Eldora, IA

Eldora was placed near the center of Hardin County in 1853, between existing settlements along the Iowa River, and it has remained the county seat through repeated contests over where county business should live. The town sits beside the river and west of its gorge, on the edge of the Altmont Moraine, a glacial landform marking the eastern side of the Des Moines Lobe. That setting gives Eldora a county-seat square with a distinctly river-and-moraine backdrop.

ATTRKeith Snyder / CC BY-SA 3.0

Pine Lake State Park lies beside town, with Upper and Lower Pine Lake, Iowa River access, wooded trails, and Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration structures including Pine Lodge, a beach house, and stone cabins. Local schools operate through Eldora-New Providence, which shares grades with Hubbard-Radcliffe under South Hardin Schools. The courthouse and school system handle county routines; the park and river supply the main outdoor setting. Eldora's unusual mix is a county-seat center next to a state park and a glacial river gorge.