Travel - Muscatine

"What the heck is in that photo?", I hear you ask. And, "Why should I care?" You are looking at mussel shells and the blanks that have been punched out of them, ready to be made into lovely mother-of-pearl buttons. Before the day of the ubiquitous white plastic 4-hole circles, buttons galore were made out of this stuff. And where did these beauties come from? Muscatine! 'So that's where the Pearl Button Museum is", I hear you say. Do you always talk to yourself like this? There were 12 button factories in Muscatine, more than anywhere else in the U.S. In 1905 Muscatine produced over a billion buttons. But by the 1960's plastic moved in and it was all over. Stop in at the museum that celebrates the days when Muscatine was a button-producing behemoth. And get a good look at all the pretty buttons. 117 W 2nd St, Muscatine, IA 52761 (563) 263-1052