Burlington hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1845-185?, 1851-12-25
Correspondence of tine Hawk Eye.
SYDNEY, Fremont Co., Iowa.
Oct. Is. 1851.
Editors Of the Hack Eve -


Editors Of the Ht,ck- Eye
II being rainy day. have concluded to fur
nish you with some items from this part of our
State; giving brief sketch of the surface. soil
and products Of this coanty; with some obsersa-
tons upon the manners and social condition Of
the population. The county of Fremont is NAM
ed in honor of Col. John c. Fremont whose in
defatigable energy opened ahigh-way for the en-
igrants Of the old States to the gold region of the
west, and is situated in The southwestern corner
OF the State lis western and north western Dor
ders are washed by the troubled waves of the
Missouri; -on the north lies the county of Mills.
(named after Col F. d, Mills, late of Burlington,
lowa,who fell at the gates of the capital of Mex
leo, Jon the cassidy Page and on the south by Atch-
ison county, Missouri. The Legislature of his
adopted State to perpetuate his name and cher
lsh his memory throughout succeeding genera
tons gave his name to a portion Of our State,
whose soil will outlve the stored monuments of
the Caesars This county contains within its pre-
sent organized limits 32i square miles, which d.
vided into quarters will give 100 acres TO 1896
actual settlers.
II was organized into county in the fall Of
1850; and the seat Of Justice was located at sgd
ney in June last. Sydney is yet in lis infancy
and cannot boast Of its thousands. or hundreds,
or even its fifty citizens; only few buildings of
very ordinary structure made chiefly of hewn
loss scattered here and there over some ten acres
of ground form what is called the town of Syd-
ney. Best les these, there are some four or FIVE
small frame buildings in process of erection,
which when completed, will without doubt, put
''iule Syd' upon her Erst feet. The site how
ever, according to my mint. is not so suitable as
one might be selected, and not far removed from
its present sitt alton. 1t is low ana broken, both
on the east and south, and considerable marshy
district puts in on the west within the town site,
running south by east which for some time will
he an obstacle to Improvements in that direction.
AT the distance Of quarter of mile to the west
from the public square there is beautiful, ele-
waited prairie, extending to the timber, more eli
gible from its situation than the location of sgd
ney, and which the Commissioners ought to have
selected as site even if they should have paid
the present occupant large sum for his right of
| soil. As II is Sydney may improve rapidly for
many years, and there is strong probability that
she may not. But if she only progresses as ra-
pialy as she has for the las, two months, in two
years she will have population Of 1000 persons.
At this time Sydney is the great and absorbing
topic of conversation in This region. 1t has ris-
en- as if by magic. There are three very respect
able mercantile establishments, each Of which
| have a pretty heavy stock Of goods, which the
owners are selling at but little above the Burling-
ton prices. There is as yet. no house of public
advertisement; aud accommodation must be sought
in private families. He is lucky who upon the
first application obtains lodgings for the night
Yet there is every disposition manifested by the
citizens to have all strangers accommodated with