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Decorah, IA

Decorah and Winneshiek County offer an abundance of cultural and tourism opportunities. From museums to studio tours to historical homes, the community gives residents and tourists the chance to fully immerse themselves in the arts.

Agora Arts
Agora Arts is located in the newly renovated Hotel Winneshiek, a historic hotel in downtown Decorah. It features arts and fine crafts created by more 200 American artists and craftspeople.

Gail Bolson-Magnuson, a Decorah native, Luther graduate, and artist, opened Agora Arts in 1992 with the consigned work of 30 local artists. Agora Arts now carries the work of more than 200 local, regional, and global artisans. For the fourth year, Agora Arts was presented with the Niche Top 100 Retailers of American Craft Award.

Agora Arts features a wide variety of prints, accessories, furnishings, pottery, sculpture, wood, and glass. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday evening from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, call 563-382-8786.

Bily Clocks Museum
Located 13 miles southwest of Decorah in the town of Spillville, the Bily Clocks Museum features unique clocks that Frank and Joseph Bily hand carved from wood. Some of these clocks stand nine feet tall, and their expertly carved figures depict history, art, religion, and culture. The Bily Brothers bequeathed their clocks to the town of Spillville with an agreement that the clocks would never be sold or moved from their present location.

The second floor of the museum houses an exhibit in memory of the famous Czech composer Antonin Dvorak, who occupied the building with his family during the summer of 1893. The exhibit features historical artifacts as well as written material about Dvorak. Also on display are harmoniums (pump organs) like the ones on which Dvorak played and composed during his visit.

The historic Bouska Schoolhouse and Log Cabin is located behind the Bily Clocks Museum. The cabin was given to the town of Spillville in 1993 by James and Richard Riehle and was moved to its present location. The schoolhouse features a classroom and a room that was used as living quarters for the schoolmaster and his family.

A museum shop features gifts from the Czech Republic, books and CDs of Antonin Dvorak, and Spillville items. The Bily Clocks Museum is open from May through October from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in April, and on weekends in March and November from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The museum is closed from December through February. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors 65 and older, and $3 for children ages 6–17. Children under 6 are free. A family rate is available for $14 and a discounted group rate is also offered. For more information, call 563-562-3569.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Park and Museum
The Laura Ingalls Wilder Park and Museum in Burr Oak is the only childhood home of the famous “Little House” author that remains on its original site. The Masters Hotel, where Laura and her family lived in 1876 and 1877, has been restored as a museum for visitors. During this time, Laura’s father, Charles Ingalls, managed the hotel, and Laura’s youngest sister, Grace, was born. The 11-room hotel is complete with period furnishings and authentic Laura items. Interpretive tours are provided.

The museum complex includes the bank building, which houses the visitor center, and the hotel building. Both buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A gift shop/bookstore carries a large supply of books by Laura and other authors, biographies, clothing, jewelry, toys, and dolls.

During the early 1900s, the hotel was used as a private residence and was transferred from owner to owner for many years. In 1973, after it was discovered that the Ingalls family had lived there, private citizens purchased the building for $1,500. Renovations began and three years later, in July 1976, ribbon-cutting ceremonies were held to officially open it as a museum. The park and museum are one of several sites in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota that comprise the “Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway.”

From November through March, the museum is open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. In April and October, the facility is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from noon until 4 p.m. During the months of June, July, and August, the hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon until 4 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $3 for children age 6–18. Children 5 and under are free. For more information, call 563-735-5916.

Nordic Fest
Decorah’s citywide celebration of Scandinavian heritage celebrated its 40th year in 2006. Held each year the last weekend in July, the festival features delicious food, traditional crafts, a colorful parade, lively entertainment, and a Saturday-night torchlight parade and fireworks. Activities include street dances; an antique and craft show; a Bunad show, displaying ethnic costumes from all regions of Norway; a children’s carnival and petting zoo; guided walking tours of Decorah’s Historic Broadway; Trollheim Tur Til Fots (Walking Tour of Home of Trolls); and Nordic Dancers performances.

From embroidery to rosemaling, Nordic Fest offers many venues where one can observe Scandinavian artists at work and purchase items to take home. In addition, the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum sponsors its National Exhibition of Folk Art in the Norwegian Tradition and demonstrations in rosemaling, weaving, and woodcarving.

Sporting activities also abound at Nordic Fest. The Elvelopet race is Nordic Fest’s annual 15K or 5K “Run by the River.” The annual Nordic Fest rock throw, a sport that dates back to the Viking ages, allows participants to compete in various age, size, and weight categories. In addition, a “three-on-three” basketball tournament features double elimination for boy and girl teams grades five and up. There are also divisions for adults under 30 and over 30 years of age.

