the spring of 1848 several families took claims in various portions of the county. In 1851 commissioners chosen by the Legislature located the county-seat four miles south of the center of the county where a town was laid out and named Urbana.
In October, 1852, while Ringgold was attached to Taylor County, Judge Taylor ordered an election district to be made of Ringgold to be called Schooler township and a voting place to be at the house of Lot Hobbs where the citizens might vote at the presidential election in November. In January, 1855, commissioners were again chosen to relocate the county-seat. The place selected was on a farm belonging to Edward A. Temple, who sold it to the county. Here a town was laid out and named Mount Ayr. Soon after an election was held at which the following officers were chosen: J. C. Hagans, judge; M. R. Brown, clerk; J. W. Cofer, recorder and treasurer, and Hiram Imus, sheriff. A log court-house was erected in the spring of 1856 where the first court was held by Judge J. S. Townsend in May, 1857. The first settlers in Mount Ayr were David Edwards, Oran, Give, Chester Stancliff, B. B. Dunning and A. G. Beal who located there in 1855. Dr. E. Keith was the first physician and Henry Crabb the first merchant.
In 1852 L. P. Allen came to Ringgold County from North Carolina, bringing with him two slaves, a boy fourteen and a girl sixteen years of age. Finding that he could not legally hold slaves in Iowa, he sold them to a man in St. Josephs, Missouri, for a thousand dollars.
The Mount Ayr Republican was the first newspaper in the county and was established in the spring of 1861 by P. O. James with George Burton as editor. The Burlington was the first railroad in the county.
RISLEY COUNTY was created in 1851 and embraced the territory now constituting the county of Hamilton. It was attached to Polk and afterwards to Boone for elec-
