Palo Alto County IA Archives History - Books .....The Old Town 1910
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Book Title: History Of Palo Alto County Iowa

CHAPTER XI
The Old Town

   The first attempts at building a county-seat were failures because they were
purely speculative. They were premature and lacked natural advantages that would
compel rapid advancement. The first town in the county was a natural growth. It
was unplanned and unheralded, located by force of circumstances, and grew from a
natural and spontaneous necessity.

   Martin Coonan had built a log cabin in 1858 on the east bank of the Des
Moines River on section 23-96-33. This hospitable little home was the stopping
place for weary travelers for several years. About 1865, Mr. Coonan hauled brick
that was left over when the court house at Paoli was rebuilt and built a new
brick house about 16 x 24, two stories high. He used his old cabin as an
addition or lean-to. This pretentious dwelling at once became the "tavern" of
the county and many a wayfarer found shelter and good cheer within its walls. A
traveler coming to Palo Alto County for the first time in 1869, thus describes
his impressions: "The next day we plodded westward and crossed into Palo Alto
County and later in the day first beheld Medium Lake at a point north of the
Michael Jackman home. When we passed the house the children came out and stood
in a row (like an old fashioned spelling class) the largest at the head and
ranging down to one just able to stand alone. We came along the east shore and
around the foot of the lake (where Call's Addition is now platted) and thence
northwesterly. When near where the Scott Ormsby home now stands we came across
three small children herding some cows. We asked them, 'Where is Emmetsburg? One
of them, a girl, replied, 'You are there now, sir.' 'Yes, but where is the
town?' 'Right here is where it is.' 'But we don't see any town.' 'Sure, and
don't you see that stake there in the grass, and that one there - that's
Emmetsburg.' 'But where is the hotel?' 'Oh, it's Coonan's you want. It's over
there beyond the hill.' So on over the hill and just as the sun was setting we
arrived at Coonan's." [1]

[1] "Recollections of Early Palo Alto County," Geo. B. McCarty.

   The name still clung to the stakes of the abandoned town that Hoolihan and
his friends had so confidently laid out. But Coonan's "Hotel" was the magnet
that drew all comers. Mr. Coonan had made quite a road in hauling the brick to
his house and with an eye for business, put up a sign some distance out,
"Emmetsburg," with a hand pointing toward his home. This deflected travel from
the staked-out town of Emmetsburg on the shore of Medium Lake, and from the
deserted town of Paoli. Mr. Coonan also secured the postoffice and that added to
the prestige. The Coonan place thus became the objective point for all travelers
and settlers.

   In the fall of 1868 Thomas C. Davis came to the county, bringing with him an
old saw-mill outfit. He formed a partnership with E. G. Pond and together they
built a brush dam across the Des Moines River a short distance from Coonan's and
set up the saw-mill. They began to saw some lumber for the settlers and this new
industry was the final step in the locating of the real town, which soon began
to straggle along the road leading to the Coonan house.

   The next spring "N. D. Bearss built a small shed 10 x 12, about 6 feet high
on one side and 7 feet on the other. This was built by setting some old slabs
and poles in the ground and tacking tarred paper on and then banking up on the
outside with hay. The roof was made with poles and hay. In this 'store' he had
about a wheelbarrow full of goods, some pipes and smoking tobacco, etc. He was
alone and lived in this shed, boarding himself." [1]

[1] Statement of Geo. B. McCarty. Chas. Nolan, J. J. Mahan, and other settlers'
descriptions agree with the one here given.

   The same summer "M. D. Daniels built a one-story building about 12x14, which
I think was made entirely out of native lumber. Daniels and his wife and two
children lived in this. He was a blacksmith and had a shop about 10x12 made by
standing poles on end and with slabs nailed on them. The roof, what there was of
it, was of slabs." [2]

[2] Statement of Geo. B. McCarty.

