Boone County IA Archives History - Books .....County Organization (Continued), Chapter 7 1914 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ia/iafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 March 29, 2009, 10:20 pm Book Title: HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY IOWA CHAPTER VII COUNTY ORGANIZATION—(CONTINUED) We now come to that part of the organization of the county which was done under the direction of the county judges. Among the first official acts of Judge McCall were those relating to the settlement of the bills for surveying the county seat. September 1, 1851, Thomas Sparks presented a bill against the County of Boone for the services of himself and assistants in laying off the Town of Boonesboro. The said bill being duly considered, the court allowed and ordered that each of the following named persons, as set forth by said bill, receive a warrant on the funds of said county, calling for the amount set opposite to their respective names, to wit: Thomas Sparks, for 5 days surveying $16.50 William Ball, 2 1/4 days carrying a flag 2.25 William Thomas, 3 1/4 days driving stakes 3.25 Solomon Webster, 3 1/4 days carrying stakes 3.25 James Corbin, 2 1/4 days carrying chain 2.25 David Hamilton, 2 1/4 days carrying chain 2.25 George W. Lacy, 1 day carrying a flag 1.00 Total $30.75 The following statement will show that with even the small expense of the county at that early day, the receipts in taxes were not sufficient to pay them: "July 5, 1851, after examination it is found that the receipts and expenditures of the respective years since the organization of the county have been as follows, to wit: Amount of available tax for the year ending June 30, 1850 $ 64.00 Amount of expenditures for the year ending June 30, 1850. 77.92 Indebtedness of county 13.92 Amount of available tax for the year ending June 30, 1851 170.33 Amount of expenditures for the year ending June 30, 1851 340.01 Indebtedness of County * 169.68 Amount of tax for the year ending June 30, 1852 421.82 Amount of expenditure for the year ending June 30, 1852 391.84 Amount due county officers 169.68 Indebtedness of 1850 13.32 Indebtedness of 1851 169.68 Total indebtedness 744.52 Tax deducted 421.82 Net indebtedness 322.70 S. B. McCALL, County Judge." Up to July, 1853, there were two separate and distinct county funds, one arising from taxation, the other from the sale of lots. Certain obligations were payable out of the lot fund and such fund could he used only for such purposes. These funds were up to this time kept strictly separate, but by an order of the court, issued at this time, it became possible to use the two funds alike for all county purposes. The order was as follows: "Ordered: That the Lot Fund shall be used as part of the county fund proper, in common with the fund arising from taxation, for county purposes and that it be accounted available to defray the ordinary expenses of the county." The following report shows the financial condition of the county July 4, 1854, which is a very interesting report: "Expenditures of Boone County for the year ending July 31, 1854 $1456.71 Indebtedness July 1, 1853 634.89 Total 2091.60 Receipts for years 1853 and 1854 1758.49 Net indebtedness 331.11 LOT FUND Value of lots sold to July 1, 1854 $3365.20 Notes on hand July 1, 1854 1494.73 Cash 1870.47 Paid into county fund $ 968.152 Expense in 1853 515.12 Expense in 1854 341.57 Balance due Lot Fund 45.26 Totals 1870.47 Notes on hand 1994.79" The foregoing statement shows that the expenses of the county up to July 1, 1854, exceeded the amount of cash on hand by $287.85. Yet at the same time the county had on hand good notes to the amount of $1,494.73. This would leave the county out of debt, with available means on hand of $1,206.88. This was a good financial showing of county management. The population of the county at that date, July 1, 1854, was 1,678. In 1849 the population was only 419. In 1850 it was 739. In 1851 it was 890. In 1852 it was 1,024, while in 1854 it had increased, as stated, to 1,678. In 1856 it was 3,518, in 1859 it was 4,018, and in 1860 it was 4,232. One of the prominent things in the history of the organization of the county was the holding of the first session of the District Court in this county. It convened October 6, 1851. As has already been stated the board of county commissioners in July, 1851, entered into a contract with W. C. Hull, by which the latter was to provide a suitable room in which the sessions of the District Court were to be held. Although the people were peaceable, good natured and industrious, yet they seemed to want the court to hold its sessions at their county seat the same as in the other counties of the state. Honorable William McKay, judge of the Fifth Judicial District of the state at that time, was the presiding judge. W. C. Hull had erected a double log house and in the south room of this house the court convened. At the August