Iowa Byways | Prairie Rivers of Iowa

Summer along the Iowa Valley Scenic Byway

by Jeanie Hau | Jul 1, 2025

Byway Travelers,

It is summer in Iowa which means heat, tall corn, and it is time for the prairies to put on a show! From wetlands to tallgrass prairie species, the Iowa Valley Scenic Byway has opportunities to enjoy plant and wildlife beauty all summer long.

Northwest of Chelsea at the western end of the 77-mile byway, is an observation deck shaped like an eagle in flight. The deck overlooks a wetland prairie at Otter Creek Marsh State Wildlife Refuge. Enjoy marsh marigold, pickerel weed, and buttonbush along with various duck species and herons.

At the eastern end of the byway enjoy the wonder of Lily Lake in July. Thousands of blooming yellow American Lotus fill the lake as do birds such as pelicans, songbirds, and trumpeter swans. A short, family-friendly multi-use trail, the Kolonieweg Trail surrounds Lily Lake. In German, Kolonieweg translates to “Colony Way” which perfectly describes this trail that offers scenic views of the Millrace, pastures, farmland, and a prairie edge.

View of the Woolen Mill (left) and Hotel Millright today. Photographer looking east along the Mill Race.

July 4^th is a special time for the Amana Colonies story as their ancestors came to America for religious freedom. The annual celebration includes pick-up baseball games in the park (check out the unique story of baseball in the Amanas at the Norway Baseball Museum of Iowa), a huge pot-luck supper and fireworks over Lily Lake.

Later in July (July 26) tour the gardens at residences and businesses in the Amana Colonies during the Colonies in Bloom event. Each garden is unique, and visitors will experience both modern and traditional gardens. The self-guided garden tour includes gardens of vegetables, fruits, perennials, annuals, and much more.

If you can’t make the trip until August, plan to participate in the Annual Bike Ride of Iowa County with numerous stops and picturesque views from Amana to Marengo and back. This 28-mile fun ride is free and appropriate for all ages.

Get away for a long weekend in Marengo. Take in the Market at the City Park with homegrown produce and handmade goods every Thursday night in the summer. Then explore the Pioneer Heritage Museum and the next day and take in a game and dinner at Lucky 6 Lanes. Or relax with a day of fishing at the lake or take in the music at the family-owned Fireside Winery. You can find many sites in Marengo which are on the Iowa Valley Scenic Byway Audio Tour & App (www.seeyouonthebyway.stqry.app). Visit Gateway Park for a walk around the lake and the Veteran’s Memorial including the Iowa County Freedom Rock.

Have a great summer and I will see you on the byway!

Iowa Valley Scenic Byway Iowa Prairie Rivers of Iowa

2025 LHA Middle Third Tour Goes Through Iowa

by Jeanie Hau | Jul 1, 2025

Lincoln Highway Association Conference 2025

Jeanie and Shellie joined Bob and Joyce Ausberger from Greene County, Jennifer Morrison from Linn County, John Fitzsimmons (Lincoln Highway Johnny) from Boone County, and Alan Campbell formerly from Clinton County, at the Lincoln Highway Association Conference in late June. Photo was taken in Julesburg, Colorado. High School students painted the roads prior to our visit! Before the conference, the Lincoln Highway Association Middle Third Tour came through Iowa.

June was a busy month for travel for the byway staff. Shellie and Jeanie presented the study on National Historic Register Properties along the Lincoln Highway Corridor to an audience of professionals at the Preserve Iowa Summit in historic Muscatine. Then, Jeanie met the Lincoln Highway Association Middle Third Tour in Clinton, Iowa at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre where the attendees from all over the United States watched the full four episodes of Road Trip Iowa across the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway. Thank you Iowa PBS!

The Historic Lincoln Hotel in Lowden, the city of Clarence, and Lisbon welcomed the tour the first day with an overnight in Cedar Rapids. Youngville Cafe, Preston’s Station National Historic District, Tama, Montour, and the Reed-Niland Corner hosted the second day with an Ice Cream Social at the Ames History Museum ending a rainy day. The last day in Iowa was the fullest with a train ride at the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad, a visit to the Mamie Eisenhower Museum, lunch with Bob & Joyce at the Lincoln Highway Garden in Grand Junction, a trip up the Carillon Bell Tower in Jefferson, and a tour around the Harrison County Welcome Center. We could have filled up another week in Iowa, if they would have let us!

