AN UNBLEMISHED LAND A Vast Open Prairie The land of Iowa is predominately prairie, a name of French origin, that means grassland.   Our midwest prairie was a mystery to those who first laid their eyes on it. The forest through which they had threaded and hewn their way for […]

AN UNBLEMISHED LAND The Settlers Life The first settlers that came to Iowa, chose a difficult lifestyle.   They had to find a location with accessible fuel and water. Hardin county and Clay township offered the timber and river to fulfill both. They also wanted company and the security of […]

AN UNBLEMISHED LAND Clay Township Clay township in which Steamboat Rock would lie, comprises Congressional township 88 north, of range 19 west, of the 5th principal meridian.   Clay township was organized in October, 1855, and the first election was held in what would be Steamboat Rock. The first officers: […]

AN UNBLEMISHED LAND Hardin County Hardin county was created by an act of the General Assembly approved January 15, 1851.   At the time the entire northwestern portion of the state of Iowa was a wild open prairie. What is now Hardin county had less than a dozen families living […]

AN UNBLEMISHED LAND Obtaining Land The government of the United States was essentially financed for about 50 years of its existence by the sale of public lands. In concept the idea was simple enough; the federal government owned the land–the individual pioneers wanted it and were willing to pay the […]

AN UNBLEMISHED LAND A Territory and a State Prior to 1763, the entire continent of North America was divided between France, England, Spain, and Russia. France held the portion known as the “Province of Louisiana,” which included the present state of Iowa. In 1763, France gave up her share of […]

AN UNBLEMISHED LAND First Steps of the White Man About a hundred miles south of the mouth of the Wisconsin, they observed on the western shore what appeared to be a human footpath. Leaving their companions to guard their canoes, and supplies the leaders disembarked unarmed. Following the path for […]

AN UNBLEMISHED LAND White Men Find Iowa Soon after the discovery of America white men had learned about the Lower Mississippi. But for more than a century and a half the white men’s knowledge of the Upper Mississippi was little more than a rumor.   The French came to Canada […]

THE EXTREME BORDER OF CIVILIZATION The Sac & Fox Arrive in Iowa The Sacs and Fox moved into the conquered territory and also crossed the Mississippi, and into what is now Iowa. In Iowa the Sac and Fox disputed possession of eastern Iowa with the Sioux, and once again the […]

THE EXTREME BORDER OF CIVILIZATION How The Indians Got Here The Indian that lived in the area surrounding what is now Hardin county, were of the Algonkian group, primarily the Sac and Fox tribes. The Algonkians came to Iowa from the East having first inhabited the regions of the St. […]