Lynn

Lynn, Iowa, Woodbury County

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Lynn, Woodbury County, Iowa
Lynn was located north and east of "present" Leeds—from Cleveland Street 8 blocks to the East and on both sides of 46th Street (then named Altoona Avenue). There were two sections in this platting with Altoona as the dividing centerline. The North part described as: all of the S l/2 of SW 1/4 Section 1. Twp. 89. Range 47 (except certain Railroad trackage) being on both sides of the Iowa Falls and Sioux City Railroad and the Sioux City and Northern Railroad—contained 59.45 acres'. This part had Cleveland on the West. Carnegie
(48ih St.) on the North. Lee Avenue on the East and Altoona (46th St.) on the South, being bisected by the railroad tracks. The South part described as "that part" of NW 1/4 of Section 12. Twp 89. Range 47 lying East of the right of way of the Sioux City and Northern Railroad contained 89.87 acres more or less. This portion was bounded by Lee Avenue on the East. Floyd River on the South (uneven). Cleveland on the West, and the railroad tracks on the Northeast: 8 blocks to the East and basically 2 blocks long. The entire plat of Lynn comprised of 149.32 acres. It was platted by the Sioux City Valley Land Company on 22 April 1890 - C.W. Baldwin. Trustee of Boston. Massachusetts. Lynn was designated by the State of Iowa as "Swamp Land" in 1870, and then granted to the railroads "for railroad purposes" to encourage settlement of the West". The North-South streets were: Cleveland, Sherman,
Logan. Slocum, McCellan, Sheridan, Algers. Sickes and Lee. East-west streets were: Carnegie, Pittsburg, Altoona, Chester and Sheffield.

Oldtimers relate that Lynn was a village long before it was platted as a town. As Leeds began to boom, Lynn forefathers visualized its proximity to the industrial site and developed it as a residential and business area for the many employees.

In 1890 the North part had one depot, one factory and 5 homes. The depot, that of the Sioux City and Northern Railroad, was a boxcar body (this was a common practice on the Great Northern lines in the 1880's). The Sioux City and Northern had a spur track into this part on which they maintained their wood and water stations to refuel the engines. (Jerry Cowan relates: The cement foundations of the old water tower remained until into the 1940's when they were finally dug up and reburied!) The one factory was the "Sioux City Shoe Manufacturing Company", more commonly known as the "Lynn Shoe Factory" After it failed in 1893, the building was bought and occupied by the Floyd Valley Flax Company until they sold out in 1900.

In the South part: one school house, one feed mill, one hotel, one butcher shop, two grocery stores and 50 homes. The school house was known as "the Krummann School" and accommodated the surrounding farm youngsters long before Lynn and Leeds existed and continued until in the 1900's. The school was located on an acre of ground that Samuel and Katy Krummann retained title to (school, also) when they sold their acreage to the Leeds Annex Company in April 1889. The selling price was $300 per acre! The
feed mill was owned and operated by the Thorpe Brothers—U.B. and Clyde. The hotel was a three-story frame structure on Lot 7. Block 20. After the 1892 flood it was moved into Leeds at 4020 Floyd Avenue, next to the Fire Station, and known as the Morg Pember House. One account relates the butcher shop was that of Al (Butch) Mc Arthur and
Tom Rubel—part of which was their own slaughter house. Their butcher shop was later moved to Leeds on Central Avenue.

Early U.S. Patent land grants in the Lynn area are recorded as: Philo (Betsy) Fuller—1856;
John (Nancy) Beck—1867;
Carr Brown—1859.
Other early settlers that followed: Frederick Lambert—1866;
Christian G. and Loraina Benner—1857;
John and Emily Williamson— 1857;
Frances Rosch—1857;
Elie (Sophia) Bedard—1857;
William F. Faulkner of Chesshere Co., N.H.—1858;
George Kerr—1856;
John Inghram of Waynesburg, Greene Co., Penn—1856;
Jerome M. White— 1856;
Jacob Coplan—1857;
Israel G. Lash of Forsthye Co., N.C.—1866:
Samuel Krummann—1887.
This was rich, fertile river bottom land but the pioneers put up with many hardships. The winter of 1856-57 was extremely severe with several blizzards; 1857 brought spring floods.
1857, 1864, 1868 and 1873 brought hordes of grasshoppers which were so thick they blackened the sky and devoured all vegetation. Many settlers turned to livestock raising instead of relying entirely on crops of grain.

