Metz* by Mable Soderblom William Hitchler and his brother, the first settlers of Metz, had formerly served on a transport from London to New York. They were divers, underwater ship repairers.1 This was very dangerous work as sharks would often cut the hose and the divers would die. Their only weapon was spears which they used to keep the Sharks away. William Hitchler met his wife, an Englishwoman2, in New York while stopping there between trips. In the year 18523, Hitchler and his wife bought and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 11 of Mound Prairie township, Jasper County, paying $1.25 an acre. Here they built a log cabin, then later a new house. The train set fire to the prairie and burned his home. Although they plowed around the house, the fire jumped the plowed ground and they were unable to stop it. Farmers who had settled in this locality needed a market for their produce so they purchased land from Hitchler and started a town which they called Farmersville. A stage coach came through Farmersville to Newton. The wheel tracks of the old stage coach road can still be seen in some grassy spots. Later, the Rock Island Railroad came through the little village. Here, the farmers could bring their grain and ship it. In 1911, the Northwestern Railroad came but it was always late so they nicknamed it 'Hind Windy.' According to Hitchler, a man named Lyons operated the first depot. In this depot was to be found the only telephone which was switched in from Newton. D.J. Eberhart operated the first elevator in Metz, as it was later know. Mr. Hitchler having renamed the town after Metz, Germany4. Peter Early started the first store, selling it later to Melvin Miller who again sold it to Jesse Clement. Peter Early then built a big variety store which was located west of the original one. At one there were two stores, a barber shop, blacksmith shop, elevator, depot and several dwelling houses. The cooperative creamery on the corner made butter and cheese from cream brought in by the farmers. Metz also a had a doctor, a lady named May Lyons. Railroad section houses were built in Metz when the section helpers came there to live. These men were paid one dollar a day. Henry5 Hitchler stated that a day's wages would buy one sack of flour, (50 pounds) Another early settler of Metz, Mrs. Hilma Dammeier, was a daughter of S. P. Lind who came to Metz from Sweden in 1880. She says the Rock Island train on which they cam did not stop at Metz unless a passenger indicated that he wished to get off there. Since the Linds could not speak the English language they could not make their wishes known. However, there was a Swedish minister on the train who noticed their dilemma and helped them. Mr. Lind found work with his wife's cousin a section foreman who lived in Metz. Continued 1 Items in italics are not documented by any verbal or written history of the family. 2 Maria DeGraff's family were French Huguenots who settled in New York. They were not English. 3 The year was actually 1854. 4 From 1552 to 1919 Metz was a part of France. 5 The family does not know of a Henry Hitchler.	continued - Lind first build a home in the village then later located on a small farm about one-half mile west. Here they lived in primitive pioneer fashion, drawing their water from a well via a rope and bucket. They kept two cows, raised their own fruit and vegetables and gathered nuts in the timber each Fall. The Reed schoolhouse stood on a hill east of Metz was was later relocated north of the town. Teachers whom Mrs. Dammeier remembers best were Peter Beck, Ed. Smart, Blackwood and Lula Bolhoefer. They had two terms of school during the year, each term lasting only three months. Some of the first church services were held in the schoolhouse. Here a Baptist minister named Newton T. Thomas served. Mrs. Dammeier also remembered a Rev. Price who held occasional evening services in the school. Since there was no organ the minister led the singing. Sunday School was held each Sunday morning. Opening exercises consisted of singing such gospel hymns as "Nearer My God to Thee", "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" and others. After opening exercises the people divide into groups according to age. All Sunday School classes were taught in this one room which had only four rows of seats. They had quarterlies and leaflets from which to read the lesson. Children were given small cards containing a Bible verse and picture. After receiving five such cards there were given a larger one. Mrs. Dammeier remembers William Hitchler attending this Sabbath School and always sitting on the south side. However, this school soon became too crowded for the church services so in 1911 a Protestant community church was built on the hill north of Metz. The