Iowa City Press-Citizen from Iowa City, Iowa • Page 19

Wednesday, October 15, 1975 Iowa City Press-Citizen 1 What's your history IQ? hf M.r Ha -1 1 I ill? ff 1 1 i vrtsi if) I M7Mt ground to the Old Settlers for their picnics in a wooded area, just a block from the business district and adjacent to the Methodist Church. This was called Walker Park and continues, to this day, under that name. The organization gathered some funds from members and in 1912 built a cement block house in the park, the cement block being processed at the cement block factory. Two years later, 1914, the association built a log cabin in Walker Park. It burned about 1963 and a second one was built, which still stands.

The Old Settlers' Association no longer meets, having been disbanded in 1970 when Robert Fountain kept the minutes. Other well known names in the association included Mrs. Mose (Edna) Fountain, Mrs. J.R. (Frances) Musser, E.D.

Porter, Gene Macgruder, Miles Atkin, Everett Buline. Walker Park is now owned by the county, and the Johnson County Conservation Board oversees it. The Methodist Church still is in Walker Park, though services are no longer held there. The River Junction Cemetery, just north of the Church, is rich in well-known Pleasant Valley and Fremont Township names. There is a long row, probably fifty yards of the graves of one family, the Mullinnex.

Among other well known names on the stones appear the Walkers, Macgruders, Sweets, Cos, Rayners, i Fountains, Mussers, Shelladys, Stovers, Hawthorns and Sims. River Junction has a second known as the River Junction Access Park. This is a quarter of a mile west of town, along the Iowa River where the tfCwSLSTd RWSUJTi ffCQJtfJTS tfi 15 i FOR CHRISTMAS? Now is the time! Family Portraits Children These five pioneers were all in the River Junction area in 1838. They are (from left, front) Jerry Stove, William Sweet and Caleb Sweet and (from left, back) William Kelso and John Kelso. old railroad bridge piers, and the wagon bridge piers are still visible.

This too is owned by the county, and also is maintained by the Johnson County Conservation Board. While River Junction, business-wise and commercially, is a ghost town, its nickname Stump Town, is as well, known after one hundred years as its real name. The nickname has lived longer than any other in the county. Individuals PHONE: 337-3331 4 S. LINN IOWA CITY "Qualify Portraits For People Who Care About People" China Flintridge Lenox Oxford Bowls Platters Assorted artware EDITOR'S NOTE: This is another in a series of articles about the Towns of Johnson County, and of other towns adjacent, which have been closely associated with the life and growth of Iowa City.

What do you know about them? Today's article is about RIVER JUNCTION which is rich in the history of the County. By IRVING B.WEBER A Burr Oak, stump three feet in 'diameter gave River Junction its nickname of "Stump one that has stuck for a century. Like so many of the colorful nicknames given towns in the early years, the name Stump Town carries a connotation of mystery and secrecy, as well as a certain charm not found in its official name, River Junction, The name, River Junction, was more descriptive of the actual location of the town than most of the names of towns in early Johnson County, though it lacked the romantic, high sounding name of the town ten miles to the north also on the Sand Road, Napolean, the first county seat, July 4, 1838. Miles Atkin who lived 84 of his 87 years on the same farm, nine miles south of Iowa City and two-and-a-half miles north of River Junction, remembered that the Burr Oak stump 'was at the end of the railroad "siding" at River Junction, and served as a for cars switched on the The stump was at the end of the siding from the time the railroad was completed in 1873. Atkin remembered particularly one occasion when his father "ordered" two cars to the "siding" so that he might important crop in Iowa in those early vears.

The two empty cars were switched off I as ordered. The senior Atkin got in one car to handle the brake, his helper in the other, and the station agent proceeded i .1 1 i iu uuicii uie cars wim a cruw uai iu get them in the proper place for loading. There was a slight grade at that point, aiiu lug vai ucgou lu iuu, i-ilhui cuiu 1110 helper began applying the brakes, but the brakes on both failed to function. The cars continued to gain momen-1 turn and with no way to stop them, both men jumped. When the trucks (wheels) of the first car hit the sturdy tree stump they stopped but the empty grain car continued and slid over, the stump before finally coming to a stop, River Junction, business-wise, is a i ghost town today; not a single business of the once thriving town is left there.

Nine families, about thirty people, are all that live there today. The two story imposing brick 5 business block that once housed a number of flourishing businesses is crumbling literally. The brick in the building were made at John Musser's brick yard close to the Iowa River. llAtkins recalled that the Musser bricks made of a clay with too high a sand content, and as a result were not able to withstand the rigors of Iowa Winters. The only occupant today of the almost 'y 'a block long brick building is Mrs.

W.J. (Anna) Houseal who occupies the only section of the building, with twelve cats, and a dog. 'l Mrs. Houseal and her husband, who in 1957, operated a general store in room where she now resides, from October, 1917, until well into the forties. The railroad tracks that carried so many car loads of stock and grain from River Junction to market have long been pulled out about the 1930's.

