America 250: Prairie, Plows, and the People's College

On July 4, 2026, the United States will commemorate the 250th anniversary of its founding. Farm House Museum, built in 1860 as Iowa State's first building, has been central to the development of campus, Iowa State heritage, education, innovation, and national policy. This exhibition honors key people, moments, objects, and experiences centered within Farm House through more than 250 primary source objects that trace the land-grant university's heritage and the nation's evolution.

Visitors will see George Washington Carver featured in the 1896 Bomb yearbook as the first Black man to enroll, graduate, and teach at Iowa State; a hand-painted Norwegian Rosemaling trunk from 1852 personalized with the name "Anna"; Mary Beaumont Welch's 1884 cookbook from the first Department of Domestic Economy in the nation; the VEISHA bicycle from the 1890s; and early student yearbooks revealing timeless aspects of college life.

Reflective questions appear throughout the exhibition, inviting visitors to consider how historical narratives continue to shape contemporary society. Topics range from the Morrill Act of 1862 and land-grant universities to immigration patterns in Iowa, Indigenous history, and Victorian-era technological innovation.

America 250: Prairie, Plows, and the People's College is curated by current and former University Museums interns Rachel Hellmann, Brayden Meints, and Michael Keul with Farm House Museum curator Allison Sheridan. Funding for this exhibition and related programming is generously provided by Carol Pletcher.