Ottumwa Lost

The rise and fall of Ottumwas Toll Bridge - The Riverfront Legend

In the heart of Ottumwa where the Des Moines river runs through, a sturdy wooden bridge once stood as the vital link and landmark, connecting the towns north and south sides.  It was built at the foot of Green street, in 1870. A brainchild of a group of local residents- Lote E Gray, G A Madison and J G Baker. This bridge replace the slower, less reliable ferry boats. The bridge was constructed with ironwork from King & Co., of Cleveland, OH., wooden beams built local. It stretched 1200 feet across with seven spans, each 160 feet long.

Sunday Blue Law

(1896?)- Arrest due to blue Law violations. 65 violators were compelled to appear in court. The
sheriff, Constable Richards & Huffman, along with patrolman, made about 30 arrests. There
were all sorts of offenses. One officer arrested the entire working force of the Swift Co. of 11
men. Streetcar conductors and motormen appeared to continue their cases until their attorney
appeared. Shining parlor owners and cigar store men were the first to plead guilty, and paid their
fines. Sheriff Cremer arrested 17 that showed up in court. The streetcar company, the movie
owners, some of the drug stores, and restaurant proprietors seem to intend to fight the question
of quilty. One constable made a trip to the Country Club to arrest those playing golf.
Those appearing in Police Court were:
S Swartz, for laboring.
H A Parker, for Laboring
D Margolis, fruit stand
M P Angel, Movie
Frank Thompson, Street car conductor
Harold Heffron, taxi driver
Joe Crockett, taxi driver
Gus Ponis, fruit stand
Frank Higdon, taxi driver
David Pryor, taxi driver
Pouneadaceo, shining parlor
S Davis, Cigar store
F B Younkin, cigar store
Art Fritsch, cigar store
C A Brunhuller, cigar store
L F Cravens, Swift & Co
George Ford, labor
Geo Joslin, Mrs Toney Lanning, Confectionary
Fred Wilson, Claude Younkin, Frank Meadows Confectionary
D Pappas, Shining parlor
G H Fern, George Gurlem, Bill Carrell, Pat Murphy, Laboring
L B Young, T B Reed, John conroy, Cigar store
Davis Drug Co., Parks Drug Co., Main Garage Co., Wapello restaurant, Iowa restaurant,
Frank Hofman, drug store and Art Hill Sargents drug store, John Dixon, Central Drug Co.
Bert Somers, Ballingall Hotel
Movie owners - W V Silvers, Baker D Spry, Morris Linee, Lee Stein
Ed Chambers & Geo Maltby, Streetcar conductor and motorman
 

1936-
ADMITS NICHOLS MURDER
Sheriff Gets Confession From Long-time Friend Of Victim; Body of Ottumwan Recovered
From Abandoned Mine Shaft.
BULLETIN.
The body of Earl Nichols, Ottumwa murder victim, was recovered from the watery air shaft
of the old Alpine mine south of town at about noon today.
The Second Murder Case.
The second local murder case in a month returned to Wapello County authorities here
during Tuesday night, as a man, Claude Foutch, 42, of Chariton, confessed he killed Earl
Nichols, 58, of Ottumwa, by striking him on the head with a hammer on December 23. The
body of Nichols appeared from Ottumwa Wednesday morning.
Although Foutch, held officers at bay for three hours before he made his confessed murder
declaration, he made no attempt to deny his admission to the sheriff after the old Chariton
man was returned to Ottumwa. “I killed him,” Foutch reiterated. “I admit it.” At the time,
Foutch said robbery was his motive, but later repudiated this and told Sheriff Harding and
other Wapello County officers he had recovered approximately less than $20 in cash from
Nichols’ clothing before he threw the body into the air shaft at the old Alpine mine.
A friend of Nichols for twenty years, Foutch was a frequent visitor at the Nichols home here
at 1222 Railroad street. The Chariton man’s statements to officers on Wednesday night
placed the blame for his act on a quarrel that occurred between himself and Nichols at the
mine location. When Foutch returned to Ottumwa to investigate the possibility of reopening
the digging, an opportunity for quarrel arose.
Foutch said that “Nichols told me he would rather I not come to his house. I told him that
was foolish as I wouldn’t cause him any trouble. At that time he was standing about four feet
away from me, with his hands in his pockets. I don’t remember hitting him, but I had the
hammer in my pocket. I think I must have hit him and that killed him. As he twisted and fell
in front of me, I saw my chance to take the money, and I struck him across the head with
the hammer.”
Foutch, formerly a veteran resident of Chariton, was sought out by Chariton authorities,
acting on the request of Sheriff Harding, Tuesday night. When officers there found him,
Foutch was nearly dead from asphyxiation brought on by inhaling gas in a washroom at the
gas company plant there. Revived by Chariton physicians, Foutch was taken into custody
and held awaiting the arrival of Sheriff Harding Wednesday morning.
Three Hours’ Grilling.
Brought to Ottumwa at that time, Foutch was not questioned until Wednesday night. Then it
required three hours of grilling, according to Sheriff Harding, before Foutch broke down and

