The Iowa Digital Library features more than a million digital objects created from the holdings of the University of Iowa Libraries and its campus partners. Included are illuminated manuscripts, historic maps, fine art, historic newspapers, scholarly works, and more. Digital collections are coordinated by Digital Research & Publishing.

A resource for students, educators, historians, genealogists, and anyone else interested in the people, places and institutions of Iowa. The site provides free access to digital collections from a variety of Iowa cultural institutions.

This website is an online archive of documents produced by Iowa state agencies and intended for use by the general public.

Integrated access to more than 16,000 digital objects from the Iowa Women's Archives, with browsing access by subject, format, and time period.

Contributing Institution:
Iowa Women's Archives

The African American Museum of Iowa’s oral history project, Adult Voices Children’s Eyes, provides a platform for Iowa’s vibrant African American history. Students and youth groups throughout the state are hearing the little known stories of African Americans in Iowa. There are stories of the struggles and successes of African American Professionals in Iowa, the establishment and importance of African American Churches in Iowa, the conflicts and contributions of Civil Rights Organizations in Iowa, and of discouragements and victories found in Segregation and Integration in Iowa.

A selection of the Museum’s photographs and archival collections are available to search online.

A digital collection of photographs, news clippings, pamphlets, scrapbooks, directories, and newsletters documents the experience of African American women in Iowa during the twentieth century.

A subcollection focusing on the UI's African American alumnae and featuring more than 150 artifacts, including yearbooks, dance cards, photographs and more.

Contributing Institution:
Iowa Women's Archives
University of Iowa Archives
State Historical Society of Iowa

Seven of the eleven diaries in the Historic Iowa Children’s Diaries digital collection came from the collections of the State Historical Society of Iowa. This was a collaboration between the State Historical Society of Iowa and the Women’s Archives at the University of Iowa.

Listing of one-room schoolhouses museums in Iowa

The Center for the History of Rural Iowa Education and Culture's Rural School Collections include photographs and ephemeral materials documenting Iowa's rural school history.

This gallery represents a selection of photographs and other images curated from the Rural School Collections. These images are intended to aid researchers by way of reference only; please refer to CHRIEC's policies page for information on publication.

The online bookshelf contains links to rural school related reference materials from around the Internet. These resources are free to browse and (in most cases) to download.

Do you remember studying Iowa History in 5th or 6th grade? If you grew up in Iowa, the chances you did are about 100%. Thomas Christensen wrote the first edition of this book in 1928, and soon after that, the Iowa General Assembly passed a law requiring the study of Iowa History. This 2nd edition of The Story of Iowa, a Children’s History was published in 1931. It takes this new law into account, providing many photos and maps, so that the subject can be taught by many different methods.

(University of Northern Iowa, Digital Collections)

IAGenWeb is part of the USGenWeb Project, a group of volunteers working together to provide Internet websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States

The mission of this project is to capture digital images of the gravestones of our ancestors buried in Iowa. As decades pass -- many stones are deteriorating and even disappearing.

Out of 42 governors from the state of Iowa, two have served twice, both with a twelve year hiatus between the two terms. Governor Samuel Kirkwood served from 1860-1864 and again from 1876-1877. Governor Terry Branstad served from 1983-1999 and was re-elected to a term beginning in 2011. Images and biographies of all Iowa's governors beginning with the first territorial governor in 1838 are included here. There are also links to the Executive Orders of the governors. Pictured here is Governor Ansell Briggs who served from 1846-1850. He was the first Iowa governor to serve following the terms of three Iowa Territory governors.

(Iowa Library Services/State Library of Iowa and the State Historical Society of Iowa)

Election results from 1938-2014

A compilation of transportation-related photos, maps and other documents gathered by DOT employees or donated to the department. It is one of the few digital collections of historical transportation artifacts in the country.

Biographical information from State Historical Society of Iowa resources appears on this web site presenting historical information about all of Iowa’s legislators.

This website is an online archive of documents produced by Iowa state agencies and intended for use by the general public.

A subcollection focusing on the UI's African American alumnae and featuring more than 150 artifacts, including yearbooks, dance cards, photographs and more.

