Resources within Reach - State Historical Society of Iowa

All of the presently identified early historic period sites associated withEuroamericans in Iowa date between the late 1780s and 1865. Most predate June 1,1833 (the official opening date for Euroamerican settlement of a small portion of easternIowa) are located in eastern Iowa, primarily along the Mississippi River. Early historicperiod sites have also been identified along the Missouri River in western Iowa as well.Historical records suggest that a number of early historic period archeological sitesassociated with Euroamericans in Iowa dating between AD 1700 and AD 1780 mayexist. However, only a few of these sites have been identified and substantiated througharcheological evidence to date.Three main economic activities have been attributed to attracting great numbers ofEuroamerican settlers to Iowa during the early historic period: lead mining innortheastern Iowa primarily around modern day Dubuque, availability of land forestablishing agricultural farms, and the fur trade and other types of interactions (such asmilitary) with various tribes on the frontier. Archeological investigations conducted atsites dating to the early historic period have focused on a variety of different types offunctions and uses such as defense, commerce/trade, industrial, domestic,agriculture/subsistence, transportation, and industrial/processing/extraction relating tothese economic activities.A considerable amount of archeological research has been conducted on formermilitary posts in Iowa dating to this period. One of the investigated sites, Old FortMadison, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The significance of leadmining in northeastern Iowa during this period has been supplemented by the steadilygrowing amount of archeological and cultural landscape evidence. Three archeologicaldistricts associated with lead mining activities within the Mines of Spain National HistoricLandmark are already listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Archeologicalinvestigations have significantly contributed to historical research through documentingother types of early industrial pursuits such as saw and grist mills, blacksmith shops,pottery operations, and brick and tile operations.The interest in the early historic period archeology sites in Iowa continues into thepresent. However, beginning in the 1980s and 1990s, there has been an increasinginterest in historical archeological sites dating to the late nineteenth and twentiethcenturies. Sites of particular interest in this time period include historic farmsteads,abandoned town sites, transportation related sites, and various types of industrialpursuits such as coal mining in southern Iowa, milling industries, potteries, brick and tilecompanies, various manufacturing operations, limestone quarrying, dairies, andbreweries.Archeological investigations at historic farmsteads have focused primarily ontechnological and economical changes through time (Charlton et al. 1988; Donham1985; Finney 1992; Nepstad-Thornberry 1997; Peterson 2004; Rogers, Lutzow, andMartin 1988; Withrow 1998). Chronologies for these changes have been proposed byconsultants for the different regions of Iowa (e.g., Rogers 1998).Resources within Reach: Iowa’s Statewide Historic Preservation Plan 33