Museum Barn at Hawkeye Point

Iowa is the United States’ #1 producer of corn. The state produces 2.48 billion bushels of corn a year, which, compared to its population, is about 775,000 bushels of corn per Iowan. The corn in Iowa outnumbers the people roughly 8 million to 1. Should you ever hear an Iowan tell a bad joke, you’re well within your right to call them corn-y.

One reason Iowa can boast these a-maize-ing stats is due to its flat, farm-friendly landscape. Flatlands offer advantages for planting techniques, soil management, and machinery operations, which can all impact corn production and overall farming success. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the point with the highest natural elevation in the state is a whopping 1,670 feet above sea level found at Iowa’s Hawkeye Point in Osceola County. For decades, though, it was thought that the state’s highest point was the Ocheyedan Mound, which clocks in at 1,655 feet above sea level. In 1971, surveyors discovered Hawkeye Point, hidden in a cornfield (shocking, right?), and realized it surpasses Ocheyedan Mound’s elevation by 15 feet.

Hawkeye Point stands small on a private farm owned by the Sterler family, who donated the site. Today, the site features an in-ground mosaic, an informational kiosk, and directional signs pointing to the other highpoints across the U.S. Inside a nearby barn, a small museum highlights local agricultural history with historic photos, interpretive plaques, and displays on early farming life and buildings.

If you plan to visit (surely you already have another browser tab opened checking flights to Iowa), be sure to snap a photo at the American Gothic cutout, where you can pose as the faces from Grant Wood’s iconic painting. No fighting over who gets to be the one who holds the pitchfork!