Museum Hrs. May 15 - Sept 15 12-4 Saturdays
Open by appointment other days

May is National Preservation Month, designated to "raise awareness about the power historic preservation has to protect and enhance our homes, neighborhoods and communities. It provides an opportunity to celebrate the diverse and unique heritage of our country's cities and towns, and enables all of us to become involved in the growing preservation movement." The National Trust for Historic Preservation (Preservationation.org)

This year, the theme is This Place Matters. DiscoverAdel.com has asked Jan Price of the Adel Historical Society to help showcase this theme by highlighting the historical points of reference throughout the history of Adel. 

Jan has been the volunteer manager of the historical museum for the past 4 years. She grew up in Adel, and recently returned to the community with her husband Donald in 1999. When they retired, after more than 30 years of professional careers in education, they moved to Adel and purchased a home on Locust St.

Jan and Donald love living in Adel and have become active in various organizations. Jan was gracious enough to help Discover Adel readers answer the questions of how this small community came to be.

Q.What is a brief history of Adel?
A. Dallas County was made available for settlement on April 30, 1843. A year previous the land was purchased from the Sac and Fox Indians and it was stipulated in the contract that all Indians were to be removed within a period of 3 years.

In 1846 Iowa was admitted into the United States. James Polk was President and the Vice President was George Mifflin Dallas. Our county was named after him.

In 1846 our county was organized. The first settler in Adel Township was Samuel Miller who settled in what became known as the Miller Settlement. It was a short distance east of where Adel was later built. There is a stone monument on the north side of Highway 6 marking the settlement and the Miller cemetery is on the south side of the highway. There the first sheriff of Adel, Jesse K. Miller, is buried. Samuel Miller built his log cabin during the winter of 1847-48 and used it for the 1st schoolhouse in Dallas County.

 In 1847 a new town given the name of Penoach, an Indian word meaning "far away" came into existence. The original town plot extended from the Raccoon River to High (11th) Street and from Grove Street south to Greene Street. This town not only became Dallas County's first settlement to be classed as a town but it was selected as the county seat by the state legislature that same year. About 2 years afterward in the fall of 1849 the name of Penoach was changed to Adel in honor of "a very pretty child with a prettier mother".

Q.Who can be considered the "Founding Fathers" of Adel?
A.
Leroy Lambert: During his life in Dallas County, he was one of the leading businessmen.

He was elected to the state legislature in 1853,1858, 1860, 1861, and 1869. In 1868 he entered into banking opening the first
bank in Dexter, Iowa with Martin Smith.

Later, in 1869 they opened the
Dallas County Bank in Adel.

In 1850 he was active in starting up the Christian Church.

Dr. T. J. Caldwell came to Adel in 1853.

He was repeatedly elected to Mayor.

He was the president of the railroad built from Waukee to Adel and continued its president until after its extension to Jefferson.

He was for many years the president of the Adel State Bank.

S.H. Greene was one of the first settlers in Adel. He was a promoter of Adel's early railroad. His store was located where the jail now stands. Greene Street was named after him.

He was the father of Arletta Clarke who married Governor George Washington Clarke.

They were the grandparents of Nile Kinnick.

J.B. White was a lawyer of unusual ability
and also a man of rank in literary circles.

He taught school in Adel in 1873 and was active in business, civic political education,
and religious and social matters.

George Washington Clarke moved to Adel in 1877. He served four years as Justice of the Peace and in 1882 formed a law partnership with John B. White.

He was successful in the legal field. He was twice the speaker of the House of Representatives. He was Lieutenant Governor from 1909-1913 and became the 21st Governor of Iowa for 2 terms from 1913 to 1917. After stepping down as Governor, he was Dean of Drake University Law School from 1917-18 and practiced law in Des Moines.

Q. How was Downtown established?
A. A state road was established across the state of Iowa and passed through Adel. This road from the East crosses the Raccoon River by ferry, and then followed, what is now Main Street on west, to California. It was heavily traveled during the "Gold Rush". The third courthouse was located in the same place that the current courthouse is located. It was here that the downtown began to develop. The original town plot extended from the North Raccoon River to High (11th) Street and from Grove Street south to Greene Street.

Q. When did the Dallas County Fair begin?
A. The Agriculture Society was organized in Adel on December 31, 1855. Archibald Crowe was elected chairman responsible for organizing the very first fair. In 1903, twenty-three acres on the north side of town was purchased for $3,200.00. With the exception of a few years, the fairs were held on this land, which became know as Riverside Park (now Kinnick Feller Park).

