Step inside one of Fairfield's earliest chapters. The Bonnifield Cabin offers a glimpse into pioneer life, where determination, resourcefulness, and community helped shape the foundations of southeast Iowa.

Fun Facts:

• It is considered the oldest surviving two story log house in Iowa

• Nancy Bonnifield is credited with suggesting the name Fairfield because of the area's beautiful Fair Fields.

• The cabin has been moved and restored twice, it will be restored again November 2026

The Carnegie Museum has never failed to bring together not just the community, but the town’s history itself. Once a library filled with books, now holds local memories, historical artifacts, and stories that shaped Fairfield’s identity. Built in 1893, it stands as the first Carnegie library constructed west of the Mississippi River, marking Fairfield’s early commitment to education and culture.

Fun Facts:

• Today, the museum’s collection goes beyond just local history. The museum features authentic Samurai armor, ancient Roman artifacts, and even pieces that connect Fairfield to President Abraham Lincoln.

• Before the Fairfield Carnegie Library was completed, the town received artifact shipments from the Smithsonian in 1886, 1888, and with the last in 1892.

• Senator James F. Wilson of Fairfield helped secure funding for the library and even planned for a large auditorium that could seat around 300 people.

• The Carnegie Library system became a massive national movement that eventually built over 2,500 libraries worldwide.

Echoes of music, learning, and community still linger in Chautauqua Park. Once part of a nationwide movement that brought culture and education to communities across America, the park remains a place where Fairfield's past and present meet.

Fun Facts:

• The organization was started in Fairfield in 1904

• Billy Sunday spoke in 1907 he spoke about personal conversion, repentance, Christian living, and moral reform. He also did something really cool and played a baseball game in Fairfield and played on both teams.

• In 1936 the park was donated by Fairfield chautauqua association to the city of Fairfield

• In 1931 their main building collapsed and they had a baseball game to raise money to rebuild

• Today the park is a great place for friends and families to come together with disk golf courses, playground, picnic areas, and a connection to the Fairfield loop trail system

For generations of Fairfield residents, a trip to the Dairy Bar has been more than just getting ice cream, it has been a summertime tradition! Located on West Burlington Avenue, the Dairy Bar has served Fairfield families for decades and remains one of the community's most recognizable local businesses.

Fun Facts:

• Dairy Bar was one of the original Dairy Queens opened in 1950, at some point in the 1960's the franchise was dropped and it became the Dairy Bar

• Grab yourself a Wizard (blizzard)

• Not a dilly bar it's better it's a Dairy Bar

• The ice cream on top is the original sign from the 1950s opening

Daniel Stephenson was just a young immigrant who came to America in 1840 with his father. After settling in Fairfield, he began weaving in 1852, where he would soon become one of the most skilled weavers in the town's history, leaving behind his unique work that shaped Fairfield’s early identity.

Fun Facts:

• Daniel's shop was once located at 304 East Burlington Street which is east of the town square near what is now the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center.

• Stephenson worked on a foot‑powered Jacquard loom, a complex machine using punched cards to control individual warp threads, this is the same principle that later inspired early computer programming.

• Stephenson strictly used natural dyes, Stephenson’s natural dye recipes were local secrets: Green → peach seeds boiled with copper filings, Blue → indigo imported from the East Coast, Red → madder root grown in his own garden north of town.

Push open the door of the Elm Grove Schoolhouse and step back to a time when a single room served as an entire school. The creak of the wooden floor, rows of student desks, blackboards, lamps, and the teacher's desk offer a glimpse into what daily life was like for rural Jefferson County children more than a century ago.

Built in 1866 on Hemlock Avenue, Elm Grove was one of nearly 100 country school districts that once dotted Jefferson County. In its early years, as many as 40 to 60 students of different ages gathered here, learning side by side under the guidance of one teacher. By 1922, the school had been remodeled three times and contained twenty student seats, a stove for winter warmth, a bookcase, blackboards, gas lamps, and educational pictures on the walls.

The school stood in a community where families settled because the high, well-drained land provided an ideal place to farm and build homes. Before this structure was built, students attended classes in a simple log schoolhouse made from the area's abundant timber.

When the Fairfield Community School District reorganized in the 1950s, Elm Grove closed its doors in 1960. Rather than disappear like so many country schools, it was moved to the Greater Jefferson County Fairgrounds and preserved so future generations could experience a chapter of local educational history. Today, Elm Grove is one of only about 400 one-room schoolhouses still standing in Iowa.

