Charles City intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa) 1864-1866, 1865-12-28
@.st6atS tbe Gourst Of Gmpiis tak,s its a0lap.


| both now of Cedar Falls, and DR.. Ere,
man, put up log house on the Yves
side, which was used for q store, an
DIR. Freeman laid off forty acres for
town plat, and called it Freeman, bu
this was soon obscured and swallow
ed up in the more fortunate east side
THE WATER POWER
is claimed to be one of the best on TIN
Cedar river, and Mr. Kelly's first busi
ness was to put up saw mill, whicl
he finished in 1852, and which is still
standing and in use. He afterward
erected large Touring mill Of thre
run of stones. This water has thirt,
feet fall within half mile, one-half 9
which is below the mill so that the
are never troubled with back water
This power Mr. Kelly desires to sci
and it offers a fine opportunity 70
some man who has the money to max,
an investment that cannot fail to pay
No part of it is now used except fo
the two mills already named it has
an excellent dam put down in 1864
lies in the very heart of the village, an,
cannot fail 10 make good property.
THE TOWN LAID OUT.
Soon after Mr.. Kelly settled ther,
he laid off sixty acres for town.
few settlers came in in 1851, and the
following year there were about TWEEN
ty-fve families in the town. A rush
however, set in during 1852 and 1853
and the village has constantly improv
ed ever since. In August, 1854, Floyc
county was organized, and ST. Charles
was selected as the county seat. Free
mans store on the west side was the
first one, and the first hotel was tha
of Gilbert & Pooler, opened in 1853.
NEW PRoPRIEroRs.
a company of capitalists from Rock
ford, Illinois, afterwards bought up @
large interest in the town from Mr.
Kelly, so that in 1855 the proprietors
of the town were Joseph Kelly, Dun
can Ferguson, II. NJ. Waller, Milo Gil
bert, VIM. Hulin, Luke Joslin, r. NJ
Brantingham and William Spriggs, ol
whom the four former resided a,
Charles City and the others at Rock
ford, Illinois.
THE COUNTY ORGANIZED.
AS already stated, the county wa.
organized in August. 1854, when JOIN
NJ. Hunt was appointed Judge Davit
Wiltse, Prosecuting Attorney S. C
Goddard, Clerk, and VIM. Montgom
cry, Sheriff.
OLD SETTLERS.
One of the oldest settlers in Charles
City is John Blunt, who has twice helc
the Office Of Sheriff, and has beer
among the most public spirited ant
enterprising citizens of the county
Another old settler who has figured
quite conspicuously, is A. L. Collins
who, during the past month, has beer
convicted of robbing the county safe
In 1855 he was elected County Judge
and at the time of the robbing las
summer, was Chairman of the Board o.
Supervisors.
ANOTHER CLAIM
Jacob Beelar, who resides on the
Shell Rock in the western part Of the
county puts in claim as being tn,
earliest settler in the county, having
gone into the Shell Rock valley al
early as 1851.
THE FIRST BABY.
OF course, our sketch would be a
once set down as imperfect If we die
not chronicle the first baby and the
first death The first child born in th,
county was a daughter of Ambrose w
Story in the year 1851, which died il
1853. The first death occurred il
1855, when IA man named Grow was
accidentally drowned at st. Charles.
STATISTICAL.
Mentioning these things puts us il
a statistical mood, and we might there
fore add that the first clergyman il
the county was Rev. John Ball, Metho
dist, who preached at Ulster. Tn,
first church erected was Baptist, an,
in Charles City. The first permanen
house is claimed to have been built by
John Blunt, and the first frame build
ing was erected in 1855 by SANFORD
Harwood, in which was held the frs
session of the District Court as wei
as religious and political meetings.
GROWTH
Since 1855 and 1856, when st
Charles may be said to have fairly GO
out of its chrysalis state, the village
has had steady and healthy growth
It's improvements have for the mos
part been of a permanent character ant
what was done in it was well done
In 1851 the county erected
| COURT HOUSE
at cost of $4,000 (costing $40, ,OOt
now), which is altogether the best on,
in the northern part of the State, ant
is said to be exceeded only by the
ones at Iowa City and Des Moines, O
all those in the State.
THE RAILROAD
was completed last December to Wa
verify thirty miles below, and has o
course shed its influence over Charlie
City, which will, without doubt, be it
next stopping place. As conse
quence of this and of the large immi
grafton into the country the villag
has shot ahead wonderfully during tn
past year and it might be said, W,
believe truthfully, that it has just be
gan to grow.
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE IN 1865.
During the past year there has bee
a very large addition to the popula
ton of the town, so much SO, that th
erection of new buildings has not beel
able to keep pace with it, and as
consequence, habitable rooms an,
houses are crowded to excess. Durins
the warm weather not few familie
lived in tents, but the cold has drives
them out and the new buildings tina
have been erected have been made, on
way and another, to shelter the popr
llatinn Ahout fifty dwallinr housa