David Wood Townsend (July 18, 1844 – March 8, 1912) was an American builder. Townsend was a business owner and builder in Western

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. Starting out representing Knapp, Stout & Co. Lumber, he later owned and operated several Townsend Bros. Lumber Yards both in Iowa and Nebraska. In 1882, he oversaw the building of the Plymouth County Bank building. In 1884, Townsend and J. M. Starbuck contracted to build the Ida County Courthouse. In 1884, Townsend was contracted to build the school house at Cherokee, Iowa. In 1886, Townsend contracted and oversaw the building of the

Marshall County Courthouse (Iowa) The Marshall County Courthouse is located in Marshalltown, Iowa, United States. The current building was completed in 1886 to replace an earlier building. The courthouse is a dominant landmark in downtown Marshalltown. It was individually listed o ...

and the court house at Council Bluffs and built a hotel at Sioux City. That same year he also added another story to the

Sioux City Journal The ''Sioux City Journal'' is the daily newspaper and website of Sioux City, Iowa. Founded in 1864, the publication now covers northwestern Iowa and portions of Nebraska and South Dakota. The Journal has won numerous state, regional and nation ...

building in Sioux City. In 1898, he contracted with Cutting & Willett and K of P Lodge at Oto, Woodbury county, Iowa to build a two story brick building with the lodge taking the top floor. Some of the buildings are listed in the

National Register of Historic Places listings in Iowa Image:Iowa counties map.png, 300px, Iowa counties (clickable) rect 230 333 288 390 National Register of Historic Places listings in Adair County, Iowa, Adair County rect 201 388 259 431 #Adams County, Adams County poly 602 6 603 33 604 33 604 ...

. He also owned several general mercantile stores including one at Melrose, Iowa and another one at Granville, Iowa. He also owned and operated a mercantile establishment at Edgerton, Minnesota. In the 1890s, Townsend owned the ACME Real Estate and Exchange Co., of Cherokee, Iowa. He also managed the Cherokee Brick and Tile Works in the 1890s after his partner John M. Starbuck left for the Klondike Gold Rush. They supplied over 10,000,000 bricks for the

Cherokee Mental Health Institute The Cherokee Mental Health Institute is a state-run psychiatric facility in Cherokee, Iowa. It opened in 1902 and is under the authority of the Iowa Department of Human Services. History Early years As early as 1890, a movement was begun to bu ...

Insane Asylum.

Early life and family

David Wood Townsend was born at

Mount Gilead, Ohio Mount Gilead is a village in and the county seat of Morrow County, Ohio, United States. It is located northeast of Columbus. The population was 3,503 at the 2020 census. It is the center of population of Ohio. The village was established in 1 ...

, July 18, 1844, to Eli and Abigail Mosher (Wood) Townsend. Abigail was the sister of Samuel Newitt Wood and Stephen Mosher Wood. His parents and grandparents were involved in the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

in Ohio. Townsend married Mary Ellen Brown on April 14, 1868 and they were the parents of Glenn Eli Townsend, Clara Ellen Townsend, Charles Willis Townsend, Perry Townsend, Archie Townsend, Royal Wood Townsend, Mary Edna (Townsend) Adsit, and Elma Townsend. Mr Townsend married Sarah Maggie (Ellis) Cooper on February 14, 1882 and they were the parents of Helene (Townsend) Smith and David Waldo Townsend. Mr Townsend married Mary Ann Bunford in 1906. He died in Wichita, Kansas on March 8, 1912. Townsend's grandson David W. Townsend was an Art Director for

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

Studios in the 1930s.Los Angeles Times, August 6, 1935, "Crash Kills Film Expert, David Townsend, Art Aide, Dead and Three Injured as Car Falls in Canyon" pg A2

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, David Wood People from Mount Gilead, Ohio 1844 births 1912 deaths