As you look around, imagine the sounds that once filled the room like the scratch of pencils, the crackle of the stove, and students of every grade reciting lessons together beneath a single roof.

Fun Facts:

• Why were there so many one-room schools? Because children needed to get home in time for chores. Before school buses, students often walked across fields and gravel roads to class, then hurried home to help milk cows, gather eggs, or work in the fields.

• Pioneer families valued an education. Even while carving farms out of the Iowa prairie, they set aside land, cut timber, and raised schoolhouses so their children could learn to read, write, and do arithmetic alongside the work of daily life.

• Imagine standing at the front of a classroom with students ranging from six-year-olds learning their alphabet to teenagers studying geography and grammar. In a one-room schoolhouse, one teacher had to keep eight grade levels learning six subjects, organized, and engaged all at the same time.

• One-room schools ran on recitation. Students took turns standing to recite lessons from memory while others worked at their desks. Instead of silent classrooms, the room buzzed with spelling words, multiplication tables, reading exercises, and the sound of dozens of students learning together.

Perched atop this hill is a building that has survived nearly everything history could throw at it. Built in 1857 by U.S. Congressman Bernhardt Henn, Henn Mansion has survived changing owners, the rise and fall of Parsons College, near collapse, and painstaking restoration efforts that brought the building back from the brink. Walk past its towering entrance and it’s easy to imagine generations of students, professors, community leaders, and dreamers passing through these same halls. Today, the mansion stands as one of the last surviving reminders of a once-sprawling historic campus and a fascinating chapter in Fairfield’s history.

Fun Facts:

• The mansion's Greek Revival design was meant to resemble the white marble temples of ancient Greece. There's just one catch: historians later discovered those temples were actually painted in bright colors!

• Henn Mansion has lived many lives like as a congressman's home, a college building known as Ewing Hall, and now a historic landmark at Maharishi International University, earning its place on the National Register of Historic Places.

• Imagine building one of Fairfield's grandest homes just as the nation's economy was collapsing. That's exactly what Bernhardt Henn did in 1857, when a major financial panic swept across the country.

In the 1830s, Fairfield was still a small frontier settlement; the courthouse served as a means of structure and order for a community actively being built from the ground up. Courthouses were very important to early settlers as they provided a place of justice, a forum for future decisions, and a shared voice as settlements grew larger.

Fun Facts:

• The current courthouse was built between 1890 and 1892, costing $73,630.87, showing the town’s major growth by the late 19th century and is currently the tallest building in Fairfield, Iowa.

• The earliest courthouse in Fairfield was built in 1840 and cost only about $175 to furnish, reflecting how small and early the settlement was at the time.

• The courthouse in Red Oak, Iowa was designed by Henry C. Koch as well and is nearly identical in structure, but mirrored in layout.

Every brushstroke on the Freedom Rock tells a story of service and sacrifice. Created to honor veterans and military heroes, it serves as a powerful reminder of the courage and commitment that have helped preserve the freedoms Americans celebrate today. Fairfields rock include's a painting of the iconic Mehitable Woods, a women who is known for her bravery and humanitarian work during the American Civil War.

Who was Mehitable Woods?

Mehitable E. Woods was an important historical figure in Fairfield and became known for her bravery and humanitarian work during the American Civil War. She moved to Fairfield in 1839, and quickly became part of the growing frontier community. During the war, Woods organized and delivered large amounts of food, clothing, and medical supplies to wounded Iowa soldiers in hospitals and battle areas throughout the South. She made several dangerous trips through war zones and was deeply respected by the soldiers she helped, many of whom called her “Mother Woods” or “Auntie Woods.” Because of her service, Iowa Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood reportedly honored her with the title of Major.

It's interesting to wonder, did Lincoln ever touch this? While Abraham Lincoln never directly visited Fairfield, his story still connects here through rare artifacts. Each piece preserved at the Carnegie Museum offers a glimpse into the people and artifacts linked to him.

Fun Facts:

• James Wilson, a Fairfield resident connected to Lincoln’s funeral procession, received one of only 12–16 rare memorial ribbons given to those close to the event. One of these ribbons is still amazingly preserved today at the Carnegie Museum here in Fairfield.

• I think something that's interesting is the spinning wheel that is tied to Mary Ann Rutledge which can be found in the Carnegie Musuem also. Lincoln met Ann Rutledge, the daughter of Mary Ann Rutledge in Salem Illinois who is often noted as his first love.

