IOWA

The great natural wealth of Iowa was reported as early as 1647 by Jean Nicolet, who explored in that region.  Iowa was said to be rich in fur-bearing animals, lead and other natural resources.  The first recorded Europeans to explore Iowa were Louis Joliet, Father Jacques Marquette and a number of voyageurs who traversed from the Wisconsin River into the Mississippi around June of 1863.

Mining of lead was known to have occurred from prehistoric times.  Dubuque led was mined and smelted by Indians and French fur traders.  Pier Le Sueur reported Led mining in the Dubuque area and Nicholas Perrot excavated in mines south of the Wisconsin River.  The early lead mine were fairly well known in the 1700s and appeared on many maps of the area.

The Sauk, Meskwaki and Winnebago Indians mined lead in the 18th century.  The Indians worked the mines as a summer revenue source.  The Meskwakis earned large revenues that were used in purchasing European and American trade goods.  Throughout the 18th century, the lead mining and smelting was included in the French, British and American fur trade economy in that area.  Production continued on an industrial scale and created much of the led for bullets in the American Civil War.

Julien Dubuque, a French-Canadian businessman from Fort Michilimackinac, Michigan, was granted the use of one of the Meskwaki lead mines in 1788.  Eight years later, he applied for a Spanish Land grant, which was awarded by the Spanish Governor of Louisiana in New Orleans in 1796.He held a virtual monopoly on mining, trading and fur shipping north to Michilimackinac and the shipping of lead to St. Louis for almost 22 years.  Upon his death, creditors and land speculators from St. Louis attempted to claim the mines, but the Meskwakis held their ground and made certain no further encroachment would occur by burning all of Dubuque's buildings.  Dubuque was buried in a wooden tomb with viewing windows on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River.

From 760 through the 1830s, America and Britain vied with one another for ownership of the area, pitting themselves against French and Indian alliances in the Upper Mississippi and Missouri River valleys.  The breakdown of the French fur trade and barter economy finally faltered after years of wars, including the French and Indian War, the American Revolution and the War of 1812 an the ever increasing settlements of the American settlers.

Fort Madison was constructed in 1809 as the first U. S. Army outpost in the Upper Mississippi Valley.  It housed 50 to 60 troops.  It was abandoned during the War of 1812 after numerous attacks by the British -allied Sauck and Winnebago Indians.  

On June 1, 1833, Under the Treaty known as the Black Hawk Purchase, non-Indian settlement began in earnest.  By 1851, all Indian lands in Iowa had been ceded to the U. S. Government.  The land was divided up as public lands for sale and the eastern cities of Burlington, Davenport, Dubuque and others were established.  

Iowa became a territory in 1838.  The new territorial capital was established in Iowa City in 1839 and when statehood was first announced in 1846, it became the first state capitol.  The capitol was moved to Des Moines in 1857 in order to centralize its location  and quickly became a center for the insurance industry.  After the Civil War, the use of natural resources saw an expansion in the lumbering, milling, coal mining, and stone quarrying fields and mill towns sprang up close to the resources.  In 1845, the Meskwaki Indians were moved to Kansas, but in 1856, a band returned and purchased land, whereupon their descendants continue to reside to this day.

(Source of Information:  The University of Iowa website.  Visit their site for more detailed information.  Click your back arrow to return to this site.  Carl A. Merry has written a number of very fine articles on the subject of Iowa State History.)

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