LACONA, IOWA
This chronology of the early settlers of
White Breast Township and Lacona was compiled by
Edith HEEMSTRA and
John FORD sometime around 1980. The information came primarily from
newspapers but also from other printed matter and from many, many
conversations with Lacona people. The italicized information describes
events taking place elsewhere in Iowa and the U.S. (Keep in mind that
whenever the information refers to “the present time” it refers to 1980,
when this was written)
People identified in this chronology and the year they were listed:
A-B
APPLEGATE, Dr. 1864, 1875, ACKORS, George 1902, 1909; ADLER, Lydia G. 1932; AUL, A.W. 1886;
BABCOCK, John 1908; BAGBY, Dr. W.A. 1919, 1920, 1923; BAKER, E.S. 1902; BAKER, Gene 1888, 1898; BARTLETT, E.G. 1853, 1855, 1892; BARTLETT, Sarah 1853; BATES, Wendel 1954; BAUER, Bob 1959; BAUER, Norb 1924; BEELER, Charlie 1925; BEELER, Fred 1925; BEEMAN, Julius 1899, 1908; BELL, Tom 1891; BOWLES, Millie 1920; BREGAR, Frank 1979; BRIESBAIM, Ed 1930; BRIESBAIM, Mae 1930; BRUCE, William 1921; BURKETT, Glen 1927; BURNS, John 1955, 1969; BUTLER, Kenneth 1906, 1931, 1970; BYERS, L.A. 1906;
C-E
CADING, Augusta 1877; CAMPBELL, A.W. 1892; CARPENTER, William 1906; CASTLE, M.A. 1883; CHANDLER, Harry 1919; CHIPPS, Riley 1923; CHIPPS, Stansburry 1880, 1903, 1930; CHITTENDEN, E.S. 1906, 1917; CLARK, Marvel 1901; CLARK, Wilda 1962; CLAYTON, Earl 1924; CLEVELAND, John 1902, 1905, 1908; CLEVENGER, Bert 1902; CLEVENGER, Elizabeth 1854; CLEVENGER, John 1901; CLEVENGER, Willis 1854-1856, 1863; COCHRAN, Elizabeth 1855; COCHRAN, John M. 1856, 1860-1861; COCHRAN, Mary 1855, 1861; COCHRAN, William Jasper 1855, 1856; COCHRAN, William Barker 1855; COLES, Cash 1863; COLES, Eliza 1863; COOK, John E. 1857, 1861, 1876; COOK, Otis 1914; COOK, Willis 1862; CORNELL, Dolph 1923, 1924, 1930, 1941; CORNELL, Ethel 1929; CORNELL, Joseph M. 1914; CORWIN, Mary E. 1861; CRAVEN, L.T. 1916; CRAWFORD, Bill 1945, 1955; CROCKER, Frank R. 1892; CRUZEN, Dr. J.L. 1912, 1918; CRUZEN, Mrs. J.L. 1918; CUMPSTON, Hays 1898; CUMPTON, Henry 1887; CURL, John T. 1901, 1905; CURTIS, Emma 1892
DARR, James 1889; DARR, Nancy 1889; DAUGHERTY, Bill 1924; DAUGHERTY, Dave 1900, 1911; DAUGHERTY, Frank 1930; DAVIS, Peter A. 1852; DEMAREE, Dr. Chester 1941, 1942, 1963; DEMAREE, Laura 1941, 1963; DEVORE, Clifford 1927; DINWIDDIE, James H. 1851; DITTMER, Bob 1874, 1942, 1956; DITTMER, Jerome 1857, 1869; DONALSON, James 1869; DUNSHEE, Dr. Max 1910; EIKENBERRY 1880; ENSLOW 1914, 1915, 1917; ERVIN, Nathaniel 1870
F-H
FEHRER, Al 1977; FEHRER, Frank 1887, 1894, 1913, 1918, 1930; FEHRER, John 1930; FEHRER, Wayne 1956; FITZGERALD, Elmer 1949; FOGLE, Byron 1915; FOGLE, Columbus 1928; FORD, John Introduction; FRENCH, T.C. 1877; FRENCH, T.M. 1904, 190.; GASS, Floyd 1926; GASS, Frank 1926; GASS, Loren 1926; GILLISPIE, Emmet 1955; GILLISPIE, J.H. 1887; GLEASON, P.L. 1912, 1930; GOODE, Lo 1908, 1946; GRAHAM, R.J. 1868; GRAY, G. 1898, 1924; GRIESBAUM, Ed 1916, 1925; GRIFFITH, Dr. R.C. 1928
HADLEY, Charlie 1917; HADLEY, J.W. 1911; HADLEY, M.W. 1921; HALTOM, Bert 1913, 1916; HALTOM, Bryant 1948; HALTOM, Ed 1905; HALTOM, George 1918, 1921, 1928, 1930, 1955, 1959; HALTOM, Jewel 1968; HAMILTON, T.L. 1921; HARDMAN, Grace 1959; HARDMAN, Ray 1959; HATFIELD, G.E. 1892, 1918; HATFIELD, Olive 1918; HEEMSTRA, Edith Introduction; HELMS, Lucinda 1849; HELMS, Nicholas 1845; HELMS, Rachel 1845; HERRON, Clayel 1946, 1948; HITE, Ronald "Peak" 1951; HOCH, Glen 1888, 1898, 1904, 1924; HOFFMAN, Louis 1900, 1906, 1913, 1916; HOLLIDAY, Ted 1924; HOSSACK, John 1900; HOWARD, George 1887; HOWARD, Rev. Guy 1847; HOWARD, Rev. Joseph 1847, 1851
I-L
JACOB, Frank 1926; JACOBS, Bob 1930, 1933; JOHNSON, Danley 1872; JOHNSON, F.E. 1921; JOHNSON, Lewis 1946; JOHNSON, Murl 1893; JOHNSTON, Don 1869; JOHNSTON, John 1855; JONES, Will 1872; KALITSKI, Gerhard "Blackie" 1977; KIRKHART, Frank 1893; KONRAD, Bob 1979; KONRAD, Chris 1876, 1885, 1887, 1900, 1913, 1976; KONRAD, Frank 1884, 1898, 1914, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1930, 1934; KONRAD, Jerome 1926; KONRAD, Norbert 1888; KONRAD, Paulus C. 1892, 1914, 1924, 1955; KONRAD, Ronnie 1929; KONRAD, Sim 1909; KOVACS, Father John 1927; KUNATH, C. 1880; LACEY, Addis 1890; LACY, Emily 1854; LACY, J.T. 1854, 1856; LANDES, Sam 1892, 1897, 1912, 1918; LAWRENCE, Paul 1919; LEPLEY, Lou 1924; LEPLEY, Rose 1920; LOOSEBROCK, Dr. John 1919, 1924, 1931, 1941, 1942; LOOSEBROCK, Madonna 1919, 1941; LUSE, Mike 1901
M - N
MALLORY, S.H. 1878, 1880, 1892; MANSER, Mildred 1892; MARSH, Carl 1854, 1918; McCARTNEY, Andrew 1865; McCLURG, J.E. 1869, 1880-1881; McCOLLAM, Joseph 1865; McCRAY, Eugene 1915; McCUDDEN, Mr. 1884; McFARLAND, Charles 1913; McFARLAND, Paul 1916, 1917, 1946; McKINLEY, William 1860, 1867, 1869, 1878, 1880-1881, 1890, 1892, 1895, 1901; McKINNIS, Billie Ted 1893; McKINNIS, Henry 1893; McKINNIS, Henry Jr. 1893; McKINNIS, John 1893; MEEK, Carlie 1918; MILLEN, Roy 1916, 1917; MILLER, Charles F. 1902; MILLER, Dr. John 1866, 1893; MILLER, George 1906, 1929, 1935, 1962; MILLER, Glen 1921; MILLER, J.A. 1916; MILLER, Lucinda 1866, 1893; MILLER, Marvin 1960; MILLER, Miles 1945; MILLS, Elias 1902; MILLS, Harry 1902; MILLS, John 1851; MILLS, Joseph 1908; MILLS, R.O. 1922; MILLS, Ray 1922; MOSHER, Ed 1908, 1915, 1917, 1922; MOSHER, Merrill 1956; MOSSMAN, Dr. Clair 1927; MURRAY, C.T. 1924; MURRAY, Tom 1870, 1916; MYERS, Amy 1928; MYERS, Ann 1893; MYERS, Firman/Furman 1903, 1911; MYERS, Issac 1869-1870, 1878, 1880-1881, 1886, 1888, 1890; MYERS, Samuel 1854, 1856, 1893; NEEDLES, Chick 1917, 1931, 1932; NEEDLES, Solomon 1874; NEER, Dean 1898, 1965; NEER, Don 1959; NEER, Glen 1942; NEER, Merlin 1868, 1892; NEER, Ronnie 1965; NICKELSON, Frank 1960; NICKELSON, Irene 1944, 1960; NICKELSON, Joe 1944, 1960; NICOL, Anna 1868; NICOL, J.H. 1896; NICOL, S.W. 1868, 1892; NOLEN, R.F. 1898; NOLTE, Doug 1884, 1975; NUSSBAUM, Loren 1944
O - R
O'BRIEN, Bob 1951, 1954; O'DELL, Becky 1916; OSENBAUGH, Lawanda 1947; OSENBAUGH, Dale 1951, 1956; OVERMYER, George 1917; OVERMYER, Walter 1922, 1931; OXENRIDER, Cleo 1874; OXENRIDER, Henry 1854-1855; OXENRIDER, Margarett 1854; OXENRIDER, Sam 1854, 1858, 1916
PARKINS, Boyd 1908, 1916; PARKINS, Darrell A. 1933, 1949, 1956; PARKINS, Everet 1918; PITS, Dr. C.D. 1911; POGUE, Anna 1880; POGUE, James A. 1880, 1897-1899, 1915; PRESSLEY, Dr. William H. 1872; PRESSLEY, Sophia 1872; PRESSLEY, T.C. 1867;
PROCTOR, Ruben 1877; PURCELL, James 1851; RALPH, Mae 1920; RALSTON, Sam 1894, 1897, 1905; RANKIN, Anna 1968; RIDDLE, George 1917; RIPPERGER, Firman 1933; RIPPERGER, Florence 1971; RIPPERGER, George 1921; RIPPERGER, Lee 1944; RIPPERGER, Wilfred 1917; ROBERTS, Benjamin 1868; RODGERS, A.J. 1893, 1898; RODGERS, Edna 1916; RODGERS, Elmer 1930; RODGERS, H.E. 1912, 1917, 1928; RODGERS, Mrs. Lottie 1929; RODGERS, Tuck 1916; RODGERS, Vernon 1918, 1919; RUBLE, Peter 1857
S - T
SAMSON Paul 1854; SANDY, Clark 1869, 1920; SANFORD, Harry 1879; SANFORD, Heck 1879; SCHAEFER, Tony 1897, 1974; SCHURMAN, Henry 1869; SCOTT, Louise 1928; SCOTT. W.A. 1933; SEUFERER, Floyd 1869; SHIELDS, Sanford 1930; SHUPE, Art 1888; SHOEMAKER, Donald E. 1966; SHUPE, C.L.V. 1932; SHUPE, Charles 1909, 1915; SHUPE, Clem 1908; SHUPE, Cynthia 1856; SHUPE, Frank 1897, 1900; SHUPE, Isaac C. 1856; SHUPE, J.W. 1897, 1902; SHUPE, Jacob 1856, 1915; SHUPE, Nancy 1856; SHUPE, Roy 1909; SHUPE, Will 1905; SLAUGHTER, Elmer 1952; SLAUGHTER, Ian 1952; SMITH, Dr. J.M. 1924, 1928; SMITH, Mr. 1901; SQUIRES, Carl 1943, 1946; SQUIRES, Maude 1943, 1946; STANLEY, Chauncey 1915; STARR, Dr. J.S. 1911, 1862; STARR, Dr. J.W. 1882, 1897, 1899, 1903; STARR, Rosena 1862; STEWART, G.J. 1888, 1911, 1913, 1940; STRAIN, Ross 1915; STUMBAUGH, Dr. W.D. 1897, 1912, 1919, 1924; STUMBAUGH, Marie 1897; THOMPSON, Jack 1892, 1895, 1902; THORN, J.W. 1902; TIGNER, Brenton 1869; TILDEN, Gus 1929; TOWNSEND, Irv 1932; TRIS, Rev. Alexander C. 1857;
U - Z
VAN FLEET, Don 1958; VAN HEESWYCK, Ora 1958, 1959; VAN SYOC, Arlene 1861; VAN ZEE, Roy 1927, 1973; VANDERBUR, Marsh 1892; WADLE, Gene 1979; WALKER, Jon 1895; WARDEN, Frank 1923; WHISTLER, William 1892; WILLIAMS, Cey 1946, 1948; WILLIAMS, D.H. 1872, 1874; WILLIAMS, Dave 1944; WILLIAMS, Foster 1928; WILLIAMS, Harlan 1976; WILLIAMS, LeRoy 1958; WILLIAMS, Lew 1917; WILLIAMS, Loyd 1927, 1951; WILLIS, Anderson 1846, 1851; WILLIS, Charles 1930; WILLIS, Fielden 1846, 1849; WILLIS, Greenbury 1846; WILLIS, Henry H. 1847; WILLIS, Irvin 1846; WILLIS, John 1846, 1851; WILLIS, Lucinda 1848; WILLIS, Martin 1843-1846; WILLIS, Mary 1846-1847; WILLIS, Robert 1846; WILLIS, Sarah 1846; WILLIS, William, Sr 1843-1847, 1851; WILSON, H.M. 1894, 1902; WILSON, Leonard 1888; WILSON, R.A. 1893; WILSON, Thomas D. 1869; WILSON, William 1867, 1896, 1898-1899; WINNING, William 1846; WOODS, Mr. 1909, 1910; ZOOK, Clarence 1931
1843
(Imaginary line is drawn north &
south through the Red Rock Bluffs on the Des Moines River, 7m. north of
Knoxville. This line separates the white settlers from the Native
Americans. Iowa’s first college, Iowa Wesleyan, was founded at Mounty
Pleasant.) William WILLIS, Sr. and his brother
Martin, from Davis
County, Iowa make a temporary settlement in White Breast Township. They
are the first Settlers in the township.
