SIBLEY
The Sibley
townsite is situated on section 13, in East
Holman township. It was laid out by the land
department of the Sioux City and St. Paul
Railroad Company, in 1872, and subsequent
additions have been made, which are Chase's
addition and East Sibley addition—the
first by R. J. Chase and the last by
several different parties, among whom are
Jacob Brooks, H. S. Brown, Mrs. C. I. Hill,
Wilbern Brothers, G. W. Measder and others.
The first building erected on what is now
the townsite was by F. M. Robinson,
in the fall of 1871. The town was first named
Cleghorn, and afterwards changed to Sibley,
named after Gen. H. H. Sibley, of St.
Paul. The Robinson building was on
the shack order, and in which John L. Robinson,
with his son, Frank, lived during the
winter of 1871 and 1872; also, W. H. Rogers
put up a store building, and this, with the
Robinson building, constituted the
town of Sibley that first winter. In the spring
of 1872 a fellow by the name of Ward
had a small building near Roger's store,
and in which he kept a saloon. These buildings,
on the start, were on what is Tenth street,
the street where the old Pioneer hotel
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building now stands, and this
point, then, was expected to be the centre
of business, and was, until the fire hereafter
mentioned, when the town formed another location
north of that, and where the business part
of town now is. Just before the railroad reached
the townsite, D. L. McCausland hauled
lumber form Mountain Lake, Minn., and put
up a residence on the townsite, and this was
the first residence building. After the road
had been built into Sibley, in June, 1872,
J. T. Barclay obtained lumber out of
the first brought in, and immediately put
up a residence, which he still occupies with
his family. After McCausland got his
building up he used it for a boarding house,
and J. F. Glover, John Hawxshurst,
with many others, were his boarders. The house
was two-story, and in the hurry of its erection
stairs were neglected, so that cleats were
nailed on the studding for steps to get up
and down. All who have had experiences as
pioneers know how its out-door life, its expectations,
and all its ambitious surroundings, bring
health to the cheek and puts one in the best
of physical condition; and the result of it
all, an enormous appetite. McCausland's
boarders became so ravenous, so anxious for
their meals, and in such extraordinary quantities,
that it kept Mc on the go to keep up
with the demand. It is a wonder that it hadn't
broke Mc up in business, for no doubt
there were some who never missed a meal and
who never paid a cent.
The town did not get
fairly started until in the summer of 1872,
after the Sioux City and St. Paul Railroad,
now the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and
Omaha, reached the town site, which was June
1, 8172. Soon as the road-bed was in shape
for hauling, lumber came in, and the first
sales made were by Levi Shell, who
then established a lumber yard, and has continued
in the business since, and is still here.
Quite a number of business houses and residences
were erected during that year; also the court
house and a school house. The Sibley Hotel
was also built that year, and in the Sibley
Hotel barn, then just completed, was held
the exercises on the Fourth day of July, which
was the fist celebration had on the town site.
L. S. Fawcett, of Sioux City, delivered
the oration, and John H. Douglass was
captain of the whangdoodles. This day is remembered
by the old settlers as a very cold one, making
an overcoat quite comfortable. Sibley, in
1872, had the usual air and appearance of
Western towns in their first starting. These
are generally characterized by a feeling of
independence and a freedom to act unrestrained
by the settled ways of
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society and of social and religious
organizations. It took the balance of that
year (1872) for the men to get squared around
with buildings for business and residences
for their families. In 1873 the substantial
conditions of society prevailed in Sibley
and the usual town societies came into existence.
In March, 1873, the town was out of coal owing
to the snow blockade, and people burned what
they could get hold of until the blockade
was lifted. E. L. Kinney, who died
March 2, 1875, was the first landlord at the
Sibley Hotel, and he is remembered by the
old settlers not only as a first-class landlord,
but as one of the best of men.
The I.O.O.F. lodge was
started in May, 1873, and among its first
officers were: W. W. Cram, treasurer;
J. T. Barclay, R.S.N.G., and J.
H. Douglass, R.S.S.
In June of that year
there was considerable rain, and the mud was
so deep that lumber was rafted down the Otter
to build bridges at Doon.
Some of the business
men at Sibley then who are still here are
Brown & Chambers, Robert Richardson, P.
A. Cajacob, D. L. McCausland, J. T. Barclay,
J. F. Glover, W. C. Grant, H. L. Emmert, Levi
Shell, S. H. Westcott, David Littlechild,
S. S. Parker, C. M. Mandeville, George Carew,
W. R. Lawrence, Augustus O'Neill, A. W. Mitchell,
W. J. Miller, J. P. Hawxshurst.
In May, 1873, David
Littlechild purchased a photograph gallery,
and in his announcement said to the ladies:
“Come and secure the shadow ere the substance
fades.” This was in the days of Dave's
youth and modesty, when he was content with
the shadow, but since then, in his increasing
years of bachelorhood, he has been looking
for the substance.
