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 | Wright County Historical Society continues work on old map
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| | Les Houser |
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August 21, 2008 - As a 1996 Iowa Sesquicentennial project, the Wright County Historical Society undertook a project of identifying the "ghost towns" of the county.
A six foot by six foot wooden three-dimensional map of the county was devised by Bill Mock, President of the Society. At the time, there were five local chapters of the Society with each one having the task of researching their own area. "At least 56 towns, post offices, or planned 'paper towns' were in existence in the county since its beginning," said Mock.
The result was a unique way to view the entire county, resembled a plat book map come to life. The township and section lines are drawn in, and details such as rivers, trees and lakes help to identify the basic lay of the land.
But the best part of the map are the tiny buildings. "All the towns in the history of the county, both developed and just planned, are represented," said Mock. "Some of these were charted but never survived." You will find such examples as Nuel in Troy Township, Solberg in Lincoln Township and Thrall just north of Goldfield, among others.
Some of these towns were not much more than a tall wooden red grain elevator, and there are several of those dotting the county. Another interesting feature is the country schools and churches. "There were nine schools per township." said Mock. "Some of them were named after the township, such as Lake No. 6, but we know that a lot of them had family names such as 'Breckenridge School'. We would like to identify all of the former family schools in the county."
Several towns, or rural areas of the county, had creameries where the farmers could deliver their milk and those are also identified. Railroad lines, complete with small train cars are shown as they crossed the county and traveled through the towns. Even the old stage coach lines are drawn in, identified by a miniature coach.
The map is currently on display on the Streetscape at Heartland Museum. It has fallen into some disrepair over the years it was stored, and the museum is trying to restore it. If you can be of any help in identifying anything on the map, or maybe something that should be there that isn't, contact either the Mocks or the museum.
Something that coincided with the map were "driving tours", which were prepared for each towns' summer festival. "Signs were erected at each point of interest along the way, and directions were printed so you could follow the path where history was made," said Mock.
Maps are still available for several different tours, with each covering a different part of the county. Options are built into the guide so you can either end with a short tour or continue on down the road to several other points of interest. One such tour starts on Highway 3 going east out of Clarion, where you can see the location of the former Greyhound bus station and the first national rest stop. You can see the locations of several ghost towns on the way to Lake Cornelia, where you will see the oldest pony truss bridge in Iowa.
Another tour starts at the Eagle Grove Museum, eventually finding its way to the French Church, the stone slab house and Stryker cabin. You will also see the old location of the Troy covered bridge and a couple of brick kilns. Before the tour ends, you could also see the only remaining round barn in the county.
Another tour starts at River Park in Belmond, taking you past St. Olaf Church and the site of the old Hickory Grove school and cemetery. You eventually travel through Rowan and then back to Belmond. There's a tour starting in Goldfield, taking you around some sights in town before heading out to the rural areas. Still another tour starts in Dows, taking you past Big Wall Lake, the former site of Little Chicago and eventually through Galt and into Rowan.
On all of these tours, the printed guide gives you detailed information and locations of many historical sites and former towns located in that area.
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