TIMES ARE CHANGING THE WINTER OF ‘75 The winter of 1875, was very severe in central Iowa, and area homesteaders suffered and endured many hardships. It was especially bad in the open countryside that had been claimed from the prairie a scant 20 years earlier. Cold stormy weather took a grip […]

TIMES ARE CHANGING A RAILROAD TRAGEDY In June of 1875, as a note of interest Charles Quick was taking telegraphy lessons from station agent A. L. Leonard. Charles was the brother of earlier quoted Herbert Quick. In December, Mr. A. L. Leonard was run over by a freight train near […]

TIMES ARE CHANGING TROUBLE IN RIVER CITY In June of 1875, a man by the name of Ellis and his son were charged with murder. The Reform Herald stated in the June 6 issue, “Mr. Ellis and son are in a peck of trouble. First they were arrested for assault with […]

TIMES ARE CHANGING ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION As one added note I include a couple of interesting paragraphs that appeared in the Eldora Reform Herald on January 24, 1875, “Beer is the principal article of express matter received in Steamboat Rock now-a-days. Some folks use it to wash down the instant death […]

TIMES ARE CHANGING THE TOWN IS INCORPORATED The pioneers of Hardin county were  a mixed group of nations, characters, languages, conditions and opinions. There was hardly a State in the existing Union that was not represented among the early settlers. All the various religious sects had their advocates here too. […]

TIMES ARE CHANGING STEAMBOAT ROCK NEWS The first of three newspapers that would be published in Steamboat Rock was The Steamboat Rock News, and printed its first issue on July 25, 1871. Its publisher was Isaac L. Hart, who had been printing the Eldora Tribune. The businesses that advertised or were […]

TIMES ARE CHANGING BANKING  One of the longest running businesses in Steamboat Rock, the Farmers Exchange Bank moved into this building around 1870. Steamboat Rock’s first bank opened it’s doors in the late 1860’s and was incorporated as the Farmers Exchange bank on February 3, 1871. Though the name and […]

TIMES ARE CHANGING RACE TRACK AND RACE HORSES There is little evidence left, but, in the 1870’s and continuing until after the turn of the century there were many race horses raised around Steamboat Rock. In the 70’s there was even a county race track located southwest of the railroad […]

TIMES ARE CHANGING LUMBER YARD When Steamboat Rock was first settled timber was in abundance. It seemed that there was an unlimited amount of trees for building lumber and fire wood. It would prove to not be so. In as little as 10 years the supply was nearly exhausted.   This […]

TIMES ARE CHANGING WHEAT FARMING Had the wheat not developed a blight in Iowa, it would probably still be grown here today. Even when the blight came farmers were reluctant to give up on it. Herbert Quick described the dilemma of the wheat farmer in his book One Man’s Life. […]