flow through the county in a southeasterly direction and their stores are lined with woodland.
In 1836 Hugh Brown, Moses Collins, John Flynn and Alfred Weatherford made a settlement at Bowen’s Prairie in the northeast part of the county. During the same year Daniel Varvel and William Clark made claims and built cabins near Montecello. In 1837 a colony from the Red River of the north emigrated southward and made a settlement at Scotch Grove. Among them were Alexander Sutherland, James Brimner, David McCoy and their families numbering in all about thirty persons. In 1839 thirty-three of their neighbors joined the settlement. In 1837-8 a settlement consisting of about thirty persons was made along Farm Creek. Among them were Abraham Hostetter, John Rafferty, Charles P. and James Middleton. The first settlers at Buffalo Forks of the Wapsipinicon River were George Russ and Sherebrick Dakin who came from Maine in 1838. Gideon H. Ford came in the fall and bought their claims which included the site of Anamosa. He sold a portion of the tract to Timothy Davis and George H. Walworth which who laid out a town which was named Walworth. Three years later a town was laid out west of Walworth which was named Lexington. In 1842 David Wood and Edmund Booth built a frame house where Anamosa stands.
The county was organized in August, 1838. In 1840 a commission was chosen by the Legislature located the county-seat near the geographical center of the county and laid out a town which was named Edenburgh. The first term of court was held there the following year by Judge Thomas S. Wilson. In 1845, by a vote of the people, the county-seat was removed from Edenburgh to Newport where the only house was a small log cabin. In 1847 the people voted to move the county-seat and it was located at Lexington. The name of this town was soon after changed to Anamosa in honor of a beautiful Indian girl who once lived there and whose father was a chief named Nas-i-nus.
