Iowa Historical Geography

Historical geography books can help you learn about Iowa territorial, state, and county boundaries.

One source that shows changes in Iowa state boundaries is:


 * Shambaugh, Benjamin Franklin. Maps Illustrative of the Boundary History of Iowa. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah. 1976. (FHL film 989450 item 3.) This book has several maps showing state boundaries but does not have maps showing county boundaries.

A valuable bibliography concerning early settlements and territorial jurisdictions is:


 * Petersen, William John. Iowa History Reference Guide. (Cited fully in For Further Reading.)

To learn when a particular county was organized and from which county it was created, you may wish to consult:


 * Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources. 3rd ed. (Cited fully in For Further Reading.)

For historical geography books, look in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:


 * IOWA - HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY