344 MAJOR JOHN F. LACEY 



It will be seventy years on the eleventh of next May 

 that this place has been the center of the thoughts and 

 affections of the people of this county. No county-seat 

 war has ever marred the selection, and the people of the 

 whole county have, during all these years, pointed with 

 pardonable pride to the growth of the city which has 

 steadily expanded from this center. 



On May 12, 1909, the splendid statue of old Mahaska 

 was unveiled, and two ladies, Mrs. Phillips and Mrs. Mar- 

 tin, who were settlers in 1843, drew aside the veil which 

 exposed that work of art and historic memorial to the 

 gaze of twelve thousand cheering spectators. 



In 1855 there were but three brick buildings on this 

 square : one where the Golden Eagle store now stands, a 

 dwelling remodeled for mercantile purposes where the 

 Baldauf store now stands, and the old Union Block which 

 still remains. 



At the northwest corner stood the frame court-house, 

 long after moved to "West High Street by J. B. Noe and 

 known as "Noe's Ark." 



All the other buildings were frame, and many a suc- 

 cessful battle of the bucket brigade, under Henry Tredick, 

 preserved these fragile structures until the march of bus- 

 iness compelled their removal and replacement by the 

 beautiful buildings which now have taken their places. 

 The old Oskaloosa House and Madison House, both frame 

 buildings, stood fronting on the park and sheltered the 

 immigrant and stage coach passenger who kept the roads 

 in use from the Mississippi to the Missouri. 



Utility was the first purpose of this park and the idea 

 of beautifying it came later. Not long before the Civil 

 War the leading men of the town volunteered to each 

 plant a tree here and for many years these trees were 

 known as Garl Phillips's tree, Seevers's tree, Rice's tree, 

 Eastman's tree, Needham's tree, and like names. 



