Decorah is a city in and the county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 8,127 at the 2010 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S. Route 52, and is the largest community in Winneshiek County.
Luther College is a private liberal arts college in Decorah, Iowa. Established as a Lutheran seminary in 1861 by Norwegian immigrants, the school today is an institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The upper campus was listed as the Luther College Campus Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.
Oella is a mill town on the Patapsco River in western Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, located between Catonsville and Ellicott City. It is a 19th-century village of millworkers' homes.
Lidtke Mill, also known as the Lime Springs Mill Complex, is a historic building located on the Upper Iowa River located in the "Old Town" area of Lime Springs, Iowa, United States. It is part of the 10 acres (4.0 ha) Lidtke Park.
Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa is the National Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School, with over 33,000 artifacts, 12 historic buildings, and a library and archives. This treasure showcases one of the most extensive collection of Norwegian- American artifacts in the world and highlights the best in historic and contemporary Norwegian folk and fine arts. Some of its buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Nordic Fest is a weekend festival held annually in Decorah, Iowa, to commemorate the traditional customs and culture of Scandinavian countries, especially Norway. The event always occurs over the last weekend in July and often draws estimated crowds of 50,000 to 75,000.
The Whitlocks Mill Light is a lighthouse on the south bank of the St. Croix River in Calais, Maine. It is the northernmost lighthouse in the state of Maine, and was the last light to be built in the state.
The J.H.C. Petersen's Sons' Store also known as the Petersen Harned-Von Maur Store Building and the Redstone Building, is a historic building in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was individually listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties and on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2020 it was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District. The former department store building was modeled on the Rookery Building in Chicago.
Pickwick Mill is a historic gristmill in the unincorporated community of Pickwick, Minnesota, United States, near the city of Winona. It was constructed in the mid-1850s and is now operated as a milling museum. Pickwick Mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 for having state-level significance in the themes of agriculture, architecture, and industry. It was nominated for being one of southeast Minnesota's oldest surviving water-powered mills, serving as a key local industry in its day and a Winona County landmark to the present.
Washington Prairie Methodist Church is a historic church building located southeast of Decorah, Iowa, United States. The congregation was established by Ole Peter Petersen. He returned to his native Norway in 1853 and founded the first Methodist congregation there. Washington Prairie Methodist is considered the mother church of Methodism in Norway. In the early years the congregation met in private houses. They built this church building themselves from 1863 to 1868. With its pediments and entablature/cornice it is Greek Revival in style. However, the windows on the side elevations are Gothic. It also features a round-arch entry on its gabled end. By 1888 services were only held here quarterly, and continued until about 1920, when the church was officially closed. Over the years some vandalism and settling of the structure occurred. The Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah restored the church and adjacent cemetery in 1972. The bishop of the North European Methodist Conference participated in its re-dedication later that year. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Daniel Nelson House and Barn, also known as the Nelson Pioneer Farm and Museum, are historic buildings located north of Oskaloosa, Iowa, United States. Daniel and Margaret Nelson settled here in 1844, a year after this part of Iowa was opened to settlement by the U.S. Government. Their first home was a log structure, non-extant, located northeast of the present house. The present house is a two-story, brick structure with a gable roof. The wooden porches on the front and back of the house date from 1898 to 1900. The large barn measures 61 by 46 feet, and was built in 1856. It is composed of board and batten construction from oak that was milled on the site. It was used largely as a granary, rather than a shelter for farm animals. Three other buildings included in the historic designation include the summer kitchen, woodshed, and a small outdoor privy. The dates of construction for the three frame buildings is unknown. The farm remained in the Nelson family until 1941 when it was abandoned with most of the original furnishings intact. The property was donated to the Mahaska County Historical Society, which now operates it as a museum. Other historic buildings have been moved to this location over the years. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The Wapsipinicon Mill is a historic industrial building located in Independence, Iowa, United States. The first mill built on this site was completed in 1854. It was replaced by the present structure in 1867. Part of its foundation is the original mill. The 1867 mill is a five-story graduated basilica form structure with a stone foundation and brick walls. It features gable roofs with bracketed eaves and round and segmental arched windows. The mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It continued to operate as a mill until 1976, when the Buchanan County Historical Society acquired it and they operate it as a museum.
