Iowa State Facts & Information

Iowa, state in the northern part of the central United States. It lies in the heart of the North American continent, in the region known as the Midwest. Iowa, with its fertile prairie lands and heavily agricultural economy devoted to raising grain and livestock, is often considered the typical Midwestern state. Iowa entered the Union on December 28, 1846, as the 29th state. Des Moines is the state’s capital and largest city.

Iowa is, in large part, an efficient, large-scale production line for the nation’s food. From rich black earth to waving corn to fattened hog and steer foodstuffs, the entire process is carried out on a grand scale. Most of the corn and other grains are fed to Iowa’s hogs and cattle. Then, factories take over to pack the meat, process any grain that remains, and produce the equipment to till the soil, harvest the corn, run the farms, and process the farm products. Other factories produce goods that have little or nothing to do with agriculture, such as ball-point pens, washing machines, and office furniture. In value of annual economic production, Iowa is primarily an industrial state, but much of its industrial output remains based on farm production.

The state’s name was taken from the Iowa River, which in turn was named for the Iowa people, the Native Americans who lived in the region during early European exploration. Iowa is called the Hawkeye State. The name is believed to be a tribute to Chief Black Hawk, a leader of the Sac people who were relocated to Iowa after unsuccessful resistance to white settlement. The Official State Website is http://www.iowa.gov/

From 1671 through 1689 the Iowa region was claimed for France by Sieur Saint-Lusson, Daniel de Greysolon Sieur de Luth (Du Luth), Robert Cavalier Sieur de la Salle, and Nicolas Perrot. Several jurisdictional changes occurred in Iowa's early history. France ceded Iowa to Spain in 1762, although it was returned in 1800 preceding the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, which made it United States territory. As part of the United States, Iowa was first included in the Illinois Territory (1808) and then the Missouri Territory (1812). Migrating groups from the states began the first settlements in 1832. Before statehood was established in 1846, these settlements were included in the Michigan Territory (1834), Wisconsin Territory (1836), and finally its own territory in 1838.

Prior to 1800, Native Americans and French were the only residents of the Iowa Territory. Julien DuBuque, a French Canadian, began mining lead in 1788 near present-day Dubuque, employing some of the normally unfriendly Fox tribal members in his mines. In 1796 DuBuque received a grant of land, including the lead mines, from the Spanish governor of Louisiana. The Spanish government gave additional grants. Louis Honore Tesson obtained 6,000 acres in 1799 in the present Lee County, and Basil Giard acquired land a year later in Clayton County. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark spent time near the Missouri River in Iowa in 1804. On 23 August 1805, the explorer Zebulon Pike raised the first American flag in Iowa, flying the stars and stripes from an area now on the southern edge of Burlington. A U.S. Army detachment from St. Louis built Fort Madison in 1808. Five years later, the fort was abandoned and burned by the departing troops whose exodus was caused by Chief Black Hawk and the War of 1812.

The year 1816 included the establishment of Fort Armstrong on Rock Island. Settlers from the east arrived as early as 1820. Danish immigrants settled in Lee County in 1832. A year later settlements were established by pioneers from Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana.

With the creation of the Iowa Territory in 1838, there was a great influx of settlers. The first territorial capital was established at Burlington. The new Iowans in the 1840s included Scandinavians, Dutch, Germans, Irish, Scots, and Welsh. New Englanders arrived in 1840, Quakers in 1841, and Mormons migrated across Iowa in 1846, the year Iowa became a state. The following year immigrants from the Netherlands settled at Pella. A large number of families migrated from Ohio to Iowa in 1854. From 1850 through 1880, there was a mass migration of Germans to the state. Migration from Iowa also occurred during this period, with a large exodus to California as a result of the gold rush beginning in 1849.

The steamboat industry peaked from 1850 to 1877, while the first railroad in the state was completed in 1855. Both had significant influence on the settlement of the state. By 1860 the state population was 674,913. Ten years later it was 1,194,020.

Most of the immigrants seetling in Iowa during the latter part of the nineteenth century were from northwestern Europe. They could purchase land cheaply but found the thick prairie sod difficult to improve for farming. Because of the need for heavy equipment and cooperative drainage plans, farming was much more commercial than family-oriented. The com,merical aspect necessitated an extensive railroad network, resulting in high freight prices and a response in the form of the Grange Movement rebelling against the railroads. Financial depressions in 1873, 1893, and the 1930s greatly affected Iowa. As the twentieth century brought more efficient farming methods for mass production, many of the families who had owned farms moved to the cities. Today, farming continues to be an important aspect of the economy and exists with a sizeable number of urban industries as well as the still rural ones like the community-owned Amana Colonies.

