WASHINGTON — A former general store that represents the last vestige of Dublin, Iowa, — an unincorporated community in western Washington Washington County — will stay standing at least a little while longer, after officials pushed back its demolition planned for Wednesday night.
The Washington County Historical Society requested assistance from the Washington Fire Department to burn the building down, which members said would save costs over other demolition methods. But the morning before its scheduled destruction on Sept. 18, Fire Chief Brendan DeLong said the event was postponed due to weather conditions, in an email to The Union.
“I’m concerned about the heat, dry conditions, and the possibility of the fire spreading to adjacent fields,” he said. “I am anticipating that in a month the crops will be out, and the heat and dry conditions will not be such an issue,” DeLong wrote.
The area’s forecast around 6 p.m. — the scheduled start of the burn — showed southeastern winds around 6 miles per hour, according to The Weather Channel.
DeLong did not name a specific alternative date for the still-planned leveling of the structure, which owners say closed in 1964, and which is unsafe to enter after its exposure to the elements for over a century. Area historian Michael Zahs said some people had also taken to dumping their trash inside the dilapidated building.
The building’s eventual destruction will serve as a training exercise for firefighters, DeLong said last week, although they will conduct their operation entirely from the building’s exterior, due to safety concerns about entering it.
Dublin’s former general store is the last standing building from the community, which hasn’t hosted a business in over half a century, but has won the hearts of some nostalgic locals largely thanks to a RAGBRAI stop in 1975 and a four-year series of St. Patrick’s Day parades in the ‘90s.
“Don’t burn me!” declares a painted wooden sign recently nailed to the building, likely by a local. “I’m old! I like it here! It’s ole sweet home for Dublin!”
Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com
