IADATA-L Archives

Archiver > IADATA > 2006-04 > 1144627864


From: Archives <>
Subject: Ia-Polk Co. History (1855 to 1860)
Date: 10 Apr 2006 00:11:04 -0000


Polk County IA Archives History - Books .....1855 To 1860 1898
************************************************
Copyright. All rights reserved.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ia/iafiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher April 9, 2006, 7:11 pm

Book Title: Annals Of Polk County, Iowa And City Of Des Moines

CHAPTER X.
1855 TO 1860.

THE building fever took possession of the citizens of the town in 1855 and
continued to rage for two or three years after that date before a temporary lull
occurred. Dr. James Campbell, yet a resident of the city, claims with evidence
of right the honor of being the first to erect a brick business house in the
future city. This was a substantial three-story brick building at "The Point,"
on the northwest corner of First and Elm streets, built in 1855. This building
was for several years occupied as a grocery store, and was finally destroyed
some years ago. The first brick block was the "Exchange Block," on the corner of
Third and Walnut. This also was erected in 1855. A. Newton, W. C. Burton, Byron
Rice, Lovell White and one or two other enterprising citizens joined together in
this work and rapidly pushed it to completion. Its front was 132 feet on Walnut,
and the first floor was divided into six store rooms, while the two upper floors
were arranged for offices, etc. A. Newton had a. large stock of goods in the
east room; in the two adjoining were also dry goods and groceries, then followed
the drug store of Dr. Alexander Shaw, the banking house of Greene, Weare & Rice,
and Macklot, Corbin & White, bankers and brokers, occupied the west room. On the
second floor were the U. S. land office, Des Moines River company's
headquarters, law offices, and justice of the peace, and in the west rooms the
finest saloon then in the city. Every room in the building was more than filled
and in 1856-7 this Exchange block was a veritable bee-hive of business and
pleasure.

The Sherman building, on the corner of Court avenue and Second street, was
erected in 1856, by Hoyt Sherman, P. M. Casady and R. L. Tidrick, and was when
completed the best building of its day in the city. The corner room on the first
floor was occupied by the banking house of branch of the State Bank of Iowa. The
next room was the Hoyt Sherman & Co., and afterwards by the Des Moines
postoffice and book store of Wesley Redhead, and the east room was a dry goods
store of John Tiernan. Law and land offices occupied the second floor, while the
hall on the third floor was used for public entertainments and meetings, and at
various times for theatrical and concert purposes. A year or two later the
county offices were mostly moved into the building and the hall was used as a
court room, the adjoining rooms being utilized for the clerk's office and jury
rooms. These were occupied by the county until in the '60s the present court
house was ready for occupancy. Then most of the city offices and council chamber
were in the Sherman building for a number of years. Thus it will be seen the
Sherman building was prominent in the early history of city and county.

In 1856-7, Captain F. R. West erected on the corner of Fourth and Court
avenue what is now so well known as the Register building. It was a substantial
and well built double-front, three-story building, and the first to move into it
was Will Porter, with his State Journal printing office, which occupied the
third floor. The corner room on the first floor was occupied by the banking
house of B. F. Allen, and so occupied until his unfortunate failure some fifteen
years thereafter. Keyes & Crawford and afterwards R. A. Knight & Co., occupied
the east room and part of the upper floors with their large dry goods store, and
in the rear of Allen's bank was located the U. S. land office. For a time the
present Plymouth Congregational church used a room on the second floor as a
place of meeting and the other rooms were used as law and land offices.

About this time or a little later, Dr. Wm. Baker & Co. built a brick
three-story building on the southeast corner of Court avenue and Third street,
to be occupied by their large drug store, and this building stands to-day
substantially as it was originally built, and though Dr. Baker, one of the
pioneer druggists of the city, has been dead for several years, the old firm
name is yet retained. Soon after this was erected, Frank M. Mills & Co. built
another three-story brick immediately east of the Baker building and occupied it
entirely with their large book and job printing house, which ultimately grew to
be the largest in the state and fully equal to the best in Chicago or the west.

