Farm House Museum

Constructed in 1860, the Farm House Museum is the oldest building on the Iowa State University campus and a National Historic Landmark. The house was built in 1860 and later served as the home of two nationally known figures of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Seaman A. Knapp and James Wilson, both of whom taught at Iowa State. Knapp served as president of the university (which was originally called Iowa Agricultural College) from 1883 to 1884 and developed the concept of demonstration farms, which greatly improved the agriculture industry in the South. Wilson served in the Iowa House of Representatives and as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 1897 to 1913. The house, which is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, now serves as a museum and contains period furniture, artifacts, clothing, and other items. Over the home's history, it has served as the residence of university deans, professors, farmhands, and students.

Seaman A. Knapp was born on December 16, 1833, in Essex County, New York. He studied at Union College in Schenectady and graduated in 1856. He became a teacher before moving to Benton County, Iowa, where he acquired a small farm. He then moved to Vinton, Iowa, and became a Methodist pastor. Sometime later, Knapp moved to Cedar Rapids where he served as superintendent for the state school for the blind in Cedar Rapids for five years. He then moved back to his farm where his interest in agriculture and livestock raising grew.

His stature as a farmer rose in the coming years and as a result, he was appointed as professor of agriculture and manager at the farm at Iowa State College. When he served as president of the college, he wrote a bill to establish the first farm research station. The bill would eventually become the Hatch Act of 1887, which provided funds for agricultural experiment stations in all fifty states. He was also instrumental in fighting the boll weevil, which appeared in the South in the early 1890s and caused significant damage to cotton crops. In 1903 he established a demonstration farm in Texas where farmers learned how to combat the insect. It was so successful that it laid the foundation for the Farmers Cooperative Demonstration Work, which was a department of the U.S. Department of Agriculture created in 1904. That year, 33 agents from the department established demonstration farms in several southern states. Knapp also started a highly successful program to improve rice agriculture in the South using techniques and varieties in China, Japan and the Philippines. He died in 1911 at the age of 77.

James "Tama Jim" Wilson was born on a farm in Ayrshire, Scotland on August 16, 1835. He and his large family (he had thirteen siblings) immigrated to America in 1852. They first settled in Connecticut then made their way to Iowa in 1855, where they established a farm in Tama County. Wilson attended what is now Grinnell College where he, presumably, studied agriculture. In addition to farming, Wilson became involved in politics. After serving in local positions he was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1867 where he served until 1871 when he became a professor at Iowa State University. In 1872, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He served two terms from 1873 to 1877 and from 1883 to 1885. During his first term, he earned the nickname "Tama Jim" to differentiate himself from the Iowa member of the U.S. Senate, James F. Wilson.

Wilson returned to Iowa State in 1891 and became the head of the experiment station. He became nationally known in 1897 when he was appointed as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. He served under three presidents and still holds the record for the longest tenure of a cabinet member in history. Under his leadership, the agriculture industry was modernized and food inspection procedures were improved. He also fully supported Knapp's development of demonstration farms. Upon retiring, Wilson settled back in Tama County where he lived for the rest of his life. He died in 1920 at the age of 85.

"Farm House Museum." Iowa State University. Accessed February 2, 2022. https://www.museums.iastate.edu/visit/farm-house-museum.

"History of Virginia Cooperative Extension." Virginia Cooperative Extension. Accessed March 2, 2022. https://ext.vt.edu/about/history.html.

"The Farm House; The Knapp-Wilson House." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. October 15, 1966. https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IA/66000339_NHL.pdf.

"University Museums History." Iowa State University Museums. Accessed March 2, 2022. https://www.museums.iastate.edu/about/history.