About the Farms

Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa is an interactive, 500-acre outdoor museum that tells the amazing 300+ year story of how Iowans transformed the fertile prairies of the Midwest into the most productive farmland in the world. Walking trails and tractor-drawn carts connect the 1876 Town of Walnut Hill to each of the historical farms. Each site is authentically farmed or worked by historic interpreters.

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1700

IOWAY INDIAN FARM

At the 1700 Ioway farm, museum staff grow blue flour corn, squash and pumpkins, and varieties of beans. This combination was known as the “three sisters of life” for the Ioway people. Bark and mat lodges showcase the seasonal homes of the Ioway, along with a Chibóthraje, or traveling house for the annual bison hunt. Throughout the season, staff tan animals hides, demonstrate native crafts and tool making, and prepare food over an open fire.

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1850

PIONEER FARM

On a mid-summer visit to the 1850 Pioneer Farm, the men might be in the fields cultivating corn and potatoes, or harvesting wheat, the three main crops on the Iowa frontier. Inside the log house, 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.

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1900

HORSE-POWERED FARM

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

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1876

TOWN OF WALNUT HILL

The 1876 town of Walnut Hill re-creates a bustling frontier community with craftsmen and merchants in several shops, businesses, and homes along the town's main street. The artisans include 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 middle-class family home, a rural church, and a country cemetery. Near the town, visitors will find a country schoolhouse, as well as an upperclass Victorian home and adjoining barn.

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1700

IOWAY INDIAN FARM

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1850

PIONEER FARM

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1900

HORSE-POWERED FARM

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1876

TOWN OF WALNUT HILL

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