It was one of the last towns incorporated in Hardin County, but that doesn’t mean that Buckeye and the surrounding area is without a history. On the contrary, the town and the township from which it derived its name, have proven themselves quite steadfast and hardy over time.

Buckeye Township is the second township form the north line of all the townships located in Hardin County. It was first settled during the summer of 1853 by the two Pilgrim brothers who built a double log cabin on the southwest quarter of Section 12.

According to the book, Past and Present of Hardin County, the cabin was the only residence between Webster City and Cedar Falls and it was located on the stage route that ran between Dubuque and Fort Dodge. While serving as agents for the stage, it was reported that the brothers would entertain their guests by spreading a cloth over a box which served as a table. After the meal was finished, the dishes along with whatever remained of the meal, were placed into the box until another day. The brothers resided there until 1855, when they decided to move further west.

The second settler, John Snider, arrived in 1854 and soon built the second house in the township. In 1855 Snider and his wife became parents of the first child was the first recorded death to occur in the township as well. The Snider’s arrival on the prairie was soon followed by several other families who began settling the area in 1856, including J.I. Lyon, Richard Linn, T. Kellogg, L.T. Beard, Alexander Barhite, G.L. Morriell and A.P Kellogg.

The first wedding in the township was held July 27, 1857 united L.T. Beard and Mary E. White. Beard was also responsible for constructing the first school house in 1857 for the sum of $750. The school opened the following summer and was attended by eight students and their teacher, Mary Ross.

As the township grew so did the number of businesses. Before the turn century, the township had a grocer, hardware dealers and a livery. Yet, it wasn’t until 1900, when the Des Moines and Iowa Falls “Short Line” Railroad, laid track through the township and built a depot, that the town of Buckeye was born on land donated by E. Ellsworth. Thanks to the railroad, a post office was erected in 1902 and the population of the town had increased to 200 by 1904. By 1911 many new business ventures were up and running. Included among these were the Schull Lumber Company, Burroughs Drug Company, Buckeye Mercantile Company, Bank of Buckeye, a furniture store owned by E. Stringer, restaurateur S.H. Davis, two grain elevators, blacksmith A. Underwood, harness shop owner E. Stringer, livestock sellers Gehrke & Son and W.M. Schedmidaka, and hardware dealers Fred Nolte and G. Lutschwager.

The railroad didn’t just have an effect on the local economy. Local resident Gene Berndt fondly remembers going down to the railroad depot and listening to the tapping of the Morse Code as it went over the telegraph lines. His memories of the train service in Buckeye also include watching the Rock Island Rocket pass through town, and trains remain important to the town to this day. As Berndt explained, “At the present time Buckeye has the longest siding between Mason City and Des Moines. It is almost 1¾ miles long and plays a vital part in this community.”

Another piece of history Berndt happily recalls is the open air movies that were shown in town in the late 1930s. “In what is not City Hall there used to be a movie theater which showed movies two to three times per week. But what I really remember is when an outfit out of Dows used to come into town and put up a big canvass show movies where the playground is now located. I remember seeing Roy Rogers and Gene Autry movies. Lots of people showed up because it was a really big deal back then,” Berndt said.

Some of the more interesting aspects concerning Buckeye’s history are contained in the minutes of the city council meetings. Records kept in the present day City Hall from 1924-1925 show that the following bills were allowed and ordered paid by council memebers:
• August 12, 1924—To G.C. Kinney $21.60 for use of a team, $35 to the sales and service garage for a tractor and man.
• October 13, 1924—To Arthur Runge for dragging the streets $10.50, $70.50 to E.E. Oliver for tiling.
• December 8, 1924—To Charles Bertog for meals and lodging $2.50, and to G. Kasischke $1 for draying.
• January 14, 1925—Move by Kinney second by Nolte that the poll tax be set at $5 for the year.
• April 1, 1925—Move by Synder that the salary of the council be increased to $1 per meeting and moved by Runge, second by Synder that P.A. Rastetter by appointed street commissioner at a salary of 40 cents per hour.
• July 6, 1925—The city council approves a special election to be held on August 6 to vote on the proposition of building a City Hall and a fire station and purchase ground on which to build the same. Total cost not to exceed $2,500.
• December 14, 1925—To J.L. Cameron for attorney fees in the amount of $39.50.

One of the more interesting entries occurred on January 14, 1925 when the city council agreed to employ Mr. N.E. Smith to take care of the fire engine room for a sum of $5 per month. According to Berndt this was an important job because “...back then there was no heat in the building. It was Smith’s job to keep the fire in the pot belly stove going to prevent the fire truck from freezing in the winter.”

In addition to the record books, another item of interest is kept in City Hall. It is the nozzle that came off the city’s first fire truck. According to Berndt, the first fire truck consisted of two tanks mounted on a truck surrounded by a bunch of buckets. “Back then, in order to fill the tank the truck would be driven out to a farm which utilized large stock tanks that were filled with water. The water would be empited by buckets into the fire truck tank and combination of chemicals would be added to the water and the tank would then be quickly sealed. A chemical reaction would then occur which would pressurize the tank so that the fire hoses could be then be used.” Costs associated with the chemical charges where then assessed against the owner of the property on which they had been used.