confessed he had killed Nichols. Even at that time, Foutch refused to make a full statement,
washing away the authorities’ desire for further details of the crime, he said.
To the old Alpine mine Foutch led Sheriff Harding and others when he returned to the
courthouse early Thursday morning. A full confession had been signed, the sheriff said.
The confession has been fully substantiated by other evidence, Harding said. Foutch was
placed under a 24-hour guard for safe-keeping.
The body of Nichols, still in the watery air-shaft of the mine, was not removed until Thursday
noon. Earlier attempts to reach the body were fruitless.
Wapello County officers are conducting a thorough investigation. For this task, volunteer
Carleton Powell has taken the lead with the use of two hooks and pulleys, both of which
were similarly equipped. Officers hope to feel out missing evidence they believe is in the
mine shaft.
Finding of Nichols and Foutch were delayed until recovery of the body of Foutch was made
by the county jail under strict observation so that any further investigation of the statements
made in his confession…
Nichols’ Money Spent.
Foutch has told authorities that all of the money he took from Nichols’ body he spent. In
reference to this, he stated: “In Chariton, I spent this money paying the rent bill, light, coal,
clothing for myself and my family; I paid for a washing machine, bought two rugs, and gave
$5 to my daughter.”
It was Mrs. Nichols who reported her husband’s disappearance and her fears concerning
the security of money she believed he carried with him.
Interviewed today at their Railroad Street home, she declared that her husband had faith in
Foutch as a friend and companion and trusted him in many matters.
Tells of Money.
She asserted that in Foutch’s presence, on the night of December 23, her husband made
the statement that he had been saving about $25 a week for the last six weeks. Foutch was
a cousin of Mrs. Nichols.
The last time Nichols was reportedly seen in the city, according to his wife, was at 11:20
a.m. Thursday. At 4 p.m. that day, Foutch came back to the Nichols home in what the family
said appeared to be a “highly nervous state.” He gave the Nichols family some Christmas
presents and left a billfold for Nichols.
“He always came home from work right after he got off,” Mrs. Nichols said today, referring to
her husband. “I thought it possible, and mentioned it to my daughter, that Foutch might have
robbed Earl, but I never thought of murder.”
CLAUDE FOUTCH, CHARITON, HELD FOR CRIME HERE.

