Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1916-06-02
Essay on Cre.co Given First Prize

Essay on Cresco Given First Prize
Written by Myrtle Sherwood of Cres-
co in the Farmers Institute Prize Es-
say Contest.
Cresco is small city of northeastern
Iowa, located on the Chicago, Miiwau-
kee & ST. Paul Railway, in one of the
best farming districts of that state. 1t
is ten miles from the Minnesota line
and fifty miles from the Mississippi
river 1t is the county seat and larg-
est town in Howard county.
This city was founded in 1866 by Aug
ustus Beadle, who named it Cresco,
from the Greek word meaning 'to
grow" Cresco has lived up to its
name and now has population of over
three thousand. 1t has grown very
rapidly during the last few years and
many new residences have been built to
accommodate the increasing population.
1t is one of the most attractive towns
in Iowa, with its modern residences, its
beautiful churches and schools, its
pleasant lawns and its rows Of trees
adjoining even it's business section.
Cresco has an almost ideal climate as
it is situated in the upper Mississippi
valley of which has been said, ''There
is no more perfect climate to be found
in any part of the country
The health conditions are good as the
drinking water is supplied by deep
wells and the sewerage system is also
adequate for a city of it's size.
There are eight fiourishing churches
in Cresco, each of which has building
of its own. The public schools of this
city are of the very best. They con-
sist of four buildings, three on the
north side and one on the south side.
Two of those on the north side are
practically new, one being remodeled
and the other being occupied this year
for the first time. The high school
offers several courses which prepare
the pupils to enter college, to become
teachers, or to become business or pro-
fessional men and women. Besides this
excellent system of public schools,
Gre CO also boasts two parochial schools
One of these furnishes it's pupils with
only grammar school education while
the other offers high school course,
too.
The two main streets of Cresco are
lighted by electroliers and are paved,
as also are some of the residence blocks
Some of our new buildings are the pas
senger depot, Carnegie library and
1.-THE Cresco" opera house. Several
modern store buildings have been cree
ted the past two years, among them
being the Alliance store, which is prob
ably the most modern store in town. AT
st. Joseph's Mercy hospital in the
western part of town, are forty-four
sanitary well-equipped rooms, where
twenty-six patients can be accommo-
dated at one time. Patients come from
all over country 70 be under the .careof
Dr. Kessel. 1Cresco has IN electric
light plant and telephone system con-
Meeting it with all parts of the country.
While this electric light plant can snip
ply its own power, it now receives it
from a large power dam beyond De-
corah, distance of about thirty-ive
miles. This city also has three banks,
seven factories, two creameries, two
weekly newspapers, two elevators, and
two lumber yards.
These factories, banks, stores and
other business places, along with the
painting, plumbing, carpenter work,
mason work, and other necessary labor
furnishes almost any kind of work one
would desire. Because of its location,
its size, its beauty, its schools and
churches, its climate and health con-
ditions, its many industries and its
modern improvements, Cresco makes
an almost ideal home.