Pluck and Perseverance: Lewis Woodruff

Jesse Reeves purchased the land that includes Owl Acres from the Government in 1854 for $1.25 per acre. He may have bought the land to establish a homestead on it. Or he may have bought the land as an investment. Little factual information is known about his intentions. We do know, however, that he sold the land comprising the northwest quarter of Section 7, which now contains Owl Acres, to Lewis A. Woodruff on May 9, 1865. Woodruff paid $1,175 for the 167 acres of the quarter section.

Lewis Woodruff was one of the Woodruffs who settled in Jasper County in the mid-1850s. Jeremiah Woodruff bought a quarter section near Owl Acres, and Elisha Woodruff and Lucius Woodruff bought land nearby in 1855. The Woodruffs were thus some of the earliest settlers in the area and, along with their farming, held social positions in Metz, the local community. Elisha Woodruff was one of the founding members of the Metz Congregational Church and one of its first deacons. Lewis Woodruff was instrumental in establishing the Sugar Grove Cemetery in Metz. He served as one of its first trustees. Three of his children are buried there.

Lewis A. Woodruff was born in Licking County, Ohio on July 28, 1831. He married Esther Willison on April 15, 1852 in Licking County, Ohio. The couple emigrated to Iowa soon after, planning to buy land and start a family. In 1858 they had their first child, a daughter named Myrtle F. Woodruff. In 1861 another daughter named Myrtle was born and died shortly thereafter. The next year another daughter, named Victoria, was born and died. A son, Andrew, was born in 1868 and died of a fever in 1877 at the age of nine. The Woodruffs may have had another son named Oscar, although his birth and death dates are unknown. They may have had another daughter named Victoria as well. 

An entry in an 1878 history of Jasper County reads:

“WOODRUFF, Louis [sic] A.; Farmer; Sec. 7; P. O. Newton; born in Licking Co., Ohio, July 28, 1831; lived there twenty-four years, when he came to this county, and settled near where he now lives, being among the first settlers in this part of the county. Married Ester [sic] WILLISON April 15, 1852. She was born in the same county. They have two children – Myrtle F. and Victoria M. Mrs. W. is a member of the M. E. Church. He is a Republican politically and helped to organize the township. Came here a poor man, with barely his hands, and a large share of energy; accumulated quite a fortune, but being involved in securities for others, a large share of it was swept away. With pluck and perseverance, he went at it again, and now has a farm of 287 acres, valued at $12,000, and forty-seven acres in Jackson Co., worth $25 per acre. Usually keeps from seventy-five to 100 head of hogs; has an orchard of about 300 trees, and a fine artificial grove of maples around the house.”

Clearly Lewis Woodruff had been busy farming along with his business dealings. His holdings at that time included Owl Acres and the surrounding land.

Regarding his misfortunes, the author was most likely referring to the vicissitudes of the weather and the economy. Several years of drought from 1856-1865 and again in the next decade would have impacted crops. The Financial Panic of 1873 caused a cascade of bank failures leading to bankruptcy of 18,000 businesses nationwide including 89 of the country’s 364 railroads. The depression that followed lasted for several years. Farm prices that had been high during the Civil War dropped precipitously while shipping costs remained high.

Although this entry doesn’t give us details about the causes of fluctuations in his fortunes, we do know that along with buying and selling land, and exporting corn, hogs and cattle, one of the major economic drivers of the time was the coal deposits under Palo Alto Township. In 1874, 22,280 tons of coal were mined and exported in Palo Alto township alone. Much of the mining was done by local farmers in the winter when work on the farms was slow. The burgeoning network of railroads throughout the area during this time made shipping the coal possible and practical. Householders in the area bought coal directly from the mines to heat their homes. The railroads also made shipping corn, cattle and hogs feasible, if expensive, providing outlets in Chicago and points east for farm produce.

In 1888, Lewis and Esther Woodruff sold 163 acres of land to two brothers named Carrier. This is the land that, two years later, would be purchased by the family that still owns part of it. 130 years later, Owl Acres would be carved out of that land.

Lewis A. Woodruff died February 16, 1898 at the age of 67. After 21 years of widowhood, Esther Woodruff passed away in February, 1919 in Los Angeles County, California. She is buried along with her husband in the Newton Union Cemetery.

Photo from Jasper County, Iowa Recorder’s Book 31, Page 78. May 20, 1865 Purchase by Lewis A. and Esther Woodruff of the quarter section (167 acres) that contains the future Owl Acres.