Populated Areas in 1895
 

EXCERPTS FROM:
IOWA; A GUIDE TO THE HAWKEYE STATE
Compiled and Written by the Federal Writers' Project
of the Works Progress Administration for the State of Iowa

 Sponsored by The State Historical Society of Iowa
to Commemorate The Centenary
of the Organization of the Iowa Territory

 Remember as you read, this information was compiled in the late 1930's and is NOT the way things are today!
 

Atalissa
P 485

 ATALISSA, 36 m. (685 alt., 187 pop) stands on what was in 1847 an 80 acre farm owned by William LUNDY, who named the vilage in honor of an Indian Woman. A free lot was given to Atalissa Davis, the first white girl born in the town.
 

Cranston
Page 329-330

 CRANSTON, 3.8 m (663 alt) At 4 m. is a junction with another road; R. on this road to 4.5 m.; L to another junction at 5.2 m.; R to Oak Grove Christian Church, 5.8 m. (R) In the northwestern corner of OAK GROVE CEMETERY (L) is a grayish weather-beaten obelisk, more than 3 feet high, which has been the subject of much controversy. The incription reads as follows:
 

JOHN F
LINDENBERG
Born in Brunswick
King of Hannover
Germany
June 26, 1796
DIED
June 15,1873
Blessed are the dead
that die in the lord.

Lindenberg's granddaughter and others maintain that Lindenberg was ruler of Hannover, who was removed from the throne in 1866, when the prinipalities of Germany were united under Prince William I, and forced to flee from the country. The younger people in the community declare that the word "King" is an abbreviation of the word "Kingdom" made necesary because of the limted space on the stone and Lindenberg was just another emigrant from the Kingdom of Hanover.

Durant
DURANT, 20 m. (717 alt., 733 pop) was named for Thomas C. Durant, a member of the board of directors of the Mississippi and Missouri R.R. and president of the Union Pacific. Two Davenport bankers, Cook and Sargent, who owned large amounts of railroad stock, planned to make the town an important commercial point on the branch line from Muscatine, but serious quarrels between the officials of Durant and Wilton Junction, the rival village on the line, had unfavorable results for Durant, which was soon outgrown by its rival.

Fairport
Page 328-329

 FAIRPORT, 21 m. (567 alt, 250 pop.), a harbor town on the Mississippi, it was first known as Wyoming. On the eastern edge of town is a large UNITED STATES FISH HATCHERY. For perhaps half a mile rows of large fish-rearing ponds lie between the highway and the river. For about 40 years, Fairport was known as "Jug Town" because of its pottery works. John Feustel, a German immigrant, started making his pottery about 1869, beginning with stoneware and flower pots. Feustel often took carloads of his stoneware up the Mississippi on his own boat, sometimes travelling as far north as Red Wing, Minn. The boat was called FAIRPORT, but was known all along the river and by steamboat men as THE JUG BOAT. Fifteen men were employed in Feustel's factories and at one time there were five other potteries operating here. None remain.

Clay used for stoneware was brought from Illinois, directly across the river. Feustel hired all the teams he could get in the winter to haul the clay across the river on the ice, and enough could be brought to Fairport to keep the factory going throughout the rest of the year. Feustel also owned a number of river islands and each winter, cut several hundred cords of wood which were also carried across the ice for use in the pottery kilns. Stores and wholesale liquor houses were large buyers of Feustel's jugs and pottery ware.

Fruitland
Page 329

FRUITLAND, 1 m. (552 alt), a small shipping center in the heart of the melon-growing district. Sweet potatoes, apples, pears and peaches are also raised in this region. The town was first known as Island, because of its location on Muscatine Island, but was renaimed as a result of the rapid growth of the fruit industy in the vicinity.

 Letts (Louisa Co)

PAGE 329

 LETTS(650 alt, 329 pop) a small inland village originally known as Ononwa. As there was another Iowa town called Onawa, mail to the two towns was continually interchanged. About the time it was decided to change the name of Ononwa to end the confusion, the Methodist Church needed a bell and fixtures costing about $600. A townsman, Madison Letts, announced that he would donate $100 if the congregation would supply the rest. In gratitude, presumably, the residents voted to rename the town Lettsville; however the Post Office Department and the C.R.I & P.R.R shortened the name to LETTS.

Montpelier
P. 328

MONTPELIER, 15 m. (566 alt., 100 pop), was a station on the old stagecoach route between Muscatine and Davenport in the 1850's; it was named in 1834 by its first settler, Benjamin Nye, who build several large gristmills in southeastern Iowa, some of which are still standing in varying conditions.

