All posts by Brian McMillin

Schools

Former School (Hillsboro, Iowa)

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Former School (Hillsboro, Iowa)

The public school building in Hillsboro in Henry County, Iowa, has sat vacant since 1986. The red brick building was constructed fifty years prior and originally used as the high school for Hillsboro area students. When Hillsboro aligned with Bonaparte and Farmington to form the Harmony School District, the school became a K-6 elementary school for students in the immediate area, before being used for all third and fourth grade students across the district.

Proposals to close the school surfaced as early as 1979, as part of a bond proposal to relocate all students to Farmington, the largest community in the district. The proposal was soundly defeated, largely due to voters from Bonaparte and Hillsboro, where older buildings would have been closed if the bonding plan passed. The defeat provided a reprieve for the Hillsboro school, though closure of either the Bonaparte or Hillsboro school buildings quickly became imminent. The State Department of Public Instruction recommended the Hillsboro location be closed, and the Harmony school board voted to do so following the 1985-86 school year.

Citizens in Hillsboro were unhappy about the closure, but threats to change districts or take legal action against the Harmony school board never materialized. Fourteen years later, the Harmony School District presented a bond proposal to renovate the elementary school in Bonaparte as part of a district-wide facility improvement plan. Hillsboro residents, possibly still unhappy about losing the closure of their school building, overwhelmingly voted against the proposal 83-7.

Post Offices

Post Office 52329 (Rowley, Iowa)

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Post Office 52329 (Rowley, Iowa)

When federal officials temporarily closed the Rowley, Iowa, post office in May 2008 due to toxic mold, a retired farmer took matters into his own hands. Rowley resident Jim Grover purchased the 40-year-old post office building in June and immediately began making the repairs necessary to reopen the building. Improvements included a new coat of paint inside the post office following the mold removal, and a $9,000 investment in a new roof to prevent future leakage and molding.

The Post Office reopened December 26, 2008, following an official inspection of the building conducted by the U.S. Postal Service. In the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Rowley Mayor Rita Knutson described the post office reopening as an “awesome… Christmas present.” Rowley is a community of 290 residents located in south-central Buchanan County in Northeast Iowa.

Movie Theatres

Princess Theater (Mt. Ayr, Iowa)

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Princess Theater (Mt. Ayr, Iowa)

The Princess Theater served the Ringgold County, Iowa, community of Mt. Ayr for over 70 years before closing its doors in June 1985. The theatre lived on as a plumbing supply store and bar before it was purchased by philanthropist Paul Ramsey of the Ramsey Farm Foundation and donated to a local community group for restoration. The non-profit Princess Theater Troupe ran with the project, raising over $370,000 to significantly renovate and update the theater location. By August 2008, renovations were completed and sold-out audiences watched a locally-produced live performance.

The volunteer-run theater is also equipped for movies, which are shown Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays when no live performances are scheduled. Check out the theater’s official website for current showtimes, and more information on the theater restoration project.

Public Libraries

Public Library (Lenox, Iowa)

Public Library (Lenox, Iowa)

Representatives from community clubs and organizations came together on Monday, March 17, 1941, to formally establish the Public Library Association of Lenox, Iowa. During the meeting, officers were appointed to the library board, a constitution was written, and plans were solidified to open the library within two weeks.

The newfound library was located in two rented rooms within a downtown bank building. Volunteers installed shelves in the rooms and organized the initial collection of books, donated entirely by local community members. In addition to book donations, library officers also encouraged monetary contributions. The first donor to the library was from nearby Creston:

Mr. N. I. Menzer of Creston was in Lenox Tuesday and, after hearing a brief talk on the library, asked if he could contribute. His check for $5 is now in the hands of the treasurer. Mr. Menzer has the honor of being the first cash contributor.
from the March 20, 1941, edition of the Lenox Time Table newspaper

Other donations were received by community groups and individuals, and by the library’s opening, the association had collected an additional $40. Due to lack of funds, a librarian was not immediately hired; the library was run entirely by volunteers and open twice weekly.

The current (pictured) library location was established in 1975. For more details on the library’s collections and features, check out their well-maintained website or Facebook page.

Downtowns, Historic Sites

Opera House (Corning, Iowa)

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Opera House (Corning, Iowa)

Major renovations are planned for the former Opera House in downtown Corning in Adams County, Iowa. The 1902 building was constructed across from Central Park replacing a bank and merchandise stores destroyed by fire five years earlier. For its first decade of existence, the Corning Opera House staged exclusively live performances. By 1921, motion pictures became the primary function with only occasional staged events, with the last known live production held in 1934. The 724-seat Opera House was one of hundreds built in Iowa in the early twentieth century.

The building was sold to the local newspaper publishing company, where it was used for nearly 70 years before it was donated to the city of Corning in December 2001. A board of directors was formed, and more than $500,000 has been raised to improve the building, which received new windows in 2006 and a new elevator in 2009. In August, the Opera House received a $1.5 million Main Street Iowa grant, and plans are being developed to reopen a fully restored Corning Opera House by April 2012.