Bradford Pioneer Village Museum

News for 2009

2009-02-14T19:27:00.000-08:00

Good News!! The Old Bradford Pioneer Village Museum will be hosting its first annual "Battle of Bradford" Civil War Days May 16 and 17, 2009. This is very exciting for us. This will be the largest fundraiser the museum has ever had. We are hoping for a very large turnout of military units from the Union Army and the Confederate Army. A re-enactment battle will take place on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons. An entertainer has been hired to perform 4 1-hour shows that will include songs and stories of the Civil War. Please call 641-220-2632 for more information.
See you there.

Kraft School foundation

2008-08-06T18:19:00.000-07:00

Look at the new foundation and ramp at the Kraft School!

EXCITING SUMMER

2007-11-15T07:27:00.000-08:00

We have really had some exciting things happening this summer at the Village. We have raised just over $40,000.00 now including in-kind donations of time and efforts. The Kraft School still sits on it's "pedestal". We were hoping that it would be down by now, but NO. BUT, we have had some other great up-grades. The Smith Cabin has a new roof, thanks to Jeremy Day and so does the Cottage. The Cabin was pretty easy to do, but the Cottage was a real surprise for the workers. Steve Christenson (and we) thought that all they had to do was tear off the shingles and put on the new, but it was not that easy. They started tearing of the shingles and found a layer of tar paper. Underneath that was another layer of tar paper and a full roof of old wooden shingles. So that little project cost us more than we expected! But we weren't too surprised either.

Stanton Electric showed up to put some underground wiring in for us. The Jail, Kraft School and Toy shop have not had electricity, but now they are wired. They also ran electricity underground to the Cottage and Heritage Building.

Roger and Robert Hanson donated a central air conditioning system to us to be used in the Heritage Building. This will help with climate control during the summer when it gets so hot and sticky in there.

Our Annual Meeting was held on Tuesday, November 13 at the Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast Gathering Room in Fredericksburg. We had the biggest crowd that I have seen in my 3 seasons there. It was a delicious meal and good meeting.

I am having picture problems, so hopefully I can add pictures later.

THE BIG 4 FAIR

2007-09-04T19:00:00.000-07:00

We just finished up the Big 4 Fair for Chickasaw County, Iowa. It went very well. It was a good time. The Historical Society had a booth there and passed out brochures. We had a gift basket that we gave away to a lucky name.

Visit Us At The Fair

2007-08-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

The Big 4 Fair. We set up our booth today and will be there til Monday, Sept. 3. This is a picture of our booth.

Mushrooms at the Museum

2007-08-24T05:05:00.000-07:00

We have so many different mushrooms growing this year since it has been so wet. But the most interesting is the "Fairy Ring" that is growing in the front yard.

The School Is Moved

2007-08-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

The school is moved back into the trees and if it ever stops raining, they will be able to start the new foundation. It was very interesting to watch the men work on this project. They made it look so easy.

Kraft School

2007-08-22T05:30:00.000-07:00

Jacking up the building and putting the beam underneath and the corner that was rotten wood.

On August 21, Ron Holland's crew showed up at the Village to raise the Kraft School so that a new foundation can be built. They are going to move it back to the north and set it down. After the new foundation is built they will come back and set the building on the new foundation. They had one problem. After they raised the building by jacking it up by hand, they put hydrolic jacks underneath and the jack at the northeast corner went right through some rotton wood beam. So some of that has to be replaced before they can finish the job.

Excitement

2007-08-22T05:24:00.000-07:00

There was some excitement at the Village last week. I heard a thud, and the lights went out in the gift shop. When I looked out the front door, I saw a pickup in the ditch out front.

The driver was ok, but the light pole was down. He said a car came at him and ran him off the road and he had to take the ditch. It took a couple of hours before we got power back in the gift shop.

Repairs

2007-07-28T08:52:00.000-07:00

Things are getting done at the Bradford Pioneer Village. Thanks to the Lawler Lions Club and Superior Lumber in Charles City, we have two new roofs; one one the Kraft School and one on the toy shop. Jeremy Day's crew is working on the buildings for us.

Jerry and Kenny have been working in the Smith Cabin. With a ceiling and attic area full of bats, it was all torn down and cleaned. What a stinky mess. Then all the boards were cleaned, some replaced and tightened and sealed back into place. Hopefully, that building is bat-proof now!

Resting in the shade

2007-07-20T05:06:00.000-07:00

Resting in the shade was the place to be. I am glad we had a nice breeze for our visitors. It was very comfortable sitting under the crabapple tree.

