1875 Andreas Appanoose County History
APPANOOSE COUNTY.
Appanoose is the fourth county west of the Mississippi River in the south
tier of Iowa counties. It extends twenty-four miles, or the breadth of four
Congressional townships east and west, and about twenty-one and a half miles
north and south, or the breadth of three full townships and a tier of fractional
townships along the state line. Its area is about 516 square miles.
PHYSICAL FEATURES AND RESOURCES.
The principal stream of this county is Chariton River, the two forks of
which enter the northwest corner township, in which they unite and form
the principal channel. Its general course is southeast, but it gradually
turns toward the south and enters the State of Missouri about four miles
from the southeast corner of the county. This river, after the two forks
unite, possesses considerable volume, and affords several good mill sites.
It has many affluents, which afford excellent natural drainage and supply
the territory southwest of the watershed with abundance of stock water.
Shoal Creek, with its several branches, drains the southwest part of the
county, and unites with Chariton River in Missouri. These waters are all
tributary to Missouri. The great watershed traverses the county, and the
waters of the east and northeast part flow to the Des Moines and the Mississippi,
affording excellent drainage to this section of the eastern slope.
This county has an abundant supply of good timber, well distributed to all parts.
Along Chariton River and Shoal Creek, as well as along some of the smaller
streams, are some very large and fine bodies of white oak. Many of these
white oak groves are not excelled in Iowa. The varieties of timber common
throughout the county are, white, black and burr oak, white and black hickory,
white and black walnut, hard and soft maple, cottonwood, white and red elm,
linn, buckeye, ash, birch, hackberry, box-elder, etc. It is estimated that
at least one-fourth of the surface of this county is covered with timber.
From the cupola on the top of the court house in Centerville, at an elevation
of nearly one hundred feet from the ground, the eye of an observer may,
on a clear day, look over nearly the entire county. The grand and beautiful
alternations of prairie and forest, as seen from this elevated position,
can not but challenge the admiration of the beholder, and impress him with
the peculiar advantages of Appanoose as a great agricultural county. It
has all the timber that is desirable or necessary for its own use.
The county lies wholly within the great Iowa coal field, and all three divisions
of the coal measure group occupy the surface beneath the drift in their usual
order, the lower coal measure occupying the Northwestern portion, the middle
traversing the center, and the upper appearing in limestone ledges a little
west of Centerville, and occupying the southwestern portion of the county.
The place of all the heavy beds of coal found elsewhere may be looked for
not far from the surface, and it is believed by geologists that a shaft
sunk in the valley of Chariton River near Centerville would pass through
all the coal-bearing strata within three or four hundred feet. Although
coal has not been worked to so great an extent in this as in some other
counties, yet all that has been needed has been easily obtained, and there
are good reasons for believing that it exists in large quantities.
Good stone for building purposes is obtained in various places. It is found within
two or three miles of Centerville on Chariton River and on its tributaries.
Both lime and sandstone are quarried, but the former is chiefly used. The
stone used in the court house in Centerville was obtained from quarries
in the vicinity of the town. A good quality of quicklime is manufactured,
and clay and sand suitable for brick, are plenty in nearly all parts of
the county.
Although this county contains a large number of streams, with
more than an ordinary proportion of timber land, yet the prairies are fine
and generally only sufficiently rolling to make the best quality of farming
lands. There are some fine bottoms along the streams, and especially along
Chariton River. They are not wide, however, but in connection with the higher
prairie slopes adjoining, make splendid farms. Some of the bottom lands
along Chariton River were formerly considered too wet to be desirable for
cultivation, but they are found to be easily drained, after which they become
the most productive lands in the county. The soil is deep and rich, yielding
the most luxuriant crops of all kinds of grain. It is also well adapted
to the production of the tame grasses. The higher prairies are rolling,
and in the west and southwest portions of the county are unsurpassed in
beauty and fertility by any in the state. The east side of the county contains
a larger proportion of timber along the numerous streams in that section,
and as a consequence the prairies are smaller but not less productive. Many
good farms are made in the timber in some portions of the county, and in
situations affording a timber protection, splendid crops of winter wheat
are raised. The soil in or adjoining the timber seems also to be better
adapted to this crop. The principal grain productions are corn and oats.
