Linn County, Iowa

“ During the summer of 1848 he held a camp-meeting on the knoll now occupied by the Washington school building of Lisbon, with good results. He then organized "the United Brethren class in the Pennsylvania Settlement of Linn county, Iowa," with a charter membership of about forty, as nearly as can be determined from the original class book. About twelve names were afterward added, the year closing with a membership of 52. The effecting of an organization was strongly opposed by many of the older persons who took an active part in the camp-meeting ”

“ From the days of the early settlers until now the newspapers of Linn county have been among the most potent factors in the upbuilding of the community. They have been, as a rule, constructive newspapers. Their mission has been to build up, to help their communities grow in wealth and influence. The newspapers of the county have been noted for their sagacity and their breadth of vision, their conservatism and their tolerance. They have exerted a strong and a wholesome influence upon this and adjoining counties. In the state at large their influence for good has not been small. ”

“ Most of them located on or near timber lands so that they would have plenty of fuel. Fuel was very scarce in their native land, and it was easier to build their sheds if they were in the timber. The prairies at that time were not desirable for location. A large portion of College township, which is now the best farming country in the state of Iowa, at that time was full of marshes, and high grass, and strong winds prevailed so that the early settlers avoided the prairies and located in timber districts.
The early Bohemian settlers came to Linn county about the years 1852 and 1853. ”

“ As to Bates and Folsom of Iowa City, we regard them as feeling an equal interest in both roads, both proposing to pass through Iowa City. Under these circumstances what policy does it become us to adopt? Emphatically to select a candidate upon the proposed line of road. Can you not bring forward some man besides Preston? Mr. Boothe and some three or four of our leading men have suggested to me that if Linn county should bring forward G. G. [George Greene] , he would get the nomination and be elected by an overwhelming majority. ”

“ Homer Bishop was an old-time merchant, arriving in the early '40s, and for eight years was postmaster of Cedar Rapids. He was a congenial person, well known, and an enterprising and free-hearted man who did his best to build up a city on what was then thought to be the western frontier.
No doubt the first Scandinavian settler to locate within the confines of Linn county was Nels C. Boye, a native of Denmark, who emigrated to the United States in 1827 and arrived in Muscatine in 1837 and located in the vicinity of Lisbon in 1838 where he purchased land and engaged in farming. ”

“ He stood luminous among all the bright men who first settled in Linn county, or the territory either. The people of Linn county, and of Cedar Rapids especially, should ever remember his labors and efforts in those early days which brought them prominence and prosperity. All now acknowledge Linn county to be without a peer and Cedar Rapids is the best interior city in the state, except Des Moines with its immense coal beds. ”

“ Whether the first settlers in Iowa then, were Mound Builders, or Indians, or some other race may never be known, for a certainty. It is enough to say, that man existed and lived on what has become known as Iowa many, many centuries ago, and he left few if any remains which can testify to his stage of development or to his mode of living. This is no doubt true, that man existed in Linn county countless ages ago, but whether it was a different race, or simply the Indian race at a different stage of development may never be known and thus will always remain a mystery. ”

“ The men and women of Linn county have always been patriotic. They have responded promptly and cheerfully to every call to arms. One of the earliest settlers in the county had served in the Revolutionary war. Nathan Brown, who came here in 1839 and for whom Brown township was named, at the early age of sixteen years joined the American forces. ”

“ ROBERT SMYTH, one of the pioneers of Linn County, was born in Ireland, February 26, 1814. He came to America in 1834 and located in Linn County, Iowa, in 1840. Here he became an extensive dealer in real estate and afterwards engaged in banking. ”

“ The first officers were John C. Berry, commissioner's clerk or auditor; Hosea W. Gray, sheriff; Dr. Tryon, clerk of the court; Luman W. Strong, Samuel C. Stewart, and Peter McRoberts, county commissioners. Squire Strong was a potential factor in all Linn county affairs. Mr. Stewart was distinguished for his piety. His wife was a sister of those sturdy pioneers, the Scott brothers. In 1840 the territory contained 43,000 inhabitants; Augustus C. Dodge was elected delegate to congress, and George Greene a member of the territorial council, or senate, to represent Cedar, Linn, and Jones counties. ”

“ It has been stated that the first election in the county was held at Westport in 1838 when thirty-two votes were cast in the county. This is said to have been the most quiet election on record. Gradually the people located claims, as more lands were thrown open to settlement, and politics began to cut a figure at an early date. While many of the settlers came from the south, a majority, however, came from Ohio, from the middle states, and from New England. Thus it would appear that the population of Iowa was a part of the free state movement which had peopled the central states. ”

“ He also mentions J. Bell's stage line running daily between Iowa City, Solon, Western, and Cedar Rapids, and also of a line to Vinton.
The following as seen by a traveller may be of interest. It is from A Glimpse of Iowa in 1846, by J. B. Newhall, Burlington, Iowa, W. D. Skillman, publisher, 1846:
"Linn county has become proverbial for the excellence of its soil, its salubrity of climate, abundance and admirable adaption of woodlands to the wants and convenience of the settler. ”

“ These men came ahead of their time and before things were ripe for such settlement. The bread tools of the Virginia pioneer were the same as those of the Indians whom they despised and wanted to drive out. The first settlers of Iowa came with the advent of the reaper, when a boy fifteen years of age could cut the grain with ease, which several sturdy men had to do before with the sickle and the scythe.
We seem to think that we have had the modern inventions for ages, but the first white settlers in Linn county, whoever they may have been, knew nothing of matches ”

