Drive yourself through Buchanan County The Barn Quilts of Buchanan County is a newly established non-profit organization promoting tourism throughout the county. The ‘quilt’ is a painted 8×8 ft. wooden block that is attached to the barn (or outbuildings). The committee is now soliciting those living in Buchanan Co. who would like to have their…
Full Article >>“Honoring the Courage of our Early Settlers” A Pioneer Cemetery is a cemetery that has had less than 6 burials in the preceding 50 years. Most in the county are over 150 years old. We owe it to the early settlers and to those who passed away on their way West, the respect of maintaining…
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ONE-ROOM SCHOOL Had two entrances – one for the girls and one for the boys. Proper desks were purchased to replace the shelves and benches of an earlier era. The girls sat on one side of the room, and the boys on the other. The youngest children sat at the front of the classroom, close…
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Aka: Oakgrove CemeteryIndependence, Iowa Mr. Richard Campbell purchased 13 acres of ground in the southeast part of Independence to be used as a cemetery. With Edward Ross as a partner, the first section of Oakgrove Cemetery as it was then called, was laid out and a plot of the same was filed in the Buchanan…
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During the mid 1930’s, the banks began to release their money. As the depression subsided, the schools were able to pick up the taxes and were able to raise the teachers’ wages. The county superintendent suggested to Washington and Hazleton Townships that they replace the two schools in each township. Since a 45% Grant from…
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How did the Wapsipinicon River get its name? Stories about the Indian naming of the river are both dramatic and romantic, and provide an interesting legend for the “Wapsi”. In a 1941 State Historical Society of Iowa publication, “Iowa – The Rivers of Her Valleys,” William Petersen presents the story of the beautiful Indian maiden…
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