The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1912-05-10
WHEEL Town AWAY
Iowans Move Two Miles to Site
on Railroad.
Community Is Betrayed by Coup Of
Thrifty couneIlman-Stampedes
Residents to City on Pro-
posed Line.

Des Moines. Ia-Wheeling q town
two miles overnight!
This feat, accomplished by the resi-
dents OF thriving Iowa community.
and the exciting events that preceded
the municipal hegira were vividly re-
lated by a former resident of the town
in question. The incident occurred In
the early 'sOs. when the railroads
practically made over the maps Of
MANY portions Of the west.
"The one great handicap OF Cal
liope-for that rs, or was, the name Of
the town, was the fact that 1t pos
sessed no railway connection.
But one day a man, glorying in a
generous girth and many hued
waistcoat. arrived in Calliope. To the
village president he signifled his de-
eire to meet the village board, and 1t
was convened In session extraordin-
ary that very evening in the school
house. To this staid and deliberative
body the imposing stranger outlined
his plan for newer and better Cal
liope. The Mississippi & Pacific
Coast railway-that was not its name,
but it will serve-he declared had de-
cided to extend its projected line
through Calliope on its way to the
shore of the Pacific. AS evidence of
the good faith of the company the
representative exhibited map where
in Calliope was indicated ty a black
dot, whose dimension were exceeded
by none-no, not even Chicago. The
stranger went ON to point out the ad-
vantages that would accrue to the
town by the fulfillment of the plans
of the railroad company.
"The supposition, however, was not
we'll founded, as he soon found. II
the railroad wished to come to Cal
liope. well and good, declared the
sturdy burghers, but Calliope would
offer no bribes. At this the railroad
representative lost some Of his suav.
fly, and informed his audience that IL
Calliope did not choose to accept the
generous compromise held out to 1t by
the railroad, the company would make
Calliope come to the road.
"Then one day an ugly rumor was
a1oat. 1t was whispered from mouth
to mouth that one of the councilmeR
who had been most emphatic In de-
nouncing the railroad agents proffer
had bought quarter section in the
path of the projected railroad, and in
company with the railroad advance
agent was laying out the new town.
Further investigation disclosed that
the councilman had bought an even
$50 acres of land-what was more, he
had parceled it out in regulation city
lots, had opened a cracker box Office
and was doing iourishing real estate
business.
''The hegira continued. The the
same suave gentleman visited the
principal merchants Of the town and
made them an offer of free site in
the new city If they would move. It
was too much. Immediately there was
a scramble to secure the most desir-
able locations In the new city-which,
by the way, he said was to be named
Hawarden-in his own honor. One by
one they set to work to move their
structures-which were OF frame con.
struction--two miles down the slope
to Hawarden.
ut was no use. And even the old
timers saw 1t. Mournfully they, too,
bade farewell to Calliope and betook
themselves and their abodes to Ha-
warden, which grew to city of 1,500
within a month.
"And Calliope? Well, what was
once Calliope ss now a fourishing