Jackson County History - 1878

 

Jackson county lies on the Mississippi River, and forms a connecting link between the counties of Dubuque and Clinton.  It was organized in 1838 by act of the Territorial Legislature of Wisconsin.  The first county officers were the following: 

The early settlement of the county was doubtless due to its contiguity to the famous lead mines of Dubuque, and its commanding position on the highway of waters, being situated on that great eastern bend of the Mississippi river, commonly called "Cromwell's Nose."

 

The first Territorial Court was held in Bellevue in June, 1837, by Judge Dunn, of Wisconsin; Hon. J. V. Berry, prosecuting attorney.  Among the distinguished attorneys present on that occasion were Hon. E. B. Washburne, of Galena; Hon. James Grant, of Davenport; Hon. James Churchman; Hon. Peter Hill Engle, afterwards Judge of the Criminal Court of St. Louis, Mo.; and Hon. Thomas S. Wilson was appointed first Judge under Iowa Territory.

 

When Jackson, Jones and Linn counties were first established in 1837, the seat of justice of all three was located at Bellevue, where it remained until 1848, when it was moved to Andrew. It was again removed from Andrew to Bellevue in 1851, and from Bellevue back to Andrew in 1861. In 1873 it was removed from Andrew to Maquoketa, whose citizens erected a fine Court House at a cost of $15,000, and who have leased it to the county for a period of ninety-nine years. The jail still remains at Andrew, and is a substantial stone structure, and cost $8,000.

 

The surface of the county is, for the most part, undulating, having dense growths of timber in various parts, especially the valley of the Maquoketa. One of the most attractive localities in this county has been saddled with a very inappropriate name-" Tete des Morts " Valley, but in spite of its ghastly appellation, this lovely vale abounds in life and beauty.

The curious effects produced by the vast cliffs of Galena limestone, rising from forty to sixty feet almost perpendicularly, and seemingly capped with living emerald, rolling back toward cloud-land, or lost in the towering bluffs at their back, may be imagined by an artist, but would require the pen of a Scott to depict in fitting language the grandeur and sublimity of the scene.

The Maquoketa river runs through somewhat similar forma tions, and in some places the cliffs rise nearly one hundred feet from the water level. The county is well watered and drained by this beautiful river and its numerous branches, which are spanned in many places by some of the finest of iron bridges. The configuration of the county and the nature of the soil vary largely in different parts.

Limestone of various formations from the Niagara and Tren ton to Galena, can be found in this county, and St. Peter sandstone is exposed in some places. Some iron ore has been found in various parts of the county.

The forks of the Maquoketa and its numerous tributaries form, in many places, unrivaled water powers. Building stone, and clay for making bricks, are abundant. Sand and materials for quicklime. Timber, the finest in the world. These, added to the vast water powers which only wait to be employed, and soil and situation unsurpassed, offer a good showing for the future of Jackson county, and especially qualify this county to be the home of agriculture, dairy farming, and stock raising.

 

There is a Poor Farm located three miles north of Andrew in Perry township, of 300 acres, on which has been erected a stone structure for an Asylum.

The county is divided into eighteen townships, as follows : Maquoketa, South Fork, Monmouth, Brandon, Farmer's Creek, Perry, Butler, Washington, Union, Tete des Morts, Bellevue, Prairie Spring, Otter Creek, Richland, Van Buren, Iowa, Fairfield and Jackson.