By MARY WEAVER

RIPPEY, Iowa, Aug. 24, 2022 — A new informational marker explaining the history of Squirrel Hollow Park and its shelter house is now in place in the park located in the southeast portion of Greene County.

The cement holder and plaque are similar to the original 12 historical markers around the county that the late James H. Andrew developed and had placed in 1976, as the United States celebrated its bicentennial.

Through a grant from the Greene County Community Foundation, and labor provided by the Greene County Secondary Roads crew, this new marker at Squirrel Hollow is sponsored by the Greene County Historical Society.

In a document prepared by James H. Andrew in 2006, we learn several events serendipitously occurred — a 1915 flood, the Great Depression influence, leftover funds and the discovery of coal.

The Stagecoach Road from Fort Des Moines to Sioux City had been established on the east side of the Raccoon River, but in 1915 a flood washed away a long stretch of the road, and for nearly 20 years travelers were forced to detour. The discovery of coal a mile south of the present-day shelter house created a desperate need for a road, as 100 trucks with about 4 tons of coal on each one, headed north from the coal mine and an adequate road was sorely needed.

In 1931 the Chautauqua organization of Jefferson was disbanded, but $3000 remained. The funds were used to purchase land and develop the park. The Great Depression had been underway for several years, and a government program CWA, Civil Works Administration, had been created to employ those without work to build roads, sewers, parks, and other facilities to benefit the public.

Under the steady hand of Engineer Melson, along with other community leaders, 60 acres of land was purchased. This was an average cost of $15 per acre.

In 1933, approximately 150 men from around Greene County worked on the project under the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) and WPA, (Works Progress Administration). Hundreds of truckloads of rocks from nearby farmers’ rock piles were dumped at the washout created by the flooding of the river. In a description written, it was noted “the first 8-10 loads just disappeared into the mud and water, but slowly a rock shoulder 200 yards long formed a new road higher than any probable future flood.”

Steve Melson recalls his “Pappy” saying the Board of Supervisors wanted to build cabins and the shelter house along the river edge, but because of the previous flood, his grandfather, Engineer Melson recommended establishing the site at the top of the bluff.

Documentation sources vary.  One states Iowa State College, now Iowa State University, designed the shelter house, two latrines, the stone entrances, and five fireplaces. Documents further indicate the stone masonry design of the shelter house was credited to William Bodenstein, a veteran stonemason, and Con McNaught.

When the shelter house was nearing completion S.J. Melson arranged for one of the original millstones from the Coon Valley Mill, originally located about one-half mile south of the park, to be brought and installed into the concrete floor. These millstones remain visible today and it creates a heady feeling to know they were brought by an ox team from Pennsylvania by Josh Locke in 1858 so Greene County’s early pioneers could have corn and flour ground.

Work on the road and park began in 1933 and the dedication was held on May 12, 1935.  But “inclement weather held the crowd to 500 persons.”  Victor Hugo Lovejoy, editor of the Jefferson Bee newspaper, reported that “the massive rock wall along the river, the excellent highway at the foot of the bluff, the drive to the shelter house, the fine timbered upland beauty, all combined together to make this spot a thing of beauty. Its location less than a mile from the site of the cabin of the first settler in Greene County makes it all the more interesting as a spot to be preserved for future generations.”

The stone inscription crafted by Sloan Monument of Jefferson reads:

Squirrel Hollow is a 56-acre county park located above the Raccoon River. It was developed in 1933 and was the second county park in the State of Iowa.  Three farmers sold farmland to form the park.

The Des Moines-Sioux City Stagecoach trail ran on the east side of the Raccoon River, and the tracks remain visible one mile north of this location at the Pleasant Hill Country Church cemetery.

In 1933 this shelter house, a male and female latrine, entrance signs to Squirrel Hollow Park, and two fireplaces were built by the Public Works Administration. The structures were designed by Iowa State College, now Iowa State University. 

These structures were accepted by the National Register of Historic sites in 1991.

The Greene County Community Foundation, the Greene County Conservation Office, and the Greene County Historical Society are pleased to share this historical information.  — October 2021

Due to the COVID pandemic and then supply chain interruptions, the marker was erected in May of 2022. Take a drive over to the park, for a nature hike, a look at the marker, and the millstones in the floor of the shelter house.

The “Hearth & Home” columnist Mary Weaver is a longtime member of the Greene County Historical Society.  She lives on a farm northeast of Rippey.  You can write to her at mweaver235@gmail.com.

