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Early History | Ole Scar | 1934 Fire | Centennial | Scarville Today

Early History of Scarville beginning in 1899

Scarville was established in 1899 when the railroad was surveyed from Belle Plaine, IA to Fox Lake, MN. It is located in the northwest quarter of Section 19 in Norway Township of Winnebago County and part of the northeast quarter of Logan Township. It is 4 miles west of Lake Mills and 4 miles north of Highway 69. Ole Scar was the founder of the town and had a large part in the settlement of the town. Later the town was named after him.

A petition requesting the incorporation of the town was filed. An election was held on March 17, 1904. The election resulted in a vote of 27 in favor and 4 not in favor. On May 2, 1904 the town was incorporated. The following men were elected to serve for one year at the first election of officers held on April 8, 1904; mayor, P. H. Moe; clerk, A. N. Brudvig, Jr.; treasurer, C. L. Suby. Councilmen were A. H. Peterson, K. M. Larson, W. J. Nagel, Jacob Thompson, S. A. Dale, and John H. Dahle. These newly elected officers held their first meeting on April 13 in the lumber yard office. Iver Iverson was elected town marshal and K. N. Knudson as assessor. Each man took the oath of office and the treasury was bonded for $1,000 with two signers. John H. Dahle refused to qualify as councilman so T. J. Folken was appointed to fill the vacancy. Folken and Nagel were appointed to repair the streets and to have all property owners clean their yards and alleys.

In order to defray the expenses of incorporating the town a levy of $3 was made on all legal voters residing in the town and voluntary contributions were asked from those living within the corporate limits outside the town plat. No taxes were levied during 1904 so in 1905 the mayor and clerk were authorized to borrow $40 from the Scarville Bank at 8% interest and was payable April 1, 1906. In the year 1899, T. J. Folken acted as agent for the Iowa and Minnesota Town Site Company and sold lots. Those who bought lots included Ole Scar, A. A. Saxerud, Jens Drugsvold. John Amundson. Mrs. Anna Sime. Daniel Lunoe, Albert Peterson, Karlsgoat and A. A. Anderson, Soren Olson, P. H. Moe, T. J. Folken, K. M. Hage, and L. W. Torgerson. Later in 1900, others bought lots - Oscar Severson, Iver Severson, Emil Severson, Tom Torgerson. Jens Tapager, Mr. Willadson, August Kruggel, Stener Larson, Thoebjer Lund, S. S. Hanson, and Carl Fjone. A special election was held June 2, 1915 to vote for a municipal water works system. It was voted down 34 to 15. After that a town well was dug behind the bank building. Since that several wells have been dug and property owners share the cost of the operation.

In the spring of 1900, Iver Severson built a restaurant and hotel to accommodate the men working on the railroad. The hotel could accommodate 10 to 15 people. Iver Iverson operated the business. Other owners have been Martin Severson, Otto Severson, Carl Nelson, Henry Hanson, Thelford Nelson, Irvin Nelson, Albert Larson, Frank Fetke, Folvens, John and Marsha Hermanson, and Jacqueline Yost. This place was the local tavern on Main Street. Through the years this place has been a restaurant, barber shop, and tavern with living quarters upstairs.

Knut Helle operated the first store in town for a short time but fire destroyed it. Ole Scar of Lake Mills built a department store on the same location and this is how the town became known as Scarville. In 1901 it was sold to S. S. Hanson of Lake Mills who sold such things as dry goods, groceries, notions, shoes, and men’s clothing. The Norway Farmer’s Union Telephone Co. had a switchboard in the store and Emma Hanson was in charge. In 1909, Minnie (Sletten) Wuerflein was the operator. Ingeborg Stene had a hat shop in this store in 1909. Others who operated this store were Nels and Helena Leverson, who lived in the rooms above the store, Mike Haddy and Tom David, Severt Monson, Andrew Rosheim and John Thompson. Tena Wangsness also had a hat shop there.

