Gobble Park

The T. W. Gobble family came to Abingdon in 1844 with other families looking for fertile land. They named this pretty prairie village Abingdon after the Virginia home they left behind. By 1853 the T.W. Gobble and Co. Store was doing business as a general store in the center of Abingdon, offering clothing among many other items.

Later the family moved to Fairfield and opened a store which evolved into Gobble Clothiers. It was owned and operated by a fourth generation Gobble until Lee Gobble retired and sold the store in 1985.

In October 1976 Lee Gobble donated the family land in the center of Abingdon to the Conservation Board. It was named Gobble Park and a picnic shelter with a charcoal grill was erected.

Abingdon is located along what is known as the Brookville-Abingdon Road. This was the route of the stage coach which ran from Fairfield to Hedrick.

Once a major trading center in northwestern Jefferson County, Abingdon began to decline when the railroad never came. But it still remains, unlike some other forgotten towns in Jefferson County.

Websites about Abingdon and Gobble Clothiers:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~iajeffer/Towns/Abington.html   (yes, Abingdon is misspelled)
http://www.fairfield.k12.ia.us/fairfield/stores/gobbles/goab22.htm
http://fairfield.freehosting.net/97summer/square.html