Welcome to the Little Brown Church in the Vale

To: Tour Planners

From: The Little Brown Church in the Wildwood Highway 346 Nashua, Iowa Just north of Waterloo Iowa and three miles from the Avenue of the Saints Highway (27/218), Exit 220 at Nashua

AN INVITATION TO VISIT!

We invite your company to consider visiting Iowa, in particular our little corner of the world.

LOCATION:

We are just three miles from highway 27/218, the "Avenue of the Saints" connecting St. Louis with Minneapolis/St. Paul. We are only ten miles from Highway 63 which goes from Waterloo, Iowa to Rochester, Minnesota with new city bypass routes. Both of these are 4 lane highways.

WHO WE ARE:

The Little Brown Church was founded in 1855 as a frontier Congregational Church and was made famous by William Pitt's song "The Church in the Wildwood." We currently have a membership of 60+ people and host several hundred weddings each year. Our Annual Reunion Celebration in August draws over 500 people to renew their marriage commitment to each other. Over 72,300 weddings have been held at the church. Our bell tower still holds the 1860 bell, rung by almost everyone who enters. With recent renovation, we are completely handicap accessible and a 15+ acre park is maintained by the church. We have picnic tables, a shelter and a scenic setting with a rustic wooden church and an active congregation.

WHAT WE OFFER FOR YOU:

Our tours take approximately an hour and include the history of the church, wedding stories, a tour of the building, celebration of marriages, the singing of the church song, and a prayer for a safe journey if you request. If you have an organist in the group, they will be invited to play our 1874 church organ. If you wish us to provide an organist we can do so for a $20 fee. There is NO CHARGE for the tour but often tour groups give a dollar a person. We appreciate the gifts. There are a variety of small souvenirs available at the church. We can arrange for rolls and coffee for a small fee if you request this service.

TOUR ARRANGEMENTS: OUR WEBSITE www.littlebrownchurch.org PHONE 641-435-2027 FAX 641-435-4897

APPOINTMENTS ARE NOT NEEDED IF YOU WISH TO JUST STOP BY...BUT IT'S REALLY A LOT MORE FUN TO HEAR STORIES OF THE CHURCH.

Tours Monday through Friday by arrangement. Sunday Services are at 10:15 a.m. every week and you are welcome to attend. Please notify us so that sufficient bulletins are available and we can arrange a short tour either before or after worship.

IN THE AREA:

If you are not familiar with Iowa, the Bily Clocks Museum at Spillville is about 60 miles away. This museum features hand carved 10 and 12 foot clocks made by the Bily Brothers in the years between 1913 and 1940, including the American Pioneer History clock for which Henry Ford offered a million dollars. The museum was also the site where Antonin Dvorak stayed while visiting the United States in the late 1800's and the second floor of the museum features displays of this famous Czech composer.

At Decorah you will find the largest Norwegian Museum in the United States and they can provide information on their yearly Norwegian celebrations.

Adjacent to the Little Brown Church is the Bradford Village, which is maintained by the Historical Society of Iowa and features 14 buildings as well as a large collection of antiques and memorial items from Dr. Pitts who wrote the church song.

In Waterloo, you can tour the John Deere plant, one of the largest in the nation with an expansion being planned for the next few years.

Charles City, just north of the church, has the site of the first tractor built in Iowa at their local museum. The Winnebego Plant offers tours.

If your group is filled with nature lovers, there is a perennial garden 7 miles from the church, a buffalo ranch within 15 miles and a fossil find only 20 miles away.

Contact the Little Brown Church

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