DFJ photo by Robert E. Oliver: Workmen excavate ground near the entrance to the historic Mulberry Center Church in Wilson Brewer Park. Concrete footings will be set to support a step-free ramp.

New siding has been applied on lower reaches of all four walls of the historic Illinois Central depot at Wilson Brewer Park in Webster City. Further repairs to the over 100-year-old frame building are planned before it’s repainted, possibly this fall. It was said that in 1900, around the time the depot was built, that no city or town in Iowa was more than 10 miles from a railroad line. Today, less than 40% of that vast network of main and branch lines remains. Few depots have been preserved in Iowa, so having an intact depot “frozen” in time, circa 1965-1970, is a look into a world familiar to grandparents and great-grandparents.

Earlier this week, workmen were busy excavating ground near the entrance to the historic Mulberry Center Church in Wilson Brewer Park. Soon, concrete footings will be set to support a step-free ramp that will make entering and leaving the church easier than ever for its many visitors each year. This project has been talked about and planned for more than five years. It’s finally happening, thanks to cooperation between the Hamilton County Board of Supervisors and the City of Webster City, who jointly passed operation of the park to a new board last summer, and ensured operations and long-needed improvements to the park will be funded over the next five years.

Workmen on the second floor of the historic 1869 first Hamilton County Courthouse hang lights in what was the first courtroom in the county. Restoration of this building was made possible by a generous grant from Hamilton County and private donors. The light at right in this photo is one of four saved from the second Hamilton County Courthouse, dedicated July 4, 1876, the 100th birthday of the founding of the United States. The four brass and glass light fixtures were saved and lay in the depot basement for decades. Now, at last, they’re in service once more, reminding visitors of the history of justice on the frontier of the American Midwest.

Restoration and rehabilitation of the exterior of the First Hamilton County Courthouse is nearing completion as this photo, taken on Monday, illustrates. New doors and exterior lighting are just a preview of the completely re-constructed interior, which will become the latest exhibition space for artifacts of Hamilton County history. The Wilson Brewer Park board is still deliberating on the best way to use the courthouse’s historic rooms. One idea is to use the interior walls to present a timeline of county history. Previously, the space held a replica post office, general story, and medical office.