08/14/2008
Early buildings built from Dakota City bricks By Pat Baker Part two of a three-part series. In 1862-1865, the first settlers of Humboldt (called Springvale then) came through Dakota City from Upper New York State. They looked down their noses at the small collection of buildings that made up the county seat. The Rev. S.H. Taft and his colony of believers knew they could build a larger, more attractive village a mile to the west, and they did. Jokes about Dakota being called a "City" reverberated among the new settlers who chose the Springvale location. These newcomers did not know Dakota City was named "City" to differentiate it from Dakota Township. It was originally "Dakota," (see map). To clear up the confusion, Dakota Township was re-named Beaver Township 15 years later, but the ridicule lingered. The location of the county seat in pioneer days was vital. Settlers knew what happened to Homer and Old Rolfe after Fort Dodge and Pocahontas were chosen county seats. When Humboldt County was first settled in 1854, Dakota City was located in the geographic center. They were the designated county seat. Then the county lost the lower tier of townships. Dakota City hung on tenaciously. The first effort to move the county seat away from Dakota City was made in June 1862. Settlers living north in Humboldt Township petitioned to have it moved to just north of Arnold, as that was the new geographic center of the shortened county. It failed. Attempts to have a courthouse built in Dakota City in 1862 also failed, as citizens making up the Board of Supervisors disagreed among themselves. It was cheaper to store the county records in their offices and homes and wait and see what would happen. Springvale, naturally, thought they should be the county seat. One of Taft's first proposals was to consolidate the two towns. Rev. Taft's proposition was that if they would all agree that the whole plat between the two branches of the river were one, he would give Dakota one-third interest in his town. Taft even suggested the name remain Dakota, but in view of his feelings about wanting to start an independent community, this seemed unlikely to the folks in Dakota City. Rev. Taft said this was to prevent rivalry. Charles Bergk went along with that. In McKnight's view, this would be giving up Dakota City's status as county seat. They were the older town and had been designated as the seat of government. He and many others were determined to keep it. McKnight, having been tricked by John Duncombe into giving up the lower tier of Humboldt County townships, was not about to be fooled again. Much bitterness resulted. No opportunity was missed by Springvale residents to pull the rug out from under Dakota City. Dakota City leaders fought back, whether the issue was erecting a bridge in Springvale, locating a road from Taft's mill north to Lott's Creek, or getting the Springvale town plat approved. It was not pretty. The Board of Supervisors, made up of men from each township, often took sides with Dakota City. Major William Williams of Fort Dodge visited the area in January 1867 and reported that 15 or 16 new houses and a neat brick school house were built in Dakota City the previous year. He guessed that town's population was about 100 persons. Mr. Taft reported that Springvale was larger, 137. Williams teased the few bachelors left in Dakota City, saying they should marry so the town could catch up with Springvale. This gave the folks in Springvale an opportunity to mock Dakota City for being bachelors, not families. Looking at census records, we know this was not so, but the label stuck and the story was repeated over and over again. Dakota City was not much different from other frontier towns in Iowa. It was Springvale, with its 12 large families from Rev. Taft's colony, which was unusual. In 1870, Isaiah Van Metre, a 32-year-old lawyer and conservative Democrat, bought the Humboldt County Independent. He was its editor until 1874, when he sold the newspaper to Albert M. Adams. Al pledged to report more local news and built the Independent Newspaper Office at (now) 306 Main Street (Photo). One of Van Metre's stories was about a murder: The earliest murder committed in the county (except those by Henry Lott) was that of William James by a man named McCormick. In December 1867 James had just returned from Europe and was carrying a legacy left him by a relative. He and McCormick went to Fort Dodge and were returning home. The crime was committed about three miles east of Dakota City on the Bellows and Fort Dodge Road. McCormick beat James' brains out with a bed slat, took $670, a $5,000 insurance policy, turned the horses loose, and left the corpse lying by the road. McCormick walked over to Dakota City, got the mail for the family where he boarded, and went home as though nothing had happened. He was arrested that night while in bed by A.W. McFarland, James T. Sinclair and F. West. The men took him to Dakota City and placed him in the most secure place in town, the bar room of the hotel. Ed Snook and others were his guards. Afraid that McCormick might be taken out and hung at once, Snook placed himself at the door and cooled the mob. A preliminary examination was held the next day before Justice of the Peace William H. Locke. The prisoner was bound over to appear at the next term of District Court, where he was indicted for murder, convicted by a jury of his peers, and sentenced by Judge Henry