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Honorable Nelson C.
Roberts
The City of Fort
Madison, one of the seats of justice of Lee County,
is pleasantly situated on the west bank of the
Mississippi River, about twenty-five miles above the
mouth of the Des Moines, on the site of the old fort
erected early in the nineteenth century by the
United States, from which the city takes its name.
For many years the early history of the old military
post was veiled in uncertainty and various
statements have been made as to the time when and by
whom it was established. No less an authority than
Gardner's Dictionary of the United States Army
states that "Fort Madison was erected by Lieutenant
Pike in 1805, a few miles above St. Louis." The same
authority also states that the fort was "evacuated
and rebuilt in 1813.'' Rufus Blanchard, in his
Discovery and Conquest of the Northwest, published
in 1880, says: "The United States built Fort Madison
in 1804, on tne west bank of the Mississippi,
opposite the Des Moines Rapids." Appleton's American
Cyclopedia, under the title Fort Madison, says the
town "derives its name from a fort erected in 1808,
and named in honor of James Madison." The article on
Fort Madison in Johnson's Cyclopedia is signed by
the editor of the Fort Madison Plain Dealer and says
the town occupies "the site of a fort built in 1808
and captured by the Indians in 1818." Old gazetteers
describe Fort Madison as "A United States Military
Post, on the west bank of the Mississippi River,
about twelve miles above the Des Moines Rapids; the
site of the present Town of Fort Madison, in Lee
County, Iowa. Latitude, 40 36'; longitude, 14 15",
W. Washington."
From these statements the reader can see that early
writers on the subject were widely at variance, both
as to the exact location of the fort and the time
when it was erected, as well as the name of the
officer under whose direction it was built. It
appears that one or another of these errors has been
perpetuated in later historical publications, owing
to the authority consulted, and some have maintained
that the old fort was built by Zachary Taylor, while
he was a lieutenant in the regular army. In July,
1897, an article prepared at the War Department in
Washington was published in the Annals of Iowa, and
purports to give the official history of the old
fort.
In order to understand how some of the errors above
mentioned crept into the history of Fort Madison, it
will be necessary to notice briefly some of the
events that preceded and led up to its
establishment. On March 9, 1804, the territory of
Upper Louisiana was surrendered to the United States
by France, under the treaty of April 30, 1803. The
territory thus surrendered embraced the present
states of Missouri and Iowa, and all the unexplored
region north and west of those states included in
the Louisiana Purchase. By an act of Congress,
approved March 26, 1804, its name was changed to the
"District of Louisiana," which was attached to the
Territory of Indiana for all political purposes. In
November of that year Gen.William H. Harrison
concluded a treaty with the five leading chiefs of
the Sac and Fox Indians, in which the United States
agreed to protect these Indians in the possession of
their lands west of the Mississippi. The date of
this treaty no doubt led Blanchard to make the
statement that the fort was erected in that vear.
The next year (1805) Lieut. Zebulon M. Pike was sent
up the Mississippi on an* exploring expedition, with
instructions to select a site for a military post
"somewhere between St. Louis and Prairie des Chiens,
and to obtain the consent of the Indians for its
erection." In his journal, Pike says: "I have chosen
three places for military establishments; the first
on a hill about forty miles above the river, de
Moyen Rapids on the west side of the river in about
41° 2' north latitude. The channel of the river runs
on that shore; the hill is about sixty feet
perpendicular, nearly level on the top."
The war department article above referred to says:
"There is ample evidence to show conclusively that
this was the site on which Fort Madison was
erected." The "ample evidence" is not given in the
article, and some who have investigated the matter
are inclined to the opinion that the site referred
to in Pike's journal is where the City of Burlington
now stands. There are good grounds for this belief,
as the distance from the mouth of the Des Moines
River mentioned by Pike corresponds more nearly to
the location of Burlington than that of Fort
Madison. The hill and the current as described by
Pike also apply to Burlington, and the longitude,
which was merely estimated by the explorer, likewise
fits Burlington better, the forty- first parallel
running about ten miles north of that city. However
that may be, the selection of the site by Pike is
doubtless responsible for Gardner's error in stating
that the fort was built by him in 1805. The
following report of Lieut. Alpha Kingsley to Gen.
Henry Dearborn, then secretary of war, gives the
correct history of the location and establishment of
Fort Madison:
"Garrison at Belle Vue, Near River Le Moyne,
"22 November, 1808.
"Sir: Having received orders at Belle Fontaine, to
move up the Mississippi River as far as the River Le
Moine, with Captain Pinckney's Company under my
command, and fix on a suitable situation for a fort,
as nigh that place as possible not finding any
place nearer to that designation than this I have
accordingly fixed on it, which is about twenty-five
miles above Le Moine. The season being so far
advanced when I arrived here (26th September) that
it was impossible to put up such buildings as were
necessary to answer the object in view, I therefore
thought it expedient to erect temporary houses for
the winter. Having set a good picket around my camp,
with bastions at right angles, I then commenced upon
the factory, and other store houses, barracks, etc.,
all of which are small and done in a rough way, but
will answer the purpose, they being nearly
completed. I shall, by the first of next month,
commence on building a small fort with three block
houses, of hewed timber, so dis- posed as to have
full command of each angle of the fort a plan
which I humbly submit. Having plenty of timber
convenient, and that of the best quality, I am fully
of the opinion that by June next I will have the
fort ready for the reception of the troops. The
expense of this work to the United States will be
but a trifle, when put in completion (comparison)
with the good effect that will result to the
Government.
