(OSKALOOSA, Iowa) – The unveiling ceremony for the Mahaska County Courthouse Historical Marker is set for Tuesday, May 1 at noon. The ceremony will be located at the Courthouse, 106 South 1st Street on the Square in Oskaloosa and the public is invited to attend.

This is the second historical marker to be placed as part of the volunteer, community-based Historical Building Marker project. According to committee member Ann Brouwer, the project is made possible by the volunteer efforts of many people and businesses throughout the community.

Initially, eight downtown buildings and the fire station have been targeted by the group for historical markers. Each historical marker will include the year the building was built, pictures of the building through the years and a few interesting and fun facts to appeal to the community and visitors.

“The first historical marker dedication was held Feb. 15 at the Oskaloosa Fire Station and the response has been extremely positive,” Brouwer said. “People truly are interested in preserving our community’s history for future generations.”

“Thanks to the Oskaloosa Chamber and Development Group, which is hosting a webpage, people can get ‘the rest of the story’ regarding the building. A link to the webpage is located at the bottom of each historical marker,” Brouwer explained. “Because it’s a work in progress, we can add more information as it becomes available and we invite the public to contact us if they have information.”

According to research team leader, Calvin Bandstra, the Mahaska County Courthouse has a fascinating history. “We think many people will learn something they didn’t know through this project,” Bandstra said. “Local attorney Dave Dixon did the research on the courthouse and we were all so pleased with the end result.”

Brouwer and Vavra, as well as committee member, Jennifer Main, said many people are collaborating to make the historical markers possible. The markers themselves were designed by Tessa Van Veldhuizen. Committee members worked with John Grahek from Clow Valve, which is donating the brass for all of the markers. The mold to make the markers was developed by Tom Stone from Musco Lighting and donated to the committee.

Colt Mefford is donating his services to install the historical markers and Lyle Siefering of Mahaska Title is providing the “chain of ownership” on each building for the website. Corporate and individual sponsors have also come forward to cover additional costs.

If you would like more information or you have information to share about our historical buildings, contact Brouwer at 641-660-8075 or Vavra at 641-660-7504.