Prairie Trails Museum of Wayne County

05/20/2026

Prairie Trails Museum will be closed on Monday May 25 in observance of Memorial Day. We will be open Tuesday May 26 at 1pm.

Send a message to learn more

05/20/2026

Decoration Day - Memorial Day
After the Civil War communities in both the North and South began decorating the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers. At first, the dates varied but the practice of honoring the dead became widespread. On May 30, 1868, General John A. Logan head of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a Union veterans’ organization, officially proclaimed Decoration Day as a national day to decorate the graves of Union soldiers. The date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom across the country.
Over the decades the name Memorial Day gradually replaced Decoration Day, especially after World War I. The holiday was expanded to honor veterans from all U.S. wars.
Decoration Day in Corydon on May 30, 1891, found a large crowd gathered for the ceremonies and parade. Veterans of the Civil War, members of the Grand Army of the Republic marched into the court year to decorate a large wooden monument bearing the inscription “To our hero dead.”
Following the end of World War I, a group of local Wayne County people worked to erect a monument to commemorate soldiers and sailors of all the wars. The beautiful white monument is reportedly the first in the nation erected following World War I.
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Corydon was unveiled and dedicated on May 30, 1919. The impressive ceremony was headed by Corydon’s famous Drum Corps. A large crowd was in attendance.
As you observe Memorial Day this year remember all those who served and those who died to keep our nation free.

05/19/2026

The schedule for Bordertown Day 2026 is coming together!

We are currently looking for non-food vendors for the day. We ask that vendors provide a prize for the raffle. Interested vendors should message Deanna Brennecke.

05/18/2026

Coffee & Conversation June 17, @ 10:00am
Prairie Trails Museum, Corydon, IA

Button Crazy, Small Buttons with Big Personalities
program by Donna Gillman

Donna Gillman has collected buttons for many years. She is a member of the Iowa State Button Society and once served as an officer in the organization.
Donna will share the history of buttons, when they became a necessity for everyday life and how. The first buttons were made of bone, wood, horn or metal and were decorative rather than functional.
Did you know the town of Muscatine, Iowa was once the pearl button capital of the world? The first button factory in the city opened in 1891 by John Boepple. This factory harvested mollusk shells and created highly desired pearl buttons. Even Centerville, Iowa once had a button factory.
Join us at Prairie Trails Museum on June 17 to hear this fascinating story of the button and how it came to be a necessity for all of us.

05/15/2026

Take a stroll through Prairie Trails Museum of Wayne County garden! Thank to Neal & Dorene McCart it looks amazing!

05/14/2026

https://youtu.be/C38JrmASzkc?si=K6ZEfo4BYxSvyHKS

We are excited to say we are working on plans for the exhibit of Dolly the Wayne County Mastodon! If all goes well, she will be back in Corydon this fall! Watch this page for updates!!

University of Iowa archaeologists have uncovered the first-ever well-preserved mastodon skull scientifically excavated from the state of Iowa — a find that n...

05/07/2026