“Historic Truss Bridge Restoration: North Skunk River Greenbelt Association,” video shared with permission from Workin’ Bridges and the North Skunk River Greenbelt Association, 46 minutes

“Old Glove Factory Historic Tour – Grinnell, Iowa,” video from the Chamber of Commerce, 1 minute

For more on the Glove Factory, see Dan Kaiser’s blog post “How We Used to Work…”

A 1988 paper entitled “The Glove Industry in Grinnell, Iowa 1856-1974” written by Veta Smith. The papers covers how early settler Frederick Morrison began tanning hides and evolved the company into a the Morrison Glove Factory, which later evolved into DeLong Manufacturing.

“Goodnow Hall Historic Video Tour – Grinnell, Iowa,” video from the Chamber of Commerce, 2 minutes

For more on Goodnow Hall, see Dan Kaiser’s blog post “The Baby Abandoned at Goodnow Hall.”

“Grinnell Historical Museum Historic Video Tour – Grinnell, Iowa,” video from the Chamber of Commerce, 2 minutes

For more on the Grinnell Historical Museum, see Dan Kaiser’s blog posts “Did This Jar of Blueberries Survive the 1882 Cyclone?,” “The Wendell Phillips Pew in the Old Stone Church,” and “A Very Cold Case…of Murder!”

“Grinnell House Historic Video Tour – Grinnell, Iowa,” video from the Chamber of Commerce, 2 minutes

“St Francis Manor History,” video from St. Francis Manor on history of healthcare in Grinnell, 6 minutes

For more on St. Francis, see Dan Kaiser’s blog posts that reference the topic.

Atlas and Plat Book of Poweshiek County, Iowa, with outline county map, plats of all the townships with owners’ names, plats of all towns in the county, state auto map, United States parcel post map, and others, available from Library of Congress website, 48 images

Article in the Grinnell Herald Register on the Preston opera house, April, 1925, 1 page

“depot,” video from the Chamber of Commerce on the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad Grinnell Passenger Station, 1 minute

“Ricker House Historic Tour – Grinnell, Iowa,” video from the Chamber of Commerce on the Benjamin K. Ricker House of Grinnell College, 1 minute

For more on Ricker House, see Dan Kaiser’s blog post “Grinnell’s Trees…What Tales They Could Tell!”

Sanborn fire insurance maps from 1883, 1888, 1893, 1898, 1906, 1911, 1922, 1932, of Grinnell, available from Library of Congress website, 102 images

“Spaulding House Historic Tour – Grinnell, Iowa,” video from the Chamber of Commerce, 2 minutes

For more on Spaulding House, see Dan Kaiser’s blog post “How We Used to Work…”

“Strand Theater Historic Tour – Grinnell, Iowa,” video from the Chamber of Commerce, 1 minute

Covers the history of the Strand Theatre and the renovation of the building in the early 2000s. Features interviews with those involved in the renovation project and photos of the process, including uncovering of many of the architectural features that had long been hidden. Produced by Cynthia Sherman.

“Jewel Box Bank/Merchants National Bank Historic Tour – Grinnell, Iowa,” video from the Chamber of Commerce, 2 minutes

Includes overview of Colonial Theatre, Preston’s Opera House, the Strand, the Bijou, and the article “A ‘Strand’ in Grinnell’s Fabric” written by John R. Kleinschmidt from Grinnell Historic Preservation Commission on the history of the Strand, contains images and scans of news articles, 22 pages

Images after the June 17, 1882, tornado in Grinnell, from the Digital Public Library of America, images by Charles Bierstadt, James Everett, and D. H. Cross, 40 images

For more on the 1882 cyclone, see Dan Kaiser’s blog post “Did This Jar of Blueberries Survive the 1882 Cyclone?”

“The Grinnell Cyclone of June 17, 1882” by S. H. Herrick, from the State Historical Society of Iowa’s The Annals of Iowa, includes direct quotes from eye-witnesses, selections from The Grinnell Herald, a map of the cyclones’ directions, and two poems referencing the cyclone (“The Bells of Grinnell” by Edward Barstow and “Nothing Left” by Helen Campbell), 22 pages

For more on the 1882 cyclone, see Dan Kaiser’s blog post “Did This Jar of Blueberries Survive the 1882 Cyclone?”

