The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1876-07-08

town sites that the facetious 8. N. Woot
once proposed in the Legislature to re
serve by law certain portion Of the
Territory for farming purposes.
Allen county did not escape the in
lection although she suffered it in a les
degree perhaps than some other localities
The town of Geneva was started in tn,
summer of this year by colony from New
York and Michigan the two wings being
under the lead respectively of Ephran
Fisk and Merritt Moore. The association
was originally styled the Union Settle
ment Association, and the more promi
nent members were DIR. B. L. G. Stone
G. L. Wait, s. T. Jones, Rev. G. s
Northrup, 1. A. Holman, P. P. Philips
E. J. Brinkerhof, ]. Fl. Spicer, A. r
Sain, H. r. Sommers, Frank Ureidenburg
1. G. Red6eld and J. NJ. Nation. The
association started out with the most
extravagant expectations. Their settle
ment was to embrace at the very start
three hundred families. They were to
locate and lay out large and commodi-
Gus city not less than one mile square,
with an indefinite extent of timber and
farming land contiguous. They were to
organize n complete college with pre-
paratory or academic department. In
short it was to be in every respect a
model community. They made a con-
tract with l.. L. Northrup to bring a
steam saw mill to the new town and
agreed to provide him a quarter section
of timber land, and in addition to fur
nish, at Is dollars thousand, all the
saving he could do in a year. The mill
was brought out according to contract
and set up on the bank of Indian Creek.
Northrup also started store in the vii
lage but the saving was not forthcoming.
Circumstances rendered it impossible to
carry out these great expectations. Or
the three hundred families not one fourth
ever came out. Without people and
money a great institution of learning
could not be built. Although an emf
nently peaceable, law abiding commu-
nifty, their attempt to hold large body
of land involved them in difficulties with
the surrounding settlements, which how
ever never led to any more serious results
than occasional riots and sundry pre-
sentiments by the grand jury as hereto.
fore mentioned. DR.. Stone the leading
spirit of the enterprise was man of fine
talent and address, an elegant talker and
a fluent and effective public speaker, but
visionary and over sanguine. Disguised
at the failure of his plans, he left the
Territory about the beginning of 1860.
Nevertheless, although Geneva failed to
realize the expectation of its founders,
and which one of our towns has not, it
furnished to the county large accession
of educated and valuable citizens, many
of whom still remain and have finally
realized in 10 inconsiderable degree their
original plans.
In March of this year also the Hum
boldt Town company was organized by
a party of Americans and Germans at the
head of which was DR.. Hartmann of
Lawrence. The original association con-
sisted OF Hartmann, Searle, ]. H. Sig
nor, 1. A. CofTey and N. B. Blanton, and
it was intended that the property in the
new town should belong equally to
Germans and Americans. The first in
stallment of the German part Of
the colony arrived in April, under the
of German named Serenbets
in addition to whom VIM. Eastman,
Jacob Frixel, Landewasser and Troutz
constituted the party. 1t was their in
tention to organize an association on the
principle, having all prop
erty and earnings in common, but the
scheme was found to work badly and
was soon abandoned. The American
portion of the colony were represented
besides those above mentioned by H. w.
Signor DR.. Geo. A. Miller, J. w. Sper-
ring, r. NJ. Works, Ben Whitlow and
others. The first settlement on the Town
site was made by Charles Baland, who
erected the usual log cabin of the period.
This was afterward purchased by J. A.
Cofley and used as the first store in the
place. In May or June steam saw mill
was started on the bank of the river
near the town. This was the first steam
mill in the county. That of l.. l..
at Geneva not having arrived
till the summer of 1858. The plan of a
mixed German and American population
seemed to work we'll although starting
out with more modest pretentions than
some others. The town fourished be-
yond most of the towns of that period, and
the people have always been noted for
thrift and enterprise, some of the origi-
nal settlers being to-day among our most
and worthy citizens.
Among the various special enterprises
in the way of colonization which were
started in the county that summer, was
a small community which settled on a
little tributary of the Neosho few miles
below Humboldt. They were vegetarians
in profession and practice, eschewing
animal food, tea, coffee and all other
and subsisting on weeds and
except, it is said, perhaps