History | 1876 History


HISTORY OF IOWA.





In writing a history of Guthrie county, a brief sketch of the State will not be out of place. The first settlement in the State of Iowa was made by a colony of miners from Prairie du Chein, under Julien Dubuque, in 1788,--one hundred and fiften years after the discovery of these shores by Marquette and Joliet.

Iowa, at the time of this settlement, was a part of the Spanish province of Louisiana.

Previous to the year 1763 and at the close of the "Old Frend War," the entire continent of North America was owned by France, Great Britain, Spain and Russia.

In 1763, Spain obtained by cession from France, the territory west of the Mississippi.

On the 1st of October, 1800, by treaty of St. Idelfonso, Spain ceded back to France, the Territory of Louisiana.

On the 30th of April, 1803, France ceded it to the United States, in consideration of the sum of $11,250,000 and the liquidation of certain claims held by citizens of the United States against France,-- the claims amounting to over $3,000,000.

March 31, 1803, the President was authorized by Congress, to take possession of the territory and provide for it, a temporary government.

October 1, 1804, this territory was divided into the "District of Louisiana" and the Territory of Orleans.

On the 4th of July, 1805, the "district" of Louisiana was organized into a "territory" of the same name.

On the 30th of April, 1812, the Territory of Orleans became a State of the Union, under the name of Louisiana.

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December 1, 1812, the Territory of Louisiana was, by authority of Congress, re-organized and called the Territory of Missouri.

July 4, 1819, Arkansas Territory was made and comprised the present State of that name and the country to the westward.

March 2, 1821, by a "joint resolution" of Congress, the State of Missouri,-- being a part of Missouri Territory,-- was admitted into the Union.

June 28, 1834, the territory north of the State of Missouri, was made a part of the Territory of Michigan.

July 3, 1836, Wisconsin Territory was taken from that of Michigan and embraced the present States of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

July 3, 1838, the Territory of Iowa was formed, including, beside the present limits of the State, what is now Minnesota and extending northward to the British line.

After several attempts to locate the boundaries of the State of Iowa, it was finally admitted, with its present limits, on the 28th day of December, 1846, making the twenty-ninth State in the Union. Thus our proud young State is but thirty years old, and we challenge any of the other States to a comparison of enterprise and progress.

When admitted into the Union, the population of Iowa was 97,588; according to the last census, it is 1,850,544.

It is situated between the 40th and 43d parellels of latitude, and east and west between the two great rivers,--the Mississippi and the Missouri. Its area is 55,045 square miles and contains 35, 228,200 acres of land. The distance across the State, east and west, is about 300 miles; north and south, over 200 miles. Its surface is about ninety per cent prairie, mostly undulating, thus giving us comparatively little "swamp land." According to White's Report, ninety-five per cent of the surface is tillable.

No State is richer in the chief wealth of the nation--Agriculture.

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But a few short years ago this was the "far west," and when it was announced by a friend or neighbor that he was going to Iowa "to live," we thought it a terribly reckless undertaking, and could only comfort ourselves by sighing sadly, "Ah, well; 'westward the star of empire takes its way'--and ever will. If they are determined to risk their lives among the savages, where the only mark of civilization is an occasional fort, or a settlement of deluded whites, we can but commend them to the tender mercies of the All-father, whose watchful eye is every over us."

To-day all is changed. Iowa is no longer "away out west,"--that region having receded to somewhere nearer sunset. The broad prairies are dotted with well cultivated and well stocked farms, and on every hand may be seen the evidence of thrift and general comfort, found only in agricultural regions. The farmer is here rewarded with abundant harvests--all the cereals yielding abundantly, while the fruits adapted to this climate and all "garden vegetables" can be grown successfully. The soil is less susceptible to the effects of drouth or extremely wet weather, than that of most other States.

"Distance lends enchantment," and we hear, with feelings of rapture, the glowing descriptions of the ever-green and exuberant loveliness of the south, or with feelings of awe of the glowing descriptions of the ever-green and exuberant loveliness of the south, or with feelings of awe of the "icy desers" of the far north. Tourists fill our imaginations with the grandeur of the mountain scenery of the west, but nowhere can be found, scenes of quiet, graceful beauty, equal to those of the prairies of Iowa. The graceful undulations of the prairie; the ever welcome groves; the clear, swiftly flowing streams, make a magnificent scene, while to add to its loveliness, the wild prairie flowers of various hues and varieties, greet us at every step; indeed so profuse are they upon the unbroken prairie, that verily, it may be said, "we tread upon a carpet of roses." With the limpid Mississippi on her eastern and the turbid Missouri on her western boundary, and traversed
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by numerous railroads; with all the resources of commerce at her command; with unlimited water power for manufactures, and nearly every acre of land available for farming or grazing, Iowa, with her live and enterprising citizens, is making rapid strides toward the front rank in the Union.

The Sacs and Foxes, when driven by the whites from one hunting ground to another, and when finally driven across the Mississippi river, as they lay down discouraged and exhausted, exclaimed, "Iowa!" "Here we rest," or "Here we sleep." Thus Iowa means a resting place, and he who would rest, not from labor, but from the turmoil and confusion of crowded towns and cities, may hers find an "Iowa."

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Transcribed by Cheryl Siebrass, September, 2024.