Monday, August 3rd, 2009, we went on another road trip through Decatur and Ringgold Counties. It was a glorious August morning. The sun was shining - off and on - the birds were singing. I don't recall seeing that many turkey vultures before - they seemed to be everywhere. The corn and beans were growing nicely in the fields.

Our first stop was at Westerville, located approximately 3 to 5 miles north of Grand River in Decatur County. Westerville used to be a booming little town. My great-great-grandfather Michael FOLAND had a harness shop there, and a gristmill east of town. When the CB&Q railroad came through, the folks at Westerville didn't want the town to become a railhead. So CB&Q founded Grand River in 1881. Needless to say, this was the death knoll for Westerville. All that remains now is the old Westerville school, a few homes, and the Westerville Cemetery northwest of where the town once stood and thrived.

There was an old iron bridge directly east of Westerville, spanning the Grand River. It was kind of creepy even when I was a child. The wooden flooring thumped and bumped when a car passed over it. The iron groaned and ground, metal shifting against metal. Sometime, I can't remember the exact year - in the early to mid-1970's - a gentleman crashed his car into the bridge, sending the bridge down into the Grand River. The man was not injured severely and walked away from the accident. I believe someone told me the car and the bridge didn't fare as well. The county put up road blocks on both the east and west side of the road and left the bridge dangling into the Grand River. The last time I was at the Westerville Bridge (2004), the bridge was still dangling into the river. When I stopped there this time I was amazed to see that the road blocks have been taken down and part of the road on the west bank is being used as a driveway for the old McGRAW place. The rest of the road has been taken over by grass. The iron has all been removed now, leaving only the old weathered wooden trussels of the bridge.

Alice Ellen (OWENS) McGRAW was born on a farm near Beaconsfield on April 7, 1899, the daughter of John and Kathryn (DAUGHTON) OWENS. She graduated from Ellston High School in 1916 and on May 30, 1927, married Raymond McGRAW. They resided in the glorious Victorian house located directly west of the Westerville Bridge where they raised four daughters. I believe that the house was built by Raymond's parents. Raymond was born in 1892, and died in 1971.

I visited Alice a few times, marveling in the rich wonders of the house - native timber woodwork which had never been touched by a speck of paint, the wooden columns with built-in glassed bookcases that divided the parlor from the dining room, a wonderful home. Alice died on October 30, 1991, at Westview Acres in Leon, Iowa, at the age of 92. She was interred beside Raymond at the Grand River Cemetery.

The McGRAW house is the only remaining original Westerville residence. The only other remaining original building is the Westerville School. The other homes date back to probably the 1940's or 1950's.

Many of the old Victorian homes in Grand River are still there. They are being renovated one at a time. Last May when we drove through, one along J-20 west of Main Street was being fixed up. The job has been completed. These Victorian homes were all painted white when I was a kid. Then the streets were lined with elm trees providing a canopy of green during the summer months. It was a glorious time to be a kid, walking or riding a bike down the shaded streets. Unfortunately, when the Dutch Elm disease swept through Iowa, all of those wonderful elm trees died.

Irma O. writes, saying, "As to the large home in Grand River, it seems I've heard that the Van Werdan family lived t here before moving to Leon.

We proceeded west on J-20, leaving Decatur County behind us. Next stop - Ellston, Ringgold County, Iowa.

Photographs by Sharon R. Becker, August 3, 2009
Submitted by Sharon R. Becker, August of 2009