Complex sentence: Frederick Cretzmeyer is credited with being the first settler in Waverly, having purchased in 1852, he built a log hut on the east side of the Cedar River (or what was once called the Red Cedar River).
Split into simpler sentences: Frederick Cretzmeyer is credited with being the first settler in Waverly. Having purchased in 1852, he built a log hut on the east side of the Cedar River (or what was once called the Red Cedar River).