Time Frame Artifact Type Title Description
Approximatey One Million Years Ago Video The Bering Land Bridge

About one million years ago nomad hunters followed animals across the Bering land bridge from Asia. Over thousands of years these nomads and their descendants spread across what became North America.
1887 Photo Farm Dog

Icarian resident with his dog. The Icarians established a communal society near the town of Corning in 1852. By 1898 the community had dissolved. This photo was taken in 1887.
1914 Photo Solbrig flying

Oscar Solbrig flying his first successful flight, Davenport, 1914.
1976 Video Mesquakie Ponder Future

In 1976 a Mesquakie tribe member wondered about the future of his people.
1975 Video Refugees Enrich Iowa

Former Des Moines Register president, Michael Gartner, talks about the impact of Tai Dam refugees from Southeast Asia on Iowa in 1979.
1945 Video World War II Veteran: Merton L. Jessen “Stub”

Stub Jessen served with the 28th Division, 707 tank battalion 110th infantry 1942 – 1945. He tells about being captured following the Battle of the Bulge. He was one of 2,000 prisoners forced to march for 128 days. They started in Luxemburg and ended in Brunswick, Germany about 950 miles away.
1975 Video Welcoming Refugees from Southeast Asia

Former Vice President Walter Mondale talks about the legacy of resettling refugees from Southeast Asia. The refugees lives weren’t the only ones changed.
Early 1800's Video Pioneers Leave Civilization

Early immigrants to Iowa left friends and family in the East to move to the new land. They also left behind established cities and schools.
1917 Video World War I: Black Officers’ Training

The World War I black officer's training camp at Iowa’s Fort Des Moines is featured. This program aired in 2003.
1656 Photo 1656 map showing the uncharted west

A map of the undiscovered western United States. This early map shows how little was known about the western part of North America in 1656.