History of Carroll

A Brief History of Carroll County, Iowa

January 15, 1851
Carroll County is created as part of forty-nine new counties in the western part of Iowa. The county is named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737-1832) the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was the last surviving signer dying at ninety-five years of age.

1851
Enos Butrick came to Carroll County and spent two years.

1854
Enos Butrick brought his wife and seven children to Jasper Township near the confluence of Purgatory Creek and the North Raccoon River.

1854
The first religious service was conducted by a  Methodist circuit rider at Henry Copeland's cabin near Carrollton.

1855
The first election was held at Henry Copeland's home one mile south of Carrollton in a small clearing on the Middle Raccoon River. Every voter was present from both sections of the county - the North Cooners (15) and the Middle Cooners (13) for a total of twenty-eight votes. Voters were all male - women couldn't vote. The North Cooners won because they had two more votes and the first officials were elected.

1856
William Gilley came to Carroll County and settled near Carrollton. He kept a journal, which today is a valuable source of information about early Carroll County. The Civil War was a deterrent to settlers coming to the county. The early settlers that came to the county settled near the rivers where wood and water was available.

1856
Jane L. Hill was the first teacher in Carroll County at the first school in Carrollton.

April 14, 1856
Carrollton was established as the first county seat.

1857
Mail delivery was precarious. People going to the Grist Mill at Panora carried the mail back and forth until a post office was established in Carrollton.

1858-1865
The first court house was built for $3,000.

1860
The census listed two-hundred eighty-one people living in Carroll County.

1866
The railroad was started across Iowa including Carroll County.

1868
The first public school was established in Carroll City with the first classroom at the Boots Hotel on East 5th Street.

1868
Chicago and North Western trains could travel from Clinton to Council Bluffs.

1868
Our Lady of Mount Carmel was established as the first Catholic Church in Carroll County. The Catholic presence would eventually grow to thirteen parishes in the county.

April 28, 1868
All the county records were moved to the new county seat of Carroll City which was a hamlet of eleven residents and prairie grass.

1869
Carroll city was incorporated.

1869
The first court house was built in Carroll City at a cost of $4,000.

1869
The first school was built between 5th and 6th Streets on the east side of Carroll.

1870
The Presbyterian Church was the first church in Carroll. The church was destroyed in the fire of 1879.

1875
Carroll City was renamed Carroll.

1877
A Chicago and North Western branch was built through Maple River Junction and Breda to Sioux City.

September 25, 1879
The majority of the business district of Carroll was burned down in a fire.

1880
North Side School was built between Adams and Main Streets on 10th Street. This was considered the edge of town at the time. Wings were added to the building in 1891 and 1904.

1881
The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad was built through the southern part of the county. It went through the towns of Coon Rapids, Dedham, Templeton and Manning.

1883
The South Side School was built for elementary students so they didn�t have to cross the railroad tracts to go to school. The bell from the school is on the site of the school which is now South Side Park.

1887
A new court house was built in Carroll after the first one burned.

1902
The Chicago and Great Western was built through Carroll County starting at the northeast corner with the establishment of Lanesboro and Lidderdale, and going through Carroll, Halbur and Manning in the southwest.

1905
St. Anthony Hospital opens with thirty beds and seven doctors.

1909
St. Angela Institute designed to teach young women domestic science is established.

September 10, 1913
The proclamation for the Lincoln Highway was signed. The route, starting at Times Square in
New York and ending in San Francisco, went through Carroll County on its 3,389 mile length across the country. Grading began in Carroll County in 1917. Paving came much later.

1916
A new school for grades nine through twelve with a gym and auditorium was built at the north end of the block between Adams and Main Street.

1936
The WPA built a new auditorium.

1940
A new elementary building was built on the south part of the block between Adams and Main Streets.

1954
Kuemper Catholic High School, a coed high school is established.

September 23, 1959
Nikita Khrushchev visited the Roswell Garst farm to learn about American farming practices.

November 21, 1959
John F. Kennedy, the future President of the United States spoke at the Chamber of Commerce meeting.

1965
The five year Urban Renewal process began that created a new downtown for Carroll.

September 24, 1966
The new Carroll County court house is dedicated.

1968
A new elementary school building called Fairview School is built at the corner of 18th and Grant Road.

November 14, 1971
The new one hundred thirty bed St. Anthony Regional Hospital was dedicated.

1976
The new Farner Government Building was dedicated ( city hall, library, police station)

1977
Carroll Recreation Center was completed

1979
Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) located in Carroll

1985
Carroll Area Development Corporation. a county-wide economic development group was established

1986
New DMACC facility was built.  The old swimming pool bathhouse was renovated and used as administrative offices

1989
A new high school was built at the southwest corner of 30th and Grant Road.

The second phase of Urban Renewal is implemented with the addition of big box stores.

1990
Carroll County Recycling Center opened. 
Carroll Depot Centre Ltd, a local nonprofit group, began restoration of the exterior of the Union Pacific Depot building.

1992
Completed the second Urban Renewal project, celebrated with the World's Longest Ribbon Cutting.

1997
Carroll Little League Complex was completed 

1999
A new middle school was built at the northwest corner of 30th and Grant Road.

2004
City of Carroll Phase I of the Corridor of Commerce Project. a $2.4 million community redevelopment plan with renovation including new street lighting, streetscapes and a gateway entrance to the city.

2005
City completed Phase II of the Corridor of Commerce Project.
A new Conservation Education Center wad dedicated at Swan Lake State Park on Earth Day.

2006
Connect Young Professionals  (CYP) is organized as an affiliate group of the Carroll Chamber.
A new 15,000 square foot Fire Station was built on Carroll's east side
Expansion and remodel of the Carroll Police Station
City of Carroll completed Phase III of the Corridor of Commerce project.

2007
City constructed a new Skate Park in Graham Park
Renovation of the interior Carroll Depot is completed, Chamber of Commerce move to the Depot

2009
Carroll Aquatic Center opens - the first outdoor pool in Carroll since 1979.

2010
Lakers Basketball Court was built in Veteran Memorial Park.  The court was donated by the Los Angeles Lakers franchise in honor of the 50th anniversay of their miracle landing  in 1960.  The site of the court is where the DC-3 plane carrying the Minnesota Lakers ( now the Los Angeles Lakers) made an emergency landing in a cornfield.  

Before the white man came to Carroll County.

Before the county was settled, there was a warpath that extended north to south through the county. It separated the Pottawatomie and Mesquakie from the Sioux. Sioux warriors chased a buffalo over the lane and the battle began.

At Swan Lake, which was more of a marsh at the time, three hundred Pottawatomie were hidden in ambush on the southeast side of the lake. Seven hundred Sioux advanced from the west. Rifles were used until the ammunition gave out and bow and arrows were used until arrows were expended. The furious onslaught continued in hand to hand combat with tomahawks.

This was a battle to the end. Indian legend relates that three Pottawatomie and one Sioux survived. Early trappers and hunters reported the ground was white with bleached bones, rusted rifles and weapons.

This account was relayed by Johnny Greene, also known as Chief Cho-me-use.

Towns and Villages of Carroll County

Arcadia: 1881 incorporated
Breda: 1877 incorporated
Coon Rapids: 1863 incorporated
Dedham: 1883 incorporated
Glidden: 1873 incorporated
Halbur: 1882 incorporated
Lanesboro: 1902 incorporated
Lidderdale: 1901 incorporated
Manning: 1882 incorporated
Maple River Junction: 1872 incorporated
Mount Carmel: 1868
Ralston: 1903 incorporated
Roselle: 1881 incorporated
Templeton: 1883 incorporated
Willey: 1911 incorporated