"This situation is high, commands an extensive view
of the river and adjacent country also an
excellent spring of water and I believe there is
no place on the river which will prove more healthy,
and none more advantageous to the Indian trade. I
shall prosecute the work of the fort with all
possible expedition, and hope by spring to have it
so far advanced that it will bid defiance to the
evil-minded savage, and at the same time insure the
respect and friendship of the better disposed. With
these sentiments at heart, having the public good in
view, at the same time wishing to comply with my
orders, which, though not pointed, leave me
latitude, for which I have above premised, and fully
expecting your approbation, I shall proceed to
complete the work.
"I am with high consideration, sir, your very
obedient servant, Alpha Kingsley, Lt., First U. S.
Regt. Inft."
Subsequent reports and correspondence of Lieutenant
Kingsley show that during the winter the little
garrison was occupied in the preparation of white
oak logs, from twelve to eighteen inches in
diameter, cut to a uniform length of fourteen feet,
hewed on both sides and freed from bark. Early in
the spring of 1809, as soon as the weather would
permit, these logs were conveyed to the site of the
fort and the work of erecting the block-houses was
commenced. About this time Lieutenant Kingsley
learned that the Indians were preparing to raid the
frontier settlements and that the first blow would
probably be struck at the garrison. Under date of
April 19, 1809, he wrote to the war department as
follows:
"Upon receiving this information I made every
possible exertion to erecfblock-houses and plant my
pickets; this we did in two weeks (lying on our arms
during the night), and took quarters in the new fort
on the 14th inst. Being tolerably secure against an
attack, we have been able to get a little rest, and
are now making preparations for the safety and
defense of this establishment."
This letter was dated from "Fort Madison, near River
Le Moin," and is the first official evidence of the
application of that name to the new post. James
Madison had just been inaugurated President of the
United States on March 4, 1809, and the name was
unquestionably adopted in his honor. The
correspondence of the founder of the fort therefore
shows that the site was selected by him in the fall
of 1808; that temporary quarters were established
there for the winter, and that the fort bearing the
name of "Madison" was first occupied on April 14,
1809.
The plan of the fort submitted by Kingsley on
November 22, 1808, showed the factory building, or
trading house, inside the stock- ade, but in his
letter of April 19, 1809, he says: "The recent
conduct of the Indians has evinced to my mind that
the thing is improper (except the warehouses), and,
unless I receive contrary orders, shall build the
retail store outside, say 100 yards distant."
Fort Madison, Government Post 1808
This plan was
followed and in May, 1809, he wrote: "As the
commanding officer of this post, it would be
pleasant to know how far I am to comply with the
requisitions of the factory, inasmuch as, if the
soldiery are drawn for the use of the factory in
such numbers as to answer the expectations of
the factor, it will be impossible to complete
the fort this season."
In response to this letter of inquiry he was
informed that the soldiers were to build the
factory, "receiving extra pay therefor at the
rate of ten cents per day and one gill of
whiskey for each man, to be paid by the factory
department."
About this time Capt. Horatio Stark, of the
First Infantry, then on duty at regimental
headquarters, near Fort Adams, Mississippi, was
ordered to proceed "with one corporal and seven
privates, via St. Louis, to join and assume
command of Captain Pinckney's company." He
arrived at Fort Madison on August 24, 1809, and
relieved Lieutenant Kingsley in the command of
the fort. From statistical reports relating to
the troops in the District of Louisiana on
September 1, 1809, ^ ' s learned that the
garrison at Fort Madison then consisted of First
Lieut. Alpha Kingsley, Second Lieut. Nathaniel
Pryor, one surgeon's mate, three sergeants,
three corporals, two musicians and sixty
privates of Captain Pinckney's company; Capt.
Horatio Stark, one sergeant and eight privates
of his company, making a total of eighty-one,
exclusive of the seven persons connected with
the factory department, who were subject to
garrison duty in case of emergency.
The Indians regarded the building of Fort
Madison in their country as a violation of the
treaty of 1804, and soon after it was completed
an attempt was made to destroy it, but it was
unsuccessful. No official report of this event
is on file in the archives of the war department
and the real facts cannot be learned. During the
winter of 1811-12 and the summer following great
anxiety prevailed regarding the designs of the
Indians, whose attitude became constantly more
threatening, making constant watchfulness on the
part of the garrison a necessity. Small parties
of whites were attacked and killed near the
fort, but no attack upon the fort itself was
made. Lieut.-Col. Daniel Bissell, commanding the
troops in the District of Louisiana, wrote to
the war department that Captain Stark had been
directed to put Fort Madison in the best
possible state of defense, and expressed his
belief that, "if vigilance is used, there can be
no danger of his not being able to defend the
place against any number of Indians that may be
brought against him."
Notwithstanding this expression of confidence in
Captain Stark's ability to hold the fort.
Colonel Bissell, soon after writing the letter,
sent Lieut. Barony Vasquez with twelve m,en to
Fort Madison, "to assist the commanding officer
of that post to put his work in the best
possible state of defense." Shortly after the
arrival of this reinforcement, Captain Stark
took a small detachment and descended the river
on special service, leaving the post under the
command of Lieut. Thomas Hamilton.
