McGregor Historical Museum

04/25/2025

We’re excited to be part of the Clayton County, Iowa Museum Crawl! 🏛️✨

Make sure to stop by the McGregor Historical Museum during your adventure—we have some special activities and surprises waiting for you! 🎉

We can't wait to share our stories and be part of this amazing celebration of Clayton County’s rich history. See you soon! 👣

🗺️ 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲’𝐬 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞! 🏛️

Join us for the 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐦 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐥—a FREE, month-long adventure happening every 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲 & 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟏𝟎 𝐀𝐌 𝐭𝐨 𝟑 𝐏𝐌!

🔍 Visit participating museums
🧳 Collect passport stamps
🎁 Enter to win a 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐭

It’s the perfect way to discover local heritage, support our county’s incredible museums, and celebrate the stories that connect us all.

📍Mark your calendar and stay tuned for a full list of participating locations!

04/21/2025

🎨🌈 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝! 🌈🎨

An incredibly rare 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞, dated 1888, by McGregor’s own 𝐀𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐬 (𝟏𝟖𝟓𝟕–𝟏𝟖𝟗𝟒) is currently up for auction—and it’s generating serious buzz!

👉 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/en-gb/item/203541592_a-sand-art-bottle-andrew-clemens-1857-1894-mcgregor-iowa-dated-1888

Clemens, who grew up right here in 𝐌𝐜𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫, 𝐈𝐨𝐰𝐚, is celebrated worldwide for his astonishingly intricate sand art, created grain by grain with natural colored sands from the region.

🖼️ Want to see more? A 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬 is on display at the 𝐌𝐜𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐦—come see these breathtaking works up close and experience the legacy of one of Iowa’s most remarkable artists.

A Sand Art Bottle, Andrew Clemens (1857-1894), McGregor, Iowa, Dated, "1888" the front depicting an eagle and flag, the reverse depicting a floral wreat{ellipsis}

04/10/2025

Alexander and Ann MacGregor made an appearance at Scottish Fest, serving tea, scones and other goodies at McGregor SpecialTea Shoppe. 🫖

They’re looking good for their age! ☺️

04/10/2025

Tartan Chef 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 crafted a special Scottish menu featuring regional flavors and Northeast Iowa’s finest homegrown ingredients. 🍽️✨

🌊 𝐒𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐩 𝐁𝐨𝐱𝐭𝐲 – featuring smoked carp from 𝐉𝐚𝐲𝐜𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐡 & 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞
🍰 𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 – a tribute to Scottish baking traditions
🧀 𝐑𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐬 – made with 𝐖𝐖𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞
🍫 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐬 – a sweet twist on a Scottish classic
🥕 𝐌𝐚𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐲 𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐬 – glazed with 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐲𝐫𝐮𝐩

What was your favorite dish at Scottish Fest?

04/10/2025

Scottish whisky tasting using the McGregor Historical Society’s homemade flight boards? Yes, please! 🥃

04/10/2025

What would Scottish Fest be without a kilt competition?! We had some brave participants willing to strut their stuff (but not too much stuff) for emcee Anne Kruse and those gathered at The Old Man River Restaurant & Brewery. Crowd applause selected William Wallace impersonator Gary Williams as our winner! 🏆

04/07/2025

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮!

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated in Scottish Fest 2025! As a first-time event expanding beyond the museum walls, it was a wonderful success—and that’s thanks to you.

As we look ahead to Scottish Fest 2026, we know there’s even more potential. Your feedback is key to making it even bigger and better. Please take just two minutes to complete this quick survey and let us know what you loved, what we can improve, and any ideas you’d like to share.

Thank you for attending Scottish Fest and taking the time to complete this survey! Responses will be collected through Sunday, April 13. Your feedback will help us improve and enhance next year’s event.

04/05/2025

Scottish Fest 2025 underway!

04/03/2025

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scottish Fest is SATURDAY! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Read more about the event here.👇

McGregor will celebrate its Scottish heritage on Saturday, April 5, with Scottish Fest—an event featuring traditional food and drink, music, games and promotions at local businesses.

This is the second year the McGregor Historical Society has sponsored an event in honor of Tartan Day, traditionally held April 6 to celebrate Scottish heritage and the cultural contributions of Scottish and Scottish-diaspora figures of history. The town-wide festival reaches outside the walls of the McGregor Historical Museum, which first offered bagpipe music and historical presentations in 2024. “We wanted to expand on what we did last year,” said McGregor Historical Society President Patti Ruff.

The link has more details about the schedule of events. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

📰: https://times-register.com/articles/2025/04/02/new-scottish-fest-will-celebrate-mcgregor%E2%80%99s-heritage