Wallace Game Farm

[Escolastico Hall]

Opendaily, self-guided tours of the Wallace Farm are available any time of the day or evening. During the winter, the historic site is typically staffed Monday-Friday in the morning unless evening events are scheduled. During the summer, staff are usually on site during the day Monday-Friday. Free will donations are accepted.

The farmhouse is an example of common early 20th century rural homes throughout Iowa. Often a one-story home would serve the farm family for a few years until the farm was established, then the two-story addition would be built. Currently the house serves as the gift shop.

Vegetables and fruit grown on the farm are used for locally-sourced meals and program refreshments at both the Wallace Farm and the Wallace House. In addition, the fresh produce is sold through wholesale sales and occasional on-site sales. The Farm produces 8 to 10 different kinds of fruits and 30 to 40 varieties of vegetables from its eight working acres.

Located west of the Gathering Barn, this nine acres of former pasture was renovated to Iowa prairie in 1996 and reconstructed in 2007 to incorporate additional native grasses and forbes. Currently, about 20 grasses and 120 forbes result in an ever-changing vista.

In 1996, more than 100 members of the Iowa Land Improvement Contractors Association volunteered their time to construct this 1.5 acre pond along with three grassed waterways and a terrace. The Wallace Farm was selected as a field day location because Henry A. Wallace, while U.S. Secretary of Agriculture during the 1930s, brought the idea of soil conservation to the forefront of agricultural practices. He was a very vocal advocate for constructing terraces and ponds, contour farming and reforestation.

99 Counties works with regenerative farmers to offer the highest quality, best tasting, and most nutrient-dense food available. Everything we offer comes from farmers within 200 miles of our headquarters in Keystone, Iowa!

Pick your plan, choose your protein, and decide your frequency -we'll take care of the rest! Choose exactly what goes in, or select "Farmer's Favorites" for a handpicked selection by our Chief Farmer, Nick Wallace.

We connect you to the best, independent regenerative farmers in Iowa. All IA and Chicago orders are delivered using insulated tote bags that can be returned to us at the time of your next delivery and national orders are delivered in recyclable, eco-friendly packaging.

Wallace Farm Compost has earned a stellar reputation for outstanding results. It all began over 50 years ago and has put smiles on the faces of gardeners ever since. We have spent the last 20 years researching and developing the most consistent, premium quality, perfectly aged compost possible. As more people become dedicated to safe, organic gardening products, our nutrient rich, all natural compost products have become a high-demand solution for home gardens, lawns, commercial landscapes, golf courses, highway beautification, and parks. Our STA Certified and OMRI Listed ORGANIC Compost is produced on our family farms in Advance and Huntersville, North Carolina.

Hugging Zoo and Pony packages can be adjusted to have attendees pay per ride or an entrance fee to the hugging Zoo to lower cost. Call for an estimate on your next major event. All events are not eligible for the Vendor package. Request your Vendor package by emailing wallaces...@gmail.com and CCing te...@wallacesfarmga.com with the details.

Wallace Farm is located in northern Columbia, a rural community on the east bank of the Connecticut River. The farm property extends eastward from the river, straddling United States Route 3. The area west of the highway is in agriculture, pasture, and woodland, while the area to its east is primarily wooded, including a large sugar bush. The farmstead is located along an old alignment of US 3, between the current highway and the river. The farmstead consists of a series of connected buildings, the oldest of which is the c. 1825 main house, and a separate dairy barn. The house is a 2 1/2 story timber frame structure, that has an L shape, and exhibits Greek Revival styling. The interior was extensively restyled in the 1850s or 1860s. Attached to the main block is a series of three buildings: a carriage house and horse barn, each dating to the time of the house, and an early 20th-century garage. The farm has been in Wallace family hands since the late 18th century.[2]

Three brothers of the Wallace family were among Columbia's first settlers, arriving in 1785. Only William, the youngest of the three, remained to work the land they cleared, and he soon became one of the area's most successful farmers. At first a diversified agricultural operation, the farm became focused on dairying as its primary activity in the late 19th century, continuing until 1986, when the herd was sold off. The surviving farmstead is one of the community's best surviving examples of a connected 19th-century farmstead.[2]

Today his birthplace is home to 10 acres of vegetable gardens and fruit orchards, and 9 acres of prairie with outdoor art installations and walking trails. The farm is part of the Wallace Centers of Iowa, dedicated to the agricultural concepts promoted by Wallace of local food, sustainable agriculture, and civility. Various workshops and educational programs are conducted throughout the year.

