Riverside, a small town in the heart of Iowa, has proclaimed itself to be the future Birthplace of James T. Kirk, the fictional character in Star Trek.
The town has completely embraced it. Their motto is “Where the Trek begins.” There are pictures of the original Star Trek crew hanging from the light poles and their sidewalks are stamped with the USS Enterprise spaceship.
Riverside is a very small town of less than 1,000 people so it is not too hard to find the birthplace marker. It is located on Main Street behind a small hair salon. It sounds a bit scary that you have to walk down an alley between 2 buildings but it is actually really nice. Take a look:
There is also a place in town, “The Voyage Home Riverside History Center”, also known as the Star Trek Museum. It was closed when we were in town, however, we read that it “houses Star Trek themed exhibits and memorabilia, including a time capsule; a Star Trek themed bathroom; and an exhibit about the women of Star Trek. The museum features a veterans display and a room dedicated to the history of Riverside.”
After visiting Riverside, we drove about 30 minutes north to West Branch, Iowa, Birthplace of Herbert Hoover, the 31st president of the United States.
This is where we found both the Presidential Library and the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site
We didn’t really know too much about this president. However, after 2 short movies and walking through a museum dedicated to his life and presidency, we learned a lot. Honestly, I think we learn more by visiting these places than we ever did in school.
The Library and National Park Visitor Center are both located on the same campus a short walk from each other. Also on this campus are the home Hoover was born in, the blacksmith building his father worked in, several other homes from Hoover’s neighborhood.
This is also the final resting place for both Herbert Hoover and his wife, Lou Henry Hoover. The grounds were beautiful and very peaceful.
A very impressive website, Joel and Jeri! Have a great trip.