John Springer – The Pioneer Printer Remembers.

In 1924, 74-year-old John Springer was invited to write up a story for the Old Settlers’ Association (OSA) of Johnson County. His assignment – since he had lived in Johnson County since he was age 7 – was to recall some of his favorite Iowa City stories. A true newspaperman-at-heart, Springer gave OSA 18 pages of memories and his article – Reminiscences – was published in the 1924-1925 OSA Yearbook (below). Here, on this webpage, I would like to share John Springer’s stories – taken directly from his OSA article – and, with your kind permission, I’ll add in a few pics and other details along the way…

John A. Springer was born on November 27, 1850 in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. He came to Iowa City with his parents – arriving by train – on June 1, 1857, and after attending Iowa City High School, he began work in a local printing shop (see below) – under the tutelage of the famed newspaperman – John P. Irish.

Soon, Springer attained unusual proficiency as a printer, and during his long career in Iowa City, he was a devotee of that vocation – becoming known state-wide as a master printer.

In 1882, Springer and A. J. Hershere bought the Iowa State Press from his old boss – John P. Irish – the noted Democratic leader and editor – and together, they edited and published the paper until selling it to Samuel W. Mercer in 1894. During his run as publisher, Springer was elected to the Iowa State Legislature, serving one term as Johnson County’s representative to the 24th General Assembly (1892-1894) in Des Moines. A decade later – in 1904 – Springer joined forces with Mercer, becoming one of the founders of the Economy Printing Company of Iowa City, working there, as a master printer, until his retirement in 1928.

(C-0067) Economy Advertising Company – Here’s a postal cover from January 1919. Read more about this amazing printing shop in Iowa City here.

Over his long career in printing, John A. Springer became highly knowledgeable in the history of printing – collecting over 1,800 books and other resources on the subject – with the oldest volume being printed in Mainz, Germany in 1515. His large collection was given to the State University of Iowa less than one year before his death in 1937.

So, now…one theme at a time…here’s John Springer – in his own words – and his Iowa City Reminiscences…

Arriving in Iowa City on June 1, 1857, seven-year-old John Springer and his parents came west on the Mississippi & Missouri Railroad (see above right). Upon arrival, they stayed overnight at The Trusdell House (below) – a short-term hostel located on Clinton Street, just south of Burlington. The following day, the family moved over to The American House on Jefferson Street – staying there only long enough to secure a piece of land east of town.

In the 1860’s, the Springer homestead was a long way from downtown Iowa City – located near today’s 1st Avenue & Court Street. **Oak Grove School** was one of the one-room schoolhouses of Johnson County, and as you can see from the map (above) **Captain F.M. Irish**‘s farmland – known as **Rose Hill** – was located in the far northeastern section of the area (near today’s Hickory Hill Park).

Captain Frederick (F.M.) Irish moved to Johnson County in 1838 and became one of the earliest pioneers of Iowa City. Irish built a log cabin on the northeast edge of the city, and by 1841, had purchased additional acres of land adjacent to his home and began calling it – Rose Hill. Read more here.

*The open fields of Johnson County provided farmers with a perfect place to grow crops.*

Want to learn more about old-time farming equipment? Check out this page.

Dr. Jesse Bowen was well-known across Johnson County as a primary voice for the abolitionist movement. Bowen played an important role with the growing network of homes involved with the Underground Railroad, and assisted John Brown in escaping an angry mob when the abolitionist was visiting Iowa City in 1859. Read more here.

John Springer’s father served as the Road Supervisor for Johnson County in the 1860’s. Read here about the road that was built between Bloomington (Muscatine) and Iowa City in 1840.

The original layout of Iowa City in 1839 included 24 streets. It took many years before those streets were much more than dirt paths. Click here to read about the first paved streets.

Obviously, keeping livestock off Clinton Street was a common problem for early Iowa Citians. In the 1860’s, one of the many duties of the SUI janitor at Old Capitol was to drive all livestock off the campus (today’s Pentacrest). Apparently the responsibility was not an easy one, for in 1862, the SUI president recommended the following resolution: That hereafter no horses, cattle or other stock shall be allowed upon the university grounds; and that until otherwise ordered the grounds and buildings of the university shall be under the control of the faculty of the university. Meanwhile, the faculty voted that “the janitor was authorized to purchase a dog at a cost not exceeding the sum of five dollars to assist him in keeping the yard clear of stock.”

According to Springer, the Chamber’s Encyclopaedia described Iowa City as a city “built upon three terraces.” Looking at the 1839 map (above), there is definitely some truth to that idea.

No stories about the early days of Iowa City would be complete without mentioning the great hope placed on steamboats chugging up and down the Iowa River. Apparently, Springer was a bit familiar with those attempts to make Iowa City a steamboat capital. You can read more details here.

Iowa City’s first photographer – Isaac Wetherby – produced several illustrations and wrote up a thrilling account of the May 24th tornado that hit Iowa City. His story was published in the June edition of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper – making the 1859 Iowa City tornado into a national news item. Read more here.

Once again, Iowa City’s Isaac Wetherby – who had a photography studio on Clinton Street – made history by capturing this shot (below) of Old Capitol on Wednesday, April 19, 1865 as mourners gathered for a memorial service for President Abraham Lincoln. Read more here.

In the mid-to-late 1800’s, Iowa Citians flocked to Metropolitan Hall (below) located on the corner of Dubuque & Washington Streets (where today’s Jefferson Hotel stands). Here, America’s big-name entertainers & lecturers brought their shows – including a young Mark Twain in January 1869. Read more here.

John Springer’s 18-page article in the 1924-25 OSA Yearbook came to an end with a lengthy tip of the old hat to his old mentor in the newspaper business – John P. Irish. Below is the first paragraph, and you can read Springer’s entire biographical piece here.

So, that’s it. 18 pages – 15 different Iowa City stories. We certainly hope you’ve enjoyed this little journey into yesteryear with John A. Springer!

The 1870 U.S. Census shows John & his wife – Athenais B. (Bishop) Springer – living in their home in Iowa City with their 16-year old niece – Fanny. The Springers were married in 1872 and they had no children of their own. According to her obituary, Mrs. Springer was a “leading business woman” in Iowa City from the 1870’s until 1900.

Athenais B. Springer died on May 27, 1921 at age 78, while the old story-teller – John A Springer – passed on March 22, 1937 at age 86. Both are buried in Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City.

Thanks, John A. Springer, for your collection of entertaining Iowa City stories that give us, today, an insightful look at those early days of Johnson County. Godspeed!