"An Interesting Early History of Decatur County"by Mrs. O.N. Kellogg |
| Chapter Eight THE STATE LINE IS PERMANENTLY LOCATED-THE SETTLEMENTS RE-INFORCED-WILD FRUIT-THE FIRST CHURCH ORGANIZATION-COUNTY ORGANIZED-COUNTY SEAT LOCATED-STATE ROAD LOCATED |
| In October, 1849, Hiram Chase came with his family and effects to
Garden Grove from Castalia, Ohio. The settlers were expecting them as
one of the Mormons, Mr. John Bair, had expressed the opinion that a
location for a road could be found, very direct, and superior in every
respect to the circuitous one then in use. Also volunteering his
services to the enterprise, William Davis took a team and covered wagon
prepared for camping and the two went to Dodge Point on the Chariton
River, sixty miles by the old route. Supplying themselves with stakes, they struck out over an almost unbroken prairie, straight for Garden Grove, making a saving of twenty miles and much better ground for a road, being less hilly. Chases were the first family of settlers who traveled the road. A few days previous to their arrival a part of us had been down to Alfred Stanley's to gather plums and were kindly entertained by that hospitable family while making up a load. We also bought honey there and with it made preserves of plums which Mrs. Chase, a connoisseur in such matters, pronounced most excellent. The wild plum flourished and was very productive where there were settlers and, in a very few years, they were plenty in the north part of the county, the phenomena attributable no doubt to the presence of herd of cattle and sheep roaming through the thickets, thereby subduing the wild nature of the soil and causing it to bring forth first strawberries and raspberries. Then plums and later blackberries, all in the greatest profusion and of superior quality in all timbered and bushy places. There was one variety, a large yellow plum tinged with red on one side, which, when pared and served with sugar and cream, excels any other fruit grown in this climate. Roy Daniel Winters came early in the Spring of '49 and selected a square section of land which he bought and in the fall he moved his family upon it. The most of it was heavily timbered and three miles northeast of Garden Grove. In the Winter of '49-'50 Henry B. Notson came, bringing a small stock of goods which he kept for sale at Enos Davis' where he boarded. The following June he moved to O.N. Kellogg's and in the Fall sold out to him and went to Oney's where he set up another store and also practiced his profession, that of the law. His father and mother and other members of the family moved into the county not long after this time. Mr. Notson was a very useful man in the early settlement and organization of the county, His patient, kindly manner made him many friends. Enemies he had none. In March, 1850, the county was first organized. Andrew Still was organizing sheriff. They met at the home of William Oney and Josiah Morgan. William Hamilton and Asa Burrell were elected county commissioners. The county was divided into four townships; the northeast taking the name of Garden Grove, the others named after the three commissioners, Morgan, Hamilton, and Burrell. The delegates to the meeting from Garden Grove township were Daniel Winters, William Davis, Enos Davis, Mordecai Smith. Nominated as candidates for county offices: School Fund Commissioners, Henry B. Notson; County Clerk, Daniel Wood; Prosecuting Attorney, David Winters; Probate Judge, Mordecai Smith; Sheriff, John Stanley; all of which officers were duly elected in April of the same year. Exclusive of the above, the following are the names of the voters in the county at that time: Harvey Duncan and son, Joseph Duncan; George Eckton; Mr. Willis; Allen Scott; Peter Scott; Gideon Walker; Edward Winters; John Still; Meredith Still; William Burrell; Frank Miller; Brison Miller; James Gordon; James Hatfield; Reuben Hatfield; Andrew Hatfield; Calvin Hatfield; Stanley Hatfield; Tilford Hatfield; John Price; Alfred Logen, and son-in-law, Hiram Stanley; two Alfred Stanley's; Aaron Stanley; John Stanley; Anthony Vanderpool; John Vanderpool; Calvin Renfros; William Davis; Enos Davis; Amasa Davis; John S. Brown; Ozro N. Kellogg; Hiram Chase; William Howard; William Oney; John Summers; Daniel Roberts; D. C. Robers; Bolivar Roberts; Clark Roberts; and Wallys Dickinson. Commissioners were appointed by the Legislature in 1851, convened in Iowa City, then the capitol of the State, to locate a county seat in Decatur County, and also a state road from Bloomfield, Davis County, west, through Appanoose, Wayne, Decatur, Ringgold, Taylor, Page, and Fremont Counties to the Missouri River. The commissioners to located the county seat were S.M. Sales and Henry Allen of Lucas County and William Davis of Decatur County. The time specified, June of '51. That being the year of heavy rains, it was impossible to travel in this country, except at great hazard. Every little slough and ravine was swimming deep, and it was found by experience that not every horse will take to water kindly. Some meddlesome steeds, upon plunging in, finding themselves sinking would rear and strike at a fearful rate, and perhaps roll feet uppermost, the rider scarcely knowing whether to risk his life trying to save his horse or to swim out himself and let the horse go. My husband was often in the case