General Harrison's victory in the Battle of
Tippecanoe, November 7, 1 8 1 1 , broke the
backbone of the Tecumseh conspiracy and drove
the Winnebagoes from the Wabash Valley. This
incident had the effect of inciting that tribe
to adopt measures of retaliation and war parties
were started in every direction, one of which
was directed against Fort Madison. The wily Sac
chief, Black Hawk, who had never been satisfied
with the treaty of 1804 and the erection of Fort
Madison in the Indian country, joined this
Winnebago war party with several of his band and
was active in the assault upon the fort on
September 5, 1812. No official report of this
attack has been found, but Niles' Register of
October 31, 1812, gives the following account of
the event, which was furnished for publication
by one who was in the fort at the time:
"On the 5th inst. at half past 5 P. M. this
garrison was attacked by a party of the
Winnebagoes, the number not precisely known, but
supposed to be upwards of two hundred.
Fortunately there was only one soldier out of
the garrison (John Cox) who fell a victim to the
scalping knife. A constant firing on both sides
was kept up until dark; early next morning they
commenced again, and about 7 o'clock they set
fire to a Mr. Graham's boat and loading, this
man having arrived on the 4th; they also burnt
two boats belonging to the public; soon after
they began to throw fire on the block-houses
that stood near the bank of the river, but not
sufficiently near to command the space between
them and the river ; syringes being made of gun
barrels, the roofs were wet so as to prevent
fire taking. During this time part of them
killed the live stock, plundered and burnt Mr.
Julian's houses, destroying the corn; and on the
7th they continued throwing fire on the
block-houses and shot arrows in the roofs with
matches tied to them.
"The morning being calm, all their attempts to
fire the block-houses proved useless. In the
evening they burnt Mr. McNabb's house and
attempted the smith shop, and it was generally
believed they were only waiting for a favorable
wind to burn the factory, so that it might catch
the garrison, which would have been the certain
means of destroying us all; to prevent that, as
the evening was very calm, the commanding
officer, Thomas Hamilton, dispatched a soldier
with fire to the factory, and in less than three
hours that building was consumed without any
danger to the garrison. During the day several
Indians crept into an old stable and commenced
shooting out of it, but a shot from the cannon
by Lieut. Barony Vasquez soon made their yellow
jackets fly.
"On the 8th we heard but little from them;
several canoes were seen crossing the river, and
on the 9th not an Indian was to be seen, nor was
a gun fired. I am happy to say no lives were
lost in the fort, one man was slightly wounded
in the nose. The Indians must have had many
killed, as several of them were seen to fall."
This report has been quoted at length to show
the conditions about Fort Madison at the time of
the attack. From it the reader may see that
there were a few houses about the fort
McNabb's and Julian's being burned besides the
factory building and smith shop. The loss of the
factory department was considerable, as shown by
a letter from the factor, John W. Johnson, to
General Mason, superintendent of the Indian
trade, under date of September 15, 1812, in
which he tabulates the losses as follows:
Sixty packs of peltries
at
$30
$1,800
One hundred and twenty bear
skins
120
Other articles lost in the
fire
250
Value of buildings
destroyed
3>3°o
Total
$5,500
On the recommendation of Gen. Benjamin Howard,
governor of the Missouri Territory, the war
department wrote to Colonel Bissell on October
1, 1812, to withdraw the troops from Fort
Madison and other points, with all army stores,
provided Governor Howard should still advise
such action. In his reply Colonel Bissell
recommended that the posts be maintained until
the following spring. Thus mat- ters stood until
April 4, 1813, when Governor Howard wrote to
Bissell, regarding the evacuation of the fort,
as follows: "Had my opinion been taken before we
were in hostility with the Indians, it certainly
would have been in favor of its evacuation, but
from a variety of considerations arising from
existing circumstances, I deem the abandonment
of it inadvisable. Were it to take place at this
time the measure could be employed with great
dexterity among the Indians by the British
agents, as evidence of our inability to maintain
it, and would embolden those who are now
hostile, and probably decide the wavering to
take part against us. * *
"The number of men now there and destined for
the place, stated in your letter, is, in my
opinion, entirely equal to its defense against
any assault by Indians alone, if well supplied;
but if a British force with artillery should
cooperate, I fear it would be insufficient,
unless the garrison is strengthened in a way not
usual, nor necessary to repel attacks made by
Indians."
At that time the garrison consisted of about one
hundred men of the First and Twenty-fourth
Infantry, with Lieut. Thomas Hamilton in
command. Acting upon the recommendations of
Governor Howard, it was decided to maintain the
fort until a more favorable opportunity for its
abandonment presented itself. Twice during the
month of July, 1813, the post was attacked by
Indians, but in such small parties that they
were easily repulsed. On July 18, 1813, two days
after the second attack, Lieutenant Hamilton
wrote to Colonel Bissell, giving an account of
the assault and begging for certain supplies, if
he should be expected to hold the fort. He
closed his letter by saying: "I must repeat that
I do expect to hear from you within one month,
and when I do, I wish most cordially that it may
be for the evacuation or removal of this
garrison. If I do not hear from you by the 20th
of August and the Indians continue to harass me
in the manner they appear determined to do, I do
not know but I shall take the responsibility on
myself, that is, if they will permit me to go
away. It is impossible for us to do duty long in
the manner that I have adopted."
This was the last official communication ever
written from Fort Madison. The Indians, urged on
by British agents, foremost among whom was the
notorious Dixon, became daily more threatening
and late in August began a regular siege.
