Britt City

Hancock County, Iowa

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Britt City Hall is located at 170 Main Street, Britt, IA 50423.
Phone: 641‑843‑4433.

Britt as described in 1938 [1]

An editor, "Bailey of Britt," in 1900 announced that a national Hobo Convention would be held in the town that summer; he followed up the story with imaginative accounts of the wanderers. On the appointed day reporters flocked into the little place from many parts of the country only to discover that they had been hoaxed; however, they entered into the spirit of the occasion, outdoing each other in inventing stories about hobos who never existed. The publicity actually brought hundreds of hobos to the town in succeeding summers to elect a "Hobo King." The attendance dwindled, but the custom continues.

Britt was the home of John Hammill [1875-1936], Lieutenant Governor of Iowa from 1921-1925 and Governor for three terms from 1925-1931.

  1. Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration for the State of Iowa, IOWA: A Guide to the Hawkeye State, American Guide Series, The Viking Press, New York, 1938.

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