Made it to Front Street in Ogallala!

Enjoyed a “Canteen” inspired meal at the Lincoln County Museum

Left: Lincoln Highway Johnny brought his artwork to display in the Book Room.

Right: Map of the Transcontinental Airway Route.

Just a handful of places visited during the Conference.

Those are the few pictures taken while at the Lincoln Highway Association Conference. There was networking, promoting, story-telling, and planning for the future of the Lincoln Highway. More people know about the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway after this tour and this Conference. Until next year in York, PA for a BIG 250th Celebration of America, see you on the byway Lincoln Highway Association Members!

It only takes a few moments to join the Lincoln Highway Association and your support helps us to preserve the history, the stories, the brick, the markers, and the livelihood of those living along the Lincoln Highway. Sign up at: Membership – Iowa Lincoln Highway Association

Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway A National Scenic Byway

Catch up on the Byway Buzz

by Jeanie Hau | May 23, 2025

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Hello byway travelers! You may be wondering where we have been (unless of course, you follow the “Where Was I on the byway” series on social media).

We have been very busy in the byway department. Our former Lincoln Highway Coordinator and now Special Projects Consultant, Shellie Orngard, finished a two-year study on historical structures in the Lincoln Highway Corridor.

“Many historic properties have been lost over the years, and it is critical that this work be undertaken to avoid losing more… Surveys are a point-in-time snapshot of properties and to ascertain their preservation needs. The end product provides information gathered and includes recommendations for preservation.”

The project was funded in part by the State Historical Society of Iowa, Historical Resource Development Program.

The Survey of National Historic Register Sites, Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway, Iowa; Final Report, prepared by Shellie Orngard is available now on our website.

We were fortunate to have a student working with us the past several months and we kicked out some “to do” list items.Our student spent time editing a new series, “Tales on the byway.”

This is an oral/video history project we are experimenting with to record conversations with people who have lived and worked along the Lincoln Highway Corridor. The video was recorded for the Colo Historical Association and will be played at the Reed Station Museum during open hours.

The Iowa Valley Scenic Byway Audio Tour App is something we have been spending time getting up and going, and learning about future capabilities. We needed to change the name and online location of the App so that we can expand with future tours featuring recreation areas and the Lincoln Highway once funding can be secured. The new location is: https://seeyouonthebyway.stqry.app.

Be sure to use the share icon (square with an arrow) to choose “save site to home screen.” We continue to make changes and updates to the app as we gather updated information, photos, and links. A great new “Quiz” section will be added in the coming months.

“Where Was I on the byway” continues to be the Lincoln Highway Byway theme for Wednesdays on social media and we have added a series to the Iowa Valley Scenic Byway called, “Where Was I on the App”. This series encourage exploration of the App, the audio tour, and ultimately to visit the communities.

We made much-needed route updates in our source map for the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway. Recently, the Iowa Department of Transportation completed the Hwy 30 four-lane from Lisbon to Ogden. With this construction, there were a few changes with how the Lincoln Highway enters and exits the four-lane. We are patiently awaiting new signs to complete the sign updates in Lisbon, Chelsea, and the Ralston Corners area where the route was incorrectly signed several years ago. Continue to reference the Lincoln Highway Map until we can update these sign inconsistencies.

Speaking of road construction (after-all it is spring in Iowa), we have just linked a map to our Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway website that has most of the summer/fall road construction locations marked along our updated route. We have been experimenting with the My Google Maps and trying to see how we can add information with a limited number of layers, so note that the layers in this map are still a work in-progress.

Those are the highlights of what the byway team has been up to since January. We continue to be involved with the Reed-Niland Corner’s progression with developing preservation guidelines and the development of the Reed-Niland Corner non-profit. We are working with the City of Tama regarding the Lincoln Highway Bridge. An alternate vehicular route has been constructed around the bridge. We need an inspection to move forward.

June will keep us busy again with the Preserve Iowa Summit, where Shellie and Jeanie will be a part of the round-table presentations and discussion on June 7^th.

We are looking forward to the Lincoln Highway Association’s Middle Third Tour through Iowa, June 19th-21st, with overnight stays in Cedar Rapids and Ames.

