Tyden Farm No. 6 Farmstead Historic District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Tyden Farm No. 6 Farmstead
Historic District |
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 Location in Iowa
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1145 300th St. |
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| Nearest city | Dougherty, Iowa |
| Area | 7.1 acres (2.9 ha) |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals |
| NRHP reference No. | 09000401 |
| Added to NRHP | June 11, 2009 |
The Tyden Farm No. 6 Farmstead Historic District is a special old farm located east of Dougherty, Iowa, in the United States. It's known as a historic district because it has many important old buildings. This farm was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. This means it's a place worth protecting because of its history.
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Exploring Tyden Farm No. 6
This historic farm has many interesting buildings and structures. When it was first recognized as a historic place, it included several important buildings. These buildings show how farms used to work a long time ago.
Farm Buildings and Structures
The main buildings on the farm include:
- The farmhouse, built in 1910, where the family lived.
- A wash house, also from around 1910, which might have been used as a summer kitchen.
- An auto garage from about 1936, for cars and trucks.
- A very large barn with a special gambrel roof, built in 1936.
- A feed shed and a machine shed, both from 1936.
- A hen house from 1940, for chickens.
- A hog house from 1941, for pigs.
There are also two unique structures:
- A drive-thru corn crib from 1936, used to store corn.
- A water tower from around 1920, which helped provide water to the farm.
The Farmhouse Style
The large farmhouse is a two-story building with a hip roof. It's a common style for farmhouses from that time. It even has an unusual wing on one side. This wing holds the main kitchen downstairs and a bedroom upstairs.
The Story of Emil Tyden
This farm was one of eight farms owned by a man named Emil Tyden. He owned farms in Floyd and Butler Counties in Iowa.
Emil's Journey to Success
Emil Tyden was born in Sweden and moved to the United States in 1882. He started working for the Union Pacific Railroad. While working there, he noticed a problem: it was hard to seal boxcars (train cars) properly. He invented a special "Tyden Self-Locking Seal." This device was tamper-proof, meaning no one could open the boxcar without leaving a sign. It could fit any boxcar lock.
Building a Farming Empire
Emil Tyden made a lot of money from his invention. He even opened a factory in Hastings, Michigan. Even though he lived in Michigan, he started buying farms in North Central Iowa in 1915. Over time, he owned almost 2,500 acres of farmland!
He hired people to manage each farm and help with the work. Emil Tyden was very modern for his time. He used new farming methods taught by Iowa State College in Ames. These methods used science and technology to grow more crops and improve farming. He kept buying and improving his farms even during tough economic times, like the 1920s and the Great Depression.
Changes at Farm No. 6
Emil Tyden bought this specific farm, Farm No. 6, in 1936 and started making many improvements. In 1941, after the harvest, he decided to lease his farms to other farmers. This meant the farmers would run the farms themselves. Emil Tyden passed away in 1951. Farm No. 6 stayed in his family until 1994.
Today, Tyden Farm No. 6 is part of the Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area. It now has farming exhibits and offers tours. This allows visitors to learn about the history of farming and Emil Tyden's innovative ideas.