Our Visitors

2007-07-20T05:02:00.000-07:00

Getting up on that caboose is not an easy task, but a couple of our visitors made it anyway. They look happy enough to be there!

Welcome Guests

2007-07-20T04:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day at the museum. We had guests from the New Hampton Care Center in New Hampton. They had a great time going through the buildings. It was interesting getting some of them up into the buildings. It made us all realize how unprepared for handicapped visitors, but we made do and had a ball with them. The Ag building was a favorite for the men. Kramer, my dog, was a hit as usual.

Over the Dam Day

2007-06-27T13:28:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, June 23, was Nashua's annual "Over the Dam" day. I was in the parade in the old dress and bonnet. I rode in the back of one of our volunteer's brand new pickup.

The Capital Campaign

2007-06-27T13:24:00.000-07:00

We have a million and one things that we want to fix, repair, restore, remodel! This capital campaign is very important to us. Our goal started out at $210,000.00. We believe it will take that much to do every single thing we want to do to make our museum a showplace. We are just over $35,000.00 as of today. The thermometer shows just over $25,000.00.

EXCITING 2007

2007-06-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

WOW! We have been so busy at the museum, I have not had time to update! We opened the last weekend in April with the great news that a nice young man who works in a bank wanted to help us raise money for all the repairs and restorations that need to be done at the museum. It has been years since roofs have been taken care of. We have a great little one-room schoolhouse that is falling off the foundation. We applies for a grant from the Iowa Historical Society and just received word that we have been accepted. As you can see, the school is sitting on the ground on the west side. Our grant will allow us to have the building raised and set down in the space next door until a new foundation can be placed in this spot. The the building will be raised again and set back on the new foundation. This is exciting.

Closed For The Season

2007-01-12T19:18:00.000-08:00

We are closed for the season. But I will definately have some exciting news coming up. So check back once in a while and find out what the excitement is all about!

Finally, Letters on the caboose!

2006-08-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

New letters on the caboose

Ice Cream Social

2006-08-24T18:51:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, August 13, we had the annual ice cream social. We had a wonderful attendance and gave away some nice door prizes. The winners of the raffle for the hot air balloon ride was Marilyn and Maurice Randall. They are some of our good volunteers! So I am glad they won. The raffle was well supported and we made some extra money from it.

Finished - For Now

2006-06-30T20:10:00.000-07:00

The dump rake is in place. Now if we can just figure out what kind it is, we will get it painted. I think it looks really nice and will draw attention to our sign.

2006-06-26T20:11:00.000-07:00

The gravel will be leveled and finished. The dump rake will be added. Then the posts on the sign and the dump rake will be painted....when we decide what color it should be.

A Place for the Dump Rake

2006-06-26T20:05:00.000-07:00

We had no room for the dump rake in our Ag Building, so it was decided to put it out front by our sign and build a special area for it. Today it was built and finished by Kenny Wolf, Jerry Bailey, Duane Tracy and Frank Wilson. Thank you guys! It looks great.

The Dump Rake

2006-06-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

The museum was given an antique dump rake. It was used to go through the hay and drag it into the rake. When a big pile was caught inside the rake, the forks lifed up and dropped the pile.

Mystery Solved

2006-06-26T19:31:00.000-07:00

I called the courthouse today and found out that we indeed own the Deerfield Church.
Apparently that information was not handed down from the great founders of the CCHS because nobody even knew where the Deerfield Church was. Jerry and I went on a roadtrip yesterday to find it. The front of the church is overgrown with trees. The side is quite open.

A church for Bradford Village??

2006-06-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

We received notice that Ruth Waller passed away in Texas. She left $2,000 in her will to the Chickasaw County Historical Society. BUT, it has to be used to improve or maintain the Deerfield Church or cemetary. It took us a while to figure out where the Deerfield Church was, but Jerry and I found it. The sign stated plainly that the CCHS had something to do with this church in the past.

Dr. Pitts' Office

2006-06-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

I decided that I would take the Dr. Pitts cutout that we have and put him in his doorway and take some pictures. Dr. Pitts wrote the song, "Church in the Wildwood" Little Brown Church in the Vale.

The Mourning Dove

2006-06-24T19:36:00.000-07:00

I didn't know doves would take another bird's nest, but this one did. Last year in a windowsill upstairs in the Smith Cabin, we had a robin's nest. We didn't destroy the nest at the end of summer, and this year a dove has layed her eggs in the same partial nest.

