MARSHALL COUNTY, Iowa – Marshall County’s “Wohlert House,” which was once staffed by midwives, will be the focus of an upcoming event hosted by the Historical Society of Marshall County (HSMC). The residential property in State Center was built in 1909 and was once a “birthing hospital” before automobiles and highway travel became dependable.

“It was home to an early women’s business,” said Catherine Noble in a news release. “Emma Wohlert, a widow, had established and operated it as a ‘baby hospital.’”

On Tuesday, June 10, Noble, who has remodeled the property and was able to secure its selection for the National Register of Historic Places, will present a program on the property’s unique history.

After two years of researching the Louis F. and Emma M. (Edler) Wohlert House-Emma Wohlert Maternity Home, it was learned that Emma’s granddaughter still lived in the area. Nancy Davis, of West Des Moines, was able to provide family photographs and an original diary that had records of more than 400 births between the years of 1923 and 1945. The diary entries are now accessible on the State Library of Iowa’s Archives, listed as the “Wolert House.”

The presentation will be held at 6:30 the Mowry-Irvine Mansion at 503 West Main Street in Marshalltown. It is free of charge and open to the public.

The Second-Tuesday series is part of an “ongoing effort by HSMC to educate central Iowans about the significant contributions made by Marshall County residents and events which have shaped the county,” stated a news release. The HSMC was established by a group of women in 1908. It is a certified 501(c)3 not-for-profit group whose income is derived exclusively from memberships, a small endowment, and fundraising activities.

For more information, contact HSMC at 641-752-6664 or info@hsmcia.org.