Wakefield Township

Wakefield Township

Is bounded on the north by Springbank, east by Emerson, south by Wayne county and west by Logan. The justly celebrated Logan river, and valley from two to three miles wide, passes through the southwestern part of the township, furnishing the excellent water power facilities which have been utilized by the flouring mills at Wakefield village.

One of the first settlers in this part of the county was C. T. Barto, whose frontier experiences here form an interesting part of the history of Wakefield. C. T. Barto was born in Bradford county. Penn., February 8th. 1837. His father. N. H. Barto, who was born at Bainbridge. N. Y., 1812, and still living, removed to Chemung county, N. Y.. near Elmira in 1843. C. T. Barto married Estella Cooley, January 3rd, L861, and removed to Illinois in April. 1861. There they rented a farm in DeKalb county, which they afterwards bought. In 1868 they sold their farm and started on their pilgrimage west and located in what is now Wakefield township on May 3rd. 1869. At that time the nearest settler on the road to Sioux City was Boedkey, twelve miles east of Wakefield, and the next Jesse Wigle, twenty-one miles east of Barto's place on Wigle creek, two miles south of the present town of Homer. South there was no settlement short of the Elkhorn river. West, no settlement short of Norfolk, at that time called Yellowbanks. The nearest postoffice was twenty-four miles east in Dakota county and Major C. H. Potter was postmaster, and there also was located the nearest flouring mill run by a man named David and now operated by Sam Coombs. North there was practically no settlement nearer than South Creek, the Pomeroys settling in Springbank in '70 or '71, and the Herfels and George 0. Lampher about the same time.

At that time Sioux City was the only market and over that forty miles Mr. Barto had to do all his hauling until '82. In the winter of 73. he spent sixty days on the road between his place and Sioux City, and carried his own hotel right with him, and this was one of the coldest winters he has experienced since he has been in the state. For fuel he used wood which he brought from the Missouri river on his return dips, lie would haul to market grain or hogs and bring back wood which he cut himself. Had he not come from a long lived race and hard to kill. these privations would have cut short his early career.

Mrs. Barto was born May 5th, '45. also in Bradford county, Penn. Her parents removed to Chemung county, N. V.. in '55. Her mother. Mrs. Elizabeth Cooley, died at Mr. Barto's place in January, '1)5, aged eighty-two years.

The portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Barto, taken on their road to this country twenty-six years ago, will be seen on another page. Mr. Barto's long hair as seen in the picture, used to he greatly admired by the Indians, and to prevent their stealing it, 'and perhaps his scalp at the same time), he had to cut it off. Mr. and Mrs. Barto have had seventeen children, of whom fifteen are living. They have a beautiful farm of 560 acres, all under cultivation or in use, groves, orchards, etc. Mr. Barto is a prominent citizen and much esteemed in the county. He was county treasurer for four years and has been and is now a leading member of the board of supervisors. With Mr. Barto. when he came, was C. I. Blake, also from Illinois.

In the fall of '69 George Fenton and family came and A. F. Hinds and family the following year. G. W. and Irving Packer and Pitt M. Hinds and family came in 1871, William Park in 1872 and T. J. Postlewaite in 1876. Of these. Mr. Blake settled near Mr. Barto, and the others located in what is now known as Logan township.

Mr. Blake now occupies the same place he located on in 1869. He has eighty acres and is a good farmer. His family consists of self, wife and several children.

Philo Graves was also one of the early residents of this township. His father, Willard Graves of Illinois, in the spring of 1868, located 4(1 sections of land (25,600 acres) in Cedar and Wayne counties and in the southern part of Dixon county, and in the following year brought here his family and a colony of people, a large share of whom bought farms in Wayne county. A few, however, became residents of the present townships of Wakefield and Logan.

The first school ever taught in Wakefield township was by Miss Lucy Morey. who commenced January 7th. 1875. The children of Mr. Barto constituted the whole school. He was director. C. I. Blake was moderator and Philo Graves treasurer. The three were about all the heads of families in the district, and as the moderator and treasurer were unable to famish scholars for the school, that duty devolved entirely upon the director as above stated. In those early days settlements were far apart. The great valley of the Logan, now thickly settled and rich in farms and improvements, was then nearly as wild as when under Indian sway. The few white people who came, had a lonely life, which for many years was almost unbroken.

In 1881, the railroad which was being built from Sioux City to Norfolk was completed through the town, and the station, Wakefield, was established. Immediately the sleeping valley was awakened to new life, and the few people who had ruled the township year after year, soon saw their number grow. Laud which in past days of discouragement and home-sickness had been offered at less than government price, and could not be sold at any price, suddenly rose into notice and demand. Mr. Dixon, who for twenty years had a farm near where the village of Wakefield is. told as that he had tried time after time to sell his land at one dollar per acre. Rich and beautiful as was the valley, as long as its ocean of tall grass was undisturbed by a railroad, few wanted it. Finally the road came and with it came a great tide of ambitious and enterprising settlers.

