Wow, there’s a huge 20,000 square mile, 37 county region in Northeast Iowa that’s designated as a National Heritage Area. Smokestacks and Silos celebrates Iowa’s role in making America mighty through agriculture.

Nearly a hundred historic and culture sites and make up the places to go and things to see in this region and there is something for everyone to enjoy and learn from.  Included are one room schoolhouses, living history farms, homes, blacksmith shops, parks, ranches, farms, art galleries, wineries and interpretive centers.

There are plenty of unusual museums which celebrate the area, including those for Laura Ingall Wildes, the Mississippi River (including an aquarium), Masons, African Americans, Farms and Agricultural Equipment, Tractors, Toys and The Putnam Museum in Davenport, which joins the old and new with an IMAX Theater.

The Silos and Smokestacks organization provides several travel itineraries to guide you. Try the 50 mile serene and scenic drive along the peaceful Iowa River and the 64 mile loop tour of Grundy County that highlights the area’s famous Barn Quilts.

A trip through this area of Iowa will give you and your children a real sense of time and place as well as a feel for a part of American history that so many of our very ordinary ancestors contributed to.

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