Time Frame Artifact Type Title Description
1885 Photo J.W. Witmer & Company Insurance

Exterior of J.W. Witmer & Company Insurance with personnel posing in front. Insurance has been a major industry In Iowa since the early 1800s. Des Moines, Iowa. ca.1885.
1800's Video Farming on the Frontier

Prairie soil was rich, but tough. In the 1800s oxen plowed up the soil dense with roots of native prairie grasses.
1862 Video Army Hospital Established in Keokuk

A hotel in Keokuk, the Estes House, was converted into a hospital for wounded Civil War soldiers in 1862.
1673 Video Early French Explorers Visit Iowa

Although the area wasn't called Iowa at the time, in 1673 two French explorers named Marquette and Joliet reached Iowa as they navigated the Mississippi River.
1950-53 Video Korean War: The Forgotten War

A Korean War veteran from Iowa recounts his military service in South Korea. This program aired in 2003.
1943 Photo Iowa Soldiers in Africa, WWII

Iowa members of the 34th Division walking along a road in North Africa in 1943 during World War II.
1946 Video Iowa's Population Shifts

After World War II, machines took over much of the work on the farms. People who had worked on farms moved to towns and cities to work in factories.