1844
(First Iowa constitutional
convention was held in Iowa City.)
William and
Martin WILLIS return
to their temporary settlement.
1845 (October 11, at midnight the Native American’s title to the land expires. The territory opens for settlement and thousands of settlers move into the darkness with torches, wagons, horses and on foot to claim land for $1.25 an acre)
William and Martin WILLIS return again.
Nicholas and
Rachel HELMS and
children from Ohio make the first permanent settlement in newly opened
territory, southwest of Bauer, Section 19. Nicholas died in 1865 and is
buried in the Willis Cemetery. Rachel died in Missouri around 1872.
1846 –(Jan. 13 The County was organized and named Warren for General Joseph Warren, killed at Bunker Hill. The boundaries were defined by official act of the state legislature.)
April - The first permanent settlement in the
township, Sec 25, was established by
William and
Mary WILLIS along with
Martin and
Mary WILLIS.
Spring: (The
last Sauk and Fox leave Iowa for Kansas Reservation. However they pass
through the Lacona countryside for many years while en route to their
fall hunting and spring fishing grounds.)
Spring: (The
first Mormons begin crossing southern Iowa, many pulling hand carts,
heading for Salt Lake City, Utah.)
Anderson and Sarah WILLIS and their six sons,
Anderson, John and wife
Mary,
Greenbury,
Fielden,
Robert, and
Irvin
moved into the township and settled on Section 25.
John WILLIS used his cabin for a school to instruct
the WILLIS children and all others until a regular subscription school
started. This school, a log structure, was built in time and used until
1855. It was the first formal school in White Breast Township. Its
location is unknown.
The first death in the township was
William
WINNING. The WILLIS family donated one acre of land for the cemetery.
This became known as the Willis Cemetery. It is two miles east of
Lacona.
(December 28
Iowa becomes the 29th state; Ansel Briggs is the first
governor.)
1847 - March 4 - The first birth
in the township was Henry H. WILLIS. His parents were
Mary and
William
WILLIS Sr.
A Cumberland Presbyterian minister,
Rev. Joseph
HOWARD, preached the first sermon in the township at the cabin of
Martin
WILLIS. Rev HOWARD remained in White Breast Township for some time
before moving to Marion County.
Guy HOWARD, a great-grandson of
Rev. Joseph HOWARD
and also a minister, left the Lacona-Newbern area in the early 1920s for
Missouri. In 1944 he published a small but successful book “The Walking
Preacher of the Ozarks” which in early chapters relates his early life
in the Lacona-Newbern area.
(The
University of Iowa was founded in 1847)
1848 –
(Pella was founded, the first
telegraph line in Iowa began operation, and the first steam mill in Iowa
was built at Davenport.)
November – The first presidential election was held in Warren County: 13 Democrat & 13 Whig votes were cast.
1849 – The county was formally organized and census taken. The
total population for Warren Counts was 153 men, women, & children with a
tax collected for the year of $159.39. Total value of property was
$26,505. By 1859 the county population was over 9,000.
(The winter
was the worst in memory. The snow was nearly 4’ deep. In the spring the
melting snow caused terrible floods.)
August – Pleasantville was founded.
October – The first marriage in the township took
place, Fielden WILLIS and
Lucinda HELMS.
1850 – Summer – The first
temporary bridges and roads leading to the county seat were laid out.
Early surveyors followed trails already in existence.
July 1 – County commissioners established White
Breast Township.
1851 – Spring – Warren County’s
first jail (Indianola) was built of hewed timbers at a cost of $707.56.
Sandyville founded.
(Summer –
Weeks of rain caused terrible floods. 75 inches of rain fell on Iowa
during the year presenting the worst floods in all of Iowa’s history.
35” is normal.)
September – Newbern was founded. Newbern at its
zenith in 1881 had a population of about 50 with the U.P. Church, 2
general stores, 1 blacksmith and carpenter shop, a steam mill, hotel,
drug store, doctor, hardware & implement store & Post Office.
The first township election was held at the cabin
of John MILLS. 9 votes were cast: John WILLIS became the first Justice
of Peace for the township,
William WILLIS the first clerk,
Henry WILLIS
the first constable,
James PURCELL,
Rev. Joseph HOWARD and
Anderson
WILLIS were the first trustees and
J.H. DINWIDDIE the first road
commissioner.
1852 – September – Newbern
Cemetery started with the death of
Peter A. DAVIS age 2 years, 6 months,
29 days on September 13.
1853 -
E.G. and
Sarah BARTLETT
moved into the township.
Bauer was founded. Four Catholic families from
Indiana built a hewed log church (16’ x 18’) with a small belfry. In the
1860s a larger log church was erected.
In 1874-1876 the present St. Joseph’s brick was built at a cost
of $9,000. In 1905 the Catholic school north of the church was built. It
closed in the spring of 1964.
1854 – May –
J.T. and
Emily LACY
moved into the township buying several hundred acres one mile west of
Lacona (Paul SAMSON’S) and christened all surrounding territory “Lacona
Prairie”.
J.T. LACY had been born in Durham, Canada of
English ancestry. He was educated at Hanover and Lebanon Liberal
Institute in New Hampshire where he taught school until becoming a
lawyer.
Emily LACY had been educated at Marietta College,
Ohio. They moved from farm to Indianola in 1875.
Water power mill, Stewart’s Mill, was built by
Joseph H. STEWART on a high bank of White Breast, southeast of Lacona
near the Carl MARSH home (this is an approximate date). There was a
natural fjord north of the mill. It was believed to have been a grist
mill. There is no record of what became of the mill, however water mills
on small rivers were constantly plagued with problems – water freezing
in winter and water shortages in summer.
A steam grist mill was built in Lacona in the
spring of 1869. In later years the fjord, called Bell Fjord, became a
popular site for baptisms because of rock riffles and shallow water.
Willis and
Elizabeth CLEVENGER and their children
left Indiana and moved to the township locating where Lacona now is.
Willis CLEVENGER and
Samuel MYERS bought land from
the government where Lacona presently sits. CLEVENGER bought north of
Main Street and MYERS south of Main Street. They paid $1.25 an acre.
October -
Henry and
Margarett OXENRIDER settled ½
mile south of Lacona in a log cabin. Their son,
Sam OXENRIDER was 10
years old.
Oct. 25-27 -
(The first annual Iowa State Fair was held at Fairfield. For the next 21
years it was held in various cities across the state. In 1879 the fair
located permanently in Des Moines. In the fall the first bridge to span
the Mississippi River was completed between Davenport and Rock Island.)
1855 – January –
Henry OXENRIDER
and a few settlers gathered on the ice near Stewart’s Mill and awarded
E.G. BARTLETT the contract for erecting a school.
Spring – A caravan of covered wagons from Ohio
brought W.J. COCHRAN,
J.M. and
Mary COCHRAN, and their Irish-born
parents, William and
Elizabeth COCHRAN. They settled 1 ½ mile northeast
of Lacona.
John JOHNSTON, born in Scotland, moved into the
township and settled 1 1/3 mile north of Lacona.
Summer –
E.G. BARTLETT completed the first public
school in the township atop a high hill south of Lacona in the southeast
corner of Section 28.
(Drake
University was founded at Oskaloosa and later moved to Des Moines.)
August – Warren County Agricultural Society
organized and the first fair was held Oct 1 and 2.
December – Willis CLEVENGER was elected as the
township’s first postmaster. For a while he carried the mail between
Newbern and Indianola. During this month he proposed to lay out a town.
December (the
first railroad built in Iowa was completed from Davenport to Iowa City.)
1856 – January 6 – The first
church in Warren County was dedicated. It was a brick building built by
Methodists in Indianola at a cost of nearly $4,000.
May – Jefferson was founded by
Samuel MYERS and
Willis CLEVENGER. It was surveyed by J.T. LACY and lots sold for $10. As
originally plotted, Jefferson comprised of a Public Square and 8
immediate blocks surrounding the square with a border road. All streets
were 60 feet and alleys 12 feet. MYERS owned south of Main Street and
CLEVENGER north.
Summer - The first house, a log house, in Jefferson
was built by John M. COCHRAN who with his brother,
W.J., became the
first merchants in town. They put in a regular line of merchandise – a
general store. It was located where the Community Building stands.
Isaac C. and
Nancy SHUPE moved into the township.
Two years later his parents,
Jacob J. and
Cynthia SHUPE move to White
Breast Township.
Maps of the state showed practically no roads laid
out at right angles, but rather they followed Indian trails or ran along
the ridges to keep on high and dry land. Thus the roads tended to wind
through the countryside. An example of this is the road between Lacona
and Newbern.
1857 – January – The Great
Blizzard. Snow became 3’ deep on level ground and high winds piled
drifts 15’-20’ high with many cabins covered to their roofs. Supplies
ran low and game was scarce because of the extreme cold and heavy snow.
March –
(Spirit Lake Massacre – This was the only known uprising against white
men in Iowa History)
Spring – Heavy snows melt with terrible flooding
all over Iowa. Lacona people, because of high water and no bridges
across any streams, could not get far in any direction for nearly three
weeks.
June – The town’s name was changed for mail
purposes because there was another Jefferson in Iowa. “Laconia” was a
projected town by Rev. Alexander C. TRIS from Holland and was to be
located 1 ¾ mile northwest of town, near the
Jerome DITTMER farmhouse.
He gave up establishing a colony of Holland United Presbyterians.
“Lacona” was then suggested and adopted. The name officially took effect
September 5, 1857.
Another version claims that at one time there was a
lake just east of town on the bottom called Lake Ona and from that
Lac-ona. Although this sounds plausible, nothing has been found to
substantiate the story.
(Des Moines
was founded)
Blacksmith
Peter RUBLE moved to Lacona. (This is an
approximate date) In March 1858 he set up smithing on the lot south of
the Catholic Church. He sold the property in June 1863 to blacksmith
John E. COOK. It is believed that a blacksmith operated at that site
until early 1880s.
1858 –
(Iowa State University was
founded)
Summer –
Sam OXENRIDER enrolled at Howes Academy in
Mt. Pleasant, Iowa to complete his education. He graduated in the spring
of 1863. He taught school until January 1865 and then enlisted as a
soldier in the Civil War.
August – (The
first successful oil well in the U.S. was drilled at Titusville,
Pennsylvania by E.S. DRAKE.)
1860 – April -
(The first Pony Express route was established)
June – Masons of Lacona, Lodge #152 organize and
are granted a charter. They were meeting at Newber and moved to Lacona
in 1880. Due to a decline in membership, the Lacona Masons disbanded in
the mid- 1930s and joined the Chariton Lodge.
August – (Simpson College was founded)
December –
John M. COCHRAN and William McKINLEY
bought one acre of ground in the SE corner of Section 21 for a sawmill.
1861 –
(Civil War began with the fall of
Fort Sumter in South Carolina)
April 15 – A two year old girl,
Mary E. CORWIN,
died with no place to be buried. William COCHRAN donated land for a
cemetery. The child was originally buried near the COCHRAN house but
Mrs. COCHRAN was bothered by the closeness of the grave and the cemetery
was moved back into the timber where it is now located.
April – When the Civil began it was reported that
“every able-bodied man enlisted except the blacksmith
John COOK.”
Spring – The first steam saw mill at Lacona was
completed by John M. COCHRAN and William McKINLEY. It was located on
Mill Branch (the reason for the creek’s name) near the highway bridge on
the west side.
John COCHRAN living southeast of Lacona, feared
small groups of Missouri rebels might raid southern Iowa counties while
the men were away at war. For greater protection and safety of his wife,
Mary, and two children, he built a frame house on Main Street. (At the
time this was written
Arlene VAN SYOC was living in the house). He
enlisted in the army and chained a large guard dog near the front door.
He returned a major in August 1865.