David Littlechild
was also in the livery business in 1872. This
business required considerable driving, and
Dave was more than once out in a blizzard
when his life was in danger. In driving once
from Spirit Lake to Sibley, a fearful snow
storm overtook him; the weather was extremely
cold, and he was unable to tell exactly where
he was or where he could find shelter. Fortunately,
he was near the house of D. H. Boyd,
near Ocheyedan, and saw it in a lull of the
storm, and remained there until the blizzard
was over.
A. W. Mitchell
established the first genuine furniture store,
J. A. Cole was about the first druggist,
and L. Garner about the first harness
shop.
The substantial lawyers, at that time, were
J. T. Barclay, Hugh Jordan, J. F. Glover
and R. J. Chase. Mr. Barclay
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retired from the practice several
years ago for other business interests. Hugh
Jordan died in 1887, and R.
J. Chase moved to Sioux City in November,
1874, where he is still in practice. Mr. Chase
purchased eight acres on the north side of
Sibley, and laid out an addition, which now
is well settled with fine residences. The
writer knew Hugh Jordan well, and was
interested with him in several litigated cases.
He was a good lawyer, a prince of good fellows,
a good citizen, and indulgent to his family
and kind to all. D. D. McCallum studied
law with Mr. Jordan, and was admitted
in 1878.
Wilbern Brothers
were first in the agricultural implement business,
and in the spring of 1873 retired from that,
and opened a general store.
In 1873, Robert Richardson
had a meat market, and P. A. Cajacob
also opened up in the same business in the
spring. Mr. Richardson started in 1872.
July 4th of that year,
1873, the people of Sibley had a celebration,
which was largely attended. C. I. Hill
was president of the day, L. G. Ireland,
marshal. Mr. Jordan read the Declaration,
and J. F. Glover delivered the oration.
Porter P. Peck and C. I. Hill
were on the finance committee, and, having
realized quite an amount on paper, they expended
considerable of their own money, and at last
had to foot many of the bills. They came out
in article in the paper afterwards and roasted
the delinquents severely. They forgot the
old admonition that the time to take up a
subscriptions when the coffin is being lowered
into the grave, as waiting after the funeral
is over is a dangerous chancing of contribution.
Mr. Peck came
to Sibley in 1872, and was for a while in
business there under the firm name of Wetherell,
Peck & Co. He is now a capitalist in Sioux
Falls, and is mayor of the city.
In July, 1873, a severe
wind storm swept over Sibley, scattering lumber,
blowing down a few barns, and carrying away
the store signs.
Charles Armbright
was Sibley's first barber, and he was also
at that time leader of the Sibley band.
A military company, called
the Osceola County Guards, was organized in
1873, with Robert Stamm orderly.
The Methodist Episcopal
Church was dedicated December 18, 1874. The
services were conducted by Rev. R. H. Webb,
assisted by Rev. John Webb. There was
an indebtedness of $400, and this was raised
at the dedication. The Congregational Church
was dedicated November 29, 1874, the services
conducted by W. L. Colman.
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July 4,
1874, was also celebrated. The president of
the day was C. I. Hill, H. Jordan delivered
the oration, J. F. Glover read the
Declaration, and C. M. Bailey was marshal.
On the 7th day of November,
1873, Sibley was visited by fire. It started
in the rear of Barber & Lawrence's
drug store, and the cause of it was either
from a stove in the back part of the building
or by an incendiary. The losses, as then estimated,
were: Barber & Lawrence, $900;
A. H. Clark, groceries, $600; H.
C. Kellogg, store, $1,200; Kelley &
Walrath, dry goods, $1,244; J. A. Cole,
drugs, $2,000; Wilbern Bros.', stock
$1,100. This fire was a hard blow on Sibley
then, but most of the losers soon rebuilt
and were soon in business again.
C. L. Davidson,
one of the prominent men of the Northwest,
who was an early settler in Sibley, now resides
in Sioux County. W. L. Parker established
himself in the drug business at Sibley in
1874. D. L. Riley, now at Iowa Falls,
put in a grain warehouse in 1872; also a lumber
yard with W. C. Grant. D. M. Shuck
was also in the lumber business.
Sibley was incorporated
as a town in the spring of 1876. Its first
officers were:
Mayor—D. L. Riley.
Trustees—C. L.
Norton, C. E. Brown, D. Cramer, H. S. Brown,
H. L. Emmert.
Recorder—George
S. Murphy.
The first banking house
was started by H. L. Emmert and C.
I. Hill in 1873. Mr. Hill retired
in 1874.
C. I. Hill was one of
the early settlers in Sibley, and died a few
years ago. He was a man of sterling integrity,
of much public spirit, and he was a man much
missed by the people of Sibley when he died.
His widow still lives here.