In 1856, Cook, Sargent & Cook, of which firm Ira Cook was the resident
member, built a brick building, on Walnut street, next to the alley between
Third and Fourth streets. This was occupied by this banking house for a few
years, and then became the property of Carter & Hussey, printers and binders.
They added largely to the capacity of the building and have occupied it for many
years with their large establishment.

The commencement of the erection of the Savery House in 1850 aided greatly in
drawing business and trade from Second street to Walnut and bringing it "up
town" as it was then termed. James C. Savery was the originator and prime mover
of the project, and without his indomitable energy and shrewdness the Savery
would never have been built. But of this further details are given in the
chapter on hotels.

One of the first brick buildings on Walnut street was a two-story one, built
by Dr. H. C. Grimmell, near the south-east corner of Fifth, and occupied by him
with a drug store on the first and a physician's office on the second floor.
This was torn down a few years after being built. A small brick dwelling where
the Reinking block now stands, near the corner of Eighth and Walnut, was among
the first to be built in the town. D. P. W. Day, along in 1855-6, built a small
brick dwelling house in what was then known as Jonathan Lyon's addition. And it
must not be forgotten that Rev. Nash's Baptist church built a brick house for
their use in 1855-6 on Mulberry street north of the present court house, and but
a few years later the Christian church put up the brick building at the corner
of Mulberry and Seventh streets, a portion of which yet remains standing.

The years 1854-5-6 were very prosperous years for both city and county. The
immigration into both was heavy and of an excellent class of people. New farms
were being opened and good farm dwellings built in every section of the county,
while the town was rapidly increasing in population and wealth. All was bustle
and activity; land and town lots were in active demand and rapidly increasing in
price. The town soon swelled beyond its first limited corporation lines, and new
additions were platted on every side and these lots sold with astounding
rapidity. The new town on the east side of the river had a remarkable growth
during these three years and became to some extent a rival of the West Side, or
original town. This, together with the location of the capitol on the East Side,
more fully alluded to in the chapter on the capitol, brought about much local
feeling which, for a time, engendered the animosities common to such local
rivalries. In fact, not content with the state capitol, many of the East Side
people had hopes of ultimately obtaining the county capitol or court house for
their side of the river, and hence many of them were bitterly opposed to the
erection of a new court house on the ground originally set aside for that
purpose upon the West Side. To placate the people of the East Side in 1857 the
county judge had made the new township of Lee on that side of the river, and the
Postoffice authorities at Washington were induced to give them the post-office
of East Des Moines. This, however, was discontinued in a year or two.

In the winter of 1856-7 some of the best citizens on each side concluded it
would be better for all to have a union of these somewhat discordant elements.
Accordingly a new charter for a city covering the territory both east and west
was carefully prepared. It gave the West Side eight and the East Side six
aldermen, and had other provisions for protecting the interests of the East Side
from the majority on the West Side, and extended the boundaries so as to make
the limits extend about four miles east and west and two miles north and south.
At that time not a few regarded these limits as covering entirely too much
territory, that would not be filled for scores of years. And yet in a
comparatively few years the population did spread away beyond these then wide
limits and in the last few years the corporation boundaries had to be again much
more widely extended to bring them within the control of the city.

It was also decided by this new charter to drop forever the name of "town of
Fort Des Moines," and adopt in lieu thereof the name as it now stands—"The City
of Des Moines." This charter was sent to Iowa City, passed the General Assembly,
was approved by Governor Grimes January 28, and took effect February 16, 1857.
The first election under it was held on the first Monday in March, 1857.

