Iowa Capitol Rising: Iowa Time Machine July 4, 1886

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On July 4, two significant moments for state government in Iowa occurred. In 1838, the federal government organized Iowa Territory out of lands formerly included in the Wisconsin Territory. On July 4, 1886, construction workers completed the Iowa State Capitol Building in downtown Des Moines.

The original Iowa Territory, organized in 1838, encompassed 194,000 square miles, including the current state and parts of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. An initial territorial capital, Burlington, served for the first few years before being moved to Iowa City in 1841. Notably, Fort Snelling, located in the modern-day Twin Cities, was situated in Minnesota during the territorial era. Following the close of the conflict, commonly known as the Black Hawk War, treaties dispossessed Iowa’s Indigenous peoples while the American population grew. Growing from an initial population of 10,531 recorded in 1836, by the time of the 1840 census, over 43,000 people had emigrated to the eastern portion of the territory. Robert Lucas served as the first territorial governor, and the territory grew to become the 29th state admitted into the United States on December 28, 1846.

Eleven years after statehood, the Iowa Legislature moved the capital west to a more central location. In 1858, the state government relocated to a temporary home, and plans for an elaborate Capitol building began to take shape. In 1870, the General Assembly allocated $1.5 million for construction and established a commission to oversee the project.

Although Governor Samuel Merrill laid an initial cornerstone in 1871, defective construction materials caused the initial foundation to crumble.  A second cornerstone, laid on September 29, 1873, marked a new era in the project’s construction. By January 17, 1887, the building was ready for dedication, having been completed by crews on July 4 of the previous year. Audits concluded $2,873,293.59 went into the project. #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar