Sheldon Prairie Museum's military collection includes Philo Woods' Civil War diary
The museum building opened in 1908 as a Carnegie Library. Museum director Millie Vos and a group of volunteers are there to share the history of Sheldon with visitors. One fact is that Sheldon is named after Israel Sheldon, a stockholder in the railroad, which played a big part in the city's early growth.
The museum has many different collections — in fact, about half the basement is dedicated to military service throughout the years, including the hand-written diary of an Iowa soldier serving in the Civil War.
Philo Woods was born in Pennsylvania but moved with his parents to Auburn, Iowa (north of Carroll) in 1854. The Civil War broke out during his freshman year in college, and he enlisted in Company C of the 12th Iowa Infantry Regiment. Woods started writing a diary in the early fall of 1861 and continued to write throughout his Civil War involvement.
Christian music festival RiseFest returning to Sheldon for 2025
'When he was there, it was his job to write what they did every day and what happened with everything,' Vols said. 'It happened to be that they were found here at a place in Sheldon.'
'Each day, what they did, what they ate, what activity was going on in the war,' historian and author Tom Whorley said. 'It's a true historical artifact we're happy to have here in our museum.'
The actual diaries are kept in a locked vault. It's believed the museum is also home to the only remaining 1837 cannon: the 12-pound bronze mountain howitzer cannon, one of 12 ordered by the U.S. War Department.
The museum has detailed exhibits for nearly every American conflict.
For more of KCAU 9's Hometown Proud stories, CLICK HERE.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Photos claiming to show Russian man saving drowning bear in Lake Tahoe tell a different story
Claim: Online photographs show Ivan Stepanov, a Russian tourist, saving a drowning bear beneath the Tallac Bridge in South Lake Tahoe. Rating: A seemingly heartwarming story of an animal rescue spread like wildfire across social media in August 2025. The story, accompanied by photos in each post, was of a Russian tourist named Ivan Stepanov, who dove into frigid waters to rescue a sedated, drowning bear beneath the Tallac Bridge in South Lake Tahoe. According to the story, Stepanov said when asked why he risked his life, "In my country, we say a man's strength is measured by who he chooses to protect—even if it has claws." A Facebook post (archived) of the story got nearly 400,000 reactions in just a couple of days. Another Facebook post (archived) of the same story got 16,000 reactions. An Instagram post (archived) sharing the story got over 40,000 likes. Several readers reached out to Snopes to ask if it was true and many others searched the site for the story. The story as told in the Facebook posts was false. The photos were real, though, and from a real drowning bear rescue by an American man in Florida. A Google search for "Ivan Stepanov bear" yielded no legitimate news outlets covering the rescue, just social media posts spreading the story. A reverse image search (archived) for the photo attached to the story, however, returned 17-year-old news articles about a man who rescued a bear in Florida. The rescue, according to The Gainesville Sun, Tampa Bay Times and Gulf Breeze News, was the work of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologist Adam Warwick in 2008. After the bear wandered too close to people's houses, state wildlife officials shot it with a tranquilizer gun so they could move it, but the bear reacted by paddling out into the Gulf of Mexico. Warwick, believing he had only a few minutes before the tranquilizer dart took effect and the bear would drown, jumped into the water and first tried to splash it to encourage it to go back to shore. But that didn't work, so Warwick got behind the bear, hugged it and tried swimming it to shore. "The bear was heavy. Warwick used the animal's buoyancy to help him haul it to shore," the Tampa Bay Times wrote. "The animal was awake but could barely move. The bear tried to help out with a little doped-up paddling of its own." According to the Times, Warwick and a colleague drove the bear three hours east to Osceola National Forest the next morning. Two weeks later, the bear wandered into another residential area and Warwick found it a home at Hardee County Animal Refuge to save it from being euthanized, The Gainesville Sun reported at the time. Six years later, in 2014, the rescue got some national attention with stories from Game & Fish Magazine and the Financial Times. The version with "Ivan Stepanov" wasn't a real bear rescue shared with the wrong photo, either. Not only was there no real reporting of the tale, it also happened at a place that doesn't exist. While there is a Tallac area around South Lake Tahoe, there is no Tallac Bridge, even where the road crosses Tallac Creek. In fact, there are no bridges that cross Lake Tahoe. "Daring Rescue: FWC Biologist Saves Drowning Bear from Gulf." Gulf Breeze News - Your Community Newspaper, Gulf Breeze News, 3 July 2008, Accessed 15 Aug. 2025. Garry, Stephanie. "Biologist Pulls Doped Bear from Gulf." Tampa Bay Times, 10 July 2008, Accessed 15 Aug. 2025. Hanson, Debbie. "Florida FWC Biologist Makes Heroic Black Bear Rescue - Game & Fish." Game & Fish, Game & Fish, 20 Mar. 2014, Accessed 15 Aug. 2025. "Ivan Stepanov Bear - Google Search." Accessed 15 Aug. 2025. "Lake Tahoe - Google Maps." Google Maps, Accessed 15 Aug. 2025. The Associated Press. "Rescued 375-Pound Black Bear Will Go to Hardee County Zoo." Gainesville Sun, 10 July 2025, Accessed 15 Aug. 2025. van Gilder Cooke, Sonia. ""I Saved a Bear from Drowning."" Financial Times, Financial Times, 13 June 2014, Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.
