Jonathan Burnett Salisbury was working at doing public surveys for the government in various parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. In the summer of 1855, while running township lines through what is now Meeker County, Jonathan was so much pleased with the country that he stuck a claim stake in sections 18 and 19, in what is now Kingston Township. At that time, there were no other people there, except those of the surveying parties, within the limits of Meeker County. Returning to his home in Scott County, Iowa in October 1855, he stayed there until the spring of 1856, when he came back to Kingston with his family. Salisbury had brought all his possessions with him, and the trip took about one month. To one large, wide tracked wagon were hitched four yoke of oxen, and to another wagon, a team of horses. A good share of the time was spent in getting through the “big woods,” because there was no road other than a trail, and a good deal of chopping was necessary. This trail had been cut so that one team could barely get through, and was for years known as the “Old Territorial Road.”