Bentonsport
Bentonsport | |
Steamboat Gothic" | |
NRHP reference No. | 72000482[1] |
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Added to NRHP | April 25, 1972 |
Bentonsport, a village on the
The village was platted in March, 1836, and was located at the first dam and locks on the Des Moines River authorized by the state in 1839. Soon it had two grist mills and a saw mill. It was named "Benton's Post" for
The population was 150 in 1940.[4]
Today the village has 40 residents, many of them artists and bed & breakfast keepers.[5]
Bentonsport is home to the Lawrence Sullivan Ross Memorial. Erected in 2007, it is Iowa's only Confederate memorial.
Its historic district includes:[2]
- Cowles House, 1840s
- a blacksmith shop, 1840s
- I.O.O.F.Hall, 1840s, the oldest and perhaps first Odd Fellows Hall in Iowa
- Mason House Inn, 1846
- Sanford House, 1852
- Bentonsport Academy, 1851, perhaps Iowa's oldest high school
- Presbyterian Church, 1855
- Methodist Parsonage, 1855
- Methodist Church, 1857
- Herman Greef House, 1863
- Greef Dry Goods Store, 1865
- Bentonsport General Store
- Bentonsport Bridge, 1882
The district includes
A rich history of Bentonsport was compiled by the 1940 Iowa Writers Program, a project of the Work Projects Administration (WPA) during the New Deal era. Written just after Bentonsport's 100th anniversary, and called Bentonsport Memories, it includes a variety of stories, observations, and facts that that provide an compelling look into this historic town.
References
- ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c Carroll L. Caudl (1971) and Molly Myers Naumann (1992 additional documentation) (August 15, 1971). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Bentonsport". Retrieved May 12, 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) with 11 photos from 1971 - ^ "Bentonsport Bridge". Iowa Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ The Attorneys List. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, Attorney List Department. 1940. p. 293.
- ^ "Bentonsport National Historic District". Villages of Van Buren. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
External links