If you’re visiting Gladbrook in Tama County, it’s probably for Matchstick Marvels. And the nice people of Gladbrook know it — they’ve put “Home of Matchstick Marvels” on both of the city’s welcome signs.
Matchstick Marvels is the hometown museum of one of Iowa’s most prominent folk artists, Pat Acton, who works primarily with wooden matchsticks and glue. The original Actons on display include scale models of the battleship USS Iowa, the United States Capitol, the Notre Dame cathedral and the Apollo 11 moon landing. You can also find some of Acton’s earliest works, including one of the only sculptures he’s ever painted.
Acton is still working just up the street, gluing away in his basement, or “sticking”, as he calls it. Every match is stuck by hand.
Many of Acton’s most impressive works are owned by Ripley’s Believe it or Not and displayed around the world, including “Plane Loco,” a 22-foot long train made of over a million matchsticks that holds the record for the largest matchstick model.
Over the next few months, he’ll be finishing his latest sculpture for Ripley’s: the town square from the Back to the Future film franchise, including a functioning lightning strike and moving DeLorean. Get there before that sculpture hits the road, and learn why Acton is the pride of Gladbrook.
This article was originally published in Little Village’s December 2023 issue as a part of Peak Iowa, a collection of fascinating state stories, sites and people.
