Iowa State Facts

Catch up on your trivia with these Iowa history firsts and fun facts.

Midwest

Iowa History Firsts - Iowa State Facts

• 1850 - Amana, in east central Iowa, is one of seven small villages established by a German religious sect in the 1850s and early 1860s.
• 1860 - A bronze life-sized sculpture of a Norwegian immigrant family (circa 1860) is located on a six acre restored prairie site located at the east entry to Lake Mills on Highway 105.  
• 1893 - In Spillville, near Decorah, is the house where the famous Czech composer Antonín Dvorák lived in the summer of 1893 during his visit to America. 
• 1907 - The famous actor John Wayne was born in Winterset on May 26, 1907. Born Marion Robert Morrison in Winterset, John Wayne was the son of a pharmacist and grew up to become one of Hollywood's most popular movie stars.

More Iowa History Firsts - Iowa State Facts

• Ripley's Believe It or Not has dubbed Burlington's Snake Alley the most crooked street in the world.
• Effigy Mounds National Monument in northeastern Iowa preserves prehistoric mounds constructed in the outline of mammals, birds, and reptiles.
• Iowa is the nation's third most productive agricultural state, following only California and Texas in the value of its yearly farm output.
• Kalona is the largest Amish community west of the Mississippi River. 
• Fenlon Place Elevator in Dubuque is the world's steepest and shortest railway. 
• The highest double track railroad bridge in the world, the Kate Shelley Bridge, is located at Boone.
• Quaker Oats, in Cedar Rapids, is the largest cereal company in the world.
• Campers and motor homes are manufactured in Winnebago County. They're called Winnebago's. 
• Iowa is the only state whose east and west borders are 100% formed by water.  Missouri and Mississippi rivers.
• Strawberry Point is the home of the world's largest strawberry.
• The state's smallest city park is situated in the middle of the road in Hiteman.
• Scranton is home to Iowa's oldest water tower still in service.
• Dubuque is the state's oldest city.
• Crystal Lake is home to a statue of the world's largest bullhead fish.
• Rathbun Dam and Reservoir is the largest body of water in the state.
• Spirit Lake is the largest glacier-made lake in the state.
• West Okoboji is the deepest natural lake in the state. Its depth is 136 feet.
• Imes Bridge is the oldest of Madison County's six bridges.
• Iowa's longest and highest bridge crosses Lake Red Rock.
• Elk Horn in the largest Danish settlement in the United States.
• At 16 miles, East Okoboji is the longest natural lake in the state.
• Kalona is the largest Amish community west of the Mississippi River.
• The state's lowest elevation point (at 480 feet) is in Lee County.
• The Holliwell Bridge is the longest bridge in Madison County.
• Francis Drake was 66 years old at his inauguration and Iowa's oldest governor.
• Iowa's oldest continually running theater is in Story City.
• The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art houses the largest collection of Grant Wood artwork.
• Fenlon Place Elevator in Dubuque is the world's steepest and shortest railway.
• Wright County has the highest percentage of grade-A topsoil in the nation.
• The Saint Francis Xavier Basilica in Dyersville is the only basilica in the United States situated outside a major metropolitan area.
• Clarion is the only county seat in the exact center of the county.
• Dubuque is home to the only county courthouse with a gold dome.
• Cornell College is the only school in the nation to have its entire campus listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• The Sergeant Floyd Monument in Sioux City honors the only man to die during the Lewis and Clark expedition.
• Maynard Reece is the only artist to win the Federal Duck Stamp competition five times.
• Iowa's only operating antique carousel is located in the city of Story City.
• Knoxville's National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum is the only museum in the country dedicated to preserving the history of sprint car racing.
• Iowa's only fire tower is situated in Yellow River State Forest.
• Sabula is Iowa's only town on an island.
• Herbert Hoover, a West Branch native, was the 31st president of the United States and the first one born west of the Mississippi.
• Mamie Doud Eisenhower's birthplace is located in Boone and includes a restored frame house, complete with summer kitchen and original furniture from the family.
• Van Meter is the hometown of baseball's Bob Feller, an Iowa farm boy who went on to greatness with the Cleveland Indians during the Golden Age of baseball.
• Born Donnabelle Mullenger in Denison, Oscar Award-winning actress, Donna Reed, started her career at the young age of 16.
• Meredith Willson, who played with the famous John Philip Sousa and the New York Philharmonic before launching his career as a famous composer and lyricist, is a Mason City native.
• Glenn Miller, noted trombonist and orchestra leader, was born in Clarinda located in Southwest Iowa.
• The town of Fort Atkinson was the site of the only fort ever built by the U.S. government to protect one Indian tribe from another.
• Campers and motor homes are manufactured in Winnebago County. They're called Winnebago's.
• Iowa is the only state whose east and west borders are 100% formed by water,Missouri and Mississippi rivers.
• The highest double track railroad bridge in the world, the Kate Shelley Bridge, is located at Boone.
• Iowa is the only state name that starts with two vowels.
• Iowa State University is the oldest land grant college in the U.S.A.
• Decorah hosts Nordic Fest a three-day celebration of Decorah's Scandinavian heritage.
• The National Balloon Museum in Indianola chronicles more than 200 years of ballooning history.
• Sheldon High School Summer Theatre, the only high school repertory in Iowa and one of just a few in the nation presents a different play for each week in June and July.