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"Past 2 Present"
"Past
2 Present"
Mahaska County, Iowa
Books
-
The History of Mahaska County, Iowa /
Des Moines: Union Historical Co., 1878, 725 pgs. (Surname
list and Table of Contents)
-
Hedge, Manoah. Past and present of Mahaska
County, Iowa / Chicago: S.J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1906, 576 pgs. (Surname
list and Table of Contents)
Periodicals
Hawkeye Heritage:
Palimpsest:
Annals of Iowa History:
- History of Mahaska County (April 1868) TEXT Only
- History of Mahaska County (October 1868) TEXT Only
- History of Mahaska Co. (January 1869) TEXT Only
- History of Mahaska Co. (April 1869) TEXT Only
- Mahaska County's First School (October 1897) TEXT Only
MAHASKA COUNTY was embraced in the original
county of Demoine and was created in February, 1843. It lies in the
fourth tier west of the Mississippi River in the third north of the
Missouri State line and is twenty-four miles square containing five
hundred seventy-six square miles. It was named for the noted chief of
the Iowa Indians, Mahaska, which signifies "White Cloud." The
county is watered by the Des Moines, the North, South and Skunk rivers
and their tributaries, contains extensive deposits of coal and is well
supplied with native timber.
The first white settler in the county was Mr. Macbeth who, in
October, 1842, selected a claim one mile above the "Hardfish"
Indian village which then occupied the site of Eddyville. The cabin was
occupied some years by John B. Gray and family. The county was not
opened to white settlers until May 1, 1843, but scores of families were
camped near the line in April, and, when the last night of the month
came, rushed across the border to make a choice of claims. Among those
who made homes in the southern part of the county at this time were Dr.
E. A. Boyer, W. A. Delashmutt, John B. Gray, A. S. Nichols, and many
others. For months settlers flocked into the county selecting homes
mostly in the groves and along the timber belts which bordered the
streams.
In February, 1844, M. T. Williams was appointed
clerk and William Edmundson sheriff to organize the county. At an
election held in April the following county officers were chosen: A. S.
Nichols, William Stanley and Robert Curry, commissioners; William D.
Canfield, treasurer; William Edmundson, sheriff; William Pilgrim,
recorder, and John Cunningham, clerk. Commissioners chosen to locate the
county-seat made choice of a farm belonging to W. D. Canfield at a place
called the "Narrows" and gave it the name of
"Mahaska." The county purchased the farm upon which the town
was platted by David Stump, the county surveyor. At the suggestion of M.
T. Williams the commissioners changed the name of the new county-seat to
Oskaloosa.
In June, 1843, a town had been laid out by
William James on "Six Mile Prairie" which he named Harrisburg.
George W. Jones afterwards purchased the ground and changed the name to
Auburn. John W. Jones, his brother, who became State Treasurer, lived in
the town and owned an interest in the plat. A strong effort was made by
the proprietors to secure the county-seat.
The first mill in the county was built on
Muchekinock Creek by Joseph H. and John K. Bennett in 1843. Miss Semira
Hobbs taught the first school in 1844; and a church was organized the
same year by the Methodists at Six Mile Prairie. The Oskaloosa Herald
was established in July, 1850, by W. H. Needham and Hugh McNeeley.
The Des Moines Valley Railroad was the first built into the county.
Source: History of Iowa: From the Earliest
Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century by Benjamin F. Gue.
New York: The Century History Co. 1903 #
The items on this page are not for sale, but are
available to me to research your family tree
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