The Most Bizarre Iowa Landmark You’ve Never Heard Of

Imagine you’re cruising down Highway 52 on a long, uneventful stretch of road, cutting through rural, northeast Iowa. You’ve never driven this route before, and you’re still about an hour from Dubuque. Then, out of nowhere, you spot it: an unusual-looking, 28-foot tower standing right beside the road, with a small sign next to it. There’s nothing else around, besides fields, sky, so this mysterious wooden tower in the middle of nowhere feels a bit out of place. What could it possibly be?

That’s exactly what I wondered one random afternoon and the bizarre rabbit hole it led me down ended with a newfound appreciation for a woman I’d never heard of before. But it’s a story every Iowan should know about.

Here is the short tale of the Sherman Swift Tower of National, Iowa.

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The tower can be found along Highway 52, six miles north of Garnavillo, Iowa, near the Clayton County Fairgrounds. The tower itself is a replica of the original, the brainchild of Althea Sherman, a self taught ornithologist (bird expert), who lived in the small, unincorporated community of National (pronounced Nay-shun-el), where the replica stands. The tower is connected to a small family cemetery, which the public is welcome to attend.

Sherman was a passionate bird-lover, but started out her career in education, teaching at schools in Iowa, Minnesota, and Washington State. In 1895, she returned to National to care for her parents, who were elderly. This was when Sherman's passion for birds really took flight. She was also a painter and would often paint the Chimney Swift birds around the family home.

When her parents died in 1902, Sherman (and her sister) moved into the family house and devoted the majority of her time to the Chimney Swifts. She would later travel around the world, visiting 20 countries, in pursuit of more knowledge on ornithology.

1915 was the year her most famous work was constructed; a 28 foot tower, with an artificial chimney, a stairway, and even observation windows. This was all so she could accurately observe the Chimney Swift, and record its nesting habits.

These are birds that winter in South America, then, incredibly, make the over 3,000 mile migration to the Upper-Midwest. Sherman fell in love with these birds and made studying them it her life-long mission.

Sherman died in 1942 at the age of 89, and was buried at a plot in the family cemetery of National, right next to her family home. Sadly, the unique tower she had built, fell into disrepair.

Decades later, in 2006, the Friends of the Sherman Tower was formed to honor the life of Althea Sherman and rebuild her Chimney Swift Tower.

More Information From the Friends of the Sherman Tower:

The tower replica was completed in 2009 and the dedication was held June 6, 2009. In an effort to promote the population of the chimney swift, the FSST helped construct small individual nesting towers in local communities. A tower in Guttenberg, Iowa, was constructed as an Eagle Scout Project. Founders Park in Elkader has a tower along the walking path with information about the chimney swift. A third tower was constructed in 2015 along the Monona Butterfly Trail and walking path. Swifts are nesting in the Guttenberg and Elkader towers and we trust they will soon find the site in Monona. We also helped to finance the building of two towers at La Rievere Park in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.

-Sherman Swift Tower Website

Tours are available per request when there are no nesting swifts within the tower itself. You can learn more about the tower, Althea's incredible life, and how to donate at the Sherman Swift Tower Website.

You can also learn more about the Althea Sherman Tower by watching YouTube video from Iowa Outdoors below.

Story Sources: All About Birds Website, Sherman Swift Tower Website,