1890 - Ottumwa, Iowa: The nation's only Coal Palace has just finished its first season, with another exhibition scheduled for 1891. Finishing touches are being put on the Opera House at the corner of Main and Jefferson. The new post office has just gone into service. Churches, schools, businesses and hotels are busy; houses from simple to grand march up the hills on the north side of the Des Moines River and spread across the plain on the south bank. Originally published in 1890, Illustrated Ottumwa is a time capsule of the city's progress and history just decades after its founding. More than 100 years later, few copies of the book exist to show the high hopes, big dreams, and excitement to be found in Ottumwa, Iowa. This edition contains all the text and photographs to be found in the original, along with added illustrations from the 1890s. Text has all been reset for added clarity, and photographs are reproduced in a larger size than in the original.