The Shelby County community of Westphalia was settled in 1872 by German Catholics. Church services were held almost immediately after the town was established, with the current building constructed between 1881 and 1882. Constructed from bricks baked by area craftsman, the church was constructed at a cost of $17,000. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
A post office was established in the Marshall County town of Haverhill on April 11, 1882, with Killian Kunkel appointed the first postmaster. Kunkel operated the post office from his general store, which sold hardware, crockery, and other merchandise. In 1888, a local pharmacist was appointed postmaster, and unsurprisingly, the post office was relocated to his drug store. After several subsequent locations, including the homes of two different postmasters, a standalone facility for the Haverhill Post Office was constructed; it opened in 1992.
On October 29, 1879, the post office at Cross was discontinued and Postmaster Fred A. Brown was moved to work at the newly-established Kellerton Post Office. Service started in the postmaster’s home and changed locations several times before 1931, when then-Postmaster Smiley B. Hedges purchased the former Ringgold County Savings Bank building for use as the post office. The present brick Kellerton Post Office facility was built in and dedicated in the fall of 1961.
A permanent charter was granted for an American Legion post in the Keokuk County town of Keswick on September 21, 1920, with 22 charter members. The first meetings were held in the I.O.O.F. Hall in Keswick before an old blacksmith shop was purchased in May 1956. The building was remodeled with volunteer help, and payments helped the group burn the mortgage by January 1964. Recent upgrades include an kitchen improvements, updated air conditioning, and new siding. Current members are from Keswick and the nearby towns of What Cheer, Thornburg, Gibson, Webster, and South English.
Postal service was established in the Benton County community of Van Horne in April 1882, several months before the town was officially incorporated. Van Horne was named for William C. Van Horne, a former officer of the Chicago and Alton Railroad. Until December 1, 1924, the U.S. Postal Service’s official name for the office was Van Horn, without the final e.