Summer – Sam MYERS’ log hotel was torn down and a wood frame hotel was built
at the same site. In the lobby was the Post Office and in a side room
was a general store.
1862 – January 8,
Willis COOK was
killed near Charleston, Missouri. He was the first Lacona man killed in
the Civil War. He had enlisted August 29, 1861.
Dr. J.S. and
Rosena STARR and 2 children move to
Lacona. His practice was set up on the corner of Main Street, south of
the blacksmith.
May – (The
first federal income tax law was passed and the Office of Internal
Revenue was established. In 1872 the tax was repealed but revived again
in 1894.)
(The Gatling
Machine Gun was produced by Richard Gatling.)
1863 -
Cash COLES and his mother,
Eliza, moved to Lacona.
(Battle of
Gettysburg – 40,000-50,000 people were killed in the greatest battle of
the Civil War.)
Willis CLEVENGER donated land for a city park. He
had enlisted August 8, 1862 and discharged March 30, 1863 for medical
complications (dysentery). He died November 24, 1866 from the results of
that illness. He was buried in Cochran Cemetery.
(Indianola
was incorporated.)
1864 –
Dr. APPLEGATE moved to
Lacona.
1865 – April 14,
(Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.)
Fall – This was the last year a bear was seen or
killed in Warren County
November 24 – The United Presbyterian Church was
organized by Andrew McCARTNEY, an Irishman.
December – Attorney
Joseph McCOLLAM set up practice
in Lacona. He served the community until November 1887 when he moved to
National City, Georgia. He died there May 1891.
1866 – May –
(First observance of Memorial Day.)
Dr. John and
Lucinda MILLER moved to Lacona.
Fall – The first church in Lacona, the United
Presbyterian, was completed It was a wood frame building costing nearly
$1,500 with the first services in October. The church was located north
of the Chet RANKIN house, facing south.
1867 – The William McKINLEY and
William WILSON saw mill began operating one mile east of Lacona near
White Breast. The mill is known to operate at this site into the 1890’s
before shutting down.
This is about the time that Lacona’s second public
school was built in the west center of the city park. It was a 2-story
building and a bell and tower were added April 1885. The old Garrison
school was bought by
T.C. PRESSLEY and moved south of the park for a
house.
This was also about the time that the first
millinery shop opened in Lacona. For many years Lacona had two millinery
shops, the last closing in the 1930s.
(The first
railroad was completed across the state. Iowa’s first baseball game was
played at Burlington.)
1868
–
May – Lucas was founded.
Around this time a shingle company began in the west part of
Lacona, complete with a shingle machine. A year later the owner was
trying to sell the business.
(First successful torpedo was developed. First patent for barbed wire
was issued)
Dr. S.W. and
Anna NICOL and family moved to Lacona. They lived on
the corner lot west of
Merlin NEER’s.
September – The first and only lynx ever seen in the county was
killed by R.J. GRAHAM five miles northwest of Indianola.
Fall – Benjamin ROBERTS opened a second blacksmith shop on the Main
Street, on the corner of West and Main.
1869 – April 28 – First meeting dealing with proposed railroad was held
at Lacona School. A committee of leading citizens was formed to attend a
railroad meeting at Chariton. Many similar meetings were held over the
next ten years.
Spring – Thomas D. WILSON built a two-story wood hotel at the
corner of Washington & Cotton. It came to be called Buzzard’s Roost
because of the hilltop setting and commanding view. Rooms for rent and
apartments were both available. The building was torn down by
Clark
SANDY in 1920 and the present house of
Brenton TIGNER was built.
Issac MYERS and
William McKINLEY’S steam grist mill was built near
Mill Branch (the site of the present elevator). Issac was discharged from
the Civil War on March 1863 but did not buy the 35 acres until October
1, 1868 at $10 an acre.
September 26 – McClurg Chapel was dedicated. It was built by
J.E.
McCLURG and designed by architect James DONALSON. In its day it was
considered “among the neatest if not most tasty church in the county”
with Gothic doors and windows, cupola bell tower in front with an 800
pound bell, carpeted floor, 3 aisles, chandeliers and will-appointed
interior costing McCLURG nearly $2,800. It stood on the corner lot where
Floyd SEUFERER lives. The Church was bought by the Methodists October
1870. In the early 70s it reverted back to McCLURG. The building became
a lecture hall, then a dance hall before being moved northwest of Lacona
near Jerome DITTMER’S present house in late 1874 or early 1875 and
turned into a house by
Don JOHNSTON.
Henry SCHURMAN tore down the
church-turned-house in the late 1920’s and built the present farm house.
1870
–
Spring - Nathaniel ERVIN built a livery and feed barn north of the
present Methodist Church. The barn ran east and west with an L running
off the east end north. In later years the owner
Tom MURRAY mounted a
windmill on the roof with support posts inside to water horses year
round without the water freezing. The barn was torn down in August 1924.
Summer - Issac MYERS built a livery barn on Main Street. It stood
east of the present blacksmith. It came to be known as the “Red-faced
Barn.”
(The last stagecoach in Iowa, unable to compete with the railroad, went
out of business)
1871 – January – Farmland in White Breast Township sold on average $10
an acre for improved land and $6 an acre for the unimproved.
St. Mary’s first church at Rosemount was built. It was a wood
building. In 1916 the church was torn down and the current brick one was
built. The rectory was built in 1908 and the combination school and
convent was built in 1910. The school close in the spring of 1959.
(October 8 – The Great Chicago Fire burned from the 8th to
the 11th)
1872 – Within nine blocks making up Lacona in 1872 were 50 buildings,
either houses or businesses.
D.H. WILLIAMS bought the Cochran and McKinley saw mill on Mill
Branch.
Spring –
Dr. William H. PRESSLEY and wife,
Sophia, moved to Lacona.
He died in 1875 and Sophia died in 1897.
Will JONES opened his new drug
store on the corner of Main and Washington (where the Community Building
now is), The Cochran brothers log store was torn down.
Summer – A mineral spring was discovered 2 ½ miles north of Lacona
in a timber lot along Wolf Creek. It was believed that the water
possessed great medicinal and healing properties. In a short time
invalids came from surrounding counties in all directions erecting tents
near the spring while others send wagons with barrels.
December – There was talk of building a large hotel or hospital
near the spring by owner
Danley JOHNSON if waters continue to cure
diseases.
1874 – Ackworth was founded.
Summer – About this time a covered bridge built across White Breast
¾ mile east of Lacona. This bridge was specifically mentioned in a March
1892 article and a few older people now living in Lacona remember
parents talking of the bridge. In the 1872 atlas of the county, the road
still crossed at the fjord near the site of Stewart’s Mill southeast of
today’s bridge. But on the 1887 map, the road changed and ran straight
east across the bottom as it is today. Chances are the covered bridge
was the first bridge across the river east of town. It was replaced by a
new iron bridge in November 1899. This bridge had iron side rails and a
plank floor similar to the one near
Cleo OXENRIDER’S, southeast.
D.H. WILLIAMS built his house (Bob DITTMER’S) of native walnut
lumber cut from his sawmill. The log cabin south of the road on the
ridge was torn down.
Around this time Solomon NEEDLES built the first farm pond in the
area, 1 ½ miles northwest of Lacona, using horses, slip scrapers and
working most of one summer.
1875 – March – Lacona’s first brass band was organized, the Coronet
Band. From 1875 until the mid-1930s Lacona had a small town band. Many
times during these years Lacona became well-known for its quality music.
April – Dr. APPLEGATE moved to Indianola.
Dr. J.H. NICOL, a recent
graduate of Keokuk Medical School, moved to Lacona. Dr. NICOL served to
the medical needs of the area until 1896.
Liberty Center was founded
(Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.)
1876
–
June – White Breast Township passed a 5% tax increase to aid the
Chariton to Indianola railroad. The vote was 137 yes and 37 no.
June 22 – Blacksmith
Chris KONRAD came to Lacona. He had been born
in Germany.
(June 25 – George Armstrong CUSTER along with 201 fellow soldiers are
killed near the Little Big Horn River in Montana.)
July 4 – Lacona and the township celebrate the nation’s centennial
with fireworks, jubilee in the park noted speakers and the town band.
(August 2 – Wild Bill HICKOK was shot in the back of the head by Jack
McCALL.)
August – Chris KONRAD bought a house, blacksmith and furnishing on
Main Street, on the south side, east ½ block from Main and Washington.
The business was purchased from
John E. COOK. This business eventually
employed 15 men in his wagon, carriage, and bobsled factory.
1877 – T.C. FRENCH opened a third blacksmith shop at the bottom of Main
Street, the south side on the corner, where the new CO-OP is currently
located.
September – The Young Ladies Literary Union was formed. Such
societies organized year in & year out until the late 1890s.
November 14 – Wednesday –
Ruben PROCTOR was hung from the crossbeam
of scales at Schonburg, 7 miles north and ½ mile west of Lacona while
600 to 700 spectators look on. He was hung by an angry mob of vigilantes
because PROCTOR, accompanied by another man, shot Miss
Augusta CADING
while attempting to rob the family of money her father reportedly had in
the house after selling his farm. She died the day after the hanging but
lived long enough to identify PROCTOR. He was reportedly buried in Lacey
Cemetery 1 ½ mile northeast of milo in an unmarked grave. This is the
only hanging to ever occur in the county.
December – Young men of Lacona organize a Literary Society
1878 – September 21 – First day of grading the road bed for laying the
ties and rails began at Chariton, heading northwest.
November – Railroad magnate
S.H. MALLORY of Chariton bought land
south of Lacona. Issac MYERS and William McKINLEY wanted the depot west
of town but there wasn’t enough room for the switches and stockyards so
MALLORY bought land south and put the depot where he wanted it.
Wolf hunts became popular in the county and continued into the
early 1880’s.
December 23 – 2:35 p.m.: The first train from Chariton entered
Lacona. The steam engine left Lacona at 2:40 and arrived in Chariton at
5:00 p.m.
1879 – (February – Thomas EDISON
invented the first successful light bulb.)
March – Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway (CB&Q) from Chariton
to Indianola was completed. Passenger trains stopped four times and
freight trains twice daily with mail coming in and going out on
passenger trains. A side spur served a
grist mill.
April – The Lacona depot was completed. Stockyards were built in
conjunction with the depot.
May – The “Railroad Addition” was surveyed, recorded and opened for
development. Lots along Washington Street in the Railroad Addition were
8 to a block instead of 4 because Mallory believed businesses would
build along the street so it was divided into store-size lots.
September – “Lacona Record,” Lacona’s first newspaper, was
published. It was believed to have been but one sheet printed on both
sides and operated by Heck & Harry SANFORD. This was the second
newspaper in the county, the first being Indianola August 1855.
December – Milo was founded.
1880 – The first saloon opened in Lacona. It was operated by
C. KUNATH.
The location is unknown.
March – EIKENBERRY & Company, dealers in lumber and grain, set up
business operations north of the depot and began work on a storage
buildings.
Summer – Issac MYERS’ &
William McKINLEY’S two-story building at
the corner of West and Main was completed, running south to north. There
was a large store room of the first floor, a large open hall on the
second (McKINLEY Hall) with an inside stairway serving the hall. The
stair entrance was on West Street at the north end of the building.
There was an anteroom at the top of the stairs. The hall was rented and
used for balls, dances and parties. It was also used for church
services, functions and Sunday School as well as a lecture hall and city
hall. But that’s not all. It was used by the town band, medicine shows,
theatrical troupes, schools, etc.
July – The “MYERS First Addition” was surveyed, recorded and opened
for development, the southwest section of town.
James A. and
Anna POGUE moved to Lacona and opened a small drug
store in the MYERS & McKINLEY Building, on the first floor. In 1887
general merchandise was added.
Mt. Zion Cemetery – The primitive Baptist Church 5 miles south of
Lacona was completed at a cost of $550. It was torn down in 1978.
December – A grain house from Osceola, bought by
S.H. MALLORY &
J.E. McCLURG, moved to the corner lot northwest of the depot for
grinding feed. In later years it was run by
Stansburry CHIPPS
1881
– February –
J.E. McCLURG rented the Myers Building and opened a
first class hotel called “CB&Q”. The exact location in not known and
folded in a short time.
December 5 – Lacona was incorporated. A mayor, councilmen,
recorder, treasurer and marshal were elected for the first time and
McKINLEY’S Hall was used as the first City Hall.
1882 – April – John W. STARR, son of Dr. STARR, was a recent graduate
of Keokuk College of Physicians and Surgeons. He set up a drug store in
Lacona. The drug store remained in business until 1887 when he moved to
Avery, Iowa to practice medicine.
1883 – April – the Methodist Church was organized by evangelist
M.A.
CASTLE with a congregation of fifteen. Services were regularly held in
the school house until 1885 when McKinley Hall was used as a worship
center. In 1889 the church was built.
1884 – Fall – Around this time the first roller skating rink goes in on
Main Street. The exact location is not known. A rink appeared in one
building or another rather steadily until the last rink closed in the
mid 1920s. It was run by Mr. McCUDDEN in
Frank KONRAD’S store building
on the corner of where
Doug NOLTE is located.