election, held on the first Monday of that month, James Lacy was elected sheriff, to succeed Samuel H. Bowers. The following record is very interesting: "Now comes James W. Lacy, sheriff of Boone County, and returned unto the court the service heretofore issued for grand jurors, and the following named persons being called, came, to wit: Jefferson Hoffman, James M. Carson, William Dickerson, Solomon Smith, James Hull, Amos Rose, S. Z. Tomlinson, and William Enfield. It appearing that the legal number of grand jurors summoned have not appeared, the following named persons were selected from the bystanders: D. F. Hamilton, David Noah, William Ball, William Thomas, W. D. Parker, G. W. Payne, and S. Godfrey. The court having appointed S. Z. Tomlinson foreman, they were duly impaneled, sworn, and, after receiving instructions from the court, retired in charge of James Corbin, a sworn bailiff, to inquire of such things as might come to their knowledge. It appearing to the court that no legal prosecuting attorney had been elected, the court appointed Madison Young to act as such during this term." The above named fifteen grand jurors constituted the first grand jury impaneled and sworn in Boone County. This makes it the most historic one of the county and entitles its members to prominent mention on the pages of the history of the county. It appears there were thirteen cases came up for trial at this first term of court. Three of these were suits for debt, one entry and detainer, four recognizances, and one appeal. During this term the grand jury returned two indictments. One was against Lewis Jewett, for murder, and the other against Hiram Mitchell, for passing counterfeit money. It seems that Mitchell was unable to give bail and was ordered committed. There being at that time no jail in Boone County, he was sent to Polk County for safe keeping. The finding of the grand jury in the Jewett case is as follows: "Now comes the grand jury, presents an indictment against Lewis Jewett for murder." This was the first indictment for murder ever placed upon the records in Boone County. The murdered man was Jacob Pea, a son of John Pea, one of the noted pioneers of Boone County. It is stated that they were both suitors for the affections of the same woman and from this a quarrel arose, which brought on an encounter between them, in which Jewett stabbed Pea, inflicting a wound from which he died. This murder took place about a year before the indictment by the grand jury. Jewett had been arrested and placed under bond, his sureties being David Jewett, an uncle, and Addison Michall. The title of this case and the orders of the court are as follows: STATE OF IOWA ) VS. ) RECOGNIZANCE LEWIS JEWETT ) "Now comes Madison Young, who prosecutes for the state, and Lewis Jewett, having been three times solemnly called, comes not, but makes default. It is therefore ordered that a scire facias issue against one David L. Jewett and Addison Michall, his sureties, returnable at the next term of court to show cause why the recognizance herein be not forfeited and judgment entered thereon against them." At the next term of court, in 1853, the bail bond was declared forfeited and judgment rendered against the sureties for $500. D. O. Finch, the attorney for the sureties filed a motion to set aside the judgment. The court sustained the motion and the case was continued until next term of court. In 1854 the case came up again, and the defendants, by their attorney, D. O. Finch, filed a demurrer to the scire facias. The demurrer was sustained and this ended the case. Jewett, on giving bond, fled for parts unknown, and was never seen in this county again. The woman over whom the trouble originated married another man and died but a few years ago in this county. The appeal case, which came up at this first term of court ever held in Boone County, had been tried before John Rose, who was justice of the peace for Boone Township. It was, in fact, a very historic case for several reasons. It was the first case ever tried in the county before a justice of the peace. It was also heard and passed upon by a jury of six men, which was the first trial jury in the history of the county. The title of this case and the names of those six jurors should not, and must not, be passed over. The title was, David Noah vs. Lewis Kinney. The suit was brought for the payment of a promissory note for fifteen dollars. The names of the jurors were: Montgomery McCall, foreman; Michael Myers, John Pea, William Thomas, J. B. Hamilton, and John Houser. The jury found for the plaintiff, and their finding was confirmed in the District Court. At this first term of court John Dalander and A. P. Anderson were declared citizens of the United States. The court transacted all of the business before it in two days, and adjourned. It would seem that this court spent little time on preliminaries. The first person to apply to the county for support was an aged widow