Agriculture Secretary Exhibit Opens at the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

Date: December 3, 2007
Contact: Bonnie Blaford, [phone]
Contact: Adam Prato, [phone]

Herbert Hoover once said, “My roots are in this soil”, and for many Iowans that rings true. Being on the forefront of the farming industry, Iowa has produced not only high yields, but also agricultural framers.

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site will display the traveling exhibit “Corn Belt Leaders: Iowa’s Four Secretaries of Agriculture” at the Visitor Center through January 4. The exhibit, on loan from the Wallace House Foundation in Des Moines, Iowa, focuses on four Iowans who shaped agricultural policy as scientists, businessmen, writers, and most importantly farmers.

 Starting with James “Tama Jim” Wilson, the longest-serving Secretary of Agriculture in U.S. history from 1897 to 1913, the exhibit chronicles the major events that helped these Iowans achieve agricultural success. Also featured in the exhibit are E.T. Meredith, Henry C. Wallace, and Henry A. Wallace. Meredith, who served as Agriculture Secretary for Woodrow Wilson from 1920 to 1921, ran a family farm journal publication that evolved into one of America’s largest media companies. A former diary science professor at Iowa State University, Henry C. Wallace served as Agriculture Secretary for President Harding from1921 to 1924. His son Henry A. Wallace who became Vice President under Franklin D. Roosevelt also served as his Secretary of Agriculture from 1933 to 1940.

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum are in West Branch, Iowa at exit 254 of I-80. Both are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time. Parking is limited so please allow extra time to find a parking space.