Iowaville, Iowa
Encyclopedia
Iowaville was a small town on the lowland near the northeast bank of the Des Moines River
, near the line between Davis
and Van Buren counties, and between present-day Eldon
and Selma
, Iowa. It was established about 1838 near the site of earlier trading posts. Iowaville is now farm land with almost nothing to show the town location, but it is an important Iowa archaeological
site.
The area around the town site had long been used by the Ioway Indians
. The residents of Iowaville were frequent visitors to Fort Madison, 1808–1813, the first U.S. Army post in the Upper Mississippi. Iowaville was attacked in the 1810s or early 1820s, perhaps by the Sauk under leadership of Pashepaho and Black Hawk
,, but there is also evidence it was attacked by the Dakota or may have been abandoned because of smallpox
.
Keokuk
made his home near there for a time.
Trader and settler John Jordan operated near here from 1837 and platted the town in 1838. Iowaville was badly flooded during the Flood of 1851
. The town was prosperous for a time, with a peak population of perhaps 200, but it declined rapidly after the railroad came to nearby Eldon.
There was a postoffice established in Iowaville on January 11, 1840 that closed on September 26, 1870.
Black Hawk
spent his last few years living in the area. There is a marker for him in the Iowaville Cemetery on the hill over the river, although it is unknown if any of his remains are there.
Des Moines River
The Des Moines River is a tributary river of the Mississippi River, approximately long to its farther headwaters, in the upper Midwestern United States...
, near the line between Davis
Davis County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 8,753 in the county, with a population density of . There were 3,600 housing units, of which 3,201 were occupied.-2000 census:...
and Van Buren counties, and between present-day Eldon
Eldon, Iowa
Eldon is a city in Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 998 at the 2000 census. Eldon is the site of the small Carpenter Gothic style house that has come to be known as the American Gothic House because Grant Wood used it for the background in his famous 1930 painting American...
and Selma
Selma, Iowa
Selma is an unincorporated community in northwestern Van Buren County, Iowa, United States. It lies along Iowa Highway 16 northwest of the city of Keosauqua, the county seat of Van Buren County. Its elevation is 617 feet . Although Selma is unincorporated, it has a post office with the ZIP...
, Iowa. It was established about 1838 near the site of earlier trading posts. Iowaville is now farm land with almost nothing to show the town location, but it is an important Iowa archaeological
Iowa archaeology
The archaeology of Iowa is the study of the buried remains of human culture within the state of Iowa from the earliest prehistoric through the late historic periods. When the American Indians first arrived in what is now Iowa more than 13,000 years ago, they were hunters and gatherers living in a...
site.
The area around the town site had long been used by the Ioway Indians
Iowa tribe
The Iowa , also known as the Báxoje, are a Native American Siouan people. Today they are enrolled in either of two federally recognized tribes, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and the Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska....
. The residents of Iowaville were frequent visitors to Fort Madison, 1808–1813, the first U.S. Army post in the Upper Mississippi. Iowaville was attacked in the 1810s or early 1820s, perhaps by the Sauk under leadership of Pashepaho and Black Hawk
Black Hawk (chief)
Black Hawk was a leader and warrior of the Sauk American Indian tribe in what is now the United States. Although he had inherited an important historic medicine bundle, he was not one of the Sauk's hereditary civil chiefs...
,, but there is also evidence it was attacked by the Dakota or may have been abandoned because of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
.
Keokuk
Keokuk (Sauk chief)
Keokuk was a chief of the Sauk or Sac tribe in central North America noted for his policy of cooperation with the U.S. government which led to conflict with Black Hawk, who led part of their band into the Black Hawk War...
made his home near there for a time.
Trader and settler John Jordan operated near here from 1837 and platted the town in 1838. Iowaville was badly flooded during the Flood of 1851
Flood of 1851
The Great Flood of 1851 occurred after record-setting rainfalls across the U.S. Midwest and Plains from May to August, 1851. Hardest hit was the State of Iowa, with significant flooding extending to the Lower Mississippi River basin. Historical evidence suggest flooding occurred in the eastern...
. The town was prosperous for a time, with a peak population of perhaps 200, but it declined rapidly after the railroad came to nearby Eldon.
There was a postoffice established in Iowaville on January 11, 1840 that closed on September 26, 1870.
Black Hawk
Black Hawk (chief)
Black Hawk was a leader and warrior of the Sauk American Indian tribe in what is now the United States. Although he had inherited an important historic medicine bundle, he was not one of the Sauk's hereditary civil chiefs...
spent his last few years living in the area. There is a marker for him in the Iowaville Cemetery on the hill over the river, although it is unknown if any of his remains are there.