Directly outside of DeMoines there is a living history farm and town. Three working farms show life in the 1700, 1800s, and early 1900s. The 1700 farm shows how the Ioway people lived and what crops they grew. Their wigwams were covered with layers of thatch, keeping the interior temperatures at a comfortable 50º F even during the coldest winter night. The 1800 farm demonstrated the pioneers who settled Iowa. They had planned to live in their log cabin houses for only a few years, but many extended their stay.

The 1900 farm showed life in the mechanized world.

The town featured a blacksmith, millinery shop, broom maker, cabinet maker (mortician), general store, school house, church, printer, lawyer, doctor, vet, apothecary and a couple of homes; one modest and the other quite elegant. Docents were at most of the shops demonstrating the different trades and life in a Midwestern village. We spent the entire day at this living history museum. This is a must see attraction. We did not go to the next county Southwest of DeMoines. The bridges of Madison County and John Wayne’s birthplace will be there at a later date.

We did call the capital to inquire about the tour times on Sunday. The capital is closed on Sundays, but open on Saturday. We hurried over to the capital, where there is ample free parking. The tours were self-guided. But docents were in the Law library and the dome. If you remember our visit to Harrisburg, PA and its capital, you might recall that the same architect was building both capitals simultaneously. The semi-naked ladies adorning the grand staircase were rejected by Harrisburg, but are in place at DeMoines. The two ladies are quite lovely, with minor differences in the two statues. The dome is quite unique. The dome itself is painted like a partly-cloudy sky. Suspended on guy wires underneath lies the emblem of the Grand Army of the Republic. It is quite an appealing view.

While I was climbing the many stairs Maggie spent her time admiring the French influenced law library with its four tiered circular wrought-iron staircases leading to the different shelves. She was engaged in a discussion with the docent, who is an theater director and actor in DeMoines. His wife is a well published playwright.

John Pelley is a Geriatric Gypsy. He is retired from the rat race of working. He is a full-time RVer, who ran away from home. He began our travels on the East Coast and, like the migrating birds, seek the warmth of the seasons He has discovered volunteering with the National Park System. He has a CD he has recorded of Native American flute music., A Day with Kokopelli. For pictures, links, and more information visit http://www.jmpelley.org.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Pelley

The first Europeans to reach Iowa were the French explorers, Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette in 1673. They recorded in their journals that the land was lush, green and fertile.

The United States gained control of the area from France in the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. The first official American settlement began in 1833, and statehood was achieved in 1846.

During the American Civil War (1861 to 1865), Iowa contributed greatly to the Union war effort, including more 60% of its eligible males serving (the highest proportion of any state).

Iowa was a popular destination for immigrants, and the state encouraged immigration with a booklet printed in 1869 in English, German, Dutch, Swedish and Danish. Additionally, immigrants also arrived, particularly in coal mining areas from Italy and Croatia, and beginning in the 1880s, a significant number of African-Americans moved to the state, also to work in the mining industry. The coming of the railroads, also helped to encourage immigration, and, eventually, the establishment of the beginnings of a manufacturing sector.

World War One brought a brief agricultural boom to the state, but the 1920s and 1930s were a time of hardship after the elimination of the wartime agricultural subsidies. The state did not in fact fully recover until the 1940s.

After World War Two, Iowa’s business and manufacturing sectors have continued to grow, and the state now produces a wide variety of manufactured products, as well the agricultural goods for which it is most famous.

First published at http://www.vacation2usa.com/p1_state_iowa_history.php

For more information about Iowa, please visit http://www.vacation2usa.com/p1_state_iowa.php

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sunil_Tanna