Gilbert Historical Society

05/15/2026

Sunday, August 23 Gilbert Historical Society

is inviting the Community to come to
Gilbert High School Auditorium
2:00 pm
for a Production of The Story of GILBERT

As told by Dave Baker (of the 29th State FaceBook Page)
Dave is a writer, photographer, and speaker who has spent the last decade and a half chasing Iowa’s past, one ghost town, one road, and one story at a time.
Now the 29th State includes live programs for audiences across Iowa and Dave will be in our town to tell us stories about our home town that didn’t make it into the history books.

Whether your Gilbert roots were planted deep in the prairie soil of central Iowa or if you are just following your moving van to one of the many housing developments in the Gilbert School District you will learn something new about your Community, and be entertained in the process!!

05/15/2026

CORRECTION OF PREVIOUS POST

THE DATE FOR THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PRESENTATION

OF. THE STORY OF GILBERT IS

SUNDAY AUGUST 23 AND THE GILBERT HIGH SCHOOL

05/15/2026

The Gilbert Historical Society invites the Public to a Special Event

On August 23rd at 2:00 pm in the High School Auditorium
We will Present
The True Tales of Gilberts Beginnings

And the Characters who gave Gilbert its Unique Character

Dave Baker is a Historian specializing in researching all the small towns in Iowa. Dave Baker the Woman riter has written a book telling the story of all the cities and towns in the middle third of the State entitled More than Waypoints, including 33 Counties and 100’s of towns.
Dave Baker as a Public Speaker and Actor will let us see the people that made this area home as individuals who were a mixed bag of talents and personalities all linked together with a work ethic and determination that made progress inevitable and a good humor that made it all worth it.

Gilbert School Auditorium Aug. 23 2:00 pm

09/07/2024

Here are some old photos of all the businesses on Main Street in the early 1900s. The first photo shows the only three buildings that are still standing. That one is the south end of Main. The second one is the first half of the north block. The third is the north part of the second block. There is a little overlap in the last two.

06/11/2023

01/30/2023

01/17/2023

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke on the campus of Iowa State University on January 22, 1960 to a crowd of more than 1,500. During his talk titled “The Moral Changes of a New Age,” he stated, “We stand on the threshold of the greatest era of our time in race relations. We are challenged to rise above individual concerns to the concerns of all humanity.”

Photo from Farwell T. Brown Photographic Archive, Ames Public Library, courtesy of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, Atlanta, Georgia.

10/11/2022

For Ada Hayden junkies this picture was taken looking East from Hyde Ave. on July 2 1985. Paul and I were celebrating our 25th anniversary with a horse back ride down through the cornfield and the original Prairieland that is now Ada Hayden Lake . The buildings you see on the eastern horizon was the Jensen farmstead — you all know where their pond was. Almost everything has changed—but the colors are still the same

05/26/2022

Mackey, Iowa will be having their 10th annual Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social on Sunday, June 19th from 1 PM to 4 PM. Where is Mackey? 2101 13th St, Boone, IA 50036-7319. Join them as they celebrate 70 years since the school was last in session.

02/11/2022

Doc Dickinson's Barbershop was the Post Office and Community Center on Gilbert Main Street For over 50 years This photo was posted on You Might Be From Gilbert page, but I think lit needs a permanent place here on the Historical society page

Thanks Merrie Rogge and Teri Harriman Gallahan