Native American

In 1781 the wife of Peosta, a Fox warrior, reported the discovery of lead deposits in the Iowa country. Seven years later Julien Dubuque, a fur trader, obtained sanction from the Indians to work lead mines near what is now Dubuque. The following time-line of the Native Americans in Iowa will provide a guideline to their disbursement within and beyond the state.

• 1824: Half-Breed Tract established in present Lee County
• 1825: Neutral lines established between Sioux, Sac, and Fox
• 1830: Neutral ground is established between Sioux, Sac, and Fox
• 1832: Black Hawk War terminates in cession of strip of lands west of Mississippi River known as Black Hawk Purchase; Winnebago tribe is given part of neutral ground
• 1833: Title to Black Hawk Purchase is transferred to United States Government; Ottawa, Pottawattomie, and Chippewa tribes are given lands in what is now southwestern Iowa
• 1834: “Half-breeds” are given fee simple title to Half-Breed Tract by act of Congress
• 1836: Sac and Fox cede Keokuk's Reserve of the United States
• 1837: Sac and Fox cede to the United States 1,250,000 acres of land known as the second Black Hawk Purchase
• 1838: Chief Black Hawk dies at his home near the Des Moines River in Davis County
• 1842: Sac and Fox cede all remaining lands in Iowa
• 1843: Sac and Fox vacate lands east of line passing north and south through the Red Rocks of Marion County
• 1845: Sac and Fox withdraw from Iowa
• 1846: Pottawattomie relinquish lands in western Iowa
• 1848: Removal of Winnebago tribe begins
• 1851: Sioux cede lands in northern Iowa
• 1857: Spirit Lake Massacre: Sioux attack settlers and kill thirty; Small band of Sac and Fox return, permitted to buy eighty acres of land in Tama County; Members of these tribes still live on a semi-reservation north of the village of Tama
• 1862: Blockhouses erected in northwestern Iowa for protection against the Sioux

See the following for Native American research in Iowa: Rafert, Stewart. “American-Indian Genealogical Research in the Midwest: Resources and Perspectives.” National Genealogical Society Quarterly 76 (September 1988): 212–24.

African Americans

In the 1840s only slightly more than 300 blacks were living in Iowa. Free blacks were discouraged, if not totally forbidden, from migrating to the state by a ruling in April of 1839. It stated any black or “mulatto” must provide “a fair certificate of actual freedom under a seal of a judge and give bond of $500 as surety against becoming public charges” before being permitted to settle in Iowa. After 1865, however, the black population in the state tripled, most migrating from Missouri and other Mississippi and Ohio river areas. Very few histories of blacks in Iowa exist at this time. William J. Peterson's Iowa History Reference Guide (see Background Sources) lists numerous periodical articles and some books for Negro history in Iowa. The following are a brief sampling of those articles.

Bergmann, Leola Nelson. “The Negro in Iowa.” Iowa Journal of History 46 (January 1948): 3–90.
Gallaher, Ruth A. “Slavery in Iowa.” Palimpsest 28 (May 1947): 158–60.
Van Ek, Jacob. “Underground Railroad in Iowa.” Palimpsest 2 (May 1921): 129–43.

Additional suggestions for reference on Black American history in Iowa include:

Iowa Bystander, 1894–1987, Des Moines. Renamed New Iowa Bystander in 1971, this newspaper was established for the black community in Iowa in 1894 by I. W. Williamson, Billy Colson, and Jack Logan. Some years are available on microfilm.
Schweider, Dorothy, Joseph Hraba, and Elmer Schweider. Buxton: Work and Racial Equality in a Coal Mining Community. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press, 1987. Buxton, which existed as an “integrated community” coal camp in south-central Iowa during the 1900s, was referred to as “the black man's utopia in Iowa.”

Other Ethnic Groups

The following sources are valuable in gaining an understanding of various ethnic groups in Iowa from both a historical and genealogical standpoint.