named Catharine Rule. This application was made before S. B. McCall, county judge. The 9th day of February, 1854, was the day set for hearing this application. At this hearing it developed that the applicant had a son who was amply able to support his mother, but who had neglected to do so. The court "ordered that the son shall himself give her such relief as shall prevent her from becoming a public charge." This was a very good and correct order, and it reflected much honor upon the sense of the court. The court room prepared by W. C. Hull proved to be inadequate for a court room. It does not appear that more than one term of court was ever held in this room, and that was the first term. A schoolhouse had been built in the southwest part of Boonesboro, and for about three years the sessions of the court were held in this school-house. The house built by W. C. Hull, in which the first term of court was held, stood directly across the street east from where the present courthouse stands. THE FIRST COURT HOUSE The year 1851 brought forcibly before the people of the county, and particularly before the county officers, the question of the building of a courthouse by the county. So pressing did the necessity seem to be that the lot on the corner of Third and Fremont Streets, in Boonesboro, was set apart as a site for the building. In the spring of 1856 a contract was entered into by and between County Judge J. B. Montgomery, Jeremiah E. Black and Thomas Benton Beazell for building the courthouse, the first one erected in Boone County. The contractors named commenced work early in the summer of i8<;6. The building was to be a two-story frame structure, about thirty by sixty feet in size. The lower story was to he finished off as a court room and the upper story was to be divided into rooms for county offices. The building was completed and ready for use about September i, 1857. It stood on the corner where the Mallary drug store is now situated. The following orders will show what this courthouse cost the county. August 8, 1856. "Ordered: That the county treasurer of Boone County pay to Jeremiah F. Black and Thomas Benton Beazell the sum of $800 out of the county funds as the first payment toward the building of a county courthouse, and rooms for the county officers." December 5, 1856. "Ordered: That Thomas Benton Beazell receive a county warrant calling for $206.69 for work done on the courthouse." December 31, 1856. "Ordered: That Thomas Benton Beazell, receive a county warrant for $680.30, due him for work done on the courthouse." Besides the above, there were allowed smaller sums up to the time of the completion of the building amounting to $505. All these sums, with the addition of sixteen dollars for putting in two extra windows, brought the total cost of the building, when completed, up to $2,207.99. The people were proud of this, their first courthouse, not only because of the need of it for handling the business of the county, but because it afforded them a place for holding all manner of meetings of the people. It is within the memory of many still living that numerous political meetings, revival meetings, and other religious services, and mass meetings, were held in the court room of this building. Here political speeches were made by Senator A. C. Dodge, Senator James Harlan, Brick Pomeroy, Congressman Van Dever, D. O. Finch, Col. John Scott, Enoch Eastman, John F. Dun-comb and many others. At the time this pioneer courthouse was completed the population of Boone County was 3,700. When the second courthouse was built the old one was converted into a dry goods store. Not long afterwards the house and store were consumed by fire, and this marked the destruction of the pioneer courthouse of Boone County. Judge C.J. McFarland, Judge John Porter, and Judge D. D. Chase all held court in this house. It was also here, at the term of court in the spring of 1859, that William P. Hepburn appeared as district attorney. The law creating that office passed the Legislature March 22, 1858. Mr. Hepburn was elected in October of that year. He then lived at Marshall-town. The members of the Boone County bar at that time were: John A. Hull, C. Beal, N. W. Dennisson, C. W. Williams, 1. J. Mitchell, and Charles Pomeroy. Having now followed the trend of county organization up to the erection of the first courthouse, it will be necessary to give an outline of the various changes in the townships of the county up to their present boundaries. The Des Moines River is the west boundary of all of the townships on the east side of that river and the east boundary of all those on the west side, as they were finally established in 1871. The river comes into the county at the center of section 3, township 85, range 27, makes its many crooks and turns and passes out of the county through the center of section 34, township 82, range 26. Its trend is from northwest to southeast, the place of its exit being six