Farmington is in Van Buren County but many from Lee County enjoyed going there.
This story will be told in two parts with the conclusion in the June newsletter. Chautauqua Programs Popular in Farmington, Iowa Anderson Park
The Chautauqua Circuit was an adult education movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with speakers, teachers,
musicians, entertainers, preachers and specialists of the day. Former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt is quoted as saying that Chautauqua is "the most American thing in America."
The Farmington Chautauqua lasted longer than most when chautauquas vanished from the American scene. Information extracted from a historical narrative compiled by Thelma Moreland entitled "Historic Farmington, Iowa: Her First Century" tells how this program started and became the most successful in southeast Iowa. Crowds came from Bloomfield, Pulaski, Cantril, Keosauqua, Bonaparte, Donnellson, Keokuk, Argyle, Fort Madison, Burlington and other communities.
"May 10, 1894, was indeed a gala day for Farmington, the most exciting event in the history of Farmington, for that day marked the formal opening of beautiful Anderson Park. The city put on its best holiday air. All the stores and many homes were decked with flags and bunting, and the children were let out of school for the day. During the morning hundreds of choice trees were planted in the park by local people, who donated them, and in the afternoon a big parade, headed by the mayor and city council, followed by the crack Fire Department, the gay school children, children in little wagons marching with their pets, civic groups and citizens, marching, all marching in the gay procession and grandly joined by a brass band. All marked to the park where, with music, speeches, and appropriate ceremony, the magnificent gift of fellow townsman, Ira Anderson, was formally declared open to the public forever.
The Day was called Park Day, and voted to be a perpetual holiday for the town. In the center, a beautiful pavilion would be erected for band concerts and the like. An artificial lake and fountain would be constructed, and a broad driveway was planned to encircle the park. The drive would be one-half mile long, and would be graveled with river pebbles. "
~ Researched and submitted by Diane Kruse
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