• James Harlan of nearby Mount Pleasant was a U.S. Senator and close ally of Lincoln. Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd Lincoln, later married Mary Harlan, linking the Lincoln family to Iowa through friendship and marriage.

Before the days when “smart technology” became a buzzword, Fairfield was quietly changing the way farms and factories worked. The Louden Machinery Company started with a simple invention in 1867 when William Louden patented a device that helped farmers stack hay faster and safer. That one idea sparked decades of innovation.

Soon, Louden was creating everything from flexible barn door hangers and easy-to-clean cattle watering cups to massive overhead crane systems used in factories around the world. Their inventions helped farms become larger, cleaner, and more efficient at a time when agriculture was rapidly changing.

In 1907, the company even began offering free barn planning services using Louden equipment. By 1939, more than 25,000 barn plans had been distributed to farmers across the country.

As the company grew, so did its impact. Louden crane systems helped speed wartime manufacturing during World War I, later supported aerospace production for NASA’s Apollo program, and were even used in Boeing plants assembling B-52 bombers. For a time, Louden was Fairfield’s largest employer and earned a reputation as the “Cadillac of the Industrial World.”

Imagine a farm so famous that it raised world-champion draft horses and housed what was once called the world's largest horse, Louis d’Or. The historic Maasdam Barns in Fairfield, Iowa, preserve the story of early 20th-century agriculture, local innovation, and the people who helped power America's farming industry. Explore the barns to see unique barn architecture, Louden agricultural inventions that changed agriculture for the future. Combining power horses and the genius behind Louden industry farmers could dream bigger than ever before.

Fun Facts:

• From 1910 to 1938, the farm was one of the region's leading draft-horse breeding operations. Maasdam raised Belgian and Percheron horses that were sold throughout the United States.

• In 2001, the farm was threatened with demolition when land was acquired for the Highway 34 bypass project. Local citizens worked with the Iowa Department of Transportation to save the historic section containing the barns.

• Jacob Maasdam and his business partner, veterinarian Edward Wheeler, specialized in importing elite draft horses from Europe to improve American farm horse bloodlines. They focused on bringing horses over from Belgium, and France.

• Wheeler himself would travel to Europe to hand select horses to bring back to the farm. The horses would then travel via boat arriving in new york, then put on a train to Fairfield, the horses were removed from the train at the Depot which is now Howard park and walked down Main street to the farm.

Before women could vote or hold public office, Mehitable Woods was making a lasting impact on American history. During the Civil War, she devoted herself to supporting Union soldiers, organizing supplies, visiting battlefields, and caring for the wounded.

Who was Mehitable Woods?

Mehitable E. Woods was an important historical figure in Fairfield and became known for her bravery and humanitarian work during the American Civil War. She moved to Fairfield in 1839, and quickly became part of the growing frontier community. During the war, Woods organized and delivered large amounts of food, clothing, and medical supplies to wounded Iowa soldiers in hospitals and battle areas throughout the South. She made several dangerous trips through war zones and was deeply respected by the soldiers she helped, many of whom called her “Mother Woods” or “Auntie Woods.” Because of her service, Iowa Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood reportedly honored her with the title of Major.

Fun Facts:

• Iowa governor Samuel J. Kirkwood commissioned her as a Major, for her humanitarian efforts

• she was widowed three times by the start of the civil war, and divorced once

• Known as "Mother/Aunty Woods" for her dedication to Union soldiers.

• She took nine major supply trips

Parsons College was once a key institution in Fairfield that gained constant attention for its unconventional approaches to education. Under President William M. Burke, the school expanded rapidly during the 1950s and early 1960s, but by the 1970s, the college lost its accreditation and closed, leaving behind a lasting story of rise and collapse in Fairfield’s history.

Fun Facts:

• Parsons became nationally famous as a "second chance college," welcoming students who had struggled academically or been rejected by other schools.

• Football games often began with a parachutist landing on the 50-yard line, one of the school's most memorable traditions.

• By the late 1960s, Parsons had accumulated approximately $14 million in debt, and losses were reportedly increasing by around $100,000 every month.

Before city streets were lined with electric lights, Fairfield looked to the future. Its towering electric light tower stood as a beacon on the prairie, symbolizing innovation, progress, and a community eager to embrace new ideas at a time when electricity was still a marvel to much of the nation.

Fun Facts:

• Fairfield added an electric light tower in 1882, building started in 1876. 

