Viola Center, Iowa

Coordinates: 41°48′21″N 94°48′08″W / 41.80583°N 94.80222°W / 41.80583; -94.80222
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Viola Center, Iowa
Former Unincorporated community
Viola Center, Iowa is located in Iowa
Viola Center, Iowa
Viola Center, Iowa
Coordinates: 41°48′21″N 94°48′08″W / 41.80583°N 94.80222°W / 41.80583; -94.80222
CountryUnited States
StateIowa
CountyAudubon
Elevation
1,444 ft (440 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code712
GNIS feature ID462582[1]

Viola Center was an unincorporated community in Audubon County, Iowa, in the United States.[1]

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 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the former community.

Geography[edit]

Viola Center was one mile south of the center of Viola Township, at the junction of County Highway N36 and 140th Street. It was 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of Ross, Iowa.[2]

History[edit]

Advertisement for the Viola Center Store, in Viola Center, Audubon County, Iowa
Audubon County, Iowa in 1903, showing the location of Viola Center.

A post office was established in Viola Center on March 6, 1878, and remained in operation until it was discontinued on March 21, 1903.[3] In 1887, Viola Center's population was estimated at 50 residents.[4]

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.[5]

In 1900, Viola Center had a store, a church, and a post office.[6] A school was located one mile to the north,[7] and another school, the Morland schoolhouse, one mile south of Viola Center.[8] The church was still present in 1930.[9] The Viola Center High School opened in December 1906. Attendance was estimated at 15-20 students.[10] 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 11.25 miles (18.11 km) of telephone line.[11]

Viola Center's population was 52 in 1915,[12] and was 69 residents in 1925.[13] Today, Viola Center is nearly empty, and is sometimes considered a ghost town.[14]

The Viola Center Cemetery is located more than a mile north of the townsite, at 41°49'25'N 094°48'07'W.[15]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Viola Center, Iowa
  2. ^ DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteer of Iowa. Yarmouth, ME: Garmin, LTD. 2021. p. 37. ISBN 1-946494-577.
  3. ^ a b Andrews, Henry Franklin (1915). History of Audubon County, Iowa: Its People, Industries, and Institutions. p. 206. ISBN 9781581032413. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  4. ^ Cram, George Franklin (1887). 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. G.F. Cram. pp. 367–369. Archived from the original on December 29, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  5. ^ "Program Well Attended". Audubon Republican. December 23, 1920. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  6. ^ "Audubon Republican. (Audubon, Iowa), November 27, 1902". November 27, 1902. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  7. ^ 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. Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  8. ^ Andrews, H. F.; B.F. Bowen & Co.. pbl (1915). History of Audubon county, Iowa; its people, industries, and institutions. Indianapolis : B. F. Bowen & company, inc. p. 215.
  9. ^ Plat book of Audubon County, Iowa, 1930 :: Hixson Plat Map Atlases of Iowa. 1930.
  10. ^ "Viola Center High School". Audubon Republican. (Audubon, Iowa), November 22, 1906. November 22, 1906. p. 4. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  11. ^ "Audubon Republican. (Audubon, Iowa)". November 10, 1921. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  12. ^ Atlas of Johnson County, Iowa, 1917 :: Iowa Counties Historic Atlases. pp. 63–66.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ 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. Rand McNally & Company. 1925. p. 190. Archived from the original on December 29, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  14. ^ "Audubon County". Iowa Ghost Towns. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  15. ^ "Viola Center Cemetery, Iowa Latitude/Longitude". www.lat-long.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
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