# History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century/3/16

​ IN the State in which the per cent. of illiteracy is so small as in Iowa inquiry is naturally made as to the causes of this comparatively high grade of intelligence being found so far from the acknowledgedcenters of culture. One reason may be found in the fact that the pioneers of this section were largely from the New England and Middle States where the standard of intelligence has always been of a high order. These men and women being largely dependent upon their own resources, often engaged in school teaching as the means to the study of a profession. This made a class of teachers rarely equaled in intelligence and enthusiasm. Another cause of the low per cent of illiteracy in our State may be traced to the men who enacted the early laws and secured the grant of public lands for the support of free schools. This early care in legislation enabled Iowa to build up a school system of which her citizens may be justly proud.
Glancing back to Territorial times we find Governor Lucas a champion of higher education, recommending in a message to the Legislative Assembly the adoption of the township system as a basis of school organization. The office of Superintendent of Public Instruction was established in 1841 and William Reynolds of Iowa City was the first to occupy the position. The following year the office was abolished and previous to 1846 Iowa had no definite free-school system owing to the rigid economy necessary in the pioneer period, leaving no money for school taxes, rather than to indifference or willful neglect of the people.
The Constitution under which the State was admitted as well as the first General Assembly dealt with the ​subject of education with earnestness and from 1846 to 1856 there was a constant movement towards more and better free schools.
Governor Hempstead in his message of 1852, says:
“The first great object of public schools should be to place within the reach of every child in the State the opportunity of acquiring those indispensable elements of education which shall fit him for the enlightened discharge of social and civil duties to which he may be called.”
Professor L. F. Parker tells us that when Iowa became a State it contained 20,000 persons of school age and one hundred schoolhouses valued at one hundred thirty-five dollars each. During the decade from 1846 to 1856, over 1,300 schoolhouses were built, valued at $266,000; while 2,153 ungraded schools were established and 2,500 teachers were employed of which more than one-half were men.
In his message of 1854, Governor Grimes says:
“The State should see to it that the elements of education, like the elements of universal nature are about, around and beneath all.”
He continues:
“The statistics of the penitentiaries and almhouses throughout the country abundantly show that education is the best preventive of pauperism and crime. Education, too, is the great equalizer of human conditions. Every consideration of duty and policy compels us to sustain the common schools of the State in the highest possible efficiency.”
The first Superintendent of Public Instruction after Iowa became a State, James Harlan, was succeeded by Thomas H. Benton who laid the foundation for our magnificent school system. Although the report of the Commission on revision of school laws in 1856, consisting of Horace Mann, Amos Dean and F. E. Bissell was not adopted, it had great influence in shaping our school policy; the rate bill disappeared and the schools became free ​to the children of every citizen of the State. In 1858 a law was passed providing for county high schools and permitting, by vote of two-thirds of the members of a school board, the introduction of studies other than English. In 1862 the school board of any district was authorized to establish graded or union schools and to employ a suitable person to superintend them. The Constitution authorized the courses in collegiate and scientific departments to begin where the high schools terminated.
In 1866 we find 5,900 schoolhouses in the State with 9,343 teachers of which but twenty-eight per cent. were men. This small number of men engaged in teaching was doubtless due in large part to the Civil War which had just closed; but it is a noteworthy fact that women henceforth formed a large majority of the teachers. During the ten years then passed, salaries had increased from fourteen dollars and a half a month for men and eight for women, to thirty-four for men and twenty-four dollars for women. There were 5,000 schoolhouses valued at $2,900,000 with an enrollment of 242,000 pupils.
In the decade following, the schools increased to 9,859, or nearly seventy-five per cent., and 399,000 pupils were enrolled. The schoolhouses were valued at $9,376,000, and the school year averaged six and one-half months.
Ten years later, in 1886, there were 24,828 schools, 24,700 teachers, not quite one-fourth of whom were men; pupils numbered 481,000 and the school year had been lengthened to more than seven months. The State now expended $6,000,000 on schools and the 12,444 school buildings were valued at $11,560,000.
The Twenty-sixth General Assembly made a most important addition to the laws governing education when it passed an act making it possible for the schools to procure free text books. The laws provide that the books be purchased by the school districts “on petition of one-third or more of the legal voters in said district.” Each district was authorized to buy books and make new or renew ​old contracts once in five years. This act enables many to attend school who have heretofore been deprived of that privilege and is proving popular, as over one-half of the counties had availed themselves of the benefits of the law at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. teachers employed in the public schools and the school year had been extended to eight months; 543,652 pupils were in attendance at 13,686 schoolhouses valued at $15,867,425.
An act of the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, making education compulsory “from the ages of seven to fourteen inclusive, for all children in proper physical condition,” places Iowa in rank with the most progressive of the States and fulfills the promise of her pioneer educators.
After tracing thus briefly the growth of the public school system in Iowa, we turn with interest to the institutions for higher education, the State University, State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts and the State Normal School. In addition to these there are a number of denominational colleges, each occupying a field peculiarly its own. Foremost among these stands Iowa College at Grinnell, a worthy representative of the Congregational Church and a college which has given to Iowa high rank in the educational world. The Methodists support five educational institutions of which Cornell College at Mt. Vernon is the best known. Coe College at Cedar Rapids is one of the foremost Presbyterian schools, while Penn College at Oskaloosa, the Friends regard as their special educational institution of the northwest. Des Moines College, among the Baptists, and Drake University, among the Christians, are regarded as among their leading colleges in this section. Griswold College at Davenport, Luther College at Ducorah and Western College at Toledo are representatives of the Episcopal, Lutheran and United Brethren denominations.