Chicago Tribune
15 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Lake County museum looking for new home; must vacate old courthouse by Dec. 31
Time travel is a possibility at the Lake County Historical Society Museum. The museum, housed in 4,000 square feet on the second floor of the Old Lake County Courthouse in downtown Crown Point, is filled with donations that go back to the 1800s when both Crown Point and Lake County were in their infancy. Finding new homes for these museum treasures, including diaries from Civil War soldiers, an 1821 Gutenberg printing press and a symphonion music box and cabinet from 1890 that still plays, is now the job of Executive Director Diane Gora and some eight volunteers. Gora herself is an unpaid volunteer. 'We were given notice on July 31 that we have until Dec. 31 to vacate the space,' Gora said. Notice was given from the Lake Courthouse Foundation, owners of the courthouse, who couldn't be reached for comment. 'We can't afford the rent right now,' Gora said. The museum has been housed in the courthouse for 43 years this month. 'We've had a good 43 years,' she said. Gora said the Lake County Historical Society, which operates the museum, is one of the oldest continuously operating historical societies in Indiana. It's still gearing up to celebrate its 150th anniversary with an open house from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sept. 27. 'Our goal is to maintain the society and keep it going for another 150 years. The elephant in the room is taking care of people's treasures,' she said. Gora said the society knew two years ago that they would be asked to move the museum out of the courthouse. During that time period, Gora and volunteers have tried to inventory everything. 'We have been working diligently to do an inventory; none had been done before,' she said. So far, 5,000 items have been logged and can be accounted for. 'We are struggling to get through all the items,' she said. She said part of her group's tedious process, in addition to logging everything, is trying to connect items with their donors. 'It's not a matter of putting things out in a dumpster. We're trying to find paperwork that links items with the family. Do they want the item back or donate it to another place?' she said. Her group is also able to loan or gift items, if pertinent to that community, to other cities or historical societies. The Lake County Parks Department, including Deep River Mill and Buckley Homestead, has taken some of the museum's items, as has the city of Gary and the Old Sheriff's House Foundation in Crown Point. The Lake County Historical Society Museum includes two rooms that are open to the public, plus two rooms used for storage of many items, including 50 bins of military and vintage clothing. On a recent Tuesday, Crown Point residents Alicia and Scott Savoy came to the museum after hearing that it would no longer be located there after Dec. 31. It was their second visit to the museum. 'This is great,' Alicia Savoy said of the items inside the museum, adding, 'It's telling a story.' There's plenty to see, including the astronaut spacesuit Crown Point native Jerry Ross wore on one of his many trips into space; 'technology' from the early 1900s, such as typewriters and adding machines; as well as a German-made silent movie camera patented in the early 1900s. 'We're trying to preserve as much as we can,' Gora said. Gora hopes that the museum can find a new home for all its treasures, and she said she has had at least one offer from a Dyer businessperson who would let them use a storefront for items. 'It (a new location) will never be as right as this is,' she said of the museum's present location. Those with questions about the museum or the society can call (219) 662-3975 or (219) 308-4407. The phone number for the foundation is (219) 663-0660
a day ago
Another gold rush could bring open pit mines to South Dakota's Black Hills
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- A gold rush brought settlers to South Dakota's Black Hills roughly 150 years ago, chasing the dream of wealth and displacing Native Americans in the process. Now, a new crop of miners driven by gold prices at more than $3,000 an ounce are seeking to return to the treasured landscape, promising an economic boost while raising fears of how modern gold extraction could forever change the region. 'These impacts can be long term and make it so that tourism and outdoor recreation is negatively impacted,' said Lilias Jarding, executive director of the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance. 