Dixon, Iowa At the Edge of Two Townships

Around Town

1. The two-township town site

   Liberty Township section 12, extending into Allens Grove Township

   The 1882 history puts the original plat on the southeast quarter of section 12 in Liberty Township, with later additions reaching into Allen's Grove Township. The 1910 Census still counted the city in both townships.^{1, 3}

2. Davenport Street

   Davenport Street, Dixon

   Scott County lists Dixon City Hall at 610 Davenport Street. The town's fire station, photographed for the site's sightings, carries “DIXON VOL. FIRE STATION” in red letters over its doors.^{8, 11}

3. Wapsi River Environmental Education Center

   31555 52nd Avenue, Dixon, IA 52745

   The center covers 225 acres of upland and bottomland forest, grassland, and wetland along the Wapsipinicon River. With Sherman Park across the river it forms a 432-acre complex, managed by Scott County Conservation.^{10, 7}

4. Buena Vista Public Use Area

   On the Wapsipinicon River near Dixon (exact access point to confirm before publication)

   Scott County lists Buena Vista among its county-owned recreational areas, on the Wapsipinicon River near Dixon.⁷

5. A piece of Dixon at Pioneer Village

   Pioneer Village, Scott County Conservation (not in Dixon itself)

   The Dixon Telephone & Post Office building was moved to Pioneer Village in 1990 from Dixon. Scott County says it was used first as a bank and then as a telephone office.¹²

6. The railroad town of the old histories

   In and around present-day Dixon (historic description; confirm what survives before directing visitors to any specific structure)

   The 1910 county history describes Dixon as the leading town in Allens Grove Township, on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad twenty-two miles northwest of Davenport, with a graded school, a Christian church opposite the schoolhouse, a bank, hotels, stores, stock yards, and an elevator.^{5, 4}

If You Go

• For the Wapsi River Environmental Education Center, check current programs and conditions with Scott County Conservation before you go. The county lists the center at 31555 52nd Avenue, Dixon, phone 563-328-3286.¹⁰
• Dixon is in the Scott County Library System service area. The county's Hours and Locations page lists every branch and its current hours — check it before setting out, as branch hours vary by day.^{9, 13}
• City business starts with a call: Scott County lists Dixon City Hall at 610 Davenport Street, phone 563-843-3425.⁸
• To see the old Dixon telephone office building, check Scott County Conservation's current Pioneer Village visitor information first. The building left Dixon in 1990, so the street it came from and the place it now stands are two different stops.¹²
• Please enjoy the fire station lettering and other town landmarks from the street or sidewalk, and give residents and working buildings their space.¹¹