Robert Lucas (1781-1853) was the first territorial governor of Iowa (1838-1841) and this was his home at 1030 Carroll St. in Iowa City. Plum Grove is a carefully restored historic landmark of Iowa.

Four flags flown over Iowa

By Judy Baldwin

If not for the Louisiana Purchase, Iowans might be speaking French. How do you say “pork-chop on a stick” in French? The land that comprises the State of Iowa was first claimed by the French in 1682, transferred to the Spanish in 1762 and back to the French in 1800.

Do you think the French missed owning Iowa’s rolling green hills? Well, not so much because three years later they sold the land that included Iowa to Thomas Jefferson as part of the Louisiana Purchase, a deal that would open up U.S. trade along the full length of the Mississippi River.

If you’re keeping count, at this point that’s three flags over Iowa. But the fourth flag – the Iowa flag – was still more than 40 years away.

In 1838, Congress declared Iowa a U.S. territory, with its capital in Burlington. A year later, as the population spread westward, the territorial capitol was relocated to Iowa City, moving into Iowa City’s Old Capitol building in 1840.

The fourth flag, the Iowa flag, was finally flown in January 1847 when Iowa officially became a U.S. state with 116, 464 residents. Ten years later, because Iowans continued to move west, centrally-located Des Moines became the state’s permanent capital. By 2006 the Iowa flag was flying over nearly 3 million residents.

Sources: IowaHistory.org, SHG resources, University of Iowa Old Capitol Museum,  U.S. Census.

Learn more:

• State Historical Society of Iowa
• National Register of Historic Places
• Iowa Public Television / Iowa History
• Living History Farms
• Iowa flood
• Iowa caucuses
• Iowa genealogy

Your turn: If everyday people were an official part of Iowa history, what would the history books say about you, your life, your contributions? Add your “mini-history” below.