This is a listing of the participants from the Oskaloosa Boys Baseball team circa 1940. Like many other boys during the time, baseball was the dominant sport of choice for summer activities. This team happened to be sponsored by the Oskaloosa…
This is a photograph taken of the Oskaloosa Blues baseball team in the early 1900's. This would have been a league team that would have competed with other area league teams of the time, based on the age of some of the players in the photograph. …
Olivet was created by the Civil Enginner Free Tufts on June 13, 1877, but the plat of the community wasn't created until July 10th of that year. Coal mining was the chief source of employment for people in this community and all seemed like this…
Beacon, once known as the town of Enterprise, did not fully switch its name over until 1874. Beacon's success revolved around its coal mining connection and proximity to the railroad lines. Before Oskaloosa, the county seat of Mahaska County,…
This is a picture taken at the Old Excelsior Mine Shaft #2 back in 1886. The mine was located three miles south of Oskaloosa, Iowa, in Mahaska County. Today, many buildings and facilities in Oskaloosa were once the site of a coal mining operation. …
The north side of Oskaloosa's town square as it appeared in 1942. By this point, buildings had been modernized and one could begin to capture the real essence of life around a town square.
The north side of Oskaloosa's town square as it appeared in 1868. The park stood on the inside of the white fence line, but it was not for some time that the bandstand/gazebo was in existence.
This is a picture of North Market Street looking south towards the downtown of Oskaloosa, Iowa, around 1895. Note the methods of transportation being used in the image; bicycles and horse and buggies.
The north half of the east side of Oskaloosa's town square as it appeared in 1942. By this point, roads had been paved and the Mahaska County courthouse had taken the place of the once established grocery and clothing stores.
The north half of the east side of Oskaloosa's town square as it appeared in 1868. Notice how roads were not yet paved and wouldn't become paved for almost another 30 years.