HISTORY: Carroll County From the A.T. Andreas Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Iowa, 1875 ************************************************* Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ************************************************* CARROLL COUNTY. This county, which is twenty-four miles square, and contains sixteen congressional or land survey townships, is the third east of the Missouri River, and in the fifth tier of counties, both from the northern and southern boundary of the State. SURFACE FEATURES AND RESOURCES. Carroll is emphatically a prairie county, the eastern portion being composed of a gently undulating surface sufficiently rolling to break the monotonous sameness of the level plain, while to the westward of the Middle Raccoon River, the surface is more broken and uneven, in many places rising into hills of considerable prominence. The great watershed dividing the waters which flow into the Mississippi from those which flow into the Missouri passes through this county, and at the highest point is 858 feet above Lake Michigan and 800 feet above the Mississippi River at Clinton. From this summit can be obtained a fine view of the surrounding country, extending in every direction as far as the eye can reach. On the east and the southeast is seen in the distance the rich, fertile valley of the Raccoon rivers, and on the south the unsurpassingly lovely country surrounding the Nishnabotany, and on the west the magnificent vale through which flows the Boyer. All of which in a clear summer's day afford scenery at once grand, beautiful and picturesque. Being situated upon the great dividing ridge or watershed, this county is watered and drained mostly by small streams which flow both into the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. The largest stream is the North Raccoon, which cuts across the northeast corner of the county, while the next two in importance are the Middle Raccoon and Brushy Fork, which take their rise in the watershed divide in the northwest, and flowing nearly parallel from four to six miles apart in a southeast direction, make their exit near the southeast corner of the county. Storm Creek, a tributary of the Middle Raccoon drains a large tract in the northern-central as does the Willow Creek in the eastern border. The North Raccoon is deeply excavated into the drift deposit, and its valley is bordered by rather steep acclivities from seventy to one hundred feet in height, while the Middle Raccoon is bordered on the west by high bluff capped slopes, and on the east by drift hills, which gain the interior heights by more gradual ascents, Brushy Fork possesses a beautiful valley with gentle acclivities on either side, as does the East Nishnabotany and Boyer Rivers and Whitted's Creek, which are on the west side of the watershed divide. The upper course of all these streams are little more than diminutive prairie brooks, with gravelly beds, and clear, rapid currents, many of those having their headwaters in the great divide interlocking, as it were, being separated by a narrow crest as sharply defined as a fable ridge. Springs issue from the gravel deposits along these water courses, furnishing them with an abundant supply of limpid, pure water at all seasons of the year. East of the Middle Raccoon River wells are easily obtained, while in the uplands west of that stream, those seeking water must go to a much greater depth, though the certainty of finding a never-failing supply is just as good. In a shallow depression or plain below Carrollton, on the east side of the Middle Raccoon, several interesting spring mounds occur, which have excited much attention and are described as follows by Dr. White, in the Iowa State Geology; "The plain is thirty or forty feet above the present level of the river, from which it is separated by a well-defined drift ridge which, in places, rises into considerable knob-like eminences from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet above the stream. The plain, however, communicated with the valley both above and below, and was probably once the channel of the river. The spring mounds are situated along an irregular line more or less in the middle of the depression; they are from four to six feet in height and as many yards in diameter, and are apparently entirely composed of vegetable matter, forming a peaty deposit which is largely mixed with the exuviae of shells and other animal remains. The crests of the mounds are covered with a tall, rank flag or marsh grass, but upon the sides there are usually two well marked bands of short herbage and moss encircling the mounds and separated by a narrow belt of tall grass. The deposit of the vegetation upon these places is exceedingly interesting, though the mounds themselves, doubtless, owe their origin to the existence of pools of water, indicating more or less accurately, the course of a former water channel, and which, being fed from higher sources, the tendency is what we observe—a gradual building up of a peaty formation. The surface of the plain beyond the limits of the mounds is perfectly level, and the deposit consists of decayed vegetable matter mixed with sand forming a sandy muck." Like that of Guthrie County, which lies on the great divide just southeast of Carroll, the soil of this county presents two well marked varieties; that on the east side of the Middle Raccoon being of the drift formation, is a gravelly loam of great strength and productiveness, while to west of that stream the uplands are deeply enveloped in the bluff formation, which has imparted to the soil of this portion of the county its own peculiar characteristics. Small groves of native timber are found on the principal streams; and in favorable locations, even upon the uplands, forests of young oak are springing up. Some two or three small patches are met with in the valley of Brushy Fork, and between Raccoon Rapids and Carrollton; on the Middle Raccoon more extensive tracts are covered with a fine growth of young timber. No beds of coal have as yet been discovered; though it is not deemed improbable, says Dr. White, that the coal-measure formation underlies at least a portion of the county. The only specimens yet found have been discovered in digging wells and making other excavations, and are only small fragments associated with the loose material of the drift deposit. Peat is known to exist in several places in the county, some of which are of considerable extent, and should they be found to be free from sand and gravel, they will eventually become of some value as a resource for fuel. Good building stone is not found within the limits of Carroll County, the cretaceous sandstone being too friable to answer for ordinary building purposes, except some of the harder layers, which are employed