miles east of its place of entry. It comes nearer dividing Boone County into two equal halves than any other county of the state through which it runs. As divided by the river the west side has a little more territory than the east side. As already stated the county was originally divided into three townships, for election purposes, in 1849. They were named Pleasant, Boone, and Boone River Townships. Pleasant Township contained the south one-third of the county. Boone Township contained the central one-third, and Boone River Township the north one-third of the county. These three townships remained unchanged from August 6, 1849, to March 8, 1852, a period of nearly four years. On the latter date there were five changes made by Judge Samuel B. McCall, then county judge of Boone County. The first of these changes was as follows: "Ordered: That for the convenience of the inhabitants, and for election purposes, the following described precinct is created, to be called Berry Township, of Boone County, Iowa, to wit: Commencing on the section line dividing sections 7 and 18, township 83, range 26, at the Des Moines River, thence west on said section line to the west boundary of the county, thence south on said boundary line to the southwest corner of Boone County, thence east to the Des Moines River, thence up said river to place of beginning. Said township to be organized at the April election, to be held April 5, 1852. This 8th day of March, 1852. S. B. MCCALL, County Judge." This township was named in honor of Captain William P. Berry, a prominent citizen and noted hunter of that part of the county. The boundaries of Berry Township contained the territory now included in the Townships of Cass, Peoples and Union, and the south two-thirds of Marcy and Beaver Townships. This made it much more convenient for voting and transacting township business for the people in the southwest part of the county. In the organization of Berry Township, Pleasant Township lost over one-half of its territory, though it still contained all of the territory now included in the Townships of Douglas, Garden, and the south one-third of Colfax and Worth Townships. On the 8th of March, 1852, Boone Township was changed as follows: "Ordered: That the boundaries of Boone Township be changed as follows: Commencing at the east boundary line of said county, at the southeast corner of section 1, township 84, range 25, thence running west to the Des Moines River, thence down said river to where it crosses the section line dividing sections 26 and 35, in township 84, range 2$, thence running due west to the west boundary line of said count}, thence south along said west boundary line to the southwest corner of section 7, township 83, range 28, thence due east to the Des Moines River, thence down said river to the southwest corner of section 21, township 83, range 26, thence due east along the section line to the east line of said county, thence north to the place of beginning. This 8th day of March, 1852. S. B. MCCALL. County Judge." This order gave Boone Township a very singular shape; in fact, a very ludicrous shape. On the east side of the river it contained all of the territory comprised in the present Townships of Des Moines and Jackson, except the north tier of sections, and the north two-thirds of the present Townships of Colfax and Worth. On the west side it had a strip three miles wide extending to the west line of the county. Perhaps there was never a township laid out with such a peculiar shape. The following is the order creating the Township of Dodge: "Ordered: That the township heretofore known as Boone River Township, Boone County, Iowa, be henceforth called Dodge Township, of the same county, to wit: Commencing at the northeast corner of Boone County, thence west to the Des Moines River, thence down said river to the southwest corner of section 6, township 84, range 26, thence east, on the section line, to the east line of said county, thence north to the place of beginning, to be considered a new township, but name and boundaries as established this 8th day of March, 1852. S. B. McCALL, County Judge." With the establishment of Dodge Township, Boone River Township, one of the three original townships organized in 1849, ceased to exist and passed from the map of Boone County. This new township was named in honor of Senator A. C. Dodge, of Iowa. It contained all of the territory now included in the present Townships of Dodge and Harrison, and the north tier of sections of the present Townships of Des Moines and Jackson. The last of the orders of March 8, 1852, follows: "Ordered, That for the convenience of the inhabitants, and election and municipal purposes, the following described new precinct is created, to be called Yell Township, Boone County, Iowa: Commencing on the north boundary line of said county, at the Des Moines River, thence west along the north boundary line to the northwest corner of said county, thence