Wheat is not extensively cultivated, owing to the greater profits realized
from corn and grass, although some portions of the county are well adapted
to the production of winter wheat. Spring wheat, buckwheat and flax are
also cultivated. Most kinds of tame grasses, especially timothy, clover
and blue grass, thrive remarkably well, and tame meadows and pastures are
abundant. Vegetables common to this latitude yield luxuriant crops. The
soil and climate is found to be well adapted to the culture of fruit. This
did not appear to be the case while the country was new and raw, but of
late years many good orchards have come into bearing. The small fruits thrive
abundantly.
Stock raising is extensively engaged in by the farmers of Appanoose,
who find this a most agreeable and remunerative branch of industry, owing
to the great adaptability of the county in every respect for this purpose.
EARLY HISTORY.
The first settlement was made within the limits of this county as early
as the year 1840, by Col. James Wells. He settled on Chariton River in the
southeast part of the county, where he erected a small water-mill. About
the same time, or soon after, William Cooksey settled at the same place,
and Cooksey and Wells were the first white men who settled in the county,
although they were in the limits of what was then claimed as part of the
State of Missouri. Perhaps the next settler was J. F. Stratton, who came
up from Missouri in the Spring of 1841, and took a claim two miles east
of the present village of Cincinnati, in what is now Pleasant Township.
He was the first white man who took a claim, or settled west of Chariton
River, in the county. Soon after this, a man named Moore built a log house
in what is now Caldwell Township, in the south part of the county. He subsequently,
against his will, exchanged his home for one in the Penitentiary of Missouri,
being sent there for horse-stealing. About the same time another man settled
in the same vicinity who was accused of having more wives than the law recognized
as proper for one man to have. He was arrested and confined in jail in Putnam
County, Missouri. After his arrest a stranger rode up and enquired of one
of his boys for the father. The boy said they had taken him to jail. "What
for?" asked the stranger. "For keeping Jane," replied the lad. In 1842,
Solomon Hobbs located in Caldwell Township. The same year George Buckner
and Robert Caughran also made settlements. J. F. Stratton selected his permanent
location a few miles south of Unionville, and was the first settler in the
northeast part of the county. In 1843 the Packards came to the county and
settled, or took claims in Sharon Township. George W. Perkins the same year
settled in what is now Center Township, near the present town of Centerville.
He was the first to engage in the cultivation of fruit trees.
Among other early settlers were Abraham Puthers, Benjamin Spooner, W. S. Manson,
James McGehen, Woodford G. Jones, and John and Ira Perdue, John and William Crow,
James Manson, S. F. Wadlington, and Jacob Coffman, all of whom came prior
to 1846. The Crows and Mansons, and Mr. Wadlington, all settled as early
as 1843. The Mansons were from Lee County, and located on what is now known
as Mansons Branch, west of Centerville. William S. Manson had the honor
of preaching the first sermon in the county west of Chariton River, and
the place of preaching was at the first store started in the county. It
was owned by S. F. Wadlington and located in the vicinity of the present
town of Centerville. The first year's sales of our pioneer merchant were
a dozen pairs of coarse shoes, half a dozen calico dress patterns, as many
bolts of brown muslin, and a few coarse casinets. These, with a sack of
coffee and a few other groceries, constituted his stock in trade. In order
to reduce his expenses to the measure of his profits, he did his own cooking.
Most of the settlers at this early day were without families. Mr. Wadlington
slept on a bed made of deer and bear skins, with a bundle of Coon skins
for a pillow. He subsequently became an extensive farmer and stock dealer.
He was the first mayor of Centerville, and has also been probate judge,
justice of the peace, and deputy clerk. The first religious society organized
in the county was at the house of W. S. Manson, by Rev. Hugh Gibson. It
consisted of six members, to-wit; Jesse Wood and wife, W. S. Manson and
wife, Mrs. Rebecca Hopkins, and Mrs. Caughran. This was the beginning of
the present large and flourishing Methodist society of Centerville.
J.F. Stratton built a mill in the vicinity of Centerville at an early day. He
procured a bee-gum, put a round stone in it, and on this placed another
stone, which was so contrived as to be turned with a crank. All the neighbors
were welcome to come and grind their corn and buckwheat on it free of toll.
