The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1913-09-11

\ INTERESTING CHATTER
IN IOWA PROMOTION

MAn9On journal: There Is q lot OF
HISTORY. especially In a new country.
mat never gets into the records. This
~ true Of the early days of Calhoun
Dpanty. In our anniversary edition q
LOS OF early history was put on record.
kut there was n bit Of history that
Was overlooked. <
In the early '70s the west saw many
railroad schemes born and die without
reaching manhood. Among these which
were completed was one. we be-
li0va. which was called the Iowa Pa
INC The only part OF this road we
ever were familiar with was that which
was 20 run from Fort Dodge to Sioux
City, although we suppose IL nus have
started much farther east than Fort
Dodge and we are quite sure that It
was planned to reach the Pacific some
day.
So far as this section of the coun-
try was concerned, John +. Duncombe
"A George r. Pearsons were the NOV
Ing spirit n their activity vas con
fined to the road through Calhoun
county and into the edge Of Sac.
We believe 1t was in the fall of 1879
mat h matter was first brought to
the attention Of the settlers in the form
o. q proposed 5 per cent tax to assist
&n building the road. 1t first every
voter was UP in arms at the idea or
voting q tax to help a railroad. Every
a . declared that 1t was a scheme to
rob the settlers, but John +. Duncombe,
VI by the way was one Of the smooth
Ggt men that ever worked in the Iowa
political field. met the indignant voters
and in a short talk converted every
IMAM In the various townships. He
proposed that a tax be voted. but It
was not to be paid until the road bed
was built n the trains running. This
proposition put q different outlook to
tins plan n carried with out any
trouble. ...- H. .
The next summer surveying parties
ran a number Of lines through the CEN
tFal part Of the county, running east
n west At last one was made the
permanent survey and ran about one
aaod a half miles north OF where Rock
well City now stands.
In the early fall gangs Of graders
appeared and active work was begun.
Three principal points were selected to
work. One at the crossing OF Lake
Creek on section 10. one In Garfield
township and one at the Coon river In
Sac county. To the casual observer
this looked like the real thing and un-
der the conditions the tax had been
voted II looked as II there could be no
Rcherne In II. n we do not know now
That there was. but later 1t was noticed
that no work vas don in townships
where no tax vas voted. "
Right here is where the scheme took
ON a peculiar appearance. There were
not many settlers in those days and
none OF those who were residents Of
The county paid any tax. but most OF
D O IA was owned by what were
KNOWN as spectators and when the
tax was entered against this land the
owners, not being familiar with the
conditions. paid the tax. When the
money was once in the hands OF the
county treasurer the question came up
mD 20 who 1t belonged to, and Mr.. Dun
0Dmbe did not have much trouble in
ccnvtncinR the officers that the money
was his to the amount Of the work
talk about II at the time but most OF
tho money was finally paid over to the
promoters OF the road
What the original plan was, we never
knew, but suppose the promoters ex-
pected to get a large amount of grad
Ing completed, and then with the tax
voted would have quite a large piece
OF property to turn ove TO some well
established road, but the panic OF '7s
10 badly upset things that there was
no prospective purchaser and the pro-
ImOters made the best Of the deal TO
ave themselves. The road was never
built but later Polk and Hubble, Of
Des Moines, who built the original mar
row gauge through Rockwell City, later
revived the franchise n secured the
right OF way from Rockwell City to
BAD City n for q number OF years
went a ms of graders to do"work on
the roadbed, Thus they kept the fran
chise alive and in time sold the road
bed and right of way to the Milwau-
kes when 1t built to Sac City and Storm
Lake from Rockwell City. "
Building the railroad was not all the
plan: G. r. Pearson purchased section
10 In Center township and laid out q
" sito just cast OF Lake Creek near
the center OF the section. We believe
that h town was to be called Cal
hOun, but am quite sure the plat never
wa recorded, This proposed town
probably vas located on one Of the
most slightly tracts of land In. the coun-
~ and IL the road had gone through
II would have been the county seat.
There was also a park in the plan
Of this town and it was broken up by
"a number Of farmers who responded TO
The a OF Nelson Bacon to come over.
have dinner and help break out the
land for a park. There never were
trees planned, but there was a SPLEEN
did crop of wheat raised or the land.
When the own and railroad were
abandoned Pearsons sold section 10 to
Henry Carrier and the old cut and fill
have nearly or quite disappeared.
The road md town were both a great
dream but IL they had gone through
IL would have advanced the central
part OF the county fully 10 years.
We have sometimes wondered what
became OF the money, IL there was any,
that was not paid out to the promoter.
while this county has been compare
lively free @~om scandal in regard to
its money matters, there are a few in
teresting pages of its history which
have never been published. We would
like to have some old settler write US
q history OF the swamp land deal by
which the county secured court house
and q few miles of road grading over
an angling road from Lake City to
oFrrt Dodge,
A newspaper in those days probably
would not have enjoyed a very large
patronage, BUT we believe II could
have found something to publish.