The Nodaway Valley Historical Museum, in Clarinda, Iowa has been preserving the past since 1988.
Since it was built, the facility has grown to include two additions to the main building, the Reminisce Building to display farm equipment and a secondary storage unit. A “village,” made up of of six historic buildings from current and former Page County, Iowa towns was built behind the main building.
Genealogists are especially interested in any museum’s research department. The Nodaway Valley Historical Museum has a research department complete with a genealogy section. The library is filled with volumes of family, community, & organizational histories, obituaries, marriage records, birth & death records, cemetery records, newspapers, pictures and tapes, all available to the public.
According to Jan Price, past curator of the museum, about a 1/3 of the visitors come to the facility to do family history research.
The museum is open year round Tuesday through Sunday. Winter hours are from 2 to 4 p.m., and summer hours are from 1 to 4 p.m. Although closed on Mondays, the museum will open with an appointment. Cost to tour the museum is a $2 donation or membership is $10 a year. Their address is: 1600 S. 16th St., P.O. Box 393, Clarinda, IA 51632. Phone (712) 542-3073.
For more information see the newspaper article by Lindsay Blake in the January 14, 2009 edition of the Daily Nonpariel.
Also see the Nodaway Valley Museum page at the Clarinda Chamber of Commerce website.
Just wished to add a note that I have found this place to be a great resource for Page county family search and the staff/volunteers are most willing to offer help. There are a large number of books with obituaries and they have a copy machine for those who wish to take home a record. They have not asked for a donation to use just the research room yet. I feel they are offering me a service for no charge so try to leave some money in the jar each trip. Just be sure you don’t visit on Monday, I learned the hard way.
norm