Cottage was an unincorporated community in Hardin County, in the U.S. state of Iowa.[1]

Cottage, Iowa
Cottage, Iowa is located in Iowa
Cottage, Iowa
Cottage, Iowa
Coordinates: 42°24′16″N 93°18′37″W / 42.40444°N 93.31028°W / 42.40444; -93.31028
CountryUnited States
StateIowa
CountyHardin
Elevation
1,112 ft (339 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID466249[1]

Geography edit

Cottage was located at 42°24′16″N 93°18′37″W / 42.40444°N 93.31028°W / 42.40444; -93.31028,[1] on what is now J Avenue.

History edit

 
Cottage in central Hardin County, Iowa, in 1902

A post office named Cottage was established in Ellis Township in Section 29 in 1860; this was later moved to Section 32.[2]

In 1870, the Cottage townsite was platted on the corners of Sections 28, 29, 32, and 33 of Ellis Township. Historian William J Moir noted that the community conducted good business for several years following its founding.[3]

Andrew Bronson established a store in Cottage in 1870. W.A. Caraway established a cheese factory and a general store in Cottage in 1881–1882. A.P. Jensen established a blacksmith shop in 1874.[2] Cottage Community Church and a school also operated in the community.

The Cottage Cemetery Association was founded in 1873. Soon thereafter, a cemetery was formed north of the townsite.[3]

Cottage's population was 52 in 1902,[4] but over the years, the community dissolved. The townfolk hoped for a railroad, but the Des Moines and St. Paul Railroad bypassed Cottage in favor of nearby Buckeye. By 1911, the community was mostly abandoned. However, Cottage still maintained its school at that time. The Cottage school had one teacher.[3]

Cottage Cemetery, on county road J Avenue,[5] still marks the site of the community.

Gehrke Wildlife Area, just north of the cemetery on J Avenue, is a 6.5 acres (0.026 km2) wilderness area on the South Fork of the Iowa River. Fishing and hunting are allowed.[6]

See also edit

Macy, Iowa

References edit

  1. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cottage, Iowa
  2. ^ a b History of Hardin County, Iowa, Together with Sketches of Its Towns, Villages and Townships, Educational, Civil, Military and Political History; Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Representative Citizens: History of Iowa, Embracing Accounts of the Prehistoric Races, and a Brief Review of Its Civil, Political and Military History. Union Publishing Company. 1883. pp. 657–658.
  3. ^ a b c Moir, William J. (1911). Past and Present of Hardin County, Iowa. Unigraphic. pp. 93, 294–295.
  4. ^ Cram's Modern Atlas: The New Unrivaled New Census Edition. J. R. Gray & Company. 1902. pp. 203–207.
  5. ^ "Hardin County Cemeteries". Hardin County GIS Department. February 11, 2013. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  6. ^ "Gehrke Wildlife Area - Hardin, IA". www.mycountyparks.com. Retrieved December 2, 2022.