St. Charles Republican intelligencer. (St. Charles [Charles City], Iowa) 1856-1857, 1856-07-31
st. Charles,

menu py MI. COsepn heilev, one vi VIC Pieseh'
proprietors Of the town. in November, A. D. v
1850. 1t was then a flourishing Indian village, /
inhabited by the Winnebago tribe. The near t
est white settlement was at or near where c
Jaynsville is situated, in Bremen County,
distance of about IS miles, that place being {
then known as the Lower Big Woods" and I
this, as the "Upper Big Woods" in conse- s
quence of the two large bodies of timber that
lie adjacent to these places. During the I
summer of 1858, Mr.. Kelley laid out 55 acres ,
into blocks, lots, streets and squares, and
called it St. Charles, in honor of his oldest son
whose name is Charles. There was one log
cabin erected in the place in the early part of
the year 1854. The saw mill of Mr.. Kelley
was commenced, but was not in running order
until late in the fall of that year. In August
of the same year Floyd County organized, and
the county seat was located at st. Charles.
During that year the village had grown from
one to five cabins, and remained nearly the
same until late in the summer of 1855
| In hespring of 1856, owing to the freshet
the saw-mill was out Of repair and was not put
into operation until July About the same
time, Mr.. Jarvis Rattan put into operation
steam saw-mill then little east of the town
but now in the heart of the village. The de-
mand for lumber was great and as many bull
dings as possible were erected from that time
until the setting in of winter.
In the mean time a company of capitalists,
seven in number, and mostly from Rockford,
| +ocM NJ Ill !, l.
a partner, bought other lands adjoining, when
additional surveys of town lots were made
This company the town proprietors) are Jo-
seph Kelley, Duncan Ferguson, Miles H.
Waller, Milo Gilbert, VIM Hulin Luke Joslin,
r. M. Birmingham and VIM. Sprague. The
four former reside in st. Charles and the 9TH
ers at Rockford, Ill.
The sale of town lots has been rapid beyond
y all precedent. In the beginning of the present
= season contracts were made to erect about one
! hundred dwelling houses during the season,
and many of these are already put up and oc-
cupied. Among the edifices of the town at
}. the present time We may name the fine -four
t ing mill and hotel Of Mr.. Kelley, good
4 school house, the stores of Hon. A. L. Collins,
q John Ferguson Co., Ferguson & Stanley,
Rumpf, Lehmkuhl & Co., Noble,
Fcssenden & Montague, not emitting the en-
s terprising pioneer log store of Cheney & Brack.
e EFT, the Gothic "villa" of Mr.. Gilbert, not yet
@ completed, the neat cottages of Mcssrs. Waller
y and Goddard, the Intelligence" building
the large new hotel of Smith 6 Goddard and
- the stone store of Cheney s. Bracket, now in
l. course of erection
20 The business of the place embraces two saw
d mills one four-mill seven stores including
% a book store and a drug store a newspaper
job printing Office tin-ware mandatory; tive
blacksmiths one cabinet maker single man
ufactory; two lath mills ; any number of car
1t penters and joiners four plasterers two ston
at masons one brick-layer; three painters fou
RI physicians four lawyers; two clergymen on
-, tailor; one shoe maker; and a small sprink
ling Of land dsslsIs anl slsiuilasscsoo
IN 1854, John NJ. Hunt was appointed Judge
David Wiltse, Prosecuting Attorney; S. {
n Goddard, Clerk; Corydon d. Burroughs
:, School Fund Commissioner and VIM. Mont
- gomery, Sheriff. The township officers WEI
~ A. W. Story, Justice of the Peace; Maso
ID Clark and Charles p. Stevens, Constables.
he At the April election in 1856, John Ball We
,ir elected Judge, to fill the vacancy occasione
by the resignation of Judge Hunt. No 9th,
change was made in the county officers. III
VI township officers elected were as follows
Ia John Blunt, R. w. Humphrey and John Ke
no logg, Trustees Milo Gilbert Clerk Sanfol
az Howe, Assessor Joshua Jackson and Alansc
!, Lambert, Justices of the Peace; Jonatha
Montgomery and G. p. Stevens constables.
eli At the August election, 1856, A. L. Collil
les was elected County Judge; Joshua Jackso
m Recorder and Treasurer; j. G. Shoemake
County Surveyor; VIM. Montgomery, Sheriff
- David Wiltse, Prosecuting Attorney; Jol
Kellogg Coroner
;al At the April election, 1885, David Wiltse W
)at elected School Fund Commissioner; JOSEF
zee Coley Drainage Commissioner To,cnOGcers
al. For Trustee r. ", Humphrey, John Kello
:, and John Muir For Clerk Oslando Bagle
Assessor, Seth Richardson; Constables, Jor
than Montgomery and C. p Stevens; Ro
Supervisors, John Blunt and r. w. Humphre
When Mr.. Kelley visited Dubuque for
fol- purpose of making entries of the land here
was considered almost insane. g Why m
alive do you know where this land is ?" sa
~ the officer of the land Office. II believe do
.to was the reply. "Well said he it is wort
less to you--it is clean out of the world
~: "No matter-I will venture to take it," So
"a Mr.. Kelley, and pocketing his certificates,
left the Office
,oo Probably no town in the state has a mt
200 delightful location than ST. Charles. 1t is S
uated on both sides of the Cedar River,
ION lovely stream as ever Moore or Burns il
;yo mortalized in verse, and stretches out upor
rnll clean rolling prairie, where groves of tint
ian skirt the landscape around. 1t is already
her point for large trade with the surroundi
an country, and it is confidently belived that
BOD will ere, many years, enjoy all the privilet
lis. and blessings of the older inland towns a
IRIS cities of the East. The population of I
'he township in June, 1866, was $50, and of I
for county little over 1900. In June, 1856, t
- - \ -