Postal service was established in the Linn County town of Walker on August 12, 1873, first operating out of Postmaster James K. Hotchkins’ home. Before the current facility was constructed in 1975, the post office was located in a number of buildings including a former church in 1972.
A map of the Linn County town of Walker was first produced in 1874, but the community was not officially incorporated until 1891. Following incorporation, the town moved to establish a water works system, construct a town hall and jail, and construct cement sidewalks in the early 1900s. Electricity was brought to the town in 1917, while residents saw street paving begin in 1931. The city hall currently meets in this modest brick building on Rowley and Park Streets in downtown Walker.
The public library in the Linn County community of Coggon dates to 1935 and was first organized by the local Ladies’ Literary and Social Club. The club came to an agreement with the town council to allot funds to the library from the Parks and Recreation Budget. The library was located in the front room of the City Hall building, and by 1954, the collection exceeded 6,000 books. In 1958, the library was relocated to the public school to meet state education requirements. The library has since relocated to Main Street in the one-story building that used to house the local newspaper, the Coggon Monitor.
The new Center Point Post Office was dedicated Saturday, June 13, 1970, with a ceremony including Marines from Waterloo and an address from Cedar Rapids-based U.S. Postal Service official Richard M. Loftus. Construction had begun on the 1,944-square-feet facility in July 1969, and the building was first occupied March 1. Postal service was first established in October 1844.
The public library in Marion dates to 1901 when the local Federation of Women’s Clubs first organized a reading room and began soliciting donations for money, books, and furniture from the community. Within two years a tax levy was approved to support the library and nearly $4,000 was raised to purchase a lot for the new facility. Construction costs were covered by a $10,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie; the cornerstone was laid in September 1904, and the new library was dedicated in March 1905.
When a modern library facility was constructed 91 years later, the Carnegie building was sold to the First United Methodist Church in Marion. The historic building now houses church classrooms and offices.