• Foreman, Grant. “English Emigrants in Iowa.” Iowa Journal of History 44 (October 1946): 385–420.
• Calkin, Homer L. “The Coming of the Foreigners,” Annals of Iowa 43 (April 1962). This issue of Annals deals exclusively with foreigners including those immigrants from Germany, Scandinavia, and the United Kingdom.
• Christensen, Thomas P. “A German Forty-eighter in Iowa.” Annals of Iowa 26 (April 1945): 245–53.
• A History of Danes in Iowa. New York: Arno Press, 1979.
• Van der Zee, Jacob. The Hollanders of Iowa. Iowa City, Iowa: State Historical Society of Iowa, 1912.
• Wick, Barthinius Larson. The Amish Mennonites: A Sketch of Their Origins, and of Their Settlement in Iowa, with Their Creed in an Appendix. Iowa City, Iowa: State Historical Society, 1984.

“The Earliest Scandinavian Settlement in Iowa.” Annals of Iowa 29 (October 1948): 468–72.

Luther College, Koren Library, Decorah, Iowa 52101, holds over 20,000 Norwegian manuscripts and 1,000 volumes of Norwegian American newspapers.

• Newspapers & Periodicals - The Newspapers & Periodicals Collection lets you discover a wealth of information about your ancestors from many historical newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals. These types of sources can often supplement public records and provide information that is not recorded anywhere else. Here, you can learn more about your ancestor's possible daily activities by placing them in the context of their time.
• Directories & Member Lists - Directories and member lists are typically compilations of information about people who belonged to various associations and groups or lived within city boundaries. They can be thought of as the predecessors to the modern-day phone book and usually list names, addresses, and sometimes the occupations of your ancestors.
• Stories, Memories & Histories - Stories and histories compiled by others researching a person or area can be an amazing source of information about your ancestors. Not only do they generally contain dates and places of vital events like birth, marriage, and death, but they often relate stories and memories that help you really get to know the character of your ancestors.
• Family Trees - Ancestry has thousands of family trees shared by other members. They can help you identify how ancestors are related and give you clues about birth, marriage, and death information. Family trees are an excellent resource for filling in gaps in your research or even to simply know where to begin.
• Pictures - One of the more exciting discoveries in doing family history research is finding a photograph of your ancestors or their residence. Finding historic postcard photos and drawings of towns and important events throughout history can also give you a visual look into your ancestors lives.
• Reference Materials & Finding Aids - Reference materials, including dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other how-to books, can be tremendously helpful in finding and interpreting historical documents. Many of these books can help you learn where to look for more information and how to use what you've already found to uncover more clues.

Iowa County List

 

For some counties there are two “Date Formed” years listed. The first is the year the county was created; the second is the year it was fully organized if it differs from the creation year.

Under the heading “Parent County/ies,” the name/s listed may be the county or counties from which the respective county was formed or it may be names by which the county was originally known.

“Unorganized” in this same column denotes that it was formed from non-county lands. The county name in parentheses is the county to which the unorganized land may have been attached at that time.

Counties listed with an asterisk (*) are those in which you may also find records concerning the county listed. It may have been “attached” to those county/ies for some period of time.

Iowa county governments recorded few vital statistics earlier than 1880. Marriage record registration began in many areas with the organization of the county. It is estimated that between 1880 and 1921 only about 50 percent of the births and deaths were registered.

Birth, marriage, death, and probate records are usually found in the office of the clerk of courts at the county seat. Land transactions are in the county recorder's office.

Iowa Discontinued Counties

 

This section provides an list of Iowa counties that no longer exist. They were established by the state, provincial, or territorial government. Most of these counties were created and disbanded in the 19th century; county boundaries have changed little since 1900 in the vast majority of states.

