(29) Washington County 3.10.2023

Our first stop in Washington County was a little hole in the wall coffee shop- Madeline’s Coffee in Wellman. From the outside, it doesn’t look like much, but it is a quaint little café with good drinks and homemade goodies, definitely worth the stop!

 

Next up was Kalona, where we were able to get some delicious bakery good at Golden Delights Bakery, located on the north border of the county. There are several other Amish shops in the area if you wish to explore- they are certainly worth your time. We did peruse downtown a bit and would love to come back and make a day of it! There are several antique shops, boutiques, restaurants, and a brewery. There’s also Kalona Chocolate which we passed this time because we were already stuffed with bakery goodies, so this is one we’ll definitely have to come back for!

Unfortunately, the main attraction that we were hoping to go to in Washington County was the Kalona Historical Village, was closed. The website does not state this, but the historical buildings on the complex are only open during nicer weather which is up to the discretion of the workers so you should definitely call ahead to make sure they will be open! The only 2 pictures we got since it was closed!☹

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After our disappointment, we headed to Riverside, where the “trek” begins 😊to stop at the future home of Captain Kirk! This little museum is free, and although we have never watched a single episode of Star Trek, it was a neat little museum, and piqued our interest in the trekky culture! The picture below is Data's actual desk from filming:

 

The kids loved this interactive display made by a local shop class:

There was also a small part of the museum dedicated to Riverside history so we got to learn some neat facts about this time- did you know Riverside made some of the first vacuum cleaners in Riverside? We didn’t either :D

We had some extra time on our hands since we weren’t able to go to the Kalona Historical Village so we called around and were able to get in to have a private tour of the Ainsworth Community Center Opera House. This building went into major disrepair from water damage but was bought and restored in the mid-1990’s. They also had one room dedicated to Ainsworth history. We just love learning about all these small towns’ histories!

 

We also made a stop at the MARR Park Conservation Center which ended up being another sweet surprise for such a small park! The exhibits at the conservation center were really well-done and highly interactive. Our kids loved it! It also looks like a neat park for camping with a pond where it appears you can maybe do some kind of boat rental. There are also 2 playground areas.

 

We ended the day in Washington which has a thriving square full of shops, restaurants, and other businesses. We did some shopping and perusing around the square. We even checked out the local library which is on the square. We would have loved to see some of the historical buildings in Washington—the Blair House and the Conger House—however, the Blair House is only open for events and the Conger House was undergoing renovations. 

We were able to make it out to the Walnut School House which has the original, unmoved school house, horse stalls, outhouses, and even original merry-go-round—so neat! 

We also stopped at the DAR Alexander Young Log Cabin in Sunset Park. The log cabin was built in 1840 and is in really good condition! The park itself would be awesome to come back to in nicer weather as it had a huge playground area for the kids!

 

We ended the day back at the square at Café Dodici for dinner. They also own a bakery and confections next door and lodging above the restaurant. The food was delicious so we would love to make it back to the bakery sometime!

 

We wrapped up the night at the Iowa State Theater which is the world’s longest running cinema (as evidenced by a Guinness Book of World Records plaque in the theater)! The theater has some astonishing history with Frank and Indiana Brinton, some of the earliest silent film producers. A compilation of their films was recently discovered in Washington and can now be viewed in Iowa City at the University of Iowa Libraries. We wish we could have viewed a film here, but unfortunately it wasn’t a very family-friendly film running that night so we just got some popcorn to go 😊

Return Rating: 4

Other things to see/do:

• Kalona Historical Village
• Kalona Chocolates
• Sass Family Farm, Kalona
• Community Coffee House, Riverside
• Captain Kirk’s birthplace (actual home address), Riverside
• Blair House, Washington
• Conger House, Washington
• Red Brick School House, Washington
• Lake Darling State Park, Washington
• Dairy Mart, Ainsworth
• Wellman Skating Rink
• Heritage Museum, Wellman
• The Parlor @ Cilino’s (ice cream shop), Wellman
• Cilino’s Italian Restaurant, Wellman