LIBERAL ARTS BUILDING, STATE UNIVERSITY
CLOSE HALL, STATE UNIVERSITY
THE STATE UNIVERSITY
The doors of the University were thrown open for the first time in March, 1855, and seventy-five students were found to be in attendance. An act of the General Assembly, approved in 1847, had directed the establishment of such an institution at Iowa City, but for various reasons the school was not formally opened until eight years later. For several years the institution led a precarious existence, as in 1857 the University proper was closed upon the recommendation of Chancellor Dean because of lack of funds and suitable buildings; the Normal Department continued its work. On September 19th, 1860, the institution was formally opened and from this time the real organization of the University may be said to date. The catalogue of 1860-1 shows one hundred and seventy-two students, of whom but nineteen were of collegiate rank, and eight professors. Until 1867 elementary English branches were taught, and in 1879 all preparatory instruction was abolished. The Normal and Collegiate departments were consolidated in 1873. In 1868 the Law the Medical Department was organized with fifteen students; in 1877 the Homeopathic Medical Department was established with eighteen students; in 1882 a Dental Department with fifteen students, and in 1885 the Pharmaceutical Department with fourteen students. Since 1860 the faculty has grown from eight to one hundred sixty-five in 1902; and the attendance in the Collegiate Department from nineteen to 1,512. One small building accommodated the institution in 1855, while in 1902 the buildings numbered eighteen, exclusive of two in process of erection. The library of the University in 1900 contained 58,000 volumes, while eleven laboratories, several hospitals and museums add to the equipment of the various departments. Close Hall, built through the efforts of the Christian associations, furnishes gymnasium, reading rooms, ​and baths. In connection with the chairs of English, Latin, German, History, Political Science, Philosophy and Pedagogy are excellent seminaries which furnish facilities for advanced study and original work. Moot courts prepare the law students for actual practice. The collegiate department offers four general courses of study, classical, philosophical, general scientific and letters; two technical courses, civil and electrical engineering; also special courses under direction of the faculty. The last biennial period brought the University an income of $402,000, the sources of which were State and National endowments and private bequests. The value of the buildings, furniture and grounds amounts to something like $653,000. The total number of graduates since the organization of the institution is 6,130. The University has been fortunate in the election of regents whose aim has invariably been the highest good of the institution, each instructor being free to teach the truth unbiased by religious creed or party expediency. The spirit of the University is broad and distinctly cosmopolitan.
The organic act of this institution provided for the establishment of an “Agricultural College on a model farm to be connected with the entire agricultural interests of the State.” The proceeds of five sections of land granted by Congress for the erection of Capitol buildings were diverted to the College, as well as “the proceeds from all other lands granted, or to be granted by Congress to the State for purposes contemplated by this act.” The sum of $10,000 was appropriated for the purchase of a farm of not less than six hundred and forty acres. This farm was located in Story County. Certain branches relating to agriculture, horticulture and forestry were required to be taught as well as those relating to mechanic arts.
An act of Congress in 1862 making a grant of lands to
IOWA STATE COLLEGE, Agricultural Hall
IOWA STATE COLLEGE, Engineering Hall
​the several States and Territories for the support of colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts, was accepted by the extra session of the General Assembly in September upon the conditions and under the restrictions contained acres which were selected within the limits of the State. Appropriations were made for the erection of a central building, which in the fall of 1868 was so far completed that a preliminary term was held, continuing through the winter. On the 17th of March, 1869, the first regular term began with a president and seven professors and instructors and one hundred and seventy-three students, thirty-seven of whom were girls. Fifty-five counties were represented by students.
For two years after the organization the departments the former was divided into courses in Agriculture, Horticulture and Pomology; while the Department of Mechanics was divided into Mechanical, Civil and Mining Engineering, and a course in Architecture was added. In 1870 Botany, Physics and English Literature were added; in 1872 Veterinary Science, and in 1874 Zoology and Entomology; in 1876 Domestic Economy. The work in agriculture has been greatly differentiated in late years until there may be found professors and instructors in Dairying, Animal Husbandry, Agronomy, Soil Physics and Farm Mechanics. The course in Mining Engineering was soon discontinued, but reestablished in 1891. The course in Electrical Engineering was introduced in 1890. Of the one hundred and seventy-three in attendance at the opening, twenty-six graduated in the first class, while the number of graduates in 1902 was seventy-two and the attendance reached 1,220, in 1901. The total number of graduates has been 1,162.
From the original four story building designed to accommodate every department including dormitories, located in a plat destitute of trees, has gradually developed ​sixteen buildings grouped about a campus of surprising beauty. Thirteen laboratories, machine shops, two museums and a library of 14,000 volumes facilitate the work of the students. The biennial income of the institution is about $182,000 and the value of the equipment including buildings and grounds amounts to something like $900,000.
