History of Dakota City

History of Dakota City

Dakota  City was established in  1858, It sits on a hill overlooking the east branch of  th Des  Moines river. Humboldt (originally called Springvale) borders the west side. Many wanted to merge the two cities together as one but Dakota City preferred to retain its own identity and has grown on its own ever since.

Dakota City is the county seat and site of our courthouse, which was built in 1872 and then was torn down in 1939 and the present courthouse was built. Dakota City is very proud of their courthouse and its history.

On the east side of the river is the site of the old mill farm which the Museum now resides.This was the first mill in the county.The Museum has a variety of antiques and farming equipment .There is an old school house, cabin,house,church and barn on the museum grounds also.

On the east side of Dakota City situated on the river is the Memorial park. There are campsites connected to city water and electrical service.Within the park is a partially enclosed shelter with shelves and electrical outlets.  This shelter can be reserved by contacting the camp-host for any special event or gathering that one wishes to have at the park. There is also a nice playground for the children to play in and a bathhouse and modern flush toilets.

We have two manufacture companies  in Dakota City. Gunder Church Furniture which makes all wood products needed in a church and they ship their products all over the U.S.  Chantland PVS company  manufactures conveyors, bagging equipment, palletizers and pulleys.  .

One of Dakota Cities biggest attractions is the Hillside Spectacular Christmas display that a local resident puts up for all to enjoy from Thanksgiving weekend to Jan. 1. People come from all over each year to see what he has added new each year. We also have Dream Carriage rides which is owned by Jim Kellner who provides sleigh rides around the town to see all the Christmas lights in the area.Wagon rides along the river and carriage rides for any event are available all year long also.

We have on of the best BBQ resturants around , Vinny’s BBQ located on main street and they serve people from all around Iowa and surrounding states.We invite everyone to try it and can almost guarantee you will come back.

We also have the Three Rivers trail which was developed in 1991 and  is 32  miles of old Chicago and Northwestern railroad right of way between Rolfe and Eagle Grove. As the name implies the trail crosses three rivers,  the west and east branches of the Des Moines  river and the Boone river. Much of the western portion of the trail parallels the west branch of Des Moines RIver,which is very scenic. At the end of the Gotch Park spur the east and west branches come together. The trail passes through a diversity of habitat, from woodland to shrubby grasslands and marshy areas to open prairies.Ten foot crushed limestone has been put on the existing trail to make it easer for people to walk. All the tressels are wooden with benches built in to rest upon , and guard rails for safety. The Trail is used by walkers,runners, bicyclists,snowmobilers and cross country skiers. Parking lots, shelter houses, restrooms and picnic areas have been put in along the trail throughout the years for people to enjoy and improvements continue. .

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