The lands that make up the Whiterock Conservancy have a long and storied history. The Garst Home Farm, the
headquarters of Whiterock Conservancy, is our most important historical site.
It was the family home of agricultural
innovator and citizen diplomat Roswell Garst.
Roswell
Garst
Roswell
and his wife, Elizabeth, culminated distinguished careers by hosting Soviet
Premier Nikita Khrushchev at their Coon Rapids, Iowa
farm during the height of the Cold War, in September
1959. This historic event during the height of the
Cold War, opened the doors to the "trade butter, not guns"
diplomacy between the Soviet Union and the United States that eventually
resulted in the open trade policies of today.
Originally 200 acres, Roswell began farming the "Apple Farm"
in 1916 with his brother Jonathan.
In 1922, Roswell brought his bride here. Except for a few years in the
late 1920's, Roswell and Elizabeth lived here until their deaths in 1977
and 1996 respectively.
Roswell was known as a agriculture innovator and a marketing
entrepreneur. Roswell always had his order book out, and understood the
fundamental importance of food, as evidenced with his often-stated
declaration: "Hungry people are dangerous people."
The Home Farm
The farm was originally a dairy farm in the 1920's, but was converted to
a swine producing farm in the 1940's. Since the 1950's, the "Home
Farm" has been the center of a large-scale cow-calf operation.
Over 100 years old, the Farm House was enlarged and remodeled many times
to accommodate the Garst's five children. Except for the bathrooms,
today's floor plan is the same as it was in 1950. 
An avid gardener, Elizabeth beautified her yard
with perennials and an annual cutting garden, in addition to growing
vegetables to feed her family. Her flower beds at the Home Farm are
still lovely.
We're not sure how old the large cottonwood tree by the drive is, but
the maple trees east of the house came on the first train to Coon Rapids
in 1885.
The ponds northwest of the house are just two of many ponds scattered
across the Garst family farms. Built for water and soil conservation,
the Garst Ponds are well stocked with catfish, bullhead, bass, and
bluegill.. Most ponds also feature either floating goose nests or wood
duck houses.
Whiterock Conservancy
Whiterock Conservancy was established in
2004. This innovative conservation project reflects the Garst family’s
evolving relationship with the land. Roswell Garst's son Stephen
continued the promotion of high-input high-yield agriculture, but was
also an active outdoorsman. He was an early supporter of erosion control
measures such as waterways and no-till farming, and was a leading force
behind a local conservation board and bike trail. He also dedicated
himself to purchasing numerous tracts of timber and pasture in the
Middle Raccoon River Valley where he hunted deer and wild turkey, and
built and stocked dozens of fishing ponds.
His daughters, who grew up picnicking on
and hunting the land, have shifted their central focus from creating
hunting habitat to promoting biodiversity and sustainability. Liz had
been running an ecotourism business (Garst Farm Resorts) from her home
on the wooded property, and was involved in slowly restoring some of
the valley’s native prairies and wetlands
Such a 5,000-acre tract of conservation
and recreation land is extremely rare in Iowa, with its history of small
family farms. So when Stephen died in 2004, his heirs unanimously
decided to donate their beloved conservation lands, extending eight
miles along the Middle Raccoon River and worth $6 million, to ensure
their long- term protection.
Principal donors are Mary Garst and her
daughters Liz and Rachel of Coon Rapids; Sarah Garst of West Des Moines,
IA; Jennifer Garst of Ames, IA and Kate Garst of Des Moines, IA.
Stephen’s sister Antonia (Garst) Lee of London, England, is also a
donor.
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