A stagecoach line passed the north site of what is New Market now. The Western Stagecoach Co was organized about 1854. In 1859 one of the lines extended from Eddyville to Ne City, passing through Bedford and on to Clarinda. One Stage stop was at the farm of the late Archie Webb.

It was the railroad that determined the fate of Memory as it swung a mile to the east and a quarter mile north missing Memory and Dayton an even smaller town then Memory, that laid directly across the road. The Humeston and Shenandoah Railroad (H&S) line was 120 miles long starting at Humeston and ending at Shenandoah. During the laying of the railroad in 1881 a smallpox epidemic broke out among the workers. Some died and were buried between New Market and Clarinda in unmarked graves. The tracks were completed on Oct 15, 1882 and on Dec 17, 1882 the first train went through. It left Humeston at 1:15 and arrived in Clarinda at 5:47 traveling at 15 miles per hour, stopping at Gravity for meals. At one time New Market had six trains daily. Freight went east in the morning and west in the evening. Passenger trains went west at 10AM and 6PM and east at 12:33 noon and 4 in the afternoon.

The people of Memory and Dayton moved their buildings and effects to where New Market is now. In 1881 there were about a dozen dwellings and three or four business in the new town. The Comely Hotel was the first bldg in town. George Collier from Hawleyville had the first store.

How did New Market get its name? Naming the town was debated. Old settlers wanted it called Stockton in honor of one of the earliest settlers of Dallas Township. Others wanted it called New Memory but others wanted a new name. After the railroad painted the words "New Market" on the depot the name stayed. The Articles of the Incorporation in 1883 states, "New Market shall be the name of the town." The population soon grew from 188 people at the time it was incorporated to the highest being 745 in 1920.

In 1880 east of the Depot the stockyards was built. Livestock was loaded in cars and taken to Merle Crossing (just northeast of Conway) where they were switched to the north to go to Chicago or south to St Joe. It is reported on Nov 30 to Dec 27 1915, one man, Charley Combs bought and shipped 1,609 head of hogs from the New Market stockyards.

The New Market mining company was formed in Jan 1883 but the first actual shaft was sunk around 1860. The most active mines were located east of town and the other mines were located 6 miles north. In all about 29 shafts were sunk. They had an output of 20,000 bushels a day. At one time it was reported that 85% of the coal in Taylor County was produced at New Market mines. At that time coal in New Market cost around 10 cents a bushel.

Do you know what a gopher hole is? It is slang for describing the first shaft sunk into a side hill. Vertical shafts, descending 30 to 210 feet took approximately six weeks to dig by hand. Know what a Tipple is? It is a 3 sided bldg covering the hole of this shaft and providing shelter for the top tinder. A tinder is a man who operated the cage and weighed the coal. What is a cage. It fit into a 6X8 foot shaft having cables from the gin (a round barrel turned by a gin pony to raise and lower it). Sides of the shaft were shored with boards, which held back the dirt and provided a ladder in case the cages quit working. A bell was located in the tipple with a rope to the bell going down the shaft. One ring meant a miner wanted to talk to someone on top, two rings meant coal was coming up and 3 rings meant men were coming up.

Know what a Gob is? It is the area of dirt blasted from under the coal and the area of which it is distributed. Did you know most miners laid on their sides all day with 18 or 24 inches of shoulder space in which to work. He would put a board under his shoulder to keep it from the constant friction of the floor. In this manner he would lay and pick coal from the hard surface hoping it would never drop from the pressure of the coal above.

Know what the word "Buck" means? It is the breaking up of the coal in small pieces. What was a Model T driveshaft good for in the mines? It was used when a large piece of coal could not be "bucked" with a miners pick ax.

After the coal was bucked it was wheeled to the main floor by the miner and was loaded on a car, which held from 1000 to 1200 lbs. Each car had a # or tag on it to identify which miner dug it out. Shetland ponies would then pull the cars out of the mines. At the top of the shaft the coal was divided into 8, 4 and 2-inch coal pieces and the "stoker" the fine dust was left for heating houses. Shale was also a by-product of the mines and was used on roads somewhat like gravel is today.