Reduced to the greatest extremity for want of
ammunition and provisions, and seeing no
disposition on the part of the authorities to
relieve the situation, Lieu- tenant Hamilton
decided to abandon the post and accept the
consequences. By working under cover of night, a
trench was dug from the southeast block-house to
the river, where the boats belonging to the
garrison lay. On the night of September 3, 1813,
the garrison, moving noiselessly along this
trench on their hands and knees and carrying the
little remaining stock of provisions, their arms
and a few valuables, gained the boats. They were
fortunate enough to capture a large dugout
belonging to the Indians. When all was in
readiness, the torch was applied, the boats shot
out upon the broad bosom of the Mississippi,
and, although the Indians were encamped within
easy gunshot of the fort, the movements of
Hamilton and his men had been conducted with
such secrecy that they were gone and the fort
was inflames before the savages discovered what
had taken place. Thus ended the history of Fort
Madison as a military post the first ever
erected by order of the Government in what is
now the State of Iowa.
For many years after the destruction of the
fort, one of the stone chimneys remained
standing and the place became known to traders,
trappers and travelers on the Mississippi as the
"Lone Chimney." The Indians gave the site of the
fort the name "Po-to-wo-nok," signifying the
place of fire. One of the streets in the present
City of
Fort Madison is
called Potowonok. The old fort stood near the
southwest corner of the square bounded by Front,
Second, Oak and Broadway streets. At the foot of
Broadway, Jean Espy Chapter, Daughters of the
American Revolution, erected a monument in the
form of a chimney, called the "Lone Chimney
Monument," to mark the site. It was dedicated
with appropriate ceremonies on October 28, 1908,
approximately a century after the fort was
established by Lieu- tenant Kingsley. Where the
fireplace would be in a real chimney is a tablet
bearing the inscription:
"Erected 1908 by Jean Espy Chapter Daughters of
the American Revolution on site of Old Fort
Madison Built 1808 Evacuated and Burned by
Garrison 1813."
For nineteen years after the abandonment of Fort
Madison, the beautiful valley where it stood
remained unoccupied by civilized man. In 1832
Peter Williams, whom Isaac R. Campbell describes
as "a botanical mullein leaf doctor," built a
log cabin on the bank of the Mississippi, four
or five hundred yards below the ground once
occupied by the fort. The region had not yet
been opened to settlement and a detail of
soldiers was sent down from Fort Armstrong (now
Rock Island, Illinois) to remove the trespasser.
Williams r cabin was torn down, the logs were
thrown into the river, and he was taken to
Nauvoo as a prisoner. There some of his friends
interceded for him and he was released, probably
with the injunction: "Go and sin no more."
The same year that Peter Williams was
dispossessed, Gen. John H. Knapp, while on his
way up the Mississippi River to Fort Snelling,
learned from the steamboat captain that the site
of Fort Madison was claimed by Augustus Horton,
who lived on an island a few miles down the
river. Knapp bought Horton's claim, took
possession, and built a log cabin near the foot
of Broadway, where he established an Indian
supply store. After a short time he sold his
stock of goods to Judge Cutler and spent the
winter at a hotel kept by his cousin, Nathaniel
Knapp, at Quincy, Illinois.
General Knapp is credited by some authorities
with being the first white man to effect a
permanent establishment at Fort Madison. He was
born at Goshen, New York, May 30, 179 1, and in
his boyhood was apprenticed to a saddler. In the
fall of 1814 he was a lieutenant for about three
months in Captain TuthilTs company of New York
militia and subsequently was commissioned
brigadier-general of state militia. For some
time he was engaged in coal and iron mining in
the Tioga Field. In 1830 he made a trip via
Buffalo and the Mississippi River to New
Orleans, and it was while returning east that he
decided to locate at Fort Madison. In the spring
of 1833, accompanied by his cousin Nathaniel, he
returned to his claim.
When the United States, in June, 1833, acquired
full title to the lands of the Black Hawk
Purchase, Peter Williams returned and reoccupied
his claim, erecting his cabin on the bank of the
river, between the present Chestnut and Walnut
streets. After a brief residence there he
removed to the Des Moines River, where he died
in 1835.
Some time in 1833 Richard Chaney, who had
previously located on the creek bearing his name
opposite Keokuk, attracted by the settlement at
Fort Madison, came up the river and made a claim
on the upper part of the town site. He built his
cabin near the mouth of the creek that empties
into the Mississippi not far from the
penitentiary. His claim included the old field
that had been cultivated by the soldiers of the
garrison twenty years before. Other early
settlers were Aaron White and Zachariah Hawkins.
In 1835 John H. Knapp built a hewed log house on
the exact site of the old fort, one of the old
chimneys of which he utilized for his residence,
cleaned out the old well that had been used by
the garrison, erected a new store building and
sent for his family. On October 9, 1835, his
wife, Harriet, twosons, John H., Jr., and Jonas
S., and a daughter, Elizabeth, arrived. They
were accompanied by a married daughter, Mrs.
Joseph S. Douglass, her husband and two
children.
Views of Black Hawk Heights
In June,
1835, John H. and Nathaniel Knapp employed
Adolphus Allen to survey and lay out a town,
the eastern limit of which is the present
Oriental Street, and the western boundary
was a short distance above Pine street. The
boundaries, as given by Mr. Allen in his
report, were as follows: "Commencing at
low-water mark on the Mississippi River, due
south of a red or Spanish oak tree standing
on the bank of the river and running due
north one-half mile; thence due east 1 12
rods, or thereabout; thence due south to
low-water mark on said river; thence
westerly, following the meandering of said
river, by the said low-water mark, to the
place of beginning."
Between Front Street and the river were
several fractional lots, on. one of which
stood the store first built by General Knapp
and sold to Judge Jacob Cutler. Not long
after the Knapps had their town surveyed by
Mr. Allen, Dr. John Cutler, a son of the
judge, James D. Shaw and a Doctor Ferris
bought the claim of Peter Williams and laid
it out in lots, their plat adjoining that of
the Knapps on the west.
