Iowa City Homes For Sale History

Iowa City homes for sale are situated on land with an intriguing history that stretches back to the 17th Century. In the earliest years, Siouan and Algonquian Indians saw the land as a place of many resources: they trapped fur animals, mined lead and lived near the Iowa River. Naturally, any area near a body of water is going to experience a good amount of trade from nearby neighbors and faraway travelers.  In June 1673, Louis Joliet and his expedition camped for eight days along the Iowa shoreline and were shocked to find nearly 300 summer lodges with clearly laid out streets. Just North of Iowa City homes, excavations revealed blue glass, beads, iron knives, gun parts, pottery, pipestone and brass kettles, which indicate that these early Indians came into contact with Europeans and traded.

Early 19th Century inhabitants of Iowa City homes worked in the mines, gathering lead, which became a huge enterprise for more than 22 years. An hour ½ North of Iowa City had ethnically diverse communities, including both Frenchmen and Indians, who had cultivated fields, a wharf, a mill, a smelting furnace, farms and a blacksmith shop. Following the death of lead monopolist Julien Dubuque in 1810, St. Louis land speculators rushed in to lay claims on his mines. Local Meskwaki tribes burned all Dubuque’s buildings to maintain tribal sovereignty in the region. Current residents of Iowa City homes can drive to Dubuque to see a Gothic Revival monument of the entrepreneur.

Years after the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, in June 1833, the Black Hawk Purchase treaty began to push Indian settlements westward. Six years later, the local Iowa legislature decided it wanted Iowa City as the government seat, so they set to work carving their spot out of native prairie land – even though Iowa wasn’t even an official state until 1846. The “Old Capitol” National Historic Landmark is still standing downtown. The first governor of the Iowa Territory was an Ohioan named Robert Lucas. Plum Grove, the Carroll Street farm where Lucas lived, is one of the oldest Iowa City homes still standing today.

Residents of Iowa City homes lived near mills, brick kilns, stone quarries, lumber factories and other industries. In addition to having a solid foundation of working families, Iowa City homes became a haven for immigrants from Germany, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Great Britain who were seeking reform, land and religious tolerance.

Some of the Iowa City homes for sale were housed within a modest communal society – the Amana Colonies – which is now a National Historic Landmark. In 1855, two Germans, Eberhard L. Gruber and Johann F. Rock, settled near the Iowa River where the land was fertile, the resources were plentiful and they were free to express their religion. The seven villages were completely self-sufficient. Everyone worked and had everything they needed, even though no one was paid for their services. The Great Depression’s disastrous impact on the farm market ended their historic way of life but the site continues to attract thousands of tourists each year.

Iowa City lost its capitol status in 1857, when Des Moines was decided a more central location.