Scattered over Lee
County are a number of towns and villages, some of
which are business centers of considerable importance,
while others are merely small railroad stations,
neighborhood trading points or post offices for a
given district. In the early days of Lee County's
history there seems to have been a sort of mania for
laying off towns,, the principal object having been
the sale of lots to new comers. Hawkins Taylor, one of
Lee County's pioneers, in an article published in the
Annals of Iowa for October, 1870, says: "Speculation
was running high in the spring of 1836, and everybody
we met had a town plat. There were then more towns in
what is now Lee County than there are now, if a paper
plat constituted a town; and every man tfn lL :B nad a
town had a map of the county marked out to suit his
town as a county seat."
Not all the towns referred to by Mr. Taylor could
secure the county seat. In spite of that fact,
however, some of them have survived, others have
disappeared entirely from the map, and it is quite
probable that none of them has come up to the hopes
and expectations of the founders. From a careful
examination of old plat-books, atlases and newspaper
files, the following list of towns that are or have
been in Lee County has been compiled: Ambrosia,
Argyle, Ballinger, Beck, Belfast, Benbow Siding, Big
Mound, Bricker, Buena Vista, Bullard, Camargo,
Charleston, Connable, Cottonwood, Court- right,
Croton, Denmark, Donnellson, Dover, Franklin, Galland,
Hinsdale, Houghton, Jeffersonville, Jollyville,
Ketchum Switch, La Crew, Leesburgh, Macuta, Melrose,
Mertensville, Montrose, Mooar, Mount Clara, Mount
Hamill, Nashville, New Boston, Nixon Station,.
Overton, Pilot Grove, Primrose, Russellville, Saint
Paul, Sandusky, Sand Prairie, Sawyer, Shopton, South
Augusta, South Franklin, Summit Siding, Summitville,
Tuscarora, Viele, Vincennes, Walanva,, Warren, Wescott
and Wever.
In this list there are a few instances of two names
applying to the same place. For illustration:
"Courtright ,, and "Mount Hamill" refer to same
village, the former being used by the founders of the
town and the latter by the post office department.
"Vincennes" and "Sand Prairie" likewise refer to the
same place. Galland was formerly known as Nashville,
both of which names appear in the list. Many of these
towns have no special history, but such facts as the
writer could gather concerning them are given below.
The figures showing the population are taken from
Polk's Iowa Gazetteer for 19 14.
Ambrosia
The old Town of Ambrosia was situated about three
miles west of Montrose. In its early days a general
store and blacksmith shop were located there, and when
Ambrosia Township was erected by the county
commissioners in 1841 it was ordered that the first
election should be held "at the Town of Ambrosia."
After the railroad was constructed up the bank of the
Mississippi River, missing the town, the business
interests removed elsewhere, the post office was
discontinued, and about all that is left to perpetuate
the name is the public school known as the "Ambrosia
District."
Argyle
The Village of Argyle is situated in Des Moines
Township, on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Railroad, fifteen miles southwest of Fort Madison. It
has grown up since the railroad was built through that
part of the county, has three general stores, a flour
and feed mill, express, telegraph and telephone
service, a money order post office and a population of
fifty.
Ballinger
Ballinger is a small station on the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad in the southeast
corner of Montrose Township. It was established after
the railroad was built and takes its name from one of
the pioneer families in that locality. It has no
business interests of importance.
Beck
Two miles south of Viele, on the Chicago, Burlington
& Quincy Railroad, is the little station of Beck,
or Beck's Siding, but the place has no history except
that a siding was put in here by the railroad company
for the convenience of local shippers and was named
for the owner of the land upon which it is situated.
Belfast
This town is located in the northwestern part of Des
Moines Township, on the Des Moines River and the
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, and had a
population of 90 in 1914. It has a money order post
office, a general store and is a shipping point for a
considerable territory.
Benbow Siding
On the Fort Madison & Ottumwa Division of the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, a short
distance northwest of Sawyer, is a shipping station
called Benbow Siding. It has never been officially
platted as a town and the name does not even appear on
the time tables of the railroad company.
