[Pronounced] I-o-wah. "HAWKEYE STATE."
[Name from] Indian - From Algonquin Ajawa, "Across" or "Beyond"
HISTORICAL. - Visited by Marquette and Joliet in 1673. First attempted settlement made near present site of Dubuque by French, 1788. Formed part of Louisiana purchase of 1803 and of Missouri Territory. First permanent settlements made at Dubuque, Fort Madison, and Burlington, 1833. Des Moines established 1843. Iowa Territory organized June, 1838. State admitted to tile Union, December 28, 1846 - twenty-ninth State; sixteenth admitted after adoption of Constitution. State Constitution adopted 1846; present Constitution, 1857.
AREA. -Total area, 56,025 square miles, or 35,856,000 acres; land, 55,475 square miles; water, 550; length east and west, 300 miles; breadth, 208; 99 counties.
PHYSICAL FEATURES. -Iowa lies entirely within the Prairie Region of the Mississippi Valley; surface generally undulating; mean elevation, 925 feet; highest, near Spirit Lake, 1,694 feet; lowest, 444 feet. Mississippi and Missouri rivers form the eastern and western boundaries, both navigable. Principal interior rivers: Des Moines, draining 10,000 square miles, Iowa, and Little Sioux. Many of the streams provide good water-power.
CLIMATE. -Winters severe, with heavy snowfalls; summers short and hot. Dry, clear atmosphere modifies severity of seasons and renders climate unusually healthful. Rainfall abundant but not always evenly distributed. Mean annual rainfall at Des Moines, 33.1 inches; mean annual temperature, 49 deg.; highest, 104 deg.; lowest, 30 deg. below; average summer temperature, 70.5 deg.
AGRICULTURE the main occupation of the people. Iowa one of the leading agricultural States. Soil and climate particularly adapted to the industry. Less than 1 per cent of soil unfit for cultivation. Ranks first in production of corn and oats. In 1895 there were 204,385 farms, comprising 31,297,813 acres. Area and yield of products, 1898: Corn, 8.396,286 acres, 289,214,850 bushels; oats, 4,299,243 acres, 139,915,340 bushels; winter wheat, 191,451 acres, 3,168,916 bushels; spring wheat, 1,293,231 acres, 19,152,352 bushels; potatoes, 164,546 acres, 12,538,411 bushels; flax, 225,014 acres, 2,376,604 bushels; hay, 2,230,455 acres, 5,497,980 tons; rye, 210,309 acres, 3,370,550 bushels; barley, 509,589 acres, 14,138,011 bushels; sweet potatoes, 245,000 bushels; value of sorghum, $350,000; flax seed, $1,901,283; timothy seed, $768,500; hay, cultivated and prairie, $22,324,978; corn fodder, $8,250,000. Culture of sugar beets successful; industry a promising one. Stands of bees, 76,846; product, 836,379 pounds of honey, value $81,513.
HORTICULTURE. -Apples grown in abundance; pears, grapes, and small fruits cultivated successfully. Value of orchard and vineyard products, 1891, $3,000,000; small fruits, $750,000. Area devoted to nurseries, 1894, 3,205 acres; value of trees and plants sold, $220,033. Number of bearing trees in State with yield and value of products, 1894: Apple trees, 2,397,793, 2,599,884 bushels, $1,357,300; pears, 16,478 trees, 4,256 bushels, $7,281; peaches, 97,893 trees, 1,726 bushels, $3,284; plums, 707,506 trees, 164,449 bushels, $162,166; cherries, 274,322 trees, 80,560 bushels, $149,577. Grapes, 11,477,616 pounds, $210,350; raspberries, 32,757 bushels, $92,360; blackberries, 30,710 bushels, $80,247.
LIVE STOCK interests of great importance and increasing annually in value. State leads in number of swine. Number and value of farm animals, January, 1898: Horses, 1,022,242, value $34,770,027; mules, 32,861, $1,312,466; sheep, 573,218, $2,044,095; milk cows, 1,214,345, $38,798,323; other cattle, 2,207,739, $63,395,211; swine, 3,625,831, $21,704,225. Wool clip, 1898, 3,610,412 pounds.
DAIRY AND POULTRY. - -These pursuits rank among the most important in the State. Number of creameries, 1898, 793; amount of butter shipped, 99,299,211 pounds. Value of dairy products, 1896, $41,573,000; butter from farms and creameries, 1895, $15,727,206. Output of 54 cheese factories, 3,002,400 pounds. Value of poultry marketed, $4,162,969; 1894, $1,947,569. Eggs produced, 62,710,217 dozen; marketed, 39,485,897 dozen, value $3,960,892.
