History of James Township, 1907
James Township is bounded on the north
by Pleasant, east by Valley, south by Belknap and
west by York townships. The west half is drained by
Big Silver and its tributaries, and the east half
by the West Botna and its tributaries. The soil is
of the best and a crop has never failed since the
settlement. It is named in honor of Stephen JAMES,
a brother of Judge W. C. JAMES, both of whom are now
deceased. It is destitute of natural groves of timber,
but the early settlers went to work to remedy this
defect by planting artificial groves, which have made
such growth that the whole face of the country has
been changed.
The first road in the township was the old BALLARD
road, which ran northeasterly from Council Bluffs,
past the eight mile grove and through Newton and to
the southern part of Audubon County, where Dr. BALLARD
had large tracts of land. Although it has no town
of its own, it is in close touch with Hancock, Oakland,
Minden or Avoca. There has been, since its early settlement,
a large German element in its population, and the
first church was that of the German Methodist, who
as early as 1873 had a flourishing organization, including
a large Sunday school, and at that day had erected
a parsonage at a cost of $3,500. Since then another
church has been established.
The nearest railroad is the Carson branch of the
Rock Island at either Hancock or Oakland, while it
is not a long haul to Avoca, Minden or Neola. The
following is a list of the present township officers:
Trustees, H. O. BAIN, Henry NICOLAI, and G. S. CUTCHALL;
Clerk, C. C. SMITH; justices of the peace, S. W. ROUNDS
and Otto ZOELLER; constable Charles BUTTERBAUGH; assessor,
Titus FEHR.
The school board is composed of the following named
citizens: President, S. D. BLAKELY; secretary, M.
F. BROWN; treasurer A. G. SIMON. According to the
state census of 1905, there were two hundred sixty
persons of school age, of which one hundred thirty
four were males and one hundred and twenty five females.
The salaries of teachers: $40 for first and $35 for
second grade.
Another prominent citizen is Henry BRANDES, for years
President of the Board of Supervisors.
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