 At 18 m. is a junction with State 160, graveled.

 Right on this road is the WILD CAT DEN STATE PARK, 1.8 m. (picnicking facilities), a scenic area of 291 acres. At 2 m. the park road crosses Pine Creek just below a large old MILL (open Sun 3:00-4:15pm) and DAM built by Benjamin Nye about 1848. Settlers from miles around brought their grain to this mill to have it ground; the mill also served as the first post office in Muscatine County. Through the years the mill and dam broke down in many places; both were reconstructed by C.C.C. workers. Picturesque nature trails wind through the park; among the hills and rocks bordering Pine Creek, Steamboat Rock and other unusual formations have been carved by the action of wind, rain and snow. Much of the area is overgrown with a thick forest of white pine and oak trees, and wild plants grow in abundance. (Danger: adjacent to picnic grounds quicksand forms the bed of Pine Creek from bank to bank.)

Muscatine

Pages 289-293

 RAILROAD STATION: SE.cor Iowa Ave and Front St. for Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Ry and Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific R.R. INTERURBAN STATION: 109 Iowa Ave for Clinton, Davenport & Muscatine Ry.
BUS STATION: C.D. & M. Station for Burlington Trailways, C.D.& M Motor Coach Lines, and Foster's Bus Line.
STREET BUSES: 2nd St. and Iowa Ave, 20-min. schedule, fare 10 cents. TAXIS: 15 cents per passenger any part of the city.

ACCOMMODATIONS: Four hotels
INFORMATION SERVICES: Chamber of Commerce, City Hall, SE. cor. 3rd and Sycamore Sts.
MOTION PICTURE HOUSES: Three
SWIMMING: Weed Park, E. part of city on N. side U.S. 61
BASEBALL: League Ball Park, end of Bleeker St., S. Muscatine
GOLF: Mad Creek Golf Course, 2100 Mulberry Ave., 9 holes 25 cents
TENNIS AND ICE SKATING: Musser Park, S. part of city
STEAMBOAT EXCURSIONS: Foot of Iowa Ave. at irregular intervals, advertised in advance.

ANNUAL EVENTS: Halloween parade, downtown Sts., October

MUSCATINE (552 alt, 16,778 pop.), seat of Muscatine County,is about 30 miles farther west on the Mississippi than its neighbor city of Davenport. The business district, cupped in a bowl between East Hill on one side, West Hill on the other, the river to the south, and a gradual rise of the rolling prairie to the north, is built mainly along two streets. Many old brick buildings line the narrow brick-paved streets that slope away from the river, dipping between the hills. Other streets are unpaved, the natural gravel of the land forming a good material for the roads. Residence districts spread out over the hills, with the shacks of factory workers in South Muscatine. Beyond this the Mississippi River swings away from the bluffs forming a tract of bottom land known as Muscatine Island, famous for its water melons, muskmelons and fine vegetables.

Although predominately a manufacturing center, the city is a trading point for a large rural population. There are many Germans and Hollanders and the German language is frequently heard.

On Friday nights the Germans celebrate with fried fish and beer suppers in the taverns, or with a dance at the Kraut House.

The river has become of less importance as the clam beds have been worked out. Only where the banks and bluffs have been reclaimed by parks does the atmosphere of a river city still prevail. Close to the water are the many squatters' shanty shacks.

The name Muscatine is of Indian origin, derived from the Mascoutins, a tribe whose camping grounds were in a grove of oak trees on the river, four miles from the present city. In their language they referred to the site as "Burning Island" because of the underbrush and prairie fires that blazed every fall, and they themselves became identified as the "People of the Place of Fire".

Muscatine first came into existence as a trading post in the summer of 1833, when Col. George Davenport of Rock Island, Ill, operator of a string of such posts, sent a Mr. Farnham into the territory to set up a store. James W. Casey staked a claim near the present Broadway Street and the river in 1835, and began the cutting of timber for fueling the steamboats that stopped, thus giving the place its early title of Casey's "Woodpile" or Landing. John Vanatta, prospector and adventurer, and Capt. Benjamin Clark paid $200 for quit-claim deeds from Colonel Davenport for the land where Farnham had held his trading post, later disposing of the land to new settlers.

During May of 1836, the site of the town was surveyed and called Bloomington, probably for Bloomington,Ind., John Vanatta's birthplace, but in 1849 the name was changed to Muscatine. On August 22, 1837, the boiler of the steamer DUBUQUE exploded and 22 lives were lost. The steamer ADVENTURE towed the disabled vessel to Muscatine where 17 of the dead were buried in one grave. A post office was established in 1837, and new settlers, including many Germans, arrived daily, encouraged by tales of the rich farm lands in the Iowa country.

