The LeClaire Chronicle

LeClaire’s story through the Mississippi River: From Native American fishing grounds to river pilot town, chronicling the waterway’s profound impact on local life.

“It’s all there in LeClaire” is a tagline that has been used by the City of LeClaire for years and for good reason. This small town, established in 1834 and situated on the Mississippi River just off Exit 306 on Interstate 80 in eastern Iowa, is a popular destination for locals as well as for tourists to eat, drink, shop, stay and play.

The Buffalo Bill Museum in LeClaire, Iowa, has an exhibit featuring a teepee once owned by actor Iron Eyes Cody. Cody was actually of Italian descent with the real name Espera Oscar de Corti.

The Buffalo Bill Museum in LeClaire, Iowa, has many treasures, but none are more valuable than its long-time executive director, Bob Schiffke. For Bob, the museum has been a large part of his life since he retired from teaching, first answering the call for volunteers that he saw in the local newsletter, “Bits & Pieces,” asking for help to clean the Lone Star, the last remaining intact wooden-hulled steamship in the United States. The ship operated on the Mississippi River…