The Iowa Experiment Station was established in accordance with act of Congress in 1887, for the purpose of aiding in acquiring and diffusing among the people useful and practical information upon subjects connected with agriculture, and to promote scientific investigations respecting the principles and application of agricultural science. The sum of $15,000, annually, was appropriated for this purpose and experimental stations established as a department of the land grant colleges. These stations are subject to regulations of the United States Department of Agriculture and are regularly inspected by officers of that Department. The results of these investigations are published quarterly and distributed free to residents of the respective States. The reports of the Iowa station have proven extremely popular throughout the entire country; the reports of some experiments having been republished in full in foreign countries. It is needless to suggest the value of such an institution in a community whose prosperity depends largely upon agriculture. To the tiller of the soil is intrusted the production of the State’s greatest wealth. By means of his larger intelligence and ability to preserve, as well as glean from forest, stream and soil, is assured increased wealth in the years to come.
STATE NORMAL SCHOOL
This institution which has for its province the special training and education of teachers, was established under an act of the Sixteenth General Assembly approved in 1876 and located at Cedar Falls. The enrollment on the
STATE NORMAL SCHOOL AT CEDAR FALLS
​opening day, September 6th of that year, was twenty-seven students, the faculty numbered five. In 1901 the enrollment was 2,017 teachers’ grade, and three hundred and fifty-six in the training school. The institution sends out annually some two hundred graduates. The total number of graduates since the organization is 1,947. The buildings formerly used for the Orphans’ Home were, by act of the General Assembly, transferred to the use of the Normal School and the institution in the beginning received a biennial appropriation of $14,500. In 1882 the Trustees discontinued graduation at the end of the second year and gave diplomas only at the end of the third or fourth years. This same year the General Assembly so far recognized the growth and needs of this institution as to appropriate $30,000 for the building of South Hall which contains library, chapel, laboratories, etc.
“The erection of this building marked an era in the history of the school; with its completion the preliminary stages were passed and the institution emerged from its experimental existence,” says Henry Sabin. In 1887 a course especially designed for high school teachers was instituted. The entire course of study was revised to make it harmonize with the law for State certificates and diplomas and a course for college graduates was established. In 1888, by act of the General Assembly, the Superintendent of Public Instruction was made president and member ex-officio of the Board of Directors. On a campus dotted with beautiful trees stand the four large school buildings interspersed with residences of the faculty and smaller buildings. The value of the entire equipment, buildings, furniture and grounds is estimated at $321,342.00. While the income resulting from the levy of one-tenth mill tax provided for by the Twenty-ninth General Assembly will bring the building fund up to $300,000 insuring great improvements. The income of the biennial period ending with June, 1902, amounted to $242,800.
THE PENITENTIARIES
The first State institution provided for by law was the Penitentiary at Fort Madison. By an act of the First Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Iowa, approved January 25, 1839, Governor Lucas was authorized to draw $20,000 which had been appropriated by Congress in July, 1838, for public buildings in Iowa. The directors, John Claypool and J. S. David were authorized to locate and direct the building of a penitentiary at Fort Madison. Ten acres of land were secured and Amos Ladd was appointed superintendent of the building. The cost was estimated at $55,000, for a building which was to hold one hundred and thirty-eight convicts. The main building and the warden’s house were completed in 1841. Additional buildings have been provided from time to time until the capacity of this Penitentiary has reached six hundred, supplying the requirements of the State for thirty-four years.
In 1872 the Fourteenth General Assembly passed an act providing for the building of an additional penitentiary at Anamosa, where fifteen acres of ground were donated by the citizens. A building four hundred thirty-four feet front by three hundred deep, containing four hundred ninety-six cells was erected. Workshops, warden’s house, dining room, kitchen and laundry were constructed from stone quarried near the buildings, largely by the labor of convicts.
COLLEGE FOR THE BLIND
The College for the Blind was established in April, 1853, at Iowa City. In July, 1862, it was removed to the new building erected at Vinton. A competent oculist was employed and a liberal system of education adopted for this class of the unfortunate, many of them becoming self-supporting after leaving the institution. In 1890 the Twenty-third General Assembly passed an act providing ​for an Industrial Home for the Blind, and the Commissioners appointed by the Governor located the institution at Knoxville. The building was completed and opened for inmates by January 1st, 1892. The object of the institution is to instruct the adult blind in some suitable trade or profession and to furnish a home for such as desire employment therein. Each inmate works at that occupation for which he is specially fitted receiving reasonable wages for the same.
HOSPITALS FOR THE INSANE
A Hospital for the Insane was established at Mt. Pleasant by act of the Fifth General Assembly in 1855. An appropriation of $44,425 was made for the purchase of grounds and the erection of buildings. The institution was opened March 6th, 1861.
The second Hospital for the Insane was provided for by act of the Twelfth General Assembly and was located at Independence. E. G. Morgan, Maturin L. Fisher and George W. Bemis were the Commissioners who superintended the erection of the buildings. Three hundred and twenty acres of land were donated to the State and beautiful and substantial buildings were completed and rapidly filled with inmates.
In 1884 a third Hospital for the Insane was required and the Twentieth General Assembly made an appropriation of $150,000 for the erection of the necessary buildings. J. D. M. Hamilton, E. J. Hartshorn and George B. Van Saun were appointed Commissioners to select a location in the southwestern portion of the State, purchase a site of not less than three hundred twenty acres and procure plans, specifications and estimates upon the cottage system. Clarinda was chosen as the location and the corner-stone of the structure was laid on the 4th of July, 1885. The buildings were completed ready for the reception of inmates in December, 1888; the capacity being two ​hundred fifty and the cost of the structure $237,564.79. The Twenty-fifth General Assembly in 1894 passed an act providing for a fourth Hospital for the Insane to be located at Cherokee and the following persons were appointed a Board of Commissioners to adopt plans, secure the ground and erect the buildings: H. A. Gilman, Gershom H. Hill, Frank C. Hoyt, Jed Lake, Ed. Wright and William G. Kent. This board carried on the work until the creation of a Board of Control, which took charge of the construction of the buildings. This institution was completed in 1901.
