In 1846, Henry Crease was one of several founders to establish the Jefferson County town now known as Batavia. Originally named Creaseville, citizens successfully petitioned for a name change on January 19, 1853. While the reason for the new moniker isn’t known, it could be from the Illinois city of Batavia.
On June 30, 1957, Donald Leinen was named the acting postmaster at the Onslow Post Office in Jones County in eastern Iowa. His confirmation as permanent postmaster was sent to the Senate by President Eisenhower, with an official title change coming July 24, 1958. That year, he purchased a lot from the town and built a modern post office building which he leased to the government. The facility featured 111 new lock boxes for patrons, plus the latest government equipment for handling and sorting mail. Leinen served as Postmaster through 1983; the post office continues to operate out of the building today.
The original Baptist church building in the Keokuk County town of Ollie was destroyed by fire on January 9, 1944. While construction plans to replace the building were drawn up quickly, and basement construction began the following year. War-time conditions slowed construction progress, and the full building was not dedicated until October 1952. The steeple was added in 1974.
In 1937, the local Study Club in the Winnebago County town of Thompson voted to sponsor a community library as a civic improvement project. The club assembled a library board consisting of representatives from several local organizations; by January 1938, over 250 books had been collected and the library was operational. The library occupied a room in town hall for its first 45 years.
In 1983, the library board received a $20,000 grant from the Kinney-Lindstrom foundation to finish a portion of the new fire station building for library use. Community groups volunteered time and money for interior furnishings and library equipment, plus exterior landscaping. The library remains in the same location today; it’s open five days weekly.
The first Muscatine County Courthouse was constructed of brick in 1840, three years after the county was established but six years before Iowa became a state. The courthouse was replaced by a two-story brick building in 1867, constructed at a cost of $29,000. The present building was completed in 1910 and features a limestone exterior, Corinthian columns, and an iconic clock tower. The courthouse was one of two Beaux-Arts buildings in Muscatine designed by Joseph E. Mills and Sons of Detroit.