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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This simple cemetery monument may be the only sign to mark the once-thriving hamlet of Greencastle in rural Jasper County. The village was platted in August 1855, one of the earliest established in the county. Grandeur visions were evident in the town plat, which featured a spacious public square surround by numerous rows of lots. Within two years, a two-story school building was built and the business district flourished with multiple general stores, a blacksmith shop, and a vineyard.
When the railroad was built two miles to the north in 1885, an exodus began. Merchants packed their inventories and moved to the new town of Mingo. A town with fifteen businesses, two churches, five doctors and a large school, Greencastle shrunk as quickly as it grew. By 1895, only a handful of businesses remained, while the post office closed on December 31, 1901. The pictured cemetery monument sits near the entrance of the well-maintained Greencastle Cemetery, which lies in the southwest corner of the area where the village once stood.
Published December 19, 2011 |
Cemeteries, Town Signs |
Jasper County
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This modest metal sign welcomes visitors to the Jasper County community of Valeria, highlighting the railroad romance that led to its establishment. In the early 1860s, the William H. Johnson family left the South to escape the atmosphere and attitudes of the Civil War, and settled at the present-day site of Valeria. William’s son Nicholas and his sister Edna Valeria would play key roles in the birth of the village.
Edna fell in love with a young civil engineer named McBride, who worked for the Chicago and Great Western Railroad. She and her beau convinced her father to allow the tracks to cross the Johnson land. An agreement was reached based on the condition that the community’s depot would be known as Valeria. The couple ultimately married, though McBride left the railroad to become a dentist.
Brother Nicholas entered into a real estate venture, and his signature appears on the papers that officially platted the town in 1883 and on abstracts of present property owners in Valeria. Its population peaked at 96 in 1970; the community is now home to 57 residents.
Published October 31, 2011 |
Town Signs |
The sign outside the Pocahontas County town of Palmer highlights the phenomenal success of the high school boys basketball team in the 1980s. A string of three consecutive championships began in 1986, with the 1988 team setting an Iowa all-time team scoring record, averaging 103.9 points per game during the season and tournament. The Palmer High School Panthers strung together a remarkable 103 wins before losing in the semifinals of the state tournament in 1989.
Like numerous small school districts in Iowa, Palmer merged with nearby Pomeroy in 1990. The combined Pomeroy-Palmer district brought home state championships in boys basketball in 1994, 2001, and 2002. The communities have since seen further consolidation; this year is their first as part of the Pocahontas Area school district based in the nearby county seat.
Published September 19, 2011 |
Town Signs |
This welcome sign directing traffic to the Buena Vista town of Albert City highlights its Swedish heritage with the slogan, How Swede It Is! When the community was established in 1890, it was initially named Manthrop, after a town in Sweden. The U.S. Postal Service was concerned about potential confusion between Manthrop and nearby Marathon, so the name was changed to Albert City, after Albertina Anderson, the wife of the town’s founder.
Published August 15, 2011 |
Town Signs |
Buena Vista County
| Map
