History of Iowa - Iowa: Home For Immigrants

Iowa: Home For Immigrants

Following the Civil War, Iowa's population continued to grow dramatically, from 674,913 people in 1860 to 1,194,020 in 1870. Moreover, the ethnic composition of Iowa's population also changed substantially. Before the Civil War, Iowa had attracted some foreign-born settlers, but the number remained small. After the Civil War, the number of immigrants increased. In 1869, the state encouraged immigration by printing a ninety six page booklet entitled Iowa: The Home of Immigrants. The publication gave physical, social, educational, and political descriptions of Iowa. The legislature instructed that the booklet be published in English, German, Dutch, Swedish, and Danish.

Iowa's rich farmlands and prosperous cities succeeded in attracting more immigrants. Germans constituted the largest group, settling in every county, but especially along the Mississippi River. The great majority became farmers, but many also became craftsmen and shopkeepers. Dubuque and Davenport were their centers. Moreover, a few edited newspapers, taught school, or headed banks. The largest groups were Iowa Synod Lutherans, Missouri Synod Lutherans, and Roman Catholics, along with some Methodists and Baptists. Germans exhibited the greatest diversity in occupations, religion, and geographical settlement.

Iowa also attracted many other people from Europe, including Swedes, Norwegians, Danes, Dutch, and many emigrants from the British Isles. After 1900, people also emigrated from southern and eastern Europe. In many instances, immigrant groups were identified with particular locations and even occupations. The Scandinavians, including Norwegians, who settled in Winneshiek and Story counties; Swedes, who settled in Boone County; and Danes, who settled in southwestern Iowa; were largely associated with farming. The Dutch made two major settlements in Iowa, the first in Marion County, and the second in northwest Iowa.

Many southern and eastern immigrants, particularly Italians and Croats, went into coal mines scattered throughout central and southern Iowa. Beginning around 1925, however, the Iowa coal industry began to decline. By the mid-1950s only a few underground mines remained in the state.

The majority of African Americans who migrated to Iowa during the late 19th and early 20th centuries also worked as coal miners. Before the Civil War, Iowa had only a small African American population, but in the 1880s that number increased considerably. The first large-scale hiring began when the Consolidation Coal Company brought in large numbers of African Americans as strike breakers in 1880. In later decades, however, coal companies hired African Americans as regular miners.