south to the southwest corner of section 30, township 84, range 28, thence east along said section line to the Des Moines River, thence up said river to the place of beginning. Said township to be organized at the election to be held at the house of Solomon Smith at Badger Point, in said township, on Monday, April q, 1852. This 8th day of March, 1852. S. B. McCALL. County Judge." This township was named in honor of Colonel Yell, of Arkansas, who fell at the head of his regiment at the Battle of Buena Vista. It contained what is now included in the present Townships of Yell, Pilot Mound, Grant, and Amaqua. There were no more changes of the townships of Boone County until February 21, 1856, a period of nearly four years. In the southwest part of the county, clustering around Buffalo Grove, there were a number of earlv settlers who wished to have a township of their own, so that they might erect a schoolhouse in which to begin the education of their children. These settlers petitioned the county for the creation of a new township and obtained favorable action from County Judge John B. Montgomery, who, in 1854, had succeeded Judge McCall in that office. The order creating the new township was as follows: "Ordered, That all of Boone County now included in Berry Township, which lies west of the section line between sections 16 and 17, township 83, range 27, be stricken off from Berry Township and formed into a new one, to be called Union Township. Said new township to be bounded as follows: Commencing at the northeast corner of section 17, township 83, range 27, thence to the west line of Boone County, thence south along said county line to the southwest corner of said county, thence east on said county line to the southeast corner of section 32, township 82, range 27, thence north along section line to place of beginning. This 21st day of February, 1856. JOHN B. MONTGOMERY, County Judge." Union Township, as above laid out, contained all the territory now within its present boundaries and two tiers of sections off the west side of the present Township of Peoples, and the south two-thirds of Beaver Township. Judge Montgomery named this township Union by reason of the unanimity of the settlers around Buffalo Grove demanding a new township. Jackson Township was created b\ Judge Montgomery in 1857, at the urgent request of the settlers along the belt of timber of Squaw Creek. The request of these settlers was both sensible and reasonable. It was named in honor of General Andrew Jackson, but at whose request it was so named we find no record. Union and Jackson were the only townships in the county laid out by the official acts of Judge Montgomery during his first official term of the three years of 1855, 1856 and 1857. Pilot Mound Township was organized in September, 1858, bv Judge S. B. McCall, who had succeeded Judge Montgomery in that office. This township took its name from the remarkable mound within its boundaries, which has attracted the attention of all persons passing near it. Pilot Mound township was cut off the north end of Yell Township, and as originally laid out, it contained also the territory now comprising Grant Township. The next change of townships, both in name and in boundaries, came March 6, 1858. These were the last official acts of this kind made by Judge McCall and the last made under the county judge system. The names of the townships given in the last five official orders are still the same, though the boundaries were afterward changed slightly. The order establishing Des Moines Township follows: "Ordered , That all that portion of Boone County, included in the following boundaries, to wit: Commencing at the northeast corner of section 6, township 84, range 25. thence running west along the township line to the Des Moines River, thence down said river to a point where the section line dividing sections 7 and 18, township 83, range 26, crosses said river, thence running east on the said line to the southeast corner of section 8, township 83 range 25, thence north on the section line dividing sections 8 and 9 to the northeast corner of section 20, township 84, range 25, thence west one mile, thence due north to the place of beginning, be and the same is hereby erected into a township for election, judicial and revenue purposes, and designated as Des Moines Township, the same to take the place of Boone Township. March 6, 1858. S. B. MCCALL. County Judge." Old things pass away and new ones take their places. From the foregoing order it will be seen that, with the creation of Des Moines Township, Boone Township passed from the map of the county. Des Moines Township took its name from the river bordering it on the west. Then, as now, it contained the county seat of the county, making it the center of activity. The next township to be established and named was Worth Township. The official order follows: "Ordered, That for the convenience of the inhabitants, and for