Northeast Iowa – Many visitors and residents alike have been welcomed to the Heritage Area
by the words “Entering Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area.” These Gateway
Signs can be found in five locations along the major highway corridors near the borders of the
37-county region. Now visitors to the more than 100 Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage
Area (SSNHA) Partner Sites will receive a similar greeting. To show their affiliation with the
Heritage Area, each SSNHA Partner Site recently received outdoor signage to identify their
location as an official SSNHA Partner Site.
SSNHA’s network of Partner Sites is just one element of a variety of programs dedicated to
preserving and interpreting the past, present and future of America’s agricultural story. The
new signs will serve as a connecting thread for this network of sites, while letting visitors
know they can discover a piece of America’s agricultural story being preserved at the site.
The signs also complement current outdoor interpretive signs found at sites and along trails
throughout the Heritage Area that share the region’s unique story with visitors.
“The Partner Site Signs are an important piece in connecting all of the region’s nationally
important stories,” commented Don Short, SSNHA President. “This is a huge milestone for
the Heritage Area and would not have been possible without the support of the Iowa
Department of Transportation and John Deere Foundation.”
Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area is one of 49 federally designated heritage areas
in the nation and is an Affiliated Area of the National Park Service. The Heritage Area covers
37 counties in the northeast quadrant of Iowa. Interstate 80 borders it on the south and
Interstate 35 borders it on the west. Through a network of sites, programs and events,
SSNHA interprets past and present farm life, agribusiness, and rural communities. To learn
more about how SSNHA is preserving and sharing America’s agricultural story, visit
www.silosandsmokestacks.org.
Topics: Press Releases
