About Us
Squaw Creek Township is located in South Central Warren County, East of New Virginia and South of Indianola, Iowa.
The township consists of three cemeteries: Indian Valley Cemetery, Mount Tabor Cemetery, and Smith Cemetery as well as three parks: Hickory Hills Park on Hwy 69, Rolling Thunder Prairie State Preserve on 80th Avenue, and Medora Prairie Park on Tyler St.
Our History
On March 3, 1856 an application of organization was filed with Warren County to establish several Townships including Squaw Creek Township. Congress didn't establish Iowa as a territory until July 4, 1838. Eight years later on December 28, 1846 Iowa became the 29th state of the Union.
Squaw Creek Township takes its name from the language of the large Native American population once present within its borders. Squaw, meaning Native American Woman, was used to name a creek that winds it's way through the township. The name of the township then adopted the name of the creek and Squaw Creek Township was created.
The first non-American Indian settler in Squaw Creek Township was Jesse Hackney who settled in Section 10 in the fall of 1847. He settled in what was then called "Hackney's Grove" which was West of Fairview, later known as Cool. He sold his land to Abel Smith in 1850 and moved to newer country. David Johnson settled in Section 11 in 1852 and soon after many others followed.
There were several small communities within the township, some of which included a post office, possibly a store, school and/or a church. The largest community was the village of Medora, originally spelled Madora. It was laid out and named by Charity D. Rice in 1870. Medora is located in Section 22 and was the half-way point on the stage line between Indianola and Osceola. The area included two general stores, a barber shop, a sorghum mill, a blacksmith shop, a lumber mill, a coal mine, a school and church.
The construction of Highway 69 started in October of 1921 with many of the local men working on the roads. They put in long 10 hour days with a small hourly wage of 35 cents. In the image below, which was taken from the book Windows on Warren County's Past available for purchase at the Warren County Historical Society in Indianola, Iowa, you can see a picture of the highway being paved near Medora. It was known as the Jefferson Highway or more commonly, U.S. Highway 69. It wasn't until 1963 when county highway G76 was paved between US Highway 65 and New Virginia.
In the most recent years, a general store remained in Medora and later became a Kent Feed store and a gathering place for neighbors. It is now a private residence, but the Medora Kent Feed Store sign still resides and is often used as a landmark for giving directions. Modern Medora consists of the United Methodist Church and several homes. Although coal was mined in early years, the main use for the surrounding lands today is farming. Many farmers raise corn, beans and cattle, while hobby farmers raise horses, goats, sheep, chickens and other livestock. In some cases land purchased in the township is now only used for hunting purposes as the deer, turkey, pheasant and quail populations grow.
Other communities include:
Hackney's Grove, located in the corner of Section 10 near the three corners of Sections 11, 14 and 15, which included a Post Office that was later renamed to Handsome View.
Hidgonville was located one mile West of Cool and included a small store that served as a trading center. In 1925 the Log Cabin Inn Oil Station was built in Hidgonville and remained until it was moved to the Iowa State Fair in 1954 in celebration of the Centennial State Fair. The building was then given to a Boy Scout Troop in Des Moines. A new store was built in 1928 and served the community until the early 1950's.
Jefferson Heights is located 1/2 mile North of Medora on Highway 69. It is often cited that Medora was a location where horses were changed and dinner was served to the passengers and riders. While it is true that the stage coach building was at the top of the "Medora hill" and at the time was Medora, the area it resided in was later, and is still, referred to as Jefferson Heights. It was also a bustling area with a store, restaurant and later a gas station. Once the Iron Horse railway came about, the stage coach station was abandoned even though the railway did not go through Jefferson Heights or Medora. For a short time, a young couple by the name of Wayne and Carolyn Hunnerdosse lived in the stage coach building while working for a local farmer. They later acquired a new home that still remains at the Hunnerdosse Farms. The store burned down in 1925 and a new one was built on the West side of the road. It remained in business until the 1950's. In 1928, a brick garage and oil station was built on the East side of the road to replace a garage that had been destroyed by a tornado in 1925. In 1945, the owner of the brick service station Gorham Williams purchased a caterpillar and the brick service station became a personal garage for him to work in. After Gorham's death in 1951, his son Lyle Williams took over the excavation business and ran it for another 50 years. Did you know that in 1932 a girls softball team was organized as well as a men's baseball team and they built a diamond behind the brick garage on land owned by George Van Patten? These teams had a great number of fans that followed them to different games. They remained active until 1937. In the late 1940's another men's baseball team was created. A different baseball diamond was built and later moved. The Korean war brought an end to the team. Up until September, 2020 a small wooden home still remained on the property of Gerald and Linda Hayes, owners of G&L Services and Repairs. That wooden home was actually two small camping cabins that were moved from the Hickory Hills park area before it was a park. They were placed together and one roof added to make a small home. It became a popular place for people to stop for a photo opportunity.
