By Mike Avitt Mount Ayr’s first brick school was built in 1875 and added onto in 1881. This was the only high school in Ringgold County at this time and it attracted many students. A new building was needed. Buried on page 8 of the May 2, 1895 Mt. Ayr Journal were the results of…

By Mike Avitt Ringgold County’s first courthouse was a log structure northeast of the Mount Ayr square. The second courthouse was a two-story, frame building on the east side of the square. By the 1880s, the railroad was in place, the population was rapidly rising, and a new, beautiful courthouse was needed. Excavating for the…

By Mike Avitt Last week we looked at the Ringgold County Home, also known as the Poor Farm, in the first 10 or 12 years of its existence. Remember, we are looking at the wood-frame structures that preceded the brick building built in 1922. This week we’ll look at the years 1894 to 1906. Again,…

I don’t have any images of Ringgold County’s first “Poor Farm.” I took several photos of our second county home, one of which is seen with this week’s article. Our county home, called the Poor Farm in the early days, was established in 1883 to provide care for paupers, orphans, cripples, feeble-minded and blind individuals.…

Tuskeego is in Decatur County between Lamoni and Kellerton. I took several photos of the last two original buildings at Tuskeego around 2016. Both are gone now. Tuskeego is an unusual name and as such, it is easy to research in the digitized newspapers. The digitized newspapers have a search feature that works well with…

This week’s postcard has no information on the back, but the photo appears on page 85 of the Mount Ayr Centennial Book and the names appear in the book. Before I give you the names, let’s look at what the picture tells us. The band members are wearing uniforms. Uniforms cost money. But bands were…

I found this booklet while looking for something else, as usual, and I haven’t written about Bonnie and Clyde for awhile, so let’s get on it. Sharon Becker compiled this booklet (about 36 pages) in 2010 and it was published by Paragon Publishing (Mount Ayr Record-News). The complete title is: The Story of Bonnie Parker…

This week’s photo was taken in the late 1980s in the building that used to house C. R. Anthony’s Clothing Store. This building, at 108 S. Taylor, was turned into a make-shift museum during Ayr Days and the Preservation Partnership took this opportunity to gather and preserve local history. Shirley Hickman used this museum to…

Last week I wrote about Ringgold County’s first church building in section 12 of Jefferson Township. It probably faded away slowly as I can’t find an official abandonment. It was a log structure and likely without a heat source such as a fireplace or wood-burning stove. The building would have been open to damage by…

The Bever-Grimes Cemetery, seen here, is located in section 12 of Jefferson Township. One half block west of this gate is a sign that reads: Pleasant Ridge United Brethren 1857-1874 Site of First Church Building in Ringgold County. My interest in this topic was renewed recently as I came into possession of the secretary minutes…