   That fall George B. McCarty came out to Palo Alto County to cast his fortunes
with the new town. He thus described the journey and his experiences in getting
settled: [3] "I had then decided to locate at Emmetsburg, and in October, 1869,
having remained until after election to vote and work for my townsman, Samuel
Merrill, for governor of Iowa, two days later Al Jones and myself with my few
belongings started for Emmetsburg. We went from McGregor via boat to Dubuque and
from Dubuque to Fort Dodge via railroad. At Fort Dodge we hired teams, Al Jones
having purchased a stock of goods with which to start a store at Emmetsburg,
when we should get there. We had three teams loaded with lumber and goods; were
three days getting through. Had to unload three or four times and carry the
lumber and goods out when the teams would get stuck in sloughs, which was not
only hard work, but wet and muddy as well. We arrived at Emmetsburg October 20,
1869, after dark. We put up and covered up our goods. The next morning we
unloaded the goods and our personal effects on the ground and put some of the
lumber over them. Commenced to look for a carpenter and found there were only
two in the county—Thos. C. Davis, who was building a small house for Rev. B. C.
Hammond on his homestead, the east half of the southwest quarter 30-97-32; and
W. H. Caner, who was somewhere in the southeast part of the county putting up a
shanty. Jones had a saw and hatchet; I had a hammer and jack-knife ; and being
thus supplied with tools, we commenced a building 16x20 from the lumber we had
brought. As we expected to get some native lumber at the saw-mill, we had only
brought a small amount of dimension lumber and finding no native lumber, we used
the lumber we had for temporary sills and plates and a few rafters. Joists were
not needed, because we had no flooring material and mother earth made a good
solid floor, as we had found a high spot where it was reasonably solid. By night
we had the frame work well up and not having any shingles and a small amount of
boards, we had to use them sparingly, but had quite a large roll of building
paper which in that case covered a multitude of omissions and quite a pile of
goods. That night we had our goods piled up in one corner, yet in the boxes, in
fair shape. And the heavens smiled upon us and no rain fell. The second day with
what lumber we had and our building paper we had the building well enclosed and
roofed in.

[3] He had previously taken an extended trip through western Iowa with Ben
Johnson in 1869, and spent four or five days in Emmetsburg, examining the
surrounding country. Al Jones was then stopping at Coonan's. Statement of Geo.
B. McCarty.

   "On the third day it rained. The fourth day I started to Fort Dodge with Jo
Smith, Culver, and Clark, three homesteaders, who had recently located in the
county but had horse teams, for more lumber and materials. It was damp and rainy
in the morning, but about eight o'clock, when we were about five miles on our
way the wind suddenly turned to the northwest and blew a gale. In less than an
hour the mud began to freeze on our wagon wheels and ice form on the water
standing in the grass and sloughs, and I believe I never saw so cold a day. We
walked nearly all the time and then nearly froze. We reached Humboldt about nine
o'clock that night, and so cold it was that ice formed on the shallow sloughs
that would almost bear our horses. They would climb on the ice and it would
break in, while the mud would freeze on our wagon till we would have to chop it
off with hatchets so that the team could haul the wagons. Next morning we
started and reached Fort Dodge at noon, the ice in the sloughs bearing the
horses and wagon. Loaded up and next day started on our return trip. The weather
was some warmer, but the ice would break and cut through and our wagons would
become stalled. For three days we worked, unloaded and carried out our loads and
re-loaded often in water and ice far above our knees, and always wet and cold.
We finally reached Emmetsburg on the night of the fifth day and then set to
shingling the building. Took the tarred paper off the sides and put in studs and
joists and finished up the building. This time we brought one door and two
windows and 12-inch wide boards to lay across the joists for floor. We also
brought some flour, 1 barrel of pork, 1 barrel of molasses and 1 barrel of salt.
I remember this fact well from the fact that when we would get stalled those
barrels would have to be rolled off and rolled out through the mud and water to
dry land and then reloaded, which, when I now well remember that the mud and
water were often more than knee deep — well, we had one man in our crowd who was
inclined to swear, and it took a great amount of effort on the part of the other
three of us to convince him that no amount of swearing could better a job like
that.

   "Coonan's farm house was of brick 16x24, with a small wood addition. The
brick part was 12 feet high, giving an attic chamber, one room, and what Mrs.
Coonan called the 'landing,' a small space at the head of the stairs partitioned
off by itself. The balance of this attic chamber in one room was commonly known
as the 'school section.' This contained four beds, one in each corner, and the
balance of the floor space was occupied by the 10 to 30 other male guests and
members of the family and when all the floor space, including that under the
beds, was fully taken, later guests had to 'sit it out' down stairs. [1] The
lower story was divided into a kitchen (very small), a small bed room and a
living room, but usually the cooking was done in the living room. The small bed
room was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Coonan, but when women were there Mrs. Coonan
sent Martin to the 'section' and the women occupied the bed room.

