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JACKSON TOWNSHIP
This township is east of Fairview and west of Madison. The surface is, largely, rolling prairie land; in parts it is somewhat broken. The Wapsipinicon River enters from the west, near the center, and running southeast, leaves the township a mile west of the southeast corner. Along the river, there is good timber-land, and there is considerable timber in the northeast corner. The village of Newport is in the south part, on the Wapsipinicon, and consists, at the present time, of only a small collection of dwellings and a grist-mill. There is an excellent water-power at this point, and this village was once the county seat. One of the finest bridges spans the Wapsipinicon at this place that there is in the county. It is an iron structure, and rests upon good, solid, stone abutments.
The Christian Church society have a small brick church edifice in the northwestern part of the township, | |  | From A. T. Andreas' Illustrated Historical Atlas of Iowa, by Alfred Theodore Andreas, Chicago, Andreas Atlas Co., 1875, page 157. Printed by Lakeside Press, Chicago.
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and there is a fine schoolhouse in the same neighborhood. The first settlers in the township were James Sherman and Adam Overacker. They were here as early as 1838 or 1839. Sherman settled in the eastern part, and in early times was a Justice of the Peace. Overacker settled in the neighborhood of Newport. Levi Cronkhite, David Myers, Anthony Overacker settled also in the neighborhood of Newport. David German settled in the eastern part, near Sherman. Rueben Bunce, now of Anamosa, was also an old settler in Jackson. In the year 1846, Francis Byerly, Michael Byerly, Jacob Byerly, Andrew Byerly, John Byerly, William Byerly and Adam Byerly came and settled in the neighborhood of Newport. William Benadon and Simon P. Benadon came with the Byerlys, Charles Beam came also about the same time. Daniel Slife came in 1849. From this time on, the settlers came in rapidly and Jackson is now well settled and well improved. |
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CASS TOWNSHIP
| This township is north of Fairview, and, though not the earliest settled, comprises a portion of the very best farming land in the county. The south portion is considerably broken, and is principally timber-land, and a small district in north is likewise hilly and uneven. The central portion is a beautiful prairie district, almost entirely level or slightly undulating. The farms are in a good state of cultivation, and the farmhouses and barns good and substantial. The Buffalo Creek runs across the southwest corner, and the Dubuque & Southwestern Branch of the Chicago & Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway crosses the southwest. In the center of the township the Congregational Church society has a good house of worship, and there is a Methodist Church two miles north of the center. In the southwestern portion there is one of the most flourishing creameries in the county, owned and operated by Messrs. Stuart & Chadwick. Among the early
| |  | From A. T. Andreas' Illustrated Historical Atlas of Iowa, by Alfred Theodore Andreas, Chicago, Andreas Atlas Co., 1875, page 157. Printed by Lakeside Press, Chicago.
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settlers of this township were Elisha Dodge, now of Monticello, Solomon Thomas, Mr. Pitcher, George Hall, Alex. Crawford, A. P. Condit, John Powell, M. Reaves, Linus Osborne, David Osborne, John Reaves, Silas Samms, Jonas Samms, Robert Dondit, Oliver Doyle, Mr. Acres, John Wallace and others.
There were but few settlers in the township until the year 1854, and the population increased rapidly after that time. |
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From A. T. Andreas' Illustrated Historical Atlas of Iowa, by Alfred Theodore Andreas, Chicago, Andreas Atlas Co., 1875, page 157. Printed by Lakeside Press, Chicago.
