Public Affairs graduate students in the School of Planning & Public Affairs will partner with the City of West Branch and other community stakeholders on a multifaceted initiative to optimize the community’s historic assets as a catalyst for economic vitality, tourism development, and enhanced quality of life for residents. 

West Branch—best known as the birthplace of President Herbert Hoover and home to a National Historic Site—possesses a wealth of cultural and historic resources that may be better leveraged to support sustainable growth, local identity, and civic pride.

The project will center on developing a strategic framework to position historic preservation and heritage tourism as integral components of West Branch’s long-range community development efforts. Students will work closely with city officials, community organizations, and state and federal partners to advance this vision through several coordinated components:

• Certified Local Government (CLG) Designation: Assist the city in pursuing CLG status through the Iowa State Historic Preservation Office, enabling access to technical assistance and funding for preservation efforts.
• Historic Preservation Plan Update: Review and update West Branch’s existing historic preservation plan to align with current best practices and community priorities.
• Comprehensive Plan Integration: Coordinate with parallel planning efforts to ensure historic preservation is meaningfully integrated into the city’s long-range comprehensive plan update.
• Community Integration of the Hoover National Historic Site: Explore strategies to better connect the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and National Park Service site with downtown West Branch and the broader community—both physically and programmatically—to enhance visibility, accessibility, and mutual benefit.
• Traveler’s Rest Preservation Campaign: Support a public awareness and preservation campaign for Traveler’s Rest, a historically significant site associated with the Underground Railroad, through research, storytelling, and stakeholder engagement.

Deliverables may include policy recommendations, draft plan updates, community engagement materials, funding strategies, and implementation tools tailored to each project component. This comprehensive, hands-on experience will provide students with a robust foundation in historic preservation policy, intergovernmental collaboration, tourism planning, and community development—while supporting West Branch’s efforts to honor its past and shape a vibrant, inclusive future.