Getting off the Interstate Highway… apples, towers, alleys and Court Houses.
My travels brought me to the beautiful town of Winterset, Iowa! It’s the town of the Covered Bridges of Madison County and the home of John Wayne. But so much more:
It is the home to the first tree bearing apples called “Delicious.” In the 1870s Jesse Hiatt lived in a one-room log cabin with his wife and ten children. One day he noticed a chance seedling that appeared vigorous, but was out of row with the apple trees he had planted. He cut the tree down but the next spring it was up again and larger than before. Six years later it produced fruit which caused Hiatt to exclaim, “Ma, this is the best apple in the whole world!” He called the apple “Hawkeye.” The rights to the apple tree were bought in 1894 and it was renamed the “Delicious” apple. In 1922 a monument was erected in City Park in Winterset, dedicated to the well-loved apple.
The Clark tower is a 25-foot limestone castle tower that was built in 1926 and dedicated to Caleb and Ruth Clark, pioneers of Madison County. You can only get to it by going through the city park and taking a narrow one way winding rock road for about a mile. The day I visited the road was closed (possibly permanently) so I sent the drone to find it!
The court house and town are stunning and feel like you would guess small town Iowa should be! Across from the court house hidden in an alley are some beautiful wall murals. I would not have seen them except I was trying to get a full frame picture of the court house and kept backing up until I was in the alley!
While I was in town someone directed me to the quilt museum. Yes, you read that right. I am a pastor and I knew that my group of quilting ladies would be so proud of me if I went in - so I did! Wow. Must see. Seriously. So many beautiful quilts and award winning displays from around the nation. One of the displays was about poppies for Veterans Day. Crazy details. Very gifted artists.
I have a feeling that much more time could have been spent in Winterset, Iowa!
