Updated: 6/6/2019 
Granger House Victorian Museum
Marion, Iowa
Description

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Granger House Museum is the only fully-restored, middle-class family home in southeastern Iowa. Occupied by a single family for nearly 100 years, the house contains many of its original furnishings and is arranged to reflect the lifestyle of a successful, late 19th-century middle-class family. Behind the home is an 1879 brick carriage house which contains a variety of artifacts revealing the occupant's involvement with Morgan horses, dairying, and farming.

We are a Blue Star Museum.

Mission

Our mission is to preserve, protect, and promote the history of Marion and to assure that this legacy is passed on to future generations.

History

Earl and Dora Granger moved into the house in 1873, and they or their children lived here until 1969. They were not famous nor wealthy; they were a fairly average middle-class family, the sort with which many Americans today would probably identify. Earl Granger was, in the language of the 19th century, a self-made man who operated a slaughterhouse and was a partner in a meat market. His wife, Dora, was a German immigrant whose primary responsibility was to raise morally upright children while making her husband look good by creating a beautiful, well-appointed home. They patterned their lives along the social expectations created by other members of the middle-class, and tried to instill these same ideals in their children.

The experiences of the Granger family are not much different than those of their neighbors or even other middle-class families across the Midwest. To learn more about their story and how others like them influenced the creation of today's Middle Class, plan to visit the Granger House Museum at your earliest convenience. We'll be expecting you!

Artifact Collections

The Granger House has an extensive collection of 19th-century furnishings, household objects, and textiles as well as agricultural tools, horse tack, buggies, and a sleigh. Family heirlooms, furniture, farming equipment, photos, personal items dating back to the 1860s.

Research Collections

Family papers, including diaries, personal letters, bills, children's homework, etc.

Programs

We offer a variety of diverse programs and events for the community at large.

We also offer tours tailored to students of any level, as well as to those with intellectual disabilities.

The volunteers of the Granger House are always excited to work with area educators! Whether short, child-focused visits for 1st and 2nd-graders, or in-depth, specialized tours for older students, we offer age-appropriate tours of the museum tailored to your needs, and can modify them to fit your schedule. Drop us an email or give us a call to learn how we can best meet your social studies, history, or decorative arts needs.

Governance

The Granger House Victorian Museum is owned and operated by the Marion Historical Museum Inc, and is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation.

Services
When planning your visit, please consider the following:

Do allow up to an hour for regular tours. We try to tailor tours to your interests, time constraints, and reduce the length of our tours when young children are involved;

When scheduling group tours, please allow a minimum of 48 hrs advance notice;

Group Tours
Hours of Operation

Private tours and group tours may be arranged

Sunday1 PM - 4 PM
Saturday1 PM - 4 PM

Granger House is closed on New Year's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve.

DISCLAIMER
This information, including business hours, addresses and contact information is provided for general reference purposes only. No representation is made or warranty is given as to its content or the reliability thereof. User assumes all risk of use. Stories USA, Inc. and its content suppliers assume no responsibility for any loss or delay resulting from such use. Please call ahead to verify the dates, the location and directions.

MUSEUM CONFERENCES

April 27 - April 29, 2025

Oregon Museum Association 2025 Conference

TBA

Independence, Oregon

Beginning in 2025, the OMA annual conference will be held in Spring rather than Fall

The conference this year is all about trying new things. We are hoping to organize the conference into the following four tracks: Collections Care, Leadership, Emergency Preparedness, and Tourism

Check our website for more details in early 2025

The OMA newsletter is emailed every month with updates on OMA events, museum news, other events, trainings, jobs, grants and more for the museum community in Oregon.

For more information, please email connect@oregonmuseums.org.

October 1 - October 4, 2025

Western Museums Association’s (WMA) 2025 Annual Meeting

TBA

Reno, Nevada

Save the Date for WMA 202

As we celebrate our 90th anniversary, join us to build relationships and soar higher than ever before. With the theme of ELEVATE, WMA 2025 will explore ways to lift up the experiences of cultural professionals and the communities they serve.

In Reno, Nevada, 4,400 feet above sea level, we will forward the progress of museums by looking to the future.

May 6 - May 9, 2025

2025 American Alliance of Museums (AAM) ANNUAL MEETING & MUSEUMEXPO

Los Angeles Convention Center

Los Angeles, California

AAM 2025 will focus on the theme, Museums & Trust.

Museums have long inspired high levels of public trust, surpassing news outlets, government organizations, researchers and scientists, corporations, and social media platforms. This consistent finding underscores our institutions’ unique position in society as stewards of knowledge, culture, science, and history—areas where credibility and reliability are paramount

In an era marked by mistrust and misinformation, museums have a rare ability to counterbalance the proliferation of false narratives and polarized perspectives. Using our trusted position, we can cultivate a more healthy, empathetic, and informed society.

But to do so, we must maintain our credibility proactively, embracing thoughtful, transparent, and collaborative practices that will defend against influences like bias, resource challenges, abuse of power, and social injustice

An Incredible MuseumExpo

AAM is again partnering this year with the Museum Store Association to host an incredible combined expo hall. Find the most innovative services, products, and solutions in the museum field. With 350 exhibitors, you are bound to find the right partner for your museum’s current challenges and opportunities.

May 5 - May 9, 2025

Museum Store Association FORWARD 2025 in LA

The Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Join MSA in LA

We’re excited about our next MSA FORWARD Conference & Expo in “The City of Angels” – Los Angeles, California in conjunction with the American Alliance of Museums

Join the Museum Store Association (MSA) and hundreds of nonprofit retail professionals for the 70th Annual MSA FORWARD Retail Conference & Expo, taking place May 5-9, 2025 at The Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California

Once again, MSA FORWARD will be held in conjunction with the 2025 American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Annual Meeting & Expo

Learn best practices and new ideas for store merchandising, operations, marketing, and sale

Participate in dedicated networking events and create connections that will inspire new ideas

Meet with over 200 MSA vendors about your product needs

Hear from knowledgeable industry experts during session breakouts and keynote presentations

Network with AAM attendees and exhibitor

September 10 - September 13, 2025

2025 Am Assoc for State and Local History Annual Conference

TBD

Cincinnati, Ohio

The 2025 AASLH Annual Conference, in partnership with Ohio Local History Alliance, will take place as the history field makes the final preparations to kickoff off the 250th commemoration of the founding of the United States.

The 2025 conference theme, inspired by AASLH’s Making History at 250: The Field Guide for Semiquincentennial, is an opportunity to broadly explore one of the guide’s themes, The American Experiment. For many in the American colonies in 1776, independence from Britain represented a “leap into the dark” into an unknown future

We are excited for you to join us in Cincinnati as we encourage discussion about our democracy and civic institutions and how they can help strengthen understanding, inspire action, and reveal ways that all of us can participate in and shape the ongoing American experiment.

For more information, please call 615-320-3203 or email info@aaslh.org.

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