Big Mound
1 he old Village of Big Mound is situated in the
western part of Cedar Township, about one mile from
the Van Buren County line. It takes its name from a
knoll in the vicinity and in its early days was a
trading point of some importance. After the Keokuk
& Mount Pleasant Division of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad was built, the
business was diverted to Mount Hamill, or Court-
right, and Big Mound is little more than a memory.
Bricker
Bricker is a little station on the Atchison, Topeka
& Santa Fe Railroad nine miles southwest of Fort
Madison, in Jefferson Township. It has no history nor
no business interests of importance.
Buena Vista
Three miles west of Keokuk, in the southern part of
Jackson Township, is the little hamlet of Buena Vista,
a flag station on the Chicago, Rock Island &
Pacific Railroad, though the railroad company does not
keep an agent there. Mail is delivered to the few
inhabitants through the Keokuk post office.
Bullard
Bullard, or Bullard's Station, is situated in the
northeastern part of Jefferson Township, on the
Burlington & St. Louis Division of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad, five miles from Fort
Madison. Mail is received by rural delivery from
Montrose.
Camargo
Among the early settlers of Des Moines Township was
Samuel Hearn, who established a ferry across the Des
Moines River, not far from the present hamlet of
Hinsdale. A settlement grew up about the ferry and in
time a post office was established there under the
name of Camargo. Both ferry and post office were
ultimately discontinued and the site of the village is
now farming land.
Charleston
The Town of Charleston was laid off by George Berry on
September 23, 1848, for Jacob Hufford, and the plat
was filed in the office of the county recorder on June
1, 1849. The original plat shows forty-eight small and
three large lots, with Hackberry, Main and Elm streets
running north and south, and First, Second, Third and
Fourth streets running east and west. It is located
nearly in the center of the township of the same name,
on the Keokuk & Mount Pleasant Division of the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, eighteen
miles from Keokuk. In early days Charleston was a
popular place for holding conventions, on account of
its central location, and at the special election held
in August, 1845, the town received forty-one votes for
county seat. At that time Charleston was in the zenith
of its glory. Failing to secure the county seat, the
town has kept on in the "even tenor of its way," and
is now a trading point for a large agricultural
district. Its estimated population in 1914 was
sixty-five. It has three churches, a public school, a
money order post office with one rural route, express
and telegraph offices, telephone connections, a hotel,
a general store, and does considerable shipping.
Connable
Twelve miles northwest of Keokuk, on the Chicago, Rock
Island & Pacific Railroad, is the little flag
station of Connable, so called from the owner of the
land at the time the station was established. It is
merely a shipping point and has no commercial
interests of consequence.
Cottonwood
This is a station on the Fort Madison & Ottumwa
Division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Railroad, twenty-three miles from Fort Madison. It is
located near the line dividing sections 10 and ii in
Cedar Township, not far from the site of the old
Village of Russellville, has a general store, a money
order post office, telephone connections, a Methodist
Episcopal Church, and in 1914 the population was
estimated at twenty-five.
Croton
The original plat of Croton was filed in the county
recorder's office on May 3, 1849, by Lewis Coon. It
shows twelve blocks ot eight lots each. Subsequently
six similar blocks were added, making a total of 144
lots. Croton is situated in the southwestern part of
Van Buren Township, on the Des Moines River and the
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad,
twenty-six miles northwest of Keokuk. It has
Adventist, Baptist and Methodist Episcopal churches, a
money order post office, telephone connection, express
office, a public school and an estimated population of
one hundred.
Denmark
The Town of Denmark is situated near the center of
Denmark Township, seven miles north of Fort Madison.
Sawyer is the nearest railroad station. Denmark was
laid out by Timothy Fox, Curtis Shedd, Lewis Epps and
W. Brown and the plat was filed for record on January
17, 1840. It has two general stores, a private banking
house, harness and wagon repair shops, a hotel, an
independent tele- phone exchange, an academy, in
connection with which is conducted a library, Baptist
and Congregational churches, and in 1914 the
population was estimated at two hundred.