[1] This was, as T. W. Harrison says, "A silent inducement to retire early."
Statement of T. W. Harrison.

   "I boarded at Coonan's for nearly two months and then Al Jones and I went and
slept in the old saw-mill. We could look out and see the stars and during that
January and February and March it was cold and we had three or four big snows
and blizzards. I remember one February morning when Jones and I awoke the snow
had blown in and formed a drift completely covering our bed with more than two
feet of snow. We used to take such of our clothes as we took off and our shoes
in bed with us. We had a bedstead made of willow poles which was about iy2 feet
high, and we nailed a piece of slab on the head and foot and had a big army
blanket which we would stretch over these slabs from head to foot and it
protected us against the snow, unless it was a regular blizzard, when it would
fill up over the bed so that in the morning we could only with difficulty
extricate ourselves. But if cold, the air was of a better quality than in the
school section and we could get it first hand. This mill building was owned by
Thos. C. Davis and E. G. Pond.  Davis had partitioned off a room in one end of
the mill building about 12 or 14 feet square. This partition was made by setting
poles upright and then nailing other poles and a few pieces of slabs to the
upright and then setting another row of poles and filling in between with hay.
Davis and his wife and two small children lived in that room and Pond, who was a
single man, boarded with Davis. Sometimes when it was too stormy, Al Jones and I
would camp in the store building, but it was so small that we could not have a
bed there but would roll up in blankets on the floor.

   "Aside from the Coonan house and the old mill building already described,
there were three other buildings: Bearss, Daniels, and the building built by
Jones and myself. During the fall and winter of 1869 and 1870 the regular
inhabitants of Emmetsburg were:

   "Martin Coonan and wife and five boys, Mart, Will, Dan, Tom and John.

   "T. C. Davis and wife and two children.

   "E. G. Pond.

   "N. D. Bearss.

   "M. D. Daniels and wife and two children.

   "Al Jones.

   "W. H. Shea.

   "Geo. B. McCarty.

   "James P. White was county treasurer and lived on section 18-95-32, Nevada
township. He would come up to town nearly every day and when the weather was too
bad to make the drive he would stay over night. In addition to these there were
a number of other parties who stayed a few weeks: M. E. Griffin, now a banker at
Spencer; G. R. Badgrow, now postmaster at Sioux City; Wm. Starr of Monticello,
Iowa, and others. While there was scarcely a day or night that there were not
travelers at Coonan's, I remember one night while I roomed at Coonan's, there
were 48 persons there, and all had accommodations, such as they were.   Shelter
at least on a stormy January night meant a good deal." [1]

[1] "Recollections of Early Palo Alto County," by Geo. B. McCarty. This
statement from which quotations are made from time to time, has never been
published, but will be found preserved in the Semi-Centennial Record Book.

   Mother Coonan was noted for her hospitality. "Bless her dear, big, Irish
heart," writes T. W. Harrison, who stopped there in those days. "She always had
a smile and a kind word and a little joke and a hearty meal for everyone who
came along. I boarded there for weeks afterwards, and such hearty meals and
heartily relished by everyone; a milk pan full of hard fried eggs, boiled
potatoes, elegant white bread, good butter, strong coffee with sugar and cream,
and dried apple sauce, was the bill of fare three times a day and seven days in
a week, and no one wanted anything more or different." [2]

[2] "Fifty Years Ago in Palo Alto County," by T. W. Harrison, Des Moines
Register and Leader, July 8, 1906. This statement was originally prepared at my
request and was considered of sufficient general interest to have same published
at that time. It appeared in several of the Emmetsburg papers in 1906. It will
also be found pasted in the Semi-Centennial Record Book, pp. 387-8.

   In February, 1870, T. W. Harrison first came to the frontier town of
Emmetsburg. "For several days," he says, "I borrowed Jim White's saddle horse
and rode around the country to see the lay of the land, and in the course of a
week I became satisfied that this land, which would grow natural grasses from
six to eight feet high on the bottom lands and two to three feet high on the
upland prairie, must have a desirable future, and that I was willing to settle
here and take my chances on its development. Another inducement was the fact
that two valuable railroad land grants crossed each other at or near the
location of Emmetsburg, and I reasoned that those two railroads must be built at
some time and that there would be a town where they crossed each other. So I
announced to the 'Old Settlers' that I had decided to locate here. They asked me
what my business was. I said, 'Lawyer and Real Estate.' They said, 'You will
starve to death at that trade.' I said, 'I will take my chances with the rest of
you,' and they laughed heartily." [1]

[1] Statement of T. W. Harrison.

