This is a still photograph taken of Manoah Hedge, who is credited with writing the first contemporary history of Mahaska County Iowa. His book entitled, Past and Present of Mahaska County, Iowa includes detailed, biographical accounts of citizens who…
This is a picture of the Mahaska Lead and Zinc Mining Company, operating circa 1890, in Mahaska County, Iowa. It is important to note that coal was not the only mineral mined for in Mahaska County during the late 1800's.
This is a map dating to 1890 that shows the importance and extent to which the railroad serviced Mahaska County the later half of the 19th Century. Key railway lines that came through Mahaska County and more importantly the county seat of Oskaloosa…
This is a map of Mahaska County, Iowa, as it appeared in 1936. Included in the map are the various townships that exist within Mahaska County (18) and the communities within those townships.
This map illustrates the location of the 65 cemeteries found throughout Mahaska County, Iowa. The larger numbers on the map go with the names of the following cemeteries: 1) Appel 2) Baldwin 3) Barnes City 4) Beacon 5) Bedwell 6) Bellefountain 7)…
Madison Township in Mahaska County can be found to the north and northwest of Lincoln Township. Farmersville was the only community that really had any significance in this township, but it was short-lived. Farmersville started off under the name…
This 1896 image shows the coal mining operation going on at Lost Creek, Iowa, located near Eddyville in Mahaska County. Lost Creek is the site of one of the deadliest coal mining explosions in history. On Friday, January 24, 1902, around noon, 67…
This is a 1905 photograph taken of a locomotive on the Iowa Central Railroad three miles north of Oskaloosa, Iowa. Oskaloosa serviced a number of railroad companies in the middle to late 19th Centuries, and into the 20th Century, causing a influx of…
Elliott Warren Rice was born on November 16, 1835, in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. The younger brother of General Samuel Allen Rice, who was mortally wounded at the Battle of Jenkin's Ferry in April, 1864, E.W. Rice served in the conflict during…
Lincoln Township in Mahaska County is located in the center of the county. The principle community that is found in Lincoln Township is Oskaloosa, the county seat for Mahaska County. Oskaloosa in Lincoln Township was chosen to be the county seat…