Conover, Iowa
Encyclopedia
Conover is a ghost town
located in Winneshiek County, Iowa
. It appears on the Fort Atkinson
quadrangle of the United States Geological Survey
topographic map and has been subsumed within the U.S. Postal Service ZIP code
of nearby Calmar, Iowa
.
In 1865, Cargill (now the largest privately held company in America) was first started in Conover when William Wallace Cargill left his family home in Janesville (Wisconsin) and purchased a grain flat house in Conover, Iowa. The flat house, a type of warehouse that preceded country elevators, was at the end of the McGregor & Western Railroad line. This was the first business in a long line of agriculture-based businesses that would build the huge Cargill empire.
By 1866, the village boasted 1200-1500 inhabitants, many of whom had migrated from nearby Calmar. The Honorable David Noggle presented a petition for incorporation of Conover into a town, and County Judge G. R. Wellett issued the order of incorporation on 17 October 1866. In 1867, Capt. V. C. Jacobs was elected the first (and only) mayor of Conover. Town Councilmen included Col. G. D. Pagent, Charles Sydan, and probably Capt. George Q. Gardner, but detailed town records were destroyed in a subsequent fire. The election expenses exceeded the capacity of the town treasury, and township clerk J. J. Haug took assignment of the accounts, but the expenses remained unpaid.
Growth of the railroad continued to the north and west, drawing business away from the new town of Conover, and in 1868 Calmar became the eastern terminus and junction with the main line for the I & D branch of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad
. In 1869 a branch line from Conover to Decorah
was completed, and Robert Jameson became the first conductor. In the same year, the Conover terminal was transferred to Calmar, including the railroad depot, freight house, and side tracks. A large fire further damaged Conover, and many inhabitants (and buildings) moved back to Calmar. By 1870, most of the lots in Conover had returned to cropland.
Railroad cars were still checked in Conover until the yards closed in the late 1940s. Anna Beevar (née
Vondersitt) was the last Conover railroad agent.
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
located in Winneshiek County, Iowa
Winneshiek County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 21,056 in the county, with a population density of . There were 8,721 housing units, of which 7,997 were occupied.-2000 census:...
. It appears on the Fort Atkinson
Fort Atkinson, Iowa
Fort Atkinson is a city in Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 389 at the 2000 census. It is home to the historic Fort Atkinson State Preserve and hosts a large annual fur-trapper rendezvous each September...
quadrangle of the United States Geological Survey
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
topographic map and has been subsumed within the U.S. Postal Service ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
of nearby Calmar, Iowa
Calmar, Iowa
Calmar is a city in Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,058 at the 2000 census. It is located at the junction of U.S. Highway 52 and State highways 150 and 24...
.
History
Conover was a cow pasture until September 1864, when news arrived that the westward-growing railroad would pass through the area, at which time a village was quickly plotted from local farmland during a two-week period. Rails laid by the McGregor Western Railroad Company reached Conover, through Calmar, in August 1865, by which time the village contained more than 200 buildings, including over 32 saloons and as many produce markets.In 1865, Cargill (now the largest privately held company in America) was first started in Conover when William Wallace Cargill left his family home in Janesville (Wisconsin) and purchased a grain flat house in Conover, Iowa. The flat house, a type of warehouse that preceded country elevators, was at the end of the McGregor & Western Railroad line. This was the first business in a long line of agriculture-based businesses that would build the huge Cargill empire.
By 1866, the village boasted 1200-1500 inhabitants, many of whom had migrated from nearby Calmar. The Honorable David Noggle presented a petition for incorporation of Conover into a town, and County Judge G. R. Wellett issued the order of incorporation on 17 October 1866. In 1867, Capt. V. C. Jacobs was elected the first (and only) mayor of Conover. Town Councilmen included Col. G. D. Pagent, Charles Sydan, and probably Capt. George Q. Gardner, but detailed town records were destroyed in a subsequent fire. The election expenses exceeded the capacity of the town treasury, and township clerk J. J. Haug took assignment of the accounts, but the expenses remained unpaid.
Growth of the railroad continued to the north and west, drawing business away from the new town of Conover, and in 1868 Calmar became the eastern terminus and junction with the main line for the I & D branch of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
The Milwaukee Road, officially the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until its merger into the Soo Line Railroad on January 1, 1986. The company went through several official names...
. In 1869 a branch line from Conover to Decorah
Decorah, Iowa
Decorah is a city in and the county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 8,172 at the 2000 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S...
was completed, and Robert Jameson became the first conductor. In the same year, the Conover terminal was transferred to Calmar, including the railroad depot, freight house, and side tracks. A large fire further damaged Conover, and many inhabitants (and buildings) moved back to Calmar. By 1870, most of the lots in Conover had returned to cropland.
Railroad cars were still checked in Conover until the yards closed in the late 1940s. Anna Beevar (née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Vondersitt) was the last Conover railroad agent.