MELVIN.

The chapters below are from the 1914 book, Past and Present of O'Brien and Osceola Counties of Iowa and contain histories of the towns and townships of the county.

In the year 1900 the Gowrie branch of the Rock Island Railroad was finished to Sibley and the town of Melvin was platted and buildings began to go up on every hand. Now it is a busy little city, with grain elevators, stores, churches and a graded school. The streets are nicely graded and main street is heavily graveled. Melvin is situated in the midst of as fine an agricultural section as there is in the state and it gives that part of the county a good market.

The following are the principal business interests of the town; The railroad depot is on the eastern outskirts and H. I. Ramsey is the station agent. The Davenport Elevator Company is managed by Edward Jacobs.

The Farmers Elevator Company, recently reorganized, is managed by W. H. Hubbard and a board of directors. F. W. Year & Company buys and handles live stock. The Royal Lumber Company has extensive lumber yard and sheds. Their lumber is nearly all under cover. One of the prominent buildings is the Woodmen's hall, which also serves as a public hall. The lodge rooms are in the second story. This building was one of the first buildings in the town, having been originally erected by Peter Shaw, of Sibley. He conducted a pool hall and lunch counter eight years in the first story, while he occupied the second story as a residence. The Melvin Telephone Company is owned and operated by H. M. Quiggle, who is a son of the old homesteader, Frank Quiggle. This line has about two hundred and sixty patrons. The Melvin hotel is managed by Mrs. Frederica Zack. The German Savings Bank is in charge of George A. Schee, as cashier. The principal backer of this bank is George W. Schee, of Primghar. A. C. Boeke's hardware store and Joseph B. Bohlen's general store are flourishing establishments. George Kraft has the postoffice in his general store room. From this postoffice one rural route is run, covering twenty-eight miles and accommodating over one hundred patrons. L. A. Shields has a restaurant and lunch counter. Imhoff & Riecks have a lunch counter and pool hall. The First National Bank has George A. Romey as cashier and Arthur Evans as assistant cashier. The president of the bank is J. Fred Mattert, and vice-president, W. T. Steiner, both of Sibley. This bank is a strong institution and doing an extensive business. H. W. Jobes has the furniture and drug store and handles furniture, carpets, rugs, drugs, oils and paints. The meat market is conducted by C. D. Koontz. The "Poor Man's Theater" is conducted by Jobes & Graves. W. A. Fairbrother is a contractor and builder. Knapp & Banghert conduct a general store and carry a large stock for a town of this size. A. F. Buckholtz has a full line of farm implements and hardware. The Watchel Auto Company operates in Melvin and Sibley. and is managed by Joseph Wachtel. The barber shop is owned and operated by Frank Arrasmith. D. C. Steelsmith is the doctor and at present the representative of this county in the General Assembly. There is a garage, managed by Graves Brothers, who also handle agricultural implements. A. G. Myrell is the blacksmith. A saloon is run by Henry E. Massmann. The Melvin Argus, a local and Democratic newspaper, is owned and edited by Charles W. Scott. The Hanford Creamery Company has a cream station here managed by Lyle Daggett. The town owns a building used for a town hall, which also contains the lighting plant and fire apparatus. The city feed barn is a large cement block structure. It can accommodate two hundred teams and is managed by H. D. Year. The town has three churches, the German Lutheran, Rev. Alberts, pastor; the Methodist Episcopal, with J. A. Smith as pastor, and a German Reform church. The Hollanders hold services but as yet have no building. The farmers own a successful creamery. A. L. Blackmore and Louis Frederking are painters and paper hangers. John Gontges and Rudolph Hokuf run city drays. The city officers of Melvin are as follows: H. J. Ramsey, mayor; Arthur M. Evans, clerk; George Kraft, George A. Romey, P. J. Knapp, C. D. Koontz, W. F. Arrasmith, councilmen; Henry Bangert, assessor; Frank Knapp, marshal.

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