Donnellson
Early in the spring of 1 88 1 the Town of Donnellson
was surveyed by H. A. Summers, county surveyor, for
Esten A. Donnell and others and the plat was filed in
the office of the county recorder on May 21, 1 88 1.
Since that time Borland's, Abel's, Frank's and Trump's
additions have been made to the original plat, the
last named in June, 1905. Donnellson is situated in
the southwest corner of Franklin Township, at the
junction of the Keokuk & Mount Pleasant and the
Burlington & Carrollton divisions of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad. It has two banks, an
electric plant, a flour mill, several stores, a good
public school building, a weekly newspaper, German
Evangelical, Methodist Episcopal, Mennonite and
Presbyterian churches, a money order post office with
four rural routes, and a number of pleasant
residences. According to the United States census for
1910 the population at that time was 337. It is one of
the Incorporated towns of Lee County.
Dover
No official plat of the old Town of Dover is
available, so that its early history cannot be given
with certainty. It is located in the southeast quarter
of section 8, in the northwestern part of Franklin
Township and in 1914 consisted of a general store and
a few dwellings. A post office was once maintained
here, but it has been discontinued and the few
inhabitants now receive mail by rural delivery from
the post office at Donnellson.
Franklin
The Town of Franklin (also called Franklin Centre in
early days) owes its origin to the commissioners,
James L. Scott and S. C. Reed, who selected the site
as the place for the county seat of Lee County, an
account of which is given in the chapter on
"Settlement and Organization." The town was laid off
by order of the county commissioners on March 21,
1840, and was for a time the seat of justice of the
county. Franklin is situated in the eastern part of
Franklin Township, on the Burlington & Carrollton
Division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Railroad, twelve miles west of Fort Madison. It is
incorporated and in 1910 reported a population of 138.
It has two general stores, a furniture and undertaking
establishment, a money order post office, telephone
connections, a hotel, and is a ship- ping point for
the surrounding country.
Galland
When this village was first laid out it was called
Nashville. The first settler here was Dr. Isaac
Galland, in 1829, after whom the post office was named
when it was established some years later. The first
schoolhouse in the State of Iowa was built at Galland
— or Nash- ville, as it was then called — in 1830.
Galland is situated in the southeastern part of the
Township of Montrose, on the Mississippi River and the
Burlington & St. Louis Division of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad, three miles down the
river from Montrose. It was at one time a trading
point of some importance, but its glory has departed,
the post office has been discontinued, and the few
inhabitants now receive mail by rural delivery from
Montrose.
Hinsdale
This is a small station on the Chicago, Rock Island
& Pacific Railroad m the southwestern part of Des
Moines Township, seventeen miles northwest of Keokuk.
It has no special history.
Houghton
Houghton is situated in the eastern part of Cedar
Township, on the Keokuk & Mount Pleasant Division
of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad,
thirty-three miles from Keokuk and twenty-two from
Fort Madison. It has two general stores, a money order
post office, telegraph and express offices and about
fifty inhabitants.
Jeffersonville
On January 27, 1870, William Crosley filed in the
county recorder's office the plat of town called
Jeffersonville, which had been laid out for him by
William H. Morrison, deputy surveyor, in June, 1867.
The plat showed sixteen lots in the northwest quarter
of section 16, near the junction of the Burlington
& St. Louis and Burlington & Carrollton
divisions of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Railway System. Subsequently the plat of Viele, just
north of the junction, was surveyed and Jeffersonville
passed into history.
Jollyville
In May, 1856, F. M. Jolly employed Samuel W. Sears,
then county surveyor, to lay off a town on his farm in
the southeast quarter of section 7, township 68, range
3, about three-fourths of a mile from the present
railroad station of Wever. The original plat showed
six large and twenty-four small lots, which were all
sold, and Jollyville was a thriving little place until
Wever sprang up on the railroad, when the business
interests all removed to the new town.
