|
|
Iowaville and the Lower Des Moines River
| Iowaville, an abandoned 1840s-era town site, has lent its name to the Ioway village that preceded it on the lower reaches of the Des Moines River near Ottumwa. The Ioways lived there between about 1770 and 1824. They hunted, trapped, farmed, and traded, and also defended themselves against other groups.
About the time the Ioways moved to Iowaville, they were struggling to recover from smallpox epidemics which reduced their numbers by nearly three-fourths. By around 1800, there were only about 800 Ioway tribal members. Larger tribes were expanding their hunting grounds, leaving the Ioways vulnerable to attacks from all sides. |
Iron knife and trade axes,
Allamakee and Johnson Counties
OSA file photo |
| |
 |
An 1815 treaty lists the leaders and other high-ranking men who lived at Iowaville. Among them were Wyingwaha or Wangeweha (Hard Heart) and Mahaska (White Cloud). Another important resident was Wa-cha-mon-ya (One Who Kills as He Walks), a great orator who was born at Iowaville in 1785. No Heart of Fear and Walking Rain, both of whom presented the 1837 Ioway map in Washington, lived at Iowaville as children.
Artifacts, Essick Collection, Iowaville Site, Van Buren County
Photo courtesy of Sarah Horgen, University of Iowa, Museum of Natural History |
| |
 |
Source
Peterson, Cynthia L., and Joe Alan Artz. 2006. Phase IA Archaeological Reconnaissance Archaeological Context Development, and Geoarchaeological Assessment of the Proposed South Ottumwa Phase I Sewer Separation Project, City of Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa. Contract Completion Report 1366. Office of the State Archaeologist, The University of Iowa, Iowa City.
Artifacts, Essick Collection, Iowaville Site, Van Buren County
Photo courtesy of Sarah Horgen, University of Iowa, Museum of Natural History |
| |
| |
Artifacts, Essick Collection, Iowaville Site, Van Buren County
Photo courtesy of Sarah Horgen, University of Iowa, Museum of Natural History |
Back to Ioway Map
Updated by Mary De La Garza, October 2007.
Designed by Tricia R. Bender
Click here to go back
to the OSA homepage. |
Click here to go to
The University of Iowa website. |
|