   Mr. McCarty, during the winter, had a table and a few books in one corner of
the Jones & Johnson store building which he had helped to build, and that was
his law office. In March he had lumber hauled from Fort Dodge, and built an
office building 14x16. This was the first office building in the old town. [2]

[2] "I paid $50 per M for dimension lumber, and for flooring and siding, etc.,
about $65 per M. When I got the lumber home, I figured up and found my lumber
had cost me, including the expenses of the trip, about $120 per M." Statement of
Geo. B. McCarty. This historic old building was moved to the new town and stood
(on lot 2, block 51, Corbin & Lawler's plat) just south of McCarty & McCarty's
office until it was destroyed by fire in April, 1909.

   Among the new arrivals that spring were H. L. Burnell and wife, and E. J.
Hartshorn. Harrison formed a partnership with Burnell and they put up a small
building and used it as an office and residence. McCarty and Hartshorn formed a
partnership in the law and land business about the same time. James P. White and
W. H. Shea also put up an office building. Later M. L. Brown and his brother, P.
S. Brown, came and built a small hardware and agricultural implement building.
About this time James Fitzgerald and his wife bought the small Daniels house and
opened up their store. Ketchen and Lenhart put up a building for a clothing
store. That summer A. D. Gallop built the "Valley House" and the little
settlement began to take on the airs of a town.

   W. J. Brown and Alex Peddie were among the newcomers in 1871 who cast their
destinies with Emmetsburg.

   In 1872 F. H. Roper became the landlord of the "Valley House" and did a
thriving business, clearing $1,000 in the first five months. [1]

[1] Statement of F. H. Roper.

   James Fitzgerald was a genial but thrifty merchant and his quaint mannerisms
furnished amusement for the town. Many are the stories told about "Fitz," as he
was popularly known. Three of them are worth recording. In the early days of the
town the boys used to buy cigars, etc., at Fitz's little store and he was always
willing to give change for a ten dollar bill if the customer made a purchase but
"no buy, no change" was an inflexible rule of the store. W. H. Shea, Jas. P.
White and Al Jones put up a job on Fitz and began buying cigars, etc., and
telling him to "charge them to McCarty." This was done and in the course of a
week or so Fitz presented his bill of $7.40 to McCarty for payment, whereupon
the account was indignantly repudiated as not of his making. Fitz mourned as for
a lost friend over being swindled in this manner, but quietly bided his time and
one day White and his two friends came into the store and asked for some cigars
in order to get change for a $10 bill. Fitz took the bill and quietly tucked it
into his inside pocket and busied himself arranging his goods. When White asked
for the change, Fitz coolly answered, "Oh, charge it to McCarty." On another
occasion when a customer came in to buy a pocket-book but had no money to pay
for it, Fitz sorrowfully put the pocket-book back on the shelf, remarking, "You
must think me green to sell you a pocket-book on tick when you've no money to
put in it." One day a lady came into his store and wanted to buy a darning
needle, for which he charged her five cents and when she complained of the
price, Fitz exclaimed, "The freight, the freight, lady. I can't sell it for
less, the freight is so high." But everyone liked good old Jimmie Fitzgerald and
his "old woman" who together by thrift acquired enough to retire from business
cares and live in comfort to a ripe old age.

   At this time Fort Dodge was the terminus of the railroad and all lumber and
supplies had to be hauled from there. Joe Mulroney was running a small stage
from Fort Dodge to Spirit Lake once a week to carry the mail and such passengers
as had no other conveyance. The arrival of the weekly mail was an important
event and the whole town would turn out to welcome the stage on its arrival. In
December of 1870 the McGregor & Missouri River Railway was built as far as
Algona and from that time on, there was a daily mail by stage from Algona, and
that place became the terminus and the base of supplies for Emmetsburg until the
railroad was completed through in 1878.