The nearest mills where flour could be manufactured, were at Farmington
and Bonaparte, 60 or 70 miles distant. The first matrimonial transaction
took place September 10, 1846, the parties being John M. Packard and Mary
Ann Bond, and the officiating officer being William B. Packard, a justice
of the peace and brother of the bridegroom. The groom was 24 years of age
and the bride eighteen. The first election was held at the house of J. F.
Stratton, April 1, 1844, at which only nine votes were polled. The judges
were J. F. Stratton, Wm. Money, and Joseph Crow, and the clerk William Crow
and John Stratton. The electors were William Crow, Joseph Stratton, John
Crow, Stephen Trimble, William Money, John W. Glancy, J. F. Stratton, Samuel
Trimble, and Johiel Croxell.
ORGANIZATION.
The county was duly organized October 1, 1846, up to which time it had remained
under the jurisdiction of Davis County. J. F. Stratton was Clerk of the
District Court by appointment of Judge Charles Mason. Mr. Stratton became
the organizing officer. Two of the first County Commissioners were Andrew
Leech and William Whittaker. The first county officers elected after the
organization, were Reuben Riggs, Bruce Packard, and George W. Perkins, Commissioners;
Jack Perdue, Sheriff; William S. Manson, Treasurer and Recorder; and Benjamin
Spooner, Probate Judge.
The question of location of the seat of justice
had been agitated for a year or two previous to the organization, and its
present location was finally chosen where a town was laid out and named
Chaldia. This name was subsequently changed to Centerville by legislative
enactment. The beautiful public square where now stand the court house,
was at that time covered by a dense growth of hazel and small trees.
COURT HOUSE.
In 1865 the county completed its fine court house at a cost of $22,000.
It is a brick 52x76 feet, and two stories high, with a basement. On the
first floor are halls crossing each way, and on this floor the county offices
and fire-proof vaults are situated. A spacious court room and jury rooms
occupy the upper story. The walls of the court room are handsomely frescoed
with several appropriate designs, including the Goddess of Justice in the
rear of the judge's stand, and the Goddess of Liberty on the front wall.
The ceiling is frescoed in various figures surrounding the American Eagle
in the center. The covering of the edifice is fire proof, and is surmounted
by a tower rising 99-1/2 feet from the ground. The public square, in the
center of which this temple of justice stands, is enclosed and well set
with thrifty forest trees.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
The county maintains public schools to the number of about one hundred and
fifteen, with school houses valued at about $90,000. The annual expenditure
for the purpose of maintaining these schools averages upwards of $40,000.
RAILROADS.
The county is traversed by the southwestern branch of the C., R. I. & P.
railroad with stations at Centerville, Unionville, and Numa, and by the
Burlington and Southwestern, with stations at Moulton, Sedan, Caldwell,
and Cincinnati. The Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska road enters near the southwest
corner and terminates at present at Centerville. The St. L. K. C. & N. road
also enters the county near the southeast corner to Moulton and thence passes
eastward. These roads give the county convenient communication in nearly
all directions and good facilities for shipping its produce.
CENTERVILLE.
The Town of Centerville was laid out in the Winter of 1846-7, Jonathan F.
Stratton being the surveyor. The first house was built by S. F. Wadlington,
on the west side of the Public Square. It was of logs 20x20 feet, and in
this he opened the first store. All the settlers on the town plat in the
Summer of 1847 were S. F. Wadlington, James Hughes, David Beeler and Charles
H. Howell. Hughes and Beeler were blacksmiths. Amos Harris was the first
lawyer who located in the town, and William S. Manson the first physician,
both still citizens of the place. The first religious meetings and the first
district court were held in the store of Mr. Wadlington.
The site of the
town is located upon high, gently rolling ground, very near the center of
the county, as its name indicates. It is advantageously situated in relation
to timber, coal and building material, all of which are convenient. It is
surrounded by a constantly improving farming country, as excellent as any
in Iowa. It has good railroad communications, being upon the line of the
southwestern branch of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Road. It is also
the terminus of the Missouri, Iowa & Nebraska Railroad, which, at Alexandria,
a short distance below Keokuk, connects with lines affording valuable and
direct communications with important Eastern cities. It therefore has the
benefit of competing lines of communication with the East. It is also within
easy access to communication with St. Louis south, and all the principal
points north by means of the St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern Railroad,
which passes through the southeast part of the county, crossing the east
and west lines. The latter, however, are of chief importance to this county.
