Bonaparte is an historic little town alongside the Des Moines river in the southeast corner of Iowa. My ancestors, the Clemie's, lived in the area from about 1850 to 1865. I was able to visit there on my way to Illinois earlier this month. Many of the buildings in town are marked with "National Register of Historic Places" plaques, although sadly many of them sit empty.
Bonaparte's Retreat was a very nice quiet restaurant with antiques everywhere. It had a great atmosphere, great food and great service. They don't play the song while you dine, but somehow I still got it stuck in my head. The building was once a Grist Mill, the water wheel is still there. We had lunch there on a Thursday and business was good.
There was a very nice little park next to Bonaparte's Retreat, right along the river.
Unfortunately, this big old building no longer houses an antique store. I hope this quaint little town can pull through its economic slump.
That first photo reminds me of the main street in another small town -- Edenton, North Carolina. Love the edifice of the building with the green awning.
ReplyDeleteSmall towns need our support. Sounds like Edenton would be a nice place to see. Thanks Wendy!
DeleteIt looks like a pleasant little town. I love small-town parking the way they have it arranged. The streets must be very wide, or maybe they have parking on one side only. It's great that they preserved the water wheel. Is there (or maybe I should ask, was there) a stream nearby?
ReplyDeleteNancy, thank you for your perspective! First, angled parking is so common around here - both sides of the streets - it's just interesting that it caught your attention. Second, I hadn't even thought about water at the wheel. From where I stood to take the picture of the wheel, I practically just turned around and took the picture of the old clock by the Des Moines river. It's roughly 20 yards away. But you got me curious and I Googled "Meeks Grist Mill" and found a photo from not long ago that shows water at the wheel. The last picture here: http://millpictures.com/mills.php?millid=391 Thanks!
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