History in Siouxland Sergeant Bluff

I always find it fun to explore history, especially if it is close by and local. A friend recently made me aware of a small museum in Sergeant Bluff, The Sergeant Bluff Historical Museum. The small community is named for Sergeant Charles Floyd who was the only person to die on the Lewis and Clark Expedition exploring the west and what would become the Louisiana Purchase, seeking information for President Thomas Jefferson .

The Sergeant Bluff Historical Museum located in downtown Sergeant Bluff, Iowa Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)

 

Photos on display of an earlier period of Sergeant Bluff at the Sergeant Bluff Historical Museum in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)

While the community is named for one of the explorers of the western U.S., the contents of the museum are more home-based and concerns the community itself and its own past. The area was settled in the 1850’s, mostly by trappers. It was later platted in the middle 1850’s and appears to have become incorporated as a community in the early 1900’s.

A horse drawn school bus with an earlier version of the community’s name on the side at the Sergeant Bluff Historical Museum in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018. A docent said the “Sargent Bluffs” spelling was in the late 1800’s and later changed by the state when the community became incorporated. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)

 

A copy of a 1919 horse drawn school bus on display at the Sergeant Bluff Historical Museum in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)

At one point the community’s name was called Sargent Bluff’s and later changed to its present spelling of Sergeant Bluff. Exploring bits and pieces of history is always fun since one never really knows what one might find. The museum contained a replica of an early era kitchen and one-room school.

A replica setting of a school room on display at the Sergeant Bluff Historical Museum in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)

And treasures were “stuffed” into what available space is there. I was informed the museum has undergone changes over the years, increasing in size and changing locations to better accommodate its collection of items.

In an attempt to display more items a farm wagon was hoisted up onto a platform to allow more floor space for other exhibits at the Sergeant Bluff Historical Museum in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)

I always enjoy getting out of my immediate surroundings and visiting other communities, but sometimes those little gems can be found closer to home and provide a fun and informative opportunity as well.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

An unusual ceramic toaster on display at the Sergeant Bluff Historical Museum in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)

A hearse from the Woodbury Township Cemetery, lcated in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa and built in the 1800’s in Sioux City, Iowa on display at the Sergeant Bluff Historical Museum in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)

A number of hurricane lanterns and fU.S. flags on display at the Sergeant Bluff Historical Museum in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)

A copy of a photo of the 1888 Sergeant Bluff Consolidated Grades 1-3 school on display at the Sergeant Bluff Historical Museum in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)