Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-08-04
HOW MARSHALLTOWN APPEARED TO
SCHOOL BOY FIFTY-F FIVE YEARS AGO

/, In the inter of 1859 Charles w.
Babcock, aged 10, was a pupil in the
I little red school house" in Marshall
| town. AS part of young Babcock's
school work he was assigned TO write
composition descriptive of his home
town.
Mr.. Babcock is now a resident of
Manistee, Mich. and all these years
has preserved the composition. 1t tells
Of MarshalltoWn and the country as
follows:
"A description of Marshalltown. Iowa,
in 1859, and of Marshall county;
The town has about 500 population,
and from $50 to $50 houses, 1t has
10 brick houses, and I stores. one large
brick town hall. 40 # by 50 IT.. in
length. 1t is built on a nice piece OF
ground The town is on as high ground
as there is in the county, and is well
laid out for a large city The Iowa
river runs east, 9. of a mile north Of
town. 1t has woods y mile 10 several
miles in with (width) on both sides Of
the river Linn creek runs in a north
easterly direction on the east side Of
the town. and empties into The Iowa
river. Linn creek is we'll timbered
most of its length.
Marshall county is the center coun-
~ in the state of Iowa. and is one of
the most beautiful Countys in the
state in some particulars, and in some
it is not. It is well timbered and we'll
watered The soil is very rich for cul-
tivation. and will raise an ample crop
| of everything that is planted in it,
The county seat is beautiful little
frog pond town called Marietta. miles
west of Marshalltown. There are some
sloughs in Marshall county. but they
are narrow. and most of then not very
bad. not so bad as they are in some
other countys in the state.
I'VE have no railroads in this coun
tvs, but there are two laid ont and we
expect one in about years. c. w,
Babcock"
School Boys Were Loyal.
That the local school boys of 1852
were loyal 10 Marshaltown in the
county seat fight. then in its hottest
stages. is indicated by the reference
made in the composition to the then
county seat The county seat vas
moved from Marietta 10 Marshalltow-n
Dec 81. 1859. bringing an end TO the
long drawn controversy.
Mr. Babcock says that the school
that he attended was one-room frame
building on the north side of the ma in
road running to Marietta There were
over sixty scholars crowded into the
one room" writes Mr.. Babcock. The
school was taught by young man
from the east named Randall. The
school was not graded, and Randall
taught from the a, b, cs' to astronomy,
including mental and common arith-
metic, high arithmetic and algebra, and
he had one class of young men who
studied poetical arithmetic. He also
taught philosophy, penmanship, etc
In fact ii vas a common and high
school com bined"
Mr.. Babcock remembers well the
Marietta war" Pabcock's father, Rev
Charles Babcock. lived and preached in
Marshalltown and Marietta. Rev MI
Babcock favored Marshalltown in the
county seat fight. Judge ". c. Smith,
supposedly a friend Of Marshalltown,
had granted an injunction in the con-
troversy favoring Marietta, restraining
the Marshalltown people from remov-
ing the records. The next Sunday after
the injunction was issued, Mr.. Bah
cock says, his father was to preach IN
Marietta Roughs OF the village rot