The board of the Loess Hills Visitor Center and Gift Shop in Moorhead is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and it is housed in a historic building.
On March 30, 1998, the old Cover School, located in Willow Township, was purchased and moved into Moorhead to be restored. The restoration work continued until August of 1999.
The original school was built in 1874 and served the community for several decades, with some renovations coming in the 1920s. It was closed after the 1955-56 school year, and all school children were bused to the nearest town for their educational needs.
Bought by Monona County in 1958, the school was used as a polling place for the people of Willow Township. It was permanently closed in 1990 before the people of Moorhead found value in it nearly a decade later.
According to Bobbie Ford, treasurer for the Loess Hills Visitor Center and Gift Shop Auxiliary, the portraits of presidents hanging around the building were donated by an old schoolteacher at the Cover School. The last president shown is Dwight D. Eisenhower, as he was the last president in office when the school was still functioning as such.
The town of Turin also has a small role in the makeup of the building. For those familiar with the Turin Star, which was lit up at Christmas as a star and at Easter as a cross, the town also housed the Turin Star Factory.
“They put this Turin Star on the side of the block, so somebody brought us one of those to put in our foundation, which we appreciated because we like to keep things historic if we can,” Ruth Pickle, member of the Loess Hills Visitor Center and Gift Shop Auxiliary and treasurer for the Cover Country Schoolhouse, said.
There were countless other contributions that make up the building’s character today, such as the addition of a chimney and school bell, installation of insulation and a floor register, fresh paint jobs, new basement steps and much more.
Jumping to modern day, the board is spending August celebrating their 20th anniversary of promoting Moorhead, Monona County and the Loess Hills of Western Iowa. They specialize in local handcrafted items, which are on consignment, as well as Moorhead T-shirts, Loess Hills logo patches, caps, shirts, maps and other items.
And one thing’s for sure – the converted schoolhouse still means a lot to those who were involved in its move and those who have come to learn about its history later on. That is apparent when presented with the auxiliary’s binder that is overflowing with old photos, articles and documents relating to the building.
“Moorhead people have always been for Moorhead,” Pickle said. “It’s a small town, but they go back generations. They remember those things, and they want them preserved.”