Contributing Institution:
Iowa Women's Archives
University of Iowa Archives
State Historical Society of Iowa

Digital Grinnell contributes to the "free inquiry and the open exchange of ideas" that is part of Grinnell College's mission by sharing scholarly and creative work created at the College with the larger community. Digital Grinnell hosts a wide and growing variety of materials created by Grinnell College students, faculty, and staff, as well as selected material that illuminates the College’s history and other activities. Over time, it will also host digital versions of important art, specimen, book, and manuscript collections held by the College. Digital Grinnell will allow this material to be showcased through the College Web site, browsed, searched, and preserved over the long term. The Digital Grinnell suite includes a platform for online journal publication, including submission, editorial review, and publication, and a platform for conferences and conference papers that also includes submission, review, and publication functions.

Iowa College was founded by the Iowa Band, eleven 1843 graduates of Andover Theological Seminary (in Massachusetts) who came to Iowa to found Congregational churches and a college. A Board of Trustees was elected in 1846 and the first class met in 1848 in Davenport with one professor and two students. After ten years in Davenport, Iowa College merged with Grinnell University which had been founded by J. B. Grinnell and eleven other Iowans. The college was called Iowa College until the name was changed in 1909 to Grinnell College. It was a Christian college and a number of Congregational ministers were on the Board of Trustees, but the college has always been independent. During the nineteenth century, the Board of Trustees maintained firm control over all aspects of the college, including curriculum, rules and regulations, student and faculty discipline, as well as finances and construction. This collection contains documents from the early days of the life of the college, including the articles of incorporation.

A history of higher education in Iowa and descriptions of higher education institutions up to 1893, including faculty, student populations, buildings, and courses of study.

View and search a collection of historic, digitized images on the Luther College Archives' Flickr page.

Keyword search and browse digitally archived copies of the following Luther College Publications:
•The College Chips, the school newspaper (1884-2012)
•The Pioneer, the annual yearbook (1911-2011)
•The Agora, the faculty journal (1988-2012)

This collection documents social justice activities of students, faculty, staff, and organizations at Grinnell from its founding days to its current work. It includes material from or about:
•The Grinnell College Young Innovator for Social Justice Prize - Documents, photos and footage related to the the awarding of the prize that was established in 2011 to honor individuals under the age of 40 who have demonstrated leadership in their fields and show creativity, commitment, and extraordinary accomplishment in effecting positive social change
•The Voicebox - Student organization responsible for coordinating the work of the various activist groups at Grinnell College. This collection contains posters, publications, documents, and ephemera from a wide range of student groups. Many materials are undated, but were created in the early part of the 21st century
•Abolition - Iowa (Grinnell) College was founded by congregational ministers, who strongly opposed slavery, in the town of Davenport, IA. When Iowa College was looking for a new home, J.B. Grinnell invited the college to move to move to the community of Grinnell because he recognized that the founders and faculty of the college shared the same core values, including an abolitionist viewpoint. The town of Grinnell became a stop on the Underground Railroad, moving escaped slaves to freedom in Canada.
•The Peace Studies Student Conference - Part of Grinnell College's Peace Studies Program, the conference features student papers and speakers on the subject of conflict and peacemaking , centered around a different theme each year

In 2006, "What a time we had..." began to collect stories of Drake graduates and preserving the memories of these remarkable women, documenting their unique perspectives on college life, their defining experiences, personal relationships, and advice for future generations.

This collection contains buttons, pins and badges relating to the women's suffrage movement that Carrie Chapman Catt was involved in. There is also a photograph of her and a letter from President Woodrow Wilson.

(Iowa State University Special Collections)

Correspondence, diaries, scrapbooks, and photographs documenting the life of the University of Iowa football star, Heisman trophy winner, and World War II hero.

Contributing Institution:
Special Collections Dept., University of Iowa Libraries

Iowa native Henry A. Wallace (1888-1965), the 33rd vice president of the United States, occupies a unique niche within American history, at the crossroads of some of the 20th century's most important moments: the economic and agricultural consequences of the Great Depression, the role of the vice president during World War II, and the subsequent development of alternative political party structures as the nation and the world recovered from the conflict and new power dynamics were formed. This digital collection of the Henry A. Wallace Papers features images, a collection index, and 67,000 pages of correspondence, memoranda, and other documents.

