June has traditionally been the month for weddings. Anyone interested in seeing turn-of-the-century wedding attire may view it at the Farm House Museum on the Iowa State campus.

From now until Aug. 29, the exhibition “Victorian Wedding Attire: Elegance of the Past” will feature 12 wedding dresses dating from 1897 to 1947 and one man’s tuxedo. The wedding garb will be displayed on mannequins on the first and second floor of the museum.

Kimberly Janes, student worker at the Farm House, said not all of the wedding dresses are white. A few of the dresses are of a darker color, so that they could be worn again. “Weddings often took place in the homes,” Janes said.

She also said that while Charles Curtis, dean of the College of Agriculture, lived in the Farm House, two of his daughters, Edith and Ruth, were married in the building in 1919 and 1925.

The heritage of the Farm House is chronicled in a new book by Mary E. Atherly titled Farm House: College Farm to University Museum.

Atherly, collections manager of Iowa State University Museums and curator of the Farm House Museum, used the university special collections and microfilm archives, handwritten minutes of trustee meetings from the 1860s, county land records and accounts from people who had lived in the house as her sources.

“My purpose,” Atherly said, ” is to show the history of how Iowa State developed.”

Many volunteers have contributed to the existence of the Farm House, by donations of land, money and the building of the house. Proceeds from the book will be used to restore to the outside of the house.

The Farm House was originally intended to the be the office and home for farm managers and workers on the college farm.

In 1860, the Farm House was a small red brick building. The original red bricks were made on the farm by hand labor and were not fired. As the bricks crumbled, the house was covered with stucco. The house now needs to have the mortar between the bricks restored and new stucco added.

The Farm House has changed its hours. Beginning June 10, the museum will be open Monday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are welcome. Tours are available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. for groups of 15 or more. For more information, call 294-3342.

The Farm House is located on Knoll Road, just north of Ross Hall.