Time Frame Artifact Type Title Description
1861-1865 Video Annie Wittenmeyer

During the Civil War, 1861-1865, Annie Wittenmeyer worked hard to provide sick and wounded men with food and comfort. Her fellow Iowans donated food for the armies.
Early 1900's Video Early Airplanes

Iowans were among the first pilots to fly airplanes in the early 1900s.
Early 1800's Video Keelboats

In the early 1800s keelboats, or flatboats, were used to carry goods down and up the Mississippi River. The keelboat workers were faced with hard work traveling upstream.
1861 Video Iowa Regiments Leave for War

Iowan, Grenville Dodge, convinced the U.S. government to supply arms to Iowa soldiers in 1861. The soldiers were trained and left for the battlefront. Friends and family members sent them off with well wishes.
2006 Video Great Ape Trust of Iowa

Great Ape Trust of Iowa, a research facility located in Des Moines, Iowa, and dedicated to studying the behavior and intelligence of great apes, is featured. This program aired in 2006.
ca. 1940 Photo Chicken Yard

Chicken yards were common on most farms. Women often raised chickens as a source of income. They sold or bartered the eggs for groceries or other items. Grant Township, ca. 1940.
1999 Photo Indiangrass Seedhead

Indiangrass seedhead. Indiangrass is a native plant common to the Iowa prairie. It grows three to six feet tall. It is heat and drought tolerant. 1999.
1930s Photo Central Iowa coal mine

A coal mine in central Iowa. Coal was used to heat homes and for cooking in areas of the state where firewood was not available. Iowa coal mining declined in the late 1930s. December 1936.
1958 Photo Interstate Highway Construction

President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 creating a national system of interstate highways. Iowa was quick to begin building.
1820 Video Fort Atkinson is Built

The U.S. government took control of Indian lands in 1820 in the area that became the state of Iowa.