1885 – A brick and tile factory began operating ¾ mile east of Lacona
(just east of the present White Breast bridge on the south side). It is
believed to have shut down in the early 1890s.
April – A bell and tower was placed atop the two-story school in
the park.
July – The Miller brothers
complete Chris KONRAD’S two-story, wood-frame blacksmith and
wagon factory. It was 30’ by 50’ with a foundation of cut stone and a
ramp leading down into the basement. There was a small hardware store
just east and both stood on the south side of Main Street, across from
the present bank.
1886 – Issac MYERS built a large grain elevator opposite the grist
mill, east of the mill’s side spur, near the present elevator. The
elevator began operating in July 1887.
September – Professor
A.W. AUL made Lacona’s ten
grades into a full twelve. He left Lacona in September 1888.
1887 –
Frank FEHRER arrived from
Germany and began smithing for
Chris KONRAD.
(The first
graphophone, a disc model with a horn, is produced)
October – Lacona’s first library was established by
Parmalee Library Company in
George HOWARD’S Drug Store. He was also the
librarian. The Library was located on the site of the present Mobil
station. The store and books were destroyed by fire on November 18,
1887.
October 30, Monday – The body of a medium sized,
middle-aged woman was found jammed into a 22” x 18” x 16” box as the
morning train neared the Lacona depot. The box was addressed to
J.H.
GILLISPIE of Des Moines, a young M.D. recently of Chariton. The doctor
was arrested on Tuesday and returned to Chariton. The grave of a
Chariton woman who had died of typhoid fever the previous week had been
robbed.
November 18, Friday – Lacona’s Great Fire. It
started at the bottom of Main Street on the South side, 24 houses,
businesses or buildings were destroyed and many others were damaged.
“The cry of FIRE rang out upon the midnight gale borne from house to
house by Henry CUMPTON as he rode rapidly over town. Almost wiped out
the whole town. It started at midnight and the whole town was on fire
from the west to the east on the south side of Main Street. The whole
south side of Lacona would have burned had it not been for a slight
change in the night wind. In less than two hours from the first alarm,
the buildings were a heap of smoldering ruins.” The estimated loss was
$17,000. The cause was determined to be sparks blown from ruins of an
earlier house fire that ignited weeds and litter at the base of the
store.
1888 – May 3, Thursday – A tornado
hits Lacona. The saw mill on Mill Branch was destroyed, the roof and
east side of the Myers & McKinley building was ripped off and farmer
Leonard WILSON inside was crushed to death, and the school in the park
was moved on its foundation.
May – The Christian Church was organized.
Art SHUPE built a structure of railroad ties one
atop the other and raises the roof back onto Myers & McKinley building.
The first class graduated after four years of high
school. Nine of the graduates became teachers.
June –
Chris KONRAD’s hardware store, with a
blacksmith in the basement, is completed. It was built atop the original
blacksmith foundation of the 1886 building. The west ramp still led into
the basement.
White Breast Township purchased a new road grader.
Summer –
G.J. STEWART & Company of Chariton, dealers in lumber and grain, set up
a branch in Lacona, The Stewart Lumber & Grain Company.
Gene BAKER rebuilt his General Store on the same
site. Haltom’s was on the corner.
December –
Issac MYERS’ house was completed at the
northwest edge of Lacona (Norbert KONRAD’S). He began the basement in
July and moved in on December 14. In 1889 he built a board sidewalk
beginning at the corner of West and Franklin and running catty-corner
across the block to the porch of his house.
December – The Christian Church was competed. The
cost was approximately $750. Originally it was set on the corner of East
& Main (where Glen HOCH’s house sets) with the entrance facing north.
The church was moved to its present location in June 1906.
1889 –
(The first modern two-wheeled
bicycles were brought into Iowa. Soon the bicycling rage swept the
state.)
October –
James and
Nancy DARR bought the large
McCollam house just north of the present Community Building. Additions
were built and it was called “The Darr Hotel.” The hotel and other
businesses burned the night of March 19, 1902.
November – A hoop pole factory set up operation.
Hoops are the rings which hold barrel staves together. The location and
length of time they were in business is unknown.
1890 – February – Elson &
Thompson’s new furniture and undertaking store, north of the Christian
Church along the alley, opened. It was a one-story wood building with an
inside balcony.
May –
Issac MYERS and
Bill McKINLEY’s large grist
mill and elevator at the west edge of Lacona was destroyed by fire. The
cause was unknown but it started inside the mill shortly before 6 a.m.
Addis LACEY arrived in Lacona on a Saturday night
with 15 carloads of Texas sheep. He drove them to his farm one mile west
of town.
The Methodist Church was dedicated on May 25. The
building had begun in 1888. It was first used for services September
1889 and was completed May 16, 1890 at a cost of $1,126.29.
1891 – February – The Lacona
Creamery Company’s building was completed. It was a large wood-frame
building and sat just north of Lacona city limits on the west side of
the road. It was moved from Kaloma.
August – The newspaper’s new printing office north
of the Myers and McKinley building was completed.
October –
Tom BELL purchased Issac MYERS’ saw mill
one mile east of Lacona. This was the original McKinley and Wilson mill
of 1867. The mill shut down before 1900.
The I.O.O.F. Lodge of Lacona #530 was granted a
charter.
November – The Bartlett Hotel, the second hotel on
the same site (Ripp. Garage), burned to the ground. It had been built in
1861. The cause of the fire was believed to be a faulty chimney.
1892 – February –
E.G. BARTLETT
sold the hotel lot to
Jack THOMPSON.
Sam LANDES began a jewelry store
and watch repair business.
P.C. KONRAD set up a business, a 5 & 10 cent
store, in the corner of his father’s hardware store. The building stood
south of the present bank, on the corner.
April –
Dr. S.W. NICOL, after serving Lacona for
24, years, moved with his wife to Indianola. He died there in February
of 1896. His wife died in Lacona November 1909.
Dr. G.E. HATFIELD, a recent graduate of Rush
Medical College in Chicago, set up medical practice in Lacona. He lived
in Mildred MANSER’s house with the office on the west side, along the
alley.
May –
William McKINLEY sold the lot west of
Eloise’s Beauty Shop on the alley to
F.R. CROCKER of Chariton for a
proposed bank.
June – Lacona’s new hotel, the Thompson House, was
completed at a cost of $2,500. The hotel boasted 16 beds. It was built
on the same site as the Bartlett Hotel, the third hotel on that corner.
July – Lacona’s first bank, Bank of Lacona, opened
for business with A.W. CAMPBELL as the first cashier. It was begun by
S.H. MALLORY and Frank CROCKER of Chariton and was a wood-frame building
costing $800. The building was torn down December 1976.
This was approximately the time that
William
WHISTLER built a large feed barn. It stood west of
Merlin NEER’s house
along the alley. The building ran north and south with the front opening
to the south with two rows of stalls. It was torn down early 1920 by
Marsh VANDERBUR. The lumber was used to build the barn on the
Emma
CURTIS farm.
1893 – April 1 – Saturday –
Henry
McKINNIS and his three sons
John,
Henry Jr., and
Billie Ted were killed
at the saw mill 3 ½ miles
southeast of Lacona on White Breast, the result of an exploding boiler
heard miles away. The gravestones, at Mt. Zion Cemetery, are all joined
and cut from one marble slab. The inscription reads “Keep your lamps
trimmed and burning for in an hour ye knoweth not, the Son of Man
cometh.” His wife, Elizabeth and surviving children moved from the area.
May –
Frank KIRKHART and his “Kirkhart Brothers
Show” with acrobats, clowns, wild-west department and general family
entertainment originated in Lacona. In 1893 the show left for the first
summer season travelling by horse and wagon. The admission was 25 cents.
June –
A.J. RODGERS bought the funeral and
furniture store from Elson and Thompson.
June 16 – Friday –
Samuel MYERS, the founder of
Lacona, died at his home 2 ½ miles east of Lacona at the age of 88.
Murl
JOHNSON farms the land where he died. Mr. MYERS was buried at the Willis
Cemetery next to his second wife, Ann, who died in 1887. His first wife
died prior to entering the township in 1853.
Editor
R.A. WILSON took over Lacona’s newspaper
changing the name to “Lacona Bee.” In April 1895 the name became “Lacona
Chief” and in August 1896 “Lacona Sentinel” with numerous owners and
many editors.
(Frank and
Charles DURYEA build the first successful gasoline automobile in America
at Springfield, Massachusetts.)
September – The third public school was completed
in the park, south of the old school. It was built at a cost of $3,000 -
$4,000. The old school was too small and was moved to the south side of
Main Street along the alley west of the locker. The building burned in
February 1937.
November –
Dr. John MILLER died at his Lacona home.
He came to Lacona in 1866 and practiced medicine until his death 27
years later. He was survived by his second wife,
Lucy and 7 children.
(The first
Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog was printed.)
1894 – February –
Sam RALSTON
moved to Lacona and set up his drug business in the old school. The
grand opening was February 12.
H.M. WILSON of Chariton moved to Lacona to manage
Stewart Lumber & Grain Company.
March – Myers Second Addition was surveyed,
recorded and opened for development. This was the northwest section of
Lacona.
July –
Frank FEHRER bought the house and blacksmith
shop on Main Street at the bottom of the hill on the corner where the
CO-OP complex is located.
August – This year the drought was so bad the crops
dried up. By late August many of the trees about the countryside had
shed leaves.
1895 – November –
William
McKINLEY’s new grain elevator, near the site of the present old
elevator, was completed.
December –
Jack THOMPSON sold his hotel to
Jon
WALKER. The hotel changed hands a number of times until March 1905.
1896 – April –
Dr. J.H. NICOL
moved to Viscillia after serving Lacona for 21 years.
October – Lacona established its first rural route
for the delivery of mail.
December – William WILSON opened a new city bakery
in Bob Bauer’s south building.
December 30, 4 a.m. – Lacona’s depot, the original
one, burned to the ground. The fire was believed to be intentionally
set.
1897 –
James A. POGUE became the
first owner of a graphophone in Lacona.
March – Frank SHUPE bought a creamery just north of
town, on the west side.
Dr. W.D. and Marie STUMBAUGH moved to Lacona.
September – The first known cement sidewalk was
poured in Lacona in front of Sam LANDES property (Tony SCHAEFER’S
HOUSE). The majority of cement walks about Lacona were poured around
1909 when the streets put on grade although many had been poured on Main
Street and individual properties years before. Prior to cement, only
board walks were used.
Fall – The first telephone line, between Lacona and
Newbern was completed. The line was extended to Bauer and Liberty Center
early in 1898.
October –
Sam LANDES built a new jewelry and repair
store on the north side of Main Street, the second building east of Van
Syoc’s. It was a wood building.
J.W. SHUPE completes his two-story, wood-frame
building west of Landes’. A hardware store with a sideline of groceries
was on the first floor and the second floor was used for storage.
December –
Dr. J.W. STARR’s new two-story brick
building with a bay window on the second floor was completed. It was the
first building west of the present locker. Dr. STARR returned to Lacona
in July and bought Jenkins’ Grocery and lot for his practice.
Sam RALSTON moved his drug business out of the old
school building and into Starr’s new building. Dr. STARR occupied the
second floor with his office and living quarters.
1898 – January –
William WILSON
built a new ice house, the Beeman Ice House, to serve his future
restaurant. It stood on the alley west of Chauncey STANLEY.
J.G. GRAY completed his new livery barn, a large
wood barn east of Glenn HOCH.
Spring –
James A. POGUE completed his house in
early July. Dean NEER lives in the house now. This was the most
extravagant house in Lacona. It was a one-story building with a
two-story turret which had glass on three sides, a marble fireplace and
a large porch. The home burned September 1931.
Frank KONRAD took over his father’s hardware store.
Chris concentrated on smithing from the basement.
At this approximate time
Hays CUMPSTON set up a
brick and tile factory southeast of the depot. It closed operations
around 1903 and began a saw mill on the site in 1907.
August – Jim POGUE bought
Gene BAKER’s store, built
on to the south and moved his general store from the Myers & McKINLEY
building.
November –
A.J. RODGERS sold his furniture and
undertaking store to R.F. NOLEN of Chariton.
1899 – March –
William WILSON
completed his new restaurant. It changed hands often until October 1908
when Julius BEEMAN became the owner. It burned in the January 1916.
March – The Wilson and Starr two-story wood
building was completed by William WILSON and Dr.
J.W. STARR. The top
floor was used as a meeting hall, to be rented. The first floor was a
store. In bordered the alley, the site of the Aid Insurance Building.
June –
Jim POGUE’s new brick building was
completed. It is currently the locker. The west end of Pogue’s old store
(Haltom’s) was open so one could walk from one store into the other. In
later years the opening was walled up and the brick building became a
millinery shop, a garage and meat locker.
November – A new iron bridge was built across White
Breast River ¾ mile east of Lacona. It replaced the covered bridge.
1900 – January – Order of the
Eastern Star Chapter #269 was granted a charter. The organization
disbanded in the 1930s because of few members.