Wakefield Village

The village of Wakefield was incorporated in the summer of '83, having at that time more than two hundred inhabitants. The prime movers in the incorporation were Philo Graves the town site proprietor, and George W. Waite, at that time manager of the flouring mills, and a leading business man of the town, but now a live stock dealer in Sioux Citv.

Wakefield, Like most western towns situated in a good level country, and which followed the completion of a line of railway and the establishment of a station, has had a steady growth, and for the most part her citizens have prospered. Many of her business men have obtained a start here, and gone to other places to continue a successful career. Others who have remained, are now the substantial men of the town.

The C, St. P., M. .V O. railroad reached Wakefield late in the summer of '81 ; hut ere its arrival the first enterprising comers were already erecting buildings. The town site was surveyed by Engineer Wakefield of Sioux City, whence the town derives its name, as well as from its wide awake people.

The first store was running in the fall of 'SI and the building was put up by John T. Marriott, who owned and conducted the store. It was a medium sized, frame structure and stood opposite where the post office is now located.

George Guilds also had a hardware store which stood ;i few lots south of Marriott's store. Both of these men are still in business in Wakefield.

In the summer of 1SS4 most of the brick buildings were erected from brick made at the Wakefield yards. The building of the Wakefield and Hartington line about this time, gave the town considerable impetus and her business substantial gains.

There have never been any fires of importance in the town, and now there is a complete standpipe system of water works, affording ample protection.

From a population of 200 in '83, Wakefield has increased to nearly 1,000 in '95, with every prospect of becoming in as much more time (a dozen years) a prosperous town of from 2,000 to 8,000 people. There are about fifty business houses or lines of business represented.

Hon. H. P. Shumway

C. F. Howard, jeweler; Nels Lingren, gunsmith and city engineer; Noah Weaver, wagon maker; B. C. Whitaker. harness maker and contractor and builder; Gr. W. Green, livery; C. E. Hunter, postmaster and justice of the peace; W. S. Cook and H. Lambert, buyers and shippers of live stock and meat market; C. Hinrich, meat market; Collins & Henry, clothing; I. M. Belknap and 0. E. Martin, law and real estate; S. Osier, livery; Turner & Brenner, Peavey & Co.. and J. 0. Milligan, dealers and shippers; John T. Marriott, E. D. Smith, Nels Hansen and Jas. Malloy, real estate; H. A. Schoregge, bakery; Mrs. Frank Rice, millinery; Edwards & Bradford and Geo. Child's, lumber and coal; Ole Lundberg. shoe store; Wm. Wheeler, Wakefield Republican, established 14 years ago; F. M. Bloodhart. barber shop;

Wakefield societies: Masons, Odd Fellows, United Workmen, M. W. A., R. A. M., I. F. A., and Wakefield Building- Association. All are in a prosperous condition.

One of the prominent citizens of Wakefield is Herbert Paine Shumway who was born at Caledonia, Minnesota. April IS, JS56. His father, J. Shumway, was a native of Connecticut, and his mother, Mary M. Shumway, was a native of Pascoe, Rhode Island. They moved to Minnesota in 1S53, where was born to them a family of six sons and two daughters, of which the subject of this sketch is the oldest son. He was brought up on a farm and attended district school in the winter until he was eighteen years old when lie prepared for college at Caledonia Academy and graduated from the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis in the scientific course in June, 1882. He supported himself during his college course by teaching or working on a farm. In the following July he came to Wakefield, Nebraska, and engaged in the lumber business to which was subsequently lidded coal and farm implements. But believing there is nothing like the farming lands of Nebraska he has been for the past ten years occasionally buying lands until he now has an improved farm of 1,000 acres in a body lying in the Logan valley one-half mile from Wakefield. He is somewhat interested in politics and was elected in '90 to the state senate, being one of the two republican senators elected from north of the Platte river. In '92 he was an alternate delegate to the republican national convention at Minneapolis. He served on the staff of Governor Crounse as colonel. In '1)4 he was a candidate for the nomination for lieutenant governor and received 366 votes out of 806. Mr. Shumway has been a trustee of the M. E. church of Wakefield since it was built in 1882. In Wakefield, Mr. Shumway's influence has always been devoted to the promotion of the best interests of the place and citizens. He is chairman of the village board and is, as he has always been, prominent in advocating improvements and beneficial enterprises.