Ottumwa in Wapello County, Iowa — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Edna Ferber

Pulitzer Prize Winning Author

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 21, 2025

1. Edna Ferber Marker

Inscription.
Main Street and Beyond
The Main Street district of Ottumwa has been central to the economic and cultural development of the city, region, and far beyond. Many people with connections to Main Street Ottumwa have made significant national and international impacts. Main Street Ottumwa is proud to share the stories of these connections.

Edna Ferber
Renowned author, Edna Ferber, saw many of her works adapted for stage and screen. Receiving many accolades in her lifetime, she is best known for writing "Show Boat," and her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "So Big." Born in Michigan in 1885, Edna lived in Ottumwa with her family between the ages of 5 and 12.

Edna's father, Jacob Charles Ferber was a shopkeeper who moved his wife Julia and two young daughters, Fannie and Edna, to Ottumwa in 1890 to open "Ferber's Great Fair." The business on Main Street sold all sorts of household goods and clothing items at discounted prices.

Life was not easy for Edna. During her time in Ottumwa, young Edna was verbally harassed and spat on for being Jewish. Her father also struggled to keep his shop open, closing the store in 1897. The family settled

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in Wisconsin where Edna graduated from high school, attended college, and began her professional career.

Erected 2025 by Main Street Ottumwa and City of Ottumwa.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Women. A significant historical date for this entry is August 15, 1885.

Location. 41° 1.06′ N, 92° 24.713′ W. Marker is in Ottumwa, Iowa, in Wapello County. It can be reached from East Main Street just west of South Market Street, on the right when traveling west. The marker is mounted on the west wall in Canteen Alley. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 127 East Main Street, Ottumwa IA 52501, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southern 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: Philip B. Hofmann

Marker detail: The Fair image. Click for full size.

2. Marker detail: The Fair

Edna's father, Jacob Charles Ferber, moved the family to Ottumwa in 1890 to open a shop on Main Street called "The Fair." This store was also called "Ferber's Fair" and "Ferber's Great Fair." It closed in 1897.

(a few steps from this marker); J. B. Sax Co. (a few steps from this marker); Twin Galaxies (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); J.W. Garner Building (about 500 feet away); Ottumwa City Hall (about 600 feet away); Civil War Memorial (about 700 feet away); National Humane Alliance Fountain (about 800 feet away); Ottumwa Public Library (about 800 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ottumwa.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Canteen Alley Historical Markers

Also see . . . Edna Ferber (Wikipedia).

Excerpt: Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885 – April 16, 1968) was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels include the Pulitzer Prize-winning So Big (1924), Show Boat (1926; made into the celebrated 1927 musical), Cimarron (1930; adapted into the 1931 film which won the Academy Award for Best Picture), Giant (1952; made into the 1956 film of the same name) and Ice Palace (1958), which also received a film adaptation in 1960. She helped adapt her short story "Old Man Minick", published in 1922, into a play Minick and it

3. Marker detail: Edna Ferber Postage Stamp
Edna Ferber was an award-winning writer who lived with her family in Ottumwa from the time she was five years old until she was twelve. She is best known for writing "Show Boat," and her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "So Big."
was thrice adapted to film, in 1925 as the silent film Welcome Home, in 1932 as The Expert, and in 1939 as No Place to Go.
Ferber's father was not adept at business, and the family moved often during Ferber's childhood. In Ottumwa, Ferber and her family faced brutal anti-Semitism, including adult males verbally abusing, mocking and spitting on her on days when she brought lunch to her father, often mocking her in a Yiddish accent. According to Ferber, her years in Ottumwa "must be held accountable for anything in me that is hostile toward the world".

(Submitted on March 31, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 21, 2025

4. Edna Ferber Marker

The marker is mounted on the west wall of the Canteen Alley pedestrian walkway.

Canteen Alley image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 21, 2025

5. Canteen Alley

Looking north into Canteen Alley from Main Street. The marker is on the west/left side of the pedestrian walkway.

Credits. This page was last revised on March 31, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 25, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 17 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on March 31, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.