• Bancroft County: Was created by act of the Legislature in 1851 from a portion of old Fayette and embraced the twelve northern townships of what is now Kossuth County, extending to the Minnesota line, making an area of four hundred four square miles. The county was named in honor of George Bancroft, the historian. In January, 1853, it was attached to Boone County for election, revenue and judicial purposes. In 1855 by act of the General Assembly it was made a part of Kossuth and Bancroft County ceased to exist. The county was one vast level prairie through which the east fork of the Des Moines River flowed and its lands in early times were considered too wet for profitable cultivation but in later years the soil has been found to be exceedingly productive and has been converted into fine farms of increasing value. No county-seat was established during the brief period that Bancroft had an existence and no organization of a county government was performed.
• Belknap County: Was created by act of General Assembly in 1874, embracing townships seventy-four, seventy-five, seventy-six and seventy-seven in ranges thirty-eight, thirty-nine and forty in the eastern portion of Pottawattamie County. In compliance with the Constitution of the proposition to establish this county was submitted to a vote of the electors residing in the county of Pottawattamie which it proposed to divide and at this election was rejected so that Belknap County ceased to exist. The name was given in honor of General William W. Belknap, a distinguished Iowa officer in the Civil War and afterwards Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President U.S. Grant.
• Buncombe County: Was established in 1851 and named for an officer in the War of the Revolution. It was the extreme northwestern county in the State. While bearing this name there were no permanent settlers within its limits but for eleven years it appeared on the map of Iowa as Buncombe County until at the extra session of the Ninth General Assembly in September, 1862, it was changed to Lyon.
• Cook County: Was established from territory originally embraced in Demoine County, on the 7th of December, 1836. It included a portion of Scott County and other territory not clearly defined. The county was never organized and the following year the territory was divided among other counties created by act of the legislature of December 21, 1837. The origin of the name given is not known.
• Crocker County: Was created by an act of the Legislature of 1870, embracing the northern part of Kossuth County which had at one time made the county of Bancroft. It was named for General M. M. Crocker of Iowa, a distinguished officer of the Civil War. The county-seat was located at Greenwood and the organization was completed in October, 1870, by the election of the following officers: George V. Davis, auditor; Cyrus Hawks, clerk; william Gibbon, treasurer; A.J. Garfield, recorder; J.H. Coffin, sheriff; Sarah A. Littlefield, superintendent of schools. In December, 1871, the Supreme Court of Iowa declared the act creating this county a violation of the constitution, which in article eleven declares that no new county shall be created which contains less than four hundred thirty two square miles. Crocker County ceased to exist from and after the rendition of that decision and its territory reverted to Kossuth.
• Fox County: Was created by act of the General Assembly in 1851 and named for the Fox Indians. It was attached to Polk County but never organized under that name. In January, 1853, the name was changed to Calhoun.
• Grimes County: Was created by act of the Sixteenth General Assembly in 1876, embracing twelve townships lying in ranges thirty-eight, thirty-nine and forty of Pottawattamie County. The act provided in compliance with a provision of the Constitution, that the proposition should be submitted to a vote of the electors of 1876. The division of the county was defeated at that election and the new county was never organized. It was named for Ex-Governor James W. Grimes, for many years a distinguished member of the United States Senate.
• Kishkekosh County: Was create in February, 1843, and named for a famous Fox Indian chief. It was organized in July, 1845, when E.S. Rand, Israel Kister and J.A. Galligher were appointed commissioners to locate the county-seat. They chose a site where Albia now stands, and a town was laid out named Princeton. On the 1st of August, 1846, the name of the county was changed to Monroe and the county of Kishkekosh ceased to exist.
• Risley County: Was created in 1851 and embraced the territory now constituting the county of Hamilton. It was attached to Polk and afterwards to Boone for election, revenue and judicial purposes. In the same month, by an act of the Legislature, the county of Webster was created embracing the territory of both Risley and Yell counties by which act these two ceased to exist. An act of the same session which took affect before the union of these two counties, changed the name of Risley to Webster, so that for a period of five months and nine days the former county of Risley (now Hamilton) was Webster County. This came from the fact that the act changing the name of Risley to Webster took affect upon publication January 22, 1853, while the act consolidating Yell and Risley did not become a law until the first of July following.
• Slaughter County: Was created in January, 1838, and embraced a portion of the territory now included in the counties of Louisa, Muscatine and Henry. It was named for William B. Slaughter, Secretary of the Territory of Wisconsin. The county-seat was located at Astoria where the first courts were held in 1837 by Judges Irwin and Williams. the citizens of the county were dissatisfied with the name which had been secured through the manipulations of the obscure official whose name it bore and, upon petition the Legislature relieved them by changing the boundaries of the county and naming it Washington.
• Wahkaw County: Was created in 1851 by act of the Legislature from the territory originally embrace in Benton when that county extended to the Missouri River. The bill which created this county when reported to the Senate gave the name of "Floyd" in memory of Sergeant Floyd of the Lewis and Clark expedition who died in camp in 1804 and was buried on the east side of the Missouri River south of Sioux City. The Senate passed the bill as introduced but it was amended in the House by striking out "Floyd" and inserting "Wahkaw," an Indian name. An act of the Legislature approved January 12, 1853, provided for the organization of the county and selected commissioners to locate the county-seat, the name of which should be Sergeant's Bluff. A later act of the same Legislature changed the name of the county to Woodbury, and on 22d of January, 1853, Wahkaw County ceased to exist.
• Yell County: Was created by an act of the General Assembly in 1851 and embraced all of the present territory of Webster except the north tier of congressional townships. It was named for the second Governor of Arkansas, Colonel Archibald Yell, who was killed at the Battle of Buena Vista in the Mexican War. The county had never been organized up to 1853, when by act of the Legislature it was incorporated with the new county of Webster. This county was formed by uniting the former county of Webster, which had first been named Risley, with Yell County, making thirty-two congressional townships, to which the name of Webster was given. By this act the county of Yell ceased to exist.