DEAF AND DUMB ASYLUM
An institution was provided for the deaf and dumb by act of the Fifth General Assembly in 1855, which was located at Iowa City and was under the supervision of a board of seven trustees. W. E. Ijams was chosen principal. In 1866, by act of the Eleventh General Assembly, the institution was removed to Council Bluffs. One hundred and sixty acres of land were secured near the city, where, in 1870, a central building was erected. Additions have been made from time to time and instruction given to the inmates by a competent corps of teachers.
FEEBLE MINDED ASYLUM
An institution for the care and instruction of the feeble minded was provided for by act of the Sixteenth General Assembly. A board of three trustees was chosen and Dr. W. E. Robertson was elected Superintendent. The buildings, formerly occupied by a branch of the Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home, at Glenwood, were refitted and in 1876 the institution was there opened. Children between the ages of five and eighteen years of age, residents of the State, who, deficient in intellect, are unable to acquire an education m the regular schools, are entitled to receive training free in this institution.
REFORM AND INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS
In 1868 the Twelfth General Assembly passed an act for the establishment of the Iowa Reform School. The trustees leased a building at Salem, in Henry County, where a school was opened for the reception of pupils. The Fourteenth General Assembly made an appropriation for suitable buildings which were located at Eldora. In 1879 the buildings and grounds of Mitchellville Seminary were purchased for the girls’ department, which had been established. The Twentieth General Assembly changed the name of these institutions to the State Industrial Schools. The design of the schools is the reception and reformation of juvenile offenders of law, by a systematic course of moral and physical training, under such restraint as may be necessary.
SOLDIERS’ ORPHANS’ HOME
The Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home was organized by patriotic citizens of Iowa, in October, 1863, for the support and education of orphan children of soldiers of the Civil War. The institution was opened in 1864 by leasing a building in Van Buren County where, on the 13th of July, it was ready for the reception of children. It was supported by private contributions until 1866, when the Eleventh General Assembly provided a special fund for its maintenance and the institution was removed to Davenport.
SOLDIERS’ HOME
The Twenty-first General Assembly established the Iowa Soldiers’ Home by making an appropriation of $75,000 for grounds and buildings and $25,000 for maintenance. The institution was located at Marshalltown where suitable buildings were erected and the home opened November 30th, 1887. It was the design of the ​General Assembly to provide a comfortable home for all honorably discharged soldiers and sailors who served in the army or navy of the United States and were disabled by disease, wounds or otherwise. Applicants for admission, unless having served in an Iowa regiment, or accredited to the State, must have resided in Iowa three years preceding application for admission.
BOARD OF CONTROL
The Board of Control of the State institutions, created by act of the Twenty-seventh General Assembly, has full power to govern and manage, subject to the provisions of law, the following State institutions: the Soldiers’ Home, the four Hospitals for the Insane, College for the Blind, Industrial Home for the Blind, School for the Deaf and Dumb, the Industrial Schools, the Institution for the Feeble Minded, and the Penitentiaries. The Board of Control is required to investigate and report upon the management of the Regents of the State University, the Trustees of the Iowa State College and of the State Normal School. This supervisory Board was organized April 6th, 1898, and took charge of the institutions first named and from that time the offices of various trustees and commissioners heretofore in charge of them, ceased to exist. The funds in charge of the various treasurers were turned over to the State Treasurer July 1st, 1898. The members of the Board of Control visit and inspect the several institutions at least twice each year and one member visits and inspects the Hospitals for the Insane monthly.
STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The Sixth General Assembly in January, 1857, passed an act making an annual appropriation of two hundred fifty dollars to be expended in collecting and preserving charts, books, pamphlets, maps, manuscript, papers and ​other documents, to rescue from oblivion the memory of its pioneers and collect and preserve the history of Indian tribes. With this as a nucleus, several public spirited citizens organized the State Historical Society at Iowa City. A quarterly historical magazine was established named the Annals of Iowa, in which were published valuable articles relating to the early history of the State. Old files of newspapers, rare old pamphlets, maps and articles illustrating pioneer life in Iowa were collected for preservation. Among the most active promoters of this society were Theodore S. Parvin, Samuel Storrs Howe, Willard Barrows and President Oliver M. Spencer of the State University. In March, 1860, the appropriation was increased to five hundred dollars annually. The publication of the Annals of Iowa was suspended in 1874 but was revived by S. S. Howe in 1882 and continued until the close of 1884. In January, 1885, The Historical Record was established, devoted to Iowa history and biography. The State Historical Society has removed its valuable collection to one of the buildings of the University. In recent years more liberal appropriations have been made by the Legislature enabling the Society to enlarge its scope of usefulness, and issue in place of the Record the Iowa Journal of History and Politics, a quarterly publication of the highest class, ably conducted by Dr. B. F. Shambaugh, Professor of Political Science in the State University.
GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC
The first steps taken for the organization of this fraternal association of Union soldiers, who had participated in the Civil War, were upon suggestion of Dr. Benjamin F. Stephenson, surgeon of the Fourteenth Illinois Infantry. He, in conjunction with the chaplain of that regiment, W. J. Rutlege, met at Springfield, Illinois, in March, 1866, and prepared a ritual for the association. On the 6th of ​April the first Post of the Grand Army of the Republic was organized at Decatur, Illinois. A district organization was also made and officers chosen. The Constitution of the order made provision for precinct Posts, District, State and National organizations.
The National organization was to be known as “The Grand Army of the Republic,” the officers to be a Commander, Adjutant-General and Quartermaster-General. The purpose of the organization was stated in the “Declaration of Principles” to be as follows:
“The soldiers of the Volunteer Army of the United States, during the Rebellion of 1861-5, actuated by the impulses and convictions of patriotism and eternal right, and combined in the strong bands of fellowship and unity by the toils, the dangers and the victories of a long and vigorously waged war, feel themselves called upon to declare in definite form of words and in determined coöperative action those principles and rules which should guide the earnest patriot and the enlightened freeman and the Christian citizen in his course of action; and to agree upon those plans and laws which should govern them in a united and systematic working method with which, in some measure, shall be effected the preservation of the grand results of the war, the fruits of their labor and toil, so as to benefit the deserving and worthy.”
The first National Convention of the order was held at Indianapolis, Indiana, on the 20th of November, 1866, and a National Encampment was held at Philadelphia, January 16th, 1868.
The local Posts are numbered and named for some locality, battle, or deceased loyal person, usually a Union soldier or sailor. There are State organizations called Departments. The motto of the order is “Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty.” It is the custom of members of the local Posts to visit the cemeteries on Memorial Day and decorate the graves of their fallen comrades. The original purpose of the organization was to emphasize, by mutual assent, the principles of Union and National honor to which its members had given devoted adherence in the field. Each Post is required to establish a relief fund for ​the assistance of needy comrades and the wives and families of those deceased who may need aid.
No person who at any time has borne arms against the United States is eligible to membership. But at occasional gatherings where Union and Confederate veterans have assembled there has always been manifest the soldierly magnanimity due a worthy foe. As the years pass by the feeling of fraternity between those who wore the blue and the gray has grown and the late War with Spain almost obliterated the last remnant of antagonism of the period of the Civil War.
The first Commander-in-Chief of the National organization was General Stephen A. Hurlbut of Illinois.
In the fall of 1865 an organization of veterans of the Union Army was made in Davenport, Iowa, under the name of the “Old Soldiers’ Association of Scott County,” of which General Addison H. Sanders was chosen president, and Captain N. N. Tyner, secretary. The Association was merged into the Grand Army of the Republic as Post No. 1, Davenport Department of Iowa.
In July, 1866, General Sanders visited Dr. Stephenson at Springfield, was instructed in the work of the order, provided with the ritual and constitution and authorized to organize Posts. A charter was issued, dated July 12th, 1866, by Dr. Stephenson, commanding the Department of Illinois, to General A. H. Sanders, Colonel R. M. Littler, General J. B. Leake, Lieutenant O. S. McNeil, Captain N. N. Tyner, Lieutenant-Colonel T. J. Saunders, A. P. Alexander, Captain A. T. Andreas, Captain J. G. Cavendish and J. W. Moore. A meeting was held in Davenport, July 24th, 1866, to organize the Post and a provisional department was formed with General Sanders as Commander. On the 26th of September a meeting of representatives of Posts was held at Davenport where a permanent department was organized. Ninety-five Posts had been organized in the State at the time of the Second Encampment, April 10th, 1867.
​For some reason the order ceased to prosper in Iowa and, in 1870, there were not more than five hundred members and the State Department was dissolved. But after a few years the interest revived and made steady gains in membership until in 1902 the number of Posts was five hundred seventeen.
IOWA STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
At a meeting of the Jefferson County Agricultural Society held at Fairfield, October 13th, 1853, C. W. Slagle offered the following resolution:
“Resolved, That the officers of this society be instructed to take immediate steps to effect the organization of a State Agricultural Society, and that the officers use their influence to have said society hold its first annual exhibition at Fairfield in October, 1854.”
The resolution was adopted, and the officers, who were P. L. Huyett, president; Caleb Baldwin, vice-president, and J. M. Shaffer, secretary, made a report at a meeting of the Board of Directors held November 26th, in which they stated that a conference of representatives of county Agricultural Societies had been called to meet at Fairfield December 28th, to organize a State Society. Representatives of five counties met at the time and place designated and a committee of one from each society reported a plan of organization.
The name chosen was the Iowa State Agricultural Society and its object was stated to be the promotion of agriculture, horticulture, manufactures, mechanics, and household arts. A constitution and by-laws were adopted and the following officers chosen: president, Thomas W. Clagett of Lee County; vice-president, D. P. Inskeep of Wapello; recording secretary, J. M. Shaffer of Jefferson; corresponding secretary, C. W. Slagle of Jefferson; treasurer, W. B. Chamberlain of Des Moines County.
It was decided to hold the first fair at Fairfield, on the ​25th of October, 1854. A committee was appointed to memorialize the General Assembly for pecuniary aid. In February the president, Judge Clagett, issued an address to the farmers, mechanics and others to become members of the society and coöperate in holding the First Annual Fair. Among the active members of the society were James W. Grimes, James F. Wilson, T. S. Parvin, Thomas H. Benton and Lauren Dewey.
