Bentonsport Presbyterian Church

2023 was also a big year for the Bentonsport Presbyterian Church. Check out the video and photos below showing the roof project in process. Thank you to our
 friends at ASC for the video!

In the summer of 2023, Caston Construction installed a new roof on the historic Presbyterian Church. The former roof, with missing and damaged shingles (photographs above), had reached the end of its life. This project involved installing new wooden shingles to replicate the building's original roof and to provide a secure and long-lasting weatherproof envelope for this historic building. The Bentonsport Improvement Association (BIA) will also use this project to educate the public and high school construction students about the history of the church, its architecture, historic preservation, and the careful stewardship of a historic property.

This project was made possible thanks to major funding from the William M. and Donna J. Hoaglin Foundation of Mount Pleasant. Additional funding was provided by the Jim McLeland Memorial, an anonymous donation via the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines, the Community Foundation of Van Buren County (administered by the Quad City Community Foundation), and fund raising efforts that included pie sales at the 2022 Bentonsport Heritage Day and ticket sales for the 2022 BIA raffle for works by local artists. The balance of the project was funded by the building's owner, the Bentonsport Improvement Association. The Bentonsport Improvement Association, a 501(c)(3), was organized in 1947. BIA 's mission is to protect and preserve the historic properties it owns, makes improvements to the village of Bentonsport,

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BIA Christmas Tree

In 2023, for the first time ever, the Bentonsport Improvement Association donated a tree to Festival of Trees event which raises funds for the Christmas for Kids program in Van Buren County. Thank you to BIA member Lois Thompson who led this effort and decorated this beautiful tree. 

New welcome signs

Thanks to Ted Kralicek (designer) and the Van Buren County Engineer's Office, Bentonsport has new welcome signs installed in the summer of 2023!

Archives Project

In October 2023, the BIA Archives Committee met with archivist Amy Groskopt from Davenport to discuss plans for creating a historical archives for Bentonsport. Amy visited Bentonsport through the Field Services grant program managed by the State Historical Society of Iowa.  Committee members are: Mindy Kralicek, Paula Mohr, Betty Printy and Hal Schnedler.  Check out Amy's report here.

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Recent Donation

   
 
This portrait of Bertha Seward Galloway (1872-1921) was recently donated to the
Bentonsport Improvement Association by Judy Barnett of Atlanta, Georgia. Bertha Galloway was born in Bentonsport where she grew up. Her sister, Effie Seward Dustin, founded the Bentonsport Improvement Association and was instrumental in preserving the Bentonsport Presbyterian Church.

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