(17) Carroll County 9.4.2021

We started off the day in Coon Rapids. 

Unfortunately, we got there a little too early as most of the shops on the main street were closed. Would love to go back to peruse the shops sometime! We did stop at Jenna’s Tattooed Confections but were a little surprised to find there were no confections! It looked like it had a good selection of coffee drinks, and we did try the pastries.

Coon Rapids is famous for its various artwork and sculptures, but don’t be mis-led, the sculpture park and White Rock Conservancy just east of town are NOT in Carroll County. They are in Guthrie County, so watch for those in a later blog 😊

 

On our way to Manning, we drove through Templeton to at least do a drive by of the Templeton Rye Distillery, which does offer tours but we passed it up today!

 

Our main stop in Manning was the German Hausbarn and Historic Leet-Hassler Farmstead. The original 1660 German Hausbarn is a very unique and interesting piece of history showcasing the German heritage of the area. The homestead is a well-kept craftsman style house and outbuildings.

 

 

The Historic Trinity Church is also on the farmstead and is open for viewing. It’s a pretty simple tour but well worth it as you would never think you’d find something like this in the middle of Iowa! There are several German festivals throughout the year (which we’d love to come back to), but the Hausbarn itself is only open in the summer.

 

The town of Manning has a beautiful downtown with many shops and restaurants. You could easily spend an afternoon there just enjoying main street Iowa.

 

 

 

We definitely had to snap a few pictures of the IOWA sculpture and trestle bridge in Manning!

 

After attending the sesquicentennial parade in Arcadia (where they throw popcorn into the street to eat 😛), we came back to enjoy some Deb’s Corner Café. If you go to Deb’s, get the pie! We did get to go to one shop, The Market Place, which is a neat home, women’s clothing, and coffee shop.

 

Our last stop in Carroll County was Carroll itself, the county seat. We were hoping to go to the Historic Train Depot, but unfortunately, we were thwarted as it was closed. It is very well-preserved and houses the Chamber of Commerce.

We stopped to play at the park across from the Merchant’s Park Baseball Stadium, which was built in 1949, and snap a picture in front of the baseball field.

 

We then headed over to the Carroll County Historical Museum housed in the historic Carnegie Library. This was a neat little museum, and we were given a guided tour by a volunteer who opened the doors just for us. She was thrilled to have us, and the kids enjoyed doing a scavenger hunt and playing with the old toys!

 

 

We took some time to relax at Swan Lake. We wish we would have had more time to rent one of the paddle boats, do some fishing, or walk the loop around the lake, but we still enjoyed the scenic drive and the playground.

 

We wrapped up our time in Carroll County with some delicious Mexican food at Rancho Grande Mexican Restaurant!

 

Return Rating: 5

Other things to see/do:

• Advent by Candlelight at the Zion Lutheran Church Hall, Manning
• Weihnaachtsfest and other festivals at the German Hausbarn
• Main street shopping in Manning, Coon Rapids and Carroll
• Swan Lake Farmstead
• Carrollton Heritage Park