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History · Ruthven

A history of Ruthven,
then and now

Postcards, papers and photographs of Ruthven from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.

6old images & papers
0recent photos
From Ruthven’s archive · credits on each photo

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Ruthven had its start in the year 1878 by the building of the Milwaukee railroad through that territory. It was named for the Ruthven brothers, who owned the town site.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
1930s6 items · Refrigerating machine in cooperative …LOC
1940–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.
Help out

Finish Ruthven’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewRefrigerating machine in cooperat…, 1936: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Ruthven

See all 2 →
Ross Erastus RowellRoss Erastus RowellMilitaryJKJohn Immanuel KnudsonScience & Medicine
By decade

Ruthven, decade by decade

1930s6 items
Refrigerating machine in cooperative creameryLOCRefrigerating machine in cooperative creamery1936Henry Monk, tenant farmer near Ruthven, IowaLOCHenry Monk, tenant farmer near Ruthven, Iowa1936Signs in a cooperative elevator at Ruthven, IowaLOCSigns in a cooperative elevator at Ruthven, Iowa1936Recess at country school house near Ruthven, IowaLOCRecess at country school house near Ruthven, Iowa1936Untitled photo, possibly related to: Recess at country school house near Ruthven, IowaLOCUntitled photo, possibly related to: Recess at country scho…1936Untitled photo, possibly related to: Recess at country school house near Ruthven, IowaLOCUntitled photo, possibly related to: Recess at country scho…1936
1940s–
1990s
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Ruthven is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Ruthven has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Logan Center School No.5 in Gillett Grove, 7.3 miles away.

Ruthven and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Ruthven. Tap a dot.
Logan Center School No.5Emmetsburg Public LibraryOrmsby-Kelly HouseSpencer High School and AuditoriumGrand Avenue Historic Commercial DistrictAdams-Higgins House

Closest to Ruthven

Logan Center School No.5Gillett Grove · Building7.3miEmmetsburg Public LibraryEmmetsburg · Building10.5miOrmsby-Kelly HouseEmmetsburg · Built 187610.9miSpencer High School and AuditoriumSpencer · Building12.4miGrand Avenue Historic Commercial DistrictSpencer · District12.5mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Logan Center School No.5’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Ruthven?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Ruthven’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Recess at country school house near Ruthven, Iowa (1936) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Dickens📜 Ayrshire📜 Gillett Grove📜 Graettinger

From the Library of Congress (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

We left the porch light on

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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