Watson’s Grocery Store Museum

Watson’s Grocery Store Museum, built in 1895 and continuously operated until the mid 1980’s, is a rare slice of late Victorian Era commercial history. When the heirs of the Watson Family decided to sell off this store-that-time-forgot to the highest bidders, the community rallied together to buy the building and most of it’s contents. Soon the oak bins and shelves, wooden ice box and maple floors were polished and the pressed metal ceiling repainted. The relics of the old store, including the vinegar barrels, antique cans, meat saws, cash registers, string holders and scales were put on display for the public to see.

This facility is not a recreation, it was a real store in a real street that was a part of life in a small rural community for almost 100 years. Today it is located in the middle of a three block Historic District that also includes the Sheppler Barber Shop Museum and the Washington Township Schoolhouse Museum. Visitors are astounded to see this fabulous facility. As part of the Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, this is one of the finest facilities of it’s kind in the state of Iowa!