JACKSON TOWNSHIP

This is the largest township, and contains the best land, in the county, and no township except, Union was settled previous to it. In the early settlement of the county it was thought that the northern portion would not be occupied, hence there was no difficulty in locating the county seat in this township. Timbered land was the favorite home for the pioneer, and Union containing more than any other section, the settlers naturally occupied it first. The open, level prairie was in those early days considered almost worthless, but later experience shows that with far less labor the prairie is made to yield the fruits of husbandry. No finer land or better kept farms can be found than those in Jackson.

This township was organized at or soon after the organization of the county in 1848. It comprises forty-eight square miles, being six miles north and south and eight miles east and west Among the first voters were Robert Taylor, O. P. Bundle, John Sargood, James W. Williams, I. G. Wilson, B. O. Payne, Daniel Satchell, John Moore, Joseph Hall, J. S. Dalby, John Hall, John Cassidy, David Cassidy, William Butt and Elias Brown.

Who the first township officers were is in some doubt. The present officers are:

Justices of the Peace - T. M. Adams, Wm. Hutchinson.

Constables - L. J. White, O. H. Forquer.

Trustees - Alexander Gordon, J. M. Bryan, George Walters.

In territorial extent Jackson township is the largest in the county. The census of 1880 gave it 1,160 inhabitants, besides 920 in the city of Montezuma. Including Montezuma, the legal voters number 442. During the year 1879 there were in the township 8,239 acres of com, 3,550 acres of wheat, 2,162 acres of oats; and there were on hand January 1, 1880, 2,046 cattle, 9,833 hogs, 1,048 horses and 356 sheep. There are two brick kilns and five wind-mills. Hedge and wire fences predominate, though there are some of board.

Along the west side of the township some of the land is quite uneven, but the land in all other portions is extremely fertile and well adapted for farming. The Iowa City and Western Railroad runs north and south through some of the best sections, furnishing another artery for products of the farm. Some of the earliest settlers in Jackson township were Jacob S. Dalby, John Hall, Joshua Crisman, Daniel Satchell, John Cassidy, Martin Snider, Jesse Lowry and Wm. H. Barnes.

INCIDENTS.

Lost in a Flood. - A child and span of horses were drowned in the month of June, 1876, in the creek south of Montezuma. Rain had fallen in torrents, and raised the creek to an unprecedented Hood. The waters had surrounded the house and threatened to sweep it away, when the father, attempting to save his family by driving them across in a wagon, lost his infant child and two horses.   The man's name was Joseph Gray. Staging. - Before any railroads, there was a stage line from Iowa City, through Montezuma, to Des Moines. Another line, also, passed through Marengo, Brooklyn and Grinnell. These two lines met at Lattimer's Grove, and from thence to Des Moines there were two stages over the same route.

Cottage Clock. - There is a large cottage clock standing in Messrs. Rayburn & Porter's store, showing tho superior workmanship, and artistic taste of one of Montezuma's citizens. The clock is ten feet tall and two feet wide. It runs forty-five days with one winding, and keeps excellent time. It was constructed in the year 1873 and is valued at $500. Mr. Peter Delescaille is the architect. He went to the timber, cut the oak and walnut of which the clock is made, seasoned and carved the wood for the case, and even made the movement himself. He now has a little machine shop, west of the square.

The summer of 1851 was exceedingly wet. The land was continually flooded with frequent rains.

There was immense excitement on the day of the hanging of Cumquick [W. B. Thomas), which occurred, as elsewhere noticed, in 1857. When the two United States Marshals were murdered in Sugar Creek township, there was great fear and excitement in Montezuma. The first celebration of "Fourth of July," 1854. The presidential campaign of 1860, was, perhaps, the most exciting of any before or since.

During the days of the first pioneers, there were great numbers of deer, and easy to kill.

Source: The History of Poweshiek County Iowa 1880
Transcribed and Contributed by Barbara Ziegenmeyer