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Washta, Iowa - "The Coldest Spot in Iowa."
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County Seat
Cherokee County Courthouse
520 West Main
Cherokee, IA 51012 |
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This little town, nestled
in the valley of the Little Sioux River, has one claim to fame... |
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On January 12, 1912, a temperature of forty-seven degrees below
zero was recorded and "the smoke went
straight up that day" so there was no wind chill figured in! The man
who took the temperature that day was an official weather observer for
the National Weather Service and had a nursery where he grew shrubs,
trees & plants. It was recorded that Cherokee had a forty-three below
temperature that day.
Washta's name dates back to 1868. A local man named
Whisman turned his farm into a trading post/mail stop for the
freight train going from Correctionville to Cherokee when he was
asked to be the official postmaster for the area. When
asked what the name of his town would be, he recalled an
interesting encounter with two Native Americans the year before.
While Whisman was out hunting these two Indians came upon him,
removed his gun, looked at it, and handed it back while saying,
"Wash-tay, Wash-tay," meaning good. Changing the
pronunciation slightly, Whisman decided he would call the town
Washta.
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More Washta Information |
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