Ford on the 14th of August 1868 to be hung by the neck until dead. On appeal to the Supreme Court his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in the penitentiary. Courthouse In 1872, in an effort to compromise on the county seat location, Springvale voted to have the combined town re-named Humboldt. Dakota City did not agree to this. The Board of Supervisors, seeing that Dakota City would remain the county seat, voted to build the courthouse on the Dakota City hill overlooking both towns. In 1873, William Thompson erected the red brick courthouse for $5,000, (see photo). It cost more, so C.H. Brown paid the extra $500. This first courthouse was expanded in 1886 when a two-story addition was built on the north side, and a brick vault for storage of county records was later built on the west side. In 1889, the brick jail, and in 1892, a wood frame sheriff's house were constructed. In the next years, the Methodist Church, hotel, the mill farm house (museum), the red brick school, and downtown stores were made of Dakota City bricks. Clay was dug from several places. The lime works of Dakota City was opened by W.J. Smith in 1879, with the brickyard east of the courthouse. His three-story brick mansion (near where the north plant of Chantland Mfg. is now located) was built in 1884, and torn down in 1973. In 1881, the red brick school was built on the town square, located at the intersection of (now) 1st Avenue and 5th Street South. It was "graded." Like most schools of the time, only eight grades were taught. Dakota City had a two-room school, with the lower grades downstairs, upper grades upstairs, (see photo). Freeman and Mott came to Dakota City shortly after the civil war and erected a new building for a general store. They were succeeded by W.J. Smith who ran the store until 1873. In 1874, it was occupied by C.H. Brown and Sons. A saloon was started in 1870 by Mal Newman, which he ran for several years. He was succeeded by Gaylord Griswold, Benjamin Franklin, and D.R. Bowers. A saloon and billiard hall was initiated by Fred Meade in the Dolph building in 1880. In 1872, a large brick hotel was erected by Dr. D.P. Russell on the SE corner of (now) Main and 5th Street. Two stories high, it measured 30x60 feet with an "L" 16x20 feet, and a livery. It held a restaurant, 22 large guest rooms, sample rooms and an office. Mr. M. Burgit was proprietor of Dakota House for many years. It was saved from burning in 1876 by alert neighbors, was still there in 1896, but was removed by 1910. Troubles In 1873, the banks in the East failed, creating a financial panic. Grasshoppers attacked crops in the fields. Several local farmers and businesses had to sell out. In 1874, Charles Bergk, County Treasurer, defaulted. The county was $17,600 short, the schools $2,000 short. His county records were filled with errors, and Bergk had no money. The Humboldt Kosmos responded with outrage. "All defaulters are guilty of a great crime against the people...There is no excuse for the crime." Later they softened their response, noting Bergk did not do it for personal gain. "Mr. Bergk's liberality and accommodating disposition were the chief causes of his downfall." To settle things, Bergk apologized and gave all the land that he owned, which was considerable, to the county. He moved to California. Because much of Dakota City became public property, the lawyers and county officials had to sort it all out. His bondsmen were responsible for reimbursing the county for Bergk's debt. They were Messers. Snook, Hunt, Dumfry, Ketman and Hack. Bergk paid them back later. The next year the Rev. S.H. Taft was in trouble. He had been in New England, getting money for Humboldt College by selling his lands in the City of Humboldt to contributors. His enemies in Dakota City and Humboldt wrote news stories that donors in the East read. These stories said he overvalued Humboldt real estate and did not keep a good set of books. Taft was called a fraud, a liar and a Unitarian. He explained, but it was too late. Sadly, contributions dried up. Rivalry between the towns caused the fiscal problems of the college to come to light; but the college's poor financial base and the panic of 1873 were ultimately responsible for its demise. Grinding to a slow stop, the college closed its doors in 1881. It re-opened in 1895 as a business, agriculture and teacher-training school. It served well until again closing in 1915, as local high schools were able to provide the same courses. County Fair The Humboldt County Fair, beginning in 1858, was usually held in Dakota City. One year - 1861- it was held at Hand's Grove. In 1866, the town of Springvale attempted to re-locate the fair. Great excitement prevailed. Each village had their partisans join the Agricultural Society for the purpose of voting in their behalf, until the membership swelled to nearly 300. Just when Springvale seemed to be favored, Charles Bergk offered to donate 15 aces of land if the fair was held in Dakota City. Further, he would dig a well and furnish lumber enough to fence the entire tract. This generous offer won the day for Dakota, and the annual fair was located near what is now the north plant of the Chantland Mfg. Co. The fairground was never fenced, and it was discovered after Mr. Bergk left town suddenly in 1874, that the Humboldt County Agricultural Society had never received title to the property. So in 1875 the growing town of Humboldt offered the Agricultural Society a free tract of land in south Humboldt along the banks of the river. The fair was held there from 1876 to 1913. In 1875, it was held on the school grounds in Humboldt. 