Muscatine became an important river stopping place. In 1839, records report 399 steamboats docked at the wharf. Ferryboats for many years formed an integral link in the transportation system. The first of these was the POLLY KEITH, a flat-boat put into service in 1839, followed by a steam ferryboat, the IOWA, in 1842. The first sawmill in Muscatine was erected in 1843 at the foot of what is now Sycamore Street. It was built by Cornelius Cadle, who came to the Iowa country from New York. In those days, when logs were floated down the river in huge rafts, the town assumed importance as a lumbering center, maintaining this activity for years. Pork packing, another important industry was introduced by Isett and Blaydes in 1844.

In 1853, the Mississippi & Missouri Railway Company was incorporated in Iowa, the first company to operate at train (1855) to Muscatine. During the Civil War, Muscatine was a military post with Camp Strong, on the island, a concentration point.

From the early sixties to the late nineties, Muscatine maintained an important position both as a lumber and as a river town. The packet boat MUSCATINE made its appearance April 1, 1864. This 600-ton boat was 201 feet long with a 24-foot breadth of beam. It accommodated 200 persons. In 1870 a single order of 400,000 feet of lumber, lath, shingles and pickets were shipped to a firm in Omaha, Neb. A sash and door factory, still in existence, was opened in 1872. In 1891, when the High Bridge was finished, the last of the ferryboats the IDA MAY, owned by Captain Eaton, was discontinued.

About 1891, the manufacturing of pearl buttons began to supplant other river industries. A swimmers mishap is said to have turned the attention of J.F. Beopple, a German immigrant, to the fresh-water mussels abundant in the Mississippi and its tributaries. Beopple cut his foot on a sharp object that turned out to be a mussel. Investigating further, he discovered that mussel shells grew in beds along the bottoms of fresh-water streams in the vicinity of Muscatine. When he attempted to get money for manufacturing buttons, he was laughed at, but he persisted and in 1891 constructed a machine somewhat like a turning lathe and operated by foot power. Continuing his experiments, Beopple jealously guarded his secrets, purchasing watch dogs, and even sleeping in his shop so the process could not be stolen. Beopple opened the first button-making factory in the city; others soon followed and Muscatine became the center of this industry. About 1910, when the industry was at its height, the annual output was more than 17,000,000 gross.

In 1911, a strike by the workers for better wages and working conditions resulted in a lockout, during which the manufacturers farmed out the cutting of buttons to workers in their homes (a practice that is still largely followed). The strike and lockout came at a time when the supply of fresh-water mussels was decreasing, with the result that most of the companies moved out of the State. The 50 firms still in Muscatine provide employment for about 4000 men, women and children.

Other important factories make steel split pulleys, button-making machinery, and sash, door and other millwork products. A company still turns out saddles and harness on the same site where it began business as a tannery in 1845. Four food-preserving companies, two of them owned locally, assure farmers regular markets for tomatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers, asparagus and cabbages. During the peak of the busy season in average years, 2000 persons are employed in the canning industry.

Muscatine, granted its original charter by the First Territorial Legislative Assembly in 1838, and a revised form in 1852, is one of four cities in Iowa operating under this form of government.

Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) made his home in Muscatine at one time, and found here some of the materials he used in his writings. He once said of this city,"I remember Muscatine for its summer sunsets. I have never seen any on either side of the ocean which equaled them".

POINTS OF INTEREST

COURTHOUSE, between 3rd and 4th Sts.,extending from Mulberry to Walnut Sts, is the third county building on this site. The first, completed in 1841, burned in 1864; the second building was replaced by the present structure in 1909. The building is three stories high with a dome supported by stone pillars. The walls of the second and third stories are plain and smooth while those on the first floor, forming a heavy base to the superstructure, are rough Bedford stone. The austerity of the rectangular structure is relieved by the graceful line of the arched doorways.

CIVIL WAR VETERANS' MEMORIAL, on the southwest corner of the Courthouse Square, was first dedicated in 1875, then rededicated in 1925. On a fluted column 30 feet high is the figure of a Civil War soldier in full field equipment, standing at "parade rest".

SITE OF COLONEL ISETT'S GOTHIC STABLES, 2nd street between Walnut St. and Mulberry Ave., now occupied by a business building, has a local legend connected with it. Across the street is the old TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH. The colonel's wife is said to have contributed generously when this church was built in 1856; the colonel, not a church-going man, objected in vain. In reprisal he is said to have erected the stables directly across from the church, following the architecture of that house of worship, even to spires, steeples, and stained glass windows.