March –
Louis HOFFMAN moved to Lacona and opened a
harness shop on West Street, the first bldg. north of laundromat,
selling harness, saddles, bridles, sleigh robes, horse blankets, etc. He
eventually added a line of Pella-built buggies and wagons.
Spring –
Chris KONRAD bought
Frank SHUPE’s creamery
just north of city limits.
Dave DAUGHERTY moved the building to the
south side of Main Street east of Chris’s corner hardware and
blacksmith. P.C. moved from the hardware into an old creamery. He and
Chris formed a partnership in the mercantile business. The building
eventually became the Post Office.
(December 2 –
John HOSSACK, living on a farm near New Virginia, was killed with an axe
while asleep in bed.)
1901 – March –
John T. CURL bought
John CLEVENGER’s red-faced livery barn, east of the blacksmith.
May – William McKINLEY sold the corner lot at West
and Main to the Bank of Lacona. He moved his home off that lot and half
a block north along the alley. This became
Marvel CLARK’s home.
Around this time the five to ten graves of the
Myers Cemetery over-looking Mill Branch, near
Mike LUSE house, were
moved to the Cochran Cemetery. Myers decided to develop the land
southwest of Lacona.
September – Lacona’s new photographer,
Mr. SMITH
from Avery, set up a studio and picture gallery in a small building
south of Wilson’s Bakery. Lacona had another permanent photographer in
the late 1890s but was bought out in August by Mr. SMITH. He lived in
Lacona but eventually moved to Chariton with the Lacona business open on
certain days and hours.
November – “Myers Third Addition” was surveyed,
recorded, and opened for development. Because this addition lay
southwest of Lacona, young people soon called it “Nebraska”, alluding to
the state of Nebraska laying southwest of Iowa.
1902 – January – Lacona Fire
Association was formed.
February – The New Bank of Lacona (Peoples Trust)
was completed by Enslow of Chariton.
Bert CLEVENGER, Lacona’s first
barber had a business in the basement.
The post office moved from the south side of Main
Street into the old bank building on the north side. This later became
W. Eloise Beauty Shop along the alley.
J.W. THORN built a private telephone line from his
office at the lumber yard by the depot to his home 1¼ mile northeast of
town.
March 19, midnight – The Lacona Ledger office
burned to the ground along with the Darr Hotel and meat market which was
the source of the fire. The buildings stood north of the Myers and
McKinley building.
Miller and Trimble sold their merchandise to
E.S.
BAKER of Chariton. Eventually this became Baker and Kirkhart on the
first floor of the Myers and McKinley building.
May – Lacona’s switchboard was installed on the
second floor of the Starr building , the fist building west of the
locker. The majority of telephones in town and country were installed
1902, completed in 1903.
The “Oxenrider Addition” south of the school was
surveyed, recorded, and opened for development.
June 21, Saturday – Fire broke out at 3 a.m. in the
workshop of the A.J. RODGERS Furniture and Undertaking establishment
destroying it, the Lodge Hall above, along with
J.W. SHUPE’s Implement
Store and Isaac SHUPE’s house. It stood from the corner of the Christian
Church north to the alley. The estimated loss was $8,000.
The bank of Lacona reorganized with
Elias MILLS as
president and H.M. WILSON as cashier. The name was changed to State Bank
of Lacona.
October 10, Thursday evening – Returning from a pie
social at Shupe School,
Harry MILLS was thrown from his horse 2 miles
west of Lacona. He crawled into
John CLEVELAND’s barn and died during
the night of head injuries.
October – Lacona’s new furniture store, in the same
location as the former building north of the Christian Church along the
alley, was completed. It was run by
Jack THOMPSON. It closed in a few
years and was bought by the town for the city hall.
Fall –
George H. ACKORS and
C.F. MILLER form a
partnership in the furniture and undertaking business. The building,
which bordered the alley north of Peoples Trust, was completed in 1903.
In 1905 George purchased Mr. MILLER’s interest in the business.
1903 –
Stansbury CHIPPS moved to
Lacona from Cool taking over the milling business on the corner
northwest of the depot. The name was changed to the Lacona Mill.
May – Four rural free delivery routes from Lacona
were established.
Dr. J.W. STARR moves to Pocahontas and sets up a
practice. He died there in January 1920 at the age of 62.
Around this time the pickle factory and feather
renovating business closed. It had set side by side near the ball
diamond. Around 1920 the field moved northeast of the depot and was used
until 1928, the last year the town had a football team.
November –
Firman MYERS closed the grocery store,
the first store west of Myers and McKinley building, and moved to Roland
1904 – March –
T.M. FRENCH of
Earlham bought the Baker and Thorn Lumber Company by the depot.
The Presbyterian Church disbanded and sold all its
property. The Society had been weakened by deaths and removals.
The Christian parsonage, later
Glenn HOCH’s home,
was built for $850. The house originally was set east of the church and
moved to the present corner location by Charlie FONTZ in 1910.
1905 – January –
Will SHUPE bought
the United Presbyterian church and lot. The church was moved back along
the alley in April and turned into a barn. The present house was moved
onto the lot in September from northwest Lacona.
John T. CURL sold the red-faced livery barn to
Ed
HALTOM.
Spring –
John A. CLEVELAND of Lacona became the
first man in Warren County to own a car, a one cylinder Cadillac. It was
bought for $1,000 from an Indianola car dealer. A Des Moines salesman
came to Lacona by train and taught John, who wore goggles, gloves, a
driving hat and coat, to drive.
(September 29
– Iowa’s first automobile fatality, Attorney F.A. HARRIMAN, occurred 3
miles south of Hampton.)
November –
Sam RALSTON’s new drug store, currently
a restaurant on the north side, was completed. Soon he added a soda
fountain, candy, cameras, film, cosmetics, school supplies, paint,
wallpaper, etc.
1906 – January – The phone company
bought the house south of Pogue’s Department Store and installed a new
switchboard. The operator was Mr.
L.A. BYERS.
This winter was known for strong, steady winds.
Snow became drifted and packed to a point where horses could walk
without breaking through. Fences disappeared, roads and fields merged.
Many farmers and their teams took to creating their own roads toward
Lacona through the fields.
Keve Lumber Company bought
T.M. FRENCH’s lumber
yard.
Spring –
Louis HOFFMAN bought the Starr Building, a
two-story building west of the locker with living quarters above. He
soon bought the next building west, the old school, to store equipment,
buggies, and wagons.
June –
E.S. CHITTENDEN established a produce market
in Louis HOFFMAN’s vacated building. It eventually became
Kenneth BUTLER Produce.
Another phone line comes into Lacona from the west
The school in the park employed one male teacher at
$75 per month and three female at $38.88 per month. It operated for nine
months of the year with 155 children of school age. The average
attendance was 117 children and tuition was $1.47 per month.
July – The Farmers Savings Bank was organized with
a capital of $10,000.
George MILLER was president and
William CARPENTER
was the cashier. Their brick building was completed in late 1907 and was
east of Konrad’s store.
October – The county’s first moving picture
business opened in Indianola.
1908 – January –
Clem SHUPE and
family moved to Lacona and took active charge of his hardware store, the
first building west of Myers and McKinley’s.
Spring – Lo GOODE opened a sale stable near
John
BABCOCK’S present garage. He bought and sold horses and mules. The
operation was moved to his farm south of Lacona in 1910
This was the year that many Lacona merchants bought
their first car.
(This was the
first year a hunting license became necessary to legally hunt rabbit,
squirrel, quail, etc. This law was enforced state wide.)
September –
Ed MOSHER of Liberty Center purchased
half interest in G.H. ACKORS Furniture and Undertaking business.
October -
Julius BEEMAN bought the restaurant of
Dunshee and Son.
December –
Boyd PARKINS meat market opened, the
first door south of Lott’s Restaurant.
December 8 –
Joseph MILLS was accidentally shot
high on the left arm by
John CLEVELAND at the Cleveland farm 2 miles
west while hunting. Cleveland’s trigger caught on a corn stalk. The arm
was shot off too close to the shoulder to use a tourniquet and he bled
to death.
1909 –
(Henry FORD began mass assembly
line production of cars, the Model T. The production of cars grew from
10,000 annually in 1909 to 7,000 daily in 1917)
Mr. WOODS, a photographer, bought out SMITH and
moved his family to Lacona.
May – A small brick building was completed by the
Beatrice Creamery Company and was run by
Sim KONRAD. It was torn down in
1914 when the Palace Theatre was built.
July – Brothers
Charles and
Roy SHUPE Hardware
Store was completed. It was the first building east of Mosher’s on the
north side of Main Street.
Summer – The Union Church at Newbern Cemetery was
completed. It was torn down in the late 1930s.
September –
George ACKORS sold his furniture and
undertaking interest to Ed MOSHER.
1910 – August –
Dr. Max DUNSHEE, dentist, returned
to Lacona after graduating from Creighton Dental School in Omaha and set
up practice. Shortly after this time he moved his practice to Council
Bluffs.
October – Lacona photographer Mr. WOODS moved his family to New
Virginia. SMITH returned in early 1911 and remained in business until
1923. He was only open on certain days and hours.
1911 – August – Dr.
J.S. STARR
retired from medicine and left Lacona to live with his son John at
Pocahontas. He had practiced in Lacona for 49 years before dying
November 3, 1911 at his son’s home. His wife, Rosena, died February 1911
at the age of 77. Both were buried at Conchran Cemetery.
Dr. C.D. PITS and family moved to Lacona to the
house just south of the hotel. They left the summer of 1912 for Valeria.
August – Furman MYERS bought a player piano.
September – The Catholic Church cornerstone was
laid. The old Trimble house was moved south of the Nazarene Church by
Dave DAUGHERTY. The house burned in 1920.
November – The Farmers Savings Bank of Lacona
reorganized with many of the best local business men buying stock.
J.W.
HADLEY was president and C.E. WEST was the cashier.
December 12 – Fire destroyed
G.J. STEWART’s
elevator about 8:30 in the evening. The cause was unknown.
1912 -
P.L. GLEASON bought
Sam LANDES’ jewelry business, the second door
west of the Myers and McKinley building.
May – Melcher was founded.
July –
H.E. RODGERS bought the Lacona Hotel and
changed the name to the Hotel Rodgers.
August –
Dr. CRUZEN and family moved to Lacona and
set up practice and housekeeping just south of the hotel. The house
burned June 1933.
October – Lacona purchased a new chemical fire
engine. It was pulled by hand or behind car until the first fire truck
was purchased in 1927.
November 15 –
Dr. W.D. STUMBAUGH shot himself 5½
southwest of Lacona in a barn. “Death was caused by bullet wound fired
from a revolver into right side held in his own hand”. His wife,
Marie,
died in Lacona December 1959 at the age of 84.
November 22, 12:30 a.m. – Fire destroyed the Quinn
Meat Market and Grocery Store, the Masonic Lodge and the Smith
Photography Gallery. The estimated loss was $5,000. The cause was
unknown.
1913 – Louis HOFFMAN began selling
Ford cars in conjunction with his harness business.
May –
Chris KONRAD ceased active blacksmith work
from the basement and became the postmaster.
July –
Bert HALTOM sold the red-faced livery barn
to Charles McFARLAND. It was sold to a Kansas man in 1916 and to Frank
FEHRER in August 1918.
(The first
completely paved road between 2 Iowa cities, Mason City and Clear Lake,
was started. It was completed in 1918.)
Frank FEHRER blacksmith shop was completed by Monte
ENSLOW of Chariton. It was moved from the old corner building, the site
of the present CO-OP station.
G.J. STEWART and Company completed the grain
elevator, the fourth elevator. It is still operating.
1914 – July –
J.M. CORNELL became
the first Lacona mail carrier to use an automobile, a Ford, on his
route.
The town of Lacona purchased 11 Coleman Gas Lamps
to light up 3 principal streets. They were first lit Wednesday evening
July 22. The job of lighting the lamps each evening and extinguishing
them in the morning belonged to
Otis COOK, the town marshal.
September – St. Mary’s Catholic Church was
completed for a cost of $5,523.06. The first mass was held September 24.
The church was lengthened in the spring of 1917, and the rectory and 3
lots were bought in 1925 for $2,650. A garage was built under the house
October 1927.
October – The I.O.O.F. building and CLV Shupe
hardware were completed by contractor ENSLOW.
Baker & Kirkhart moved their merchandise from the
Myers & McKinley building to the first floor of the I.O.O.F. building.
The vacated store became a hardware, a miscellaneous business, and
finally a pool room. Eventually the building was condemned and torn down
in 1919.
November – Work on
P.C. and
Frank KONRAD’s theater
begins. The brick and block building was located east of Konrad’s store.
ENSLOW of Chariton was the contractor.
The Beatrice Creamery building was torn down. The
theater was torn down September 1979.
1915 – January –
Byron FOGLE and
Ross STRAIN begin a clothing and panatorium (dry cleaning) in the Wilson
and Starr building on the first floor.
February 6 –
Jacob SHUPE was killed in his coal
mine by falling slate, ¾ mile southwest of Lacona on the south side of
Cotton Creek.