These communications give Centerville important advantages as a market and
shipping point for the produce of the country. Its mercantile trade is extensive
and steadily increasing, being represented by a large number of business
firms in nearly all branches of trade, not a few of whom carry heavy stocks
of goods, and employ a good deal of capital. A national bank, good hotels,
several good manufacturing establishments, agricultural implement depots,
etc. are among the business enterprises of the place.
The town is regularly
laid out with handsome streets. The business portions of the town, with
the exception of the depot and warehouses, surrounds the central square
on which stands the court house. The business buildings, as a class, are
very good, many of them being constructed of brick, several of which are
three stories in height. The residences of the place are many of them handsome
and even elegant. The original plat of the town has been considerably enlarged
by various additions to supply the demands of increasing growth. The railroad
depot is near the southeast corner of the town, and adjacent to the track
on the side opposite the city are the handsome fair grounds of the Appanoose
County Agricultural Society.
The professions are well represented in this
young city by prominent members of the bar and skillful physicians. Several
benevolent and secret societies are also maintained. There are church organizations
of nearly all the leading denominations, and nearly all have good houses
of worship. The public schools are maintained at a high standard of excellence,
graded and classified under skillful management, and employing a principal
and from eight to ten assistants as instructors. The city is duly incorporated
under the general law, its municipal powers being bested in a council consisting
of a mayor, recorder and five trustees.
The first newspaper was the Appanoose Chieftain, commenced in October, 1856,
by the Fair Brothers. After publishing it nearly two years, they sold it to
P. H. & George Binkley, and in 1859 they sold out to W. P. Gill and M. Maine,
who in 1860, sold to George Buckingham. In 1862, G. N. Udell bought the office
and changed the name of the paper to Appanoose Democrat, and continued to issue
it until 1864, when it ceased to exist. The press and material were sold to
D. L. Strickler, who founded the Republican paper called the Loyal Citizen. In June,
1865, he sold the office with its patronage to M. M. Walden. It is now called the Centerville
Citizen, published Fridays, by W. O. Crossly & Co., edited by W. O. Crossly.
It is a nine column folio sheet, and has a valuable news and job office,
and a flourishing business.
The People's Journal is a Democratic newspaper,
established by the present editor and proprietor, Henry S. Sherman, in 1872.
It is a handsome sheet of eight pages, five column to the page, issued Fridays,
and has a good outfit and a liberal patronage.
MOULTON.
Moulton is a town of considerable importance, about two miles from the east
line of the county, and six from the state line. It is situated at the junction
of the St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern Railway with the Burlington & Southwestern.
It is surrounded by a fine, well improved country, bountifully supplied
with timber and coal, and therefore enjoys a very good trading market and
shipping facilities. Its location is on the divide between the tributaries
of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, being what was known to the early
settlers as the "Bee Trace." The town was laid out in 1868, and was named
in honor of the chief engineer of the North Missouri railroad. The first
man whose faith in the new town manifested itself in works was Jacob Neal,
who erected the first house. The first business house was erected by W.
A. Lowery. At present it has quite an extensive local trade, with every
prospect of steady increase. It has a good graded school, churches and other
institutions to promote the intellectual and moral welfare of its citizens
and youth. The Moulton Weekly Record is a bright, newsy, local paper, established
in 1874, Republican in politics, published Tuesdays, by G. D. Porter.
UNIONVILLE.
– This is a village in Udell Township, twelve miles northeast of Centerville.
It is on the south side of a large body of timber on Soap Creek. There is
in the vicinity a large and wealthy settlement of Dunkards, who hold regular
meetings of their society and have a church near the village.
CINCINNATI.
– This is a village and station on the R. & S. W. R. R., ten miles southwest
of Centerville. Its location is on a beautiful and highly improved prairie,
with an abundance of timber and coal in the immediate vicinity. The place
was laid out in 1856, by Solomon Holbrook, L. R. Holbrook, Daniel McDonald
and Joseph Welsh.
