Isham Reavis (1836-1914), pioneer lawyer, judge, and longtime resident of Falls City, began writing his autobiography in 1909. It was never completed, but the existing portion includes Reavis's recollections of a Fourth of July celebration in Falls City in the late 1850s which seemed to have included everything but fireworks. Reavis said, "Early in June we concluded to hold a Fourth of July celebration, . . . There was no shade of any kind in town, no grove, nor tree, nor any object that would cast a shadow of sufficient extent to cover twenty people.