brophy was allowed $200 for plans and specifications on the building. The Board subsequently modified the order concerning the size of the brick, making them nine inches long instead of ten, and then required the walls to be twenty-two inches thick. William Brownell obtained the job of erecting the court-house. The edifice was built of brick, laid upon stone foundation walls, the latter being hammered for the upper three courses. The brick used was made by Stephen Headly. The building was completed by the required time. The cost was $15,000. In 1864,the greater part of the edifice was destroyed by fire, but the building was at once reconstructed, at a cost of $29,000. Many of the old papers relating to the organization of the county were destroyed by that fire.

The county government was continued under the system of a Board of County Commissioners until 1851. In 1840 the Board was composed of John Vanater, R. Stewart, and Benjamin Nye, with Edward E. Fay as Clerk. In the years of 1842 and 43 the only change was the election of Abraham Smalley as Clerk. In 1844 the Board consisted of John Vanater, Milo Bennett, and Charles Neally, with Abraham Smalley as Clerk. After August of that year George Earl was Clerk, and in July 1845, William Leffingwell acted in that capacity. In October, 1845, Milo Bennett, John Zeigler, and Charles Neally were Commissioners. In October, 1846, John Zeigler and Daniel L. Healy were Commissioners, with Z. Washburn as Clerk. In 1847 the same persons were still holding the offices of County Commissioners. In 1848 the Board consisted of H. H. Garnes, D. L. Healy and William Beard, with Nathaniel Hallock as Clerk. In 1849 D.L. Healy, H.H.Garnes, and A.T. Banks composed the Board; and in 1850 Amos Lillibridge, H.H.Garnes, and William Keyes, with N.Hallock as Clerk.

In 1851 the Board of Commissioners was abolished by an act of the Legislature, and the County Judge system established. The Court had equal powers with the former Boardin all business matters relating to the county, and had coordinate jurisdiction with Justice Court. The first Judge elected was Arthur Washburn. In 1856 George Meason was chosen to succeed him, and in 1857Edward H. Thayer became Judge.

In 1860 the Legislature passed an act repealing the County Judge system and creating a Board of County Supervisors, which was to be composed of one Supervisor elected from each civil township in the county. From 1861 to 1870 the Board was composed of the following members :

1861--John B. Dougherty, Chairman ; Evans F. Burgan, Elijah Younkin, Silas Ferry, Joseph Crane, Vernet Tracy, Michael Price, John Zeigler, John R. Merritt, R.H.Patterson, J.E. Robb, Henry Resley, Andrew Heberling, William C Evans.

1862--John B Dougherty, Chairman ; E.F. Burgan, Elijah Younkin, Silas Ferry, Joseph Crane, Vernet Tracy, Michael Price, Marshall Farnsworth, J.E.Robb, William Hoyt, R. H. Patterson,, William C. Evans, George W. Hunt, Andrew Heberling.

1863--Joseph Crane, Chairman ; Thomas M. Isett, E. F. Burgan, R. H. Patterson, John Fullmer, Silas Ferry, A. Heberling, E. Younkin, G.W.Hunt, William C. Evans, J.E. Robb, William Hoyt, Vernet Tracy, Marshall Farnsworth.

1864--Joseph Crane, Chairman ; E. Younkin, Vernet Tracy, George Chase, John Fullmer, M. Farnsworth, R. T.Thompson, Richard Musser, J.E.Robb, William D. Viele, Thomas M. Isett, George W. Hunt, William D. Cone, E. F. Burgan.

1865--R. F. Thompson, Chairman ; J. D. Walker, William F. Tolles, William D. Veile, M. Farnsworth, George Chase, J. A. Purinton, Michael Price, William H. Stewart, Richard Musser, A. Cone, William H. Hazlett, George W. Hunt, Thomas Boggs.

1866--James E. Robb, Chairman : Stephen Herrick, Nathan Brown, R. T. Thompson, Charles Page, Andrew Dobbs, C. M. McDaniel, William H. Hazlett, J. A. Purinton, A. Cone, Michael Price, J. D. Walker, William H. Stewart, George Chase.

1867--James E. Robb, Chairman ; Nathan Brown, George Chase, A. Cone, Charles Cope, Andrew Dobbs, William H. Hazlett, Stephen Herrick, Charles Page, J. A. Purinton, Jacob Snyder, W. H. Stewart, J. E. Walker, James A. Eaton.

1868--J. D. Walker, Chairman ; A. Cone, B. S. Cone, Charles Cope, Andrew Dobbs, J. A. Eaton, E. E. Edwards, Caleb Elliott, W. H. Hazlett, C. C. Horton, George Metts, J.A. Purinton, Jacob Snyder, W. H. Stewart.

1869--W. H. Stewart, Chairman ; Charles Cope, J. A. Eaton, E. E. Edwards, Caleb Elliott, H. S. Griffin, Daniel Harker, W. H. Hazlett, J. A. Purinton, C. C. Horton, Mathew Porter, Joseph Nelson, J. S. Riggs, A. Dobbs.

1870--J.A.Parvin, Chairman ; Byron Carpenter, James A. Eaton, Daniel Harker, H. S. Griffin, William Fultz, W. H. Hazlett, C.C.Horton, Joseph Nelson, J. A. Purinton, M. Porter, J.S.Riggs, W.H.Stewart, Alonzo Shaw.

In 1871 the law was again changed, reducing the number of Supervisors in a county to three or five as each county might elect. Muscatine County chose the smaller number, and since 1871 the Board has been composed of the following members :

1871--William H. Stewart, Byron Carpenter, James E. Robb.
1872--William H. Stewart, James E. Robb, Byron Carpenter.
1873--A.F.Demorest, J.E.Robb, Byron Carpenter.
1874--A.F.Demorest, J.E.Robb, Byron Carpenter.
1875--A.F.Demorest, Thomas Birkett, J.E.Robb.
1876--J.E.Robb, Thomas Birkett, I.L.Graham.
1877--Thomas Birkett, A. Cone, I.L.Graham.
1878--I.L.Graham, Thomas Birkett, A. Cone.
1879--Thomas Birkett, A.Cone, Cornelius Cadle.
1880--B.H.Garrett, Thomas Birkett, C.Cadle.
1881--B.H.Garrett, Thomas Birkett, C. Cadle.
1882--Thomas Birkett, W.P.Crawford, B.H.Garrett.
1883--Thomas Birkett, W.P.Crawford, B.H.Garrett.
1884--W.P.Crawford, B.H.Garrett, H.Will.
1885--B.H.Garrett, H. Will, Fred Huttig.
1886--H. Will, Fred Huttig resigned and Charles Kessler appointed, Harvey Baker.
1887--H. Baker, J.K.Scott, Ira Nichols.
1888--H. Baker, B.F.Neidig; Ira Nichols died and P.R.Evans appointed to fill vacancy.
1889--H.Baker, B.F.Neidig,John Hooly.

---

Back to 1889 History of Muscatine Co. Index Page

Back to the Muscatine Co. IAGenWeb Index Page