Q. How did the Adel Historical Society enter the picture?
A. The Adel Historical Society was organized September 26, 1972 with 30 charter members. They purchased the building that stands at 1128 Main Street.

This two-story brick building, built in 1857, was used as the second Adel schoolhouse for 12 years and then for many years after that as a residence for different families. For 26 years the Society used this building as its headquarters, improving the structure, collecting antiques and using the building for card parties, potlucks and other activities to raise money to support the museum.

In October of 1998 the Society disbanded, deeding its 129-year-old schoolhouse to the city. The city raised money along with a $7,000.00 grant given by the State Historical Society of Iowa for a new roof and a heating, cooling and ventilation system. Main Street Chamber Offices were located in the building. More renovations were made as contributions came in.

The Chamber offices were later moved to the new city hall (the former Adel Manufacturing Company making bonnets and gloves). The former chamber offices were made into a museum shop where many items relating to Adel are sold.

The upkeep for the museum is now paid for by the City of Adel. The museum contains 8 rooms filled with artifacts from the history of Adel.

The museum is run by a volunteer manager with the support of a Museum Committee consisting of members from three Questers' organizations: Like Skillet, Raccoon Valley and George Mifflin Dallas. Donations are given regularly by Adel Women's Club, the Questers' groups and the Adel Historic Preservation Commission.

Volunteers throughout the community help with opening and manning the museum on Saturdays from May to September. Other times the museum may be toured by reservation. by calling 993-1032. The two main events of the Adel Historical Museum are the Holiday Home Tour in December and the Corn Festival in August.

Q. What is the Adel Historic Preservation Commission?
A. The commission was formed in the mid 1990s by the Adel City Council. In 2002 the commission received a grant from the State Historic Preservation Office of the State Historical Society of Iowa (SHPO) to do an intensive survey and evaluation of the downtown commercial district surrounding the courthouse. In 2006 the commission received another grant from the SHPO to nominate the Adel Public Square District to the National Register of Historic Places. The nomination was to be completed in June of 2008. As of this date the commission is waiting for word that Adel has received the nomination. The courthouse and the Wagon Bridge are already on the National Register.

Q. What is Adel's connection to the Circus?
A. Ortonville, located between Adel and Waukee on Highway 6 was named after Hiram Orton, who moved to the site in 1866.

But Ortonville wasn't just any town. It was home to a traveling circus show that started in 1852. Orton purchased nearly 200 acres as the winter headquarters for the circus. At one time the community of Ortonville included a cafe and grocery store, gasoline station, elevator, post office, stockyard and two telephone companies.

The show animals were over wintered at Ortonville because the fertile soil provided good crops and grain for the animals. The circus traveled by horse drawn wagon from one community to the next, making their way throughout the upper Midwest. According to one source, the Orton Circus was the largest wagon circus in the world. Animals in the circus included monkeys, horses, elephants, lions, dogs, camels, tigers and leopards. Additional entertainment was provided by a band, trapeze artists, tight wire and slack wire walkers, swinging ladder and rolling globe performers, contortionists and acrobats.

Q. What are some of the historic aspects of town?
A. J. C. Corbell built the first house in the town in the fall of 1847. It was used as a dwelling house and post office. The first brick building in the town was a one-story structure occupied for many year by G. W. Campbell who operated a tailor shop.

The first two-story building was the school built in 1857. The first hotel in the town was a small story and half house managed by R.R. Bailey. Soon afterward Jacob Frush built the Plank House which was the temporary home of many pioneer travelers and also headquarters for the first station west of Des Moines on the stage coach line.

The first church in Adel was the Christian Church organized in 1847 by Elder John P. Glenn. The Presbyterians started a church in 1856, as did the Methodists about the same year. The first newspaper in Adel was "The Ship of State" published in 1856. The first bank was established in the early 1850s by J. R. Van Meter. The first electric light plant was built by W. W. Hancock and L. M. Macy. The first flourmill was built in 1856 by J. H. Strong and J. H. Moffatt. The first tile and brick factory was started by Kerns and Hubbard in 1882.

Q. What can you tell us about the Nile Kinnick Museum?
A. Currently, we do not have a Nile Kinnick Museum. We have an Adel Historic Museum at 1129 Main Street, but we have begun to talk about building on a Nile Kinnick addition to the 1857 schoolhouse.

