Prine School was a one-room school house situated just west of Oskaloosa. It opened in 1861 and was named after Henry H. Prine, who donated the property for which the school was to be built. As Oskaloosa began consolidating its one-room school…
This is the plat of Oskaloosa as it appeared in 1890. By this point, the town wards were more clearly identified and the town was much more modernized.
Wright was named after the Wright family which had to come to settle the area prominently in the 1860's and 70's. It became a town with a post office on January 29, 1883. Like many other communities in Mahaska County, its purpose involved the…
Tioga was established as a meeting place for coal trains coming from the Muchakinock mines, so the town of Tioga was established and platted on August 24, 1886. The most memorable occurence in Tioga was the train wreck that took place on September…
Rose Hill was once located on two separate places in two different periods of time. The first Rose Hill was known as Rosehill (one word), and was established in 1849. In 1860, the town went out of existence. In Augut of 1875, a new town plat was…
White Oak Township is located in the eastern central portion of Mahaska County. The communities that can still be found in White Oak Township today are Rose Hill and Wright. Tioga, Gainford, and White Oak were other communities that once existed in…
Lakonta was created by Congressman John F. Lacey in 1900 for the purpose of coal mining extraction. The railroad came right through this community and served the coal mining industry there very well. Lakonta is now called Traux. It is speculated…
West Des Moines Township is located south of the Des Moines River and represents part of the southern border between Mahaska County and Monroe County. The only community that the township consists of is Bluff Creek. Lakonta used to exist in the…
Union Mills is one of the oldest communities in all of Mahaska County, first being settled in 1844 and establishing a post office by 1850. By the 1850's, Union Mills had a saw mill, the first carding machine in Mahaska County, a brick factory,…