Iowa Burned Courthouses

 

The destruction of courthouses greatly affects genealogists in every way. No only are these historic structures torn from our lives, so are the records they housed: marriage, wills, probate, land records, and others. Once destroyed they are lost forever. Even if they have been placed on mircofilm, computers and film burn too. The most heartbreaking side of this is the fact that many of our courthouses are destroyed at the hands of arsonist. However, not all records were lost.

Below is a list of Iowa Counties and the years the Courthouses were subjected to a disaster. This does NOT mean that ALL RECORDS were lost. Often, folks took their documents again in for recording after a disaster and later deeds will contain long chains of title, etc.

• Adair County - Courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1889. Most Court Records were destroyed.
• Adams County - The Courthouse was destroyed by fire on February 1, 1888. Some early records were destroyed.
• Benton County - The Courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1853. The county records were rescued by three courageous men who were seriously burned and died from their injuries three months after the blaze.
• Buena Vista County - On January 1, 1877 the courthouse was destroyed by a fire. Most records were destroyed
• Calhoun County - The Courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1884.
• Carroll County - In 1886, this courthouse was damaged by a fire
• Cass County - In March 1932, a fire destroyed the courthouse, but the county records were saved
• Chickasaw County - The Courthouse was totally destroyed in a fire on March 26, 1880. Many irreplaceable documents were lost, but many more were saved with the help of the "Hook & Ladder Co.," and concerned citizens.
• Decatur County - The Second Courthouse was destroyed by a windstorm before it could be finished. The 3rd Courthouse was destroyed by a fire on March 31, 1874 (One book from the auditor's office and one book from the clerk's office survived). The 4th Courthouse was blown up on April 1, 1877 destroying the entire west side of the courthouse.
• Dickinson County - The Courthouse was destroyed in a fire in November of 1871, some of the county records were destroyed.
• Des Moines County - The Courthouse, along with some of the county records, was destroyed by a fire in 1873.
• Fayette County - The Courthouse burned in 1872 when a prisoner set fire to the courthouse during and escape attempt.
• Floyd County - One June 7, 1874, a terrific thunderbolt struck the courthouse (The important county records were saved). The courthouse burned down in 1881, destroying nearly all county records.
• Fremont County - The 2nd Courthouse was damaged by a gunny sack full of dynamite in 1863. In 1888, vandals poured Coal oil throughout the building and set a fire (A steel vault saved most of the records).
• Guthrie County - In 1857, in the cabin of the county clerk, a keg of gunpowder blew all the county records to pieces. This Courthouse burned to the ground on March 3, 1882 (A heroic clerk saved most of the court records). In November of 1963 courthouse was destroyed by fire (some records were destroyed).
• Hardin County - The first courthouse was destroyed that same year by in 1856.
• Harrison County - The first courthouse was destroyed in a fire in September 1854, all of the county records were destroyed.
• Howard County - The courthouse at Cresco burned down on December 1, 1876. Few records survived.
• Ida County - On January 12, 1877, the courthouse burned, along with most of the county records.
• Jones County - The courthouse built in 1848 and vacated in 1864 was destroyed by fire in 1875.
• Lee County - In 1911, fire damaged the courthouse
• Madison County - In 1875, a fire destroyed the building in less than four hours.
• Muscatine County - The courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1864 (No records were lost in the fire, as far as can be determined).
• Page County - The Courthouse and the records were destroyed in an 1858 fire.
• Ringgold County - On June 8, 1858, a cyclone blew down the courthouse and many records disappeared.
• Sac County - The Courthouse burned down in 1888.
• Story County - The courthouse was destroyed by fire on New Year's Day, 1864.
• Union County - The first courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1893.