The village of Mona, located in northern Otranto Township, was once a thriving town. It was first given the name of "Hustad" for the P.K. Everson family and also for the post office which was located in the first store.
The land was first the property of two speculators, George Briggs and C. H. Gregory. Nothing had been erected there until the railroad was built by the Cedar Falls and Minnesota Railroad Company, between 1865 and 1870.
The town was platted in 1869 by Mary C. Agard and Benjamin E. Agard. A two-story depot was erected in
1869, and a frame engine house was moved in from St. Ansgar in 1870. A roundhouse was erected as this was the end of the railroad line at that time. Also, a railroad water tower and a water softener were built. Then the town began to grow, as six passenger trains and freights a day came to Mona.
Railroad station at Mona.
Click photo to see full size rendition.Charles Hughes and J. D. Farley purchased all of the land and platted it into lots and streets. The town was 10 blocks long and 3 1/2 blocks wide. Each street was named. The main street became Farley Street and this street is now a gravel road leading off Highway 218. Only one original house on that street is still there and is occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Norman Anderson and family. The streets were all replaced with street name signs for the village centennial in 1969.
One third of the old town site south of Farley Street still remains in lots and still has dwellings in use. The rest of the old town site north of the original Main Street is now either farm land or part of the state highway.
A general store and post office combined, was the first building erected. Later, a hotel, blacksmith shop, merchandise store, lumber and coal yard, and two saloons were built. One of the saloons was known as the "Dew Drop Inn." A creamery was erected in 1883 by the Penney brothers. It was powered by a six-horsepower steam engine. During the summer, 17 teams and cream haulers covered a distance of ten square miles, gathering cream. Butterfat sold for 27 cents a pound. This business continued for ten years.
The town also had a doctor, Dr. W. F. Cobb. He started his practice there after graduating from Chicago Medical School in June, 1874. He also operated a drug store.
Other businesses operating at this time were a hardware store, furniture store, millinery shop, stock yards, and a dance hall. The town received its present name of "Mona" from William C. Caine, who came from the Isle of Mann in the British Isles. He named it after his sweetheart, Ramona Johnson, who died after a broken romance with Caine and never came to the United States. He remained here and farmed the rest of his life and is buried in the Mona Lutheran Cemetery.
J. P. and Mary Farley donated part of their land in the southeast part of Mona for a public cemetery on November 21, 1879. There hasn't been a burial there in over 40 years. The last was Fred Wheeler of Waterloo, whose body was shipped by train, to be buried beside his wife. No marker was ever erected. The road has been closed for years and the cemetery on the hill is completely surrounded by farm land.
Mona's first school house was built by S.C. Rustad in 1890. In 1899, a second new two-room school was built. It burned in 1922. The third and last one, a two-story, four-room school was erected soon after. It continued in operating until 1963. It was later sold to Dale Bensend, who remodeled it into a modern home. His wife, the former Donna Duenow, was a scholar in that school house.
The Mona Lutheran Church congregation, the only one ever in Mona, was organized in 1876, but the church wasn't built until 1882.
After the railroad extended north to Lyle, Albert Lea, and Austin, the town began to dwindle. Buildings, homes, and business places were moved elsewhere or burned. To date, in 1972, there is only a grocery store, church and fifteen residences. The only living senior citizen, born, raised, and still residing in the home of her birth, is Mrs. Eva Carlson.
Reproduced with the approval of the Mitchell County Historical Society; from THE STORY OF MITCHELL COUNTY 1851-1973", and MITCHELL COUNTY MEMORIES 1946-1996.
LOCATION: Approximately - Highway 218 and/or Echo Ave at 500th St.
Please respect landowners property, ask before you enter.
Transcribed in July 2002 by: Neal Du Shane
Contact information:
MONA MASTER MCHS.doc
