by Leigh Michaels and Michael W. Lemberger
1890 — Ottumwa, Iowa
The Coal Palace has just finished its first season, with another exhibition scheduled for 1891. Finishing touches are being put on the Opera House at the corner of Main and Jefferson. The new post office has just gone into service. Churches and schools, businesses and hotels are busy; houses from simple to grand march up the hills on the north side of the Des Moines River and spread across the plain on the south bank.
First published in 1890, Illustrated Review of Ottumwa, Iowa is a time capsule of the city’s progress and history just a few decades after its founding. Well over 100 years later, few copies of the original book survive to show the high hopes, big dreams, and excitement to be found in the city. This edition contains all of the text and photographs in the original, along with added illustrations from the 1890s. Text has been reset for added clarity and photographs are reproduced in a larger size than the original.