This 12 sided pavilion sits atop a hill in the City Park at Riverton. The open air structure was completed in 1897 and intended to provide a stage for encampments of the newly founded Patriots of America. William Harvey founded the populist organization to advocate for returning to the free coining of silver and support political candidates favorable to that cause. Harvey is said to have put up $500 toward the Riverton pavilion’s construction. He reportedly chose Riverton because Fremont County had the greatest number of Patriots of America lodges of any county in the U.S. Yearly encampments of the fraternal organization were held in Riverton between 1897-1901. The order died out shortly thereafter.

Since then, the pavilion has hosted Chautauqua shows, Sunday School and church services, school graduations, May Day services and other community events. The pavilion was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Significant repairs to the pavilion were done as a community bicentennial project in 1976. In more recent years, moisture and lack of regular maintenance has led to deterioration of the roof and supporting cedar posts.

The Riverton Hometown Pride group has lately taken an active role in preserving the pavilion. They received a Paint Iowa Beautiful grant in 2024 and a State Historical Society of Iowa Field Services grant to hire a consultant to evaluate the needs of the structure. That evaluation showed that there is much more that needs to be done to preserve this piece of local and U.S. history.