Iowa History

United States &gt; Iowa &gt; Iowa History

Local history books for Iowa’s counties, cities, and towns contain biographical and historical information. Some have information on families back to the 1600s. The information about individuals may include age, birth date, birthplace, county origins and boundaries, death information, divorce, ethnicity, historical background, immigration date, names of living relatives, wife’s maiden name, marriage information, naturalization information, occupation, parents’ names, childrens’ names, names of other family members, place of previous residence, religion, and information about social activities.

Timeline
The following important events in the history of Iowa affected political jurisdictions, record-keeping, and family movements.


 * 1673: French explorers, Jolliet and Marquette, were in the region of Iowa.
 * 1762: The land was ceded to Spain.
 * 1788: The first white settlement (for lead mining) was established in Iowa, but it was abandoned in 1810.
 * 1800: The land was returned to France.
 * 1803: The United States acquired the area from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase.
 * 1803–32: The Iowa area remained Indian land and was not open to legal settlement.
 * 1808: Fort Madison was built by the United States Army. Iowa’s area was included in the Illinois Territory in 1808 and in the Missouri Territory in 1812 through 1821. It was not under any territorial government from 1821 to 1834.
 * 1830: Potawatomi Indians ceded land
 * 1831: Sauk and Fox Indian tribes moved to Iowa from Illinois.
 * 1832: The Black Hawk War took place.
 * 1833: The first permanent white settlements were made in eastern Iowa. Between 1833 and 1851 a series of treaties extinguished Indian claims to the land.
 * 1834: Congress attached the area to the Michigan Territory.
 * 1834: Half Breed Tract
 * 1836: Iowa was transferred to the Wisconsin Territory.
 * 1836: Keokuk Indian Reserve
 * 1838: (June 12,) The Iowa Territory was established. It included all of present-day Iowa, Minnesota, and parts of North and South Dakota.
 * 1846: Potawatomi Indians ceded land
 * 1846: (December 28,) Iowa, with its present boundaries, became a.
 * 1850–60: The population of Iowa nearly tripled as immigrants poured in from the older midwestern states and Europe.
 * 1857: (March) Spirit Lake Massacre, Dickinson County, Iowa
 * 1851: (July 28,) Indians turned over all their land in Iowa and most of their territory in Minnesota.
 * 1861–65: Over 75,000 Iowans served in the Union armed forces during the War.
 * 1867: The first railroad was built from the Mississippi River to Council Bluffs.
 * 1873: Iowa, known as the Hawkeye State and the Corn Capital of the World
 * 1893–1930s: State experienced financial depressions.

An especially helpful history of Iowa is:

An important bibliography that mentions books and articles about every major aspect of Iowa’s history is: A bibliography of Iowa county histories is at the beginning of the following book: There is an unusual set of records dealing with Iowa’s history from 1827 to 1857:
 * History of Iowa from the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century
 * Iowa History Reference Guide
 * Biographical Index to the County Histories of Iowa
 * Territorial Papers of Iowa, 1838–1852 Many aspects of Iowa’s state, local, and family histories are treated in these records. For example: military pension applications, military academy cadet applications, court records (1827-1845), land office records, Virginia warrant scrip, muster rolls giving enlistment town or city (1837-1857), military post records listing sick, wounded, and dead, Bureau of Indian Affairs records, Indian treaties, commissions for judges, marshals, attorneys, surveyors, and postmasters.
 * Iowa history and culture : a bibliography of materials published between 1952 and 1986
 * Iowa History Reference Guide

Family History Library
To find Iowa local histories, see the Locality Search of the The Family History Library Catalog under:
 * IOWA - HISTORY
 * IOWA, [COUNTY] - HISTORY
 * IOWA, [COUNTY], [TOWN] - HISTORY

Websites

 * History of Iowa is an excellent article in the IOWA OFFICIAL REGISTER.
 * Iowa Pathways is a great way to explore Iowa with it's informative articles.