The other villages are Moravia, Iconium, Millidgeville,
Walnut City, Bellair, Numa, Orleans, Caldwell, Dean, Hilltown, Sedan, Livingston,
Hubbsville and Albany. There are also post offices named Griffinsville,
Kirkwood and Jerome.
Appanoose is the fourth county west of the Mississippi River in the south tier of Iowa counties. It extends twenty-four miles, or the breadth of four Congressional townships east and west, and about twenty-one and a half miles north and south, or the breadth of three full townships and a tier of fractional townships along the state line. Its area is about 516 square miles.
PHYSICAL FEATURES AND RESOURCES.
The principal stream of this county is Chariton River, the two forks of which enter the northwest corner township, in which they unite and form the principal channel. Its general course is southeast, but it gradually turns toward the south and enters the State of Missouri about four miles from the southeast corner of the county. This river, after the two forks unite, possesses considerable volume, and affords several good mill sites. It has many affluents, which afford excellent natural drainage and supply the territory southwest of the watershed with abundance of stock water. Shoal Creek, with its several branches, drains the southwest part of the county, and unites with Chariton River in Missouri. These waters are all tributary to Missouri. The great watershed traverses the county, and the waters of the east and northeast part flow to the Des Moines and the Mississippi, affording excellent drainage to this section of the eastern slope.
This county has an abundant supply of good timber, well distributed to all parts. Along Chariton River and Shoal Creek, as well as along some of the smaller streams, are some very large and fine bodies of white oak. Many of these white oak groves are not excelled in Iowa. The varieties of timber common throughout the county are, white, black and burr oak, white and black hickory, white and black walnut, hard and soft maple, cottonwood, white and red elm, linn, buckeye, ash, birch, hackberry, box-elder, etc. It is estimated that at least one-fourth of the surface of this county is covered with timber.
From the cupola on the top of the court house in Centerville, at an elevation of nearly one hundred feet from the ground, the eye of an observer may, on a clear day, look over nearly the entire county. The grand and beautiful alternations of prairie and forest, as seen from this elevated position, can not but challenge the admiration of the beholder, and impress him with the peculiar advantages of Appanoose as a great agricultural county. It has all the timber that is desirable or necessary for its own use.
The county lies wholly within the great Iowa coal field, and all three divisions of the coal measure group occupy the surface beneath the drift in their usual order, the lower coal measure occupying the Northwestern portion, the middle traversing the center, and the upper appearing in limestone ledges a little west of Centerville, and occupying the southwestern portion of the county. The place of all the heavy beds of coal found elsewhere may be looked for not far from the surface, and it is believed by geologists that a shaft sunk in the valley of Chariton River near Centerville would pass through all the coal-bearing strata within three or four hundred feet. Although coal has not been worked to so great an extent in this as in some other counties, yet all that has been needed has been easily obtained, and there are good reasons for believing that it exists in large quantities.
Good stone for building purposes is obtained in various places. It is found within two or three miles of Centerville on Chariton River and on its tributaries. Both lime and sandstone are quarried, but the former is chiefly used. The stone used in the court house in Centerville was obtained from quarries in the vicinity of the town. A good quality of quicklime is manufactured, and clay and sand suitable for brick, are plenty in nearly all parts of the county.
Although this county contains a large number of streams, with more than an ordinary proportion of timber land, yet the prairies are fine and generally only sufficiently rolling to make the best quality of farming lands. There are some fine bottoms along the streams, and especially along Chariton River. They are not wide, however, but in connection with the higher prairie slopes adjoining, make splendid farms. Some of the bottom lands along Chariton River were formerly considered too wet to be desirable for cultivation, but they are found to be easily drained, after which they become the most productive lands in the county. The soil is deep and rich, yielding the most luxuriant crops of all kinds of grain. It is also well adapted to the production of the tame grasses. The higher prairies are rolling, and in the west and southwest portions of the county are unsurpassed in beauty and fertility by any in the state. The east side of the county contains a larger proportion of timber along the numerous streams in that section, and as a consequence the prairies are smaller but not less productive. Many good farms are made in the timber in some portions of the county, and in situations affording a timber protection, splendid crops of winter wheat are raised. The soil in or adjoining the timber seems also to be better adapted to this crop. The principal grain productions are corn and oats. Wheat is not extensively cultivated, owing to the greater profits realized from corn and grass, although some portions of the county are well adapted to the production of winter wheat. Spring wheat, buckwheat and flax are also cultivated. Most kinds of tame grasses, especially timothy, clover and blue grass, thrive remarkably well, and tame meadows and pastures are abundant. Vegetables common to this latitude yield luxuriant crops. The soil and climate is found to be well adapted to the culture of fruit. This did not appear to be the case while the country was new and raw, but of late years many good orchards have come into bearing. The small fruits thrive abundantly.
