LaMoille, Iowa

LaMoille is a rural unincorporated community in Marshall County, Iowa, United States, lying halfway between Marshalltown and State Center.

LaMoille, Iowa
unincorporated community
LaMoille, Iowa LaMoille, Iowa
Coordinates: 42°01′50″N 93°02′19″W
Country	United States
State	Iowa
County	Marshall
Established	1867
Elevation	968 ft (295 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	50158
Area code(s)	641 Exchange: 363

History

In August 1855, James B. Abell bought 80 acres in Section 2, and Bryon G. Brown bought 80 acres in Section 3, Washington Township. This is land that LaMoille now occupies in part, for the section line of 2 and 3 is LaMoille's main street. Each man paid $1.50 an acre at the government land office in Iowa City.

Surveyors for the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad moved on from the line's western terminus at Marshalltown in the spring of 1863. They selected a route along the north side of Linn Creek for the first nine miles because the rising grade was more advantageous. They bridged Linn Creek, known for its flash flooding even then, a mile and a half west of Cedar Crossing (now LaMoille) where the Waterloo stage line from Marietta to Edenville and Des Moines crossed the creek. Here the railroad erected a depot and water tank in late 1863 to service engines which needed water supplies at about seven mile intervals.

John L. Stevens, an employee of the railroad now known as the Chicago and North Western, platted a town on November 8, 1867 in Section 2, Washington township, under direction of the railroad. It was named LaMoille by Issac Howe, a resident, after a town of the same name in Vermont.[1]

LaMoille was laid out in 1867.[2] It was named after Lamoille, Vermont.[3]

References

1. Benson, Wendell R. (1985). LaMoille, Iowa a history. LaMoille Alumni Association. p. 6.
2. Battin, William (1912). Past and Present of Marshall County, Iowa, Volume 1. Brookhaven Press. p. 175.
3. The History of Marshall County, Iowa: Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, &c. Western Historical Co. 1878. pp. 541.