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The History of Dale City
John Lonsdale
was born February 14, 1818, in Yorkshire England.
In 1841 at the age of 23 he traveled across the Atlantic and settled in
Chili, New York,
where he stayed for 1 year. He then moved to Madina County, Ohio
where he formed a partnership with Enoch H. France, and ran a woolen mill
for a number of years, later Mr. France would join John and his family in
Dale City.
John then
traveled to Guthrie County, Iowa in 1853 and parceled 1,500 acres of prairie
grass fields
and a light timber region, later to be known as Dale City. In 1856 he moved
from Ohio with his wife Britt Ann
and their children in a covered wagon pulled by a team of horses and settled
on his 1500 acres.
John did not stay idle long in 1858 he established a woolen mill along the
banks of the Raccoon River.
The mill was known for its high quality woolen blankets, cashmere and flannel
as well as the
employment it provided to many of the local inhabitants. It was housed in a
96’-0” x 60’-0” structure.
In addition to the mill he established a local goods store in 1861, which
would additionally serve as a post office
from March 9, 1865 to June 15, 1992, with John serving as the postmaster for
many of those years.
The Guthrie
County records indicate Mr. Lonsdale’s net worth in 1860 as $7,000 for the
mill
and $1,000 in his personal estate. Within this record it notes his household
inhabitants to include
Mr. James Barnes a 19 year old school teacher from Ohio.
The property in
which the school house resides was owned and given for the specific
purpose of providing an education to the children of the 30 plus inhabitants
of Dale City.
Letters from this period record John commenting back to his former countryman
about
the educational opportunity that was available to all citizens within the
United States.
He formally
plated (laid out) the town of Dale City in 1862, it was later officially
recorded in Guthrie County in 1871.
John Lonsdale
passed away April 26, 1892 in Dale City and is buried in Morris burg
Cemetery.
Our school house
in which we moved from it’s original location up to the winery,
is the school house which is spoken of above, additionally it was placed on
the original 1500 plated acres.
Ed & Tracy Mahlstadt
Saturdays & Sundays
11:00 am – 5:00 pm
3097 285th St.
Stuart, IA 50250
515.523.2198
dalevalleywine@earthlink.net
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