AREA ATTRACTIONS
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Isle of Capri Casino P.O. Box 460 Marquette, Iowa 52158 563-873-3531 800-496-8238 |
Effigy Mounds National
Monument 151 Highway 76 Harpers Ferrry, Iowa 52146 563-873-3491 |
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Pikes Peak State Park 15316 Great River Road McGregor, Iowa 52157 563-873-2341 |
Villa Louis
Mansion |
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Spook Cave & Campground 13299 Spook Cave Road McGregor, Iowa 52157 563-873-2144 |
Cabela's World Foremost
Outfitter 33901 State Highway 35 Prairie du Chien, WI 53821 608-326-5600 |
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| SOME OF OUR PERSONAL FAVORITES | |
| Old Man River Brewery &
Restaurant 123 A Street McGregor, Iowa 52157 563-873-1999 www.oldmanriverbrewery.com |
Paper Moon - Book Store
and More 206 A Street McGregor, Iowa 52157 563-873-3357 |
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River Junction Trade
Company 314 Main Street McGregor, Iowa 52157 563-873-2387 866-259-9172 |
Prairie du Chien Area Chamber of Commerce |
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McGregor - Marquette Chamber of
Commerce 146 Main St, Box 105 McGregor, IA 52157 |
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McGregor’s 19th Century Refrigerators
by Robert M. McKay
Article in Iowa Conservationist January/February 1998
The McGregor area of Clayton County in northeastern Iowa is known for its rugged
bluffs along the scenic Mississippi Valley and its well-preserved 19th century
architecture. In the days before refrigeration, the town’s early residents made
innovative use of the bedrock geology composing these bluffs.
The 400-foot descent along the main highway into McGregor passes through
numerous rock outcroppings of 450 to 550 million-year-old limestones and
sandstones (Ordovician and Cambrian) to the town’s flat valley floor. Of
particular interest to residents during the steamboat era were two prominent
sandstone layers that outcropped in the valley, rock units now referred to as
the St. Peter and Jordan formations. Residents found that the unusually soft,
uniform “sand rock” was easily excavated with hand tools, and that “caves” or
“cellars” carved into these sandstones provided ideal space and cool
temperatures for refrigeration and storage of river ice.
Most of the cellars were carved into the Jordan sandstone along the northern end
of Main Street, where hotels, taverns and apartment buildings backed into small
courtyards framed by the nearly vertical sandstone bluffs. The cellars varied in
size and were entered via arched doorways. Smaller caves, typically associated
with taverns and apartments, were about 20 feet deep and housed items ranged
from food to ammunition. One building even had two second-story caves with one
connected to the balcony by a catwalk (214 A Street, aka McGregor Lodging).
Larger, multi-room caverns were excavated for business interests, especially
breweries. For example, the once flourishing J.L. Hagensick Brewery, built in
1845 between McGregor and Marquette (now Fish & Wildlife Center), had four
cellars cut into the Jordan sandstone where most of its 10,000 barrels of annual
production were cooled and aged.
Most of these historic caverns are now inaccessible because of the deteriorating
effects of time and weather. As one strolls through McGregor, however, several
sandstone entryways remain visible, reminding us of the interesting and historic
influence of local geology on the lives of the people who lived there.
214 A Street
(Courtyard Studio and Loft & Found suites)
This is one of the most unique buildings in McGregor. Built in 1848, it was
originally McGregor’s City Hall. The downstairs of the adjoining building was
the jail and the hook and ladder fire department. The City Council rooms were
located in the room above the jail and just across the hall from our current
Loft & Found suite on second floor. There was also a building where the
courtyard is now. Behind the building are man-made storage caves. The fire
escape leading up to the caves came from the old Jackson School of Cedar Rapids
(attended by Orville & Wilbur Wright, Mamie Eisenhower, and Grant Wood). For
many years after its jailhouse days, this building was a tinker and tailor shop.
Then, during the Great Depression and up until World War II, it was used as a
flophouse for the riverboat men. Just before it was to be torn down, Bruce and
Nola Bucknell, who were world-renowned puppeteers, purchased the building. They
restored the building for their summer home using the downstairs for their
studio and the upstairs as their apartment. Nola was also a respected
silversmith. It was this creativity that turned the side of the cliff into one
of McGregor’s most unique attractions. The Bucknells added the “door fronts” to
the existing caves in the 1970s when they restored the building.
Newspaper clippings and photographs in the suites detail the Bucknell’s
restoration.
214 Main Street
(Suite on Main)
Built by 1886 and formerly the home of State Bank of McGregor (note State Bank
marquis), this building served for many years as various law offices, most
recently Coon’s Law Office. Central State Bank now occupies the ground floor.
Note the original tin ceiling and tile floor. Suite on Main is located on the
second floor.
For the motorcycle enthusiasts, this building along with adjacent buildings on
Main Street are pictured on the cover of the 2006 Harley-Davidson Parts &
Accessories catalog.
