Surveying Johnson County’s Cedar Township – September 1843.

In an earlier post, we looked at a rare July 30, 1840 postal letter sent to Stephen B. Gardner – Clerk for the Johnson County Board of Commissioners. That letter was written by three men: Commissioners: Cyrus Cox, A. H. Haskell, and Surveyor: I.B. Davis and it dealt with the surveying of the first six miles of the very first road running from Bloomington (Muscatine), Iowa into Iowa City. More details here.

This time, we fast forward to September 25, 1843 (see above), and we, once again, have a rare postal letter, this time addressed to three early Johnson County pioneers – Julius Brown, Warner Spurrier and James Buchanan – which, like our earlier letter, eventually ends up in the Iowa City office of the Johnson County Clerk – Stephen B. Gardner. Once again, like our earlier letter, this rare postal cover deals with the surveying of land – this time by Surveyor William McCormick – with the plan of building a road (see map below right) that 1) begins at Coon Creek in Cedar County (located directly to the east of Johnson County), 2) moves north and westward over the Cedar River at Sutliff’s Ferry, 3) continues south and west through Johnson County’s Cedar Township, and finally 4) hooks up with Dubuque Road (today’s Highway 1 just south of Solon, Iowa).

So, before we look, in detail, at the letter, allow us to fill in a few details…

The surveyor and author of this letter – William McCormick – was a civil engineer and an early surveyor in Iowa Territory. McCormick also became Johnson County’s first probate judge – elected in October 1840, and was a member of Dr. Henry Murray’s medical firm – Murray, McCormick & Swan – in Iowa City.

The recipients of this letter – 1838 Johnson County records list James Buchanan as an early settler in Big Grove Township. Warner Spurrier shows up in the 1840 U.S. Census for Johnson County, and, we believe, Julius Brown might be a son or close relative of Edwin Brown, cattleman in Cedar Township (1840). All three men would have a strong vested interest in seeing a road run from Cedar County (directly to the east of Johnson County) to Brown’s property on Dubuque Road (to the south and west of the land these men owned).

The Johnson County Clerk who records the details of this letter – Stephen B. Gardner – lived in Iowa City with his family during the 1840’s and 50’s. The 1850 US Census – Iowa City – Johnson County – shows: Stephen B. Gardner, age 46, clerk of District Court, born in N. Carolina; Margarett, age 52, born in Maryland; Barbary Nickols, age 12, born in Pennsylvania. Read more about Stephen B. Gardner and his work with Judge Joseph Williams of Bloomington.

So, now – let’s get to the letter…

(***JP-0106***) Below is the main content of **William McCormick**‘s letter, which as you can see, also draws out a rough surveyor’s map (on the left) that visually offers the same information found in the letter…

***To Julius Brown, Warner Spurrier and Jas. Buchanan. (Gentlemen)***

I hearby transmit to you the Return and Plat of the above road viewed and located by your (Honorable) Body – commencing at Coon Creek on the line dividing Johnson & Cedar Counties, thence south eighty three & a half West twenty Perches, thence south 69½ West 212 Perches, thence N 73 West 122 Perches, thence N 41 W 34 Perches, thence N 20 W 82 Perches, thence N 41½ West 66 Perches, thence N 34½ West 34 Perches, thence N 17 W 30 Perches, thence N 20½ E 30 Perches, to Sutliff’s Ferry on the Cedar River, thence N 57 W across River 30 Perches (width of River 22 Perches), thence S 85½ W 46 Perches, thence N 81½ W 198 Perches, thence S 35½ W 276 Perches, thence S 316 14 Perches, across ravine, thence S 31 W 208 Perches, thence S 25 W 338 Perches, thence S 36 W 174 Perches, thence S 43½ W 178 Perches, thence S 35½ W 266 Perches, thence S 79½ W 58 Perches, thence S 22½ W 154 Perches, thence 34¾ W 140. Thence S 47 W 138 Perches to the intersection of Edwin Brown’s Rail Road with the Dubuque Road.

I hereby certify the above to be a true plat and return of the County road viewed and located by your [illeg ink stain] (Honorable Body). Given under my hand this 25^th day of September AD 1843. Wm McCormick, Surveyor

**What is a Perch?** A “perch” is a unit of land measurement, also known as a rod or pole. It’s a unit of both length and area, with a square perch (or square rod) being a unit of area. A perch is roughly equivalent to 25.29 square meters. A perch is standardized to equal 16.5 feet or 5.5 yards. A square perch (or square rod) is a unit of area equal to a square with sides of one perch (or rod) long. This is equivalent to 30.25 square yards or 25.29 square meters. 160 perches (square rods) equal 1 acre.

The pic (above left) shows the dividing line between Johnson County (left) and Cedar County (right). The proposed road was to begin near Coon Creek which empties into the Cedar River at the dividing line of the two counties. The pics (below) lay out the route of the proposed road, which 1) begins at Coon Creek in Cedar County, 2) moves north and westward over the Cedar River at Sutliff’s Ferry (site of today’s Sutliff Bridge), 3) continues south and west through Johnson County’s Cedar Township, and finally 4) moves west toward Cedar Township’s border with Big Grove Township, hooking up with Dubuque Road (The National Road) at Edwin Brown’s Rail Road. FYI: in 1843, the term “rail road” did not mean a railway system, but an actual road with rail fencing – probably to contain Brown’s large herd of cattle and other livestock!