History of Audubon.

In the lovely vale of Nishna, dost this charming city lie,   In a lovely spot enchanting equalled not beneath the sky; And the praires that surround it poets picture and portray   As the garden spot Eden--the Eden of to-day.

'Twas Bayard Taylor who thoughtfully beheld the pleasant Nishnabotana valley and pronounced it the Eden of the world. He had visited the famous Rhine that courses its way through the lovely vinyards of Germany and likewise beheld the grandeur of the Thames in old England; time and time again he sauntered along the glassy Hudson and wrote of its beauties and yet after his years of travels he never found a more inviting scene, his eye had never rested upon a more enchanting portion of the earth than the Bona valley. 'Twas here in a picturesque spot that Audubon was given birth and has grown to be a city, rivalling the most enterprising in the entire section.; The one who gazed o'er the desolate looking prairies a few years since and saw the site where the city now stands would never have supposed that in such a short time there would arise a place of such magnificence; its growth while magic and marvelous has been of a substantial nature and the beautiful blocks of stone and brick, buildings of fine architectural designs, its costly public structures, its lovely stately residences all bespeak the enterprise and public spirit possessed by the people who reside in Audubon.

The town was platted by the Chicago Rock Island & Pacific railroad on September 23, 1878 and the first town lots were sold on Oct. 15 of the same year, the first day's sales amounting to $6,190.00. Now that it was endowed with the breath of life, it commenced a vigorous growth that will continue to grow for years to come. The first building was erected by E. J. Freeman in the fall of '78 and was used as a land office by E. J. Freeman who was then agent for the Rock-Island lands. As no railroads had been built to Audubon as yet it was with difficulty that buildings were erected, material being freighted by wagons from Carroll and Atlantic. During the winter of '78-'79 nearly three score of carpenters and masons were busily engaged and hundreds of business houses and residences were built to accommodate the swarm of energetic business men, tradesmen, laborers and their families.

The land upon which the city is now situated was a part of the numerous tracts granted the Chicago Rock Island & Pacific Railroad by the government. Audubon is situated in township 80, range 35, west, being nearly in the center of the county. The Rock Island railroad has been a friend to the city and was ever interested in its welfare and in return has been greatly benefited by the town's growth and enterprise of its business men.

The most remarkable growth witnessed by Audubon has been within the past four years, and in this time no less than twenty brick blocks have been erected, scores of costly residences have been constructed and an electric light plant has been put in by its enterprising citizens. The plant is one of the best in the state. The city has one of the most effective system of water works to be found in Iowa, which cost the city about $10,000. The building improvements during the past four years has been remarkable, and the value of such will aggregate over $300,000, an excellent showing for a city of only 2,000 population.

Audubon has three splendid newspapers, The Republican, Advocate and Democrat. The former is a staunch republican journal, published by Cousins & McClure, and enjoys a liberal patronage, which it richly merits. The Advocate is published by Frank D. Allen. It is democratic in politics and the oldest paper in the county. It fares well at the hands of the public. The Democrat, though younger in years than the other papers, is a spicy sheet, published by R. Moore Carpenter who is an able newspaper man. All of the printing offices are well equipped with the best of material.

The citizens of Audubon formed a stock company in 1891 and built a handsome brick building, two stories high, which is rented to the government at a fair rate, paying the stockholders good dividends on their investment. The present postmaster is E. B. Cousins.

The history of the Audubon public schools begins property with the district school held in the building erected in 1878 for that purpose and afterwards remodeled and used for a dwelling by A. J. Bailey. Here R. J. Hunter, the first teacher, taught during the winters of 1878 and 1879. The following year, owing to the rapid growth of the town a frame building of four rooms was erected byt it was not completed until January, 1880. At first only two rooms were used, George N. Funk being principal and Mrs. Sarah Dustin assistant.

March 15, 1880, Prof. Geo. I. Miller, the present superintendent of city schools at Boone, Iowa, was elected principal, and held the position for six years. Mr. Miller was followed by J. A. Hornberger who in turn was followed a year after by Z. T. Hawlks. Mr. Hawks was superintendent of the schools four years, when F. P. Hocker the present superintendent was elected to the position.

Each year from 1881 to 1888 the corps of teachers was increased and in the fall of 1891 another teacher was added.

In the fall of 1887 an addition was built to the old building. Previous to that time the old district school building was again occupied and also two rooms filled up on Park street. The enrollment at the end of present winter term in all the rooms is 419.

The people of Audubon can well be proud of their schools for they rank among the first schools of the state in efficiency and educational advancement. The course of study meets all the requirements for students to enter the State University.