The seat of Dubois County in Southwestern Indiana, Jasper often appears on lists of the best small towns in the country. Jasper has long been known as a center for woodworking, and even at the time of writing the two largest employers were furniture manufacturers. It’s clear that a lot of love has gone into …
Until the turn of the 20th century this corner of the Indianapolis metropolitan area was totally rural, and known for its abundant beech trees. The treasured poet and women’s rights activist, Sarah T. Bolton (1814-1893), purchased a creekside property here in 1871, which is now a park named in her honor. Beech Grove has a …
On the shores of three beautiful lakes in North Central Indiana, Warsaw is the endearing seat of Kosciusko County. If you’re wondering about the Polish connection, the county is named for Tadeusz Kościuszko (1746-1817) a hero in the Revolutionary War. Warsaw is a tribute to his home country, and is known in the medical community …
The name of this city in South Central Indiana is practically a byword for Indiana limestone. The pure, dense and uniform stone quarried around Bedford is the sediment from an inland sea that existed some 350 million years ago. Bedford stone has been used for scores of famous American landmarks, from the Empire State Building …
With a distinct Czech and Slovak heritage, the second-largest city in Iowa is the largest corn-processing city on the planet, at the heart of one of the largest manufacturing centers in the nation. It’s hard to mention Cedar Rapids without talking about the painter, Grant Wood (1891-1942), who lived and worked here. You can visit …
At the confluence of the Big Sioux and Missouri Rivers, Sioux City is also where Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota all meet. The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through in July and August of 1804, pausing to lay to rest Sergeant Charles Floyd, whose grave is marked with a grand monument. In the early 20th …
The first thing to mention about Iowa City is the prestigious university that has been part of daily life here since 1847. The University of Iowa imbues the city with culture, style and a sense of fun, unmistakable in the pedestrian-friendly downtown area. This institution has high-ranking programs for law, the fine arts and healthcare, …
A northern suburb of Des Moines, Ankeny is growing at an amazing rate, but has a history reaching back to the late 19th century. On this side of the state capital you’re within shouting distance of Adventureland Park, Iowa’s top theme park, with a world-class water park attached. Ankeny is also minutes from some of …
On the Cedar River, the seat of Black Hawk County is part of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metropolitan area, home to more than 170,000 people. Waterloo is known for its industry, which developed in a sudden burst at the turn of the 20th century, and counts the agricultural multinational, John Deere among its biggest employers. There’s …
Known as Valley Junction until 1938, the largest suburb of Des Moines is growing at a staggering rate, more than doubling in population since 1990. West Des Moines has humble origins, taking shape around a railroad depot at the turn of the 20th century. Decades before, the abolitionist and first settler, James C. Jordan had …