Sabula, Iowa

The mighty Mississippi rolls past hundreds of towns and cities on its journey from northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, but none are as intimately connected to the river as the town of Sabula, Iowa.

Perched on a narrow island reached only by bridge, causeway, or boat, the town of 713 residents is a haven for people who have Mississippi water flowing in their veins.

“People here would be lost without the river,” says Joan Thompson, owner of Sabula’s 1902 Castle Bed and Breakfast, whose expansive front porch overlooks the waters of America’s greatest river.

Sabula’s many links to the surrounding river are visible throughout the town. Many of the modest houses that line its quiet streets have a fishing or speed boat parked on their lawns, and on warm summer days, the town empties as nearly everyone heads for the water. Thanks to Sabula’s location, they needn’t travel far.

The town, just four blocks wide and nine blocks long, fills the entire island.

To the east lies the main channel of the Mississippi, its powerful current carrying massive barges loaded with grain bound for New Orleans, jet skiers out for an afternoon spin, and fishing boats trolling at a leisurely pace.

The other sides of the island are surrounded by a maze of backwaters, perfect habitat for the hundreds of great blue herons and other birds that nest in the area.

Just north of town lies the 3,500-acre Green Island State Wildlife Refuge, home to recently reintroduced trumpeter swans.

Native Americans were the first inhabitants. The island wasn’t discovered by white settlers until 1835. In 1864, the town was incorporated, its name drawn from the Latin word sabulum, meaning sandy soil. Its location made it a desirable steamboat landing, and the little settlement later grew into a major meat-packing center. Another early industry was the making of buttons, combs, and jewelry fashioned from mussel shells harvested from the river bottom.

Today, the town’s small business district includes several taverns and restaurants, as well as Ackerman’s Grocery Store, the place where locals gather to share news and swap stories. Most residents commute off the island to work, traveling to the Iowa cities of Clinton and Davenport, or crossing the river to the Illinois town of Savanna. (The island is connected by causeway—a raised highway—to Iowa and by bridge to Illinois.)

Local children attend grade school and middle school on the island, then are later bused to a consolidated high school in Miles on the Iowa mainland.

While many of the people in town are second- and third-generation residents, Sabula also is attracting a growing number of people who come here to retire or buy second homes.

“A lot of people come to Sabula to escape the fast pace of city life,” says Thompson, who returned to the area after 20 years working in Central America. “No one in Sabula is in too much of a hurry. People enjoy their neighbors and watch out for each other.”

Surprisingly, the river has never overwhelmed the little town of Sabula.

Though high waters in 1965 and 1993 nearly brought the Mississippi over its banks, the town has been spared a major flood. In Sabula, the waterway clearly is seen as a friend, not foe.

“Whenever people have company from out of town, they always take them down to the river,” says Mayor John McGarry. “That’s the heart of Sabula.”

Lori Erickson is a freelance writer in Iowa City, Iowa.

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