Ketchum Switch
It is hardly appropriate to classify this place as a
town, as it is merely a siding on the Burlington &
Carrollton division of the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy Railroad, about two miles west of the Town of
Warren and was placed there by the railroad company
for the convenience of a few shippers in that
locality.
La Crew
La Crew is a station on the Keokuk & Mount
Pleasant Division of the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy Railroad, in the northwest corner of Franklin
Township, near the Marion Township line. It was laid
off by James A. Davis, county surveyor, November 1,
1881, for J. and W. Bonnell and J. W. Powell, and the
plat was filed for record on May 22, 1882. It is
twenty-eight miles from Keokuk and eighteen from Fort
Madison, has two general stores, a hotel, express and
telegraph service, telephone connections, etc. A post
office was formerly maintained here, but it has been
discontinued and a rural route from West Point now
supplies mail daily.
Leesburgh
Hawkins Taylor, in the article referred to in the
opening of this chapter, says Leesburgh was laid off
by William Skinner some time prior to the spring of
1836, and that it was located a few miles south of
Franklin. No official plat of the town can be found
and nothing can be learned of its history further than
the above meager statement of Mr. Taylor. It was
evidently one of the "paper towns" which were so
common in early days when speculation was rife.
Macuta
This is the first station southwest of Fort Madison on
the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. It is
six miles from Fort Madison, in Jefferson Township.
Melrose
The original plat of Melrose, which was filed on
November 20, 1857, shows thirty-six blocks of twelve
lots each, located in section 1, township 65, range 6,
in the northwestern part of Jackson Town- ship. No
railroad ever came to the town, which failed to
fulfill the expectations of its founders, and the plat
was subsequently vacated with the exception of a few
lots upon which dwellings had been erected.
Messingerville
On August 29, 1855, L. E. H. Houghton, B. Smith and F.
W. Billigman filed with the county recorder a plat of
the Town of Messingerville, located in the northwest
quarter of section 24, township 65, range 5.
Messingerville is now practically a part of the City
of Keokuk.
Mertensville
On the Fort Madison & Ottumwa division of the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, twenty-one
miles from Fort Madison, is the little station of
Mertensville. It is in the extreme northwest corner of
Marion Township, not far from the Henry County line,
and has no commercial importance aside from its
shipping interests.
Montrose
The incorporated Town of Montrose is situated in the
township of the same name, on the Mississippi River
about midway between Fort Madison and Keokuk, on the
Burlington & St. Louis division of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad. It is a town of more
than ordinary historic interest, as it marks the site
of the first white man's settlement in what is now Lee
County. An account of this settlement will be found in
the history of Montrose Township.
The first attempt to lay off a town here was in 1836,
which fact was communicated to the war department by
Lieutenant-Colonel Mason, then in command of the
garrison at Fort Des Moines. Later in the year the
fort was abandoned and the plat of the town was
completed by David W. Kilbourne, of Keokuk, who gave
it the name of Montrose. No official plat was filed,
however, until April 5, 1854. Oren Baldwin, then
deputy county surveyor, who made the plat, states in
his report that the survey was made at the request of
Edward and Virginia C. Brooks, Francis E. Billon,
Dabney C. and Walter J. Riddick; that it included the
tract of 640 acres — part of the old Spanish grant to
Louis Honore Tesson — as well as the Town of Montrose,
and that it was completed on May 8, 1853.
Montrose was incorporated in 1857. Dr. J. M. Anderson
was chosen the first mayor at a town election held on
June 1, 1857; Washington Galland was elected recorder,
and E. J. Hamlet, Gowen Hamilton, B. F. Anderson and
George Purcell, councilmen. At that time, and for a
number of years afterward, Montrose was an important
river town, on account of its being located just above
the head of the rapids, where cargoes were unloaded
and carried over the rapids in lighters, except in
times of high water, when the large steamers could
pass over the rapids without difficulty. The
completion of the Government Canal in 1877 put an end
to the lightering business.
