County of City: Decatur County
Location of City: 109 S. Chestnut St., Central Park, Lamoni
Communications:
Phone: (641) 784-6311
Fax #: (641) 784-7921
Hours: M-F 7:30-12:00 and 1:00-4:30
Originally, proposals were made to rename the town Sedgwick, the name of the post office. Eventually the name Lamoni [after a pacifist king from The Book of Mormon] was selected.
The county was organized April 1, 1850. In July of that year the county seat was located at a place called Decatur, the county itself being named after Stephen Decatur, a distinguished officer in the War of 1812. During the fall a log court house was built and soon after the county seat was moved to a town named Independence. It happened that Iowa had another town by that name and so in 1854 by act of the legislature the name was changed to Leon. A pretty well established county organization preceded the founding of Lamoni.
The first settlers who really influenced local history were those who came to the area now known as Pleasanton. Shortly after 1850 the Morey, Keown, Moffet and Hinkle families moved in. These had been members of the old Latter Day Saint Church and when in 1859 they accepted the claims of the Reorganization and effected a local organization, a new slant came into the affairs of this territory.
In 1879, The Leon, Mount Ayr & Southwestern Railroad Company laid tracks through Davis City and Bethany Junction [Togo]. Plans were to lay tracks approximately two or three miles north of "The Colony" and then on to Mount Ayr. A committee representing The Order of Enoch met with representatives from the railroad. The committee proposed that if the tracks were laid through "The Colony," the Order would donate 120 acres of land to the railroad. The Order would also furnish 3 miles of right of way.
Connecting History and Liberty Hall: Liberty Hall Wikipedia on Lamoni