Fraser, IA

Set right along the Des Moines River in Boone County, Fraser is a small, quiet community with deep roots in central Iowa's coal-mining past. It started out in the 1890s as a bustling company town complete with its own shops, hotels, and neighborhood ballpark. Today, life here is peaceful and rural. A handful of historic buildings still stand in the valley, and the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad rolls right through the trees, giving the area a rustic, tucked-away charm.