We will be hosting a viewing of the Iowa PBS Road Trip Iowa Lincoln Highway episodes on June 19^th at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre with special guest, Kelsey Kramer. Kelsey is the producer of the eastern Iowa episodes. This event is FREE to attend and is open to the public. Shows begin at 9:30 with a discussion with Kelsey to follow.

Also during the tour, the Iowa Lincoln Highway Association President, Mary Preston, will be at the Cedar Rapids evening Tour stop and Joyce Ausberger is hosting lunch at the Lincoln Highway Museum on June 21^st. All are welcome to travel along; only those on the tour can attend meals.

And then it is off to Ogallala for the Lincoln Highway Association Conference, where we will be taking the traveling exhibit, “Promise Road, How the Lincoln Highway Changed America.”– There is still time to register!

And with that….I will see you on the byway!

All my best,

Jeanie

IPBS Road Trip Iowa Spring 2025: The Lincoln Highway Episodes

by Jeanie Hau | Mar 4, 2025

The Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway- A National Scenic Byway will be showcased by Iowa Public Television during Season 2 of the Road Trip Iowa Series. Episodes will premiere weekly on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. and will repeat on Saturdays at 9 a.m. on Iowa PBS. The program will also be available to stream on demand on iowapbs.org and on the PBS app.

AIR DATE	EPISODE NUMBER	ROAD TRIP IOWA – S2 EPISODE ORDER
4/9	201	Driftless Area Scenic Byway
4/16	202	River Bluffs Scenic Byway
4/23	203	Loess Hills National Scenic Byway North
4/30	204	Loess Hills National Scenic Byway South
5/7	205	Grant Wood Scenic Byway
5/14	206	Historic Hills Scenic Byway
5/21	207	Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway East
5/28	208	Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway East-Central
6/4	209	Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway Central
6/11	210	Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway West

Be sure to catch the

Iowa Valley Scenic Byway | Iowa PBS

from Season 1!

A New Memorial to Lincoln for 2025

by Jeanie Hau | Mar 4, 2025

10 millionth Ford photo by Greene County Historical Society 2024

Hello from the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway- A National Scenic Byway and the Iowa Valley Scenic Byway. We have had an exciting year on the byways. The Ten Millionth Model-T Ford celebrated a 100-year Anniversary by trekking across the country and stopped at many of our beloved locations.

And who could forget the Big Boy Steam Locomotive No 4014 and Jay Leno jumping on to film an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage? How many of you were fortunate enough drive beside the Big Boy along the Lincoln Highway? So how can 2025 compare those exciting events?

On February 17^th, Presidents Day, the Union Pacific Railroad unveiled their newest commemorative locomotive. The Abraham Lincoln No 1616 – a symbolic tribute to the nation’s 16th president. The Abraham Lincoln Locomotive will, “travel the rails, serving as a traveling ambassador and participating in community events and education programs that highlight the historic role of railroads in American’s growth and its continued contribution to our country, communities and economy,” said Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena. Read the complete press release and see the limited edition poster.

The Abraham Lincoln No 1616 advertisement

Lincoln in Council Bluffs

In 1859, before our 16^th President was elected an Illinois State Senator, he made a trip to Council Bluffs to purchase land to use as collateral for a personal loan (17 plots between 9^th and 16^th Ave).

Lincoln and Dodge in Council Bluffs Iowa

While in Council Bluffs, Mr Lincoln met with General Grenville Dodge, a Civil War veteran who had moved his family to Council Bluffs. During his trip Dodge convinced Lincoln that the eastern terminus for the first Transcontinental Railroad should start in Council Bluffs and head west to the Pacific.

In 1862, President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act creating the railroad that connected the eastern and western United States.

postcard of lincoln monument in council bluffs iowa

In 1911, Council Bluffs built an obelisk Lincoln Monument overlooking the Missouri Valley west of the historic Fairview Cemetery where the meeting between Dodge and Lincoln took place.

More Memorials

In 1913, when Carl Fisher, Frank Seiberling, and Henry Joy were just finishing up the planning of the first improved Coast-to-Coast Rock Highway, they decided that naming the road after Abraham Lincoln would be both a tribute and would give great patriotic appeal to the highway. The town of Jefferson, Iowa was the first to build a statue of Abraham Lincoln along the new highway in 1918. Memorials to the president have since been plentiful across Iowa and the United States along the Lincoln Highway and now the Railroad!

Lincoln Locomotive Poster by the Union Pacific Railroad.

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