In 2016, RVP~1875 and History Boy Theatre Company was named the Outstanding Tour­ism Attraction in the State of Iowa by Travel Iowa and the Travel Federation of Iowa. It’s not hard to understand why.

The Jefferson-based business, housed in a former lumber company building, appeals to two distinctively different types of tourist. In the front of the building, you’ll find a circa-1875 furniture making business. In the back, a theater that features first-run musicals.

Robby Pedersen moved his furniture enterprise, RVP~1875, to Jefferson from Story City in 2008. Here he ...