Ushers Ferry Historic Village is an open-air, living history museum whose mission is to interpret life in a small Iowa town at the turn of the twentieth century. To accomplish this, we believe in getting people involved in history. That is why we have many interactive, hands-on experiences. We know you and your students will find an Ushers Ferry experience to be one that will be talked about and remembered for a long time to come. Contact the village for field trip prices and availability. Contact information is at the bottom of this page.

Take a step back in time as your students become students at Cherry Valley school in an exciting and informative role playing experience. Students are provided ahead of time with names and character descriptions of the students they will represent. Then, at the school, they will experience the school day as that person. While going through a typical day, the teacher/interpreter will seamlessly weave in information and history. This is a very interactive experience that students will learn from and remember for a long time to come. This program is available to students throughout the school year. Download our School Tour Packet Here

This tour takes classes through three or four half-hour stations that can be chosen from the School house, the Usher House, Main Street, or a teacher led Games station. It is a fast paced, fun tour that will be remembered.

Your students can become the small town resident, getting ready for a long, cold Iowa winter where fresh food is totally unavailable. Find out how they kept from starving by preserving basic foods. Participate in four hands-on preservation stations that not only show how food was preserved, but teach children why we did it and the science behind it. Take the results with you to your classroom and see how they fare. This program is available throughout the school year.

This is a four station tour that takes students on a exciting journey through the world of folk tales. The program fits particularly well with the sixth grade unit of folk tales, but can be tailored to many grade levels. Stations include: Ballads and Song Stories which takes students back to the times of the bards and moves up through the ballads of the Civil War; Fairy Tales which takes a look at the versions of our well-known fairy tales that were told around the fire a hundred years ago; Legend and Tall Tales which brings out the heroes of the uniquely American Tall Tale; and Cedar Rapids Stories of the early days around Linn County. Stories feature early heroes like Judge Greene and Robert Ellis as well as a good share of local scoundrels.

This spellbinding program features a first person visit with gothic writer Edgar Alan Poe. Mr. Poe shares stories from his life as well as several of his favorite pieces. This performance brings Poe's works to life in a vivid, immediate format that will make a lasting impression on students and help them make a connection to the literature.

If you read a newspaper in 1907, one feature you had to read was Mr. Dooley's column. The Irish bartender created by Peter Finley Dunn commented on every aspect of American life from women's rights, to U.S. expansion, to race relations. His columns help us see both how popular opinion was shaped by journalism and how the average American thought at the turn of the century. This program and its post-visit activities are a must for English and journalism classes.

The staff at Ushers Ferry can work with teachers to create custom storytelling and literary programs to suit your classes needs. New programs are constantly being developed. Programs can be presented at Ushers Ferry and worked into Village tours or brought to your classroom.