David W. and Edward Kilbourne opened the first store
in 1839, but were succeeded by Chittenden &
McGavic. A large saw-mill was one of the early
industries. About the time the canal was opened to
traffic, this mill was operated by the firm of Wells,
Felt & Spaulding and cut over fifty thousand feet
of lumber daily. It also had machinery for making
shingles, lath and fence pickets and a planing mill
for dressing lumber.
In 1910, according to the United States census, the
population of Montrose was 708. The town has Catholic,
Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian and Latter Day
Saints churches, a fine public school building, a
weekly newspaper, an opera house, and is connected
with Nauvoo, Illinois, by a steam ferry. The principal
business interests are three general stores, a
hardware store, a drug store, the Standard Garden Tool
Company, a button blank factory, large nurseries, coal
and lumber yards, three groceries and a bank. The town
also has an international money order post office and
lodges of the principal fraternal orders. Several fine
orchards, truck farms and vineyards are in the
immediate vicinity, the products of which are taken by
a canning factory in the town.
Mooar
Shortly after the Keokuk & Mount Pleasant division
of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad was
completed, the little station of Mooar was established
six miles north of Keokuk and was named for the owner
of the land on which it is situated. It has never
grown to any considerable proportions.
Mount Clara
This is also a station on the Keokuk & Mount
Pleasant division of the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy system of railroads. It is situated twelve
miles from Keokuk, near the northwest corner of
Montrose Township, and is a shipping point for a rich
agricultural district.
Mount Hamill
It is not often that a small town is honored by having
three names, but such is the case with this one. The
original plat was made by James A. Davis, county
surveyor, for A. L. Courtright and R. A. Jarrett and
it was filed under the name of "Courtright 1 ' on July
5, 1 88 1. When the post office was established there
it was given the name of "Mount Hamill, 11 and as a
station on the Keokuk & Mount Pleasant division of
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad the name
appears on the time tables as "Hamill. 1 ' In the
survey made by Doctor Davis, the plat of the town
shows fifteen blocks of eighteen lots each, but only
four of the blocks were at that time subdivided. Mount
Hamill is situated in the southeastern part of Cedar
Township, thirty miles from Keokuk, by rail, and about
twenty-three miles from Fort Madison. According to
Polk's Gazetteer, the population was 200 in 1914. It
has a bank, an automobile garage, Christian,
Congregational and Methodist Episcopal churches,
general stores, an agricultural implement house,
telephone and telegraph service, a fine public school
building v etc., and is the trading and shipping point
for a populous farming community.
New Bosston
The first plat of New Boston was made by Oren Baldwin
and it was filed in the office of the county recorder
on July 28, 1855. The town is located in the southeast
corner of Charleston Township and is a station on the
Keokuk & Mount Pleasant division of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad sixteen miles
northwest of Keokuk. It has a money order post office,
a general store, and is a shipping point of some
importance. The population in 1914 was 75. It is
connected with the surrounding towns by telephone.
Nixon Station
In the southeast corner of Charleston Township, only a
short distance from New Boston, is Nixon Station, at
the junction of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
and the Koekuk & Mount Pleasant railroads. Aside
from its importance as the crossing of two lines of
railway, it has no commercial interests worthy of
mention.
Overton
Among the early settlers of Marion Township were Elias
and James Overton, who settled in section 22, in the
southern part of the township. When the Fort Madison
& Northwestern Railroad — the narrow-gauge — was
commenced in the early '70s, Mr. Overton laid off a
town on his farm, about a mile and a half southwest of
the present Village of St. Paul, and gave it the name
of Overton. Trains stopped there regularly for a time,
but after the road was made a standard-gauge and
became the Fort Madison & Ottumwa division of the
Burlington system the station was discontinued and the
Town of Overton passed out of existence.
Pilot Grove
On March 20, 1858, George Berry, then deputy county
surveyor, laid off the Town of Pilot Grove near the
center of section 10, town-ship 69, range 6, for
Stephen Townsend, Wesley Harrison and others, and the
plat was filed for record on April 16, 1858. It shows
166 lots and a large public square. Pilot Grove is a
station on the Fort Madison & Ottumwa division of
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad,
seventeen miles northwest of Fort Madison. It has a
post office, a bank, a general store, telegraph and
express offices, telephone connections, and ships
considerable quantities of live stock, etc. According
to the Iowa Gazetteer for 1914, the population was
then eighty-five.