The financial panic and troubles of 1857 were severely felt in Des Moines and
Polk county, as they were all over the country. A check was at once placed on
all speculation in lots and lands, though building continued in the new city and
the farms of the county were continuously improved and many new ones opened up.
Yet, compared with former prosperity and confidence, to use the common phrase,
"times were dull and money scarce." It was several years before "flush times"
again visited the city and county, and yet both continued to grow and prosper.
There had been in 1855-6 too much inflation in western lands and enterprises,
and this was one of the causes assigned for the financial troubles of that time,
and this check was perhaps needed to bring all back to a proper and substantial
level. But be that as it may Des Moines had natural and acquired advantages, and
Polk county had the rich and fertile lands, which made their future safe after
these temporary troubles had been met and conquered. And succeeding years showed
these resources were a safe capital to rely upon.

Early in the year 1857, J. B. Bausman & Co made an excellent map of Des
Moines and also completed a census of the city which was regarded as correct.
The population as then given was as follows:

INHABITANTS.

East Side 978
West Side 2,585
Total city population 3,563

It will be of interest to the reader to know the business men and houses of
that day and we copy the list in full as then given by Bausman & Co., early in
the year 1857.

Practicing Attorneys—Finch, Crocker & Mitchell, Williamson & Gray, Barlow
Granger, John A. Grow, Brown & Elwood, J. E. Jewett, S. Reynolds, W. J. Gatling,
B. P. Stanbury, Madison Young, J. C. Graves, F. M. Hubbell, J. S. Polk, C. W.
Nash. Bates & Phillips, Samuel Elbert.

Ambrotype and Photograph Room—Reynolds & Rider.

Architect—Dyer H. Young.

Bankers—Hoyt Sherman, Greene, Weare, Rice & Co., Lovell White, A. J. Stevens,
B. F. Allen, Cook, Sargent & Cook, Leas & Harsh.

Merchants—Including wholesale and retail dry goods, groceries, etc., Woodward
& Hepburn, Ten Eyck & Holcomb, Lovejoy, Thompson & Co., W. W. Moore, N.
Jerolaman, R. W. Sypher, J. W. & A. J. Dunkle, Campbell, Jones & Co., Newton &
Keene, Chandler & Bell, J. H. Hatch, Beekman & Prindar, Omer Tousey, E. H. Hart,
W. W. Francis, Little, Garrison & Co., A. Mills & Co.

Grocers, Wholesale and Retail—Laird Bros. & Co., Cavenor & Williamson, W. F.
Burgett, H. M. Bush, F. W. Longworth, J. H. Thode, Journey & Wear, McCormic &
Garretty, Yerger & McKee, Kappes & Reinig, M. Schottenfels, John McWilliams.

Hardware and Stove Dealers—Galbraith & Latshaw, E. Sanford & Co., C. P. Luse
& Co., Comstock & Co., Daniel Lord & Co.

Furniture—J. M. Reicheneker, E. Tarbell, A. Alexander.

Clothing and Furnishing, Wholesale and Retail—J. & I. Kuhn, Morris & Downer,
Strauss, Simon & Billstein.

Boot, Shoe and Leather Stores—Stacy Johns & Co., Kuhn, Morris & Co., Frank M.
Mills, James F. Kemp, W. S. Terry.

Druggists—G. M. Hippee & Co., F. C. Grimmell, W. Baker & Co., C. Good.

Jewelry—J. N. Newell, W. P. Andrews, Joseph Hogg, O. H. Baker.

Newspapers—State Journal, Will Porter, Editor and Proprietor; State Register,
John Teesdale, Editor and Proprietor.

