Jones logo

The painting in the header of this page is Stone City, Iowa, 1930, by Grant Wood, oil on wood, Joslyn Art Museum, Art Institute of Omaha Collection and is reproduced courtesy of CGFA, a beautiful site maintained by Carol Gerten-Jackson. Click here for a larger version.

If anyone has information about when any of these people and places or when Mr. Ellis was working in Jones county, please send it in. It will help pin down the exact publication date of the book. Current photos of any of the buildings still standing would be nice.

LINKS:
Quarrying in Iowa

Picturesque Anamosa
spaceThe images in this section are photos taken by D. W. Ellis from Picturesque Anamosa, compiled and published by W. Leon Hall, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, ca. 1900. Lois O'Donnell kindly allowed me to scan her copy of the book. Click on any image for an enlargement.
[Henry Dearborn Home]
Henry Dearborn Residence
[Henry Dearborn & Wife]
Henry Dearborn & Wife
[Dearborn Quarry] Dearborn Quarry [Dearborn Store] Dearborn Store

[Henry Dearborn]
Henry Dearborn
[Frank Dearborn]
Frank Dearborn
[George Dearborn]
George Dearborn
[Fegan]
W. N. Dearborn
"Henry Dearborn came to Jones Co. in 1857, traveling by covered wagon. He went into the monument business and was a stonecutter until he established his own quarry. In 1870 H. Dearborn built the large stone house pictured. It took 3 years to complete and is one of the few original stone buildings standing today. The man and woman on the porch were my gr-grandparents, Henry Dearborn and Martha Frankland Dearborn.

The general store was built by Greene who also built Columbia hall, a combination opera house and hotel. Half a million tons of stone were used to complete the 3 story structure, which according to reports, had 50 rooms and walls two feet thick. It was eventually torn down and salvaged.

"In 1873, Stone City had a post office and by 1887, it was housed in the general store where it remained in operation until the government closed it down in 1954. Clate Dearborn, Henry Dearborn's son was the postmaster at that time. The store was also headquaters for the village telegraph and was the town's only gas station. The store remained in the Dearborn family untl the late 1950s."

--Lois O'Donnell

[Fisher]
J. A. Green
[Green Business]
J. A. Green Business
[Lister]
J. A. Green Residence
[Holt]
J. A. Green Estate
[Ronen]
J. Ronen
[Ronen Quarry] J. Ronen Quarry [Ronen Quarry]
J. Ronen Quarry
[Ericson] F. Ericson Quarry

Illustration from Andreas' Atlas

space
[Dearborn Quarry]
Dearborn Quarry
[to home] [space] image

© Copyright 1997-2013, The Art Department, © Copyright 2014-2020, Richard Harrison.
Last updated on Friday, 16-Apr-2021 16:56:15 MST