Iowa | Raven About The Parks | Raven About The Forests

Overview

Herbert Hoover was raised in a Quaker community in West Branch, Iowa. After he was orphaned in 1884 at age nine, his uncle in Oregon took him in. Hoover’s 1895 geology degree from the recently-established Stanford University in California then took him around the globe. After eight years as Secretary of Commerce under Presidents Harding and Coolidge, he became President at exactly the wrong time in 1929, only nine months before the stock market crash. His years out of the spotlight were spent mostly on philanthropic work until his death in 1964.

Highlights

Historic buildings, museum, film, Tallgrass Prairie Trail

Must-Do Activity

The National Park Service (NPS) runs a small visitor center and maintains several historic buildings on the 187-acre property in West Branch, Iowa. A walking tour includes the 14×20-foot cottage was where Bert was born in 1874, a blacksmith shop similar to the one his father ran, and a schoolhouse built in 1853 and moved many times before being relocated by the NPS in 1971. The gravesite of Herbert and his wife Lou Henry is also here.

Best Trail

2.2 miles of trails run through the tallgrass prairie south of Hoover’s gravesite. The prairie ecosystem was restored by the NPS starting in 1971 and contains the Isaac Miles Farmstead, contemporary to Hoover’s childhood here.

Instagram-worthy Photo

While Hoover was in London, World War I broke out and he helped organize a relief effort that gained him international fame. The citizens of Belgium gifted Hoover a statue of Isis, the Egyptian goddess of life, following the war.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/heho/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None, but the nearby Presidential Library and Museum are not free.

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

There are campgrounds around Lake McBride, 9 miles north of Iowa City.

Hoover’s birthplace home is wheelchair accessible
Scott inside the historic home
Tiff in the historic schoolhouse
Inside the free NPS visitor center

Explore More – Hoover was the first President born west of which major river?

Overview

This site in northeastern Iowa contains 206 prehistoric earthen mounds, thirty-one of which are in the form of bears and birds. Some of the rounded mounds have been dated back 2,500 years, but the images of animals (called effigies) began only about 1,400 years ago. In addition to blades and beads inside the mounds, there is often evidence of fires burned in the effigy’s head, heart, or flank, perhaps as part of a burial ceremony.

Echo with Effigy Mounds

Highlights

Marching Bear Mound Group, Little Bear Mound Group, Mississippi River overlooks

Must-Do Activity

After perusing the museum inside the visitor center, take the steep trail that leads past Little Bear Mound Group to multiple overlooks from 300-foot tall bluffs above the Mississippi River.

Best Trail

Located a short drive from the visitor center, a trail in the South Unit climbs 2 miles one-way to the impressive Marching Bears Mound Group, the densest collection of effigies in the park.

Instagram-worthy Photo

It is very difficult to photograph the effigy shapes, so the best shots are found at overlooks of the Mississippi River.

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