The Upper Bluffton Bridge was a historic structure located in Bluffton, Iowa, United States. It spanned the Upper Iowa River for 154 feet (47 m). This bridge was designed, fabricated and built by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company of Canton, Ohio for $2,831.23. This and the Lawrence Bridge were built at the same time, and it marked the first time that Winneshiek County had longer-span trusses built at rural river crossings instead of the smaller bowstring truss bridges. This bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. It was closed to traffic because of structural problems, and replaced in 2011. Plans at that time were to move the structure to the Millgrove Access Wildlife Area in Poweshiek County, Iowa. However, the move was not made and the structure was replaced with some parts of the original structure being repurposed on a bridge on the Trout Run Bike Trail around Decorah. A plaque was placed adjacent to the new structure in Bluffton commemorating the original structure.
Locust School is a historic building located north of Decorah, Iowa, United States. Built in 1854, the one-room schoolhouse is composed of rubble ashlar limestone and capped with a gable roof. The lintels and window sills are also stone. A belfry with round-arch openings is located above the main entrance. The school was established just after the village of Locust was surveyed and settlement had begun. It remained in operation with all elementary grades until 1950, when it was reduced to specific grades. It was closed in 1960. The Winneshiek County Historical Society acquired the building and operates a museum in it. It was one of the first school buildings constructed in Winneshiek County. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Steyer Opera House is a historic building located in Decorah, Iowa, United States. The three-story, brick commercial block was designed by F.G. Brant of Dubuque. Its original owner and namesake was Joseph Steyer, who emigrated from Luxembourg in 1852 and settled in Decorah in 1865. The building was built in 1870 and an additional three bays were added to the east side in 1875. The first floor houses retail space, the second floor historically housed apartments, and the auditorium is on the third floor. The walls and ceiling are covered with tin that is pressed in a variety of decorative patterns. Doorways flank the proscenium. They are framed by paneled pilasters and capped with a broad architrave. The balcony that rings the main floor on three sides of the auditorium was part of the 1875 renovation of the building. It is now part of the neighboring Hotel Winneshiek. The building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. In 2017 it was included as a contributing property in the Decorah Commercial Historic District.
Decorah Woolen Mill, also known as the Meritol Building or Decorah Tire Service, is a historic building located in Decorah, Iowa, United States. The mill was originally constructed in 1867, and was operated by various owners in the years to come. They included the Decorah Glove and Mitten Works who operated in the building the same year, 1908, that it was struct by a tornado. The third floor sustained damage, and they continued operations here. By 1919 they were no longer in business here and the American Drug and Press Association, the Meritol Company, bought the building and expanded it. They made pharmaceuticals and patent medicines, and went bankrupt in 1932. Various other companies operated from here until 1955 when Decorah Tire Service took over. The building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The property was developed into a 15-unit apartment building, which opened in 2002. In 2017 it was included as a contributing property in the Decorah Commercial Historic District.
The Horn House is a historic residence located northwest of Decorah, Iowa, United States. The significance of this house is the unique architectural combination of the Italianate and Georgian styles found in Iowa. The latter style is found in the symmetrical composition of the attached service wing. The two-story brick main block features a low-hipped roof, wide eaves and a plain wood cornice.
The Norris Miller House, also known as The Stovewood House, is a historic residence located in Decorah, Iowa, United States. The 1½-story frame house features a vernacular Classical cornice, symmetrical plan, a gable roof, and a limestone basement. The structure is composed of oak that is split into short lengths for use in a stove, or stovewood. It is laid with mortar made up of ash and lime. There are only two other houses like this one known to exist in the United States, and both are in Wisconsin.
The Jacobson Farm is located southeast of Decorah, Iowa, United States. It was owned and operated by the Jacobson family for 127 years. One generation overlapped the next, which led to a gradual evolution of changes instead of sudden changes. This evolution is exemplified in the house and barn, which have been altered over the years to accommodate changing needs but contain some of their original construction. The original portions of the buildings shows a mastery of Norwegian log construction. The later additions were also built according to the Norwegian tradition as independent units, but using framing techniques that adapted from American builders. There is also a substantial amount of written documentation in the form of letters, diaries, tax receipts, and photographs that help to precisely document the history of the farm.
The Decorah Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Decorah, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. At the time of its nomination it contained 126 resources, which included 85 contributing buildings, one contributing structure, and 40 non-contributing buildings. The historic district covers most of the city's central business district. Water Street, which is a major thoroughfare through the district was named after a millrace (non-extant) that rerouted water from the Upper Iowa River to serve the needs of the mills and the commercial district. The land here is relatively flat and allowed for a linear shopping area. The Broadway–Phelps Park Historic District is largely a residential area that is located to the south.
