Snapshots of History by Mike Avitt

By Editor | March 12, 2026 |

I made a mistake in the last article. In the last paragraph I used the surname “Mullin” which was incorrect as it should have been “Mull.”
My further research also uncovered multiple closeout sales at the Ringgold City store. The first one was in August 1932 with Mrs. J. M. Mull & Son as proprietors. I believe the son was Elva (E. M.) Mull. The sale advertised the store merchandise and equipment for sale and the home of Mrs. Mull.
The next closeout sale took place in September 1935 when everything had to go: 1 ½ acres, store building, Elva’s residence, auto garage, equipment and Mrs. J. M. Mull’s home built in 1934. One month after this sale supposedly took place, the store building burnt to the ground. The Record-News said the store had been unoccupied since C. A. Perlenfein left the previous year. The third closeout sale happened in October 1937 after Elva plead guilty to forgery and was on his way to prison. The newspaper reports the sale was well attended and items sold well. Game over, right? No.
In October 1947, E. M. Mull sold at public auction his lot (formerly occupied by the store building) and the 1934 house which was offered at previous sales. He also sold some property at Hatfield as the Mull family had connections to Harrison County, Missouri. In the meantime, Earl and Ralph Mull went to prison in 1933 for grand larceny. Ralph died in Jefferson, Iowa in 1938, so he didn’t have to serve his full sentence. The 1930s were tough on the Mull family and Ringgold City.
The last service I find for the Ringgold Evangelical Church was January 1937 conducted by Reverend Walter Cerka. In the summer of 1938 the church parsonage was located to Mount Ayr; 507 N. Hayes Street. The church building was removed in 1939.
In 2002, Raymond Banner compiled and published a book entitled: “Ringgold County, Iowa 1844-2002: From First Settlement to Forgotten Community.” Banner’s research seems to have been taken from old newspapers (which he viewed on microfilm in the basement of the Mount Ayr Public Library) and interviews with old timers from the area. His book says the school closed in 1952. It was then “moved in the 1950s. Located 2 miles east of Mt. Ayr on Hwy. 2, 2 ½ miles south on a gravel road, ½ mile east. Used as a home.”
The photo of the school that accompanies this article was taken around 1930 as the school building was built in 1925. Students wishing to attend high school could go to Mount Ayr or, beginning in 1919, Hatfield, Mo. Little or nothing is known of the previous school buildings.
Ringgold City was on the Lee Trail. In his book, Banner tells of a legend describing General Robert E. Lee leading a cavalry troop to Council Bluffs using a path in southern Ringgold County. There is no proof this happened but it’s what is considered to be the source of the name.
There were businesses of various natures throughout Ringgold’s history. I have read of a mill and a blacksmith shop locating at Ringgold. The blacksmith shop probably lasted many years but was a “seasonal” (repair of farm machinery) business and was likely operating during certain times of the year.
Caledonia got a post office in 1856 so I guess there was no hurry to put one in at Ringgold, but Ringgold got a post office in 1860 and with one brief interruption lasted until 1908. The location of the post office would have been inside the store. I believe the post office at Caledonia also closed in 1908. Why? Three words: Rural Free Delivery.
Postal delivery began in 1901 and this eventually led to rural and small town closures of post offices. This was the “beginning of the end” for communities that were not on the railroad. Ringgold, Caledonia, and Watterson failed to get the railroad.

Posted in Snapshot of History by Mike Avitt