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WAYNE TOWNSHIP
This fine agricultural township lies immediately south of Monticello and northeast of Anamosa. It is surpassed by none in the fertility of its soil and the character of its inhabitants. While in many portions of the township the land is comparatively level, yet, as a whole, it is abruptly rolling and uneven, interspersed with rich lowlands and lined by several small ravines. Primeval forests are not found, but areas of thrifty young timber are not rare. Nearly all the land is tillable, and is watered by Kitty Creek with its two main branches and their small tributaries. The southern sections constitute a "ridge" or water-shed from which small streams flow northward, and others to the southeast. The township is traversed by no river. The soil is generally a sandy loam, which produces excellent small grain, fair corn, good grass, and nearly all the varieties of fruit which are adapted to this latitude. Areas of alluvial soil yield premium corn. Their luxuriant meadows and cultivated grasses supply winter food for the cattle gathered in from their "thousand hills." The township is well adapted to general farming and the dairy business, which latter interest is rapidly becoming prominent. |
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EARLY SETTLEMENT
The first permanent settler was James Spencer, who located in the north part of the township in the spring of 1840. It was the general intention to name the township in his honor, but at the organization in 1856, "Wayne" was chosen in memory of a county in Ohio.
J. McLaughlin is said to have built a cabin and dug a well on land now owned by Hon G. W. Lowell, as early as 1838, and possibly a few others may have founded claims before J. Spencer, but they remained only a short time, and he was the earliest settler still residing in the township at date of its organization. His widow lives in Monticello with her son-in-law, Joseph Clark. The growth of the township was not rapid until after 1850. During the decade prior to 1860, the population increased a hundred-fold. Notwithstanding its natural advantages, it was among the last to be settled, and was the latest organized in the county. |
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ORGANIZATION
This township, previously nameless, was organized on the 7th of April, 1856, at the house of O. G. Scrivens, by the electors of said township, who were convened by call of Joseph Gant, who had been appointed for that purpose on the 15th of March preceding, by G. C. Mudgett, the County Judge.
The Judges of election were Jacob Zigler, T. Hartman and Henry Simmons. The Clerks of said election were B. F. Gant and John Clark. The first township officers elected were: Justices of the Peace, David M. Cook and Alpheus Johnson; Constables, William Nelson and R. Batchelder; Assessor, John Clark; Town Clerk, Joseph Gaut; Trustees, O. M. Gaut, J. Goodin, T. Hartman; Road Supervisor, O. G. Scrivens.
Twenty-three votes were cast at said election. The following list includes a majority of all the early settlers, and their nativity, who located in Wayne Township at any time prior to its organization in 1856; E. Ackerman, New York; I. Ackerman, New York; W. Armatige, Pennsylvania; Robert Barnhill, Indiana; George Brown, Indiana; John Batchelder, New Hampshire; Steven Batchelder, New Hampshire; N. Batchelder, New Hampshire; Romance Batchelder, New Hampshire; B. Batchelder, New Hampshire; A. Batchelder, New Hampshire; N. Bigley, Pennsylvania; Warren Burrough, N. Y.; Martin Barts, Pennsylvania; John Clark, Pennsylvania; J. C. Clark, Pennsylvania; David Cook, Pennsylvania; Roswell Crane, New York; Joseph Dawson, Pennsylvania; Z. Dunning, New York; M. Davis, _______; C. S. Gilkey, Michigan; O. M. Gaut, Pennsylvania; Joseph Gaut, Pennsylvania; Benjamin Gaut, Pennsylvania; A. Himebaugh, Illinois; L. Hitchcock, Pennsylvania; Stephen Hester, Indiana; George Hall, New Hampshire; T. Hartman, Pennsylvania; William Jorden, _______; Alpheus Johnson, New York; George W. Lovell, Michigan; Daniel Loper, Pennsylvania; J. McDonald, Canada; G. C. Mudgett, Indiana; James Milne, New York; John McBride, Pennsylvania; W. H. Perine, Ohio; David Reed, Pennsylvania; Robert Reed, Pennsylvania; James Spencer, Pennsylvania; Thomas Schoonover, Indiana; G. Schoonover, Indiana; L. Schoonover, Illinois; H. Simmons, Illinois; O. G. Scrivers, Indiana; James Stacy, New York; E. Stroman, Pennsylvania; William Sanford, Ohio; A. Sanford, Ohio; W. P. Sanford, Ohio; C. Taylor, New Hampshire; D. Tucker, New Hampshire; M. Tippen, Ohio; S. Wooster, New Hampshire; E. Wooster, New Hampshire; Jacob Zigler, Pennsylvania.
