South Burlington,IA Driving Tour

Enjoy a drive and look at historic homes, parks, airports and schools.

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South Burlington,IA Driving Tour

Burlington, Iowa 52601, United States

Created By: Heritage Hill Association

Tour Information

Welcome to Burlington. You are visiting a town once called “Flint Hills, Shoquoquon (Native American), Orchard City, and Porkopolis”. Burlington was open to European settlement in 1833. It was soon renamed Burlington after Burlington, Vermont. Burlington was the second capital of Wisconsin territory from 1837 to 1838 and the first capital of the Iowa territory 1838 to 1840. Burlington became the mercantile and distribution center for settlers WESTBOUND. Its geographical locations on the Mississippi River and the available lumber/coal made it a great place to manufacture the items needed for people moving westbound. It was the point of origin for Steamboat, Railroad and Wagon Wheel traffic going westbound. We will be exploring the southern part of Burlington beginning at the Municipal River Terminal where much of that distribution occurred.


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What You'll See on the Tour

This riverfront building was dedicated in October 1928. In the beginning, it was a warehouse, a floating dock that connected riverboat traffic with a place to offload cargo in Burlington Iowa. Currently, this building is being utilized as ... Read more
Built in 1894 as a shortcut to the downtown area from North Hill. It consists of 5 half curves, 2 quarter turns, stretches 275 feet over a rise of 58 feet.  Bricks are laid sideways for better mobility of horses and wagon loads moving up a... Read more
The Palmer House is currently the Candle Light Manor Bed & Breakfast. The Candlelight Manor, with its superb river views, recaptures the antebellum charm of a more gracious time. The house's first occupant was the Palmer family.  Luke ... Read more
Next to the locomotive on South Main is the Burlington's Railroad Depot constructed in 1944. Gold leaf letters 30 inches high spelling out “Burlington” once filled the eastern exterior wall of the building. The Depot waiting room ceilin... Read more
The newspaper traces its roots to the Wisconsin Territorial Gazette and Burlington Advertiser, which was established on July 10, 1837, by James Clarke and Cyrus Jacobs.[1] Clarke and Jacobs moved to Burlington from Belmont, Wisconsin w... Read more
In October 1865, the C B and Q Board of Directors committed the railroad to build the Burlington Railroad Bridge. Federal authorization was granted on July 25, 1866. Work did not actually commence until January 30, 1867. An excursion train ... Read more
This house was built for George B. P. Carpenter in 1878. Mr. Carpenter owned a jewelry business with his brother A. W. Carpenter at 3rd and Jefferson. The House is a High Victorian Gothic style and was designed by a Burlington architect  D... Read more
 Starker–Leopold Historic District is composed of three houses and the surrounding grounds overlooking the Mississippi River in Burlington, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The house... Read more
Carl A. Leopold built the house at (111 Clay). His son Aldo Leopold grew up there. It is a 2½-story, rustic Queen Anne-style residence built around 1893. It features a multiple gable roof and a central chimney. The foundation and first fl... Read more
This is a beautiful modern home nestled on banks of the Mississippi with a commanding view north and south of the Mississippi. As you can see from the pictures, it has an English Tudor study. Much of the structure for this room was imported... Read more
P. J. Paule's house was the first house built to tend vineyards that covered his land at 26365 Main Street. Mr. Paule came here from Germany where he was a Vine-Grower. Vineyards like Federal Bond Winery, Concorde Vineyards used this land f... Read more
In 1911 Ed Pettigrew came to Burlington as an assistant to the President of the Burlington Hotel. On April 1, 1918, Mr. Pettigrew purchased the Burlington Hotel at the age of 29 and became the manager of this well-known and prospering estab... Read more
Born in Genoa, Italy in 1848, Andy Lagomarcino - as his Burlington friends called him “Andy”, traveled to the new world in 1866 to seek his future. This handsome young Italian lingered a while in New York City where he married Maria Tas... Read more
Dankwardt Park is a 72 acre municipal park in the Southeast section of Burlington, Iowa. It is located adjacent to Crapo Park and bordered by Shoquouoquon Drive and Madison Avenue. The park was established in 1937 on land donated to the ci... Read more