plot of ground was deeded from the Hitchler farm. This church is still in use, having been remodeled and made modern. The old school house which had served both church and school was again moved on July 16, 1960. Homes in Metz were heated by coal which they got from a mine about one and one half miles away. The local people went to the mine where a coal miner weighed and sold coal to them by the bushel. No coal was shipped our from there. Indians camped near the river during the winter. Brightly garbed squaws, a papoose strapped to the back, came to beg food for which they offered strings of beads. The braves used guns to do their hunting. They tanned the animal hides to make their clothing. Metz citizens found these Indians to be friendly. Entertainment consisted of bobsled rides down the school-house hill, barn dances, box suppers and Fourth of July celebrations. The latter began with picnic dinners near the schoolhouse, then a parade, followed by foot races, horse races, fireworks and other entertainment down by the river. At Christmas there was always a program and a tree. The tree was trimmed with strings of popcorn, home-made flowers and candles of many colors. A man with a long pole watched the lighted candles constantly to see that neither the pine needles nor the trimming caught fire. The people brought their gifts and placed them under the tree, then two from the group were chosen to read the names of the recipients. There is no trace of any business buildings left in Metz. It is just a farm community with a church in its midst. One can only suppose that the town's decline began with the end of the horse and buggy era.         *Jasper County's Yestertowns by The Jasper County Writers Inc., 1963 3rd Edition.
"Father Named Metz; Has Original Grant M.A. Hitchler Has Papers For Land Granted in 1853 Back in 1853, the late William Hitchler received a land grant of 140 acres from the federal government. A patent was issued in about 1855. These facts are interesting because the patent issued for property included the present village of Metz, which was named by Mr. Hitchler. The original patent papers are in the possession of a son, M. A. Hitchler; 77, who now owns the 130 acres outside of Metz and some five lots within the village. Mr. Hitchler said today that the land outside Metz has never been out of the Hitchler family's possession since the original patent was issued. When William Hitchler died in 1895, at the age of 86 years, he left a life lease on the property to his wife. M. A. Hitchler bought the land when the estate was settled after his mother's death in 1921. She was 93 years of age at her death. William Hitchler sold ground to the Rock Island railroad for construction of the depot at Metz when the railroad came through there. M. A. Hitchler was born March 16, 1861, in a log house on the property. There were 11 in the family and he is the last member living." source: a news article.	Fiction and Facts? The FICTION: For years and years and even today, the story is that William Hitchler named Metz for the village in Germany where he grew up. As with a lot folklore, that is not true. When we began our genealogy research into the family name, and found the obituary of William Hitchler it was clear that he was not from the village of Metz. George William Hitchler was born in Germany in the providence of Bavaria, in Rhodt, on the river Rhine, November 28, 1809. He was baptized in infancy and in his youth was received into church fellowship with the Lutheran Church. ... Newton Record - November 22, 1895 However, obituaries have been known to give incorrect information, so we wrote to the church in Rhodt and found out that Georg Wilhem Hitschler had indeed been born there and not in Metz. Church records show that his parents were Johann Michael Hitschler and Maria Margaretha Weis, and that he was the youngest child. He had a brother Johann who was born in 1799, a sister, Maria who was born in 1802, another brother Johanness Christoph born in 1804, another brother Johannes born in 1807 and Georg Wilhem was born in 1809. The church records also show that he married Maria Entzminger on April 30, 1833. Since the church has no record of her death, we suspect she immigrated out of Germany with him in August of 1838. In FACT Metz was in France at the time Georg Wilhelm Hitschler left Germany. A brief history about Metz is that it was captured by the French in 1552 from Germany. It was formally ceded to France but was recaptured by Germany in 1870. During WWI it was given back to France in the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. So the FACT is that even though William Hitchler named the village Metz, it was not where he was born. Tour the village of Rhodt, Germany where Wilhem Hitschler was born.