Byron Hueftle-Worley grew up in a Grinnell house that had been damaged by the cyclone of 1882 and has been fascinated by the event ever since. Byron presents his lifetime of learning about the history of the cyclone and its aftermath, including many historic photos of the town and of the cyclone damage. This is from a May 2015 program for the CEC Bucket Course.

A 10 minute video entitled “The Last Tribe of Iowa: Leadership of the Meskwaki People in a Struggle for Survival.” The video tells the history of the tribe and how they came to have a sovereign settlement in Tama County, Iowa.

From the Iowa History Journal, this article by Thomas Burnell Colbert tells the story of Poweshiek and his period of leading the Meskwaki during the complicated times of the 1830s -40s.

Iowa and the Underground Railroad is a document from the State Historical Society of Iowa. The 25 page document provides general information about Underground Railroad activity in the state. This document also provides specific details of the 1859 journey of John Brown through Iowa, including his stay in Grinnell and meeting with J.B. Grinnell.

Compiled from the files of the Grinnell Herald from January, February, and March of 1874, published in 1916, chapter topics include: the first visit by J. B. Grinnell, the first cabin at Sugar Creek, the first houses, land for a university, first election, the underground railroad, the first school, spotted fever, churches, Iowa College, and more (table of contents located at end of document), 146 pages

Compiled from the files of the Grinnell Herald from January, February, and March of 1874, published in 1916, chapter topics include: the first visit by J. B. Grinnell, the first cabin at Sugar Creek, the first houses, land for a university, first election, the underground railroad, the first school, spotted fever, churches, Iowa College, and more (table of contents located at end of document), 146 pages

An article by Thomas A. Lucas about the 1860 riot that arose when four Black men tried to attend the Grinnell public school.  From The Palimpsest, Spring 1987.

Compilation of Grinnell history by William Deminoff, a Grinnell College administration in the 1970s-80s. The 139 page manuscript represents the work he was able to complete before his early death.

History of Poweshiek County, Iowa: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress, and Achievement, Volume I by Prof. L. F. Parker, chapter topics include: the name “Iowa,” pioneering, farming, transportation, organization, officials, schools, Iowa College, the pioneer physician, bench and bar, the press, persons of distinction, blizzards and cyclones, epidemics, the civil war, townships and towns, Grinnell, and more, from The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 497 pages

History of Poweshiek County, Iowa: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress, and Achievement, Volume II by Prof. L. F. Parker, biographies of many prominent persons in Grinnell’s history, index of names on page 783, from The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 795 pages

Proceedings of the Old Settlers’ Association of Grinnell, Iowa, Annual Meetings, 1896-1901, 152 pages. This group included people who were the first settlers in Grinnell. These proceedings record their recollections of people and events from the earliest days of this community.

Essays and remarks delivered on the semi-centennial, includes speeches by Rev. E. M. Vittum, Henry M. Hamilton, D. O. Mears, Dr. Thomas Holyoke, Prof L. F. Parker, D. W. Norris, J. P. Lyman, John F. Lacey, and more, 141 pages

An overview of the 1918 epidemic’s impact on Grinnell, Iowa. This video was created by Grinnell College students for Prof. Sarah Purcell’s HIS:100 Digital History class in the Fall of 2022. Using photographs and newspaper clippings, it tells how the two diseases impacted the community and were an impetus to improvements in local healthcare options.