(University of Iowa Libraries, Special Collection and University Archives)

The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library is the foremost American institution collecting, preserving and interpreting Czech and Slovak history and culture. This digital collection presents a cache of 40 letters written in Czech by John Pospishil, a Czech immigrant to Iowa. Pospishil was a soldier in the American Civil War from 1862 to 1865 in the 22nd Iowa Volunteer Infantry. His letters were addressed to his father back home in Banner Valley, Linn County, Iowa. Scholars are being sought to help provide a typed Czech-language transcript and an English-language translation, which will be added to the digital collection as they become available.

(The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library)

Diaries, correspondence, and photographs from Iowa soldiers and their families during the American Civil War. The collection offers valuable insight on soldiers' daily activities, experiences in battles, and views on the war.

Contributing Institution:
Special Collections Dept., University of Iowa Libraries

This history of Iowa's involvement in the Civil War was published in 1888. The author, Samuel Hawkins Marshall Byers, was a member of the Fifth Iowa Infantry during the Civil War, having enlisted in 1861. Byers was eventually captured and spent...

The State Historical Society of Iowa collected, sorted, and filed about 800,000 Iowa newspaper clippings documenting Iowa's war efforts both at home and on foreign soil. More than 30 topics are covered by the clippings, including business and labor, casualties, education and training, farming and food, production and rationing, public health, life and activities, women's military involvement, prisoners of war, and warships.

The original clippings are closed to the public due to their deteriorating condition. However, through a cooperative preservation effort by the SHSI and the Iowa City Genealogical Society several of the topics are now available on microfilm through ILL or purchase. This digital collection makes a portion of the clippings available in an easily searchable online format.

Included in this collection are annual surveys from the late 19th century, published by the Iowa Geological Survey as well as shorter technical papers related specifically to coal in Iowa. These materials are full-text searchable.

(University of Iowa)

The General Land Office (GLO) surveys, ca. 1832-1859, are manuscript maps of Iowa townships, providing a detailed record of the landscape in its earliest stages of transformation by Euro-American settlement. The maps include such features as Native American villages and fields; the first farmsteads, town sites and fields established by settlers; networks of trails; and distribution of rivers, woods, prairies, wetlands and springs.

95 plat books, published by W.W. Hixson & Co. in 1930, showing land ownership maps for townships in Iowa counties. The maps include some topographic information.

(University of Iowa Libraries, Map Collection)

Over 2,000 aerial photomosaic index sheets of Iowa. The index images correspond to detailed aerial photographs held in the Maps Collection of The University of Iowa Libraries.

Contributing Institution:
Map Collection, University of Iowa Libraries

Over 4,000 pages from nearly 100 county atlases from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, featuring maps as well as advertisements, photographs, and local histories.

Contributing Institution:
Map Collection, University of Iowa Libraries
State Historical Society of Iowa

(University of Iowa Libraries, Map Collection and State Historical Society of Iowa)

The State Historical Society of Iowa is partnering with the University of Iowa to make a collection of Iowa county maps from the 1800s and early 1900s available on the web. Nearly all of Iowa’s 99 counties are represented in this digital collection.

from Iowa Homeland Security & Emergency Management

In 1913, Charles Philip Hexom decided there was a lot of erroneous information circulating about the Winnebago Tribe. He examined material gathered from letters and interviews with the tribal members, as well as information from the Wisconsin Historical Society, the Iowa Library Commission, and the U. S. Ethnological Bureau. This is the compilation that resulted from his research, along with Hexom's own illustrations.

A collaborative project between the State Historical Society of Iowa and the Meskwaki Nation presents the history and culture of the Sak and Fox in Iowa.

This monograph, published in 1911, provides an historical sketch of the Iowa tribe of Native Americans. According to the title page, the information presented is "a reprint from The Indian Record [and Historical Data, 1876], as originally published and edited by Thomas Foster, with introduction, and elucidations through the text by William Harvey Miner." Regarding The Indian Record and Historical Data, the preface states, "The editor, Dr. Thomas Foster, who termed himself 'Indian historiographer' hoped to be able to publish the sheet weekly 'should funds permit.' Evidently lack of finances or the small amount of interest shown in the venture determined against its continuance as it ceased with the third issue."

