Courthouses were a big boost for the economies of frontier towns, and they were willing to do nearly anything to get them. When a long-running courthouse feud started again in Clinton County, Iowa, in the mid-1800’s, a group of local citizens decided to not take these insults lying down.
Courthouses are, without a doubt, iconic structures within our civilized societies. However, many people would probably be shocked to discover the lengths – both legal and illegal – that pioneers would go to in order to get one To many people, courthouses represent justice. They promise us law and order, that we will be judged …
The Missing Bell – The Clinton County, Iowa Courthouse War Read More »
John David owed Arvid Helloian a debt. Arvid was content to wait to be paid back, until a family crisis back in Armenia forced him to ask for immediate repayment. When John David refused, Helloian snapped, leading to one of the most shocking crimes of 1921.
It was cold that early February morning as the men set out for work. Many of them were originally from Armenia, a small county in Eastern Europe. Like so many had before them, these men were either running from something bad in the old county, looking to capture a piece of the prosperity and …
When Olive Funk was killed, nearly everyone saw it happen. While shocking, it would reveal a series of tangled secrets and lies buried beneath the idyllic façade of a small Iowa town.
The handgun glinted in the sun, shaking slightly with the ragged breaths taken by the woman holding it. She lay in the middle of the street, covered in dirt. The woman yelled at her attacker to stop, voice tinged with fear and anger. Her assailant, a wide-eyed, bedraggled looking woman, simply stared back …
In 1906, everyone loved Grace Reed. Everyone wanted to be her friend. But one man wanted her too much, and his obsession would drive him to make sure that no one else would ever have her, either.
Mary Schultz was a young, well-educated 20-year-old with her whole life ahead of her. When she married Henry Schultz, she thought that her future would be even brighter. Mary was wrong.
After a long, cold winter, spring had finally arrived in Pleasant Valley, Iowa. Patches of brown grass, buried for months under snow and ice, were starting to turn green again with new life. Flowers began to bloom again in a vivid array of colors, splashing hues of bright blues, oranges, and reds across a …
Heartrending events in the life of Margaretha Nehlsen had brought her to the very depths of despair. No one knew that she was about to cause an even more horrific tragedy.
