"Mississippi Harvest Sculpture" Muscatine Things to Do Tip by deecat

I was so thrilled to see up close the new bronze sculpture of a clammer which commemorates the clamming industry along Muscatine's riverfront [which thrived a century ago]. This trade provided the clamshells for the production of pearl buttons that were sold around the world.

This statue is 28 feet tall [and over twice life-size!] It was commissioned by the city as part of its riverfront revitalization. It is called, "Mississippi Harvest". The plaque that accompanies it reads:

Mississippi Harvest
Erik Blome
Cast Bronze 2006

"Dedicated to the
Men and Women
who made Muscatine the
'Pearl Button Capital
of the World' "

By 1890 the manufacture of pearl buttons began in Muscatine. Fresh-water clamshells made for strong buttons that resembled fashionable buttons made of expensive imported marine shells. Soon, Muscatine became the world's largest pearl button manufacturer.

It's quite an impressive piece of art; huge in size and impact, especially with the Grand Old Mississippi River as its background.

Directions: Found in Riverside Park along the Mississippi River