March 8, 1839 – Johnson County pioneer John Gilbert dies, just days after being appointed as Postmaster for the first post office in the county.
Over the years, the legend of John Gilbert has grown. Most school kids in Iowa City, for example, would tell you that Gilbert was the first white man to arrive in Johnson County in 1826, setting up the first trading post, and then becoming the first white man to settle down here, establishing the little community of Napoleon by the sweat of his own brow. Nice story, huh? But, in truth, only about half of this paragraph is true!
Actually, little is known about Gilbert’s life before he appeared at the mouth of Snyder Creek in Johnson County. That’s probably because his real name was John Prentice. Apparently, he changed his name when he came to Iowa – to hide himself from old unpaid debts back east.
We do know that around 1835, John Gilbert visited Poweshiek’s village a mile north on the Iowa River and received permission to live on Meskwaki land in exchange for two barrels of whiskey. Gilbert traded at Snyder Creek until 1837, when he built a second, larger trading post less than a quarter mile from Poweshiek’s village, striking out on his own as an independent trader. Settlers testify that Gilbert did speak Meskwaki with “some French thrown in” and he may have learned the trading business at Green Bay in Michigan Territory.
READ MORE ABOUT THIS IOWA STORY HERE.
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