Stock raising is extensively engaged in by the farmers of Appanoose, who find this a most agreeable and remunerative branch of industry, owing to the great adaptability of the county in every respect for this purpose.
EARLY HISTORY.
The first settlement was made within the limits of this county as early as the year 1840, by Col. James Wells. He settled on Chariton River in the southeast part of the county, where he erected a small water-mill. About the same time, or soon after, William Cooksey settled at the same place, and Cooksey and Wells were the first white men who settled in the county, although they were in the limits of what was then claimed as part of the State of Missouri. Perhaps the next settler was J. F. Stratton, who came up from Missouri in the Spring of 1841, and took a claim two miles east of the present village of Cincinnati, in what is now Pleasant Township. He was the first white man who took a claim, or settled west of Chariton River, in the county. Soon after this, a man named Moore built a log house in what is now Caldwell Township, in the south part of the county. He subsequently, against his will, exchanged his home for one in the Penitentiary of Missouri, being sent there for horse-stealing. About the same time another man settled in the same vicinity who was accused of having more wives than the law recognized as proper for one man to have. He was arrested and confined in jail in Putnam County, Missouri. After his arrest a stranger rode up and enquired of one of his boys for the father. The boy said they had taken him to jail. "What for?" asked the stranger. "For keeping Jane," replied the lad. In 1842, Solomon Hobbs located in Caldwell Township. The same year George Buckner and Robert Caughran also made settlements. J. F. Stratton selected his permanent location a few miles south of Unionville, and was the first settler in the northeast part of the county. In 1843 the Packards came to the county and settled, or took claims in Sharon Township. George W. Perkins the same year settled in what is now Center Township, near the present town of Centerville. He was the first to engage in the cultivation of fruit trees.
Among other early settlers were Abraham Puthers, Benjamin Spooner, W. S. Manson, James McGehen, Woodford G. Jones, and John and Ira Perdue, John and William Crow, James Manson, S. F. Wadlington, and Jacob Coffman, all of whom came prior to 1846. The Crows and Mansons, and Mr. Wadlington, all settled as early as 1843. The Mansons were from Lee County, and located on what is now known as Mansons Branch, west of Centerville. William S. Manson had the honor of preaching the first sermon in the county west of Chariton River, and the place of preaching was at the first store started in the county. It was owned by S. F. Wadlington and located in the vicinity of the present town of Centerville. The first year's sales of our pioneer merchant were a dozen pairs of coarse shoes, half a dozen calico dress patterns, as many bolts of brown muslin, and a few coarse casinets. These, with a sack of coffee and a few other groceries, constituted his stock in trade. In order to reduce his expenses to the measure of his profits, he did his own cooking. Most of the settlers at this early day were without families. Mr. Wadlington slept on a bed made of deer and bear skins, with a bundle of Coon skins for a pillow. He subsequently became an extensive farmer and stock dealer. He was the first mayor of Centerville, and has also been probate judge, justice of the peace, and deputy clerk. The first religious society organized in the county was at the house of W. S. Manson, by Rev. Hugh Gibson. It consisted of six members, to-wit; Jesse Wood and wife, W. S. Manson and wife, Mrs. Rebecca Hopkins, and Mrs. Caughran. This was the beginning of the present large and flourishing Methodist society of Centerville.