judicial, revenue and municipal purposes, all that portion of Boone County within the following bounds, to wit: Commencing at the correct northeast corner of township 83, range 25, thence running west on the township line four miles, thence south on the line dividing sections 4 and 5, in said township, to the southwest corner of section 9, thence west on the line dividing sections 8 and 17, in said township, to the Des Moines River, .thence down said river to the southwest corner of section 4, township 84, range 26, thence due east to the southeast corner of section 2, township 82, range 26, thence north one mile, thence east to the east line of Boone County, thence north to the place of beginning; said township to be known as Worth Township. March 6, 1858. S. B. MCCALL, County Judge." Worth Township was at that time ill shaped, and many cornered, but this was made necessary in order to satisfy groups of settlers located in various parts of its area. The township still retains the name given it by Judge McCall, but its present boundaries were established in 1871. Worth Township was named in honor of General William J. Worth, a soldier of the war with Mexico. The order for the creation of Douglas Township, the third one of this date, follows: "Ordered, That for the convenience of the inhabitants, and for judicial and municipal purposes, the following new township be created and bounded as follows: Commencing at the northeast corner of township 82, range 25, thence west on said township line to the northeast corner of section 2, township 82, range 26, thence south one mile, thence west to the Des Moines River, thence down said river to the south line of Boone County, thence due east on said line to the southeast corner of the county, thence due north to the place of beginning, to be known as Douglas Township, Boone County, Iowa. March 6, 1858. S. B. MCCALL, County Judge." Douglas Township, at the time of its creation, contained, in addition to its own territory, that of the present Township of Garden. It was named in honor of Stephen A. Douglas, United States senator from the State of Illinois. He was a famous orator and one of the best debaters the nation has produced. With the erection of Douglas Township, the old Township of Pleasant, established in 1849, took its place among the things that were. It occupied a place on the map of the county for about nine years and was the last of the original three to be stricken off. The fourth township to be laid out on this date by Judge McCall was the Township of Cass. The official order for that purpose follows: "Ordered, That for the convenience of the inhabitants, and for election, judicial, revenue, and municipal purposes, the following described new township be created to-wit: Commencing at the southwest corner of section 33, township 82, range 27, thence running north on the section line six miles to the township line dividing townships 82 and 83, thence east along said township line to intersect the Des Moines River, south along Des Moines River until it intersects the south boundary line of Boone County, thence west along said boundary line to the place of beginning. Said township to be known as Cass Township, Boone County, Iowa, and that the same be organized at an election to be held in said township on the fifth day of April, 1858. March 6, 1858. S. B. MCCALL, County Judge." With the creation of Cass Township, the township of Berry passed from the map of the county, to be seen and known no more except in memory. Berry Township lived but four years. During that short period its population increased and many acres of land were put under cultivation. At the time of its creation Cass Township contained the territory included in its present boundaries and the east two-thirds of Peoples Township. It was reduced to its present boundaries in 1871. Cass Township was named in honor of Gen. Lewis Cass, who held many official positions, among which were secretary of war during Jackson's administration, United States senator from Michigan, and secretary of state under President Buchanan. The last of the townships to be created under the date of March 6, 1858, and the last one to be laid out by Judge McCall, was the Township of Marcy. The official order was as follows: "Ordered, That for the convenience of the inhabitants, and for election, revenue, judicial and municipal purposes, the following described new township be created: Commencing at the northwest corner of section 31, township 84, range 28, thence on the county line to the southwest corner of township 83, range 28, thence east along said township line to the Des Moines River, thence up the channel of said river to a point where the section line dividing sections 26 and 35, township 84, range 27, crosses the same, thence west along said line to the place of beginning; said township to be known and designated as Marcy Township and to be organized at an election to be held in said township