You are here

Iowa » Central » Des Moines » Des Moines, Northwest » Living History Farms

Living History Farms

-A A +A
organized 1967. 2600 111th St., Urbandale, near intersection of Hickman Rd. and I-35/80

The principal exhibitions at the Living History Farms are an Ioway Indian village of c. 1700; an 1850s pioneer farm; the 1870s town hall of Walnut Hill; the 1867 Flynn house and barn; a 1900 farm; and the Henry A. Wallace Crop Center. The Flynn house and outbuildings are original to the site; the other buildings are either historic structures that have been moved to the site (such as the nineteenth-century Horton log cabin), or are recent reproductions. Architecturally, the centerpiece of this outdoor museum is Martin Flynn's 1867 Italianate “mansion” and accompanying barn. The house is a post-Civil War version of the Italian Villa style. A central cupola looks down on a brick-clad dwelling with stone quoining and the usual bracketed roof. Small pavilions with gable roofs are centered on three sides, and these are accompanied by porches and bays. The center is open to the public daily from May to October.

Writing Credits

Author: 
David Gebhard and Gerald Mansheim

If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.

SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.

,