Author name: Garnavillo Historical Society

From Our Archives: Not only did the varsity teams make a clean sweep of the final Clayton County tournaments in 1962, but the Junior High boys and girls teams were Clayton County Champs as well, the boys being co-champs with Elkader.  Each team lost only 1 game during the season. Footnote:  The Junior High teams […]

FROM THE ARCHIVES……  The 2026 high school boys basketball season has come to an end.  In 1912, Iowa City hosted, and Ottumwa won the first Iowa high school boys championship. The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) was organized that same year.  In Garnavillo, high school boys basketball didn’t become an official sport until sometime

FROM OUR ARCHIVES.…. The first girls state championship basketball game was held in 1920 at Drake with 24 teams. Correctionville was the first state champion. Up until 1925, both boys and girls high school sports fell under the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA). However, in 1925, when the IHSAA refused to fund girls sports,

In 1988 the book, “Garnavillo Iowa, Gem of the Prairie,“  was published under the Garnavillo Historical Society,  Arnold and Laverne Roggman of Garnavillo (both now deceased) organized information compiled from many sources and authored the well-written history of Garnavillo dating from 10,000 B.C. to 1876 A.D.  Information from historic documents, diaries, letters, newspapers, personal reminiscences

Members of the Garnavillo Historical Society held their Annual Appreciation Supper & Meeting, Thursday, November 13, at the Garnavillo Community Center.  Supper was served to twenty-two members, volunteers, and guests.  Following the meal, Hannah Frederick, site coordinator at Montauk Historic Site, Clermont, presented a program on Montauk, the home of Ex-Govenor Larrabee and his wife. She

The Garnavillo Historical Society has scheduled their annual volunteer appreciation supper and annual corporate meeting for Thursday, November 13th, at the Garnavillo Community Center.  Supper will begin at 5:15 followed by a presentation by Hannah Frederick, site coordinator at Montauk, Clermont, Iowa.  The annual meeting will convene at about 6:30 pm.  All current members and

In April, UNI history student, Maia Maxwell of Des Moines, shed light on the history of a recent donation to the Garnavillo museum as well as on some articles that have been on display at the museum since it opened.  Maia, is in the UNI History Department’s “Public History:  Field Experience” course, and spent 16

The Garnavillo Historical Society held its annual meeting and appreciation supper November 14th at the Garnavillo Community Center. The meal was served to 17 members and 6 guests by member LuAnn Kahle, Director Jon McElderry and Director Carol DeSotel.  Following the meal a slide presentation titled “A Walk Down Main Street Garnavillo” was presented by

If you’ve been thinking about purchasing the “Garnavillo, Gem of the Prairie” book, now is the time to do so. There are ONLY 4 books left to sell. In 1988, Arnold & Laverne Roggman published this popular book highlighting the history of Garnavillo and its surrounding area. It took the Roggmans 12 years (started 1976)

     Garnavillo’s 2025 Historical Photo Calendar continues the stroll down Garnavillo’s Main Street with a few detours to include the Garnavillo Brewery, Meuser Lumber Yard, the old stone school and the creamery. Each photo and business location are researched as to date and history, bringing the viewer up to current times. The 2025 calendars