Anamosa - A Reminiscence 1838 - 1988

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Anamosa Main Street. looking west. about the turn ofthe century (Submitted by Marie Russell)
came from the Mt. Hope Quarry. owned by Dr. Matson.
near Stone City.
In 1880' an observant gentleman estimated that
there were 250 teams at one time between Cleveland
and Gamavillo streets.
In 1881 the three-story building housing the Masonic
Lodge was constructed by William T. Shaw. while
west of Huggins and Belknap the 86.000 Commercial
Block was constructed through the joint efforts of
several business men: O.E. Gillen. E.C. Holt. J.S.
Belknap. Ebenezer Brown. E. A. Gawley. W.M. Skinner
and C.W. Hollenbeck. This building later housed
Westphal’s Super Market and just prior. the VFW Club.
The community at this time was realizing a scarcity of
“mechanics”. which is what the carpenters and
brlcklayers were then called.
In I881 the building east of the present Town Tap
was built. On this site was a residence where D.M.
Hakes lived. The one-story brick house had been built
as a home for the E.C. Holt family in 1863. with a white
picket fence around the yard. Mr. Holt sold this
property to D.M. Hakes. His wife. Ophelia. ran a
millinery store in the brick part of the house and they
lived in the rear wooden part. There was a gate on Main
Street for the customers to the millinery store and the
customers went through the gate and onto a little walk
to the porch of the millinery store. However. the site
was first adorned by a frame dwelling with numerous
additions. built by Rev. F.S. Byrd. a United Brethren
clergyman. in 1853. That denomination was the
strongest in this vicinity at the time. and their church
edifice stood on land donated by George W. Kenner.
(site of the then Pitcher 8r McKay wagon and harness
shopfll. The United Brethren bell. the first of its kind in
this area. was brought here by those church members
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Anamosa National Bank now the site of Midland
Financial Savings and Loan (Photo by Ellis)
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