IOWA GHOST TOWNS
COUNTY OF MITCHELL

Town of Dixie
1857


        The small town of Dixie, and it was one of the smallest in the county, was started in 1893 by H.G. Thrams. It was located on the SW ¼ of Section 29 in Rock Township. Mr Thrams owned this farm, and just west of his buildings he built a store. This was enlarged to include a tavern and a post office. Mr. Thrams was appointed postmaster by the postal department. There being no other nearby towns and the only method of travel was by horse and buggy, the store did a thriving business. Mr. Thrams also operated a traveling sales wagon in which he toured the sales area with a load of necessities for the people. The items would include food-stuffs, clothing and cooking utensils. Incidentally some patent medicines would be included.

        With the advent of the rural free delivery mail service in 1903, the post office was discontinued, although the store and peddler’s wagon continued to operate for a number of years. Finally the appearance of he automobile and the improvement of roads marked the closing of the town of Dixie in 1915.

Reproduced with the approval of the: Mitchell County Historical Society
From "The Story of Mitchell County 1851 - 1973".
The county’s ghost town: Dixie
By Vivian Du Shane
Press News May 12, 1999

        Dixie is a girl’s name, and a name of a song. It was also the name of a tiny town. The town of Dixie was named after the old family dog and was located ten miles west, a mile south and a half-mile east of Osage.
        The Thrams family was originally from Wisconsin where in the 1880’s money, jobs and good farm crops were hard to come by. The family decided to travel west to Iowa to make a new home and living. They ended up seven miles north of Nora Springs where the grandfather buys 120 acres of government land the son, Christ purchases an additional 80 acres. By that fall the Thrams constructed a small frame house, join the Rock Creek Methodist Episcopal Church, plow a sizable plot of next year’s wheat crop and the family planted and harvested a large garden.
        In 1893, Henry G. Thrams owned this farm and just west of his buildings, he built a store. This was enlarged to include a post office. Mr. Thrams was appointed postmaster by the postal department. There being no other nearby towns and the only method of travel was by horse and buggy, the store did a thriving business. Mr. Thrams soon started a traveling sales wagon in which he toured the neighboring area. The items he peddled in the wagon included food, clothing, cooking utensils and some patent medicines.
        With the rural free delivery mail service in 1903, the post office was discontinued. However, the store and the peddlers wagon continued to operate for a number of years after that. Finally, the appearance of the automobile and improvements of the county roads marked the closing of the town Dixie in 1915. However, Dixie had survived longer than you thought, from 1893 to 1915 – 22 years.
                The land is now owned by Mr. Mrs. Justin Ones and is farmed by their nephew, Lowell Kroneman, and their son, Jerry Ones lives in the house. The only original building of Dixie is the house and one machine shed.

        Vivian Du Shane, is a member of the Alpha Writers. Vivian’s forte’ is Mitchell County history. She was born and raised near Little Cedar and has lived nearly all her life in the Osage area. Now, retired, Vivian has time to pursue her historical studies.
        In the late 1800;’s Mitchell County had several small towns throughout the county including Fuller, Cardiff, Doran, Stillwater, Leota, Dixie and several others. Vivian chose the tiny village of Dixie to research and come up with an interesting summary of the tiny spot on the map on the western edge of Mitchell County.

LOCATION: Just 1/4 to 1/2 mile east of Balsam on 350th, North side of road approximately.

Transcribed by: Neal Du Shane
070202
DIXIE MCHS-VLD.doc

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