"The first election was held at Westport in October, 1838, that being the only poll opened for the county. The only candidates were for members of the Assembly; thirty-two votes were cast. The first member of the General Assembly elected from this county was the Hon. George Greene, member of the Legislative Council, elected in 1840. The first store opened was at Westport, by Albert [John] Henry, in the fall of 1838. The second at Ivanhoe, in the spring of 1839, by Col. William H. Merritt. [Illustration: GOING SHOPPING IN THE EARLY DAYS FROM CARROLLS'S PIONEER HISTORY] [Illustration: INDIAN BOYS] [Illustration: INDIAN TEPEE] [Illustration: LATER INDIAN HOUSE] [Illustration: INDIAN GRAVE] "The first celebration was on the 4th of July, 1839, at Westport, Judge Mitchell, Orator. There was a dinner, toasts, and a ball, whereof William H. Smith, Andrew J. McKean and H. W. Gray, were managers. "The fifth decennial census of the United States was taken in 1840, in this county, by H. W. Gray, Deputy Marshal. The population was 1,342. The influx of settlers for the next three years was quite rapid, during which time the population reached probably three thousand. The largest proportion of the emigration was of Southern origin. The early settlers were plain, honest, hospitable people, not much accustomed to legal restraints, and rather impatient of the slow process and technicalities of the law. As usual, in all new countries, they were annoyed by vagabonds, who flocked into the settlements, calculating on impunity in their depredations, on account of the inefficiency of the police regulations. A rude justice was not unfrequently meted out to offenders without recourse to legal forms, or the intervention of courts. "In common with all frontier settlements, the first settlers here were poor; they were obliged to transport their produce in wagons mostly, to the Mississippi River, at points sixty or seventy miles distant. When reached at such disadvantage the markets were very low, consequently the accretions of wealth were slow, and were mainly invested in the homestead of the farmer. The discovery of gold in California with the resulting emigration, opened a good market for the farmers at home. Afterwards, eastern emigration, with the building of railroads, connecting the people with eastern markets, greatly accelerated the prosperity of this county as well as all other parts of the west. The financial crisis of 1857 interposed a check to this onward career of prosperity. It was but temporary, however, and the people had fully regained their former standing when the rebellion commenced.