Lowden, Iowa - Town History - 1888 Cedar County, Iowa History

Transcribed by Diana Hanson <idea@inav.net>.
Submitted to the USGenWeb Project Archives on July 2nd, 1998.
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This village is an outgrowth of the Chicago & North Western Railway
which was built to Louden (later spelled Lowden) July 5, 1858.

The first settlers in this vicinity were John Calvin Parr, with sons
Harvey, Reason (Rezon), John C. and James; his cousin William Parr
(known as old Billy Parr) with sons Leonard, Luman, Asas, William, John
and Elliott and others born after their settlement there; and a brother
of William Parr named John.  The Parr family came in a wagon train of 13
wagons from Licking County Ohio and is descended from the original
immigrant William Parr who was sheriff in Philadephia in the late
1600's. Before that they lived in Union County, PA and came from England
and are related to the Parr family of Catherine Parr, 16 year old wife
of King Henry the 8th. It might be noted that also in Licking County,
Ohio was the McClellan family who also eventually moved to Cedar County,
Iowa in the same general area. When they arrived in 1839, the youngest
members of the wagon train were six week old Elizabeth Parr, and N. Dean
Henry, later husband of this girl who was a member of the famous
Crocker's Iowa Brigade of the Civil War. The Parr family, although
having 13 children, eventually moved on to other states including South
Dakota. Many of their descendants who married into the Curry, Denny and
other families, still reside in the area. They came in 1839.

Among other early settlers were Porter McKinstry, William C. Hoskins,
two miles south, now in Lowden; George Rone and sons, southwest; John D.
Shearer, 1850, joining the village site on the north, Martin Henry,
deceased, Robert Henry, now of Iowa County, who settled one mile
southeast. Mr. Rone bought the McKinstry farm. Another early settler,
James McCarry, was buried in the Van Horn cemetery in 1855 at the age of
41, the earliest cemetery in the area.

From 1852 to 1855, a large number of settlements were made. Among them
were Mrs. Ann H. Rice, who yet resides in Lowden, and sons, Edward, John
T., E.S. and W.F. who settled one mile west; William Cook, northwest
one mile; Henry Arlington, Sr. about 1852, one and one half miles
southwest, where he still resides; John Worley, 1852, 3/4 a mile east
who died about 1865; John B. Huff settled in the south part of
Sprinfield Township about 1839, and moved to the village in 1858.; J.S.
Burwell 1854, settled one half mile north where he still resides; Jacob
Doty, a son-in-law of Mr. Van Horn, settled soon after immediately south
of the town site; he now resides in Wright County, Iowa; T.R. Johnson,
1856, one half mile northwest, Thomas Shearer, 1856, east, one half mile.

When the Chicago and North Western Railway was projected through this
settlement, James Van Horn, donated seven acres and Thomas Shearer five
acres to the Iowa Land Company for a town site. That Company aftward
purchased for $1,600 the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of
Section 2 Township 81 north. this was laid out as a village by L.M.
Nute, Surveyor, for Horace Williams and Milo Smith, acting for the Land
Company in October 1857 and named Louden, by Thomas Shearer, after his
Ohio home Loudenville, Ohio.

Soon after the railroad was projected in the Fall of 1857, William M.
Dugan erected the first house in Lowden, a two story frame hotel and
store room on Lot 1, Block 5, on the west side of main street, near the
railroad. Mr. D. W. Baird came with him and remained a short time. In
the store room, Mr. Dugan opened a grocery, which in 1858, he enlarged
to a general stock and moved to a store which he erected on the south
end of Lot 1, Block 6. In the winter of 1857-8 the post office was
obtained and contained at Mr. Dugan's store.