JEFFERSON,  Iowa, July 11, 2022 — The Greene County Historical Society will have its buildings on the Greene County Fairgrounds open on Friday and Saturday this week during the fair, with “history chats,” tours of a restored one-room country schoolhouse, and opportunities to learn about the farm tools and equipment that were commonly used in earlier times in the county.

For the past six years, the “history chats” were hosted by retired journalists Chuck Offenburger and Jerry Roberts and covered a wide variety of topics.  Roberts died early this year, so Offenburger has invited well-known Greene County native Don Van Gilder to join him in hosting the interviews, which will last an hour.

Trained at Iowa State University in English and telecommunications, Van Gilder has now retired after a 45-year career in public works administration with the Greene County Secondary Roads department.

They will host four of the “history chats,” with folks sitting in a circle of chairs in the Historical Building on the fairgrounds.  The discussions will be Friday, July 15, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and Saturday, July 16, also at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.  They will be videotaped for later posting on the historical society’s YouTube channel.

The first of the chats, on Friday at 11 a.m., is “Growing Up at the Greene County Fair.” This one will start with the experiences of four generations of the Lawton family, of Cooper, and then include tales from other families, too.

Another of the chats, on Saturday at 11 a.m., will be “Greene County Sports Stories & Legends” with KGRA radio sportscaster & former Jefferson Herald sports editor Doug Rieder. He’s been the “Voice of the Rams” for more than 40 years and is an authority on the county’s general sports history, too.

The last of the chats, on Saturday, at 1 p.m., is “Greene County Movie Theater History” with Mike & Dianne Piepel, of Jefferson, who have done deep research into all the theaters that have operated in the county – especially the Sierra Community Theatre in Jefferson.

The topic of the Friday, 1 p.m. “history chat” was still being finalized as this week began.

In addition, the “Bristol No. 7” country schoolhouse on the fairgrounds will be staffed Friday and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. by Becki Cunningham, of Paton, secretary of the historical society, with explanations of what rural education was once like in the county. She attended a country school herself.

The schoolhouse was built in 1874, restored by the historical society in 1967 and repaired again in recent years by the organization. It is also known as the “Minnihan Schoolhouse,” after the family that owned surrounding land and donated the building for re-location to the fairgrounds.

The historical society’s collection of agricultural tools and equipment at the fairgrounds shows how farming was done in Greene County from the late 19^th century to the middle of the 20^th century.  Members of the society will be serving as docents to explain the exhibits on both Friday and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

JEFFERSON, Iowa, Oct. 7, 2021 — Avid historical researcher and re-enactor David Connon, of Earlham in central Iowa, was digging deeply into the history of the Underground Railroad’s route across Iowa when he discovered a Civil War story he’d been unaware of — there were at least 76 Iowans, maybe even more, who in fact joined the Confederate army and fought against the Union.

For the next 11 years, from 2008 into 2019, he pursued the story, and has now published a new book, “Iowa Confederates in the Civil War.”

On Sunday afternoon, Oct. 10, Connon will tell that fascinating and little-known story, and answer questions, in a program at 2 p.m. at the Greene County Historical Museum in Jefferson.

The free program — with free refreshments, too — is a collaboration by Humanities Iowa, the Jefferson Public Library and the Greene County Historical Society.

The heart of Connon’s book consists of historical sketches of all 76 Iowa Confederates, featuring their pre-war, war-time, and post-war experiences.

In the program, he will offer insights into the strains and turmoil of life and politics in Iowa during the Civil War era.  For example, one of four Iowa Confederates had a divided family, that is, at least one brother or a father who served in the Union Army.  Some fathers of Iowa Confederates were prominent Democrats, and at least a couple were personal friends of Jefferson Davis, who served as president of the Confederate States of America.

“Of course, I was surprised when I first came across this, because Iowa has such a strong and proud history of support for the Union during the Civil War,” Connon said. “But the fact that there was also support here for the Confederacy is not so surprising when you think about how riven the whole country was back then.”

As for Connon’s own family, two of his great-great-grandfathers served in the Union Army.  He is a member of Sons of Union Veterans, an associate member of Sons of Confederate Veterans, and a member of the Des Moines Civil War Round Table.

Besides his book, his history stories have appeared in Iowa Heritage Illustrated, Iowa History Journal, Illinois Magazine, and local newspapers in both states.  He blogs regularly on the internet at his website titled “Confederates from Iowa: Not to Defend, but to Understand.”

Connon, who grew up in Illinois, did his undergraduate studies at North Central College in Napierville, and he has a master’s degree in education from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.  In Iowa, besides his continuing research, writing and occasional substitute teaching, he has worked as a historical interpreter at Living History Farms, and he now works part-time at the West Des Moines Public Library.

