The site has been under construction since July, 2001.
Check here for recent additions.
Also check "Thanks
to our Contributors" to see who is contributing to our history web site!
Added a history of the Rosmer Bruce Annex to the Library
Added a blog post about the Old Log Swing that was once on the Odebolt School playground.
Added some photos to the Arthur Photos page and the Kiron Photos page
W.A. Helsell - a 1904 article written by early Chronicle publisher, W.E. Hamilton
Added Dahlstrom obituary and 50th Anniversary to Photographers in Odebolt
Updated Odebolt, Popcorn Center of the World
Added Herman Roose obituary and last letter to American Legion Roose Post 313
Added Ambrose Bangs obituary to The Story Behind Bang Town
There is a NEW URL for the Odebolt
Newspaper Archive. The archive now spans 1877 to 2020! Please change your
bookmarks to
https://saccounty.advantage-preservation.com
Added MORE Buehler/Kuehl photos
Added Sebastian Buehler civil war photo to Odebolt GAR
Added 6 photos from Bill Kuehl to the Sebastian Buehler biography
Added a blog post on Gary Johnson, musician from Odebolt
Added information on Photographers in Odebolt.
Added information about A.W. Dahlstrom taking the 1917 panoramic photo of the Mission Covenant congregations.
Added an old Horse and wagon photo to the Odebolt History blog with information on early photographers.
Added to School History page - history from 1915 yearbook (at bottom of page)
1926 Photo sent in from Elaine Rex - "Womanless Wedding" - and the story behind it.
Added "Barbershop Men" photo to the history blog. Please help with identities!
Added interesting historic newpaper items to the Odebolt History Blog. "New things - a Look Back"
Added to the history blog - 1918 Influenza Quarantine
Added to the history blog - Jack Simpson, a big part of our community.
Added photos to Arthur postcards
Added photo house and family (with identities) at bottom of John Currie page.
Photo tour of the Odebolt Historical Museum.
Help identify these Odebolt people from an old family album. The owner wants to return it to family.
History of the construction of First National Bank by W.P.Adams
From the Odebolt History Blog: Help identify unknown people and Help identify old Briggle Photos
Please help identify! Unknown photos from the album of Margaret Leuz who married Fred E. Einspahr.
Updated Richard Korneisel page Update to Other Township Schools
Added information about Henry & Elizabeth Buist, early settlers.
Updated Mission Covenant Church and St. Martin's Church pages.
Added photos of Kiron, Iowa Added article about a Kiron children's band
Added several new photos from Arthur, Iowa
Added obituary of the youngest Patten Brother, Wayne Patten. Scroll to bottom of the linked page.
September 11, 2018. This web site has been down for 8 months. Back in December 2017 Rootsweb (which is the host for the Odebolt History Pages) was hacked, and shut down. The site is FINALLY back on-line. As we have time, we will be editing it and adding more history and photos.
Merry Christmas from the Odebolt History Pages
Visit the new Odebolt History Pages Blog
Richland #1 photos from Judith Bauer
1952 Car Washing Bee at Friday's Skelly Station, photos sent in by Deb Reinhart
Postcards of Odebolt from Norman Linden
Postcards of Fairview Farm (Adams Ranch) from Norman Linden
Odebolt Area Veterans' Memorial - A monument, located in Odebolt Cemetery, honoring Odebolt's veterans was finished in late 2003 by the Odebolt American Legion Roose Post #313 and Auxiliary. It has the names of 939 area veterans who served from 1901 to 2000.
Iowa Rural Schools Museum, (off-site link) featured in Family Living Magazine, August 2017 issue.
Off-site link to and Iowa Public TV
story of Jolly Time Popcorn and its origins in Odebolt.
Iowa Entrepreneur: JOLLY TIME Pop Corn
Renovation
of Odebolt's historic bank. Built by W.P. Adams as First National Bank, the
building was renovated and preserved by First State Bank in 2008.
Off-site link about Adams Ranch.
The Mule Solution: Farming with Mules from the Farm Collector magazine
Anders
Gustav Myrell was an early blacksmith in Odebolt. The page has family photos
and information as well as photos of his blacksmith and wagon shop submitted by
his great-granddaughter, Shellie Hoyt Breisler. Research from on-line Odebolt
newspapers is also included.
Mennonite WWI Conscientious Objectors at Fairview Farm (Adams Ranch) .pdf
file
These photos were taken by World War I Mennonite conscientious objectors on
Adams Ranch (Fairview Farm) near Odebolt, Iowa. There were 47 COs there from all
over the USA. “We came here from 163rd Depot Brigade Camp Dodge, Iowa in 1918,
the 20th of Aug." - B. M. Ensz, Beatrice, Nebraska (Allow time to load - large
4.5MB .pdf.)
Historic
Odebolt
newspapers & Sac County info (1877-2004)
now on-line! (off-site
link)
A project of the Odebolt Historical Museum and the Odebolt Library.
From the Odebolt.net News Blog - Obituaries: 2011 through April 18, 2014
Addition to the Brookmont/Cook Ranch
page - Article from the Saturday Evening Post
"The
Business of Farming", (2.3MB .pdf) a lengthy article about the farm.
Mission Covenant Cradle Roll & Membership Certificates - From Sharyl (Anderson) Mildenstein
New identities posted on Mission Covenant confirmation photos, thanks to Sharyl Mildenstein and Elsa Diersen.
