O'Brien County Projects
 

Hartley, Steuck Prairie Land Cemetery, 1870s:  The Steuck Prairie Land Cemetery is a family cemetery that was settled as part of the Steffans/Steuck Family farmland in the early 1870s.  It is original prairie with Comfrey, Grayhead Coneflower, and Wild Rose as well as a few types of grass. There are a few non-native trees, bushes, shrubs, grasses, and flowers.  With the help of the O'Brien County Conservation Board a controlled burn was completed during the Spring 2008.  Controlled/prescribed burning helps the native prairie plants release seed and become more robust.  The first cemetery preservation workshop was held at the cemetery in October of 2007; it was held again on June 21, 2008.  This was a successful event and reunited many family members in the area.  The cemetery was mapped and all the stones were rubbed with chalk.  While the epitaphs were recorded, other family members trimmed around head and foot stones; fences; and trees.

Sanborn, Carnegie Library, 1912: The 1912 Carnegie Library in Sanborn Iowa is significant under Criterion A and C of the National Register.  It is significant under criteria A as an example of work that contributed to the distribution of education materials through the Carnegie Library movement and also illustrates the expanding role of women in society.  Women were the primary catalysts in the Sanborn library organization, procuring grants from Carnegie, and in voting on tax levies for library purposes.  The Sanborn Carnegie Library is one example of the role and influence of women.