7 minute read
Sweet Home Algona
Sweet Home Algona
A warm and welcoming northern Iowa community that celebrates history and traditions
By Kelsey Ritchey
Imagine a small, tight-knit community where folks know one another by name, come together annually to celebrate their town and its history, and enjoy the splendors of rural life with the luxuries of bustling local businesses.
Look no further than Algona.
Surrounded by the East Fork Des Moines River and settled among the expansive soybean and corn fields of northern Iowa, Algona, named after the Algonquin word for “Algonquin waters,” is home not only to more than 5,000 residents but also to many charming and historical destinations. Its history is rich and unique, and its agricultural roots are strong and established.
“Living in Algona is the best of all worlds,” says Vicki Mallory, executive director of the Algona Chamber of Commerce. “The folks in our community take great pride in their businesses and themselves; they work together and are committed to supporting one another. There is no doubt a strong sense of community in Algona.”
As the beating heart of Iowa’s largest county, Algona is a destination that checks all the boxes and welcomes tourists and passersby with open arms.
Agriculture
Founded in 1854, Algona sits 30 miles from the Minnesota state line in central Kossuth County. Well known for its fertile pastures and expansive views, Kossuth County boasts nearly 594,000 total acres of farmland, where corn and soybeans grow each year. With its flat terrain, the area is also home to multiple wind farm projects — making it an essential region for renewable energy in Iowa. Additionally, many of the area’s more than 1,000 farms participate in livestock production, ranging from swine and cattle to poultry and sheep.
“Algona has positioned itself well and has a diverse economy,” Mallory says. “We have a great mix of retail, manufacturing, agriculture, medical, service and professional industries. Being in the heartland, agriculture has always been an important area of business for us.”
Like many picturesque Midwest communities, Algona is miles from some of Iowa’s largest cities. This means the town is self-sustaining, with many industries, employment opportunities and diverse businesses serving its community and beyond. And because agriculture is such a dominant industry in the area, it only makes sense that some of agriculture’s most prominent organizations have a presence within city limits.
Corteva and Hormel
Created through the combined strengths of DuPont Pioneer, DuPont Crop Protection and Dow AgroSciences, Corteva Agriscience is a global organization committed to bringing together knowledge and resources to move the world forward. Situated on the north side of town, the Algona location serves customers across several northern Iowa communities — providing various services and products ranging from seeds, crop protection and biologicals to vegetation management, pasture management and digital solutions. Surrounded by towns and communities with dense row crop and livestock production, Corteva Agriscience is effectively positioned amongst farmers and ranchers who appreciate it most.
Hormel Foods Corporation is a dynamic global food company with brands including Planters, SKIPPY, SPAM, Natural Choice, Black Label, Jennie-O and more. Nicknamed the Pepperoni Capital of the World, the Algona location opened in 1970 and is one of the community’s largest employers, with approximately 250 individuals at its 150,000-square-foot plant on the north side of town. The company’s mission is to make a difference through its products for its people and communities.
Originally established in Austin, Minnesota, Geo. A. Hormel & Co. found success by providing various fresh, high-quality pork products, including hams and bacon. As the business grew and additional sales branches opened in Minneapolis, Hormel’s canned ham was created in 1926, later coined as Spam. The company’s focus on innovation would eventually land new and daring ideas, including Dinty Moore beef stew and Hormel chili.
In 1938, Hormel’s central focus turned to its employees and its commitment to creating a positive family environment. Guaranteed annual wages, a joint-earnings plan and an employee profit-sharing trust were created. More importantly, it created a culture of loyalty and longevity that’s apparent even today in its plants worldwide — including Algona.
Plum Creek Winery
Over a decade ago, Mary Haverkamp decided to open a winery where she could make and sell wine from the grapes her family grew and harvested on their farm just seven miles northeast of Algona. “I’ve always enjoyed wine,” Haverkamp says. “Wineries are very popular around here, and starting a winery sounded fun; the idea was a win-win.”
Her vision quickly became a reality. Today, the winery includes a 2-acre vineyard with a building for wine tastings and event rentals, as well as storage and production rooms for making wine. According to Haverkamp, the winery was named after the township in which it’s located, and the wine label designs honor the history of the area. Some cleverly named delights include Cottonwood Corner, Elevator Red, Open Road and Starlight White.
Viniculture, or the cultivation and harvesting of grapes for winemaking, is a lesser-known type of agriculture in Iowa that provides many benefits to the community. Like many local, small-town wineries, Plum Creek hosts a variety of fun and exciting events for loyal customers and tourists alike — from painting parties and Sangria Saturdays to trail walking and live music nights, which offer refreshing tastes and enjoyment for all.
Camp Algona
At the height of World War II, as England was running out of room for prisoners of war, the U.S. responded by building more than 155 POW camps on American soil. From April 1944 to February 1946, Camp Algona housed 10,000 German POWs. After the war ended in 1946 and the POWs were shipped out, the camp’s buildings were torn down or sold. Nothing from the camp remains, and the site is now the city airport.
The Camp Algona POW Project committee was organized in January 2001 and to collect photographs of POWs, camp buildings, American personnel and POW work sites, as well as letters, diaries, paintings, journals, drawings, records and other keepsakes — all scanned to create a permanent digital record. The committee’s work has also included interviews with Americans and Germans.
Opened in July 2004, the Camp Algona POW Museum tells the story of Camp Algona and honors the 2,600 World War II veterans from Kossuth County.
Algona Nativity Scene
The buildings from the Algona POW camp are lost to history, but one artifact remains.
On Christmas Eve 1945, a few months after the end of World War II, six German POWs presented to the public a nativity scene featuring 65 half-life-sized figures they had built over six months. It symbolized their connection to their families and the commonalities shared among their people.
Every year from Dec. 1 to Dec. 31, the Algona First United Methodist Church’s Men’s Club displays the nativity scene at the Kossuth County Fairgrounds.
County Museum
This small community offers a chance to learn more about its agricultural roots and the machinery that makes industry advancement possible. The Kossuth County Agricultural & Motorsports Museum has several unique exhibits, including agriculture displays with antique John Deere and International Harvester tractors, a motorsports hall of fame honoring Kossuth County’s best and a detailed model train station from Arlen Benschoter. Measuring roughly 40 feet by 60 feet, this display showcases Benschoter’s “O Scale” trains. It has them operating all at once — a unique and exciting sight to take in during your travels through Algona.
“I’ve found it doesn’t matter where you go — everybody knows someone who is tied to Algona in some way,” Haverkamp says. “We’re blessed to have the community and businesses we do — we live in one of the best areas of the country.”
