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 Heartland Acres and the other more than 100 Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area (SSNHA) Partner Sites will receive a similar greeting. To show our affiliation with the Heritage Area, Heartland Acres recently received outdoor signage to identify our 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 Heartland Acres. 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.
