We’ve lived here almost nine months and this is what I’ve
learned about Mason City.
The tallest building in Mason City is the Brick and Tile building. Clear Lake (the town) is about 9 miles from
downtown Mason City. If I stood on top
of the eight story Brick and Tile Building I would be at the bottom of Clear
Lake (the lake)!
Mason City grew around and in between Cheslea Creek, Willow Creek and
Lime Creek. Cheslea and Willow empty
into Lime Creek. It seems with the fame
of Mason City’s Meredith Willson’s The
Music Man and its River City the locals campaigned to have Lime Creek
promoted to a river…hence the Winnebago River renamed in 1961.
John Long arrived from the eastern United States to the home of Sioux
and Hocak (Ho-chunk)/Winnebago Nation. He
named the heavily wooded area near Lime Creek Masonic Grove in honor of the
Order of Free Masons and hoping to bring more settlers because of that
connection.
The Park Inn Hotel (now the
Historic Park Inn) in Mason City is the only remaining Frank Lloyd Wright
designed hotel remaining in the world. Mason
City has the largest collection of prairie style homes in a natural setting in
the world. The area is Rock Crest and
Rock Glen on Willow Creek.