He said he has been able to spend so much time focused on history the last 20 years because his wife Melinda Bradshaw Connon “is a veteran and professional high school math teacher” while he is “doing research and handling chores around the house.”

He will sell and sign copies of his book Sunday at the museum in Jefferson.

By ROGER AEGERTER

JEFFERSON, Iowa, April 8, 2020 — There is a group of women in Jefferson, “Why Not Us,” who are coming together to bring the business “Angie’s Tea Garden” back to life. The Centennial Block building, which houses or did house the Tea Garden on the northwest corner of the Greene County Courthouse square, is now an empty shell waiting for its new life.

The business was destroyed in early February, 2019, when water pipes in a vacant upstairs apartment froze and dumped thousands of gallons of water through the structure.

I initially thought it would be interesting to explore the nine lives of this building, which was built in 1876. The research of businesses and owners of Centennial Block led me to a history of all businesses in Jefferson around the beginning of 1876. So this is a story about Jefferson in that year, when the population was a little over 1,500.

Jefferson was laid out in 1854 on 160 acres purchased with money borrowed by the newly formed Greene County from Fort Des Moines banker Hoyt Sherman. The initial loan was $200. The original name was New Jefferson. There was already a Jefferson near Dubuque, so the addition of “New” was done at the request of the U.S. Post Office. Soon the post office decided that New Jefferson could become just Jefferson. Their reasoning was that New Jefferson was putting a lot more effort into becoming a prosperous community.

The town had a public square and the first courthouse was built in 1856. Commercial lots around the square were sold for $10, with one lot on the southeast corner going for $60.

The purchase of at least one prized lot around the square was actually decided by a wrestling match between County Judge William Phillips and the newly-appointed County Clerk Benjamin F. Robinson. The judge threw the clerk on his back and chose the corner lot. (It turned out to be swampy and not a very good lot at all!)

In 1876, the Centennial Block building became the costliest structure ever built in the town. It was 80 feet long, 22 feet wide, and 30 feet high. The cost was $3,500.

As I was researching the Centennial Block building in the January 22, 1876, Jefferson Bee newspaper, and that edition gave me a good glimpse of what the 20-year-old town what was like.

Back then almost 150 years ago, the Jefferson business environment was thriving.

Jefferson had four churches, with total congregations of 400 members. The public school had 300 students. (About this time there were 14,000 country schools in Iowa, I am not sure how many of these schools were around Jefferson.) There was also a Jefferson Academy, with approximately 60 pupils, that was started by the Presbyterian Church.

There was a list of eight “good” barns, no definition of good. There are several flour mill historical markers around the county now, but in 1876 there were only the Eureka Mill and Jefferson Mill in the immediate area along the “Coon” River, as it was called.

There were several secret societies: Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons; Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, and the Lodge of Odd Fellows. There is still a Masons Lodge in Jefferson located on the west side of the square, and the Odd Fellows Lodge last known location was in the new Forge building.

Following is a list of 1876 businesses in Jefferson, with most descriptions and addresses indicating that they were generally in the present-day area of the square:
Attorneys — three firms and two individuals.

Two banks – Greene County and City.

Two broom makers, one by the depot and one on the north city limits.

Two barbers.

Two bakers, north side and west side.

Three blacksmiths, on the southeast and southwest corners of the square.

Six boot and shoe stores, all near the square.

Two cigar makers.

Five candy confectionary stores.

Five dry goods stores.

Five grocers.

Two jewelers.

Four shoemakers.

Two hardware stores.

Four hotels – Revere House, Mansion House, Massasoit House and, near the depot, Western House.

Two livery stables.

Two millinery hat shops – and later there were four active millineries in Jefferson.

Four dressmakers, two “Miss” and two “Mrs.”

Three real estate agencies.

Seven medical service providers, all men, and two dentists.

There were no furniture stores. You had to order all furniture out of a catalog. Later on it was customary for funeral parlors to deal in furniture.

There was only one restaurant.

There was a traveling salesman in town who sold tin ware.

Farm machinery was generally sold through the hardware stores.

There was one lime dealer.

Three carpet businesses.

Two merchant tailors. One by the name of George Bleakney, boasted of his accomplished hands with the tape and scissors. A client was quoted in the paper saying, “He makes ’um fit every time!”

There was only one grain buyer in the area, and three hog buyers.

Two coal dealers competed, with coal bring $5 per ton at that time.

