♪♪ ♪♪ Kohlsdorf: Throughout history, the Mississippi River has been a resource for industries such as agriculture, transportation and even textiles.

In the late 19th century, buttons, that's right.

buttons for clothing were punched from mussel shells harvested from the river.

They were called pearl buttons, and by 1905, Muscatine, Iowa had become known as the Pearl Button Capital of the world.

Joy: The button industry, in a very real sense, was started by one man, a guy named John Bevel.

He was a German immigrant.

Pearl buttons were not a novelty then.

They were a status symbol.

So he was sent a shell by a family member from the Mississippi River.

And he realized this is exactly what he needed to go into business.

And he moved to kind of a leap of faith.

He moved to the U.S., ultimately settling here in Muscatine, and he started making a few buttons on this machine right over here, actually.

This is his design.

This was in 1891.

By 1905, they're making 1.5 billion buttons here, 14 years later.

Kohlsdorf: Today, the National Pearl Button Museum tells the story of the entrepreneurs, the laborers and the mussels that put Muscatine on the map.

Joy: We have exhibits about all of Muscatine history.

In fact, even to this day, we're kind of the de facto history museum in Muscatine.

You're going to find something interesting.

You will be fascinated by some aspect of this place.

Kohlsdorf: What better way to button up a trip down the Great River Road?

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