|
The incorporated town of Armstrong is situated in the eastern part of
Armstrong Grove Township, on the Albert Lea & Estherville division of
the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad system, nineteen miles due
east of Estherville. When the railroad was built in 1892 it was known as the
Chicago & Iowa Western. The town was laid out by the Northern Iowa Land
and Town Lot Company, of which F. E. Allen was president and
S. L. Dows was secretary. On July 7, 1892, the plat was filed in the office
of the county recorder. It shows twenty-eight blocks, with a total of 518
lots, north of the railroad and five large outlots south of the tracks for
factory sites, etc.
Prior to the platting of the town a postoffice had been established at
Armstrong Grove. E. B. Campbell was the first postmaster and kept the office
at his residence on his farm. Mail was carried from Fort Dodge and later
from Bancroft by H.J. Felke. When the town was laid out the postoffice was
moved to the new village and Mr. Campbell became the first merchant in
Armstrong. He was succeeded as postmaster by George Stewart. The postoffice
has grown with the town. Three people are employed in the office and there
is one rural district which delivers mail to the inhabitants of the adjacent
rural districts. The present postmaster is Kaspar Faltinson, whose
commission was issued by President Wilson on June 6, 1913. The receipts of
the office for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1916, were a little over
$3,700.
On January 17, 1893, a petition was presented to the District Court
asking for the incorporation of Armstrong, to include certain territory in
the west half of Section 14 and the east half of Section 15, Township 99,
Range 31. The petition was signed by E. J. Breen, T. W. Doughty, E. J.
Boots, W. A. Richmond, James A. Colvin, Charles Ogilvie, T. L. Thorson, A.
W. Colvin, I. E. Davis, J. M. Gannon, J. F. Hutchins, J. Jenkins, Albert
Davis, A. Halder, O. A. Canfield, A. Loomer, D. T. Jenkins, C. B. Mathews,
J. T. Benson, W. T. Gannon, William Musson. L. L. Lawrence, B.F. Robinson,
James Duffy, J. A. Finlayson, S. M. Andrew, David Mitchell, George Stickney,
Jr., D. K. Hawley, W. L. Rairden, E. W. Darling and William Stuart. The
large number of signers gives some idea of the rapid growth of the town.
Judge George H. Carr, of the District Court, after considering the
petition, granted the prayer of the petitioners and appointed E. J. Breen,
Charles Ogilvie, B. F. Robinson, J. A. Finlayson, and A. W. Colvin
commissioners to call an election for the purpose of submitting to the legal
voters living within the territory to be included in the town limits the
question of incorporation. The election was held on March 13, 1893,
commissioners Breen, Charles Ogilvie, and Robinson acting as judges, and L.
L. Lawrence, and T. L. Thorson as clerks. The result was forty-seven votes
in favor of incorporation and only four opposed. Returns were made to the
District Court as required by law, and on April 6, 1893, the order for the
incorporation was formally issued and recorded. Meantime the following
officers had been elected: E. J. Breen, mayor; R. Gabriel, clerk; B. F.
Robinson, treasurer; George V. Davis, marshal and street commissioner; J. A.
Colvin, L. J. Rohde, E. J. Boots, George Stickney, Jr., J. L. Guest and T.
L. Thorson, councilmen.
Following is a list of the mayors of Armstrong, with the year when each
was elected: E. J. Breen, 1893; Kaspar Faltinson, 1894; B. F. Robinson,
1895; A. A. Reynolds, 1896; Charles Ogilvie, 1899; James A. Colvin, 1900;
Charles Olgivie, 1902; B. J. Dunn, 1904; H. A. Kingston, 1906; S. D. Bunt,
1908; Kaspar Faltinson, 1910; H. A. Kingston, 1914; W. W. Brooks, 1916.
The Armstrong Opera House was built by a company which was incorporated
on May 6, 1903, with a capital stock of $15,000, with William Stuart,
John Dows, J. L. Guest, George Stewart, N. Griffin, John Fleming and H. A.
Kingston as the first board of directors. By the erection of the opera house
Armstrong was provided with a place for holding public meetings and
entertainments.
On November 13, 1912, a petition was presented to the town council by the
Armstrong Cement Works for a franchise to establish an electric light plant.
The proprietors of the cement works offered to pay the expense of holding an
election to submit the question to the people. An election was accordingly
held on December 9, 1912, and the franchise was granted by a vote of nearly
four to one. The plant was completed and placed in operation in the spring
of 1913. An excellent system of waterworks had been installed some years
before.
In 1910 the population was 586. Armstrong has three banks all established
about the time the town was incorporated, churches of different
denominations, a good volunteer fire department, a weekly newspaper (the
Journal), two large grain elevators, a school building that cost $50,000, a
cement block and tile factory, a creamery, a number of well stocked
mercantile establishments, several minor business concerns and a score or
more fine residences. In 1915 the property of the town was assessed for
taxation at $311, 135.
-from www.rootsweb.com
|
Google Maps JavaScript API Example
|