These names appeared on abstracts of this area also—land speculators—Daniel T. Gilman,
George W. Felt,
Frank Henderson,
William Gordon, and Daniel E. Paris and wife Susan E. of Albany County, N.Y. They sold their holding to the Leeds Improvement and Land Co. in August 1890.

An advertisement in the September 1890 Journal read: "Lynn Seeks Industry. The Lynn people have been hustling for industrial plants to locate at their suburb. A depot has been put up and some residences are built. Lynn will come into the city with Leeds if it is decided to annex."

Lynn had promises of becoming a thriving little community until the flash flood, that swept down the Floyd River Valley 18 May 1892, devastated much of Lynn. A number of houses were literally swept away and carried downstream. The water table was so high in this area that most homes were built on a brick foundation with no basements. Many homes were moved into Leeds to escape the river's fury; others vacated their homes and forfeited their land investments. Some of the residents of those early days were:
E. S. McCaughney,
Isaac Sundberg,
Peter Finnigan,
Frank Hutchens,
Mrs. Olive Francis,
Hattie Lewis,
John McDonald,
James M. Martin,
H.E. Wood,
Henry Becker,
John Jackson,
Mrs. Luella Warner,
Franklin Rice,
Zeph Charles Felt,
Albert Hansen,
Edmund Lindsey,
William Milchrist,
J.S. Hobson,
E.S. Durlin,
Mrs. Mattie Murphy,
L.O. Kellog,
Catherine Becker,
Samuel Krummann,
Harry Krummann and John Krummann.

An article in the June 1894 Tribune reads:
TO SELL THE TOWN OF LYNN
"The manufacturing addition will go under the hammer to satisfy a judgment. An execution was issued today for the sale of a large number of city lots at Lynn, under a judgment in favor of Samuel Krummann and against Leftwich J. Warner and twenty-three defendants who claim an interest in the property in question. The judgment was rendered at the last term of court and is for $40,309.70 on promissory notes given by the defendant Warner.

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The property levied on includes almost the entire town of Lynn and it will be put up in small parcels. There are few buildings on it, however, as most of the purchasers of lots in the suburb have secured releases from the mortgage given by Warner. The sale will take place July 12."

Most of this addition was vacated by 1896 and returned to farmland except one house on Lots 23 and 24 in Block 21 and a small tract of land known as the "Jimmy Martin property."

Other Additions
The Andover Addition was located south of Lynn with 41 st Street on the north, 35th Street on the south, the Floyd River and Cleveland Avenue on west and extending 8 and 12 blocks to the east. The promoter was G. Walter Newton. Only one building—Floyd Valley Mattress and Bed-Springs Works was ever erected in this addition. The north-south street names were: New Haven, Malden. Elsmere. Harvard, Beverly. Reading, Roxbury, Salem, Brighton. Medford, Plymouth and Boxford. All of this addition was returned to acreage.

The Warner Addition on the North of Leeds extended from 46th Street to 48th Street and from Van Buren to Central. There were five homes here, but most of it was returned to acreage.

Belleville Addition on the North of Leeds extended from 46th Street to 50th Street and from Central to Tyler Avenues. East-west streets were: Altoona, Lowell, Berlin, Allegheny, Calumet, Aradnia and Plymouth. There were seven homes between 46th and 47th Streets; all other lands were returned to acreage.

Factories
In 1889, the first factory to start building was the six story BONUS MILNER MILLING COMPANY, located on a 10-acre tract of land with Cleveland Avenue on the East, 41st Street on the South. Garfield Avenue on the West, and the alley and Sioux City & Northern Railroad tracks on the North. This "Roller Plant Flour Mill" was the second largest flour mill in Iowa, employing 55 men and maintaining a 24-hour day working schedule. Elliot A. Milner was President; J.W. Duerst, V.P.; Christ Zelier, Sec; George Y. Bonus. Treas. and General Manager; H.J. Hutlon. Supt.; and R.E. Hutton. Some of the employees were: Ed Wilman, Bill Duncan. Orey Moyor, Jimmy Kennan. Jesse James. Bill Howell, Harry McMurray and Casper Rolfus.

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