The African American Museum of Iowa’s oral history project, Adult Voices Children’s Eyes, provides a platform for Iowa’s vibrant African American history. Students and youth groups throughout the state are hearing the little known stories of African Americans in Iowa. There are stories of the struggles and successes of African American Professionals in Iowa, the establishment and importance of African American Churches in Iowa, the conflicts and contributions of Civil Rights Organizations in Iowa, and of discouragements and victories found in Segregation and Integration in Iowa.

Two dozen oral history interviews and several thousand photographs documenting the impact of the historic 2008 Midwest floods on The University of Iowa campus and the Iowa City/Coralville area.

Contributing Institution:
Office of University Relations, University of Iowa
Dept. of Anthropology, University of Iowa

Several dozen video interviews with pioneering journalists from Iowa newspapers; topics discussed include labor issues, women reporters, and politics in the newsroom.

Contributing Institution:
School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Iowa

From the Des Moines Public Library, this Iowa Oral History Project consists of a series of ninety-seven interviews conducted from the early 1970s through 2002. These audio interviews add richness to the history and culture of Des Moines and Iowa that cannot be realized in print.

Transcipts available only

In 2006, "What a time we had..." began to collect stories of Drake graduates and preserving the memories of these remarkable women, documenting their unique perspectives on college life, their defining experiences, personal relationships, and advice for future generations.

The Amana Heritage Society is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and interpreting the history of the Amana Colonies. This collection is a sample of the many historic and current photographs of people, places, and events relating to the history of the Amana Colonies.

(Amana Heritage Society)

At the beginning of the twentieth century many Iowa communities sought and received funding from the Carnegie Corporation, resulting in the building of 101 public libraries. The Carnegie Libraries in Iowa Project (CLIP), a partnership between the University of Iowa's School of Library and Information Science and Iowa's librarians, is charting changes in Iowa's Carnegie libraries through digital images, documents and statistical data.

(University of Iowa, School of Library and Information Science)

Explore the History of Council Bluffs… Browse our growing collection of historic photos; view primary and secondary historical resources in the “Proud Past” site; watch video on YouTube, or dig even deeper by contacting the library’s Special Collections department.

This is a pictorial history of Des Moines written in 1895. It contains photographs and descriptions of commercial buildings, public buildings and grounds, important businesses and residences of prominent figures in Des Moines.

(Iowa Library Services)

The Historic Des Moines collection gives a glimpse of Des Moines, Iowa as it entered the 20th century. This was a period of substantial growth for the city, and a time when Des Moines was growing away from its origins as an outpost in the West. The collection was created by scanning images from the original sources held by the Special Collections Department of Drake University's Cowles Library. Each image was researched, described, and indexed. The result is a searchable collection filled with the history of Des Moines.

Photos of the Iowa Capitol Complex were taken around 1913 when state officials decided to clean up the area around the Capitol. There were very few state buildings and monuments at that time. The Capitol was surrounded by older residential buildings and was not in an attractive area. Each photo is paired with one showing a similar view in 2010. Following the photos is the Rowley vs. Clarke case in which a lawsuit is filed by citizens of Van Buren and Wapello Counties who objected to the levying of taxes by the state to pay for the purchase of land around the Capitol grounds. The photos in the collection were used in the case to show the need for improving the Capitol grounds.

(Iowa Library Services/State Library of Iowa)

This is a collection of historical documents compiled by staffers at the Iowa Legislative Services Agency that serves state government. They include: " Looking Back", a history of the present day Ola Babcock Miller Building originally known as the Iowa Historical Building; a history of the Iowa Capitol grounds area in Des Moines and the story of the 1904 Capitol fire in Des Moines.

(Iowa Legislative Services Agency)

Two dozen oral history interviews and several thousand photographs documenting the impact of the historic 2008 Midwest floods on The University of Iowa campus and the Iowa City/Coralville area.

Contributing Institution:
Office of University Relations, University of Iowa
Dept. of Anthropology, University of Iowa

Irving Weber began writing articles on the history of the city in 1973 for the Iowa City Press Citizen. These articles collectively became the 8 volumes known as "Irving Weber's Iowa City." Part recollection, part research each article conveys a part of the city's story from its founding until the mid 1990s. There are 482 articles in the 8 volumes, many with photographs. Weber brought the history of Iowa City to life with insight, friendly wit and a sharp detailed memory.