1913-
POLICE WERE NOTIFIED MURDER WAS DONE
NOTORIOUS FAMILY HOME REPORTED A SCENE OF TERRIBLE CRIME.
Again, the Hux family have broken into police circles. This time they caused a great furor of
unusual character.
At 10:15 o’clock this morning, the telephone at the police station rang and sputtered more
times in two minutes than on any previous occasion. Desk Sergeant Hyttenburg answered
the calls, and each time the voice at the other end, in tones of excitement, announced that
Nora Hux had been murdered at her home in the rear of the Hedrick school in the West
End. No time was lost, and within a minute or two after the first call, the patrol rolled from
the station, bell ringing, and with the horses running at full speed.
The trip was featured by the making of a speed record.
Officer Beeman and Sergeant Hyttenburg, who were in charge of the patrol, lost no time in
gaining an entrance to the house, whereupon they were not confronted by a horrible scene
as anticipated. Before them stood Mrs. Vern DeShong, formerly Nora Hux, tightly clutched
in the arms of her husband, who was in a high stage of excitement.
“What does this mean?” said Officer Beeman.
“Nothing at all,” was the answer. “My wife was just having a fit and she yelled, and the
neighbors reported that she was shot and killed.”
Nora’s Father Excited.
One report phoned to the father of the woman, Taylor Hux, caused a warrant to be issued
by Justice Nosler, and Constable Hullman was on the scene at once but found things not so
bad as they seemed. Practically the entire peace officialdom of the city was in commission,
and they came back to headquarters without prisoners.
 
1938-
A summary of the statement signed today by Cresser Norton, held for the murder of Alvie Carder, local coal miner,

is as follows: When i first moved over to Carders place, I moved in the
little house and George & Alva Carder (George was Alva father) agreed to pay me to open this
coal mine. When I went to work, I didnt have much to eat, there wasnt much on the table and
nothing on the place. I went to Carder and told him I wanted to settle up so I could get
something for my kids to eat. Carder said he wasnt going to give me anything until the mine was
opened and they could sell coal. I tried to get other work, went down to the bakery to work for
bread for my children to eat. Then I went down to Harris Motor Co., and worked like 4 weeks. I
was there when Carder drove down and struck his fists together, wanting to know what I had
done something with the mine. HE agreed to pay me by the day, so I went to the mine on
Monday. Here he determined to pick a fight with a stick and i pulled my gun, started shooting as
he took one step close to me with the club. I cant tell how many times I shot him, I had the gun
about 3 years. I then went home, placed the gun in its place, went for a beer at the tavern. After
returning home, my wife said the officers had been looking for me.
Body of Mine Operator Found in Harrows Branch Ditch; 50-Year-Old Man Had Been Shot In
Back, Behind Ear
Alvie Carder, 50, operator of a small coal mine in Harrows Branch, was found shot to death
shortly before noon today near the mine. Authorities said it appeared to be a case of
murder.
The body was slumped over in a small ditch about 35 feet from the mouth of the slope mine,
a bullet hole in the back and one behind the right ear. He had been dead nearly three hours,
officers said.
No Arrests Made
No arrests had been made in connection with the crime late this afternoon.
Carder, whose residence is at 850 South Davis Street, is survived by his wife, a daughter,
Mrs. Howard Smith, 732 South Ward Street, and a son, Arnold, at home.
Mrs. Earl Saner, who rents a house owned by Carder in Harrows Branch, found the body at
11:40 a.m., according to Police Chief Wilbourn M. Hicks and Sheriff C. E. Harding. She said
she had walked up the lane leading to the mine, intending to pay Carder the money for the
rent.
Was Working Alone
Without touching the body, Mrs. Saner returned to the main road in the branch and told a
grocery truck driver that “I believe there’s a man dead up there.”
An investigation revealed that Carder had been working alone at the mine during the
morning. Mrs. Carl Saner, living nearby, is quoted as saying she heard several shots about
10:30 a.m. The ear wound was still bleeding when authorities arrived. It is believed the
death resulted from rifle shots.