As before stated the first bridge across the Des Moines River was what is
termed a "float bridge." This was placed in successful use in 1855 near what is
now Grand avenue, and some year or two later more permanent bridges were built
at Court avenue and by W. A. Scott at Market street. These were wooden bridges
and at that time were regarded as strong and durable structures, though both
broke down within a few years. These were followed by a wooden bridge over the
Raccoon River at "The Point"

In 1858 came the agitation over the erection of the main portion of the new
court house. For local and other reasons previously stated the commencement of
this much needed building was violently opposed, especially by many on the east
side of the river. Public meetings were held and the excitement for a time ran
high. All kinds of charges were made and bandied about Hon. Thomas H. Napier,
then the county judge, stood firm during all the clamor and more determined the
building should be erected. The contract for the erection of the building was
let to Isaac Cooper, by a contract dated June 22, 1858. The sum to be paid to
him was $64,300. On May 23, 1859, a proposition was submitted to the voters of
the county to issue bonds to the amount of $30,000 to aid in the construction of
the new court house. This proposition carried after a sharp contest by the
decisive vote of yeas 1,017, nays 790. This was a virtual endorsement of the
action of the county judge, and work proceeded on the building, though at a slow
rate, owing to financial and other troubles, and the building was not ready for
occupancy until 1SG2. Further details about the court house of the county may be
found in a separate chapter under that heading.

The first brick house on the East Side was erected in 1854-5 by Dr. T. K.
Brooks, at the head of what was then called agncy [sic] prairie, not far from
the old agency building. Part of the brick was floated from Coon bottom during
the flood of that year, and the building was completed that fall, and for
several years was the hospitable residence of the Doctor and his estimable wife
and family. In 1855 W. A. Scott built a residence on Market street, East Side,
and then and later several other brick store rooms and other buildings. John
Slatten also about that time put up a large brick opposite Scott's residence.
The first large brick building for business purposes on the East Side was built
by Joseph M. and Harry H. Griffiths, on Locust street, east of Fourth street,
which was subsequently remodeled and fitted up as the Jones House, and occupied
as a hotel for a number of years. This building, though several times much
changed, is yet standing. One of the first large business buildings on East
Fifth street was a double front two-story frame built by Noah D. Haskell in
1856-7. This stood about half way between Walnut and Locust streets, on the east
side of Fifth. Opposite was a two-story frame building used as a hotel, and
known as the Cooley House and later as the Loper House. On the East Side,
morever, a number of business houses and a large number of dwellings, some of
the latter large and costly, were erected during the period from 1855 to 1860.

The temporary capitol, located on the lot south of the capitol where the
Soldier's Monument now stands in all its beauty, was built in 1856 and completed
the following year. It was a three-story brick and well adapted for the purposes
for which it was intended, and for many years was occupied by the state. It was
not, however, built by the state, but by enterprising citizens, mostly of the
East Side. Among these were W. A. Scott, Joseph M. and Harry H. Griffiths, Dr.
T. K. Brooks, James A. Williamson, Dr. Alexander Shaw, Harrison and Alfred M.
Lyon and others. Some of these gentlemen financially embarrassed themselves in
erecting this state building. Subsequently the state assumed a small portion of
the liabilities incurred. In 1857 the state archives, etc., were removed from
Iowa City to Des Moines and late in that year all the state offices and officers
were located in the temporary building. Governor Grimes then issued a
proclamation stating that Des Moines was the state capital and directing the
General Assembly to there meet and hold its next session.

This first meeting of the General Assembly was a great event for Des Moines.
The accommodations at hotels and boarding houses were not extensive, but the
citizens hospitably came to the rescue and private houses were freely thrown
open for the accommodation of members. Among others W. A. Scott and wife opened
their large residence on the East Side, and entertained members and others in a
most lavish manner and at great expense to themselves. Others did the same. All
were well taken care of, and it was a common saying afterward among old members
that they were never entertained so royally as at the first session of the
General Assembly in Des Moines, which convened in January, 1858. It was
something new, and the citizens of Des Moines took pride in showing forth their
liberal hospitality and generous good will. While yet hospitable to all, years
have made them more familiar and more accustomed to the visits and temporary
presence in the city of Iowa legislators. They have now had them for nearly
forty years.