February 26, Friday – The Palace Theater opened
with a vaudeville troupe providing entertainment. The seating capacity
was 285. It had a raised floor, opera chairs and ceiling fans. There
were two motion picture shows a week, Tuesday and Saturday nights
beginning at 8:00. The admission was 10 cents and 20 cents with special
shows or programs of held during the week.
August –
Eugene McCRAY bought both of
Jim POGUE’s
stores turning the corner store (Haltom’s) into a meat market. The meat
market had various owners until May 1928. The second store, the locker
became Bowles and Ralph Millinery in 1920.
September – Monte ENSLOW began work on a new
furniture store for Ed MOSHER. The grand opening was scheduled for
January 15, 1916.
November –
Chauncey STANLEY purchased a new
traction engine, a Rumley. It ran on kerosene and was the first tractor
in the area.
Charles SHUPE’s new brick hardware was completed by
ENSLOW, the first building east of Mosher’s. It became the Farmers
Store, a city hall, and a muffler factory.
1916 – January 6, Thursday – Fire
broke out near 1:15 a.m. in Fogle and Strain’s General Store spreading
to Beeman’s Café and Hotel Rodgers. All three buildings were destroyed.
The estimated loss was $20,000. The cause was an overheated stove in the
store. The heat was so intense during the height of the fire that the
large plate glass windows in Shupe’s Hardware across the street warped
and broke.
January –
Boyd PARKINS opened Lacona Carpet and Rug
Factory on the northeast side of town. The business was moved to
Indianola April 1917.
February –
Louis HOFFMAN sold harness stock and
supplies to Bert HALTOM then concentrated on selling Ford cards and
repairing autos in his two buildings west of the Millinery.
Sam OXENRIDER donated 6 acres on the hill north of
town for a new public school
April – A special election was held for bringing
electricity into Lacona by the Union Service Company of Chariton
including poles, lines, transformer station, etc. with a 20 year
contract. The proposal passed and the poles were set in June. “Our town
will not be in darkness much longer.”
Tuck and
Edna RODGERS built a restaurant on the
north side of Main Street, the second building east of Mosher’s. It
remained a café under various owners until 1937 when it was bought by
the American Legion.
Summer – Electricity came into Lacona. Twelve
large, fluted cast iron lamp posts with single glass globes were
installed on Main Street. Some businesses and many Lacona houses were
not wired for electricity until the early and mid-1920s.
September – Enslow and son of Chariton began
construction of the Oxenrider Public School. It was completed in the
spring of 1917 at a cost of $20,000.
The contractor Enslow began construction of the
Nazarene Church. It was complete March 1917 for approximately $4,700.
The parsonage was bough October 1917 for $1,800. The parish had
previously used McKinley Hall for services.
October – Roy MILLEN bought out Louis HOFFMAN,
including his Ford dealership and his 2 buildings west of the Millinery.
HOFFMAN moved to the Becky O’DELL farm 1½ miles east of Lacona on the
hill. In late 1921 L.T. CRAVEN’s
Harness Shop opened in the same two
buildings followed by a garage run by
Paul McFARLAND and
Ed GRIESBAUM beginning December 1923.
October – Lacona held the first Annual Community
Fair in the City Park. A second Community Fair was held but the fairs
were not held during WW I. After the war the fairs resumed but the were
called Fall Festivals and were held in September. The festival included
a parade, flower shows, farm & home produce, horse judging, music,
dances, races, etc. The last such festival was held October 1930.
November –
Tom MURRAY traded his livery barn, north
of the Methodist Church, and adjoining property to J.A. MILLER for
MILLER’s farm near Liberty Center.
1917 – January –
George OVERMYER
bought E.S. CHITTENDEN Produce, the first building north of the
laundromat.
March – Lacona’s first basketball game played at
McKinley Hall between Milo and Lacona. The admission was 25 cents for
adults and 15 cents for children. Lacona won.
The newly formed Lacona Auto Company,
Charlie
HADLEY, Roy MILLEN,
George RIDDLE, purchased the hotel lot from
H.E.
RODGERS and hired Monte
ENSLOW to build a garage and show room. They moved into the new building
November 1917 and sold Ford cars adding Fordson tractors, plows and
discs in 1919. It had various owners until February 1932 when Lydia G.
Adler bought the Auto Company.
The bandstand in the center of the park was built.
It was torn down in 1965.
April –
Ed MOSHER and
Paul McFARLAND drove to
Freeport, Illinois to pick up Ed’s new auto hearse, His first motorized
one. He still kept and used the horse-drawn hearse well into the 1920s
on occasions when the motor hearse mired down on the mud roads.
(The Bergman
Road Act was passed by the state legislature. It required each county in
the state to maintain county roads instead of relying upon farmers and
team drags.)
June –
Lew WILLIAMS tore down the school in the
park for the lumber. During the summer he tore down McKinley Hall. The
lumber from the two buildings was used to build Chick NEEDLES’ barn
north of Lacona.
July – The price of the Lacona Ledger changed from
$1.00 per year to $1.50.
There were 48 subscriptions to the newspaper.
August – Classes were held for the first time in
the new Oxenrider high school.
Fall – Lacona’s First Annual Alumni Banquet was
held in the new school.
October – Lacona’s first plane, a 3 seater bi-plane
in connection with the Second Annual Community Fair. It landed on the
hilltop south of Lacona and west of the
Wilfred RIPPERGER farm. People
waited in long lines. The plane took off in a southerly direction and
flew to Lacona, circled town and returned to the hilltop. Each ride cost
$7.50 per person.
1918 – February – George HALTOM
bought the restaurant from
Everet PARKINS.
March 29 –
Carlie MEEK became Warren County’s first
traffic fatality, at the Indianola bottom north of town.
Spring – Three buildings west of the old McKinley
Hall was bought by Sam LANDES. They were torn down and the lumber was
used to build Carl MARSH’s house southeast of Lacona.
July 15 –
Vernon RODGERS died in France. He was the
first Lacona man killed in WW I. The body was returned and buried in the
Cochran Cemetery September 1921.
August –
Frank FEHRER bought the red-faced livery
barn. It was soon torn down and the lot used for machine storage.
Dr. and
Mrs. J.L. CRUZEN left Lacona and joined the
Medical Department of the Army. In August 1919 Dr. CRUZEN returned
briefly to sell property and moved to Barnes City.
December – Dr. and
Mrs. G.E. HATFIELD moved to
Tustin, California after serving Lacona for 26 years.
Dr. HATFIELD died
in California from a car accident in 1941. His wife, Olive, died four
years later from the effects of the accident. She was 67.
1919 – February – Dr. W.A. BAGBY,
his wife and two children moved to Lacona. They occupied Dr. HATFIELD’s
office and residence on Main Street.
Spring – Vernon RODGERS Post #426 the American
Legion was formed. They met in the City Hall north of the Christian
Church until September 1929.
May – The body of
Harry CHANDLER was found in the
Des Moines River near Harvey. The circumstances of the death were a
mystery. He had been discharged from Camp Dodge April 17. A train ticket
to Lacona and over $200 were still in his pocket when he was found.
July –
Dr. John and
Madonna LOOSEBROCK and their
children moved to Lacona south of the Nazarene Church. He set up
practice in Dr. STUMBAUGH’s building north of Bob BAUER’s house. In 1923
he moved the office to his house,
Paul LAWRENCE’S current residence.
1920 – Frank KONRAD bought the
first electric refrigerator in Lacona, a GE with Monitor top.
Spring – Lacona’s first baseball field at the foot
of Cook Hill on the south side since the mid-1870s was abandoned and a
second field was established northeast of the depot. Home plate was in
the southeast corner. In 1929 the field was moved a 3rd time,
¾ mile east of Lacona, on the north side. It remained in this location
until 1933.
Buzzards Roost was torn down by
Clark SANDY who
built a new house on the same lot. B. TIGNER lived in this house now.
Camp Fire Girls was first established in Lacona.
July –
Millie BOWLES and
Mae RALPH open a millinery
store. Mae had operated a millinery in Lacona since April 1908. Bowles
and Ralph Millinery closed in the early 1930s. The building sat vacant
until the mid-1940s.
The number of horses and mules on farms began to
decline with the continued development of truck and gasoline-driven
tractors.
October – Dr. BAGBY and family moved to West Street
and set up office in the next house south. This is where
Rose LEPLEY
lives.
1921 – Farmer’s Store, first door
east of MOSHER’s, a dry goods and grocery store, was established by Glen
MILLER, M.W. HADLEY,
T.L. HAMILTON,
William BRUCE and
George RIPPERGER.
In October 1924 a room was added back of the store for cream, flour,
ware room and to candle eggs.
Sometime this year
George HALTOM bought the first
radio in Lacona, Atwater-Kent with earphones. It was installed in a
restaurant, now known as Bob’s Place. Later, speakers replaced the
earphones.
December – Lacona’s first filling station was
built, Standard Oil, by F.E. JOHNSON where the old McKinley Hall stood.
In the late 1920s it became a Conoco. The station had many owners until
it ceased operating in the fall of 1964. It was a Conoco at that time.
1922 – January – The County began
straightening the White Breast creek. Complete dredging operation was
completed October 23 thus reducing the flood threat which frequently
covered the bottom east of town hill to hill. The Stanley Grove and
other gathering points along the old channel were abandoned.
February – Postmaster
Walter OVERMYER moved the
post office from the south side in the old creamery to a building on the
north side along the alley, the 1892 bank building.
May 29 – The body of a new-born baby was found near
the Ripperger Bridge, in the mud of White Breast Creek wrapped in brown
paper, tied with string and weighted with brick. The body was brought to
the Mosher Funeral Home and displayed. The sheriff was called in and an
investigation was held. The crime was never solved and the baby boy was
buried in the Newbern Cemetery and marked “White Breast Baby.”
Ed MOSHER’S old Furniture and Undertaking store,
north of Peoples Trust along the alley, was torn down.
September – Along the road leading into the Cochran
Cemetery was an old wood bridge across a ravine at the foot of a hill.
This bridge was taken out. A cement waterway was constructed and the
road was put on the present grade. The work was done by the County with
the assistance Lacona people and area farmers using wagons, shovels and
slip-scrapers.
October – Lacona Auto Company changed hands.
Brothers Ray MILLS, and
R.O. MILLS of Winterset took over and changed
the name to Mills Motor Company.
1923 – February – Bald Hill Coal
Company was organized and exploratory drilling began. The headquarters
were in Lacona.
March – The “Ossified Man” who was visiting
relatives southeast of Lacona went on display in the back of the Murray
Building, the current post office. His real name was
Frank WARDEN and he
had been exhibiting himself throughout the U.S. for over 15 years,
baffling doctors. His bones and muscles were ossifying and he was
carried like a board. It was impossible for him to move his arms, legs
or head but he could roll his eyes, smile and talk a little. His food
was prepared in liquid form. “His outer body was almost a solid shell
yet he was alive; people had never seen anything like it.” It is
believed he died in the East, of cancer of the mouth.
April –
Dr. BAGBY installed the first X-Ray machine
in Lacona at his office on West Street.
(May 2-3 –
The first non-stop flight coast to coast was made by Army Lieutenants
Kelly and Macready flying from New York City to San Diego in 26 hours,
50 minutes and 3 seconds.)
May – Midwest Lumber Company of Dubuque purchased
Keve Lumber Company, by the depot.
Dolph CORNELL and
Riley CHIPPS
continue with the new firm.
June – Dr. BAGBY and his family moved to Laurens.
In April 1928 Dr. W.A. BAGBY was killed when his car was hit by a train
in Memphis, Indiana.
Supper – The road running east and west past Shupe
Cemetery was closed and the present road running north and south along
the ridge was built.
1924 – February – A new bell was
installed in the Christian Church.
March –
Dr. J.M. SMITH, a dentist, moved to Lacona
and set up practice in
Dr. STUMBAUGH’S old office and home on the south
edge of town where Norb BAUER currently lives.
Spring – Tennis courts were completed just north of
Lacona High School under the initiative of Principal
Ted HOLLIDAY. These
were double courts with backstops and a clay surface running east and
west. It was last used in the mid-1930s. The first tennis court in
Lacona was built in the early 1920s west of
Dolph CORNELL’s house,
currently the home of
Bill DAUGHERTY. It was used for a short time. There
was also a single clay court at Dr. LOOSEBROCK’s home, 1925-1932 and a
single clay court north of
P.C. KONRAD’s home, 1928-1934
Summer – Ku Klux Klan membership and activities
were at their peak in Lacona and White Breast Township with night
meetings in the city park and burnings of the “fiery cross” near
midnight on occasions in fields near Lacona. The Klan began in 1923 and
by 1925 had pretty much disbanded.
July, midnight –
G. GRAY’s Livery barn, two lots
east of Glenn HOCH, burned to the ground along with the Thompson house.
The fire started mysteriously in the livery.
August - Concerned men of Lacona organized the
first town fire department with
Frank KONRAD as the fire chief.
