State Center, IA

Since the founding of our communities, organizations, businesses and citizens have stepped forward to build and serve their community. Click on any of the logos below to learn about those who made this website possible! If you would like to learn about becoming a sponsor CLICK HERE!

Known as the “Rose Capital of Iowa,” State Center is a charming community that recalls the nostalgic memories of times gone by on Main Street by mingling historic preservation with modern business practice to provide a unique and interesting atmosphere and the personalized customer service that is a distinctive signature of small town Iowa. As the name implies, State Center lies near the geographic center of Iowa. It is located on US Highway 30 and is only a 20 minute drive from Marshalltown, 30 minutes from Ames, and 45 minutes from Des Moines. The original Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway, goes through State Center’s Main Street

State Center is very proud of its heritage and history. To that end, many community-minded people pitched in to purchase and preserve the historic Watson’s Grocery Store on Main Street. The store originally was a turn-of-the-century grocery and dry goods store. Most of the antique fixtures remain, and the museum today preserves the look and feel of what was commonplace in State Center from 1895 until it closed in the 1980s

The community has made a commitment to save itself from becoming another economic ghost town by providing its full support to the “Main Street Program”, and as a result, the downtown has begun to bloom again in the “Rose Capital of Iowa”. In June of 2003, just in time for the 45th annual Rose Parade, the three-block area of State Center’s historic Main Street was given a complete facelift with new sidewalks, street lighting, street resurfacing, and infrastructure.

The mission of the State Center “Main Street Program” is to create an environment for positive growth through volunteerism, community involvement, and regional partnerships within the context of historic preservation. The four point approach for economic revitalization includes: Business Improvement, Organization, Promotions and Design.

Please come visit State Center soon.