[10] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 3.35 square miles (8.68 km2), all land.

[17] Cresco Community Theatre is a nonprofit organization open to anyone with an idea or the desire to contribute.

Contributing members decide which shows will be produced on the Cresco stage, and have ranged from famous productions to locally written plays.

[18] Cresco is home to the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa, which had its first inductee banquet in 1970.

[19] Although Cresco is no longer on a railroad line, it is home to a restored Milwaukee Road FP7 diesel engine known as the Heritage Train, displayed in Beadle Park at the center of the city on Highway 9.

The Cresco post office contains a mural, Iowa Farming, painted in 1937 by Richard Haines.

[20] The city newspaper is the weekly Cresco Times Plain Dealer, published on Wednesdays.

During this period bonds were issued and subsequently sold for cash, providing the financial resources to expand the school building with the addition of the west wing.

An allocation of $400 was approved for the acquisition of four lots adjacent to the schoolhouse, aiming to provide ample space for future development.

Additionally, a tax levy of 10 mills on the dollar was introduced to contribute to the school house fund.

Cresco High School's inaugural commencement ceremony took place on June 18, 1880, in Lyric Hall.

Although historical records from this period are somewhat limited, it is known that the high school offered a three-year course of study at the time.

The physical infrastructure of Cresco's schools continued to evolve to meet its expanding student population's needs.

In response to the growing demands of Cresco's educational landscape, the South Ward grade school was constructed in 1896.

To meet Cresco's ever-changing educational requirements, a new high school building was erected in 1905.

Citizens in the independent school district approved the project, with a budget not exceeding $25,000, in March that year.

Fresh air from the outside is first warmed over radiators and then conducted to all the rooms, after which it passes out through the ducts leading to the cupola."

Dora Perry, a student and later a teacher in Cresco, provided a detailed description of the new building in the 1906 "Old Rose and Black" yearbook.

She wrote:The new high school building that was erected by the citizens of Cresco in 1905 does honor to the city.

Rising above the spacious roof is the dome and flagstaff, where the Star Spangled Banner often waves over the heads of the many school children.

As we admire the impressive machinery of the heating apparatus, we can't help but marvel at the ingenuity of the human mind to invent such intricate mechanisms for the comfort of others.

The third grade is furnished with large double seats that remind us of the time when we were embarking on our first battles of life.

It is similar to the previous room but displays a higher level of intellectual development, evident in the ornamental details on the walls.

[22]In subsequent years, Cresco underwent additional construction projects that further transformed its educational institutions.

In 1913, a new grade school building was erected on the west side of the central campus, at an estimated cost of $13,000.

Cresco Junior College, founded on September 6, 1927, was in a renovated house opposite the high school buildings.

Further expansions and additions were made in 1951 with a new garage and bus barn, and a band room for the music program.

This brought together the public schools of Chester, Cresco, Elma, Lime Springs, and Ridgeway, necessitating the expansion of educational infrastructure to accommodate the growing student population.

In December 1965, voters approved a $1,500,000 bond proposal whose primary objective was to fund the construction of new elementary buildings in Lime Springs and Ridgeway and a high school in Cresco.

They also approved the allocation of $700,000[21] from an existing schoolhouse fund balance specifically designated for the renovation of the outlying centers, ensuring that these educational spaces would receive the necessary upgrades and improvements.