The subject for this week’s POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT is the Boone County Courthouse.

Here is some information on the Boone County Courthouse from the Boone County Government website:

Boone County was organized in February of 1847. It was named for Nathan Boone, the youngest son of Daniel Boone, who had explored the lands near the Des Moines and Boone Rivers in June of 1835 as an officer of the US Dragoons. For more than two years after its founding, Boone County remained a part of Polk County, but by 1849 area residents wished to vote, pay taxes and do business under their own county jurisdiction. In order for this to occur, Iowa law specified that the county sheriff had to order an election of county officers. Therefore, on May 8, 1849, William McKay, judge of the Fifth Judicial District of which Boone County was a part, appointed Samuel B. McCall county sheriff. McCall then ordered the first election of county officers, which was held on August 6, 1849.

At first, court sessions were held in several Boonesboro (now West Boone) houses, those of John Boyles, John M. Wane and John M. Crooks. Early in 1851 court sessions moved to a log school house, located on Honey Creek about a half mile south of the present day skating pond in McHose Park. A marker denotes the site*.

The county seat was officially established in Boonesboro in July of 1851. On July 26, 1851, recognizing the need for a permanent court room, Boone County Commissioners ordered Wesley C. Hull “to furnish a suitable room in . . . Boonesboro to hold court at the October term. . .” Hull built a double log cabin on lots No. 3 & 4 in block 12, across from the northeast corner of the Public Square. Two years later in 1853, court sessions moved again; this time to a new log school house, which was located where the Garfield School building is today**.

Built between 1856 and 1857, Boone County’s first public courthouse was a two-story frame Old Courthouse building, containing county offices as well as courtroom space. It stood on the corner of Third and Fremont Streets, a block east of the square. Only eight years later, changes were again in the air. In 1865, the new railroad town of Montana (Boone Station, now Boone), a mile and one/half to the east of Boonesboro, was challenging Boonesboro’s economic and political status. Hoping to preserve Boonesboro as the county seat, residents, merchants and officials agitated for the building of a new, larger courthouse on the town square. Completed in 1868, this new brick building was located on the site of the present courthouse. Boonesboro had won the battle of the courthouse location, but by 1887 Montana (Boone) would become the driving economic and political force in the area when the two towns became a single municipality.

By 1915, a new courthouse was in order. The old brick building was given to the Boone Biblical Ministries, and in June of 1916 it was moved across the street. Employees continued to work in the building as it was moved, and it was reported that “not a drop of ink was spilled.” It continued to function as a courthouse until the new building was ready in 1918.

The cornerstone for the current courthouse was laid on October 1, 1916, and the building was dedicated on May 1, 1918. It is 147 x 81 feet and has four entrances, each on a compass point. Constructed of Vermont gray granite and Bedford limestone, brick, and reinforced concrete, the building is virtually fireproof. Even the interior is built primarily of marble, granite and metal. Only the hand rails on the stairs and some other trim is wood. Cost of construction was $200,000. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.

Written by Boone County Historical Society

*That marker isn’t there any more.
**Where Garfield School was located is now being turned into a housing development by Amanda.

I don’t think that Boone has a particularly pretty courthouse. Especially compared with say the courthouse in Adel or Marshalltown. However, its look has grown on me over the years. It isn’t gorgeous, but it is kind of a standard pretty.

Here are the postcards:

Court House, Boone, Iowa – Original

Court House, Boone, Iowa – Redux

Court House. Boone, IA – 2218 – Original

Court House. Boone, IA_2218 – Redux

Courthouse – Original

Courthouse – Redux

Boone County Courthouse – Modern Interpretation

When I did mail-in ballot counting observing, I learned a bit more about the history of the courthouse. There used to be an apartment on the top floor where the groundskeeper lived. They lived there until a lot more recently than you’d expect. The last groundskeeper used to keep a shooting range in the basement.

The next postcard subject will be the Mamie Doud Eisenhower Birthplace.

Today’s THE POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT subject is the Champlin Memorial Masonic Temple. It now houses the Boone Historical Center.

