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The following is an excerpt from
The History of Stacyville, Iowa: 1856-2006*.
No part may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission
of the author. Contact her at
cherylmu@netins.net
Native American tribes pre-dated the arrival
of European settlers in the area that would become Stacyville. The Dakotas,
also known as the Sioux, hunted in the area. Other tribes mentioned in
historical accounts are the Sauk and the Fox. One story relates that
friendly Indians of the Sauk tribe camped along the Cedar River near the
early Stacyville settlers. According to the story, the Indians occasionally
came to the homes of the settlers to ask for food and reportedly they were
especially fond of pancakes and milk.
According to the 1918 History of Mitchell
and Worth Counties, Iowa, "The only Indians seen in this county after
white men settled here were the few roving bands of Winnebago and Tama City
Indians, who used to make their annual hunting trips through this part of
Iowa. They sometimes camped weeks at a time along the streams of this and
adjoining counties, both in the fall and spring of the year. But these
Indians were friendly to the whites and but little difficulty was ever
experienced between the two races."
In 1851 the Sioux signed over the area that
would become Stacyville to the U.S. government. This treaty was significant
because it was the last treaty in which Native Americans surrendered Iowa
soil to the United States. Other areas of the state had been ceded in
previous treaties.
After
acquiring the land, the U.S. government surveyed the area and auctions were
conducted. Government land offices were set up to accommodate the sale of
government lands. In 1855 an office was opened in Decorah and in 1856 an
office was opened in Osage as a branch of the Decorah operation.
Typically when the U.S. government acquired
land from the Indians it was distributed in a variety of ways. The two most
common methods were through sale to private individuals and through military
bounties. Private individuals had to pay cash. Veterans who fought in wars
or Indian skirmishes were often given land warrants with their discharges at
the time of separation from the service. They could trade their warrants for
land in the western territories. Some of the land around Stacyville was
awarded to veterans for service during wars such as the U.S.-Mexican War
(1846-48).
In 1851 when the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands
of the Sioux tribe ceded the last of their lands in the area that would
become Stacyville to the U.S. government, the families who would eventually
arrive in the area to settle were living in other parts of the country. In
1851 Adam and Christina Blake lived in McHenry County, Illinois; Nicholas
and Mary Hemann were farming in McHenry County; and in 1851 Homer Stacy was
farming and operating a store and lumberyard in Dover, Illinois.
By 1855 the state of Iowa was only nine years
old and these hardy entrepreneurs were looking westward toward opportunities
in the northern part of the young state.
*Read more about the
history of Stacyville by ordering your copy of
The History of Stacyville, Iowa: 1856-2006.
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