A couple of weeks back I tooled around Winneshiek County harvesting their town signs. Winneshiek County is one of the most beautiful places in Iowa. If I had to rank the most beautiful areas in Iowa, the Driftless Area would be first. The Loess Hills would be second. Then there would be a big gap and then the Des Moines River Valley.
Here are some facts about Winneshiek County:
+ The population is 20,090, making it the 32nd most populous county in Iowa. Below Carroll County and above Buena Vista County.
+ Decorah is the largest town and the county seat.
+ Organized in 1847.
+ Named after the Chief of the Winnebago tribe.
+ Home of Bily Clocks.
+ Home of Dunnings Springs waterfall, the pretties waterfall in Iowa.
+ Major highways are: US-52, IA-9, IA-24, IA-139, and IA-150.
+ Adjacent counties are: Allamakee, Fayette, Chickasaw, Howard, and Clayton.
+ Population peaked in 1880 at 23,398.
The Winneshiek County Courthouse is beautiful:
The Winneshiek County Courthouse in Decorah, Iowa.
The Winneshiek County Freedom Rock is located in Calmar, Iowa.
With Winneshiek County completed, here is the Photography 139 Conquest Map:
PURPLE=COMPLETED
83 Counties down. 83.8% of the Cyclone State conquered!
Here are the town signs of Winneshiek County:
Decorah, Iowa
DECORAH
Population: 7,587 (-540)
Calmar, Iowa
WELCOME TO CALMAR
EST. 1850
Population: 1,125 (+147)
Ossian, Iowa
OSSIAN
Est 1850
Population: 802 (-43)
Spillville, Iowa
WELCOME TO SPILLVILLE
Population: 385 (+18)
Fort Atkinson, Iowa
WELCOME TO HISTORIC FORT ATKINSON
Population: 312 (-37)
Ridgeway, Iowa
A NICE PLACE TO LIVE
RIDGEWAY
‘Where BIG Things Come In Small Packages’
FOUNDED IN 1867
POPULATION 295
Population: 275 (-40)
Castalia, Iowa
Entering
CASTALIA
Homes of Caring People
Population: 145 (-28)
Jackson Junction, Iowa
EST. 1897
JACKSON JUNCTION
Winneshiek County, for being such a beautifully natural county, has a fairly weak collection of town signs. I’m going to have to give last place to Decorah. What a disappointment of a town sign for such a beautiful town.
For the purple ribbon. For Best in Show… hmmmm. I like the Calmar sign. I like the Ridgeway sign. But I’m giving it to Castalia.
Castalia – Best in Show – Winneshiek County
There is only one alternate town sign in Winneshiek County:
Spillville Alternate
Here is the current list of Best in Shows:
Best in Show – Adair County
Best in Show – Adams County
Best in Show – Appanoose County
Best in Show – Audubon County
Best in Show – Benton County
Best in Show – Black Hawk County
Best in Show – Boone County
Best in Show – Bremer County
Best in Show – Buchanan County
Best in Show – Buena Vista County
Best in Show – Butler County
Best in Show – Calhoun County
Best in Show – Carroll County
Best in Show – Cass County
Best in Show – Cedar County
Best in Show – Cerro Gordo County
Best in Show – Cherokee County
Best in Show – Chickasaw County
Best in Show – Clarke County
Best in Show – Clay County
Best in Show – Clinton County
Best in Show – Crawford County
Best in Show – Dallas County
Best in Show – Decatur County
Best in Show – Delaware County
Terril – Best in Show – Dickinson County
Best in Show – Dickinson County
Best in Show – Emmet County
Best in Show – Floyd County
Best in Show – Franklin County
Best in Show – Fremont County
Best in Show – Greene County
Best in Show – Grundy County
Best in Show – Guthrie County
Best in Show – Hamilton County
Best in Show – Hancock County
Best in Show – Hardin County
Best in Sow – Harrison County
Best in Show – Howard County
Best in Show – Humboldt County
Best in Show – Ida County
Best in Show – Iowa County
Best in Show – Jackson County
Best in Show – Jasper County
Best in Show – Jones County
Best in Show – Keokuk County
Best in Show – Kossuth County
Best in Show – Linn County
Best in Show – Lucas County
Best in Show – Lyon County
Best in Show – Madison County
Best in Show – Mahaska County
Best in Show – Marion County
Best in Show – Marshall County
Best in Show – Mills County
Best in Show – Mitchell County
Best in Show – Monona County
Best in Show – Monroe County
Best in Show – Montgomery County
Best in Show – O’Brien County
Best in Show – Osceola County
Best in Show – Page County
Best in Show – Palo Alto County
Best in Show – Plymouth County
Best in Show – Pocahontas County
Best in Show – Polk County
Best in Show – Pottawattamie County
Best in Show – Poweshiek County
Best in Show – Ringgold County
Best in Show – Sac County
Best in Show – Shelby County
Best in Show – Sioux County
Best in Show – Story County
Best in Show – Tama County
Best in Show – Taylor County
Best in Show – Union County
Best in Show – Warren County
Best in Show – Wayne County
Best in Show – Webster County
Best in Show – Winnebago County
Best in Show – Winneshiek County
Best in Show – Woodbury County
Best in Show – Worth County
Best in Show – Wright County
The next time we hit the open road for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will visit Fayette County.