Iowa: Epic Lands

This Day in History: December 28, 1846

Iowa, The Hawkeye State, The Corn State, Land of the Rolling Prairie

Iowa State Motto: Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain 

A Bit of Trivia...

Iowa is home of the red delicious apple, which originated at an orchard in Peru, Iowa. But if you, like most people, find that Red Delicious apples are perhaps not as tasty as the name might imply, don’t blame Iowa. Today’s variety bears little resemblance to the 1872 original.

        

You can’t swing a dead muskrat in Iowa without hitting the broad side of a big red barn. That’s how it is. Iowa is for real.            

How did Iowa get its name?

The state is named after the Ioway people, a Native American tribe that once inhabited the area. But what “Iowa” actually means is a bit ambiguous. According to the writings of an early pioneer, the name comes from an incident where a tribe of Native Americans spied the land for the first time and proclaimed it “Iowa, Iowa, Iowa,” which meant “beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.” However, another story says that it’s just a variation on the French word “Ayuhwa,” which means “sleepy ones”—something the Dakota Sioux tribe called the Ioway Nation. It is also stated Iowa was named after the Iowa River, which still reflects the Indian word meaning "one who puts to sleep" or "beautiful land."

Iowa's official nickname is The Hawkeye State, after Chief Black Hawk, leader of an Indian tribe who was relocated to Iowa after their attempt to resist white settlement failed. The state harvests so much corn that it pays tribute to Iowa's corn crop by deeming it The Corn State. Iowa leads the country in the production of corn thus earning the name the "Land Where the Tall Corn Grows." Because of the vast rolling prairies that covered the state of Iowa it has been referred to as the Land of the Rolling Prairie.

Joyce Meyer Photography

The passing seasons and moods as seen in Northeast Iowa.
An epic photo-essay over Iowa that will warm you to its charms. 
And when was the last time the words "warm" and "Iowa"
 were used in the same sentence?

Iowa was part of the vast, vaguely defined Louisiana Territory that extended from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border. Placed under the territorial jurisdiction of Michigan in 1834, and then two years later under the newly created Territory of Wisconsin, Iowa became a separate territory in 1838. Because a new state seeking admission to the Union at that time could expect favorable action from Congress only if accompanied by a slave state, Iowa was designed to come into the Union with Florida as its slave-holding counterpart. A serious dispute over how large the state would be delayed Iowa's admission into the Union as the 29th state until December 28, 1846, but by the delay the people of Iowa got what they wanted—all the land between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. The state capital is Des Moines.

Iowa is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States, a region sometimes called the "American Heartland".

Iowa State Flag


Iowa State Seal

 Iowa State Bird: Eastern Goldfinch

Iowa State Tree : Iowa's Oaks

 Iowa State Flower: Wild Rose

For all State Symbols of Iowa click HERE!

Iowa State Song: "Song of Iowa"

Epic Lands

Prairies dotted with colorful wild flowers
Vast cornfields and soybean yields
Ranches with cattle, horses grazing
Red barns speckling the fields

 Vibrant sunrises, enchanting sunsets
Intensify spacious skies
 Reviving the inner spirit
Magic right before all eyes

Amber waves of grain
 Few and far between
Contrasting lush green hills
Create an iconic scene

Impressive landscapes, charming scenes
One could sit and look at all day
Countryside farms, rolling hills
Fruited plains, an American mainstay

 Nary an ocean in sight
Hog farms and fields close at hand
 Corn and bacon together
Within the American Heartland

©2014 Sharla Lee Shults

Iowa Facts and Trivia

Next state by month: # Texas - December 29, 1846