   The Catholic Church was the first church in the old town. It was erected in
1871 through the efforts of Father Linehan of Fort Dodge. Before this the
settlers had gathered logs to build a church, but a prairie fire sweeping over
the prairie had destroyed all the results of their hard labor. [1] This new
church was a large structure for those early days. Father Smith was the first
pastor. He arrived at Emmetsburg in December, 1871, when the new church was only
partially completed. With fearless energy and boundless faith the young priest
began his life work in the new field. He completed the church and organized his
parish. There were only thirty-nine Catholic families in the county then, but
his sphere of activity was much broader. His parish contained eight counties,
but as resident priest he had charge not only of Northwest Iowa, from Hancock to
the state line on the west, but also all those counties lying north of Humboldt,
Pocahontas, Buena Vista and Plymouth. In addition to his charge in Iowa, he
attended to Southwest Minnesota and Eastern Dakota. In the Iowa territory there
are today twenty-seven priests, where the territory was once attended by him
alone. Moreover, in the tireless and willing discharge of his duties on the wild
and desolate frontier plains, he ministered to the needs of all, and was the
kind and cheery friend and adviser of all the settlers, regardless of church or
creed. Father Smith is still in active charge of his large and influential
church at Emmetsburg, which has grown from the small beginnings so auspiciously
started many years ago. No service that he has ever rendered during his long and
devoted life has reaped such abundant fruit as those years of untiring devotion
to the pioneers on the Iowa prairie. [1a]


[1] Statement by Father Smith, Semi-Centennial Record Book, p. 211.

[1a] Very Rev. J. J. Smith was ordained a priest in Dublin, Ireland, June 26,
1870. After coming to Dubuque on August 30, 1870, he was assistant priest at the
cathedral for three months. He was then appointed pastor at Clermont, Payette
County, from whence he was removed to Emmetsburg in December, 1871. A very
excellent comparison of those early days with the present, written by Father
Smith, will be found in the Semi-Centennial Record Book, p. 211. See also sketch
of his life and work in the Palo Alto Tribune.

   In the winter of 1871-2 the scattered Protestant families organized a Union
Church, John L. Lang being the leading spirit, and Rev. B. C. Hammond, who lived
on a homestead five or six miles northeast of town, preached for them. "This
Union Church was afterwards duly incorporated and was the forerunner of the
present First Congregational Church of Emmetsburg. A Union Sunday School was
also organized by Mr. Lang and conducted by him in the spring and summer of
1872. In August, 1872, that Little Giant of Methodism, Col. E. S. Ormsby,
located in the old town and it did not take him long to gather together that
remnant of the tribe of Israel known as Methodists and organize a Methodist
Episcopal Church and Sunday School which have both been flourishing ever since."
[1]

[1] "Fifty Years Ago in Palo Alto County," by T. W. Harrison, Register and
Leader, July 8, 1906.

   Others began to locate in the town that was already assuming considerable
importance as a trading center. There were over 1,000 settlers in the county and
Emmets-burg was the only town and trading point this side of Algona and Fort
Dodge. T. H. Tobin, Pat Joyce, and John Hall started stores. E. S. Ormsby
established the first bank in 1872 under the name of Burnham, Ormsby & Co.,
capital $10,000. M. F. Kerwick also came in 1872.

   The town had grown so naturally along the Coonan road, that no plat had been
made at first and the buildings had been located in Coonan's corn field or
pasture at the whim of the newcomer, but in the summer of 1870 Mr. Coonan had
some blocks and lots surveyed out and later had the , plat recorded as
"Emmetsburg." [2]

[2] May 24, 1871, recorder's office, Palo Alto County.

   The Democrat, published by Jas. P. White, at Soda Bar, and the Advance,
published by McCarty & Hartshorn and Harrison & Burnell, were the rival papers
that flourished throughout the exciting campaign of 1870. But when "White lost
the treasurership at that election his paper soon after went out of business and
the Advance sold out to Bates & Hagedon, who discontinued the old name and
started the Palo Alto Patriot in June, 1873.[3] After a year the Patriot sold
out to the Palo Alto Printing Company, who dropped the old title and began the
Palo Alto Pilot. The first issue was June 11, 1874, and was printed in the Old
Town. [1] J. C. Bennett, who worked on this paper, says: "When I first came in
contact with it in July, 1873, it was a pretty badly mixed up outfit. It had
evidently been stored in someone's barn at some time. The first ink we had to
work with was about half straw. The first court calendar printed for use in the
county was printed in the Pilot office in the early part of the winter of 1873.
I have a copy of that somewhere. The Pilot office in the Old Town was located in
the building that is now occupied by McCrum as a shoe store. It was made of
nothing but siding and thin ceiling. The only press was an old worn-out hand
press. Had to print the calendar on the old hand press in freezing weather, and
it was pretty hard to do anything. . . The Pilot was edited by different
parties, first by J. L. Martin, then by Rev. J. E. Rowen, who was the Methodist
preacher here. A. W. Utter was next editor. I was with it from the fall of 1874
to June, 1876." [2]

