The first European to live in the Montrose area was
Louis Honore Tesson, a French Canadian who was issued a claim of 7056
arpents (6073 acres) by the Spanish. This large claim included what is
now Montrose and it is believed that Tesson's home was located near the
foot of the hill on what is now River Road in the southern part of
Montrose. Tesson was instructed as a condition to his claim that he buy
furs, encourage the native tribes to adopt the Catholic religion, and to
show them how to raise wheat, corn, and vegetables. Tesson was also to
plant trees, for at that time there were very few trees in Iowa except
along the streams. Tesson is credited with bringing some apple trees
from St. Charles, MO and planting Iowa’s first apple orchard although
some conflicting accounts give this credit to a half-breed by the name
of Red-Bird, who was also known as Thomas Abbott. Tesson went into debt
and in 1803 his claim was sold to Joseph Robidoux, one of the men to
whom Tesson owed money.
The next settler was in
Montrose was Captain James White who enclosed six or seven acres and
built a double log cabin from trees growing on a nearby island in 1832.
In 1834 the government bought the land from Captain White and erected
the first Fort Des Moines. The military post was occupied by three
companies of the First U.S. Dragoons, an elite cavalry unit whose
presence help pacify the area after the recently concluded Black Hawk
War. The fort was also used as a base for an 1835 exploration of the Des
Moines River valley.
In
1933, the State of Iowa opened the
Dragoon Trail,
a scenic and historic drive along the Des Moines River that follows the
path of the 1835 expedition. The
Dragoons stayed at Montrose until the spring of 1837 when they were
reassigned to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. The colonel's house became a
hotel and was named the River House. The site of the old fort, now
Riverview Park, is located at the river at the eastern end of Main
Street. The fort is marked by a bronze plaque set in a boulder at the
south end of the park. An interpretive panel about the first Fort Des
Moines is located in Riverview Park in Montrose as well as a bronze
plaque set in a boulder that was erected in 1923 by the Montrose Womans Civic Club.
Montrose is one of the first
European settlements in the state of Iowa. The town was platted in 1837
by D.W. Kilbourne, a prominent Keokuk
leader, who established a store and became postmaster in 1839. Kilbourne moved on to Fort Madison in 1843 and
later became president of the Des Moines Valley Railroad Company. The
settlement that grew up around the fort was originally called Cut-Nose
Village in honor of a local chief. The name was changed to Mount of
Roses when Kilbourne platted the town
because of all of the wild roses that grew on nearby hillsides and later
contracted to Montrose.
In January 1839, the barracks
of the abandoned fort provided shelter for about 40 Mormon refugee
families from Missouri, led by Israel Barlow. The families of Brigham
Young, John Taylor, and Wilford Woodruff,
all future presidents of the Church, were among those taking rooms in
the barracks. Based on information provided by Barlow the Mormon Church
purchased twenty thousand acres stretching westward from the village of
Montrose that grew up around the fort. In 1841 Joseph Smith declared
that it was now time to build Zarahemla, a
new town adjacent and just west of Montrose. Thirty houses may have been
built at Zarahemla, but only one lot was
recorded as sold, and no trace of the community remains. Most of the
Mormons of Lee County went with Brigham Young as he blazed the trail to
Utah. An interpretive panel about the Mormons in Lee County is located
in Riverview Park. Montrose is the start of the Iowa leg of the Mormon
Pioneer National Historic Trail.
The
new temple on the hilltop at Nauvoo can be seen from Riverview Park.
Montrose became an important river town from the beginning of the
steamboat era until the late 1870s. Montrose is located at the head of
the Des Moines Rapids, a major impediment to river traffic on the Upper
Mississippi. Cargo and passengers had to be “lightered,” transferred to
small boats for travel over the rapids to Keokuk. The completion of a
canal around the rapids in 1877 began to diminish the importance of the
town. Montrose has been home to thriving industries:
clam digging, saw mills, button factories, a garden tool factory,
and coal and lumber yards. These businesses are no longer in existence
because when the dam was built at Keokuk, these areas were submerged by
Lake Cooper, which reaches its widest width at Montrose. Montrose is
proud of its rich heritage. Montrose Riverfront, Inc. is comprised of
many volunteers who keep Montrose history alive while planning for the
future. They host the annual
Pride of Montrose festival on Father’s Day weekend.
Montrose is also home to the sixty year old Watermelon Festival,
held annually the fourth Thursday, Friday and Saturday in August.
www.mountroseia.us
The official website of the town of Montrose. This web site has
detailed information about the town, its history, the things to do, and
local events.
