Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-07-07
City of Washington, Ia, Will
be Sixty.nine Years Old
July Is
WILL CELEBRATE NEXT YEAR
Town Was Plated by County Com
nissioners OF What Was Then tho
Territory of !owa--Muoh of Date of
Early County Records, Preserved in
Person Of r. T. Mccall.
special to Times Republican.

| Special to Times Republican.
| Washington. July An eventful
date for the city of Washington, the
county seat of Washington county, Will
be July IS. Sixty-nine years ago from
| this date, the town was plated by the
county commissioners OF the then ter
ritory of Iowa. It Is proposed to cele-
brate the 10th anniversary of the
towns birth next year, with appropri-
ate ceremonies and addresses. James
Dawson, who died only a few years
missioners OF the town to pass away.
one of his surviving heirs Is Miss Hell
en- Dawson, who still occupies the old
homestead on East Washington street.
The first church service held in tho
town was in the county Jail. which was
then a rough log cabin In which the
sheriff guarded the 'roughs" with a
shotgun. Dawson was deyoutly relig-
ious man and while In his private fam
lily devotions, wolves howled at the
door seventy years ago Most OF the
data of the early county records IL pre-
served In the person of X. T. Mccall,
formerly merchant In the Oldest town
of the county--Crawfords Trading
was done In an early date at Burling-
ton Farmers butchered and froze their
meat and carted 1t to Burlington to
market.
When the Rock Island first pushed
It's road in this new territory. the
grain business thrived wonderfully.
Farmers in the up-couttry between
hero and Knoxville and Des Moines.
drove miles to the big elevators here.
One Of the elevators was an old land
mark until recently. when 1t was de-
stroyed by IRE. Some OF the older
buildings have been removed only In
the last few years II was some eigh-
teen years ago when the wooden
shacks on the north side of the square
gave place to the brick blocks located
there. The old red brick school house
stood until few years ago, when it
gave place to modern high school
building. What Is claimed to be the
oldest building in town Is now owned
by Elmer Keck, of the Keck Floral
company. The building has been re-
modelled into a residence and green
house Office. Two Of the older build
ings OF the first improvements Of the
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, soon
to be remodeled, on the southeast cor
ner.
William Blair the oldest merchant Is
still holding forth, with a son as part
ner. at the old stand. An old residence
erected by the late Joseph Keck was at
the time OF It's erection, wonder for
it's beauty, and has now been remodeled
into a sanatorium. One OF the oldest,
perhaps the longest successive resident
of the county, was the late Mrs. III. A.
Burrell, Who lived here seventy years,
passing away only this month. An
other incident which marks the passing
Of the old to the new was the finding
of the bones of the revolutionary war
hero, Timothy Brown, who came here
while Indians roamed the prairie, lived
in the west part of the county, and
there died. His bones, recently recover
ed from deserted country burying
place, were removed to a better rest
ing place in the newest cemetery, Elm
Grove, where shaft mounted with
bronze minute man marks the grave.
A landmark known to few, is an iron
spring north of the city dumping
ground west of the city This spring
still flows b good stream Of water, and
WAS once used by the Indians OF this
region for their ailments.