Originally called Schooler Grove in the 1840's after Charles Harrison SCHOOLER, Ringgold City was the first settlement in Ringgold County. When SCHOOLER's wife and infant daughter Manoah B. died, SCHOOLER established the first cemetery in Ringgold County. Laid out as a town in 1855, the same year as when Ringgold County was organized, Ringgold City was located on the Dragoon Trace, a natural trail through the county and one that had been used by the Native Americans and later the Dragoon militia.

Dr. Franklin B. "Frank" LOCKE was an important member during the early days of the Ringgold Church. He was born around the year 1839 in Vermont. Dr. LOCKE was an Evangelical preacher and a medical doctor. He married Mary A. BEAR on June 7, 1878 in Ringgold County. Dr. LOCKE had an office at Blackmore Corner, Ringgold City, and later at Wirt, present-day Ellston. The Wirt Evangelical Church was organized in the 1870's and Dr. LOCKE did some of his preaching there. Dr. LOCKE died at the age of 43 years on January 22, 1896, and was interred at Middle Fork Cemetery in Ringgold County. Mary A. (BEAR) LOCKE was born on September 15, 1850 in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and died in Selma, California, on May 28, 1930. The LOCKES were instrumental in the building of the Ringgold Evangelical Church.

The church was built in 1885. Isaac ZINN who was at the time a young man of nineteen or twenty years, "helped prepare the timber for the framework of the Ringgold church, of which he was a member."

A. Lincoln CASE, also a young man around the age of twenty-two at the time, hauled shingles for the roof from Mount Ayr. Although he grew up in the devoted Methodist home of Jacob and Mary CASE, A. Lincoln was active in the Ringgold Evangelical Church until he moved to Newkirk, Oklahoma around the year 1925. He was the Sunday school superintendent in 1902 and was known to be very religious. His brother, William CASE, was an active member of the Evangelical Church in Grant City, Missouri.

Thomas J. and Mary IRELAND arrived in Ringgold City in 1885. They were active in the community and church affairs until Mary's death in October of 1894, after which Thomas moved to Mount Ayr. In 1888, the Women's Missionary SOciety was active and mary was their leader.

The church had 57 members in 1894. The Sunday school have an enrollment of 50 members with an average attendance of 31. There were 7 Sunday school teachers and 4 additional officers. There was an active young people's organization within the church in 1894. The Ringgold church normally scheduled two revival meetings a year.

On September 22nd of 1901 the Lotts Creek Township Sunday School Convention was held at Ringgold City.

Alto Reed MARSHALL, the son of Mrs. Elizabeth MARSHALL, went with Pastor Guy STOVER to the August 1906 state convention of the United Evangelical Church. The following autumn Alto began his preparation to become a minister at the denominational college in LeMars, Iowa. On November 19, 1906, Alto became ill and died of complications from appendicitis at the hospital in St. Joseph, Missouri. He was interred at the Ringgold Cemetery.

Many of the funerals were held in either the homes or at the Ringgold Evangelical Church.

From the records of Ringgold Evangelical Church:

Samuel McFadden KATER converted to the church around the year 1884. Approximately a year later Mary L. JARRED, who was about seventeen-years-old, was among five persons converted during a revival meeting held at the schoolhouse. Mary later married Sherman McANINCH. She was a faithful member of the congregation until she died April 4, 1919. She was interred at the Ringgold Cemetery.

Elizabeth "Edith" SWIGART was adopted by Roy and Jennie (McANINCH) SWIGART. Elizabeth was converted at Ringgold church at age sixteen. She led a very active and pious Christian life until her early death two years later, October 22, 1926. She was interred in Ringgold Cemetery

Ida (SULLIVAN) McANINCH, the wife of Oscar McANINCH, was a faithful member from 1905 until her death in February 1920 at age of thirty-nine years.

Ida (SULLIVAN) and Oscar McANINCH's two young sons, Emerson and Weldon, led contrasting religious lives. Emerson McANINCH became a school teacher, evangelist and preacher. As an adult he returned to Ringgold county and preached guest sermons at Ringgold and Salem Evangelical Churches, Caledonia Methodist church and as late as the 1960’s or 1970’s at the Free Methodist Church in Mount Ayr.