on the 5th day of April, 1858. March 6, 1858. S. B. MCCALL, County Judge." Marcy Township was named in honor of William L. Marcy, who was United States senator, from the State of New York, was secretary of war under President Polk and secretary of state under President Pierce. In addition to its present boundaries, Marcy Township, at the time of its creation, contained all of the territory now included in Beaver Township. It was reduced to its present boundaries in 1871. The naming of and giving the first boundaries to Marcy Township was the last official act under the county judge system. Marcy made ten townships then legally established in Boone County. On the 22nd day of March, 1860, a law passed the Legislature relieving the county judges of the power and duties of transacting county business and transferred those powers and duties to a board of supervisors, consisting of one member for each legally organized township, to be elected by the legal voters of such township. The first board of supervisors, under this law, was elected in November, 1860, and their terms of office commenced January 1, 1861. The county judge system, with the power to transact county business, was in existence from 1851, a period of ten years. During this time only two men held this office. S. B. McCall held it from 1851 to 1854. J. B. Montgomery held it from 1854 to 1857. S. B. McCall from 1857 to 1859, and J. B. Montgomery from 1859 to 1863. S. B. McCall laid out and named eight of the townships now on the map of the county, as follows: Dodge, Des Moines, Worth, Douglas, Cass, Marcy, Yell, and Pilot Mound Townships. He also laid out and named four townships which have passed from the map of the county. These were: Pleasant, Boone, Boone River, and Berry Townships. J. B. Montgomery laid out and named two townships which are still on the map of the county. These are Union and Jackson Townships. It was also under his official supervision that the first courthouse in the county was built. Samuel B. McCall did more official work in the organization of Boone County than any other man. Next to him, in this regard, comes John B. Montgomery. Samuel B. McCall was born in the State of Indiana. He moved to Dallas County, Iowa, in 1846, and to Boone County in 1847, two years before the county was organized. He was the first man to act in an official capacity in the county, acting as organizing sheriff, as already stated. He was elected county judge in i8qi, and reelected in 1853. In 18154 he was elected a member of the Legislature by the voters of Boone, Story, Green and other counties. In 1857 he was again elected county judge. In 1861 he entered the service of the Union in the Civil war as captain of Company E, Third Regiment, Iowa Volunteers where he served years. He returned to Boonesboro, where he lived until about 1070, when he went west. For about sixteen years he held a position in the Soldiers' Home at Santa Monica, California, where he died March 5, 1911. John B. Montgomery moved to Boone County in 1851, being the first Methodist Episcopal minister to permanently locate in Boone County. In 1854 he was elected county judge to fill a vacancy of one year, caused by the resignation of Samuel B. McCall, who, as before stated, had been elected to the Legislature. Rev. Montgomery was elected for a full term as county judge in 1855, reelected in 1859, and again in 1861, his final term expiring January 1, 1863. He continued to reside in Boonesboro up to the time of his death, which occurred late in the '70s. The names of the first board of supervisors elected under the act of March 22, 1860, were as follows: Almond Stinson, of Dodge Township; Hiram Bennett, of Des Moines Township; Charles Weston, of Jackson Township ; Thomas Sparks, of Worth Township ; C. J. Cassel, of Douglas Township; J. O. Harris, of Cass Township; Peter Mower, of Union Township; W. H. C. Jenkins, of Marcy Township; Wesley Williams, of Yell Township, and Peter Shaffer, of Pilot Mound Township. This first board of supervisors met for the first time January 1, 186r. It was one of the most representative boards Boone County ever had. This system continued for ten years, or from 1861 to 1871. There were no changes in the boundaries of the townships during this period of ten years. The board of supervisors consisted of ten members in 1861, and went out of existence in 1871, with the same number. It did much work during that time. THE PRESENT COURTHOUSE In 1864 and 1865 the Northwestern Railroad was built through Boone County. The citizens of Boonesboro failed to comply with the requirements of the railroad company, and the result was that the road ran down Honey Creek to the Des Moines River, thus leaving Boonesboro out in the cold. This caused great excitement in Boonesboro, and the friends of the town throughout the county listened to their wails with feelings of sympathy. Although the first courthouse had only been built eight years, the people