What to See in Waverly - Top Sights and Attractions

Waverly House, originally known as Daily House and now known as the Bremer County Historical Society Museum, is an historic building located at 402 W. Bremer Ave, Waverly, Iowa, 50677 United States. Built in October and November 1862, the three-story brick building cost between $7000 - $8000 to build. It accommodated 100 guests, had a stable to keep 50 horses, a granary and a large yard. A Grand Opening Oyster Supper was held December 14, 1862. For its first ten months it served as a stage coach stop. Barnes line and Starr omnibus stopped here. In 1864 the railroad arrived in Waverly and the building was converted into a hotel. In 1879, there was a brief name change to "City Hotel", but it didn't last more than a few months. After 20 years as a hotel it was converted into a boarding house. On June 5, 1883, Emma Cronin fatally shot John F. Stevens in room 21 on the third floor. Many weddings were held at the Waverly House. On May 6, 1893, the Prohibitionists of Bremer County met at the Waverly House to appoint delegates to attend the State Convention. In 1905, the building was purchased by Dr. F. A. Osincup and became CaPhenin Chemical Company to manufacture medication. 1946 brought a two-story and basement addition, 16' x 46'. In April 1953, the Chemical company was bought by investors in Eagle Grove, Iowa but the building was left vacant. On January 4, 1960, Bremer County Historical Society was able to raise funds to purchase the historic structure and on July 11, 1961, opened as a Museum. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.^[1]

Episcopal church in Waverly, Iowa. St. Andrew's Episcopal Church is located in Waverly, Iowa. It is a parish church of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa. The church building is a contributing building and the bell tower is a contributing structure in the Sturdevant Southwest Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

The parish was established in 1853. The present church building was completed in 1958 after the previous church building had been destroyed in a fire on March 14, 1957. The cornerstone for the present church was laid on November 3, 1957. It is a Modern A-frame brick structure that is ten bays long. The bays project at an angle. Each has a window in the angle and an I-beam that serves as a buttress. On the interior, the I-beams are clad in a wood veneer. The short side walls are covered with brick laid in a stack bond. The brick on the west gabled end is laid in Flemish bond and features a series of small raised crosses in the brick pattern work. The east gable end was remodeled around 2006 and is composed of a combination of brick and synthetic metal siding. It has a large Celtic cross with windows that extend to the peak. A spire, divided into five sections, and a Celtic cross caps the steeply pitched roof.

The Hemingway Memorial Bell Tower was completed in 1963. It stands north of the church building and is composed of two sets of two I-beams that form a St. Andrew's Cross. It is capped with a gabled roof in an A-frame form that mimics the church building. The bell is suspended below the A-frame.^[2]

Old Main is a historic building located on the campus of Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, United States. When Wartburg was established in Waverly in 1879 it was a normal school that educated men to teach in Lutheran parochial schools. This building was constructed the following year, which makes it the "first structure associated with German Lutheran higher education in Iowa." It is a three-story brick structure in the vernacular Italianate style. It is five bays wide and four bays deep, and capped with a hipped roof with six small gabled dormers. The building features narrow eaves, a denticular cornice, a paneled frieze, corbelled brick window hoods that are painted white, and cast-iron window sills. When it was built it housed all school functions. The dormitory was in the attic, classrooms doubled as living areas when they were not used for educational purposes, the two teachers were housed on the first floor, and dining/kitchen facilities were located in the basement. It has subsequently housed a variety of the schools functions. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 as the Wartburg Teachers' Seminary.^[3]

Waverly Municipal Hydroelectric Powerhouse is a historic building located in Waverly, Iowa, United States. Mills were established on both sides of the Cedar River from the earliest years of Waverly, and they created the dam across the river. The towns first electric plant was privately owned and was established in the 1880s. The city bought the water rights and the dam in 1890, a new privately operated power plant went into operation in 1896. In 1908 the power plant was destroyed in an explosion and fire. Waterloo, Iowa architect John G. Ralston in collaboration with the Fargo Engineering Company of Jackson, Michigan designed the new facility that was completed the following year. A large wing that housed three diesel electric generating units, and an office addition were completed in 1938. The red brick facility features Neoclassical details, and is located on the east bank of the Cedar River. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. It was included as a contributing property in the Waverly East Bremer Avenue Commercial Historic District in 2014.^[6]