History of Linn County Iowa Part 78

The first religious services were Methodist, held in the district school house, and their circuit riders came every two weeks. They organized a Sunday school and insisted on a union school. The Presbyterians, New School, effected the first organization in 1847 in Mr. Vardy's shop, corner Third street and Sixth avenue. They, too, wors.h.i.+ped in the school house. Dr. Ely read the sermons, but their first minister, Mr. Roberts, of Marion, was a Congregationalist. He was succeeded by Rev. W. Jones, before mentioned. The first Episcopal clergyman was Rev. James Keeler, who found an occasional opening for service in the school house, but soon came to using Miss Calder's school room for regular Sunday service.

WHEN LAND WAS DIRT CHEAP IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Real estate investments have always been successful and profitable in Cedar Rapids, and probably will always continue to be so. As shown in other articles, the land upon which Cedar Rapids is built was originally owned by five men, Judge Greene, Nicholas Brown, Addison Daniels, Wm. Sanford, and Alexander Ely. The division of the property was made in 1849 as is shown elsewhere, and it is from that time that most of the real estate transfers were made. All the gentlemen made fortunes from their speculations.

How these five gentlemen came to be possessed of all the land in the city of Cedar Rapids would make an interesting story, especially if the prices they paid for each lot could be secured. They doubtless bought up the claims for almost nothing. We get some inkling of how the lots came into their possession by a curious old doc.u.ment which was deposited by Mr. C. G. Greene with the curator of the museum for the semi-centennial week.

The property mentioned in it is the Grand Hotel corner, and this is a copy of it:

"Received, Cedar Rapids, Sept. 7, 1848, of John L. Shearer, one yoke of oxen valued at thirty-five dollars, in full for Lot 9 in block No. 23 in the town of Cedar Rapids.

"Geo. Greene."

But it appears that Judge Greene did not think he had a very great bargain, for only seven months later, in May of the following year, the county records show that this same lot upon which the Grand Hotel now stands, and forty feet additional, 120150 feet in all, was sold by Judge Greene back to John L. Shearer for $75. Up to 1865 it pa.s.sed through several hands, with slightly increased value, when it was sold by Henry McBride to Charles Weare for $1,100. Weare sold immediately to S. B. Fleek for $1,500, and Fleek sold it in 1871 to E. M. Greene for $9,000. In 1877 Greene sold 80140 feet to John T. Waterhouse for $10,000, and this property which originally brought $75, could not now be purchased, if unimproved, for less than $100,000. It is now held by a syndicate.

William Stewart originally owned the ground where the Cook & Laurance store used to be located. He traded an Indian pony for it in the early days, and held it until 1873, when he sold it for $7,500.

The property upon which the Calder buildings now stand, 60140 feet, was also originally owned by Judge Greene. He sold it to Alexander Ely, who sold it to Harvey Higley and Samuel Hook, and they in turn sold it, in 1850, to Frederick Miles for $82. Miles held it until 1875, when he sold it for $1,500. Mr. Calder's friends told him at the time that he was throwing his money away, but now it doesn't look that way, as the land unimproved would sell for many times that sum.

Where the Golden Eagle store is now located, 60140 feet was sold in 1848 by James M. Berry to Homer Bishop for $150. After pa.s.sing through several hands the ground was purchased by P. Mullally and W. W. and M.

A. Higley, who, in 1874, sold 60140 feet of it to John T. Waterhouse for $12,300.

The ground where George A. Mullin's store is located, 120140 feet, was sold by Mary A. Ely in 1853, to D. M. McIntosh, for $350. H. G. Angle bought it in 1854 for $600. It was afterwards taken by creditors, and was held by them until 1875, when it was sold to J. T. Waterhouse for $13,000.

These are cases ill.u.s.trative of the wonderful growth in the value of Cedar Rapids real estate. It will of course some day find its level, and will very probably go above it, but it is quite safe to say that just now it is worth all that is paid for it.

Every time a real estate transfer is made it is amusing to get an "old citizen" started, and have him bemoan his failure to invest a few dollars in a block or so twenty years ago, and hold on to it until the present time. If he had done so he would have been rich--but the trouble is he didn't do it.

Thomas McGregor, who was working for a Mr. Robinson in the fifties, was offered lots where the Quaker Oats plant is now located at $10 a lot, but needed the money to keep his family on as he got only 75 cents per day.

On arrival of the first steamer in Cedar Rapids lots were offered free to pa.s.sengers and crew in case they wanted to locate. Many lots were given away by real estate boomers in those days to increase the population of the city. Many of these lots were later lost because the owners thought so little of their value that they let them go to tax sales.

Property on Second avenue between Second and Fourth streets was then only residence property, sand hills, and the like. Now all of this has become valuable business property and is held at not less than $1,000 a front foot, and still going higher. These lots were sold less than fifty years ago at $25 a lot.

Property on Third avenue was even less valuable than property on Second avenue. With the location of the station here with the hotels, bank buildings, etc., lots are now selling at fabulous prices. With the advance of prices rents have also advanced. I. C. Emery some twenty years ago had the same location which he has recently gone into, and paid at that time about one-third of the rent he pays today. Rents on the ground floor in the Kimball building, the Ely block, the Dows block, and in others of the old buildings have gradually advanced in accordance with the advance in prices of the real estate holdings, and pretty much in the same ratio.

Large office buildings have been erected from time to time, and it has been said that the city would never demand such quarters. It has only been a little time till there has been a demand for more office and store buildings on a larger scale and these have been filled without any trouble.

