Address
Contact
Phone
563.547.3434
The Howard County Historical Society is a non-profit group with the mission of preserving the ongoing history of the people who inhabited the prairie lands of Iowa. These volunteers preserve records and artifacts for general research and display. The group is always looking for new members who have an interest in preservation and the history of Howard County and surrounding areas.
Meetings: First Monday of each month at 7:00pm
Sites and Activities
- Florenceville Church
- Kellow House Museum
- Log Cabin – Beadle Park
- Little Red School House – Howard County Fairgrounds
- Howard County Historical Preservation & Educational Center – Howard County Fairgrounds
Call for tours at 563-547-3434
History of the Howard County Historical Society
(obtained from the archives of the Howard County Historical Society)
In 1924 there were not many historical societies in Iowa. Occasional articles relating to pioneer days appeared in local papers and readers and residents of Howard County began to call for preserving their local history. To fill this long-felt need and many residents’ interests in early history, the Howard County Historical Society was established June 9, 1924.
Therefore, said society was organized June 9, 1924, with 21 charter members who elected the following officers: C.J. Harlan, President; Miss Lauraine Mead, Vice President, Mrs. Alma Glass, Secretary, J.H. Howe, Treasurer, and Mrs. C.E. Farnsworth, Curator. A board of directors, and later a custodian was chosen in the person of T.J. Gibbons.
In the meantime, the Howard County Historical Society was being revived and it was suggested that there be a historic exhibit at the next county fair which was to be held in August 1924. This suggestion was met with the approval of the Fair Board, and they appointed members of the County Historical Society to superintend that department. The exhibit was placed in the old Flora Hall for that season, and it attracted considerable attention.
It soon became apparent that the exhibit needed a separate building of its own and effort was made to secure an old log cabin and have it moved onto the fairgrounds. Several log cabins were around at remote distances, but they proved to be in too poor condition and too far away to move without too great expense. Therefore, it was decided to defer the matter until the following winter when logs could be secured and a new cabin erected for a historical building.
Through the aid of the local newspapers and personal solicitations, considerable publicity was given to the matter, and many were the responses to the call for donations of logs and volunteer labor. As a result, 33 loads of logs, four loads of stone, and other material were donated, and 85 men gave freely of their time from a half day to ten days each, going into the woods to cut and haul the logs, and helping to fit and lay them into the walls of the cabin.
John F. Murtha, an old pioneer and woodsman, was appointed foreman and he gave over a month of his time to the project, free of charge, working with the men most of the time in the woods and on the fairgrounds in erecting the building.
The lumber was sawed by James N. Smith and his force at his sawmill free of charge. Therefore, material and labor were furnished without any expense or outlay of cash.
The Fair Board then ordered the roof, door and windows, and the chimney built at their expense, and the Society paid for the “chinking’ and plastering between the logs, laying the concrete floor, and some inside carpenter work.
Brick was donated for the chimney by Mrs. J.B. Mitchell from a fireplace of pioneer days, the first built in the county, the grate for the fireplace by Mrs. Alma Glass, wiring and installing of electric lights by S.J. Fields, other fixtures and older relics by numerous other persons, as well as generous donations of cash. When completed a full list of all contributions of material, labor and cash was posted up in the building.
The log cabin, 16 x 24 feet, a story and a half high, and the total expenses was but $328.00. It was dedicated August 9, 1925, free of debt, with appropriate ceremonies.
The cabin did not hold up very well. It was discovered that the logs used to build it were infested with carpenter ants and a type of beetle. Consequently, when a violent windstorm came up a few years later the cabin and its contents were scattered over the countryside. The members were able to salvage some of the antiques, including the lamp now in the Kellow House Museum. These artifacts were placed in a small building on the north end of the fairground, and they remained there until they were moved to a larger building on the west side of the fairgrounds which was formerly occupied by the F.F.A. and as it proved to be too small to accommodate their projects a country schoolhouse was moved in from Howard Center and located across the road. When the 4-H Club completed the building, which they needed for their increased activities in about 1966, the F.F.A. decided to also move to the new larger location. Thus, the Historical Society inherited their former location and the schoolhouse. In the 70s, the historical building was one of the most popular attractions at the county fair. Members and friends were persuaded to lend their beautiful antique crystal, dishes, quilts, lovely old linens and a variety of miscellaneous items for display.
In 1964, the Don Carolan family, of near Ridgeway, gave the Society their 1853 log cabin which had been lived in continuously, in later years as part of their home from 1853-1964.
It was originally intended for the fairgrounds but since it had been hauled into town on a flatbed truck, the cost of moving electric and telephone wires made it too costly. Through the efforts of Bess Fye, who was a member of the Park Board at the time, it was decided to locate it in Beadle Park over the pool and fountain which had fallen into disrepair. The cabin, with its collection of pioneer furnishings is open to the public during special events and by appointment. At one time it was used as a county tourism bureau. In 2013 much many needed repairs were done to the cabin by the Historical Society.
In 1969 the Society purchased the William Kellow home on 4th Avenue West from Victor Benson at a cost of $2,500.00. This was paid for at the rate of $500.00 per year and during those five years it was restored mostly by volunteer labor and gifts and became the Howard County Historical Museum. Mr. Kellow had been a grocery merchant in Cresco from 1873 until his death in 1949. An unusual feature of the house is its mansard roof with its “widow’s walk” enclosed by ornamental iron railings. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been open during special events and for prearranged tours.
In 1986 the Society came into the ownership of the Florenceville Methodist Church, built in 1878 and had been closed for many years, through a gift from the Methodist Church of Harmony, Minnesota. Recent years the Society, with grants from the Howard County Community Foundation and other donations have resulted in many repairs to the building. Former members, descendants of the early members, and friends of the church hold a service and social gathering once a year on the first Sunday in June.
The Howard County Society now has a new Preservation Museum in a new building completed in 2005 located on the Howard County Fairgrounds.
Howard County Historical Society is a proud member of the Cresco Area Chamber of Commerce and accepts Cresco Chamber Dollars.
