Oh Iowa, you misunderstood state. While many Americans peg the Hawkeye state as being a boring state that had nothing going for it, they don't understand that Iowa is actually full of vibrant cities and towns that have rich, colorful histories; cities like Muscatine.

Located in Muscatine County where it resides as the county seat, Muscatine is known as the Pearl of the Mississippi. Home to 22,697 residents at the time of the 2000 census, Muscatine is a major economic and cultural center in Iowa. It is the home of such major businesses as H.J. Heinz, Monsanto, Musco Lighting, and Carver Pump.

Initially founded by Colonel George Davenport as a frontier trading post, Muscatine was known as Bloomington at the time of its incorporation in 1839. However, the town changed its name to honor the Muscaoutin native American tribe that resided in the area and to distinguish itself from the other Bloomingtons in the American midwest.

The most famous resident of Muscatine was Sam Clemens who the world knows by his pen-name Mark Twain. Twain worked in Muscatine for their local newspaper and wrote of the city, "And I remember Muscatine--still more pleasantly--for its summer sunsets. I have never seen any, on either side of the ocean, that equaled them."

These kind words of Muscatine still resound today as this city is known as one of the best places to raise a family in Iowa.