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History

The history of this region, with winding rivers and rolling prairies, dates back long before the area was settled by farmers and trappers. The early inhabitants of Cerro Gordo County were the Winnebago and Sioux tribes. The two tribes relied upon the lush forests and bountiful lakes for many years before Joseph Hewitt and James Dickirson arrived in 1851.

Hewitt and Dickirson settled on the shores of Clear Lake, a spring-fed body of water formed by glaciers that is now seven miles long and 2.5 miles wide. At an elevation of 1,247 feet, the lake is actually higher than many of the buildings in nearby Mason City. The Clear Lake region is believed to have been visited in 1832 by Nathan Boone, although it was not officially settled until 1856. Nathan Boone was the son of famed explorer Daniel Boone.

Hewitt and Dickirson’s settlement soon became a Midwestern oasis. Hewitt traded with the Indians, and Dickirson farmed the rich soil. The town of Shibboleth was settled in 1853 at the convergence of the Winnebago River and Willow Creek by Hewitt, John Long and George Brentner. The town changed names several times—to Masonic Grove, to Masonville and eventually to Mason City—all reflections of the community’s early reliance upon the brick and tile industry.

A sawmill set up on the west side of the Winnebago River became the new city’s first commercial business. Settlers soon flocked to the region for its abundant water supply and additional resources. Nearby, the City of Clear Lake was settled in 1856; in 1859 the railroad brought more economic success to the area. Soon after, Mason City was incorporated.

Large deposits of limestone and clay opened the doors for a thriving mining and cement industry, and by 1911 two large cement companies were operating in Mason City. The cement industry continues to be an important part of the community, where brick and tile were also once made. In 1912, the area was one of the largest producers of brick and tile in the world, but the industry has since disappeared. Mason City has now evolved to become a service, retail and distribution center.

Similar to the railroad’s impact, air travel made a significant contribution to the area when it was introduced in 1927. Charles Lindbergh attended the Mason City Airport dedication shortly after his historic transatlantic flight. Sadly, more than 30 years later, the airport became known for another historic—and tragic—event. On February 3, 1959, singer and musician Buddy Holly left a performance at the Surf Ballroom’s Winter Dance Party in Clear Lake and boarded a private plane with Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson. While departing the Mason City airport in icy weather, the plane crashed in a field near Clear Lake. Today, a memorial in that cornfield is a tribute to these rock ‘n roll legends and “The Day the Music Died.”

The boyhood home of composer Meredith Willson, who is best known for his Broadway musicals “The Music Man” and “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” can be found in Mason City. Willson also wrote the familiar Christmas tune “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” “The Music Man” debuted on Broadway on December 19, 1957, and ran for 1,376 performances. Mason City served as the inspiration for the play’s fictional hometown of River City, which was also the setting in the big-screen Hollywood adaptation starring Shirley Jones and Robert Preston. The musical won six Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical, and has since been revived on Broadway and in the movies—a Walt Disney version starred Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth. The Beatles even performed a cover version of “Till There Was You.”

Each March, locals recall another famous event in local history. On March 13, 1934, notorious bank robber John Dillinger and his accomplice, John Hamilton, each sustained gunshot wounds while attempting to rob the First National Bank in Mason City. They only netted $52,000 from the robbery, far less than the $240,000 they expected. Dillinger had become somewhat of a Robin Hood figure to the public and had planned to use his share of the $240,000 to flee the country.

Another cultural icon in the annals of Mason City history is famed architect and designer Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959). Although not a native North Iowan, he left his mark during an early 1900s stay in the city. Local attorneys and businessmen James Markley and James Blythe commissioned Wright to design a new hotel and bank building, and Markley’s neighbor, Dr. G.C. Stockman, persuaded Wright to design a residence for his family. The Prairie School-style house was completed in 1908 and was the first and only house of its kind designed by Wright in Iowa. The Park Inn Hotel is Wright’s only remaining hotel. Renovation of the hotel is expected to be completed by 2010, the 100th anniversary of its original opening. The historic Rock Crest/Rock Glen neighborhood is situated nearby. This development is the largest collection of Prairie School architecture that is unified by a common setting in the world.

Another historic building in Mason City is home to The Charles H. MacNider Art Museum. Gen. Charles Hanford “Jack” MacNider was born in Mason City in 1889 and became a successful businessman and industrialist. In the 1960s, the MacNider family donated this historic home to serve as a museum, which today hosts one of the nation’s best collections of American art— including the works of Grant Wood (a common visitor to the region) and Thomas Hart Benton—as well as the treasured “World of Puppets” collection. These puppets are the creation of renowned puppeteer and Mason City High School graduate Bil Baird (1904–1987) and include the marionettes used in “the Sound of Music.”