601 Farm House Lane
Ames, IA, USA

The Farm House (Knapp–Wilson House)

The Farm House, also known as the Knapp–Wilson House, is the oldest building on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Now a museum open to the general public, this house was built 1861-65 as part of the model farm that eventually became Iowa State. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964 for its association with agriculturist and teacher Seaman A. Knapp and with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson, both of whom lived here while teaching at Iowa State.


Description and history

The Farm House is located near the center of the Iowa State campus, on the west side of Farmhouse Lane. It is a three-story structure, built primarily out of brick, and set on a stone foundation. The brick walls, fashioned out of locally sourced clay, were clad in limestone stucco in 1909 because they were crumbling. The interior is largely reflective of a major remodeling conducted about the same time. In 1972 the university undertook a major restoration of the building to restore it to its c. 1910 appearance.

The land for what became Iowa State was donated by Story County farmers in 1858 and 1859, and the farm was developed over the following five years, slowed by the ongoing American Civil War. Iowa Agricultural College opened on the farm in 1869. In 1880 Seaman Knapp was appointed farm superintendent and professor of practical and experimental agriculture. Knapp would later become influential in the promotion of modern rice-growing practices in the American South. In 1891 James Wilson moved into the house, which he would occupy until 1897, when he is offered the post of United States Secretary of Agriculture, a post he would hold for thirteen years. The house was occupied for much of the first half of the 20th century by Professor Charles F. Curtiss, under whose tenure the house's major alterations were made. In 1948 the house was converted into a dormitory for women, and its plant was updated again. In 1970 Dean Floyd Andre, whose family occupied it since 1950, moved out. Andre's lobbying to preserve the building from demolition succeeded, and it was opened as the Farm House Museum in 1976.

National Register of Historic Places - The Farm House (Knapp–Wilson House)

Statement of Significance:

The Farmhouse and its outbuildings were the first structures to be built on the 648 acres of unimproved land of the Iowa State Agricultural College and Farm, the first land-grant institution to be formally recognized. Built in 1861 this original structure was used as the residence first of the successive Superintendents of the Farm, and later of the Deans of Agriculture. This building was the home of Seaman Asahel Knapp, noted agriculturist and teacher, from 1880 to 1885, and from 1891 to 1896 it was the residence of James ("Tama Jim") Wilson, agriculturist and later Secretary of Agriculture in the cabinets of Presidents McKinley, Roosevelt and Taft.

BIOGRAPHY: Seaman A. Knapp
Born in Essex County, New York, December 16, 1833, Seaman A. Knapp made nationally significant contributions to agriculture, primarily in the South. He entered Union College, Schenectady, in 1852, graduating with honors in 1856 and for ten years thereafter he taught school. In 1866, Knapp met with a serious accident which crippled him for several years. Moving to Benton County, Iowa, he bought a small farm at Big Grove. He served as Methodist pastor at Vinton, Iowa, and for five years as superintendent for the state school for the blind at Cedar Rapids. He then returned to his farm. In 1872, he had begun to publish the Western Stock Journal and Farmer. On his own farm, he used improved seed and brought in better livestock. He was one of the organizers and the first president of the Iowa Improved Stock Breeders' Association.

In 1879, Knapp was selected as professor of agriculture and manager of the farm at Iowa State College. From 1884-1886, he was president of the college. He drafted the first experiment station bill, a bill which opened the way for the passage of the Hatch Act in 1887.

Knapp's greatest contribution to agriculture, however, was in the South. In 1886, he took charge of a large colonization experiment in Louisiana. To interest the native population in agriculture, he offered very favorable terms to farmers from northern states who would settle, one to a township, and demonstrate what could be accomplished by good farming. The plan was so successful that thousands of farmers were attracted to the region and the local people improved their practices. Knapp had great influence in the development of the rice industry of the Southwest.

When James Wilson (see below) became Secretary of Agriculture, Knapp was appointed special agent for the promotion of farming in the southern states. He was sent to China, Japan, and the Philippines to investigate rice varieties, its production and milling. His findings resulted in a great expansion in the rice industry. When in 1903, the Mexican boll weevil appeared in Texas, Knapp contributed much to the education of cotton farmers in combatting that insect. Knapp also inaugurated the Farmers Cooperative Demonstration Work in the U. S. Department of Agriculture, which was designed to place object lessons before the farm masses. Under his direction before his death, hundreds of experienced agents were employed throughout the South to assist in this work. Knapp died in April 1911, and was buried in Ames.