Update: New photography added in July of 2023. In a clockwise route, we explored various small towns in Buchanan County, starting in the northeast with Lamont, where we first spied this foundation above left behind but incorporated into a horse enclosure. There was also a half-flounder downtown on the main street, though I don’t know…
Tag: Northeast Iowa
Railroad Machine Shops, Oelwein, Fayette County, Iowa, Revisited Again
We were able to get closer to the massive railroad machine shops that I examined back in July of 2021. I had first observed them from a distance back in the fall of 2018 (ninth photo down). They’re massive, impressive buildings, but what is even more massive, and you can see that in the fire…
Fayette and Upper Iowa University, Revisited
We returned to Fayette, which I looked at back in the fall of 2018. This time, the weather was sunny, and I was able to catch a more cheerful view of the town. I actually photographed this Queen Anne beauty below, which is now an AirBnB where my family stayed during our time in the…
First Street East, Independence, Iowa
The panoramic photo of downtown Independence serves us well again, as we can now look up and down First Street East to the east and west (where the Wapsipinicon Mill is visible to the far left). You can see the mill to the left; its view would have been partially blocked if the east mill…
Second Avenue Northeast, Independence, Iowa
Praise the Lord for Frederick J. Bandholtz and his panoramic photos of several towns around northeastern Iowa, including the downtown of Independence. Above you can see straight ahead Second Avenue Northeast, which looks much the same now as it did then. We’ll start up at the north end of the block at Second Street Northeast…
Munson Building, Independence, Iowa
Update: New improved photography added in July of 2023. We spotted the Munson Building from a block away, and immediately our interest was piqued. At first, we thought it was the old Buchanan County Courthouse, and then, when we got a little closer, we assumed it was a church. Then we got up close, and…
Interior, Wapsipinicon Mill, Independence, Iowa
The interior of the Wapsipinicon Mill is very well preserved, and shows most of the original wood machinery that ground flour and functioned as other types of milling over the life of the building. Of particular interest was a board that had once faced the interior of a grain shoot that had been worn smooth…
Wapsipinicon Mill, Independence, Iowa
Occasionally, I kick myself for coming within one block or less of some amazing building and totally missing it. That is certainly the case of the historic Wapsipinicon Mill in Independence, Iowa, which I drove within about five hundred feet in 2011 and 2018 without even noticing. I corrected those mistakes this visit, and extensively…
Railroad Machine Shops, Oelwein, Iowa, Revisited
Update: We made it back up close in July of 2022. We went back to try and get a better view of what I discovered were old railroad machine shops in Oelwein, which I had viewed back in the fall of 2018 (seventh photo down). Unfortunately, due to the height of the undergrowth, the buildings…
Gothic Revival Cottage, Fayette, Iowa, Revisited
Back in October of 2018, I visited the town of Fayette in northeastern Iowa, which has a plethora of beautiful buildings, including this intriguing Gothic Revival house, which is the western of a pair. I dawned on me that the house was probably abandoned back then as it now. One thing I noticed is the…