Marquette Iowa
Marquette Iowa |
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Just the FactsNOTE: The data that follows derives primarily from the 1990 U.S. census and as such is a decade out of date. Comparative data for the U.S. at large and for the St. Louis metro area are presented to establish perspective. St. Louis was chosen because it is the largest city on the river as well as smack dab in the middle.
Just south of the bridge you can see Marquette's pink elephant -- black top hat cocked to one side. As I understand it the elephant has adorned the river bank here for the past thirty years. It's something of a startling introduction to the town, and at first seems out-of-place, but after you've visited a few of Marquette's antique shops you feel better about the pink elephant. How's it go? "One man's pink elephant is another man's treasure." Directly across the street from the elephant is the Miss Marquette Riverboat casino. Gambling is illegal in Minnesota and Wisconsin, Iowa's northern and northeastern neighbors. As small as Marquette is, the town has a reputation that extends well beyond the river's banks. Marquette is a hotspot for antiques and fleamarkets. The Marquette fleamarket is held five times a year and draws a large enough crowd to more than double the towns population. Isaac and I were fortunate enough to be in Marquette for one of the fleamarkets. If you like such events, we can vouch for the fact that Marquette's is big enough to keep you busy for the weekend.
Marquette is a great town for taking a stroll. You can walk through the whole town in a couple of hours with time enough to visit a few of the shops like the Wildflour Bakery. Since the town is so small you'd be just as well to hang a sign around your neck that says tourist, but the townspeople are friendly and happy to strike up a conversation to make you feel welcome. There are some fine examples of turn-of-the-century architecture to enjoy and a small city park near the river where you can sit down and get into that bag you picked up at the bakery.
The nearest major attraction to Marquette is a national monument. About three miles up the road heading north is Effigy Mounds National Monument. It was common of the Woodland period (1000 BC to 900 AD) Native Americans throughout the midwest to bury their dead in earthen mounds. However, only here at the site of Effigy Mounds did they construct burial mounds in the shape of animals. The mounds are shaped like bears, birds, snakes, et cetera. It is a truly unique and immensely important archeological site worthy of national monument status. I encourage you, if you're ever in the area, to be sure and visit. Many of the mounds are located on top of the bluffs overlooking the river. There are hiking trails that will take you up the bluffs where not only can you see the mounds, but where you can also enjoy some of the most beautiful views of the Mississippi River Valley. |
Marquette Iowa is a charmer. Nestled between high bluffs that come right to the river's edge, Marquette appears to be playing hide-and-seek with its twin McGregor a mile south. It's waterfront peeks out of the valley to look tenatively up and down the river. Marquette is across the river from the much larger Prairie du Chien, but it is Marquette that is actually on the river. Prairie du Chien's waterfront is on a back channel of the river. A bridge connecting the two offers the best view of Marquette and a splendid view of the river valley here where the bluffs are steep and majestic. The photo to the right was taken from the bridge and shows most of the town which is laid out to the north side of the bridge.
Marquette is the first town in northern Iowa near a larger population (Prairie du Chien) and so it has the dubious honor of hosting the first state licensed gambling casino on the Mississippi. (There is one casino further north on the river near Red Wing, but it is a special case since it is located on an Native American reservation). Given the turn-of-the-century and quaint character of Marquette itself, saying the casino sticks out like a sore thumb is quite and understatement. The casino itself is done up as an old river steamer in tasteless "casino tacky." It does sort of go with the elephant, but after a careful second look I've decided the elephant is quirky; the casino is just tacky.
If you miss one of the fleamarkets you can head instead for the antique mall. Marquette has the largest antique mall I've ever seen. It's in an old three story public school building and all three floors are jam packed with displays by sellers from all over the upper midwest. You couldn't possibly see a third of what's there in a ten hour day.
Prairie du Chien across the river is much larger and certainly better equipped to handle the region's regular tourist trade, but tourism over there is business. In Marquette it's more personal. For example there are lots of good places to eat in Prairie du Chien while in Marquette there's only the River Country Restaurant. Go to eat dinner in Prairie du Chien and you're not likely to wind up talking river history with the restaurant's staff. Go to eat dinner at the River Country Restaurant and, if you even hint at the fact that you're interested in the town and its history, one of the Mathew family that owns and runs the restaurant is going to be sitting at your table pointing out pieces of history hanging on the walls and occasionally running behind the counter to retrieve books and photos for you to examine. We learned about some of the early history of the railroad in Marquette while eating a fine fried catfish dinner. Among other things we learned that the cowl on steam engines more typically called a "cow catcher" was invented in Marquette and by none other than Grandpa Mathew.