[1] Odd numbers of the Pilot have been found, and J. C. Bennett has preserved a
file, beginning with no. 20 of vol. i, Oct. 22, 1874, to no. 47 of vol. ii, May
11, 1876.

[2] Statement of J. C. Bennett.

[3] The most careful search and extended inquiry have failed to find a single
copy of either the Democrat or Advance, and it is believed that time and
inattention have destroyed these valuable historical records. One copy of the
Patriot was once discovered among some old papers at Algona. It was dated June,
1874, and marked in pencil, "the last copy of the Patriot," and contained a
notice of the dissolution of the firm of Bates & Hagedon, the pubishers. [sic]
But even this copy is now lost.

   In 1871-2 several houses were built on the hill a mile east of the Old Town.
T. W. Harrison built his house in the spring of 1871 (the one now occupied by
Mr. Appleby), John L. Lang in the fall of 1871, and Captain Hartshorn and E. J.
White built theirs in the spring of 1872. "These houses [3] were half way
between the Old Town and the location where the new town was expected to be laid
out. They were the first houses on the present town site of Emmetsburg as they
are now in the northwest part of our present city."

[3] Statement of T. W. Harrison.   Letter of Capt. E. J. Hartshorn.

   "That (1872) was the summer of brides for the new town. Mrs. T. W. Harrison,
Mrs. Emory King, Mrs. Al Jones, Mrs. Ben Johnson, and Mrs. A. L. Ormsby, all
came as brides. Some of them were disappointed at not finding a larger town in
fact, as they had read glowing descriptions of it in the numerous letters from
their lovers for a year or more before. But they made a happy addition to the
new town society, and were each in turn vigorously, if not delightfully,
serenaded by Duncan's Band." [1]

[1] T. W. Harrison's statement.

   "Among the old settlers who lived in the vicinity were 'Paddy in the Bush'
(Patrick Nolan, who lived in the woods north of town); 'Paddy on the Flat'
(Patrick Nolan, who lived on the river bottom south of town); 'Paddy Green'
(Patrick Nolan, who lived on the west shore of Medium Lake); Mrs. Laughlin, the
character of the community, who lived south of town, always full of her jokes
and witticisms; Dan Kane, who lived in the woods north of town; Mr. and Mrs.
Martin Coonan, Sr., who kept the only boarding house in or about the town; John
Pendergast, who lived near the lake where Mr. Saunders's mansion now stands;
John Nolan, who lived on the west side of the lake; William O'Connell, who lived
west of the river; Wm. E. Cullen, William Murphy, and Charles Hastings, who
lived south of town; James Hickey, Larry Burns and Pat Lannon, who lived west of
the river and south of town; James Nolan, Martin Laughlin, Lott Laughlin, Jerry
Crowley, Miles Mahan, Ed Mahan, Billy Jackman, and Patsy Jackman, at Walnut;
Mickey Jackman on the east side of the lake; T. H. Tobin, William Shea, Thomas
Shea, Bobert Shea, Joe Mulroney, Kiren Mulroney, William Mahar, and others at
Soda Bar in Nevada township; Michael Kirby, John Doran, Dan Doran, and others,
west of the river in Great Oak township; John Neary and Thomas Welch, east of
the river, and some others whose names I do not now recall." [2]

[2] Statement of T. W. Harrison.

   Other people located in the town from time to time, until in 1874 there were
forty or more business buildings and houses. But all the buildings along the
Coonan road were small and cheaply constructed, as it was realized that the
railroad company would locate a depot on its own ground and that those on the
Coonan plat would have to move or there would be two towns within a few miles of
each other. It was in the summer of 1874 that the Old Town reached the acme of
its existence, for in a few short months it disappeared like the mist before the
morning sun and the new and fairer city on the hill took its place in history.




Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

History of Palo Alto County Iowa
BY
DWIGHT G. MCCARTY

THE TORCH PRESS
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA
1910


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