City of Monmouth

 

The city of Monmouth—the Maple City, as it is appropriately styled because of its many beautiful maple trees—covers the whole of Section of 29, and parts of Sections 30, 31 and 32 in Monmouth township (Township 11 north, range 2 west). The original site comprised only the southwest quarter of Section 29, and was selected by a commission of three appointed by the State Legislature, as is told more particularly in that portion of this work which refers especially to the early history of the county. The name Moamouth was given by the same commission, and the choice of name was made in a peculiar manner. After the site had been selected, three names—Isabella, Kosciusko and Monmouth—were put in a hat, the first name drawn to be the lucky name. Kosciusko was drawn, but the commissioners felt sure very few of the inhabitants could ever learn to spell the name, so it was decided to draw again, and Monmouth was the resulting choice. It is said the name was suggested in the first place by John McNeil of Fulton county, one of the commissioners, who in his earlier days had resided in Monmouth, N. J.

The town site having been selected, prepara­ tions were at once begun for laying out the future capital of Warren county. On April 25, 1831 , the plans were placed in the hands of Peter Butler, the lowest bidder for the contract, and he was directed to proceed with the surveys. The public square was located the next day by the commissioners. This survey was completed in about a month, and accepted by the county commissioners June 6. A number of lots were then put on the market and sold, and contracts for deeds given by the commissioners. Until the patent for the town site came from the general land office, no deeds could be given.

A new law in relation to the surveying of town sites, and requiring plats to be filed for record, was enacted in 1833, and the following year the county surveyor was directed to make a second survey and file the plat with the county recorder. This second survey was made and accepted by the commissioners June 2, 1834 , and the plat was recorded September 12. This survey changed all the numbers of the blocks and lots, making them as they are known now. This accounts for some of the discrepancies which are found in some references to lots and blocks in the earliest records.

The original town, or as it is known, the "Old Town Plat' as has been stated, occupied the southwest quarter of Section 29, in Township 11 north, range 2 west. This quarter is bounded on the east by what is now Sixth street , on the south by Fifth avenue , on the west by B street , and extends north to within five rods of Boston avenue . It is coextensive with the present First ward of the city, except that the north boundary of the ward is Boston avenue . The original plat contained a pub­ lic square and twenty-eight blocks. There were but two streets running east and west, viz: Broadway and Warren (now Second avenue ); and three running north and south, viz: Main street , West street (now B street ), and an un­ named street now First street. The last only extended south to Warren street .

July 9, 1836 , it was represented to the board of commissioners by W. B. Stapp and others that the survey of 1834 was not correct, and the board was asked to order a new survey. It was said that the streets running north and south were not true to the compass, and crossed the east and west streets diagonally instead of at right angles. The county surveyor was directed to make another survey, which was done the same summer. When this survey had been accepted the commissioners directed that stones be set on Main street and Broadway as permanent marks, as follows: At the northeast corner of lot 1, block 1; the southeast corner of lot 8, block 49, on Main street; and at the northwest corner of lot 4, block 22, and one southeast corner of lot 1, block 51, on Broadway. The stones were to be two feet in the ground, and to show not more than two inches above ground.

At the first the town site was owned by the county, and all the sales of lots and everything connected with the business of the future metropolis were under the control of the commissioners. As soon as the first survey was accepted, which was on June 6. 1831, a number of lots were sold at public auction. The buyers, the lots purchased (according to the present designation of lots and blocks), and the prices paid at the first sale, June 6, are as follows:

Purchasers- Chas. Dawson, Wm. Gibson, Wm. Gibson, Alex Davidson, Geo. Jones, Solomon Perkins, Wm. M. Davidson,Jas. Robison ,

Willis Peckenpaugh, Seth C. Murphy, Wm. Murphy, Reuben Riggs,Josiah Whitman, Michael Matheny, John Sellers, Adam Ritchie, H. E. Haley,

John Kendall, Robert Kendall, Peter Butler, Wm. Whitman, John E. Murphy, Matthew D. Ritchie, Francis Kendal lDaniel McNeil, Jr ,Daniel McNeil, Jr , Nathaniel Armstrong

The highest price paid was for the south lot on the present court house block—lot 6 of block 10—for which Francis Kendall paid $58; and the lowest price was for a lot on South B street between Broadway and First avenue, the one now occupied by Mayor W. A. Sawyer's elegant residence. It was bought by Jim Sellers for $4.06.

It seems that whenever the county treasury was a little short of funds, or someone wanted to buy a lot, additional sales were had. A half dozen lots were sold October 1, 1831; a dozen October 27: other small bunches September 3 and October 26, 1832, March 1 and June 14, 1833, June 2, 1834: and at a sale December 7, 1837, forty-five lots were sold. At these later sales the prices for lots ran higher than at the first sale, showing that people had begun to see in the bustling little town the promise of a great future.

When the first sale of town lots was made in June, 1831, the county commissioners, in order to encourage the speedy settlement and building up of the county capital, offered a discount of 12% per cent, on the price of each lot on which within one year a comfortable cabin or dwelling house, store, or mechanic's shop should be erected and finished suitable to live in. This did not seem to have much effect, however, as when winter closed in only six buildings beside the court house had been erected.

Very few of the early landmarks of the town now remain. Among the old buildings are a small frame cottage in the rear of the Joel block that once stood on the square where Joel's store now is. It is still inhabited, but ought not to be. Two other buildings stand on North Main street just north of the Douglass livery barn, the date of whose building is beyond the remembrance of "the oldest inhabitant." Garrison's inn, built in 1833, and used in recent years as a blacksmith shop, was torn down in 1898 to make room for Dr. J. C. Kilgore's residence and office. Other buildings recently removed were two that stood in the northwest corner of the square which were torn down in 1890 to make way for the Patton block. The oldest buildings now standing on the square are Speakman's candy kitchen and the McQuiston building, both in the southwest corner

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