Treasures along Iowa's Lincoln Highway

For more than two decades I’ve been making trips up to Iowa to visit with my wife’s family and friends. (She’s an Iowa girl who has grown to love Tennessee even though it’s difficult to find a good fried pork tenderloin sandwich in the Volunteer State.) One route we’ve traveled many time is U.S. 30, a highway traversing the state from the Mississippi River to the Missouri River near Omaha, NE.

Belle Plaine is on the original route of the Lincoln Highway in Iowa. Even though it’s now a few miles away from the current route of U.S. 30, it makes for a great detour.

Lincoln Highway – Mt. Vernon to Belle Plaine

While not all of the current U.S. 30 follows the original route of the Lincoln Highway it is more or less synonymous with the first improved highway across the United States. In Iowa, the Lincoln Highway runs more than 460 miles (I’ve traveled a little more than half of that). Along the way, small towns, history, sweeping prairie landscapes and bustling cities provide plenty of reasons to consider the Lincoln Highway for a road trip. Here is some of what you’ll find along (and near) the Lincoln Highway from Mt. Vernon to Belle Plaine.

Mt. Vernon

When passing through this town just outside of Cedar Rapids, it’s difficult not to notice the ornate spires and clock tower rising high above this Iowa town. This stone structure is King Memorial Chapel. It sits at the heart of Cornell College, a private liberal arts institution. According to its website, Cornell was the first college west of the Mississippi to recognize the equal rights of men and women and the first college in Iowa to graduate a woman.

While I only stopped in Mt. Vernon to take a few pictures of the King Chapel, I did find a piece on Cornell College’s website that lists 25 “cool” things about the town that make me want to go back for a longer visit sometime.

Marion

As the Lincoln Highway approaches Iowa’s second largest city, Cedar Rapids, the original and current routes split up by several miles. The older stretch runs through the heart of Marion, a city blossoming with creativity and a love for the treasures from its past. The Lincoln Highway runs with U.S. Business 151 along 7th Avenue, in the Uptown area. While there, be sure and stop, get out of your car and explore.

The City Square Park complete with its historical markers, old caboose and depot provides a great place for walking and relaxing. If you’re hungry you’ll have plenty of choices in this historic district from burgers and pizza to gourmet popcorn, coffee and sweet treats.

Public art takes center stage in the alleyway running between 7th & 8th Avenue and 10th and 12th Streets. The Marion Artway features a wide array of colorful murals and sculptures that along with the ones at Lowe Park make this city a must for public art lovers. At Lowe Park, people who love the performing arts can soak up the artistic vibe of the area at the Klopfenstein Amphitheater which features a large steel canopy shaped like an oak leaf.

Cedar Rapids

Whether you take the old Lincoln Highway route into Marion or go straight to Cedar Rapids, you’ll find plenty of things to do in both places. Cedar Rapids calls itself the “City of Five Seasons” a place to visit anytime of the year, with the “fifth season” being time to enjoy the other four.

If there was ever an example of America’s “melting pot” you would find it in this city stretched out along the Cedar River. Immigrants from the Czech and Slovak regions of Europe flocked to the city in the late 1800’s to work in factories springing up there. The rich culture of these immigrants lives on in the New Bohemian and Czech Village neighborhoods where you’ll not only find great shops, bakeries, breweries and restaurants, you’ll also find the National Czech-Slovak Museum and the NewBo Market, a great place to get a taste of Cedar Rapids.

The cultural wonders continue in other parts of the city. Grant Wood, the artist famous for his “American Gothic” painting called Cedar Rapids home. Today, the city’s art museum holds the largest collections of his works anywhere. His work is on display for everyone to see at the Veterans memorial Building on the “Government Island” in the Cedar River. Wood created the massive stained glass window on the front of the building. It’s a landmark along the older Lincoln Highway route through Downtown Cedar Rapids.

Following two record floods, the City of Cedar Rapids has worked to redevelop the space along the Cedar River adding more parks, greenways and gathering spaces. Together these additions provide plenty of opportunities to walk or bike along the river and to get to places like Czech Village and New Bohemia where you will find the African-American Museum of Iowa.

Cedar Rapids is a great place to spend a night or two while road tripping the Lincoln Highway. One unique place to stay is the Hotel Kirkwood south of the city. Located on a community college campus, this sleek modern hotel also serves as a classroom for the college’s hospitality students. The hotel features large meeting spaces, a bar, restaurant, and upscale accommodations.

Of course you’ll also want to check out the food scene in Cedar Rapids where you’ll find one of the best Breaded Pork Tenderloin sandwiches in the state at The Blind Pig (according to the Iowa Pork Producers Association.)

Belle Plaine

For years, we’ve driven the stretch of U.S. 30 between Cedar Rapids and Ames, sometimes stopping by a big silo with a mural pointing the way to Belle Plaine. At this intersection, the historic part of the Lincoln Highway heads south into this town of about 2,500. (Sadly, that silo and mural along with the magnificent sunflower field across from it, all fell victim to the 2020 derecho that swept across the state).

Stately brick buildings, wide sidewalks and the marquee of the old King Theater all work to transport you back to a time when the traffic of the Lincoln Highway made its way down Main Street. While it’s not on the main route anymore, plenty of people still pass through this charming midwestern town.

On the side of one building downtown you’ll see a mural of a boy with a surprised look, holding a newspaper. In the background a bunch of people are watching a large gush of water come out of the ground. This is a depiction of one of the biggest events in Belle Plaine’s history. The Jumbo Well became the talk of the town (and places much further away) back in 1886.

According to a 2015 article in the Cedar Rapids Gazette online, the stream of artesian water ran for months, spilling out as much as 5-million gallons a day before they could get it under control. The Jumbo Well is also the focus of a raised brick mural on the side of another building downtown. Be sure and Google the “Jumbo Well in Belle Plaine” and you’ll find several write ups and historical photos of this strange geological phenomenon.

The Lincoln Highway is truly an Iowa treasure and presents great opportunities for road trips.

Be sure and check out my post on the first stretch of the Lincoln Highway in Iowa coming from the Mississippi River. Have you traveled on the Lincoln Highway? If so tell us about your experiences in the comments.