and once received a blow on the head from his horse which stunned him and he never knew how he got out of the water. Sometime in July or August, the rains having abated, at the solicitation of parties in the county, the commissioners proceeded to locate a county seat on a beautiful undulating prairie, very high, and commanding a fine view of the surrounding country. It was named Decatur City. Of the three commissioners who were appointed to locate a state road, only two responded; Mr. Perkins of Centerville, Appanoose County, and O.N. Kellogg of Garden Grove, Decatur County. John Ellis of Bloomfield and Nelson Wescott of Garden Grove went as surveyors. William Davis and Frank Ellis went with each a team and covered wagon. They took with them provisions for several weeks camping out, and although it was fine weather early in September when they started, dreary winter was upon them long before they returned. When the commissioners came to Nishnabotna, there were at first almost in despair. To cross was an impossibility. They halted and considered. It was a stream large enough apparently to run a small steamboat on-out in the prairie-no timber except a few willows in sight. They decided to head it. This expression sounds odd now, but was common then. If they couldn't cross a stream, they knew they could head it by going far enough. They had not gone, however, more than a day's travel until they found timbers and the stream narrower. They then felled two trees that would reach across, trimmed them off, and plunging into the stream themselves, placed them so that they could slide the wagons upon them, then swimming the horses across and hitching them to rope tied to the end of the tongue, they drew the wagon across. They then had to return to the point opposite which they had diverged from a straight course, and were ready to continue their line of march, until some new obstacle was encountered only to be overcome. Thus the Missouri River was reached. In a very short time after this road was thus permanently located across the state, it was settled; sparsely it is true, but sufficiently to reclaim it from the trackless waste which heretofore it had been, and as soon as it was possible the citizens of the different counties bridged the streams and established a ferry on the Nishnabotna. Speaking of the great number of little streams or branches, tributary to the rivers, and which were as troublesome to cross and still would twist about and repeat themselves so often, a lady who was one of the early settlers gave me a bit of her experience. In 1853 she accompanied her husband to St. Joseph,having some acquaintances there, and they could make a visit and at the same time replenish their amount of groceries, the distance of the town on the Missouri being the same as Burlington or Keokuk on the Mississippi, where the settlers usually obtained their supplies. Their friends were to see them, and when they started home, gave them two hundred pounds of bacon, some of it six inches thick in the clear side. With this and four hundred pounds of flour and cornmeal they were pretty well loaded, considering the road. Every little stream they came to they had to unload their wagon. Her husband would get on one of the horses and take over one sack and find the best place to ford the stream and then return and taker her over to watch the plunder while he carried over the remainder, one thing at a time, and if the banks were steep, as they usually were, they would hitch the horses to the end of the tongue and run them up a bank, thus by having firm ground under their feet, they could pull the empty wagon when otherwise it would have been impossible. They had to go through this process seven times in one day, with the exception of hitching to the end of the tongue which was in every instance necessary. She was naturally a little startled one day when looking away out on the prairie she saw a company of men and occasionally something bright flashing in the sun and couldn't think what was going on. It was a rare sight to see so many white men, and she puzzled over it until her husband came in. “Why,” said he, “if you had just thought you would have know; it was the Commissioners and surveyors opening that state road.” Then she was glad, indeed, for it was so much needed. In this connection let me add my husband's experience with a mule. He had never liked the genus but foreseeing a hard trip, he procured a beautiful large, iron grey specimen, and in starting out to overtake the party who had nearly crossed the county ahead of him he was in something of a hurry to get on. Coming to one of those gorges, little over a mile from home, what does his high mightiness do but refuse to leap it. With feet firmly planted and braced, shouting and belaboring with goads, went for nothing. At last completely tired and beaten out, his master sat down to rest, and when rising almost mechanically took the end of the halter and jumping across himself said, “Come, mulie, come mulie.” The creature pricked up his ears and his eyes fairly smiled as he bounded over and from that time they understood each other perfectly. A more attached, faithful servant one could not wish for. He never strayed from camp, or refused to do anything but was expected of him during the whole trip. |
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