The Storied Past & Revitalization of South Bear School
Rural Iowa has much more to offer than endless corn fields and gravel roads. Near Decorah, an unexpectedly vibrant source of creation and community lives at the convergence of creeks and pine forests: South Bear School.
The art school’s idyllic property features a small cottage, two barns, and a monumental 65-room main building, which originally hosted a senior living and nursing home community from 1915 to the early 1960s. Over the last six decades, it has become a new sort of “home,” one that has hosted hundreds of creatives, artists, and wanderers.
South Bear School, founded in 1970 by Decorah residents Dean and Geraldine Schwarz, alongside their friend Doug Eckhart, has undergone countless changes over time, including a nearly 40-year hiatus from hosting their hallmark summer workshops. What hasn’t changed, however, is the Schwarz family’s commitment to maintaining a community of like-minded folks who champion rural arts and authentic craftsmanship…