This week’s photo was taken about 1895 and shows A. A. Huggins’ new building he operated as a farm implement business. Built in 1891, an elevator allowed Huggins to place farm equipment upstairs, as well. In this photo, John Wall & Son have their grocery store in the northern one-third of the building. H. U.…

This week’s photo shows the facade of the Abstract & Title Co.at 115 S. Fillmore office being remodeled. Dr. T. I. Moffet erected this building in 1946. Now back to 111 S. Fillmore, the current location of Ringgold Insurance Services. The Wilson Estate built this double storefront building in 1931 and the Mount Ayr Post…

This house was built for Mr. and Mrs. James R. Fisher in 1916. The Fisher’s son, Orr Fisher, painted the famous “Corn Parade” mural in the garage of this home. Orr also painted murals and scenes on the interior walls and floors of the house. After Orr’s parents passed away, the house was sold to…

I keep forgetting to tell you Tony Mercer has added more digitized newspapers to the website ringgoldcounty.advantage-preservation.com. Many different newspapers covering several decades. Recently, the Ringgold County Board of Supervisors hosted an informational meeting to encourage the formation of a Ringgold County Historical Preservation Commission. This issue comes up about every fifteen years. I remember…

BY MIKE AVITT A professional photographer, Dave Austin, recently spent some time in Ringgold County taking pictures of the mural at the Mount Ayr Post Office, Eighme School, and barns. He posted many of his pictures on Facebook and it generated much interest. I get asked about Eighme School often so I’ll share all I…

BY MIKE AVITT Phil Freeland emailed me and wondered if his maternal grandfather, Dr. J. W. Hill, was ever the only physician in Mt. Ayr. No, but it did get a little thin for a while. Dr. Hill came to Mt. Ayr in 1923 after practicing medicine in Ellston the four previous years. At this…

I came across a program dated September 27, 1970 entitled “Knowlton Lives Again.” This program was provided by the Ringgold County Historical Society for a tour of Knowlton and Goshen sponsored by the RCHS. Contained therein is a historical account of Knowlton’s early days which I will share along with my historical collection of Knowlton.…

The church building pictured this week was torn down in 2008. It was dedicated October 4, 1914 and in its last years served as the location of Jack and Vera Moore’s Christmas parties. There are no churches left in Benton as the Methodist Church was also razed in 2008. I have in my possession a…

The Liggett brothers operated a grocery store at 112 W. Madison called H. H. Wilson & Co. Arthur and Harry Liggett, along with partner Charlie Horne, bought Wilson’s business in 1918 and kept the name due to the incredible reputation Mr. Wilson had built up. Wilson erected the building at 112 W. Madison in 1891.…