About Inwood

City Hall | Public Library | Inwood History | Civic Groups

City Hall

Phone: (712) 753-4833
Fax: (712) 753-2538
cityhall@inwoodiowa.com

Hours (M-F):
9:00am - 12:00pm
1:00pm - 4:00pm

City Staff:

Mayor: Dan Moen
City Clerk: Carol Vanderkolk cityhall@inwoodiowa.com
Maintenance: Ron Bos
Waste/Water Superintendent: Scott Hanson

City Council Members:

Joe Lloyd
Les Gayer
Allen Hassebrook
George Ahrendt
Shirley Kollis

Inwood Public Library

Hours
Monday: 2:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Tuesday: 9:00 am - 11:00am
& 2:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Wednesday: 2:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Thursday: 2:00 pm - 5:30 pm
& 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Friday: closed
Saturday: 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Sunday: closed

Library Staff:

Director/Librarian: Donna Bos
Assistant Librarian: Clarene Burgers

Library Board Members:

Carmen Van Dyke
Denise Lawton
Shirley Kollis
Bonnie Knobloch
Bev Brouwer
Lazetta Ahrendt
Pam Groeneweg

Available Resources:

Books
Paperbacks
Large Print Books
Audio Books, Magazines
Local Newspapers
Music CDs
Videos
DVDs
Computer Software
Encyclopedia
Internet

History of Inwood

	Inwood was officially established in March of 1884. Prior to then Inwood was part of a village known as Warren. The town was built on a four foot hill, in 1884 it was divided into fifteen lots, selling for $5.00 each. The construction of a railroad that passed through the area led to the development of this progressive little community. English, Scandanavian, Irish, and German immigrants were the majority of Inwood's original settlers.
	Before the building of the local train station, most travel was done by horse. To sell the local wheat crop, farmers had to travel to LeMars and Sioux City. Once a week the mail was picked up and delivered in Beloit. Even when the train began traveling through Inwood, it did not stop for the mail. Instead the mail was thrown from the train as it passed the mail car. The mail did not always make it into the car. The trained passed through the town at midnight, and was routinely several hours, even up to a day, late.
	The Methodist religion was first established in the area in 1875. The first church wasn't built until 1887. Prior to then, church services were held in a flat house near the railroad where the organ was taken each week for worship services.
	Main street was a wide dirt road which was hard to travel on in the rain. A common prank at the time was to wait for a traveling salesman to mount their horse at the bank and start across the muddy street. When the salesman was about halfway into the street, someone would fire a gun to startle the horse. Known as a Bronco Ferry, the salesman would be tossed from the horse into the muck.
	By the late 1800's the town had a lively stable, a bank, grocery store, general store that handled clothing and groceries, a hardware store, and a lumber yard. The Farmer's Bank was established in 1888. During 1884 there were only five school-age children in the town and three in the surrounding farms. The first school was opened in the Pioneer store, Anita Skewis became the first teacher. Before the 1900's there was a doctor who moved to Inwood from Mapleton. A dentist came from Rock Valley a few days of every week to care for the town's dental needs.
	Each September the stores and schools closed for one day for the annual event known as Field Day. A one-hundred and a fifty yard dash was conducted in the east part of town. Other activities included baseball games, basketball games, a tug of war and was open to residents of all ages. Field Day became an annual event and a parade of automobiles was later added. Today, the tradition continues with Inwood's Annual Fourth of July Celebration.
	This information was taken from Inwood's First 100 years 1884-1984. The book was written by the Inwood Centennial Book Committee in 1984. The book is available for check-out at the Inwood Public Library.