My Biz: Ushering in historic perspective at Ushers Ferry

Most people know that owning an older home comes with fixer-upper challenges.

Few people, however, would be willing to take on the challenges of owning 20 older homes.

As site supervisor at Ushers Ferry Historic Village in Cedar Rapids, Teresa White has the pleasure (and often challenge) of making sure that the model historic village is kept in shape for tourists.

'Owning 20 old houses is definitely a challenge,” said White. 'A lot of time, energy and money go into keeping all of our structures safe and looking nice.”

White's favorite house on the property, the lawyer house, is undergoing renovations and will be open to the public for the annual Thanksgiving Candlelight tour.

Ushers Ferry Historic Village is a long-standing cultural attraction operated by the City of Cedar Rapids. Opened in 1973, the 10-acre site features homes, a parsonage and church, print shop, saloon, hotel, blacksmith shop and school to name a few - meant to transport visitors to the experience of visiting a small Iowa town at the turn of the 20th century.

The site gets its name from the Usher family who operated a ferry across the Cedar River in the 1830s, White said. The land was part of the Usher family's timber claim and their home is one of the structures that tourists can explore on self-guided tours when the grounds are open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

White has worked for the City of Cedar Rapids for the past 34 years, serving in her current role at Ushers Ferry since 2007. She said much of her time has been spent dealing with rebuilding.

'Most of my job has been flood recovery,” she said noting that Ushers Ferry was heavily impacted by the flood of 2008. She and her team - two other full time employees and a handful of seasonal staff - have worked in the years since to restore the buildings on site and develop new programs to engage the public.

'It's important to get people out here to see the possibilities,” said White who spends a good amount of her time developing partnerships with other organizations and businesses. 'This is a peaceful, beautiful place where you can also learn so much. But it's not just a bunch of old buildings.”

Last year, Ushers Ferry added a new lodge building to serve as event space for Ushers Ferry programs. It also is available for the public to rent for events like business meetings, retreats or weddings.

White said people are often surprised at the huge variety of events and programs offered at Ushers Ferry - from American Girl doll tea parties to Huck Finn or zombie survival camps. 'It's nice to have Ushers Ferry back and see so many great programs going on. It's an active village again.”

White said she hopes that people continue to come out and discovery the possibilities for community building. 'Ushers Ferry is so unique and has so much to offer people. It's fun to watch people come out here and make memories.”

l Know a company in business for more than a year that would make an ideal My Biz? Contact Francie Williamson at francie.williamson@thegazette.com