Travel Oracles 50 States: Iowa
As part of my summer series - Travel Oracles 50 States - I am revisiting each os the fifty American states as an overview on travel culture and history. Today: Iowa
Joined: Became the 29th state on December 28, 1846. It also played a significant role during the American Civil War in providing food, supplies, troops and officers for the Union army.
Original Indigenous Peoples: The Dakota Sioux (Iowa is actually a Sioux word) were one of several Tribes that could be found throughout Iowa. The others included the Ioway, the Illini, the Otoe, and the Missouria.
First Settlers: The first European settlers in Iowa were French-Canadians (explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette in 1673), who worked in the lead mines near present-day Dubuque. The Black Hawk Treaty of 1833 opened most of Iowa to european settlement.
History moment: Clear Lake, Iowa, was the site of the infamous plane crash that killed the 1950s rock icons Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. Since 1972, Iowa has kicked off the presidential primary process by holding the nation’s first caucuses.
Known for: The Hawkeye State, Corn & pork production, political caucuses, Iowa State Fair
Places: Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City
Movie setting: Field of Dreams, Sleeping with the enemy
Musicians from: Glenn Miller, Art Farmer
Surprising facts: Iowa is the only state bordered by two navigable rivers; the Missouri River to the west and the Mississippi River to the east. Hogs outnumber people 4 to 1. Iowa is the largest producer of corn in the United States
Iowa takes its name from a Native American word meaning "beautiful land," and the soil here, among the most fertile, wisely managed, and lucrative on the planet, is the greatest of many riches in the state. Iowa's 100,000 family farms produce more pork, beef, and grain than any other state in the union. Each year, the average Iowa farm grows enough food to feed 279 people. Iowa's farm economy is further supported by the state's many small towns. Clean, wide, tree-lined streets, courthouse squares, and corner cafés are omnipresent. Let’s travel to Iowa
My Experience: I have never been!
Des Moines: If you were to peer down from an airplane or the top of a hill, the capital of Iowa would look like a cluster of office towers popping out of a green corduroy landscape. Downtown straddles the confluence of two rivers—the Raccoon and the Des Moines. The skyline of historic buildings and modern structures faces granite government buildings and a classic gold-domed capitol across four bridges. Although hardly a glittering metropolis, Des Moines is a relatively hassle-free city with a number of museums, historic districts, and parks, as well as Drake University.
Nature: The state has four national park sites including Effigy Mounds National Monument, Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
Ranking in US: Per the annual US News report, Indiana is currently ranked #12 out of 50 in 2021, up from #14 in 2019.