Clermont, IA

Clermont is a Fayette County city in the Turkey River valley, a brick-built Iowa town with an outsized historical footprint. The first claims and cabins arrived in the 1840s, a sawmill went up in 1849, and the town was laid out in 1851. Its name wandered through an early spelling of Claremont and a brief proposal to call the place Norway before Clermont prevailed. Brickmaking became a signature industry, with kilns and foundries supplying buildings across the region and giving the city its enduring nickname, 'Brick City.'

ATTRJim Roberts / CC BY-SA 4.0

Governor William Larrabee added another layer. His Montauk mansion sits on the hill above town, overlooking the river valley and preserving the home life of Iowa's twelfth governor. The former Clermont Public School now houses city offices and a library, and the North Fayette Valley district serves local students. The Turkey River, Heritage Farm Park, brick commercial buildings, and Montauk all keep the city connected to its mill, manufacturing, political, and agricultural past. Clermont is a small northeast Iowa city where red brick, a river valley, and one governor's estate tell a surprisingly large story.