HIGH BRIDGE, Walnut St., between Front and 2nd Sts.(car and driver, 15 cents, passenger toll 5cents each), connects Iowa and Illinois. High enough to allow the largest steamboat to pass underneath, 112 feet above the river at the main span, it has no draw span, and is 3,101 feet long. Construction was begun in 1889. The bridge is a favorite look-out spot for view up or down the stream.

MARK TWAIN HOUSE (private) 109 Walnut St, alley at end of bridge (R) is a small one-story building, home of Mark Twain (1835-1910) for a brief time during 1853-54 when he lived with his widowed mother and brothers, Henry and Orion, the latter part owner of the MUSCATINE JOURNAL.

PUBLIC LIBRARY (open weekdays 9-9), 304 Iowa Ave., was given to the city by P.M. Musser, lumberman and philanthropist. Designed in the English Tudor style, the brownstone building is set about 25 feet back from the street on a landscaped lawn. There are about 30,000 volumes in the library including the IOWA COLLECTION of history, descriptions of city and county, and fiction with Muscatine background. Books by Ellis Parker Butler, Irving B. Richman and George Meason Whicher, writers born in the city, and a collection of more than 800 pictures of the city's pioneers are other features.

SITE OF FIRST HOUSE, Front St. at Iowa Ave., is indicated by a STONE MARKER set in the pavement. The house was built in 1833 by a Mr. Farnham, associated with Col. George Davenport in operating the trading post near this spot.

OLD FIRST ST. MATHIAS CHURCH, 211 W. 8th St, stands on the grounds of the present Mathias Church. This was the first Catholic church in Muscatine, erected on Cedar Street in 1842 by the Reverend Samuel Mazzuchelli, and used until 1856. The building was moved to this site in 1931 to be preserved as a memorial. It is a shed-like structure of wood, with overhanging cornices and windows of plain glass. There is no tower, but a small wooden cross, not more than 30 inches tall, tops the ridge pole. Although the sagging clapboards have been replaced and none of the interior yet restored, the building is typical of the plain, useful structures designed by the first priests in this territory. Constructed at Prairie du Chien, Wis, it was rafted down the Mississippi and joined together in Muscatine. It is the only structure of early days left standing in the city.

THE BUTTON FACTORIES (not open to the public) occupy an area from 2nd St between Mulberry Ave. and Orange St. to 6th St on the North. The McKee Button Co, 1000 Hersey* Ave. and the Iowa Button Company, 315 W. Front St, are two of the largest concerns. In the beginning, the secrets of various processes were closely guarded, and even now visitors are not welcomed. After the mollusks are killed by boiling and the meat is removed, the shells go through four main operations in their evolution into buttons : First they are cut by a machine, similar to an ordinary turning lathe, into disks known as "blanks"; then the bark-like substance that covers them is removed by grinding; in the third operation the holes are drilled and the edges are trimmed at the same time; and lastly, the blanks are submerged into acid, washed, dried with sawdust, and sorted according to the final polishing.

HOME OF ELLIS PARKER BUTLER, 607 W. 3rd St, stands on the back part of the original Butler lot. Ellis Parker Butler (1869-1937) author of PIGS IS PIGS, was born in Muscatine and graduated from the local high school. The building was once labeled "ICE"--to recall one of Butler's stories. He related that when he returned to his home town he wandered about looking for some sign that he was remembered there. Finally he saw a large sign "ICE" and came to the conclusion that it must mean "In Commemoration of Ellis".

WEED PARK, Washington St, Just off River Rd., Extreme NE . part of the city, lies on a bluff overlooking the river, the Government Lock and Dam, and the Illinois shore. Here the land slopes from the river to form a natural amphitheater, and basin for two artificial lakes. This recreation center has a WILD FLOWER PRESERVE supervised by the Muscatine Garden Club. Growing in the preserve, which has two pools and a rustic bridge, are 150 marked varieties of wild flowers. The club has also marked 18 varieties of trees found in the park.

POINTS OF INTEREST IN ENVIRONS Muscatine Island--1 m., Fairport, U.S. fish hatcheries

8 m., Montpelier, Wild Cat Den State Park and Old Mill--11 m. (see Tour 1, Section B)

MUSCATINE, 29 m. (552 alt, 16,778 pop) (See MUSCATINE) Points of Interest: Mark Twain House, button factories, home of Ellis Park Butler.