Primrose
On February 28, 1848, George W. Perkins and James H.
Washburn laid out the Town of Primrose on the west
side of section 23, in Harrison Township. The plat was
filed in the office of the county recorder on April
21, 1850. In November, 1878, Levi and Lucretia Davis
laid out an addition of fifty-four lots. Primrose is
eighteen miles west of Fort Madison and about two and
a half miles north of Warren, which is the nearest
railroad station. It has a general store, a public
school building, Lutheran, Methodist Episcopal and
Presbyterian churches, a money order post office, and
a population of 150.
Russellville
This town was surveyed and platted by James Hanks on
March 11, 1858, for David Doan. The original plat
shows twenty lots. Russellville has also been called
Doantown, after the proprietor. It is situated in the
northern part of Cedar Township.
Saint Paul
Concerning this town Polk's Iowa Gazetteer for 1914
says: "St. Paul. A discontinued post office one and
one-half miles from St. Paul station on the C. B.
& Q. R. R., in Marion Township, Lee County,
sixteen miles west of Fort Madison, the judicial seat,
and six from West Point the nearest banking point,
whence it has rural delivery." Saint Paul was laid off
by George Berry on the last day of April, 1866, and
the plat was filed for record on the 25th of the
following September. It shows sixteen large lots — 177
by 390 feet — and a public square 400 by 420 feet. A
Catholic church was built here at an early day and at
one time Saint Paul was a trading point of some
importance. There is still considerable business done
there.
Sandusky
Five miles north of Keokuk on the Burlington & St.
Louis division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Railroad, is the little Village of Sandusky. It
occupies the site of the old trading post established
by the Frenchman, Lemoliese, in 1820. A post office
was established here at an early date, but after the
inauguration of the rural delivery system it was
discontinued and mail is now supplied through the
office at Montrose. A general store and a canning
factory are the principal business interests of
Sandusky.
Sawyer
Sawyer is a small station on the Fort Madison &
Ottumwa division of the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy Railroad, six miles north of Fort Madison. It
is the outgrowth of the railroad and has no important
business enterprises.
Shopton
Strictly speaking, Shopton is a part of the City of
Fort Madison. It is so named on account of its being
the location of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Railroad shops, two miles from the passenger station
of the city.
South Augusta
Directly across the Skunk River from the Town of
Augusta, in Des Moines County, is the Town of South
Augusta. It is situated in the northeastern part of
Denmark Township and was laid off by George Berry on
April 19, 1843. The history of the town does not
differ materially from that of other country villages.
South Franklin
When the Burlington & Carrollton division of the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway System was
built through Franklin Township it missed the Town of
Franklin, passing about two miles south. On August 22,
1872, P. H. Smyth laid off a town on the railroad,
directly south of old Franklin, and gave it the name
of South Franklin. The plat of Mr. Smyth's town shows
108 lots. Several business concerns moved from
Franklin to the new town on account of the advantages
offered by the railroad.
Sugar Creek
On the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad,
seven miles west of Keokuk, in Jackson Township, is
the little station of Sugar Creek, which takes its
name from the stream near which it is located. No
official plat of the town can be found and, aside from
its railroad connections, it has no history nor
business importance.
Summit Siding
In the northwestern part of Washington Township, on
the Fort Madison & Ottumwa division of the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, is Summit
Siding, a small station established there by the
railroad company for the convenience of shippers in
the immediate vicinity. No town has grown up about the
siding.
