The Rural Iowa Heritage Center occupies a site that once housed Iowa’s first FFA Ag Museum and has been restored to present its original use as La Porte City’s fire station and jailhouse. An 1861 log cabin from the region was also moved to the site. Together, these structures celebrate life in the 1800s in rural Iowa. Founded in 1855, La Porte City became a bustling rural hub surrounded by a thriving agricultural region, and its earliest citizens established a legacy of perseverance, community spirit, and leadership that continues today.