Medford was located on the township lines of Squaw Creek and White Oak Townships. Medford was originally known as the "Braucht Settlement" after Adam Braucht who gave land for a Methodist Church that was dedicated December 18, 1892. Medford also had a general store and a post office. The post office closed October 29, 1903 when New Virginia took over delivery of mail.
Sharon was another small community near the Northern township line in Section 2. Sharon consisted of a post office that was established in 1861 and discontinued in 1890.
Cool was located on Highway 69 near Sherman Street (in Section 14). This town was originally called Fairview, but later renamed Cool after Hendrix Cool who settled there in 1871. The town included two churches, a school, a store, a doctor's office and a post office. The school house was constructed by Township residents Abel Smith, Z. Nicholson, George Coverdale, Uriah Williams, D. Tenney and others. On November 11, 1893 The Christian Union Church was organized in Cool, Iowa.
Schools
As the population in Squaw Creek Township grew, schools became an important part of the rural community. Many schools not only served as an education center for the children, but also as a community hall and sometimes even a church.
Schools included:
Cool School (District #1, Section 11) was established in the early 1870's. A new school was built in the center of the district in 1898. This school had a very large blackboard, something not all schools had especially of this caliber, that was donated by one of the community members.
Honey Creek School (District #6, Section 25) was built sometime in the 1880's but did not exist on maps by 1902. Very little is known about this school including if students were incorporated into Thorn School or Liberty Center upon it's closure.
Indian Valley School (District #6, Sections 14 and 23) was built in the early 1870's and named after the area in which it resided. Indian Creek ran through the valley of the area. The school was initially built in Section 23, but later moved to Section 14.
Mt Tabor School (District #4, Section 19) was the first school in Squaw Creek Township being built in 1857 on the SE corner of Franklin Keller's property. In 1908 the Township authorized a new school building to be built as long as the cost did not exceed $900.00! The school was modeled after the Medora school that was built in 1906.
Medford/Hutt School (District #3, Section 8) served as a school, church and community center until a new church was built in 1892. The township had a district system established but those in the Medford district, located in the northwest corner of Squaw Creek Township, disagreed with the policies and reverted to its original independent district status. The school was then consolidated with New Virginia in the 1940's.
Medora School (District #8, Section 27) was built in 1874 and was located on the west side of the road just south of Medora. This was one of the schools that also served as a church and community hall. The school was prone to flooding being between Skinaway and Toad Run Creeks often leaving the children and teach stranded before parents could get their horses and wagons in to get them home. In 1906 a new school was built on higher grounds. The school house was sold in 1945, torn down and the lumber provided someone a new house in Indianola.
Pleasant View/Forman School (District #9, Section 32), also nicknamed "Hells Half Acre", was built around 1881. It was located on the corner of the old Nicholson farm which is located at the corner of 85th Avenue and Virginia Street. It received its nickname due to a troublesome group of boys who sometimes attended in the winter months. This school closed in 1943-1946 due to lack of enrollment and the students attended Mt. Tabor. In the early 1950's the school district was integrated with the New Virginia Consolidated School.
Squaw Center School (District #5, Section 21), located on what is now Union Street, was established with the first school year being in 1874. A fun fact about this school is that some of the attendees were members of the Hossack family as it was located very close to their farm. This school too was closed in 1951 and consolidated with New Virginia. The building was moved, but later burned down.
Squaw Valley School (District #2, Section 3), located in the North Central portion of the township, was also established with the first school year being in 1874. According to a county superintendent in 1874, this school was the only log schoolhouse in the county and it did not contain blackboards. In 1879 a new school was built for Squaw Valley. The school was located on a muddy, clay road making some children dread the walk after it rained or snowed. The school closed in 1925, but reopened in 1926 because the closest school was in Cool, which meant a long cold ride on a horse in winter months for young children. The school closed for the final time in 1950 and was torn down. The lumber was used by a New Virginia resident to remodel his home.
Thorn School (District #7, Section 26) was also known as Buzzard's Roost in the early years. It was originally located two miles east and one miles south of Medora, but was later moved one mile to the west from it's location. The school closed in 1956 and was moved once again to a location that was one and a half miles to the East of Medora on Hwy G76. It was then used as a dwelling.
This image and the small summary of information above was taken from the book Rural Schools in Warren County, Iowa 1847 - 1859 available for purchase at the Warren County Historical Society in Indianola, Iowa.
Churches
Fairview Christian Union Church was established in 1893. The members first met in the Cool school house until the church was built in 1894. The church burnt in the winter of 1914-1915, but that would not stop the members. A new building was erected by July 1916. In the fall of 1958 the building was blocked up and a basement was dug. Services were held at the Brown's Chapel Church which was not active at the time. By Spring of 1859, the basement was completed and services resumed. In 2005, the church purchased property on Highway 69 and built a new church that is still in operation today.
Medford United Methodist Church was established in 1892. Several in the Medford area felt it was time to have a church so they gathered at the school for an all day picnic and discussed all the particulars of where and how to build the church. The church opened it's doors for the first time in January of 1893. During the service, doors were locked and no one could leave until subscriptions to pay for the church had been raised. In all $2,600 were raised. Due to declining attendance, this church closed it's doors in the 1960's.
Mt Tabor Methodist Episcopal Church was established in 1855 when Franklin and Ellen Keller helped organize it. Initially meetings were held in homes of the neighbors. When Mt. Tabor School was built in 1857 on the southeast corner of the Kellers' farm, the meetings were held there each sunday. They worshipped there until 1874 when the building for the church was built. The church closed it's doors in the mid 1940's when it was sold to the Methodist conference. The building was later purchased by an individual owner who used it for storage.
Plainview United Methodist Church was built in Section 1 of the township in 1903. It was across from the Shaver Cemetery (which is in Liberty Township). There is little known about this church but occassional services were held until sometime in the early 1920's. The building was torn down and the land reverted to the farm owner in 1924.
Medora United Methodist Church was dedicated free of debt April 4, 1895 and continues to serve the community. In the late 1880's, both Methodists and Presbyterians were holding services in a small school house along the Skinaway Creek. The Presbyterians later built a church which served both denominations. The Methodists broke off and built their own church by purchasing a Methodist Church building in Ohio Township in Madison County. They tore down that structure and moved it to it's current location in Medora. Sunday services have been held each week with the exception of winter storms or during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In the mid 1950's, Medora joined with New Virginia, Medford and Liberty churches in becoming the New Virginia Community Parish. Medford and Liberty churches have since closed and the Parish is now known as the New Virginia-Medora Larger Parish. In 1959, a new basement was dug under the church building and in 2000-2001, the West room of the basement was built to offer more seating and Sunday School space. The basement is also used for meetings, weddings, luncheons and as the place for Squaw Creek Township residents to cast their votes during elections and gather for caucuses.
Eight ladies met at the Methodist Church on October 5, 1907 to form a Ladies Aid Society. Their preamble was "Desiring to assist in every possible way the work of the church in this community of Medora, Iowa, and having as a definite objective the advancement of the cause of Christ, we the ladies of said community do organize ourselve into a Ladies Aid Society." The title and cause have remained constant throughout the years. An interesting note from their first meeting is that men would be allowed to join by paying the 10 cent dues, but they would not be able to vote. There is no record of any man ever joining. However, to this day, the dues are still 10 cents to join. It was also decided at their first meeting to piece a log cabin quilt to be sold the following spring at a bazaar. This started the tradition of having an annual bazaar with hand-made quilts as the main attraction. The bazaar used to be held in the basement of the church but it has gotten so popular that in 1993, they moved it to the Isaack Walton League by the entrance of Lake Ahquabi. It is held the 2nd Friday of November. The Ladies Aid still meets on Thursdays to quilt and have a potluck lunch. Several local men drop in at noon to enjoy a home cooked meal and visit.
Thank you to the members of the Medora Methodist Church for historical information regarding their church and the Ladies Aid Society. They also provided the above hand drawn map of Medora from their historical information showing the village of Medora in 1906.
Much of the history found on this website is courtesy of Warren County Historical Society in Indianola, Iowa and the many books they have available. For more history about Iowa and Warren County, you can visit them, your local library or view several versions of the book History of Warren County online. Note: in this book and many historical archives Squaw Creek Township is referred to as Squaw Township. In the early years, when the Trustees met notes were taken by hand and often times Squaw Creek was written as Squaw. This did not mean the name of the township changed, just often times "abbreviated".