The mission of the Wapello County Historical Society is to identify, collect, and preserve the manifestations of Wapello County history.
The Wapello County Historical Society was organized October 14, 1959. The Grand Opening at the present location at 210 W. Main St., Ottumwa, Iowa, was held June 11, 1988. As there was no elevator to the second floor, $55,000 was raised within a year and an elevator was in operation by September of 1989. Ottumwa comes from the Sauk word “Au-tum-way-e-naukor” meaning “land of the rippling waters”.
