Des Moines County Historical Society

Burlington, Iowa. A Souvenir. 1896 states that Burlington was quickly gaining the reputation of being a hospital center. St. Francis was the original hospital in Burlington; started by the order of St. Francis. They opened May 1, 1882 and began receiving the sick and injured. R. T Root’s home was then purchased in November to fill the need for more commodious apartments in the hospital. The hospital continued to grow and began to include operations. Admission was gained by ...Continue reading

This week’s artifact dates to the Civil War. It is made of patinaed copper and brass, with steel fittings. And it even still has traces of its original contents inside! The artifact caused some confusion among the experts that we consulted about it, as it has been heavily reproduced from about the mid-20th Century on. It was especially popular in the 1960’s, and the reproductions are remarkably good copies! However, ours was eventually determined to be an original. Accordin...g to The Powder Flask book, the catalog description lists it as Wreath, dog and birds, and was #310. It cost a princely $5.50 at the time, a rather large sum of money for the 1850’s. It was manufactured by American Cap and Flask Company and was designed to store and dispense 4F black powder. The nozzle has a handy built-in measure that allows one to dispense the desired amount of black powder into the muzzle of a flint or cap lock black powder gun. Originally, there would have been rings to attach to a thong or bit of rope, and sling over your shoulder as part of your black powder kit. Alternatively, you could also keep it in your shooting bag, a sort of knapsack that would hold your powder flask, shot, and patches, along with your patch knife and other essentials. We don’t know who originally owned or used the powder flask, or where they acquired it. We do know that it came into our collection in 1983 and is one of several black powder flasks in our care. Special thanks to the experts at the Civil War Forum, and local historian, Jerry Bloomer for their invaluable help in identifying this, and many other powder flasks in our collection! Photo Credit: Don Weiss #askJulie #CivilWar #HeritageMuseum #Museums #IowaMuseums #BlackPowder #BurlingtonHistory #Flintlock #Caplock #Blackpowdershooting #DMCHS #Iowastrong #BizzareIowa #WeirdIowa #Iowahistory #stillhere #DMCHSHistory #askthecurator #askanexpert #MuseumOn

Wow! So many of you loved our Hypatia mugs that we SOLD OUT! But, thankfully we were able to order more for the ones who were not able to grab them while we still had them. Here is what the updated mugs look like. We will have them in our Gift Shop priced at $12.50 :)

Burlington, Des Moines County, Iowa - The Des Moines County Historical Society is pleased to announce that it has received an Iowa Arts & Cultural Recovery Grant from the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. Grant funds will support the Des Moines County Heritage Museum during the COVID-19 pandemic shuttering that occurred on March 2020 and the subsequent cancellation of musical events in the Bart Howard Lounge. The IDCA Recovery Grant w...ill allow for the continued operation of the Historical Society including operating expenses such as payroll, utilities and decreased revenue during the 9 plus months the museum has been closed. On December 2, 2020, Governor Kim Reynolds allocated $7 million of federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs for the purpose of providing economic relief to Iowa’s arts and culture industry. The funding is administered by the Iowa Arts Council, on behalf of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, through the Iowa Arts & Culture Emergency Relief Fund. The Iowa Arts & Cultural Recovery Grant supports the mission of DMCHS, to provide opportunities for education and allow for the preservation of history in Des Moines County. In addition to three floors of exhibits and interactive displays, the museum allows visitors to travel back in time to the early days of Iowa, and particularly, Des Moines County, providing a glimpse into the important role that the people in our community served in the development of Iowa as a whole. The Bart Howard Room is a music venue designed in the style of the Blue Angels club in New York City; night club where native son, Bart Howard, performed many of his over 100 published songs. The Bart Howard Room hosts a variety of performers, both seasoned and aspiring, through its many events including recitals, songwriters' workshops and open-mike nights. "We are so grateful to have been awarded this Grant," states Executive Director, Robin Schneiderman. "News of this opportunity, provided by Governor Kim Reynolds and the IDCA, has the DMCHS Board of Directors and Staff brainstorming new exhibits as well as new performance ideas. The Grant will benefit not only our organization, but the community we serve not only the hundreds of community members, but the thousands of visitors who come to Burlington and visit our museum."

Having been lucky enough to have grown up in Burlington in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, I was fortunate enough to know the man DeEdwin White. Born June 6, 1910 in a small Iowa town, DeEdwin Dedee White moved to the big city of Burlington when he was 4 months old. He was actually born a Matthews but when his mother remarried he was given he White name. He attended school here and was always a good student. He was in the quarter of his class. His aspiration was to beco...me a dentist and he began prepping for that at high school. Because he was poor, he was never really encouraged to go on to college. He stated in the Hawkeye October 31, 1971 that he really didn’t think he had the temperament to be a dentist anyway. He grew up during the Depression. He was able to make a living running a shoe shine stand making between $20 and $35 per week. He got married in 1933 to Gladys. They never had children but they had numerous nephews and nieces. They also housed an exchange student from Nigeria. They also housed two Burlington Bees players and two college basketball players. In 1935 he passed the Civil Service exam and became a postal worker 4 years later. During this time he also became a Golden Gloves trainer along with another man. However, in 1942 he became a first lieutenant in the Coast Artillery corps and was in the South Pacific as a stevedore officer. After he got back to Burlington, he became interested in people particularly blacks and poor. He was a pioneer in what was referred to as a militant group; NAACP. He was President of the local chapter for several years. He was a member of the St. John AME church where he served as trustee for 25 years. He retired from his postal position in 1971. May 1971 he was named to the Iowa State Civil Rights Commission. He was actively involved in the community. Besides the above, he was also involved as president of the Southeastern Community Action, from its inception in 1965 until June 1970 when he resigned to become the Board’s treasurer. He was a past president of the Des Moines County Credit Union Postal Carriers. He was past president of the Des Moines-Quincy, Illinois layman’s district and past president of the American Legion, Masons and Eastern Star. He sought and won election to the City Council in 1971. He also enjoyed bowling and was listed under the bowling scores as high game for senior swingers with a 217 high game. Sadly, October 27, 1995 that light shone for the last time. References: The Burlington Hawkeye: Oct. 31, 1971 and August 27, 1971, Sept. 24, 1975 and Oct. 31, 1995