Type of Memorial
Plaque
Location
Plaque Text
"Farm House Museum. The Farm House, built in the early 1860's was the first building at Iowa State Agriculture College and Model Farm, Now Iowa State University. While the Farm House was originally home to the college farm managers and superintendent, it served as a business office, library and informal classroom until 1869 when the college officially opened. From 1861 to 1970, the Farm House was a home to faculty, students, dean of agriculture, and two college presidents. Adonijah J. Welch (1868-1869) and Seaman Knapp ( 1880-1885). The Farm House was home to James "Tama Jim" Wilson, who became the first U.S. Secretary of Agriculture in 1897. Restored in the 1970s and opened as a museum on July 4, 1976, the Farm House Museum is furnished to reflect the first fifty years of the college, 1860-1910. The unique history of the Farm House and the individuals who lived here earned it a National Historic Landmark designation in 1965. Iowa State University."