Jails, Museums

Adams County House of History (Corning, Iowa)

Adams County House of History (Corning, Iowa)

The Adams County House of History in Corning served as the jail and sheriff’s office from 1877 until 1955. The building was turned into a museum in 1969, after being purchased by funds raised via an effort spearheaded by Mr. and Mrs. Harry Sickler. The second floor houses an archives gallery, the first floor contains a number of museum exhibits, while the basement is home to the original dining room and kitchen used by the sheriff and his family in addition to jail cells and barred windows. The 135-year-old building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

Post Offices

Former Post Office 50264 (Weldon, Iowa)

Postal service was established in the Decatur County town of Weldon on February 14, 1881, when an office was established in a room adjacent to the L.G. Jamison general store. In the 1920s, the post office moved to the east side of the square before moving to an old bank building, wich it occupied for over 50 years. The Weldon Post Office experienced a robbery in the spring of 1935:

Postmaster Ora Garton and her husband discovered the theft when they entered the post office on the morning of Saturday, March 1, 1935. The safe was blasted open, the combination was blown across the room, drawers had been rifled and papers were scattered about the floor. $800 in money and stamps were taken as well as other valuables. Entrance to the building was made by prying open a rear window. No fingerprints were available, and there is no record that this robbery was ever solved.

The post office occupied the former bank building until November 1, 1999, when services were moved to a new modular building along Decatur County Road J12.

Churches

Cory Grove Community Church (Near Elkhart, Iowa)

The Cory Grove Community Church is located two miles east of Elkhart in rural Polk County, where a community of settlers once lived. Isaac Cory, the area’s first settler, not only was the namesake for the town but also was the minister of the town’s first church. Little is known about the church’s early history except that it was established in 1848, and the current church building was constructed in 1897. After several years of inactivity, the non-demoninational Cory Grove Community Church resumed services in 1945. A cemetery is adjacent to the church, which has worship services weekly at 10:30.

Public Libraries

N.J. Nugen Public Library (New London, Iowa)

N.J. Nugen Public Library (New London, Iowa)

The first permanent library building in the Henry County town of New London was donated by resident N.J. Nugen in 1935. Nugen accompanied the building donation with a sizable trust fund, with annual interest from the funds used to purchase equipment and books for the library. By the late 1960s, the collection had outgrown its space and the community began looking into a new facility.

Since Nugen prohibited funds from his trust being used for building construction, leaving the library board to look elsewhere to accumulate funds for a new facility. In 1969, $40,000 was secured from a federal grant while area farmer Everett Ramey contributed $30,000. The library board hoped $70,000 would cover library costs, but the lowest bid received was for $92,000.

Instead of compromising plans, the library board appealed to the community to raise the remaining $22,000. After a year of fundraising, construction on the new library began in the fall of 1971. The main floor was composed of book stacks, a children’s section, reference section, study cells, and more. The basement featured a large community room.

Schools

Pleasant Hill Rural School (Near Lineville, Iowa)

Pleasant Hill Rural School (Near Lineville, Iowa)

Located three miles north of Lineville in rural Wayne County, the Pleasant Hill Rural School building was constructed in 1881. For years, it maintained a “Tickle Grass” nickname and was panted white; in the 1940s, a red coat of paint was applied, and the one-room school building became known by locals as the “Little Red Schoolhouse.” The school’s last year of operation was 1957.

The schoolhouse served as a roadside park in the 1960s, with the state of Iowa adding a 90-foot driveway across the ground. Picnic tables were provided by the Wayne County Conservation Board, while the Wayne County Historical Society was responsible for maintenance efforts.

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