The First Presbyterian Church in the Emmet County town of Ringsted can trace its history to 1903, when a modest church building was moved into the community. The unused church was moved on three bobsleds, pulled through frozen fields by a team of 24 horses over a two-week period. By spring, the stone foundation was complete and front steps added; the church was formally dedicated in June 1903.
In February 1958, a committee was formed to plan the financing and building of a new church. The congregation quickly voted to construct the new $65,000 facility, with ground broken by June and the cornerstone laid on September 14, 1958. The first service was held in the new building in February 1959, with the church dedicated two months later. In 1985, the congregation voted to share a pastor with the Presbyterian Church in nearby Armstrong.
The Harrison County town of Modale has had a public library since 1928, due to the efforts of the local Federated Married Teachers’ Club. The first library was located within the city hall, in the second floor of a downtown building. Original books were donated and community plays, bake sales, box suppers, and card parties served as fundraisers to help generate funds to grow the collection.
The library began receiving city funds in the 1940s; in 1978, an open house was held at the local American Legion hall to celebrate the library’s 50th anniversary. In March 1980, the Modale Public Library moved to its current location, a new building constructed to serve both the library and the fire department. The new space offered three times the space of the prior location.
The Hazel Glen one-room schoolhouse was originally constructed in 1912 to serve students in Washington Tonwship in western Ringgold County. When the county school was closed, the building was moved to the school grounds in the county seat of Mount Ayr where it was used as a classroom until 1979. The century-old school has since been restored and is now part of the Pioneer Museum complex in Ellston. It’s open summer Sundays from 1:00 to 4:00 or by appointment at (641) 464-2140.
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.
In 1851 a pioneer merchant Alexander Faulkner built a store in the Wayne County community now known as Lineville. Half of the store was in Missouri while half was in Iowa. To adhere to state laws, he Missouri portion of the store sold liquor while the Iowa part of the store sold clothing and groceries. Originally founded as Grand River, the name of Lineville was adapted in 1871.
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