Weldon McANINCH fell into gambling and lost his horses. He robbed a bank in Kansas City and killed an official during his escape from the scene. He was captured and sent to Alcatraz Prison at San Francisco, California. Due to the plea of his brother Emerson, Weldon was released from prison after serving ten years or so. Weldon married and raised a family. It is believed that Weldon died in Sacramento, California, in November of 1984.

Moses POTTORFF was a deacon of the church.

Other known members in the history of the Ringgold Evangelical Church were as follows: Sherman McANINCH, Milburn J. PITTMAN, Roy SWIGART, Minnie ZINN and Mrs. Cora HALEY. Dallas SMITHSON, Mrs. Moses (Sarah) POTTORFF and Mrs. A. L. (Rosetta) CASE were probably members of the church, too.

The original parsonage was located across the road south of the church. A new parsonage was built in the early 1920's on the north side of the road east of the church. Rev. George W. CRAMER did much of the work on the new parsonage. Rev. CRAMER also hired out as a farm laborer within the community as partial payment toward his ministerial salary.

Donald MOFFETT was the Sunday school superintendent during the last years of the Evangelical Church. He was born on February 9, 1906 and was a relatively young man when the church disbanded in 1937. Donald was married in 1938 to LaRay GARRINGER and the couple were the parents of two children before they divorced in 1950. Donald married two more times, his second wife dying after they had been married for 28 years. Donald was baptized into the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in July of 1974. He died in Lamoni, Iowa, on November 24, 1993, and was interred at Payne Cemetery, Lone Rock Church, Harrison County, Missouri.

Although there were high hopes for the settlement in anticipation of a railroad line and from traffic off the Dragoon Trace, Ringgold City was never more than a hamlet. Ringgold City's post office was in operation from 1860 to 1908. When it became apparent that the railroad would never pass through Ringgold City, the settlement began to decline.

The Evangelical Church closed its doors in 1937. The church was torn down in 1939 with the materials used to build a new Assembly of God Church at Redding.

The "new" parsonage was purchased by Harry GUNTER and moved to 507 N. Hayes Street in Mount Ayr.

NAME	YEARS	COMMENTS
Samuel KRELL	1881-1883	1st pastor of the church born 05 Oct 1856; died 13 Apr 1902 Interment Pleasant View Cemtery, Macksburg IA
Frank D. SWENDER	1883-1884	born 1859; died 1950 interment Cottonwood Cemetery, Lake City IA
John McCAULEY	1884-1885	born 1840, Scotland; died 1899, Harlan IA interred Harlan Cemetery married Margaret Ann HOOK (1839-1924) in Canada
S. A. WALTON	1885	served part of the year
Franklin B. "Frank" LOCKE, M.D.	1885-1888	held many revival meetings led congregation in establishing & building church
Marcus Asbury EVANS	1888-1892
D. W. FINK	1892-1895
Marcus Asbury EVANS	1895-1897
G. N. THOMPSON	1897-1900
Silas C. WADDING	1901-1905	popular pastor; served entire 4 year limit
H. D. SMITH	1905-1906
Guy STOVER	1906-1907	born Jul 1883; died 03 Oct 1964
Walter Carmi McKINLEY	1908-1911	born 19 Dec 1881, Russell IA; died 06 Dec 1960; interred Russell IA married 27 Dec 1905 Josephine Maud FOSTER (1879-1940) sons Samuel & John Dale, born at Ringgold City
L. H. WOOD	1911-1912
W. H. HENDRICKS	1912-1914
L. H. WOOD	1915-1917
Andrew N. MORRIS	1917-1918
W. H. HENDRICKS	1919-?
L. A. JONES	unknown
George W. CRAMER	1923-1927	did most of the work on new parsonage
J. R. NOLTE	1927-1929
Leslie V. McELHANEY	1929-1932
M. E. SHANK	1932-1935
Walter CERKA	1935-1937	last pastor of the church born 24 Mar 1904; died April 1987, Cedar Rapids IA

 

Ringgold Cemetery page

Ringgold Cemetery Transcriptions
with links to gravestone photographs, biographies, family pages, and obituaries

Ringgold Cemetery page
at IAGenWeb's Gravestone Photograph Project.

SOURCES:
Banner, Raymond V. Ringgold City, Iowa 1844-2002: From First Settlement to Forgotten Community Pp. 35-9. 2002.
McAninch, Frank, ed. McAninch Family History Newsletter v.X.n.3 Pp. 2002-19. July 2002.

Transciption by Sharon R. Becker, March of 2010