The original sidewalks were board walks. In 1909, they were sold and cement walks were laid by Halvor Halvorson. They were laid from the bank down the block and from the north hotel to the hardware store. In 1906, the stone crossings were put in. Property owners paid 11.7 cents a square foot. In 1909, 200 feet of chain was purchased for the hitching posts. In 1911, there was one street lamp and the next year another one was added. S. C. Monson, John Folken, C. L. Suby and George Throntveit were in charge of lighting them for that year. Six more crossings and four blocks of sidewalk were put in by Nels Brudvigin 1915. Embrick and Gilman Oppedahl built a garage on the east side of the street on the south end of the park. After the livery barn burned, Ole Folken worked for them. Later, Lewis Westland was a partner.

Electricity was introduced in 1915 when the Oppedahl brothers installed a light plant in a building behind the garage, erected poles, and wired the streets. This furnished current for lighting one light at each of the four intersections from early evening until 10:30 p.m. Later the garage burned and a light plant was placed in the basement of the town hall with Ole Vermedahl in charge. This served the town with lights until Interstate Power came in about 1924.

Tom Folken managed the hardware store in 1900. His sons, John and Theodore, assisted him. Later the store was owned by Ole Ofstaas, Norman Johnson, Harry Larson, Gilbert Hanson, Paul and Ray Jenson. In 1900, Oscar and Emil Severson built a livery stable and the house that was known as Minnie Wuerflein’s. The business was sold to Ole Folken who also had a dray line. He built a small office east of the barns. Tom Torgerson had the first butcher shop which was located across from the lumber yard. A shoemaker shop was located next to Torgerson’s. The shop was later added on to the home of Anton and Gertie Severson. This was the home of Austin, Alma, and Richard Thompson. Brian Throne bought and remodeled this house. Now it is owned by David and Ann Plagman (1999).

The jail was built and furnished in 1913. It was located in the west part of town just off main street. It no longer exists. The town bought seven lots from Scar in 1915 to be used as the park or, as they called it, the public square. In 1916, Jake Thompson, Tom Torgerson, and George Wuerflein were appointed by the council to buy trees for the park and have them planted. About 1917, George Throntveit had a store built next to the bank building (the old post office). It was a grocery store for many years. It later had a barber shop in the building for a short time. Others using the grocery store were Martin Torgerson, Joseph and Steve Peterson, S. E. Reiso, Jenson Bros. Hardware, L. B. Blom, Marvin Harmon, who added lockers, Veryl Meyer, and Wayne Escherich. The north hotel was built by Peter Moe and operated by Pete Langeland, who was also the first street commissioner. Later the building was used for a grocery store and upstairs was living quarters. Mr. and Mrs. Martin Westrum had a gift shop and lunch room in this building. There was a variety store by P. P. Mykkleby and a gift and variety store by Tena Wangsness.

The railroad company built the first stockyards. A Cooperative Stock Company was organized and on March 1, 1921, sent out their first carload of hogs. Among the early livestock buyers were L. H. Knutson, Charlie Hall, Melbourne Bye, Grant Langfald, Palmer Leegaard, Victor Bassett, Parnell Brackey, and others. The railroad company also erected a two-story house about one mile east on the north side of the tracks. The first depot agent, Paul Oppedahl, and the first section foreman, Mundahl, lived there with their families. When Albert Schaper was section foreman, the house was moved to town to the area west of the elevator. When it was no longer needed, this house was sold to a farmer south of town to be used for a home.

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Ole Scar

Ole Scar was born August 11, 1844 in Bang, Norway. When he was 12 years of age, he started out to earn his own living as clerk in a store, where he remained for about 5 years. He felt the lack of education, however, for his advantages in that direction had been very limited, and he resolved to devote himself to making intellectual progress. He petitioned for admittance to the Sergeant Military School at Christiana, Norway and graduated with first honors in 1866 with the rank of sergeant. He did not wish to devote his life to military affairs so he secured his discharge with permission to emigrate to America. However, he had to file three more petitions before he received his permission. He sailed for the new world in July 1868, when he was not quite 25 years old.