“Grinnell at 150: The Pioneering Spirit,” on the history of Grinnell, work on this video began during Grinnell’s Sesquicentennial celebration in 2004, produced by the Grinnell Historic Preservation Commission and the Grinnell Tourism Group, 42 minutes

“A Historical Sketch of Chester Township, Poweshiek County, Iowa, Read at the Quarter-Centennial, July 4, 1881,” by G. H. White, with introductory letter by J. B. Grinnell, 28 pages

Portrait and Biographical record of Johnson, Poweshiek and Iowa Counties, Iowa, Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, also Biographies of the Presidents of the United States, Chapman bros., Chicago, 742 pages

Malcom Centennial: “Memories Today of Yesterday,” 1872-1972, topics include: histories and mayor list, articles of incorporation, memoirs, churches (Presbyterian, Trinity Lutheran, and Malcom Methodist), schools, alumni, facilities, recollections, businesses, the civil war, organizations, clubs, biographies, and family histories, 197 pages

Photos by Cornelia Clarke of her cats Peter and Polly were published in Country Life in America Magazine in 1911. The magazine was digitized as a part of the Google Books project. Click to see the photos page 1 and page 2. Or click here to see the full magazine in Google Books. These photos inspired the book Peter and Polly.

Children’s book by Elizabeth Hays Wilkinson with some of the earliest photographs taken by Grinnellian Cornelia Clarke, taken of her cats Peter and Polly. The series of photographs was originally published in a magazine. This story was written to match the photos which were colorized for the book publication. This item is also available in Digital Grinnell, from Doubleday, New York, 116 pages

<iframe frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” style=”border:0px” src=”https://books.google.com/books?id=YzQiAQAAMAAJ&newbks=0&dq=%22peter%20and%20polly%22%20by%20eugene%20hall%20country%20life%20america&pg=PA213&output=embed” width=500 height=500></iframe>

“Een Farm in de Corn-Meat Belt,” a 1970s Belgian documentary on farming in Poweshiek County, commentary in English, 20 minutes

A collection of silent home films showing celebration activities, originally a 16mm silent film by E. R. Small and the Grinnell Herald-Register, clips include views of the reproduction “long home” built in front of the library, skits and presentations, and a parade, 55 minutes

“’55 MPH’ Public Service Announcement (1978),” a public service announcement advocating for the 55 MPH campaign, 1 minute

“Grinnell, Iowa promotional video 2006,” footage includes businesses, residential, and aerial views of the people and places of Grinnell, shared with permission form the Grinnell Chamber of Commerce, produced by the Grinnell Visitors Bureau, 4 minutes

An article in Iowa Heritage Illustrated tells the story of the rocket slide in Des Moines, and the larger story of the Miracle “Astro City”  Playground Equipment products that were in many parks in the 1960s and 70s.

“Case of the Vanishing Village” by Eleanor Ragsdale and Curt Harnack, with photos by Joan Liffring, on the city of Newburg, topics include the history of the town and its decline as a center of community, includes 10 images, from Iowan Magazine of January 1958, 7 pages

“Case of the Vanishing Village” by Eleanor Ragsdale and Curt Harnack, with photos by Joan Liffring, on the city of Newburg, topics include the history of the town and its decline as a center of community, includes 10 images, from Iowan Magazine of January 1958, 7 pages

“History of the Grinnell-Newburg School Facilities” from the Grinnell-Newburg Community School District, building history through 2018, document found in the district office with no date or author, 2 pages

The Grinnell Public Schools 1855-1880 by David Harmon. This paper covers the earliest days of Grinnell schools, written for a Community History class by Grinnell College student David Harmon in 1979. Mr. Harmon also covers the later school history in The Grinnell Public Schools 1880-1980 which is also available on this page.

The Grinnell Public Schools 1880-1980 by David Harmon. This paper is the product of a Independent Project by Grinnell College student David Harmon in 1980. Mr. Harmon also covers the earlier school history in The Grinnell Public Schools 1855-1880 which is also available on this page.

“2006 Grinnell Public Library Campaign,” shows scenes in Stewart Library in 2006, describes the overcrowded conditions and the need to build a new library in Grinnell, part of the Next Chapter fundraising campaign to build the new Drake Community Library (opened in 2009), 7 minutes

“Storytime at Stewart Library early 1990s,” features Debbie Pohlson reading to a group of children as Peter Pan and Ellie Arsenault reading to her two young children, 39 minutes