The town had one harness & saddle maker.

There were two grain elevators, serving farmers who grew lots of oats and wheat.

There were ads from a salesman offering musical instruments, basically pianos and organs.

N.G. Cook was the only photographer.

Lumber dealers, Yeager & Co. and Nowlin Brothers, reportedly were selling most of their lumber for developments in Guthrie and Calhoun Counties.

A barbed wire dealer indicated much of their business was putting new barbs on old wire strands.

There was a plow maker.

And two insurance companies.

This time of 1876 in Iowa was a time of expansion. Immigrants were moving west and had the expertise and willingness to start new businesses wherever they were needed. Jefferson was a hub of activity in the area, thus this is where businesses set up.

In 1876 and for years after, the business district was at least two blocks wide in all directions from the courthouse square. I am sure some of these businesses were not there at the same time the following year, but there were probably some new ones, too.

Now, having shared this glimpse of early Jefferson, I’ll get busy completing my research for a detailed examination of the Centennial Block building, which is what I started out to do before I got caught up reading about the whole town back then.

Roger Aegerter, the author of this column, is executive director of the Greene County Iowa Historical Society. You can comment on this column in the space below here, or you can write directly to the author by email at roger.aegerter@gmail.com.

By ROGER AEGERTER

JEFFERSON, Iowa, Feb. 15, 2020 — Many roads in Greene County will take you past a church or two, or the ghost of a congregation from years past. Most of these churches have some written history from their origins.

Some churches may have been formed by the very first settlers in the area. The earliest rural church was around 1880 in Bristol Township, northwest of Jefferson. There were several more that met in schools or homes. Earlier churches were established in several towns in the county around 1863-1872.

In 1896, there were 20 country churches in Greene County. The Methodists at this time had a church in every Greene County town except Farlin, which had Christian and Baptist churches. Most of these churches have been gone for many years.

Greene County does have a country church on the National Register of Historic Places, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church west of Churdan. St. Patrick’s does not have regular services but is used for special occasions.

Another of the interesting past churches in Greene County was St. Mary’s Catholic Church, two miles north of Jamaica on County Road P30 and west on 330th Avenue, in section 26 of Franklin Township. Like many country churches, St. Mary’s had its own cemetery. St. Mary’s originated in 1881 when the Tighe family deeded five acres of their homestead to Bishop John Hennessey, of the Catholic Diocese of Dubuque, to be used as a cemetery. The next step was raising funds for a church to be built on the cemetery grounds.

Early in 1882, the first load of lumber came from Rippey. Late in 1882, the first mass was said by Father Michael Joseph Quirk, and the church was totally finished a year later. Father Quirk was assigned to Grand Junction and came by train to Rippey where he was met by members of St. Mary’s and transported with a team and wagon to the church over roads that by today’s standards would be impassable.

At this time Father Quirk was the priest assigned to all of Greene County, all of Boone County and part of Calhoun County. He served four years.

St. Mary’s was dedicated Sept. 8, 1890. Priests from Cherokee and Perry officiated and a choir from Lohrville provided music. At the time of the dedication, there were 34 families that were active members at St. Mary’s. In the following years, a priest out of Jefferson had mass once every three weeks. The priest referred to St. Mary’s at this time as “Little Ireland.”

Within a few years a new parish as established in the town of Jamaica, and St. Mary’s lost about half of its members.

From 1906 through 1954, St. Mary’s was administered as a part of parishes in Perry, Jefferson, Coon Rapids and Scranton. St. Mary’s closed in the fall of 1954. Most families became part of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Jefferson, and some families attended Jamaica. The church was torn down soon after.

Country churches had many memories, weddings, funerals, first communions, box socials, baptisms, Sunday School and Christmas programs. In many cases the church was the center of activity for the rural community. Midnight mass at St. Mary’s, with an “Aladdin Lamp” hanging from the ceiling, made the church seem typical, and yet special, at the same time.

A white marble memorial was erected in St. Mary’s Cemetery in May, 2005, in remembrance of the Ireland immigrant founders. The entrance arch to the cemetery was restored and installed in October, 2007.

This story and historical events could be told about numerous rural churches in Iowa and around the country. The 2011 book “Heritage of Greene County Iowa” has many of these country churches’ stories and is the source of some of my information here. Also, Madeline Garrity, of Cooper, provided information on St. Mary’s, or as she may have called it in the past, “Little Ireland.”

You can comment on this column in the space below here, or you can write directly to the author by email at roger.aegerter@gmail.com. The author is executive director of the Greene County Historical Society.