RINGGOLD ROOTS SALUTES MT. AYR IA

TERRY, JOHNSTON, JONES, WINDLE, REGER, SHELLER, HAGAN, MCCORMICK

Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 5/22/2010 at 02:54:04

Ringgold Roots
Ringgold County Genealogical Society
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County
Vol. 1, p. 5.
January, 1980

RINGGOLD ROOTS SALUTES MT. AYR

This quarter Ringgold Roots has selected the town of Mt. Ayr, Iowa, to highlight.

Mt. Ayr was established in 1855 and is the County seat for Ringgold County. It has grown to the present population as of the 1970 Federal census of 1,762. Why Mt. Ayr for a name? The following answer comes from an excerpt from the book A Centennial History of Mount Ayr, Iowa, copyright 1975 by Jack R. TERRY. The Ringgold Record of April 1903, asked the same question and printed this answer in it's issue of May 7, 1903, from Captain Andrew JOHNSTON of Liberty township, a propserous farmer and stock raiser:

"I had an intimate acquaintance with George W. JONES, one of the commissioners to locate our county seat. In years since, he stated to me in answer to this query that at the time of his departure on this business, his brother-in-law, Mr. WINDLE, of Carthage, Illinois, was on a visit with his family, and that he said to him, 'WINDLE, please suggest a name for this new site.' Mr. WINDLE said, 'I think Ayr of Scotland one of the prettiest names on the map, and I would recommend that you take the most elevated site possible and name it Mt. Ayr.' Mr. JONES said the commissioners were pleased with the name and so it was called. Mr. WINDLE was afterwards proprietor of the REGER Store in Mt. Ayr."

Ezra WINDLE then, is the man to whom the credit goes for naming the town. Street names in the original town were evidently chosen by Judge James HAGAN or John SHELLER, or both men, for they appear on the original plat by Surveyor McCORMICK.

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, May of 2010