Hwy 3 West & 9th Street S.W. -------- 119 9th Street S.W.   P.O. Box 652
Clarion, Iowa 50525 ---- Phone (515) 602-6000

  
 

 
 

Open Saturday & Sunday 2 to 4pm - Memorial Day to Labor Day
We are staffed 100% by volunteers! You MUST call ahead to be sure we have staff for mid-week tours.

  
 
Heartland Museum is located in Clarion, Iowa. Clarion is the county seat of Wright County in north central Iowa. A century of agricultural machinery is on display in the north building of the museum. The display includes over 2,000 toys on the balcony level. The downstairs has 16,000 square feet of original and restored machinery, featuring rare and unusual items. There is also an extensive collection of horse-drawn equipment and early farm items.
Midweek drop in's are welcomed-9 to 11am, 2 to 4pm -as staffing is available! Please call ahead if possible to make an appointment. 515-602-6000. We book tours all year long!

The museum address is 119 9th Street SW. The phone number is 1 (515) 602-6000.

Private Group Tours Available
 
     
 
 		  
  Opera House and Community Room  
     
 
 		  
 

Areas of Interest

  
     
 
Heartland Museum's Ag Hall


As you enter Heartland Museum's Agricultural Hall through the turn-of-the-century Prairie Farm Supply store, you are greeted with over 16,000 square feet of original and restored farm tractors and construction machinery, horse drawn wagons, carriages, sleighs and implements on two levels.  The balcony houses over 2,000 collectable toy models of all kinds in showcases for the toy enthusiast.  Below the balcony are large  rooms housing...   more
 
     
 
Alvina's Hat Parlor and Millinery Shop


Alvina’s Hat Parlor is found on a corner of the Victorian Street. It houses hats, clothing and other items belonging to Iowa Hat Lady, Alvina Sellers. Alvina was born in Clarion and created a career with her collection of over 6,000 hats. Before her death in 2003 she gave 5,636 programs with hats in 20 states.  more

See more about Alvina on her web site, IowaHatLady.com!
 
     
 
Teddy Bear Area of Interest

The Artist Teddy Bear Museum was completed June of 2005 for Clarion’s fourth Teddy Bear Reunion in the Heartland Celebration. We are currently the only teddy bear museum within the United States. All the bears on display are hand crafted by artists from around the world.
 

See more about the teddy bear area of interest.

 
     
 
Streetscapes Area of Interest

The streetscape section of the museum lets you walk through various time periods. The Victorian Street greets you with Alvina's Hat Parlor; working Music Boxes; a Hotel, Barbershop, & Bank complete with Bradberry & Bradberry wall paper and tin ceilings; dolls that date to the Civil War, and lots of interesting things in the DryGood/General Store. The 30"s Street has a wonderful Historical LIbrary featuring Frank Lloyd Wright architecture. The 50's Street invites you to a Soda Fountain, a replica of the Clarion Theater, and the Artists Teddy Bear Display.
 
     
 
Early Farming Area of Interest

Wright County was settled later than many counties in Iowa because land here was very wet and had to be tiled to be productive. New displays include a look at the tall grass prairie that flourished before European settlement; a display of early agricultural tiling when the work was done by hand; and pictures of farming with horses along with interviews of early farmers in Wright County and their family stories.
 
     
 
Wright County Historical Society & Research Library

The Wright County Historical Society maintains this Historical & Research Library which is located on the 1920s –1930s streetscapes within Heartland Museum. It is also the home of the Clarion Historical Society.
 
     
 
Heartland Gifts


Take a piece of the heartland home with you! Heartland Gifts, the souvenir shop in Heartland Museum, holds a large assortment of gift items to remind you of your visit to the home of tractors, hats and bears. The shop opened in June 2002 and has steadily increased its inventory to please visitors to the museum.
 
     
     
 

Heartland Museum Features...

  • 16,000 square feet of agricultural machinery - including 2000 toys on the balcony level, horse drawn conveyances, antique tractors and farm machinery all showcasing the rare and unusual.

  • "Iowa Hat Lady" hat parlor and millinery shop.

  • Recreated Victorian era shopping district featuring twelve shops & businesses.

  • Prairie School of Architecture Library. Home of the Clarion Historical Society, the Wright County Historical Library and a source for genealogy research.

  • Community Room - 2145 square feet carpeted room available for rent. Seats 175 comfortably. Banquets up to 100 people. Small kitchen, curtained stage. Home of Clarion Arts Council.

  • Future home of the Heartland Museum Artist Teddy Bear Display - sponsor of the annual Celebration of Boyds event.

  • Under construction - 1950's street and 1930-1940 era display areas.

  • Heartland Gifts - museum souvenir shop.

Updated 06-21-2006
 
     
     
 

 

  
  Other Information  
   
     
  Other Sites of Interest  
   
     
  Be Sure To Visit Heartland Acres!  
 
Heartland Acres Agribition Center is 120 miles to the east in Independence, Iowa.

Sitting on over eighty acres Heartland Acres is a premiere location to teach visitors the importance of agriculture and the overall impact it has on EVERYONE... even YOU.
   

 

  
 

And Don't Miss Dumont Museum!

  
 
Dumont Museum in Sigourney, Iowa is a place to reminisce about your past. Browse through a 24,000 square foot museum featuring a variety of collectibles for the entire family to enjoy:
    *Over 100 beautifully restored tractors
    *Horse drawn equipment
    *Buggies and gas engines
    *Toys, dolls, and dishes
    *Our Roy Rogers memorabilia collection

Dumont Museum is the lifetime collection of Lyle & Helen Dumont of Sigourney, Iowa. It all began in 1994 with plans being made for a large new building located south of Sigourney, near the Dumont’s home that would ultimately enclose over 24,000 square feet of space. The Dumont’s Museum was formed with the goals of safely preserving their collection for this and future generations and making it available to the general public. is a handicapped-accessible building.

   

 

  
     
 

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