Some history of Lovell Township

   By nature, I am a history buff.

   I enjoy reading mostly non-fiction books about history: wars/conflicts, public figures, politics, biographies/autobiographies. I read some fiction, too, but primarily enjoy historical fiction.

   Recently, I decided to do some research into the 16 townships that comprise Jones County:

   • Cass

   • Castle Grove

   • Clay

   • Fairview

   • Greenfield

   • Hale

   • Jackson

   • Lovell

   • Madison

   • Oxford

   • Richland

   • Rome

   • Scotch Grove

   • Washington

   • Wayne

   • Wyoming

   I wanted to find out the history of how these townships came to be, how they were formed, who established these townships, etc. My research was fascinating!

   Other than online sources, I also relied heavily on two books courtesy of the Monticello Public Library “Land Atlas & Pictorial Directory of Rural Jones County, IA” from 1984 and “The History of Jones County, IA: Past and Present Vol. 1.”

   I decided to start with Lovell Township, which includes Monticello.

   Lovell was organized in January 1898, 56 years after the county commissioners made the decision on July 5, 1842, to organize the county into townships.

   Monticello Township was organized on June 10, 1847. It was later divided so that the City of Monticello was part of Monticello Township and everything outside of the corporate limits of the city was Lovell Township.

   Monticello Township was named after the famed home of President Thomas Jefferson.

   Lovell includes the Maquoketa River, which enters the township near the northwest corner, runs diagonally across the county, and exits the township near the southeast corner.

   According to iagenweb.org, Kitty Creek, which runs near the City of Monticello, “is a stream of considerable importance.”

   “By means of these two steams and others flowing into them, the township is well watered, and water-power, for mill purposes, furnished the inhabitants,” states the 1879 history of Jones County (online).

   Lovell was once comprised of good timber along the Maquoketa, flourishing artificial groves, “the very best prairie land,” and “intelligent and industrious farmers.”

   There were also a number of quarries within Lovell, “though the quality of the stone is much inferior to that furnished by the quarries near Anamosa.” (Could this be in reference to Stone City stone?)

   Some of the surnames of the earliest settlers in Monticello/Lovell Township include:

   • Ralston

   • Stevenson

   • Hicks

   • Farwell

   • Rynerson

   • Marvin

   • Walworth

   • Clark

   • Mead

   • George

   • Stone

   • White

   • Bowen