“ In August, 1839, three commissioners were elected to act as fiscal agents of the county. The polling place was Westport, near the present site of Bertram, and Samuel C. Stewart, Peter McRoberts, and Luman M. Strong were elected. This commission was invested with about the same powers as are now exercised by the board of supervisors of the county. They held their first meeting in Marion on September 9, 1839. H. W. Gray, the first appointed and first elected sheriff of Linn county, proclaimed the board in session. Its first official act was the appointment of John C. Berry, clerk. ”

“ The members of the Legare, Bryan, McIntosh, Durham, Oxley, Belt, Mitchell, and other southern families who located in Linn county did much in changing the manners of this somewhat cosmopolitan community. These families pursued education. The members had traveled much. They were descended from some of the most cultured families in this country. They were social, interesting, and entertained much, and it is needless to add that the citizens of the county were not slow in receiving the southern settlers into their homes. ”

“ He was elected probate judge of Linn county in 1842, appointed district attorney for the eighteenth judicial district of Iowa in 1845, again elected probate judge in 1847, the same year was appointed United States district attorney for Iowa by President Polk, was elected to the state legislature in 1848, and elected the first state senator in 1852 for Linn, Benton, and Tama counties. He moved to Cedar Rapids in 1878, where he died in 1880. He was possessed of a strong mind, his reasoning was logical, and his analysis keen. He aspired to greatness in his profession above all else. ”

“ David A. Woodbridge, who was appointed to superintend the work, and Ross McCloud, the first county surveyor, proceeded to lay out the town, and on December 2, 1839, assisted by Hosea W. Gray and A. J. McKean as chain carriers, Elisha Kemp stake driver, and Ira Wilson flagman, and under the direction of David A. Woodbridge, agent, the town of Marion was platted on the west half of the northwest quarter of section six, township eighty-three, range six, and the east half of the northeast quarter of section one, township eighty-three, range seven. ”

“ Eight men added their names to the roll of Cedar Rapids volunteers. In Marion a meeting of equal enthusiasm was held and a full company volunteered. By noon of the 19th thirty-five men had signed a muster roll in Mt. Vernon. A great crowd gathered in the chapel of Western college on the evening of the 19th. Young men, students and others, were urged to enroll for the honor of Linn county and the cause of the union. Nine were added to the list. The meeting also contributed five dollars to aid in purchasing bibles for the company—the boys from Western going with those from this city. ”

“ Doty was born in Essex county, New Jersey, in 1764, had early drifted west to Cincinnati, and by boat had come down the Ohio and up the Mississippi, landing at what is now Muscatine. His children were born in Ohio. They followed the Cedar river until they struck what became later Linn county to locate claims. There were no settlers here, and they found no people with whom to converse, but figured that here would be a good location to get cheap land when this land was opened for settlement. ”

“ Another of the old settlers was Thomas Downing, a native of Posey county, Indiana, and a tailor by trade who at the age of nineteen drifted into Iowa and in the early '40s came to Linn county. He was a clerk in the Daniels Company store, removing in 1855 to Waverly to conduct a business for Greene Bros., of Cedar Rapids. ”

“ I have spoken to them all and find that every man is in favor of giving the nomination to Linn County for the reason that the interest of Linn is identical with that of Dubuque in properly agitating and ultimately constructing the Railroad from this to Keokuk, but they will not support Preston because they have no confidence in his ability.
"One thing is very certain, Friend Durham, and that is that we must elect a man who is identified with this great railroad improvement. ”

“ Missionary men went about, preaching and teaching and their lives were an example to all with whom they came in contact. Of such men and their life work, we have now to treat.
The first record we have of the interests of Linn county in things Catholic was in 1853, when Father Emmons of Iowa City with apostolic spirit and Christlike zeal journeyed through the trackless wastes to cater to the needs of the children of the faith.
In those days, fifty-seven years ago, it is needless to say Cedar Rapids was not known as the Parlor City. ”

“ Schools in Linn county came into existence almost as early as the first settlers arrived here. Most of the pioneers came from homes of culture and refinement and hence appreciated the value of an education. There were no public schools at first. Teachers were employed by private subscription. Lessons were taught in the settler's cabin, fitted up with rough boards or puncheons, and of course the attendance was small.
The organic law which provided for the division of Wisconsin and Iowa makes no provision for education, and no reference to it. ”

“ Rural Life
The rural life of the pioneers in Linn county was much the same as it was in any of the adjoining counties in eastern Iowa. The settlers were intelligent, young, active, and enthusiastic, believing in the future of the new State. The men were able to do nearly all kinds of mechanical work without any help or assistance, while the women were equally dextrous in spinning, weaving, and doing all kinds of house work. ”

“ Pioneer days in Linn county were days of hardships, often of exposure, but their trials only served to develop the manhood and womanhood of the early settlers who never thought of returning, whose "only aim was to wait and see." ”

“ In a material way the settlers in Linn county have succeeded beyond the expectation of the most sanguine. Thrift and prosperity can be seen on every hand. The various farmers' alliances, elevator companies, banking companies, creamery companies, old settlers' unions, and all these have brought the men over the county in closer touch with each other and the farmers of the whole county have learned to appreciate the marvelous benefits derived from social intercourse. It has made them broader and more liberal minded toward one another. ”

“ After looking for a location in Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, I located at Waubeek—think of it—in Waubeek, in Maine township, in 1863.
I had tried it a month at Fairview, in Jones county, before going to Waubeek. By the way, old Dr. Ristine made his first start in Iowa in the same historic town of Fairview before locating in Marion.
Northeastern Linn county at that time was very much on the frontier. There were no bridges on the Wapsie from Quasqueton to Anamosa, but at Central City; now there are five. At Waubeek we had a postoffice but no regular mail carrier. ”