During the year 1836 there was a material
increase in the population of the new town
and a number of new buildings were erected.
In this year General Knapp built a large
frame house on the site of the old fort and
opened it as a hotel under the name of the
"Madison House." It had accommodations for
about fifty guests and also had a large
assembly room for conventions, etc.
Nathaniel Knapp also built a frame hotel
known as the "Washington House." Both these
hotels did a prosperous business, as at that
time there was a heavy tide of emigration
westward and sometimes as many as one
hundred wagons would be lined up On the
Illinois side of the river, waiting to be
ferried over.
Among the patrons of General Knapp's store
was Chief Black Hawk, whose son,
Nes-se-as-suk, was about the age of John and
Jonas Knapp. The three boys became playmates
and the old chief would frequently gather
them about him in front of the store and
tell them stories of his hunting expeditions
and his experiences in war. The Indians were
generally good customers and rarely failed
to pay their debts, though Black Hawk left
an unpaid bill of some ten or twelve dollars
at Judge Cutler's store.
About the time the Madison House was built
the First United States Dragoons constituted
the garrison at Fort Des Moines, where
Montrose now stands. Among the officers were
James C. Parrott, afterward colonel of the
Seventh Iowa Infantry in the Civil war, and
Robert E. Lee, who became commander of the
Confederate armies in that great internecine
struggle. The officers of the dragoons made
frequent visits to Fort Madison and were
entertained by General Knapp at the Madison
House. On the evening of January 2, 1837,
General Knapp attended a reception and ball
at the hotel. During the evening he
contracted a slight cold, which developed
into quinsy and he died two days later. His
body was the first to be buried in the Fort
Madison Cemetery. After his death the hotel
was conducted for some time by his
son-in-law, Joseph S. Douglass, when he died
of typhoid fever. Mrs. Knapp then leased the
building to Lorenzo Bullard, who remained in
charge until 1845, when he removed to
Wisconsin.
The death of Nathaniel Knapp was more
tragic. On July 13, 1837, accompanied by a
friend named Doyle, he went to Bentonsporl,
in Van Buren County on some business
connected with the court. Upon their arrival
they registered at a hotel and engaged
lodging, after which they went out in town.
Later in the evening, another guest Isaac
Hendershott, of Burlington arrived at the
hotel and the landlord, assuming that Knapp
and Doyle were out to "make a night of it,"
and the rooms all being taken, assigned
Hendershott to the room engaged by the two
Fort Madison men. Toward midnight Knapp and
Doyle came in, took up a lighted candle and
proceeded to their room to find the bed
occupied. Knapp somewhat indignantly
demanded to know what the occupant was doing
in that bed, and, according to Hendershott's
statement afterward, made a gesture as if to
draw a weapon of some kind. Hendershott
sprung from the bed, unsheathed a sword from
the cane he carried and stabbed Knapp near
the heart. The wounded man exclaimed,
"Doyle, I'm a dead man," and sank to the
floor, still holding the candle in his hand.
He lived but a few minutes and in the
excitement which followed Hen- dershott made
his escape. The following spring a steamboat
stopped at Fort Madison and some one
recognized Hendershott as one of the
passengers. The news spread rapidly and in a
short time an infuriated crowd headed by
Thomas Fulton, a relative of Knapp, boarded
the boat and gave the assassin a terrible
beating. At the next term of the District
Court in Van Buren County, Hendershott ap-
peared at Farmington, relying upon his
theory of self defense to secure an
acquittal, but upon learning that an
indictment for murder had been returned by
the grand jury, he hastily decamped and was
never seen in Iowa afterward.
With the death of John and Nathaniel Knapp,
Fort Madison lost two of its most
enterprising citizens, but tne constant
influx of settlers kept the
growth of the town up to the expectations of
its early inhabitants and in time the two
founders were almost forgotten.
Madison House in 1878
Some questions arose as to the validity of
the title to lots acquired under the Horton
and Williams claims and on July 2, 1836,
Congress passed an act providing for the
platting of certain tracts of land in the
Black Hawk Purchase into town sites. One of
these tracts was the site of Fort Madison. A
supplementary act, approved by President
Jackson on March 3, 1837, named William W.
Coriell, George Cubbage and M. M. McCarver
as commissioners to resurvey the town. The
original plat was accepted by the
commissioners, with the exception of the
fractional lots between Front Street and the
river, which were made public property. The
first sale of lots in the Government survey
was made at the land office in Burlington,
in the fall of 1838, but those who had
purchased lots from the original founders of
the town were protected by provisions of the
law, the holders of the property receiving
patents direct from the United States.
Fort Madison was incorporated by an act of
the Territorial Legislature of Wisconsin,
approved on January 19, 1838. Section 1 of
this act provided "That all that portion of
territory which is included in a survey made
by and under authority of the United States,
and which is known and designated as the
Town of Fort Madison, containing about six
hundred and forty acres of land in the
County of Lee, in said territory, be, and
the same is hereby, constituted a town
corporate and shall hereafter be known by
the name or title of Fort Madison."
