Farm House is a comprehensive history of a small, redbrick building on a mid-Iowa prairie. The Farm House was the first structure on the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm established in 1859 in Story County, Iowa. It served as a center of activity at Iowa State from the founding of the college to its restoration as a museum in the 1970s. The Farm House is now part of the University Museums at Iowa State. Six thousand visitors tour the house each year.
Farm House is more than just an architectural history of the house. Author Mary Atherly focuses on the people who lived and worked at the Farm House and their social, cultural, and educational impact on the house and on Iowa State. She offers insights into the lives and habits of the residents of the Farm House and into the developing educational themes during Iowa State's history.
Farm House is richly illustrated with photographs and line drawings of the Farm House and of the campus as Iowa State moved through stages from agricultural model farm to college to modern multipurpose university. Pictures of the residents of the house bring to life those individuals who played a part in the development of Iowa State.
Devotees of state and local history, as well as ISU alumni, will find this book fascinating reading.