Summitville
The old Town of Summitville is situated in the
southwestern part of Montrose Township. It is a
station on the Keokuk & Mount Pleasant division of
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, eight
miles north of Keokuk and twenty miles from Fort
Madison. It has a general store, a money order post
office, Christian and United Presbyterian churches, a
public school building, and in 1914 had an estimated
population of one hundred
Tuscarora
This town was laid off by Stephen and John B. Perkins
and James Douglas about 1838, on Perkins' Prairie, in
the southern part of what is now Marion Township and
on the road running from Fort Madison to Salem. It was
one of the towns projected for speculative purposes
and in the public library at Fort Madison is one of
the advertisements, in the form of a poster issued by
the proprietors, announcing the sale of lots, in what
was to be the metropolis of Lee County. Tuscarora
failed to meet the anticipations of the founders,
however, and in time disappeared from the map
entirely.
Viele
Viele is situated in the northern part of Jefferson
Township, six miles southwest of Fort Madison, at the
junction of the Burlington & St. Louis and the
Burlington & Carrollton divisions of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railway System. It has a
general store, ex- press and telegraph offices,
telephone connections and some minor business
interests. The post office formerly maintained here
has been discontinued and rural delivery from Montrose
now supplies daily mail to the inhabitants.
Vincennes
The railroad name of this village is Sand Prairie. It
is situated on the Des Moines River and the Chicago,
Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, in the southern
part of Des Moines Township, fifteen miles northwest
of Keokuk. It has a general store, a feed mill,
telegraph and express offices, telephone connections,
a money order post office, a public school, and in
1914 had an estimated population of one hundred and
fifty. Vincennes is one of the best shipping points
between Keokuk and Farmington.
Walanya
One of the early towns of Lee County was Walanya,
which was laid off by Samuel Sears in section 18,
township 69, range 7, in the western part of Cedar
Township and not far from the Van Buren County line.
The original plat shows a town of some pretensions,
but Walanya never came up to the hopes of the founders
and after some years the plat was vacated.
Warren
Warren is a station on the Burlington & Carrollton
division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Railroad, located in the southern part of Harrison
Township, seventeen miles by rail from Fort Madison.
The plat was filed for record on May 1, 1876. It has
grown up since the railroad was built and is the
principal shipping point for a rich agricultural
district in Harrison and Van Buren townships. A post
office was once maintained here, but it has been
discontinued and rural delivery from Donnellson
supplies the inhabitants with mail daily.
Wescott
Five miles north of Fort Madison, on the Burlington
& St. Louis division of the Chicago, Burlington
& Quincy Railway System, is the little station of
Wescott. No official plat of the place was ever
recorded and it has no business enterprises of
consequence.
West Point
In the year 1834 a man named Whitaker laid claim to
the site of the present Town of West Point. The next
year he sold his interests to John L. Howell and John
L. Cotton, who in turn sold to Abraham Hunsicker. Mr.
Hunsicker laid off a public square with one tier of
lots surrounding it, and Mr. Cotton built a log house
near the northwest corner of the square and opened a
store. This was the first business enterprise and the
place was known as "Cotton Town." During the year 1835
anc ^ ear ly m 1836 a few log cabins were erected. In
May, 1836, William Patterson, A. H. Walker, Green
Carey and Hawkins Taylor purchased Mr. Hunsicker's
claim, procured a patent for the land and on June 11,
1840, laid off the Town of West Point. In an article
written by Mr. Taylor for the "Annals of Iowa," he
gives many interesting facts concerning the early
history of West Point, a few of which are here
reproduced:
"John L. Cotton had the only store. The house was
about twelve by sixteen feet, of peeled hickory logs,
split side in, rough boards nailed over the cracks and
no ceiling. His stock in trade was one barrel of 'red
eye,' said to be of approved quality; about a dozen
pieces of calico and as many more pieces of domestics;
a few fancy articles, tea, coffee and tobacco, all
amounting in value to perhaps two hundred
dollars.
"Within a few days after our purchase, my associates
returned to Illinois, leaving me to put up a frame
house for each of us, 18 by 32 feet, one story high. I
had not a foot of plank to use in any of them; the
studding were rails straightened; the siding split
boards, and the floor puncheons. The front doors and
window-sash were brought round from Pittsburgh and
bought at Fort Madison.
