The scaffolding surrounding Iowa State’s Farm House Museum will soon come down, and the renovations to the national historic landmark should be completed before the end of September.

“The renovation is not only important to ISU but also holds significance for the nation because of its history in [agricultural] education,” said Lynette Pohlman, director of University Museums.

“Farm House is where ISU began, and the conservation is preserving our heritage.”

The landmark was the first building at the agriculture college and model farm that became ISU.

Originally, the building held a business office, library and informal classroom.

It later was used mostly as a home for faculty, Pohlman said.

Farm House opened as a museum in 1976.

The major conservation project started about five years ago when structural problems began to appear.

The house was assessed by Martin Weever, a national conservator, who budgeted the project at about $350,000, said Mary Atherly, curator of the Farm House Museum.

Funding came from a State Historical Society grant, the university and private donations, she said.

The construction included a new roof, and the front and west porch were rebuilt.

All of the stucco from the side of the building was removed, and the 130-year-old bricks that had been damaged were restructured.

“The process is very time-consuming and labor-intensive,” Atherly said. “It requires the work of talented craftsmen.”

Other additions to the museum involved restoring copper roofs and adding a walkway to allow direct access to the porch for the mobility impaired.

ISU’s archeology department also is playing an active role in the exterior conservation project.

Periodical digs are required to determine if the construction work has any impact on the ground, said Joseph Tiffany, associate professor of anthropology.

“We are looking for artifactual evidence of prior buildings and past work done around the Farm House,” he said.

Tiffany has a dig planned next week for the north side of the museum, where his crew will look for evidence of 19th-century construction.

Atherly hopes the museum will re-open by the middle of October.