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of Jefferson County |
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County Line
(Des Moines Township)
"COUNTY LINE. Replaced Absecum;
named for its location, along the Rock Island RR at the west boundary of
Jefferson County, six miles west of Libertyville. First P. O. Est.
10 May 1876, called "County Line Station” and David Leppo was postmaster;
discontinued 3 May 1883; became "County Line” 3 May 1683, Joseph Sketoe,
postmaster; discontinued 15 Mar 1923. The Rock Island RR discontinued
its station at County Line in December 1894. The town once included
two houses, a church, depot, post office, elevator, railroad side tracks,
and several houses. (Ledger, Nov 7, 1957.)"
The above information was compiled by Mary Prill and
published in the Hawkeye Heritage, July 1967.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The following story was
originally one of a number of articles in the Fairfield
Ledger which was later included into the
book Villages and Towns of Yester-year
in Jefferson County by William R. Baker.
We hereby include it on this page with the permission of the Fairfield
Ledger.
Names mentioned in this article are as follows:
Ed Bucher; Floyd and Nellie (Nellie Stull) Feebler; Paul Ashbaugh; Mr.
and Mrs. John Collopy; George Brown; Joe Sketoe; Dave Leppo; Isreal Young
A village that vanished
The history of County Line, once
located six miles west of Libertyville in Des Moines Township, is tied
to the "coming and going" of the railroad.
It was born about the time Absecum,
a nearby settlement which had served as the area's stage coach stop, died
out because the stage coach route had been changed and because the railroad
had arrived in the area.
The railroad which had reached
Jefferson County in 1870, later became known as the Rock Island Railroad,
was continued on southwest as far as Allerton the same year. County
Line was apparently started about that time. It derived its name from its
location. It was located along the railroad at the west boundary
of Jefferson County.
There are some who remember when
County Line was quite a thriving community. Ed
Bucher, longtime resident of Libertyville,
is one of those persons.
At its peak, he said, the community
included a depot, post office, two stores, an elevator, school, church
and some homes. None of those buildings exist today. Floyd
and Nellie Feebler, 100 E. Madison, were both
born near County Line.
Recently standing at the
cross roads where County Line was located, Mrs.
Feebler, the former Nellie
Stull, pointed to a point about a mile west
where she was born. Her husband pointed toward the east where he
was born.
They could locate the area where
the church once stood, where the railroad section boss lived, the location
of the school and general store, depot and stockyards.
Mrs.
Feebler said on many occasions she accompanied
her parents to the County Line store to do their trading. The store was
then owned by Paul Ashbaugh.
She said it was a real thrill when the hens laid a few more eggs than usual
and her mother would allow her to use the extra money to purchase material
for a new dress.
Floyd pointed out where
a small trading post called Milton was once located a few miles east of
County Line and a short distance north. It was immediately south
of where Feebler lived as a
He said nothing was left
of the store when he lived there but he remembers his parents and grandparents
talking about Milton. It was originated by George
Brown and Joe
Sketoe and was designed to accommodate those
hired to operate a saw mill. It failed to exist after 1870. Sketoe
later moved to County Line where he was engaged in business.
Following their marriage Floyd
and Nellie Feebler farmed for many years in
Jefferson County. Upon retirement they moved to Fairfield.
Last of the old buildings
to be razed in County Line was part of one of the old store buildings.
It also had served as living quarters for the store owners and was located
in the northeast corner of the present cross roads. The railroad
was located to the north heading in a southwest
A modern home is now located
almost where the final old store building was razed. The home was moved
to that location in 1969 and is occupied by Mr.
and Mrs. John Collopy.
The old Methodist Church building
was sold in 1941 and the lumber was used to build a home.
A history of County Line that
appeared in the Ottumwa Courier some years ago said on October 22, 1879,
Isreal
Young, landowner in the area, deeded a strip
of land 100 feet wide to the railroad company stipulating that a depot
be built near the store. The following rail yards included three side tracks
for loading and unloading rail cars.
After the depot was completed
Dave
Leppo moved from Libertyville to County Line
to become the community's first depot agent and first postmaster. The post
office was set up in the
Leppo built a home, went into the livestock and grain business, and shipped livestock, and grain to Chicago. He built stockyards, a scale house, elevator and lumber yard. He later sold his
In 1876 there were 20 families
holding church services in the school house a half mile east of the store.
The congregation built a church that same year. The first church was a
log structure which was replaced by a frame building after the original
building was destroyed by fire.
Joe
Sketoe who had bought out Leppo's business
holdings, built a blacksmith shop near the depot. Prior to that the
nearest blacksmith shop was located at Batavia two miles north. He
later moved the post office from the depot to his store.
THEY'RE NOW ALL GONE -- This map shows the approximate locations of three early settlements in Jefferson County located west of Libertyville, and a station stop on the Peavine Railroad. Monroe was platted but never materialized. Absecum was a stage coach stop, and County Line "grew up" when the railroad arrived. There is no trace left of any of the settlements mentioned.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Fairfield Daily Ledger, November 7, 1957.
ABSECUM, COUNTY LINE, ONCE BUSY RURAL VILLAGES.
Little information can be found about the old
stage coach stop of Absecum, but it is apparent that County Line eventually
replaced it after the coming of the railroad. And now there is little or
nothing left of County Line. Both communities were located west of Libertyville
and played an important part in the early years of Jefferson County history.
Rumors, or bits of information still available, state that the stage coach
stop of Absecum was located about five miles west of Libertyville on what
is now the W. R. Baird farm. The house, or inn, was located on the north
side of the road where the present farm house now stands, and the large
horse barn was across the road south. The location was a regular stop for
the stage coach line from Keokuk and Fort Madison to Des Moines.
The Rock Island railroad reached Jefferson county in
1871 with the first train arriving here from the east in September. The
road was completed between Washington and Allerton that year. Although
no one can be sure, it is assumed County Line sprang up as a community
about that time. It derived its name from its location. It was located
along the Rock Island railroad at the west boundary of Jefferson county,
six miles west of Libertyville, There are some who remember when County
Line was quite a thriving community, but none can remember exactly when
or how it was originated.
At its peak as a community, County Line included a
depot, post office, two stores, an elevator, church and several houses.
Only a part of one of the store buildings remains. It served as living
quarters for the store owners, but the part of the structure in which the
store was actually located has been torn away.
County Line lost its post office when the rural free delivery
was established, and it is assumed it began to lose its importance as a
community soon after that. With better roads and transportation following,
the little community soon had no reason to exist.
One of the best known residents of the early
community was Paul Ashbaugh who operated one of the stores for several
years. He came to Iowa from Pennsylvania, and operated a huckster wagon
out of Selma for a few years. Later he moved to County Line where he operated
a store. His son, Elmer Ashbaugh, worked in the store and carried the mail
from the depot to the post office which was located in Ashbaugh’s store.
Harold Hite, who operates a farm near County Line, says he
can remember when it was quite a thriving community. There were three side
tracks in the rail yards to accommodate loading and unloading railroad
cars. Now all that is left of the railroad is the tree-lined hump running
across country that once was the right-of-way. The store and post office
were located at the cross roads. The tracks, running at an angle east and
west, were north of the settlement. The depot was east and north of the
post office. Another store was located a short distance to the east, while
the church was farther down the road.
This page copyrighted 06/28/2001. The page may be copied and used for personal purposes but can not be republished nor used for commercial purposes without the author's written permission.
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