Iowa I Opener: Pella

Let me show you a land of rolling hills and tall corn
A land of hard working people where rewards are often very small
This is Pella, Iowa.
Johnny Cash, "Old Doc Brown," 1960.

Pella is still home to many hard working people. But besides being the home of Pella Windows and Doors, the southeastern town is where you can find "a touch of Holland."

Vermeer Windmill

Many of the early settlers of Pella came from the Netherlands and the Dutch influence is very evident. Each May the town hosts Tulip Time, a three day festival. Many of the businesses in the center of town incorporate Dutch architectural styles. Even Pella's Walmart is a looks like it could be from Holland.

Pella's biggest tourist attraction is its Historical Village. Within it is a Dutch Village, at 1/24 scale. I felt uncomfortable walking around it, as if I was Gulliver in Lilliput, as I awaited the final tour of the day of the Vermeer Windmill, the tallest working windmill in the United States. Inside the village is a replica general store and blacksmith shop. Those are to scale, as is of course Wyatt Earp's boyhood home, which I wrote about in my previous entry in this series.

Pella from the windmill

Unlike Elk Horn's windmill, this one is fairly new. It was built in the Netherlands in 2002 by Lucas Verbij and shipped to Pella, where it was reassembled by two Dutch craftsmen. It's based on an 1850s design from the province of Groenengen. And yes, the mill grinds flour, some of it is sold to local bakeries, and visitors can buy a bag in the gift shop.

Klokkenspel performance

All of the gears in the mill are wooden, at least the ones I could see. It's a marvelous work of engineering in any century.

From the windmill you can get an miller's eye view of the town.

Pella Opera House

I caught the last tour of the windmill for the day. I was urged to view the Pella klokkenspel. Figurines with music-box tune accompaniment tell the story of the town--which I didn't know that until I was researching this post.

Pella even has a small opera house. It hosts musical shows, business meetings, and just three months ago, Newt Gingrich.

Next: Fairfield and Obama

Earlier posts:

Wyatt Earp
Postville and Agriprocessors
Elk Horn and its Danish windmill
Danish Immigrant Museum
Omaha's Mormon Trail Center
Loess Hills
Jesse James' first train robbery
A Madison County bridge and some Cold Turkey
John Wayne's birthplace
Grinnell's Louis Sullivan Jewel Box
Amana Refrigeration
Amana cemeteries
Amana Millrace and the woolen mill
Amana Colonies overview
Anamosa State Penitentiary Cemetery
More about Stone City and Grant Wood
Stone City and Grant Wood
Where North Avenue ends
Field of Dreams
Guttenberg and its pool
A final look at Effigy Mounds National Monument
More Effigy Mounds
Effigy Mounds National Monument
Freedom Rock and Veterans Day
Pikes Peak
Buffalo Bill