Pages
90-109
WHEELER'S GROVE, IOWA
Wheeler's Grove began as a promising town
near the present Wheeler's Grove Church in Section 16, Grove Township.
It was sub-divided in 1905 and stage coach lines were passing through
until the railroad came and it, like many other small towns, died.
The town of Eminence also began to thrive
after being laid out by L. D. Woodmansee in 1875, but like Wheeler's
Grove, was destined for an early death when the railroad came through
Macedonia. A bustling town was growing in the northeast corner of
Section 28. There were five churches within a small radius.
Nearby, the Mormon Cemetery hold the graves
of many of the early settlers. The two oldest graves date back to 1869.
Burial plots are six foot wide and run from north to south with
families buried in a row.
Commonly seen in the 1970's are deer, coyotes, red
fox squirrels,
ring-necked pheasants, gophers, ground hogs, badgers, and an occasional
gray wolf. Draft horses are a definite minority, oxen extinct, gasoline
and diesel engines are our source of agricultural power. Four and eight
row equipment and self-propelled combines work the land. Land sells for
an average of $1250 per acre in Grove Township.
Many homes have air conditioning. Fuel shortages
are forcing people in
our day to think of solar heating and other sources of energy. Let it
be know that Grove Township will adjust to the changes with a forward
look.
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