Iowa

About Iowa

History about Iowa

* French explorers Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette are believed to be the first Europeans to visit Iowa. They described Iowa as lush, green, and fertile.
* Iowa has been home to approximately 17 different tribes. Today, only the Meskwaki tribe remains.
* The first American settlers officially moved to Iowa in June 1833. Primarily, they were families from Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri.
* Iowa became the 29th state in the union on December 28, 1846.
* The Chicago and North Western Railway reached Council Bluffs in 1867. Council Bluffs was designated the eastern terminus for the Union Pacific Railroad. The completion of five major railroads across Iowa brought major economic changes as well as travel opportunities.
* During the American Civil War, more than 75,000 Iowans participated in the war, 13,001 of whom died (mostly by disease). Iowa had a higher percentage of soldiers serve in the Civil War, per capita, than any other state in the Union, with nearly 60% of eligible males serving.
* Iowa saw a large increase in farming of beef, corn, and pork during World War I, but farmers saw economic hardships after the war. These hardships were the result of the removal of war-time farm subsidies. Total recovery did not happen until the 1940s.
* The Farm Crisis of the 1980’s saw a major decline of family farms in Iowa and around the Midwest, and it was marked by a sharp drop in the state’s rural population.
* Although Iowa’s primary industry is agriculture, it also produces refrigerators, washing machines, fountain pens, farm implements, and food products that are shipped around the world.
* Iowa is also a major producer of ethanol.

Iowa

Adair     Algona     Altoona     Amana     Ames     Ankeny     Atlantic     Bettendorf     Boone     Brooklyn     Burlington     Carroll     Carter Lake     Cedar Falls     Cedar Rapids     Centerville     Charles City     Cherokee     Clarinda     Clear Lake     Clinton     Clive     Coralville     Council Bluffs     Cresco     Creston     Davenport     Decorah     Denison     Des Moines     Dubuque     Dyersville     Eldridge     Elk Horn     Emmetsburg     Estherville     Evansdale     Fairfield     Forest City     Fort Dodge     Fort Madison     Grimes     Grinnell     Grundy Center     Humboldt     Iowa     Iowa City     Iowa Falls    Jefferson     Johnston     Keokuk     Le Claire     Le Mars     Manchester     Marion     Marshalltown     Mason City     Missouri Valley     Mount Pleasant     Muscatine     Nevada     New Hampton     Newton     Oelwein     Okoboji     Onawa     Orange City     Osage     Osceola     Oskaloosa     Ottumwa     Pella     Peosta     Red Oak     Sergeant Bluff     Shenandoah     Sioux Center     Sioux City     Spencer     Spirit Lake     Storm Lake     Story City     Stuart     Toledo     Underwood     Urbana     Urbandale     Walcott     Walnut     Washington     Waterloo     Waverly     West Des Moines     West Liberty     West Union     Williams     Williamsburg     Winterset