What A View
Generally, a mound rising above the ground has limited significance unless the roads are icy or physical labor is required to go up and down. For instance, a hill named “Big Bertha” means nothing to most local individuals unless they’re in cross country. More noteworthy hills in the area have gained meaningful histories and became places to visit or create a second look when driving by.
Goat Hill — Clay County
Anyone who’s driven on US Highway 71 between Spencer and Sioux Rapids, IA has taken note of a solitary building high above the horizon. The white home has seen better days, standing stark and alone at the top of a steep hill, about 12 miles south of Spencer. Amongst the landscape’s barrenness, the faded building with dark curtainless windows seizes attention and asks questions of the past.
For passers-by today, a bit of color stands out, as colorful signs announce the upcoming year’s dates for the Clay County Fair. Others driving by may remember the building’s storied past or when it was decorated in red, white and blue. Some locals remember racing motocross or completing hill workouts for track practice in later years.
This hill was once owned by Jesse Ditton, a man born on March 25, 1872 to Jacob G. Ditton and Justina M Farnum. Jesse was the youngest Ditton born in the log cabin high atop the hill. As years passed, a white home was built in the location, and Jesse became a farmer, raising goats on the 140-acre property. Local legend shares how the goats would live outside during the summer but moved inside the house during the colder months.
In 1913, Jesse placed a number of recurring personal ads in the Sioux City Journal, looking to correspond with a respectable young lady. A year later, Jesse married Rebecca Negley, and they enjoyed companionship for the next six to 12 years.
The short relationship and others after didn’t surprise the locals around, as women found it difficult to stay married or to remain as a housekeeper, leaving once they realized goats also shared the house.
In April 1949, Jesse placed the following ad in the Sioux City Journal,” As I am not able to live alone, would like someone, desiring a home, for a companion. Write or see me at Greer Hotel, Cherokee, Ia. Jesse Ditton.” In May 1949, the ad was listed as a “Housekeeper for Gentlemen.”
On September 26, 1954, Ditton’s house was featured in the Des Moines Register by Frank Miller. It included a sketch of the home called “Farm House With Flags” and showcased a short article on the history of the family and the home. At the time, the American Flag was painted on multiple sides of the house and a large checkerboard design was displayed in one of the house corners.
“On two walls, painted in the finest of patriotic red, white, and blue, are two huge American flags. Also, two gaudy checker boards designs join at the corner, while a brilliant red door rounds out the startling and colorful decor.
People not knowing Mr. Ditton’s reasons for the flags, checkerboard, and the door might be inclined to imagine all sort of complicated and romantic versions of why such insignia and colors mark the dark old house on the windswept hill. But Mr. Ditton’s explanations are pleasantly honest and simple logic—Jesse’s father was a soldier in the Civil War. The checkerboard—his favorite game has always been checkers. The red door—he had some red paint left over.”
On December 23, 1957, Jesse died and was buried at Liberty Cemetery in nearby Greenville, Iowa.
It was in the early 1960s that the Clay County Fair began advertising its dates on Goat Hill, alerting passers-by of upcoming event dates—a tradition that continues to this day.
“In our marketing, we strive to use all types of media to let people know about the upcoming fair each year. We use a combination of print, digital, social, radio, tv, and roadside signage, said Jason Brockshus, CEO and Manager of Clay County Fair. “The very well-known and iconic Goat Hill on Hwy 71 is seen every year by all travelers coming in to and leaving Spencer and is a wonderful connection that people actually expect to see!”
Hawkeye Point – Western Osceola County 
Acres of tall corn once hid one of the area’s proudest locations. In 2008, an inconspicuous high spot became recognized as Iowa’s highest point, rising above the ground at 1,670 feet. Just north of Sibley, Hawkeye Point was officially named and the farm land was turned into a roadside park with numerous amenities.
The land was originally farmed by the Sterler family and later donated to Osceola County, who also purchased six acres of surrounding land that included the old family farm house. Around the park, a flag pole is featured as well as several granite markers and five tall posts with signs pointing to the other 49 states’ highpoints, each with the correct distance noted. Picnic benches and a campground also surround the property.
