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Iowa Pathways

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Ice Covered Roads, Forest City, ca. 1922

Ice Covered Roads, Forest City, ca. 1922

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

Image Courtesy of Carol Whiteis & Ruth Leibrand Personal Collections

Pathways

  • On the Farm
  • Farmers and Farm Life
  • The Iowa Pioneer Experience
  • Log Cabin Experiences
  • Plowing in the Past: A Look at Early Farm Machinery
  • Iowa Soils

What was it like to live in a sod house? Can you see yourself living in a 'soddie' back then?

Media Artifacts

  • Family in Front of Sod Home, ca. 1909
    Family in Front of Sod Home, ca. 1909
  • Sod Home, ca. 1910
    Sod Home, ca. 1910
  • Sod Roofed One Room Log School House
    Sod Roofed One Room Log School House
  • Immigrants Flock to Iowa
    Immigrants Flock to Iowa
  • Come to Iowa
    Come to Iowa
  • Pioneers Travel in Groups
    Pioneers Travel in Groups
  • Early Travelers Face Danger
    Early Travelers Face Danger
  • Pioneers Leave Civilization
    Pioneers Leave Civilization
  • Sod Houses
    Sod Houses
  • Interior of Settler Cabins
    Interior of Settler Cabins
  • Pioneer Children
    Pioneer Children

Reading Tip: Reflecting
When you are finished reading the article, think about how you feel about sod houses and what your opinion might be about them.

Web Sites

  • Overview of the life on an 1850 pioneer farm
  • Article describing the living conditions and problems faced by early Iowa settlers who built and lived in log cabins
  • Description of life of pioneers living in a log cabin, preparing meals, housekeeping, and farming
  • Can you imagine living in a sod house—not as a pioneer, but as a modern person?
  • A description of what it was like to live in a sod house.
  • Overview of the book "Dakota Dugout" about a young couple living in a sod house
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