During the years embraced within this period there were more steamboat
arrivals at the port of Des Moines than during any other period, and they were a
great help to the merchants in receiving and shipping the large amount of
freight necessary for their large and rapidly expanding trade. As a general rule
the stage of water in the Des Moines River was favorable for steamboat
navigation during the spring and early summer months and boat captains and
owners were anxious to engage in this lucrative trade. It is stated on good
authority that at one time during this period as many as six steamboats were in
one day lying at the port, near the junction of the Des Moines and Raccoon
rivers, receiving and discharging freight and passengers. More of steamboats and
river navigation will be found in another chapter.

In the spring of 1857, a few days after the Spirit Lake massacre, there was
much excitement in Des Moines and north of this point, over the report that the
Sioux Indians were marching in this direction, with the intention of making a
raid upon the new capital. In those days there were no telegraphs or railroads
in this portion of the state, and the mail facilities were slow and uncertain.
When these reports came in, how and from where not clearly stated, there
naturally was much alarm. The able-bodied men were at once called out by Mayor
W. H. McHenry, and placed under the command of Captain John C. Booth, a West
Point graduate, who had served in the regular army. All kinds of arms were
hunted and hasty preparations made for defense. To ascertain something as to the
truths of these reports W. A. Scott, Jeff. S. Polk, Brax. D. Thomas and others
volunteered as scouts and immediately started north towards Boonsboro. They made
a rapid ride and found there was little or no basis for the reports and that it
was doubtful if a single Sioux warrior was then within the borders of the state
of Iowa. They returned home and reported, and the excitement at once subsided.
This was the last Indian scare here, though there were several more of them in
the northwestern counties during the years of the civil war.

In May, 1857, owing to the heavy immigration of the previous year and the
lateness of the spring, corn, wheat, potatoes, etc., became very scarce and high
in price. In that month it is reported prices ran as high as, corn two dollars
per bushel, potatoes three dollars, and flour $6.75 per hundred. The supply
grown the previous year was almost completely exhausted.

In November, 1856, the United States Express company established an office in
Des Moines, and has continued the same continuously up to this time, their
business in the city steadily increasing with the growth of the city. During the
first ten years they utilized stage coaches and wagons, where they now use the
railroads. William H. Quick was then in the employ of this company, was local
agent in Des Moines, and for many years he has been superintendent of the
division, with headquarters in this city. The popular local agent, E. L. Smith,
has also filled this position since 1865, having been with the company from the
time it first opened lines in Iowa,

The total valuation of taxable property in Polk county for 1856, was
$4,057,693, and this was an increase in three years of over three millions of
dollars.

The spring and summer of 1858 were very wet and backward, there being much
rain in May, June and July, delaying planting and in many instances drowning out
what had been planted, and altogether causing much delay and loss to the
farmers, who at the same time were suffering under the financial troubles which
had recently come upon them. The roads were for months in a horrible condition,
and it was with much difficulty the stages could get through with mails and
passengers. There being no railroads then in central Iowa it was with much
difficulty and at heavy expense that goods could be hauled along the miry roads.
Even when the harvest time came, in many fields, owing to the softness of the
ground, reapers and other machines could not be used. Taken as a whole the year
1858 was a bad one for the farmers, and also as a matter of course a bad one for
all the other people of the state. While not as bad as the floods of 1851 yet
there were in 1858 many more people in Iowa to suffer from the excessive amount
of rain which fell during the latter year.

In 1859 broke out what was then termed "The Pike's Peak craze." This
continued for two or three years and drew hundreds from the city and county, who
started for Colorado in a search for gold and silver. Many of these returned,
some in a few months and others in a few years, and again settled down here, but
many of them remained and became permanent citizens of Colorado or of other
western territories. This large Colorado or western emigration was a heavy draft
upon Iowa, and Polk county and Des Moines suffered their full share therefrom.
Kansas and Nebraska also drew heavily upon Iowa during the latter portion of the
50s, taking from the latter many good and enterprising citizens, and thereby
much retarding the growth and prosperity of this state, and especially of this
city and county. Yet the gains were much greater than the losses from these
sources and the city and county continued to grow in wealth and population in
spite of the hundreds, running up into thousands, attracted as stated, to other
states and territories. And it has been often remarked that during the past
fifty years so many men have left the city and county, determined to stay away,
but in the course of a year or more have returned to again take up their abode
here. They could not remain away with satisfaction to themselves and families.
Des Moines and Polk county almost invariably win the lasting affections of those
who reside within their borders for any length of time.

