-Farm News photo by Doug Clough
The Ogilvy farm had 60 acres of land, which supplied hay to the immense hayloft.

CHEROKEE — Magnetic Park is located on the east side of this county seat, showcasing a slice of this community’s history. This area showcases the Cherokee Magnetic Mineral Springs era of the late 1800s.

The springs were discovered on the west bank of the Little Sioux River in June 1879 by farmer and prospector George Satterlee while he was prospecting for coal on land that was leased from Cherokee banker N.T. Burroughs. The mineral spring waters were identified at the time for having “curative value” by several experts of the time.

When Satterlee discovered the power of the water, he sold a gallon of it for 35 cents after finding citizens were drinking it for free.

Burroughs, an entrepreneur outside of the field of banking, opened the three-story Fountain House in 1880 to offer the water to the paying public who sought its restorative powers. Throughout the 1880s, 200 to 300 people a day would visit the Fountain House, which included a lake with the same water from the vein that supplied it. The downfall of Burrough’s money-making enterprise came in 1889 when the City of Cherokee drilled a 200-foot well that tapped into the same vein of water that supplied the fountain. In 1890, the Fountain House closed due to a cutoff supply that was now free to all citizens of Cherokee.

In 1915, Burroughs sold the Fountain House grounds to George S. Jones, who tore down a portion of the building and operated the land as a dairy farm.

-Submitted photo
The Ogilvy barn was built in 1929 for dairy production.

In 1928, John Ogilvy along with his father Aleck purchased the property from the Jones’ estate. The Ogilvy family had been in the grocery and bakery business in Cherokee for many years and were hard-working people who had the grit to run a time-consuming dairy.

In 1929, the Ogilvy dairy barn was built using lumber from the defunct Fountain House. There is still evidence of stanchions on one side of the barn, and there is room for them on both sides. There’s ample room in the middle for feeding the herd hay from the large haymow above. The hayloft was built with no visible center support, but the construction is nonetheless sturdy, lasting these past 85 years.

John Ogilvy retained ownership of the dairy, the dairy barn, and Magnetic Lake; in 1973, portions of the Magnetic Lake were transferred to Jack and Marge Ogilvy. When Jack passed away, his estate shifted to his wife Marge in 1990. In 1992, the property was owned by Thomas and Phyllis Jenness who transferred it to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. The INHF cleaned up the property in 2019 and then transferred the ownership to the City of Cherokee.

Today, the Ogilvy Barn functions as the centerpiece of the city-owned park.

The lean-to attached to the south side of the barn sheltered a plow, grading blade and disc. Aside from the dairy barn, there is a small shed on the property which was attached to a larger shed that has been removed, evidenced by a concrete pad. The shed was used to store tools, such as shovels and pitchforks and other small equipment; in later years, a tractor was stored in that building. It’s believed that the blue cattle waterer was added by Tom Jenness.

-Submitted photo
The Ogilvys were involved in retail in downtown Cherokee, operating a bakery before beginning their dairy, which was supported by the family farm.

A new roof and siding were added around 2010, but otherwise the barn is as it was constructed — partly from lumber from the entrepreneurial Fountain House — in 1929.