All posts by Brian McMillin

Post Offices

Post Office 52203 (Amana, Iowa)

Leave a comment

Post Office 52203 (Amana, Iowa)

Consisting of seven unincorporated villages and encompassing over 20,000 acres, the Amana Colonies are one of eastern Iowa’s most popular tourist attractions. More than 1.5 million visitors each year make the trip to the Amana Colonies to check out the restaurants and shops in the historic villages. Established by German immigrants, the establishment dates to 1855, and the Amana Colonies maintained a nearly self-sufficient economy for nearly eighty years.

Six of the seven Amana Colleges had their own post office locations, though only four remain today. The High Amana office was shuttered in 1968, while the West Amana location survived through 1994. The largest of the locations is the pictured post office in Amana. Amana is the largest of the villages, and includes a woolen mill, furniture shop, museum, and more.

Movie Theatres

Rialto Theatre (Pocahontas, Iowa)

Leave a comment

Rialto Theatre (Pocahontas, Iowa)

Construction began on the Rialto Theatre in downtown Pocahontas, Iowa, in early 1939, with the first movie shown September 3 of that year. The theatre operated continuously for nearly 50 years before closing in 1989. After three years sitting vacant, in May 1992, a meeting to discuss the reopening of the theatre attracted over 100 interested residents. The decision was made to to renovate and reopen the historic theatre as a multi-purpose venue for both movies and live entertainment.

After three years of renovations and repairs, the theatre reopened with great fanfare with a premiere screening of the Walt Disney movie Pocahontas on June 22, 1995. The movie brought staff and stars from Pocahontas to town for the screening and attracted media outlets from across the state. The theatre continues to operate today, with volunteers playing an integral role in the day-to-day operation. Movies are shown nightly, with a Sunday matinee; tickets are just $4.00 for adults and $2.00 for students and children.

Historic Sites, Town Signs

Delicious Apple Marker (East Peru, Iowa)

Leave a comment

Delicious Apple Marker (East Peru, Iowa)

A modest wooden sign on the north side of East Peru in Madison County, Iowa, marks the city’s discovery of the famous apple variety in 1892, five years after the community was founded. At the time, Louisiana-based Stark Nurseries held a contest to replace the “Ben Davis” apple, which was declining in nationwide popularity due to its lack of flavor. East Peru-area farmer Jesse Hiatt sent in the winning apple, which he called “Hawkeye.” The nursery bought rights to the apple and began growing it under the “Delicious” moniker.

Now labeled “Red Delicious,” the apple saw many changes over the years, as producers were able to make it firmer and juicer while allowing it to be stored in sealed warehouses for up to 12 months. In the 1980s, the Red Delicious represented nearly three-quarters of apple production in the state of Washington, the United States’ main apple producer. American consumers began to sour on the apple as other varieties gained prominence; by 2003, the Red Delicious apple lost over half its market share.

Schools

Former School (Sharpsburg, Iowa)

Leave a comment

Former School (Sharpsburg, Iowa)

Between 1950 and 1960, the state of Iowa lost over 3,000 school districts as part of a widespread consolidation effort across the state. The Taylor County community of Sharpsburg was no exception, as on July 1, 1959, voters in the area voted to consolidate into the school district in Lenox, a larger community 10 miles to the south and west.

While students in grades 7 – 12 were bused to Lenox, the Sharpsburg building continued to operate as an Elementary School following the consolidation. In the early 1960s, the Lenox Community School District proposed a series of bonds to construct a new high school in the city of Lenox. Various versions of the proposal were voted down by district residents eight times before approval was granted to construct and equip a $350,000 high school building in 1966.

The opening of the new high school marked the end of the Sharpsburg school, as area residents could easily be accommodated in the Lenox facilities. Final classes were held in Sharpsburg in 1968, and the school was sold by auction to a local resident for $2,100 in November 1968. Following the sale, the building was the building was used to store small square bales of hay and straw.  The property is owned by the same family and continues to be used for agricultural purposes as private property.