The Candle-Stick Chapter was organized
February 21, 1908. The chapter was named for
an article, the candlestick, much in use in
colonial days. With our name, it is a reminder
of home life in that period. The Candle-Stick
Chapter has placed markers at significant
historic sites in Franklin County:
First Cabin in Franklin County
The Candle-Stick Chapter marked the site of
the first cabin that was built in Franklin
County in 1852 by James Reeve, John Mayne, and
Addison Phelps, the "men-folk" of pioneers
searching for a home-site in the area. They
built the cabin as a refuge from the
approaching winter. Only Reeve and the Mayne
family lived there for two winters while the
men hunted elk and buffalo and trapped beaver.
To locate the marker, go 1 1/4 miles east of
US Highway 65 on 105th Street (Geneva
Blacktop). Turn left at the long lane. The
marker is located in the farmer's yard near
the light pole.
Site of First
Franklin County School House
The Candle-Stick Chapter erected a marker that
shows the site of the first school in Franklin
County, which was built in 1855. Miss Octavia
Smith, a young girl in her teens, taught in
this school in Reeves Township. Also in this
area are the first burial grounds in the
county. The location of the marker is 1 mile
east of U.S. Highway 65 south of Hampton on
105th Street (Geneva Blacktop). Go 1/4 mile
north on Quail Ave. to the farm lane. The
cemetery is to the right and the marker is
near the curve on the right side of the lane.
Campsite of
First Settlers in Franklin County
A plaque marks the campsite of the first
settlers of Franklin County. They arrived in
the area in October 1852 and camped in a grove
in what is now Mallory Park. The site is 275
paces southeast of the large granite boulder
with the engraved plaque. To locate the
marker, go 5 miles south of Hampton on U.S.
Highway 65. Turn right on 95th Street. Go west
to the Mallory Park entrance. Walk north
across the bridge and follow Hickory Trail
about 1/4 mile east.
A Centennial
Tree: Planted in 1876
A European Larch tree was planted in 1876 by a
pioneer Hampton school teacher. Known as the
"Centennial Tree," it was marked as dedicated
on July 4, 1976, while still a flourishing,
healthy tree. The marker is located in
Hampton, Iowa, on the north side of the
Franklin County Courthouse lawn a half block
east of 1st St. NE on 1st Ave. NW.
Hampton's First
Resident
The first resident of Hampton was Job Garner
in 1854. His cabin site was marked by the
Candle-Stick Chapter in 1927 with an inscribed
tablet mounted on a granite boulder. The third
preaching service in the county was also
located at that site a year later. The marker
is located on the northeast corner of 4th
Avenue, NW, and 3rd Street, NW, in Hampton,
Iowa.
First Post
Office, First Store Site in Franklin
County
A historical marker was placed by the
Candle-Stick Chapter in 1922 to indicate where
the town of Maysville stood in 1856. The first
post office in Franklin County was opened here
on July 24, 1856, and closed 34 years later.
Sixteen postmasters served at the post office
during that time. Only 150 people lived in
Maysville but they had a schoolhouse, hotel,
two stores, and a steam saw mill. The first
store in the county was opened in 1853 by Dr.
T. H. Baker in his home a half-mile east of
the schoolhouse. To view the marker, go to the
junction of State Highway 3 and U.S. Highway
65, and go five miles south to 95th Street.
Turn left a half mile.
Site of 1857
Hotel
Abner S. Ross, the first postmaster in the
little town of Chapin in north central
Franklin County, built a hotel there in 1857
named the Chapin Ross House Hotel. He ran it
until 1875. At their 1972 Centennial, the town
of Chapin erected a historical marker at the
old hotel site and the Candle-Stick Chapter
dedicated the marker in 1973.
The Old Stone House
In 1853, Leander Reeve and James Reeve broke
10 acres of native prairie before returning to
Ohio for their families. In 1854, Leander
Reeve built a house of native limestone. It
remained a family home through the 1950s.
After this, the empty house deteriorated until
restored by “Friends of the Old House” in
1978-1985. It was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 1979. On
September 12, 2009, the Candle-Stick Chapter
NSDAR and the Franklin County Historical
Society placed a marker on the grounds, and a
dedication was held by the Candle-Stick
Chapter. The Old Stone House is located 4
miles south of Hampton on Highway 65 and 2
miles east on 105th St. (C-47). |
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