Conesville is a small Iowa town located in southeast Iowa near the southern tip of the converging Iowa and Cedar Rivers. The town was incorporated in 1878 when eligible voters, by a majority vote, established the City of Conesville. Conesville is located in Orono Township of Muscatine County, and has a strong rural connection with Oakland Township located in Louisa County. The Iowa and Cedar Rivers converge about six miles south of Conesville at the north end of Columbus Junction. Iowa State Highway 70 intersects the City of Conesville from north to south.
Although no railroads currently exist in Conesville, at one time there were both east-west and north- south railroads intersecting Conesville. The railroads have been abandoned and the bridges destroyed, but some bridge foundation remnants remain at all three waterway crossings near Conesville: Hoben bridge on the Iowa River, the Cedar River bridge just south of the area known as Edgewater, and at Cone Lake.
The historical information provided about Conesville comes from “The Fork of the Rivers” , a book compiled by Mabel Estle Brown in commemoration of Conesville’s Centennial celebration in 1978. The Conesville Centennial Celebration was held in late summer in conjunction with Conesville Watermelon Days. Since Conesville’s early days, watermelon and cantaloupe were important crops grown by local area farmers. Melon Day celebrations from 1914, 1918 and 1931 were featured in the book earmarking the historical significance of the annual event.
The class of 1958 was the last class of high school seniors to graduate from the Conesville School built in 1934. The school building originally included both grade and high school students but is currently used to house migrant workers in the summer. From 1959 until 1981 the Conesville School building was used for teaching grade school students when the Conesville School merged with Columbus Junction and Cotter Schools to form the Columbus Community School District. In 1981 the building was gifted by the school district to the City of Conesville and no longer used as a school. The city managed the building for several years as a community center and city hall, hosting such events as community volleyball and basketball, a volunteer library, watermelon day events, school reunions, and annual haunted house fundraisers.
Conesville has a post office, and three public parks. The Conesville cemetery is located just outside the city limits and is maintained by the Orono Township trustees. The fire station, located on 4th Street, is owned and operated by the Conesville Benefitted Fire District which includes all of Orono and Oakland Townships.