Like many of his fellow countrymen, he turned to the middle west, becoming a resident of Black Earth, Wisconsin. Almost immediately he secured a clerk position in a store, where he remained for about a year. Then he became a resident of Iowa, settling in Mitchell County. He again had a position of clerk. While here, he became acquainted with William Larson, a well known merchant and business man of Osage, who offered him a position as manager of a branch store in Lake Mills. Under the guidance of Mr. Scar, the business increased so rapidly that Mr. Larson disposed of his interests at Osage and concentrated his efforts upon the Lake Mills business. But in 1871, their prosperous business was destroyed by fire. This was a serious loss, as it was the center of business activity of the town, which was only a small trading post at this time.

Mr. Scar then went to California in 1871 to try his fortune in the gold fields. For a little while he met with success but then fortune turned against him. He left California for Olympia, Washington. There, he secured eighty acres of land hoping the Northern Pacific railroad would be made a terminus of this part of the country. This did not happen but he remained there and secured title to his land. He returned to Iowa in 1874 and again entered partnership with Mr. Larson. After a few years he became sole proprietor of the business and still later he entered into partnership relations which continued until 1880. He purchased the business of S. D. Wadsworth and Company, which he conducted until 1883, when he was joined by his brother-in-law, N. I. Nelson. Under the name of the Scar-Nelson Mercantile Company, Mr. Scar concentrated his attention upon the development of the trade and held high standards in the personnel, in the business methods maintained, and the character of the service rendered to the public. He also dealt in real estate and was successful at this also.

Due to ill health he retired but remained active financially in a number of enterprises. For several years he was vice-president and director of the Lake Mills State Bank. He established a bank at Scarville, which was named in his honor, and was also identified in the founding of the banks at Kiester and Bricelyn in Minnesota. When the railroad was surveyed from Belle Plaine, Iowa to Fox Lake, Minnesota, he procured almost all of the right-of-way through this section of the state. This road was organized as the Iowa Northwestern but soon afterward became a part of the Chicago and Northwestern railroad system.

Mr. Scar took a very active and influential part in public affairs. Since he became a naturalized citizen, he voted with the Republican party and was called upon to fill a number of public offices in Lake Mills, including that of mayor. He served as postmaster for a few years, was a member of the city council, the Masons at Mason City, and the Mystic Shrine of Cedar Rapids. Religiously he was connected with the United Lutheran Church at Lake Mills, in which he served as a member of the building committee when the new church was built. He was a generous contributor in all activities for the development and improvement of his locality.

In February 1909, Mr. Scar suffered a stroke which made it necessary for him to retire from business. He made his home with Mr. and Mrs. N. I. Nelson until the death of his sister, Mrs. Nelson. Mr. Scar died on Monday, October 9, 1916.

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The Fire of 1934

Citizens of Scarville are beginning to recover from the shock of a fire that destroyed three buildings on Main Street. The Reiso general merchandise store, the Torgerson general merchandise store, the Jensen Hardware, and Bea’s Lunch Room were completely wiped out. Only the charred ruins remain where a week ago four business places were operating in the village. Mr. Reiso will rebuild; Torgerson will rent Throntveit building.

Flames had spread so as to make it dangerous to enter the building. Jensen Hardware and Bea’s Lunch, the buildings adjoining to the north, were directly in the path of the blaze and could not be saved. The gap left between the lunch room and the telephone office, due to a fire a year before that which destroyed the meat market, kept the flames from spreading to the school buildings, which were located only a hundred feet north of the path of the fire.