The First Annual Fair was largely attended and was successful in every respect. Not less than 8,000 visitors came from every settled portion of the State. When it is remembered that there were no railroads in the State at that time and the population was but 326,500—that first fair was a remarkable success, having no State aid. The premiums paid amounted to about $1,000. Aid to the society was finally given by acts of the General Assembly and for the following decade the receipts averaged $2,680 per year and the premiums paid during the same period averaged $2,026 per annum. For the second decade from 1864 to 1873 the receipts averaged $11,612, and the premiums paid averaged $5,240. The third decade, from 1874 to 1883, the receipts had increased to $26,418 and the premiums to $11,292. The fourth decade, from 1884 to 1893, the average receipts had advanced to $44,067, and the premiums to $21,055. The Annual Fairs were for twenty-four years held in various cities of the State; but since 1878, have been held continuously at Des Moines where the State owns permanent grounds and buildings. In 1894 the grounds embraced an area of two hundred sixty-six acres while the buildings and improvements had cost about $180,000. From time to time the General Assembly has made appropriations to aid the society, in addition to its various revenues.
After forty years of work and growth the State Agricultural Society ceased to exist and was succeeded by a Department of Agriculture established in 1900, by act of the Twenty-eighth General Assembly.
​The Department was created for the promotion of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, animal industry, manufactures and domestic arts; and embraces the district and county agricultural societies, the State weather and crop service and the offices of the Dairy Commissioner and the State Veterinarian. It is managed by the State Board of Agriculture, of which the Governor, President of the State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, Dairy Commissioner and State Veterinarian are ex-officio members. An annual convention is held at the Capitol on the second Wednesday of December which elects officers and may hold a State Farmers’ Institute for discussion of topics relating to the various branches of agriculture. It also has control of the State Fairs and every agricultural interest of the State. A Year Book of Agriculture is published annually and distributed as provided by law.
IOWA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY
In May, 1866, Mark Miller, editor of the Iowa Homestead, issued a call in that weekly agricultural journal for a meeting of persons interested in fruit growing, forestry and gardening to meet at Iowa City on the 26th of June for the purpose of organizing a State association for the promotion of horticulture. Twenty-eight persons assembled at the time and organized the Iowa State Horticultural Society. A constitution was framed and the following officers were chosen to serve one year: President, Dr. James Weed of Muscatine; vice-president, D. W. Kauffman of Des Moines; secretary, Mark Miller of Des Moines; treasurer, David Leonard of Burlington. A board of eight directors was chosen, a corresponding committee of twenty appointed, and the first annual exhibition fixed for the period from the 18th to the 21st of the following September at Burlington, in connection with the Fair of the State Agricultural Society. The object of the society was stated to be “the promotion and encouragement
IOWA HALL OF HISTORY, (West wing completed).
​of horticulture and arboriculture by collection and dissemination of correct information concerning the cultivation of such fruits, flowers and trees as are adapted to the soil and climate of Iowa.” From that time forward the society has held annual meetings and exhibitions of fruits and its transactions, published by the State, embracing the experience of the leading fruit growers and horticulturists of Iowa and many other States, make up a library of valuable information on these subjects nowhere excelled. The General Assembly has recognized the value of its work by making appropriations to aid in paying the current expenses of the society. Rooms in the State House are furnished for the use of the officers, and safe keeping of the library and other property.
THE HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT
This department was created by act of the Twenty-fourth General Assembly in 1892. The first step in this direction was taken by the previous Legislature in providing for collections of historical materials relating to Iowa. The later act made a liberal appropriation for the Historical Department to be expended largely in securing records, data and objects relating to Iowa and the territory of which it originally formed a part. The Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth General Assemblies made appropriations for the erection of a section of the Hall of History, on lots northeast of the State House grounds. The laying of the corner-stone was an occasion of unusual interest; both because of the importance of the department and the large number of distinguished Iowans who participated in the ceremonies, among them were Hon. Theodore S. Parvin, Rev. William Salter, Hon. A. B. F. Hildreth, Hon. James Harlan and Hon. John A. Kasson, the latter of whom delivered the principal address. He called attention to the fact that “the Historical Department for which the State is providing a home, will be an ​important auxiliary to the development of the higher education of our future citizens.” He further says:
“We have a right to expect in the development of Iowa a truthful, sensible and incorruptible journalism and a literature which gives more strength to the mind than agitation to the nerves. Every township should have its modest library of well chosen volumes of history, biography, travel, popular science and healthy romance for the winter evenings and leisure hours of farm life.”
The beautiful fire-proof building contains a library of more than 10,500 volumes of books and pamphlets, while the bound volumes of newspapers number 2,704. A museum occupies a considerable portion of the building and is of interest to thousands of visitors. The private autograph collection of Charles Aldrich, the founder of the department, is one of the largest and most complete in the country and is of great value. It contains autographs, photographs and manuscripts as well as historical documents of noted persons and events from all parts of the world. The building also contains a spacious and well lighted art gallery adorned with portraits of noted men and women of Iowa. This room is also the meeting place of the Pioneer Lawmakers’ Association of Iowa, as well as many gatherings of State interest.
