Spillville

History

Spillville was platted by German Joseph Spielmann in 1860. Originally named Spielville after the founder, Joseph Spielman, the community's name was misread and became Spillville. It was largely settled by Bohemian, German and Swiss immigrants. Spillville boasts a strong cultural and musical history. The Czech composer Antonín Dvořák spent most of 1893 in Spillville, where his friend Josef Jan Kovařík had relatives. There he composed the monumental Symphony No. 9 in E minor, "From the New World", as well as two of his most famous chamber works, the String Quartet in F ("The American") and the String Quintet in E-flat. Spillville is also the site of the Inwood Ballroom, established in 1920 and the destination of several popular 20th-century musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Glenn Miller, Guy Lombardo, and The Byrds. Many tourists to Spillville have also visited the Bily Clocks Museum (see link below), a collection of intricately designed clocks created by two brothers in Spillville housed in the building where Dvořák lived during his stay. The Roman Catholic parish in Spillville, St. Wenceslaus Church, was built in 1860 and is the oldest Czech Catholic church in the United States.

Geography

Spillville is located at (43.202, -91.952). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity