b'10OUR COMMUNITIES DISCOVER MONONA COUNTY!MONONA COUNTY WAS ORGANIZED OFFICIALLY IN THE SPRING OF 1854 HAVING BEEN A PART OFBENTON COUNTY(EVERY COUNTY WEST OF BENTON IN A LINE) IN 1851. IT WAS PERHAPS NAMED FOR AN INDIAN WORD MEANING BEAUTIFUL VALLEY. AS OF THE2020 CENSUS, THE POPULATION WAS 8,750.BLENCOE MOORHEAD RODNEYBlencoe was platted in 1881 andA post ofce was established atRodney, incorporated in 1887, rests incorporated in 1891. The rst post ofceMoorhead in 1872. In 1880 Old Townalong the old Milwaukee Railroad track. and settlement were actually Bottoms,settlement was started with a little store.When the rst train stopped at the new because of its proximity to the MissouriMoorhead wasplattedin 1899.The city wasdepot, a passenger named Rodney was the River, and was located one-half mile westnamed for J. R. Moorhead, a rst settler. rst to alight, and the town was named for of the present town. The Loess Hills Hospitality Associationhim.Port of Blencoe located west ofand Moorhead Cultural Center are favorite Blencoe on the Missouri River shipsstops of visitors touring the Loess Hills and high-volume freight from the road to thePreparation State Park. waterway.Products shipped include: soybeans, corn, soymeal, fertilizer, andONAWAmore. Port of Blencoe is owned and operated by NEW Cooperative, Inc. Onawa was platted in 1857 and incorporated in 1859. The name Onawa CASTANA is a Native American word, which means awake. Onawa was the site of a A post ofce has been in operationprisoner-of-war (POW) camp for captured at Castana since 1865. CastanaGerman soldiers between 1944 and 1946. wasplattedin 1866, when a branch ofHistorical documents indicate there were the Chicago Northwestern Railway wasnever more than 50 POWs in camp.built.The name Castana was selected byOnawa sits just off I-29 and the city is an early settler who believed it to be aknown for having the widest main street Latin word meaning chestnuts. in the continental United States. Burgess The Western Iowa Experimental farm,Health Center is primary care facility a part ofIowa State University, is locatedwith satellite clinics and services in other just outside Castana. Research is carriedcommunities.out inbeef cattle,swine,forageand the effects offertilizeronsoybeans andcorn. MAPLETONOld Mapleton was platted in 1857, on the west side of the Maple River. In 1877, the Northwestern Railroad was built on the east side of the Maple River and East Mapleton was platted. An election was held on May 10, 1878, approving the incorporation of East Mapleton. In 1896, the name was changed to Mapleton. Mapleton celebrated its centennial in 1978.Today the residents of Mapleton are proud of its strong business district, outstanding medical care, active churches, good schools, several popular sources of entertainment, and attractive residential area.'