Carnegie Museum honors Jefferson County’s Heritage Farms

FAIRFIELD — The Carnegie Historical Museum in Fairfield is undertaking a project to recognize the oldest farms in Jefferson County.

The museum plans to honor the county’s Heritage Farms, which are those farms that have been in the same family for 150 years. This is an exclusive group. Fourteen farms in Jefferson County qualify as Heritage Farms, and the museum plans to recognize a different one each month for the next year or more. After that, it will begin recognizing the county’s Century Farms, which have been in the same family for 100 years.

The museum kicked off this project on Friday night, June 3, by featuring the family of Brenda and Joe Lamansky. The Whisler-Lamansky farm was established in Walnut Township in 1855. Brenda and Joe were interviewed about their farm by the museum board member Lawrence Eyre, and the interview was recorded by Jason Strong.

The Lamanskys brought photographs and memorabilia to the museum, which will be on display on its third floor for the rest of the month until the museum recognizes a different family. Those who wish to view the Heritage Farm exhibit can visit the museum from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.

The idea to honor Heritage Farm families came about through a brainstorming session between museum board members Eyre, Dave Neff and Jake Schmidt. Schmidt said the museum is reaching out to Heritage and Century farm families to see if they would like to be featured, and thus far they’ve had great success.

“We have enough families that it will keep us busy for seven years,” Schmidt said.

Jefferson County’s oldest Heritage Farm belongs to David Switzer, who established an 80-acre plot in 1843, three years before Iowa achieved statehood. This farm was profiled in the documentary “A Place to Grow” produced by Fair Field Productions. Switzer’s great-great-granddaughter Mary Switzer attended the film’s premiere and brought a family heirloom trophy in the shape of an ear of corn, which the family won for having the highest yield per acre.

The monthly presentations on the Heritage Farm families will begin at 6 p.m. on the first Friday of the month. Schmidt said the families are asked about the farm’s history, their memories of it, how they survived years with bad yields and other calamities such as the Great Depression and the chinch bugs that devastated crops in the 1930s.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com