There is to be an auction April 20th at which time three items will be up for sale: A 1940 American Legion Program signed by Nile Kinnick, Nile Kinnick's 1939 Iowa University Letterman's sweater and a 1935 high school football leather helmet probably used by him when he played football in Adel. We would like to purchase these three items for the future museum addition but presume they will go for a very high sum.

To find out how to help in this effort, or for tour information contact Jan Price at 993-1032.

Our interview took place in Mark's home, which is a show home for Heefner Construction. This custom home is 1500 square feet designed in the Mission Style. There are many impressive features to this home, such as the large living room with built in speakers and custom oak cabinetry throughout.

The house has taken advantage of every square foot by avoiding the use of empty spaces and hallways. The master bathroom is a great example, which optimizes the use of every inch, complete with a large, custom shower and personal whirlpool bath. Mark recommends the smaller whirlpools to cut down on filing time and water use. The well-designed kitchen is functional and roomy, complete with an island. 

Mark remembers a custom kitchen design that incorporated the needs of a local couple. They were able to find a way to blend both a mudroom and old-fashioned pantry together into the kitchen.

Next we moved onto the basement, which is designed with kids in mind! The home theater area has 7.1 Surround Sound and room to seat the entire family. Rather than having a big box store design and wire the home theater, Mark designed and wired the basement himself and was able to reduce the costs by $3500! There is a room to the side of the theater that would be great for games such as Foosball or Darts or a great play area of younger children!

The basement is also a wood basement, which helps keep the temperature comfortable all year long. The basement uses daylight windows to bring light into the bedrooms. One of the best features of the home is that everything is well insulated, making the house quieter. If you've stayed in other so called "custom" homes, you know how thin the walls are, which is not the case with any Heefner Construction projects. With Anderson Windows that guarantee a 25-year warranty, this house is the definition of well made.

For those interested, this Energy Star, 4 bedroom, 2 bath home will soon be listed for approximately $250,000. Contact Mark and Dan at 515-993-3376 or 515-993-4015 for more information!

Since 1973, Mark and Dan Heefner have designed and built 90 custom homes. These truly custom homes are designed on paper to the customer's specifications. Unlike other "cookie-cutter" homes, Heefner Construction does not have predetermined layouts to choose from or a limited number of concepts. 

If you can imagine it, Heefner Construction can design and build it for you. For example, their largest home, estimated at $750,000, required the design of a curved wall in the master bedroom. Mark has since begun to build a custom headboard to match the arch of the wall, something you cannot buy at the local bed store. 

It is very apparent, while visiting the workshop, that Mark takes pride in his work.  His custom built workbench is a work of art, complete with a down draft register. The exhaust system in the shop allows Mark to work all day without bringing sawdust into his home. If a work area defines an individual's work, Mark's shop shows his pride, skill, and talent at every corner. One of the most impressive features of the shop is the 22x40 slab of concrete laid for the floor. Because the floor is heated with plastic tubing under the concrete there are no cracks! It also allows Mark to work all day without the pains that concrete floors have made notorious.
 
Their love of building houses started at a young age when Mark and Dan helped their father build a house. By the time the brothers were in high school they had built a garage and kitchen! Now, as the economy changes, Mark has begun to build custom furniture pieces as well.

One of the best things about Heefner Construction is the quality of work put into every project. Mark tells us about a simple Entertainment Center that he built for one of his children. As he drove down the interstate at 70 mph the large, 250 lb Entertainment Center was caught by a gust of wind and thrown from the truck. Had this been any other, store bought piece of furniture, it would have shattered. Mark's Entertainment Center held together, and other than one minor repair, is in fantastic condition! Heefner Construction aims to give people value and quality at a reasonable cost, which is apparent in everything that they do.

Heefner Construction believes in keeping the money in the community. This family run company understands the importance of shopping locally. Any supplies, services or appliances that can be purchased in Adel are, those that cannot are purchased at stores who employ Adel individuals. Mark states that when Heefner Construction is looking for new subcontractors, like the painter they are currently seeking, they look to the community first.

Mark and his family are involved with the community in many ways. Heefner Construction is a member of the Adel Partners Chamber of Commerce. Mark contributes to the Adel DeSoto Minburn sports programs. When the softball fields next to the high school were redone a few years ago, Mark was able to contribute 1500-2000 hours towards the cause. Dan is very involved with the Panther Creek Church.

The main reason Mark entered this business was because he loves woodworking as well as the challenge
of designing something different.

Heefner Construction is based on
integrity, honesty, and truthfulness. 

Contact Heefner Construction at 515-993-3376 or 515-993-4015 to find out how Mark and Dan can help with your custom home and furniture needs!