Grinnell, Iowa: A Small Midwestern Town with Roots in the Past

Grinnell, Iowa, 4th and Main
Grinnell’s downtown, a block of mostly two-story brick storefronts,
 is on the National Register of Historic Places

In early June, Art and I spent five days in Grinnell, Iowa, for both a family and college reunion.  The roots of the Arnold family are in Grinnell and both Art and I are graduates of Grinnell College.  But even if you don’t have a personal connection to Grinnell, it can be a rewarding visit.  For architectural buffs, Grinnell has numerous fine examples of 19th century architecture as well as more modern buildings on the Grinnell College campus.  The most famous building in Grinnell is the Brenton-National Bank of Poweshiek County, originally the Merchant’s National Bank of Grinnell, which was built in 1914 and designed by Chicago architect Louis Sullivan, renowned as the “father of modernism”.  In our student days, it was where we had our checking accounts. Today it houses the Chamber of Commerce. 

Merchant's National Bank, known as the "Jewel Box" Bank, designed by Louis Sullivan

J.B. Grinnell's desk, displayed in the Historical Museum

The town of Grinnell, (current population 9,064) was founded in 1854 by Josiah Bushnell Grinnell, allegedly after he was advised by Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, to “Go West young man, Go West.” (No evidence exists that Greeley actually said this to Grinnell, but Greeley was well-known for promoting expansion of the Western states.)  In any case, Grinnell, who was originally from Vermont, moved to Iowa and established himself as one of its upstanding citizens.  In 1859, he was instrumental in moving Iowa College, a small college in Davenport, Iowa, founded in 1846, to the town of Grinnell, where it became Grinnell College. (It was the first college west of the Mississippi to give Bachelor’s degrees.) Both Art and I were students at Grinnell in the 1960's, as were Art’s parents in the 1930's, his grandfather before that, and many other relatives through the years.

Grinnell College Campus, Fine Arts Building

Grinnell is a typical small midwestern town that developed in the late nineteeth and early the twentieth centuries.  It is in the middle of the state on U.S. Route 6, midway between Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. It developed around the intersection of two railroad lines.  When Art and I were students you could still ride the Rock Island Line from Grinnell to Chicago or Denver.  It no longer operates passenger trains; what was the train depot in Grinnell has been turned into a restaurant.  However, the north/south freight line (the M and St. L) still runs through town, bisecting the college campus.  During our visit (we stayed in the college dorms) I was awakened one night by the whistle of a train rolling through.  When we were students, we had to be careful not to get stranded on the wrong side of the tracks when going to class.

Grinnell Historical Museum, 1125 Broad Street

A highlight of our visit to Grinnell was a visit to the Grinnell Historical Museum, located in a late-Victorian 10-room residence known as the McMurray house. Thousands of items––among them an organ, a Duncan Phyfe sofa, J.B. Grinnell’s Wooten desk from 1877, and the desk from the Monroe  Hotel––arranged throughout the house by Museum volunteers, recreate an authentic atmosphere of Victorian family living. Our tour through the house, expertly led by one of the museum volunteers, was like taking a trip back through time, and we were delighted to find items with connections to the Arnold family, who lived in the town since the early twentieth century.  For hours and more information about the history of the museum go to the website of the Grinnell Historical Museum .

Grinnell Historical Museum, View from the sitting room into the dining room

If you are in Grinnell, you can go to the West Side Diner on Route 6 where some fascinating family and town photos, some taken with a large-format panoramic camera, are displayed on the walls of the cafe and reveal more of the town's history.  We went there for a hearty and delicious breakfast one morning during our visit.
Update, May 3, 2013:  If you would like to know more about J.B. Grinnell you can listen to this interview with Grinnell students who researched his life on Iowa Public Radio.