A man worked a hard 10-hr day averaging 4 dollars a day in 1927. Many of the mines were dangerous, a man received no over time, life insurance, company pension or fringe benefits. He was paid only for the coal he sent out of the mine and nothing for the hauling of the dirt, blasting of his road or cleaning of his room. Miners were hard working respected part of the community.

The first 4-room school was built in 1882. In time the school board lengthened the school term to nine months for the 10 grades, and they employed 5 teachers for 212 students. Later two more years were added making it 12 years. The townspeople centered their activities on the school with spelling bees and ciphering matches.

In 1921-22 a new brick bldg. was built, which is the school that remains today. John Liggett a farmer gave the 30,000 dollars to build it and that is why the bldg is named after him. Classes began in this new brick school on Jan 23,1923.In the fall of 1925 they chose a mascot "The Miner" being named after the backbone of the community, the coal miners. Completion of the elementary and gymnasium was in the fall of 1961, making the school look like it does today.

Does anyone remember when New Market had wooden sidewalks? On Sat nights the town would be so full that it was hard for a person to even walk on the sidewalks on either side of Main Street.

Our first Post Office opened in New Market May 29, 1882. Rural Route 1 was established Feb 2, 1903 with Billy Noble being the first RR carrier. Later routes 2 and 3 were added.

At one time New Market had 4 churches but today 2 remain. The Methodist moved their church from Memory in the winter of 1882, The project was halted halfway in-between a major snowstorm hit so the church remained there until the spring of 1883. Later the bldg was sold and moved to Main street becoming an Opera house and the Methodist built a new church on the site it is today. The Church of Christ hold services between the years of 1860 to 1898 in the Prairie Gem schoolhouse north of New Market. In 1900 the Church bought two lots for 75 dollars and a small structure was built. The church we know today was dedicated on Nov 20, 1949. In 1960 Elsey Guilliatt gave the 60 year old bell from the Frog Valley School to the Church of Christ. Clarence Potter, Jess Brown, Merle Harland, Thomas Harris and Robert Malcom placed it in the steeple. The Baptist church was located east of the park on the corner lot. 13 members organized the church in New Market in 1883. The church closed Dec 30. 1973.

The Masonic Lodge and Eastern Star began August 10, 1883. The first meeting place was a room over the New Market Bank located on the northeast corner of Main Street, later they purchased the bldg. Know where the first IOOF Lodge is? Look around the water tower and you will see a marker in the ground there. On March 17, 1944 this Lodge Hall and all its contents burned. All that remains today is the foundation. The Lodge was then moved to a bldg on Main street.

New Market Main Street has brick bldgs because of the many fires caused from wood burning stoves and fireplaces a fire limit was made that all Main street blgs were to be built of brick, stone or cement. The first fire wagon was drawn by six men. In Feb of 1924 they purchased an Oberchain Chemical Wagon. In 1938 the town held the first "Drought Buster Days". They used the money from this to purchase a fire truck. It was a big event that brought people to town.Our first ambulance was a gift from Les Walker, owner of the Walker Funeral Home.

The Park Monument was dedicated August 6, 1918 at the Annual Reunion of the Taylor Co Veterans Association. It is dedicated to the memory of the defenders of our Union.

Everyone remembers Clarks Store. Did you know a member of the Clark family operated it almost 60 years. Bert Clark bought the store in July of 1919 with Jim Clark retiring in 1978. Other long time businesses were Charlie Wilson who owned and operated a gas station and tank wagon service starting in 1934, lasting 48 years. Ben Anderson arrived in New Market in 1938 and started working in Rose & Tuttle Lbr Yard later owning and operating it until 1976. Paul Golding was a blacksmith for 38 years. Bud and Maye Parsons operated Parsons Grocery from 1948 to 1969. We mustn't forget Ralph and Genevieve Pendergraft operating the drug store for so many years. Jr Drennen run a feed business on main street and also a trucking business. Bill Orr started a hog buying station in the 1940's and a trucking business followed. Tony Pace had a straight truck and hauled livestock for farmers.

