Forest Park Museum and Arboretum was originally developed in the 1940s by Eugene Hastie, a farmer, local historian and author. The arboretum was planted in straight rows to allow farming between the rows of growing trees.
The museum is now surrounded by a 5 acre arboretum park and 12 acres of re-established prairie and wildflowers. There is a mowed walking trail that perimeters the prairie. The arboretum consists of over 100 different species of primarily native trees and shrubs.
The Forest Park complex has grown to include Hastie Hall, Baldwin Hall and the nearly completed Wagner addition. The Alton School house, which is the last one-rroom school house of Dallas County, the1860 Grabenhorst log cabin and the Bill Wagner Scale House are also part of the Forest Park Museum complex.
We consider Forest Park to be among the finest small museums in the state, exhibiting natural, cultural, and historical artifacts of central Iowa. Displays include early transportation, farm machinery, small hand tools, railroading, a blacksmith shop and much more. One of the most popular exhibits at the museum is the electric Dynamo, believed by some to be a perpetual motion machine. It was invented by Henry D. Nelson, a Redfield resident. It is the only one of it's kind known in the Central United States.
Location
Forest Park Museum
14581 K Avenue
Perry, IA 50220
515-465-3577
Forest Park Museum and the Dallas County Conservation Board Headquarters are located at the south edge of Perry, approximately 1/4 mile south of HWY 141, on the west side of "K" Avenue ("K" Aveunue north of HWY 141 is called 16th Street). Watch for brown and white arrowhead directional signs just before the junction of "K" Avenue and HWY 141.
Features
Forest Park Museum
Raccoon River Valley Trail
The Dawson to Perry section of the Raccoon Rive Valley Trail was completed in 2010. Forest Park Museum is a trailhead along the trail. It features the museum, restrooms, water, picnic tables, trail passes, maps brochures, and Dallas County information.
Operating Hours & Seasons
Forest Park is FREE to the public and open Monday - Friday: 8:00am to 4:30pm, and seasonaly, May 1 to October 31, Saturday, Sunday and Holidays 1:00 to 4:30pm. The museum is open by appointment anytime. The Arboretum hours are 8:00am to 10:00pm daily all year long. Forest Park Museum is the headquarters and administrative office for the Dallas County Conservation Board which is open Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm.