Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-07-09
WASHINGTON IA.
So YEARS Old
PLANS ARE BEING MADE TO
HAVE BIG CELEBRATION ON
10TH BIRTHDAY.

Washington, Ia, July 7.-<speciaD-
An eventful date for the city OF
Washington, county seat of Washing
ton county, will be the thirteenth Of
July. Sixty-nine ear ago from this
date the town was plated by the
county commissioners Of the the ter
ritory Of Iowa. 1t is proposed to
celebrate the SEVENTEEN anniversary
of the towns birth next year with APP
propriate ceremonies and addresses.
James Dawson who died only a few
years ago was the last Of the original
commissioners OF the town to pass
away. One Of his surviving heirs is
Miss Helen Dawson who still occupies
the old homestead on East Washing
ton street.
The first church service held in the
town was in the county Jail which
was then a rough log cabin in which
the sheriff guarded the "roughs" with
religious man and while in his private
family devotions wolves howled at the
door seventy-years ago.. Most of the
data OF the earlv county records IS
| preserved in the person Of r. T.. Nc
Call, formerly a merchant in the old
est town of the county, Crawfords-
vile.
Trading was done in an early date
at Burlington. Farmers butchered aud
froze their e and carted it to Bur-
lington to market. When the Rock
Island first pushed its road in this new
territory the grain business thrived
wonderfully. Farmers in the UP
country between here n Knoxville
and Des Moines drove miles to the
tors was an old land mark until re-
Gently when 1t was DESTROYED by fire.
Some of the older buildings have been
removed only in the last few years.
1t was some eighteen wears g whar
the wooden shacks on the north side
of the square gave place to the brick
blocks located there. The old "ed
years ago when 1t gave place to a
modern high school building.
What is claimed to be the Oldest
building in town is now owned hy
Elmer Keck Of the Keck Floral COM
pany. The building has been re-
modelled into a residence and green
house office. Two of the older build
modern type still stand. They are the
yellow brick on the southwest cor
ner, occupied by the Lemley grocery
and the Blair dry goods building, soen
to be remodled. on the southeast cor
ner. VIM. Blair, the oldest merchant,
is still holding forth with a son as
partner at the old stand. An old resi-
~ IN iNlS SOS. z
was at the time of it's erection a won
der for it's beauty, and has now been
tremodeled into a sanitarium.
One OF the oldest, perhaps the long
est successive resident Of the county.
was the late Mrs. H. A. Burrell, whc
lived here seventy years, passing away
only his month. Another incident
which marks the passing of the Ole
to the new was the finding of the
bones Of the revolutionary war here
Timothy Brown, who came here whils
Indians roamed the prairie, lived II
the west part of the county and there
died. His bones, recently ~recoverei
from a deserted country burying place
were removed to a better resting place
in the newest cemetery, Elm Grove
where a shaft mounted with a bronze
minute man, mark the grave. A lant
mark known to few is an iron sprins
north of the city dumping ground we5r
of the city. This spring still flows &
good stream of water, being once uset
by the Indians of this region for theil
ailments.