C.T. MURRAY’s large L-shaped feed barn, north of
the Methodist Church, was torn down by
Lou LEPLEY. The lumber was used
to build the barn near the road at the Bob GOODE farm south.
Earl CLAYTON, of Chariton was killed in a shaft of
the Bald Hill Coal Mine four miles east of Lacona. The death was caused
by the damps and being crushed between the cage and wall of the shaft.
He fell into the water at the bottom of the shaft.
September – Lacona’s first fire siren was installed
on top of the I.O.O.F. building on the southeast corner. It was
electrically run, and blown at noon every day to ensure it was in
working condition.
1925 – August –
Fred and
Charlie
BEELER began selling Chevy cars from two buildings west of Bowles and
Ralph Millinery. The Beeler Motor Company buildings were sold to Ed
GRIESBAUM in 1930.
August 10 – Straw stack Murder – The skull and
charred body of a young woman was discovered in a burned straw stack 2½
miles east of Carlisle. The skull and remains, a tuft of auburn hair,
shred of pink silk, pearls, broach pin, watchband, dental fillings and
pick ax with a lock of hair clinging to the handle, were displayed in
the Carlisle drugstore show case. 40,000 people viewed the display. The
crime was never solved. It was theorized the murder occurred during a
night party in a nearby shack the same night the straw stack was set on
fire (July 24) in hopes of destroying all evidence.
1926 – February 5 –
Frank JACOB’s
shotgun accidentally discharged into his abdomen while climbing through
a hedge fence as he chased a rabbit, one mile west of Lacona. He died on
the morning train en route to Des Moines. He was accompanied by Dr.
LOOSEBROCK.
June 12, 11:30 p.m., Saturday –
Frank GASS drowned
as he and brothers Floyd and
Loren drove their Ford Coup into the flood
waters of Wind Branch Creek east of Lacona near the Marion County line.
The car was swept off the center of the mud road and plunged head first
into a washed out hole 15 feet deep. The body was found Friday morning
June 18 near the Chicago Bridge.
October – St. Mary’s Cemetery began. In August the
parish had purchased ½ acre from Jerome KONRAD.
1927 – March – The first Boy Scout
troop was organized in Lacona.
Clifford DEVORE was the scoutmaster.
Scouts were organized for a second time in 1963 with
Loyd WILLIAMS and
Father John KOVACS as leaders.
August – Mill Branch was straightened near the
depot to prevent flooding. On October 1929 Mill Branch along the western
edge of Lacona was straightened.
September –
Dr. Clair MOSSMAN, a chiropractor, set
up business in the south half of the Ledger office building, north of
Dairy Sweet on the alley. He was in Lacona for a short time.
December – The new Phillips gas station, just north
of Roy VAN ZEE’s
place, opened for business. It was run by
Glen BURKETT.
The carpenter work was done by Ralph FOGLE. The station eventually
became a Mobil Station. It was last used October 1960 and pulled down
September 1979.It was the second station in town.
1928 – March –
George HALTOM sold
his restaurant business to Foster WILLIAMS. The two buildings had many
renters until Feb 1959.
April – Janitor
Columbus FOGLE of Lacona School
planted a row of bushes south of the double walk. The bushes were torn
out in the late 1950s
White Breast 4-H Club was organized for the first
time under supervision of
Louise SCOTT and
Amy MYERS with 12 charter
members.
May –
George HALTOM bought
Dr. J.M. SMITH’s Meat
Market, the present corner store. Groceries were added in 1936.
June – A dance platform was built on brick piers at
the bottom of the park. The money was contributed by the businessmen and
women of the town. Dances were held on the platform every Saturday night
during the summer months for years.
(July 6 – The
first real “talkie movie” is shown in Los Angeles)
July –
H. E. RODGERS installed an ice hut north of
the Standard Station, the old Conoco. It sold artificial ice trucked in
from Des Moines. In 1939 the ice hut was bought by John Babcock and
moved north of the Phillips Station.
Dr. J.M. SMITH left Lacona. He was soon replaced by
another dentist, Dr. R.C. GRIFFITH who occupied the same office,
Stumbaugh’s. GRIFFITH stayed for a year and became the last permanent
dentist. All future dentists came one day a week.
July 30, Tuesday – Lacona’s first fire truck
arrived. A new 1927 red Chevrolet chemical truck with twin-tanks, it was
stored in the basement of
Frank KONRAD’s Hardware store. It replaces the
1912 hand-pulled chemical fire engine.
Fall – The first paved road in Warren County was
completed, Highway 65-69
(November –
Republican Herbert Hoover was elected 31st President of the
U.S.)
1929 – September – American Legion
bought George MILLER’s house for $600 on Vine Street, the site of Ronnie
KONRAD’s. It was remodeled and used as the Legion Hall.
October – Gus TILDEN, editor of the Lacona Ledger
for 22 years, died. His assistants,
Miss Ethel CORNELL and
Mrs. Lottie
RODGERS continued the paper.
(October 29 –
Stock Market Crash)
1930 – February 14 –
Sanford
SHIELDS became the first Lacona man killed in an auto wreck. He was
travelling at high speed 2 ¼ miles west of Lacona and lost control. His
wife was injured.
February – Farmers and Savings Bank closed. It
reorganized and opened for business March 1. The name was changed to
Peoples State Bank.
March –
George HALTOM’s slaughter house just
northeast of Lacona was completed by
Frank DAUGHERTY. A beehive cistern
west on the hill was also built.
P.I. GLEASON’S Jewelry store closed. This was a
small building west of the hardware.
April – A new fire siren was stationed on top of
city hall north of the present fire station.
Spring –
Bob JACOBS began operating a freight line
to and from Des Moines. He retired from the trucking business July 31,
1974.
July – Ownership of the Midwest Lumber Company
changed. The name was changed to the Lacona Lumber Company and was
managed by Dolph CORNELL.
August –
Frank KONRAD’s old hardware store, Nolte’s
corner, was bought by the newly formed Lacona Oil Company and torn down.
September – Ed BRIESBAIM bought the Shupe building
west of the locker and converted it into a garage with a cement drive
and other remodeling. He and his wife, Mae, lived upstairs.
October – Peoples State Bank closed.
Elmer RODGERS
was the manager.
November –
John FEHRER bought the blacksmith shop
from his father, Frank.
December –
Stansburry CHIPPS leased the mill
northwest of the depot to Charles WILLIS. The mill had a few more owners
before closing in late 1932.
1931 – March –
Clarence ZOOK took
over as the editor of the Lacona Ledger.
Mrs. Lottie RODGERS stayed on.
April –
Kenneth BUTLER bought the produce and shoe
repair business from
Walter OVERMYER estate.
Spring – Chick NEEDLES planted a cedar windbreak
north of Lacona.
Fry Hill, ¾ mile north of Lacona, was cut down and
put on grade.
Summer –
Dr. LOOSEBROCK bought the Peoples State
Bank on the south side was remodeled and the office was moved from the
residence, Paul Lawrence’s, to the bank.
September 18, 2 a.m. – The elegant Pogue house on
the west side of Lacona, was totally destroyed by fire. The probable
cause was lightning.
October – Clarence ZOOOK turned the Ledger over to
Mrs. Lettie RODGERS because of ill health.
November – The dirt road between Lacona and Milo
was graveled for the first time.
1932 – February –
Lydia G. ADLER
bought the Lacona Auto Company from W.A. SCOTT. The franchise for
selling Ford cars revoked. The company began to sell Plymouth and De
Soto cars.
March – A.C. STONE of Seymour bought
C.L.V. SHUPE’s
Hardware.
May – Main Street received a first coat of gravel
and the dirt road west was graveled.
Summer – The other two dirt roads running south and
east out of Lacona were graveled for the first time.
September – Chick NEEDLES’ barn north of Lacona was
struck by lightning and burns to the ground. The barn was rebuilt on the
same site.
Lacona Ledger was bought by Irv TOWNSEND of Milo.
1933 - March –
Darrell A. PARKINS
bought Stone’s Hardware.
Spring – Lacona’s third baseball diamond east of
town was abandoned and a fourth diamond began on Washington Street, site
of Bob JACOBS’ house, along the alley. The home plate was on the
southeast corner of the lot. It was used for a short time until a
permanent field was completed southeast of Oxenrider School with lights
for the night games. The poles were timber cut from trees and used coal
hods for lights.
Spring – The Lacona Ledger ceased publication after
36 years when it merged with the Milo Motor.
June 16 – W.A. SCOTT’s home and barn, City Hall,
the Christian and Methodist Churches were burned to the ground. The
estimated loss was over $21,000. The source of the fire was two boys and
a girl playing with matches in Scott’s barn southwest of the Lacona Auto
Company. The Methodist Church burned from the top down as bird nests in
the belfry caught fire.
July – The old school house on Main Street south
side, second building west of the locker, was bought by the town for
City Hall. An apartment was on the second floor with the fire station
and meeting hall on the first. The Fire whistle was installed on top of
the Lacona Oil Company, the old CO-OP.
September – Work on the Methodists’ new brick
church began. It was completed January 1934. Until the new church was
completed, the parish rented the Ledger Building for services.
Fall – Firman RIPPERGER leased the Lacona Auto
Company. In 1934 he began handling International Harvester trucks,
tractors and machinery instead of Plymouth and De Soto cars.
International Harvester machinery was sold there until the garage closed
September 1, 1973.
1934 – March – Frank KONRAD became
postmaster and moved the Post Office to the south side of Main Street,
the old creamery building. It remained there until late 1959.
The last of Lacona’s big ice houses where river ice
was stacked and packed in saw dust began to fall into disuse. Eventually
all were torn down.
October – The Farmers Store, the first building
east of Mosher’s, closed.
1935 – Fall – The Ledger Building
was torn down by George MILLER.
1936 –
“Gone with the Wind” was
published.
Summer – This was a summer of exceptionally dry
weather. There were no rains at all and the crops dried up.
1937 – February – City Hall, the
second building west of the locker, burned. The town bought and used the
Farmers Store building for City Hall. The north end was converted into a
fire station with whistle mounted back of the building. It was used this
way until the spring of 1958.
The American Legion bought the second building east
of Mosher’s formerly a restaurant and turned it into the Legion
headquarters. This building was used until The City Hall was built in
the spring of 1959.
1938 – Fall – The State Bank of
Lacona was closed voluntarily with the depositors paid in full. Six
Lacona men request banking service. Peoples Trust and Savings of
Indianola then opened a branch bank in Lacona, the present bank.
1939 – Summer – The steel bridge ¾
mile east of Lacona was built. It was torn out in 1975.
August 24 – Warren County’s new courthouse was
dedicated.
1940 –
G.J. STEWART Lumber and
Grain Company closed and all supplies were sold.
1941 – August –
Dolph CORNELL resigned from the Lacona branch of Midwest Lumber Company. He had held
the position for 25 years.
Fall –
Dr. LOOSEBROCK and family moved to Perry
after serving Lacona for 22 years. He died in Perry October of 1950 and
his wife Madonna died April 1976 in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Chester DEMAREE and his wife
Laura moved to
Lacona and set up practice in Dr. LOOSEBROCK’s office on Main Street,
south side.
December – Old-timers began gathering regularly
each day in Fehrer Blacksmith shop to talk of the war’s progress and
play pitch. They continued meeting and playing pitch until the early
1970s.
1942 – Spring –
Glen NEER bought
the first chain saw in the Lacona area, a Maul chain saw.
Bob DITTMER bought Stewart & Company’s buildings
and began operating a feed business.
Fall –
Dr. DEMAREE moved his office from Main
Street into Dr. LOOSEBROCK’s former home, Paul Lawrence’s. The office
remained in this location until June 1945 when he moved into the
two-story house at the corner of Vine and Cotton.
1943 – Winter – The south bank
building, east of Konrad’s, is turned into a tavern and has been a
tavern since then with many owners and renters.
Summer – Bauer Pond 4 miles east of Lacona was
built.
November –
Carl and
Maude SQUIRES bought Ralston’s
Drugstore east of the bank. They stopped selling prescription drugs but
continue operating a soda fountain and selling stationery, school
supplies, tonics, counter drugs and sundries.
1944 – February 20 –
Loren
NUSSBAUM became the first man from the Lacona area was killed in World
War II.
April – Lee RIPPERGER completed a brick garage,
west of the locker on the south side of the Main Street. The building
was used as a garage in his livestock business.
June 18 –
Dave WILLIAMS was killed instantly by
lightning while planting corn ¾ miles south of Lacona. The horses were
unhurt.
Fall –
Joe and
Irene NICKELSON took over as
managers of the Lacona branch of the Midwest Lumber, north of the depot.
1945 –
(Germany and Japan surrender)
October –
Bill CRAWFORD opened his meat locker.
Miles MILLER did the carpentry work of converting the vacant millinery
store into a locker.
1946 – Spring – Clayel HERRON and
Cey WILLIAMS bought Carl and
Maude SQUIRES Sundries business.
September 8, Sunday afternoon – Approximately 60
Jehovah Witnesses attempted a religious meeting in the Lacona Park.
