Gilmore City, IA

Straddling the border between Humboldt and Pocahontas counties, Gilmore City is a quiet, close-knit Iowa community of under 500 residents. The town got its start in the 1880s around the railroad and local limestone quarries, a history you can still spot in the stonework around town. It is a peaceful place to settle down, where younger children can walk to the local elementary school before heading to neighboring West Bend-Mallard for middle and high school. Surrounded by wide-open farmland, the town even sits atop the ancient, buried Manson meteor crater, adding a neat bit of geology beneath a classic Midwestern setting.