Living History Farms

What Living History Farms does

Living History Farms is an interactive outdoor history museum located in Urbandale, Iowa, United States, focused on Midwestern rural heritage and agriculture. Founded in 1970, the institution operates as a private, single-site cultural attraction that presents reconstructed farms, historic buildings, and agricultural demonstrations to visitors, with an emphasis on hands-on engagement with the region's rural past.

The organization functions as a heritage tourism and educational venue rather than a technology-driven enterprise. Its underlying "product" is a physical campus of historical structures and demonstrations supported by interpretive programming, staff, and seasonal operations. No proprietary technology platform, software products, or digital services are documented in the available sources.

The business model is consistent with a regional cultural institution: revenue is generated through admissions, memberships, school and group programming, and likely supplementary donations or grants, though none of these revenue mechanics, pricing tiers, or customer segment splits are disclosed in the available data. The institution serves families, school groups, and regional tourists in the U.S. Midwest, with no indication of international operations or commercial B2B customers. Most firmographic fields — including headcount, ownership structure, leadership, financials, and partnerships — could not be verified because the company's primary web source returned only a loading/verification page.

Name

Living History Farms

Website

https://lhf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Living History Farms is a private, single-site interactive outdoor history museum in Urbandale, Iowa, founded in 1970, that presents Midwestern rural and agricultural heritage to visiting families, school groups, and regional tourists through reconstructed historic farms and demonstrations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Museum Services

NAICS

Historical Sites (712120), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

akta.pro primary industry

Archaeological Sites & Heritage Interpretation Centers (THAJADAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Historic Sites, Heritage Landmarks & Archaeological Sites (THAJACAC)

Keywords

• Outdoor history museum
• Living history exhibits
• Agricultural heritage site
• Interactive museum experiences
• Midwestern farm history

Headquarters

HQ city

Urbandale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Core offering

Living History Farms operates an interactive outdoor history museum focused on Midwestern rural heritage and agriculture. The attraction features recreated historical farm settings, hands-on demonstrations, and interpretive programming that brings Iowa's agricultural history to life for visitors of all ages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Living History Farms Interactive Outdoor Museum An interactive outdoor history museum in Urbandale, Iowa that features recreated Midwestern rural and agricultural settings with hands-on demonstrations and historical interpretation for visitors of all ages.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights1 record

Broad incumbents

• Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village: Michigan-based complex combining an indoor museum with an outdoor living-history village covering American innovation and rural life. Comparable as a Midwest heritage venue combining indoor exhibits and outdoor historical farms/buildings with school programming.
• Colonial Williamsburg: Large-scale, nationally branded living-history museum interpreting early-American life. Not a peer in Midwestern agriculture, but the dominant U.S. reference point for the living-history museum operating model and pricing/benchmarking on visitation economics.
• Plimoth Patuxet Museums: Massachusetts-based living-history museum complex interpreting 17th-century colonial and Indigenous life. Relevant as a benchmark for costumed interpreters, first-person interpretation, and educational program pricing in the U.S. living-history sector.

Direct peers

• Old World Wisconsin: Outdoor living history museum operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society, with restored farmsteads and rural-immigrant heritage exhibits. Directly comparable as a regional outdoor heritage farm museum with school programming and seasonal attendance.
• Kline Creek Farm: DuPage Forest Preserve's 1890s living history farm in Illinois, featuring costumed interpreters, heritage crop/livestock demonstrations, and school programming. Comparable Midwest heritage farm museum with seasonal visitation.
• The Farmers' Museum: Cooperstown, NY heritage village operated by the New York State Historical Association, featuring a working farm, craft demonstrations, and historical exhibits. Comparable as a living-history farm museum focused on rural/agricultural heritage and craft interpretation.
• Shelburne Farms: Vermont-based nonprofit educational farm and National Historic Landmark, blending working agriculture, heritage education, and inn-based lodging. Comparable in combining a working-heritage farm with educational programming and visitor lodging.
• Conner Prairie: Indiana-based interactive history park covering 19th-century prairie and agricultural life. Closely comparable operating model: outdoor living-history museum, experiential exhibits, school programs, and event rentals, anchored in a Midwestern agricultural narrative.
• Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer: Nebraska museum complex focused on Plains pioneer and agricultural heritage, including an 1890s railroad town and living-history farm. Highly comparable in subject matter (Midwestern pioneer/agriculture) and operating format.

Regional players

• Amana Colonies Heritage sites: Iowa-based heritage tourism cluster of historic villages with German-American craft, agricultural, and culinary programming. Relevant regional peer competing for the same Midwestern heritage tourism and education spend.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/LivingHistoryFarms
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/living-history-farms

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Living History Farms