In 1903, four years after the Kossuth County town of Lone Rock was planted, a group of farmers and merchants met to discuss telephone service for the community and surrounding areas. A company was quickly formed, and shares were issued to fund purchase of a switchboard and installation of telephone lines surrounding Lone Rock in all directions. The present office building was constructed in 1958 in downtown Lone Rock.
Published January 24, 2012 |
Businesses |
Kossuth County
| Map
The Austinville State Savings Bank was established in the unincorporated Butler County town of Austinville in 1911. In addition to surviving the Great Depression, the bank survived a number of robberies and attempted robberies. In 1922, over $2,000 was stolen from the safe while nitroglycerin was used in a similar robbery attempt in 1930. Another robbery occurred on February 17, 1940, when burglars cut through the bank’s 3,000-pound safe to steal $1,000. The last robbery was October 4, 1985, as a new security system was installed shortly after the incident.
After a series of acquisitions, the bank was converted to a branch of the Lincoln Savings Bank. When the Lincoln Savings Bank decided to close the Austinville office, community members met to discuss ways to preserve the historic building, related memorabilia, and the contract post office which shared space with the bank. The Austinville Historical Society was quickly formed and took control of the building. The post office branch continued to operate for more than a decade before its closure on June 2, 2011.
Published January 23, 2012 |
Banks, Post Offices |
Butler County
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Julie Van Holland was the first customer to the new Post Office facility in the Sioux County community of Rock Valley, which opened its doors to the public at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, June 1, 1970. Construction on the $61,000 facility was finished a few days prior, nearly a year and a half after the construction contract was signed and over four years after the U.S. Postal Service formally announced Rock Valley would receive a new post office facility. The building was formally dedicated July 16, 1970.
Published January 20, 2012 |
Post Offices |
Sioux County
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The history of the United Methodist Church in the Jasper County town of Reasnor dates to the founding of the town. Early Reasnor records suggest in 1877 that 24 Methodist men and women were responsible for the initial platting of the town. Services were held at the local railroad depot until the first church was constructed in 1879. The present Reasnor United Methodist Church building was constructed in 1898, though it was originally occupied by the Union Evangelical Church. The church shares a pastor with the church in the nearby unincorporated town of Killduff.
Published January 19, 2012 |
Churches |
Jasper County
| Map
The Cherokee Public Library was organized by a group of twelve local women in 1886 and officially operated out of a permanent space in 1898. By January 1903, Cherokee had received confirmation of a $10,000 grant awarded by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. The grant was increased by $2,000 the following year, and the new building was formally dedicated and opened in April 1905. A significant expansion project added two floors to the rear of the building in October 1998. The library is open six days a week to serve residents in Cherokee and the surrounding area.
Published January 18, 2012 |
Public Libraries |
Cherokee County
| Map
