Seniors Enjoy a Stop in Red Oak

Senior travelers will find Red Oak, the county seat of Montgomery County, located along the East Nishnabotna River. The population runs right at 5,700 inhabitants. Red Oak derives its name from Red Oak Creek which flows through the community and was noted for the red oaks on its banks.

On March 20, 1876, the town was officially named Red Oak Junction by the railroad on March 20, 1876. In 1869 the community was officially founded when the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (called the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad at the time) arrived.  Later in 1901, the “Junction” was dropped and the city became known simply as Red Oak.

The first settlers arrived in the 1850s. In 1865 it became the official county seat of Montgomery County and the courthouse which previously was in the middle of the county seven miles east in Frankfort, Iowa was towed to the community in the middle of a snow storm. That courthouse remained in place until the current Montgomery County Courthouse was built in 1891.

Seniors Enjoy The Historic Buildings

The Montgomery County Courthouse is a beautiful building and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other sites listed on the National Historic Register include: Montgomery County Jail, Chautauqua Pavilion, The Firehouse Restaurant, Red Oak Library, The Osborne House and The Colonel Hebard House.

Red Oak has a plethora of ways to enjoy the great outdoors with golf, tennis, playgrounds, skate parks, hunting areas and beautiful area parks. Red Oak has a lot going for it today as The Arts and Culture are rich in Red Oak and senior visitors may find several that you will not want to miss.

I know that my wife and I would enjoy a stroll along Red Oak’s historic Heritage Hill Tour and experience the community’s hallmark collection of turn of the century architecture. That tour embodies a wide range of architectural styles including excellent examples of Queen Anne, Georgian, Italianate, English Tudor, Colonial Revival, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie Style.

Seniors Like The Depot, The Museum And The Performing Arts Center

Senior visitors will not want to miss the Restored Burlington Northern Depot & WWII Memorial Museum on South 2nd street.

And there is more for senior citizens to enjoy in Red Oak: The Montgomery County Historical Society which was organized in 1945. The Wilson Performing Arts Center that has been carefully designed to meet the needs of artists and educators in southwestIowa.

This one stop link provides information for senior visitors on the major attractions in Red Oak.  So set your GPS, stop  in Red Oak and enjoy the many amenities the  community has to offer. -jeb