While the population of the town has decreased over the years to just over 100 individuals, the town still strivbes for increased growth. With the arrival of the Hawkeye Glove Factory in August of 1997 and the continued prospity of the Buckeye Co-op Elevator, and the city’s two churches, Peace United Church of Christ and St. Paul’s Lutheran, Mayor Sandy Berndt and the rest of the town are working to ensure that the town experiences greater growth and retains its population.

“We want to keep adding to the park so that there are things for the kids in town to do. A basketball court is a definite possibility in the future,” said Berndt. “In addition, we had our first Easter egg hunt in the park this year and would like to make that a tradition for which the town is known. We celbrated our fourth annual Buckeye Day this year and each year more and more people are attending. The town is also gearing up for a big blowout Centennial in 2003.

This article was written by Cheryl L. Dieter and appeared in the Times-Citizen Newspaper on December 1, 1999.

Additional History
Buckeye’s logo claims, “at the end of the line of 359,” it is located at the south end of Highway 359, which extends north to the town of Alden. Buckeye Township was organized in 1865 by the board of county supervisors. The town of Buckeye was incorporated May 25, 1902.

People often laugh and remark that everybody is related. There could be some truth to that, as in most small communityies we seem to have some connections to each other. There are many stories and historical facts passed from generation to generation. Almost 70 years ago, two Buckeye men, Frank bessman and Emil Warmbier invented and patented a farm implement called the harrow bar evener and for three years (1926-1929) they manufactured it until the patent was sold. Back then farmers had to put several pieces of drags together to level the fields. These were taken apart ot go trough gates to the fields, then reassembled. They were pulled by horses or mules. The harrow bar evener or a drag evener as they called it, had steel hinges to allow the pieces of the drag to be dolfed and fit through gates. Otis Bessman, son of Frank, recalls that the holes in the steel were punched, not drilled. The punch they used cold punch ¼ to ¾ inch holes throught the ½ inch steel. As a young boy, he and his friends would load their pockets until they nearly lost their pants from the weight of the punched out pieces of steel. Those pieces worked well in their sling shots. Now 70 years later Frank’s great grandson and Emil’s great granddaughter married, so the two friends of years ago collectively have two great, great grandchildren.

Fondly we remember Reynolds Sundries Store, famous over the years for Cleo and Marie’s Ice Cream Lollipops. A scoop of ice cream placed on a wooden stick, dipped in chocolate and frozen quickly. The first ones sold for 10¢, occasionally Cleo would write free on the dipped end o fthe stick, you could turn it in next time for a free lollipop. Naturally, many of the kids would write free on their stick. Cleo seemed to know, as behind the counter in an old Coke glass he had a collection of these sticks. It only worked one time. He must have been amused.

Buckeye was a flourising community in the early 1900’s, primarily before the depression. The Buckeye State Bank, the Marshall Canning Company Pickle Station, the Diamond Elevator Company, a hotel, a movie theater, three geneeral stores, a grocery store, a drug store and post office, garage, harness shop, blacksmith’s shop, a physician’s office, lumber company, butcher shop, hardware store, milnery, a livestock yard, furniture store and a creamery to name a few. In later years the Buckeye Co-op Elevator was organized, which also operated the International Harvester Dealership, known locally as the IH Farm Store. Today the Buckeye Co-op Elevator is the town’s largest business.

The Rock Island Railroad ran its line through Buckeye in 1901. The depot was a busy place, operated for many years by Station Agent, D.D. Walker. He received telegraphs, old tickets and retrieved the mail. The mail would frequently be thrown from the train and a pole with an extension would snatch the mailbag. A prominent passenger train called the Rocket came through town twice a day. Buckeye was not a scheduled stop for this train, it was quite a sight watching it bolt through town. The track, currently owned by the Union Pacific Railroad, remains very active today.

The Buckeye Telephone Company was organized and most people had a party-line. You would recognize your call by a sequence of rings. To announce community events or emergencies the operator would jingle a general ring. Everybody could listen to the announcement.

During the depression, Life was modest and laborious for the most, but they had diversions. There was a restaurant that served “home cooked meals.” There were taverns and pool halls, which some of the older ladies called “Hell Holes.” The barbershops were an active place, where you could enjoy good conversation. You could enjoy good conversation. You could watch a movie and hear local entertainment at the Wonderland Theater. In later years an outdoor theater and a tent roller skating rink were popular places.

The town had a school and three churches. The school eventually merged with the Alden school district. Two churches still have an active membership with families still relishing what their forefathers established.

Fast pitch Softball became a favorite activity over the years and the community enjoyed the many games played on the town diamond. The sport became prevalent with the Bahr family. Harold Bahr Sr. helped to organize and play for a team. He saw his enthusiasm continue with his eight sons, who played on a team together. Today, his son Glen and two grandsons, Steve and Scott Bahr remain active in the sport, preserving the family tradition.

In the early 1950’s, several people from the town and surrounding area formed a community organization and sold shares of stock to raise funds to construct a community building. With a stage and a hardwood floor it was a popular place for roller skating, bands, dances, Saturday night movies, school plays and carnivals. The basement held a kitchen and lunch room to serve the Buckeye School meals. This building is well maintained today and houses the area Fire Department, which has 22 volunteer members, operating six units including two large tankers.