Section 2 directed that an election for town
officers be held on the first Monday in May,
1838, at which time Philip Viele was elected
president; Robert Wyman, recorder; Herbert
Morris, Joseph S. Kennie, Charles McDill,
John D. Drake and Isaac Atlee, trustees. As
no regular meeting place was provided for
the board, the sessions of that body were
held at such places as could be secured,
chiefly at the Madison House and the offices
of Daniel F. Miller and Volney Spaulding. At
the town election in May, 1839, Peter Miller
was chosen president and continued in that
office by reelections until the Iowa
Legislature, by the act of February 12,
1842, granted the town a new charter, which
provided for the division of the town into
three wards and the election of a mayor and
six aldermen two from each ward.
The first election under the new charter was
held on April 4, 1842, the three wards
having been established by the old board of
trustees on March 5, preceding. Isaac Atlee
was elected mayor; William B. Matthews and
Henry E. Vrooman, aldermen from the first
ward; Alexander Anderson and William Evans,
aldermen from the second ward, and Josiah
Cowles and Levi Leech, aldermen from the
third ward. E. G. Wilson was the first
recorder, or clerk, under the new charter,
and Joel C. Walker was the first treasurer.
Some years later the city was divided into
four wards.
Following is a list of the mayors of Fort
Madison, with the year in which each entered
upon the duties of the office : Isaac Atlee,
1842; Philip Viele, 1843 ; Thomas Hale, 1845
; A. N. Deming, 1847; Wicklifr" Ketchel,
1848; Edward Johnstone, 1849; Philip Viele,
1850; Joel C. Parrott, 185 1 ; Joseph M.
Beck, 1852; Joel C. Walker, 1853; J. H.
Bacon, 1854; Philip Viele, 1855; Robert
McFarland, 1856; R. W. Albright, 1857;
Daniel F. Miller, 1858; Thomas S. Espy,
1859; Patrick Gilligan, i860 (served
continuously by reelections until October,
1864, when he resigned and John A. Nunn was
elected for the remainder of the term) ;
Patrick Gilligan was elected again in 1865
an d J 866; T. L. Lawrence, 1867; Patrick
Gilligan, 1868; Peter Miller, 1869; J. M.
Casey, 1870; Henry Cattermole 1872; A. C.
Roberts, 1873; A.J. Alley, 1876; Henry
Schlemer, 1884 Otway Cutler, 1886; J. D. M.
Hamilton, 1887; Samuel Atlee, 1893 J. A.
Jordan, 1897; Samuel Atlee, 1899; Charles H.
Finch, 1901 J. A. Jordan, 1903; Augustus P.
Brown, 1905; Charles H. Finch, 1907; William
L. Gerber, 1909 (died February 20, 1910, and
August E. Johns elected to the vacancy) ;
August E. Johns, 191 1 ; Augustus P. Brown,
1913.
A few years ago a slight change was made in
the city government. Instead of four wards,
the city was divided into five, and the
legislative department of the municipal
government was made to consist of two
councilmen-at-large and one from each of the
five wards. On September 1, 19 14, the city
government was constituted as follows:
Augustus P. Brown, mayor; A. S. Gaylord,
city clerk; J. R. Frailey, solicitor; A. M.
Lowrey, treasurer; Matt Thrasher, chief of
police; William M. Decker, chief of the fire
department; Ben J. Schulte, street
commissioner; F. R. Smith, assessor; N. J.
Bever and Harvey A. Skyles,
councilmen-at-large; J. C. B. Myers, first
ward; F. A. Woodmansee, second ward ; W. D.
Masters, third ward ; H. D. Kern, fourth
ward; John Oppenheimer, fifth ward.
Fire
Department
The first step toward protection against
fire was taken in October, 1841, when the
board of trustees passed an ordinance
providing: "That each and every person
owning a building within the town limits, is
required to provide said building with a
good leather fire bucket by the ist of
November; each building having one stove or
fireplace to have one bucket, and those
having more than one flue or fireplace to
have one additional bucket for every two
flues or fireplaces."
The ordinance also provided that the buckets
were to be kept in some convenient place,
where they would be easy of access in case
of fire, and a penalty of $1.00 per day was
imposed upon all who had failed to comply
with the provisions of the ordinance at the
conclusion of the time specified.
From that time until the spring of 1874, the
records do not show what, if any,
arrangements were made for the protection of
property from fire. In the spring of 1874
the city purchased a Silsby engine, two hose
carts and 1,500 feet of hose. A volunteer
fire company was soon afterward organized
and the apparatus was placed in the hands of
the company. For a few months the engine and
hose carts were kept in a livery stable,
until permanent quarters could be found.
When the Government laid off the Town of
Fort Madison, the lot at the northwest
corner of Fourth and Market streets was
reserved as a site for a public market. A
brick market-house had been erected on the
lot, and this was now turned over to the
"Gem City Fire Company." It is still used as
the central fire station and in the rear
part of the building are the city
offices.
During the summer of 1874, three cisterns
were built on Fourth Street at the
intersections of Pine, Vine and Maple
streets to provide storage for a water
supply. In 1876 a hook and ladder truck,
with all the necessary appurtenances, was
added to the equipment. The old Silsby
engine, the "Gem City," has been rebuilt and
is still in service. On October 25, 1913, a
combined automobile chemical engine and hose
cart, carrying 200 feet of chemical and
1,200 feet of water hose, was placed in
commission at the central station.
The paid department consists of six men at
the central station. In addition to this
company there are six volunteer companies,
to wit: Phoenix, No. 1, ten men; George B.
Inman, No. 2, ten men; Boss Hose Company,
No. 3, ten men; J. D. M. Hamilton, No. 4,
ten men; German-American, No. 5, ten men;
Fort Madison, No. 6, twenty men. The
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad
Company also maintains a fire company for
the protection of the shops and round houses
in the western part of the city.
