Warm summer days have you longing for a frosty treat? Take a peek into our collection storage to see how Iowans of the past enjoyed their cooldown!
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Take a peek into our collection's vault to view some historic campaign buttons!
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A collections coordinator, a structural engineer, and four riggers walk into a museum… Two weeks later, three artifacts are back on display! That’s what happened in November 2023 when the Benoist biplane, the Curtiss Pusher biplane, and the Register Globe were installed in the State Historical Building atrium. Museum staff worked with Raker Rhodes Engineering and Chicago Fine Art Services to make sure all artifacts were installed safely with the help of a 60 foot articulating lift and a 55 foot crane.
In celebration of Volunteer Appreciation week, we’d like to spotlight a few of our volunteers throughout the week.
Frank Hanna began volunteering at the State Historical Museum of Iowa in 2010. Frank can be found in the museum’s Iowa and the Civil War exhibit and previously volunteered in the museum’s WWI exhibit. Frank enjoys educating and engaging with learners of all ages and his love of learning is contagious for all visitors.
#VolunteerAppreciation #IowaHistory #IowaMuseums
Gov. Kim Reynolds has proclaimed Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, as “Mia Peterson Day in Iowa'' to commemorate the 50th birthday of an under-recognized Iowan who worked throughout her adult life to promote self-advocacy and equal treatment.
Peterson served in state and national roles while living in Iowa and Ohio. She returned to Iowa in 2005, and passed away in 2021, but her legacy endures. The proclamation includes Peterson’s belief that we should "let people with disabilities speak for themselves, and don't let others speak for them."
Iowa Developmental Disability Council Chair Brady Werger of Waverly read the proclamation during a ceremony Nov. 21, 2023, at the State Historical Building in Des Moines, Iowa.
Welcome to your newly-renovated State Historical Museum of Iowa! After more than five years of renovations, it is exciting to unveil a bright new atrium and significant infrastructure improvements to provide a safe and more secure facility to preserve Iowa’s history.
Bring your friends and family on Saturday, Oct. 14 for the public celebration with family-friendly programs, museum collection storage tours, and to view the new “Civics in Action” exhibit. Learn more at history.iowa.gov
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Greenlight Grant: "Kinnick: The Documentary"
For nearly a decade, film producer Scott Siepker and his team dug into news articles, diaries, letters and even interviews with Nile Kinnick's family to create a never-before-seen portrait of the Iowa football legend whose ambitions reached far beyond the gridiron. The documentary premiered in August 2022 and was funded in part by a Greenlight Grant from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.You can watch the movie at a Fridley Theatre near you! Find showtimes and tickets online: https://bit.ly/3eaDrZ4
#iowaculture #IowaHistory #ProduceIowa #IowaHistory
Iowa State Fair Highlight: If you think the newest food on a stick is the craziest attention-grabbing stunt the Iowa State Fair has ever pulled — think again. Back in the 1930s, deep in the Depression Era and way before safety regulations, fair employees had to stage bigger attractions to get people with less money in the gates. Thus, the great grandstand spectacle was born.
Crashing various vehicles together was a big draw for the fair during the '30s, but the most infamous of these sorts of staged events was the collision of two steam-powered locomotives in 1932. Despite having also wrecked locomotives in 1896 and 1922, the 1932 crash took on an election theme by pitting a Herbert Hoover train against a Franklin Delano Roosevelt train. Traveling at about 50 miles per hour, the four engineers bailed just before the two trains hit each other head-on.
All of this was orchestrated by an Iowan. Joseph S. Connolly became known as “Head-On Joe” for his famous train-crashing performances, according to a biography titled “The Man Who Wrecked 146 Locomotives.”
#IowaHistory #IowaStateFair #IowaCulture #IowaArtifact
Juneteenth
The Juneteenth holiday has a long history in Iowa. In fact, celebrations of emancipation from slavery started even before the Civil War, according to Leo Landis, state curator for the State Historical Society of Iowa.
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Andrew Clemens Sand Art
One of the remarkable stories about Iowans is the story of Andrew Clemens and his sand art. State Curator Leo Landis shares his story and talks about the amazing work that the State Historical Museum of Iowa has in its collection of more than 100,000 artifacts.
#IowaMuseumWeek #iowahistory #iowaculture
Adrian D. Anderson Award - Peter Lampe House
This award recognizes outstanding preservation of a small historic preservation project using State Historic Preservation Tax Credits, with total qualified costs of $750,000 or less.
Davenport’s Peter Lampe House, built in the 1850s, perches on a hill in the Village of East Davenport Historic District and once served as a boarding house for railroad travelers. The rehabilitation project stabilized the building and included the installation of well crafted cabinetry and wood floors, which serve its new purpose as a tasting room for the Wide River Winery.
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Village of East Davenport Wide River Winery Village of East Davenport Davenport, Iowa Village of East Davenport
Excellence in Archaeology and Historic Preservation Award;Dixon Site Riverbank Stabilization Project
This project, located on the Little Sioux River near Anthon, put an end to riverbank erosion at the site of a prehistoric Oneota village and successfully stabilized Iowa Highway 31. The work at the site, now known as the Dixon Site was completed with the involvement and approval of eight tribes and in accordance with state and federal laws concerning historic preservation.
#iowahistory #iowaculture Iowa Department of Transportation
The Bregant House
The Bregant Home in Council Bluffs was custom-built in 1912 for a married couple named Jean and Inez Bregant, two little people who were known worldwide as the "Candy Kids" spokespeople for Woodward Candy Company. A century later, Preserve Council Bluffs purchased and refurbished the small white house as a local landmark.
To learn more about the Bregant Home and other historic buildings in Iowa, join us for the 2021 virtual Preserve Iowa Summit. Register today at www.preserveiowasummit.org.
#IowaHistory #IowaCulture Unleash Council Bluffs Preserve Council Bluffs Iowa West Foundation Travel Iowa City of Council Bluffs - Municipal Government
The Squirrel Cage Jail in Council Bluffs
The famous Squirrel Cage Jail in Council Bluffs opened in 1885 and served as the Pottawattamie County jail until 1969. What makes it so unusual is that all three floors rotate like a carousel or, of course, a cage to catch squirrels. ... To learn more about the Squirrel Cage Jail of Pottawattamie County, Iowa and other historic buildings in Iowa, join us for the 2021 virtual Preserve Iowa Summit. Register today at www.preserveiowasummit.org.
#IowaHistory #IowaCulture Unleash Council BluffsPreserve Council Bluffsb Iowa West FoundationTravel Iowa City of Council Bluffs - Municipal Government
The State Historical Society of Iowa has been a trustee of Iowa’s historical legacy since 1857.
