Monti, Iowa

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Monti is a tiny unincorporated hamlet located in the southeast corner of Buchanan County, Iowa, United States. It lies on the west bank of Buffalo Creek between Quasqueton and Coggon. Fewer than a dozen homes huddle along the sole paved road which bisects the community.

[edit] Geography

Monti is located in the northern part of Newton Township, the southeasternmost of Buchanan County's townships. The village lies along County Road W-45, where that road meets with Washington Avenue, an unpaved and unimproved gravel road.

[edit] History

The town traces its roots to the late 1800s, when large numbers of Irish immigrants flocked to the state in search of new lives in the New World. The town's Catholic roots can be traced back to the first Irish settlers of Iowa.^[1] A large church, St Patrick's Catholic Church of Monti, built in 1870, actually predates the town's existence. A town post office was built in either 1882 or 1885.^[2] Postal service was discontinued in 1902, with the introduction of Rural Free Delivery. Because Monti was never incorporated, population figures were never compiled. It is likely, however, that the town's population peaked around the turn of the century, based on cemetery records compiled by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s.^[3] Although population figures for Monti do not exist, 423 persons live in Newton Township, according to the 2000 Census.^[4]

The nearby villages of Newtonville and Kiene were also located in Newton Township. Both towns' post offices closed in 1902 as well. The Chicago, Anamosa and Northern Railway went through Monti and Kiene [1].

This is a panoramic photo of the 1913 confirmation class at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Monti.

Years of rural migration gradually shrank the area's population, emptying Monti's sister communities. Monti, however, was still a sizeable community in 1913 when E.R. Hensley took a panoramic photograph of the 70 students in St Patrick's confirmation class [2]. Gradually, however, the town's population began to dwindle. The CAN Railway was sold for scrap during World War I. The remains of the railroad grade can still be seen today at the north edge of the hamlet. In 2005, the village was dealt another blow when St Patrick's Catholic Church, which had operated for 135 years, closed its doors. The parish was open from 1870 until July 2005.^[5]

During the early to mid-20th Century, Monti attracted some attention from the Ornithology community. Noted ornithologist Fred J. Pierce reported that a "large tract of timber a mile southeast of the village of Monti, in the southeastern corner of the county" was a particularly good area for birdwatching. In a 1930 paper, Pierce noted the unusual (for the area) birds he had spotted between 1923 and 1928. Among these were one specimen each of the Ruffed Grouse (1923), Cerulean Warbler (1927), and in 1928 a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher and a Connecticut Warbler.^[6] As late as 1945, the Monti woods were home to at least 62 species of bird; the area was used as one of fourteen birding stations in the state. The woods contained the largest confirmed populations of Gray-cheeked Thrushes, Bobolinks, Eastern Vesper Sparrows, Eastern Field Sparrows, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets in the state during the Spring of 1945.^[7]

In 1998, RAGBRAI, a massive cross-state bicycle ride across the state, passed through the hamlet.^[8]

[edit] Monti today

Today there are fewer than two dozen residents in this dwindling farm community. Though the town is very small, it has a community center (formed from the former church rectory).^[9][10] The Monti Festival is held in June.^[11] An unusual railroad flatcar bridge, constructed from two decommissioned flatcars, was built at the eastern edge of Monti in 2007. The 89-ft long 17-ft wide bridge spans Buffalo Creek on Yale Avenue, a gravel road, one mile southeast of the community.^[12] Monti students (when there are any) may attend schools in the East Buchanan Community School District.^[13]

Monti is not found on most maps and can be difficult to locate. The town of Monticello, twenty miles east, also causes some confusion. Monti appears on the official State Map of Iowa. Visitors to Monti may locate the community by heading east from Quasqueton on D-47, then turning right (south) on county road W-45, and following that road south then east to a cluster of six houses approximately ten miles southeast of Quasqueton. These houses mark the nucleus of the community. The large Catholic church is the most visible landmark.

[edit] Parks and recreation

There are two wildlife areas near Monti. Buffalo Creek Wildlife Area, one mile northwest of the community, is a 52-acre park established in 1969. Hunting and fishing are allowed with permits. Three miles southeast of Monti is the 158-acre Newton Township Natural Area. Canoing, fishing, and hunting are permitted at the park, which was established in 1998.^[14]

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] Further reading

Loewenberg, Ina (2004). The View from 70: Women's Recollections and Reflections. Gray Pearl Press, 110. ISBN 0974588105. 

[edit] External links

• Monti community center

• Monti, Iowa is at coordinates 42°22′37″N 91°38′15″W / 42.3769329, -91.6373861 (Monti, Iowa)Coordinates: 42°22′37″N 91°38′15″W / 42.3769329, -91.6373861 (Monti, Iowa)

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