Honey Creek Township is a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

in Iowa County,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is named after the Honey Creek, a tributary of the Iowa River, which flows through it in a northwesterly direction.

History

Honey Creek Township was established on 18 February 1856 out of a part of old Marengo Township. The first township meeting was held in the pioneer town of Koszta, which with the Koszta Cemetery are located in Section 14 of the township. Early pioneer settlements were along watercourses because of the groves of trees which provided timber for farmers. One of the first settlements in the county was Hoosier Grove, later called The Hench Settlement, near where surveyors later platted Koszta. Samuel Huston, who was a winning plaintiff in the first civil lawsuit held in Iowa County in May 1847, founded the pioneer town of Koszta in Honey Creek Township in 1856.Dinwiddie, J.C. (1915) History of Iowa County, Iowa and its people. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co.

Martin Koszta The Koszta Affair (1853) was the name applied to a diplomatic episode between the United States and the Austrian Empire involving the rights in foreign countries of new Americans who were not yet fully naturalized. Background Martin Koszta, a man ...

was formerly a citizen of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

whom fled Hungary for Turkey, began the process of citizenship in the American consulate at

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, then began his immigration to the United States. After spending over a year in the United States, he returned to Constantinople on business. He departed for the United States on an American vessel, but was waylaid while on shore at the port of

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

. While held in chains on board an Austrian naval vessel awaiting a packet ship that would send him back to

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

and likely death, the United States intervened on his behalf. The incident, known as the

Koszta Affair The Koszta Affair (1853) was the name applied to a diplomatic episode between the United States and the Austrian Empire involving the rights in foreign countries of new Americans who were not yet fully naturalized. Background Martin Koszta, a man ...

, set a precedent for protections afforded US residents not yet fully naturalized.Defending Residents Abroad: The Almost Abduction of Martin Koszta in Smyrna
By Niels Eichhorn, 7 April 2020. Accessed 10 November 2020. The Koszta Post Office was established in 1857. Samuel Huston was responsible for building the first bridge in the township. It provided access to the town which he platted. The Koszta Cemetery was founded and initially laid out by Mart Coates. The first sawmill in Honey Creek township was built at Koszta in 1855. The first township school was built five years later, also in Koszta. A general store and hotel also once occupied the small town. The first congregation, of Methodist Epsicopal denomination, was organized in 1845 and in 1860 they built their own church.

References

Townships in Iowa County, Iowa 1856 establishments in Iowa Populated places established in 1856 Townships in Iowa {{IowaCountyIA-geo-stub