CHAPTER XXXII.

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.

The sub-division of Cass county that is known as the civil township of Franklin, embraces all of congressional township 76 north, range 35 west of the fifth principal meridian. It lies in the second tier of townships from the north line of the county, and is the second from the east line. It is bounded on the north by Benton, on the east by Lincoln, on the south by Union, and on the west by Atlantic. It is intersected by Turkey creek and several of its affluents. The main stream enters the township on the north line of section 2, and crosses that and sections, 3,9,8,7 and 18, on its southwesterly course, and makes its exit on the west line of the latter section. The Eller branch takes its rise in the eastern part of the township, and flowing almost due west, crosses sections 13,14,15,16,17 and 18, in the northwest of the latter making a confluence with the parent stream. Jim branch flows through sections 25, 26, 27,21,22,20 and 19, leaving the township on the latter. These streams with countless small tributaries, drain and water the entire township, spreading like threads throughout its entire surface, to such a degree that not a section is without running water upon it. The surface of the township is beautifully diversified, hill and valley, level and rolling prairie, plain and timber, that delights the eye seeking the picturesque, and the heart of the intelligent agriculturist seeking a home. While some parts of it are hilly and somewhat rough, still but a small portion of it is unavailable for tillage or pasture, and much of it is already in a high state of cultivation, although a newly settled part of the county, comparatively speaking. The soil is the same dark, uctuous [sic unctuous] loam that is the characteristic of the soil of this portion of Iowa, and has a wonderful fertility. Wheat and oats do exceedingly well, while corn, the great staple of the county, is magnificent in its growth and wonderful in its yield. The rich, succulent grasses, both on wild lands and cultivated pastures, run riot in a wild luxuriance, and the cattle fed in this vicinity manifest by their sleek hides and rounded forms the nutritious nature of the herbage. The township is traversed by the main line of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad, which enters Franklin on the northeast quarter of section 2, and crosses that section, and sections 3,4,9,7 and 8, leaving the township on the west line of the latter. The town of Wiota, lying within the limits of Franklin township, is the principal shipping point.

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Transcribed by Deb Lightcap-Wagner, February, 2014 from:"History of Cass County, Together with Sketches of Its Towns, Villages and Townships, Educational, Civil, Military and Political History: Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Old Settlers and Reporesentative Citizens", published in 1884, Springfield, Ill: Continental Historical Co., pp. 788-789.