Iowa Travel Guide

The word "Iowa" comes from the American Indian tribe of the same name. Iowa was part of the Louisiana Purchase, a deal arranged between President Thomas Jefferson and Napoleon Bonaparte of France that brought a vast tract of the continent under the control of the United States. The area was closed to white settlement until the early 1830s

Centers of Interest

Des Moines

Greater Des Moines is a diverse, multi-faceted metropolitan area. Exciting nightlife abounds-from the arts (the theatre, ballet, symphony, opera) to comedy clubs and from live music to historical places.

Iowa Historic Landmarks
Iowa’s 23 National Historic Landmarks have met rigorous federal standards to qualify for this prestigious distinction. Iowa’s National Historic Landmarks range from the modest birthplace of an orphan who rose to become president of the nation to a cluster of German villages where the trades and traditions of a once-communal life are carried on with pride.

Amana Colonies

Amana Colonies is a group of seven German villages founded in 1855 in east central Iowa by the Community of True Inspiration. The colonies operated under a communal system until 1932. Historic buildings, authentic artisans, a quality woolen mill, Old World-style wineries, quaint clock and candle shops, mouthwatering bakeries and German restaurants draw travelers off the interstate and into these peaceful places.

Sergeant Floyd Monument

Sergeant Floyd Monument — a 100-foot-tall white stone obelisk overlooking the Missouri River at Sioux City — was the nation’s first registered National Historic Landmark. This monument marks the burial place of Sergeant Floyd, the only fatality of the 1804 Lewis & Clark Expedition.

Merchants National Bank, located in Grinnell, is second in a series of “jewel box” banks designed by architect Louis Henri Sullivan. Another Sullivan design — the Van Allen & Company department store in Clinton — is also a National Historic Landmark.

Terrace Hill

Terrace Hill is Iowa’s newest addition to America’s list of National Historic Landmarks. The official residence of Iowa’s governors since 1971, Terrace Hill was built in 1869 by the state’s first millionaire. Called the “Palace of the Prairie” when it was new, the Second Empire-style mansion was designed by architect W.W. Boyington of Chicago Water Tower fame. Boyington also designed General Dodge House — another National Historic Landmark — in Council Bluffs.