CHAPTER VI.
CASS TOWNSHIP.

Since 1870 Cass county has been divided into sixteen civil townships coextensive with the Congressional townships. They are governed by officials elected by popular vote, and the township government, especially in communities which are largely agricultural, is justly held to be the most important, as it lies nearest to the home interests of the people, of the entire county organization.

It is also true that the residents of the county, in the grouping of their interests and their historic associations, are more apt to separate their home affairs into townships than by any other method. Adopting, therefore, in the following chapters, the natural and popular classification of county history, facts are presented below regarding the settlement and development of the townships of Cass county.

HOW IT ASSUMED ITS PRESENT FORM.

In 1851 the territory embraced by the present Cass county was a township of Pottawattamie county. During that year its limits were defined by legislative enactment, and the territory erected into a county named in honor of Lewis Cass. Isaac G. Houck, of Madison county, Barlow Granger, of Polk, and Samuel B. McCall, of Boone, were appointed commissioners to locate the county seat, but as they accomplished nothing in that direction it remained a township of Pottawattamie until the winter of 1852-3, when, by an act of the Fourth General Assembly of Iowa, all the territory embraced in Cass county was made to constitute a civil township. This remained the case until the creation of Pymosa township, the second to be formed in the county, and thereafter several other subdivisions were made before Cass township assumed its present limits in 1870.

As now constituted, Cass township comprises all of congressional township 75 north, range 37 west. It is in the western tier of townships, the third from the north line, and is bounded on the north by Washington, on the east by Bear Grove, on the south by Pleasant and on the west by Pottawattamie county. It contains about 23,000 acres of arable land, and some of the most productive farms in the county.

ABUNDANTLY WATERED.

As there is scarcely a section of land in Cass township which has not a stream of running water upon it, it is admirably adapted to stock-raising. The Nishnabotna river enters the township on the north line of section 2, and, flowing about half a mile south, joins Turkey creek, which comes from the northeast corner of section 1 in a southwest direction. After receiving the waters of its tributary, the 'Botna crosses section 10, and winding off to the east makes a loop into section 15; runs northwest through sections 16 and 17, when it again assumes its southerly course, and crosses sections 19, 30 and 31, making its exit from the township on the west line of the northwest quarter of the last named section. There are several fine water-powers along this stream, several of which have been improved. Indian creek enters the township on the north line of section 5, and pursues a winding course south, until it joins the parent stream in the northeast quarter of section 17. Spring creek entering on the north line of section 4, traverses sections 4, 9 and a part of 16, in the northwest quarter of which it empties into the Nishnabotna. Numerous smaller streams contribute to the well watered and generally fertile condition of the township.

TIMBER AND SOIL.

Along the banks of the principal streams are still numerous and luxuriant groves, Cass township having more acres of timber land than any other subdivision of the county. In this fact lies one of the explanations of the early settlement of the township, as the pioneers usually sought the vicinity of the timber. Besides the value of the wood and the advantages of forest shelter and protection, the soil of the timber land was believed to be more hardy and productive--the natural inference being that where trees would take root and flourish the soil must be both deep and strong.

The surface of the township is gently rolling, back from the river bottoms, and the drainage good. The soil itself is generally a dark sandy loam, in some sections running to clay and vegetable mold, and has been more particularly described as Bluff Deposit in the first chapter devoted to the physical features of the county.

"Compendium and History of Cass County, Iowa." Chicago: Henry and Taylor & Co., 1906, pg. 87-89.
Transcribed by Cheryl Siebrass, August, 2018.