of Boonesboro at this early date wanted a new courthouse built on the public square. The railroad company had laid out the Town of Boone, a mile and a half east of Boonesboro, and the people of the latter town became very uneasy lest the new town should in some way secure the removal of the county seat. As the leading men of Boonesboro had influence with the voters of the county, they circulated a petition, and placed it before the board of supervisors asking for a special election to vote a tax to build a courthouse on the public square in Boonesboro, at a cost not to exceed $50,000. If this could be done they felt sure that Boonesboro would continue to be the county seat for many years. This special election was held on the first Monday in April, 1865. But contrary to their hopes the proposition lost out, there being 828 votes cast, with 384 for it and 444 against it. This defeat did not deter the leading citizens of Boonesboro, for with them it was a vital question. On the 6th of September, of the same year, they placed before the board of supervisors another proposition for the people to vote upon at the October election. This time there were 1,181 votes cast, of which 713 were for the proposition and 471 against it. There was great rejoicing in Boonesboro over this result. The new courthouse was assured, and when built on the public square Boonesboro would continue to be the center of business, regardless of any rival town which the railroad might build up. This was the conclusion at which they had arrived and the basis upon which their efforts rested. The board of supervisors built the new courthouse in accordance with the vote of the people of the county, completing it in 1868. The Des Moines Register of December 23, 1868, said: "Boone County has just completed one of the finest courthouses in the state, at a cost of $38,000, a special tax having been levied for that purpose." The Legislature of 1870 passed a law which reduced the board of supervisors to a number not less than three, nor more than seven, based upon the population of the counties of the state. The first board in Boone County, under the new law, was elected in October, 1870, and commenced the discharge of its official duties on the first Monday in January, 1871. There were three members on the new board, their names being, S. R. Page, Levi Colvin and Z. J. Vontrees. At the first meeting of this board seven new townships were named and established. These were as follows: Harrison Township was taken off the north end of Jackson Township and named in honor of General William H. Harrison, the hero of Tippecanoe, a prominent officer in the War of 1812 and who was elected President of the United States in 1840. Colfax Township was taken off the east side of Worth Township and named in honor of Schuyler Colfax, a prominent statesman of Indiana, and at that time vice president of the United States. Z. J. Vontrees, a member of the board, desired to name this new township Croy, in honor of Samuel A. Croy, one of its first settlers, but that gentleman objected to this and proposed that it be named Colfax, to which the board consented. Garden Township was taken off the east side of Douglas Township, and was named Garden because of the fertility of its soil, the beauty of its surface and the high estimation placed upon it by those who made it their home. Peoples Township was taken off the west side of Cass Township and the east side of Union Township and named in honor of David Peoples, the first permanent settler within its boundaries. Mr. Peoples was a very exemplary citizen and he was the only settler in the county after whom any permanent township of the county was named. Beaver Township was taken off the west side of Marcy Township and took its name from Beaver Creek, which runs through it from north to south. Amaqua Township was taken off the west side of Yell Township and Amaqua, the Indian name for Beaver, was given to it. Beaver Creek runs also through this township. Grant Township was taken off the west side of Pilot Mound Township. It was named in honor of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who at the time was President of the United States. This action of the board in 1871 completed and made permanent the present seventeen townships of the County of Boone, thus completing its township organization. The population of the county at this time was 14,581. Additional Comments: [Transcriber's note: The first 5 chapters have to do with a brief and very general history of Iowa, geology, and Native American sociology. These chapters will not be transcribed.] Extracted from: HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY IOWA N. E. GOLDTHWAIT SUPERVISING EDITOR ILLUSTRATED VOLUME I CHICAGO PIONEER PUBLISHING COMPANY 1914 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ia/boone/history/1914/historyo/countyor59nms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/iafiles/ File size: 41.7 Kb