Finally, no ethnic celebration would be complete without delicious traditional foods. In a “taste of Scandinavia,” a variety of foods are featured for demonstration and tasting, including lefse, varme polse, and sotsuppe, as well as mouthwatering pastries like kringla, krumkakke, sandbakkels, and more. Traditional American favorites (with a Scandinavian twist) are also available. For more information, call 800-382-FEST.

Northeast Iowa Artists’ Studio Tour
The Northeast Iowa Artists’ Studio Tour, held each fall, features a tour of more than 40 artists at more than 30 locations, including Decorah, Burr Oak, Clermont, Cresco, Harpers Ferry, Lansing, New Albin, St. Lucas, Waterville, and West Union. A number of the locations can be enjoyed during a walk in downtown Decorah, and a scenic drive takes you to the rest.

A variety of artistic mediums are included, such as ceramics, pottery, jewelry, paintings, photography, drawings, woodcarvings, leatherwork, quilts, baskets, woven rattan, fiber, blacksmithing, metal sculpture, blown glass, etchings, and kaleidoscopes. In order to increase the appreciation, enjoyment, and awareness of the high concentration of working studios in northeast Iowa, the Northeast Iowa Artists’ Studio Tour offers the general public the opportunity to view artists’ studios that are not set up as retail venues and provides a rare view into their creative workspaces. The public can visit these studios on an independent basis via a drive-yourself map. Patrons have the option to purchase art directly from the many notable, award-winning touring artists located within the region. For more information, call 563-382-2023 or 800-463-4692.

Porter House
The Porter House museum is a testament to the life and times of its owners, Adelbert and Grace Porter, and includes their personal furnishings, collections, art work, photographs, and library.

D.B. Ellsworth, a prominent Decorah merchant, built the Italianate villa in 1867. Frank and Emma Young purchased the property in 1898, and their daughter, Grace, married Adelbert “Bert” Field Porter in the home’s music parlor in June 1904. Grace and Bert lived out their lives in the house that now bears their name. Grace died in 1964 at the age of 84, and Bert remained in the home until his death in 1968 at age 89. Upon his death, Bert left the home to the Winneshiek County Historical Society.

Because he was a naturalist and photographer, A.F. Porter’s collection of exotic butterflies is the focal point of the museum. The museum grounds include a unique rock wall, designed by Bert and built in 1930 from his extensive collection of rocks and minerals. The wall’s design includes many hidden “water beasts.” Fountains, birdbaths, planters, and a water garden enhance the park surrounding the house.

The museum is open daily from June through August, Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $3 for children age 6–17. Children 5 and under are free.

The Porter House hosts special exhibits during the Nordic Fest. In addition, Christmas at the Porter House is held during the first weekend in December and features special Christmas decorations, music, and refreshments. For more information, call 563-382-8465.

Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum
Vesterheim, which means “western home” in Norwegian, is the nation’s most comprehensive museum dedicated to a single immigrant group. The facilities include a main complex of 16 historic buildings in downtown Decorah, and a farmstead and country church about seven miles outside the city. The museum houses more than 24,000 artifacts and preserves living traditions through classes in Norwegian culture and folk art, including rosemaling (decorative painting), woodcarving and woodworking, knifemaking, and textile arts. Exhibits include early home furnishings, cooking equipment, a replica of a Norwegian home, a sailboat, a fishing boat, quilts, clothing, decorative wood art, textiles, silver, bridal crowns, toys, rifles, and much more.

In addition to the main building, the Vesterheim complex includes a restored 1851 stone mill filled with period tools and machines. In addition, the complex includes a house and grist mill from Valdres, Norway; two pioneer log houses; a log parochial school; a blacksmith shop; a stabbur, or Norwegian storage building; a shed for drying hops; an early Decorah house of unusual stovewood construction; a prairie house; and a Lutheran church.

The Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum offers a variety of educational opportunities for students of all ages. These include Barnetimen, a monthly activity hour for preschool children; an immersion program for fourth-graders that brings the daily struggles and accomplishments of American pioneers vividly to life; an after-school program for area fifth- and sixth-graders; classes on folk art and culture for both adults and children; week-long Elderhostels; tours to Norway; and annual events like Nordic Fest.

The museum is open year round except for the days of Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and Easter. From May 1 through October 31, it is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. From November 1 to April 30, the museum is closed on Monday and open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.