~~~Montrose, Iowa - A Look Into the Past - Page 2~~~
The picture to the left is of my Great Grandfather, John H. Noonan
in his horse-drawn ice wagon. He had an ice business in Galland before
the Keokuk dam was built. After the dam was built the rising waters
covered his home and ice business, so in 1911 he moved his ice
business to Horton Creek in Montrose. He cut ice from the creeks
and the Mississippi River to store for sale in the summer and also had
a small storage shed at his home and sold ice there and around town
from a horse-drawn ice wagon.
~~~ Noonan Photos courtesy of Roberta Comstock~~~
To the right is a picture of Bluff Park. At one time Bluff Park was
a very popular resort. People would come from Illinois, Missouri, and
other parts of Iowa to visit this resort. Some families would come for
a one or two week vacation with others spending a whole summer. This
resort was not only for vacationers, but was also a site for many
important meetings. There were restaurants, a dining
hall, and dance hall. Bluff Park also had its own railroad station
on the narrow flat beside the river where special trains discharged
crowds of delegates and visitors.To get up to the park you could
either walk up the steep hill or you could pay 25 cents to be hauled
up by a hack. Admission to the park was a dime. With the admission
there was a barrel of cold lemonade with tin cups hanging beside it
for visitors to drink till they were full.
~~~~photo courtesy of
the Montrose Library~~~~
To the left is a picture of St. Barnabas Church as it is today. The
church was built by the Episcopalians in 1869 from native Blue-gray
limestone with local craftsmen doing the actual construction both
inside and out. The church was then known as Grace Church. Later, in
1881 the name was changed to St. Barnabas Episcopal Church. The church
served as a place of worship for the people of Montrose until it was
closed in 1960. In 1981 the Montrose Township Historical Society was
organized and restoration of the church began. St. Barnabas is now a
non-sectarian wedding chapel and has been placed on the National
Register of Historic Places.
For more information on planning a wedding at St. Barnabas, please
contact one of the following.
Montrose Township Historical Society, Box,141 Montrose, Iowa 52639 or
call Sue at (319) 463-7794
Clip Art courtesy of
J.O.D's Old Fashioned Clip Art
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