I didn’t look to deep into the history of this building because I watch a lot of History Channel and I don’t want to get on the bad side of the Masons. I know that they are apparently responsible for the New World Order and covering up everything from the Kennedy assassination to flat earth. I don’t want to mysteriously disappear in the middle of the night because I said the wrong thing about them. So these facts should be sufficient:

The Champlin Memorial Masonic Temple was built in 1907.
It housed Mr. Olive Lodge No. 79 until 1990, when they moved to a new, more secretive building.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
It is haunted, obviously, cause who knows what kind of weird rituals this building has housed.

Click on the link below to read about the hauntedness of the building:

Here is a look at the pictures from THE POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT:

Original

Redux

Original

Redux

Original

Redux

Modern Interpretation

I have found that a key aspect of the “modern interpretation” is the avoidance of power lines, and stop lights, and other signs, as best as one can.

The next time we visit this project, it will be of one of the most beautiful churches in Boone.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is COLORFUL:

COLORFUL

A COLORFUL image is an image of something that is filled with color.

Happy photo harvesting.

Today’s collection of recreated postcards are from downtown Boone area. When I recreated one of them, I did learn something about Boone history that I didn’t know. A fascinating, dry and itchy piece of Boone history.

The first picture is in downtown Boone, looking east down 8th Street from where the Fareway offices are.

Eighth St. East from and showing, P.O. – Original

Eighth St. East from and show. P.O. – Redux

If I had to take a stab as to when this postcard was produced, I would say either 1907 or 1908 or maybe 1909. On January 28, 1907 the Butler House (a hotel) burned down. That hotel would be the first building east of the old Boone Post Office, which is the first building on the north side of Eight Street in the picture. The Butler House was a three story building. That spot was replaced by the Hotel Holst. It was a four story structure that was built from 1909-1910.

A personal opinion, but the old post office was a much cooler looking building than the post office building that would replace it and is still in use to this day.

The second picture is from a postcard that I’m not sure why anybody would want it. It is simply a picture of Tama Street looking north from the intersection with 4th Street.

Tama Street, Boone, Ia – Original

Tama Street, Boone, IA – Redux

Not much to say about the history in this postcard. It does appear that most of the houses in this postcard are still standing, which is good, because it made it easy to find the location for this recreation pretty easy.

The final postcard recreation is a postcard of a business that I didn’t know ever existed. Which makes sense, because it was gone 50 years before I was born.

The Fitch Ideal Dandruff Cure Co’s Building – Original

The Fitch Ideal Dandruff Cure Co’s Building Postcard – Redux

Here is some information about The F.W. Fitch Company from Wikipedia:

Fitch founded F.W. Fitch Company in Boone, Iowa, in 1892, and also owned a barbershop. Fitch’s first product was a hair tonic labeled “Ideal Hair Grower and Dandruff Cure.” Later products included the “Fitch scientific scalp treatment.”

Fitch moved his business to Des Moines at 15th and Walnut Streets in 1917; this district, F. W. Fitch Company Historic District, is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Fitch Company sponsored a national radio broadcast, The Fitch Bandwagon, from fall 1938 to spring 1948. It had with three different formats. The first featured many popular musical acts in its early years, including Cab Calloway, Ozzie Nelson, Tommy Dorsey and Guy Lombardo. The second was a variety show starring Cass Daley that featured popular bands between skits. The third and best-remembered version starred Phil Harris and Alice Faye for a single and final season; they later spun The Fitch Bandwagon into their long-running show, The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show.

The company did well throughout the early 20th century and during World War II but saw a decline in sales after the war due to the loss of military contracts.

In 1949, Fitch sold The F.W. Fitch Company to Grove Laboratories in St. Louis. The former F. W. Fitch Company building is now owned by Exile Brewing Company.

I found some more information on Fitch in a “The Boone News Republican” article from September 13, 1965.

Even though Fitch left Boone over 100 years ago, you can still see where the word FITCH used to hang on the front of the building over the front door.

Even though the building is starting to be in poor shape…

It is still in use as a dance studio and apartments. It is on the corner of Keeler and 7th Street.

Next time we tackle THE POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT, it will probably involve the library.