LYTLE’S GROVE

 Lytle’s Grove, section 21 Douglas Township,  was homesteaded by James S. Lytle in July 1854.

A March 22, 1929 article in the Creston News Advertiser stated that James S. Lytle arrived in May 20, 1855* ( I believe this is a typo, as many other sources give the date as 1854) with his wife and six children from Jefferson County Ohio. They came the entire distance by team, hauling 1,700 pounds of freight and were 37 days on the road.  They camped at what is now called Lytle’s Grove until they had time to erect a log cabin on the south east corner of the nearby section 17.   In 1858 the Western Stage Company opened a mail and passenger route from Albia to Council Bluffs and the little cabin became a tavern on that stage line.  It became well-known in the years that followed as a place of great hospitality, and was patronized until the coming of the railroad to Cromwell in 1869. The Lytle’s are buried in nearby Lytle’s Grove Cemetery.