The Sleigh Is Here!!

2006-06-17T16:53:00.000-07:00

Our sleigh came on Thursday, but I didn't have time to take pictures until today. It is so pretty. We added the authentic horsehair lap robe. My flash is not good enough to get a nice light picture, but the sleigh is painted very shiny black with deep burgundy upholstery and running gear with gold painted trim. The same people, Leon and John Martin of Ionia, Iowa who did the buggy, did the sleigh. They are Mennonites, so they really know how to restore horse-drawn vehicles. We are so lucky to have them as friends of the museum.

Our Garage Sale

2006-06-15T19:19:00.000-07:00

Today we joined in the City Wide garage sales in Nashua. We had a very good day. Our volunteers in the picture are Lucile Smith and Marilyn Randall. But look who is also looking out the door. Kramer!

AFTER

2006-06-14T10:13:00.000-07:00

And this is the glorious After picture. Bright and shiny!

Refinished Windmill Before

2006-06-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

Hey, the old rusty windmill has been painted. This is the Before picture.

Newly Refinished Sign

2006-06-14T09:59:00.000-07:00

Our newly refinished sign is up and it is better than ever. Jackie did a great job. I had asked her to add some more color to the sign and she added a nice sunset. A great addition to the front yard of the museum.

New T-shirts are here

2006-06-10T11:19:00.000-07:00

Things are going along nicely at the museum. We have gotten rid of all the woodchucks, we think and the painter called to say he will be coming soon to paint the steel windmill. The T-shirts we had made are done and on the shelves. They have the picture of the Little Brown Church on them. They can be purchased for $15.99 each. We have sizes ranging from men's Small to X-Large. They are made from 50% cotton and 50% polyester.

Next weekend, June 15, 16, 17 we will be participating in the Nashua City-Wide garage sales. So come on out and check out our tables. This will be a fund-raiser for us.

Woodchuck #2

2006-05-22T05:56:00.000-07:00

We got the big one! On Thursday we caught number 2. This one did not fare as well as the first. This one got shot. I would have liked to turn it loose in the field, but it would most likely come back and they do much damage to the foundations of our buildings.

We Caught the Woodchuck!

2006-05-18T05:58:00.000-07:00

The live trap has been set for a long time. It sat on the other side of the cottage last fall and all winter. This spring, early, it was moved next to the second hole on the west side of the cottage. Kramer kept going by the hole to check it out, but yesterday the trap had sprung, and inside was the woodchuck. I am not sure what drew him in because I don't think there was any bait in there. But, nonetheless, we got him. I tried to call Kenny, he wasn't home. Called Jerry, but he wasn't home either, but left a message. He came later. At noon I felt bad for the woodchuck, so took him my two pieces of celery I was going to eat with my lunch. He has a piece of celery sticking out of his mouth in the picture.
When Jerry came, we decided to put the trap in the wheelbarrow and take him across the field in the back of the museum, and turn him loose. Now we wonder if he can find his way back??

Another Cleaning Day

2006-05-11T20:24:00.000-07:00

Marilyn came today to help do windows. They sparkle now. Notice she is wearing a sweatshirt and Jerry is wearing a stocking cap on the 11th of May! It never reached 50* today and the winds were at 50 mph gusts. Hopefully, one day, the depot will be done and we will be able to enjoy how nice it looks.

The Chickasaw Mill

2006-05-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

In the 1800s and early 1900s, Chickasaw was a little town between New Hampton and Charles City. The mill sat on the Cedar river and was very important to the local citizens. This replica of the mill was built with running water. We are in the process of fixing it up and hopefully will again have running water for display to our visitors on tour. It is about 10' long altogether.

School problems

2006-05-10T20:02:00.000-07:00

Our Kraft School building had a problem. The North wall was bowed out a few inches from what it should be, and had come loose from the floor inside. Today the guys worked on it and got it pulled back in. Marlowe and Jerry are in the holes.

The Fire Pit

2006-05-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

Jerry took the limestone rock that Kenny dug up and put it around the big black pot that hangs next to the Smith cabin. Then he brought some wood from home and put it in the circle. It really looks much nicer and more real now.

Washing the Windmill

2006-05-05T20:24:00.000-07:00

Claire came and powerwashed the windmill. Now it is all ready to paint when the weather is right. It will be a nice flat silver.

Bradford Opening Day

2006-05-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

It was a rather cold and rainy day, but we got some work done. Jerry and I worked in the depot again cleaning and moving things around. Kenny worked in the front yard digging up some old limestone stepping stones that he is tired of mowing over. My dog Kramer had to be the "sidewalk superintendent".

