Iowa Backroads has featured a number of photos from towns being visited along the 2011 RAGBRAI route. They’re chronicled below:
Sunday, July 24
Though the small Carroll County community of Willey hasn’t had a full-service Post Office since 1901, resident mailboxes have been grouped in a single location for many years. A 1969 article in the Carroll Daily Herald noted a new facility that divided the mailboxes into two rows and added the town nameplate at the top of the stand, the first upgrade in 43 years. The pictured canopy was constructed in 2004, featuring 32 mailboxes along with benches for local children to wait for school buses.
Featuring a two-story bell tower and arched stained glass windows, the United Methodist Church building in the unincorporated Davis County community of West Grove was dedicated January 28, 1904. In 1923, the church temporarily closed as attendance declined, but by the following year, Reverend S.P. Trostle was installed as pastor and reinvigorated the congregation.
By 1938, the sandstone foundation of the church was crumbling and services were held in a community hall while cement blocks were installed to improve the foundation. A full basement was dug in 1945 and recent improvements include restoration of the stained-glass windows and the installation of a handicap-accessible ramp. In addition to the West Grove church, the current pastor also oversees the United Methodist Church in the nearby Appanoose County community of Jerome.
On January 19, 1905, residents in the Chickasaw County town of Nashua learned that Andrew Carnegie offered a $5,000 grant for construction of a new public library building. The offer was contingent that the city would furnish the site and a tax would be established to support the facility. Work was completed by the end of the year, with a formal dedication ceremony held in January 1906.
In 1986, a 3,000-square-foot lobby was added to the rear of the building, an upgrade entirely paid for by local donations and grants. The library is open Monday through Saturday.
By the end of 1919, school attendance in the Monroe County town of Lovilia had grown to the point classes were held in five different buildings labeled as “fire traps and unsanitary” by the Lovilla Press. Residents rallied around the issue and overwhelmingly passed a $42,000 bond issue to begin construction on a new school. Featuring modern brick and a full basement, the two-story, 60 x 90 feet building was completed in the fall of 1920.
In 1956, the Lovilia School District had 305 students, including many from students in Marysville and Hamilton, communities in adjacent Marion County. When the Marion county school board mandated students attended schools within their own county, Lovilia’s enrollment declined and plans were developed to consolidate schools in Melrose, Lovilia and Albia to a single district. Despite meetings and protests, reorganization went into effect with the last Lovilia High School class graduating in 1962.
Despite assurances that eight grades would remain in Lovilia, by 1977 only students through fourth grade remained in Lovilia. The school was shuttered entirely shortly after, with all students bussed to Albia. The school building today is privately owned.