State Historical Society of Iowa: Iowa Time Machine January 25, 1857

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 25, 1857, a group of Iowa pioneers gathered in the Old Capitol Building in Iowa City to form The State Historical Society of Iowa. First affiliated with the University of Iowa, the society chartered in Iowa City would grow into the official keeper of Iowa's memory, preserving more than 200 million pieces of the state's past.

The mid-1850s marked a pivotal moment in Iowa's development. The General Assembly was meeting for the last time at the Old Capitol before moving to Des Moines that year. The state capital's relocation westward reflected Iowa's rapid growth and westward expansion. As Benjamin Shambaugh later wrote, these unschooled pioneers became "fathers of our local provincial history," recognizing that their humble lives were part of something historically significant. Across America, historical societies were emerging as repositories of regional memory, recognizing that ordinary people's stories mattered alongside accounts of famous leaders and significant battles.

The society's leaders included future governors Samuel Kirkwood and James Grimes, along with other prominent eastern Iowans, and the General Assembly approved an annual appropriation of $250 to help the group develop its collection. The founders immediately began urging fellow Iowans to donate artifacts and documents from the territorial and early statehood periods. By 1865, the society occupied space in the Old Capitol itself, where it assembled portraits of territorial and state leaders. The organization began publishing "The Annals of Iowa" and other historical journals, establishing itself as more than a museum. It became a center for scholarly research and historical publication.

The society Benjamin Shambaugh inherited in 1900 evolved far beyond its founders' vision. Shambaugh led the organization until he died in 1940, serving simultaneously as chairman of the University of Iowa's political science department. A parallel collection emerged in Des Moines beginning in 1892, and the two institutions eventually merged under state government in 1974 and reorganized again in 1986. Starting in the early 2020s, major governmental reorganization in Iowa radically reshaped the State Historical Society of Iowa, leading officials to announce the potential discontinuation of the Annals of Iowa and the closure of the Iowa City research center. #Iowa #OTD #History #Museum #Memory