Chelsea

CHELSEA	Pop. 600 Alt. 789	Control, Center of Village.
Cedar Rapids 41.1	Marshalltown 32.1	Two hotels, 1 garage. Local speed limit, 12 miles per hour, enforced. Two banks, C&NW Railroad, 11 general business places, express company, 2 telephone companies. Good fishing and free camp grounds on Iowa River.
Graded Dirt		L.H. Local Consuls, E.P. Willey and Homer Gardner.

- A Complete Official Road Guide of The LINCOLN HIGHWAY Fifth Edition (1924)

Chelsea.
Dvorak's DX Station and a young man who wishes he was old enough to trade in his bike and tour the Lincoln Highway in style.

Chelsea.
Around the corner from Dvorak's, following the Lincoln through the heart of Chelsea, was the Hayek's Motor Co. building. Obviously a very mature building when this photo was taken, the structure was demolished - or collapsed - in 1998. Both of the names Hayek and Dvorak belie the strong Czech heritage and tradition in Chelsea. Vitame Vas!

Chelsea.
And continuing north to exit town, you cross the grand bridge spanning Otter Creek, a small tributary of the Iowa River that torments the citizens of Chelsea regularly with its incessant flooding. Another group of young highway fans, this crowd didn't seem too tormented. This bridge is not from the Lincoln Highway era, strictly speaking. The original iron truss bridge, already old in 1913, made way for this concrete beauty in the 1930s.

Chelsea.
Elegant, but it could use a coat of paint. The flooding over the years has so aggravated the good people of Chelsea that much of the town has resettled to higher land a mile to the east.

Chelsea.
The "Fetterville" house - perhaps an old hotel? - is less than a mile west of Chelsea. The story goes that the Fetter family built the house. The Fetterville sign disappeared in 1996.

West of Chelsea.
A Lincoln Highway barn, now beyond the point of no return. You have to love its patriotic colors though. See the white and red stripes on the dormer?

"The block building on the north side of the road two doors east of Station Street has a ghost sign advertising Viscomotor Oil. Before turning right look to the left - a concrete Lincoln Highway marker is on the near corner. Probably broken off, it is about two feet shorter than regulation. It is mounted incorrectly, with the directional arrow facing away from traffic.

At the time of the 1924 Road Guide Chelsea was shown with 600 inhabitants. The 1980 census put it at less that 400. The town maintained a free campground on the Iowa River for Lincoln Highway travelers."

TAMA COUNTY

Chelsea