Time for another collection of images from my road trip to harvest the town signs of Henry and Jefferson County I took with Teresa. The majority of these pictures were taken in Mount Pleasant. We met up with Doug and Jodie for lunch in Mount Pleasant. Afterwards, Doug went back to work and Jodie gave us a tour of Mount Pleasant. This was the highlight of the trip.

New London

Mount Pleasant

The statue of Belle Babb Mansfield is located on the campus of Iowa Wesleyan. That school recently went out of business. Like a couple weeks ago. Which is a shame, because of the rich history of Iowa Wesleyan. It was founded in 1842. The only college in Iowa older than Iowa Wesleyan is Loras College in Dubuque. It is older than the University of Iowa by 5 years. Iowa State University by 16 years. Northern Iowa by 34 years. Drake by 39 years.

Iowa Wesleyan was Iowa’s first co-educational institution. The oldest west of the Mississippi River. Its campus houses the summer of of Abraham Lincoln’s son Robert Todd Lincoln. Notable alumni include Belle Babb Mansfield, Davey Lopes, Dana Holgorsen, James Van Allen and Peggy Whitson.

The school will forfeit on its loan and the campus will become property of the United States Department of Agriculture.

With its closing, Clarke University in Dubuque becomes the 2nd oldest college in Iowa.