Carbonado was a community whose sole purpose was to extract coal. It was founded in on May 6, 1890 by the Excelsior Coal Company. The coal was exhausted by 1898. The mine had self-dumping cages and quick methods of loading box cars. The Iowa…
Spring Creek Township is located in the central part of Mahaska County and is situated directly east of Oskaloosa and Lincoln Township, the Mahaska County seat. Two communities still thrive within this township; University Park and Keomah Village. …
Rochester was established as a community in 1850 and served as a major trading center between Eddyville to the southeast and Bellefountaine to the northwest. When transportation needs outside of water changed, the town dried up as families moved…
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…
Bellefountaine came one vote shy of being Iowa's state capital on the first ballot to move the state capital from Iowa City on December 4, 1854. Bellefountaine was once a part of Jackson Township, but was changed to Scott Township after the…
Scott Township falls on the western edge of Mahaska County, with the Des Moines river serving as the main portion of its southern border. The communities that once existed in this township included: Bellefountaine, Fishville, Olivet, and Rochester. …
Peoria was first referred to in old history books as "Warrensville", after an early settler named James L. Warren, but the first log cabin built in Peoria was by a man named Bukley. The town was platted by Theodric Spain, George Westlake, and…
Granville was platted by Theodore Spain on June 18, 1851. By January of 1883, the post office of this town closed, because like so many other small communities in Mahaska County, the railroad missed them. This is a town map in 1913. Notice how the…
Richland Township is located in ther northwestern most part of Mahaska County, bordering Jasper County to its north and Marion County to its west. Peoria is the last remaining community in the township, but the villages of Bernina or Lower Grove and…
New Sharon was settled by unexpected pioneers of the day, back in the 1840's and 1850's. John Hiller, a biracial person, was the first inhabitant of Prairie Township, and established an illegal trading post in the region in 1844, one year after the…
