Red Oak boasts a rich history. These images illustrate the people, the events, and the everyday scenes that make up Red Oak's story.

Red Oak: 15 Historic Postcards (Postcards of America: Iowa)

History

Senden, S. M.

Americas

Arcadia Publishing

Where the Red Oak Creek flowed into the Nishnabotna River, thick groves of walnut, oak, and cottonwood trees crowded about their banks. This gentle intersection of waterways was to become the junction of railroads, highways, and so many people’s lives. The seeds of the hopes and dreams of early pioneers where planted in the fertile soil. Nurtured by the promise of the railroad, the town began to grow and earned the honor of becoming the county seat. With the building of the railroad, Red Oak Junction was regarded second only to Deadwood as a wild outpost on the western frontier. With the completion of the railroad, the laborers left, taking that reputation with them, and Red Oak blossomed into a booming city directed by the strong personalities of the city fathers who sought to have it be a leader of culture, building, technological improvements, and businesses in the state. Fires, grasshoppers, hailstorms, and floods could not dampen the indomitable spirit of those who have lived in Red Oak through the years.

Red Oak (Images of America: Iowa)

Arts & Photography

Photography & Video

Montgomery County was one of the last areas in Iowa to be settled. For many years it was considered to be uninhabitable and of little value-until the men and women with hopes and dreams began to settle, build towns, and till the rich, fertile soil. The Forks, Binn's Grove, Hungry Hollow, Frankfort, Milford, Red Oak Junction, Stanton, Villisca, and many more settlements came into being, budding with promise, but the coming of the railroad determined the survival of them all. Some are still thriving cities, while others are no more than a fading memory that only the winds of the prairie can recall.

Montgomery County (Images of America: Iowa)

Nestled in the Loess Hills, Council Bluffs grew from a frontier settlement of wickiups and log cabins. The outpost boomed as a gateway to the West when gold was discovered in California in 1849. The Pacific House and the Ogden House became landmark hotels for the transient population. Meanwhile, residents thrived and cultivated a bustling city with the Masonic Hall, Dohany's Opera House and the Merriam block. None of these once iconic buildings remains today. Author S.M. Senden explores the perpetual rebirth of Council Bluffs through its most important buildings and relates a still unfolding story.

Lost Council Bluffs

The History Press

Where the Red Oak Creek flowed into the Nishnabotna River, thick groves of walnut, oak, and cottonwood trees crowded about their banks. This gentle intersection of waterways was to become the junction of railroads, highways, and so many people's lives. The seeds of the hopes and dreams of early pioneers where planted in the fertile soil. Nurtured by the promise of the railroad, the town began to grow and earned the honor of becoming the county seat. With the building of the railroad, Red Oak Junction was regarded second only to Deadwood as a wild outpost on the western frontier. With the completion of the railroad, the laborers left, taking that reputation with them, and Red Oak blossomed into a booming city directed by the strong personalities of the city fathers who sought to have it be a leader of culture, building, technological improvements, and businesses in the state. Fires, grasshoppers, hailstorms, and floods could not dampen the indomitable spirit of those who have lived in Red Oak through the years.

Red Oak

Arcadia Publishing Library Editions

S. M. Senden offers an eclectic collection of short stories taking the reader on a journey through the haunted terrors of working a graveyard shift, to a customer service center where the bonds of friendship reach as deadly climax, of two women who find what they believe is their perfect man, one brings joy, the other a deadly secret. A madwoman lives in what she perceives is a safe world until her deepest fears take hold of her mind, a will with an odd entailment reaps havoc in a family where greed is the prime motivator. Events in history that deeply touched the author concerning the value of life, of hopes envisioned only to go up in flames, culminating in the voice of a child speaking an eternal truth.

A Death of Convenience

Literature & Fiction

Short Stories & Anthologies

Second Wind Publishing, LLC

Located in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Pottawattamie Squirrel Cage Jail is a National Register of Historic Places landmark. Erected in 1885, it is one of only three rotary jails still in existence today. In Squirrel Cage Jail, author S. M. Senden relates the history of the iconic Squirrel Cage jail, from its construction and operation to its closing in 1969 and subsequent purchase by the Council Bluffs park board for preservation in 1971. According to Senden, preservation wasn’t easy and was ultimately buoyed by a fundraising effort led by the local historical society. Senden also highlights local criminals as well as some of the jail’s more infamous prisoners and shares local folklore relating to the jail’s reputation for being haunted. She says, “I hope readers will be spellbound by one of the most fascinating and haunting places in Iowa.” Squirrel Cage Jail is available for purchase online at Amazon.

Squirrel Cage Jail: Council Bluffs, Iowa

Palmetto Publishing Group

Product Description 
Silence hangs in the air; a valuable diamond ring, taken from the skeletonized hand of a corpse lays untouched on the desk. Bergin Halverson wrestles with the ghosts of his past, his fears that have kept him silent for decades and the truth he knows must eventually be told. He is taken back to1923 when Clara Lindgren makes a wish that will come true, but not in the way she hoped. She meets a man, Bergin’s brother Erdman who seems to be the answer to her prayers, but instead he becomes her worst nightmare. Christian Lindgren has lost that which he holds most dear, his daughter. In a haunting dream she comes to him and shows him where she is. He can not rest until he can get help to find her. When a search is mounted on a foggy day she is found in a shallow grave just as his dream predicted. But what exactly occurred? Bergin Halverson takes up the task of searching for the truth of what happened the night Miss Lindgren disappeared putting himself and his family in peril until at last, nearly thirty-five years later he is able to reveal that truth and put to rest the many ghosts that have haunted him over the years. 
 About the Author 
Accomplished author S.M. Senden has been a journalist, historical author and columnist. Senden also worked with the police as a forensic artist, helping to identify skeletal remains of murder victims. In Clara's Wish, Senden emerges as a new, engaging voice in a classic genre of American literature. The unique style of this author is taut, compelling and marvelous to read.

Clara's Wish

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

Independently published

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Books by Senden, S. M.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Senden, S. M.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Red Oak: 15 Historic Postcards (Postcards of America: Iowa)

Red Oak (Images of America: Iowa)

Montgomery County (Images of America: Iowa)

Lost Council Bluffs

Red Oak

A Death of Convenience

Squirrel Cage Jail: Council Bluffs, Iowa

Clara's Wish

Clara's Wish