Viola Center, Iowa Explained

Official Name:Viola Center, Iowa
Settlement Type:Former Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:Iowa
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Iowa
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Audubon
Timezone:Central (CST)
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Elevation Ft:1444
Coordinates:41.8058°N -94.8022°W
Area Code:712
Blank Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank Info:462582

Viola Center was an unincorporated community in Audubon County, Iowa, in the United States.

Formerly the site of the Viola Center Episcopal Methodist Church, a high school, a post office, a store, and a telephone exchange, Viola Center lost its post office in 1903, its high school in the 1950s, and the telephone company, store, and church. The Viola Center Cemetery remains about 1miles north of the former community.

Geography

Viola Center was one mile south of the center of Viola Township, at the junction of County Highway N36 and 140th Street. It was 6miles northeast of Ross, Iowa.[1]

History

A post office was established in Viola Center on March 6, 1878, and remained in operation until it was discontinued on March 21, 1903. In 1887, Viola Center's population was estimated at 50 residents.[2]

The Viola Center Episcopal Methodist Church was built in 1887; before the building's construction, the congregation gathered locally.[3] The church was home to many community gatherings, including an annual Christmas Tree program; in 1920, the Christmas Tree gathering at the church was "packed to its utmost capacity", according to the newspaper report in nearby Audubon.[4]

In 1900, Viola Center had a store, a church, and a post office.[5] A school was located one mile to the north,[6] and another school, the Morland schoolhouse, one mile south of Viola Center.[7] The church was still present in 1930.[8] The Viola Center High School opened in December 1906. Attendance was estimated at 15-20 students.[9] The high school closed in the 1950s, and was demolished in 2020.

The Coon Rapids and Viola Center Telephone Company operated in Viola Center in the early 1920s, and at that time comprised 11.25miles of telephone line.[10]

Viola Center's population was 52 in 1915,[11] and was 69 residents in 1925.[12] Today, Viola Center is nearly empty, and is sometimes considered a ghost town.[13]

The Viola Center Cemetery is located more than a mile north of the townsite, at 41°49'25'N 094°48'07'W.[14]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteer of Iowa . Garmin, LTD. . 2021 . 1-946494-577 . Yarmouth, ME . 37 . en.
  2. Book: Cram, George Franklin . Cram's Universal Atlas: Geographical, Astronomical and Historical, Containing a Complete Series of Maps of Modern Geography, Illustrated by Numerous Views and Charts; the Whole Supplemented with Valuable Statistics, Diagrams, and a Complete Gazetteer of the United States . 1887 . G.F. Cram . 367–369 . en . December 14, 2021 . December 29, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231229210624/https://books.google.com/books?id=CPAwAQAAMAAJ&dq=cram%2527s+1885+atlas&pg=PA330#v=onepage&q&f=false . live .
  3. Book: Andrews, Henry Franklin . History of Audubon County, Iowa: Its People, Industries, and Institutions . 1915 . 206 . 9781581032413 . en . May 27, 2021 . February 14, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240214225120/https://books.google.com/books?id=qlc0AQAAMAAJ&q=viola#v=snippet&q=viola&f=false . live .
  4. News: 1920-12-23 . Audubon Republican . Program Well Attended . 2021-05-24 . May 24, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210524064438/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87057928/1920-12-23/ed-1/seq-8/ . live .
  5. News: 1902-11-27 . Audubon Republican. (Audubon, Iowa), November 27, 1902 . 2021-05-24 . May 24, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210524003446/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87057928/1902-11-27/ed-1/seq-9/ . live .
  6. Book: Standard atlas of Audubon County, Iowa: including a plat book of the villages, cities and townships of the county, map of the state, United States and world, patrons directory, reference business directory and departments devoted to general information, analysis of the system of U.S. land surveys, digest of the system of civil government, etc. etc. . 1900 . May 23, 2021 . May 23, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210523235203/https://www.loc.gov/item/2007626984/ . live .
  7. Book: Andrews . H. F. . History of Audubon county, Iowa; its people, industries, and institutions . B.F. Bowen & Co.. pbl . 1915 . Indianapolis : B. F. Bowen & company, inc. . 215.
  8. Book: Plat book of Audubon County, Iowa, 1930 :: Hixson Plat Map Atlases of Iowa . 1930.
  9. News: 1906-11-22 . Audubon Republican. (Audubon, Iowa), November 22, 1906 . Viola Center High School . 4 . 2021-05-24 . May 24, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210524055053/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87057928/1906-11-22/ed-1/seq-4/ . live .
  10. News: 1921-11-10 . Audubon Republican. (Audubon, Iowa) . 2021-05-24 . May 24, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210524005938/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87057928/1921-11-10/ed-1/seq-3/ . live .
  11. Book: Atlas of Johnson County, Iowa, 1917 :: Iowa Counties Historic Atlases . 63–66 .
  12. Book: Premier Atlas of the World: Containing Maps of All Countries of the World, with the Most Recent Boundary Decisions, and Maps of All the States,territories, and Possessions of the United States with Population Figures from the Latest Official Census Reports, Also Data of Interest Concerning International and Domestic Political Questions . 1925 . Rand McNally & Company . 190 . en . June 12, 2021 . December 29, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231229220633/https://books.google.com/books?id=WqRRAQAAMAAJ . live .
  13. Web site: Audubon County . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130925222703/http://www.iowaghosttowns.com/audubon_county_iowa_ghost_towns.html . September 25, 2013 . 6 August 2014 . Iowa Ghost Towns.
  14. Web site: Viola Center Cemetery, Iowa Latitude/Longitude . 2021-06-13 . www.lat-long.com . June 13, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210613170209/https://www.lat-long.com/Latitude-Longitude-462583-Iowa-Viola_Center_Cemetery.html . live .