|
History of Reading Township
Angie Elder Ferguson was
the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Elder, pioneer
settlers in the Ireton area.
In 1934, the Ireton
Ledger published her account of the History of
Reading Township. The "morgue" of
the Ireton Ledger burned and this account was believed
to be lost.
Fortunately Mrs. Ferguson
maintained a copy of these clippings. In 1975, her
daughter, Mrs. Harry Imray provided the newspaper of the
day, the Ireton Booster with the scrapbook.
In honor of the nation's Bicentennial, the Booster
republished the articles in serial format beginning in
October, 1975 and ending in September, 1977.
The Booster
published the articles in 51 segments as space
permitted. We have scanned them and combined them
into longer segments. Occasionally it seems as
though some information may be missing. This is
the manner in which they were provided to the Booster
and to us. We are grateful to Cindy Groom Harry
and Sandy Groom Meeks, daughters of Booster
owners & publishers, R.C. and Pat Groom, for their
permission to republish the articles here.
Thanks to the Sioux County
Newspaper Archives, we have now been able to add
Segments 23-25. There still may be some portions
missing.
We hope that you enjoy
reading Mrs. Ferguson's account of the early days of the
Ireton area!
You will need an Adobe
Reader to view these files. If you do not have
one, you can download it for free at:
Get Adobe Reader.
You may need to use your zoom in and zoom out to read
these articles - we apologize for the inconvenience.
The Following Photo is
Taken From The
1908 Sioux County
Atlas:
Photo in PDF
Segment 1:
Introduction and Description of Mrs. Ferguson's
ancestors (Marshall Elder and others) travels to Sioux County in Summer, 1870;
purchase of homestead lands; return to Central Iowa for
winter and return to Sioux County in Spring; other
homesteaders; Severe Winter in 1871-1872
Segment 2: First School; First Death Among
Homesteaders; Relation with Southwest Sioux County; Band
of Frieslanders (Dutch) establish colony in Sioux
County; County Seat Moved; First Crops; Claim Jumping;
Mail Route Established; Oldest Settler; Reading Township Organized;
Grasshoppers; Abandoned
Claims; Indian Scare; Nature's Provisions; Prairie
Fires; Fellowship of Early Settlers
Section 3: Capitalists come to Sioux
County - Close Brothers buy land in Reading Township and
first house built in Ireton; 9 School Districts
organized in Reading Township
Segment 4:
Small Pox Epidemic; Marriages and Land
Ownership changes; Murder Victim Found; Other Trials and
Hardships of 1881-1882
Segment 5:
Relationships among Reading & Washington Township
settlers; Washington Township "Recruits"; Commercial
Center develops in Reading township; New Town (Ireton) a
boost to both Reading and Washington Townships
Segment 6:
Changes in Land Ownership
Segment 7:
Disposal of land originally set aside for
schools; Section 32 had no descendants of original
settlers left in 1934; Early teachers; Status of land
originally purchased by M. M. Elder
Segment 8:
Death of Mrs. Ferguson's mother; Woman Pioneer Mary
Houlton; Settlers who purchased Close Bros. land
Section 9:
Settlers who invested in odd-numbered sections
Segment 10: Tragic
Incidents
Segment 11:
Center Township organized; Center Township first
settlers; Church erected; Livestock pastured on open
range; Effect of fenced-in farms on roads
Segment 12: Center Township Early
Recruits; Respective Township Values Similar
Segment 13:
Families with land in more than one township
Segment 14:
Center Township Recruits had high ambitions;
Tri-township interest in high grade livestock; Livestock
to fairs; Poultry Industry; Town of Ireton laid out in
1882; First Businessman
Segment 15:
Post Office; Shoe Repair; Residence Apartments; First
Residence in Ireton; First Child Born in Ireton; First
Hotel; Lumber; Carpenter; Contractor
Segment 16:
Livery Barn; First Store Remodeled; Harness Shop;
Blacksmiths; Mason; Tinners
Segment 17:
Furniture Store; Hardware Store: Farm Machinery;
Methodist Church moved; Physicians
Segment 18:
Schools
Segment 19:
Launtz Post of the G.A.R. organized
Segment
20:
Water Supply; Machinist; Bank of Ireton;
Photographer; Newspaper
Segment 21:
Jeweler; Second Hotel; Carpenter
Segment 22:
Painters & Decorators; Conclusion in Booster
Segment 23: Specialists Keep Pace With
Town's Progress; Millinery Stores; A City Hall; Early
Settlers Blessed with Beautiful Attitudes of Older
Pioneers; Women's Early Activities
Segment 24:
Seamstresses
Segment 25:
Musicians
Segment 26:
Conclusion in the Ireton Ledger
|
