lowa Soldiers Home
Iowa Soldiers' Home
(CHAPTER 58, LAWS OE 1886.)
ESTABLISH SOLDIERS' HOME.
An Act to establish and maintain a soldiers' home in the state of Iowa,
and making an appropriation for the purchase of land and the construction or purchase of necessary buildings.
SECTION 1. {Soldiers' home established.} - Be it enacted by the general assembly of the state of Iowa:
That there be and is hereby created and established in this state an institution to be known as the '" Iowa Soldiers' Home," and that the sum of seventy-five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as is necessary, be and is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the purchase and preparation of grounds and for the erection and completion
or purchase of suitable buildings and fixtures thereon, and furnishing and equipping the same; and the further sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, for the purpose of maintaining such soldiers' home for the year 1887; provided, however, that it shall not be lawful for the board of managers hereinafter created to draw upon the sum hereby appropriated an amount exceeding seventy-five thousand dollars in the year 1886, and the sum of twenty-five
thousand dollars in the year 1887.
SEC. 2. [Applicants must have resided in the state three years, or have served in Iowa regiment.]—The object of the " Iowa Soldiers' Home" shall be to provide a home and subsistence for all honorably discharged soldiers, sailors and marines who have served in the army or navy of the United States and who are disabled by disease, wounds or otherwise; provided, that no applicant shall be admitted to said home who has not been a resident of the state of Iowa for three years next preceding his application for admission therein unless he served in an Iowa regiment or was accredited to the state of Iowa. The board of commissioners shall determine the eligibility of applicants for admission to said home as herein provided.
SEC. 3. (As substituted by ch. 129, 21st g. a.)
[Governor shall appoint a commission to locate home.l
SEC. 4. [Government: number of commissioners appointed by governor.]
SEC. 5. [Board to qualify and give bond
SEC. 6. [Architect or superintendent.]
SEC. 7. [Bids advertised for
SEC. 8. [Bids opened in 30 days.]
SEC. 9. [Contract bond: architect or superintendent
SEC. 10. [Contract signed.]
SEC. 11. [Bids to show cost.]
SEO. 12. [Location and grounds
SEC. 13. [Moneys, how payable.]
SEC. 14. [Interest of commissioners.]
SEC. 15. [Meetings of board, annual.]
SEC. 16. [Commandant: appointment
Approved March 31, 1886.
Initiating the movement for an Iowa Soldiers Home was the Grand Army of the Republic, led by Philip M. Crapo of Burlington, Iowa. This movement resulted in the 21st General Assembly passing an act, which on March 31, 1886, appropriated $75,000 for the purchase of ground and the erection of suitable buildings and another $25,000 to maintain that home for one year. Today we are proud to say that facility has expanded to 150 acres and 6 Nursing units and 1 Residential/Domicilary unit over the 126 years.
The Iowa Soldiers Home accepted its first resident in 1887. The facility provided living quarters for displaced Veterans of the Civil War. Management of the home resembled life patterned after Army rules and regulations. Residents wore uniforms, marched in formation, stood inspections, ate at a mess hall and went to bed at taps. They slept in open wards and needed passes to get by the sentry at the gates.
Amos Fox *
was the first Veteran
to be admitted on December 1, 1887. Fox enlisted as a Private in Company "D", 47th Illinois Infantry on August 14, 1861. He re-enlisted January 9, 1865, and was discharged in August of the same year. He settled in Iowa and became a farmer near Humboldt, Iowa. Amos Fox died March 29, 1916, and is buried at the Iowa Soldiers Home Cemetery.
David B. Sisk *
was the last Civil War Veteran
to reside at the Iowa Soldiers' Home. Sisk was born September 22, 1843, in New Boston, Illinois. He served in Company H, 147th Illinois Infantry from January 31, 1865 to January 30, 1866. He then served in Company E, 3rd US Artillery until June 21, 1870. Sisk lived in Dexter, Iowa City, Muscatine, Davenport and for forty years he operated a barber shop in Des Moines, before his coming to the Iowa Soldiers' Home in 1917. He died June 8, 1946, at the Iowa Soldiers' Home Hospital and is buried at the Iowa Soldiers' Home Cemetery.
Phil Sheridan Post #452
On March 20, 1886, the Frank M. Thomas Post #94, Marshalltown, Iowa joined in a petition with the Department of Iowa for the establishment of an Iowa Soldiers Home at Marshalltown. The measure was adopted by the Legislature on March 31.
On July 21, 1888, a Charter was issued from the Department of Iowa, Grand Army of the Republic to the Phil Sheridan Post #452, Iowa Soldiers Home, Marshalltown, Iowa, with 41 charter members. Not all Veterans who resided at the Home became members of the Grand Army of the Republic. Many of those admitted to the home joined the G.A.R. for the first time, though a vast majority of the Sheridan Post members had transferred their membership from other Posts upon their admission to the Soldiers Home. Several members of Post #452 held Department level positions throughout the years, with two, Orlando Hartman and David Sisk, serving as Department Commander.
The Phil Sheridan Post #452 was disbanded on April 6, 1938.