Fights broke out as 25 former G.I.s broke up the meeting because of
slurring remarks made by them regarding soldiers, sailors and because
they refused to honor the American flag when brought into the park.
(Jehovah Witnesses would not serve in the armed services and refused to
buy war bonds or salute the American flag) Of the 600-700 people jammed
into the west side of the park, approximately 30 received head and face
cuts, bloody noses, black-eyes and body bruises as fists, pop bottles,
clubs and brass knuckles were used for nearly an hour, until tempers
quieted. The park was eventually cleared by Mayor
Lo GOODE and Sheriff
Lewis JOHNSON to prevent further bloodshed.
September 10, Tuesday night – 300 residents
attended a mass meeting in the town hall and decided to keep all
visitors out of Lacona on Sunday the 15th, especially the
Jehovahs who planned another park service. The meeting was conducted by
county attorney Dale EWALT, Mayor
Lo GOODE, Sheriff
Lewis JOHNSON and
town marshal Paul McFARLAND. All law enforcement agencies approved a
plan to blockade all roads leading into Lacona.
September 11, Wednesday afternoon – As a result of
Sunday’s disturbance, the Jehovah’s Witnesses filed charges in the U.S.
district court against 7 Lacona people for disturbing an assembly and
various degrees of assault. All 7 were found not guilty on September 13
and charges were dismissed by the district court judge. The Witnesses
appealed the verdict to the U.S. circuit court of appeals in October
which reversed the lower court ruling, but issued no injunction. Lacona
had legal fees to pay but no further legal actions were taken.
September 15, Sunday morning – Sheriff Johnson
deputized nearly 100 men. They wore red ribbons. Four roads into Lacona
were blockaded by trucks, cars and guarded by nearly 400, plus 10 state
highway patrolmen. Only emergency cases were permitted to enter or leave
town. People were requested not to come to church. One hundred Jehovah
Witnesses in 16 cars were stopped at the west blockade and told they
could not enter. There was no violence and no disorder and they returned
to Des Moines. The blockade ended about 3 p.m. after five hours.
1947 – April -
Lawanda OSENBAUGH
became the depot agent. She was the agent until January 1959.
Electricity began reaching into the rural areas
(REA) of the entire township. For most farmhouses in White Breast
Township this became their first year for electricity.
1948 – Spring –
Bryant HALTOM
bought the Sundries business of
Clayel HERRON and
Cey WILLIAMS. He
turned the store into a restaurant. He was the first of many restaurant
owners.
Summer – The Lacona High School bought its first
school bus, a used International from Tipton. It was used to pick up
country children beginning in August.
1949 – Winter – The first TV in
Lacona was bought by
Darrell PARKINS. It was a Raytheon with 12” round
screen. The cost was approximately $600.
Summer – As a result of a bond issue that passed,
Lacona’s new fire station was completed by Elmer FITZGERALD, contractor
from Colfax.
Fall – An addition to Lacona’s High School was
completed at a cost of $35,000. The addition included a gym, stage,
classrooms and a bus barn.
1950 – A bond issue passed
allowing the purchase of a new fire truck. It was a 1950 Ford, had a 500
gallon booster tank and replaced the 1927 Chevrolet that had accumulated
676 miles.
1951 – April –
Dale OSENBAUGH’s
air field was built at the city pond.
Bob O’BRIEN did the grading. The
last time the air field was used was in 1973.
(Drive-in
Theaters, sometimes called passion pits, began dotting the country
side.)
July –
Loyd WILLIAMS began barbering in the room
below Peoples Trust. He took over from
Ronald “Peak” HITE.
1952 – The Water Works building ¼
mile east of Lacona was built by
Elmer SLAUGHTER and his son,
Ian.
1954 – Spring – Lacona’s football
field, an orchard, with Bob O’BRIEN doing the bull-dozing. Lights went
up in the summer and it was ready for the fall season. The first year
the high school had a team was 1953. They practiced in the school yard
and played all games away.
Wendel BATES was the first coach.
1955 – P.C. KONRAD sold the Palace
Theater to Emmet GILLISPIE, from Chariton.
George HALTOM’S slaughter
house, just northeast of town shut down because there was no one to
butcher. The water tower was constructed.
September –
John BURNS bought
Bill CRAWFORD’s meat
locker, west of Haltom’s
1956 – June –
Bob DITTMER sold the
elevator and grain business to the CO-OP.
June 19 – A water fountain at the corner of the
park was installed by the Lions Club.
June 23, 24 – Lacona celebrated its Centennial with
a large parade, dedication of the new water system, music and platform
shows, games, dances and baseball plus a carnival. Men let beards grow
and women wore long dresses and bonnets. The store windows were
decorated with items from the past.
First color TV in Lacona was bought by
Wayne FEHRER
from Merrill MOSHER. It was an Admiral and cost $679.
September –
Dale OSENBAUGH bought
Darrell PARKINS’
Hardware.
1957 – The Palace Theater closed
(Oct 4 – The
Russians launched Sputnik, the first successful space satellite.)
1958 – January – LeRoy WILLIAMS,
Ora VAN HEESWYCK, and
Don VAN FLEET established Williams and Company,
Inc. Muffler Factory. It employed 24 workers in three buildings east of
Mosher’s Furniture Store.
The steeple of the Nazarene Church was removed
because of water and bird problems.
Fall – The Lions Club had the City Pond dug 1 ½
miles east of the town.
1959 – February –
Bob BAUER bought
two buildings from George HALTOM. He opened a tavern on March 10.
Spring – City Hall was added to the north side of
the fire station. The contractor was Halferty of Chariton.
June 1, Monday evening – Ray HARDMAN shot and
killed his daughter Grace and a neighbor boy,
Don NEER in northwest
Lacona. Townspeople were warned to stay inside, keep their doors locked,
lights on and shades drawn until the manhunt was over. Approximately 25
peace officers from surrounding counties searched for nearly three
hours. Finally Hardman climbed into a patrol car about 11:45 and said,
“It’s getting kind of chilly isn’t it!” Hardman had spent time in Mental
Health Institute at Clarinda and the day of the shootings had walked
away from the Soldiers Home at Marshalltown.
Summer – The road west out of Lacona was graded.
July – Lacona, Milo and Liberty Center schools
reorganized and South East Warren was formed.
Founders of the Muffler Factory bought the Palace
Theater. The seats and floor were taken out for plant expansion. VAN
HEESWYCK put a face on front of theater, partitioned it off and turned
it into an insurance office.
The Catholic Church basement was excavated and
remodeling began.
December – The post office moved from the building
west of the theater, the old creamery, into a newly remodeled post
office at the corner of Main and Washington.
1960 – January – The Midwest
Lumber Corporation closed the Lacona branch because of shipping problems
brought on by the railroad. It was managed by
Joe and
Irene NICKELSON.
The pavement comes in from the west, a state
Highway.
The Mobil filling station was built on the south
side of Main Street by
Marvin MILLER, Joe and
Frank NICKELSON. Marvin
opened the station on October 16. After various owners the station
closed March 1978 because of a faulty gas tank.
1961 – June –
George MILLER began
his shoe repair business on the west edge of Lacona.
Summer – Work on the dial telephone system began.
It was completed in early 1962. New phones replaced the hand crank wall
phones. Wilda CLARK was the last telephone operator.
Frank and Joe NICKELSON bought the old post office
for $75 and began tearing it down.
1962 – January – The train made
its last run over the CB & Q Railroad thus ending 84 years of service to
the community. The track and ties were taken out in the spring.
Spring – Metal street signs went up about town.
1963 –
Dr. Chester DEMAREE left
Lacona and moved to Des Moines after having served Lacona for 22 years.
He died in Des Moines in 1963. His wife,
Laura, died in 1959 at the age
of 73.
Summer – The road east out of Lacona was graded.
The gravel road across the White Breast bottom was abandoned and moved
further north to higher ground.
December – Lacona’s first rescue unit was bought, a
used 1950 army surplus panel truck.
1964 – May – The elementary school
at Bauer closed
Summer – The natural gas system was installed.
Fall – The dance platform built in June 1928 in the
loser park was torn down by the men of the city. Fill dirt was brought
in for a proposed basketball court.
The Conoco filling station closed. It had been
built in December 1921.
1965 – June – The cement
basketball court at the bottom of the park was poured.
The bandstand in the park, built in 1917, was torn
down by Dean and
Ronnie NEER for lumber.
Summer – The pavement was extended east out of
Lacona from the end of the State highway to the top of Main Street.
Fall – Lacona’s sewer system was completed.
1966 – May – The elementary school
at Rosemount closed.
July 25 –
Marine Cpl Donald E. SHOEMAKER died near
Da Nang, South Viet Nam. He was the first Lacona man killed in the
Vietnam War.
1968 –
(April 4 - Martin Luther King Jr.
was assassinated on the motel balcony in Memphis Tennessee.)
October – The Brownies were started in Lacona with
Jewel HALTOM as the leader. The Girl Scouts were started with
Anna
RANKIN as the leader.
1969 – April – Lacona’s second
rescue unit was bought for $1,500, a used 1963 Buick ambulance.
May –
John BURNS closed the meat locker.
1970 – Spring - Construction began
on the new South East Warren High School. It was built at Liberty
Center.
The road south out of Lacona was paved.
Kenneth BUTLER’s shoe shop and produce building was
torn down.
1971 – February 3, 4 – This was
the grand opening of the new CO-OP filling station and garages. The
construction of the complex had begun in October 1970.
The stocked turkey in Stephens Forest began
migrating northward, many along the White Breast River.
Baughman’s Ice Cream Shop opened on the corner of
West and Main, the site of the old Conoco
November –
Florence RIPPERGER purchased the first
microwave oven in Lacona.
1972 – Spring – Aid Insurance
moved from the old theater building to the block building east of the
alley on the south side of Main Street.
1973 – February –
Roy VAN ZEE
bought Baughman’s Ice Cream Shop. It was remodeled and opened in May as
Judy’s Dairy Sweet.
Spring – A variety of 5’ to 7’ trees were planted
in the city park.
Summer – Lacona’s sixth baseball diamond was built
northeast of the City Pond. It had lights, a backstop and outfield
fence.
September – The Ripperger Garage, the old Lacona
Auto Company built in 1917, closed after 56 years of operation. It was
destroyed by fire early Saturday morning February 16, 1980.
Fall – Lacona’s first brick building for the
elderly was completed east of the city park.
1974 – Spring – Fehrer’s Store
closed after 54 years of business. Later in the year the town bought the
building for a community center and remodeling began.
Fall – Tony SCHAEFER was the last farmer in the
area to work horses. He sold the farm and moved to Lacona in October. He
had worked and farmed with horses his entire life.
1975 – July –
Doug NOLTE from
Melcher bought the old CO-OP station and turned it into a machine shop.
He built a block addition west in August 1978.
Summer – The gravel road north out of Lacona was
graded and readied for paving.
1976 – March – Lacona’s first
public library was formed. It was located on the balcony floor of the
Community Center.
May – A new steel and concrete bridge ¾ mile east
of Lacona was completed.
July – Direct descendants of
Chris KONRAD (He had
move to Lacona in June 1876.) have continually been in business on
Lacona’s Main Street for over 100 years. The business included a
blacksmith, buggy and wagon factory, hardware, 5 & 10¢, creamer,
department store, theater, filling station, real estate office,
postmaster, and general store.
September – Lacona’s third rescue unit, Chariton’s
International ambulance, was bought for $2,000 plus $1,000 to equip the
unit.
December – The gray building on the north side of
Main Street, the third building east of Mosher’s on the alley, was torn
down for parking space by
Harlan WILLIAMS, councilmen and others in
town. The first bank in Lacona had been organized in 1892.
1977 – January –
Gerhard (Blackie)
KALITSKI bought Al FEHRER’S blacksmith thus ending 90 years of smithing
by 3 generations of the FEHRER family. The name, Fehrer Blacksmith, was
retained.
February – A new fire and warning siren was
installed atop a pole along the east side of the fire station.
July – The pavement north out of Lacona was
completed.
Because of the drought and general water shortage,
all Lacona citizens were asked to voluntarily cut water use to 30
gallons per person per day until conditions improved. Any excess over
that was charge at a rate of 25 cents per gallon.
1978 – March – Lacona’s third fire
truck was delivered, a 1977 yellow Chevrolet costing $48,000.
(July 25 –
The first test-tube baby, Louis Brown, was born in England)
1979 – January – Bob KONRAD and
Gene WADLE bought Dale OSENBAUGH’s Hardware.
May –
Frank BREGAR bought Ripperger Garage and
converted it into a body shop.
Local people began landscaping projects at Lacona’s
4 entrances and along People Trust Bank.
September – The Palace Theater and old Phillips
station was torn down by a contractor from Granger.
(October 4 –
John Paul II becomes the first Pope to visit Iowa)
November – Lacona’s 4th rescue unit was
bought. It was a new 1978 Ford Super Van ambulance costing $19,491 plus
$60 for lettering.
December – Regular gasoline, self-serve, sold for
$1.05 a gallon.