Photo of Nilla Månsdotter and information about her family. Request to help find information on her daughters, Johanna, Mathilda and Antina Nillsdotter and who they married. Submitted by Tord Martell of Sweden.
Main Street, East side - sites.rootsweb.com/~iaohms/pics1/main_st_40s.jpg
The Arthur Hotel - sites.rootsweb.com/~iaohms/bauerpics/1909_arthur_hotel.jpg
Over 4000 obituaries- Odebolt area obituaries!
Treadway
family information
Updated John G. Briggle Family page
11/26/10 Misc. image additions:
Albert Dickensen popcorn bag
Cemetery Deed
W.E.
Hamilton booklet
Jan. 1904 Cedar Rapids Gazette popcorn shipping article
two photos of Fairview Farm;
Hiram B. Smith farm
photos of "Masons" taken by E.S.
Frey, an early Odebolt photographer.
article & photos from the Des Moines "Morning
Register", July 1943, telling about prisoners on the Adams Ranch, and also
about Adams Ranch (Fairview Farm); ALSO a letter of memories from a guard of the
prisoners, by Wayne Carlson.
obituary of Robert B. Adams, 1956 - scroll down to
bottom of Robert Adams section.
photo of the "Commercial House" - an
early hotel
11/25/10
William Henry Hopkins -
added business card (midway down page).
Stratton
family & hotel
11/14/10 - Photos from Allen S. Hoaglund, Ohio - Amelia Fertig home (scroll to bottom); photo of Henry Fertig, Dan Tews and William Rhule.
10/23/10 -
PHOTOS FROM THE PAST: Please view and help
identify old photos that were scanned by Odebolt Museum Curator,
Kathy Larson, from a photo album belonging to Mrs. Fred Einspahr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/odebolt/sets/72157624873008013/
If you can identify any people, please send an email.
10/23/10 - Tokens, Ads & Greetings page updated with three new rows of tokens.
Picture of the bunkhouse at Adams Ranch (Fairview Farm Photo Gallery
Cherry Sisters - 3 Additional photos
Adams Ranch Memories memories of Pete Stripling, who worked at the Ranch, and was known as "Cowboy".
Also - View 3 pages of photos of the Ranch posted by Mike Stuker on "smugmug"
From googlebooks: Den svensk-lutherska kyrken i Odebolt, Sac County (in Swedish; contains photos of some early Swedish people that organized the church Lutheran church in Odebolt.
CHRISTMAS PAST 2009 -- Merry Christmas from the Odebolt History Pages!
Gustaf & Emma Anderson Family ... with wrestling & boxing posters
Photo of children of Christian Roth (bottom of page)
From googlebooks on-line
Cook Ranch Page Updated with ....
(New entries are highlighted on the Cook Ranch page. Scroll down to find them.)
Charles W. Cook Biography
Excerpts; Cook Family/Brookmont Farm
Brookmont Farm (Cook Ranch) Hereford History
Photo of a shipment of hogs from Brookmont FarmThe Story behind "Bang Town" - nickname for the north portion of Odebolt
Hiram C. Wheeler Biography from 1910 Annals of Iowa
The Rev. Jesse Helsell Biography (father of Odebolt attorney, W.A. Helsell)
===============
Photo of 1895 Odebolt School Children
1914 Panoramic Photo of Odebolt School, students and faculty
Mission Covenant Confirmation Photos, 1928/1930
Added photos to Valentine Henrich biography
William Henry Hopkins, Civil War photo, biography and notes written during the war.
Photo of "Grandma Nable" by Lundquist Brothers, early photographers in Odebolt, contributed by Mike Peterson. The photo can also be viewed at History of Odebolt Businesses
The Odebolt Dairy & Cheese Factory owned by the Lindner family.
December
Continuation of the Memoirs of Oscar F. Peterson
Happy Holidays from The Odebolt History Pages! Click for Christmas Past, 2007
2007 Obituaries (through November)
November
Postcard of the G.H. Ballard house, later owned by E.P. Potteiger, Anna Carlson and by Dennis & Eleanor Peterson.
Additional name identification to the
1917 photo of Mission Covenant
church members
(Picture #3 - 3rd thumbnail from the left)
October
- Excerpts from an 1891 article, "Farmer" Wheeler's Home, written when Hiram C. Wheeler was running as a Republican candidate for Governor of Iowa; talks about Odebolt, Wheeler's home, office and huge farm.
- Added numerous photos to the Arthur Post Card Page
September - 2006 Deaths/Obituaries; 1999 Deaths/Obituaries (See Obituary Index)
July - Anders "Montana" Anderson 50th Wedding Anniversary; photo and family information
June - Interview with P. Dale Gronemeyer; A Short History of Odebowl Lanes
April - 1956 Obituary on Charles Nelson, long-time Odebolt merchant, along with an editorial about him from the Odebolt Chronicle.
March - Article from 1910 about an Agricultural Tour of the Cook Ranch, W.A. Helsell's Lookout Farm, the Adams Ranch and Henry Hanson's Echo Valley farm. The article includes descriptions of the workings of the farms, as well as how Odebolt area people turned out with 26 automobiles to drive the participants on the tour.
February - Articles about Hiram C. Wheeler
January - Added several identities to the large 1917 photo of the Mission Covenant Church congregation.
SEE ANOTHER PAGE OF EARLIER ADDITIONS
