FYI, Montgomery County Plat Book 1949

RAILROADS --The east-west main line of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and the principal north-south branch bisect Montgomery County.

PRIMARY ROADS --There are 787 miles of primary and county roads in Montgomery. Primary highways 34, 48 and 71 cross the county in four directions. There are in the county 67.4 miles of paved concrete and black topped roads, 170 miles of graveled roads, and 550 miles of dirt.

INDUSTRIES -- While primarily agricultural, Montgomery county now has some 30 imported industries. Products include are calendars, printing and publishing, furnaces and incinerators, batteries, bottled beverages, cement, and brick construction materials, concrete vaults alfalfa dehydrators, stock powders and medicines, livestock feeds, baby chicks, machine shops, hybrid seed corn, popcorn processing, greenhouses, tools and dies.

FINANCE -- Montgomery is one of Iowa's best counties. It has no bonded indebtedness other than that incurred by the primary road bond payments, and those will be completed in 1950. In this county farm land and buildings are assessed at $23,080,700; city lots and buildings are assessed at $6,885,540; moneys and credits $3,415,792; utilities $4,497,440; and personal property is assessed at $5,011,380. The total county assessment is $42,890,852, not counting exemptions.

AGRICULTURE -- While industries account for several millions of dollars of business annually, corn, swine, cattle, and wheat are the basis of prosperity in this most fertile southwestern Iowa county. A market is as good as the ability of its purchasers to buy. These things make and give Montgomery county's market a purchasing power of extra- ordinary strength:

1. Annual production of well over 4,000,000 bushels of corn

2. Annual production of 57,589 tons of hay, 1,333,000 bushels of oats

3. Rock quarries furnishing limestone to farmers and capable of producing highway grade surfacing. Gravel pits.

PROGRESS -- Future development of Montgomery county is assured. Balanced agriculture and industry make a picture extremely healthy now, and in the future.

CHURCHES -- Montgomery county has many churches. In Red Oak alone there are 15. All are active, and membership over the county is increasing steadily.

CHRONOLOGY

Jan. 12, 1853	-- Montgomery linked to Adams county for judicial, revenue purposes.
August 1853	-- First county election
March 1854	-- Red Oak Jct. first land claims filed.
July 1854	-- County divided into two townships.
Aug. 31, 1856	-- Red Oak Baptist church organized
Nov. 17, 1856	-- First court convened at Frankfort.
March 1858	-- Post office transferred from Oro to Red Oak
May 1858	-- Villisca platted by railroad
1863	-- Election on relocating courthouse at Red Oak carried.
December 1866	-- Courthouse moved from Frankfort
March 1868	-- First issue of Montgomery county Express
July 1869	-- Red Oak Junction incorporated
October 1870	-- Stanton plat filed
Spring 1871	-- Lincoln school, Red Oak, constructed, graded school opened.
December 1875	-- East side of Red Oak square nearly wiped out by fire.
January 1876	-- Volunteer fire department organized
September 1876	-- Thirteen buildings on Coolbaugh street, Red Oak, burned
August 1878	-- First military company formed in Red Oak
October 1879	-- Town of Elliott platted
1881	-- Local telephone system started at Red Oak
November 1881	-- Red Oak Street Railway incorporated
1882	-- Red Oak Gas Company organized
1889	-- First art calendar printed by Osborne and Murphy Company
July 1890	-- Cornerstone of present courthouse laid
October 1891	-- Streets of Red Oak first lighted by electricity
December 1893	-- World's champion trotting horse, "Alix" sold to Morris Jones, Red Oak
July 1897	-- Flood damaged Red Oak
April 1898	-- Company M ordered out, went to Manila, P. I.
January 1899	-- New Red Oak high school dedicated
February 1899	-- Osborne calendar company moved to Newark, N. J.
1900	-- Thomas D. Murphy Co. organized
May 1901	-- 2,000 men worked on laying double rail track between Red Oak, Creston.
March 1902	-- First contract let for paving Red Oak's streets
April 24, 1902	-- A $200,000 fire levels south side of Red Oak square.
May 1902	-- Street railway service, Red Oak, abandoned
June 1916	-- Company M of Red Oak and Company F of Villisca ordered to the Mexican border.
June 1927	-- County voted $600,000.00 Bond Issue for hard surfaced roads.
May 1929	-- County voted additional $450,000.00 Bond Issue for additional
February 1941	-- Company M of Red Oak and Company F of Villisca ordered to Camp Claibourne, La.