Kentucky Grove, Iowa - A Hamilton County Settlement
By Martin E. Nass
Transcribed for the IAGenWeb Project by Janelle Martin, with permission of Martin "Ed" Nass.
Kentucky Grove - The exact location of this settlement is unknown. It
is the earliest settlement on the U. S. Postal Service records, and
dates back to the time our county was called Risley. The post office was
opened on August 8, 1851 and stayed in service only until June 21, 1852.
Checking the records for settlers that came to the county in 1851, I
discovered that Major Minter Brassfield was a Kentucky immigrant, who
came to the county and settled near the present day Homer site. He came
in 1850 and purchased a claim from John Tolman. The only recorded
settlers that came in 1850 were these two plus Thomas Hogan, who took up
a claim in Sec. 21-87-26 which in on the south side of the Boone River
near the Neese Cemetery.
Since there was a post office Kentucky Grove recorded, and since the
only immigrant with a Kentucky connection who came here in 1850 was
Brassfield, it is probable that the settlement was named by Brassfield.
He soon sold out and moved to Newcastle at the time that the post office
was discontinued. He stayed in Newcastle a short time before moving
north to Wright County and founding his own town of Brassfield, which
the locals changed to Goldfield, as it sounded more prosperous.
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