Randalia History, Fayette County, Iowa This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Adelaide McBride July 2002 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ________________________________________________________ NOTE: For more information on Fayette County, Iowa Please visit the Fayette County, IAGenWeb page at http://iagenweb.org/fayette/ ________________________________________________________ Randalia History by Ferne Lenius. Submitted by Adelaide McBride , furnished by Mrs. David Wells. " Randalia was especially important in early days as a market place and railroad center. In 1855, the area known as Randalia today, was entered on the county's plat by Frederick Boyes. he sold the land to J.N. Elliot in 1868. The B.C.R. and M. Railroad Company bough the right of way in 1872 and the remainder of the area was sold to the Randall brothers the following fall. In 1874 the boundaries of Randalia were laid out by Pitney Josie, Alonzo and Andrew Randall. It was designed to be a store on the ground level and dwelling house on the second floor. The store building later housed a post office. The second building was the hotel opened in 1874. Many traveling salesmen came by train and stayed over-night at the hotel. . First station agent of the railroad was Andrew Randall. In 1909 there was a lumber yard owned by Colgrove and Sylvester Lumber Company, the hotel, two general merchandise stores, drug store and post office in the Odd Fellow building with their lodge room on the second floor, the Ladies Aid Society of the church served suppers or dinners in the basement on special occasions. Also there was a meat market, barber shop, blacksmith shop, feed mill, elevator, bank. Hardware, Farmers Telephone office in the Otis Henderson home on main street. Billy Whiteford and son George had a livery stable and ran a stage to Fayette every day carrying passengers and the mail. There were three stock buyers, Ralph Thompson, Dave Irvin and E.A. Mabon who bought cattle and shipped them to Chicago, the hogs were shipped on the railroad to Sinclair in Cedar Rapids. Two passenger trains twice a day going north and two going south. The first school house was a two room building with a teacher to each room. Each room having five grades. It made room for the new 1914 consolidaed school house. A church also located on main street, G.A.R. Hall was used by the Women's Relief Corps for their meetings and a dance hall. A second story over the Blacksmith shop was used for roller skating and a dance hall. A creamery on the southside of town burned down. 1909 Randalia as remembered by Ida Newcomb Fordyce. " There were three general stores, a butcher shop, post office and a blacksmith shop, one hotel building, a depot, a barber shop, Grist mill, hardware building, and Odd Fellows Hall. The post office being in the lower part of the Odd Fellows building, run by Mr. A. J. Ramsay. The hardware was run by Ethan Taylor, the blacksmith was Mr. Arthur Knight. The depot agent, was J.C. Johnson. Keith Curtis was the barber. Mr.Giles ran the feed mill, and he also did carpenter work. The hotel building was owned by Agustus parrot, but it wasn't running at this time, his daughter Florence lived with him, and clerked in the store owned by Ernest Kelley. Mr. and mrs. Randall owned the other store. Otis Henderson owned the meat market and also was an officer of the law. We were married in 1909 and I remember all who lived in Randalia when I came there. Robert Wagner run the creamery and milk plant, with his wife Ella. Mrs. Wilder and two grandsons, Kenneth Wilder and Donald Bronn. Mr. and Mrs. Giles, Mr. and Mrs. Otis Henderson and son Fred, Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Ramsay, Mr. and Mrs. Art Knight and son Daniel, Mr. and Mrs. T.L. Fordyce, Mr. and Mrs. Bill Fortney, Mrs. A.D. Simer, Mr. and Mrs. Bill Whiteford had the Livery Barn and carried the mail to Fayette, IA. A family by the name of Barr, who didn't live long in Randalia. Another brother and sister, Otto and Sadie Sullivan, who left shortly after we came there. They were an aunt and uncle of Harley Holmes. Lottie Turner and husband and baby, Phylis, lived there or came shortly after I arrived. Mr. and Mrs. James Vaughn and two daughters Nell and Ethel. Mr. and Mrs. Amos Vaughn and family of three or four children. Mr. and Mrs. Frank King and two sons and one daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Mabon and daughter Sybil. There was a G.A.R. hall where they held dances for the young folk. Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Carnell lived by the G.A.R. Hall. James McNaul lived on the same street. Randalia was surrounded by farms and families of farmers. We being in business met most of them. Later in 1909 when I married one of Randalia's boys we had many nice memories of the people in, and around Randalia. I married Arthur Fordyce, eldest son of Genivir and Carrie Fox Fordyce, eldest son of Genivir and Carrie Fox Fordyce. My sister Mary Beman, still lives in Randalia and Arthur's sister Mrs. Donna Fordyce Johnson also lives in Randalia. We moved to New York in 1913, but we are still Randalia at heart.