Money, or its representative in bank bills, had an important part to play in
the business affairs of the people here during the years previous to and
immediately following the breaking out of the war. Under the first constitution
no banks of issue were permitted to be established in the state, and hence the
bank bills of other states and territories were thrown into Iowa, and formed the
larger portion of the circulating medium used in the transaction of business.
Bankers and others in Iowa became iterested [sic] in or owned charters of banks
of issue outside of the state, and brought their notes here for crculation [sic]
among the people of this state. The territory of Nebraska at this time was a new
and fertile field for the organization of banks, nominally located in that
territory, but really controlled, owned and operated by Iowa men, who circulated
the notes of these banks in this state. The principal one among these many banks
was the "Bank of Nebraska," nominally located at Omaha, but controlled and
operated through the banking house of B. F. Allen in Des Moines. For several
years these notes were in general circulation in this city and county and
throughout central Iowa. No special reliance was placed upon the bank itself,
but the notes were sustained and kept afloat by and through the endorsement of
B. F. Allen and his banking house in Des Moines, he and his bank at that time
having the almost unlimited confidence of the people in this portion of the
state. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of these Bank of Nebraska notes were
placed in circulation and it is only justice to state they were all finally
redeemed by Mr. Allen without loss to the people.

Among the early settlers of Des Moines was Andrew J. Stevens. He came from
New York where he had read law in the office of Hon. William H. Seward, and was
a bright, intelligent man, and was elected state auditor in 1854. He resigned
this office in 1855, engaged in the business of buying and selling lands, etc.,
and finally became*a banker under the name of A. J. Stevens & Co. He purchased
or had under his control the "Agricultural Bank of Tennessee," and nominally
located in and operated under the laws of that state. Many thousands of dollars
of these notes were brought here and placed in circulation by A. J. Stevens. The
people knew little and cared less about the solvency of the bank itself. They
relied wholly upon the responsibility of Stevens who placed them in circulation
and redeemed them with current notes at his banking house in Des Moines. In this
city and county and in the adjacent country many thousands of dollars of these
notes were thus circulated and a large business was transacted for several years
at the banking house of A. J. Stevens & Co. But when the panic of 1857 came this
banking house was forced to succumb to the pressure. Its failure made the notes
of the "Agricultural Bank of Tennessee" entirely worthless, and the loss in the
aggregate was heavy, though so widely scattered that individual losses were not
very large. There was much excitement over the failure, and Stevens left the
city, for a time, although many sympathized with him and charges were made that
his downfall was mainly due to the jealousy and rivalry of other banks and
bankers. The fact, however, became apparent that the banking house of A. J.
Stevens & Co., like unto his Tennessee bank, had been doing too much business on
too little capital. When the pinch came they had to both go down together.

Under the new constitution of the state, adopted in 1857, the State Bank of
Iowa was organized, and a branch of the same was established at Des Moines,
commencing business on January 1, 1859. This bank was located in the Sherman
block, in the rooms previously occupied by the banking house of Hoyt Sherman &
Co. The first president of the bank was Captain F. R. West, and Hoyt Sherman was
cashier, while P. M. Casady, R. L. Tidrick, B. F. Allen, L. P. Sherman and
others were directors or interested in the institution. It was the first bank
issuing notes in Des Moines, and was conducted on safe, conservative lines, and
during its entire existence its notes were always at par and always promptly
redeemed upon presentation at the bank. During the financial troubles which
preceded the war, when banks all over the country were closing their doors, or
their notes could only be circulated at a discount, often a very heavy one, the
notes of the State Bank of Iowa remained at par, and were eagerly sought for as
safe funds to hold. This bank remained in existence for some six years, when the
national system of banking having been devised during the war and placed in
operation, this bank was finally merged into the National State bank in, May, 1865.