The sky lightened enough for me to get a few pictures of some of the museum buildings. It is so beautiful there now that the grass is green and the cherry tree is in bloom.

Today is the Day

2006-05-01T04:52:00.000-07:00

Today is the day we open for the season. However, I did decide to go down Saturday and put up the open sign while I worked in there. I had two very good customers. One man from Tennessee and a couple from Minnesota. The man from Tennessee was on vacation and hitting all the historical stops. His grandparents had been married at the Little Brown Church, so he came for a visit. I took him to the depot to look at the map of train lines. I showed him the signatures of Frank and Jesse James in the hotel register. He knew all about them and filled me in on lots of things I didn't know about them. Very interesting to talk to.

Claire Carolan called last night and is coming today to powerwash the old steel windmill so it can be painted at a later date. Here's hoping for a prosperous season to come.

Almost Ready

2006-04-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Well, we are about ready to open for the season. The gifts are arriving almost daily and the consigners are starting to bring in their items. The "new" depot room is coming along and hopefully will be ready in time. Our first guests arrived yesterday. Although the closed sign was up, I let them in. One of the couples had just gotten "remarried" at the Little Brown Church. The next thing to do is getting the change for the change drawer and all will be ready.

Raffle starts May 1

2006-04-07T19:22:00.000-07:00

Today I picked up our posters. These will be in every bank in Chickasaw County from May 1 to August 4. Our drawing for the grand prize will be at our annual ice cream social on August 13 at the museum. I think the posters look really nice.

Raffle Tickets

2006-04-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

I have been to every bank in the county and they have all agreed to sell our raffle tickets for us. That will help us out a lot. The sales will begin on May 1 and the drawing will be August 13, 2006 in conjuction with our annual ice cream social.

Second Sleigh

2006-04-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

This is the second sleigh in the museum. It went to Leon today to be restored. He is going to make it the same colors as the one we just sold, so it will be beautiful too. This one will stay in the museum.

Fund Raiser

2006-03-31T09:10:00.000-08:00

We are having a great fund raiser this year. The winner of the raffle will receive a hot air balloon ride for 2. And the great thing about this raffle is that anyone can buy a $10 ticket. You need not be even an Iowa resident to buy a ticket. The company we are going through has launch sites all over the United States, 150 launch sites to be exact. The tickets are fully transferable, so if you aren't interested in a ride, buy a ticket for a gift. If you win, you can give the ticket to a friend, relative, bride and groom, birthday girl, birthday boy...

In our area the launch site is in Waterloo, IA. Tickets will be available for sale after May 1. The drawing will be in the fall of 2006. The tickets are good until November of 2007.

Sale Day

2006-03-29T20:40:00.000-08:00

Our sleigh sold today at the Waverly Horse Auction. We worried that we would not get our money out of it. It cost $800 to restore. When the auctioneer actually came to the sleigh, he made the remark that it was one of the best restoration jobs he had ever seen. He started the bidding at $1,000.00. It took! It went fast and furious after that. We sold our sleigh for $2,200.00. So exciting. I am still walking on the ceiling.

Buggy and Sleigh

2006-03-27T06:57:00.000-08:00

We have had our buggy restored to put into our depot transportation room. It was so eaten up by mice, it was hideous. But look at it now! The same goes for the sleigh, but this is one of two sleighs we have. This one has just been restored to sell at a horse sale in Waverly, Iowa on April 29, 2006. Hopefully we will double our money on the sleigh and use the profits to restore our second sleigh to use in our museum.

2006-03-24T07:33:00.000-08:00

Bradford Pioneer Village Museum

2006-03-24T07:27:00.000-08:00

We have much work to do at the museum before we can open this spring, on May 1. Our poor old sign out front is so faded, it is hard for people to see as they drive by. So I contacted the woman who painted the sign in 1998 and she is going to repaint it for us before May 1. Today a couple of volunteers are going to meet me at the museum and we will take the sign down, take it to the nice woman to have it repainted.

2006-03-11T09:47:00.000-08:00

Depot, Caboose and Windmill at the Bradford Museum.

2006-03-11T06:35:00.000-08:00

Hello and Welcome to the Bradford Pioneer Village Museum in Nashua, Iowa.

We are located on highway 346 one mile east of Nashua, Iowa. We are neighbors to the world famous Little Brown Church in the Vale. We are seasonal, open from May 1 to October 31. We are open seven days a week.

