One of my pet theories regarding the Ku Klux Klan in southern Iowa during the 1920s is that the organizational seeds in Wayne County were planted and nurtured during 1924 by organizers from Lucas County, where the Klan had gained considerable strength during 1923.
Although my research is superficial, that idea seems to be affirmed by a report on one of the earliest organizational meetings held in Wayne County, on Wednesday, May 26, 1924, in Seymour. You can read more about that meeting here.
In that report, a Chariton-area farmer, John P. Ream, Klan organizer for Lucas and Wayne counties, was identified as the meeting organizer. The Rev. Jesse D. Pontius, pastor of Chariton's First Christian Church, probably was the principal speaker, addressing the topic, "Americanism."
The biggest Klan event in Wayne County during its short period of ascendance was held more than a year later, on Aug. 22, 1925, in conjunction with the Wayne County Fair in Corydon. The advertisement here for the Klan event was published in The Chariton Herald Patriot just prior to the big day.
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Digital archives of The Seymour Herald --- the most complete available online for Wayne County --- allow us to track Klan activity during the remainder of 1924. I've reserved a couple of longer articles for another time because they provide a good deal of insight into both the Klan and anti-Klan agendas, but the reports suggest an accelerating effort by the Klan as 1924 continued.
On June 12, The Herald reported that, "Another meeting of the Ku Klux Klan was held Friday evening at the Farmers Union Hall and was attended by a large number of our citizens. The purposes and principles of the order were explained by the speaker. From the interest being shown, we believe that it is a safe prediction to say that there will be several hundred Klansmen here within the next few months."
Another meeting was held the following week, as reported in the Herald of June 19: "Another Klan lecture was given at the Farmers Hall last Friday by a Rev. Searcy of Oskaloosa. The meeting was well attended, not only by residents of this community, but from all over the county." The speaker was the Rev. T.A. Searcy, pastor of Oskaloosa's First Baptist Church.
On June 30, according to The Herald of July 3, "A large open air meeting of the Ku Klux Klan was held Monday evening south of Chariton, and was attended by men and women from all over this district. It was estimated by those who attended that there were 2,500 men and women present. A national speaker was present and addressed the large gathering."
This almost without a doubt is the rally my late father spoke of, hosted by his uncle and aunt, Durward and Daisy (Myers) Ream, on their farm near the Lucas-Wayne county line along what now is Highway 14 just north of the Wolf Creek crossing. Uncle Durward was a brother of Klan organizer John P. Ream.
On July 10, The Herald reported that "Another Ku Klux Klan meeting was held in a field two miles west of Promise City, Monday evening. Almost 500 men and women from all over the country attended the meeting and heard the talk given by the national lecturer for this order. A number of men and women from Seymour and vicinity attended the meetings.
"Klan meetings are being held all over this district now and it would seem that the organization is growing, if the number of people who attend these meetings are evidence.
"We understand that a Klan meeting of people from five counties was held near Plano last night (Wednesday) and it was expected that several thousand people would attend."
The next week, in its edition of July 17, The Herald carried a report on that rally under the headline, "Monster Klan Meeting Held."
"A monster Klan meeting was held Wednesday evening of last week in a field south of Plano. 'Forty acres of people and cars' was the way one man described the meeting. This was a meeting of five counties and how many hundreds of people were present, no one seems to be able to say. Men and women from all over this section of Iowa and northern Missouri were in attendance.
"A national speaker was present who addressed the assembly, and talks were made by some of the residents of this district. This meeting was different from any that have been held previously. The grounds were well lighted with electricity, generated from a gasoline engine that had been brought to the meeting for that purpose, and a large cross lighted by red electric lights burned all evening. Those from this vicinity who attended the meeting stated that this was a sight worth seeing.
"The Klan must be growing in Wayne County, as we understand that a county organization will be completed this week."
Later on during July, the Rev. Mr. Pontius apparently returned to Seymour for another meeting, as reported upon July 24: "A minister from Chariton was here Thursday evening and addressed a large number of people at the Community Hall. He explained the principles of the Klan and we understand that a number signified their acceptance of the principles."
And as the month drew to a close, the Klan flexed its muscles by burning a few crosses in Seymour and the vicinity, as reported upon in The Herald of July 31:
"That the Ku Klux Klan is here was impressed upon the minds of many people Thursday evening after the band concert when they saw the fiery cross burning on the south side of the square near the old well at the west end of the Rock Island platform.
"The Band Concert was nearly over when the cross was lighted. It is understood that two men drove up in a car, stopped near the old well, set the cross out and lighted it and then drove on. People sitting in their cars close to the place where the cross was burned were able to recognize the two men.
"Friday evening, about 9 o'clock another cross was burned on the Big Jim dirt dump, northeast of here. Just before the cross was lighted a gun was fired several times and it is supposed that this was done to attract attention that way so the burning cross could be seen.
"About 9:30 Saturday evening another fiery cross was burned on the old Sunshine dirt dump. This dump is not so high as the Big Jim dump and not so many people saw the burning cross. If the burning of the cross is a warning to violators of the law, we'd say that they are getting plenty of warnings.
"There are many rumors as to the meaning of the burning cross. One rumor is that it means that there are 300 members in the township. Another rumor is that it means there is a complete organization in the community, and still another rumor is that it is a warning to someone. There is speculation almost without end as to the meaning of the burning of the cross, but what the real meaning is we have been unable to learn."