Those doing business about 1860 will remember the annoyance and losses caused
by the banks and bank notes of those days, when a bank note detector or bulletin
had to be consulted continuously to learn whether-bank notes presented were par,
at a discount, or entirely worthless. The merchant as well as his customers were
afraid to hold these bank notes any length of time for fear they would become
worthless while in their posession, and they hastened to deposit them, in banks
or pay them out to others. Many debt a were promptly paid, not perhaps through a
desire to get out of debt as much as it was through fear the notes would become
of less or no value while in the possession of the debtor. Gold and silver a man
might hold on to, but at that time most bank notes were a dangerous commodity,
unsafe to hold for any length of time, and to be passed into other hands as
quickly as possible. During these times, however, the notes of the State bank
stood par all the time on their own merits, and those of the Bank of Nebraska
were kept up and in circulation here through the name and influence of B. F. Allen.

Here it may not be out of place to correct a somewhat prevalent error. Of
late years public speakers and others have told in moving terms of the losses
suffered by the people who held the notes of Iowa banks. These losses are purely
imaginary. There may have been some such losses in Iowa Territorial days, but
under the first constitution of the state of Iowa no banks of issue were
permitted in the state. Hence as no Iowa bank could issue bank notes or
currency, there were none issued, and consequently there were no losses on this
account The present constitution of Iowa was adopted in 1857, and under it the
only bank issuing notes created under it were the State bank and branches. These
Iowa State banks issued many thousands of dollars in notes, but all these notes
were promptly redeemed when presented and at no time were below par in the
state. Hence there never were any losses to the people because of Iowa bank note
issues. The losses the people suffered on this respect came from banks of issue
located in and operating under the laws of other states and territories.

During the years 1857-8 the city council of Des Moines for the first and last
time in its history, issued what was termed "City Script" for the two-fold
purpose of paying-debts and at the same time furnishing a circulating medium.
After much discussion this plan was agreed upon, and to carry it out a set of
bank notes were engraved and printed, being 1s, 2s, 3s and 5s. These bills made
a rather handsome appearance, and for a year or two were in more or less general
circulation in the city, taken for goods at the stores, etc., but were not
looked upon with much favor outside of the city. They were almost purely a local
currency, and while answering to some extent the purpose for which they were
issued, never became very current or popular. They were finally withdrawn from
circulation, without much loss or gain to the city or citizens.

Those five years marked a period of much growth and prosperity for Des Moines
and Polk county, and in those years came many men and women as settlers who
after-ward became prominent in the history of the city and county. Take the
rolls of the Early Settlers' association and it will be found that more of its
members became resident during these five years than during any other period in
its history. The financial troubles of 1857-8 could check but could not stop the
growth of the city and county, and in fact the pressure of hard times caused
many in town to turn their attention to agricultural pursuits and many of them
not only became for the time being farmers, but remained such, and not a few of
them became the most progressive and best farmers in the county. In 1860 the
population of the county was 11,625, and of the City of Des Moines, 3,965.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

ANNALS OF POLK COUNTY, IOWA,
AND
CITY OF DES MOINES
BY WILL PORTER.

"And this volume, dedicated to its people, sets forth in attractive style all
the facts and incidents that go to make up the history of which all citizens are
justly proud."
—Major Hoyt Sherman.

GEO. A. MILLLER PRINTING COMPANY,
PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS,
DES MOINES, IOWA,
1898.


File at: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ia/polk/history/1898/annalsof/1855to1811ms.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/iafiles/

File size: 32.9 Kb


This thread: