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3. Pioneers on the Prairie
- University of Iowa Press
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3 Pioneers on the Prairie n June 1, 1833,hundreds of eager settlers crossed the Mississippi River to take up land in eastern Iowa. Their arrival marked the beginning of permanent white settlement here, and for the next forty years Iowa would become home to hundreds of thousands of people from all over the nation and from Europe. Most would be attracted by glowing accounts of Iowa's many physical resources .By the early 1870sfarms and small towns covered most parts of the state, and settlement in the northwestern counties signaled the end of the frontier era. Providing evidence of Iowa's rapid settlement, population rose from 10,531in 1836to 1,194,020in 1870.By the latter date, not only was the state mostly settled, but it had clearly demonstrated its potential as a major agriculturalregion. Throughout the settlement period, five frontier zones would materiExtent of prairie region in the central United States. From Schwieder, Morain. and Nielsen, Iowa Past to Present. 36 I. THE EARLY YEARS alize, the first developing in the 1830s in southeastern Iowa, and the last in northwest Iowa in the 1860sand 1870s.In the process of settling, newcomers would first encounter woodland areas in extreme southeastern Iowa, then move into a prairie or tall-grass region that dominated most of the state, and finally move into northwesternIowa.The latter region, while still a prairie environment, had conditions approximating those in the Great Plains. Iowa thus served as the transitionzone between timbered regions to the east and the vast plains area that lay to the west. The first people arriving in Iowa tended to move inland along major rivers and streams. Settlers established farms along the Mississippi, as well as along the Des Moines, the Cedar, and the Iowa rivers. Most newcomers took up timberland, knowing, as had earlier pioneers, that wood and water were essential for successful settlement.The earliest settlers in extreme eastern and southeastern Iowa had little difficulty finding timbered land. Most of the first arrivalsmigrated from areas in the eastern half of the country, where timber had been plentiful. For several centuries residents of New England and the Middle Atlantic region had found sufficient timber to supply their basic needs. They had built furniture, homes, and outbuildings from wood as well as used it for fuel and fencing. The stakeand -rider fence, sometimes called the worm fence because of its zigzag shape, dominated the New England countryside. For some settlers wood also provided material for farm implements.Easterners' heavy reliance on wood prompted American historians to describe the lifestyle as one of woodcraft. Naturalist John Madson provided a more vivid perspective on the early abundance of eastern timber when he wrote: "It is said that a grey squirrel could travel inland from the Atlantic coast for nearly a thousand miles and never touch the ground."' As settlers moved into eastern and southeastern Iowa, the woodland experience would be repeated only temporarily.Although the first wave of newcomers to cross the Mississippi River settled in timbered areas, those who came a few years later found it necessary to move farther into the interior , thus encountering the prairie. The prairie, or the tall-grass region, was not entirely new to Iowa's pioneers. Some families had settled for a time in small prairie clearings in Ohio and Indiana, whereas many more people had experienced the Grand Prairie in northern Illinois. Settlement [18.232.88.17] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 11:16 GMT) 3. PIONEERS ON THE PRAIRIE 37 there had helped people adjust to the physical features of a larger tall-grass area. Once in Iowa, however, settlers would perceive the prairie in all its glory. Described by John Madson as the "purest of the prairie states," Iowa was three-fourthsto four-fifths prairie land, with hardwoods, particularly oak and hickory, covering the remaining area. Early explorers, like Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Kearney, provided vivid descriptions of the prairie. In 1835Officer Kearney received orders from the War Department to travel across Iowa, seeking possible sites for military forts. Kearney and a small band of Dragoons-soldiers trained for frontier duty-left Keokuk in June 1835, traveling in northwesterly fashion along the Des Moines River.As the men moved farther intoIowa's interior, the prairie grass grew taller. Kearney recorded that initially the grass reached the men's stirrups,but as they moved into central Iowa, the grass measured six to ten feet tall. It grew so tall, in fact, the soldierscould pull it up...