This is a picture of what 1st Avenue looked like in 1896, Oskaloosa, Iowa. Note that the street has not been paved yet and wouldn't for over ten more years.
This is a picture of what 3rd Avenue looked like in 1896, Oskaloosa, Iowa. Note that the street has not been paved yet and wouldn't for over ten more years. Also note the homes in the picture and how many homes like this are still inhabited today…
Shortly after the main street in downtown Oskaloosa was paved, this is what North and South Market Street looked like in 1896. It was shortly after this picture was taken, that paving began on the roads that intersected with Market Street (i.e. High…
This is a picture of the Mahaska County Courthouse as it appeared in 1896. The courthouse was first built in 1886, so this is a view of the courthouse roughly ten years later.
This historic home was the residence of Col. Albert W. Swalm, one-time editor and owner of the Oskaloosa Herald. Swalm came to Oskaloosa from Pennsylvania to learn the printing business from John R. Needham. After serving in the Civil War, Swalm…
This historic home was the residence of Congressman John F. Lacey, who served in the United States House of Representatives between 1890 and 1908. His house was located on the corner of North Market Street and B Avenue East.
This is a view of the Oskaloosa National Bank as it appeared in 1896. Banks in Oskaloosa have come and gone, but the location of the banks in this community until the past few decades have remained within a block or two of this bank's location here;…
This is a view of the Oskaloosa Hospital as it appeared in 1896. Today, this hospital is known as the Mahaska Hospital and Health Partnership. The original hospital was located where the current hospital is, but was of much smaller proportion on C…
This picture shows the hard work that went on in machine shops during the late 19th Century. This image was taken inside Seever's Mfg. Co. of men inside a machine shop. Seever's Mfg. Co. specialized in creating iron bridges, water heaters, and…
Scene of the Skunk River dam in 1896. Along with the Des Moines River, these two rivers served as natural borders for the layout of Mahaska County in the 1840's.
