The Wild West of the Midwest

They don’t call Fort Madison the “Wild West of the Midwest” for nothing. Set along the Mississippi River, our story began as a frontier trading post and grew with the power of riverboats and the Santa Fe railroad.

We’re home to the oldest prison west of the Mississippi River established in 1839, Iowa’s oldest Mexican community rooted in the Santa Fe Traqueros who helped extend the railroad out west, and the 78 year old rodeo that still kicks up dust as one of the best in the Midwest.

From working family farms and dairies, to roaming elk and bison, Fort Madison blends frontier grit with rich cultural heritage in a way no other Midwestern town can!