Rev. W. W. Mallory,
a Methodist preacher, here in the seventies,
was a man of strong, vigorous expression,
yet of sincere convictions and an upright
life.
On the 21st of December,
1878, John
L. Robinson celebrated his golden
wedding. Mr. Robinson and his wife
are still living at Sibley.
Dr. J. M. Jenkins
was Sibley's first physician, in 1871, though
Dr. Gurney, holding down a claim near
here, was also in practice. Dr. Churchill
was also here in 1871, and Dr. Mellin
in 1872.
The Sibley Gazette
was started in July, 1872, by L. A. Barker.
In May, 1873, he sold to Riley & Brown,
who a few months after sold to E. H. Craig
and John F. Glover. Mr.
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John Hawxshurst then
succeeded Mr. Craig, and with Mr. Glover
published the paper. Mr. Glover retired,
and Mr. Hawxshurst was sole proprietor.
It was then Edwards & Reed, then
Reed & Glover, then Glover,
then Glover & Hawxshurst, then
George Carew. Afterwards it was Perkins
& Foster; then the paper returned
to Mr. Carew again, who retained its
ownership until 1891, when the paper was sold
to Ward & Co., who in turn sold
to the Gazette Publishing Company, who are
its present proprietors, under the name of
J.
A. Flower. It is the fist paper published
in the county, and is Republican in politics.
In 12878, Sibley had
seventy scholars in its schools—forty-four
in the higher department and sixteen in the
primary.
The Sibley Tribune
was started by Charles E. Crossly;
then Dennis bought in, and in 1884
W. P. Webster bought Crossly
out. In November, 1890, G. L. Caswell
purchased Dennis' interest, so that
the present proprietors and publishers are
W. P. Webster and G. L. Caswell,
under the firm name of Webster & Caswell.
It is a six column quarto, and is a Democratic
paper, but not extremely partizan.
The history of Sibley
would be incomplete without a mention of Hon.
Stephen Miller, ex-governor of Minnesota
and who was, when Sibley started, representing
the land department of the Sioux city and
St. Paul Railroad Company, and had personal
control of the townsies along the line of
the road in northwest Iowa. He was an intellectual,
honest, noble man. His occasional visits to
the different towns always found the old settlers
ready to greet him warmly, and he was highly
respected by all, and died in 1880. He is
buried at Worthington, Minn. It wouls also
be incomplete without a mention of Gen. J.
W. Bishop, who was the manager of the
above named railroad and for whom any fulsome
praise is unnecessary, as his standing, his
character, and his business integrity, are
too well known and too well remembered by
all of us of the early days. The business
men of Sibley, early in the seventies, had
a hard time of it, as well as did the homesteaders.
The settlers were poor, generally so by reason
of being poor when they came here, and then
by grasshoppers suffered a failure of crops
afterwards. It was hard to refuse them credit
altogether, and a great many were carried
along on book account, expecting each year
to realize a harvest.
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Those of the settlers who staid
here were, after a while, able to meet their
obligations, while others gotout of the country
in the darkness of night, driven to desperation
in their condition of poverty and debt, and
of course the business men of Sibley in all
such cases were losers. Others went away in
broad daylight, after infroming their creditors
of their inability to pay, and making promises
for the future. Many of these, as the years
went by and the debt became ancient, were
after awhile indifferent, and, even with the
best of intentions originally, never paid.
The merchants, of course, were the losers.
Sibley in its present
condition is a town of about fifteen hundred
inhabitants. It is the abode of considerably
wealth, is a very fine business point, and
of high social character. It has the best
of educational facilities, is a peaceable
town, has very fine residences and commanding
brick business houses.
Of its banks, are the
First National, capital $50,000; C. E.
Brown, President; H. L. Emmert,
cashier; directors, L. Shell, R. S. Hall,
N. Boor, C. E. Brown, H. L. Emmert.
There is also the Northwestern
State Bank. It has a capital of $75,000, and
its last quarterly statement shows cash deposits
amounting to $264,695.62. J. W. Orde
is president, E. Baker, vice-president,
L. Dawn, cashier. 
IOWA LAND COMPANY (LIMITED.)
This company was organized early
in the eighties, principally by the Close
Bros., who several years ago left the county
and ceased to operated in Northwest Iowa.
Its business here is now managed by C.
W. Benson and Ker
D. Dunlop, both of whom are men of
the highest business integrity and gentlemen
in every sense of the word. This company,
without question, has advanced the business
interests of the town and the settlement of
the county. they have opened up farms, brought
settlers in, and given opportunities to men
withoutmeans to work and raise crops and become
land owners themselves. During thier business
career here they have foreclosed only one
mortgage, and this was for the purpose of
settling title, in which the mortgagee himself
had an interest. They have erected substantial
brick buildings in the town, and their investments
here have been a benefit to all as well as
profitable to themselves. John H. Douglass
is connected with this land company in certain
departments of its business.
