PEO Birthplace Tours

PEO Sisterhood, a national organization founded by P.E.O. (philanthropic educational organization), one of the pioneer societies for women, was founded on January 21, 1869, by seven students at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Today, P.E.O. has grown from that tiny membership of seven to almost a quarter of a million members in chapters in the United States and Canada. The P.E.O. Sisterhood is passionate about its mission: promoting educational opportunities for women. Special PEO Birthplace tours are available by appointment through Iowa Wesleyan College.

Midwest Old Threshers Heritage Museum

Located on the Midwest Old Threshers campus, this museum offers exhibits on electricity, water, farm implements and stationary steam engines. It is also home to the Bussey Doll Collection with over 150 historic dolls displayed and the Printers Hall, an exhibit that follows an historic timeline of printing from the first time the first settlers crossed the Mississippi.

The Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana

Stop by this classic museum to view a unique collection of memorabilia from the days of early American popular entertainment.  The Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana was established in 1973 and was winner of the prestigious New York Museum’s award for “Excellence – Organizational Achievement in the Theatre History Preservation” in 2008.  Within its walls it houses painted curtains and scenic pieces which are actually works of art from an era gone by, costumes, playbills and maybe most interesting, a large collection of videotaped interviews with actual “troupers” describing their professional and personal experiences.

Open Daily – Memorial Day to Labor Day

Tuesday through Sunday 10:00am – 4:00pm

Other times by appointment

Harlan-Lincoln House

U.S. Senator James Harlan built the Harlan-Lincoln House in 1876. Harlan’s daughter, Mary, married Robert Todd Lincoln, son of President Abraham Lincoln. The Lincolns brought their three children to spend summers here in the late 1870′s and 1880′s. The house tells the story of the 50-year relationship between a prominent American family and this small Iowa college and community.

Open by appointment.

To schedule a tour please call 319-385-6215.

Dover Museum

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the museum is located in a former glove factory/creamery house with exhibits of past businesses, a one-room school, a Masonic Temple and extensive Henry County genealogy and history records.

Open Saturday & Sunday, May – November, 1:00 – 4:00 pm or by appointment

Wayland & Midwest Memories Museums

Be sure to visit the Wayland Museum located at 113 W Main Street to find out more interesting facts about the community then and now.  The museum is full of artifacts of the town’s heritage – past, present and future.  Displays include periodicals, pictures, agricultural tools, Native American artifacts and local folk art.

Museum Contact 319-256-3276

Just down the street, stroll down memory lane with Larry D. Roth at Midwest Memories Museum and Shoppe.

Open Tuesdays and Thursdays 9-4 or by appointment 319-331-5986 or email: midwestmemories@farmtel.net

Swedish-American Museum

The Society created the Swedish American Museum to collect and catalogue artifacts of Swedish heritage and early immigrants of the Swedesburg area. The Museum is housed in the former Farmers Union Exchange (FUE) building, built in 1928 by second generation Swedish Farmers. The FUE served Swedesburg and the surrounding area as a general store and Gathering place for the settlers in the area. The building is typical of stores, which once dotted the Iowa countryside. The facility is available for meetings, tours and meals. Reservations are required in advance.

107 James Ave. Swedesburg, IA 52652  (319) 254-2317

Lewelling Quaker Museum

Once known as the main ticket office of the Underground Railroad, this stone house contains reminders of the anti-slavery movement, a trap door and other hiding places for the runaways fleeing slavery.  The Lewelling House is listed with the Iowa Society for the Preservation of Historic Places and the Nation Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

401 S. Main Street Salem, Iowa  (319) 258-4341

Winfield Museum

The Winfield Historical Society and Museum is housed in a turn of the century school building. The displays include railroads, schoolroom, printing press, original hose cart for the fire department, Senator Carden memorabilia, dolls, quilts and many pictures of local businesses and organizations.  The basement is a recreation of Erickson’s Toyland, which operated during the 1950s, and 60s and is filled with toys from that era.

114 S. Locust Street Winfield, Iowa 52659

319-257-6661

Open Monday, 10 a.m. to noon or by appointment