Water Works
The Fort Madison Water Company erected its
plant in 1885. At first, a reservoir with a
capacity of 1,500,000 gallons was built upon
a high bluff at the eastern end of the city
and into this reservoir the water was pumped
from the Mississippi River. Since then the
original reservoir has been much enlarged
and an additional one constructed, the two
having a capacity of 14,500,000 gallons.
These reservoirs are situated about one
hundred and sixty feet above the level of
the town, so that the gravity pressure is
sufficient for all ordinary uses, direct
pressure from the pumps being called into
requisition only in case of fire. The
pump-house has also been completely
overhauled and the pumping capacity greatly
increased, the daily capacity of the pumps
being about seven million gallons. The
company has about twenty miles of mains,
distributed to all parts of the city. J. G.
Sutton, a man of experience in his line of
work, is the superintendent.
Much of the water used for domestic purposes
comes from the six artesian wells in the
city. These wells are about eight hundred
feet in depth and furnish a bountiful supply
of pure, wholesome water.
Public
Lighting
The Fort Madison Gas Company began business
in 1885 D Y tne construction of gas works in
the eastern part of the city, a short
dis-tance east of the penitentiary. Ten
years later the company had nearly eight
miles of mains and was supplying about
thirty thousand cubic feet of gas daily.
Since then the mileage of the mains has been
more than doubled, the capacity of the plant
correspondingly in- creased, the price of
gas reduced about 15 per cent, and the com-
pany has nearly two thousand patrons. J. G.
Moffett is the manager.
Elecric lights were first introduced in 1887
by the Fort Madison Electric Light &
Power Company, of which Samuel and J. C.
Atlee were the principal owners. A power and
lighting plant was erected at the corner of
Maple and Johnson streets and the company
began business. Under the ordinance of
October 12, 1903, which provided for the
lighting of the city by electricity 100
arc lights of 1,200 candle power each being
specified in the ordinance the company was
given greater privileges and the plant was
practically rebuilt. In April, 1913, the old
company was succeeded by the Fort Madison
Electric Company, which has made extensive
alterations. The old
Front Street During High Water Period 1881
The above photographs were taken from the
old "Q" depot. Anthexo Hotel and Academy in
the foreground. steam plant at Maple and
Johnson streets has been made a sub-station,
the new company taking current from the
Mississippi River Power Company, which owns
and operates the great water power plant at
Keokuk. Under the old system the streets
were lighted on a ''moon- light" schedule,
but the new company keeps the street lights
on all night. About one hundred thousand
dollars have already been expended in
improvements and the increased patronage
seems to justify the investment. Alfred S.
Nichols is the local manager.
Street
Railway
The Fort Madison Street Railway Company was
incorporated on June 2, 1887, under a
charter to run for fifty years, with the
following officers: J. B. Morrison,
president; W. E. Harrison, vice president;
Howell Jones, secretary; James T. Ritchie,
treasurer; Charles H. Peters, assistant
treasurer. These officers constituted the
first board of directors.
Work was commenced on a line running from a
point near the penitentiary, in the eastern
part of the city, to Ivanhoe Park, in the
west end, and the first car passed over the
road early in July. Until the summer of 1895
tne motive power was furnished by mules.
Then the road was changed to an electric
line, the Electric Light & Power Company
supplying the power. The route followed by
the railway from its eastern terminus at the
east end of Fourth Street is as follows :
Weston Fourth to Broadway; south on Broadway
to Second; west on Second to Cedar; south on
Cedar to Front; west on Front, past the boat
landing and the railroad stations, to Union
Avenue, where it turns south to Santa Fe
Avenue, and thence west to Ivanhoe Park.
There is also a spur from the main line to
the shops of the Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe Railroad, making a total length of
a little over four miles.
The Post
Office
Late in the '30s a mail route was
established from Flint Hills (now
Burlington) to St. Francisville, Missouri,
with "Doc" Hearn as the mail carrier. James
Douglass was the first postmaster at Fort
Madison and kept the office in his residence
at the southwest corner of Second and Market
streets, using a pine shoe box as a
receptacle for the mail. From that time
until 1914 the office was located in various
buildings, the postmasters for many years
keeping it in their respective places of
business. After the business of the office
increased to such a point that it was too
large to be considered as a "side line" for
some merchant, the Government rented
quarters and appointed postmasters who were
expected to give their entire time to the
handling of the mails.
The present handsome and well appointed
postoffice building, one of the most modern
in the State of Iowa, was opened to the
public for the reception and transmission of
mail matter on June i, 1914, with Nelson C.
Roberts as postmaster. An appropriation of
$75,000 was made by Congress for the
purchase of the site and the erection of the
building. The walls of the new postoffice
are of Indiana oolitic limestone commonly
called Bedford stone with terrazzo floor
in the corridor, hardwood interior finish,
plate glass windows, and departments for all
divisions of the mail service. Besides the
postmaster and his assistant, the office
employs four clerks, six carriers, three
substitute clerks and carriers, two janitors
and three rural carriers who make daily
trips into the surrounding country. From Mr.
Douglass' little shoe box, the Fort Madison
Postoffice now occupies the new building at
the northwest corner of Second and Chestnut
streets, and the annual receipts of the
office are, in round numbers, $23,000.
The
Commercial Club
The Commercial Club of Fort Madison was
incorporated on February 3, 1904, with J. C.
Ehart, president; T. T. Hitch, vice
president; M. T. Walker, secretary, and C.