The small car used in bringing coal outside the mine was partly pushed on its side and was
about half full of coal. A large scoop shovel was found about 15 feet from the mine and near
it were several heel impressions in the dirt. Investigators took photographs of these.
On Swartz Property
Carder’s daughter said he had been working the mine for two or three years. It is located on
property owned by A. R. Swartz, local attorney and former police judge. The spot where the
body was found is nearly a half mile north and west of the West Second Street entrance to
Harrows Branch.
Assisting Chief Hicks and Sheriff Harding in the investigation are Capt. Carl M. Higdon and
Deputy Mike Mier. These officers this afternoon were inspecting thoroughly the ground in
the vicinity where the body lay.
They said that a first examination showed several deep scratches on the face and body
which would indicate Carder had attempted to defend himself before he died.
Authorities planned to question several persons living near the mine, it was understood.
Coroner Takes Charge
County Coroner Gordon Traul obtained the body and took it to the Johnson funeral chapel
where the inquest will likely be held.
Persons living in the neighborhood of the mine swarmed to the scene soon as news of the
murder began to spread. Officers attempted to keep them from walking on the soft ground
at the mine’s mouth.
Mrs. Carder and the children were present when the body was taken away. They wept
bitterly. None of them could give any reason why Carder would have an enemy who would

the victim, described as the operator of a small mine in Harrows Branch, and depicted in
familiar mining clothes.
Examination Shows Coal Miner Had Been Shot Five Times; Four Bullets Taken From Body;
Inquest Today.
BULLETIN.
After conducting a series of ballistic tests, Sheriff C. E. Harding said this afternoon that, in
his opinion, the gun found in the home of Cresser Norton, Harrows Branch, was the one
used to kill Alvie Carder Monday. The sheriff discharged 10 bullets from Norton’s gun and
compared them with four bullets removed from Carder’s body.
Sheriff C. E. Harding said today he is holding Cresser Norton, 42, father of six children, as a
suspect in the slaying of Alvie Carder who operated a small coal mine near Norton’s home
in Harrows Branch.
Norton is a first cousin of Carder who was shot to death at the mine Monday, authorities
said.
Norton vocally denied any connection with the crime during lengthy questioning, and
authorities planned to talk with him again soon.
Sheriff Harding said he found a .32 caliber revolver in Norton’s house. The suspect said that
the weapon belonged to him.
Meanwhile, a post-mortem examination at the Johnson funeral chapel revealed Carder had
been shot five times, once behind the right ear and the others in the vicinity of his right
shoulder and back. All were above the heart. Four steel bullets have been removed from
the body.
Investigators said they would fire several bullets from Norton’s double-action pistol and
send them to a ballistics expert in Des Moines who will compare them with the ones found
in the body.
Gun Clean, Loaded.
The barrel of the gun was clean and the magazine was loaded with unfired bullets when the
weapon was found beneath a pile of clothing.
Norton was not home when officers found the gun, but he was taken later in the day at the
mine he operates. The arrest was made by Police Chief Wilbourn M. Hicks, Assistant Chief
Warren Criswell, and Officer Doyle Jones. County Coroner Gordon Traul said he would hold
an inquest at 4 p.m. today.
Ottumwa police and sheriff’s officers working on the case said that Norton has been working
a mine less than a quarter of a mile from the scene of the killing. Both are on property
owned by A. R. Swartz, former police judge here.
Here Year Ago.

Norton, who formerly lived south of Ottumwa, near the Des Moines River, brought his family
to Ottumwa nearly a year ago.
The victim resided at 850 South Davis Street.
First reports of the tragedy came shortly before noon Monday when Mrs. Earl Saner, a
tenant in a house owned by Carder, went to the mine to pay the rent. Approximately 35 feet
east of the mine’s mouth she sighted Carder slumped over in a small ditch along the road.
His head was bent over between his legs and blood was prominent on his head and back.
She returned to the main road of the branch in west Ottumwa and announced her finding.
Police Chief Hicks, Sheriff Harding, Capt. Carl Higdon, and Deputy Mike Mier answered her
call.
Dead Three Hours.
It was concluded that the shooting occurred between 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Carl Lewis, who
lives on Clarence Street, said he was talking to a grocer truck driver at about 9 o’clock. Mrs.
Carl Saner, living nearby, said she heard several reports from a gun between 10 and 10:30.
Coroner Traul believed the man had been dead nearly three hours when found shortly after
noon.
Captain Higdon, head of the identification department, is studying a heel print found near
the scene of the killing as a possible

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