THE PIONEER LAWMAKERS’ ASSOCIATION
This Association had its origin in a reunion of the early lawmakers of Iowa which assembled at Des Moines on the 24th of February, 1886. The gathering was one of the most notable in the history of the State. Nearly one hundred of the early lawmakers of more than a quarter of a century before, met and held a session of two days, in which many valuable historical addresses were made by former public officials who were instrumental in laying the foundations of the Territory and State of Iowa; who enacted its first laws and framed its several Constitutions. A reception ​was tendered the members by Governor Larrabee, assisted by Governors Gear and Sherman, Lieutenant-Governor Hull and Speaker Head and other State officers and members of the Twenty-first General Assembly. Four years later the early lawmakers again assembled at Des Moines and organized a permanent society known as “The Pioneer Lawmakers’ Association of Iowa.” The objects of the organization were to coöperate with all persons and societies engaged in the collection and preservation of the early history of Iowa and biography of its public men of that period. All State officials, including Federal officers, from Iowa and members of all lawmaking bodies who served twenty-five years or more previous to any biennial meeting of the Association became eligible to membership. The General Assembly recognizing the semi-official character of the Association and the value of the work in which it was engaged, provided by law for the publication of the official proceedings and historical contributions and addresses of its sessions. The published proceedings of the several sessions of the Association now make more than nine hundred pages of valuable contributions to Iowa history. The regular sessions are held biennially at Des Moines on the second Wednesday in February during the regular sessions of the General Assembly.
STATISTICS FROM THE CENSUS
The first enumeration of the population of the region embraced in Iowa, was made under an act of Congress creating the Territory of Wisconsin in 1836. A similar census was taken in 1838 by authority of Congress when Iowa was organized into a Territory; and both of these enumerations were confined to counting of the people. In 1840 the sixth Federal census was taken and was the first in which inquiries were made as to the productions of the country. This gives us the first official report of a few of the principal agricultural products of the new Territory. ​From time to time the inquiries have been enlarged until the census of 1900 gives a vast amount of valuable information as to the population of towns, cities, country, education, productions of almost every description and a variety of subjects which make a very comprehensive history of the people and their industries at the close of the Nineteenth Century.
The steady progress of Iowa in population and development can be seen by giving a few of the general items from the successive Federal enumerations during the period which has elapsed since Iowa has had civil government extended over its domain.
The first teams of the immigrants were mostly oxen and the increase of these animals up to 1860 shows the period of the greatest amount of breaking up of the wild prairies which, in those years, was largely done by teams, usually consisting of from three to six yoke of oxen to one plow. Oxen for many years also made the teams for drawing produce to market, as well as for cultivating the soil. The last enumeration of oxen we find in the census, is in 1895, when in all of Iowa but four hundred and sixty of the slow, patient and reliable cattle teams survived.
FEDERAL CENSUS STATISTICS
| Year. | Population. | No. of Dwellings. | Horses. | Oxen. | Mules. |
| 1836 | 10,531 | | | | |
| 1838 | 22,859 | | | | |
| 1840 | 43,112 | | 10,794 | | |
| 1846 | 102,388 | | | | |
| 1850 | 192,214 | | 38,536 | 21,992 | 754 |
| 1856 | 517,875 | | | | |
| 1860 | 674,913 | 59,629 | 175,088 | 56,964 | 5,734 |
| 1865 | 756,209 | 114,351 | 316,702 | 37,717 | |
| 1870 | 1,194,020 | 219,846 | 433,642 | 22,058 | 25,485 |
| 1875 | 1,350,544 | 221,568 | 698,205 | 12,712 | |
| 1880 | 1,624,615 | 301,507 | 792,322 | 2,506 | 44,424 |
| 1885 | 1,753,980 | 345,404 | 843,667 | 6,769 | |
| 1890 | 1,911,896 | 379,318 | 1,312,079 | 2,367 | 41,648 |
| 1895 | 2,058,069 | 441,063 | 1,383,302 | 460 | |
| 1900 | 2,231,853 | | 1,392,573 | | 57,579 |
AN IOWA PRAIRIE FARM.
FARM STATISTICS
| Year. | Number of Farms. | Value of Farms. | Average Size in Acres. |
| 1850 | 14,805 | $16,657,567 | 185 |
| 1860 | 61,163 | 119,899,547 | 165 |
| 1870 | 116,292 | 392,662,441 | 133 |
| 1880 | 185,351 | 567,430,227 | 133 |
| 1890 | 201,903 | 857,581,022 | 151 |
| 1900 | 228,622 | 1,497,554,790 | 151 |
FARM PRODUCTS AND LIVE STOCK
| Year. | Value of Live Stock. | No. of Hogs. | Tons of Hay. | Butter Produced. lbs. |
| 1840 | No Report. |
| 1850 | $3,689,275 | 323,247 | 89,055 | 2,171,188 |
| 1860 | 22,476,293 | 934,820 | 813,173 | 11,953,666 |
| 1870 | 32,987,133 | 1,153,908 | 1,777,339 | 27,512,179 |
| 1880 | 124,715,103 | 6,034,316 | 3,613,941 | 55,481,958 |
| 1890 | 206,436,242 | 8,266,779 | 7,264,700 | 72,893,079 |
| 1900 | 278,830,096 | 9,723,791 | 6,851,771 | 61,789,288 |
| | Bushels of Corn. | Bu. of Wheat. | Bu. of Oats. | Bu. of Potatoes |
| 1840 | 1,406,241 | 154,693 | 216,385 | 234,063 |
| 1850 | 8,656,799 | 1,530,581 | 1,524,345 | 276,120 |
| 1860 | 42,410,686 | 8,449,403 | 5,887,645 | 2,806,720 |
| 1870 | 68,935,065 | 29,435,692 | 21,005,142 | 5,914,620 |
| 1880 | 275,024,247 | 31,154,205 | 50,610,591 | 9,962,537 |
| 1890 | 313,130,782 | 18,249,786 | 146,679,289 | 18,068,311 |
| 1900 | 383,453,190 | 22,769,440 | 168,364,170 | 17,305,919 |
At the close of the Nineteenth Century we find that almost the entire area of the State had been inclosed in farms and was either under cultivation or utilized for pasture or hay land. Of the 35,504,000 acres of land in the entire State 34,574,337 acres are reported in farms, leaving but 929,443 acres out of more than 35,500,000 yet to be brought into farms. Oxen as teams seem to have disappeared as too slow for the age of rapid travel and transportation. The log school houses have also passed away with the log cabins of the early settlers and the entire system of farming and living has been revolutionized.
