Vinton in Benton County, Iowa — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Sweet Corn Day Festival

Vinton, Iowa

— 1929 - 1959 —

Sweet Corn Day Festival Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 28, 2021

1. Sweet Corn Day Festival Marker

Inscription. When ground was broken in November of 1879 for the S.H. Watson Canning Company, it was the beginning of Vinton's identity as the "Corn Canning Capital of the World". Eventually, the Vinton canning industry grew to be the largest in the Midwest. It was a natural extension to build a festival around the area's leading industry. Where the idea originated depends on where the information comes from. What is known is that it started out as a rather small observance of Labor Day in 1929 with the local school children parading through the streets carrying stalks of corn. As a reward, they were given the remainder of the day off for picnics and fun. That tradition of fun continued for thirty years with large parades, music concerts and lots of sweet corn to celebrate the harvest and the end of summer. When the canning operation closed in 1959, it signaled the end of the Vinton Sweet Corn Day Festival.

This mural was designed to celebrate that wonderful, waning days of summer festival. It was painted by the Letterheads during another Labor Day weekend festival, "The Harvest of Walls 2000 Art Festival," some forty years after the

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last Sweet Corn Day.

Designed by Jay Allen

Erected 2000.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1929.

Location. 42° 10.07′ N, 92° 1.527′ W. Marker is in Vinton, Iowa, in Benton County. It is on A Avenue just north of West 4th Street, on the right when traveling north. Mural and marker are mounted above eye-level on the west wall of the building at the northeast corner of the intersection. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 123 W 4th St, Vinton IA 52349, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Eastern Iowa. It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Watson's Opera House (within shouting

Sweet Corn Day Festival Mural image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 28, 2021

2. Sweet Corn Day Festival Mural

(marker is mounted near bottom right corner of mural)

distance of this marker); Benton County World War II Veterans Memorial (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Benton County Courthouse (about 500 feet away); Iowa Canning Co. Seed House (about 700 feet away); The Many Bridges Built to Cross the Cedar River (approx. 0.2 miles away); Minne Estema Park (approx. 0.2 miles away); Flooding of the Cedar River (approx. 0.2 miles away); Red Cedar River (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Vinton.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.

Also see . . . Sweet Corn Days Past. (A brief gallery of photographs and commentary from Sweet Corn Days festivals.) (Submitted on July 1, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Sweet Corn Day Festival Mural & Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 28, 2021

3. Sweet Corn Day Festival Mural & Marker

(west side of building • West 4th Street on right)

Sweet Corn Day Festival Mural Plaque image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 28, 2021

4. Sweet Corn Day Festival Mural Plaque

(mounted at left side of mural)
Harvest of Walls
2000
Mural
”Sweet Corn Day Festival”
Artist
Jay Allen, Machesney Park, IL.
Sponsored by
Farmer’s Savings Bank & Trust – Vinton

Credits. This page was last revised on January 18, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 1, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,036 times since then and 65 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 1, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.