Viola Center, Iowa

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

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
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]

History
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.[2] In 1887, Viola Center's population was estimated at 50.[3]

The Viola Center Episcopal Methodist Church was built in 1887; before the building's construction, the congregation gathered locally.[2] 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.[4]

In 1900, Viola Center had a store, a church, and a post office.[5] A school was located one mile to the north,[6] and another school, the Morland schoolhouse, one mile south of Viola Center.[7] The church was still present in 1930.[8] The Viola Center High School opened in December 1906. Attendance was estimated at 15-20 students.[9] 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 of telephone line.[10]

Viola Center's population was 52 in 1915,[11] and 69 in 1925.[12] Today, Viola Center is nearly empty, and is sometimes considered a ghost town.[13]

The Viola Center Cemetery is located more than a mile north of the townsite, at 41°49'25'N 094°48'07'W.[14]

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Viola Center, Iowa
  2. Andrews, Henry Franklin (1915). History of Audubon County, Iowa: Its People, Industries, and Institutions. p. 206. ISBN 9781581032413.
  3. 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.
  4. "Program Well Attended". Audubon Republican. December 23, 1920. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  5. "Audubon Republican. (Audubon, Iowa), November 27, 1902". November 27, 1902. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Plat book of Audubon County, Iowa, 1930 :: Hixson Plat Map Atlases of Iowa. 1930.
  9. "Viola Center High School". Audubon Republican. (Audubon, Iowa), November 22, 1906. November 22, 1906. p. 4. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  10. "Audubon Republican. (Audubon, Iowa)". November 10, 1921. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  11. Atlas of Johnson County, Iowa, 1917 :: Iowa Counties Historic Atlases. pp. 63–66.
  12. 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.
  13. "Audubon County". Iowa Ghost Towns. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  14. "Viola Center Cemetery, Iowa Latitude/Longitude". www.lat-long.com. Retrieved June 13, 2021.


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