August 11, 1924 – Long-time Iowa City business entrepreneur & East Iowa City land developer – James H. Maggard – dies.
The O.S. Kelly Manufacturing Company was founded by Oliver S. Kelly in Springfield, Ohio, and manufactured steam traction engines, cable plowing steam traction engines, steel water tanks, and threshers. Kelly’s Iowa City operation – which opened in 1900 – specialized in farming implement machinery. James H. Maggard teamed with O.S. Kelly from the mid-1880’s, and came to Iowa City to serve as branch manager, overseeing the construction and operation of the new Kelly Works.
Over the years, Maggard wrote all of the promotional literature for the O.S. Kelly Company, and issues of The American Thresherman and The Threshermen’s Review from the early 1900’s feature ads with unmistakable Maggard wording. Maggard has been called “the Mark Twain of writers on engineering” and is best remembered for his innovative farming inventions.
Between Iowa City and the new East Iowa City, there was a large empty space in East Lucas Township just begging to be developed. That’s where Maggard stepped in – pulling together an investment team for a whole new neighborhood called Rundell. Geared specifically for his employees at O.S. Kelly Works, 274 lots quickly sold to new home owners, with Maggard’s’ promise that he would help the city develop a street car franchise that would service the new neighborhood.
READ MORE ABOUT THIS IOWA STORY HERE
This Day In History is an Our Iowa Heritage blog series that offers you a little bit of Iowa trivia from a large selection of stories on our website. Subscribe to this FREE blog and you’ll get a new email from us daily.
Join us for Our Iowa Heritage blog posts.
Learn some historical facts about Iowa City, Johnson County, or Eastern Iowa.
Amaze your friends.
Pingback: August 10, 1874. | Our Iowa Heritage