Anamosa - A Reminiscence 1838 - 1988

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A footbridge at the Wapsipinicon Park in fall of
1923. Burton Brown with his children, Gertrude,
Carolyn. Helen and George. (Photo submitted by Mrs.
Roy Folkerts)
picks, shovels, malls and wheelbarrows.
in May, an additional 14 acres was purchased from
Smith. which would be used for the golf course and
country club. The acre used for the club site and golf
course site was set aside from the deed to the state.
Shortly after the purchase, 118 charter country club
members signed up and plans were formulated for the
construction of a clubhouse.
The first board of directors were George L.
Schoonover, Cliff Niles, J.H. Ramsey. A.B. White, T.E.
Watters and H.H. Gee.
The clubhouse, also built by prison labor, was a
three-year project. Rock for the foundation was taken
from the bluffs overlooking the river and the white oak
logs were hauled with horse-drawn bobsleds during the
winter from a timber up the Buffalo creek. according to
Pearson. The club was formally dedicated in June
1924.
In the summer of 1921. a Boy Scout camp was
established by the Rev. James Kearne of St. Patrick
Church, Cedar Rapids. He brought 30 boys for one
week, and a second group the following week. A strict
regimen and discipline went along with the work,
bathing, excercise and play.
A meeting to reorganize Boy Scouts in Anamosa was
held in January 1924. A large log Boy Scout cabin,
located near the country club, was built three years
later. under the leadership of Dr. E.R. Rawson.
Anamosa physician, who headed the fund drive. The
cabin was used by several thousand Scouts and also by
Camp Fire groups until 1950, when it was torn down
and replaced with a modern camping lodge.
Meanwhile back at the river, the first summer of
1921, a bathing beach had been established. Sunday
activities, however, ‘sparked the ire of certain radicals’
in the community. who felt that on that day only
religious services should be observed, and the practice
of bathing and its related frivoiities could well be
postponed.
One unnamed official. who had led the park
campaign, wrote to the newspaper, in which he
proclaimed, “Sunday is the only day when farmers and
working people (which could have sparked the ire of the
farmers) can get any benefit of the park. No one will be
restricted from holding religious service: however,
there will be no interference with lawful amusement."
In the first part of March 1922, after working on the
roads most of the winter, a crew of workers began
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Country Club at Wapsipinicon Park (Submitted by
Anamosa Historical Society)
improvements on the entrance to Horse Thief Cave,
which was to be used for a tourist attraction. Following
the blasting of one of the large boulders at the entrance.
a quantity of broken bones and ashes were discovered
which ultimately drew nationwide attention.
A.D. “Gus” Corcoran, of Anamosa, a student of
anthropology, had had his eye on the cave years before
the blasting. He was called in on the discovery. His
records, sent to the State Historical Society over 50
years ago, tells what followed. Portions of these records
from the Charles R. Keyes collection are reprinted
through the courtesy of the Society. Corcoran wrote.
“The Board (conservation) was requested to send an
expert to preserve what might be of interest the
expert failing to appear, Mayor Frank Johnson
requested me to act in that capacity.
“The work was begun March 13, 1922, and
continued four days. There were nine human
skeletons, all buried in sitting posture facing the
entrance, flve with full set of milk teeth, one infant.
one with wisdom teeth just even with the jaw. One large
skeleton near the center of the cave under a mound of
charcoal mostly burned, top of mound 20 inches below
surface. One child. 30 inches, buried with some animal.
not surely identified.’ (Later identified as a wolverine).
One large male near north side of entrance, fairly well
preserved. teeth much worn and entirely devoid of
nerve cavities, base of skull, broad and heavy back, full
and high narrow at top; forehead, very narrow and low;
eye ridges and nose prominent height about 5 foot 3
inches much evidence of cannibalism was found
throughout the cave.
“Four bone awls, very crude, a few stones used for
breaking bones and cracking nuts, and a considerable
number of pieces of pottery were all the domestic
articles found. A great number of mussel shells were in
evidence from top to bottom: nearly five bushels of
animal bones were saved. nearly all broken in small
pieces to get the marrow stalagmite upon the north
wall contained many bones up to the surface I
employed a photographer to take flash pictures of
them, most of them were destroyed by vandals later
on."
Corcoran also reported finding several primitive bone
tools; and pottery shards, arrowheads, flint chips,
buffalo teeth and a large mastadon tusk.
The state gave Corcoran the go-ahead to work for four
days to a depth of four feet, but that was all. This
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