Businesses in Athens, circa 1853-1860

Businesses in Athens, circa 1853-1860. . By the 1850s the town had expanded and commercial buildings were being constructed on top of the bluff at Athens. A list of businesses and organizations (circa 1853-1860) reveals the extent of the town's growth., Wm.B. Armstrong, general store , W. Armstrong, agent K. FT. D. and M. Railroad , Armstron beef and pork packer , Baker and Company, general store , J. and W.B. Barwett, coopers , David Bedell, carpenter and builder , J.S. Bedell, justice of the peace , John Bobbitt, carpenter and builder , Mr. Beucler (or Benchler), stoves and sheet iron ware , W. Burhage, painter , E.F. Colton, flour and grist mill , A.W. Calvert, cabinet maker and carpenter , E.F. Colton, woolen manufacturer , Wm. Deck, blacksmith , Isaac, grocer , Henry Fehlhaber, wagon maker , R.P. Gray, coal dealer , B. Gray, livery stable , Issac P. Gray, grocer , George Gray, general store , G. Gray, brick yard , George Gray, beef and pork packer , George Gray, postmaster , T.H. Hallan, physician and surgeon , T.H. and J.R. Hallan, druggists , P.F. Hamilton, cooper , J.M. Miller, general store , George Hiller, blacksmith , David Kennedy, general store , Miss Kelly, milliner and dress maker , J.T. McKnight, baker , David McKee, assessor , McGowen and Boler, blacksmith , J.T. McNiglet, tailor , Rev. D. Mason, Methodist Episcopal minister , J.D. Nash, boot and shoe dealer , G. Neuse, lumber yard , Henry Ostrander, blacksmith , James Perkins, justice of the peace , W. Perkins, justice of the peace , B. Robinson, ambrotype artist , G. Slaughter, constable , C.W. Stone, butcher , R. Jackson, proprietor, St. Louis Hotel , M. Scott, cabinet maker , John Stafford, general store , A. Starr, cooper , D.M. Scott, physician , R.P. Slaughter, school teacher , James Slaughter, meat market , Peter Turner, brick yard , Rev. Umpston, Presbyterian minister , Henry Wagner, boots and shoes , Rev. Samuel Wood, Christian minister, (Kahoka Gazette-Herald, June 20, 1930), The list of businesses reveals that the Keokuk, Fort Des Moines and Minnesota Railroad Company had a station agent in Athens. On the eve of the Civil War, Athens was a steamboat port, grain, livestock and manufacturing center. Plans to connect Athens to the Keokuk, Fort Des Moines and Minnesota Railroad at Croton were interrupted by the Civil War., Five churches: a Baptist, Presbyterian, Christian and two Methodist were located in pre-Civil War Athens. Among other businesses and organizations in 19th century Athens were: Doud's Paint and Carriage Shop, Allan Faxon's Wagon Factory, Hancock's Shoe Repair, Ruben Hanson's Blacksmith Shop, a Masonic Lodge, Express Office, a large brick two-story public school and an academy under the charge of a Mr. Slaughter and Mr. Burah. Athens was also served by a stagecoach line that ran from Alexandria, through Athens, to Bloomfield, Iowa., The population of Athens was reported as over 500 in the mid-1850s and by most accounts the town continued to thrive and grow up to the Civil War. Pro-South sentiments during the war brought hardship in the aftermath. When Athens missed the last opportunity in 1886 to secure a railroad, the town was doomed. By 1887, many of the houses and businesses were moved to the new town of Revere. By 1900, Athens only had about 50 residents.