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Bridge Over RiverThe first bridges in the county were constructed over the Little Sioux River. One at Sioux Rapids was built in the later part of the 1860’s and another near Linn Grove constructed in 1870. The Sioux Rapids bridge was known for years as “Hollingsworth Ford Bridge”. ,The first death in the county was in the spring of 1858.James Merit, a comrade of Abner Bell’s father in the War of1812, came to visit Abner in the fall of 1856. He was 77 yearsold and had no home, so remained in the Sioux Rapids area tilhis death. Some claim this to'be the first burial in the LoneFree Cemetery. Other deaths may have taken place earlier but this remains the first one on record.There are.a number of unmarked graves in the county. At least one belonged to a soldier who died of exposure one winter ; another at Albert City belongs to an outlaw who was killed in a gun battle in that town; and others belonged to early pioneers who had husbands, wives and / or children die of disease enroute to their western destination.Among the early cemeteries in the county are ones located in section 12 of Barnes Township and another in section 22 of Lincoln. The first children bom in the county were twins, George and Augusta Weaver, bom to Mr. andMrs. William Weaver. They arrived on Oct. 9,1859.%*» *•w■I■VFirst Doctor'A*The first doctor to begin the practice of his profession in Buena Vista County was Dr. Stephen Olney, who settled in or near the present site of Sioux Rapids in 1869. Dr. Olney was fresh out of medical school, being at that time 23 years of age. Settlers were few and far between at that early year. His field of practice stretched far in all directions.The first doctor in Storm Lake to open his office was Dr. L. J. Harvey on May 18,1871. Dr. H. F. Parks came in 1872 and Dr. H. T Kerr in 1873, both opened offices in Storm Lake. The first doctor in Alta came in 1873 and Newell had Dr. J. M. Brookes who arrived in 1881. Early doctors in other Buena Vista towns were Dr. Van Ness of Linn Grove, Dr. J. H Delahunt of Marathon, and Dr. B. B. Bridge of Albert City. In 1899, the Buena Vista County Medical Society was organized. Most, if not all, of the doctors were active members.It is interesting to note the origin of township names, for instance, Barnes Township is named after I ,uther H. Barnes, an early settler who laid out Sioux Rapids. Brooke came from Haram and William Brooke, first permanent settlers of that township. Coon takes its name from the Raccoon River, which flowed thru this township as it was originally laid out.The reason back of Elk Township is unknown, althoughherds of elk roaming the prairies in this^rea^may furnish thebackground. Fairfield is a name given by one of the settlerswhen the region was first opened up. Grant is in honor of theCivil War General U. S. Grant. Hayes traces its name fromthe General Rutherford B. Hayes, who was president whenthe township was young. (On January 1, 1882, the HayesTownship Farmers Club was organized and was the oldest known club in Iowa.)lt;■The group of friends gathered on New Years Day for a surprise party and dinner at the home of Q. A. Barber. They- v * E ALITHFULVIE W Cont.-op Rage 64OVER 70,00(L POST CARDS Linn Grove resident, Edna« n *Robbins/ has an interesting hobby collecting* old postal and greeting cards. As a member of the Cheerio post card club, she claims to have between 70,000 to 80,000 cards. Many cards are from a series, which makes collecting even more challenging. Her husband, Charlie, is a well known trapper and conservationist inthis area.»l l-•-♦-•••.•••-•I •.» t •1**4 • * *« ** * *Linn Grove Grew OutEarly MillA small settlement had been begun in the wooded valley of the Little Sioux which is now the siteof Linn Grove in the very earlydays of Buena Vista county. A dam was built and a mill constructed there.This mill did the grinding for virtually every farmer in the entire territory and, although usually deserted, was at times a popular and thickly peopled spot. Farmers brought their grain in wagons from long distances and often spent several days waiting for the work of the mill to befinished.But they never stayed permanently, and aside from the two or three people engaged inrunning the mill, no settlers came.‘ .1Railroad Station«*•* * HThat is, not until 1881 when theNorthwestern railway was builtthrough the valley, and a station established at Linn Grove. Almost immediately, plans for atown * \Vere laid 'and-’7businessenterprises were started.Taking advantage of the mill trade, the new prosperity from the railway and the booming farm territory trade, C.J. Brostad Company erected astore building and put in a varied stock of goods.This was the only store in the community until 1885, when Thompson Buland built anelevator and bought and soldgrain.Town Grows■Ks **The same year saw the arrival of the A.J. Breda hardware company and the Wisconsin Lumber Company. C.L, Ward, who had lived in the settlement for a number of years while he operated the mill, opened a loan office and later turned it into anan 10 ne nana set.Operators worked on this magazine alone for almost the entire month before it was ready to be printed, and when the presses were turning out the magazine the back office was jammed to the ceiling with piles of paper. A special cover was made for the magazine, too, necessitating a great deal more work in the composing room.IN 1931 STANTON* . *■Uses Buttermilkto 'Douse►\Farm Blaze*(From our files.)■ ' J •»t ire Chief Harold Stanton has experienced many novel methods of extinguishing blazes but he worked a new one Wednesday noon at the H.V. Geisinger farm, one mile north of Storm Lake on Highway 71 when a barrel of buttermilk was thrown over theflames.An-unknown woman, motoring past the Geisinger farm, saw flames and smoke coming from the roof of the dwelling. She drove into the yard to warn theGeisinger s. Mr. Geisinger called the Storm Lake fire departmentand in a short time the blaze,.which was confined to the attic and roof, had been squelched.It was when he had nearly exhausted the water supply that Fire Chief Stanton turned on thebuttermilk—and both he and Mr.Geisinger say it works fine. Damage is covered by insurance. Mr. Geisinger is very thankful for the excellent work of the firemen.After the excitement had subsided, Mr. Geisinger went to the city hall and presented ChiefStanton with a $50 check in appreciation of the fire laddies and their efforts.founded in Linn Grove during thebank.year 1890, when Henry Ress Af .. . began a cheese factory. The plantAt tne same time, residences was successful for a time, but theowners apparently felt that cheese was not a popular thing inthe county as it should be and thewas turned into acreamefyAb0 .....were erected along the hill sides and a school building was erectedat the top of the hill leading fromthe business section.*v A*' unique' ^enterprise'' wab%/
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Centenary Papers
Centenary, Iowa, US
Wed, May 30, 1973
Page 7
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IA, USA 04 Aug 2020
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