Piero, Woodbury County, Iowa

Peiro is a gone - not - forgotten community in Grant twp., Woodbury Co., Iowa. A cemetery and a few scatted buildings reamain near the junction of section 20, 21, 28 and 29. It was located on the stage route from Sioux City to Danbury. The Northwestern Railroad was also expected to come through from Ida Grove, but it never came.
   In 1877 the goverment established a mail route from Oto to Sioux City. A post office was established at the George Lyons home, which Mr. & Mrs. Lyons names Peiro. Mr. Lyons was the first postmaster. He received a percent of the stamps sold, the first quarter salary being about $ 1.40. After Mr. Lyons resigned, L.L. Pierce served as postmaster, followed by F.H. Cotton. Two mail routes, Anthon and Oto, met at Peiro in the early 1900's. There was a big buggy wheeled out in front of the store with about a dozen mail boxes on it. Since both routes stopped there, residents could choose which route to use. ( This is still true for the rural route customers in the area ).
   In 1882 a general store was erected. The post office moved to the store, which was run by Charlies Syke. He sold to C. Sykes, whose assissants were his son Arcellus, and son-in-law, Jake Allman. Sykes was followed by Alv Epps, who did a flourishing business for several years, after which he sold to the Griffin
Bros. Dan Griffin later operated the hardware stores in Oto and then Anthon. In Early 1890's the store business was moved to another building about 600 feet to brother Charles, who in 1901 sold out to Platt S. Hall. Hall bought the store for his son Tracy. Hall superseded by Otto N. Jorgenson, who sold out to Hosea Garber. ( A Mr. Wendt also owned the store in the later years. )   The post office was discontinued when the rural mail delivery came to being.
     Hosea Garber lived in an old vacanted house and operated the store, general merchandise and farm implements, until 1913. Clarence McClaran hired Garber to run the store. McClaran had run the store at Climbing Hill for six years until he moved to Peiro in 1913, when he bought the land one-fourth miles east of the Peiro store and the Peiro blacksmith shop. McClaran moved back to Climbing Hill in 1917 where he organized the bank. When McClaran owned the store, he farmed 80 acres of land that is now part of the Riddle Farm, he hired Clarance Mills, a young single red-haired fellow, to operate the store for him. Mills later ran the grocery store in Climbing Hill, afer McClaran went into the bank there. Clarence Mills' daughter was Margie Davis who married Bob Devine.
     Alvie Davis was on of the earlist blacksmiths in Peiro. Art Myers ran the shop around 1910.   Other blacksmiths were Billy Coffman, John Malcomb, and John Eickhorn. Charles Spangler had an implement and Buggy shop. There was also a cream station at Peiro. In 1910 the telephone exchange was in the Sprangler home and was run by Mabel Spangler. The exchange was also located at times in Peirce and Lent homes.
The State Telephone Company had buildt their lines through the country in 1902.
    In the winter of 1876, a preacher by the name of Carl Bryan came up from Smithland and held revival meetings in Peiro schoolhouse, People attended from far and near and nearly all professed concersion.
Bethel Church, on the Bethel - Palistine Circuit, was an outgrowth of consecrated faith springing up from the old gosphel preaching of this circuit rider. Bryan went down the Little Sioux Vallley preaching the Word of God. The church and parsonage were built in 1878, free of debt, under the patorate of Rev. J.E. Rigby. The trees which stand in the cemetery were planted at that time also. The first interment in the cemtery was a young man by the name of Smith, who accidentally shot himself. The second was a little son of M.B. Clark who was accidentally scalded to death.   The 50th Anniversary of the church was observed in 1929, a year later.   Wolf Creek flooded during the celebration; the flood was so severe that is washed animals downstream. One couple was unable to to get home and had to spend the night in the church. The community building
next to the church was a gathering place for parties and box socials.
    In 1873 a school district was origanized and a schollhouse erected on the north line of the southwest quarter of section 19. The first teacher was Lou Kellogg of Correctionville. Afterwards, the school was moved 3/4 mile northeast, up on a hill. It was known as Grant #4. The original school building is now ( 1893 ) located on the Clifford Hess farm and used for storage.
    Other family names associated with Peiro community include: McClusky, W.A. Ripple, R. O'Conner, Jerod Tralor, Fenton, Bryan, Hunt, Winterriger, Beaver, Cradit, Moore, Brittain, Eckert, Jepson, Jackson, and Long.

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