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Old 04-12-2012, 11:30 AM
 
Location: Keosauqua, Iowa
9,611 posts, read 21,138,320 times
Reputation: 13662

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Mount Sterling, Iowa is the most historic town anywhere.
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Old 04-12-2012, 01:19 PM
 
655 posts, read 1,120,174 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WyoNewk View Post
I'd like to add another couple for consideration as historic towns/areas. Decorah, in the NE corner of the state, and even more so the smaller towns in the area like Guttenberg and Spillville are pretty cool. I just now discovered Spillville is the oldest Czeck village in Iowa. Be sure to visit Bily Clocks. Very interesting.

And if you're sightseeing in westcentral Iowa, Sister cities Elk Horn and Kimballton are nice Danish settlements. Kimballton has a full-scale replica of the Little Mermaid along with a half-scale replica of a Danish windmill. A couple miles away and more tourist-worthy is Elk Horn, the largest rural Danish settlement in the U.S. It has an 1848 windmill that was imported from Denmark several years ago and put back together piece-by-piece and a little museum -- a very nice, well manicured town worth the stop.


Totally agree with this....love the Decorah area and the Billy clocks are really cool. If you are going that way, check out the world's smallest church in Festina. CHAPEL OF ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA – Festina, Iowa

It is on the way to Decorah and it just a cool little treasure. the best part of it is all of the guest books that are in the entry...they go way back so you can see all the people that visit. My family is from West Union so we have gone there many times over the years and it is always fun to look in the books to find your name.
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Old 04-12-2012, 03:07 PM
 
Location: Des Moines
586 posts, read 2,175,919 times
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Originally Posted by duster1979 View Post
Mount Sterling, Iowa is the most historic town anywhere.
Can you run for mayor so Mount Sterling can remain on the map?

Munson: Mount Sterling is set to fade away | The Des Moines Register | DesMoinesRegister.com
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Old 04-12-2012, 06:17 PM
 
Location: Keosauqua, Iowa
9,611 posts, read 21,138,320 times
Reputation: 13662
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMRyan View Post
Can you run for mayor so Mount Sterling can remain on the map?

Munson: Mount Sterling is set to fade away | The Des Moines Register | DesMoinesRegister.com
At the risk of giving up my anonymity on this forum, all I can say about that is....I already did.
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Old 04-13-2012, 11:04 PM
 
6,893 posts, read 7,521,758 times
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It's always hard to know what "historic" means to someone. Every place has history!

If you're looking for the oldest surviving communities in Iowa, the Mississippi river towns of Dubuque, Clinton, Davenport, Muscatine, Burlington and Ft. Madison were home to Iowa's "Permissable Trespassers" (those who came in this territory before the treaties booting the Mesquakie and Ioway and others off their lands were signed.)

I've never been to Muscatine, but I really want to. Who could pass up a trip to a button museum? People say it's pretty run-down now, which is true of most of the river towns, yet it's history is fascinating, and I want to go hunting for button blanks! I've also never been to Ft. Madison - is it interesting? I keep trying to like Dubuque but just can't get over the skungy feel of downtown.

Maybe your trip should include a visit to a site which is REALLY old and acknowleges Native American history. Effigy Mounds National Monument is east of Decorah and north of Dubuque. It has great hiking trails and a nice little nature center. Take a look at Effigy Mounds National Monument - Effigy Mounds National Monument to see if you might want to visit.

If you're looking for places that market their history for tourism income, there's always the Amanas and Pella!

The 2012 Iowa travel guide is just out. To get one go to www.iowatourism.com.

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Old 04-14-2012, 02:32 PM
 
14 posts, read 33,248 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by metro223 View Post
Dubuque was the first town in the state, so there is quite a bit of interesting history there.

history.
Since we are mentioning DBQ, lets not forget about historic Galena, even though its on Illinois side but only 15 minutes away. Both chambers of commerce in these cities and their counties jointly promote each other. Visitors to Galena are advised to come to Dubuque if they want to play in casinos, and Dubuque sponsors Galena for wine tasting, etc.
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Old 04-16-2012, 04:42 PM
 
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
2,401 posts, read 4,325,152 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zippity234 View Post
Since we are mentioning DBQ, lets not forget about historic Galena, even though its on Illinois side but only 15 minutes away. Both chambers of commerce in these cities and their counties jointly promote each other. Visitors to Galena are advised to come to Dubuque if they want to play in casinos, and Dubuque sponsors Galena for wine tasting, etc.
or....(no offense)....but let's forget Galena so we dont' have to live out our inferiority complex even more. i.e... Can't we even have our own "most historic town" without having to lean on a neighboring state to make it legit??

I think we can do better than that.
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Old 04-16-2012, 04:58 PM
 
Location: Keosauqua, Iowa
9,611 posts, read 21,138,320 times
Reputation: 13662
Quote:
Originally Posted by capitalcityguy View Post
or....(no offense)....but let's forget Galena so we dont' have to live out our inferiority complex even more. i.e... Can't we even have our own "most historic town" without having to lean on a neighboring state to make it legit??

I think we can do better than that.
Galena is the most historic town in Iowa that isn't in Iowa.
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Old 04-16-2012, 05:29 PM
 
14 posts, read 33,248 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by duster1979 View Post
Galena is the most historic town in Iowa that isn't in Iowa.
Good response. People who try to generalize all different local regions in the state are pitiful and vague. Dubuque and Galena are historically, geographically and economically very close and form a large part of tri-state driftless metro area that is different from other regions.

If someone who was from Buffalo, NY ignored that he is near Toronto which is a big city but in Canada, different country, he would come to look like a goone especially if he got upset that someone mentions it.

Look at Windor, Ontario and its relationship with Detroit. It is in different country, little different region but culturally they are very close. People in Windsor, go to Detroit to watch footbal, hockey, and people in Detroit often go to Windsor for night life.
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Old 04-17-2012, 09:55 AM
 
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,720 posts, read 23,625,739 times
Reputation: 14551
I stopped by the Amana Colonies. Cute towns, well preserved architecture from the past, and displays true craftsmanship originally setteled by German Pietists.

Amana Colonies in Iowa | The Handcrafted Escape

Amana Colonies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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