Snapshot of History by Mike Avitt

By Mike Avitt Thanks again to Grover Hahn for another historic photo. This time we see his grandfather and other relatives in a rare, old football picture. I’ll give you the names I have and then I’ll share my problem with this photo. Second from left, back row, is identified as Basil Willey. Clyde Rusk…

By Mike Avitt This photo comes courtesy of Dr. Grover Hahn and shows a lumber yard for which I previously had no photo. I knew it was there and I knew where and when. Allow me to explain. I have many resources at my disposal including the Sanborn plat maps of Mount Ayr which are…

By Mike Avitt I knew where this house was as soon as I got the photo in my hands. I used to work on houses and I have driven all over Mount Ayr looking at the style, construction makeup, and age of houses for many, many years. The house in this week’s article is that…

By Mike Avitt I’ll ask my readers to take note of an upcoming event in Benton on March 15, 2025. The Benton Museum will be hosting an Open House from 2 to 4 p.m. to show off the new, remodeled museum section in the Benton Community Center. I got a sneak-peek recently while attending supper…

By Mike Avitt In my research, I often come across historical information and artifacts from areas outside Ringgold County. I have made contact with several historians in neighboring counties and I share items of interest with those neighboring museums or societies. Sometimes, I am the recipient. That is the case with this week’s photo. It…

By Mike Avitt This is the best picture I have of the well on the southeast corner of the Mount Ayr square. The photo was taken from the roof of a building that sat where city hall is today and is looking north to the Timby building. I know this photo was taken between 1891…

By Mike Avitt This week’s picture appears to have been taken from an upstairs window on the west side of the Mount Ayr square. Professional photographer M. G. Maxwell was located upstairs at 107 S. Fillmore from 1899 until 1902. We will continue with our December 1893 tour of the square courtesy of J. S.…

By Mike Avitt This week’s photo was probably taken around 1900 because of where the photo was taken from. It was taken from the upstairs window at 107 S. Fillmore in Mount Ayr, which was the photographic studio of professional photographer M. G. Maxwell from 1899 until about 1902. We will continue with a tour…

This week’s picture was posted on Facebook and I lifted it without recording who posted it. The photo has great historic value because the people pictured are identified and I know the location of the building, 107 S. Fillmore in Mount Ayr. Dr. William Horne is seated at far left in the photo. To the…

By Mike Avitt A new post office was built in Mount Ayr in 1939-40. I find this very interesting because the old post office was only eight years old. In 1931, a building was erected at 111 S. Fillmore, the current location of First MainStreet Insurance, and the Mount Ayr Post Office opened there on…