E. Stoeckle, treasurer. As stated in the
articles of incorporation, the objects of
the club are: "For the social intercourse of
its members, and for the promotion of the
commercial and general welfare and
prosperity of the city; to take by gift,
purchase, devise or bequest real and
personal property for purposes appropriate
to its creation; to contract for and erect
buildings for the purposes of the
corporation, and to transact any and all
other business ordinarily within the scope
of such corporations."
This club is the successor to the Business
Men's Association, which was organized some
twenty years before, but which after a time
became inactive. The club has handsome
quarters in the Burster Block, at the corner
of Second and Pine streets and the club
rooms are open from 9 o'clock A. M. until
midnight every week day. On September 1,
1914, the club numbered about one hundred
active members. The officers at that time
were: Ernest Corsepius, president; Jesse
Schlarbaum, secretary, and George M.
Hanchett, treasurer.
Santa Fe Railroad Bridge Across Mississippi
Another organization, somewhat similar in
character to the Commercial Club, is the
Fort Madison First Association, which was
organized in 191 1, with a capital stock of
$30,000 as the basis of a fund to secure the
location of new manufacturing industries.
The motto of the association is, "Fort
Madison first." It has been active in
advertising the resources and advantages of
the city as a manufacturing center and
through its efforts new factories have been
and are being brought to Fort Madison. The
officers of the association for 19 14 were:
Preston E. Roberts, president; Jesse
Schlarbaum, secretary; J. A. S. Pollard,
treasurer.
Miscellaneous
Opposite Fort Madison, on the Illinois side
of the Mississippi, is what remains of the
old Town of Niota, now known on the railroad
time tables as East Fort Madison. In the
early history of the city a ferry boat
propelled by hand was the only means of
crossing the river. This was succeeded in
time by a steam ferry, the eastern terminus
of which was at Appanoose, about a mile and
a half above Fort Madison. Then Charles
Doerr built a dike from Doerr's Island to
the main land at Niota, constructed a good
landing there, and the terminus at Appanoose
was abandoned. In 1887 the Atchison, Topeka
& Santa Fe Railroad Company, under a
charter granted to a company some years
before, built a railway and wagon bridge
across the river. The bridge is 1,925 feet
in length, with 1,000 feet of trestle work
at the Illinois end. There is a roadway for
vehicles on either side of the railroad
track and between the track and the roadways
are screens, so that horses will not become
frightened at the sight of passing trains.
Near the Iowa shore one span of the bridge
is a draw, operated by a steam engine above
the railway tracks, for the passage of
boats. The first train passed over this
bridge on December 7, 1887.
No city on the eastern border of Iowa is
better provided with transportation and
shipping facilities than Fort Madison. It is
a division point on the main line of the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad,
which gives it direct connection with
Chicago and all points north and east of
that city. The Burlington & St. Louis
and Burlington & Carrollton divisions of
the great Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
System pass through the city, which is also
the eastern terminus of the Fort Madison
& Ottumwa Division of the same system.
By means of these various railway lines the
city is within easy communication with all
parts of the country. Then there is the
Mississippi River flowing in front of the
city, and upon its bosom the boats of the
Streckfus Line ply regularly between St.
Louis and St. Paul, while the White Collar
Line runs daily boats between Burlington and
Quincy. Although river transportation has
decreased to some extent since the
introduction of the railroad, it is still an
important factor in carrying freight and
passengers, and Fort Madison is so situated
that she can take advantage of the low rates
offered by the various steamboat
lines.
Fort Madison has a fine high school building
and four modern school buildings. In
addition to these public schools each of the
Catholic parishes maintains a parochial
school, so that the educational facilities
of the city are unsurpassed. Eight
Protestant and three Catholic churches
afford the church-going portion of the
population ample opportunities to attend the
denomination of their choice. The city has
over three miles of brick paved streets and
more than three times that amount of fine
macadamized streets, good cement sidewalks,
five public parks- Central, Old Settlers,
Ivanhoe, Riverview and Black Hawk Heights,
two hospitals, good hotels, two daily
newspapers, excellent telegraph and
telephone service, a good public library,
and a large number of cozy homes.
The business interests of the city include
several large manufacturing establishments,
three banks, a number of well stocked
mercantile houses and the usual number of
small shops, restaurants, etc., usually to
be found in cities of its class. The
following table shows the population of the
city, as shown by the United States census
reports since 1850:
1850 1,509
1860 2,886
1870 4,011
1880 4,679
1890 7,901
1900 9,278
1910 8,900
When the Government's figures for 1910 were
made known in Fort Madison, the Commercial
Club claimed that an error had been made by
the enumerators, and was granted permission
to take a new census. Work was commenced and
in two of the five wards enough additional
names were found to overcome the decrease
shown by the Government report below that of
1900. Then the census bureau announced that
it would be impossible to make any
corrections in the original enumeration and
the work of the Commercial Club was stopped.
In 191 2 the canvassers for the city
directory took the names or at least the
number- of members in each family, and
this census showed a population of over
eleven thousand.
With the excellent transportation facilities
offered by Fort Madison, there is no reason
why its manufacturing interests should not
be greatly increased during the next few
years. Its bountiful supply of pure drinking
water, its wholesome air, its schools and
churches, its intelligent and courteous
people, its geographical location, all
combine to make Fort Madison an ideal
residence town and justify its sobriquet of
"The Gem City."
Dr. S. W. Moorhead.
Source: History
of
Lee County, Iowa, by Dr. S. W. Moorhead and
Nelson C. Roberts, 1914
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