The railroad bridge over the Iowa -River has long since been removed and only the stone piers remain as a silent sentinel in memory of the trains that puffed in and out of nearby River Even the wagon bridge and road across the river are gone, with only the piers remaining as evidence. Highway 22 from Muscatine to Lone "Tree to Riverside and west ignores nnrl V-i noic hnnqn Atlrltl onrt Hit? River Junction, with only a spur, as it skirts the town half mile to the north, before crossing the river over a new "bridge. River Junction is located twelve miles south of Iowa City on the Sand Road. This is where the railroad built in 1873 crossed the Iowa River, and just above the point where the English from the west, flows into the Iowa. The town was on the east side of the river in Pleasant Valley Township and Washington County on the west side of the river at this point, i River Junction was made a town in 1873 by John and Louisa Porter.

Porter had been the first postmaster, appointed in 1850. The office then was as The first town in Johnson County had "been laid out in the Spring of 1837 at the point where River Junction later was -established. It was named See-Pee-Nah-Mo and was surveyed and platted and staked off by John M. Higley, the Indian Trading House man. Higley had come to the area in 1826, the first white man to tred the soil of Johnson County.

Higley later established the town of Napolean, but it, like See-Pee-Nah-Mo came to naught. There was a ferry established at River Junction in approximately 1857. It operated for well over a quarter of a century, and was first known as Odell Ferry. Later it was owned by Mrs. Porter and operated by John Douglass.

The railroad, the Chicago, Cedar Rapids, Northern, sometimes referred to as the Muscatine and Western in the early years, reached River Junction in 1873. The line originated at Muscatine, and at first only went as far as Riverside. Four years later the line from Iowa City, south, connected with it at Riverside. Iater the line was pushed west to Montezuma, and the coal fields at What Cheer. It was then often referred to as the Muscatine to Montezuma Line and the salesmen composed such a song as they rode the rails.

A number of years later the Rock Island purchased the line. H.B. McCullough was the first station agent for the railroad in River Junction and continued in that capacity until after the turn of the century. He was the grandfather of Ferndell Sims, present day Iowa Citian. Ms.

Sims mother, the daughter of McCullough, was the telegrapher at the station for a number of years. Telegraphy was the only method of communication along the railroad in those years, and vital to safe railroad operation. There was both passenger and freight' traffic from River Junction, with the latter being the heaviest and producing the most revenue. As the railroad prospered, business in the town likewise prospered. While the population was never great, the town served a large trade area and was both a commercial and a social center.

Atkins remembered RiveY Junction in its hey-day, when there were four grocery stores and a meat market. The grocery stores were operated by Eli Fountain; John Musser, who had operated the brick yard; Ed Porter, son of the original 1850 postmaster; William Kelso (including some hardware), who was also postmaster for four years. Ezra Walker operated the meat market, which is now part of a residence a quarter of a mile west. At this same time the River Junction Lumber Yard with Porter as manager was operating. There was a variety store, and a blacksmith shop.

There was a second brick yard southeast of the town operated by Frank Katzenmeyer, who was said to have lived in one end of his kiln. His supply of clay came from the William Kobes farm and made good quality bricks. Musser later moved his brick yard northeast of town where he secured better clay. There are a number of brick houses still standing in the town. One of the unusual businesses of the town, about 1900, was a Cement Block Factory operated by John Sloan and Edgar Fountain.

The blocks were used to build houses and a number were erected in that "period, several still standing in the town. That type of house did not prove satisfactory, tending to be damp. The blocks were eight inches square, sixteen inches long, and had two air spaces in each block to provide insulation against cold in the winter and heat in the summer. Some blocks also were made in a concave shape and were used in building silos. The old settlers of the south part of Johnson County had an association, which held a picnic and business meeting at River Junction for many years.

This was a different association from the county wide group that had been active in Iowa City from the earliest years. The Old Settlers' Association at River Junction started later, about 1908; though the Methodist Church had held an annual "Basket Meeting" from the 1890's until 1908. In 1910 Henry Walker gave a plot of "lW Cry River Junction assrsp THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 111 (hands) I zisesss Old Editions Snowflakes Spoons Towle-12 Days Chrstmas Series Reed Barton Christmas Crosses Christmas Plates and Mugs, Etc. Stainless Flatware Gorham Amphoria Cambridge Georgetown Hacienda Spanish Scroll Villa Costa Villa Noche Villa Tiarra AAontoro 338-7037 JEWELERS SINCE 1854 109 E. WASHINGTON 1 Selected Patterns in I Carrousel Glassware Gorham II I Brown GreV Xowle Gourmet Storeware I Reed Barton Sherwood International Orrefors Crystal Starfire Scenerio Espirit Karl-high balls Festival-Glade Green Festival-Blue Festival-Sunfire Melody PicniC-Cenyan Brown Lenox Crystal Blue Rhapsody Candleglow Georgetown Modern Profile Mystique Sentiment Silver Mist Sven Jansen Crystal Nyhavn Elsinore Stainless Thor Baldour Jette Stemware Althea Lisa Ursula Towle and Reed Barton Silverplated Flatware Dansk Mats and Napkins Candle Holders Wooden Items Miscellaneous I vjuuniici China Medallion Fleurette Pirouette Bouquet Wicker Graphics Blue Epoch Genesis Concentrics CUSTOM TAILORS BACK IN TOWN SALE THURSDAY, OCT.

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