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and vegetation; and any of the seven Amana Fish Dam or Fish Trap. This state preserve is
Colony cemeteries, lined with pine trees and one of the few remaining, 200+ year-old fish
marked with simple headstones arranged by traps in the nation, visible as a V-shaped rock
date of interment. Several cemeteries feature alignment in a river bend when the Iowa River
both old and modern interments, including is very low. Probably, fish were driven into the
the Oak Hill Cemetery in Belle Plaine, funnel where they were netted or speared.
arranged in an unusual wagon wheel pattern, Viewed from the bluffs above, the visual
and Marengo’s International Order of Odd quality of the Fish Wier is striking—a photo
Fellows Cemetery, with its Egyptian Revival is found in the Archaeological Resources
mausoleum� section�

The Belle Plaine Commercial Historic District Finally, Meskwaki homes may be glimpsed
includes 157 properties either recommended from the Byway. To the uninformed eye,
individually eligible to the National Register the buildings may simply appear as homes
of Historic Places or as contributing elements dotting the landscape, but taken in context,
to the district. This district includes not only the community layout is actually a modern
commercial buildings, but also churches, reflection of historic events. Following a 1902
municipal buildings, and houses, all of which epidemic, the tribe was forced to alter their
evoke a feeling of turn-of-the-twentieth-century traditional housing arrangement, switching
Americana. A few of these properties include from a centralized village plan to homesteads
the Herring Hotel, a.k.a. the “Swellest Little dispersed across the settlement. This
Hotel in Iowa,” which hosted Teddy Roosevelt dispersed settlement pattern continues today,
and William Jennings Bryan; the Corn Belt with houses positioned to give each family
Savings Bank; the King Theater, which retains surrounding outdoor space, with plenty of
much of its original interior and exterior décor; room separating neighbors. Sun shades and
and the Knights of Pythias’ Pythian Castle. outdoor cooking areas remain important, with
some people maintaining gardens and a few
One of the few archaeological properties with constructing wickiups. All the settlement land
scenic value directly associated with the site is is communally owned, reflecting centuries or
the Indian Fish Wier, also known as the Indian
millennia-old concepts of collective land rights.