(18) Grundy County 10.8.2021

We started off our time in Grundy County at Grundy Center! We went to the square to pick up some coffee at Natural Grind and checked out the county courthouse.

 

Then we headed to Morrison to the Grundy County Conservation Center. The complex has several buildings, such as a brick school house, a one room school house, and a log cabin, that are open Tuesdays through Thursdays. The only building that was open today was the Heritage Center, which shows the progress of Iowa Farming from Native American to approximately the 1930’s. It was really well done for such a small town. There were different store fronts and buildings that you could walk into like you were actually entering into the buildings. Also, the conservationist got out the very friendly fox snake for the kids to pet!

 

We made our way back to Grundy Center to explore the downtown and square a bit more and enjoyed shopping at the little boutiques. They have a lot of local pride!

 

We also ate a delicious lunch on the square at the Landmark Bistro and enjoyed the outdoor patio space. 

 

And of course, we couldn’t pass up stopping at the local soda fountain, Manly Drug!

Grundy County is known for its barn quilts. We saw many on our way through the county; here are a few of our favorites:

 

 

We drove through Holland and made a pitstop in Wellsburg hoping to go to the Brick Bungalow, a turn of the century home repurposed as a gift shop, but it had closed early for the day. We also stumbled upon the Wellsburg Historical Foundation Museum, but it was also closed! Next, we headed just outside of Wellsburg to the Barn Stahl Petting Zoo. While this isn’t like a Center Grove Orchard, it was a fun afternoon, and the kids enjoyed the various makeshift activities! One of our favorite parts was feeding the ostrich and going down the tunnel slide. 

 

 

Onward to Beaman, and we weren’t dreamin’! 

 

Although Beaman is small, it has a cute little library which hosts the Beaman Heritage Center, stocked with various memorabilia from Beaman.

 

Last stop for Grundy County was a drive through downtown Conrad, which we would love to come back and peruse more, and dinner at That Place, which as always, was packed with locals! Make sure you call ahead and make reservations 😊

 

Return Rating: 2 

Other things to see/do:

• Herbert Quick School House, Grundy Center
• Grundy County Museum Grounds (to see more of the buildings), Morrison
• Brick Bungalow, Wellsburg
• Heritage Hall Museum, Conrad