J.F. Stratton built a mill in the vicinity of Centerville at an early day. He procured a bee-gum, put a round stone in it, and on this placed another stone, which was so contrived as to be turned with a crank. All the neighbors were welcome to come and grind their corn and buckwheat on it free of toll. The nearest mills where flour could be manufactured, were at Farmington and Bonaparte, 60 or 70 miles distant. The first matrimonial transaction took place September 10, 1846, the parties being John M. Packard and Mary Ann Bond, and the officiating officer being William B. Packard, a justice of the peace and brother of the bridegroom. The groom was 24 years of age and the bride eighteen. The first election was held at the house of J. F. Stratton, April 1, 1844, at which only nine votes were polled. The judges were J. F. Stratton, Wm. Money, and Joseph Crow, and the clerk William Crow and John Stratton. The electors were William Crow, Joseph Stratton, John Crow, Stephen Trimble, William Money, John W. Glancy, J. F. Stratton, Samuel Trimble, and Johiel Croxell.
ORGANIZATION.
The county was duly organized October 1, 1846, up to which time it had remained under the jurisdiction of Davis County. J. F. Stratton was Clerk of the District Court by appointment of Judge Charles Mason. Mr. Stratton became the organizing officer. Two of the first County Commissioners were Andrew Leech and William Whittaker. The first county officers elected after the organization, were Reuben Riggs, Bruce Packard, and George W. Perkins, Commissioners; Jack Perdue, Sheriff; William S. Manson, Treasurer and Recorder; and Benjamin Spooner, Probate Judge.
The question of location of the seat of justice had been agitated for a year or two previous to the organization, and its present location was finally chosen where a town was laid out and named Chaldia. This name was subsequently changed to Centerville by legislative enactment. The beautiful public square where now stand the court house, was at that time covered by a dense growth of hazel and small trees.
COURT HOUSE.
In 1865 the county completed its fine court house at a cost of $22,000. It is a brick 52x76 feet, and two stories high, with a basement. On the first floor are halls crossing each way, and on this floor the county offices and fire-proof vaults are situated. A spacious court room and jury rooms occupy the upper story. The walls of the court room are handsomely frescoed with several appropriate designs, including the Goddess of Justice in the rear of the judge's stand, and the Goddess of Liberty on the front wall. The ceiling is frescoed in various figures surrounding the American Eagle in the center. The covering of the edifice is fire proof, and is surmounted by a tower rising 99-1/2 feet from the ground. The public square, in the center of which this temple of justice stands, is enclosed and well set with thrifty forest trees.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
The county maintains public schools to the number of about one hundred and fifteen, with school houses valued at about $90,000. The annual expenditure for the purpose of maintaining these schools averages upwards of $40,000.
RAILROADS.
The county is traversed by the southwestern branch of the C., R. I. & P. railroad with stations at Centerville, Unionville, and Numa, and by the Burlington and Southwestern, with stations at Moulton, Sedan, Caldwell, and Cincinnati. The Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska road enters near the southwest corner and terminates at present at Centerville. The St. L. K. C. & N. road also enters the county near the southeast corner to Moulton and thence passes eastward. These roads give the county convenient communication in nearly all directions and good facilities for shipping its produce.
CENTERVILLE.
The Town of Centerville was laid out in the Winter of 1846-7, Jonathan F. Stratton being the surveyor. The first house was built by S. F. Wadlington, on the west side of the Public Square. It was of logs 20x20 feet, and in this he opened the first store. All the settlers on the town plat in the Summer of 1847 were S. F. Wadlington, James Hughes, David Beeler and Charles H. Howell. Hughes and Beeler were blacksmiths. Amos Harris was the first lawyer who located in the town, and William S. Manson the first physician, both still citizens of the place. The first religious meetings and the first district court were held in the store of Mr. Wadlington.
The site of the town is located upon high, gently rolling ground, very near the center of the county, as its name indicates. It is advantageously situated in relation to timber, coal and building material, all of which are convenient. It is surrounded by a constantly improving farming country, as excellent as any in Iowa. It has good railroad communications, being upon the line of the southwestern branch of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Road. It is also the terminus of the Missouri, Iowa & Nebraska Railroad, which, at Alexandria, a short distance below Keokuk, connects with lines affording valuable and direct communications with important Eastern cities. It therefore has the benefit of competing lines of communication with the East. It is also within easy access to communication with St. Louis south, and all the principal points north by means of the St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern Railroad, which passes through the southeast part of the county, crossing the east and west lines. The latter, however, are of chief importance to this county. These communications give Centerville important advantages as a market and shipping point for the produce of the country. Its mercantile trade is extensive and steadily increasing, being represented by a large number of business firms in nearly all branches of trade, not a few of whom carry heavy stocks of goods, and employ a good deal of capital. A national bank, good hotels, several good manufacturing establishments, agricultural implement depots, etc. are among the business enterprises of the place.
