Time Frame Artifact Type Title Description
1673 Video Europeans Come to Iowa

In 1673 European explorers, Marquette and Joliet, traveled the Mississippi River spending time in what would become Iowa. They brought change to the area's native inhabitants.
1913 Photo Hart-Parr gas tractor

Hart-Parr gas tractor built in 1913 by the Oliver tractor plant. It was on display in front of the Oliver Corporation manufacturing plant. Charles City, 1964.
1975 Video Life in a Refugee Camp

Former Iowa Governor Robert Ray describes conditions in a refugee camp in Thailand when he visited in 1975 after Iowa had opened its doors to earlier refugees.
1975 Video Definition of a Refugee

Former chief of the Bureau of Refugee Services Wayne Johnson defines the term 'refugee.'
Late 1940s Video African-Americans Labeled Communists

Charles P. Howard Jr. (1921-1994), prominent attorney and former president of the National Bar Association, talks about black activists who were labeled communists in the 1940s.
1925 Photo Downtown Forest City, ca. 1925

Downtown Forest City. The cars tell a story. Cars started out being open topped. About 1916 came the advent of hard topped autos, but they were very expensive and few people could afford them. This image displays the transition-- some hard and others canvas tops. ca. 1925
1979 Video Iowans Send Aid to Southeast Asia

Former US Ambassador to Cambodia Kenneth M. Quinn describes the response from Iowans to the plea for aid to refugees in Southeast Asia in 1979.
Late 1930's to Early 1940's Video Cutting Oats

Two farmers on tractor cut oats. The machine called a "binder" makes bundles of the plants.
1838 Video Iowa Government is Formed

Iowa appointed a territorial governor, Robert Lucas, in 1838.
1963-1968 Video Governor Faces Tough Decisions About Discrimination

Former Governor Harold Hughes (1922-1996) talks about tough decisions he faced about racial discrimination when he was governor.