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Granville, Iowa    "Home of Black Soil"     

Photographs below are by Suzanne Bunkers and Dan Bunkers.             Copyright 1998-2004.

Granville, first platted in 1882, is located in Sioux County, Iowa, just one mile west of the Sioux/O'Brien county line.


Josephine Donovan's 1930 novel, Black Soil, which is based on the settling of Granville, Iowa, by Luxembourgers, Germans, Irish, and other immigrants, is available in electronic form:

Below:  the outhouse on the farm of my great-grandparents, Henry and Josephine (Nemmers) Kokenge, between Granville and Alton, IA.

"Granville:  Home of Black Soil" -- This sign is on the western outskirts of Granville, Iowa (population 325),  located on Highway 10 in Sioux County.  The sign alludes to a 1930 novel, BLACK SOIL, by Josephine Donovan, a native of Granville.  Her novel tells the story of the arrival of white European immigrants in northwestern Iowa.  Its title, "Black Soil," refers to the good farmland in this area.  Below are aerial views of Granville, taken by Dan Bunkers.

Join us:  Granville: a virtual visit

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St. Joseph Catholic Church in Granville, IA

"Family F. Buenkers" stained-glass window in St. Joseph Catholic Church in Granville

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Formerly known as St. Joseph Grade School in Granville, this is now Spalding Elementary School, a consolidated school that draws its students from many area communities.  Spalding High School is located down the street.