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Perhaps the largest Klan event in southern Iowa during 1924 was a massive state-wide rally held in Chariton on Saturday, Aug. 2, 1924. The Klan always exaggerated its numbers, so estimates that 50,000 attended are inaccurate, but it did draw thousands, including Wayne Countyans. Here's a report from the Herald of Aug. 7:
"Quite a number from this vicinity were in Chariton Saturday evening attending the big Klavern of the Ku Klux Klan. There was an enormous crowd there and we understand that the eating places in Chariton were eaten out before the evening was over. A big parade consisting of floats from nearly every county in the state, and a large number of hooded knights on horseback was watched by a large crowd. A conservative estimate placed the crowd at 50,000. One man stated that there were many who saw the parade and twice that number of were unable to get close enough to see it.
"The assembly was held in a large field near Chariton and several national speakers addressed the crowd. During the evening a grand display of fireworks was fired."
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Klan activity continued into September. On Sept. 4, The Herald reported that "Several Ku Klux Klan meetings have been held in this vicinity recently. An open air meeting was held at Genoa Friday evening and one at Sewal Thursday evening. Local people made the addresses, and we understand that national speakers will address the next gatherings held at these places."
The following report was published on Sept. 11: "A meeting of the Ku Klux Klan of Wayne and Appanoose counties was held Friday evening about four miles east of here. The attendance from Appanoose county was large yet there were quite a number from Wayne County. A speaker from Appanoose county addressed the large gathering."
And finally, as reported on Sept. 25, a return visit to Seymour by the Rev. Mr. Pontius and his crew from Chariton didn't work out quite as planned.
"Due to bad weather only a small crowd assembled at the Christian Church Friday evening to hear Rev. Pontius of Chariton deliver his address on "Americanism." However, the speaker and his party, who were driving from Chariton, were unable to get here until after the audience had gone to their homes. the rain Friday afternoon had made the roads heavy and the speaker and his party got stuck in a mudhole near Promise City.
"The address was to have been under the auspices of the Ku Klux Klan, and there were a number of Klansmen there in their regalia, both at the door and inside the church. When the speaker failed to arrive, G.A. Jeffrey, pastor of the church, at the request of the Klansmen, read the 12th chapter of Romans and made a few brief comments on it after which the crowd was dismissed."
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By the spring of 1925, Klan activity seems to have shifted west in Wayne County, focused on Corydon. Unfortunately, only a few back issues of the Corydon newspapers have been digitalized, but several clues can be found in the "From Our Files" section of editions of the Times-Republican from 1975 that are available.
The Times-Republican reported on April 16, 1925, for example that "A large fiery cross was seen burning in the courthouse park Saturday evening about 9 p.m. It attracted considerable comment but otherwise there was no demonstration and apparently no effort to have any kind of a meeting. It was generally accepted as a sign of the presence of an organization of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan."
On July 9, the Times-Republican reported that "A parade and meeting of the Knights and Ladies of the Ku Klux Klan was held in Corydon Wednesday evening of last week. The parade reached almost around the square and probably several hundred took part in the demonstration including members from fairly distant points such as Centerville and Chariton."
The Seymour Herald, in its edition of Aug 6, carried the following report regarding the big rally advertised at the top of this post: "The Corydon Times Republican carried the announcement last week that the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan would stage a great demonstration at the county Fair Grounds on Saturday evening, August 22, in connection with the Wayne County Fair which starts Tuesday, August 24. The demonstration will be public and a nominal admission fee will be charged, the receipts to go to the Klan and the County Fair Association.
"The gathering will be a state meeting and knights and ladies of the Klan will be present in full regalia. Music, speeches, drills and maneuvers of the hooded order will be given. It is expected that 20,000 knights will be present."
During August of 1975, the Times-Republican condensed several reports into the following account of that big event, published under the "From Our Files" header:
"A Konklave of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan was the biggest news of the week in Wayne County in 1925. Over 40,000 were expected to attend the meeting at the Wayne County fair grounds August 22, to be the largest Klan gathering ever held in Iowa up to the present time.
" 'It will be an appropriate curtain raiser to the big county fair. The two organizations are cooperating with each other. The Klan uses the fair grounds for a nominal sum and the fair in turn receives boosts from the Klan.' "
"Large ads for the konklave promised, "An added, mysterious feature will be given at 10:30 a.m. No American should miss this two hours of entertainment." Prizes of from $25 to $100 were offered for the best band, best drill team and $50 for the largest robed delgation. 'Everyone welcome, bring the children.'
"The Corydon Konklave followed several local invitational Klan meetings, where admission was gained only by the presentation of cards given out by Klan members. A parade was held in early July that reached 'almost around the square.'
"The actual number who attended the Ku Klux Klan Konklave in Corydon, August 22, was several thousand less than expected, but it was reported that 'all had a fine time.'
" 'It was a success in every way and worth all that it cost in labor and money, according to the chief promoters. Everywhere knights and ladies in their white garb were in evidence and quite a few knights of high rank wearing white robes with colored streamers were seen.
'An immense cross lighted by electric lights adorned the infield just across from the grandstand. At one point in the program the lights were turned off and a beautiful young lady in the attitude of the 'Goddess of Liberty' stood forth in resplendent glory under the light of a big cluster of bulbs about her head and in her hand a torch of liberty. It was a beautiful spectacle.
'The program lasted until midnight. The closing feature was the presentation of the All American picture play, "The Fifth Horseman." This was shown upon an immense screen that was erected on the track.
'Many came in automobiles from long distances for the meeting. Some came in cars that were especially adorned with insignia for the occasion.' "
This probably represented the high point of Klan activity in Wayne County, although further research would add additional details. And even by the time the rally was held, interest appears to have been waning in the eastern part of the county, as it was in Lucas County.
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