Between the years of 1898 to 1933 New Market had two family doctors, Dr McCom and Dr Kitchen. Our veterinarian (who could serve as a family dr also) was Dr Clarence Keith. New Market also had a dentist, and a chiropractor. Frank Shreck operated an Implement and Hardware store. Harvey Eno was the owner of the furniture store and funeral parlor. Mr Coleman had a jewelry repair shop and Nan Love the millinery store. Smith Brooke operated a garage and sold Studebaker cars, In 1922 Bill Rice came to New Market and built a gas station (where the present Farmers Town and Country presides). In 1924 his brother Danny joined him and sold Willy's, Knight and Whippet cars for two years. In the early 20's Mr Osborn had a harness shop, Clarence Mason a pump and well repair business, Dan and Em Pace a theater you could attend for 10 cents a show. John Hipsley run an egg hatchery, later years being run by Orville Ridnour on the east side of main street where R&R is today. Jim Hankins and Ralph Kendrick run a butcher shop. Garve Doughtery a bank and Walt Garrison a barbershop. You could get a cut for 35 cents and a shave for 25 cents.

New Market was the next to last town in the state of Iowa to have the old Magneto telephone system which was no more after July of 1975 when our dial system was installed? Does anyone remember the old switchboard and how it worked? I can still remember operators setting in the house that is now the offices of the Farmers Mutual Telephone co. Opal Brown, Marge Hutcheson and Mary Anderson were among many operators. Operators stayed in the office 24 hrs a day in different shifts setting in front of this huge apparatus. They could plug in anyone to connect him or her to any particular party. If you could not find someone at home you could always ask the operator and she would usually know where to locate a certain person. All the lines were party lines and if calling someone on your line you would ring a long or short ring.

New Market had an Opera House that played the play "Ten Nights in a Bar Room". The house was crowded to capacity to see Joe Morgan and his snakes, good music and specialties. Later came silent movies and talkies. Charlie Wilson owned the movie house from 1935 to 1952 offering free movies on Tuesday and Wednesday nights by the merchants hoping to bring business to town. Tent shows and 5-day Chautauqua performances were held during the summer.

"The Hatcher Players, later becoming the "Sun Players" had their headquarters in New Market for 21 years. They always started their season during the summer by performing their first week of shows in New Market. Harvey and Marian Young performed with the group for a short time?

Ada Mae McNees was our first librarian starting March 3, 1941 with 200 books and retiring June 1, 1980.

In 1957 wells were dug east of New Market furnishing the town with city water which was piped to our water tower. What were water rates? Well they were 3 dollars per 3 thousand gallon. In 1973 the sewer system was put in.

The first newspaper in town was the New Market Sun, publishing its first edition on Dec 4,1882.The following was printed in the New Market Sun on Dec. 20, 1882 "Taylor County has nearly lost its Memory. Last April the site of New Market was part of a cornfield, now it is a thriving village and is rapidly assuming the proportions of a good town. Good bldgs, good stocks of goods and over 200 good people with good intent and good hopes in the future of this New Market. There has been one marriage in town, but no births or deaths, but the town is young yet and there may be such occurrences here in the future."

Such occurrences have happened in this town as we grow older and yes we are losing our Memory. It is memories of our elderly that have lived and labored in this town for so many years. They are pieces of the town that are lost forever. This is a part of the history of New Market that my Whitehead ancestors have known.

Hwy 2 was called the "wash board" and it took a day to get to Clarinda from New Market. When New Market had more freight business than any other town its size in the state of Iowa. When you could buy a square meal at the J.L. Pershing Lunch room for 15 cents. When you could place a telephone call free of charge in a radius of 50 miles each way from the town of New Market. When Ora Cade delivered milk in bottles for 10 cents a quart. Lee Whitehead worked in the dairy and drove the milk truck and Verlin Cade and Lefty Eighmy delivered it door to door. When Will Lake a walking salesman in the early 1900's carried a camera and tripod on his back and took many pictures of New Market. Mr. Lake had a photo gallery on the second floor on the east side of main street. When New Market pond was a gathering place for ice-skating and a large fire was built. When New Market had a roller skating rink in a tent. When we had a town band that gave concerts on Wednesday and Saturday nights. When Charlie Wilson organized a 4th of July celebration along with Bill Orr, Paul Golding, Dick Burton, Otis Wood, Ralph Pendergraft and Dale Ingram being the first ones to start the 4th celebration into what it has become today. Now the Civic Club sponsors the celebration.