Carlisle Chamber of Commerce

Months before Iowa officially became a state, the land that the Carlisle Chamber office sits on was given by the United States to the State of Iowa through an Act of Congress which was approved on August 8, 1846.  The Great Flood of Iowa, caused when a still-standing record-breaking 74.5” of rain fell in the recently settled Des Moines River basin forced settlers from Dudley to scramble to higher ground. The State of Iowa sold the land at the now 27 School Street to Jeremiah Church & Daniel Moore on June 19, 1851. Mr. Church laid out the town and called it Carlisle after a town in Pennsylvania.  By 1856, The Steam Flouring Mill of Carlisle, Iowa, purchased the land, and, sold shares in the mill for $100 each. It cost $10,500 to erect the mill. In 1875, $6,000 of improvement were made, which made this one of the most complete plants of this kind in Central Iowa. The name was later changed to Carlisle Grist Mill.  In 1891, Mr. Randleman built a hotel on this prime property which was not far from the railroad tracks.  In the 1930s, Red Crown Filing Station, and later, Brennan’s Produce occupied the building.

Executive Director Barbara Rasko said, “For nearly 100 years, local business owners in Carlisle have gathered to work together to grow their own businesses by providing fine products and services to their customers and to do what they can to support their community. Today’s Carlisle Area Chamber of Commerce has been around for 25 years and continues the same mission. For the first time, the Carlisle Chamber has a home in downtown Carlisle. We look forward to raising our visibility in the community, hosting community events, bringing more residents, cyclists, and tourists downtown, and welcoming and providing information about our member businesses to our citizens and visitors.”