History
Valparaiso appears on an 1863 map as the county seat of Calhoun County. A post office, first located in Andrew Johnson’s home in 1871, was later moved to the family’s store. When rural free delivery was initiated in 1904, there were four routes. Since 1972 there has been only one, 122 miles long.
The railroad arrived in Valparaiso in 1876-77 providing transportation for produce, building materials, and passengers. As a junction point for three branch lines (Valparaiso-Wahoo, Valparaiso-Lincoln, and Valparaiso-Central City) the Union Pacific established an engine house for maintaining its locomotives between runs. There were loading chutes just west of town for livestock, and a shovel house for loading grain. The depot, once the busiest place in town, was dismantled in 1979, leaving Valparaiso with rail service but no depot agent.
Valparaiso attracted many pioneers. Soon there was a flour mill, several grain elevators, two hotels, a newspaper, a lumber yard, a livery stable, a harness shop, a blacksmith, a cobbler, a furniture store, a millinery, a creamery, a bakery, a grocery store, drug store, barbershop, several saloons, an opera house and theater, and an undertaker. There were also doctors, attorneys, and dentists. The town was incorporated in 1880 and hit its peak population of 614 in 1900. The population at the time of the 2020 Census was 554.
Early church services were held in homes and the school. The Methodist Episcopal Church (now United Methodist) was dedicated in 1881. The Church of Christ (Christian Church) was dedicated in 1883. Brothers Barrows held the first revival when about 50 joined the church by confession. The south wing of the church was added in 1894. The Baptist church was built in 1885 and dedicated by Rev. Tyson. It was disbanded in the late 1890s and the building was remodeled into a dwelling. The Lutheran Oakdale Church was dedicated in 1901. It was disbanded in 1931, and the building was sold to the German Lutherans the following year. Charles Mortensen purchased this building in 1942 and utilized the materials to build a home in the country. The Catholic church was founded in 1913. A new church serving Valparaiso-Agnew areas was built in 1977.
The Valparaiso School District, originally No. 18 was organized in 1869. Adeline States was the first teacher. District No. 101 was organized in 1878, and a four-room school was completed in 1884. Two more rooms were built in 1899, with classes for K-12 available in 1915. This structure burned in 1919, and the present building was completed in 1921. A four-room addition was completed in 1964. In 1967 the Valparaiso district merged with Ceresco and Raymond to form Raymond Central Public Schools. Grades 7-12 are located in a building at a former Nike missile site nine miles from Valparaiso. Valparaiso’s building houses grades K-5 students from approximately 16 square miles that comprise the present Raymond Central district.
