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Festina (also called Twin Springs) is an
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in Winneshiek County,
Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...
, United States. It is located on
Iowa Highway 150 Iowa Highway 150 (Iowa 150) is an state highway in eastern and northeastern Iowa. It begins at U.S. Route 218 (US 218) in Vinton and ends at US 52 and Iowa 24 in Calmar. From Vinton, it heads north and east towards Ur ...
, south of Calmar.


History

In 1850–51, "a single house of entertainment, a kind of saloon" was located at Festina. St. Mary's Catholic Church was established in 1854. A school was attached in the 1880s. The settlement was platted in 1856. The Turkey River Bridge, formerly located southwest of Festina, was the third largest
bowstring truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...
in the United States. Built in 1873, it was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1998, then removed from the register in 2010 when it was demolished and replaced. - Information on the school zoning is on page 91 (PDF p. 92/512). The population in 1880 was 127. Around that time, Festina had a brewery, a public school, a post office, two general stores, and was described as lying "in a beautiful valley five miles south of Calmar". A creamery was located at the settlement in 1894.


Education

Students attend schools in the South Winneshiek School District. CFS Catholic School formed as a consolidation of Catholic schools in Calmar, Festina, and Spillville. Prior to fall 2020 its campuses are St. Aloysius Center in Calmar and St. Wenceslaus Center in Spillville. In 2019 CFS and St. Theresa of Calcutta in Ossian announced plans to consolidate into a single school, with the Calmar campus closing. Beginning fall 2020 the Ossian campus will house grades K-2 and middle school while the Spillville campus will house grades 3–4.


World's smallest church

Located southwest of Festina is St. Anthony of Padua Chapel, described at the "world’s smallest church". Measuring by , it is able to seat eight people. A public park adjoins the chapel and offers a picnic area, as well as canoe access and fishing in the Turkey River. The church was constructed to fulfill a vow made by Johann Gaertner's mother, who promised God she would build Him a chapel if her soldier son survived Napoleon's Russian campaign. The boy returned home unharmed, and the chapel was built of locally quarried stone in 1885.


References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Winneshiek County, Iowa Unincorporated communities in Iowa