In the newly organized township, the first school was taught by Miss Nellie McConnon, in the house of Roswell Crane at Langworthy, but Miss Martha Crane, and doubtless others, had taught school in the unnamed and unorganized township. Miss McConnon afterward married W. H. Proctor, a merchant in Monticello, and has since died. |
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COUNTY FARM
The State of Iowa, through C. P. Hutton and T. S. Dawson, Commissioners of Jones County, donated to Jones County the northeast quarter of Section 36, in Wayne Township, on the 20th of June 1840. This, with subsequent additions and modifications, constitutes the "County Poor Farm." It now contains about 200 acres, and the county has occupied and improved it since about 1860. The first Steward was O. B. Doyle. It has been for ten years in charge of John Platner and wife, who are regarded as thoroughly competent. General farming is practiced. The beneficiaries of the institutions average fully twenty in constant attendance, and comprise nearly all nationalities and all colors, and all ages, from the nursling to the veteran of nearly ninety winters. The county is burdened with several who are incurably insane. While the policy of the county is to decline furnishing a comfortable retreat for all the lazy, able-bodied, willingly dependent applicants for its charities, nevertheless, the treatment of all its unfortunate is considerate and humane. |
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VILLAGES
Langworthy, now a station on the Southwestern Branch of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, was laid out by Col. W. T. Shaw, January 2, 1858. It is situated in the northwestern part of the township, and contains about one hundred and twenty-five souls. It has one general store, one creamery, one idle cheese-factory, one blacksmith-shop, one shoemaker's shop, a post office, a depot, a church, express office, and no saloon. A. H. Hall is the merchant, and is doing an average annual business of $12,000. He is also the acceptable servant of the people and the United States Government as Postmaster. The obliging station agent, J. A. Rollins, informs us that the total amount of freight and passenger business is annually about $1,700, which includes the transportation of seventy-five tons of butter and twenty-five carloads of live-stock. The "Crescent Creamery," described elsewhere, is the chief enterprise of the place.
Amber—This enterprising little village is in the southern central part of Wayne, and has grown up since the autumn of 1874, when the Midland depot was there located. It now has one general store, kept by Mrs. C. E. Sanford & Son, one wagon-shop, by J. P. Hollenback, one blacksmith-shop, by W. H. Green, one carpenter-shop, one paint-shop, two warehouses, a depot, express office and post office; there is also a lumber-yard and an office for the sale of agricultural implements. J. C. Ramsey, the station agent, buys annually 30,000 bushels of grain, and Hartman & Sanford have shipped 15,000 bushels this year. Forty-five car loads of live stock are shipped annually; 950,000 feet of lumber are sold, and $700 received for the sale of tickets. The founders of Amber were the Hartmans, the Sanfords and J. C. Ramsey, and they are still prominent in business. T. Hartman, a pioneer, is the original Postmaster. The post office was established in 1873, with the name of Blue Cut, which was, on the 1st of July, 1878, changed to Amber. |
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CREAMERIES
On the eastern central part of Wayne is the noted Diamond Creamery of H. D. Sherman & Co., proprietors. Howard Putnam, Superintendent.
It was opened in the spring of 1878, and the average amount of milk used per month the first season was 10,000 pounds. Average per month in 1879, 14,000 pounds.
This creamery uses the Orange County deep-setting pans, the square revolving churn and the Walker Patent Butter-Worker. The milk is entirely supplied from Wayne Township, and twenty-seven pounds are used in the manufacturer of a pound of butter. This creamery received the first premium for Iowa butter and the sweepstakes at the International Exhibition in New York in 1878.
