History

The St. Joseph's parochial school and the Immaculate Conception Church, established in the 1870s pre-date Haverhill's official 1882 platting by the Milwaukee Road. The railroad carried both freight and passengers, with passenger service traveling east and west each stopping in Haverhill three times daily. The community mostly stored grain in elevators, while hosting several small industries and town services including a lumber company, blacksmith shop, bank, general store, grocer, and schools.

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The town was only officially incorporated in 1968, when residents chose to elect a city government, establishing municipal services, including a fire department.

Immaculate Conception Oratory

Immaculate Conception parish in the Marshall County town of Haverhill can trace its history to October 20, 1877, when a meeting was held among twelve German- and nine English-speaking families to establish a Catholic church. By 1879, a small frame church was completed a mile west of the present site at a cost of $1,285. As part of an extension of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad, the town of Haverhill was officially platted in 1881, and the building was relocated to the present church site.

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Constructed in the Gothic design, the red brick and white stone building measured 48 x 118 feet with a 13-story tower. The new church was formally dedicated on October 22, 1902.

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After 105 years of services, a final mass of closing was held at Immaculate Conception on Sunday, July 1, 2007.

Matthew Edel Blacksmith Shop

The complex includes the blacksmith shop from the early 1880s, a garage addition from 1915, a house from the early 1890s, and a summer kitchen (date uncertain). It is a state historic site.

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While Matthew operated the blacksmith shop into the late 1930s, he realized he needed to adapt in order to stay in business. He expanded the shop in 1915 to include automobile repairs. His son Louis went to Des Moines to study auto repair and joined his father in business. Matthew died in 1940. Louis moved in 1952, but continued to maintain his father's blacksmith shop basically as he had left it. He returned to Haverhill in 1964, and re-opened the automobile repair shop on a part-time basis. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Louis Edel's heirs donated it to the State Historical Society of Iowa in 1986, which operates it as a historic site.

Haverhill Shelter House

The Haverhill Shelter House is available to rent for family gatherings, graduation parties, and more. Located right in the center of town with an accessible parking lot and easy access to Memorial Park.

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Cost: $200 deposit and $100 rental for the day

If you're interested in renting the space, please call 641-485-9768.