The history of the two 3-inch, 50-caliber guns dates to 1958 when former Iowa congressman Fred Schwengel dedicated the cannons at the park. Details about how the retired naval guns were used before becoming park decorations are sketchy, but... Read more
This old pioneer log cabin, was erected by the Hawkeye Native Society in 1910. On the rear porch, overlooking the river is an old Indian dugout canoe. Within the cabin are relics of pioneer days. The rafters are made from lumber cut on the ... Read more
The fountain was commissioned by WPA in 1937. It was In-service September 1937. The fountain was dedicated to Charles Foehlinger in July of 1952.  Charles Foehlinger was the park's superintendent from 1938 until his death in 1949. The foun... Read more
Shakespeare Garden, contains many flowers named in Shakespeare's works. An Ivy sprig was taken from Shakespeare's grave in England and replanted here in this park. Mrs. George Swiler bought for the club and antique bronze sundial in Stratfo... Read more
The members of the park board in 1906 were - Messr. Ernst Bock, Theodore Ron Dorf, WP Foster, and William Pilger. Lake Starker at this time was a deep mud hole, a false bottom was put in early that spring and water was turned on. Lake Star... Read more
A bronze statue was erected for the 1896 sesquicentennial, in Crapo Park, to honor a Burlington civil war hero, Gen. John Corse. His distinguished war record included command of the 6th Iowa infantry and the second division of the 16th Corp... Read more
In 1929 when the Burlington City Council adopted a resolution to establish a Municipal Airport on an “L”-shaped 55-acre sod field on Summer Street in Burlington, Iowa. Regularly scheduled commercial passenger service started two years l... Read more
This school was named for famed physicist Edward Stone who was on hand to help dedicate the new middle school named in his honor. Stone, who has ties to Burlington, said having a middle school named after him is an extraordinary honor. “... Read more
Notre Dame High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Burlington, Iowa. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport. Notre Dame opened in 1957 in its current location. St Pauls school its predecessor was at Court a... Read more
An 18-acre park of the Perkins Estate was given to the City of Burlington in 1927 to be used as a public park. The land, which was purchased by Mr. Charles Elliott Perkins (Past President of Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad) in 1867,... Read more
Built in 1897 by John Coulter (President and treasurer of Burlington School Furniture Company). This home boasts high ceilings, stunning woodwork, parquet floors, pocket doors, beautiful stained glass, 3 wood-burning fireplaces, a wrap-arou... Read more
Milton Blaul was President of John Blaul’s Sons Company. They were major wholesale distributors of food in the early and mid-1900s. In the mid 1900s, their company became one of the Mid-Wests largest distributors of home-roasted coffee. T... Read more
The Taeger came here in the 1900s. He became a well known wholesale liquor distributor. He was a quiet man but a great supporter of the Burlington community.  A single-family home that contains 3,198 square feet and was built in 1868. It c... Read more
This house had three different house numbers (613,625,617) on two different streets (Warren and Garfield). It is a Four Square house with a side portico, 4 bedrooms 1.5 baths, 2,198 sq. ft. We think it was built in 1910. The original family... Read more
William Henry Morehouse house. Born Jan. 10 1832 in Saratoga County New York. Married Miss Minerva A. MacArthur 1859. Established Bank of Brookings, Brookings, South Dakota. He was a Mason. Died June 17, 1907, at the Homeopathic Hospital. ... Read more
Mr Hayden and Mr. Stewart partnered in a Plumbers and Steam Fitters business. They had a wholesale/retail business at 312 North Main and  701 Division St, This is a single-family home that contains 3,411 sq. ft and was built in 1860. It co... Read more
A rich history of live entertainment. Burlington Memorial Auditorium, located on Front Street along Mississippi River, was opened to the public in May of 1939. Built by the Works Progress Administration and first used as a U.S. Naval Reserv... Read more
South Hill Park is between 6th, 7th, Aetna and Elm streets. South Hill was the second public square marked on the original survey. Near the corner of Elm and 7th, is a  Boulder Monument marking a solar eclipse event viewed here on August 7... Read more

 

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