The town is regularly laid out with handsome streets. The business portions of the town, with the exception of the depot and warehouses, surrounds the central square on which stands the court house. The business buildings, as a class, are very good, many of them being constructed of brick, several of which are three stories in height. The residences of the place are many of them handsome and even elegant. The original plat of the town has been considerably enlarged by various additions to supply the demands of increasing growth. The railroad depot is near the southeast corner of the town, and adjacent to the track on the side opposite the city are the handsome fair grounds of the Appanoose County Agricultural Society.
The professions are well represented in this young city by prominent members of the bar and skillful physicians. Several benevolent and secret societies are also maintained. There are church organizations of nearly all the leading denominations, and nearly all have good houses of worship. The public schools are maintained at a high standard of excellence, graded and classified under skillful management, and employing a principal and from eight to ten assistants as instructors. The city is duly incorporated under the general law, its municipal powers being bested in a council consisting of a mayor, recorder and five trustees.
The first newspaper was the Appanoose Chieftain, commenced in October, 1856, by the Fair Brothers. After publishing it nearly two years, they sold it to P. H. & George Binkley, and in 1859 they sold out to W. P. Gill and M. Maine, who in 1860, sold to George Buckingham. In 1862, G. N. Udell bought the office and changed the name of the paper to Appanoose Democrat, and continued to issue it until 1864, when it ceased to exist. The press and material were sold to D. L. Strickler, who founded the Republican paper called the Loyal Citizen. In June, 1865, he sold the office with its patronage to M. M. Walden. It is now called the Centerville Citizen, published Fridays, by W. O. Crossly & Co., edited by W. O. Crossly. It is a nine column folio sheet, and has a valuable news and job office, and a flourishing business.
The People's Journal is a Democratic newspaper, established by the present editor and proprietor, Henry S. Sherman, in 1872. It is a handsome sheet of eight pages, five column to the page, issued Fridays, and has a good outfit and a liberal patronage.
MOULTON.
Moulton is a town of considerable importance, about two miles from the east line of the county, and six from the state line. It is situated at the junction of the St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern Railway with the Burlington & Southwestern. It is surrounded by a fine, well improved country, bountifully supplied with timber and coal, and therefore enjoys a very good trading market and shipping facilities. Its location is on the divide between the tributaries of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, being what was known to the early settlers as the "Bee Trace." The town was laid out in 1868, and was named in honor of the chief engineer of the North Missouri railroad. The first man whose faith in the new town manifested itself in works was Jacob Neal, who erected the first house. The first business house was erected by W. A. Lowery. At present it has quite an extensive local trade, with every prospect of steady increase. It has a good graded school, churches and other institutions to promote the intellectual and moral welfare of its citizens and youth. The Moulton Weekly Record is a bright, newsy, local paper, established in 1874, Republican in politics, published Tuesdays, by G. D. Porter.
UNIONVILLE. – This is a village in Udell Township, twelve miles northeast of Centerville. It is on the south side of a large body of timber on Soap Creek. There is in the vicinity a large and wealthy settlement of Dunkards, who hold regular meetings of their society and have a church near the village.
CINCINNATI. – This is a village and station on the R. & S. W. R. R., ten miles southwest of Centerville. Its location is on a beautiful and highly improved prairie, with an abundance of timber and coal in the immediate vicinity. The place was laid out in 1856, by Solomon Holbrook, L. R. Holbrook, Daniel McDonald and Joseph Welsh.
The other villages are Moravia, Iconium, Millidgeville, Walnut City, Bellair, Numa, Orleans, Caldwell, Dean, Hilltown, Sedan, Livingston, Hubbsville and Albany. There are also post offices named Griffinsville, Kirkwood and Jerome.