119 9th Street S.W. ---- ---- Hwy 3 W.  P.O. Box 652
Clarion, Iowa 50525 ---- Phone (515) 602-6000

 
     
 

Wright County Historical Society & Research Library

 
  The Wright County Historical Society maintains this Historical & Research Library which is located on the 1920s –1930s streetscapes within Heartland Museum. It is also the home of the Clarion Historical Society.

The Historical Society collects history of the entire county and has designated a shelf for each of the seven towns represented in Wright County. The library contains a good cross-section of public school books from this period.

Since Frank Lloyd Wright was the leader in designing buildings in the first 30 to 40 years of the twentieth century, the Wright County Historical Society chose his Prairie School of Architecture for the design of their library within Heartland Museum. The interior is designed to reflect the same period of time.

Retired farmer and full-time volunteer George Boyington of Clarion agreed to take on this complicated construction task if his friend Paul Larson, also retired from MidAmerican Energy, would work with him. After Thanksgiving of 2003 they began construction of the red oak shelves in George’s home shop from a photo in a magazine. They had no diagrams or set of plans. By May 1, 2004, the project was completed and the Library opened. Over 1,500 hours were spent on this endeavor.

The Library has proven to be a good source for genealogy research. Family histories are on the shelves, and the collection increases as persons drop in and share their attic treasures, records, photos and scrapbooks. The sources for genealogy research include tax lists, chattel mortgages, maps and plat books. Other helps are school annuals, church directories and many things reflecting the history of the area. There are always ongoing projects which add to the wealth of information to be found.

The Library benefits from those who think of donating rather than throwing when estates are settled or moves are made.
 
     
 
 

     
 

     

     
 
 

 
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