South of Muscatine the high bluffs on the shore of the MIssissippi swing away from the river, leaving a low, flat, sandy tract of more than 25,000 acres known as MUSCATINE ISLAND. This tract is enclosed by the Mississippi (L) and Muscatine Slough (R), a narrow winding stream. The slough runs southwestward to LAKE KEOKUK, then southeastward, across US 61, through LAKE CLUM and MUSCATINE LAKE, into the Mississippi near the mouth of the Iowa River, about 18 miles S. of Muscatine. Formerly, Muscatine Slough extended north through the city to the Mississippi, actually forming an island from the eastern ends of Muscatine and Louisa Counties, but that part of the slough within the city limits was filled in a number of years ago. For more than 60 years Muscatine Island has been known in the markets throughout the Middle West and East for the watermelons, cantaloupes and sweet potatoes grown here--particularly watermelons, the principal crop. Because of the exceptionally fine, sandy soil, easily shifted by winds, the growers have sometimes found it necesary to sow oats or wheat in their melon fields to prevent the seeds from being uncovered. In August, the ripe, green watermelons are hidden in broad fields of wheat extending from the highway to the river (L), and to the bluffs (R). In 1834 there were 153 farms in this area, with a total of 980 acres planted in watermelons.
For some time melon wilt--a disease that prevents melons from maturing- -has been the bane of the farmers, affecting the soil that even crop rotation is of little avail. But during the last few years, horticulturists from the Iowa State Agriculture College at Ames have made many experiments with wilt-resisiting melons, and have done much to improve the crop.

NICHOLS

Page 238, Vol. I, of History of Muscatine County Iowa, Irving B. Richman supervising editor, 1911, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago.
Thanks to Margot Mills for this submittal.

 The town of Nichols is located on section 15, Pike township, and was so named by Benjamin F. Nichols in honor of his father, Samuel Nichols, who subscibed liberally for stock of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad Company, and donated to the company the right of way through his land, the company to erect a depot at this point of ground which he also donated. The first building erected in the town was in 1871, by Dr. S. H. Smith, the same being used for a drug store and a dwelling. When the Muscatine & Western Railroad was finished to this point in 1873, the company laid out an additiion to the town, calling it Railroad Addition. In 1875 a second addition was made by T. Nichols. A postoffice was established in October, 1870, and Benjamin F. Nichols acted as the first postmaster, filling the position for a number of years.

 Today Nichols has a population of 400. It has three churches, Methodist Protestant, Christian and Catholic.
 

West Liberty

Page 486

 WEST LIBERTY , 41 m. (673 alt, 1,679 pop), the trade center of a purebred-stock region, lies near the Wapsinonoc (Ind. smooth surfaced) Creek, and was first called the Wapsinonoc Settlement. Joseph Smith, the Mormon leader, in 1836 considered this place for the site of a Mormon colony. West Liberty is supplied with water from an 1,800 foot well Threre are many dairy farms in the vicinity and the Iowa Condensed Milk Co here has an annual business of about $60,000. The West Liberty Municipal Swimming Pool attracts many people from surrounding towns.

 At 41.8 miles, on the outskirts of West Liberty is a junction with a graded road. Right on this road to the junction with State 1, 7 miles Right about 1.5 miles on this graveled route to the junction with a dirt road; Left on this route 1.3 miles to the WILLIAM MAXON HOUSE, a crumbling stone structure that was at one time a station for the UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. Here in 1857-58, John Brown trained 11 men for the raid on Harper's Fairy, Va.

Wilton Junction

WILTON JUNCTION, 26 m. (683 alt, 1104 pop) was ignored by the railroad as a result of conflict with Cook and Sargent. Upon orders from the stockholders the brakemen were forbidden to call "Wilton" when the train reached the town and for a long time they referred to Wilton as "Muscatine Junction". A conflict has arisen at the time of the naming of the village, when one group of early settlers insisted that it be named Cedar Junction, and another group desired that it be given some Indian name. Franklin Butterfield suggested the name of Wilton, that of his native town in Maine, but it was agreed that he should present six names, one of which would be chosen. Wilton and Glendale were among the six, and the latter was decided on at that time. For almost a year the town was known as Glendale, but before the plat was recorded the present name was selected. The town is a typical railroad junction, with hotels and eating establishments grouped around the station and roundhouse. It is also a small farm trade center, with a creamery that specializes in making cheese.

*Transcribers note: This should be HERSHEY, not Hersey.
**Note #2: The stories this information is excerpted from are from a series of organized tours. I have left the mileage marks in, though in order to understand them, you must know where each tour began. I will be transcribing the list of tours at a later date.

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Last updated: 12 Feb 1999