145 years ago

july 4, 1879

Very heavy rains of last week came very near culminating in a flood Friday. The Cottonwood River and Muddy Creek seemed to have caught the spirit of the town and were fairly booming, lacking only a few feet of overflowing.

These two streams have not been on such a high for a long time. It was just the thing needed, though, for sanitary purposes, thoroughly cleaning the streams of impurities that had accumulated there during a prolonged dry spell and low water.

Major T.W. Bown’s handsome stone residence on the hill will soon be completed. The stonework is about done.

We rode out Tuesday on the line of the M&M railroad grade to the cut near Funk’s mill, a mile and a half from town, and were surprised to find the job so extensive.

The cut is nearly a half mile long and in some places 26 feet deep through stone.

Good judges now put the time at which cars will run into Marion Centre about the 20th of this month.

Will Bates will have a refreshment stand near the entrance to the park, adjoining Lockwood’s hardware store, to-day and will also serve ice cream as usual at the Pea-Nut Stand.