In 1836 this area was an Indian trading post. Chief Bradford was the leader at that time. But as the white man moved west, these trading posts were taken over and turned into thriving towns. Thus, is the story of Bradford. As the people moved from the east coast, they were in search of land that contained everything they needed to live and sustain themselves. This area of Iowa had abundant trees and water needed to build homes, businesses, grain mills, sawmills. This area had it all. The town was called Bradford and grew to a large town of nearly 1000 people. There was a grist mill and sawmill on the Cedar River nearby. There were four hotels, general stores, blacksmith shop, school. Bradford was the County Seat. A large brick building was built that was to become one of the first academies in the State of Iowa. It was named the Bradford Acadamy and was the equivelant of a high school. Many students graduated from this academy and some returned to the east coast to go to college.

Plans were then made for the railroad to come through Bradford. Ground north of town was prepared for the forthcoming tracks. But by this time, two other towns had sprung up within the county, one being Nashua, just 1-1/2 miles to the southwest, and New Hampton, a few miles to the northeast. The railroad changed their plans and decided to run the railroad around Bradford through New Hampton and Nashua. Without the easy access to the rails, the town of Bradford began to die. And in the early 1900s had disappeared. All that remains of the original town of Bradford is the Little Brown Church. This church was made famous by the song written by William S. Pitts who was a physician and music director at the Bradford Academy. There is an interesting story about the song and when it was written, but I will leave that to another posting. The musuem and church are now part of Nashua, Iowa.

The Chickasaw County Historical Society was created in 1952-53 and the area of Bradford was designated as a museum. Many old buildings were brought in and filled with donations from people in the area. Many of the items are original Bradford. We now have 13 buildings to tour for a minimal fee of $4.00 per adult and $2.00 for children 6-12. Included in our tour is the train depot brought in from a neighboring town in the county. Changes take place in our museum all the time. Right now we are in the process of filling the large baggage area of the depot into our "transportation" room. A newly restored Henny top buggy is there and a one-horse sleigh is in the process of being restored right now that will join the buggy soon.

Outside the depot is the big red caboose. This is a favorite of school tours.

We have a log cabin that was moved from a mile south of Nashua. It belonged to a family named Smith in the 1800s. Downstairs contains the cast iron stove, table set for four, pump organ, rug weaving loom and many items that would be used daily. The upstairs contains a rope bed, a one-legged bed and a large wicker cradle with "baby" and many baby clothes from the early 1900s.

As we move on our tour we come to the original office of Dr. William S. Pitts. This wonderful building contains many of Dr. Pitts' medical supplies, medicines. His desk is there with books he used. His chair and baton are there that he used when he led the music in the Bradford Academy.

Next, we have the log cabin that houses the sewing items we have aquired. We call this cabin the Tailor Shop.

We have next the General Store. Just about anything you could possibly need would have been in the general store, clothing, shoes, dishes, toys, groceries, even the town's crank telephone.

Moving on, we have the Laundry. Washing machines that begin with the washboard and go all the way up to the Maytag wringer washer.

The Blacksmith Shop is next. The fire pit, bellows, many tools and an abundant amount of horseshoes.

Moving on, we have the Agriculture Building. A very large array of old farming tools, wagons, manuer spreader, egg incubator, and my favorite, a wheelbarrow-like grass seed planter that is over 130 years old.

After the Ag Building we walk up the hill to the Heritage Building. This building is a large country school which houses our furniture, pictures, genealogy books, a wicker wheelchair, military uniforms dating back to the Spanish-American war, a civil war drum and fife, wedding dresses, men's clothing, an old barbershop area with the utensils, including a bathtub.

From there we go to the Cottage. The cottage was built on the property after the church was built. The family of the church's caretaker lived in this house. There are many antiques that fill this home.

Then on to the New Hampton Cooler. This building has some banking items, but the thing our school tours like the best is the jail.

The Kraft School is next. This smaller country schoolhouse is set up just the way it looked when it was being used, the pull-down maps, the blackboard, desks, the pictures of Washington and Lincoln that every school room had, as well as books and flashcards.

After the school is the toy shop. A wonderful donor collected toys for many years and donated them all to our museum. Cast iron toys, wooden toys, doll buggies, tops, Jack-in-the-boxes. Kids of all ages love this part of the tour.

These are the highlites of our tour and I hope I have peaked your interest and you will want to come visit us. We have very knowledgable tour guides who can tell you stories about some of our articles and we love to listen to the stories you have as you see things on your tour that remind you of your past as well.