County Removes 'Council Elm' "It marks the passing of an era in the history of Jasper county," stated one Newton resident Wednesday morning when informed of the removal of the huge elm tree in the Metz community near Newton. Truly one of Jasper county's oldest landmarks, this elm tree, located on the Carl Clement farm five miles south-west of Newton, gives vent to many interesting and provocative reminiscences when brought up for discussion among the older citizens of the county. The age of the old "council Elm," so dubbed because of the tale of Indian tribes holding council under the spreading branches of the elm even in pre-pioneer days, has been estimated by old-times at from 250 to 500 years. At one time, the elm was reputed to have had a span of 80 to 100 feet from tip to tip across the foliage of the tree. The trunk is about seven feet in diameter. A portion of the foliage extending on the "Council Elm's" long side, which crossed the Metz road to the south, was cut some years ago when this road was widened and resurfaced. It is presumed that the spread of the limbs and branches on the north side of the tree was deterred in the early years of its growth, possibly by the nibbling and chewing of some animals indigenous to the area at that time. continued in next column	Photo courtesy of Marvel Hitchler Clement continued from previous column. In this century, however, hundreds of persons have passed along this road with the expressed intent of viewing the "Council Elm." Even with its lop-sided foliage, this tree was considered by many as one of the most beautiful in the state. Some three years ago, the elm was struck by lightening, splitting about a quarter of the north portion of the tree, thus destroying its obvious beauty. At the order of the Jasper county board of supervisors, county work crews Tuesday began the task of cutting and removing this ancient landmark. The complete removal of the tree is expected to take two to three days. With the speedy removal of remaining evidence of this might tree and the eventual passing of the old-timers, who shall continue to reminisce about the "Council Elm," in but a few ears the remembrance of this great Jasper county landmark will fade away into obscurity. " ~ The Newton Daily News, sometime in 1970s.
The Same Elm Tree - Different Beginning Source: The Newton (Iowa) Daily News, Saturday, Aug. 10, 1957 -- Centennial Edition
Indians of the Area "For some time past a large squad of Mosquaukies have been encamped in the timber northwest of Colfax, generally keeping quiet, hunting, fishing, & etc. Not long since they received their annuities, and have thereby been enabled to procure liquor. A few of them have misbehaved, and one case seems to require special notice. A week ago last Saturday one of the Indians became enraged while in liquor, and killed his wife. He was duly tried by his tribal associates and the sentence of death by starvation, without sleep, passed upon him. He was accordingly strapped to a log, his legs and arms being well secured, so that the only relief of position he could get was rolling his head from one side to the other, diverting his eyes, and wagging his tongue. He was to have nothing to eat or drink, nor be allowed to sleep. A trusty guard was constantly kept over him, and the sentence rigorously carried out till he arrived at the happy hunting grounds. With characteristic stolidity he endured the agony of the situation, suffering terribly during the third day and afterwards, until eight days and a few hours had expired, when he drew a closing breath, and the demands of Indian justice were satisfied." ~ Newton Free Press, April 30, 1873	Country Roads The Newton Journal in April of 1888 article on the roads. "The spring thaw is now here, and the county roads are described as simply horrible. It is time, to four our exchanges to contain elaborate homilies in regard to the betterment of Iowa roads, and sage advice from editors as to how to make them better. We have done the same thing, but an investigation of the whole matter brings the conclusion that as long as we have the rich mellow soil that is now ours, that no relief from our present ills in this respect can ever be had, until we have such a surplus in our road fund, so that we can put down a couple of feet of sand, gravel and broken rocks over nearly every foot of roadways. Of course, rounding them up in the middle, digging good ditches at either side, using judgment in putting in culverts and draining low places, will enable them to dry off quicker, and this gives us dry roads sooner, but as long as there is much water in the ground, and we have the deep, rich soil that we have, we will have muddy roads, and "wheeling" will be a difficult and rather unpleasant task."
Victim of Runaway

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