File:Annals of Iowa (1899) (14584516480).jpg

Identifier: annalsofiowa04howe (find matches)
Title: Annals of Iowa
Year: 1899 (1890s)
Authors: Howe, Samuel Storrs, 1808-1888 Parvin, Theodore Sutton, 1817-1901 Lloyd, Frederick Huff, Sanford W Aldrich, Charles, 1828-1908 Harlan, Edgar Rubey, 1869-1941 Iowa. Division of Historical Museum and Archives State Historical Society of Iowa Iowa. Historical Dept Iowa. Historical, Memorial, and Art Dept
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Publisher: (Des Moines, etc., Iowa State Historical Dept., Division of Historical Museum and Archives, etc.)
Contributing Library: Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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erve to other times clear ideas of what it wasand the purposes of its establishment. It is also seen that some of the company officers, then butrecently from the Military Academy, afterward rose to highrank during the civil war. And we have glimpses of indi-vidual pioneers who later on bore prominent parts in thesettlement of the capital city and county. The frontispiece—a ground plan of the military post—^was engraved from acopy of the original plan of the fort on file in the War De-partment. The other engraving is the residence of Lieut.William N. Grier, and is without doubt the first houseerected within the limits of the present city of Des Moines. A statement is made on page 164 which seems somewhatconfusing. It was decided by Gen. Winfield Scott to lo-cate a detachment of troops directly on the reservation,within a few miles of the agency buildings, and on the DesMoines River, a short distance below the Raccoon Fork, atthe site of what was then the town of Fairfield, Iowa. We
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EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT. 227 are so accustomed to think only of the enterprising capitalof Jefferson county when the name Fairfield is mentioned,that a question at once arose as to the frontier town bearingthe same name, but neither in local records nor in the recol-lection of the oldest inhabitant, could a trace of it befound. It is within the range of probability that some beau-tiful spot in the broad valley of the Des Moines, and withina few miles of the present capital, may have been for a timefancifully so called: or, a town may have been located andlaid out which never progressed beyond an aggregation ofstakes. Stake towns were often met with on the prairies,where a tract had been surveyed into streets, alleys and lots,remaining in that condition, without change, until yearsafterward it would be given up to farming purposes. Nomore opprobrious epithet could be applied to a rival countyseat forty to sixty years ago, than to call it a stake town.In the course of years the name given

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