Kellogg, Iowa: Historical Treasures of Kellogg

The Kellogg Historical Museum is a hidden treasure. It has an amazing collection, spread across seven buildings, that includes a perfectly preserved 1950s party pad called the "Whoopy Room."

Bamboozled but it was my own fault -- thought we were going to Kellogg. But the Kellogg we went to has nothing to do with the cereal. We were welcomed by two very nice volunteers who ran the Historical Center and given a very personalized tour. Saw a real iron lung -- learned it was for people affected with polio. The machine would help you breathe. Scary!

Local historical museum which seems to have encompassed the entire downtown area. Besides being housed in nine buildings, if you include the tour of the historical outhouse, it involves a hotel, a church, and a school house. There are the last remnants of the One Minute Washer Company, a huge room filled with nativity scenes, someone's lunchbox collection, a memorial to a famous local midget vaudevillian, a 1950's butcher shop (without the meat), someone's private 1950's bar, and the coolest kitchen I've ever seen.

It was as if the entire town was slowly funneling into these buildings. As people leave, they give the museum everything. The full tour took a couple of hours, but cost nothing. I would have felt guilty had we not left a donation.