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Samuel Cross OfBaxterRelatesEarly HistoryFoSettled Ne*r Ira,'mod to tli* new Baxter siteThe first town was located northpresent Town of Bax- i and west of the tracks, about theter Had Started.Ii»ident.livinga child jnty in yearse i old.Id hearho cowmi thattv meted him 1* r iff 1ied 1 shr h into cold.e tellsor Cyrt hcuttil Wariglibora* at * dn heto ** rd havee gotf cameI1k Mritateaith • 1myoy s11 It uSamuel Cross, 87-year old resident of Baxter and a pioneer set tier near Ira. can tell some real pioneer stories of the early days when he came with his family into this new country—later to becomeknown as Jasper county.Mr Cross was a lad of 10 years when his father and uncle Ben* ’ uuin and Jesse Cross, came -down the Ohio river in 1857 to Keokuk, crossed the Mississippi there, and tarted the long trek up across the pr \ it ie lands of Iowa to a spotFirYivicinity of tho lumber yard now.Mr. Cross hauled the first loa i of lumber from Rhodes to build the blacksmith shop at Baxter. He hauled it across country. Ole Wilson's father built it where the Rhode produce house is now locat od.Baxter Polt; toff ice moved im-storo at B \t- r postoffice disappeared nt about this time, he abandoning his .tore for other regions.The name of Baxter postoffice, which had bon named after him, stuck, however, and so the present town is known A Sidney Higgins po: ran a stom* in old Baxter for a ealt;antfoil t ii ronIhatinnear where Ira now stands. They | time hut it burned down in the had (wo yoke of oxen hitched to 11890's and that ended the town.thea x ldc tread wagon. These pulled their belongings through while the rest of the family walked. It w as a lone s*dge, requiring two weeks to complete the journey.Lived in Log Houle The family moved into a log hous*- east of Ira for tho first w.iior. And as was the custom during those early years, all of M,“iu came down with the ague.There was no school in those «!,• but the neighbors got to-. tli. - and organi?p 1 one with a Van Dyke a? the teacher. The s jp !- bat on log slabs and studied p ;ilt;} ng and spelling. School lasted r - o: !\ about three months a yearok' 0.- '7 InM• * ross was quite a young manwspn the l)iagonal railroad came r • rcugh that part of the country. puMmg old Baxter Postoffice to rout and establishing first Baxter ;nd then Ira. It was about the •. . Hr 1882 that the road came h. oiigh, and Mr. Cross helped w ith ?h** rtading, using a team of horses until it had passed Ira.Baxter Postofflc©It.. .,;*r Postoffice moved ira-The mail route went up one day, past the Cross home near Ira, on to Baxter Postoffice and to Clyde, and cam** back the next making three trips a week. It followed thedivide down to Newton.Used to Drill SoldiersCaptain Thomas, Mr. Cross recalls, used to drill the Civil Warj soldiers in the early 1880‘s across the site now occupied by the townof Bi ©1Slopping hog* v as a problem in I the carl} days. I bore were no railroad . on one occasion, Mr. Cross relates, a drove of TOO hogs wasdriven overland to Crinnoll whenthe railroad came that far. It took two day to make the drive, so they would Hop overnight at athe way. The lt;ustom-places was at Hiatts, can remember Dr. pioneer Newton doe-e plied h’S trade all8 0 w lt;hoNlt;imthnuavclt;1)*)mAa ihouse alongary stoppingMr. Cro.-s Perry ldnrrbtor, whenofWJI BIWII r,Z.! HC(Cilover the coun ( . mil i; ur was sick nun li/ lie comment id, “But I tan rem-uubcr Mr. Kngh stopping on varicm- arcasions at our house.’*a \siSiI)
Newspaper Details
Newton Daily News
Newton, Iowa, US
Fri, Mar 01, 1935
Page 51
Full Page
Clipped by
Stanley A.
USA 15 May 2018
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