Hometown Perry, Iowa is the vision of Perry native Roberta Green Ahmanson. "If you don't know where you come from, you don't know who you are," says Ahmanson, who, with her husband Howard, has an abiding interest in how communities are formed and sustained. The Ahmansons have been exploring their roots since 1993, the same year they purchased the Hotel Pattee in Perry.  

In their personal search the Ahmansons discovered that we are all immigrants, and that there is much to learn in how and why immigrants came to small towns, what they built and treasured in their new home, and the continuing impact of their legacy. To tell these stories is the essence of Hometown Perry, Iowa.

The museum is designed by Aram Mardirosian of the Virginia-based Potomac Group, architects and planners specializing in museums, interpretive centers, visitor centers, and parks. Among Mardirosian's many commissions are The Museum of Westward Expansion in St. Louis, Mo., and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson.

Hometown Perry, Iowa is a collection of the personal stories and memories of area residents. Many stories are illustrated in the museum's more than 13,000 photographs, one of the largest collections of images of a small Midwestern town. In collaboration with the College of Design at Iowa State University, Hometown Perry, Iowa has developed "Pathways," a state-of-the-art database of all its stories and visual images.

The stories flow from the waves of immigrants who came to settle Perry. The influx began more than 100 years ago and is still in process with the settlement of new immigrants:  Latinos, Sudanese, and Vietnamese. The stories focus on how these immigrants came with their own cultures, blended together, and learned to live with one another. The stories reveal five themes – education, work, faith, family, and loss – which formed the foundation of small-town life. The themes serve as the cornerstones for Hometown Perry, Iowa.