Baby Bear

The smallest building, also known as Baby Bear was built in 1845 to be the county clerks office. The office was built with a layer of ash in the ceiling to make it fireproof.

Because of the dual county seat with Waterloo, the contents of the office would be moved back and forth every three years. To get the contents of the office to and from Waterloo, it took 10 teams of horses, and was a great endeavor. Once the new county clerks office was completed in 1860, Baby Bear was sometimes used as the office of the county surrogate.

After a large fire in 1874 burned down the bank, Baby bear was used as a temporary bank. Finally, it was used as a Grand Army of the Republic Hall. The Grand Army of the Republic was formed in 1866 as a meeting place for Civil War veterans. When all of the veterans had passed, their children continued meeting as the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. They continued meeting until 1956 when their last member died and the group dissolved.

Today, Baby Bear serves as a museum for local Civil War veterans. Upon special request, a tour of Baby Bear can be set up through the Mama Bear Tourism office.