1876 Address In his July 4th 1876 Centennial celebration address, Isaiah Van Metre gave a summary of the first two decades of Humboldt County history. He reported that Dakota City included every kind of store necessary to meet the needs of the people. There was one M.E. Church and parsonage, a small Catholic chapel, a substantial brick hotel, a good brick courthouse, and an excellent flouring and grist mill. Downtown in Dakota City were located a dry goods and grocery store, a store building to be occupied soon, a drug store, two blacksmiths and one wagon-maker shop. The city also included an agricultural warehouse, a harness shop, several carpenters, a paint shop, a lager beer and billiard saloon, two lawyers and a general population of 150. The people of Dakota City, he said, were a quiet, undemonstrative class. "There is not an intemperate man in the town, and not one who drinks anything stronger than beer as a beverage - the beer saloon, it being the only one in the county, absorbs about 5 kegs a week which may be regarded the beer drinking capacity of the county." At the same time Van Metre reported that the City of Humboldt contained over 400 people. "There were several stores of all kinds and other business houses usual to such a village. One good mill, one good hotel, a very respectable stone schoolhouse, two church organizations, Congregational and Unitarian, one Congregational church edifice, a private banking house, three physicians, three lawyers, and a town library containing 300 volumes." The temperance sentiment was strong enough to banish beer in Humboldt. Van Metre continued, "Humboldt College is by far the most imposing edifice in the county." He described how Rev. Taft systematically planted trees along the wide streets and parks. Then he noted, "The people possess the intelligence common to western towns but are filled with the idea that there is no town quite equal to Humboldt and no people quite so intelligent as Humboldt people as a class." In June 1878, the town of Dakota City voted to incorporate. A.M. Adams was elected mayor, an office he held until 1886. The population in 1880 was 248. In 1878, C.H. Brown's store moved to a building erected by A.B. West. Manley Brown, one of his sons, operated the store until 1884 when it was sold to Thompson and Thompson, who hung out the sign, "The Farmers' Store." In 1879, G.D. Osborne and Griswold moved into the old Youngling store. It was Osborne and Franklin, then G.D. Osborne. The first hardware store in Dakota City was started by I.G. McMillan. A.F. Hawkins started the jewelry store and watch business in Dakota City in 1879, renting a portion of Cragg's drugstore to display his goods. A.E. Bennett started the flour and feed business that was later carried on by Allen Dolph. Handmade items were crafted by G.L. Hinds, carpenter. Fortunately, in 1879, the towns did agree to share the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad track. In jest, Van Metre suggested a name for the railway station between Dakota and Humboldt, "in order to remove from the boys, Fred and Al, this ground for another newspaper quarrel." He proposed the name "Dakoboldt." "Humboldt" signs were quickly posted on both ends of the depot. The 1979 U.S. Geological Survey map, the most accurate map available, shows that the Minneapolis and St. Louis railroad track was in Dakota City. According to this map, the western wall of the depot was on the Humboldt town line. The rest of the building was in Dakota City. The Toledo (later Chicago) and Northwestern Railway Line came through Dakota City in December 1881. Train trips north to Minnesota, east to Chicago and west to Montana were common. There were four passenger trains per day. The freight trains carried livestock and the catalogue merchandise ordered by Humboldt and Dakota City's citizens. Going Downhill In 1872, John Dickey with partners C.H. Brown, Sherman Beer and John Cragg built the Humboldt County Bank in Dakota City. It was located across Mill Street from the brand new courthouse. After the 1874 recession, Brown and the others sold their interests in the bank to E.E. Colby, Dickey's nephew. Dickey and Colby had the attractive bank picked up and moved to the center of downtown Humboldt. That was the beginning of a trend that was magnified after the railroads came. Humboldt became a boom town in 1879, thanks to the influx of entrepreneurs and money. Suddenly the People's Bank appeared and new influential families joined the retail scene. By the end of 1881 there were five drug stores in Humboldt (compared to one at the beginning of 1879), along with four lumber yards (2 in 1879), four restaurants (none in 1879), three hotels (one in 1879), two hardware stores (one in 1879), seven general stores (three in 1879), four meat markets (one in 1879), four building contractors (two in 1879) and at least 11 lawyers (three in 1879). There may have been more; these were the ones mentioned in the newspaper. In the same time period, Dakota City gained R.P. Furlong's general store, a hotel and a few lawyers. Furlong moved to Livermore in 1880. The new hotel did not last long. In the spirit of small-town boosterism, Humboldt built itself up at the expense of its neighbor. There was no all-seeing parent