Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-04-26
Origin of the Organization En-
titled the Johnson County
Claim Association
CLAIMS WERE BEING DUMPED
Program of Driving Such Bumpers"
From the Farms and County Was
Fully and Successfully Carried Out
During the Great Western Movement
of the ao's-Government Sale of Land
Special to Times-Repuh!ican.

Special to Times Republican.
Iowa City. April 26.--The title to the
farm land in Johnson county was de-
rived of course from the United States,
hut there was something else which one
time secured It's possession to the set
tier which was even more powerful
than the law.
Johnson county lay in the direct path
of the great western movement of the
thirties and its land was occupied by
settlers earlier. perhaps. than that of
any other county in the state AT that
time Iowa was but vast stretch of
prairie land. and an underlined part OF
the great northwest territory. Such
began farming as the best means of
making a living. But the land belonged
10 the government, which as yet had
hardly made surveys and was not yet
ready to sell.
The only means left to the early set
tiers was to squat upon the land and
this they did, maintaining as far as
possible the rights of each other. There
came a time when the newcomers We're
little disposed to regard kindly the
rights of squatters and in 1858 1t
was intimated that in the fall the gov
eminent would offer for sale the land
in the district to the highest bidder.
The settlers feared that in the case of
sale such land as had been largely
improved by the squatters would be
bought in by the spectators. A meet
ing Of all the farmers in the county was
at once called and an organization
formed under the title of the Johnson
County Claim Association. There were
about 215 members. including Richard
Lucas. who afterward became the gov
ernor of the territory, and s.. G. Hast
ings, who later became a chief justice
In Iowa and California.
This new organization stated that
they would protect the rights Of the
members and would not allow their
claims to be Jumped" They would
also see to it that when the United
States government offered the land for
sale that the society would buy in tho
land at the price Of sl.25 per acre and
would not allow outsiders to bid upon
the property.
This program was carried out in full.
Such men as tried to jump the valuable
claims of the members were driven
from the farms and the county. And
when the national government offered
the land for sale at auction in Dubuque
there were fifty members OF the assoc
citation there to dispose of outside bid
ders and buy up the land for the
county.
in the library OF the iowa State His
torical Society. whose rooms are on the
top floor OF the College OF Liberal Arts
building. is a battered old scrap book.
yellowed with age which contains the
constitution. the bylaws and the his
tory of the Johnson County Claim As
ISOLATION. written in the stiff, old
fashioned hand of fifty years ago.
Needless to say It is not for the use Of
the public, but is kept treasured un>
der lock and key A study Of the docu-
ment has been made, however, by Pro-
fessor b. F. Shambaugh, of the State
University OF Iowa, and it has been
published with his works.