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 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 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 still photograph taken of Manoah Hedge, who is credited for writing the first contemporary history of Mahaska County, Iowa. This history published was entitled; Past and Present of Mahaska County, Iowa. The book documented short, yet…
Margaret Nelson could be summarized as the epitome of a pioneer mother and spouse. Moving with her husband, Daniel Nelson, in the late 1840's to Mahaska County, Iowa, Margaret had to endure a great deal once arriving. Facing the elements, wild…
Martha Jane Nelson was the only daughter of revered farmer and pioneer, Daniel Nelson, of Oskaloosa, Iowa, in Mahaska County. Martha Jane endured many of the same hardships as her mother and father when first coming to Iowa in 1844, helping with…
This is a photograph of the Muchakinock Coal Mine in 1896. Muchakinock was located a few miles south of Oskaloosa, located in Mahaska County, Iowa. Today, like many other communities in Mahaska County, there is nothing left in the once thriving…
One of the advantages to building a farm around a thick of timberland is the wild game that is found within it. The Nelson family kept the wooded area by their log cabin and eventual brick home for this purpose. Pictured here is the thicket of…
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.
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.