FISHERIES. -Among interior States Iowa commercial fisheries occupy a prominent place. Industry especially important on the Mississippi River; catfish most valuable. Capital invested 1894, $46,710; total catch, 4,079,704 pounds, value $124,851; catfish, 985,983 pounds, $43,934; buffalo fish, 1,350,144 pounds, $33,209; drum, 704,744 pounds, $15,916; wall-eyed pike, 98,823 pounds, $6,117; carp, 203,377 pounds, $5,218; black bass, 37,635 pounds, $2,445; pearl shells, 148,000 pounds, $2,072; eels, 22,671 pounds, $1,612.
MANUFACTURES. -Manufacturing industries important. Principal articles manufactured: Flour, packed meats, furniture, carriages, woolens, cooperage, pottery, leather goods, foundry and machine shop products. Total value of manufactures, 1895, exclusive of butter and cheese product, $63,789,025. Meat-packing most important; value of product, $18,422,630. Number of hogs packed, 1896, 3,737,000. Value of brick and tile manufactured, $1,901,623; pottery, $43,035; stoneware, $37,870. Fermented liquor, 1897-8, 175,894 barrels; distilled spirits, 1,218 gallons. Number of cigar factories having one account, 623; pounds of tobacco used for cigars, 1,178,573; number of cigars made, 60,971,074; cigarettes, 451,300.
MINERALS. -Coal and lead are the chief minerals, coal leading in importance. Fields underlie one-third of total area; chief mining regions extend across southern section of State. Number of coal mines operated, 1897, 360; production, 3,799,734 tons, value $4,855,804; number of miners, 8,564; other employes, 3,021; total wages, $4,053,010. Lead district in northeastern part of State, covers 700 square miles. Mines near Dubuque have been most productive, ores yielding 70 per cent of lead. Limestone quarried chiefly in eastern and southeastern parts of State; value of output, 1896, $410,037. Gypsum worked near Ft. Dodge. Total product, 18,631 short tons, value $34,020. Value of marble quarried, $39,740; sandstone, $12,351. During year ending June, 1893, 4,614,875 tons of minerals were mined.
POPULATION. -Ranked twenty-ninth in 1840; twentieth, 1860; tenth, 1880 to 1900. Total population, 1895, 2,058,069; males, 1,064,930; females, 993,139; white, 2,046,180; colored, 11,889. Total urban population, 871,774. Persons subject to military duty, 413,000. Population, 1900, 2,231,853.
CITIES. -Des Moines, capital and largest city; prominent railway and manufacturing center with an important trade; population, 1890, 50,093; 1900, 82,139. Dubuque; second city in size and oldest place in State; extensive commercial and manufacturing center in a lead mining district; population, 1900, 36,297. Davenport, on Mississippi River, is a large distributing center with flourishing manufacturing industries; population, 35,254. Sioux City, on Missouri River, 88 miles northwest of Omaha, important railway, trading, and manufacturing center; population, 33,111. Council Bluffs, a flourishing city on Missouri River, is center of several trunk line railways; population, 25,802. Cedar Rapids, a city of rapid growth and with an extensive trade; population, 25,656. Burlington, on Mississippi River, is an important manufacturing and railway center in vicinity of coal fields; population, 23,201.
RAILWAYS. -In 1855 there were 68 miles of railroad; 1860, 655; 1865, 891; 1870, 2,683; 1875, 3,850; 1880, 5,400; 1885, 7,525; 1892, 8,506; January, 1898, 8,513.91.
EDUCATION. -Public school enrollment, 1896-7, 546,836; average attendance, 347,620; expenditure, $7,752,391; school age, 5-21. Public high schools, 325; private secondary schools, 45. Among educational institutions are: State University, Iowa City; Agricultural College at Ames, opened 1869; Boys' Department of Iowa Industrial School, Eldora; Girls' Department, Mitchellville. Public Normal Schools at Boonesboro, Cedar Falls, Dexter, Kossuth, and Rockwell City.
POLITICAL. -State elections biennial; State, congressional, and presidential elections, Tuesday after first Monday in November. Number of Senators, 50; Representatives, 100; term of Senators, 4 years; Representatives, 2 years. Number of electoral votes, 13. Voters must be actual citizens; residents of State 6 months, of county 60 days, town and precinct 10 days; registration required; ballot reform. Idiots, insane, and criminals excluded. Women vote on school matters.
LEGAL HOLIDAYS. -January 1, February 22, May 30, July 1, first Monday in September, general election days, Thanksgiving, December 25.
LEGAL. -Statutes of limitation: Unwritten contracts, open accounts, 5 years; written contracts, action to recover real estate, 10; judgments, 20; redemption from tax sale, 3 years. Legal interest, 8 per cent.
