Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1900-06-14
COUNTY GRANT TO scar.

COUNTY GRANT TO SO&P.
Demand of John l. Blair for
40 Acres Acceded To.
1t is ssit tlat late in 1868, after John
I Blair had Quilt the Sioux City & Pa
cific as far as Sergeant Bluffs, he took
all his men aud teams off the work.
tie called meeting Of the business
men and told them he wanted very
much to bring his road to Sioux City.
He said however, that to do 80 he
must receive something in return. He
was modest enough to simply ask .
deed to twenty acres of land along the
ievee in Sioux City and all the swamp
and overflow lands 10 the county.
This was his ultimatum, and the citt.
zens were aghast. 1t was declared 10
be all out of the question. "Al. right, .
said the great John l, ut will be as
easy to cross the Missouri at Sargent
Bluffs as it is at Sioux City and / will
build my bridge there" He drove
away.
The business men talked it all over
again. They wanted the railroad and
wanted it very badly aud could not
zee how Sioux City could get along
without it. They concluded they had
better come to the old promoters terms
\ messenger was dispatched after
him. He came back and the deal vas
closed. The good people of Sioux City
didnot realize at that time Blair could
not get cent of money from the
government and he did not tel! them.
The swamp and overflow lands in
Woodbury. County, and. in fact, the
whole state Of Iowa, have undergone
agood many changes of ownership
since the middle of the present CEN
Jury. They arc still in litigation for
that matter. September %, 1850, the
United States coded to the state Of
Iowa all swamp and ove,fo lands
unit for cultivation. by an &c. Of the
Iowa general assembly January 13. 49,
So. and approved February 2, 1853, al
these lands cedtd to the state by the
government were in turn ceded to the
different counties in which they were
situated for the purpose of CONSTRUCT
ng the necessary levees and drains to
reclaim the same.
COUNTY AcQuIsCED.
Then following the conference be.
tween John Blair, president of the
Sioux City & Pacific Railway com.
pany and the citizens of Sioux City,
the toard of supervisors, January 10,
1867, drew up contract with the rail-
way company under the terms Of
which it was to deed the company all
# the swamp and overflow lands then
in possession of the county. The
members of the board then were: j NJ
Lewis, of Sioux City township; Luther
Woodford, Woodbury. township; w d
Squires, Little Sioux township; and A
d Graves, Correctlonville township.
F j Lambert was clerk of the board
and John Hsgy was sheriff. Under
the terms of this contract the county
was to sell these lands to the consider
alton of 81. providing, however. that
the Sioux City s Pacific should build
the line of road into Sioux City from
the south line of the county and also
equip and put the same into continu-
GUS operation. The road was built and
the city council gave it the lands along
the river front, which lands were re-
Gently in litigation in the case of 5 p
Yeomans ct al. vs.. the Sioux City &
Pacific e. al.
VOTE ON GRANT.
But before these deeds were given It
became necessary to submit the ques-
ton to vote Of the people. The
proposition was submitted at q special
election held in the county February
IL, 1867, and people voted "for the rail-
road, and against the railroad"
Following long preamble in the re-
cord of the proceedings of the board
of supervisors of February Is, 1867,
the following anvass of the vote is
shown:
Official canvas of the votes cast at
the special election, 1867, in Woodbury.
county, Iowa:
For the Against the
Townships. Railroad. Railroad
Sioux City................273 1
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. Is 10
Little Sioux. ............ 1 IA
Correctionville. ...... o 80
Totals. Observation-Disclosures. 2S9 lS9
- an $780, 49, s..A...-