Discover 6 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Onawa (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Lewis and Clark State Park, Onawa Public Library, and Onawa IOOF Opera House. Also, be sure to include Monona County Courthouse in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Onawa (Iowa).
Table of Contents
Lewis and Clark State Park
State park in Monona County, Iowa. Lewis and Clark State Park is a state park in the US state of Iowa consisting of 176 acres located in Monona County. The park features camping, picnicking, boating, swimming, and fishing on 250-acre Blue Lake. It has 95 electric camp sites and has a full size replica of a keelboat of the type used by the Lewis and Clark Expedition when they stopped in this area in 1804 on their way up the Missouri River.[1]
Address: 21914 Park Loop, 51040-8527 Onawa
Onawa Public Library
Public library in Onawa, Iowa. Onawa Public Library is located in Onawa, Iowa, United States. The public library began in 1902 when Judge Addison Oliver offered to buy the former Congregational Church for a library building, and funds to buy books and fixtures. His offer was accepted by the community, which also promised to maintain the facility as a free library. The library soon outgrew the old church and in November 1906 the board of directors approached the Carnegie Corporation of New York for a grant to build a library building. A $10,000 grant was approved on December 13, 1907. Judge Oliver donated another $10,000 for the building, and an additional $10,000 for an endowment fund. The Chicago architectural firm of Patton & Miller designed the Prairie School building, which was dedicated on October 22, 1909. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The library is a two-story brick structure built on a foundation of Sioux Falls granite that is laid as random rubble. The granite extends to the bottom of the first floor windows. The central entry is flanked by side- and toplights, and surrounded by white limestone. A curved canopy is suspended by a pair of chains over the steps. Buttress piers at the corners curve upward from the limestone water table and fade into the wall surface at the second floor. The arched windows on the first floor are surrounded by brick arches that rise from limestone impost blocks at the water table. The building is capped with a tile hipped roof.[2]
Address: 707 Iowa Ave, Onawa
Onawa IOOF Opera House
Opera house in Onawa, Iowa. The Onawa IOOF Opera House, also known as the Onawa Opera House, is a historic opera house located in Onawa, Iowa. It was completed in November, 1900, only to be heavily damaged in a fire a month later, on December 24, 1900.
It has been deemed historically significant as the building most strongly associated Onawa's "strong tradition of live-stage entertainment" from the late 1880s to the mid-1920s, involving three structures.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.[3]
Monona County Courthouse
The Monona County Courthouse, located in Onawa, Iowa, United States, was built in 1892. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.[4]
Monona County Veteran's Memorial Museum
Top attraction, Military museum, History museum, Museum
Address: 203 12th Street, 51040 Onawa
Newell A. Whiting House
Building. The Newell A. Whiting House is a historic building located in Onawa, Iowa, United States. Whiting was a hardware merchant and sawmill owner, who built this house for his second wife. It is a simple, yet fairly pure, an example of the Italianate style constructed in the mid-19th century. The 2+1⁄2-story brick house features bracketed eaves, wall dormers, tall, narrow windows with metal hood moldings, bay windows on the main floor, and alongside porch on the east elevation. It is capped with a hip roof and a cupola. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.[5]