The property where is located the Denecke building was once used for a livery stable, and the property on which is located the Magnus block was occupied as a dwelling house. These properties were traded back and forth for a song. The O'Haras finally snapped them up and began improvement and were thought at the time to be crazy. Mr. Denecke then began purchasing and the same was said of him. When Mr. Magnus made his purchase of the block in 1894, during the depression, they said he would never get his money out of it. Today he has been offered more than twice what he paid and refuses to consider the offer. The corner where the Security bank is now located had been sold and re-sold, and no one thought it worth anything, and when G. F. Van Vechten purchased a few feet for a bank location many years ago the people of the town still thought it impossible that this corner would be worth so much.

The bank later had to pay a handsome price in order to get ground enough to make the improvements desired, and would have made money by having bought much earlier. The Taft building was purchased by the late Judge Hubbard some ten years ago at $55,000, and is now worth twice that sum.

However old settlers say that for years real estate in Cedar Rapids did not move and it was a drug on the market, and the rents were not in ratio with the values. For years town lots were peddled about the town and traded for stocks of goods, for old horses, and other personal property, and it was always thought that the person who obtained the real estate got the poor end of the bargain.

William Stone, Osgood Shepherd, Thomas Gainer, David King, H. G. Angle, and others of the early settlers did not know what a mine they possessed had they only hung on long enough. Stone settled on the Iowa river and later left for Wisconsin, and Shepherd soon followed, all thinking he had made a good thing by selling his squatter rights to Brown and his friends.

Dr. E. L. Mansfield arrived in Cedar Rapids in 1847, going overland to California in 1850. He traded the west one-half of the block between Third and Second avenues west, and between First and Second streets for a rifle, which was considered a high price in those days. On this lot Dr. Mansfield erected a large dwelling house and lived there for many years. He purchased the lot on which the Whelihan drug store now stands for $600, and the lot adjoining many years later for $10,000, at what was then considered a very high price. Thus the property of 140 feet fronting on Second street and 120 feet fronting on Second avenue were purchased for less than $12,000, property which is now some of the most valuable in Cedar Rapids. Dr. Mansfield also held part of the property which was later purchased by the Cedar Rapids Savings Bank, and was held by him up to the time of his death. This had been purchased at an early day at low prices, when it was nothing but the cheapest kind of renting property.

A. C. Taylor, holder of much valuable real estate in Cedar Rapids, first owned the property where the First Christian church now stands.

He also purchased the property on First avenue near the Union block.

Mr. Taylor is the second oldest merchant in Cedar Rapids, and has not moved more than a block from the time he came here to locate in part of the postoffice on the alley where the Masonic Temple now stands. In speaking of rents, Mr. Taylor says that he has been surprised at the way rents have gone up year by year.

Osgood Shepherd, of whom it is said that he jumped Wilbert Stone's claim, held this claim till 1847, when he disposed of his squatter interest in what became Cedar Rapids to N. B. Brown, George Greene, H.

W. Gray, A. L. Roach, and S. H. Tryon for the sum of $3,000.

FIRST DECORATION DAY CELEBRATION IN CEDAR RAPIDS

FROM THE CEDAR RAPIDS REPUBLICAN, SUNDAY, JUNE 3, 1906

When was the first Decoration Day celebration in Cedar Rapids? That is a question which many might find it hard to answer, and the story of the preparations for that day and of the day itself is so interesting that it is well worth a place here. There were comparatively few graves to decorate on that occasion. Not many of those who fought in the war had pa.s.sed over the great divide in the year 1873, more than thirty years ago. Men whose heads are silvered and their steps trembling were then young and they marched firmly to the cemetery to take part in the exercises on that first Decoration Day. Since that time many of them have been laid beneath the sod and their comrades have done for them what they helped to do for others.

The day was made memorable by an eloquent and beautiful address by the late Judge Hubbard, a man who always loved the flag and the men who fought for it. Patriotism was one of the subjects that always lay nearest his heart.

[Ill.u.s.tration: S. C. BEVER]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THOMAS GAINER]

[Ill.u.s.tration: E. D. WALN An Early Settler]

[Ill.u.s.tration: REV. ELIAS SKINNER]

The first meeting to arrange for the Decoration Day exercises was held May 8, 1873. The Cedar Rapids _Daily Republican_ of the following morning has the following interesting account of the meeting:

"The meeting called for the purpose of taking measures to suitably observe Decoration Day, took place at the City Hall last night.

"It was called to order by A. D. Collier, Esq., upon whose motion J. H. B. Otto was elected president of the meeting.

"On motion of Hiel Hale, A. N. Neidig was chosen secretary.

"On motion of Mr. Collier, a committee of five was appointed to recommend names to the meeting for the various committees to be appointed to make preparations for that day.

"The following persons were selected as said committee:

"A. D. Collier, Geo. A. Lincoln, D. A. Dingman, P. H.

Francis, Hiel Hale.

"After some time spent in deliberation the committee reported the following names to be placed upon the several standing committees. They also reported names of persons as officers of the day, the whole report being adopted:

"President of the day, Capt. Wm. B. Leach.

"Chief marshal, Col. T. Z. Cook, with power to choose his own a.s.sistants.

"Finance committee, J. F. Charles, Capt. Otto, George Wynn.

"Committee on grounds, Ed. Thompson, Ed. b.u.t.tolph, J. I.

Calder.

"Flowers, L. M. Ayers, Geo. A. Lincoln, Geo. H. Rhodes, R.