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Welcome to Historic Ely, Iowa
Sponsored by the Ely Historic Preservation Commission and the Ely Community
History Society, Inc., these pages showcase on-going historical projects:
 | Preservation of historically significant buildings in the town of Ely |
| Elys "Dows Street Historic District" now listed on the
National Register of Historic Places |
| The Ely Community Center building now listed on the National Register
of Historic Places |
| Preservation of history of the town and surrounding rural community,
including Shueyville & the unincorporated town of Western. |
| Development of the Ely Community History Center and Archives Room at the
Ely Community Center building |
Ely is a community with strong Czech ethnic identity and a
well-documented history of the patterns typical of Iowa small town growth.
The small Dows Street commercial district with its wood-frame late Victorian
buildings is most unusual and has been listed on the National Register of
Historic Places as of November 14, 2003. The Ely school house, now the Ely
Community Center, was listed on on the National Register of Historic Places September 20, 2006. Because of Elyıs location in the northern part of the booming
corridor between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, its population has more than tripled in the
past fifteen years and is now approximately 1,500. Encircling
residential developments threaten the cohesion of the town and weaken its
self-image. A 2002 survey of the citizens, new and old, shows a strong
desire to maintain small town identity and values. Preservation and
documentation of Ely's small town history strengthens that goal.
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MAP: Scan of the Ely area
from an 1897 State of Iowa Railroad Map, with Ely at right center. The
dividing line between Linn County on the north, and Johnson County on the
south runs just below "Western College", which is now the
unincorporated town of Western. Shueyville is less than a mile south
of Western.
Danforth, a post office from 1858 to 1901, was located
in Sec. 3, Monroe Township, Johnson County, west of where the town of Swisher now stands. Gregg, located in the eastern part of Sec. 14, Monroe
Township,
Johnson County, was a post
office from 1879 to
1899.
Web Site by B.
Horak
Updated 7/2/10 |
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