The community of Humboldt celebrated when a new Post Office building opened its doors to the public in March 1956. The yellow brick building saw several changes over its years of operation, including a large addition in the mid-1960s and the addition of a lift for the inside steps in the late-1990s. The building’s owners leased the basement to a variety of businesses and organizations, including a local law firm from 1990 to 1995; the space has remained vacant since.
Air quality tests revealed mold problems in the building in April 2003, forcing the post office to relocate. The Humboldt Independent notes the tests were conducted following reports of employees getting sick in the building. The Post Office quickly moved to a “temporary” location in a former drugstore a few blocks southeast in downtown Humboldt. A 2004 plan to construct a new, permanent location for the Humboldt Post Office was scrapped due to U.S. Postal Service budget concerns. The once-temporary location remains home to the Post Office today. Read the rest of this entry »
Published February 3, 2012 |
Post Offices |
Humboldt County
Bethel Presbyterian Church in the Fayette County seat of West Union was officially organized in June 1867 with 12 charter members. The congregation first met in an old church facility and then the Fayette County Courthouse before a new brick building was constructed and dedicated in 1872. The first church was remodeled in 1893, but plans for an addition were interrupted when the building was destroyed by fire on February 11, 1922.
Prompt action was taken to construct a new church on the site of the old one, with the cornerstone laid on September 17, 1922 and dedication services held the following year. A basement was added in 1951, while an education wing was added (in the lighter brick) in 1961.
Published February 2, 2012 |
Churches |
Fayette County
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The town of Afton was named the seat of Union County in 1855, three years after the county was founded. Shortly after, a two-story frame building was constructed to serve as the county’s first courthouse. As the county grew, more space for the courthouse was needed and a larger brick building was constructed in Afton at a cost of $25,000. In 1890, residents of the growing city of Creston pooled funds to construct a new courthouse for the county. An election made the move official, as Creston officially gained county seat status on November 25, 1890. The present courthouse was constructed of concrete and limestone in 1951, at a cost of $300,000.
Published February 1, 2012 |
Courthouses |
Union County
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Established in 1855, the rural Wapello Community hamlet of Bladensburg was once a bustling community. At its prime, Bladensburg was home to 200 residents, three general stores, two blacksmith shops, a sawmill, flour mill and school. When the railroad lines and highways bypassed the town, residents left and businesses shuttered; the post office was closed in 1916. The pictured Community Hall is one of a handful of remaining buildings in Bladensburg. It was originally constructed as a Methodist Church, which was dedicated in January 1870.
Published January 31, 2012 |
Community Centers |
Wapello County
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This cemetery sign may be the only marker in the once-thriving Davis County hamlet of Paris. Founded in 1870, the town was named for settler Jackson Paris who offered land to the Chicago and Southwestern Railroad for both tracks and a depot. When population was sufficient to merit a Post Office, the name Paris was already in use for a town in Linn County. The alternate name Bunch was chosen, in honor of a prominent Doctor in nearby Drakesville.
The railroad refused to change its timetables, tickets, and signs to match the Post Office, so from the beginning, the town has been known by two names. Few buildings or signs remain in the rural Davis County town; postal service was discontinued in 1954 and the railroad ceased operations in 1965.
Published January 30, 2012 |
Town Signs |
Davis County
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