IOWA, one of the United States of America, was organized as a state, with governor and legislature. in 1846. It lies between 40° 20 and 43° 30' n. lat., and 90° 12' and 90° 53' w. long., and extends 208 m, from n. to s., and 300 from e. to w., with an area of 55,045 sq.m., or 35,228,800 acres. It is bounded on the n. by Minnesota; e. by Wiscon • sin and Illinois, from which it is separated by the Mississippi river; s. by Missouri; and w. by the state of Nebraska, from which it is separated by the Missouri river. It has 99 counties, with Des Moines for its capital. The pop. in 1840 was 43,112; in 1850, 192,214; in 1860, 674,948; in 1870, 1,182,933. The rivers are the Mississippi and Missouri on its eastern and western borders, and tile Des Moines, Iowa, Red Cedar, and their branches. The surface is undulating and beautiful, with alternate forests and prairies. There are no mountains; but bold bluffs, with picturesque ravines, line the rivers. In the n.e. there are rich deposits of lead, and coal in the s. and w., with iron, marble, clay, gypsum, etc. The soil is exceedingly fertile; and the climate healthful; the peach blossoms in the middle of April, but the winters are severe, with an average of 26°. The chief produc tions are wheat, maize, flax, tobacco, cattle, and hogs. It has not much direct foreign commerce, but trades extensively with the Atlantic and gulf towns, and with the interior. The chief river ports of Iowa are Keokuk, Fort Madison, Burlington, Muscatine, Daven port, Clinton, Bellevue, and Dubuque. There are many manufactories, and in 1875 there were 3,767 m. of railway. In 1870 there were 7,322 public schools, 49 colleges, and 103 other schools, with a total attendance of 217,654.
IOWA (ante) is the most purely agricultural of all the United States. The beauty of its scenery, the evident fatness of its soil, its natural good drainage, attracted the best class of farmers and business emigrants from the north-eastern states, filling it with a population of great thrift, energy, and intelligence. Midway between the Atlantic mid Pacific oceans, drained e. by the Mississippi and w. by the Missouri, and in the zone of the greatest movement of migration, it became populous with a rapidity never before equaled in the history of states so purely agricultnral, or which have no extraordinary city growth; and its wealth and population are distributed with remarkable uniformity.
Distom.—Iowa was originally a part of the immense territory included in Louisiana, fiat' ceded to the United States in 1803. Its name, signifying in the Indian language " the beautiful country," is derived from the river so designated. The first white settle ment within the limits of the state was made in 1788 by Julian Dubuque, a Frenchman from Canada, who obtained a grant of a large tract, including the city now bearing his name, and the rich mineral lands surrounding it. He built a fort, carried on the mining of lead, and traded with the Indians until his death in 1810. In 1834 the territory now constituting the state of Iowa was placed under the jurisdiction of Michigan, and in 1836 under that of Wisconsin. In 1833 settlements were made near Burlington by com panies from Illinois and other states, and, a few years later, at other points along the sissippi. In 1838 the territory of Iowa was organized in due form, the seat of the govern ment being fixed at Burlington. It included within its boundaries at that time the greater part of the present state of Minnesota, and the whole of Dakota], territory. In 1839 the government was removed to Iowa city. In 1844 a state constitution was framed and admission to the union prayed for; but congress was dissatisfied with the boundaries assumed, and therefore denied the petition. Soon afterwards congress defined the boundaries that would be acceptable, and they were approved by the people of the territory; and on Dec. 28, 1846, the new state was admitted to the union.• In 1857 the capitol was fix td at Des Moines. The constitution at present in force was adopted in 1857. According to the state census of 1873 the pop. was 1,251,333; number of families, 238,098; dwellings, 231,540; voters, 261,205. In 1870 there were 24,115 persons 10 years old and upward who could not read, and 45,671 who could not write; and of these illiterates, 21,979 were of native, and 20,692 of foreign birth.