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 Oakridge was the name of a little Quaker Church that was sponsored by
Cedar Creek Monthly Meeting, of the Society of Friends, in the year
1867.
It was located in Section 27, Range 71, Lot 7 In Tippecanoe Township in
Henry County, Iowa, three and one-half miles southwest of Oakland Mills.
The land which later was to furnish only half of the acreage for the
church building and church yard, was originally part of an 80-acre tract
which a man by the name of Thomas Wright had obtained from the United
States Government in 1840.
A few years later he sold it to Adam Casey for $300.00.
Sometime in the next several years, Adam Casey died and his heirs
conveyed one half acre from the northwest corner of the farm to the
trustees of Cedar Creek Monthly Meeting, to be used for church and
school purposes only, by John Corsbie and William Hammar and their
successors as trustees. This conveyance was made on January 1, 1867 for
a consideration of $5.00.
At the same time William Nickels and wife, owners of land adjoining the
Casey half acre, deeded one half acre from their farm – Section 28 to
Cedar Creek trustees for the same purpose. Thus, the Oakridge property
was half in Section 27 and half in Section 28.
Posts were driven along the south side of the yard for hitching posts
for those driving to church later.
The church was rightly named, as it was situated on a knoll surrounded
by great oak trees – not far from Big Cedar Creek, a small stream which
is a tributary of Skunk River.
A large area of this timber land adjoining both the Nickels farm and Big
Cedar Creek has in late years been turned over to Henry County for a
recreational area and is now known as Gibson Park.
It is not known when the church was built nor the cost of its building.
A record of these facts can probably be found in the Cedar Creek Monthly
Meeting minutes of that period which are stored in the Yearly Meeting
vault at Oskaloosa, Iowa.
Oakridge was a small wood building with three windows on each side and
with a door facing the east. Inside, there was a platform or pulpit in
the east end, north of the door.
School was held in this building for some time before the Prairie Gem
No. 9 schoolhouse was built one half mile east of the church.
It was recalled in later years by one who had attended the school, that
when “Fifth Day” meeting was held, the pupils, after the “First Recess”
put their books away and sat very quietly, while the church members
strolled in, took their places and held their meeting.
Sunday School, or Scripture School, as it was then called, was held only
during the summer months. At first only for three months – later, for
six months beginning in April.
Records through 1876-1878 show good attendance ranging from 30 up to 70
at various times.
The use of Sunday School quarterlies was not mentioned but it seems that
appointed leaders assigned certain Bible Chapters to be studies during
the week which were to be discussed by the classes on the following
“First Day” meeting.
Some of the names mentioned in the Minutes during 1876-1878 included
Milton Smith, who was superintendent, N.M. Hockett, Martha and Balser
Yakle, H.J. Woods, Clara and Sarah Hammar, Thomas Barton, Minnie Barton,
Lizzie Lupton, and Clara Trueblood. Many names have so faded out through
the years that they are illegible.
On August 20, 1876, Joel Terrel and Aaron Hoskins were two, appointed on
a committee of six, to procure six “Royal Diadem Songbooks.” Whether
these songbooks were for something special or whether just that many
more were needed is not recorded. Many years later Oakridge acquired an
organ, which was a great help in congregational singing.
Ministers from Cedar Creek and Salem Friends Church often came as
speakers for services.
Eli Parisho, a minister, who in 1901-02 was a teacher in Whittier
College in Salem, Iowa, at one time held a Revival Meeting at Oakridge.
He, his wife, and two young daughters, all lived at the Milton Smith
home while he conducted the meetings.
During the early years of the nineteen hundreds, Sunday School was still
held with good attendance on Sunday afternoons, but by 1915 due to
dwindling attendance, lack of former interest and possibly the
competition of other churches that were closer to the homes of many of
the church goers, it seemed wise to Cedar Creek to close the meeting at
Oakridge.
On December 20, 1915, Enos Maxwell and Bert Jay, then trustees at Cedar
Creek Monthly Meeting, conveyed the Casey half acre to the original farm
for the price of forty dollars, the farm then being owned by Henry W.
Trueblood.
At the same time, the trustees also conveyed the Nickel’s half acre to
its original farm which was then owned by Kiah Mills.
The Oakridge church building was sold and was removed to a site farther
west on the same farm where it was made into a barn for livestock.
Today, the barn is gone – nothing – not even the old doorstep of the
church remains. People driving by in automobile or motorcycle do not
even know that over a hundred years ago there was a lively Quaker Church
situated on that knoll by the side of the road on which they are
travelling.
We believe that God blessed the work at Oakridge and that this little
Quaker Church had an influence that left its mark on the community, not
only at that time, but in the many years that have passed since 1867.
by Nellie A. Trueblood - September, 1982
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Resource provided by Henry County Heritage Trust, Mount Pleasant,
Iowa, taken from “Cedar Creek Friends and Its People”, by Jean Hallowell
Leeper, 2007; transcription done by Liam Christensen, University of
Northern Iowa Public History Field Experience Class, Spring 2025.
Contributed to Henry County IAGenWeb March 2025.
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