From the 1881 History of Marshall County, Iowa

Edenville

This beautiful little village is situated in Eden Township, eight miles south of State Centre, with a rich, thriving community all about it. It was laid out by C. B. Rhodes in 1855, who built the first store and brought on the first stock of goods.
The old store is still standing, unoccupied. The earliest settler in the vicinity was Greene Allen, who came upon his claim of 600 acres in 1849. He was made of the right stuff for a pioneer, as even the Timber Creek Indian scare did not cause him any trepidation; or, if it did, he did not manifest it, but kept on in the even tenor of his way, not even designing to go into the fort with the terrified settlers.
A man of the name of Maggard lived in a cabin near Clear Creek, and made a little, improvement, but he took a fever from exposure and died before there were half a dozen families within twenty miles to miss one of their limited number. Among the earliest settlers were Rev. Thomas Mendenhall and Rev. Simon Woolston, the latter of whom labored for temperance and Masonry as well as for the church, and who afterward removed to Missouri, leaving behind him a numerous family of sons and daughters. At about the same time came Mr. Owen and Simon Price, and Mr. Andrew Logan, who published the first newspaper in Iowa, at Davenport, in 1836. Mr. Tuffe, of Pittsburgh, Penn., came in 1855, fenced his land and built his house when the howl of the wolf was one of the most familiar sounds to be heard. Mr. Ruston Bullock came later, also Mr. Jeroleman.
Mr. Rhodes, besides building the first store, built the first mill. There were but two families then besides his own—Brooks and Sandford, Sandford keeping the hotel. The latter was afterward one of the first Justices in the township.
The first 4th of July celebration was in 1858, and it was a memorable affair. The tables were laden, there was music by the choir, and an oration by Rev. Mr. Merrill, of Jasper County. Zenas Bartlett was Grand Marshal, and the patriotic crowd marched around the mill and back to the grove in the hot sun. Mr. Benson, who a few years later was killed by lightning, was one of the company, and Martin Logan, the first one of Eden's sons to fall in the defense of his country. There was also Mr. Bartlett, who left wife and little children and an aged father to die in a St. Louis hospital; and George Culver and Irving Benson, who were killed at Champion Hills ; then the martyred prisoner, Simon Woolston, and, after him, Harry Nichols, who died early at Alexandria.
The school taught at that early day was in a little log cabin. But a better house was built in 1874, a good-sized frame building, which is also used for church purposes every Sabbath. There are at present about sixty pupils. A weekly mail from Marietta was established in 1857, and Mr. Isaac Sanford was the first Postmaster.
The present business interests of the village are a gristmill, one general store, a shoe shop, two or three blacksmith shops, and the post office. The store, occupied by White & Bros., was built in 1877.
The Des Moines & McGregor Railroad was surveyed through the place, but unfortunately the survey ended it.