In the mid-1930s, Iowa natives Dr. W.D. and Ida Kinney purchased over 4,000 acres of land in Worth and Cerro Gordo counties near the community of Hanlontown. It was one of several land purchases made by the Kinney family after oil was discovered on their retirement property in Texas. After spending nearly 20 years in northern Iowa, Dr. Kinney passed away in February 1957; Mrs. Kinney died the following year.
Dr. and Mrs. Kinney were avid readers and had amassed a collection of over 5,000 books in a 900-square-foot space in their Mason City home. Following their death, the collection and accompanying mahogany shelving were to be donated to the community of Hanlontown, with the condition that the town provided permanent space for housing the books and established a public library.
Two lots were purchased on Main Street, and a former rural school building was relocated to Hanlontown from the Forest City area. A basement was added to the building and by the fall of 1959, the library was open to the public. The former school served as the community library until 1978, when the library relocated to the newly-constructed community center.
The limestone and brick Stacyville Bank building in Stacyville in Mitchell County dates to 1899, one year after the bank was originally established. Ownership and name changed temporarily in the early 1900s before the Stacyville Savings Bank moniker was reestablished in 1925. The building, which included a vault and safety deposit boxes, served the community until 19512, when the Stacyville Savings Bank moved to a new location. The bank building later was home to the Stacyville Post Office and is currently occupied by a local insurance agency.
The beginning of the State Savings Bank in the Taylor County seat of Bedford dates to 1915, when a new bank opened in the nearby town of Sharpsburg. From Sharpsburg, the bank grew with new offices added in Gravity in 1931 and Clearfield in 1935, and then Bedford in 1945. At that time, the bank charter was moved from Sharpsburg to Bedford, and in 1966, the pictured bank building was constructed.
State Savings Bank was the only financial institution in Bedford to survive the 1980s farm crisis. The charter moved again in 1998 to Creston, where a new location was established; today, the Creston, Bedford, and Clearfield offices remain open. The State Savings Bank recently announced a merger with Valley Bank & Trust, which has locations in Cherokee and Marcus in northwest Iowa.
Residents of the Humboldt County community of Rutland celebrated in August 1967 when Postmaster General Lawrence F. O’Brien announced that a contract had been awarded to remodel the interior of the Rutland Post Office building. Air-conditioning was added to the 475-square-foot building, which still serves as the community post office today. A few minor changes have been made since 1967, including the addition of the ramp, a permanent flag pole and installation of a full-size mailbox.
The First Baptist Church in the Butler County town of Shell Rock was organized in a school house with 12 founding members on January 18, 1864. A permanent facility for the church was built at the cost of $5,500 and dedicated debt-free in 1872. Three years later, an 1,000-pound bell was installed. Not only does the church continue to operate from the 140-year-old building, the bell still rings, and three of nine evergreen trees planted in 1872 remain in the church lot. Pastor Alan Dicks came to First Baptist in 2006; services are held each Sunday morning, plus Sunday and Wednesday evenings.
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