More than 40 varieties of fruits and vegetables are grown on site for wholesale markets, and Garden for Good, a partnership with the Food Bank of Iowa, Eat Greater Des Moines and DMARC, and for locally sourced dining events at the Farm and the Wallace House, the historic Wallace family home is Des Moines. Wallace Centers of Iowa also hosts online cooking classes.

Pizza on the Prairie is held every Friday night throughout the summer with pizza cooked in an outdoor oven and made from fresh ingredients grown on site. Live music, a warm summer evening and beautiful sunsets over the prairie and Iowa countryside complete the package. Reservations are required.

The Wallace Farm grounds and Gathering Barn are available for rent for special occasions and conferences. Tours of the gardens are available as well. The walking trails are open to the public free of charge. The site also includes a gift shop and information on the Wallace family and their contribution to modern agriculture.

Visit Wallace Farm for the most delicious U-pick or We-pick blueberries you have ever had. Located 10 miles outside McMinnville, just off of Hwy 18, Wallace Farm is the perfect stop to or from the beach. Bring your kids and a picnic lunch, and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. The farm offers a great bulk price for a 2-gallon bucket of blueberries.

Roy Leon Wallace, born July 28, 1936 in Wayne County., he passed away on January 3, 2018 at his residence in Bridgeton, MO., with his family by his side. He had attained the age of eighty-one years, five months, and seven days.

Roy was born and raised on a small farm near Mill Springs, Missouri, with his parents Perry & Vina Wallace, along with seven brothers and three sisters. He attended a one-room schoolhouse on the banks of Brushy Creek through the Eighth grade. Living in a small farm house, sharing a bed with 2 or 3 brothers, getting hand-me-down clothing, playing, working and staying out of mischief was the way of life on the Wallace farm.

Around the age of 17, Roy had a small incident, "He turned over the farm tractor". Well his father Perry wasn't happy at all. After some farm ingenuity with metal pipe or post and the horses they got the old Farmall tractor back up on its wheels with only a dent to the muffler. It was not too long after that, that Roy decided it was time to leave the farm and head to St. Louis where he got his first job with Ralston Purina working with his cousin Donald Richard loading boxcars.

Roy joined the Marine Corp and was stationed at Camp Pendleton from 1956 to 1958. When Roy got a weekend leave, he spent time with his sister Mattie and her family in Santa Barbara, CA.

After he served his time in the Marine Corp, he headed back to St. Louis where he went into the carpentry trade with some of his brothers.

Going back home on weekends he met a wonderful little woman Margaret Nunley at the Fourth of July picnic in Ellsinore in 1958. They married, April 11, 1959 (she passed on October 17, 2017).

After retiring from the Carpentry trade, he became an Owner/Operator driving a dump truck hauling gravel and dirt for 5 years but that became too hard on his back. This is when his next adventure began, (As he called it) The Commodity Business" following his brother Ray and nephew Pete's footsteps. This was something good for this new retiree and he spent many years acquiring some good sale-able products, some of you sitting here today have purchased items along with a good sales pitch or story, and you may be asking yourself -- Did I pay for the item or the story?

Roy's best talent was making things run, most anything mechanical, he could take it apart, scatter it all over the garage and then put it back together, "then" listen to it run. Over the years, he had a total of 61- Cars, Trucks, Jeeps, and Tractors. He even worked with his brother Dwayne; they built a cool VW Dune Buggy, which Roy really enjoyed helping him with.

One story that has to be said about a good son-in-law riding along with his father-in-law...

In May 1987, Roy asked James if he would ride along with him to South Dakota to pick up a '47 Mercury (like the first car he owned). So they took off on that long journey. As they get into South Dakota James asked Roy if he has enough gas as it may be long distances between gas stations. Roy said hopefully. "Well", what happened? Out of Gas. So Roy tells James there should be a gas station up ahead. James puts his thumb out and spent about hour getting there and back with a couple gallons. So they took off hoping that they would make it to that station. This is where the good son-in-law comes in, "Yes", you guessed it, they ran out of gas again. So James gets his gas can and thumb out and headed up the road again.

Roy and Margaret's family would like to thank everyone for their stories and memories about Dad & Mom, which means a lot to all of us. We will miss them both so very much.

In closing, Roy had COPD and double Pneumonia, but it was a "Broken Heart" that he could not recover from.

Survivors include, two sons, Scottie Wallace and wife Cindy of Troy, MO, and Randy Wallace and wife Deneen of St. Peters, MO; two daughters, Ronda Smith and husband James of St. Charles, MO., and Tina Bean and husband Tim of St. Ann, MO; Ten Grandchildren; five great grandchildren and many relatives and friends who will mourn his passing.

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