Stop by the Pioneer Heritage Museum in Marengo

Iowa County hasn't forgotten its roots and you can enjoy a step back in time at the Pioneer Heritage Museum on the south side of Marengo, on South Street, just west of the fairgrounds.

The museum grounds actually fill half of a city block. You can tour a log cabin from the 1850s and a log house originally built near Homestead in 1861. You can also see the train depot from Victor.

“It was the last remaining depot along the Rock Island line,” says Marilyn Rodgers, secretary of the Iowa County Historical Society which manages the Pioneer Heritage Museum. “The railroad station is filled with all kinds of memorabilia.”

The museum also is home to a 1930s gas station. “It was originally owned by Fred Bees, of Hartwick, just over the line into Poweshiek County,” Rodger says. “It is a treat. It's used by a lot of car clubs because they love to come through and have their pictures taken,” she says.

The museum's largest building, the Heritage Center, houses a military display, a 1920s period house, several dioramas that depict a rural schoolhouse, a general store and a doctor's office as well as small farm equipment and a resource library.

It's interesting to note that the museum's collection of uniforms and military gear span from the Spanish-American War through the Civil War, World War I, World War II, all the way up through Vietnam and Desert Storm.

The Pioneer Heritage Museum will open for the season on Saturday, June 9, with a free brunch from 9 to 11:30 a.m. and then be open every Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoon from 1 to 4 p.m. through mid September. Rodgers is quick to note that museum volunteers are more than happy to open the museum any time by appointment.

There is no charge to visit the Pioneer Heritage Museum, but donations are always welcome.

For more information, call (319) 642-7018 or go online to http://iagenweb.org/iowa/research/ICHS.htm.