'Our enjoyment of the Black Hills as a peaceful place, a sacred place, is disturbed.' The Black Hills encompass over 1.2 million acres (485,622 hectares), rising up from the Great Plains in southwest South Dakota and extending into Wyoming. The jagged peaks are smaller than those of the Rocky Mountains, but the lush pine-covered hills are sacred to the Lakota Sioux people and serve as a destination for millions of tourists who visit Mount Rushmore and state parks. One gold mine now operates in the Black Hills, but companies have proposals before state and federal agencies for another one, plus exploratory drilling sites that they hope will lead to full-fledged mines. That has prompted opposition by Native American tribes and environmentalists who argue the projects are close to sacred sites, will contaminate waterways and permanently scar the landscape. Gold extraction has changed dramatically in the decades since prospectors first began panning for gold in the Black Hills. The industry now typically relies on massive trucks and diggers that create deep, multitiered pits and use chemicals like cyanide to extract the gold. The land can never return to its original state. The Homestake mine, once the largest and deepest gold mine in the Western Hemisphere, now sits barren in Lead, South Dakota, and is used for scientific research. Interest in Black Hills gold mining has soared along with the price of the metal. When the Homestake mine closed in 2002, gold sold for about $300 an ounce. Now it goes for about 10 times as much. Joseph Cavatoni, senior market strategist at the World Gold Council, attributes the price spike to global economic uncertainty. 'Gold tends to be a stable asset,' he said. 'That actually performs well in inflationary times, and holds its value in recessionary times. That's why gold as an asset in investment.' President Donald Trump also boosted the industry by issuing an executive order in March to increase American mineral production, calling for expedited permitting and reviews. Colin Paterson, professor emeritus of geological engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, notes that Black Hills gold is encased in rock. To extract it, the rock is crushed and then a chemical like cyanide is used to dissolve the mineral and remove it. Coeur Mining runs the single active mine in the Black Hills, but the company Dakota Gold has plans for an open pit mine to begin operating in 2029. The company is also targeting the area near the old Homestake site to build an underground mine where workers would descend hundreds or even thousands of feet into shafts. Jack Henris, president and chief operating officer of Dakota Gold, estimated the open pit mine would create up to 250 jobs and result in the company paying the state up to $400 million in taxes over the life of the mine. Dakota Gold will conduct an environmental study and surveys of soil and vegetation to ensure safe operation, Henris said. 'Most of the people that work here are from this area and just love to live here,' he said. 'So we're a big part of the Hills and we love them just as much as other folks.' To a great extent, gold mining helped create the modern Black Hills region. The U.S. government signed a treaty in 1868 that recognized the Sioux Nation's right to the Black Hills, but the government seized the land after the discovery of gold and allowed settlers into the region. The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled the Sioux were entitled to compensation, but they have not accepted any and maintain their claim to the land. Tribes have largely opposed mining in the Black Hills. 'There's a central truth about mining in the Black Hills in that it was never the most mineral rich place there ever was,' said Taylor Gunhammer, local organizer with the Indigenous advocacy group NDN Collective and an Oglala Sioux, one of the Lakota people. 'It's not even the actual mineral content of the Black Hills that is so attractive to mining companies. It's the permissive nature of the officials who oversee mining.' Some proposed projects, such as Dakota Gold's mine, are on private land and only subject to state rules, not the U.S. Forest Service regulations required for projects on public acreage. Environmentalists have focused their opposition on the possibility of chemicals leaks. They note that Coeur's Wharf mine has had nearly 200 spills and that the former Homestake mine was closed because it contaminated a nearby creek. Coeur's environmental manager, Jasmine McCauley, said in a statement that each spill was "thoroughly investigated, mitigated, and corrective actions are put in place to prevent reoccurrence.' The company is always improving its processes, she added. Jarding, of the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, said she remains concerned about the number of projects in the works. 'It's really important that people understand the exponential growth in mining activity that's been happening in the Black Hills over the last five years or so,' Jarding said. "There are currently active mining claims on 271,000 acres in the Black Hills. That's 20% of the whole Black Hills that is potentially going to be subject to mining.'
