Wickfield Sales Pavillion - near Cantril, Iowa (3 of 3) by Shari Via Flickr: Visible to the south from Iowa Highway 2, about 2 miles east of Cantril. It was designed and built in 1918 by Alva Hunt of Pulaski, Iowa. Census records list Alva as a farmer in 1900, a carpenter in 1910, a house carpenter in 1920, and a building contractor in 1930. In 1917, he built the farmhouse where I used to live. This building is truly round, about 50 feet in diameter, with walls of terra-cotta hole tile. It has a wood-shingled roof with 12 dormers (8 below and 4 above) and a large metal ventilator at the peak. Frank Silvers, the original owner, used the ground floor as a sales pavilion for his Hampshire hog farm. The second floor is divided into 8 guest rooms around a central hall. The third floor served as a card room and parlor. The basement had a kitchen and dining room. It is rumored that this place was also a “speakeasy” back in Prohibition days. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 (#86001447). The weathered sign out front says that it is under rehabilitation by the Van Buren County Historic Preservation Commission and interested citizens.