(Iowa City Host Noon Lions Club)

The Iowa County Histories document the early history of Iowa and provide biographical sketches of its citizens. Descriptions of the events that shaped the towns, early settlement, territorial history, local government, economic development, and surveys and statistics provide some of the background. These electronic versions are full-text searchable through the Acrobat search option and navigable via the bookmarks tab to the left of the page images.

(Iowa State University, Special Collections)

Search and browse an interdisciplinary collection of primary and secondary source materials related to the social, cultural and economic context of the 2008 immigration raid in Postville, Iowa and the community as a whole before, during and after the raid.

(Luther College)

A subcollection focusing on the UI's African American alumnae and featuring more than 150 artifacts, including yearbooks, dance cards, photographs and more.

Contributing Institution:
Iowa Women's Archives
University of Iowa Archives
State Historical Society of Iowa

A collection of brief biographies of Iowa women, published in 1914

This collection contains buttons, pins and badges relating to the women's suffrage movement that Carrie Chapman Catt was involved in. There is also a photograph of her and a letter from President Woodrow Wilson.

(Iowa State University Special Collections)

Integrated access to more than 16,000 digital objects from the Iowa Women's Archives, with browsing access by subject, format, and time period.

Contributing Institution:
Iowa Women's Archives

Published in 1918 by the State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI), this monograph, according to the author's preface, attempts "to present a general survey of the status of women in Iowa by pointing out the distinctions between men and women which have been established by law or sanctioned by judicial rulings." The author, Ruth A. Gallaher, earned a B.A. in 1908 and Ph.D. in 1918, both from the State University of Iowa. Gallaher had a long professional association with the SHSI and founded the University of Iowa Archives in 1931. According to the online Biographical Dictionary of Iowa, Gallaher's Legal and Political Status of Women in Iowa "is still considered a substantial early contribution to the field of women's studies."

Latinos began arriving in Iowa as early as the 1880s. They built homes and communities near the railroad yards where they worked. Later they followed the harvests to work in the rich agricultural fields as migrant laborers. More recently they have found employment in Iowa's packinghouses and service sector industries. Today Iowa is home to Latinos and Latinas from many countries whose work reflects a wide range of occupations and professions. The Mujeres Latinas project of the Iowa Women's Archives has been established to collect and preserve materials including photographs, letters and oral histories to document the lives and contributions of Latinas and their families to Iowa history.

(University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa Women's Archives)

Features hundreds of historic images of and by Iowa women, documenting early 20th-century rural life. Subjects include farms, parades, schools, automobiles and houses; artifacts include panoramic photographs, postcards, and cabinet cards.

Contributing Institution:
Iowa Women's Archives

During World War II, the Iowa State Teachers' College provided housing, facilities, and training for units of the U.S. Navy and the Army Air Corps. After the 1942 Fall term, the women housed in Bartlett Hall moved to the newly-completed Lawther Hall to make room for approximately 1,000 WAVES. The WAVES remained on campus until May 1945.

The IOWAVE booklet contains mainly photos, but also includes an essay The Navy at Cedar Falls 1942-45. The January 1943 issue of the Alumnus publication highlights the WAVES, as well as The Hobo Day (cut day) and Dance with "jiving".

The IOWAVE magazine focused on the activities of the WAVES who were being trained at the Naval Training School temporarily located on campus, and the IOWAVE newspaper included many articles regarding the day-to-day life of the WAVES trainees, as well as articles chronicling the ongoing progress of the war effort.

The WAVES photos displayed in this collection show the trainees engaged in a variety of activities, including marching on campus, getting a haircut, eating in the "mess hall", and shopping.

In 2006, "What a time we had..." began to collect stories of Drake graduates and preserving the memories of these remarkable women, documenting their unique perspectives on college life, their defining experiences, personal relationships, and advice for future generations.

Resources from the archives of the State Historical Society of Iowa appear in a project presented by the Iowa Women’s Archives which tells the story of women’s suffrage in Iowa.