HISTORY OF AUDUBON
BEGINNING OF AUDUBON, IOWA
Figure 1 - Postcard dated 1911
Geographically, Audubon is situated on the southwest quarter of Section
21, township 80, range 35 west. It is in Leroy Township which places it nearly in
the center of Audubon County, only deviating a mile and a half from true center.
It stands on gentle hills which are not steep and in no way hinder building of
business or residence property.
Audubon County lies in the third tier of counties east of the Missouri River
and in the fourth north of the State of Missouri, contains twelve congressional
townships and has an area of 446 square miles. Audubon County was created by
an act of the legislature of 1851 out of the then large county of Keokuk. It was
named for John James Audubon, the great naturalist, who died in 1851 and who
may have traveled near this area on his last collecting trip along the Missouri
River in 1843.
The land upon which the city is situated was a part of the numerous tracts
granted the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad by the government. The
town was platted by the railroad on September 23, 1878. The city fathers decided
that the city should have the name of Audubon, also.
An article appeared in the October 19, 1905 issue of the Advocate-Republican
at the time Audubon celebrated its 27th birthday. Mr. E.J. Freeman, “the Father of
Audubon” gave access to a letter he had written in the fall of 1879, describing the
platting and first days in Audubon. It was sometime in August, 1878 that Mr.
Freeman accompanied J. L. Drew, the land commissioner and other officers of the
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HISTORY OF AUDUBON
Rock Island on a trip through the
valleys of the East Botna and Blue
Grass creek in this county. The
result was the selection of the
present site of Audubon about the
middle of September. Mr. Freeman
received a plat of the first
subdivision of Audubon for record,
and soon after directions were given
for a sale of the lots after due notice
had been given. On October 7, he
Figure 2 - Postcard of South Park from early 1900's
occupied the first building erected
on the town site which had been built by the company. On October 15, the first
lots were sold, and Mr. Freeman was much surprised to find that instead of
having but a few sales, at the close of the first day, they aggregated the sum of
$6,190.
D.W. Mathias, the Frahm Brothers and the Cloughley Brothers were all at
work on their future business houses before night of the first day. The first
improvements were expensive because all of the building materials had to be
hauled from Atlantic or Carroll. The railroad did not reach here until December of
1878, when Mr. Freeman’s office was used for a station, express office, land
agency, and a general assembly room for everybody. Soon a building was erected
for a station and accommodations were increased to a more comfortable and
convenient extent. The quarter section on which the town was built had been
valued by the assessor at $800; but at the end of three months the assessment
was placed at $90,000.
At the time the city of
Audubon was platted, Rutherford
B. Hayes was serving as the
president of the United States.
John H. Gear of Burlington was
serving as the governor of the
state, having been inaugurated in
January, 1878. The 17th general
assembly serving then enacted
Figure 3 - Postcard of Audubon’s main street 1914
several important laws which
increased the salaries of judges
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HISTORY OF AUDUBON
and
legislators,
reorganized the state
militia, and established
a state board of health,
passed a joint resolution
to vote on prohibition,
gave Negroes the right
to hold seats in the
general assembly.
Figure 4 - Park Hotel postcard from early 1900's
BRIEF BACKGROUND OF ETHELBERT J. FREEMAN
In 1867, eager to find for himself some of the new land further west of Illinois,
Freeman set out for Iowa. He came to Exira in 1867 and the following year settled
on 160 acres in Section 24, Leroy Township. In 1878, Freeman retained
ownership of the farm, but established residence for himself and his family in
Audubon. Freeman immediately became one of the most popular men in town at
that time. He was justly named “Father of Audubon” and has been referred to
thusly, since.
Freeman was first and foremost in most public, social and political affairs and
was renowned throughout the county. His influence was extensive and
controlling in many ways. He was prominent in incorporation of the town and
was its first mayor. Under his influence, the first school system was inaugurated
in Audubon. He was agent for the sale of the railroad lands and the town lots. He
helped establish lodges, the Grand Army post, band and drum corps, fire
department and the county fair. He was instrumental in installation of the city’s
water works and electric light plant and was the manager of both for many years.
