Building a “then”

After Iowa’s place in the United States was solidified in 1846, back when Iowa City was the capital, Americans who traveled west for good fortune were beginning to settle in their new homes. At the time, they were considered “western yankees,” farmers, lawyers, merchants, preachers and teachers who sought for a new land out west.

Any understanding of settlement in the state of Iowa must first be understood through what was lost. Two indigenous populations of American Indians, the Algonquins and the Sioux, made their settlement of the Mississippi valley far before any white Iowan set foot. A tribe of the Sioux would break off into the “Iowas,” and would be in possession of the southern part of the state before white men from the east sought to claim it for themselves.

Settlers would take over and slay Indians in their efforts of laying claim to the lands of abundance. George A. Ide’s History of Union County, published in 1908 and documented much of early Union County’s history and early perspectives, detailed false ideas of racial prejudice in the people who sought these lands. They had described the indigenous populations as “savages” and their race as “inferior in intellectual or moral endowments to others.”

Yet, the Iowa settlers found fascination with the Indians and in their terminology of what they thought of as “musical names,” and would adopt them for counties, towns, rivers and other local names. As they drove their ox-teams and covered wagons across Indian-made trails, the historical precedent for taking advantage of another’s work can not be ignored.

One of the first settlers in the area which would become Union County were a group of Mormons emigrating west. Their exodus after persecution in Illinois left a fractured group of Mormons marching west across the Mississippi, through Lucas and Decatur County. Groups would be left behind in these areas (one group would settle and create Garden Grove), until the group arrived in an unclaimed land in the east of what would become Union County.

Their settlement would be named Mount Pisgah. The saints would find allies between neighboring tribes of Indians, specifically the Pottawattamie and Musquaka tribes. They described these tribes as “industrious and peaceable.”

Pisgah would be the first area where a white man was documented to have died (records on fallen Indians were not kept). Elder William Huntington, who presided over the settlement, would be the first to pass. This settlement would be temporary, as in 1852 an imperative order was issued for all Mormons to emigrate to Utah. They left behind a tillable land for future settlers, along with abandoned buildings to profit.

Union County’s prairies would be described as “the gardens of the deserts,” likening the way groves shift with the wind akin to an ocean wave. Stephen A. Douglas, a native of Vermont, had witnessed the land and found himself enamored with a blank expanse ripe for development, seeing the world with “only the heavens to bound [his] vision.” It would be here where enterprise would transform nature into the farmland most consistent with thoughts of Iowa today, row crops and expanses for livestock.

Oats, rye, barley, flour, timothy seed, clover, sorghum, potatoes and some vegetables were noted as “sure crops” for the county.

The first surveyors entered the county in the 1840s. These surveyors drew the first county lines, digging posts and mounds. Even after the survey was completed, these small stakes would be destroyed through natural means, either by the rotting of the wood, burning of prairie fires or destruction of mounds by gophers. Surveyors would have to reestablish these boundary lines regularly.

Prairie fires would frequently halt the first settlers. Dry prairie grass would be perfect for kindling fierce fires and would be fanned by winds across the prairie, frequently attacking homes and property. Settlers’ years of hard work and sacrifice to build their own lives could end in a couple hours if they weren’t careful. Fires could last days as it roamed across the prairie, leaving behind smoke and dust which would obscure the sun for days.

These early settlers adapted to this new predicament by plowing rows of furrows around their property and creating back fires to burn the grass against the wind, making it impossible for the fire to spread. Though the valleys were fertile, local water streams were poor for irrigation, further exasperated by the dry weather as they would lose what little strength they had.

Yet early settlers spoke of being enamored with the rivers of Union County, spotting beds of flowers and smaller wildlife along the coast. Wildlife could be industrious; local beavers built small dams in the river until their work ended upon falling into a trapper’s clutches.

Angling wouldn’t be too successful in these waters, but frequently offered a moment for recreation. Mills would be built along the stronger rivers, power grinders and crop crushers. The first of which would be built by the first Mormon settlers, placing their water mill on Grand River, the largest stream in the county.

The Mormons would establish many of the water locations’ names which are still in use today. Three Mile and Twelve Mile creeks would be named because they were three and twelve miles away from their settlement.

Union County was officially established in 1850 by the Third General Assembly in Iowa City. It went by a different name briefly as Mason County, after Judge Charles Mason. The Union name would be inserted after a committee opposed discrimination of men in the state, and to ensure the perpetuity of the Union following a recent compromise promising to alleviate the controversy of slavery.

The first township would be located in Afton, where Union County’s first participation in the state’s judicial system sealed the county seat. Three miles southwest of Afton was Highland, which rivaled the city for the county seat. Some thought Highland was a “better built and finer looking town.” A petition to change the county seat would later inspire a vote on which of the two towns would be the face of the county. Afton received 140 votes, and Highland received 125 votes.

When the vote reached Afton, Postmaster T.M. Robinson read out the results to a large crowd which had gathered at the post-office. Disgruntled members of the Highland faction became disheartened, with one of the leaders reportedly leaving the office and saying, “Boys, we are beat.”

It was in Afton where the county’s first courthouse was built, which also functioned as a church and school. A two-story frame building was built at a cost of $1,756.76. A new courthouse would be built in 1872, with the old lot sold and remodeled for a local business until it would be destroyed by fire in 1893.

In 1869, a new development in Union County took hold, much as it did across the horizontal line it created across southern Iowa. The Burlington & Missouri River Railroad was constructed through Union County, with a middle division station established in a town called Creston. As Creston began to grow from increased participation in the railroad, a clear west and east half of the county emerged.

Agitation grew as the new western half desired to move the county seat from Afton to Creston. Through 1887 into 1888, a two-story brick building would be constructed as a courthouse, before any decision was made to actually move the county seat to Creston. Tensions eventually culminated to an 1890 vote. In favor of Creston, 2,350 votes against Afton’s 1,641, county records would be relocated to its new home.

Over the years, the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad would shift and change as connections expanded. In 1870, the railroad was absorbed into the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. Portions of this railroad would slowly be merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad until fully merged in 1970. In 1996, one final merge declared the railroad as a part of the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway, with a rebrand in 2005 giving its name of BNSF Railway.

Secular spirit drove most early pioneers together, wishing to form societies of their own as they settled into their new lands. Most in their new towns would, after establishing their homes with roofs, build schoolhouses to educate each other and observe rule of law. Frequently, these schoolhouses would double as places for Christian worship.

Travelers who would arrive at a settlement would be welcomed, and would be introduced to the lands as encouragement for expansion. Communal work encouraged each settlement to work together for their survival. A butchered pig would have choice cuts sent to neighbors. Aid was provided for newcomers, often leading to a day where logs would be hauled and raised into a fully-functioning cabin. By the end of the night, a party would be held in the fully constructed home.

The railroad’s establishment would connect these communities together, providing communication and news of the world. Class would improve, luxuries became necessities and vanity could bring a settlement further prosperity. Often, these settlers would cling to their Christianity as a sign of civilization and what separated the settlers from barbarians.

From this point on, Union County grew. The railroad brought new enterprises as the towns adapted to the 20th century and a more union-focused agriculture business and work with other states came to be. This is the first part of a “then,” the first moment when Union County became more than a dream for many settlers and a continued home for the rest of time.