About our community...

Known as the “Rose Capital of Iowa,” State Center is a charming community that recalls the nostalgic memories of times gone by on Main Street by mingling historic preservation with modern business practice to provide a unique and interesting atmosphere and the personalized customer service that is a distinctive signature of small town Iowa.  As the name implies, State Center lies near the geographic center of Iowa.  It is located on US Highway 30 and is only a 20 minute drive from Marshalltown, 30 minutes from Ames, and 45 minutes from Des Moines.  The original Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway, goes through State Center’s Main Street.

State Center is very proud of its heritage and history.  To that end, many community-minded people pitched in to purchase and preserve the historic Watson’s Grocery Store on Main Street.  The store originally was a turn-of-the-century grocery and dry goods store. Most of the antique fixtures remain, and the museum today preserves the look and feel of what was commonplace in State Center from 1895 until it closed in the 1980s.

The community has made a commitment to save itself from becoming another economic ghost town by providing its full support to the Main Street program, and as a result, the downtown has begun to bloom again in the “Rose Capital of Iowa.”  In June of 2003, just in time for the 45^th annual Rose Parade, the three-block area of State Center’s historic Main Street was given a complete facelift with new sidewalks, street lighting, street resurfacing, and infrastructure. 

Proud to be a Main Street Community!

The Main Street Program is a grassroots volunteer based effort on the part of the whole community to strive for economic development through historic preservation.  The Main Street Program is administered through the Iowa Department of Economic Development and works closely with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. 

The mission of the State Center Main Street Program is to create an environment for positive growth through volunteerism, community involvement, and regional partnerships within the context of historic preservation. The four point approach for economic revitalization includes: Business Improvement, Organization, Promotions and Design.

Finished Projects include: "Light the Way" (new street lights) campaign; Rose Beds on Main Street; stop sign improvements; facade grants for restoration of buildings: 124 W. Main, 317 W. Main, 203 E. Main, 205 E. Main, Former House at 126 E. Main, 114 W. Main, 130 W. Main, 104 W. Main, 108 W. Main and 106 1st Ave. South

New Businesses include: Remarkable Rose Floral & Gifts, Pack Rat's Palace, Brian's Collision Clinic, Country Carpenter, Financial Partners Group, TL Crane Construction, Maggie's Catering, Eden Natural, Weuve Enterprises, Icee's on Main, Kenny G Iowa Realty, Road Hog.

Events and Promtions: "A Barn Good Time"; Farmers Market; Watson's Fall Festival (with Historical Society); Old-Fashioned Christmas on Main; Business After Five; Franks from Us; Community Volunteer Recognition Night; and a State Center community promotion day at Main Street Iowa's tourism booth at the Iowa State Fair.

For more information about Main Street projects and events, please contact: State Center Main Street, 126 W. Main St., PO Box 156, State Center, IA 50247, 641-483-3002 or scms@partnercom.net