Snapshot of History by Mike Avitt

Mike Avitt I always seek the history of a Mount Ayr business because I find it interesting. Sometimes, I find the family history interesting, too, and such is the case with Freeland’s Department Store. Montgomery Edward Freeland was born June 6, 1861, along with his twin brother, in Illinois. The twins, M. E. and John…

By Mike Avitt In my research, I often use a book called, “Cemetery Gravestone Recordings of Ringgold County, Iowa.” This book was compiled by Raymond Banner in 2003 using information gathered by Raymond, Betty Ruby, Ruth Haley, Rick Wiley, and others over a period of many years. This book is helpful to me in finding…

By Mike Avitt The first church built in Benton was the Methodist Episcopal in 1890. The Benton Christian Church was built in 1897. But I found two Benton churches built in 1894 and 1895; a Seventh Day Adventists and a United Brethren. The Seventh Day Adventists Church was dedicated April 28, 1895 and was probably…

By Mike Avitt This week’s picture shows a typical family plot know as Tindle Cemetery. The are nine known burials here with six of them having the surname of Tindle. One other was a Livingston who had a mother with the surname of Tindle. So, the folks buried here were all connected in some way.…

By Mike Avitt I was at the Diagonal Printing Museum over the Labor Day weekend and Jan Johnston showed me a rural race track in a 1894 Ringgold County atlas book. The race track was in the southeast corner of section 27, Lincoln Township. I had not noticed this before now. Horse racing was very…

By Mike Avitt This photo was at the Mount Ayr Depot Museum when I joined in 2001. The back of the photo had the date 1891, but no location. I was able to figure it out using the window configuration and Ezra McMaster’s law and loan office next door. The sign above the department store…

By Mike Avitt Pictured are Phil Foltz (left) and Art Steinman (center) during the burial of the Ringgold County Bicentennial time capsule on April 30, 1977. This week’s photo was taken from a scrapbook donated to the Mount Ayr Depot Museum by David Cunning. So, why was the 1976 Ringgold County Bicentennial Time Capsule buried…

By Mike Avitt Many of us have heard the phrase “Timby Building” or have seen the name “Timby” at the top of the building at 100-102 W. Madison Street in Mount Ayr. But, who was Timby? William Timby was born January 11, 1829 in Norfolk, England. He married Mary Painter on June 4, 1853 and…

By Mike Avitt This week’s photo was taken by J. A. McClanahan, and appears in the June 12, 1896 edition of the Twice-A-Week News, a newspaper published by brothers Randolph and Walter Beall. The building was owned by Day Dunning, Citizens Bank President. His son Clyde was the cashier when this building, located at 100…

By Mike Avitt I recently found some 15 year old pictures on an SD card and it reminded me how I get, find, and lose photographs. So, let’s look at image collecting and my success and failures. And welcome to Snapshots of History” number 650. I took this week’s photo in Diagonal in 1997 but…