The Crescent Creamery, C. E. Marvin, Proprietor and Superintendent, is located at Langworthy station, and is ample in all its appointments. This was erected early in 1879, and is receiving a monthly average of 265,000 pounds of milk from the dairies in Wayne Township, and the monthly product of butter is nearly 12,000 pounds, and pays to farmers about $25,000 per year. Some small dairies average forty pounds per day for each cow for nine months. An artesian well supplies the creamery with constant and pure water. Philadelphia and New York monopolize the "Crescent" and "Diamond" products.
Near Langworthy, also, is the neat little creamery owned by Minor Davis, which receives an average of 2,000 pounds per day during the season.
All of these creameries are recently established, and the farmers of Wayne are thus given a home market for $50,000 worth of the most profitable farm product. |
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CHURCHES
The oldest church in Wayne is that of the United Presbyterian, on the eastern border, near Scotch Grove, which is the nearest post office. It was organized on the 12th of May, 1856, with twelve members. One hundred and eighty-six persons have been members of this Church. The first Pastor was the Rev. A. J. Allen, and the present Pastor, the Rev. W. D. Ralston, has been in charge since 1864. The present Elders are Matthew Nelson, Robert Heasty, J. L. Acheson, James Milne and George L. Himebaugh. The church and parsonage are valued at $3,000. The present church edifice was erected in 1865, and, from the shape of its spire is locally known as "The four-horned church." Many of its members reside in Scotch Grove.
The Langworthy Circuit of the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in October, 1859, by the Rev. Bishop Isabel, and has enjoyed a continuous itinerant pastorate. The preacher in charge is the Rev. R. Ricker. The present edifice, named the "Springer Memorial," was built in 1872. The first Trustees were P. G. Bonewitz, Minor Davis, Michael Tippin, H. Albertson, J. F. Wilkins, Z. Dunning and F. J. Fish.
The Burr Oak M. E. Church, a charge on the Langworthy Circuit, also erected a new church in the autumn of 1872, the Rev J. M. Hedge being Pastor. The first Trustees were Daniel Loper, Ephraim Stroman, George Soper, Jacob Fryberger and Jacob Rhue.
There are three German Churches, the oldest of which is the German Evangelican Lutheran St. John's congregation, (of Unaltered Augsburg Confession). This society was organized in 1861, the first minister being R. Oswald. Their new church was built in 1877.
The Evangelical Lutheran Zion's congregation built a church in 1874, and their first Minister was J. J. Oetjen.
The United German Lutheran Reformed Church was organized in 1876, and their first minister was George Rettig. This society holds no service at the present date.
Town Officers—The following is a list of town officers elected October 14, 1879: Town Clerk, P. M. Himebaugh; Trustee, Noah Bigley: Assessor, J. C. Lawrence; Collector, A. H. Hall; Constable, Orange Lawrence.
Road Supervisors—District No. 1, T. Tobiasen; No. 2, J. C. Lawrence; No. 3, H. Adams; No. 4, W. B. Allen; No. 5, G. L. Himebaugh; No. 6, George Schoonover; No. 7, Henry Hoyen; No. 8, T. Borderker; No. 9, J. D. Priest; No. 10, Horace Soper; No. 11, Peter Hartman; No. 12, Henry Hartman; No. 13, H. J. Jacobs; No. 14, H. Harms; No. 15, Noah Bigley; No. 16, E. Stroman.
The township is traversed by three railroads, two of which are controlled by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, and the other is the Midland Branch of the Chicago & North-Western. Most of the residents of Wayne own the farms they cultivate. The majority are Americans, but a large percentage in the north and east are German and others, foreign-born. The population, in 1875, was 1,135. Two hundred and three votes were cast at the election in October, 1879, but the number of male adults exceeds that number, since many foreigners do not care to assume the duties of citizenship, although this class, together with all others, unite to form one industrious, thrifty and moral community.
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