The first bank in the Lucas County town of Russell was founded in July 1890 by two residents of nearby Chariton. Operations began in a small wood-frame building before moving to the pictured brick facility in 1896. The building has housed a myriad of bank operations over the past 110 years, including:
Russell Bank, 1890-1907
Russell State Bank, 1908-1930
Russell State Bank and Trust, 1930-1938
First State Bank of Chariton, 1938-1967
Hawkeye Bank and Trust of Chariton, 1967-1985
First Central Bank of Chariton, 1986
Resolution Trust, 1990-1997
Citizens Bank of Corydon, 1997-2003
Since January 2003, the office has operated as a branch location of Great Western Bank. It’s open three hours a day, five days per week.
The first post office in the Grundy County town of Reinbeck was established on May 8, 1872 with August Lusch appointed postmaster. After a number of locations, the current, standalone buildling began serving residents in November 1961. Despite being home to over 1,600 residents, budget cuts forced a reduction in hours; the office is only open afternoons, Monday through Friday.
The decision was made to construct a new United Methodist Church in the Keokuk county seat of Sigourney in the fall of 1899. Construction plans were made, and the cornerstone was laid during a ceremony held July 10, 1900 at 2:00 p.m. The cornerstone featured a number of items including a Bible, hymnal, current copies of Sigourney’s three local newspapers, and a listing of names of church leaders and members of the building committee. Construction was completed and the new church was dedicated on February 3, 1901. A basement was added in 1921, while a Sunday school addition was added in 1974.
A library association was formed in the Fayette County town of Oelwein in 1909, with $1.00 memberships required to join. The fee was dropped in 1911, with a free public library group formed and ownership given to the city. The library’s first location was within the second floor of the town’s city hall, open six days a week, four hours each day. The first librarian was paid a salary of $30 per month.
The pictured, permanent library building was constructed in 1929 at a cost of $40,000, designed by Raymond F. Moore, a Cedar Rapids-based architect. The brick building was significantly remodeled in 1967, with the addition of a new balcony, office, circulation desk, carpet and book shelves. The facility housed the library until July 2006, when a new, $2.6-million library opened its doors.
The first seat of Chickasaw County was the unincorporated community of Bradford, with a log courthouse constructed to hold early county records. Three years later, in 1857, the city of New Hampton was platted; its location in the geographic center of the county led to the designation of county seat within a decade. The first small frame courthouse was finished in 1865, but destroyed by fire fifteen years later.
The second courthouse in New Hampton was built with stone and brick and opened in 1881. It served residents until 1929, when the current courthouse opened. The three-story building features a Bedford limestone exterior.
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