to set these rival siblings on a better course. Ruth Barrett, teacher and granddaughter of William Thompson who constructed the brick courthouse, said in a speech given at the Historical Association, "a disgruntled man with capital planned to get 'the old town' off the map." It did not help that the original leaders of Dakota City, Ed McKnight and Charles Bergk, were no longer on the scene to protect their interests. John Cragg died suddenly, and George Cruikshank, brother-in-law of Bergk, had to take over the family farm. A.W. McFarland was running the drugstore and practicing law. William Thompson, farming in Rutland Twp., ran for Iowa State Auditor and the Iowa House of Representatives. An example of Humboldt's boosterism is found in The Humboldt Kosmos, June 21, 1882, edited by Fred H. Taft: "Few towns in Iowa have made the advancement and growth during the last year that Humboldt has. A stranger will say on looking the town over, "It's all new!" From a few houses of two years ago it has grown to a flourishing city, with all modern improvements, of 1,200 inhabitants. "There are now thirty buildings under construction with contracts enough out to make one hundred during the present season. Humboldt boasts of the finest collection of private residences in the state, the houses are two stories high, the lay of the country, the large yards, the wide streets make the outlook that of comfort and beautiful homes..." "Dakota City, the county seat, is one-half mile from here situated on a hill; the courthouse is between the two towns, also the depot. The towns will no doubt be joined together with one post office in the future. Dakota City is not as nicely situated, as lively, or as prosperous looking as Humboldt, but the towns joined will make one of the finest towns in this section of the west..." To make a long story short, things went down hill from there. During the 1880s the Masonic Lodge moved from Dakota City to Humboldt. The G.A.R. moved from Dakota City to Humboldt. The Humboldt County Independent office moved from Dakota City's main street to 514 Sumner Avenue in Humboldt. Even the Hawkins Blacksmith Shop, located near the Dakota City depot, moved to 301 Sumner Avenue. The Methodists built a church in Humboldt in 1888. After a brief time of sharing a pastor, the Dakota City Methodist Church closed its doors in 1895. The Baptist group that had been meeting in the Dakota City Masonic Hall built a church in Humboldt. The Catholic congregation moved from Dakota City to Humboldt in 1904. Some stores and offices remained in Dakota City, but investors had difficulty securing financing for new businesses or improvements in that town. Those who wanted to build large Victorian homes chose Humboldt locations. Dakota City avoided some of the luxuries of life in Humboldt. For the advantage of lower taxes, they accepted lower property values and the lack of some public improvements, like curb and gutter, although water and sewer were provided. In 1895, the Willing Workers, a group of hard-working, dedicated ladies, was organized in Dakota City. They agreed to support any minister in Dakota City, regardless of denomination, and give their influence to the support of the Union Sunday School. In 1906, they purchased the old Zion Evangelical Church of North America building to use as a meeting place. They sold it to the town in 1919 for use as a city hall. The current city hall, at 26 - 5th Street South was built in 1968. 1910 The bitterest dispute between the towns was in 1910. Lawyers announced that our county records were not safe in the old brick courthouse. They were correct about that, documents being subject to damage from water and mold. A new effort to move the county seat to Humboldt and issue bonds for building a new $85,000 courthouse began. T.W. Rogers argued that "Dakota City had no sewerage, fire protection or police." He wrote, "In Dakota City there is no lawyer, doctor, bank, large store or any business enterprises found in any good town... There is no hotel or restaurant ....or stable for the farmer's team." Those coming from out of town to transact courthouse business had to stay in Humboldt and walk up the hill to Dakota City. Judge D.F. Coyle commented, "No individual would think of making a large investment in Dakota City. It would be a poor business policy for the county to do so... Even the people of Dakota City come to Humboldt to do most of their trading." Compare that with the description of the town on July 4, 1876. However, after all the votes were counted, the county seat and courthouse remained in Dakota City. After that was settled, officials somehow found a way to provide fire and police protection to the courthouse. The Humboldt Electric Light and Power Company offered to wire the courthouse and adjacent buildings for the sum of $125. Dakota City's homes and businesses, like Humboldt's, had electricity since 1901. There was another vote to merge the towns in 1918. Humboldt's Oliver DeGroote speculated that joining together as a united city with a combined population would boost values in each town and help attract business and industry. Still, Dakota City voted 56 to 45 to stay as the separate county seat. The last try, in 1960, received lukewarm reception from both city councils. Next: Dakota City Improvements. |
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The Humboldt
Independent • Official paper of Humboldt County
Telephone: (515)
332-2514 |
