Every visit to Living History Farms is unique because the activities change not only season to season, but day to day and even hour to hour. In the spring, the interpreters will prepare the fields and gardens for planting seed that is authentic to the time period being depicted.

At the 1700 Iowa Indian Farm, for example, blue corn, Omaha melons and Black Turtle beans are grown in the gardens behind the tcakiduthans, or bark lodges. Also near the lodges, deer hides will be tanned in the sun, food will be prepared on an open fire, and pottery will be made using red clay and shells.

On a mid-summer visit to the 1850 Pioneer Farm, the men might be in the fields cultivating red corn and potatoes, or harvesting wheat, the three main crops on the Iowa frontier. Inside the log cabin, the women work on domestic projects and prepare the midday meal. The meal, usually consisting of meat, bread and potatoes, is served at noon and called dinner.

In fields at the 1900 Farm, Percheron draft horses pull a variety of machinery to plant, cultivate, and harvest the farms three main crops of corn, oats, and hay. There are also vegetable gardens to be tended and household chores to be done. Inside the farm house the garden's produce is used in the preparation for dinner, the large mid-day meal, and is preserved using a variety of methods, including hot water bath canning.

The 1875 town of Walnut Hill re-creates a bustling frontier community with craftsmen and merchants in 18 shops, businesses and homes along the town's main street. The artisans include a cabinetmaker, a blacksmith and a broommaker. The merchants include a newspaper publisher, an agricultural implement dealer, a druggist, a milliner and a general store owner. The professionals in town are a doctor, a lawyer, a veterinarian and a banker. There is also a upperclass Victorian home, a middle-class family home, a rural church and a country cemetery. Each of the sites show the town's interdependence to the surrounding farm families.

To complete the 300-year tour, visitors may see and hear the changes in 20th century agriculture at the state-of-the-art Wallace Crop Center exhibit. From World War I, through the Great Depression and into the computer age, artifacts, music, conversation and news reports tell how farming entered the modern age.

How Long Does It Take to Tour? We have three different "at your own pace" tours to fit your schedule. The Town and Farm Tour is the complete tour which includes all of the town, the exhibit center, and the three farm sites. The complete tour lasts 3 or more hours. The Step Saver Tour is 2 to 3 hours and eliminates the walk from the 1700 Indian Farm to the 1850 Pioneer Farm. The Town Only Tour takes 2 hours or less.

Please visit our Hours and Admissions page for details on when we are open and our admission fees.

Please visit our accessibility page for details on our handicapped accessibility.

Historic Farm Dinners
Warm up by a wood-burning stove this winter and enjoy a hearty home-cooked meal in either the 1900 Farm kitchen or the 1875 Tangen House dining room at Living History Farms. Our interpreters are ready to treat you to period-authentic food in two historic atmospheres. Historic Dinners are served November 1 through March 15, by reservation.

To request a FREE visitor's packet, please fill out our online visitor's packet request form and we will be sure to send you information right away!