Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 3.djvu/416

  on the east side of the river where a flourishing town grew up which became the county-seat. In 1878 the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad was built through the county from east to west through the town of Spencer. The first newspaper was the Clay County News which was established at Spencer in January, 1871. CLAYTON COUNTY is the first west of the Mississippi River in the second tier south of Minnesota and contains twenty-four townships making an area of seven hundred ninety-two square miles. It was first created in December, 1837, and then contained a portion of the present county of Allamakee. The county was named for John M. Clayton a United States Senator from Delaware.

The first settlement (after the Spanish grant to Basil Giard in 1795) was made by Robert Hetfield, William D. Grant and William W. Wyman and families in the spring of 1832. They made claims on the north side of the Turkey River about four miles from its mouth. In 1836 other settlers came, among whom was Dr. Frederick Andros, who took a claim about a mile southeast of where Granavillo stands. John W. Gillett and a Mr. Loomis took claims in the same vicinity and opened farms. The same year Elisha Boardman settled upon the land where Elkader has been built. Prairie La Porte was laid out in 1837 and in 1847 the name was changed to Guttenburg. It was the first county-seat where the first term of court was held in a log cabin occupied by Herman Graybill and family. It convened in May, 1838, and was presided over by Judge Charles Dunn. At this time a portion of Minnesota was embraced in Wisconsin Territory and in the county of Clayton.

The county was fully organized in the fall of 1838. In 1843 the county-seat was removed to the new town of Jacksonville and in 1846 the name was changed to Garnavillo. In 1847 the town of Elkader was platted by Thompson, Davis and Sage who built a mill on the