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Lincoln
township, long noted as a settlement of Welsh people, is
located in the northwest corner of ,
Iowa. The first Welshmen to come to Lincoln township
were Benjamin Thomas and David and William Harris, who
came in the spring of 1855. The first recorded deed for
the sale of any land is in the year 1869, when 240 acres
was sold to Benjamin Thomas for a total consideration of
$420.00 or $1.75 per acre.
In 1870, John
W. Davis, Richard O. Jones and John E. Wood settled in
Lincoln township. They were followed the next year by
Henry Thomas, John G. Jones, Wm. T. Edwards, Griff J.
Jones, Griff Thomas and several others.
Thirteen
miles northwest of Red Oak, a village grew up in this
settlement called "Wales." It's population of
approximately 40 people has fluctuated very little
through the years.
During the
early years a little country store was erected by
William B. Hughes, who operated it for several years.
The lumber for the building was sent out on a wagon from
Omaha. Since the original store was built, there have
been several additions and the tore has been modernized
to a great extent. A popular owner of the store in
recent years was Clarence Wedell, affectionately known
as the "Prince of Wales." Strangely enough, he was
not of Welsh but of Swedish descent.
The Wales
store has always been a gathering place for the farmers
of the community, and still is very lively on Saturday
nights when the men gather in the south porch to have a
game of cards, or just sit and talk, while the women
gather around and visit about the topics of the day. For
many years on Saturday nights there were always "treats"
on the store, a big pot of coffee with plenty of
cookies, or ice cream, according to the season. Since
World War II, this feature has been given up.
In 1876, two
churches were built, the Congregational, located one
mile east of Wales, and the Presbyterian church located
in Wales. Both churches grew rapidly and the members
took an active part in all community projects. It
was in 1947 that the members of the Congregational
church decided that the burden of supporting two
churches in one community was too great, and they voted
to discontinue services in their, and the building was
dismantled.
In 1891 a
cheese factory was built by Evan T. Evans on the the
farm which is now owned by Daniel Finley, located one
mile south and one mile east of Wales. Mr. Evans made
all kinds of cheese, and he had a large export business.
shipping cheese to all parts of the United States. The
cheese factory was a booming business until 1903 when
Mr. Evans closed it, and gave his entire time and energy
to his farming operations.
A school was
built in Wales in approximately 1876. This one room
school building served for the education of the children
of the community until 1917, when it was voted that a
consolidated school be built in the place of the
original building. The new school building which
accommodates both grade and high school, has always been
a source of pride to the people of Wales. Four motor
buses bring pupils to school and return them to their
homes. Felix Netcell, a farmer, drove one of the school
buses for a period of 32 consecutive years, retiring in
1949. He never had an accident in all the years he was
driving.
In 1949 plans
were drawn for the construction of a new gymnasium ,
which building was completed in 1950. This building
serves as a community center.
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The first Wales Store -- a
meeting was held
at the Presbyterian Church close
by.
Taken in 1890
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Walnut Creek was so
named because of the abundance of black walnut trees
originally found along its course.
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