Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-09-21
HAS A CENTENNIAL
Fort Madison, Iowa, to Cele-
brate Anniversary of Com
inc of Whites.
TOOK PLACE SEPT. rs, 1903
Said to BE First Place in State Where
caucasians Came to Actually
Make Their Homes.

Less than a generation ago this re-
public celebrated the Tooth anniversary
of its declaration of independence.
Only IL years since the state of Iowa
passed it's semi-centennial milestone,
and 1t has just been three-score and
ten years since the territory of Iowa
was created. In view of the above
facts it may seem little strange to
persons who have not kept in close
touch with the details of the settle
ment of the state to learn that city
in the southeastern part thereof can
lay substantial claims to having been
settled or occupied century ago, and
is now arranging to celebrate its cen
tennial anniversary during the latter
part of this month. The city referred
to is Fort Madison, in Lee county. Two
other localities in the state lay claim,
no doubt justly, to having been settled
a few years prior to the establishment
of old Fort Madison, but these prior
settlements were, in the first instance,
at Dubuque, the settling or rather in
grating of a white trader and miner
into the good graces of an Indian tribe
in such a manner as to possess and
operate, with Indian labor, the lead
mines of that locality The other set
Element was at Montrose, on the river
10 miles below Fort Madison, by Hon
ore lesson, also a French trader, who
obtained land grant of one mile
square from the Spanish government,
for which he was to teach the Indians
the art of agriculture and the princi-
pies of the Christian religion, for Meth
er of which important missions he
seems to have been in the least fitted,
as he left nothing to show for his &C.
cupancy and teachings, except an
apple orchard, some of whose trees
were still standing less than so years
ago to mark the site. Both of the last
two mentioned settlements, if such
they might be called, were only tenn
porary, and were abandoned after the
death of the first mentioned settler
and the removal of the latter
Landed in 1905.
Old Fort Madison was erected under
the direction of the United States gov
eminent by Lieutenant Alpha Kings
ley, who, with a company of United
States troops, landed at that point on
the banks of the Mississippi river on
the 26th day of September, 1908, and
proceeded at once to erect temporary
quarters and a stockade fort. The
fort, however, was not completed until
early in the following spring. This
was the first occupancy by the United
States government in any manner OF
what is now known as the great state
of Iowa. 1t was always maintained by
the Sac chief. Black Hawk, that the
building of this fort was in violation
of the treaty entered into few years
previous between the Indian tribe;
and the government, and was one o.
the causes that led to the Black Hawl
war. 1t was regular stockade fort
with block houses on the corners from
which any side and angle could bc
protected by firearms. A couple o
trading houses, at that time called fac
tories, were built in connection will
the fort, but not within the stockade
These trading houses or factories wer,
conducted by factor Indian pos
trader, who exchanged sugar, molasses
whisky, blankets, beads, trinkets ant
such other commodities as the Indian
might want for fur pelts, deer skins
beeswax and dried venison. Quite al
extensive business was carried on il
this manner, the value of the pelts s.
secured alone amounting to thousand
of dollars annually The soldiers GU
tivated the soil around the fort, rails
ing corn, beans. potatoes, etc. NOR
than was necessary tc supply the gal