He was a member of the band and drum corps and various Masonic lodges.
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HISTORY OF AUDUBON
FIRST RESIDENT OF AUDUBON
The land upon which the city of Audubon is
located was homesteaded by Ed Robinson. The
Robinson family had passed through the area while
traveling by covered wagon from Canada in 1858,
and staked the claim at that time, staying about a
year. Then they moved on to Nebraska, returning in
1871, seven years before the town was platted.
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
were built in 1878, after being granted 163,000 acres
of choice land. The railroad then claimed the land
which Robinson claimed. By living on the land over
five years, Mr. Robinson had Homesteader’s rights to
it. It was necessary for him to sell off parcels of it, as
Figure 5 - Captain Charles Stuart
land was needed for development by the city. The
family first lived in a dugout and later built a sod hut.
It was the custom of pioneer railroad builders when they knew they were
going to open a new section of county, to contact important people with capital
and ability, to serve as advance agents. They
planned for the development of the county by
making it attractive to settlers. Strategic points
were sought and the agent tried to stimulate
business around these locations even before
the railroad was built. These men were always
acquainted with company officials and well
informed concerning railroad planning. Charles
Stuart was serving as an advance agent. He
was an energetic, progressive and far-sighted
man when he first promoted the settlement of
the towns of Stuart and Adair, and later
Audubon. Captain Stuart came to Iowa with
Mr. Thomas S. Musson, who also settled in
Audubon County, and Mr. Grinnell, who
founded Grinnell College. The three men were
Figure 6 - Captain Charles Stuart and
life-long friends in Vermont. William McLaren,
bride, Lois Gray (going away picture)
another family friend in Vermont, came to
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HISTORY OF AUDUBON
Iowa and settled in Audubon County after Charles Stuart, and later named one of
his sons after the captain. The son was Charles Stuart McLaren who became a
practicing dentist in Audubon. George Gray, who platted the town of Gray in
1881, was a brother of Lois Gray Stuart, wife of Captain Stuart. Mr. Gray, who
also came from Vermont, was in the lumber, grain and coal business in the town
named for him, as well as owning several thousand acres of land in the area.
The first telephone in Audubon County was strung from the Stuart office in
Audubon out to his ranch near the Guthrie County line. The wire was hung on
trees and fence posts and passed the Musson farm. Mrs. Musson was the first
telephone operator, from her house, when more families hooked on to the line.
Mrs. Musson was also the first rural postmistress and delivered the mail by
horseback.
William G. Stuart, son of Captain Stuart, managed the family’s business
interests at Audubon until his untimely death in 1890 at the age of 34 years. Lois
Gray Stuart, Captain Stuart’s widow, then took charge of the business. In 1893-94
she founded the Corn Exchange Bank at Audubon, which continued with various
cashiers until 1907, when it was bought and merged in the Van Gorder First
National Bank of Audubon. In 1894 Lois Stuart organized the Stuart Bank at Exira.
After four years it was sold.
After Captain Stuart’s death,
Lois Stuart built the large home
known as the “Stuart Mansion” at
the corner of Chicago and East
Division streets in Audubon. She
was a most generous benefactor of
the Presbyterian Church at the time
the present building was erected,
matching each dollar subscribed
and then making up a deficiency at
the end.
Captain Charles Stuart died at
Figure 7 –Lois Stuart Mansion (today)
his home near Osceola, Illinois, on
June 9, 1889. His funeral and burial
services, in accordance with his wishes, were conducted in Audubon, where a
special train carried his family and friends from Illinois and Iowa. Captain Stuart,
Lois Stuart, and William G. Stuart are all buried in a family burial plot in the
northeast part of the Maple Grove Cemetery in Audubon.
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HISTORY OF AUDUBON
Figure 8 - Front of envelope dated 1913
Figure 9 - Back of envelope dated 1913
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