Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1876-07-07

on ones fingers. w. S. Clark, James
, Minton, Chas. Melrose snd Gamaliel
Walker were up the river near where
Littleton now is. Jacob Minton,
Ihos. Barr, Joseph Ross and Isaac
Hathaway, on the creek five miles
north of Independence; the Greeleys,
VIM. Bunce, John Kint, and Samuel
Sufiicool, still farther north in Halle
ton township; VIM. Jewell, A. Rich
ardson, and Sllas X. Messenger, at
Buffalo Grove; and John Obenchain,
Carmi Hickox, Frank Hathaway,
John Boon. Isaac Sufiicool, (who had
bought the Isaac Hathaway FARM,
and Il. Megonigle located around
the edge of the timber north and
east of Independence, and that com
pletes the list.
Quasqucton had become quite a
village. 1t had Touring mill, to
which came settlers from west and
southwest with their grain, for sixty
OF seventy miles; also saw mill, a
store, grocery, hotel and blacksmith
shop, and really was growing, pros
porous town. But Independence
was forlorn looking place, indeed.
-Four families only, and they anxious
to leave, but too poor to get away;
an idle saw mill, and not a store or
shop of any kind and little prospects
OF either. The county had laid out
90 acres into lots, and Stoughton &
Mcclure few blocks on each side
Of Main street. There was nothing
to distinguish streets from lots; even
Main street was only crooked wa
gon path through the brush. There
was wagon road cut through the
timber to the Hickox farm, (now
known as the Smyser farm) and one
more crooked still, out to the prairie
east, which crossed the first little
creek near the Brewer place, and
next at the old Sufficool place, (now
occupied by Ely WILSON,, and from
1T followed the edge of the timber
down to Quasqueton, about where
the travelled road now runs. There
was also track north, via of the
Obenchain farm, and thence across
the prairie toward Thos. Barr's and
Otter Creek, but so faint as to be
scarcely discernible. Neither road
nor track up the river, except an In
dian trail, and not even that, west
across the prairie, nor east beyond
the timber, nor to, or toward Bran
don or Buffalo. Grove To venture
two miles west on the prairie, was
about as dangerous as to venture to
sea out of sight of land, without a
compass. Thos. Close carried the
mail once each week to Cedar Falls,
on an Indian pony. There were no
marks of any kind to guide him, and
if by careful observation he kept
within a mile of the direct course, it
was quite feat of prairie craft
Wolves prowled about the houses,
and bands Of them made night vocal
with their bowling. The east bank
of the river was where is now the
middle Of the bridge, and large trees
were growing where now stands the
center pier.
The assessment roll for lS49 shows
81 resident tax payers of which about
80 lived in the north half of the
county. That of 1850 shows only
SO resident tax payers in the county,
33 being in the north half At the
August election in lS4s, Washington
township polled %, Spring Is, and
Liberty 32, votes; and in August,
1850, Washington 10, Spring 10, and
Liberty 80, in all IS votes. The tax
book of 1850 shows the total valua-
tion of property, real and Personal,
to have been s46,95s, and total tax
assessed $4,000. 1861 acres of
land were entered-about twenty
sections in all. The total va.ue of
merchandise was 5000 and that was
all at Quasqueton Mills and ma
chinery were valued at $4,000; S3,-
600 at Quasqueton, l,l67 at indie
pendence, and 1923 at Pine Creek
There were 6 watches, valued at
$lsS; 43 wagons valued at $1,000;
"A horses, valued at So, 3,76O; 24l cat
tie, assessed at $500; 2ss sheep,
valued at S4O3; and $50 hogs, valued
at 1854.
There was post Office at Quas-
queton and at Independence, and the
mail came from Dubuque once per
week via Q1asqueton in 4 one horse
wagon. There was not a bridge in
the county, nor across any stream be-
tween this and Dubuque, nor any
regular ferry. If streams were too
deep to be forded they must be cross
ed in canoes, or by swimming, or by
RATS. All houses in the county were
of logs, save a few at Quasque-
ton and at Independence. Almost
every farm thus far selected was so
located as to embrace prairie for til
lage, and timber for fencing, fuel,
and shelter, and on some little stream,
and a spring near which to build
No special pains were taken to con-
struct warm houses, and fuel was
used as prodigally as though the
whole country had been timbered.-
Pork and bread were abundant, and
honey, venison and wild fruits in
their season. There was no market,
for surplus produce, and little surplus
to market, except pork, and if that
was hauled to the Mississippi it
would bring two dollars per hundred.
But everybody had plenty of good
wholesome food to eat, and they
didn't trouble themselves about
luxuries. Everybody in the county
knew, and was neighbor to, every
body else, no matter how far apart
they lived.
In ls49 the California gold ex-
element prevailed, and the fever
seized many of the settlers here, and
in the spring of 1850 several of them
crossed the plains to that Ell Dorado;
among them VIM. Bunce, John
Obenchaln, Kessler, B. d. Springer,
Trask, Phelps, and Stoughton.-
Some of them returned, others re-
malned, and some died there
Among the latter was Kessler.-
Stoughton returned the next year,
but died shortly after of consumption
in the south, where he had gone
III