Firemen from Kiester and Lake Mills were called and were on the scene. They were unable to stop the flames in the buildings already burning, but were successful in preventing the spread of the fire and in putting out fires started by burning embers which flew through the air, fanned by a brisk west wind. Houses in the neighborhood were in danger from roof fires and were watched closely. The Lutheran parsonage, two blocks from the scene, caught fire but this was extinguished before any great damage was done. The fire appeared to have started in the rear of the Reiso Store or Jensen’s Hardware. The Leo Cunningham family lived in an apartment above Reiso’s Store. Mrs. Cunningham smelled smoke and found smoke coming up the stairway shutting off their exit from the rooms. She became frightened and awakened her husband and two children. They quickly dropped a mattress to the cement walk in front of the store, then dropped Isabel, 7, quickly followed by James, 12. The little girl was bruised by not getting out of the way of her brother when he fell, and also broke the bones of her leg just above her knee. As soon as the children were out, Mrs. Cunningham, hanging to the window sill, dropped down along the wall. Mr. Cunningham came down the same way. Neither was hurt.

Scarville Fire Sidelights as told by Graphic Reporter

Clara and Sehna Nelson, operators of the Scarville telephone exchange, called the Kiester and Lake Mills fire department and a doctor was called. A story in the Des Moines Register stated that they remained at their post until overcome by smoke and had to be carried out. Clara said “That story was all bunk.”

Leo Cunningham, the man whose family escaped from their upstairs apartment, lost his clothing in the fire, all but his pants which he quickly donned after the first alarm was given. Many people lost their belongings and their homes and had to find shelter elsewhere in town.

The Martin Torgerson family moved into the Ted Folken house and set up housekeeping after most of their household goods went up in flames. Mrs. Torgerson, Jerome, Marlin, and Alicia Anderson, high school students boarding with them had all retired when the alarm was given. They escaped before the flames reached the building they were in. Martin Torgerson was at Lake Mills in a checker tournament when word came that his store was on fire. He made a speedy trip home and was able to remove his books and papers which he carried to the platform across the street. A short while later they were discovered to be on fire from burning embers that dropped on them and they were all destroyed.

There is a distinct advantage in living in the suburbs of a city. You escape the noise and confusion of the town proper. At the K. N. Knudson home, just north of the Synod Lutheran Church in Scarville, no word reached them about the fire until noon Thursday. A lady telephoned Mrs. Bernold Knutson, that owing to the fire the meeting for that day would have to be postponed. “What fire?” was the surprised reply from the Knutson home.

The 4,500 pound safe, on the property of Scar-Nelson Mercantile company, laid in the ruins of the Reiso store and three days after the fire heat could still be felt in the iron block. No effort was made to open it until the first of this week, as experts advise thoroughly cooling a safe in this condition to prevent combustion when opened.

Scarville citizens praise the members of the Kiester and Lake Mills fire departments for their work in constantly guarding adjoining buildings from being set on fire from the flying embers. At one time the Lutheran parsonage, occupied by the Rev, and Mrs. S. J. Fretheim, was on fire. Quick discovery saved the buildings from any great damage.

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Humble Beginnings

All of the detailed information and pictures above are directly from the wonderful centennial publication of the town, Humble Beginnings: Scarville, Iowa, Established 1899, pp. 2, 3, 8, 9, 47. A short message from the Centennial Book Committee in the front of the book reads:

Welcome to everyone celebrating 100 years of Scarville history. Our sincere thanks to all who contributed information and pictures for this book and a big 'Thank You' to all those who helped to put it together. We hope it will bring 'good reading' to many generations.

A town that cares so much about preserving its history is a strong, special town with pride in its community, and this certainly describes Scarville, Iowa. For more content from Humble Beginnings on this website, follow these links:

North Prairie Lutheran Church

Immanual Lutheran Church

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Scarville Today

Scarville has existed as a charming rural town for over a century. It may not be big, but it remains the same town with the same faces, the same pride in community, the same sense of humor. Those who have been acquainted with the town will always remember their time spent there. In fact, people from all over northern Iowa and southern Minnesota still travel to Scarville, Iowa, every year for its 4th of July parade and celebration. This may be the only town in which the parade participants delight their observers twice - first, going South on Main Street, and then circling around to pass by again in the opposite direction!

Scarville recently updated the playground equipment at the park in the center of town. The old equipment was given to Scarville Lutheran School for the students to enjoy. Scarville has taken many other steps through the years to preserve and improve the beauty of this small, rural location.

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