in laying up rough under-pinnings, in walling wells, etc. Material for the manufacture of brick is found in abundance, yet care is necessary in selecting clay in the western portion of the county, in consequence of the prevalence of calcareous matter derived from the disintegration of the bluff deposits on the surface of the lower slopes. The lime thus mixed with the earth is converted into quicklime in the process of burning the brick, and on exposure to moisture the lime slakes and bursts the brick. EARLY HISTORY. The first settlement in the county was made on section 2, township 84, range 33, by Enos Buttrick, from Greene County, in 1854. The first election was held at the house of Henry Coplin, on section 12, township 82, range 34, on the first Monday of August, 1855, when the following county officers were elected; A. J. Cain, County Judge; Levi Thompson, Clerk; James White, Treasurer and Recorder; Robert Lloyd, Surveyor; L. M. Curdy, Prosecuting Attorney; and J. Y. Anderson, Sheriff. The county was organized by S. L. Loomis, July 16, 1855, under a commission from James Henderson, County Judge of Guthrie County. At this time the entire population was about 100. The first school was taught by Jane L. Hill, at Carrollton, in the Spring of 1856, and the first newspaper was published at the same place, by Mr. Manning, and called the Carroll Enterprise. The Methodists organized the first religious society at Carrollton. The first District Court was held November 23, 1858, by Hon. M. F. Moore, District Judge. The first grand jury were Cornelius Higgins, Benjamin Teller, Matthew Borders, Lafayette McCurdy, Crocket Ribble, Robert Morris, William Short, Robert Dickinson, Elijah Puckett, Cyrus Rhoads, James Colcio, David Scott, David Frazier, Samuel Lyon and Amos Bason. James Colcio was appointed foreman. First case on docket was Nehemiah Powers and John Watson vs. Cornelius Higgins. Noah Titus was the first person licensed to practice law in the county. The first marriage license was granted September 16, 1855, to Joseph Ford and Sarah Ochempaugh. They were married September 23, 1856, by A. J. Cain, County Judge. First estate administered upon was Wesley H. Blizard, May 3, 1858. First administrator appointed was James H. Colcio. The first deed was made by Thomas Ford to Nancy Ford, for the east half of section 17, township 85, range 33. September 3, 1855, and acknowledged by A. J. Cain, County Judge. The old Indian trail known as the War Path, or the dividing line between the Sioux and Pottawattamie Indians' hunting grounds, runs through townships 82, 83, 84, and 85, range 36,in this county. It is plainly visible, and is as straight as an arrow. It was a death penalty for an Indian of one tribe to cross the path and be found hunting on the lands of the other. An early settler relates that an old Indian chief told him there was once a terrible Indian battle fought near Crescent Lake, about one mile south of Carroll Center, between the Sioux and Pottawattamie Indians. There had been a feud for a long time existing between the two tribes in regard to the infringement of the law in relation to the hunting grounds by disloyal Indians. The Sioux determined to exterminate the Pottawattamies. A large party of the latter were encamped near Crescent Lake, in the grove of timber. One morning a powerful party of the Sioux attacked them, and a terrible and bloody battle ensued, resulting in the death of all the Sioux warriors, and all but three of the Pottawattamies. The remains of the dead warriors were left to be eaten by the wolves, or rot, and their bones to bleach on the prairie, until the annual prairie fires consumed them. In 1859, two men coming across from Denison, in the Winter, got lost, and one froze to death, and the other so badly that his feet came off. The latter had wandered down near Carrollton, and when discovered by a settler, was delirious or unconscious of where he was. Some year or two ago, in Winter, a boy was found between Guthrie Center and Denison on his knees and face, dead, supposed to have been lost and froze, or else perished in attempting to cross the prairies. When found he had been dead some time. Thirty-three men out of sixty voters went into the army, the county paying each soldier $100 bounty, besides supporting their families while in the service. The main line of the Chicago & Northwestern passes east and west through this county, having stations at Glidden, Carroll and Arcadia. COUNTY OFFICIALS, 1875. W. O. STURGEON, Auditor. H. C. STEVENS, Sheriff. WILLIAM LYNCH, JR. Clerk of Courts. W. F. STEIGERWALT, Sup't. Com. Schools. W. L. CULBERTSON, Treasurer. GEO. P. WETHERILL, Chairman of the H. E. RUSSELL, Recorder. Board of Supervisors. CARROLL. This town which is the county seat and the most important town in the county, is very pleasantly situated on the line of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, a little north of the center of the county, and is surrounded by a fertile, though as yet but partially improved, farming country. It was laid out in August, 1867, and has since had a steady and substantial growth; does a good retail business, and is the largest shipping point in the county. Good schools have been established; the leading religious denominations have organizations, and some of them commodious houses of worship. Being surrounded by a country having large agricultural resources, having good railroad facilities, and possessing a class of energetic, wideawake and experienced business men, who know how to make the best possible use of the advantages within their reach, Carroll is destined at no distant day to become one of the important towns in the western part of the state. Two English and one German newspapers are now published there, which are well patronized and sustained. The Carroll Herald, a handsome, readable seven column quarto sheet, was established in 1868. It is Republican in politics, and is now under the able editorial management of Hastings & Gray. The Carroll Democrat, a neatly printed and spicy Democratic sheet, made its first appearance in 1874, and is editorially conducted by an experienced journalist, H. L. McMann. The Carroll Demokrat—German—was founded in 1874; has taken its place among the German press of the state, and is controlled editorially by J. G. Burkhardt. GLIDDEN. —Situated on the line of the Northwestern Railroad, in the east part of the county. It was laid out in 1866, and is a shipping point for a large district of country. CARROLLTON. – This was formerly the county seat, and is the oldest town in the county, being laid out in 1856. It is located in the south-east part of the county, and is surrounded by a fine farming and grazing country. The other villages and post-offices in the county are Arcadia, Browning, Coon Rapids, and Elba.