Time Frame Artifact Type Title Description
1920 Photo 'Inpassable' Dirt Road

This handmade sign warned drivers that the road was impassable. (The sign maker wasn't a good speller!) Before hard-surfaced roads, Iowa's dirt roads became a sticky, muddy quagmire.
1965 Video Legislative History

The last time the Democrats controlled the governor’s office and both chambers of the General Assembly was 1965. It proved to be a monumental session.
1910s Video African-American Athletes at the University

Dr. Philip Hubbard (1921-2002), first African-American professor at the University of Iowa, recalls early athletes.
pre-1938 Photo Downtown Buffalo Center

Early dirt roads in downtown Buffalo Center, Iowa. Pre-1938.
1863 Video Iowans Rebuild Railroad

Confederate troops destroyed railroad tracks in 1863, and Iowan Grenville Dodge organized men to rebuild them. Soldiers and freed slaves did the back-breaking work.
1884 Photo Covered Bridge

Wooden covered bridges were built in Iowa between 1855 and 1884. The bridges were roofed to keep the rain, snow and ice off the flooring and beams, thus preventing rotting of the wood and prolonging their life.
1861-1865 Video Iowa Deaths in Civil War

Between 1861-1865 the Civil War left many soldiers wounded or dead. Many who died were victims of disease or poor sanitary conditions in hospitals.
ca. 1940 Photo Girls' Farm Chores

Girls' farm chores. Boys and girls helped on the farm. This girl stacks harvested grain.
1920 Photo Car in Muddy Road Rut, ca. 1920

Car stuck in muddy road. Before good roads, people living in the country mostly walked or used a horse and buggy. Cars did not always start and many roads were too bad for cars anyway. ca. 1920.
1922 Photo Ice Covered Roads, Forest City, ca. 1922

Ice covered street corner scene in Forest City. ca. 1922.