"On the 10th of September, 1836, the proprietors of
West Point made a sale of lots, after pretty full
advertisement. The proprietors were all temperance
men, and one or two of them were elders in the old
blue-stocking Presbyterian Church. They had set apart
a liberal plat of ground to their late minister, who
was coming to settle there, and they had arranged to
build a meeting-house and organize a church. To be a
'hard-shell' Baptist was then respectable with the
settlers; to be a Campbellite was passable; and to be
a Methodist could be tolerated; but they felt that it
was asking rather too much for anyone to come among
them and propagate temperance and blue-stocking
Presbyterianism. It was strongly whispered that this
was a bad lot to settle in a new country — in fact, it
was whispered pretty loudly. The proprietors were very
anxious to have their sale a success. They were all
Kentuckians, and, at that time, had seen but few
Yankees; still, they had picked up some Yankee ideas,
and, as nearly all the settlers were from the South,
they concluded to make, on the day of sale, a regular
old-fashioned barbecue. No sooner was this known than
the hard-shells themselves softened and offers from
all quarters were made to take charge of the roasting
department of the barbecue, and the worst of enemies
became friends. Both the sale and the barbecue were a
grand success; plenty to eat for all and well cooked,
no one intoxicated, everything cheerful and pleasant.
The sale amounted to about twenty-three hundred
dollars.
Not long after this sale, the people of West Point
began a fight to secure the county s.at. The contest
was kept up until 1 843, when a commission composed of
Thomas O. Wamsley, I. N. Selby and Stephen Gearhart,
appointed by the Legislature, selected West Point as
the most suitable location for the judicial seat of
Lee County. For a brief period there was rejoicing
among the West Pointers, and then another act was
passed, authorizing an election at which the people
could decide the location for themselves. In that
election Fort Madison won and some of the citizens of
West Point suffered pecuniary losses in consequence.
But the town held on and in time regained much of its
former prosperity.
The West Point of 19 14 is one of the thriving towns
of Lee County. It is incorporated, has a bank, a
canning factory, a cigar factory, a weekly newspaper,
several well-stocked mercantile establishments, a good
public school building, an international money order
post office with five rural routes, Methodist
Episcopal, Presbyterian and Catholic churches and a
number of handsome residences. Being located on the
Fort Madison & Ottumwa division of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railway System, in the center
of a rich farming country in West Point Township, and
only eleven miles from Fort Madison, it is an
important trading and shipping point. The West Point
District Agricultural Society has held annual fairs at
West Point for nearly half a century. According to the
United States census for 1910 the population of the
town was then 570.
Wever
In July, 1 891, Elisha Cook surveyed and platted the
Town of Wever for William and Louisa Blakslee, George
W. and Clara Tucker, and others, and the plat, showing
eight blocks of four lots each, was filed with the
county recorder on December 18, 1891. The town is the
outgrowth of the building of the railroad which is now
the Burlington & St. Louis division of the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy System. It is located
in the central part of Green Bay Township, eight miles
by rail from Fort Madison, and is the commercial
center of Green Bay and a large part of Washington and
Denmark townships. Wever has a savings bank, three
general stores, a money order post office with two
rural routes, a public school, a grain elevator and
some minor business concerns, and in 1914 had an
estimated population of one hundred.
Post Offices
The following list of Lee County post offices is taken
from the United States Postal Guide issued in July,
1914, the figures in parentheses showing the number of
rural delivery routes emanating from the office
immediately preceding: Argyle, Belfast, Charleston
(1), Cottonwood, Croton, Denmark, Donnellson (4), Fort
Madison (3), Franklin, Houghton, Keokuk (2), Montrose
(4), Mount Hamill (2), New Boston, Pilot Grove,
Primrose, Summitville, Vincennes ( 1 ), West Point
(5), Wever (2). Domestic money orders are issued by
all these offices and international money orders by
the post offices at Fort Madison, Keokuk,
Montrose and West Point.
Source: History
of
Lee County, Iowa, by Dr. S. W. Moorhead and
Nelson C. Roberts, 1914
|
|