• Approximately 185 feet tall, among the tallest structures in Iowa at the time. Three years later it fell down (no one was injured) and they rebuilt it 175ft tall.

• One of the earliest examples of municipal electric lighting in the United States.

• The tower had 12 carbon rods creating an arc lamp to generate electricity and light.

• Young kids used to be pulled up to the top each day to replace the carbon rods in a small swing

• 201 types of birds hit the tower and die at impact. There was a couple that would document the birds seen dead and remove them from the square.

What began on a six-acre fairground in Fairfield would grow into one of Iowa’s most beloved traditions.

On October 25, 1854, thousands of visitors traveled by wagon, horseback, and on foot to a six-acre fairground near what is now the corner of Fourth Street and Grimes Avenue. For just 25 cents they entered the very first Iowa State Fair. Between 7,000 and 8,000 people attended that first year, an astonishing number for a young state with fewer than a decade of statehood. The event was such a success that attendance climbed to 12,000 the following year.

Visitors did not find grandstands or exhibition halls. Instead, they explored livestock displays, produce exhibits, horse races, and demonstrations of agricultural innovation. The fair celebrated the skills and products that built Iowa, while also providing entertainment and friendly competition for families across the state.

The fair became an important part of Iowa history, and in 1925 a marker was placed near the original grounds to commemorate where it all began. Nearly a century later, in 1954, Fairfield celebrated the fair's 100th anniversary with festivities that included what was reported to be the largest square dance in southeast Iowa, drawing nearly 5,000 participants.

Fun Facts:

• The governor of Iowa was presented with a 360-pound wheel of cheese—about the size of a wagon wheel. History carefully recorded the gift but forgot one important detail: What on earth do you do with 360 pounds of cheese?

• During a women's horseback riding competition, the official prize was a gold watch worth $100. Although the judges chose another rider as the winner, the crowd thought 13-year-old Eliza Jane Hodges deserved the honor. Spectators collected money on the spot and awarded her prizes of their own.

• Fairfield still preserves a shoe believed to have been lost in the mud during the first Iowa State Fair. With thousands of visitors, dirt roads, and October weather, it's not hard to imagine how it happened.

The Underground Railroad has always been a powerful and controversial portion of American history. Fairfield, Iowa, in particular, served as a place of shelter and support for terrified victims; this act of courage and quiet push for freedom has formed the idea that even hidden efforts may have influenced many stories across the nation during this time period.

Fun Facts:

• Christian Byrkit, the face of this stop, was a young boy during this time period, who described helping freedom seekers move throughout the Fairfield and Pleasant Plain area, giving historians a rare eyewitness account of how the Underground Railroad actually operated in Jefferson County.

• James and Nancy Yancey, formerly enslaved people who settled in Fairfield in 1857, became respected members of the community and are remembered for helping others seeking freedom.

• Quaker communities near Fairfield and Pleasant Plain were among the strongest anti-slavery groups in southeastern Iowa and often became safe stopping points for freedom seekers.

What began as a young farmer’s struggle to keep up with the physical demands of farm work led to innovations that transformed farming across the nation. After illness left him unable to perform heavy labor, William Louden devoted himself to creating better tools for farmers, earning 118 patents and building a company whose inventions transformed barns, improved efficiency, and carried Fairfield’s name around the world.

Fun Facts:

• If you walked into a barn in the late 1800s or early 1900s, chances are you'd see the name “Louden” stamped right on almost every piece of equipment. William Louden took pride in his inventions, and his name became a symbol of quality for farmers across the country. And even today, if you look around Fairfield, you can still find his name on some of the buildings.

• William Louden's inventions didn't stay on the farm. His overhead crane and material-handling systems were adopted by factories, including those in the growing automobile industry. The same ideas that helped farmers move hay also helped manufacturers like Henry Ford move materials more efficiently on the factory floor.

• Louden was awarded 118 patents during his lifetime and applied for about 200. What started with a hay carrier patent in 1867 eventually led to crane systems used in World War I manufacturing, Boeing's B-52 assembly plants, and even NASA's Apollo space program.

• William Louden was brilliant at inventing things, but when it came to running a business, he basically said, “I’ll build it, you handle everything else.” So when the Louden Machinery Company was formed, he made his brother, R.B. Louden, the president while he stuck to inventing. It turned out to be a pretty good deal: William got to keep creating genius ideas, and his brother made sure the company didn’t accidentally fall apart while he did it.