Washington Township - Towns Histories
Last updated 04 March 2021
Harve
In the early days Havre was called Havre with a short "a" not Haver with a long "a" as it is so commonly pronounced today. It is believed that trainmen were the ones who changed the name, the "brakie" would yell ":Haver" and it carried through today.
The town of Havre has had three bad fires, two general merchandise stores and one elevator.
At one time there was an inland post office named Lake. The post office got its name from the fact that most of the land where the town stood was under water. The men would often go out in skiffs to fish. Millions of frogs made Havre very musical and one man was known to have remarked the town should have been named Frogtown.
At one time there was a blacksmith shop and for some time a railroad agency. In the early thirties the elevator was torn down and that time there still was a stockyard and a store operated by S. C. Wittmer and six residences in the town. Wittmer's store was closed around 1950.
The Havre school was at one time known as a Benson school. During the summer Sunday School and preaching wee conducted in the building. In the winter there were singing schools, literaries, spelling school and other meetings.
Havre was located on the Burlinton Railroad and was situated about five miles southeast of Washington.
The town was surveyed and a plat made dividing it into blocks and alleys. his was in June 1881 and T. N. Barhydt had the surveying done.
Source: WCGS Fall/Winter 2005 newsletter and Atlas of Keokuk and Washington Counties, Iowa (1971). This page was prepared and posted by Norma Jennings Dec 2012
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