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It was obvious that Concord was too small of a town to serve as the county seat.
A new county seat was needed.
Let the court house battle begin!
The population of the county had increased to such an extent that the court house in Concord was inadequate. Rooms and offices for the County Superintendent of Schools, County Attorney, and County Sheriff were rented above the stores in downtown Garner. Concord and Garner were two separated towns. Garner decided to annex (add as an extra part) Concord hoping for the county to relocate the court house nearer the railroad and business districts. But it wasn't as easy as simply making Concord part of Garner. The population of the county had greatly increased since the Concord court house was built, and now the west side of the county was heard from.
The Des Moines Register newspaper published the following:
"A lively county seat war is on in Hancock County with Garner and Britt both contesting. For many years past, Concord has been 'Seat of Justice,' but it has been abandoned as a town. The old court house has been condemned and a new one to be built. Garner is five miles from the east county line. Britt is nine miles from the west county line. Duncan is squarely in the middle of the county, but is no candidate for honor. Both towns are located near railroad crossings; perhaps both these crossroads may take a hand in determining the location of the new Hancock County Court House. Towns of Ellington, Miller, Hayfield, Klemme, and Goodell favor Garner. Towns of Hutchins, Stilson, and Corwith favor Britt. So the Garner Signal newspaper and the Britt Tribune newspaper make a merry war. Britt has offered to do that well, and Garner will likely go it one better."
Indeed, the newspapers did make a merry war. In fact, there were several unkind comments made in both the Garner and Britt newspapers. In 1897, the mayor of Britt had issued an order stating that cattle, hogs, and horses were not allowed to run loose around town. So the Garner newspaper pointed out this order, and then said, "Apparently Britt is an excellent grazing field. Hogs grow fat from the litter. It takes less work."
During this time period it was common for the Salvation Army to travel from town to town. They would have meetings similar to church services, and they would encourage people to live for God. The Britt newspaper said, "The Salvation Army is talking of going to Garner to live for awhile as their work there requires constant attention. Those Garner sinners are so infernal tough that they have to be mixed over frequently to keep a good scald on them."
The businessmen of Garner met to come up with a plan to ensure the court house would be located in Garner. They came up with the idea that if they could finance a 28-mile railroad up to the northwest part of the county, that the people in that part of the county would be more likely to vote for Garner. So the businessmen raised the money,
and the Klondike Railroad was built. This railroad was a great benefit to the farmers in the northwest as there was no need to haul their grain or drive their cattle to distant markets of Britt, Algona, or Forest City. Because there was now a shipping point close by, three new towns sprang up as if by magic: Crystal Lake, Woden, and Titonka.
These same businessmen came up with an even grander plan! They decided to buy a site... build a court house... and give it to the county!
They purchased the land where the court house is located today. Then they contacted every family on the east side of the county, and $30,000 was raised! It was a different dollar in 1897 than it is today. That was a huge sum of money, and many people sacrificed to give as much as they could.
Work began in 1899. The laying of the cornerstone was a huge event in Garner. The cornerstone itself was a gray, granite boulder delivered to Garner on the Klondike. When the basement walls were up, it was arranged to "Lay the Cornerstone" June 8, 1899. It was to be a "Colossal Celebration" and was advertised far and wide. People arrived by train, horse and buggy, and bicycle. Later the papers estimated that 10,000 people were on Garner's streets! There were speakers, a big beef barbecue, and the Lemmon Brothers Circus was in town. Even the County Board of Supervisors were there.A time capsule was placed inside the cornerstone. It included: 1)a photo or Mr. and Mrs. Anson Avery, the first white settlers of Hancock County 2)Letters between Britt and Garner discussing the possible court house locations 3)a program of the day's events 4)a photo of the Hancock County Board of Supervisor accepting the $30,000 donation.
All in all, the laying of the cornerstone was a day of celebration! The building was finished in November 1899, and the rejoicing suddenly stopped. Britt had filed a legal action which prohibited the removal of the county record for five years.
Because the County Superintendent of Schools, County Attorney, and County Sheriff were already moved to a new location, they were allowed to move their records and offices into the new building. But all of the other county business had to remain at Concord for five more years.
Finally, five years later, a vote was taken to move the county seat to Garner. It was a favorable vote, 2057 votes for and 568 votes cast against. So the Hancock County Board of Supervisors directed that the county offices be moved to the new location on November 9, 1903.
Garner was officially the county seat of Hancock County.
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