The 1875 town of Walnut Hill features a functional print shop that uses a period-accurate press.
The museum maintains a herd of Milking Shorthorn cattle, a breed popular in the mid-1800s.
The 1700 Ioway Indian Farm focuses on pre-European contact agriculture methods utilizing indigenous crops.
The Flynn Mansion, located on the grounds, was originally built in 1870 and was restored to its Victorian-era appearance.
Interpreters at the 1850 Pioneer Farm strictly use tools and methods available to settlers before the advent of industrialized machinery.
The farmstead operates without electricity in the 1850 and 1900 farm sectors to maintain historical authenticity.
The town of Walnut Hill includes a functioning blacksmith shop that provides custom hardware for the museum's maintenance.
The site hosts heirloom garden plots that document the history of plant breeding in the American Midwest.
Living History Farms is a 500-acre open-air museum that depicts the evolution of Iowa agriculture over 300 years. The site features five distinct historical time periods, including an 1850s pioneer farm and a 1900s small-town Iowa community. Visitors move chronologically through different sites, showcasing technologies from ox-drawn plows to horse-drawn equipment. Historical interpreters dressed in period-accurate clothing demonstrate daily chores, traditional crafts, and agricultural methods. The museum is located in Urbandale, Iowa, and serves as a working farm using heirloom crop varieties and heritage livestock breeds. It functions as an educational facility highlighting the transformation of Midwestern life through the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The main street of the 1875 town of Walnut Hill, which offers a perfectly preserved mid-19th-century vista.
Wear sturdy, comfortable walking shoes as the museum covers a large outdoor area with unpaved paths.
Dress in layers to adapt to the fluctuating Iowa weather, as most activities take place entirely outdoors.
Check the daily demonstration schedule upon arrival, as blacksmithing and cooking tasks vary by day.
Trying to walk the entire 500-acre grounds without using the provided tractor-drawn shuttle service.
Closed during the winter months; operates on a seasonal basis from spring through autumn.
Do not touch the livestock or historical equipment unless specifically invited by an interpreter; remain on marked pathways.
