Tales from the Aisles
John Kyte Homestead, Part II
Robert Jamison and his wife Christina, and his wife’s brother, John Kyte, were Clarke County’s first permanent settlers in 1850. They bought their land for about $1.25 an acre with yearly taxes of $6.67. Both men were poor, and earned money splitting logs and selling corn to immigrants traveling the Morman Trail. Jamison’s initial land purchase was for 160 acres which would increase to 380 acres, and John Kyte’s holdings would grow to 670 acres.
Both Kyte and Jamison built large homes. The Jamison home has been demolished, but the John Kyte home, built in 1856, remains as Clarke County’s oldest. Both Jameson and Kyte had large families. John and Mary Jane Kyte had three children die in infancy. Robert Jamison became Clarke County’s first School Commissioner and served as a County Supervisor. The 7th generation of Jamison grandchildren, still live in Clarke County.
Through the generations the story has been told that an Indian Chief, his weapons, and his wife are buried in the field west of where the Jamison home once stood.
John Kyte’s barn still remains. Mabel Shay, a neighbor who was responsible for getting the Kyte Homestead listed on the National Historical Register wrote, “The barn is made of native timber, hewn by axe, and pegged instead of nailed, rugged and sturdy as the farmer who built it in the 1860’s. Originally, the barn had horse stalls on both sides of a center drive with an overhead loft for storing hay.” Only nine other complete homesteads in the Iowa Historical Register outdate the John Kyte homestead.
The first time I went looking for the Jamison and Kyte farms I noticed a picturesque older home which differed from other rural residences. This is the Jack and Donna Ames home which was built in 1880 for John Kyte’s son. Needing assistance, John Kyte offered his son a farm and a new home if he would return from California. His son accepted the offer and returned to Iowa with a set of blueprints for a San Francisco style home. The farm is located a mile south of Morman Trail, west of 270th, at 2827 Benton Street. Jack Ames’ parents, Ivan and Martha Ames, bought this farm in 1946. Martha Ames worked many years in the aisles of Robinsons.
In the summer of 1880, the Humeston and Shenandoah Railroad purchased 70 acres of fine flat land from J. P. Kline adjacent to the railroad and laid out the town of Weldon. This railroad connected Humeston, Leroy, and Weldon at Van Wert to the Des Moines, Osceola, and Southern Railroad to Cainsville, Mo. where connections could be made to other lines.
The Weldon Centennial book of 1980, states that J. P. Kline gave the footage for the streets to the town. The 140 foot wide main street was given on the condition that there would never be a tavern in the town. The development of Weldon was mostly completed in two years. Dr. Enos Mitchell built the first home, the next was built by Dr. T. M. Wall.
The first business house was established by L.G. and F.M. Jamison who moved their stock of goods from nearby Smyrna. Within six years there would be 24 businesses, five doctors, two churches, and a school.
John Kyte retired to Weldon in the late 1880’s. He sold the Kyte homestead to Arthur Hoover in 1900. There were two subsequent owners before O. M. Slaymaker, a prominent attorney in Osceola, bought the historic Kyte Homestead in 1911. The O.M. Slaymaker family never lived on the large homestead, but they maintained their ownership through most of the 20th Century.