​In the early years when the land was new, an impression widely prevailed that fruit raising in Iowa and the prairie country generally in this latitude would never be successful north of the central portion of the State and even below that line would never become profitable. It was almost the universal opinion for many years, after the first prairie farms were brought under cultivation, that Iowa would for all time be obliged to depend largely for its fruit supply upon the eastern States. But as the years passed, pioneer fruit growers and nurserymen, in various portions of the State, began a series of experiments to determine what, if any, fruits could be successfully grown in Iowa. They persevered in their endeavors, undismayed by costly failures, until they demonstrated that many varieties of the different fruits grown in this latitude in the eastern and middle States could be successfully grown in Iowa. To James Weed of Muscatine, D. W. Kauffman and James Smith of Des Moines, D. W. Adams of Waukon, W. W. Beebe and Mark Miller of Dubuque, James Mathews of Knoxville, David Leonard of Burlington, J. L. Budd of Shellsburg and others, the people of Iowa are largely indebted for the practical demonstration, in early days, that a large variety of fruits could be grown with reasonable safety and moderate profit in a majority of the counties of the State.
We find in the census of 1900, that there were 6,869,588 apple trees in the orchards of the State which the year before produced 3,129,862 bushels of apples; 1,302,217 plum trees, 791,327 cherry trees, 516,145 peach trees and 104,046 pear trees. The total value of orchard fruits had reached $1,849,767; while the value of small fruit, raisins and wine amounted to $1,044,807.
Every county is permeated with lines of railroad, telegraph and telephone lines and rural mail routes are distributing daily mails widely throughout the country districts. Nine thousand three hundred and thirty-six miles of completed railroad were reported by the Commissioners ​in the first year of the Twentieth Century, with many in process of construction.
Electric lines are reaching out from the chief cities into country districts and through the smaller towns, affording rapid and cheap transit of passengers from country to village and city by many cars daily.
Manufactures are assuming formidable proportions numbering nearly 15,000 establishments in which is invested capital to the amount of $102,733,103. The number of persons finding employment in them reaches more than 56,000, whose aggregate yearly earnings amount to $23,391,680. They pay out, for material, annually more than $100,000,000; while the value of their product reaches more than $164,000,000.
There are in the State seven hundred and two flouring mills; nine hundred and seven butter, cheese and milk factories; three hundred and twenty-nine lumber working factories, including saw mills; ten hundred and twenty-five printing and publishing houses; nine hundred and ten newspapers and periodicals and two hundred and four public libraries.
The value of milk, butter and cheese produced in the State was $27,516,870; value of eggs, $10,016,707; and of poultry, $9,491,819.
Coal is mined in the following counties: Adams, Appanoose, Boone, Dallas, Davis, Greene, Jasper, Jefferson, Keokuk, Lucas, Mahaska, Marion, Monroe, Page, Polk, Scott, Story, Taylor, Van Buren, Wapello, Warren, Wayne, Webster.
Clay is manufactured into brick or tile or both in all but the following counties: Allamakee, Buchanan, Butler, Carroll, Cedar, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Clarke, Franklin, Greene, Grundy, Hancock, Howard, Humboldt, Ida, Jackson, Kossuth, Lucas, Madison, Mitchell, Pocahontas, Sac and Warren.
Gypsum is found only in Webster. It is sold for about five dollars per ton ordinarily but when competition is ​sharp has been sold as low as $3.50 per ton. About seventy-five per cent. of the product of the mills is sold for plaster purposes and the total product for 1901 was about 125,000 tons.
The lead and zinc is all produced in the counties of Dubuque and Allamakee. The amount of zinc produced in 1901 was three hundred and fifty tons and of lead ore the product was 13,800 tons.
The only county producing iron ore is Allamakee. The only body of ore thus far developed is at Iron Hill, the highest point in the county which rises to a height of two hundred feet above the water level of the Oneota River, three miles northeast of Waukon.
Iowa in 1901, ranked eighth as a clay producer among the States of the Union. The number of tons of coal mined in 1901 was 5,663,016, sold at an average price of one dollar and forty-two cents per ton. The average number of men employed was 13,032; and Iowa ranked ninth in tonnage and sixth in the value of coal produced in the United States in the year 1900.
| Clay products used for making brick and tile valued at | $2,774,200 |
| Stone quarried, lime manufactured | 781,756 |
| Gypsum | 562,500 |
| Lead and Zinc | 16,500 |
| Iron ore | 4,876 |
| The number of producers were of |
| Coal | 242 |
| Clay | 349 |
| Stone | 229 |
| Gypsum | 7 |
| Lead and Zinc | 10 |
| Iron ore | 1 |