The county has also erected an informational kiosk highlighting the family and the region, located where the hog feeding trough once stood. A display of license plates from each of the 50 states is also showcased. A visitor can walk through a vivid red barn that includes a walk-thru museum about the local area, showcasing facts about farm culture. One highlight is a historical photo of President Teddy Roosevelt, who once passed through Sibley by train in 1910.
Outside the museum, there is a generous display of antique farm machinery. Visitors can learn about what tasks each machine once performed. Near the tall silo, soon to be transformed into an ear of corn, there is a high point monument situated. A giant mosaic stands at the foot of the monument, as well as a stone marker and several benches. At the top of the silo, there is an observation deck built that allows you to look out into the surrounding prairie.
Hawkeye Point Campground is located immediately adjacent to the state’s high point on 130th Street. The campground is open year-round and includes 12 RV campsites, a bathhouse, a pavilion, playground equipment, a fire pit, picnic tables, and an RV dump station. Each campsite has water and electric hook-ups and crushed concrete pads. Sites are first come, first serve – though reservations can be made by calling the Osceola County Conservation Board at 712-758-3709.
Physical address: 5463 130th St, Sibley, IA 51249
Mailing address: Hawkeye Point Foundation, 300 7th Street, Sibley, IA 51249
Ocheyedan Mound – Eastern Osceola County
For decades, much of Iowa believed the Ocheyedan Mound in eastern Osceola County was the highest natural point in the state. The large mound rising above the prairie is a unique geological feature made of large kame (deposit of sand/gravel resulting from melting ice and glacial movements), which was formed during the melting of the Wisconsin glacier. The land lies along the Bemis end moraine, a region of hilly ground that marks the farthest western advance from the Des Moines Lobe’s ice sheet. At 1,655 feet above sea level, the scenic Ocheyedan Mound is a significant landmark, offering a glimpse into Iowa’s glacial history and only 14 miles from Hawkeye Point and 23 miles from Spirit Lake.
The 24-acre preserve containing this large unique landform is located one mile south of Ocheyedan. Rocks of various colors and sizes are intermingled throughout the mound, including porphyry, granite, Sioux quartzite, and limestone. The Shuttleworth family purchased the 160-acre farm containing the mound in 1909 and later donated the tract containing the mound to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation in 1983.
In 1984, the Ocheyedan Mound was dedicated as a geological state preserve and ownership was transferred to the Osceola County Conservation Board.
The Sioux Indians frequently visited the mound, referring to it as “Acheya” or “Akicheya,” meaning “the spot where they cry.” Pioneer settlers used the location as a landmark, and later, it became popular for picnics, toboggan parties, skiing, and winter sliding.
The Stopsack family rented the Shuttleworth farm from 1932 through the early 1980s. They owned a black horse named “Old Rich,” who became a familiar figure atop the mound over the decades.
Vegetation on the mound is an outdoor classroom of beauty, showcasing native grasses and flowers such as: Little bluestem, Sideoats grama, Blue grama, and Junegrass. In the spring, you can find hoary puccoon, white camass, and wild strawberry bloom, while during the summer months, milk vetchesm Prairie violet, Prairie onion, Butterfly weed, Purple prairie clover, White prairie clover and Black-eyed Susan can be viewed.
Legend once thought the Mound to be an Indian burying ground, but the thought was disproved after geologists investigated and discovered it to be made of kame. Kames are hills and ridges of stratified drift deposited by glaciers at the mouths of ice tunnels or ice channels, and in angles of ice. Some height may have reclaimed the Ocheydan Mound as the highest point if during earlier years sand and gravel hadn’t been removed from the summit for commercial purposes.
The Ocheyedan Mound is an enjoyable climb and an opportunity to look out at the surrounding area. At Easter time, three wooden crosses are displayed and there are always rocks to be rearranged to form words.
