Part 2: Farmington, Iowa

PART 2: Farmington, Iowa

Young Adult Mennonite Group Attends
Farmington Chautauqua, August 1910

By Elizabeth Hervey Osborn

Part 1 --  Part 2 -- Part 3 -- Part 4 -- Part 5 -- Part 6 -- Part 7 -- Part 8


North of the Des Moines River, near where the border between Iowa and Missouri leaves the  river valley to shoot westward over rolling hills, rests the village of Farmington, Iowa.

Fanciful Railroad Map of Southeast Iowa, early 20th Century.


At the turn of the 20th century more people lived in Farmington[1] than in the county seat[2] sixteen miles upriver, its prominence fueled by the modern electric light plant, woolen mill, pants factories, flour mills, repair shops, coal mines, quarries, and several vinegar and pickle factories, in addition to the general agriculture of the region.[3]

Two passenger and freight lines intersected downtown. The Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad (the “Burlington Route”) served routes east and west. The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (the “Rock Island”) ran northwest and southeast from Farmington.

The northwest end of the village featured forty-seven acre Ira Anderson Park, a broad flat lawn with wide-spreading trees planted in neat rows to shade picnics and games.  The trees surrounded a spacious meadow, perfect to host big crowds.

These amenities made Farmington a perfect gathering place.

________________________________

Image Index:

  1. A portion of Galbraith's Railway Mail Service Maps, Iowa. 1897. Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/resource/g4151p.rr002200/
  2. Sanborn Map Company, Fire Map of Farmington Iowa, 1907. Library of Congress. www.loc.gov/resource/g4154fm.g026581907/?sp=1
  3. Postcard of Anderson Park. https://www.farmingtoniowa.com/pennys-postcards.html


[1] 1900 US Census population was 1332; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmington,_Iowa.  The 2020 US Census population was 579.

[2] Keosauqua, 1900 US Census population was 1117; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keosauqua,_Iowa. The 2020 US Census population was 936.


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